Last year, I put together an English shidai, a liturgical manual, and accompanying video to help non-Japanese people get a handle on the chanting service used on the Shikoku Henro. This is just an English version of a standard manual used by many pilgrims.
Neither my manual nor any I've seen tells you one vital fact; you don't have to chant the whole thing! And thank goodness for that; from top to bottom it takes 5 minutes to chant at a fast pace, much longer for someone just getting used to it. This is often just too long for folks trying to get to their lodgings before dark in an unfamiliar place. Even veteran pilgrims often heavily abbreviate the service to suit their time constraints and disposition.
But what to cut out, and what to leave in? This question immediately leads us to a deeper one: what is truly necessary to our prayer?
To consider this question, let's have a look at the liturgy recommended in the guidebook Shikoku Henrei Michijirube, "Guide to the Shikoku Pilgrimage," published in 1687*. In English, it goes:
[Perform] the matter of [leaving your] paper slip, [then, call to mind] the Main Deity of the pilgrimage site, [Kōbō] Daishi, the Great Deity of the Shrine (at Ise), the Deities enshrined on the temple grounds, and all the great and small Deities throughout Japan.
Pray that the Emperor, the Shōgun, the regional lord, local lords, your father and mother, your social superiors, the Six Types of Kin [father, mother, elder and younger siblings, spouse, and children], your extended family, and [beings throughout] the entire universe benefit equally [from your prayers].
Call to mind [with gratitude] those who go along with you, and the lodging and sustenance [you have received through the generosity of others].
Share the merits [of your practice] by joining your voice with other men and women to chant the Kōmyō Shingon and the Precious Name of [Kōbō] Daishi.
Sing the song of the pilgrimage site three times.
Rephrased for modern times, it might go:
Put your name slip in the box to let the deities of the site know who you are.
Call to mind the deities of the site, starting with the Main Deity and Kōbō Daishi. Broaden your awareness to include the nature and elements all around you, then to all such powers throughout Japan, in your own country, and throughout the whole world.
Pray that the people close to you, all people connected to you, and all beings throughout the universe may benefit from your practice.
Think of all the people and places you have met on your pilgrimage and give thanks for them and the help they have given you.
Holding this gratitude and the wish that all beings be well in mind, chant the Kōmyō Shingon and Name of Kōbō Daishi as many times as you feel appropriate.
Express your gratitude by saying arigatō gozaimashita in Japanese, or "thank you" in your own language.
You'll notice that most of the steps here aren't even chanting, they're thinking! The heart of prayer, and the heart of the Pilgrimage, is not any specific sutra or incantation. The essence of the pilgrimage is coming into contact with sacred Presences, and offering the benefits of that process to all beings. The verses, sutras, and mantras chanted at each temple are vessels by which we convey our aspirations and gratitude to all the deities and people who make our existence possible.
The approach represented in this simple shidai is, I think, foundational to any prayer or Buddhist practice. As you gain confidence with the prayers, you can always extend Step 5 to include more elements from the standard service, like the Heart Sūtra or mantras of the Main Deity. But for beginners or those who find themselves crunched for time on your pilgrimage or in your daily practice, rest assured that even one syllable chanted with clarity, sincerity, and gratitude is more than enough.
*Reproduced in "Changes in the Conventions of the Shikoku Pilgrimage: A Reconsideration" by Uchida Kusuo
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