Higashi Honganji USA https://higashihonganjiusa.org/ Jodo Shinshu Buddhism for everyone Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:23:03 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://higashihonganjiusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/cropped-cropped-mon-tw-300x300-32x32.jpg Higashi Honganji USA https://higashihonganjiusa.org/ 32 32 Precepts, Visualization and Sutra Study in Jodo Shinshu https://higashihonganjiusa.org/2026/04/15/precepts-visualization-and-sutra-study-in-jodo-shinshu/ Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:23:03 +0000 https://higashihonganjiusa.org/?p=3452 By Rev. Miki Nakura In Buddhism, following precepts is a common practice, especially for monks and nuns. Even lay followers strive to follow basic precepts not to kill, steal, lie and others. Someone asked me about Jodo Shinshu’s perspective. “Does Jōdo Shinshū disregard precepts? I never hear about them outside of general Mahayana Buddhism. And …

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]]> The Meaning of Chanting https://higashihonganjiusa.org/2026/04/03/the-meaning-of-chanting/ Fri, 03 Apr 2026 20:33:54 +0000 https://higashihonganjiusa.org/?p=3446 By Rev. Victor Ogundipe To become a fully-ordained minister (called kyōshi), I participated in a grueling week-long retreat called shūren at Higashi Honganji mother temple in Kyoto. Last September, entering the temple I nearly fainted from the summer heat and high humidity. Upon check-in, participants must surrender all electronic devices, which meant giving up my …

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]]> Kyoto Pilgrimage https://higashihonganjiusa.org/2026/01/23/kyoto-pilgrimage/ Fri, 23 Jan 2026 18:15:20 +0000 https://higashihonganjiusa.org/?p=3422 By Julien Le Coz Since becoming Buddhist 15 years ago, I dreamed of visiting Japan. In my home country France, Rev. Miki Nakura conducted my kikyoshiki Buddhist name ceremony, then last Fall, we finally met in Kyoto. My wife and I flew from Paris to Tokyo, where we promptly visited Vowz bar, started by Nishi …

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]]> Shinran Shōnin: the Truly Settled (shōjōju) https://higashihonganjiusa.org/2026/01/09/shinran-shonin-the-truly-settled-shojoju/ Fri, 09 Jan 2026 18:42:34 +0000 https://higashihonganjiusa.org/?p=3409 Throughout his 90-year life, Shinran Shōnin (1173-1262) continuously asked important religious questions. His many writings—including letters, hymns (wasan) and commentaries—peaked in his mid-80s, expressing his deep understanding. Two major factors influenced Shinran Shōnin’s deepening thought. First were spiritual and organizational problems caused by eldest son Zenran, who spread heretical views of self-power among followers in …

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]]> Steeped in Suffering https://higashihonganjiusa.org/2025/12/08/steeped-in-suffering/ Mon, 08 Dec 2025 18:24:40 +0000 https://higashihonganjiusa.org/?p=3398 By Rev. Patti Nakai These days I feel “my life sucks.” Shinran Shonin would say—bonnō gusoku – filled with irritation/misery. He often slung that description of himself and the human condition. We’re full of it; why should we expect otherwise? I’m steeped in bonnō; clearly there’s nothing “blind” about it. Physically I’m in pain and …

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]]> Minister Training in Kyoto https://higashihonganjiusa.org/2025/12/01/minister-training-in-kyoto/ Mon, 01 Dec 2025 17:56:13 +0000 https://higashihonganjiusa.org/?p=3385 Arriving at Higashi Honganji mother temple in Kyoto for shūren (ministers retreat), I had only a rough idea of what awaited. After receiving initial tokudō ordination, I needed training for full kyōshi ordination, which would enable me to work as a temple minister. But nothing—absolutely nothing—prepared me for the intensity, discipline, and emotional weight of …

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]]> Kaneko: Can we “study” Shin Buddhism? https://higashihonganjiusa.org/2025/11/03/kaneko-can-we-study-shin-buddhism/ Mon, 03 Nov 2025 17:47:18 +0000 https://higashihonganjiusa.org/?p=3358 By Rev. Ken Yamada Serious seekers “study”  Buddhism, but can we really “learn” Jōdo Shinshū? What, how, and why do we study? Buddhist thinker and Ōtani University professor Kaneko Daiei (1881-1976) pondered such questions in a 1966 essay, “Prolegomena to Shin Buddhist Studies,” reckoning on academia’s purpose ( Robert F. Rhodes translation in Cultivating Spirituality, …

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]]> Tokudo ordination: Not going up, but down https://higashihonganjiusa.org/2025/09/02/tokudo-ordination-not-going-up-but-down/ Tue, 02 Sep 2025 15:30:51 +0000 https://higashihonganjiusa.org/?p=3335 By Victor Ogundipe Aspiring for the Other Shore of awakening, I made a commitment to learn, share,  and live the Buddhadharma with our sangha. That’s why I received tokudo ordination from Higashi Honganji, which took me to Japan for the first time last year. I’ve come to realize being ordained isn’t about the ceremony or …

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]]> Connecting the Philippines and Jōdo Shinshū https://higashihonganjiusa.org/2025/08/29/connecting-the-philippines-and-jodo-shinshu/ Fri, 29 Aug 2025 18:59:47 +0000 https://higashihonganjiusa.org/?p=3314   By Rev. Miki Nakura The time was ripe last June to travel to the Philippines to share Jōdo Shinshū and Seiza meditation. About two years ago, Vince Imbat first joined me online from the Philippines. Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, I’ve been holding online Zoom meetings focused on Jōdo Shinshū and Seiza …

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]]> Higashi Honganji in France https://higashihonganjiusa.org/2025/08/21/higashi-honganji-in-france/ Thu, 21 Aug 2025 21:13:48 +0000 https://higashihonganjiusa.org/?p=3291 By Rev. Ken Yamada In a French village near the Swiss border, a small group met to discuss Buddhism and Shinran Shonin. This month, Rev. Ryoko Osa from Berkeley Higashi Honganji in California, and I travelled there to help and support them. The gathering represented a budding French-speaking sangha, led by Greg Thomas, who has “tokudo” …

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