How is Shinnyo-en different from Shingon esoteric Buddhism?

After the founder, Kyoshu sama, mastered the lay and priestly schools of Shingon Buddhism, he was faced with the dilemma that the Shingon training could not be revealed to the lay people. Wishing to share his spiritual knowledge with everyone, he came to incorporate the principles of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, also called the “last teaching” of the Buddha, into the esoteric teachings.

The Mahaparinirvana Sutra was not part of the Shingon canon, and it clearly emphasized Buddhism for lay practitioners. However, the founder understood that what the sutra expounded was essentially in line with the Shingon teachings. He then created the Shinnyo esoteric tradition of Buddhism, by unifying the spiritual faculty of Kyoshu sama and Shojuin sama, the esoteric (secret, experiential) teachings of Shingon, and the exoteric (revealed, theoretical) teachings of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra. The resulting Shinnyo-en teaching has become a teaching for lay and monastic followers alike to practice the Buddha's teaching in this modern world.