Death’s Doula: Our Pets

Dear Disciples, do not forget that death is only the disappearance of the physical body.

Our body was born from parents and nourished by food, so sickness and death are unavoidable. But the true Buddha is not a human body. The true Buddha is enlightenment. A human body must disappear, but the Wisdom and Compassion of Enlightenment (Amida Buddha) exist forever in the truth of the Dharma and the practice of the Dharma. Those who see only my body do not truly see me.

During the last forty-five years of my life, I have withheld nothing from my teaching. There is no secret teaching, no hidden meaning; everything has been taught openly and clearly. After my death, the Dharma will be your teacher.

Dear disciples, this is the end. In a moment, I shall pass into Nirvana. This is my instruction.

Death: Rites of Passage
Revs. Arthur Takemoto, Masao Kodani, Russell Hamada

Nirvana Day is the day Buddhists remember the passing of Shakyamuni Buddha. At our temples, we usually hold it in February, along with our Pet Memorial services. There are some who have wondered why I hold the two together. For me, Nirvana Day is a quiet day of reflection, not only about death, but about what continues beyond death. It invites us to reflect on impermanence, gratitude, and the teachings that remain alive long after a physical life has ended.

Near the end of his life, the Buddha told his disciples, “After I am gone, let the Dharma be your teacher.” He also reminded them that to truly see him was not to look at his physical body, but to see the truth of the teaching itself. In this way, the Buddha showed that death is not the end of learning, but another way the teaching continues to guide us.

One Shin Buddhist text, the Tannishō, expresses this tension clearly: how difficult it is for us to leave this familiar world, even when it is filled with suffering, and how hard it is for us to imagine the peace of the Pure Land. We cling to what we know, even when it hurts. And yet, when our karmic bonds to this world are fulfilled, we are carried beyond it. These words remind us that reluctance, fear, and love are all part of being human.

Often, we learn these truths not in grand moments, but in ordinary, deeply personal experiences.

My friend Rev. Mauricio Hondaku Ghigonetto had told me that he know of some ministers were working with hospice as Death Doulas. Doulas are usually in reference to non medical persons who assist with birth, something similar to midwives. Death doulas, assist in death and the psychological process of death and grieving.

For many families, the death of a pet is a child’s first encounter with loss. Pets are not “just animals.” They are members of the family. They greet us with joy, stay close without conditions, and offer love without asking for anything in return. Through them, children learn something tender and lasting: love does not protect us from loss, and yet love does not disappear when someone is gone.

I remember this clearly from when my daughter Kacie was very young. Our dog Sammy had grown old and was suffering from frequent seizures. When the veterinarian explained that Sammy would need to be put to sleep, we struggled with how to explain this to our children. In trying to soften the moment, Sammy’s passing was described as going to “La La Land.”

When Kacie heard this, she took it very seriously. Later, after we had said goodbye to Sammy and held a simple service at home, I asked her to imagine what Sammy was doing. She said she could see him running through green grass in the sunshine. I gently explained that this was the Pure Land, where Amida Buddha’s compassion embraces all beings.

That night, something quietly beautiful happened. Kacie placed Sammy’s picture inside the Obutsudan, next to Amida Buddha. When I asked her why, she said she was worried Sammy might feel confused or afraid in a new place. She wanted Sammy to be close to the Buddha, so he would feel safe and cared for. In that moment, a child expressed a truth deeper than any explanation I could have offered: love wants comfort for those it cares about, even beyond death.

Years later, I encountered this same teaching again, in a much more painful way, when we had to say goodbye to Miso.

On a bright spring day, after a long winter, I spent time with Miso in the backyard. The sun was gentle, the air was calm, and I did not yet realize that this would be our last afternoon together at home. Soon after, the veterinarian explained that Miso was suffering from a serious illness and recommended that we let her go that same day, so she would not suffer further.

Holding Miso as she was put to sleep was one of the hardest moments of my life. Grief did not arrive quietly. It came as shock, anger, confusion, and a deep ache that made it hard to breathe. Even knowing all the teachings about impermanence did not protect me from that pain.

And yet, slowly, something else began to surface. I remembered Sammy. I remembered Kacie’s concern that Sammy might feel lost in a strange new place. And I realized that just as I had held Miso with care and love at the end of her life, she was now held by a compassion far greater than my own.

I placed Miso’s ashes in the Obutsudan for a time. Not because she needed protection, but because I did. It reminded me that love does not end at death. It changes form, but it continues to shape us.

In February, our temple will hold both the Nehan-e service, commemorating the Buddha’s passing, and a Pet Memorial Service. Holding these services together reminds us that remembrance is not about clinging to what is gone, but about honoring what has shaped our lives. The Buddha continues to teach through the Dharma. Our loved ones continue to live in our hearts. Our pets continue to guide us in kindness, patience, and care. They may be our best death doulas.

On Nirvana Day,
we remember the Buddha.
We remember our loved ones.
We remember our pets.

And we give thanks for the love that continues.

Namo Amida Butsu.

Christmas, and the Turning of the Year (Buddhist Year 2569, year of the horse)

“The light of Amida’s compassion
Shines throughout the ten quarters;
Those who encounter this light
Are grasped and never abandoned.”
— Shinran Shōnin, Kōsō Wasan

During the holiday season, time seems to move differently. December suddenly rushes toward us, and before we realize it, Christmas is only days away. For many of us, this is a season filled with memory, warmth, and reflection. It has always been my favorite time of year, and like many of you, I have my own rituals—one of them is watching Christmas movies.

Every year, I find myself drawn back to Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. There are countless versions now, from the familiar classics to modern reimaginings. Yet the heart of the story remains the same: awakening. Ebenezer Scrooge is not an evil man, but a familiar one. In Shin Buddhist language, he is a bombu—an ordinary being shaped by blind passions and fear. The spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future do not punish him. They simply show him his life.

This is how the Dharma works. It does not condemn us. It reveals us to ourselves.

Christmas comes during the darkest time of the year. Long nights invite us to reflect on loss, regret, gratitude, and hope. The light of Christmas does not deny the darkness; it shines within it. The Dharma does the same. The nembutsu is not a demand placed upon us, but a response to a compassion that has always been there.

In Jōdo Shinshū, this season also includes Hōonko, the memorial service for Shinran Shōnin. Hōonko is a time of deep listening and gratitude—gratitude not only for Shinran, but for the causes and conditions that have made the Nembutsu available to us. We do not gather for Hōonko to praise a founder, but to reflect on the immeasurable compassion that continues to reach us through his life and teachings.

This spirit of awakening appears again in a simple Dharma School story about a young boy named Taylor. Proud of his family’s traditions, Taylor explains how his family celebrates the holidays—family meals, saying Namo Amida Butsu at the Obutsudan, making mochi, and ringing the temple bell on New Year’s Eve. When classmates tease him for being Buddhist, he goes home hurt and confused.

His mother listens and gently reminds him of what Santa represents: kindness, generosity, and care for others. She asks him to remember the Golden Chain—“I am a link in Amida’s golden chain of love that stretches around the world.” In that moment, Taylor realizes that the Golden Chain is not just something we recite. It is something we live, especially when it is difficult. I wrote this story when my daughters were young and included it in my book Teriyaki Priest, it was called “Santa’s Golden Chain”.

At the end of A Christmas Carol, one of my favorite stories, Scrooge declares, “I will keep Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.” What Scrooge awakens to is not limited to Christmas Day. It is a way of living.

This is where the turning of the year becomes important.

In Buddhist cultures across Asia, including China, the New Year is marked not only as a celebration, but as a time of renewal, gratitude, and reflection. Chinese New Year reminds us that life moves in cycles. It is a time to let go of what no longer serves us, to honor ancestors and family, and to begin again with intention and hope.

Just as Christmas gathers past, present, and future into one moment, Hōonko reminds us of the past that lives within us, while the New Year invites us to step consciously into what comes next. Together, these observances teach us that we are not imprisoned by our past, abandoned in the present, or alone in facing the future.

In Jōdo Shinshū, reflection does not lead to despair. It leads to listening—listening to the working of compassion already present in our lives. From that listening, gratitude naturally arises. From gratitude, generosity flows.

The spirit of Christmas, the wisdom of the New Year, the remembrance of Hōonko, and the teaching of the Golden Chain all point in the same direction: our lives are deeply interconnected. Compassion is not owned by any one tradition. Awakening is not confined to one day on the calendar.

As we move from Christmas through Hōonko and into the New Year and Lunar New Year, may we carry this spirit with us. May we keep our link in the Golden Chain bright and strong throughout the coming year.

And when we forget—when we fall short—may the nembutsu gently remind us that we are grasped, never to be abandoned.

Hōonko Service Information:

Hōonko will be observed at the Idaho Oregon Buddhist Temple on January 18.

Hōonko services for Salt Lake, Ogden, and Honeyville will be held on January 24 and 25, with guest speaker Rev. Mauricio Hondaku. Rev. Hondaku is a dear friend originally from Brazil and currently living in Spain. He is a fully ordained Jōdo Shinshū priest from the Higashi Hongwanji tradition.

We warmly invite everyone to attend and participate in this important time of listening and gratitude.

Namo Amida Butsu.

Holiday Reflections: A Season of Light, Gratitude, and Nembutsu

“Although I too am within Amida’s embracing light,
blind passions obstruct my eyes, and I cannot see it.
Yet great compassion, without tiring,
illumines me always.”
— Shinran Shōnin

The holiday season has always held a special place in my heart. Across the world, this is a time when many different religions and cultures celebrate—from Christmas to Hanukkah, from Bodhi Day to New Year traditions, and countless others. Although the customs vary, there is a shared feeling that runs through them all: a desire for peace, connection, goodwill, and the renewal of hope. To me, this spirit resonates deeply with our Jōdo Shinshū teachings.

What strikes me each year is how people of every background seem to soften during this season. We become a little more patient, a little more generous, a little more open to one another. Whether it’s hearing Christmas carols, lighting candles, or gathering with loved ones, these traditions point toward something universal—the human longing to feel connected and embraced. Shinran reminds us that even when we cannot see it clearly, we are always held in Amida’s boundless compassion. The holidays, in their many forms, help us catch glimpses of that light.

Just as holidays bring us together, my own family has been a source of light this year. The support and love from Carmela and our family continue to guide me. The new grandkids, Arrow and Rumi, have brought fresh joy into our lives. We get to visit their family with Bala and Katie almost twice weekly. Kacie is finished with school and beginning work. Taylor and Olu seem to be well living and working in the heart of L.A. I am deeply grateful to each of you—our sangha, friends, and extended community. Your kindness, participation, and patience throughout the year have made all our temples and programs possible. You have shown me, again and again, how community can be the true light in uncertain times.  

In Jōdo Shinshū, gratitude naturally arises from awakening to the compassion that surrounds us. Shinran wrote that those who realize shinjin are “filled with great joy,” not a joy of perfection, but a joy rooted in being accepted just as we are. During this season, that joy feels especially present. The warmth we feel is not separate from the Dharma—it is another way Amida’s compassionate activity appears in our daily lives.

As the year comes to a close, this season invites us to pause and reflect on the gifts that truly matter. Not the material ones, but the gifts of one another, of shared traditions, of compassion, and of the Nembutsu. The Nembutsu, Amida’s call to us, reminds us that we are never alone—whether we celebrate with family or quietly on our own. It connects us to all beings across cultures, beliefs, and borders.

As we enter the New Year, my hope is that the light of wisdom continues to guide you, the warmth of compassion comforts you, and the Nembutsu sustains you through every season of life.

Thank you for your presence, your support, and your friendship.

May the coming year be one of peace, gratitude, and gentle joy.

Namo Amida Butsu and Happy Holidays!

Shinjin at Golgotha

— Matthew 27:46

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

— Luke 23:34

“The Light of the Buddha of unhindered light shines through the ten quarters, grasping

and never abandoning the being of the Nembutsu.”

— Hymns of the Pure Land

As November arrives, we enter what I still like to call the Holiday Season. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but for me that begins after Halloween. It’s a time of reflection and gratitude—a season when many of the world’s religions invite their followers to look deeply into their lives. It’s often called a season of peace, love, and joy, I think that’s something we all long for.

This fall, I was fortunate to attend the European Shin Buddhist Conference at Oxford University, where the theme of Shinjin—true entrusting—was discussed from many angles. During one conversation, a scholar asked, “Where and when did Shinran experience Shinjin?”

My immediate thought was, “I’m no scholar—and honestly, who cares?” As an ordinary person, I wondered why it should matter when or where someone else experienced Shinjin. What’s more important is how I come to understand and experience Shinjin myself.

In Jodo Shinshu, Shinjin is often translated as “true entrusting” or “faith-mind.” It isAmida Buddha’s boundless compassion reaching into our deluded lives. It is the meeting point between the self and the infinite—the moment my small, self-centered mind is embraced by immeasurable wisdom and compassion. Shinjin isn’t something I create; it’s the awakening of the heart through Amida’s working.

As I reflected on this, I thought of Jesus on the cross, and the transformation expressed in his final words. From “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” —a cry of anguish—to “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” —a voice of unconditional compassion.

To me, this movement is a profound expression of what we in Jodo Shinshu call Other Power (tariki). In that moment, Jesus moves from despair to compassion, from the self-centered to the selfless. In my own life, I’ve found that in moments of deepest despair, the Vow of Amida Buddha meets me—transforming my heart from isolation and fear into gratitude and peace. In Amida’s Light, we are never alone.

As we approach the Holiday Season—a time that began as a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ—I too give thanks for his life and message. Without Jesus, there might never have been the cultural and spiritual foundation of America, or even my home in Salt Lake City. For me, the heart of the season is not limited by religion. It is the spirit of peace, love, and joy—a reminder that the infinite compassion of Amida Buddha, like the love of Christ, embraces us all without distinction.

May this season awaken in each of us a heart of gratitude, reflection, and kindness toward all beings. Just as that children’s song says, “Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin

with me.”

Namo Amida Butsu

The Kindness of “Cool Kids”

It’s difficult for me to realize I am now an old man. I am surprised that I have even made it to sixty-eight years old. I wonder if we ever grow out of our childhood fears and insecurities, or if we just get used to them and integrate those into our lives and personalities. As I see the advertisements for back-to-school sales and see the kids in my neighborhood getting ready for school, I’m reminded of my youth. In fact, I don't really feel like an old man; I only notice how old I am because of the way others treat me. When I go to restaurants or any public venue, people call me “sir”. I have spoken about this in the past, but on airplanes, when I fly Southwest Airlines, pretty women will even sit next to me because I am an old man and appear to be safe. If only they could see what is going on in my mind!? In general, I have found that people do treat me much kinder than they were when I was young, or is it me that has changed? After sixty-eight years of life, in my mind’s eye, I am still in my thirties. In a similar vein, I am still the fat, shy kid from the poor part of town. However, there is one thing I have noticed, which is evidence of my senior citizen status. After sixty-eight years, it seems as though there aren’t as many ugly people walking around. Let me clarify, there are probably just as many ugly people now as when I was younger, but I don’t see them as ugly anymore. It reminds me of something the late Rev. Shoki Mori of the Los Angeles Betsuin told my mentor, the late Rev. Russell Hamada.

Rev. Hamada and I were in the Coast District; he was at Mt. View Buddhist Temple, and I was at San Jose Betsuin. BCA still held major conferences with nearly 1,000 attendees. Buddhist Women’s Association (BWA) and Western Young Buddhist League were two of the bigger ones. He and I would often sit next to each other on the “Naijin” and as everyone came forward for Oshoko (incense burning), we would comment, “She’s cute” or “She or he is ugly”. Now you know what the ministers are talking about as we sit in the naijin and you come up for Oshoko. Rev. Hamada told me that at one such conference, Mori Sensei told him, “You are still young because you can discriminate between beautiful and ugly concerning the young women here. When you get to be my age, all the young women are beautiful, just because they are young. (Mori Sensei was probably in his early sixties at the time. Rev. Hamada and I were probably in our thirties.) I finally understand what Mori Sensei was talking about! It only took me thirty years to figure it out.

Growing up, I always felt that I was in the ugly group. I have always wanted to fit in and be one of the cool kids. I wasn’t unpopular or a loner without friends; in fact, I had a lot of friends, but I was the only non-white kid in these groups. If you are a non-Mormon, non-white person in Salt Lake City, it is difficult to fit in. In our teenage years, my friends began dating. I wanted to date, but I was so afraid of rejection. It wasn’t just being Japanese American or non-Mormon; I was also fat and nearly blind. My glasses were the proverbial coke bottle lens. I don’t think being non-Mormon or Japanese American was the problem. I realize that much of the fear was inside myself.My cousin Glen Furubayashi was a cool kid, and he was pretty much like me, but wasn’t fat and didn’t wear glasses. But when we were younger, he was in a rock band, along with a number of the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple members. They were called “The Road Agents”. On one occasion, they even won the battle of the bands. The lead singer was Richard Doi, the bass player was Glen, the keyboardist was Bruce Sakashita, and the drummer was Steven Doi. I think the manager was Robert Fujinami. Glen was 14 years old, and he had a 16-year-old girlfriend who would drive him around. I thought he was so cool. He married her. Back then, I was in junior high school, and Glen was only two years older, but he was cool. And I felt like such a dud, I couldn’t even talk to girls. I believe it is my encounters with various people through the temple that have led me to where I find myself in life. The positive and the negative aspects of the social interactions I have had have created this space that I can call “My life”.

Initially, I began to go to the WYBL conferences in California because it was the first time, I didn’t feel so isolated and different. I didn’t understand why I was so uncomfortable at home, and yet at these BCA conferences, I felt at home. Of course, there were still the cool kids at these conferences and I definitely wasn’t one of them. About ten years ago, Carmela and I went to a dance that was held at one of the BCA conferences. The purpose of the dance was to allow those attending to somewhat relive their years when they attended the WYBL conferences. I had a Deja vu experience while walking into the dance with Carmela. The music was the same type of music, and as we walked in, it felt as though everyone was staring at us, as if they were thinking, “Who are you and why are you here?” Although I was no longer a teenager, but a minister, I had a flashback to when I first went to a WYBL dance. I had to remind myself, you no longer have a reason to be so insecure. You don’t need to try to act cool; you are with Carmela, and you don’t need to ask someone to dance. It was a very strange experience that, after close to thirty years, I was reliving how I was such an outsider when I was now one of the ministers running the conference. I was not an outsider at this conference, but I felt like it. These feelings of inadequacy never go away. This combination of comfort at conferences and my questions about why I felt so insecure otherwise led me to study Buddhism. In Buddhism, specifically Jodo Shinshu, we talk about the meeting of our insecure self with the infinite wisdom and compassion of Amida Buddha as the essence of “Shinjin. ” Amida Buddha does not take away my insecurities; these will always be a part of who I am. Amida Buddha will not make me one of the cool kids. However, the encounter with Amida Buddha allows me to see that I am okay as I am.

I have found that my encounter with Amida Buddha is rooted in the kindness of others. I was not a cool kid, but I had many friends who were cool kids, like my cousin Glen. Some cool kids are not nice, but the kind cool kids made my world a better place. As I said, Amida Buddha will not make you one of the cool kids; Jodo Shinshu does not make you cool. However, Jodo Shinshu has made me realize that, possibly, most people in the world, no matter how cool I may think they are, may not feel so cool. They are also filled with anxiety and fear about what others think about them. The one thing these sixty-eight years of life have taught me is that, whether cool or uncool, kindness is the great equalizer. Jodo Shinshu Buddhism is a teaching that can help make us kinder, and that is what being cool is truly about. We outsiders are the majority. What is sometimes difficult is to try to see the other outsiders as we want to be seen ourselves, fellow human beings, trying the best we can. This is possible within the Nembutsu way of life. Besides, as much as I wasn’t a cool kid, I ended up marrying one of the popular cool girls. I think it was worth all my ups and downs to come to this point in my life, at least married to one of the cool kids. I would never have thought that possible.

I recently came upon this poem, “Outsider” by James Berry OBE. He was a Jamaican poet who lived in the United States for a time and moved to England in the 1940s. His poetry is notable for using a mixture of standard English and Jamaican Patois. His writing focused on the tension he felt between black and white communities. He died at the age of 92 on June 20, 2017. His poem “Outsider” reminded me of what I felt as an outsider, or at least how I perceived myself as an outsider throughout my life. With school beginning, I hope that we adults can teach others that, beyond achieving good grades, school is an excellent opportunity to learn kindness. Suppose you see others mistreating someone different than them. If you can step up and treat themwith kindness, you can not only change that person’s life, but the entire world. We are currently in a time when bullying and mistreating others is modeled by many of our country's leaders. These are not the things that can benefit the world. Kindness can and hopefully prevail. Namo Amida Butsu!

Outsider

If you see me lost on busy streets,

my dazzle is sun-stain of skin,

I'm not naked with dark glasses on

saying barren ground has no oasis:

it's that cracked up by extremes

I must hold self

together with extreme pride.

If you see me lost in neglected

woods, I'm no thief eyeing trees

to plunder their stability

or a moaner shouting at air:

it's that voices in me rule

firmer than my skills, and sometimes

among men my stubborn hurts

leave me like wild dogs.

If you see me lost on forbidding

wastelands, watching dry flowers

nod, or scraping a tunnel

in mountain rocks, I don't open

a trail back into time:

it's that a monotony

like the Sahara seals my enchantment.

If you see me lost on long

footpaths, I don't set traps

or map out arable acres:

it's that I must exhaust twigs

like limbs with water divining.

If you see me lost in my sparse

room, I don't ruminate

on prisoners and falsify

their jokes, and go on about

prisons having been perfected

like a common smokescreen of mind:

it's that I moved

my circle from ruins

and I search to remake it whole.

Whispers of Obon

Whispers of Obon

J.K. Hirano

The months of June, July, August, and September are some of the busiest months for me. However, when I was a child, these months were my summer vacation from school. There were days spent carefree and lazy. Playing baseball with my friends in the playground of Whittier Elementary School. As I have mentioned before, we would go around the neighborhood collecting bottles to exchange them at the small convenience store and buy bottles of soda pop to share. I don't remember if we just drank the soda warm or got ice from somewhere. It truly felt as though they were endless summer days. My family would also get to go on a vacation. Although we did get to go to California every few years, a trip to Southern California meant a trip to Disneyland. These years, from possibly 5 to 15 years, I call them my wonder years, as they shaped my taste and the way I would live much of my life. 

I still love fruit-flavored sodas and root beer. My friends were all LDS (Mormon), so we didn't usually drink colas. I still love Disneyland and have tried to imbue a love for Disney in my children. However, it was a big sacrifice and expense for my Dad to take us to Disneyland. I always wanted to stay at the Disneyland Hotel, and we never could afford it. Therefore, as an adult, my children have mostly stayed at hotels at Disneyland or Disney World, because I had told myself that when I'm older, I'll stay at those hotels. In the off years, when we weren't in California, my Dad insisted that we visit sites near our home. I recall Yellowstone, as well as various locations in Idaho, Nevada, and southern Utah, among others. I especially enjoyed going out to eat. We usually had to find an Asian restaurant, even in small Wyoming or Idaho towns, because my mom wanted white rice. Most Chinese restaurants at the time also offered American food. I would order some type of steak, and my sister, Joni, only ordered fish and chips, while our parents ate the Chinese food with white rice. Although these adventures were fun, the main event of the Summer was Obon. 

As the minister for four temples, having multiple Hatsubon and other religious services, including cemetery visits and temple attendances, I still have the chance to participate in the dance. During my wonder years, the highlight of the Summer was our Salt Lake Buddhist Temple Obon Dance. My Auntie Maxine Furubayashi was the dance instructor for as long as I have been attending the Salt Lake Obon. Now her daughter and granddaughter, Sandy and Emily Furubayashi, are the instructors, along with Tracy Roberson. Her grandfather Rev. Shintatsu Sanada was the first minister I remember. Her Dad, Shinzui Sanada, was the Obon dance taiko player, and her mom, Naomi, would always dance in a beautiful yukata. I thought Shinzui and Naomi looked like movie stars; they were such a good-looking couple. I thought of them as a Japanese version of Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. At the temple, we now have two male instructors, Michael Iwasaki, Auntie Maxine's grandson, and Trey Ikegami. 

Much has changed in our community and temple, however, there will always be whispers of Obon, moving throughout our lives. Even though we may not be able to physically see many of these people and memories, just as the nembutsu is always embracing, so is our Obon.

Although I have been talking about the past, it is also crucial for us to focus on the present. I have been playing with the new ChatGPT. I would like to conclude this article with something this ChatGPT wrote for me, a poem it named "Whispers of Obon"

In the hush of evening's glow,  Lanterns sway, a gentle flow,  Flickering flames, a soft embrace, of our loved ones remembered.

Crisp incense curls in the air,  

A fragrant bridge to those who care,  

With every prayer, 

a heart's intent,  

To honor lives that time has lent.

Dancing shadows in the light,  

Echoes of laughter, 

love's delight,  

We gather round, where past and present intertwine.

The river sings a lullaby,  

As paper boats drift softly by, 

carrying wishes, hopes, and dreams, 

for those who watch from moonlit beams.

On this night, we remember,  

The warmth of souls, a glowing ember, 

As lanterns rise, they paint the sky,  

A tribute to love that will never die. 

Namo Amida Butsu!

Yoga

Yoga

J.K. Hirano

Recently, the Center for Buddhist Education held a seminar on Yoga and Buddhism. I was one of the speakers, but I do not practice Yoga. However, over the past few months, I have studied the history of Yoga. I was surprised by the depth and breadth of Yoga. Just as most Americans don’t know the depth and breadth of Buddhism and all the varieties in how to follow the Buddhist Path, the same can be said about Yoga.

I don’t want to delve too deeply into Yoga and its philosophy, but I do want to highlight some of the similarities I found, especially between general Buddhism and Yoga. I will focus on the Classical period of Yoga (500 BCE- 200 CE), as this was very close to the time of the Shakyamuni Buddha. Yoga dates back more than 5,000 years; however, the teachings of yoga were organized during this classical period by a man named Patanjali.

The subsequent surprising development was the introduction of Buddhism and Yoga into the West.

Swami Vivekananda influenced this modern period. He was a major attraction for the 1893 World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. This was the beginning of Yoga and Buddhism in the West.

Patanjali’s most significant contribution is the Yoga Sutras, which are divided into four chapters.

Samadhi Pada (chapter on contemplation) 

This section introduces the concept of yoga for the cessation of mental fluctuations. It discusses states of consciousness, types of samadhi (deep meditation), and the importance of acquiring insights into the nature of reality.

Sadhana Pada (chapter on Practice)

This focuses on the practical aspects of yoga, outlining the eight limbs of yoga (Ashatanga)

Yama: Ethical disciplines (e.g., non-violence, truthfulness)

Niyama: Personal observances (e.g., cleanliness, contentment)

Asana: Physical postures

Pranayama: Withdrawal of the senses

Pratyahara: Withdrawal of the senses

Dharana: Concentration

Dhyana: Meditation

Samadhi: Absorption or union with the object of meditation

When I first heard about Patanjali and the eight limbs, I immediately thought, here is the connection between Buddhism and Yoga. 

Yoga has four chapters of the Yoga Sutra:

Buddhism has the four Noble Truths

Yoga has the eight limbs of Patanjali

Buddhism has the eightfold path

However, as you can see, the teachings of the Buddha focused on the path to enlightenment and the alleviation of suffering. At the same time, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali provided a codified framework for the practice of yoga, emphasizing mental discipline and ethical living. Their works have influenced each other and the subsequent spiritual traditions, but are distinct in their origins and primary focus.

Buddhist Teachings :                                            Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Four Noble Truths ,                                Four Chapters of the Yoga Sutra

Dhukkha (The truth of Suffering)                 Samadhi Pada (Chapter on Contemplation)

Samudaya (The truth of the cause),             Sadhana Pada (Chapter on Practice)

Nirodha (The truth of cessation)                 Vibhuti Pada (Chapter of Power and Supernatural abilities through meditation)

Magga (The truth of the path)                                   Kaivalya (Chapter on liberation)

Eightfold Path Eight Limbs of Yoga (Ashtanga Yoga)

Right Views Yama (ethical disciplines)

Right Thoughts Niyama (personal observances)

Right Speech Asana (physical postures)

Right Conduct Pranayama (breath control)

Right Livelihood Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses)

Right Effort Dharana (Concentration)

Right Mindfulness Dhyana (Meditation)

Right Meditation Samadhi (Union with objects of meditation)

In 1893, as part of the Chicago World’s Fair, the Parliament of the World’s Religions was America’s introduction to Eastern Religions.  The main speaker was the Indian Hindu teacher Swami Vivekananda. He spoke of the Hindu religion and Yoga.

The Sri Lankan Anagarika Dharmapala. A prominent figure in the Sri Lankan Buddhist revival movement.

The Zen Buddhist master Soyen Shaku

Hirai Kinzo

This was the beginning of Buddhism and Yoga in America.

If you are interested in Yoga, Bob Matsueda offers yoga classes via Zoom, open to all BCA members. If interested, please let me know.

Namo Amida Butsu

The Choice is Yours

The Choice is Yours

J.K. Hirano

Morpheus, “Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know you can’t explain. But you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life. That there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there. Like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is the feeling that has brought you to here. Do you know what I’m talking about?”

Neo asks, “The Matrix?”

“Do you want to know what it is?” Morpheus asks?

Neo nods

“The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on the television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled -- the world over your eyes is your ego -- over your eyes to blind you from the truth.”

“What Truth?” asks Neo.’’

‘That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, born into a prison you cannot smell or taste or touch. A prison for your mind.

Unfortunately, no one can be told what the matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.

This is your last chance. After this there is no turning back.

You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake in your bed and believe… whatever you want to believe.

You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland and I’ll show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Remember, all I’m offering you is the truth. Nothing more.”

The Matrix 1999

This is one of my favorite scenes from any movie. It’s right up there with Dorothy saying, “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore” when first arriving in Oz. In this scene Neo played by Keanu Reeves is taken to meet with Morpheus, the mysterious leader of a group that has been contacting him over the Internet. This movie, “The Matrix” has often been considered a Buddhist parable about our own search for Truth.

I believe it is a very good parable for Jodo Shinshu. This month we are celebrating the birth of Shinran Shonin, the founder of our sect of Buddhism. Shinran Shonin had been searching for answers for his entire life. He was born May 21, 1173, in Kyoto, Japan. This was at the close of the Heian period moving into the Kamakura period in Japanese history, a time of great social upheaval. His father had left the family to enter a monastery when he was very young. His mother died shortly after his birth. At the age of 9, he himself entered the monastery on Mt. Hiei to search for the answers to the ephemeral nature of life. He stayed in this mountain monastery for 20 years searching for answers, yet he could not find them. There was a “splinter in his mind.”  Just as Neo sees a message on his computer screen, Shinran Shonin reads a text by Honen Shonin. Shinran was like Neo in the movie and Honen was Morpheus. Honen was telling Shinran, “You’re here because you know something. What you know you can’t explain. But you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life. That there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there. Like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is the feeling that has brought you to here. Do you know what I’m talking about?” 

I know exactly what Neo and Shinran are feeling. Each of us on a spiritual journey must have a similar “splinter in our mind.” This feeling that something does not seem right. This is a perfect description of the first noble truth: “Dukkha”. This word is often translated as suffering. However, it is more of a feeling that things are not quite right. I have been taught that Dukkha is best described as the axle on a cart not being straight, causing the cart to be misaligned. Our life becomes a bumpy ride. Our life is like the cart; the axle “our ego.” Together they create the bumpy ride. The cart is just the cart, the road just the road, however, this distorted view or ride caused by this unbalanced axle creates the bumpy ride. This is the first truth. This is the first step into the rabbit hole of truth.

In coming to the temple, you are being offered the blue pill or the red pill. As I explained at Hanamatsuri, the birth of the Buddha has shown us the Matrix of life. He has offered us the red pill. Shinran Shonin, born this month 845 years ago, took the red pill and is our guide through this rabbit hole of life. The Nembutsu teaching is the Truth, Shinran found.

I would like to close with the advice offered by Shinran Shonin to all of us on this journey. This is found in the book Tannisho, Chapter 2 CWS 662. I hope you will join us on this journey through the rabbit hole. Our Gotan E (Shinran’s Birthday) and Hatsumairi (Infant Presentation Service) will be held on May 18, but the choice is up to you!

As for me, I simply accept and entrust myself to what my revered teacher told me, “Just say the Nembutsu and be saved by Amida”; nothing else is involved.
I have no idea whether the Nembutsu is truly the seed for my being born in the Pure Land or whether it is the karmic act for which I must fall into hell. Should I have been deceived by Master Honen and, saying the Nembutsu, were to fall into hell, even then I would have no regrets.
The reason is, if I could attain Buddhahood by endeavoring in other practices, but said the Nembutsu and so fell into hell, then I would feel regret at having been deceived. But I am incapable of any other practice, so hell is decidedly my abode whatever I do.

If Amida’s Primal Vow is true, Shakyamuni’s teaching cannot be false. If the Buddha’s teaching is true, Shan-tao’s commentaries cannot be false. If Shan-tao’s commentaries are true can Honen’s words be lies? If Honen’s words are true, then surely what I say cannot be empty.
Such, in the end, is how this foolish person entrusts himself [to the Vow]. Beyond this, whether you take up the Nembutsu or whether you abandon it is for each of you to determine.

My America?

My America?

J.K. Hirano

One should outwardly place emphasis upon the obo (Imperial Law) but cultivate the support Buppo (Buddha’s Law) deeply in one’s heart” Rennyo Shonin Goichidaiki kikigakiki 14 

I do not expect America’s politics to align with my personal beliefs of social or economic justice. Growing up in Salt Lake City, I needed to learn to be in the minority in many aspects of my life. From elementary school through college, I was always in the minority, ethnically and religiously.  In addition, I was the fat kid with really thick glasses. However, I figured that was just the way it was. I assumed there would always be bigoted people in the world, and in most cases, the majority always wins. I could only act according to my conscience and take responsibility for the outcome.

When I was a student at the University of Utah, I wondered, does it always have to be like this? I was at the University during the late 1970s. The Vietnam War was over, and President Richard Nixon resigned from the Presidency of the United States for various reasons.  There were still a lot of issues concerning racial equality, and I had faced racial discrimination for most of my life.  I was called a Jap, Chink, Gook, etc.  I was also told that I should be more like other Asian kids, study hard, and not talk back to my teachers. (The model minority) However, at the University, there was a Black Student Union, Chicano Student Association, and Red American Student Organization with Ethnic advisors for all three.  Why was there no one or representation for Asian American Students?  I remember attending countless meetings with the University administrators to establish an office and student organization for Asian Students. My father asked me, “Jerry, why do you have to be vocal and argue about these things?” He then told me, “You know, it is the nail that sticks out that gets hammered down.” I explained, “It’s actually pretty simple. If I don’t do it, who will?”

Looking back over forty years, I know that my righteous indignation was very naïve. I believed that the United States and Utah governments would always look out for me. As stated in the opening credits of one of my favorite T.V. shows at the time, Superman, “Standing for Truth, Justice and the American Way.” However, now that I am sixty-eight years old, although my children are now adults, I know they will be fine in finding their way. I wonder about my grandchildren. Children of mixed race growing up in Salt Lake City or, for that matter, anywhere in the U.S. 

At the University, I had planned on becoming an attorney. I wasn’t the type to want to go away to school or move out on my own. I liked living at home; free meals, laundry, and very few restrictions on my coming and going. Why would I want to leave that? However, although I wanted to attend law school as an active student leader at the University, most of the students I worked with in student government were not people I really liked, I didn’t think I would do well with three more years of these same students. I asked my Dad if he would mind if I went to Berkeley and studied Buddhism. I think I had worn him down with my student activism, so he thought it might be a good idea. 

I went to the Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS), eventually received my M.A., and then went to Japan to study for three or four more years.  I met with and became friends with Rev. Dr. David Matsumoto and Rev. Russell Hamada during this time. David and I were both students at I.B.S. He had been a successful attorney in Minnesota with his own law firm. Rev. Hamada was a new Kaikyoshi at the L.A. Buddhist Church Betsuin. They were the two biggest influences in my becoming a Buddhist priest. They were about seven or eight years older than me and had been active in civil rights. Russell was very familiar with the Asian American civil rights movement and once wanted to become an attorney. I explained to David my plan to return to Utah and attend law school. He asked if I was sure I wanted to be an attorney. Russell asked me to think about what in my life has given me my sense of self, my identity. David suggested I think about it and why don’t we go to Japan and study and see what happens. 

When I thought about things, I realized that if I went into law, I wanted to either be a public defender or a civil rights attorney. The more people I talked with who were lawyers explained that the life of a lawyer is billable hours and not what you see on T.V.  Russell had also said, “Jerry, if you become a lawyer with noble intention, those will go away within a few years, and you will go for the money.”  I never wanted to get into the rat race of making lots of money and prestige. I thought I could get out of that if I became a Kaikyoshi. I have now been a Kaikyoshi for thirty-seven years.

I began with the passage from Rennyo Shonin, the eighth Monshu of our sect of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism.  Although Shinran was the founder, Rennyo created and developed the Hongwanji organization. I believe he was an organizational genius who knew and understood the society he was living in.  This idea of “Buppo, Obo” has been controversial. Some have said it is selling out. However, in one sense, I totally understand why Rennyo would say this. I believe he realized that for Jodo Shinshu to survive, he could not outwardly go against the government. However, if the government worked against his moral principles, survival was more important than personal ethics. I feel a similar manner; we are in a similar moral quandary. I don’t believe our religion can dictate what we believe politically. This is definitely a personal choice rather than something our religion should dictate. However, it doesn’t make things easier. I’m not sure being an American will mean the same thing in a few years. Superman is dead; I wonder what truth, justice, and the American way will mean in the near future. Namo Amida Butsu

In Memory of Rev. Hakubun Watanabe

In Memory of Rev. Hakubun Watanabe

Rev. J.K. Hirano

How Joyous I am, Gutoku Shinran, disciple of Sakyamuni! Rare is it to come upon the sacred scriptures from the westward land of India and the commentaries of the masters of China and Japan, but now I have been able to encounter them.

CWS: pg. 4

This passage I’m beginning with is from Shinran Shonin’s Kyogyoshinsho. It is in the preface, and he is expressing his deep feelings of gratitude to his many teachers from Japan, China and India. Our Buddhist tradition often speaks about how a teacher is so important along our spiritual search. 

On January 6, Rev. Hakubun Watanabe passed away at the age of 86. I consider him as one of my teachers. He had been ill for a couple of years. He and Mrs. Watanabe were living with their daughter Grace in San Jose. When I heard the news about his death, I had just rented a car to visit him in San Jose. I was in Berkeley at the JSC and I had to stay until Monday and thought there would be sometime on Sunday or Monday to visit him.  When I got to the JSC, I read in the BCA update that Rev. Watanabe had died.  I had spoken to him a few times over the past year or so, but didn’t realize how sick he was. This reminded me that we should never take it for granted about visiting a sick loved one or friend for something we will do later.  

I remember quite clearly, in June of 1971, at our Salt Lake Buddhist Temple’s picnic at Jordan Park, when this small Japanese man and his wife came over to my family’s picnic space. This was Rev. Watanabe and his wife.  My family had always been friends with our temple’s ministers. Rev. Sanada and then Rev. Ishihara were before him. At the picnic, Rev. Watanabe approached me and said, “I am a baby; please be kind to me.” Little did I know what an influence he would have in my life.

In 1973, my grandfather suddenly died in his sleep. There was something about this death that bothered me.  He seemed healthy, and suddenly, he was gone. I had heard that when you have questions about death or spiritual questions, you should ask your minister.  More than any one from our temple telling me this, I would see that in movies and television, so I went to ask Rev. Watanabe. He listened to me, but as I had explained his English wasn’t that great. He told me it was a difficult question to answer, but he had a book he thought I should read. When I look back on this time, I have to laugh. He gave me a translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead.  It is a very difficult text for even an advanced student of Buddhism.  Although I read it, I thought, “What is this?!” It began to make me curious about what my religion thinks about death. I often consider this as the starting point of my genuine study of Buddhism and other religions.

Another reflection was about an experience about a year or my grandfather’s death.  Brent Koga, Mike Furubayashi and I wanted to go to the Western Young Buddhist League (WYBL) conference in California, but airline tickets were expensive. Rev. Watanabe volunteered to drive the three of us to California. I have written many times about how much the WYBL conferences had influenced my becoming a minister. It’s true that at that time, I went to the conference to meet girls. However, Rev. Watanabe’s kindness to us young sangha members, also reminded me how a minister can influence the sangha with their actions, as much as their words.

Rev. Watanabe was a very smart and shrewd man. When he was the Bishop of BCA, some of the younger ministers would discuss how Rev. Watanabe would have made a great politician or CEO of a company.  However, one thing that we Sansei ministers remember is how Rev. Watanabe always took care of the younger ministers. As example, in my early years as a minister, after various national meetings, my friends and I would play cards. It was a little difficult with no tables big enough in the hotel room.  Rev. Watanabe would contact the hotel staff and make arrangements for a table to be set up in one of our rooms, so we could play cards.  As a result, in my ministry, I have always tried to do what I can for younger ministers. 

I know that Rev. Watanabe was not always popular with the lay leaders of BCA. As is and has always been the case, if the minister doesn’t kowtow to the BCA leadership, they are treated bad by them. Rev. Watanabe wasn’t one to suffer fools. He knew what it was to be the bishop and he was not afraid to tell them when they were being foolish. I remember one of the BCA presidents, after a trip to Japan with Bishop Watanabe, complained that he treated him as bag boy. Just to speak in Rev. Watanabe’s defense, this person didn’t speak Japanese and I assume, he expected Rev. Watanabe to translate everything for him. This is something a Bishop does not do. I have been to a number of these meetings and they are all in Japanese and extremely formal.  The meeting is actually for the bishops of the various Hongwanji districts throughout  the world, and the presidents were invited more as a courtesy.

Rev. Watanabe was also the reason that BCA built the Jodo Shinshu Center (JSC). It’s interesting how it is rarely talked about, but Rev. Watanabe is the one who envisioned the center even though many people opposed it. To be honest, I was one of those that opposed it. However, I now realize the foresight Rev. Watanabe had. The JSC is the most important asset our BCA has. The BCA Center for Buddhist Education of which I am the director is now headquartered at the JSC. The Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS) our graduate school is at the JSC and now so is the office of the Bishop.  I always hear how important the JSC is for BCA. However, I have never heard anyone express their appreciation for Rev. Watanabe’s contribution to this building. Maybe now that he is physically no longer with us, they may appreciate him a little more. On occasions like this, I always think about something Kay Terashima who was our Salt Lake Temple’s president for many years tell me. “Don’t listen to the complainers. As a leader, you do what you think should be done. Because no matter what you do, there will be people who don’t like you and will complain anyway.” Kay and Rev. Watanabe were good friends, I wonder if Kay gave him that advice when he first came to Salt Lake?

I will always be grateful for Rev. Watanabe and what he has done for me, as a Dharma School student and a minister. Rev. Watanabe strongly told his family that he didn’t want a public funeral. I will try to visit Mrs. Watanabe when I am in the Bay area. Although I know that many people may disagree with me, but when I think of Rev. Watanabe I will be reminded of the closing passage from the Kyogyoshinsho, Shinran Shonin’s magnum opus. Thank you Rev. Watanabe. Namo Amida Butsu.

On seeing a bodhisattvha

Perform various practices,

Some give rise to a good mind and others a mind of evil,

But the bodhisattvha embraces them all.

The World of Lost Socks, Cats, and Faith

The World of Lost Socks, Cats, and Faith

J.K. Hirano

Those with minds incapable of the constant practice of giving-
Those impoverished- I will save universally and relieve of all suffering;
I will benefit the world, bringing peace and happiness…
As the one supremely able, I will perform and fulfill all practices;
To those impoverished, I will be a hidden treasure store.
Carrying all good acts to perfect completion, I will be unrivaled;
Among the multitudes, I will preach with a lion’s roar.

Collected Works of Shinran: Chapter on Practice

You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension-a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge.  This is the dimension of imagination. Welcome to the Twilight Zone.”

Introductory sequence to “Twilight Zone”; Rod Serling

As I have gotten older, it feels as though the veil between the world of the Twilight Zone and the world I live in has become very thin, at times transparent.  I guess in some sense, our religious life can be said to live somewhere in between the two.  As I get older, the world of imagination and the world of reality are interlapping. Almost like there is a world that has always been there, but I just haven’t noticed it.  The reason I have been thinking about this is because of some socks I thought I had lost.

I stay at the Jodo Shinshu Center (JSC) in Berkeley about one week out of the month.  I have my room, and a few clothes and toiletries stored there.  It has a small kitchen and bathroom, with a bed, desk, etc. It isn’t a lot of space, but I must keep it somewhat uncluttered, unlike my rooms at home.  There is also a washer and dryer that is available for anyone to use.  Probably besides the bedding and towels, being washed, the only ones that use them are Bishop Harada and me.  Our rooms are next to each other on the third floor.  

Last week when I was there and as my habit, the night before I was to come back to Salt Lake, I went to the room with the washer and dryer to wash the clothes from the previous three days. Whenever possible, I don’t like having dirty clothes in my suitcase. I know sometimes it just can’t be helped but, if possible, I try to wash them before coming home. Rev. Harada had asked me if I had lost a sock since there was one sock in the dryer when he used it. He said he placed it near the dryer. 

The washer and dryer are next to my room, on top of the stacked washer and dryer is a hamper. The sock Rev. Harada was talking about was next to the dryer, but it wasn’t mine.  However, hanging from the edge of the hamper were two other socks.  Not a matched pair but I noticed that one was a “Star Wars” sock.  I have a lot of “Star Wars” socks, but I remembered that I was missing one sock from my collection at home.  I looked at the socks and realized they were both mine. I hadn’t been to the center in three weeks, yet there were my socks hanging from this hamper. One was my black “Star Wars” sock and the other a black and blue Puma sock, both had been MIA.  How did they get from my home to the center’s laundry room?  I know the logical explanation is that I didn’t pick them out of the dryer when I was last at the center. However, my socks seem to regularly appear and disappear, at home or the center.

It has always been a curious phenomenon to me how socks disappear from the wash.  They are a bit like cats. If you have owned a cat, you know they can seem to appear from nowhere and disappear suddenly. Cats usually don’t come when you call, so you must just appreciate them when they want to be appreciated.  For example, there is a cat that I have been feeding and leaving out water for in my garage for several years. It (I don’t know the sex) has never let me even get close to it. It’s a somewhat fluffy black cat with white paws and a bit of white on the face.  The sex of a cat is difficult to determine from a distance.  Just as Bodhisattvas are said to be gender fluid and often very difficult to know what sex they may be.  For example, Kannon, one of Amida Buddha’s attendant bodhisattvas along with Seishi, is sometimes depicted in feminine form and sometimes as a male.  Maybe cats are bodhisattvas in disguise, making sure we are ok.  Anyways, sometimes I see this cat sunning itself in my driveway. As soon as it sees me, it stares at me for a bit, then walks away into the trees.  I see its paw marks on my car’s windshield and sometimes tufts of hair on the roof. I know it comes into the garage daily since I must fill its water and food bowls.  However, I cannot get near to it.  When I don’t see it for several days, I wonder and worry about where it could be. I think it must be in the hidden world of lost socks, cats, and faith.

At one of the seminars, I have recently moderated, there was a question concerning faith. To paraphrase the question, the woman asked, “Could I still consider myself to have shinjin, even though, there are days that I don’t feel grateful for my life?” She went on to explain that she feels that her depression is often the cause of this loss of faith and gratitude.  When I heard this, I believed that she was thinking of faith, or shinjin, as a thing to possess. It is something that we “get” and since we got it, we can “lose it”.  When I heard her, the first thing I thought was that I hoped she had spoken to a doctor about her depression and didn’t expect religion to “fix” her.  This is a subject that has come up before. Mental illness, such as depression, is an illness that in many cases can be helped with medication.  There is a stigma attached to mental illness but is no different than other illnesses. When I have a bad cold or flu, I don’t feel grateful for many things.  Yet, in many instances, after I take my medication, I feel better.  Mental illness is the same.

However, shinjin is not a thing we get. It is a broad life-affirming and changing experience.  However, there are times, when it doesn’t feel so great. I remember when I was a student in Japan, I think it was then when I first thought I may have received shinjin. I asked my teacher Rev. Horin Yamamoto, “Sensei, Amida Buddha sometimes feels like a bully. The light of Amida which forces me to look at my true and real self makes me not like myself. Is that what shinjin does to you?”  He laughed and said, “Of course, it works within you, to change your understanding of yourself, from the world of illusion to the world of reality.” Again, two worlds, right next and overlapping one another. Shinjin is not a thing to get or give, it is the heart of true Life, opening or blossoming within you to make you aware of your true and real life.  It is a spectrum that works on you. Our faith in a simple sense. Although, there are times when our shinjin may feel as though it is far from us, in another World. Once received it is always with us. Shinjin is not a story from the Twilight Zone. It is not something we have made up to satiate our feelings of inadequacy. Shinjin is the essence of true and real life, encouraging us to wake up. In a world that is beginning to feel like the Twilight Zone, our faith, may sometimes seem to leave us, but the real shinjin we receive from Amida Buddha is always with us, anytime, anyplace, anywhere. The true essence of Namo Amida Butsu.

Do You Believe?

Buddhist Year 2567

Western Calendar 2025

Year of the Wood Snake

J.K. Hirano 

“Entrust yourself to me. I will liberate you just as you are.” This is the calling voice of Amida.

My blind passions are embraced in the Buddha’s awakening,

So the Buddha calls to me “I will liberate you just as you are.”

Gratefully responding to the Buddha’s call,

I find that I am already on the path that leads to the Pure Land.

And the Nembutsu flows freely from my thankful heart.

It is due to the guidance of Shinran Shonin

and successive spiritual leaders

who have transmitted the teaching to us today.

Living with the Dharma as my guide

Softens my rigid heart and mind.

Gratitude for the gift of life I have received

Frees me from becoming lost in greed and anger,

And allows me to share a warm smile and speak gentle words.

Sharing in the joy and sadness of others,

I shall strive to live each day to its fullest.

It is my hope that this new version of Ryogemon, an expression of appreciation for the teaching, will be recited by everyone during various gatherings to share it with a wide range of people as well as the next generation.

January 16, 2023

SHAKU SENNYO

OHTANI Kojun

Monshu

Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha

Happy New Year everyone! First, I hope that you are having a wonderful holiday season. 2024 was a good year and 2025 will also be a good year. You may wonder how I can say that with such confidence, and I realize not everyone feels like this was a good year. I believe that there will be times when we think something is bad, like the death of someone we love.  However, this sadness is impermanent or at least the depth of sadness will change with time. Just as when there are times when things are so good, you hope it never ends, but it will end.  All of this is a part of being human. This is the truth of life, there will be difficulties i.e. “suffering”. That is why one of the four marks of existence in Buddhism is “all things are impermanent.”

Last year our Gomonshu Shaku Sennyo, Ohtani Kojun, wrote a new version of the “Ryogemon” (often translated as the Jodo Shinshu creed). In Japan, it caused a great deal of controversy. In fact, this is the most controversial topic I have ever heard of in my lifetime, concerning our Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji Ha tradition. The original Ryogemon was attributed to our second founder Rennyo Shonin. Therefore, it is over 500 years old. Isn’t it interesting how even within our religious organization, change is so difficult.

The fact of the matter is that in choosing to say, “I am a Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji Ha Buddhist” I am accepting the teachings handed down to me by as it says in Ryogemon, “successive spiritual leaders”. Jodo Shinshu does not say, “This is the only way”. However, my saying I am Jodo Shinshu is saying, “This is the way for me.” I can always leave Jodo Shinshu and find a path that feels more suited to me. However, I don’t, because everything concerning my personal spiritual journey from this tradition feels right for me. If it didn’t, even as a priest I would leave.

This past Christmas break, my daughter Taylor wanted to watch a movie called “Heretic”. It is about two LDS women missionaries. It is a very suspenseful movie. To be honest, as a movie, it was “just ok”. However, the point of the movie was intriguing, and I thought very insightful. The point the movie made was that from the very beginning of religion, the basis and reason was about control. The leaders of a church want to have the ability to control their members. I totally relate to this thinking. Especially growing up in this LDS dominated culture. As I have mentioned before, a professor at BYU explained to me that the bottom line of the Mormon religion was not whether the doctrine was scientifically or logically sound, it was about believing what the general authorities had told them to believe.  I love the song “I believe” from the Broadway musical “Book of Mormon”. I think in many ways, other than the idiosyncratic points of belief in the song, to believe in the teachings, is true for most Judeo/Christian religious traditions.  However, I don’t think this form of control is a part of Buddhist, Jodo Shinshu or our Buddhist Churches of America (BCA). In Christianity and Judaism, if you do not believe in their teachings and guidelines, you will not get to heaven. In fact, on a basic level, if you don’t believe, after death, you will probably go to hell.

Of course there are guidelines as to what we consider Jodo Shinshu Honganji Ha. For example, if I as a Jodo Shinshu priest were to tell you, “If you pray to Amida Buddha, all your hopes and dreams would come true.” That would be a ridiculous and false statement. Jodo Shinshu does not say that in any place. However, I believe that our purpose in life is to find our spiritual home on this plane of existence, whether it is Buddhism or another religion.  If you are not Buddhist or don’t believe, after death, you will still be embraced in Amida Buddha’s compassion. Therefore, you should search for what you believe.

As the director of the BCA Center for Buddhist Education (CBE). I have been having a series of seminars on the topic of “Orthodoxy and Heresy”. It is not to say, “You must believe this” but to help you better decide whether Jodo Shinshu is right for you.  On January 25 at the Orange County Buddhist Temple we will hold the Winter Pacific Seminar, and the topic will be “Heresy”. Rev. Dr. Takashi Miyaji, Mutsumi Wondra, Rev. Kiyonobu Kuwahara and Bishop Marvin Harada will be the speakers. They will bring up particular points as to what are teachings that Jodo Shinshu considers heretical or not orthodox in our tradition.  Most of the seminars are hybrid, so you don’t have to be there and eventually they will be posted on our BCA CBE YouTube channel.

I hope that in the New Year we will all have a chance to see each other in person. And I would once again like to thank you for all the support you have given me throughout the years. Namo Amida Butsu.