Manitoba Buddhist Temple
A BUDDHIST TEMPLE IN THE JODO SHINSHU TRADITION
More Tributes for Leslie Kawamura
Dr. Kawamura receiving
the Order of the University of Calgary in June
2010
Danny Fisher has posted
interviews with two men who knew Rev. Leslie Kawamura
very well. The article was written for "Buddhadharma:
The Practitioner’s Quarterly Online" and features
John Harding, Associate Professor of Religious
Studies at the University of Lethbridge, and a
co-editor of "Wild Geese: Buddhism in Canada"
and Charles Prebish, the recently-retired
Charles Redd Chair in Religious Studies at Utah State
University, and author of "Luminous Passage: The
Practice and Study of Buddhism in America".
The highlight of my time in Calgary was our daily lunches. Usually, around noon, Leslie and I would meet in his office, often with other faculty members and students included, and just brainstorm about all things Buddhist. Nothing was ever pre-planned. We just spontaneously discussed whatever came up on any specific day. It didn’t matter whether it was Vinaya or Vimalakirti, monasticism or meditation, the discussions were lively and free-spirited. --CHARLES PREBISH
READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT BUDDHADHARMA...Rev. Leslie Kawamura’s influence goes beyond his role with the Raymond temple and includes important innovations at the Honpa Buddhist Temple of Lethbridge from the end of the 1960s to the mid-1970s when he took an academic position. This history deserves more attention as does the more recent period in which Leslie served Jodo Shinshu in Canada as the Director of the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada – Living Dharma Centre. --JOHN HARDING
In Memorian Doreen Hamilton 1938-2011
As a grandparent, her commitment to the mission of FOG was evident. What may not have been as evident was the source of her commitment: Doreen became a Shin Buddhist and in 1988 was ordained as an assistant minister of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. She later served as an assistant minister at a Toronto Buddhist temple, and as a Buddhist Chaplain for the University of Toronto and for Federal Prisons.
Of all the great religions, Buddhism gives the most emphasis to the identification of humans with the natural world. Our self-deification as the controlling species is inconsistent with this teaching. Such deification regards nature as a resource, a means for increased consumption with its attendant over-population and pollution of the environment. Climate change is only one consequence of that attitude. In Buddhist thinking, ecological balance is restored through the philosophy of Sarvodaya (uplift of all), which is based on loving kindness, compassionate action, and altruistic job.
In Doreen’s words: “As Buddhists we have a deep sense of respect for nature just the way it is. We seek to understand and harmonize with nature rather than conquer or improve it.”
Doreen died on January 3, 2011 – a great loss to us as individuals, and a misfortune for FOG. She would not have considered her death in such negative terms. In the words of two poems she wrote:
Our short life.
Our short life can’t matter much.
What matters is what we leave when we die.
Will I leave love?
Will I leave beauty?
Will I leave peace?
Will I leave others stronger than before I came?
I’ll do my best!
Human Life.
We are briefly here,
like fish leaping out of the ocean!
“The Ocean of Infinite life”.
In human life, it is our thoughts that make our life here heaven or hell!
At human death we all return to the blissful emptiness from which we came.
READ MORE OF DOREEN'S POETRY...
READ DOREEN'S OBITUARY...
LEARN MORE ABOUT DOREEN'S WORK...
COURTESY FOR OUR GRANDCHILDREN...
Cy Saimoto was the embodiment of the Japanese-Canadian experience
In his 82 years,
Vancouver entrepreneur Cy Saimoto toiled in an
internment camp, built a company and shook hands with
an emperor.
The arc of his life – from the dark days when his
family was uprooted from the coast, to his giddy
delight when Japan’s royal couple visited Vancouver
in 2009 – mirrors the trajectory of the
Japanese-Canadian experience in British Columbia over
the past century. He has died at 82.
“We always told him that he was living history,” says
his daughter, Laura Saimoto. “His life and the
immigrant experience and rebuilding after the war –
he lived through that whole era.”
Cy Hisao Saimoto was born in 1928 in Steveston, B.C.
fishing village that at the turn of the century was a
beacon for Japanese immigrants. The sixth of 10
children, he grew up in a community where families
were large, work days were long and children played
at the ocean’s edge. The sounds of Japanese rang
through village streets and shops, making Steveston
as much of a ‘Japantown’ – and as much as a ghetto –
as Vancouver’s Powell Street enclave.
His parents insisted that Saimoto and his siblings
attend Japanese school after regular,
English-language school – something that he balked
at, preferring to play outside. But it likely played
a role in his lifetime commitment to Japanese
language and culture.
By the time he was a teenager, the family was
well-established. His grandfather owned four
fish-packing boats, which were leased to fishing
crews that numbered 200 in peak season. The family
owned a car and lived in a two-storey house with a
big front porch.
Those prosperous days ended on Dec. 7, 1941, with the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. On Dec. 8, more than
a thousand Japanese-Canadian fishing boats were
impounded. By early 1942, mass evacuations had begun.
The Saimotos, along with hundreds of other families,
lost nearly everything they owned.
For the rest of his days, Saimoto would be haunted by
the image of Japanese-Canadians, including family
friends, crowded in the stables of Vancouver’s
Hastings Park, from where rail cars would carry them
to ghost towns in the interior.
The Saimotos wound up in the former gold-mining town
of Minto. At Minto, Saimoto’s grandfather and father
were soon running logging crews. He worked as a
labourer – clearing brush, loading and unloading
trucks, slinging blocks of ice in an icehouse. He
finished high school in Revelstoke.
The family returned to the coast in 1949, a year
after Japanese Canadians were granted the right to
vote and by which time, the last remaining
restrictions on Japanese-Canadians’ movement in
Canada had finally been lifted.
Saimoto’s father and grandfather started over,
launching an import-export business that specialized
in shipping B.C. salmon roe to Japan. Saimoto also
went into business, with the Great West Paper Box Co.
Ltd., in 1955. He served as chairman until he died
and the company is now run by his two daughters.
Told that golf was popular with businessmen, he took
up the sport, becoming one of the first non-white
members of the Point Grey Golf & Country Club.
Around the same time, Saimoto also went
house-shopping, determined to find a home where his
parents could live out their days in comfort. He and
his father went door-to-door in Kerrisdale, a
well-to-do neighbourhood on the city’s west side.
Many homeowners slammed the door in his face, saying
they did not want to sell to a ‘Jap,’ Laura recounts.
Finally, one homeowner was receptive, saying his
money was as good as anybody else’s. Saimoto bought
that house in 1955 and lived there for the rest of
his life. Until he became ill in June, he went to his
office daily to keep an eye on company affairs.
He devoted countless hours to the Vancouver Buddhist
Temple and the Vancouver Japanese Language School and
Hall. The school and hall – in the heart of
Vancouver’s Japantown – opened in 1906 and have
operated since, except between 1942 and 1952, when
the property was confiscated and used first by the
Canadian military and then by local businesses.
In 1953, after a lengthy campaign by
Japanese-Canadians in Vancouver, half of the property
was turned over to the community. Of all the assets
seized from Japanese-Canadians during the war, the
school is the only property to have been returned.
As the years passed, Vancouver’s Japantown fell on
hard times, squeezed by the poverty and social
problems of the Downtown Eastside. Saimoto, however,
never gave up on the neighbourhood. He spearheaded
the construction of a new temple and an expansion of
the school.
In 2009, Japan’s Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko
visited Canada, marking the first time that the
Emperor had been to Canada since 1953, when he
visited as the crown prince. When the royal couple’s
official itinerary was announced, it did not include
a visit to the Language School in what had become a
rough-edged neighbourhood.
Aghast, Saimoto and others launched a fierce
campaign, writing politicians, tapping connections in
Vancouver and Japan and insisting that the historic
school merited a stop on the royal tour. After weeks
of behind-the-scenes lobbying, those efforts paid
off, with officials even acquiescing to Saimoto’s
insistence that more people be allowed inside the
school to meet the royal couple and that there be
minimal restrictions on crowds outside.
Cy Saimoto, Honourary
Chairman of the Japanese Language School,
raises his arms while escorting visiting Emperor
Akihito of Japan (L) in Vancouver, B.C. July 12,
2009. --Reuters
When the royal couple
visited the site, Saimoto was there to greet them. As
the couple departed in a chauffeured limousine,
waving at the crowds that lined the street in front
of the school, he could not stop grinning.
“It meant a lot to the people, to the Japanese
community. And the Downtown Eastside. Because the
first Japanese settlement was here,” he said at the
time.
In November, 2009, he travelled to Japan to receive
the Order of the Rising Sun from the Emperor, in
recognition of a lifetime of volunteering in the
Japanese-Canadian community.
He leaves his wife Ritsu and his children Mark, Laura
and Debbie.
Namu Amida Butsu
READ CY SAIMOTO'S OBITUARY...
READ AN INTERVIEW WITH CY SAIMOTO
FROM THE BULLETIN...
Sensei Ulrich Engages Calgary
Sensei Ulrich played a
major role at the 2010 Alberta Buddhist Conference.
The Manitoba Buddhist Church minister opened the
conference, with discussions on "Engaged Buddhism".
He also closed the weekend's events by giving a
dharma talk at the Sunday service.
Over one-thousand people took in the event on October
29-31, which included a Buddhist film festival and
Calgary Buddhist Temple's Shinran Shonin's 750th
Memorial celebration.
Calgary Buddhist Film Series
32nd Annual
Alberta Buddhist Conference
With Jodo Shinshu Internationally, our own
Alberta Temples are together this year commemorating
750 years of the life and teachings of Shinran
Shonin!
The Alberta 750 Conference is October 28th - 31st,
2010 in Calgary. This year will feature the Calgary
Buddhist Film Festival, speakers on Engaged Buddhism
(including Manitoba minister, Fredrich Ulrich),
Buddhist discussion break-outs, art from local
artists, and social activities for the young and
young-at-heart! Through this Celebration, we hope to
again set in motion the dharma through our Vision of
'living, learning and teaching a life of joy and
gratitude through Jodo Shinshu Buddhism'.
If you are reading this, you are Invited and
welcome!"
By the way, great poster
for this year's Buddhist Film Series.
LIST OF MOVIES BEING SCREENED AT
THE CALGARY BUDDHIST FILM SERIES...
MORE INFORMATION AT THE CALGARY
BUDDHIST TEMPLE WEBSITE...
Shinran's 750th in Japan
On May 15, 2011, join Jodo Shinshu followers from around the world in commemorating Shiran Shonin's 750th Memorial Service at the Nishi Hongwanji in Kyoto, Japan.
Tours are being planned through Kinetsu Tours from May 12-23.
1910 Rogers Pass Disaster
Those were the words of Karen Tierney, Superintendent of Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Park and Rogers Pass National Historic Site, as she addressed a crowd of over 500 people at a special commemorative service held in Revelstoke, B.C. this week.
Thirty-two of those men were Japanese immigrants and were most likely Buddhists. So, as part of the ceremony, their names were read and a short service was performed by Bishop Fujikawa of the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada.
There is another
event planned for August 15, 2010. CPR and Parks
Canada will be designing a memorial monument at
Roger's Pass. The 1910 Avalanche Committee wish to
have an Obon Service and Bon Odori to be part of the
centennial events. Sensei Doctor Leslie Kawamura
of Calgary will be in Revelstoke to perform the
service.
Should you be planning your holidays around this
time, please try to include a trip to Revelstoke and
take in this event.
-With information from Roy Inouye
GO TO THE REVELSTOKE TIMES-REVIEW
TO SEE A SLIDE SHOW, VIDEO AND ARTICLE OF THE
EVENT...
Loving-Kindness in Kansas
The Woman's Spirit Connection is a
support group that includes women of all
faiths and ethnic derivations. The evening of
meditation was a success because the women were
well prepared by their years together. Rev.
Ulrich claims that it was one of the best
Loving-Kindness sessions that he has
ever experienced. And while there were some
participants who were new to this kind of
practice, the positive relationships in this
spiritual group readily included these 'beginners'
in the activities.
Many of
the participants have since reported to have
continued these meditations on their own as an
important component of their own private practice. It
turns out it was an important two hours for
everybody.
VISIT THE WOMAN SPIRIT CONNECTION
IN KANSAS...
LEARN MORE ABOUT
LOVING-KINDNESS...
Nyozegamon
Socho Koshin Ogui,
Bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America
Living in San Francisco,
Socho Koshin Ogui is the writer
of the popular column “Nyozegamon,” which appears in
the Hokubei community newspaper and
website.
The English translation for "Nyozegamon" is "I have
heard it in this way". This refers to the passing
down of stories from generation to generation.
Recent column topics include "Finding Happiness in
the Midst of Misfortune" and "Why Does She Say She
Has Nothing When She Has Plenty?".
Upon his appointment as Bishop of the the Buddhist Churches of America,
Ogui was asked what his goals were as Bishop. Ogui
said that his personal goal is to convey the
wonderful nature of Buddhist tradition in the U.S.
Further adding, "To do this, we must convey the
traditions in a manner that is convincing to
Americans."
Nyozegamon is a wonderful way of communicating these
ideas.
READ BISHOP OGUI'S
COLUMNS...
Oakland Buddhist Church
The page focuses on the Oakland Buddhist Church, its history and how the temple serve as a "point of community" for Japanese-Americans. It also serves as primer on Jodo Shinshu Buddhism.
Members stroll in early
to Dharma Family Service, which takes place on
Sundays in the hondo.
The gong-like sound of a bell called a Kansho reverberates throughout the hondo. The conversations in the room begin to trail off. After a few more strikes and silent pauses, the bell is hit rapidly. The chatter fades to a silence and the only sound left in the room is the lingering ring.The bell stops.Three ministers, all men, are dressed in long black robes. Around their necks, they each have a kesa, tightly folded cloth made from the robes that Buddhist monks traditionally wear. They sit in chairs on the sides of the altar and begin to chant. Their voices together create a drone that engulfs the room.
The item goes on to explain the 108 year history of the congregation and how the temple has evolved as the community around it has changed. The current minister at the Oakland Buddhist Church is Rev. Harry Bridge.
It features some great photos and sound, a recording of Nembutsu chanting.
Buddhist Military Sangha
Courtesy Ekoji Buddhist
Temple Dharma School in Fairfax County,
Virginia
Caught in the middle are
soldiers. Many soldiers are religious. In fact, right
now, there are 1,900 Buddhists serving in the U.S.
(Army Times).
A great blog that helps sort this out for many is the
Buddhist Military Sangha. It is
an unofficial online resource for Buddhists in the
United States Armed Forces. One of the frequent
contributors to the site is a Jodo Shinshu
Buddhist Priest named Jeanette Shin. Shin was
ordained at the Nishi Hongwanji, in Kyoto, Japan,
in 2003. She was endorsed to become a military
chaplain by the Buddhist Churches of America and
served in the US Marine Corps from 1988-1992. She
is a minister of the Buddhist Church of Florin, near
Sacramento, CA.
How does she justify her role in the military?
Yes, there have always been armies and police, and there has to be some provision for defence. Even were we living in a world of wise rulers, protection is necessary. The Buddha speaks of this, as does Dogen. Aggression exists within each of us. But our wars today day wars are hardly the work of wise rulers (Neither were most wars in the past.). Whatever the issues may be, however just, the killing is fed by arms dealers and vast corporations who profit from the various technologies of killing. And by politicians driven by self-interest in raw form. And even by ourselves in a willingness to preserve privilege over groups and people elsewhere in the world.Having said all that, I would add that military personnel and families I have met often embody the highest principles of honour, duty, and self-sacrifice. They try to live according to what I might call “practice,” for the sake of their country and people. It is essential to hold this in mind.
I can’t help wondering, maybe naively, what would come of a policy that replaces retribution with generosity, that uses even a portion of the trillions we spend on war and destruction at home (prisons) and abroad for education, health, housing, and food? I would sign up in a New York minute as a chaplain to that kind of army.
READ MORE COMMENTS BY SENSEI JEANETTE SHIN ON THE BUDDHIST MILITARY SANGHA...
Buddhism in Seattle
“It’s a laid back Buddhist. That’s the way I like to say it, laid back Buddhist, because traditional Buddhist you are really trying to improve yourself and you’re working towards your enlightenment. Then as you move in that direction you find out how difficult it is to obtain enlightenment on your own. As you find that out Jodo Shinshu Buddhism then you realize that we all are enlightened. We are all working in that direction. But we do it with the help of the other power which is known as Amida Buddha, which is what our whole shrine is dedicated to. Amida Buddha is not really a person per say, it’s a personification of an ideal or concept which is love, wisdom and passion all rolled into one,” said Rev. Jim.
“That’s what life really is because every time something good happens there is kind something bad is lurking or just happened. The best example of this is when the Buddha was out during a ceremony for planting the crops in the spring when he was a young child or teenager they were ploughing out the fields and this was important to the village, because this provided crops for the rest of the year. They were ploughing the fields and the Buddha noticed you know were getting all this good stuff but there is also bugs and plants and animals dying out there because all the sudden they were exposed. The birds come down and eat the bugs, the lizards jump on the birds and it goes on. So even during this great time and celebration there is this stuff going on that isn’t so good and that’s was it really is. Things aren’t going to be perfect, and the more we want them to be perfect the more frustrated we are going to become. If we just accept things as they are then life kind of makes sense,” said Rev. Joe.
Rev. Jim and Rev. Joe refer to Jim Warrick, and Joe Schwab, who are both Certified Minister’s Assistants . They work with Rev. Don Castro at the Seattle Betsuin Temple.
READ THE ENTIRE POSTING AT PACIFIC LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY WEBNEWS...
GO TO THE SEATTLE BETSUIN TEMPLE WEBSITE...
Jenny's Poem
"We wish the torch
of the Buddha-Dharma lit in the City of Winnipeg is
never extinguished"
Jenny Setsuko Nishimura
was the wife of Rev. Hideo Nishimura, the first
minister of the Manitoba Buddhist Temple. She would
have celebrated her 100th birthday in June 2009. Even
with her passing into nirvana earlier in the year,
her life continues to resonate in our hearts because
of her selfless service.
Jenny's poem was discovered by her niece, Tomoko
Tatsumi. Bishop Orai Fujikawa graciously wrote the
kanji and it now hangs in the hondo as a reminder...
to care and celebrate life in our temple.
READ MORE ABOUT JENNY
NISHIMURA...
Opening Night
Poster in the lobby
Sensei Ulrich
introduces the film with a brief history of Buddhism
and politics in Myanmar
Sensei Ulrich meets
with the audience after the film
The Manitoba Buddhist
Temple is grateful that the Winnipeg Film Group
invited us to participate and hope to continue
working together on future projects.
VISIT THE WINNIPEG CINEMATHEQUE
WEBSITE...
See us on YouTube
Lethbridge in the News
Lethbridge Dedication Service
Final Stages
Jenny Setsuko Nishimura
A Sense of Community
Buddhist Leader Retires
Bring Your Children up Buddhist
Through a Buddhist Lens
The third annual Calgary Buddhist Film Series
kicks off on Thursday, October 30. It features
seven films followed by discussions led by
Ministers of the Jodo Shinshu sect of Buddhism
including Sensei Ulrich of the Manitoba Buddhist
Temple. It's probably the best deal in town...
FREE!
Also check out DharmaFlix. Its a new
collaborative wiki web site listing films with
Buddha dharma content. It also features a top 100
list based on participants' reviews. So what's
your favorite Buddhist film or TV series?
VISIT THE CALGARY BUDDHIST TEMPLE
WEB SITE...
SEE THE TOP 100 BUDDHIST FILMS AT
DHARMAFLIX....
Jodo Shinshu Day in Canada
May I join all the Dharma Friends across Canada in paying my tribute of appreciation to the pioneers and predecessors for their vision and commitment to guide us in the teaching of the Nembutsu.
Today, if you go to internet and check Buddhism in Canada, you will be surprised to know there have been hundred of groups in many Buddhist traditions mushrooming throughout the country , which never existed 40 years ago. Therefore, I think it was a good choice to put the name of Jodo Shinshu in front to clarify our mission. At the same time, however, we have to be prepared to explain what is Jodo Shinshu Buddhism to the general public. Especially ministers, temple leaders and officers are responsible to take the lead.
Let me remind you of the 750th Memorial Service of Shinran Shonin, the founder of Jodo Shinshu tradition, which will be observed in Kyoto from April 9, 2011 to January 16, 2012 under the theme of “AN-NON”, Peace and Tranquility. We, the JSBTC are also planning to observe our national service one year before, in 2010, to promote our tradition.
May each and everyone be aware of this important event which is only observed once in 50 years and participate with good understanding and support.
In gassho,
Socho Orai Fujikawa, Bishop of the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada
Dharma Talks on iTunes
12 Hour Chanting Marathon
Former BCC Bishop dies
Toshio Murakami was born in Fukuoka, Japan on October 5, 1931. He came to North America in 1959 after receiving his kyoshi certification. His first assignment was at the Berkeley Buddhist Church in California. He was the minister at several temples on the U.S, west coast before working at the BCA headquarters in 1977.
On March 15, 1986, Rev. Murakami began his term as the Bishop of the Buddhist Churches of Canada. Here's a short video clip of Bishop Murakami during a short documentary produced in 1989. In it, he explains his vision for the future of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in Canada.
Canada's current Bishop,
Socho Fujikawa writes, "He will be remembered as the
Bishop who had helped the 1990 World Buddhist Women’s
Convention in Vancouver."
After serving the BCC for seven years, Rev. Murakami
served the Australian Jodo Shinshu community. He
would eventually retire as the minister of the Honpa
Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii, but continued to be the
resident minister of the Pearl City Hongwanji
Mission.
His funeral was held on June 6, 2008 at the Honpa
Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin. It was officiated by Bishop
Thomas R. Okano and sponsored by both the Honpa
Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii and the Pearl City
Hongwanji Mission.
Rev. Murakami leaves behind his wife, Yoko, two
daughters, Mari and Rumi and two grandchildren. If
you would like to make a donation, the Murakami
family has requested that it should be made directly
to the Pacific Buddhist Academy.
Jodo Shinshu BTC AGM
2008 New Year's Message from the Bishop
If you have a chance to see the statue of the Buddha closely, you will notice that his eyes half open and half closed, which is one of the numerous outstanding features of the Buddha, the Enlightened One. It is called HAN-GAN (half eyes), which symbolizes that he can see himself and also see outside.
It is important for an individual living as a responsible citizen in the society to be aware of what’s going on outside today, while it is good to cultivate the inner peace and tranquility.
However, it seems to me that we are surrounded with such a huge amount of information from radio, TV, newspapers and computer that we have some difficulty to pick and choose right information. This is one big reason that I would like to encourage everyone to have a quiet time before the shrine of the Buddha to meditate and receive the wisdom from the Buddha-Dharma.
One of the priorities in the New Year seems to be the awareness of climate change caused by global warming which may affect the life of each one of us directly or indirectly, as we are closely interrelated to each other.
Let us continue our effort to learn from Buddha-Dharma, while we can think of the best way to cope with climate change to take care of our own planet Mother Earth.
Namoamidabutsu,
Orai Fujikawa
Bishop, Buddhist Churches of Canada
Makes a Great Bodhi Day Gift!
Makes a Great
Bodhi Day Gift!
The Buddhist Churches of Canada calendar is on sale
soon. Makes sure to get one for you, your friends,
and your family.
This is a preview of the Manitoba Buddhist Temple
page. Proceeds go to the BCC Sustaining Fund and the
Manitoba Buddhist Temple.
The Latest from Lethbridge
Architect drawings are near completion and construction should start in December. The building is expected to be completed by October 2008.
From the October issue of
the Hikari - Newsletter of the Buddhist Federation of
Alberta:
As everyone is aware, the Taber Buddhist Church has been sold with possession by the new buyer to take place on October 1st. Monday, September 17th was a sad day for Taber members as a group of volunteers gathered to dismantle the Butsudan. The only bright spot was that The Galt Museum has indicated that it will be honoured to accept donation of the Butsudan and will develop a display where it will be available to members well into the future. The kansho (bell), reputed to have the best sound of all the bells in southern Alberta has been selected for the new temple.
Calgary Buddhist Film Series
Jodo Shinshu In Montreal
The project was conducted by Prof. Victor Sogen Hori, who was ordained in Japan as a Zen monk in 1976. He is a professor of Japanese religions in the Faculty of Religious Studies at McGill University. Hori was the guest speaker at the Buddhist Churches of Canada annual general meeting in 2006.
The reports were done by students as part of a course in Religious Studies. In most cases, several students studied a single religious site. Moarco Ovolio reported on the Montreal Buddhist Church.
Ovolio writes in his
conclusion:
It's something to think about as we continue into the future.The difficult situation that the MBC (Montreal Buddhist Church) finds itself in today is largely a consequence of the fact that the experience and function of Jodo Shinshu in North America has been more or less the opposite of other Buddhist schools that migrated here in the twentieth century, such as Zen and Tibetan Buddhism. Where others were welcomed by and opened up to affluent North American culture, Jodo Shinshu was the focal point of an oppressed, alienated and far from wealthy demographic. Even its Christianization, paradoxically, was part of the effort to preserve a Japanese national consciousness. However, with this experience receding further from the present reality for Japanese Canadians and turning more and more into history, Jodo Shinshu temples and churches no longer need to function as the anchors of their communities’ social life and culture. If the Montreal Buddhist Church and others like it are to survive, they will have to shed the skin of their former functions and discover a new niche in North American society.
Prof. Hori is currently working on a major exhibit at the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, titled "Buddhism in Canada."
More from the Buddhist Churches of Canada AGM
Sadly, the Board of Directors accepted the withdrawal and closing of the Alberta’s oldest temple. The Raymond Buddhist Church has closed its doors after 78 years. Raymond members will attend one of the remaining four Alberta temples. Together, they form the newly amalgamated Buddhist Temple of Southern Alberta. The group has purchased land in the city of Lethbridge and hopes to complete construction of a new building in 2008.
Calgary also hosted the first gathering of representatives of the Living Dharma Centre. Led by Dr. Leslie Kawamura of Calgary, a Board of Directors was chosen to begin work on projects, programs, and activities propagating Jodo Shinshu Buddhism.
The BCC Women's Federation will continue to support a Jodo Shinshu Hospital in Kenya. BCCWF members appreciated the presentation by Rocky Oishi who had photographed Kenyan Buddhists in their activities.
The Ministerial Association introduced their theme for 2007. “Encounter the Dharma, Namo Amida Butsu” will include the creation of a full-size wall calendar. Sponsorships for each month of the calendar will be sold to raise money for the BCC Sustaining Fund.
The Vancouver Buddhist Temple will host the 2008 general meeting. If construction is complete on the new Buddhist temple in Lethbridge, Southern Albertans have volunteered to host the 2009 meeting with the Manitoba Buddhist Temple as a backup, if required.
SEE MORE PHOTOS...
Thanks to Calgary
The Manitoba Buddhist Temple would like to thank all the organizers and volunteers in Calgary for their work that weekend. They were wonderful hosts and now, good friends.
One of the ideas we heard that interested us, was creating a Buddhist Film Festival. The Calgary Buddhist Temple organized one last year that was a big success. It was held at a public library and included discussions about the films. Would the general public in Winnipeg be interested in an event like this?
Here's an example of an International Buddhist Film Festival in Singapore. I would attend just to see Lisa Simpson on the big screen. In the meantime, here she is on the computer screen.
We would also like to thank Calgary for creating at link on their web site to us. So right back at you, go to the Calgary Buddhist Temple web site for more information on Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in the Calgary area.
Visitors from around the World
In the next phase of this
web site, we hope to introduce more people to the
Jodo Shinshu sect of Buddhism. This will be a place
for the editors of this web site to share their
thoughts, web sites, and recent news of the world.