Ven. Seiun
Ven. Seiun is a buddhist monk, also known in Italy as a master of ancient traditional Japanese martial arts, following the teachings handed down by Takamatsu Toshitsugu Sensei. He continues the lineage of Amatsu Tatara, which entailed a comprehensive training of the Shidosha - the master of the ways - in the 'three spheres': the martial, the healing, and the spiritual.
The Martial path
The beginnings
Ven. Seiun begins his martial arts journey by experimenting with judo, then karate, and later aikido. From the modern disciplines of budo, he starts his path in bujutsu by attending the school of master Bargigli in Rome. However, the search for a path closer to tradition leads him to first join the Bujinkan federation and then the Genbukan until 1999, under the guidance of Shoto Tanemura Sensei. During this time, he is appointed as dojo-cho (head of training locations) and receives the martial name "Yuga”.
Japan
Not yet satisfied with his martial growth journey, driven by hope and intuition, the monk continues his search for a master who can bring him closer to the ancient source. His intuition leads him to find a disciple from the lineage of Iwami Nangaku Sensei, a training companion of Takamatsu Sensei. This disciple is Takatsuka Eichoku Sensei, with whom he practices according to the teachings of Kukishin ryu until 2003.
The turning point
This, however, is not the end of the journey: the turning point comes with the encounter with the direct heir of Ueno Takashi Sensei, Kaminaga Shigemi Sensei. It is precisely from the latter that the monk Seiun is accepted into his dojo in 2004, becoming the first personal disciple of Western origin to follow Kaminaga Sensei starting from 2005. He will remain his student until the year of Kaminaga Sensei's death, in 2014.
Sakushinkan
The monk Seiun also founded the Sakushinkan school in 2000, which he presides over with the aim of preserving Japanese warrior teachings, organizing courses on ancient martial arts as well as goshinjutsu (personal defense and danger prevention) and courses dedicated to techniques of chinese and traditional japanese medicine.
Over the years, the monk developed the Sakushinkan Budo, the comprehensive training method of the Sakushinkan school for transmitting the teachings of the ancient lineage.
The spiritual path
The beginnings
The monk Seiun begins his spiritual journey in conjunction with his martial growth, receiving the first concepts of eastern philosophy directly in the dojo. Subsequently, his interest in these subjects grows, and at the age of 20, he starts attending centers of the tibetan gelugpa buddhist tradition and the soto-shu zen tradition in Italy. Concurrently with his martial pursuits, in 1999, he travels to Japan, where he is accepted into the shugendo order.
Shugendo
After a period of novitiate, he receives the ordination as a yamabushi (mountain monk) and takes on the religious name Seiun. Several years later, he becomes a personal disciple of Daisendatsu Ven. Shimazu Kokai, the 87th abbot of Kotakuji temple in Haguro Shugendo, and receives from him the name Dosho. Even today, he maintains a relationship of discipleship with this master, deepening the practices and teachings of mountain Buddhism.
Tendai
In 2004, through a letter of introduction, he is introduced by his master to Ven. Ichishima Shoshin, the 36th Master Abbot of Senzoji Tenryuzan temple and kangaku (advisor) of the Tendai-shu order (Mahayana-Vajrayana school), becoming his personal disciple. Two years later, it is from Ven. Shoshin himself that he receives ordination as a monk with the name Fushin.
Ven. Seiun travels frequently to Japan to continue drawing from the teachings of Ven. Shoshin, with whom he maintains a close discipleship relationship.
Tenryuzanji
Years later, in 2008, the monk Seiun travels to Sri Lanka, where he receives ordination from the Grand Master, Ven. Akmimana Dhammapala Maha Thero, following the platform of Vinaya Theravada. In 2015, he establishes the buddhist temple Tenryuzanji in Cinte Tesino (TN), of which he is the spiritual guide and abbot. Additionally, he takes part in interfaith tables in Trento, Rovereto, and Bolzano.
Ven. Seiun effectively identifies with the figure of the sohei, the warrior monk, reconciling both the teachings of martial arts and those of Buddhist religious philosophy as his practice.
