I am profoundly grateful to Chuo Bukkyo Gakuin for the chance to chant the entire liturgy of the Three Pure Land Sutra (the Sutra on the Buddha of Infinite Life, the Sutra on the Contemplation of the Buddha of Infinite Life, and the Sutra on the Buddha Amida), the foundation of Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha doctrine.…

After the Typhoon, a Rainbow in Kyoto 台風の後、虹の京都 “My eyes being hindered by blind passions, I cannot perceive the light that grasps me; Yet the great compassion, without tiring, Illumines me always.” Shinran Shōnin Hymns of the Pure Land Masters 煩悩にまなこさへられて 摂取の光明みざれども 大悲ものうきことなくて つねにわが身をてらすなり 親鸞聖人 高僧和讃

Pepsi Halloween Cola is “scented with the fresh and sweet aroma of Halloween candies” according to the press release…and it’s pink.

Vending machine selling ‘dashi’ — the fish-based broth for noodles! 「だし」を売る自動販売機！

Beginning tomorrow, I am privileged to be allowed to conduct ‘Bon Mairi’ services in the homes of 60 families over the next six days. In Japan, the Obon season is one of the busiest times of the year for Buddhist priests, as the tradition is to conduct services in the home, unlike Hawaii where people…

Shinran Shōnin, founder of Jōdō Shinshū, was given the posthumous title “Kenshin,” which can be seen in the frame above the altar area. This honorific title, bestowed by the Emperor Meiji, can be translated as “Seer of Truth” but during his life he preferred to be known as “Gutoku Shinran” or “Shinran the stubble-headed foolish…

「和顔愛語」”Wa Gen Ai Go” can be translated as “kind face, gentle words”, a reminder that a peaceful world and harmonious society begins with each of us. If everyone took this wisdom to heart, what a different world we would all share together, free of the ugliness, alienation, and desperation of living a self-centered, selfish existence.…