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.