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Join us on July 13 for our annual Bon Odori festival where everyone joins in on the dancing. We even hold practice sessions in the weeks leading up to Bon Odori. LEARN MORE about this tradition that dates back 1500 years.
BON ODORI - JULY 13
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 Bon Odori is a festival of Japanese Folk dance honoring loved ones who have passed before us.
Each Sunday we have our regular Shin (Jodo Shinshu) Buddhist Family Service. 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 [...]
Family Fun Night – June 15
Join us for Family Fun Night on June 15 Family Fun Night (or Katei Night) continues an MBT tradition of gathering the Sangha for an evening of food, fun, and entertainment. Join us on June 15 at MBT starting at 4:00 pm. The s [...]
Terms & Concepts in Shin Buddhism Classes – June
Often words used during Buddhist services may be difficult to understand and sometimes even misunderstood. As a part of our Buddhist Education offerings, we will hold four classes explaining some of the terminology and concep [...]
Come to MBT’s Used Book Sale – June 8-9
Coinciding with the neighboring Old Town Art Fair every June, MBT’s Used Book Sale attracts hundreds of passersby and serious book-lovers with tables filled with books, CDs, records, and this year we have vintage baseball ca [...]
Japanese Cinema at MBT – June 22
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 [...]
Bon Odori – July 13
On Saturday, July 13 at 8:00 pm in the temple parking lot, the chochin lanterns will hang above our temple parking lot. The cars will be gone, replaced with a ring of chairs, a stage for a taiko drum. And as nighttime falls [...]
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 [...]
2019 MBT Membership Pledge Drive
Help us keep the many programs at MBT going by supporting our Annual Pledge Drive.
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 [...]
Chicago Tribune article about Internment Camps
click the banner for the full article The Chicago Tribune recently published an article about the incarceration of Japanese-Americans during WWII. The story highlights the efforts of a new generation of Japanese-Americans [...]
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.