Last month I had the opportunity to travel with Rev. Takashi Miyaji of the Southern Alameda County Buddhist Temple and several members of the San Mateo Buddhist Temple on the Bay District Pilgrimmage Tour to attend the 17th World Buddhist Women’s Convention, held in conjunction with the Joint Service Celebrating the 850th Anniversary of Shinran Shonin’s Birth and the 800th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Jodo Shinshu Teaching, followed by an excursion to sacred sites related to hidden Nembutsu practice in the Kagoshima region. A pilgrimmage tour differs from ordinary tourism, in that the sites we visit are connected to the transmission of the Buddha’s teachings and the Nembutsu, and therefore provide us with a precious opportunity to reflect on the causes and conditions that have supported our lives up to this moment and guide us to clarify the direction of our lives moving forward.
Continue reading “Impressions from the Pilgrimmage Tour”Life of Shinran
The Nembutsu Heard by Shinran Shonin
We hope to see you at the San Mateo Buddhist Temple on May 21, 2023 at 9:30 a.m. for our Gotan-e Service celebrating the 850th birthday of Shinran Shonin, the Buddhist teacher who we look to as the founder of our Jodo Shinshu tradition. This year also marks the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Jodo Shinshu teaching.
Shinran was born in Hino near Kyoto on May 21, 1173 during a time of great social turmoil in Japan when warlords battled for control of the country, severe famines caused widespread starvation, and epidemic disease took many lives. As a young boy, Shinran surely encountered a great deal of suffering and sadness in the world around him. At the age of nine, he became a Buddhist monk and sought refuge in the Dharma. He arrived just before sunset on the day he was to be ordained at Shorenin Temple. As night was beginning to fall, Jien, the head priest who would perform the ordination, told him to return the next day for the ceremony. At that time, the young Shinran is said to have recited the following poem:
“For him who counts on tomorrow,
Like the fragile cherry blossom,
Tonight, unexpected winds may blow.”
Ho’onko Memorial Service for Shinran Shonin 報恩講法要
January 22, 2023
Guest Speaker
Rev. Takashi Miyaji
御講師
宮地 崇 師
Resident Minister
Southern Alameda County Buddhist Church
H.E. Kosho Ohtani Professor of Shin Buddhist Studies
Institute of Buddhist Studies
We invite you to join us in person or from the safety and comfort of your own home via Zoom Meeting for our for our annual Ho’onko Memorial Service for Shinran Shonin on Sunday, January 22, 2023 at 9:30 a.m.
This service will also include the Installation of Officers for the temple Board of Trustees led by incoming Temple President David Chin and the Buddhist Women’s Association led by Co-Presidents Grace Kanomata and Doris Murai.
Schedule
8:30 a.m. Shoshinge Gyōfu Chanting
9:00 a.m. Mindfulness Meditation
9:30 a.m. Ho’onko Service
English Language Dharma Talk by Rev. Takashi Miyaji
Installation of Officers for the SMBT Board of Trustees
Installation of Officers for Buddhist Women’s Association
10:45 a.m. 日本語法話 宮地 崇 師
Japanese Language Dharma Talk by Rev. Dr. Takashi Miyaji
To join us for this online Service, CLICK HERE to sign up for “Live Broadcast of Services”.
自宅からご参拝されたい方はここにクリックして、”Live Broadcast of Services”に登録してください。
Ho’onko Memorial Service for Shinran Shonin 報恩講法要
January 16, 2022
Guest Speaker
Rev. Akinori Imai
御講師
今井亮徳師
Bishop Emeritus
Higashi Honganji North America and Hawaii Districts
Minister Emeritus
Berkeley Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple
Under these extraordinary circumstances, we invite you to join us from the safety and comfort of your own home for an online Ho’onko Memorial Service for Shinran Shonin via the Zoom Meeting internet program on Sunday, January 16, 2022 at 9:30 a.m. Please do not come to the temple in person.
This service will also include the Installation of Officers for the temple Board of Trustees led by incoming Temple President David Chin and the Buddhist Women’s Association led by Co-Presidents Grace Kanomata and Doris Murai.
Schedule
8:30 a.m. Shoshinge Gyōfu Chanting
9:00 a.m. Hula
9:30 a.m. Ho’onko Service
English Language Dharma Talk by Rev. Akinori Imai
Installation of Officers for the SMBT Board of Trustees
Installation of Officers for Buddhist Women’s Association
10:45 a.m. 日本語法話 今井亮徳師
Japanese Language Dharma Talk by Rev. Akinori Imai
To join us for this online Service, CLICK HERE to sign up for “Live Broadcast of Services”.
現在感染が拡大している新型コロナウイルス感染を防ぐため、サンマテオ仏教会本堂内に集まることはできませんが、２０２２年１月１６日の９時３０分から報恩講法要をインターネットと電話でライブ中継をする予定です。
自宅からご参拝されたい方はここにクリックして、”Live Broadcast of Services”に登録してください。
The Vow of the Buddha is Deep
In late 1206, while the Japanese Emperor Gotoba was away from the capital on a pilgrimage to the Kumano Shrine, his consorts Suzumushi and Matsumushi joined a Nembutsu gathering led by Honen’s followers Juren-bo and Anraku-bo. After hearing the Nembutsu teaching, the emperor’s consorts experienced a great change of heart and took ordination as Buddhist nuns.
When the emperor returned and discovered that Suzumushi and Matsumushi had renounced their lives in the imperial palace to join Honen’s Nembutsu Sangha, he became enraged and ordered Juren-bo and Anraku-bo to be executed along with two other leading followers of Honen. Honen was ordered to be exiled on the island of Shikoku. Seven more of his followers, including Shinran, were dispossessed of their priesthood and sent into exile, scattering the community throughout Japan. While many lamented the exile, Honen instructed his disciples that this too should be accepted as the flow of karmic causes and conditions in their lives. The following were his parting words to the Sangha:
“Do not resent my being sent into exile, for I am approaching eighty years of age. Even if we were living together as teacher and students in the capital, my departure from this saha world is drawing near. Even if we are separated by mountains and oceans, do not doubt that we will meet again in the Pure Land. Though we may reject this world, our human existence carries on. Though we may cling to life, our death will come. Why insist upon being in a certain place?
Continue reading “The Vow of the Buddha is Deep”Rev. CJ Dunford’s Ohigan Spring Equinox Dharma Talk
Rev. Dunford shares their reflections on how Shinran Shonin’s Nembutsu teaching challenged the structures of oppression in 13th century Japan, and the inspiration we can find in the Nembutsu as we endeavor to reflect the wisdom and compassion of the Buddha in midst of our own troubled times.
Ho’onko Memorial Service for Shinran Shonin 報恩講法要
January 10, 2021
Guest Speaker (English)
Rev. Patricia Kanaya Usuki
Minister Emeritus
San Fernando Valley Hongwanji Buddhist Temple
日本語の御講師
ワンドラ睦先生
オレンジ群仏教会
Rev. Dr. Mutsumi Wondra
Orange County Buddhist Church
Under these extraordinary circumstances, we invite you to join us from the safety and comfort of your own home for an online Ho’onko Memorial Service for Shinran Shonin via the Zoom Meeting internet program on Sunday, January 10, 2021 at 9:30 a.m. Please do not come to the temple in person.
This service will also include the Installation of Officers for the temple Board of Trustees led by incoming Temple President David Chin and the Buddhist Women’s Association led by Co-Presidents Grace Kanomata and Doris Murai.
Schedule
8:30 a.m. Shoshinge Gyōfu Chanting
9:00 a.m. Taiso Morning Exercise with instructor Juliet Bost
9:30 a.m. Ho’onko Service
English Language Dharma Talk by Rev. Patricia Kanaya Usuki
Installation of Officers for the SMBT Board of Trustees
Installation of Officers for Buddhist Women’s Association
10:45 a.m. 日本語法話 ワンドラ睦先生
Japanese Language Dharma Talk by Rev. Dr. Mutsumi Wondra
To join us for this online Service, CLICK HERE to sign up for “Live Broadcast of Services”.
現在感染が拡大している新型コロナウイルス感染を防ぐため、サンマテオ仏教会本堂内に集まることはできませんが、２０２１年１月１０日の９時３０分から報恩講法要をインターネットと電話でライブ中継をする予定です。
自宅からご参拝されたい方はここにクリックして、”Live Broadcast of Services”に登録してください。