Year End: A Time to Reflect

By Rev. Ken Yamada

As the year ends, let’s reflect on the importance of time.

This week, there are two important Buddhist services marking time—the Year End service and New Year’s Day service. I stress the term “Year End” (instead of New Year’s eve) because it’s a time to look back on the past year and think about all that has happened. The New Year’s Day service commemorates a beginning and starting out fresh.

But aren’t these merely random markers of time? After all, each day flows mostly indistinguishable from the next. Continue reading “Year End: A Time to Reflect”

Deviating American Shinshu

By Rev. Peter Hata

We American Shin Buddhists as “messengers” need to creatively find new and effective ways to communicate Shinran Shonin’s message in the West. As a tradition transplanted from Japan to America, the reality today facing both Higashi Honganji and Nishi Honganji is that to thrive in America—not simply survive—it must change. However, it’s not Shinran’s message that needs changing. Continue reading “Deviating American Shinshu”