Born in Aichi Prefecture, Enko Sakai is a Japanese Buddhist high priest of international renown. His distinctions are many, not only as a Myojoin chief priest, but also as a specialist in Zen meditation and mindfulness.
You know that your brain is working properly if you can meditate for about two minutes without thinking or listening to music.
“Worldly thoughts (zatsunen) are the cause of mundane things going wrong. These thoughts are things we don’t need right now. There are many factors that cause zatsunen, such as problems caused by overuse of the brain, stress, and aging. If we ignore the signals of our mind, we may be unable to do things that we used to do with ease. These thoughts may cause you to lose concentration, memory, and judgment, while making more mistakes at work. Be careful, especially if you are attentive and capable of doing your job, but are a worrier who thinks too much,” says Sakai.
For many years, Sakai has offered methods to cleanse stress and control the mind. He has introduced innovative practices, such as Zen classes, to Myojoin, and was selected by The Japan Times, in 2015, as one of the “100 Next-Era Leaders in Asia”. His work has even gained international recognition, especially in the United States.
He has been well-received for his lectures hosted by the Japanese Consulate in San Francisco. Furthermore, he offered lectures at California State University, San Jose (in 2019) and California State University, Sacramento (in 2022).
Sakai has been working as a consultant for the Aloha Network Japan Inc. / Aloha Network Hawaii Inc. (U.S. Corporation), Miyakojima Wedding & Produce, Inc., as well as the RDD Sterilization Service. As someone who is active in various genres, he is always looking for new encounters. He also held a talk event with many celebrities, such as the playwright Kankuro Kudo.
Sakai lives his life in a constant pursuit of learning. He has attended lectures by five senior doctors at Stanford University (which is currently ranked third in the world) and visited six U.S. companies, including Google and Tesla, as part of the Well-Being Conference.
Sakai was selected as one of the “Next-Era Leaders of 2019” by The New York Times. He was also awarded the “Philosophy Category” at the Next Era Leaders Award Ceremony held at “The Future of Everything”, a New York ceremony sponsored by The Wall Street Journal, the world’s largest economic newspaper.
After retiring as the chief priest of Myojoin Temple, Sakai hopes to devote himself to humanitarian projects. One of his greatest ambitions is to build many orphanages in Southeast Asia. He also hopes to establish a Zen promotion center in San Francisco to share the spirit of authentic Zen and raise funds for his projects.
This fall, Sakai plans to publish a book on “zazen” through Gentosha Inc. He has also been asked to teach at numerous universities and companies around the world, and is sure to become increasingly active on the global stage.
If you are interested in Zen, breathing exercises, mindfulness, etc., please check out Sakai’s website. His book, which will be published in the fall, is also a must-read!