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Our temple, affiliated with the Buddhist Churches of America and the Nishi Hongwanji in Kyoto, Japan, follows the teachings of the Jodo Shinshu, or The Pure Land School. LEARN MORE
Join us at our Sunday services and recite the Nembutsu to become one with Amida Buddha and transcend the petty selfishness of the individual. LEARN MORE
Bring your children to learn the basics of Buddhism and how life experiences and our religion relate. LEARN MORE
Visit our MBT Legacy Garden, which honors the Japanese-Americans who founded the temple in 1944 after their release from the U.S. internment camps of World War II. LEARN MORE
What’s happening at MBT
The Spring 2019 Creative Writing PROSE sessions will be held on February 23, March 9, March 23, and April 6 (note: the location for the April 6 session will be announced later). Anyone high school age and older may participate.
The first Sunday of each month is the Monthly Memorial Service. As a part of our regular Shin (Jodo Shinshu) Family Service we take a moment to remember and express gratitude to loved ones who have passed away. During Service, children’s classes are also available. Everyone is welcome to attend and for more information please visit our 
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What kind of temple are we?
The Midwest Buddhist Temple is a temple of the Jodo Shinshu school of Buddhism, with roots in the Pure Land Buddhist tradition. Jodo Shinshu, also referred to as Shin Buddhism, was founded in Japan by Shinran Shonin (1173-126 [...]
MBT’s 75th Anniversary
July 10, 1944. South Parkway Community Hall. Southside Chicago. Rev. Gyodo Kono holds the very first service. Seventy-five years on, such are the humble beginnings of MBT. It’s easy to hear a milestone like this, remark mome [...]
Japanese Cinema at MBT – February 16
Saturday Afternoon at the Japanese Cinema is a monthly event showcasing Japanese movies. The movie and snacks are free courtesy of the MBT Sangha (temple members). Movies are shown each month except when the temple's Social [...]
Creative Writing 2019 – Spring Workshops
Kick-start your story: Start writing the story you’ve always wanted, but didn’t know how to start. This spring we have expanded our Creative Writing workshop offerings. In addition to our Prose and Poetry workshops, we have [...]
American Sutra book launch – March 1
AMERICAN SUTRA - March 1 discussion and book launch FRIDAY MARCH 1 USC professor Duncan Ryukan Williams, who is also a Soto Zen priest and author of the upcoming book “American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Sec [...]
Bake Sale benefits our Homeless Projects – March 3
BAKE SALE - SUNDAY, MARCH 3 On Sunday March 3, right after Family Service we will hold a Bake Sale to raise funds for our Sangha’s various community service projects benefiting the homeless. Please come to Family Service on [...]
2019 MBT Membership Pledge Drive
Help us keep the many programs at MBT going by supporting our Annual Pledge Drive.
Meet our 2019 Board of Trustees
2019 Board of Trustees Installation Ceremony Carl Ichikawa, Marcus Moore, Steve Arima, Rich Taura, Joanne Tohei, Rick Morimoto, Alexander Yu, Roger Suekama, Joy Zavala, Albert Sora, Kiku Taura, Rev. Ron Miyamura (above) Rev [...]
Ask Reverend Ron
Is there something about Shin Buddhism or our temple that you’ve been wondering about and would love to have some one-on-one time with Rev. Ron Miyamura to ask him? Now you can by following his blog: Ask Rev. Ron. Each month [...]
Acknowledgements
Thank you for visiting the Midwest Buddhist Temple website. Whether you are just beginning on your journey seeking knowledge about Buddhism and Jodo Shinshu Buddhism or you have long been a friend of the Midwest Buddhist Temple, we hope that you find the site to be an engaging, informative resource. That is our goal.
We are grateful for the support of our Sangha (the temple members), many of whom contributed thoughtful suggestions, articles and photography. We are also grateful to the Buddhist Churches of America (BCA), with which our temple is affiliated and from whose publications we have drawn.