Obon is a generic term for the Buddhist service and dancing called Bon Odori. This Obon service and dance have been going on for some 500 years. I personally really like the Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji Ha (Nishi Hongwanji’s) the BCA term for this service “Kangi-E” this literally means Gathering of Joy. During this age of corona virus isolation and the black lives matter movement, we are facing an unprecedented time of suffering, isolation and death.

I know that we are all feeling confused, fearful, anxious, angry, grieving, etc. during this time of the Covid-19 pandemic. If you are like me, there are days when I wake up feeling pretty good thinking, “What will I do today? Wonder what the weather is like? I don’t have to really do anything, it’s a free day!”

We are in an unprecedented time. People my age, the so called baby boomers, have never faced anything like it. The “Greatest generation,” my parent’s age group faced it, with World War II and the incarceration of all Japanese on the West Coast of the U.S. My grandparents’ generation faced the depression, World War I and the flu pandemic of 1918. I have been thinking that maybe this is just the way life is meant to be.

By Rev. Dr. David Matsumoto. IT WAS A MAGNIFICENT SIGHT, more beautiful than I had ever imagined. As I approached the abandoned Buddhist temple sagging beneath the weight of its ancient roof, its fabled name came almost magically to my lips, “The Temple of the Three B’s!”

In general, I find myself at a wonderful point in life. If I were to die tomorrow, I could go without regret. This may just be a natural occurrence of my age, to feel a sense of contentment. I read in a book called The Happiness Curve: why life gets better after 50 by Jonathon Rauch, that all human beings, including most large primates, after about age 50, feel life gets better.

Last September I had an opportunity to make an official visit to the temples of the Buddhist Churches of America as Monshu for the first time. This allowed me to complete the first round of visitations to all of the overseas districts, which include Canada, Hawai’i, South America, and the U.S. mainland.

A few weeks ago, Bishop Umezu and I were discussing some of the problems that we see in our BCA temples.  As though a light bulb went off in his head he said, “They think they are all good people?!” He was referring to the fact that some of our temples have become like Christian Churches or even spiritual gymnasiums. 

The Bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America is the religious leader of our organization (lay and clergy). The Bishop helps set the religious and spiritual vision for our organization, oversees the religious propagation of the BCA temples, manages the personnel issues of the ministers (Kaikyoshi) of the BCA, works with the BCA President to raise funds for BCA development, and reports to Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji Ha.

As some of you know, I have been nominated and have accepted to run for Bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America. If I am successful, which I will know by the end of September, I will be moving to San Francisco next year. I will try to come back and forth as much as I can, but Carmela and I will basically have two homes. She will be coming to visit me a few times a month, as well as continue with her private practice here in Salt Lake.

Two years ago at our Mother temple in Kyoto, Japan, Shaku Sennyo, Kojun Ohtani was installed as the 25th Gomonshu (Abbot) of Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji Ha (Nishi Hongwanji). I was fortunate to have attended the ceremony (Dento Hokoku Hoyo) where Shaku Sokunyo (Koshin Otani) and Shaku Sennyo ritually transferred the position and title from father to son. It was a very moving ceremony. At that time, I wondered how Hongwanji would change under this new Gomonshu.

I just returned from a quick five-day trip to Kyoto. Japan as a country is a particular mix of tradition and a very modern high tech culture. Kyoto station is a good example, extremely modern design, yet only a few blocks from Higashi and Nishi Hongwanji. I decided to stay at the Granvia Hotel in Kyoto station because it was very convenient. I ate around the station and went to our Mother temple Hongwanji for services and meetings.

Through this two part article, it is my intention to help clarify the important ecclesiastical relationship we have with our mother organization, the Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha in Kyoto, Japan, and the role the BCA plays within this big picture.

Those who know me well know that I have a rather obsessive personality.  I latch on to things and have a hard time letting them go.  When I get obsessed with something, I think about it for hours and there are times I wake up early in the morning to try to write my thoughts down or at least put them in some sort of order.  Last month I spoke of and wrote about the poet Mary Oliver.  I have been reading so many of her poems; I have been obsessed with them.  Therefore, this month I am sharing one of her more obviously Buddhist poems about what the Buddha must have thought in his last moments.

This is a poem by Mary Oliver. I had heard of her on National Public Radio (NPR), but had not read any collections of her poems. She died about a month ago, and I read a New Yorker article about her and her poems which really began to resonate within me. After reading of her death on January 17, I became slightly obsessed by her writing. She died at the age of 83, published the first of her over 30 books in 1963, she received the Pulitzer Prize in 1984, and the National Book Award in 1992.

Over the past 20 years or more, Rev. Masami Hayashi provided the calligraphy for the New Year Buddhist Thoughts.  We all miss him.  This year I downloaded a traditional Japanese New Year’s Greeting card.  The Japanese basically says “Thank you for all that you have done over the past year.  Thank you in advance, for the coming year.”  I especially liked the imagery that was on the card, the “Maneki Neko”, “Daruma san” and the cute little boar twins. I thought I would write a story about this card and why these four images are meeting up.

When I returned from my studies in Japan over 30 years ago and became a BCA Kaikyoshi, my grandmother (Bachan) gave me $300.00. She explained to me that she knew ministers don’t get paid very well and she wanted me to buy myself a nice black suit. She explained that all ministers wear black suits and white shirts, and she didn’t want me to buy a cheap shabby looking suit.  So I thanked her, accepted the gift and bought a black suit.

Since I was a child, I was fascinated by rainbows. The other day as Carmela and I flew into Seattle we saw an amazing circle rainbow. There was a time when we were driving to the temple in Salt Lake and we saw the entire sky shimmering with rainbow colors, like the surface of a bubble. No matter where or what type of rainbow, the rainbow makes me think of the aspiration of human beings to realize there is more to the world then we see with our eyes alone.

Carmela and I have just finished attending the 19th European Shin Buddhist Conference in Southampton, U.K.  I would like to thank Bishop Umezu for asking me to represent him for this conference.  This is my second opportunity in attending this conference held every two years in various European cities.

 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 particular 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.