I took the time to read through his claims vis a vis Tendai. They're word salad. Here's what I mean:
Reverend Sensei (Jason Carter) was ordained by the most Venerable Master Sha Mai-ku Mu-Sunim as an Ajai Buddhist Priest under the 1200 year old Japanese Pure Land / Tendai Lineages.
Where to start? He's claiming to be an "Ajai Buddhist Priest." I am not familiar with such a title as "Ajai." He may mean Ajari, which is the Japanese version of Acharya. If he is claiming to be an Ajari, he is claiming substantial accomplishment and training, something like the Loppon or Khempo title in the Tibetan context. Mark me down as skeptical about this.
Second is the teacher he's claiming affiliation with. I have no idea who Sha Mai-ku Mu-Sunim is. Sunim is a Korean title, not a Japanese one. The name sounds like it wants to be Chinese though. Which is to say it sounds like make-believe. Who is this person...
...and to what tradition or institution does he or she belong? Tendai? Jodo-shu? Pure Land practices surely exist in Tendai-shu (I do them myself)... but that's not the same as saying there is some mixed Tendai / Pure Land tradition out and about. There isn't. (Analogy: Nyingmapas may pray for rebirth in Dewachen, but that is a Nyingma practice done in a Nyingma context, not a mix of Nyingma and Pure Land "lineages." Similarly, Tendai PL practice is Tendai practice; there's no institutional or doctrinal distinction made there. Make sense?)
By the way, has anyone asked him about any of this? Here's the email address listed on the site:
[email protected]