World War II

The Making of American Buddhism

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Wednesday, November 1, 2023

7:00 p.m.

A conversation with Dr. Scott Mitchell about his new book The Making of American Buddhism.

Dr. Scott

Mitchell

Rev. Yoshitaka Tamai Professor of Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Studies

Institute of Buddhist Studies

The Making of American Buddhism available for purchase at the BCA Bookstore.

As of 2010, there were approximately 3-4 million Buddhists in the United States, and that figure is expected to grow significantly. Beyond the numbers, the influence of Buddhism can be felt throughout the culture, with many more people practicing meditation, for example, than claiming Buddhist identity. A century ago, this would have been unthinkable. So how did Buddhism come to claim such a significant place in the American cultural landscape?

The Making of American Buddhism offers an answer, showing how in the years on either side of World War II second-generation Japanese American Buddhists laid claim to an American identity inclusive of their religious identity. In the process they-and their allies-created a place for Buddhism in America. These sons and daughters of Japanese immigrants-known as “Nisei,” Japanese for “second-generation”-clustered around the Berkeley Bussei, a magazine published from 1939 to 1960. In the pages of the Bussei and elsewhere, these Nisei Buddhists argued that Buddhism was both what made them good Americans and what they had to contribute to America-a rational and scientific religion of peace.

The Making of American Buddhism also details the behind-the-scenes labor that made Buddhist modernism possible. The Bussei was one among many projects that were embedded within Japanese American Buddhist communities and connected to national and transnational networks that shaped and allowed for the spread of modernist Buddhist ideas. In creating communities, publishing magazines, and hosting scholarly conventions and translation projects, Nisei Buddhists built the religious infrastructure that allowed the later Buddhist modernists, Beat poets, and white converts who are often credited with popularizing Buddhism to flourish. Nisei activists didn’t invent American Buddhism, but they made it possible.

We welcome you to join us in person at the San Mateo Buddhist Temple or via Zoom Meeting on Wednesday, November 1 for this Dharma session.

To join us for this online Dharma Session, CLICK HERE and sign up for “Study Classes and Seminars”.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Memorial: How We Remember (August 6)

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As we remember the lives taken by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Rev. Adams will share impressions of the recent film “Oppenheimer” and consider how what we choose to remember and how remember the past impacts the way we live in the present moment, inspired by the following verse from the “Hymn of True Shinjin and the Nembutsu (Shoshinge)“:

[Nagarjuna] teaches that the moment one thinks on Amida’s Primal Vow,
One is naturally brought to enter the stage of the definitely settled;
Solely saying the Tathagata’s Name constantly,
One should respond with gratitude to the universal Vow of great compassion.

Schedule
8:30 a.m. Shoshinge Sofu Chanting (click here for chanting text)
9:00 a.m. Radio Taiso Exercise with Juliet Bost
9:30 a.m. Dharma Service
10:30 a.m. Shotsuki Hoyo Monthly Memorial Service

To join us for this hybrid service via Zoom, CLICK HERE to sign up for “Live Broadcast of Services”.

Day of Remembrance Dharma Service (February 19)

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We welcome you to join us in-person at the San Mateo Buddhist Temple or via Zoom for our Sangha led Dharma Service on Sunday, February 19, the 81st Anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, authorizing what was to become the mass forced removal and incarceration of all Japanese Americans on the West Coast.

Sangha member Ron Munekawa will share a Dharma reflection inspired by his experiences playing the role of Ojiichan in the Palo Alto Players Production of Allegiance, a musical set during in the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans.

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

Schedule
(Shoshinge chanting will resume on March 5)

9:00 a.m. Mindful Meditation with David Crampton

9:30 a.m. Dharma Service with talk by Ron Munekawa

10:30 a.m. Dharma Discussion

10:30 a.m. Kamishibai Storytelling by Mary Jo Kubota Sensei for Dharma School Students (LIVE IN PERSON ONLY)

Veteran’s Day—Special Guest Speaker Jack Dairiki (November 13)

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On the occasion of our annual Veteran’s Day Service, we welcome Buddhist Church of San Francisco Minister’s Assistant, Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Survivor, and Korean War Veteran Jack Dairiki as our Special Guest Speaker.

Schedule
8:30 a.m. Shoshinge Sofu Chanting
9:00 a.m. Hula with Stephanie Hagio Chin
9:30 a.m. Veteran’s Day Dharma Service with Veteran’s Reflection by Mr. Jack Dairiki
10:30 a.m. Dharma Discussion with Mr. Jack Dairiki

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

Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Memorial: The Gift of a Generous Heart (August 7)

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We will remember the lives lost during the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in conjunction with part five of our summer Dharma Talk series on the Seven Gifts that Do Not Require Possessions.

The gift of a generous heart (心施 shin-se): To freely give assistance to others without resenting any inconvenience it may cause for oneself.

Schedule
8:30 a.m. Shoshinge Sofu Chanting (click here for chanting text)
9:00 a.m. Taiso Exercise with Juliet and Grace Bost
9:30 a.m. Dharma Service
10:30 a.m. Shotsuki Hoyo Monthly Memorial Service

All ages are welcome to join in-person without prior registration.  Proof of full Covid-19 vaccination required for eligible individuals age 5 and older.  Up to 36 in-person attendees will be seated in the Hondo, with overflow seating available in the adjacent Social Hall.

To join us for this hybrid service via Zoom, CLICK HERE to sign up for “Live Broadcast of Services”.

BCA Bishop’s Memorial: Rev. Shinsho Hanayama’s Gift of Peaceful Facial Expressions (July 3)

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Rev. Adams will share his appreciation for Rev. Shinsho Hanayama, who expressed the Buddha’s wish for peace by serving as a chaplain to the condemned inmates at the Sugamo Prison in Tokyo and by promoting greater awareness and understanding of Buddhism in the United States as Bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America.

Rev. Hanayama’s memoir of his time serving as a prison chaplain.

This is part two of our summer Dharma Talk series on the Seven Gifts that Do Not Require Possessions.

The gift of peaceful and joyful facial expressions (和顏悦色施 wagen-etsujiki-se): To refrain from frowning and making angry faces even in times of difficulty.

Schedule
8:30 a.m. Shoshinge Sofu Chanting (click here for chanting text)
9:00 a.m. Sangha Activity
9:30 a.m. Dharma Service
10:30 a.m. Shotsuki Hoyo Monthly Memorial Service

All ages are welcome to join in-person without prior registration.  Proof of full Covid-19 vaccination required for eligible individuals age 5 and older.  Up to 36 in-person attendees will be seated in the Hondo, with overflow seating available in the adjacent Social Hall.

To join us for this hybrid service via Zoom, CLICK HERE to sign up for “Live Broadcast of Services”.

Everyone Clothed in Fine Robes (May 1)

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The robes worn by Buddhist monks were traditionally stitched together from discarded rags and dyed to a uniform color using inexpensive dyes, such as saffron in India and charcoal in Japan.    Inspired by Amida Buddha’s 38th Vow, this Sunday’s Dharma Talk will revisit stories of Nembutsu practicers in India, China, Japan, and the United States whose Buddhist garments expressed their commitment to the Dharma path:

When I attain Buddhahood, the humans and devas in my land will acquire garments as soon as such a desire arises in their minds, and they will naturally be clothed in fine robes as commended and prescribed by the Buddhas. If they should need sewing, bleaching, dyeing or washing, may I not attain the perfect enlightenment.

Schedule
8:30 a.m. Shoshinge Sofu Chanting (click here for chanting text)
9:00 a.m. Taiso Morning Exercise
9:30 a.m. Dharma Service
10:30 a.m. Shotsuki Hoyo Monthly Memorial Service

If you would like to attend the service in person, please email smbt@sanmateobuddhisttemple.org or call (650) 342-2541 to reserve a seat. Full Covid-19 vaccination is required. A maximum of 36 in-person attendees will be seated in the Hondo, so please contact us at your earliest convenience if you wish to attend.

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

A Place for Awakening

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This past month the San Mateo Buddhist Temple had the honor of hosting a tour group from the San Francisco Foundation that was visiting sites in North Central San Mateo to learn more about the history of our neighborhood, how it is changing, and the current challenges faced by its residents.  The tour organizers were eager to include SMBT on the tour to highlight the important role that the Japanese-American Buddhist community has played in our neighborhood over the past 120 years.

During the visit, our guests heard from four SMBT Sangha members and longtime residents of North Central about their memories of life in the neighborhood and their hopes for the future.  Each shared a moving story of how their family had overcome challenges to establish meaningful lives here in San Mateo.  I’d like to share one of those stories, as I find it particularly relevant as we prepare to observe our Bodhi Day service on Sunday, December 1, 2020, at 9:30 a.m., in celebration of Sakyamuni Buddha’s realization of enlightenment seated beneath the Bodhi Tree:

The most significant event that happened as a child was the U.S. evacuation order in Feb. 1942.  I was 6 years old then and vividly remember the black-out drills the city had where all lights in the homes and streets had to be turned off until the all-clear sirens would go off and curfews were set at 8:00 PM. 

Continue reading “A Place for Awakening”

Giving Thanks

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During this month of November, we have some special opportunities to express our gratitude for all the precious gifts we receive in our lives.  On Sunday, November 17, we will observe our Eitaikyo Service, which is dedicated to grateful remembrance of those temple members whose families felt inspired to donate to the temple Eitaikyo Fund, which exists to ensure that the San Mateo Buddhist Temple will continue to be a place where we can gather to hear the Dharma and joyfully recite the Nembutsu.  On Sunday, November 24, we will hold the Shichigosan Observance at the temple for the families of children ages three, five and seven to express our gratitude and wishes for continuing healthy growth of the children.  On Thursday, November 28, many families and friends will also come together in their homes to celebrate the wonderful American holiday of Thanksgiving.

While gratitude is a theme that we return to throughout the month of November, living in the Nembutsu, we find that gratitude is a daily practice that brings peace and joy to our hearts.  One of the ways in which we cultivate gratitude in our daily lives is by pausing to join our hands in gassho and utter the word “Itadakimasu (I humbly receive)” before beginning a meal, and “Goshisosama deshita (It was feast created through great effort)” at the conclusion of the meal. 

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How like the voices of the Buddha

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At the San Mateo Buddhist Temple, October is the month in which we celebrate Buddhist women of the Nembutsu, including Shinran Shonin’s wife Eshinni and their youngest daughter Kakushinni, who worked tirelessly to ensure that the joy of the Nembutsu would be passed on to future generations. During our Sunday Services this month we will be learning about important women poets of the Nembutsu, including Mrs. Wariko Kai and Mrs. Misuzu Kaneko, who were active in Japan during the early part of the twentieth century.

Mrs. Tomoe Tana, the wife of Rev. Daisho Tana who served as the first assigned minister to the San Mateo Buddhist Temple from 1952-1955, was an inspiring poet of the Nembutsu writing here in the United States. Mrs. Tana was born in Hokkaido in 1913 as the daughter of a Buddhist priest. She married Rev. Tana in 1937 and moved to the United States in 1938, where they lived in Berkeley and then Lompoc.

Continue reading “How like the voices of the Buddha”