Posts

Posted on

Lost in This World

Hilo Higashi Hongwanji Temple, Hawaii

By Rev. Marcos Sawada

 Are you a positive or negative thinker? We humans love to be negative thinkers.  We think about our hardships, problems and worries, imaging the worst scenarios. Our minds are filled with such thoughts, emotions and passions.

I recently moved from Oahu to serve again as minister on the big island of Hawai’i, where I began visiting temple members. There’s been a huge decrease in the Hilo Higashi Hongwanji sangha. Before I moved away, usually 30-to-50 members attended the monthly service, but now only about half those numbers attend. I think this trend isn’t exclusive to the Hilo temple; attendance at many temples and churches is declining in the United States. Continue reading “Lost in This World”

Posted on

Rennyo in Yoshizaki

Rennyo Shonin statue in Yoshizaki

By Rev. Ken Yamada

In our Jodo Shinshu Buddhist tradition, Rennyo Shonin standardized the practice of saying “Namu Amida Butsu,” but it wasn’t his first choice.

As the eighth Honganji abbot, Rennyo (1415-1499) lived in a turbulent time of war, social upheaval, famine and religious persecution. Yet, he vastly grew the Honganji denomination and attracted legions of followers by making accessible and relevant Shinran’s teachings. During the time he spent in Yoshizaki on the Japan Sea coast, he established uniform rituals, ceremonies and activities that provided the bedrock for growing the sangha and enabled Honganji to become an independent denomination. Continue reading “Rennyo in Yoshizaki”

Posted on

Faces Brightly Shining: Rev. Akegarasu and the Eternal Life Sutra

(credit: Cleveland Museum of Art)

By Rev. Patti Nakai

(This article was originally published in Buddhist Temple of Chicago’s Bulletin, August 1997)

It may sound paradoxical, but throughout Buddhism’s history, teachers who spoke most powerfully to people of their generation and to generations afterward looked backward in time to India and heard Shakamuni Buddha’s words directly as possible. They broke through layers of stale traditions and customs separating the Buddha’s time and their own. Continue reading “Faces Brightly Shining: Rev. Akegarasu and the Eternal Life Sutra”

Posted on

Jodo Shinshu Revolution

By Rev. Ken Yamada

When I first studied Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism, it really made no sense. A mythical buddha Amida supposedly embraced me with infinite compassion, assuring me of birth in the Pure Land when I die. I joked it was all “Buddha crazy talk.”

Years later, after experiencing suffering that life inevitably brings, Jodo Shinshu began to speak to me. My Higashi Honganji teachers related the teachings to life experiences, thought processes, perceptions, and emotions, guided by Shinran’s writings. Words and concepts were analyzed for their deeper and sometimes symbolic meaning. It all began to make sense.

For hundreds of years, Shinshu was transmitted and believed the way I first heard. How did these teachings transform so that contemporary people like me could understand? Kiyozawa Manshi (1863-1903) gets much credit—he’s considered the first modern thinker of Jōdo Shinshu. Continue reading “Jodo Shinshu Revolution”

Posted on

Reaching Beyond Temples to Teach Buddhism

Rev. Shoukei Matsumoto is a different kind of Jodo Shinshu priest. He’s more entrepreneur than traditional minister and he’s trying new ways of reaching beyond temple members.

Among his many activities, he started a company, Interbeing, aimed at bringing Buddhist teachings to business people. He earned a Master of Business Administration degree and developed lessons to help priests better run their temples. He organizes spontaneous meet-ups with young people in various cities to discuss life issues. He started a temple café and created a Buddhist website called higan.net. He’s written several books, including the popular “A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind,” which was translated into 18 languages. Continue reading “Reaching Beyond Temples to Teach Buddhism”