Legacy
J.K. Hirano
94: Extremely difficult is it to encounter an age in which a Buddha appears, And difficult indeed for a person to realize the wisdom of Shinjin. To come to hear the dharma rarely met with is again among all things most difficult.
To realize shinjin oneself and to guide others to shinjin is among difficult things yet even more difficult. To awaken beings everywhere to great compassion Is truly to respond in gratitude to the Buddha’s benevolence.
CWS 120
Jishin kyo nin shin
Nan chu ten kyo nan
Last week, Carmela and I attended the Mt. States District conf. in Denver, Colo., one of the member temples of our BCA district. I still remember that I was in awe of this place, when I first came here as a teenager in about 1975. The culture of Denver as a city wasn’t that different from Utah. A western vibe, but more modern and bigger, you had the Broncos (NFL), the Nuggets (NBA) and now the Rockies (MLB) and the Avalanche (NHL). The population was Predominantly white with a smattering of African Americans, Hispanics and Asians. However, when I saw TriState Buddhist temple, comparing it to Salt Lake, Ogden or Honeyville Buddhist Temples. Wow!
To be there for the fiftieth anniversary of Sakura Square is an honor. When Rev. Diana asked me to speak, I immediately agreed and she told me, I could speak about whatever I wanted to.
It’s a bit dangerous to just leave an old minister an open slate and giving him permission to talk about whatever he wants to. We ministers have a difficult time, keeping things short. This article is from my talk there.
The first thing I thought of was “Legacy” Legacy as defined by Merrian Websters is:
1: a gift by will especially of money or other personal property : BEQUEST
She left us a legacy of a million dollars.
2: something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past
the legacy of the ancient philosophers
The war left a legacy of pain and suffering.
Sakura Square and this temple are the legacy bestowed upon future Japanese American and American families. Our Issei pioneers came to this country to fulfill a dream of a better life for their family. I feel that our Japanese American community, has more than met that dream of the Issei. We are living their dream. Fifty years is a long time, but this temple has been here for over 100 years. Founded by the Issei pioneers who arrived in America dreaming of success in life for their children and future generations. The Nisei second generation Japanese Americans who wanted to prove their worth as true Americans. After the atrocities they experienced during World War two.
The Legacy of this temple and the majority of temples within our Buddhist Churches of America is a “Gift” of quite an amazing infrastructure of Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji Ha temples throughout the United States, Canada, South America and now Europe. As definition one of Legacy states: A gift by will especially of money or personal property. And the second definition of something transmitted by or received from the past: Such as the legacy of ancient philosophers or the legacy of war, pain and suffering. This legacy of the Issei and Nisei created for us Sansei and the future generations, is an awesome gift, but also a heavy responsibility.
Over the years, since 1974, I’ve been to Tri State Buddhist Temple many times, especially when I was in YBA, about 50 years ago. Rev. Tamai, Sugiyama, Oda and Okamoto were the ministers. Coming from Salt Lake, TriState was the first temple I had seen outside of Utah and I was amazed. I still remember when our YBA was taken to the top of Tamai Towers to look out. I hate heights, so I couldn’t really go to the edge. That time we all slept in your huge gymnasium. After that if I wasn’t staying at the temple, I would usually stay at the Yamashita home. Henry and Betty Yamashita, Gail Ida’s parents always welcomed me like family whenever I came to Denver, which was at least two or three times a year. It wasn’t always for temple activities, it was also for a lot of concerts, such as Earth, Wind and Fire, Ojays, Rose Royce, LTD etc. African American groups seldom came to Utah back then, so we had to come out to Denver. But the times have changed and surprisingly, they now come to Utah.
Although I am from Utah and have been the minister in Salt Lake for over 30 years and Ogden and Honeyville for over twenty, I have always felt close to the TriState Temple, because of this association from my YBA days until now. I care about what happens at this temple.
Besides my temples, I am also the director of the BCA Center for Buddhist Education and the director of the Ministers’ Assistants program, and I can see that all of our BCA temples are in a time of great transition and struggle to continue. For BCA to develop our legacy into the future, we must first understand our legacy and what we will do with it. I believe another word for “Legacy” which may be easier to understand is “Culture”
Each BCA temple has its own culture politically, socially etc., even ethnically. We Japanese Americans are not a homogenous culture. I have really learned a lot from a book called: The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle, in this book he makes five points about culture.
Culture is learned: it is not biological or inherited
Culture is shared: we essentially,”do culture” it is how we interact with one another.
Culture is based on symbols: Namo Amida Butsu, Gassho, Itadakimasu etc.
Culture is integrated: To understand culture you must understand all it’s parts and how they affect one another.
Culture is Dynamic: It is constantly changing
For our culture to fully reach its potential we must establish some ground rules for all our temples
Create Safety: explore how signals of connection generate bonds of belonging and connection
Share Vulnerability; explain how habits of mutual risk drive trusting cooperation
Establish Purpose: this tells how marratives create shared goals and values.
When I was growing up in Salt Lake, I remember there was only one non- Japanese family that attended our temple. If you come to a typical Sunday service now. There would be 60 percent non-Japanese in attendance. When I came to Denver, it was much more integrated. In fact, I remember it was a non-Japanese man Mr. Green?, that was the Dharma School superintendent and Rev. Diana Thompson was in the Dharma School and YBA, with green hair. Yes, Denver was much more ahead of the times, then Salt Lake.
The Dharma Schools is a good place to begin teaching the culture of our temples.
This dharma School cannot be just for children, and when people come to the temple, it must be a safe space. In the old Dharma School curriculum guide written by Etsuko Steinmetz: The cover says in Japanese: Jishin Kyo Nin Shin: This was always like a theme for our Dharma Schools. Loosely translated meaning
To realize shinjin oneself and to guide others to shinjin
However, this is only the first half of the sentence, it concludes with:
Nan Chu Ten Kyo Nan
is among difficult things yet even more difficult
Our Jodo Shinshu tradition has still a long way to go in English. However, we must get back to what our legacy is. The Nembutsu teachings: Shinjin, the faith mind, heart mind, whatever you want to call it. Yesterday At the interfaith workshop at the conference, Rev. Lee of the Japanese Wesley Methodist Church mentioned that the problem he saw with his church was a flattening of their spiritual understanding. Teaching on a horizontal planes, rather than aspirational and transcendent. Jodo Shinshu is the same. We have been emphasizing the horizontal “this world” plane. However, the heart of Jodo Shinshu; Namo Amida Butsu is transcendant.
Amida Buddha,
the Pure Land,
Shinjin,
Other Power.
How many of you who would consider yourselves Jodo Shinshu know and could explain, what these four things are. When you understand this essential aspect of our Jodo Shinshu teachings, it changes your life. It shakes up and changes the very ground you walk on.
The spirit of Japan, the culture of Japan is interesting, However, it will not keep the temples going. No matter how we look at it, within the next fifty years. The Japanese cultural component will lose it’s now, “hip ness”. If we continue this Japanese culture, as the culture of the temple, then we risk the temple becoming an occasional cultural center.
Within Buddhism and I believe especially Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, we find one of the most non-judgmental, compassionate teachings in the history of mankind. The historical Buddha Shakyamuni has said, “There are 84,000 paths to enlightenment.” What he means by 84,000 paths is that there are an infinite number of ways to awaken to Truth. Each of us human beings are individuals; consisting of our own histories and various causes and conditions which make up our lives. We each have our own stories and truths that make us who we are. Buddhism recognizes that the teachings must be flexible to encompass so many different viewpoints. There cannot be only one true and real teaching. Just as there cannot be only one story or history to identify each and every one of us, yet why is Jodo Shinshu out of those 84,000 paths the right truth for my life.
Jodo Shinshu has enabled me to see myself as the “foolish being” I know I am. I know without a doubt that I am a foolish being, filled with greed, anger, ignorance; however, I recognize how my life has been blessed and I am alive because of the wondrous compassionate embrace of Amida Buddha, the essence of the relationships that surround me and allow me to exist. Jodo Shinshu has shown me my life is not about just me, the foolish being, but in the relationships the world has given me. The words, the terminology, the rituals, the traditions all resonate with who I am. This is why I am Jodo Shinshu Buddhist.
Although, I am a proud third generation Japanese American Buddhist. It is not the Japanese culture that has made me want to devote my life to these teachings. It is the profound truth of receiving shinjin into my life and knowing that Amida Buddha is always with me, this foolish being. Whether I eat gyoza or tacos, rice or bread. To look towards the transcendent is to look towards true and real life. If we can teach this to others, this temple can remain for another 100 years.
On September 23, 2023 at the Japanese American National Museum, in Los Angeles, a ceremony was held for “Ireicho” a book of names for all the Japanese and Japanese Americans that were interned in various concentration camps during World War II. This book of names recognizes the 76 concentration camps and the 126,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans held in these camps. Rev. Dr. Duncan Williams had asked me to take part in this ceremony, since I have been involved with some activities at the Topaz camp in Delta, Utah and conduct Obon services there and at the Minidoka Camp site in Jerome, Idaho. I would have loved to take part however, because of some previous commitments, I couldn’t attend.
When I went on my 48-state sojourn to hold a service in all the 48 contiguous United States, I stopped at many of these camp sites, such as Rohwer, Arkansas, Heart Mountain, Wyoming and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The light of Amida Buddha did not forget these sites or individuals who had been held there and I believe that this listing of the names, reveals who we are as a community.
If we do not forget the names of those who came before us, they will be the light of Amida Buddha that can show us who we truly are. They are the essence of the Shinjin which is the essence of what we are as Jodo Shinshu Buddhists. The Name; Namo Amida Butsu is the most important. I will close this article with my favorite Jodo Shinshu quote from the book Awareness of Self written by Rev. Gyodo Haguri and translated by Rev. Will Matsuda.
Generally speaking, people are considered to be good and faithful followers if they lead a moral life, attend church services and participate in welfare activities. In Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, however, while these practices are encouraged, they alone do not constitute the Buddhist way of life. What is critically important is that the teachings radically transform our way of thinking and living so that we become true individuals: strong in crisis, humble in success, tender in our feelings and grateful at all times.
Rev. Gyodo Haguri