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Shin Buddhist Responses to Suffering

By Rev. Patti Nakai

In the face of the suffering of others, whether in large groups of people or as individuals, how do we as Shin Buddhists respond?

Describing relief efforts in eastern Japan devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Otani University president Prof. Yasushi Kigoshi gave two poignant presentations related to his personal involvement. The discussion took place at a March 10, 2018 seminar for Dharma Seeds (lay leaders from the North America district temples) held at the Los Angeles Higashi Honganji Betsuin temple. Continue reading “Shin Buddhist Responses to Suffering”

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Helping the Helpers

By Phillip Underwood

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This is the story of how I ended up a member of the West Covina Buddhist Temple. It starts with the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

I was a captain for the Los Angeles Fire Department when I was called to respond to the New York City attack. I did not go as part of the Urban Search and Rescue Team. Instead I was committed to helping the rescuers themselves, or as we called it, “helping the helpers.”

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Shin Family Ties

First his grandmother died, and then his uncle died, just a year after the end of World War II. That’s when Masayuki Saito began thinking more deeply about life. In 1958, Masayuki moved to Brazil, leaving behind a Japan battered by post-war recession.

In Brazil, he met Setsuko, whom he married. They began regularly attending services at Higashi Honganji Betsuin temple in Sao Paolo and learning about Jodo Shinshu.

Continue reading “Shin Family Ties”