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New Year’s Day Service

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January 1


Join us to welcome the New Year 2026 as we look to the wisdom and compassion of Amida Buddha for guidance as we seek the settled mind in the Year of the Horse. We will welcome our new Supervising Minister Rev. Dean Koyama from the Palo Alto Buddhist Temple.

 

Schedule
1:00 p.m. New Year’s Day Dharma Service

 

 

To join us online for this Dharma Service, CLICK HERE to sign up for “Live Broadcast of Services”.

New Year’s Eve Service

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December 31

 

Join us in person to take a turn tolling the bell up to the number 108 as we let go of the greed, anger, and delusion of the past year. This will be Rev. Henry’s final service as Resident of the San Mateo Buddhist Temple.

 

Schedule
6:00 p.m. Shōya Raisan Chanting
7:00 p.m. New Year’s Eve Dharma Service

 

 

 

 

To join us online for this Dharma Service, CLICK HERE to sign up for “Live Broadcast of Services”.

Grounded in the Nembutsu (December 21)

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We warmly welcome you to join us in person at the San Mateo Buddhist Temple for our Family Dharma Service on Sunday, December 21.

As Rev. Henry prepares to complete his service as SMBT Resident Minister with the Joya-e New Year’s Eve Observance, this Sunday will mark his last regular Dharma Service before he begins his new assignment at the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin on January 1. His Dharma Talk will reflect upon how the Nembutsu teaching provides us with a stable foundation to navigate life’s many changes.

Schedule
8:30 a.m. Shoya Raisan Chanting (click here for chanting text)
9:00 a.m. Sangha Social Hour
9:30 a.m. Dharma Service
10:30 a.m. Japanese Language Service 日本語法要 (Hondo)
10:30 a.m. Dharma Discussion (In person only in Dharma Room)

To join us for this online Dharma Service, CLICK HERE to sign up for “Live Broadcast of Services”.

Grounded in the Nembutsu (December 14)

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We warmly welcome you to join us in person at the San Mateo Buddhist Temple for our Family Dharma Service on Sunday, December 14.

Over the past 12 years at the San Mateo Buddhist Temple, Rev. Henry has heard the sound of “Namo Amida Butsu” fill the Hondo Buddha Hall whenever the Sangha gathers. This Sunday, he will offer a Dharma talk reflecting on the Sangha friends who have shared their grateful Nembutsu, celebrating in times of joy and taking comfort in times of difficulty.

This Dharma talk is part of a series of talks exploring the five circumstances that Rennyo Shonin identified as necessary for attaining the life of peace and bliss: 

  1. Stored good from the past
  2. A good spiritual teacher
  3. Amida Buddha’s light of wisdom
  4. The entrusting heart
  5. Namo Amida Butsu (The Name of Amida Buddha)

Schedule
8:30 a.m. Shoya Raisan Chanting (click here for chanting text)
9:00 a.m. Sangha Social Hour
9:30 a.m. Dharma Service
10:30 a.m. Shotsuki Hoyo Monthly Memorial (Hondo)
10:30 a.m. Dharma Discussion (Dharma Room)

To join us for this online Dharma Service, CLICK HERE to sign up for “Live Broadcast of Services”.

Bodhi Day Service: Life Outside the Palace Gates

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Sunday, December 7, 2025

We warmly welcome you to join us in person at the San Mateo Buddhist Temple for our Bodhi Day Service on Sunday, December 7. For this year’s Bodhi Day Dharma talk, Rev. Henry will revisit the story of Prince Siddhartha’s excursions out of four gates of the palace. The prince’s sheltered life in the palace can be appreciated as an allegory for the comforts and conveniences of modern life, in which we go to great lengths to avoid the experience aging, illness, and death, and yet cannot escape these realities of human existence.

Schedule
8:30 a.m. Shōya Raisan Chanting
9:00 a.m. Sangha Coffee Time
9:30 a.m. Bodhi Day Service
10:30 a.m. Dharma Discussion in the Social Hall

 

To join us via Zoom for this Dharma Service CLICK HERE and sign up for “Live Broadcast of Services”.

The Entrusting Heart (November 30)

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We warmly welcome you to join us in person at the San Mateo Buddhist Temple for our Family Dharma Service on Sunday, November 30.

On any journey through unfamiliar territory, having a reliable guide one can trust is essential. This Sunday Rev. Henry will share a Dharma talk about how the heart of entrusting in the Buddha’s wisdom can guide us through difficult and chaotic times in life.

This Dharma talk is part of a series of talks exploring the five circumstances that Rennyo Shonin identified as necessary for attaining the life of peace and bliss: 

  1. Stored good from the past
  2. A good spiritual teacher
  3. Amida Buddha’s light of wisdom
  4. The entrusting heart
  5. Namo Amida Butsu (The Name of Amida Buddha)

Schedule
8:30 a.m. Shoshinge Sofu Chanting
9:00 a.m. Sangha Social Hour
9:30 a.m. Dharma Service
10:30 a.m. Japanese Language Service 日本語法要 (Hondo)
10:30 a.m. Dharma Discussion (Dharma Room)

To join us for this online Dharma Service, CLICK HERE to sign up for “Live Broadcast of Services”.

 

Sangha Speaker Zachary Collins (November 23)

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This Sunday’s Dharma Service will be led by our Sangha members.  Zachary Collins will share a Dharma Reflection on a traditional Buddhist parable that has been retold throughout the world.

Zach Collins was born in Arkansas, but he and his wife have lived in San Mateo for a decade.  Through his interest in history he has recently found himself more and more curious about Buddhism and its teachings, and is excited to learn more from participating in San Mateo’s Sangha.

Schedule
8:30 a.m. Shoshinge Sofu Chanting
9:30 a.m. Dharma Service with talk by Zachary Collins
10:30 a.m. Dharma Discussion with Zachary Collins

To join us for this online Dharma Service, CLICK HERE to sign up for “Live Broadcast of Services”.

Veteran’s Day Service—Compassion for Those Who Suffer (November 9)

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In this year’s Veteran’s Day Service, we mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. Rev. Adams will share a Dharma talk about the Nembutsu practice of recalling Amida Buddha’s compassion for those who suffer, inspired by the recent documentary film Raised in Hiroshima, Fought in Vietnam.

Link to view the film: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/3025198/?cid=wohk-fb-org

This film chronicles the life journey of Mr. Takeshi Furumoto, a veteran who was born in the Tule Lake incarceration camp during World War II, grew up in Hiroshima in the aftermath of the atomic bomb, served in the Vietnam War, and is now actively working to promote peace and awareness of the suffering caused by war.

Schedule
8:30 a.m. Shoshinge Sofu Chanting
9:00 a.m. Sangha Social Hour
9:30 a.m. Veteran’s Day Dharma Service
10:30 a.m. Dharma Discussion (in person only)

To join us for this online Dharma Service, CLICK HERE to sign up for “Live Broadcast of Services”.

Amida Buddha’s light of wisdom (November 2)

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We warmly welcome you to join us in person at the San Mateo Buddhist Temple for our Family Dharma Service on Sunday, November 2.

On Sunday, we turn out clocks back to conclude Daylight Savings Time and find that we have more morning light to start the day. While it is nice to enjoy an extra hour of sleep, this could also be an opportunity to start a new morning routine. For this week’s Dharma Talk, Rev. Henry will share appreciation for the traditional Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Practice of waking up to the Amida Buddha’s light of wisdom by starting the day with chanting and reciting the Nembutsu before a home Buddha shrine (obutsudan).

Join us at 8:30 a.m. for our weekly chanting of Shoshinge and Nembutsu Wasan.

This Dharma talk is part of a series of talks exploring the five circumstances that Rennyo Shonin identified as necessary for attaining the life of peace and bliss: 

  1. Stored good from the past
  2. A good spiritual teacher
  3. Amida Buddha’s light of wisdom
  4. The entrusting heart
  5. Namo Amida Butsu (The Name of Amida Buddha)

Schedule
8:30 a.m. Shoshinge Sofu Chanting
9:00 a.m. Sangha Coffee Time
9:30 a.m. Dharma Service
10:30 a.m. Shotsuki Hoyo Monthly Memorial (Hondo)
10:30 a.m. Dharma Discussion and Sangha Social Hour (Dharma Room)

To join us for this online Dharma Service, CLICK HERE to sign up for “Live Broadcast of Services”.