Supplemental Reading ...
"The Future of Jodo Shinshu in America"
Part V: 21st Century Buddhism
by Peter Hata
In these "Future of Jodo Shinshu" articles,
I've tried to present the ideas of some of the most respected and
knowledgeable Buddhist ministers, lecturers, writers and lay leaders in
America regarding the challenges Buddhist temples in America must meet
if they are to survive and grow into the 21st century. This final
installment will present some of the specific changes they and others
have suggested, as well as some of my own. But before I list these
changes, I'd like to put them into their proper perspective.
At the recent Board of Directors' Seminar, Bishop Imai
asked some hard questions of our leaders: "What is the role of a
temple...What is its raison d'être, direction and what do we do about
declining membership?...It is the Board of Directors' responsibility to
have concern over these issues." He also asked, "Why become a
Higashi Honganji member?...It's your responsibility to find your own
raison d'être. We all must receive the teaching, or there is no
meaning."
I think what Bishop Imai is saying is, we should try
to keep in mind that we are members of a Buddhist temple, not a social
club, Japanese cultural group, or place for weddings and funerals. That
is not to say we cannot socialize or enjoy our culture, etc. These
elements are enjoyable and important. It's a matter of emphasis.
Cultural elements, etc. are, as Dr. Haneda has said, "'containers';
whatever importance they have is only because they hold or perhaps
stimulate something that is important...that is the living tradition,
the process of self-examination."
This leads me to what I feel is a crucial point. I
believe that the future of our temples rests on education. And that we
should start with our own self-education. This includes attending
services, study classes, seminars and retreats. As was detailed in Part
IV of this series, The Mahayana Mission, education, in the Buddhist
sense, can lead to the awakening of a deep awareness of compassion. If
our Sangha can do this together, we can, as Dr. Bloom has said,
"...become an educating community that opens the minds of our
members, our youth, the world." I feel this could become the
"rallying cry" of all Shin Buddhists who are concerned about
its future in America. And, in the 21st century, perhaps the word "Sangha"
can even take on a new and wonderful global meaning.
As members of a Buddhist temple, we should become the
"educating community" mentioned above. We should all be
dobokai, or friends of the Dharma. It has been my experience that when
people have "caught the cold of Buddhism," that rather than
complaining about this or that, people become energized and creative,
and actually look for ways they can contribute. And what our temple
really needs is our energy and creativity, our talents and commitment,
not so much our money.
What should we do with all that energy? Let's put our
collective energy together and brainstorm ways to redefine and reinvent
the communication of Buddhism. And let's not limit ourselves to the old
ways of doing things. As Dr. Bloom suggests, "We need to constantly
re-examine anew the meaning of -- and the communication of -- Jodo Shinshu
in our modern world, just as Shinran did in his." Let's find new
creative ways to make Buddhism meaningful and accessible, and perhaps
even compelling, to our youth, and to people of all ethnic backgrounds.
If we can do that, we'll also build our membership.
Now, some specific examples of changes:
The need for English services was detailed in Part I
of this series; certainly, it's time for Shin Buddhist services to
change to reflect the language and culture of America. For example,
we've already tried English "sutra reading," but I believe we
can and should try even more things, and in particular, try to find new
ways of communicating the Dharma. Just as an example, I think many would
find it fascinating and instructive to search the internet for Buddhist
websites and compare and contrast them with regards to their
presentation of Buddhist teachings. The intent here is not to criticize
other traditions but to gain insight into our own tradition by
juxtaposing it with others. The hope is that we can perhaps discover the
universal element in all traditions. This could be done as part of a
sermon, or during a discussion group.
Overall, a guiding principle we can use to ease the
implementation of any change is to think in terms of
"inclusion" rather than "exclusion." As Bishop Sato
once said, "widen the circle of Dharma."
Finally, regarding our services, American-born and
educated Shin ministers are sorely needed. What can we do to increase
their numbers? Basically, we American Buddhists must systematically work
to encourage youth to consider the Jodo Shinshu ministry as a rewarding
life-option. A district-wide committee could be formed specifically for
this purpose. We can't wait for or rely on Honzan (our Japan-based
headquarters) to do this. See the next section for more ideas on this
subject.
Some ideas from Mary Matsuda of Kaneohe Higashi
Honganji, Hawaii:
Mary is the chairperson of "Sangha 2020,"
which is a small group of forward-thinking Shinshu Buddhists (from
various Hawaii temples) who are working hard to find solutions to the
problems facing our temples today. I met Mary recently and had a
discussion with her (and Rinban Nori). She generously gave me a copy of
her group's notes.
Mary: "Some of these ideas may appear very
ambitious, but I believe that it is necessary to look at large scale
projects and possibilities if Honzan is seriously looking at the
survival of Buddhism in Hawaii and North America...These activities
should be funded by our District and/or by Honzan; if fund-raising is
expected of the core group, it will discourage
participation...fundraising activities are generally associated with
clubs; this is not a club -- it is an organizational program and must be
respected as such."
One of their ideas is to initiate something called
"pastoral counseling," where a professional social worker (of
the Buddhist faith), sub-contracted by the temple, would help families
to cope with today's stresses and problems. There is currently a
successful interfaith organization in Hawaii known as the Samaritan
Counseling Center, which Sangha 2020 is trying to find funding (and
district support) for. I believe there are branches here on the mainland
that WCBT might be able to work with.
More of Sangha 2020's ideas:
Organize "Living Skills Workshops" run by
trained specialists: Christian churches are already doing this. Possible
workshops: Effective parenting, Teen Workshop (parent problems,
identity, improving grades, peer pressure), Caring for Aging Parents,
Stress Management, Dealing with Death.
Establish a bookstore/library where people are welcome
to come and read, research, browse and converse (who wouldn't enjoy
hanging out at a sort of "Buddhist Barnes &
Noble-Starbucks?" -Ed.)
Work with Nishi temples locally and nationally: Join
in "Project Dana," participate in their training seminars and
invite them to ours; try to arrange to use the Nishi's training center
in Berkeley (IBS) to train American ministers.
Develop professionally printed informational packets
that address questions such as What is Higashi Honganji? How is it
different from other sects? How do I join and what can I expect as a
member of the church (why join?). And for those interested in the
ministry: What are the steps and how long will it take? What are the
opportunities and compensation? Are there scholarships?
Establish Buddhist Crisis Center and Hotline, and a
Legal and Professional Hotline (Legal, real estate, and financial
matters and assistance in finding sources of goverment services, etc.)
Mary concludes: "Implementing plans such as those
above will give us the opportunity to give back to the community and
reach out to mankind. The present way churches organize their activities
encourages self-centeredness as each church is only involved in their
own activities, which can become self-serving."
Ideas from Ron Wakabayashi (Former JACL National
Director, current Director of Los Angeles County Commission of Human
Relations). Ron recently spoke at the Board of Directors Seminar in
Newport Beach.
Ron: "LA is the most diverse place...147
nationalities co-exist here. How do you make this work?" This
challenge is something Ron finds exciting and wonderful. Buddhism can
play an important role in "building bridges between people."
(Wouldn't this make a great theme for a "Buddhist Public Relations
campaign?"
Use brainstorming techniques to come up with creative
solutions to the problems we face...the key is to allow even critical,
negative comments: "Get it all out on the table."
Work on the negative image of Buddhism, which along
with the Muslim religion, was at the bottom of a recent LA Times survey
on people's attitudes to various religions.
Build Consensus: "Facilitate
friendliness...Accommodate
by being flexible...Make the path to membership easier...Ask people to
get involved."
Passion vs. Compassion: In carrying out your role of
leaders, balance passion, which gets things done but can get you in
trouble, with compassion, which allows you to see things more
thoughtfully.
Besides the ideas of these forward-thinking Buddhists,
I feel that we should also expand the role of women: Allow and encourage
women at the top levels of leadership. The ability of our leadership to
make wise decisions will be enhanced if the meeting environment is one
where both male and female are able to contribute at the top levels and
to freely express their opinions, knowing that their ideas will always
be received with an open mind.
We also need to modernize the way we present Buddhism.
I think that the success or failure of any community outreach may
largely depend, at least initially, on our public relations
"style." You could take the ugliest thing and through slick
marketing, create a line of people waiting to buy it. On the other hand,
the greatest treasure on earth (i.e., the Buddha-Dharma) could be
perceived as useless or even negative if misunderstood. We must try to
clear up the many commonly held misconceptions about Jodo Shinshu. We
shouldn't assume any previous knowledge about Buddhism.
Community outreach ideas:
I feel it is time for WCBT to "introduce
itself" to our community. Not everyone winds up at WCBT because,
already being a Japanese Buddhist family, they heard about WCBT and came
because it sounded "comfortable." Some of our families
"discovered" us in the Yellow pages. Doesn't this make you
wonder how many more nice families are "out there?" Look at
your neighbors. Most are not of Japanese ancestry or from a Buddhist
background, and yet don't you feel most parents would want the same
things out of a church experience on Sunday? Perhaps it's fellowship, or
maybe it's a yearning for a teaching or way of looking at life that can
enhance and enrich their lives and the lives of their children. Such a
teaching is Buddhism.
I'm not suggesting we try and "convert"
people; simply offer those interested and curious about Buddhism an easy
and non-threatening way to sample it. My suggestion is to hold a free
"open house" or "hospitality night" in the gym. It
could possibly be a lecture series: Let's pick 3 or 4 English-speaking
lecturers that we feel can communicate to such an audience. These
lecturers might, for example, be asked to present answers to the
question, "What does Buddhism offer you and your family
today?" After the presentations, complimentary coffee and pastries
could be served. Also available free would be Welcome Booklets,
Newsletters, a mailing list signup sheet, other printed materials about
Buddhism, Temple and Study Class schedules.
We would certainly want to get the message of this
event out to as many as possible. With that in mind, we could do what
one hugely successful contemporary Christian church recently did in my
neighborhood: Send out a flyer announcing the lecture series to
virtually everyone in the neighborhood via bulk mail.
Another promising idea is to organize something Dr.
Bloom calls "Ko Fellowships." These are small, informal,
intimate gatherings at someone's house. These types of gatherings can
produce unusually rich and provocative discussions. This is not a new
idea, but actually an idea that Rennyo Shonin employed with astounding
success 500 years ago. Yet it has much appeal today, especially if we
consider that families who come to Buddhism from other religions might
find our services too different or even intimidating at first. The Ko
Fellowship is just a group that gets together, generally without any
chanting, singing of songs, etc. Perhaps refreshments or a "dessert
potluck" could be arranged. A brief talk on a contemporary topic
could be given by a minister or lay person. Then everyone could freely
discuss the topic.
Finally, what can you do? Get involved. Let's try to
stop complaining about what someone else said, did, or didn't do. Let's
try to see that we are the problem. Or more accurately, I am the
problem. I say "try," because this is the most difficult thing
about being a Buddhist for all of us. However, if I am not doing
something positive to help, then I may possibly be part of the problem.
Another way of putting this is that, once we accept personal
responsibility for our problems, we can then easily become part of the
solution.
In closing, I want to say that I wasn't born a
Buddhist. I only (grudgingly) became a Buddhist because my wife kept
"nagging" me about how we should start attending a Buddhist
temple "for our kids sake" (I later learned it was for my sake
too). I am not an expert or scholar on Buddhism; I am a musician. That
is why, in writing these articles, I have so frequently used the quotes
of those more knowledgeable than myself.
I consider all the people I
have quoted to be my teachers, but in particular, I would like to
express my appreciation to the following people, without whom, these
articles could never have been written: WCBT and the North American
District for giving me the opportunity to participate, as a member of
the religious committee, in the intense Dobo Series retreats of 1991-93
(special thanks to Rev. Gyoko Saito and Rev. Sen-ei Tsuge for their
truly memorable lectures...I am still thinking about what they said), to
Dr. Alfred Bloom, whom I've quoted so frequently from (and have met via
the internet's Shinshu Forum), for his uncanny ability to make the most
difficult Shinshu concepts understandable in plain English, and to
Rinban Nori Ito and Rev. Motohiro Kiyota, for their constant and
generous wisdom and guidance. Lastly, I owe a special debt of gratitude
to Dr. Nobuo Haneda. I was very fortunate to have heard him speak at my
first retreat in San Luis Obispo in 1989. I feel that it was through him
that I was able to meet the Dharma. His interpretation of the teachings
have left a deep and lasting impression on me.
My main purpose in writing this series of articles was
to try to fill a "gap" I perceived particularly regarding the
deep and compelling reasons why we should not only care about the future
of our Shinshu tradition, but also why we should take action, and what
sorts of forms our actions might possibly take. But these articles have
only scratched the surface; there are still many unanswered questions,
as well as great ideas waiting to be discovered. Our temples need your
energy and creativity. I invite and look forward to your comments,
criticisms and participation.
