Yearly Archives: 2017

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three books related to Buddhism or Buddhist thought would you want with you?

The three books that I would want to have when stranded on a deserted island would be:

1. “Ocean: An Introduction to JodoShinshu Buddhism in America”
2. “River of Fire, River of Water: An Introduction to the Pure Land Tradition of Shin Buddhism” and,
3. “Kyo Gyo Shin Sho,” the Ryukoku Translation Series.

First, the book “Ocean” by Rev. Dr. Ken Tanaka is my favorite book to remind myself of the basics of Shin Buddhism for just ordinary people like me. This book is filled with multiple layers of meaning and discusses topics in an easy-to-understand manner.

Second, the “River of Fire, River of Water” by Dr. Taitetsu Unno is really an explanation of Shinran’s thoughts in relatable situations. This book is also filled with multiple layers of meaning and looks at Shin Buddhism by an American scholar who has
studied deeply into Buddhism.

Third, this book is an unusual choice, but I would love to have time to read and re-read over and over the Ryukoku Translation
Series book which only takes part of Shinran’s own words (and not the long quotations which make up much of the master work).
This book is really to study and understand the depth of Shinran’s thoughts and takes a long time to linger in thought. Unfortunately, this book is out of print and thus not readily available.

If Shinran were alive today and happened to be on the playing field (or basketball court or baseball diamond, you get the picture) as the National Anthem played, do you think he would take a knee? And can you please elaborate on your answer?

Shinran would probably take a knee; he was a radical in his own way. He was definitely not a political person, but he would be angered by the U.S. president trying to make political points at the expense of a racial minority.

Not standing for the National Anthem is not about disrespecting the flag and not about showing disrespect to the principles of democracy. Rather, it is about remembering that justice has not always been equally practiced.

He was definitely a person of the ordinary people and would have empathy with Black Lives Matter.

What is meditation? And how do I know I’m doing it?

Meditation, in the current context, has come to mean the physical discipline of sitting meditation and using techniques to focus the mind. Many people assume Buddhism means physical meditation.

In Mahayana Buddhism, meditation was a tool to allow one to lose the ego (our selfish image of myself) and to find Sunyata (emptiness). And in the traditional schools of Buddhism, meditation was any action that focused the mind (mindfulness).

Almost anything can be a meditation if we are mindful.

However, Buddhists have usually put a strict discipline with these actions. Flower arranging, tea ceremony and the martial arts are examples of how strict disciplines within our actions can lead to Enlightenment.

But for Shin Buddhists, the discipline of physical meditation is not needed. Rather, awareness and the sudden (crosswise transcendence) awakening is our path to Enlightenment. The entrusting heart needed to accept Wisdom and Compassion is a special kind of mindfulness (but we do not call it meditation).

I know we strive to reach Enlightenment, but I’m not really sure what Enlightenment means? Is it seeking truth? And, if so, what is “truth” in terms of life?

Enlightenment is really to discover Wisdom and Compassion. It is important to know that one discovers (finding what is already there) Enlightenment by understanding the universe. Wisdom is not intellect, but to understand things as they really are. Compassion is to accept the world equally, without discrimination.

There are many ways to understand Enlightenment: to accept change and interdependence, to go beyond human limitations and human ego (our selfish image of myself), to find “Truth.”

Finding Truth is equally vague because we do not know what Truth really is. And the more we try to define it, the more elusive it becomes. Truth in the Buddhist sense is to understand things as they really are.

Truth in terms of life is to drop our human baggage and to find the spiritual meaning that is beyond logic and beyond our physical world. It is to understand the whole universe and to accept our small part of the whole without human limitations and ego.

What do Buddhist teachingssay about feelings of guilt?

Guilt is not really found in Buddhism. Buddhism teaches us to take responsibility for our thoughts, words and actions. If we make our decisions with the best of our abilities, then as long as we also take responsibility for those decisions, then there is no guilt.

Culturally, many Buddhists and especially Japanese Buddhists live in a society that is strongly biased by shame. One does not do things that bring shame to the family or to the village or to the group. Shame can function much like guilt, but one should know the difference.

Buddhists sometimes talk about seeing someone who has passed again, or the deceased being with other loved ones who have passed. How does this thinking fit in with Buddhist teachings?

To personalize death and our seeing our loved ones after this earthly life is a common thought. There are all kinds of theories and writings on this topic.

The bottom line is that we do not know: No one has ever died, and come back to tell us what happens after human death. So, in the spirit of the Oneness of all Life, if we can take comfort in thinking that we will be reunited with loved ones after death, I guess, I cannot deny it.

The Oneness of all Life is the key teaching to understand. We are all interconnected and interdependent. Birth and death is all part of the Oneness.

Can a same-sex couple get married at the Midwest Buddhist Temple? 

Yes. It is not an issue. We certainly encourage all people who want to be married to have a ceremony at the temple.

The Midwest Buddhist Temple and the Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) have “allowed” same-sex weddings for a long time. From the 1950s to the present, there have been wedding ceremonies of same-sex couples even when same-sex marriages were not legal. For the most part, these early same-sex weddings were only ceremonies in the Buddhist tradition (and were not legal marriages), and they were kept quiet and private.

The BCA Ministers Association went on record and passed a resolution in support of gay marriage in 1998. As gay marriage has become legal in some states, the number of same-sex marriages has increased. Perhaps, the most publicized gay marriage held at BCA Temple was at the Los Angeles Betsuin with George Takei and Brad Altman.

How is life as a minister different than life as a practicing Buddhist?

As Shin Buddhists, there is not much difference between being a minister or lay person. The professional aspects of being a Resident Kaikyoshi (Minister), of course, have added responsibilities and duties to serve the members of the temple. But the core of appreciating the Buddha-Dharma is very much the same.

More recently, I have really come to appreciate the unique teachings of Shin Buddhism that allows “ordinary people” to discover Awakening. There is not a separation between monks and ordinary people since we are all fellow travelers.

What are Buddhist beliefs of the moment a person dies? They pass from their earthly life to what?

One passes into the Pure Land. This is difficult to explain. Each Buddha lives in a home, as all people do, but his home is a “land” or more like a “realm” which is not a physical place. And, the largest Pure Land is the Home of Amida Buddha.

It was Shinran Shonin, our founder, who saw that everyone, with no exceptions, can enter Amida’s Pure Land and receive all the benefits of Awakening/Enlightenment. The idea of “no exceptions” is the meaning of Infinite Compassion (which is really difficult for humans to accept).Think of life as an ocean….this is the Oneness of life. In the ocean, there are waves that have a shape and form for a limited duration.

Our lives are like a wave, we have a shape and a form for a limited time; we think we are unique and separate (which would be our ego or image of ourself). When the wave hits the shore, it disappears….yet, we all know that the wave was always part of the ocean. Each wave comes from the ocean and returns to the ocean…this is Oneness.

So, where do we go ? We return to the Oneness of all life….the Pure Land is that Oneness of the ocean.