by Bishop Hiroshi Tajima
Happy New Year to all of you Jodo Shinshu followers across the world. I deeply appreciate your support of our temples and strength you bring to our Sangha. Continue reading “Shinshu Celebrations Planned”
Kiyozawa: Deathbed Confession
By Rev. Ken Yamada
Despite a superior intellect, determination and iron will, Manshi Kiyozawa found his efforts to understand Buddhism completely futile. That’s when he grasped the meaning of life. Continue reading “Kiyozawa: Deathbed Confession”
WWII internment in Hawaii
By Rev. Steven Toyoshima
I bid farewell
To the faces of my sleeping children
As I am taken prisoner
Into the cold night rain.
-Otokichi Ozaki, Honouliuli internee
We traveled to a place long lost to history: the site where Honouliuli Internment Camp once stood. Continue reading “WWII internment in Hawaii”
Who’s Evil? I am!
By Rev. Noriaki Ito
Our country—one of the world’s most advanced nations—is a leader in senseless tragedy. Already this year we’ve had many mass shootings and innocent deaths. How do we understand what’s happening through the Buddhist teachings? Continue reading “Who’s Evil? I am!”
Shinran Bound and Gagged (And Finally Released)
By Rev. Patti Nakai
“What the heck,” a newcomer may wonder after hearing a common explanation of Jodo Shinshu. The explanation? “Just recite Namo Amida Butsu and rebirth after death is guaranteed in a bejeweled paradise called Pure Land.” Continue reading “Shinran Bound and Gagged (And Finally Released)”
Ghost Stories and Shinran
Summer is for ghost stories in Japan, sending chills down spines on hot summer nights. Consider this ghost story involving Shinran Shonin. Continue reading “Ghost Stories and Shinran”