Jodo Shinshu Buddhism
Prior to coming to the San Mateo Buddhist Temple, I served for three and half years at the Oxnard Buddhist Temple and the Buddhist Church of Santa Barbara. One day, a Dharma friend in Santa Barbara called me to say that a church member by the name of Mr. Baba was in the hospital and would be cheered by a visit from me. Mr. Baba was 95 years old, and while born in the United States, had spent much of his childhood in Japan. He would attend every service I led at the Buddhist Church of Santa Barbara smartly dressed in a suit and tie. He was a man of few words who listened to the Dharma with deep attention.
At that time, our eldest son had just turned one year old, so I was still getting used to life as a parent and feeling a little frazzled. When I stepped into Mr. Baba’s hospital room, there were various medical devices beeping and clicking at his bedside. He immediately greeted me, saying, “Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit me.” I asked him how he was feeling, and he responded warmly, “So-so, but I’m still here. How is your wife and your baby boy?”
Continue reading “Heading to the Western Shore”Inspired by topic of “The Medicine of Compassion” presented by Dr. James Gentry for the March 9 Nembutsu Seminar, Rev. Adams will offer some reflections on how living with deep gratitude in the nembutsu can alleviate the most fundamental aspects of suffering in our minds.
From The Letters of Rennyo Shonin (Gobunsho) Fascicle 5, Letter 12:
How benevolent is Amida Tathagata’s light! Unless we had a chance to encounter this light, we could not possibly be cured of the dreadful illness of ignorance and karmic hindrances we have had since beginningless past. Prompted by the working of this light, those endowed with past karmic good have come to attain the entrusting heart of Other Power. . . . those who have ever had the fortune to attain the entrusting heart of Other Power should remember their indebtedness to Amida’s benevolence and always say the nembutsu as an expression of gratitude for it.
Schedule
8:30 a.m. Shoshinge Sofu Chanting (click here for chanting text)
9:00 a.m. Sangha Social Hour
9:30 a.m. Dharma Service
10:30 a.m. Dharma Discussion (Dharma Room)
To join us for this hybrid service via Zoom, CLICK HERE to sign up for “Live Broadcast of Services”.
Dr. Gentry specializes in Tibetan Buddhism, with particular focus on the literature and history of its Tantric traditions. He is the author of Power Objects in Tibetan Buddhism: The Life, Writings, and Legacy of Sokdokpa Lodrö Gyeltsen, which examines the roles of Tantric material and sensory objects in the lives and institutions of Tibetan and Himalayan Buddhists.
In the time of the Buddha, there was a blacksmith named Cunda. Blacksmiths had low social status, but Cunda was hard-working and intelligent, and so he prospered and owned a beautiful mango grove. On one occasion, the Buddha visited Cunda’s village and chose to stay in his mango grove. At that time in India, the sons of wealthy and important families, like the Buddha’s Sakya clan, would not normally interact with common workers like blacksmiths, so Cunda was delighted that the Buddha would honor him by staying in his grove.
Cunda delighted in the Dharma taught by the Buddha and invited the Buddha and his Sangha to partake in a special meal at his home. The Buddha indicated his acceptance of the invitation by remaining silent, so Cunda proceeded to prepare a scrumptious feast, including a variety of foods with good textures, well-cooked soft foods, and a dish made with a special kind of mushroom.
When the mushroom dish was served, the Buddha immediately claimed it for himself and instructed Cunda to serve the remaining dishes to the other monks. After eating his fill of the mushroom dish, he told Cunda to bury what remained of it in the ground, saying, “This food can only be eaten by one who has mastered the Dharma and attained awakening.”
Continue reading “The Buddha’s Final Meal”In our family we have three children from preschool to middle school in age, so as the cold and flu season arrives, it seems that someone in our house is always coming down with a fever or starting to cough. Sakyamuni Buddha taught that birth, illness, aging, and death are four inescapable kinds of suffering in this life, so there is no choice but to accept the reality that getting sick is part of being alive. That said, when we get sick, we naturally seek medicines to alleviate our symptoms and speed our recovery. There are also medicines we may take before we get sick to avoid the most severe illness. When choosing medicines to take it is best to follow the advice of a good doctor.
The Buddha is often described as a good doctor because, just as a good doctor carefully investigates an illness before providing an appropriate prescription, the Buddha arrived at a deep understanding of the troubles of human life before providing suitable teachings for all people.
Continue reading “The Medicine of Amida Buddha”As Spring arrives, we prepare to observe our Spring Ohigan Service on Sunday, March 20. The word higan 彼岸 means “Other Shore,” and in the Buddhist tradition refers to crossing over the ocean of suffering in the realm of birth and death to arrive at the Other Shore where one enjoys a life of awakening. As I consider my own journey to the Other Shore, I am reminded of the lives of those whose unwavering dedication to seeing the Nembutsu thrive here on the shores of North America has made it possible for me to discover my own path to a life of peace and bliss.
In 1919, there was a growing a community of Japanese Buddhists working on farms around the town of Guadalupe on California’s Central Coast. Many of these intrepid Issei lived in camps near the fields with few comforts and amenities. As families began to take shape with young children, it became clear that these camps did not provide a suitable environment for children to grow and receive an education. Responding to the urgent needs of one family and then another, the local Buddhist minister Rev. Issei Matsuura and his wife Mrs. Shinobu Matsuura opened the doors of the temple and began taking in children one by one until they found themselves caring for over twenty children in what became the Guadalupe Children’s Home.
Continue reading “Sustained by the Nembutsu”