2023

12- The Path -

12
2023

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BUKKYO DENDO KYOKAI Society for the Promotion of Buddhism

Michi

BDK

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公益財団法人 仏 教 伝 道 協 会

No.

Michi- The Path -12

CONTENTS02BDK Japan News 2022
〜BDK Publications〜● “The Teaching of Buddha(TTOB)” Interview: TTOB Volunteer – Living with TTOB in Local Communities● “The Teaching of Buddha” - Update for 2022
● Newly Published BDK Publications in 2022

● Publications of the BDK English Tripiṭaka - Update for 2022
● “Let It Shine! Temple Bulletin Board Award 2022”● The Seventh BDK Buddhist Picture Book Prize Competition● The Ninth Annual Photography Competition for the BDK Calendar “A Wise Teaching a Day”
＊ The Eighth Photo Exhibition of the BDK Calendar “A Wise Teaching a Day”

● Exhibition of the “Illustrated Story of Shakyamuni”

12〜Financial Assistance and Honoring Recipients〜● BDK Fellowship Programs● 10th Anniversary Special Interview: BDK Fellowship for Japanese Scholars● BDK Fellowship for Japanese Scholars● BDK Fellowship for Foreign Scholars● The 56th BDK Cultural Awards Ceremony● 2022 BDK Financial Assistance Programs

23〜Buddhist Lectures and Seminars〜● BDK Online Station: “Weekly Dharma Talks”● The Weekly Radio Program “WARAIMESHI TETSUOʼs Saturday★Night Buddhism” by FM Osaka● The 2021 “Toshihide Numata Book Award in Buddhism” Commemorative Lecture● The 2022 Tour of the Picture Story Show “Buddha -The Life of Shakyamuni” as a Special Projecton the 50th Anniversary of the Publication of the Manga “BUDDHA” by Tezuka Production● BDK Flower Festival for the Vesak Celebration● The 50th Jissen Fukyo Kenkyukai, BDK Buddhist Missionary Seminar● Studying “The Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)” for Business/Daily Life
● “Buddhism Through English (BTE)” – Update for 2022
● “Buddhist Yoga” – Update for 2022
● “Feel Buddhism”● “Symbolic Character of Hope for 2023” Contest● “Tips from the Masters of Buddhism” is out!

● Elementary Course of Buddhist Lectures on “Japanese Buddhism – Learning from Scratch” – Update for 2022
● 2022 BDK Symposium＊ The 28th BDK Symposium “Asking About Life and Death”＊ The 29th BDK Symposium “Is It Possible for Humans to Save Humans? -Thinking About the Work of Chaplains”＊ The 30th BDK Symposium “How to Live Without Conflicts”＊ The 31st BDK Symposium “The Beauty of Buddhist Statues: Why Do People Pray?”38

Take a Break "Renewal of BDK Oﬃcial SNS Pages"

39

BDK Aﬃliated Organization Activities
World map & Contact information● BDK America● BDK Hawaii● BDK Mexico● BDK Taiwan● BDK Asia

● BDK Europe

48"Sasaeatte"「Hansei(Self-Examination, Introspection)｣

BDK Newsletter No.12 2023 - 6/1/2023 -3,000
Copyrightⓒ2023 by BUKKYO DENDO KYOKAI(BDK)
Published by BDK
3-14, Shiba-4chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan, 108-0014

Edited by Kaoru Eguchi, BDK
Printed in Japan by ARC Co., Ltd.

BDK Newsletter

2023

Going Forward to a Society in Which We Are
Able to Realize “Well-being and Peace”
We truly appreciate your generous understanding and continued support for allof Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK)’s activities as we report our 2022 news andupdates in this issue.
As we were still being affected by new strains of the Covid-19 in 2022, we
slowly adjusted to living with covid. However, the Russian invasion of Ukraine
has cast a dark shadow on the world. As we watch the various media scenes of
how Ukrainian children and soldiers are suffering from the war, we feel theirgreat pain and deep sorrow.
The battles of one power against another power over the ages have produced
too many unnecessary victims. Although we should have already learned thisfrom our past experiences, we are still witnessing the tragedy of repeated wars,
so we as Buddhists must dedicate ourselves to our pledge to be against war, andwe hope that the conflict will end quickly and that a peaceful everyday life will
return.
When we realize how we human beings cause most of the serious disasters
including wars to spread in the world, we should agree that “everyone should
try to do something, no matter how small, to make a better world.”
We will continue to cooperate together to promote activities centered on
Buddhism for the realization of BDK’s goal of creating social well-being andworld peace.

With Gassho,

Seikoh-Kiyotaka Kimura
Chairperson
Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK)Society for the Promotion of Buddhism
1Interview

Daishoin temple (Kannon Hall)“The Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)” Interview

TTOB Volunteer – Living with TTOB in Local Communities
Guest: Rev. Daiyu Yoshida
Location: Daishoin Temple in Miyajima-cho, Hatsukaichi-shi, Hiroshima-prefectureInterviewer: Masayuki Masuda, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK)
Editor/Photographer: Kaoru Eguchi, BDK

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) has been distributing “The Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)” for the past
decades as one of its major activities, and the books have been utilized in a variety of ways in today’s
modern world. TTOBs have been distributed to hotels, temples, medical facilities as well as educational
institutions. BDK invited Buddhist priests who are willing to distribute TTOBs in their local areas on behalfof BDK, and we have welcomed 74 priests as of 2022.
A “TTOB Volunteer” is a Buddhist priest who is trying to reach as many people as possible in order todisseminate TTOB and its teachings to local hotels and accommodations. We had an opportunity to talkwith Rev. Daiyu Yoshida, one of those “TTOB Volunteers,” and we listened to his own experiences andfound out how he has been contributing to our project.

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BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−Masuda (hereafter M) : We truly
appreciate your continued supportof our project. First of all, could
you tell us a little bit about yourself
and your temple, Daishoin?
Yoshida (hereafter Y) : Thankyou for having me, and it is such agreat honor! To explain my temple
Daishoin simply at first, it wasestablished in 806 by Master Kukai,
who is posthumously called Kōbō
Daishi, the founder of Shingonshu Buddhism. After Kukai
completed one of the most difficult
trainings of Shingon-shu; 虚空蔵
求聞持法 the Kokuzo Gumonjiho,
which consists of the chanting
10,000 times of a Shingon mantra
in front of a drawing of Kokuzo
Bosatsu (Akasagarbha Bodhisattva)
for a hundred days straight, heperformed the sacred Goma fire
ritual by burning small pieces ofscented wood before a Buddhist
alt ar for spi r it ual pu r if ication
to show his appreciation for the
success of his training. That fireis called “Kiezu-no-Reik a, theeverlasting f lame,” which is also
known as the origin of the “Peace
Flame” in the Peace Memor ial
Park in Hiroshima City. Miyajima
island itself is a sacred place ofworship, and our temple played arole along with Shugendo (ShintoBuddhist mountain asceticism) inthe development Itsukushima belief.
There were 12 to 20 supporting
temples of Daishoin at the time, andthe chief priest of our temple wasin charge of all the rituals related
to the Itsukushima Shrine. The
temple is dedicated to the elevenfaced Kannon Bosatsu (Guanyin
Bodhisattva), and the stat ue iscurrently placed inside the Kannon
Hall. You might have known that

M iyaji ma is reg istered on t helist of UNESCO World Heritage
Sites. Although many people know
the vermilion-painted buildings
con nected by cor ridors and its
great torii gate that appear as if it
is floating on the sea at high tide, I
have heard that it was highly valued
as a place of faith and prayer that isin perfect harmony with its natural
sur roundings of Misen forests,
and is a synthesis of Shinto andBuddhism.
M : I see. That is the synthesis of
Shinto and Buddhism. We can see
the history of preserving this landwith the help of everyone here andthe power of nature.
Y : Some people in today’s world
say that Miyajima is a “power
spot,” a place visited by a variety of
powerful people in history. Ninnaji,
the head temple of the Omu roschool of Shingon-shu in Kyoto,
which was established in 888, isdeeply related to Daishoin, and their
20th Monzeki, the head priest of
Ninnaji, stopped by our temple on
the way to Kyushu island when hewas soliciting donations to rebuild

the temple after the great fire during
the Ohnin War in 1467. He evenstayed at Daishoin for ten years after
that. Kiyomori Taira, Hideyoshi
Toyotomi, the Ashikagas and others
who were famous Samurai warriors
in Japanese history all visited. The
Meiji Emperor even stayed at our
temple, and we still have his painted
portrait and the note of his travel
itinerary hanging on the wall of ourKannon Hall. The history of thesynthesis of Shinto and Buddhism
continues to today. In addition to
those mentioned above, Hirobumi
Ito, the f irst prime minister ofJapan, also was a believer, and hespent his own fortune to repair theapproach to the Daishoin. I think
everything is connected with theteachings of Master Kukai from hisbirth 1250 years ago till now.
M : Thank you so much. That is justincredible. We are able to see how
this island and its temple naturally
attracted people all the time, and
it is because of the power of belief.
However, did everyone in Miyajima
have a hard time during the Covid
pa nde m ic be cau se eve r y t h i ng
stopped for a few years?

Great torii gate of Itsukushima shrine on the sea

3Y : That is right. Especially thehotels struggled for several years,
but the pandemic made our bonds
eve n st ronge r be cau se p e ople
tried to come together to support
each other. I talked about that toever yone, and they showed me
their own way of helping us. For
example, Mazda, one of the mostp o p u l a r Ja p a n e s e a u t o m o bi lemanufacturing companies basedin Hiroshima prefect u re, t r ied
to support us by constructing asacred fire platform for the “Kiezu
no Reika.” The ter m, 三密 San
Mitsu, “three secrets” became
popular during the pandemic as theThree Cs: Closed spaces, Crowded
places, and Close-contact settings.
Master Kukai spread the Esoteric
Buddhism teachings of “三密行 San
Mitsu Gyo (practices of the threesecrets): 身Shin means Body, 口 Ku
means Mouth, and 意 I means Mind
as well, and I would like to promotethese once the pandemic is finallyover. 身密Shin Mitsu means Body
and Action. You should assess youractions and determine what is mostimportant. Do not act selfish. For
instance, you should not think thateverything is all right just because
everything is fine with you. 口密 Ku
Mitsu refers to Speech. You should
always ref lect on what you wantto say before you actually speak.
For example, you should not say
bad things behind someone’s back,write bad things online, or maybe
jump on someone’s mistake without
thinking about your own actions.
意密 I Mitsu means Thoughts andFeelings. Look at your own heartand be aware of who you are. For
example, you should not be too
greedy about grabbing all sorts of
information and deceiving yourself.
I believe those three considerations

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BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−

are the most important things topractice everyday as we try to be
like the Buddha.
M : Thank you, that is exactly what
we need for today’s world. However,what made you decide to participate
in the “TTOB Volunteer” program
even though you were experiencing
difficulties during the pandemic?
Y : I am just practicing the idea of“San Mitsu” (laughter). I am down
for anything when people ask mea favor. I will always try to do thebest I can and will not refuse others,
which is a teaching from my father,
the head priest of Daishoin. It is justa simple thing, my motto.
M : We truly appreciate that you
feel this way. I felt how you really
blended in with the local community
while I was accompanying you asa “TTOB Volunteer” to visit some
hotels in Miyajima the other day.
I understand that you have a great
personality for this, and I felt thatthe community welcomed you. I
was surprised about how close youwere with them!
Y : Our temple does not have socalled “members,” therefore, thetemple and the local community
have a good relationship and we
all cooperate to make Miyajima
better. I myself participate as amember of the local fire fightergroup because I simply want tocontribute to Miyajima. To make abetter community, both people andthe economy must be improved at
the same time as well. In the case of
Miyajima, sight-seeing and religious
belief must be balanced, but tourists
did not come to the island, and hotels
were empty for a long time. The

spread of the covid-19 virus had agreat impact on the accommodationindustry and the economy declined.
During this period of self-isolation,
I thought it would be fantastic if we
could provide a place for everyone
to relax and heal our feelings, andwe planned and carried out the“Miyajima Lighten-up Project” withthe collaboration of hotels on theisland. Daishoin is kind of far fromthe entrance to Miyajima, and aftergetting off the ferry, you have towalk up a steep slope to the temple.
Therefore, I would like to welcome
people with a warm hospitality. We
are happy to provide the opportunity
for people to experience something
about Japanese Buddhism. With
those feelings, we are trying tocont r ibute to the com mu nit y’s
cultural development and do what
we can do.
M : I feel that locals open up to you
because of this close relationshipand the equal footing you sharewith them. You earned their trustwith your honesty without having
to explain how great “The Teachingof Buddha” is! Could you share any
feelings you have had through the“TTOB Volunteer” program? Any
memorable experience?
Y : I p e r s o n a l ly b el ie ve t h a t
temples will face a new phase ofcommunication with their local
community. I think the “TTOB
Volu nteer Prog ram” is a g reat
way of practicing communication(smiling). The accumulation ofsmall daily com mu nications
reminds me of how temples shouldbe. If people are not willing toreceive a copy of T TOB f rom
you, that means they do not trust
you enough yet. I think we priests

should be the ones who must be
trusted and relied upon.
M : I totally understand that thisis how it works, but it is a mostdifficult thing to achieve!
Y : In my case, the process ofbu i ld i ng la st i ng relat ion sh ips
with them has already been done,
thankfully, so I simply recommend“TTOB” to people. Of course, itdoes not matter whether they accept
a copy or not. I just ask them ifthey are interested in reading it
without giving any complicatedexplanations about the book. I will
patiently wait until they find thebook interesting and start reading
pages by themselves. I finally start
explaining about TTOB once they
have started to read it. That is how I
do it.
M : I see. That is why they are
happy to welcome you because yourpriority is always on who you aretalking to.
Y : No no no! It might be because I
am still young and easy to talk to.
I have some opportunities to givedharma talks to children on theirschool field trips. I see their faces
all the time, and I immediately
understand if they find my talki nt e r e s t i n g o r n o t , yo u k n ow
(smiling). This may help me withmy communication with adults.
M : I know you are not having any
difficulties, but is there anything
you have to be careful about when
you are t al k ing to people as a
“TTOB Volunteer”?
Y : We have often seen the news
lately about a variety of religions in

Rev. Daiyu Yoshida at Daishoin

modern Japanese society. Therefore,
some people are suspicious about thefree distribution of TTOB. Those
people are thinking that “this great
looking book cannot be donatedwithout any compensation! There
must be some bad trick behind
this.” I had a friendly conversation
between some good friends fromsome hotels the other day. They
asked me, “How much is TTOB?”
and I answered, “4.3 million yen(US$ 40,000.)!” We shared big
laughs. In realit y, I explained,
there is a Japanese manufacturing
company named Mitutoyo that fully
supports the activities of BDK. That
is why the books can be “donated” tohotels. They continued with happy
faces and said, “We have seen thisnice book at many hotels throughout
the nation, but we had no idea that
BDK is able to distribute the books
to my hotel at no cost!” The book isa so-called “bible” of Buddhism, sosome people even think that there
must be something if they receive it

free (laughing). Therefore, I think
close com mu n icat ion with thecommunity is the key. It is just an
accumulation of small steps you takeevery day.
M : Wow! Thank you very much forsharing such an inspirational story
with us today. That is totally true.
TTOB and BDK are not suspicious
at all (laughter), so we hope more
people will come to know the book.
Lastly, please give us any advice fora prospective priest who might bewilling to participate in the “TTOB
Volunteer” program.
Y : A s I s a id e a rl ie r, d a i ly
communication is the most important
thing! That is it. I would like to bea person who can be trusted. I am
trying to talk to people by being on
their side. I usually start by saying“Sorry! It is a very thick and heavy
book…” I simply ask them if they
are interested and do not force themat all. We are on an equal footing,5

so priests should not look down on
them. However, my presumption
is that TTOB is a good thing thatpeople can believe in.
M : We would also hope for them touse TTOB as a tool for communicatingwith their local community. Thank you
again for sharing your story with us!
We were honored to welcome Rev.

Daiyu Yoshida, who is overcoming
the pandemic with the support of his
local community. The possibilities
TTOB opens up to hotels remind us
to reconfirm our efforts and rethink
about what we can do further. In
addition to TTOBs, we are pleased
to provide free copies of the “Guide
to Buddhism,” “Messages from the
Buddha,” and other books if you

participate in the program.
※For more information about“The Teaching of Buddha”
and other BDK publications,please visit the official BDK
website at https://www.bdk.
or.jpHere are the hotels and organizations where they are actually using BDK publications such as “The
Teaching of Buddha (TTOB),” “Guide to Buddhism,” and “Messages from the Buddha” in Miyajima.
“We would be happy if TTOB can give our hotel guests a more relaxed
experience at our hotel.” Mr. Satoshi Shikuma, Executive Manager, Kinsuikan“The Japanese version and English version are the most popular of all.
They are gone even while we are placing them on the shelf!”
Mr. Naoki Saito, Senior PR Manager, Miyajima Sight Seeing AssociationRev. Daiyu Yoshida
Assistant Chief Priest of Daishoin Temple of Shingon-shu Omuro school from2017. Born in 1990 in Miyajima. Began practicing at Ninnaji Temple, HeadMonastery of Shingon-shu Omuro-school. Wishes that people have a happylife through Buddhism. Supports the international exchange programs between
Tibet, China, Thailand, etc. Associate member of the Miyajima Sight Seeing
Association. Contributes to “Terakoya,” the children’s education program.
Board member of Miyajima Daichakai, a tea ceremony association.

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BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−BDK JAPANNEWS 2022

BDK Publications

01
Activity“The Teaching of Buddha” – Update for 2022

Distribution of “The Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)” in 2020 and 2021 was very difficult due to the Covid-19
pandemic. However, we saw a recovery in 2022, and we were able to distribute 9,653 copies of TTOB
(3,913 copies in 2021).
There was a big impact not only
on distribution to hotels, Buddhist
schools, kindergartens, etc. during
the previous two years, but wewere able to donate 25,192 copies
of TTOB in 2022 (21,782 copies in2021). We received more requests
from schools recently, and we see
the high retention rate of using
TTOBs at entrance ceremonies orcommencements at educational
institutions.
For distribution outside Japan, we
donated 4,800 TTOB copies in
Hindi and 5,000 in English in thestate of Chhattisgarh in India. The
donation was supposed to havebeen done in 2020, but we had topostpone for two years due to thepandemic.
There are about 2,000 Buddhist
institutions such as large and small
viharas, schools, and hospitals
in Chhattisgarh. Some of thoseinstitutions requested TTOBs, so
the books were received with an
enthusiastic welcome.
We are going to encourage theactive distribution of more copies of
TTOB inside as well as outside ofJapan.

TTOB distribituion in Chhattisgarh, India

TTOB distribution to The Pavillions Himalayas in Nepal

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BDK JAPANNEWS 2022

02
Activity

Newly Published BDK Publications in 2022

Following last year’s publication of“Almsgiving: The Heart of Making
Offerings” in the Six Paramitas
series of “The Signpost,” which is
published annually, we published“Live Better Through the Precepts”
in 2021 and “Accepting the Truth
Through Endurance” in June, 2022.
Rev. Issho Fujita from Soto-shu,Rev. Junsho Oka from Tendai-shu,and Rev. Hisao Mayeda from Jodo
Shin-shu wrote the latest one andexplained the sayings in our “A Wise
Teaching A Day” calendar fromthe various perspectives of each
Japanese Buddhist school.
I n a d d it io n t o t h e a b ove , wepublished “En, The Best of The
Signpost” in September, 2022 inwhich we selected 22 popular stories“Accepting the Truth Through Endurance”

from the previously published issues
to follow the ones published in 2015.

“En, The Best of The Signpost”

Publications of the BDK English Tripiṭaka - Update for 2022
For the English Tripiṭaka series,
we have steadily completed 75% of
our goal of translating 139 classicalwritings, and the editorial committee
plans to finish all translations by2030. We published t wo books
in 2022. The first one combines
two texts: (1) “Yongjia’s Song ofActualizing the Way,” which was
written by Yongjia, a disciple of the
Sixth Patriarch Huineng, to explain
the summary of his enlightenment
written in 1,814 characters in 247
verses; and (2) “Obser ving theMind, Awakening from a Dream,”which was written by the Japanese
Hosso priest Ryohen to explain theteachings of the Yogacara Mind8

BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−

Only school. The second book wepublished was “A Forest of Pearls
from the Dharma Garden, Volume
V,” which consists of the 28th tothe 34th volumes of the hundred
volumes compiled by Dao Shi in
668.

03
Activity“Let It Shine! Temple Bulletin Board Award 2022”

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) sponsored the fifth annual “Let It Shine! Temple Bulletin Board Award”
program in 2022. This award program continued to draw media attention, and we received a recordbreaking 4,093 entries sent in.
T he g r a nd pr i z e for t he 2022
competition was “Buki-wo Sute
Ju z u-wo Motou ( D rop you r
weapons and carry your Buddhist
prayer beads instead).” It was fromthe 10-year-old son of the Ryuganji
Temple chief priest in Kyoto. Hedrew a picture with this phrase
because he is really sad about the
war between Ukraine and Russia.
There is the phrase, “No Warfare”

04
Activityin the “Sutra of Infinite Life” andthis means that we do not need any
weapons or soldiers. BDK truly
wishes that everyone would drop
their weapons and carry their prayer
beads with respect for each otherfor the sake of the children who
will live in our future world. Thismessage was selected for the grandprize.
We are going to hold the sixth

annual competition starting from
July 1, 2023.

Rruganji Temple

The Seventh BDK Buddhist PictureBook Prize Competition

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) hosted the Seventh Buddhist Picture Book Prize Competition co-sponsoredby Suzuki Publications and supported by Mainichi Newspaper, the Japan Buddhist Nursing Associationand the National Youth Indoctrination Council with the aim of promoting the “development of the hearts
and minds of children through reading.”
We received 129 submissions froma wide range of age groups for the2022 competition, which continued
to receive a high level of attention
due to the COVID-19 pandemic
from 2020. Mr. Keisuke Nishimoto,a writer of children’s literature, Mr.
Tomohiko Fujimoto, a picture bookartist, and Mr. Minoru Haga, chief
editor from Suzuki Publications,carefully selected one work for theGrand Prize, three for OutstandingAwards, and five for Fine Works.
The Grand Prize went to “Nakigoe-ga

Jiman-no Kitsune (The Fox with theProud Roar)” written and drawn by Ms.
Eri Kondo. The story describes how
important it is for us to make the mostof what we have already by showing
how a fox takes on the shape of atemple bell. BDK awarded the prize
money to the winner and published thepicture book in March 2023.
Yo u m a y p u r c h a s e a l l of t h epublications introduced in thisnewsletter online. Please take a lookat our official website!

“Nakigoe-ga Jiman-no Kitsune (The Fox with the ProudRoar)”

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BDK JAPANNEWS 2022

05
Activity

The Ninth Annual Photography Competition for
the BDK Calendar “A Wise Teaching a Day”

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) hosted the ninth annual competition for the BDK Calendar, “A Wise Teachinga Day.” We received 2,497 submissions from 738 people.
We held a selection committee
meeting on September 6, 2022
and the com mit tee members
selected 32 photos. The committee
awarded them with prize money
and certificates, and all of thosephotos can be viewed on our official
website.

Photo selection

The Eighth Photo Exhibition of the BDK Calendar “A Wise Teaching aDay” at Tsukiji Hongwanji Temple, Byodoin Temple, and Zuiganji Temple
The eighth exhibition was heldin three places in Japan: Tsukiji
Hongwanji Temple in Tokyo from
April 23 to June 12, 2022, Byodoin
Museum at Byodoin Temple in
Kyoto from July 1 to October 2,
2022, and the main hall of Zuiganji
Temple in Miyagi from October 7 toNovember 24, 2022.
We welcomed Mr. Mori Suzuki,
calligrapher, and he presented amajor calligraphy performance at
the Byodoin exhibition. He wrote“慈心不殺 Jishin Fusetsu (Practicecompassion and do not kill) ” for themorning performance, and “一味同
心 Ichimi Doshin (Unite everyone’s
heart for the same purpose)” forthe afternoon performance. His
calligraphy drew the attention ofmany visitors. 338,000 people

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BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−visited the exhibitions at the threevenues and enjoyed the photos andthe quotations expressing Buddhist
teachings.

Byodoin Temple

Picture Story Show

Calligraphy Performance by Mr. Mori Suzuki

06
Activity

Exhibit ion of the “I l lustrated Stor y of
Shakyamuni” at Zojoji Temple

Buddhist religuary and “Illustrated Story of Shakyanuni” exhibition

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) hosted an exhibition on the “Illustrated Story of Shakyamuni – Kosetsu
Nousu, the Artist Who Devoted His Lifetime to Shakyamuni” at the Jodo-shu head monastery in Minatoku, Tokyo from December 7, 2022 to February 20, 2023.
The Buddhist reliquary which was
donated in 1966 by Mahabodhi
Temple in India to Zojoji Temple
was officially installed in Decemberof 2020 in the lounge in front of theTreasures Gallery, an exhibition
space of Zojoji. They also set up
an explanatory signboard of thereliquary, and it was an honor for
the “Nirvana Scene in the Illustrated
Story of Sakyamuni,” which BDKowns, to have been on display. In
commemoration of this event, we
decided to exhibit seven original
drawings from of the “Illustrated
Story of Shakyamuni.”
It was a meaningful opportunity
after seventy years of the passing
away of Mr. Kosetsu Nousu (18851973).

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BDK JAPANNEWS 2022

Financial Assistance andHonoring Recipients

01
Activity

BDK Fellowship Programs
BDK Fellowship for Japanese Scholars

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) has two scholarship programs in Japan, “BDK Fellowship for Foreign
Scholars” and “BDK Fellowship for Japanese Scholars,” to support scholars who would like to study
Buddhism.
The BDK Fellowship for Japanese Scholars program was established in 2012 and aims to promoteinternational cooperation and mutual understanding in Buddhist studies. It is intended to enable Japanese
researchers to engage in research on Buddhism while in foreign countries.
The year of 2022 was our 10th anniversary year of the establishment of the BDK Fellowship for Japanese
Scholars. We welcomed Assoc. Prof. Maho Iuchi, who was one of our first BDK Fellowship holders andcurrently is in Japan, and our interview with her brought back memories.

10th Anniversary Special Interview: BDK Fellowship for Japanese
Scholars Asking Questions to Assoc. Prof. Iuchi – Messages for
Young Promising Scholars
Guest : Associate Professor Maho Iuchi, Hakubi Center for Advanced Research/
Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University
Location : Kyoto University
Interviewer/Editor/Photographer : Kaoru Eguchi, BDK

Eguchi (hereafter E) : Than k
you for joining us today. First ofall, could you explain the courseof events that led you to apply fora BDK Fellowship for Japanese
Scholars?
Iuchi (hereafter I) : It was mysecond summer of my studies at

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BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−

Harvard University in the U.S.,
and I was thinking about staying
for another year and continuing
my st udies and research at
Harvard. Right around that time,
I participated in an international
conference in China and one of theprofessors who was there introduced
me to the scholarship program. I

had already known about the BDK
Fellowship for Foreign Scholars
but had no idea that BDK had one
for Japanese scholars as well at
the time. I thought it would be a
fantastic opportunity for me anddecided to apply for the program.
E : Wow! We established the “BDKFellowship for Japanese Scholars”
just in time for you.
I : You are right!
E : As our committee selected
you as the ver y f i rst Japaneses chol a r sh ip hold e r ( you we r e
al rea dy st ay i ng at Ha r va rd at
the time) do you have anythingin particular that you remember
about your life in the U.S. or at theuniversity?
I : I had been studying Tibetan
history, so I had experiences oflong-term stays in Tibet or somecities in China before, but I had
never done that in the U.S. or other
European countries. Therefore,
everything is memorable to me.
To talk about my research, I was
affiliated with the Department ofSouth Asian Studies (Department of
Sanskrit and Indian Studies before2011) and there were many students
and scholars from all over the worldsuch as from the U.S., India, China,
Taiwan, Korea, Mongolia, etc, tostudy Tibetan Buddhism, history,
and culture. It was just amazing
to be there. There were classes
regularly for reading Tibetan texts
with post-doc scholars and PhD
students like myself twice a week.
I did not have enough experienceof reading classical Tibetan texts in
English before, so the class was justtough. I tried to prepare for the classevery time, but it was not enough,and I had a hard time following theclass at first. I was like a young MA
student struggling in a class, but it

Prof. Maho Iuchi in her office

is absolutely a great memory fromback then.
E : I can not i magi ne that you
experienced something like that!
I think you are always calm andmanage everything in order. How
about life outside the campus?
I : There were a lot of Tibetan exiles
who were living in the Boston
area at the time, so it was a good
opportunity to learn more about
them and the Tibetan community
through our communication. Someof them were born in India, somewere from Tibet and arrived in the
U.S. via India, and some otherscame directly to the U.S from Tibet.
Their backgrounds varied and theirdialects varied as well. The first
Tibetan dialect I learned was theCentral Tibetan dialect, so it waseasy to catch on to it. However,Tibetan people in the U.S. came fromeverywhere, so I had a hard time
catching all of those dialects at first.

I was studying at Harvard in the U.S.,
and I know my English skills were
supposed to have been improved.
However, it was a time for me toimprove my Tibetan skills instead
while I was in the U.S. (laughter).
T he f r iendly com mu n icat ion
between them and myself continues
to date, and I must say that it was
just a precious opportunity to be able
to build relationships with them.
E : It sounds very nice that you had
your lifetime experience not only on
campus but also in your private lifein the local community in Boston! I
can tell that you enjoyed life in the
U.S. a lot, but did you experience
any turning-point of your careerf rom bei ng a BDK Fellowshipholder to date?
I : I would say that publishing
An Early History of Rwa sgreng
Monastery The Rgyal ba’ i dben
gnas rwa sgreng gi bshad pa nyi
ma’ i ’od zer of ’Brom Shes rab

13

BDK JAPANNEWS 2022
me lce (Harvard University Press)
as vol. 82 of the Harvard Oriental
Series in 2016 was it. This Tibetan
text is the only existing monastic
chronicle (gdan rabs) of Rwa sgreng
monastery, which was establishedin 1057, and it was written in 1229,
found in the library of the Fifth Dalai
Lama in 2004, and made available
in 2010. I started my research at
Harvard in 2011, so it was perfecttiming for me that my academic
a d v i s o r, P r of. va n d e r Ku ijp,
supported me by reading it together
and preparing the critical text.
Completing it within two years wasvery hard, but the BDK Fellowshipallowed me to continue for anotheryear. Therefore, I was able to finalize
my project and I really appreciate
the support of Prof. van der Kuijp
and BDK that enabled it all. I was
honored that I was able to publish it,
especially as a part of the Harvard
Oriental Series. I am just thankful.
E : It was our pleasure to support
you at t he t i me. I n 2011, ou r
program was just born, and we werealso trying to figure out what isgood for scholars, what we can do,
etc. Could you honestly tell us how

BDK Newsletter

I : As I told you earlier, I wasable to extend my stay at Harvard
for another year. St udying andresearching Buddhism, can be time
consuming. especially reading
Tibetan and Sanskrit texts, can betime consuming. At the time thatthe BDK Fellowship was started,
the program only allowed for ascholarship period of one year,
but I have heard that it is now fora maximum of three years. It isjust amazing that BDK is able toprovide more opportunities for more
Japanese scholars.
E : Yes, thank you for bringing
that up. The BDK Fellowship for
Japa ne se Schola r s al lows t womonths for short-term stays and up
to three years for long-term stays. It
should be flexible to accommodate
each person’s plans, I guess.
I : I believe that more options forselecting the period of stay would
be very much appreciated. To meat the time, one year was enough,so I cannot think of any complaint
about the program. However, you
set the age restriction to be “under
40 years old”? “Within xx years
after completing the PhD degree”
or something more flexible about
age would be even nicer. I think
more people would be interested inapplying for the program.
E : I see. We shou ld be more
flexible and listen to what students

Kyoto University

14

you felt about the BDK Fellowship
program itself?

Michi−The Path−and scholars really need from time
to time, so please let us hear yourhonest opinions from now on! Well,
could you tell us about your future
career then?

I : I must thank you for enabling
me to continue my research atsuch a substantial facility like the
Hakubi Center of Kyoto University.
I am still on my journey started at
Harvard, but I began my new projectin 2021 called “Elucidation of theFoundations of Tibetan Cultural
Area: On Medieval Tibet and theSecond Diffusion of Buddhism inTibet.” This is a study of Tibetan
histor y from the ninth cent ur yto the thirteenth century, and I
am using newly discovered texts
that have become available since
2000. I am trying to compile andpublish my PhD thesis and my new
research. Moreover, I would liketo publish something more casual
so that everyone can read classicalTibetan texts in translation. I had an
opportunity to teach some Tibetan
graduate students in Tibetan in
2023. I was not able to fully commit

to teaching for the past few years
because of the birth of my daughterand nursing, but teaching enables
me to review my research as welland even to find new perspectives
through that. I am looking forward
to teaching students, too. I am
planning to tell students how towrite academic papers and introduce
the studies and research being done
currently in Japan. I was the one
who was taught and was acceptedby some profe ssor s a nd someinstitutions for a long time, but itwould be nice to be able to be theone who teaches and accepts somestudents in the near future.
E : You are expecting a lot of things
now since the pandemic is finallyover!
I : Yes, I cannot wait to go back to
Tibet and do some fieldwork there
which I could not do during the
pandemic.
E : Lastly, could you share any
message about yourself when you
were in the U.S. and to you ng
promising students and scholars who
are aiming to be researchers in the
future?
I : I would definitely tell myself, “Youshould study more Sanskrit andEnglish because you had so muchtime at the time!” (with a big smile)
but I still think my inspiration thatmade me say, “I should go to Tibet”
or “Next, to the U.S.” was not that
bad at all. There might have been
better choices in the past, but I could

not think of other options at the time.
And my intuition brought me goodresults.
E : I totally agree with that! Timing
is everything, but there are many
people who might hesitate to takea first step toward what they reallywish for.
I : You are right. I personally thinkthat there is nothing wasted toexperience when you are young anddoing immediately whatever you
want to do. Every single experience
brought me precious opportunities.
To tell you honestly, research itself
is very lonely work, and I sometimes
feel anxious about my future. You
will need to face feelings like that
forever, but I am having so much
f un, too. Work is a big par t ofyour life, so I hope they believe inthemselves and do what they are able
to do at each time with no hesitation.
E : I think being a researcher ishard to imagine, but I believe thatyour message will encourage many
students and scholars.
I : No, no. Japanese scholars who
have a BDK Fellowship shouldchoose to go abroad and challenge
whatever they aim for. I still haveclose communications with mycolleagues at Harvard and I met
my lifetime friend, too. I am justgrateful. I could not have such
essential relationships with otherpeople unless I had the opportunity
to study abroad with the support of a
BDK Fellowship.
E : T he possibilit y is open to
everyone. We would like to welcome
promising students and scholars who
are thinking about having a chance tostudy abroad, and we hope they will
experience lifetime encounters during
their time aboard and come back toJapan and become a person who is able
to tell things to the next generation!
Thank you so much for sharing yourexperience with us today.

ProfileProf. Maho Iuchi
Specializes in Tibetan history and Tibetan
Buddhist history.
Received PhD degree at Otani University in Japan
in 2008.
Started her career as associate professor of the Hakubi Center
for Advanced Research of Kyoto University in 2021 after being a
Research Fellow for Young Scientists (PD) of the Japan Society for
the Promotion of Science; Post-Doctoral Associate of Department ofSouth Asian Studies, Harvard University; Visiting Scholar of Kobe City
University of Foreign Studies; Visiting Scholar of Qinghai University for
Nationalities, etc.

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BDK JAPANNEWS 2022
The 9th Annual Awardee for BDK Fellowship for Japanese Scholars Q&As
Name (Title if any) : Arihiro Kosaka (Dr.)
Tenure : 2022/04/01 – 2023/03/31
Affiliation (Country) : Department of Indian and Tibetan Studies, Asia-Africa Institute, Universityof Hamburg (Germany)
Academic Advisor (Title) : Prof. Michael Zimmermann (Dr.)
Theme of Research : Candrakīrti’s Interpretation of satyadvaya1 ) What made you apply for the2021 BDK Fellowship?
Since I entered graduate school,
I had often heard about the BDK
fellowship. Several scholars aroundme got it and studied abroad. So, I
immediately decided to apply forthe fellowship when considering
what to do after submitting mydissertation. I think that young
postdoctoral researchers do nothave so many career options. Thus,
the fellowship was very attractive
for me.
2 ) What is/are the best thing(s)about being a BDK Fellowshipholder and what do you think
about your future career?
Thanks to the fellowship, I had an
opportunity to concentrate on mystudies abroad in the long term
without any worries. This is the bestthing about being a BDK Fellowshipholder. I was originally planning to
go to Hamburg by the end of 2021.
But the coronavirus situation in
Europe was not good at that time.
So I asked BDK if I could postpone
my departure. Fortunately, BDK
quickly and f lexibly responded
to me and accepted my change ofplans. I really appreciate BDK’ssincere response to my request.

16

BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−

Mr. Kosaka in the middle of the first row Prof. Zimmermann on the right of the second row

During my stay in Hamburg, themost beneficial thing for me inter ms of my f ut ure career wasthat I organized an international
workshop with the support of myhost researcher, Prof. Michael
Zimmermann. Because of the BDK
fellowship, I took the first step of
my career as a postdoctoral fellow
in a very meaningful and fruitfulway. I would like to apply what I
learned at that time to the future andcontinue to work internationally.
3 ) What did you like the mosta b o u t l i fe i n a c o un t r y yo u
stayed? (or anything you were
surprised by?)Hamburg, a large city in northern
Ger ma ny where I st ayed , is ahistorical place centered aroundL a ke A l st e r. It is a ca l m a nd
beautiful city that is neither noisy
nor lonely. Importantly, it is very
safe; and occasionally I would
come home late at n ig ht f rom
the university, but I have neverbeen in any danger. Furthermore,
the Asia-Africa Institute of the
Universit y of Hambu rg, which
was my host institution, is oneof the largest Buddhist research
centers in the world. It has morethan 10 researchers of Indology

and Tibetology, and more than 50
students in the master's and doctoral
programs. They come from all over
the world. It was very stimulating tosee people from various countries
studying Buddhism with interesta nd ent husiasm. I recom mend
Hamburg to anyone who wants tobroaden their knowledge throughstudying abroad.

2024 BDK Fellowship PR poster

The 10th Annual Awardee for BDK Fellowship for Japanese Scholars
Name (Title if any) : Keiki Nakayama
Tenure : 2023/04/01 – 2026/03/31
Affiliation (Country) : Institute for South and Central Asian Studies, University of Leipzig (Germany)
Academic Advisor (Title) : Prof. Jowita Kramer
Theme of Research : A Study of the Paryāyasaṃgrahaṇī of the Yogācārabhūmi: Yogācāra's Interpretationof Scriptural Phrases

02
Activity

BDK Fellowship for Foreign Scholars

The 31st Annual Awardees for BDK Fellowship for Foreign Scholars Q&As
Name (Title if any) : Iris Zhang
Tenure : 2022/04/01 – 2023/03/31
Affiliation (Country) : Kyoto University
Academic Advisor (Title) : Prof. Yoshikawa Shinji
Theme of Research : Buddhist Chanting Practices and Literary Culture in Heian Japan
1 ) What made you apply for the2021 BDK Fellowship?
I lear ned about the fellowship
through senior PhD students during

my second year of my MA studies
at Columbia University. I tr uly
appreciate BDK’s dedication to
Buddhist studies and its support ofoverseas scholars. Some scholars
who I admire have also received
support from BDK before. Thus, I
applied in order to do my fieldwork

17

BDK JAPANNEWS 2022

Ms. Zhang and her colleagues

in Japan and communicate morewith Japanese scholars.
2 ) What is/are the best thing(s)about being a BDK Fellowshipholder and what do you think
about your future career?
BDK has supported me through avery difficult time. The pandemic
forced many scholars to adjust theiroverseas research plans, but people
from BDK have been understanding
and suppor tive th roughout theentire process to make sure one cancarry out his or her research plans.
Another aspect I appreciate themost is that the fellowship offersr e i mb u r s e m e nt fo r n e c e s s a r yresea rch expendit u res such as
research travel expenses or bookpurchase expenses. Personally, I
do feel that BDK cares about its
awardees and truly wish for theirsuccess.
My priority right now is to complete

18

BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−my disser tation since this yearof research has given me a lot ofmaterials. And I hope my work willcontinuously offer new insights into
Buddhist culture and its influence
on Japanese culture.
3 ) What did you like the mostabout life in Japan? (or anything
you were surprised about?)
One thing I observed during my

Ms. Zhang (left) and Prof. Yoshikawa (right)

short trips in Japan is that many
Japanese people truly respect nature
and appreciate its connection withJapanese culture. Such connections
can be strongly felt at places like theCupressus forest near Tōshōgū ortemple gardens in Kyoto. This aspectof Japanese culture may be myfavorite part of living in Japan.

BDK headquaters (from left to right : Prof. Yamabe, Ms. Lazzerini, and Mr. Aoki)

Name (Title if any) : Simona Lazzerini
Tenure : 2022/05/01 – 2023/04/30
Affiliation (Country) : Waseda University
Academic Advisor (Title) : Yamabe Nobuyoshi
Theme of Research : Demonic icons of Hārītī
1 ) What made you apply for the2021 BDK Fellowship?
The BDK Fellowship is one of themost renowned and prestigious
fellowships in Buddhist Studies.
Because it is based in Japan, it
allows you to study in this country
for a year and it provided the perfectopportunity for me to do fieldwork
in Japan to finish my dissertation.
I am here to study demonic iconsof Hārītī with human hair. There isvery little scholarship on this topic,
therefore fieldwork across Japan wasan essential part of my research.
2 ) What is/are the best thing(s)about being a BDK Fellowshipholder and what do you think
about your future career?
I am ver y than k f ul for BDK’s

flexibility, kindness, and impeccableor g a n i z at io n . B e c a u s e of t h e
p a n d e m ic , I h a d t o p o s t p o n e
m y fe l l ow s h i p fo r 9 m o n t h s ,but BDK was patient anda c c om mo d a t i ng. T h i s cle a rly
reflects the commitment, kindness,and seriousness of BDK. Besides
being able to do fieldwork all overJapan, from Hokkaido to Kyushu,
the fellowship has given me theopportunity to work with Japanesescholars and monks; visit some of
the most important Buddhist sites
in the world (such as Tōji in Kyoto,
Enryakuji, the Great Buddha in
Kamakura); and access materials
that are not available in the US.
As for my future career, I will
defend my PhD disser tation int he Spr i ng of 2023. I wa nt t obecome a university professor andcontinue my research on East Asian
Buddhism. I am sure my future
projects will bring me back to Japansooner or later.
3 ) What did you like the mostabout life in Japan? (or anything
you were surprised about?)
Besides going to temples and learning
about Japanese Buddhism, I loveeating Japanese food (especiallyramen); going to konbini and trying
all their seasonal goods and fried
food; exploring anime places, like
Nakano Broadway and Akihabara.
I also love traveling and discovering
new places. Kyushu had some of thebest sashimi I have ever had, and I
had never seen so much snow as in
Hokkaido.

19

BDK JAPANNEWS 2022

03
Activity

The 56th BDK Cultural Awards Ceremony on
October 27, 2022 at the Bukkyo Dendo Center
Building

The 56th BDK Cultural Awards, Bunka-sho ceremony and banquet were held on October 27, 2022 at the
Bukkyo Dendo Center Building.

The 56th BDK Cultural Awards winners

The BDK Cultural Awards Committeecelebrated t he ach ievement ofRev. Shotoku Tanaka, the Bunkasho winner, for his compositionsof various Buddhist hymns that
contributed to the modernization of
Buddhist music.
He recalled his memories for the
past 60 years and expressed his
appreciation in his speech. “I justloved what I do and could notgive up on composing and playing
Buddhist music for years. I must
thank everyone who supported me
throughout those years.”
The Numata Shorei-sho winner, theTodaiji Social Welfare Corporation,

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BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−

has continued to tell everyone about
the importance of the bond between
ch i ld r e n a n d p a r e nt s a n d t h e
coincidence between them, basedon the teachings of Kegon andNara Buddhism, by establishingfacilities for children and parents
who are suffering from intractablediseases. The chairperson of thecorporation, Mr. Kiyotaka Tomiwa
said, “We would like to contributeto creating a society where every
child feels that they are happy to beborn in this world and every parent
feels that they are happy to be theirparents. The receipt of this award
encouraged us so much and we aregoing to continue our activities
from now on for sure.”Rev. Shotoku Tanaka

Mr. Kiyotaka Tomiwa from Todaiji Social Welfare
Corporation

04
Activity

2022 BDK Financial Assistance Programs

BDK supports individuals and groups that agree with the purpose of our non-profit activities and contributeto the promotion of Buddhism and its culture with high quality public programs.
For 2022, we received 23 applications
and the BDK Financial AssistanceCommittee selected 14 groups andgranted them financial assistance aslisted below.
We are pleased to introduce somepreviously funded programs in thisarticle. We supported the Nousu
Kosetsu Commendation Committee
for the preservation of Buddhist
wall paintings by M r. Kosetsu
Nousu in Sarnath, India in 2019. The
paintings were successfully restored,
and a completion ceremony washosted by the governments of India
and Japan on December 16, 2022.
In addition to the above, we supported
NPO Kamakura Terakoya, which
promotes temple com mu n it ie s
through volunteer activities such as

reading books for children, summer
camp at temples for children, etc.
in the city of Kamakura, Kanagawa
prefecture in 2022. Moreover, we
supported a special public lecture
hosted by Un iversit y Hospit alof Kyoto Prefectural Universityof Medicine about “How cancer
survivors and their families can live
better through the perspectives of
Buddhism.”Completion ceremony in India

For more information about BDK financial assistance programs, visit our official website at https://www.bdk.or.jp/english/about/financial/financial_assistance_programs.htm
A. Support for Numata Program in Buddhist Studies

Name of Group

University of California, Berkeley

Project

Reserve funds for establishment of Numata Center

B. Support for BDK Affiliated Organizations

Name of Group

Project

BDK Asia

Distribution of “The Teaching of Buddha”

BDK Taiwan

Distribution of BDK publications

C. Support for Groups

Name of GroupThe Japanese Association ofIndian Studies
NPO Kamakura Terakoya

Project

International academic and cultural exchanges through digital correspondence
Promotion of temple communities through volunteer activities by universities, temples, local
government, and individuals“Freestyle Monks”

Publication of free magazine, “Freestyle Monks” and website, and holding related events

Public Interest Incorporated

2022 research investigation, support of research, etc. as public interest incorporated

21

A. Support for Numata Program in Buddhist Studies

Name of Group

University of California, Berkeley

Project

B. Support for BDK Affiliated Organizations

Name of GroupBDK JAPAN

NEWS 2022

Reserve funds for establishment of Numata Center

Project

BDK Asia

Distribution of “The Teaching of Buddha”

BDK Taiwan

Distribution of BDK publications

C. Support for Groups

Name of GroupThe Japanese Association ofIndian Studies
NPO Kamakura Terakoya

Project

International academic and cultural exchanges through digital correspondence
Promotion of temple communities through volunteer activities by universities, temples, local
government, and individuals
Publication of free magazine, “Freestyle Monks” and website, and holding related events“Freestyle Monks”

2022 research investigation, support of research, etc. as public interest incorporated
Public Interest Incorporated
Foundation the Nakamura Hajime foundation
Eastern Institute
D. Support for Projects: D-1. Buddhist Spiritual/Cultural and Humanitarian Activities

Name of Group

Project

Public Interest Incorporated
Foundation Zenkoku Kyokaishi
Renmei (Japan Buddhist
Chaplain Union)

Training/education of Buddhist chaplains

The Committee for the 46th All
Japan Buddhist Conference in
Minobusan, Yamanashi

The 46th All Japan Buddhist Conference in Minobusan, Yamanashi prefecture

University Hospital Kyoto
Prefectural University of Medicine
All Japan Young Buddhist
Association“How cancer survivors and their families can live better through the perspectives of
Buddhism.”
National Conference of All Japan Young Buddhist Association and WFBY 50th anniversary
service

All Japan Young Buddhist
Association

Vesak, “Flower Festival,” for promoting the teachings of Buddha and its religious services

D. Support for Projects: D-2. Promotion of Buddhist Academic Learning

Name of Group

Project

Ryukoku Museum

2022 International Conference for
the Japanese Association of Digital
Humanities

2022 Special Spring Exhibition, “Disciples of Buddha -Stories of Passing the Baton ofTeachings”
International Conference for Digital Humanities in 2022

Picture story show (hosted by NPO Kamakura Terakoya)

22

BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−“How cancer survivors and their families can live
better through the perspectives of Buddhism.”Buddhist Lectures and Seminars

01
Activity

BDK Online Station: “Weekly Dharma Talks”

Rev. Kyokuyu Enta

Rev. Ryosho Shimizu

Rev. Jikido Yoshii

Rev. Naomi Sato

We started broadcasting “Weekly
Dharma Talks” via Zoom in January
2021 by setting a monthly theme
and welcoming a Buddhist priest
every week. Priests from various
schools of Japanese Budd hism
participated in the program.
We had the 100th an niversar y
program in February 2023, and it
seems like more people are looking
forward to viewing the Wednesdaynight programs. We record each
live program and after a month orso, we provide free YouTube videos,
which attract a lot of viewers. We
tr y to change the stereotypicali mage t hat “Dha r ma t al k s a re

too lofty” and will continue tobroadcast the weekly programs sothat more people can relate to themin 2023.
Comments from Viewers＊ It was easy to understand and I
felt an affinity with the program. I
enjoyed listening to the story about
Buddhist training. It was realistic
and showed his desires and conflicts.
＊ I was interested in this theme andwill continue viewing as much as I
can from now on!
＊ BDK Online Station provides aslow pace and calm moments to myday.

Themes ofthe 2022 Fiscal Year
April

Lies

May

EatingJune

Environment

July

Fear

August

Peace

September

Universe

October

HealthNovember

NatureDecember

Loneliness

January

FutureFebruary

Communication

March

Buddhist Training

23

BDK JAPANNEWS 2022

02
Activity

The Weekly Radio Program “WARAIMESHITETSUO’s Saturday★Night Buddhism” by FM Osaka

areprogram
now broadcastingthefollowing
three
programs:
Themesof (BDK) started a weeklyWe
Bukkyo Dendo
Kyokairadioin June 2018,
and
2022 wasthe fifth
year for(Names listed without Honorifics/as of March 2023)
the 2022 Fiscal Yearus to share the attractions of Buddhism with people.
Hoyo Watanabe
The 1stLies
April(Special distinguished professor of Rissho University)
Program
The Mayprogram is broadcast
Eating for 15
Tainen Miyagi
The 2ndminutes from 12:15 am. We welcomed
Environment
June(Monshu, high priest of Shogoin Monzeki)
Programpriests and celebrities as monthly
Noritoshi Aramaki
The 3rdFear
July
guests,and various stories
provided by(Emeritus professor of Kyoto University)
Programthe August
guest speakers enabled
listeners
Peace
toSeptember
feel closer to Buddhism.
Universe
E s p e cia l ly for se a son 5, we
HealthOctober
welcomed Mr. Sekaikan Ozaki,
November
who
is a novelist and aNature
vocalist withLoneliness
Decemberthe popular
Creephyp,Japaneserockband; Mr. Hakuzan
FutureKanda,
Januarya fa mous Japa nese t rad it ional
Communication
February
Mr. TETSUO (left) and Rev. Daiko Matsuyama (right)
st or y t el le r; a nd va r iou s ot he r
Training
Marchfrom Buddhist
many hear t war ming com ments
priest’s stories provide good tips forcelebrities
various fields.
Also,
f rom the fans such as “I ammy everyday life.” “This is a highthe “Free-style Dhar ma Talks”
looking forward to listening to thequality program that allows me toprovided during the weeks whenstories that make me feel closer tohave a closer experience to many
priests are guests draws attention
Buddhism in my daily life.” “Theaspects of Buddhism.” etc.
from the listeners. We received
Guests of the 2022 Fiscal Year (Name listed without honorifics)

24

April

Nanrei Yokota : Kancho Head Priest of Rinzai-shu Engakuji-ha

MayBike Kawasaki Bike : Comedian, Novelist

June

Noelke Muho : Former chief priest of Soto-shu Antaiji Temple

July

Jun Miura : Illustrator

AugustDaiko Matsuyama : Vice chief priest of Rinzai-shu Myoshinji Taizoin Temple

September

Hakuzan Kanda : Traditional Japanese Storyteller

October

Keisho Matsumoto : Priest, Jodo Shin-shu Hongwanji-ha Komyoji temple

November

Sekaikan Ozaki : Musician, Novelist

December

Koji Chiba : Chief priest of Soto-shu Horinji temple

January

Kiyoshi Ibukuro and Daisuke Kaminaga from “Wagakki(Traditional Japanese instrument) Band”

February

Junsho Oka : Chief priest of Tendai-shu, Enyuji temple

March

Yoneda 2000 : Comedian duo

BDK Newsletter

Month

Michi

−The Path−

Lectures in 2022 (Names listed without honorifics)
Theme

Lecturer

03
Activity

The 2021 “Toshihide Numata Book Award in
Buddhism” Commemorative Lecture

T he “ Tosh i h ide Nu mat a Book
Award in Buddhism” supports theadvancement of Buddhist studies in
the western world. Bukkyo Dendo
Kyokai ( BDK) est ablished theaward, which is administered by theCenter for Buddhist Studies at the
University of California, Berkeley.
The winning entr y for the best
academic Buddhist title written in
English of the year is selected by anindependent committee every year.
The 2021 winning title is “The Buddhist04
Activity

Self: On TATHĀGATAGARBHA andĀTMAN,” and the author, Dr. C.
V. Jones of Cambridge University,
gave commemorative lectures in
April 2023 at Ryukoku University( Kyoto) a nd t he Un iver sit y of
Tok yo about t he book a nd h isresearch results after writing it.
It was a fantastic opportunity tolisten to lectures by a cutting-edge
researcher of Buddhist studies, andhe received a lot of attention fromstudents and scholars.

Dr. C. V. JonesThe 2022 Tour of the Picture Story Show “Buddha-The Life of Shakyamuni” as a Special Projecton the 50th Anniversary of the Publication of theManga “BUDDHA” by ©Tezuka Production

Bu k k yo Dendo Kyokai ( BDK)
hosted the ‘Picture Story Show’performed by professional picture
storytellers and voice actors as a
special project commemorating the50th anniversary of the publicationof t he M a ng a “ BU DDH A” by©Tez u ka Production. The tou r
went to 16 places in Tokyo suchas kindergar tens and childcare
f a c i l i t i e s a s w e l l a s Ts u k i j i
Hongwanji, Byodoin, and Zuiganji,
w h e r e t h e BDK p h o t o g r a p h y
ex h ibit ions a re held. “Budd ha-The Life of Shakyamuni” wasenthusiastically performed by thestorytellers and actors.

Picture Story show at Tsukiji Hongwanji

1,571 people watched the showsduring the period of April 1 to
December 31, and BDK handed out

an exclusive gift of coloring books
to the attendees.

25

BDK JAPANNEWS 2022

05
Activity

BDK Flower Festival for the Vesak Celebration

Winning paintings from the “Design Contest for the Flower Festival”

We ex h i bit e d t he 17 w i n n i ng
paintings from the first to the fifthcompetitions of the “Design Contest
for the Flower Festival” hosted by
the Japan Buddhist Federation (JBF)
since 2017. The paintings weredisplayed in the lobby area of the
BDK Center Building.
Most of the pieces were colorful
and appropriate for the “Flower
Festival,” which celebrates the birthof Shak yamuni, and they were
full of various good wishes andthoughts.
In addition to the 17 pieces, we
displayed a reproduction painting of
the “Nativity of Shakyamuni” and26

BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−a Hanamido, the special altar witha statue of the infant Shakyamuni
decorated with f lowers. We also
installed a colorf ul f lower bed
right in front of our building and it
seemed that people passing by ourbuilding paid a lot of attention toit. The Japan Buddhist Women’sFederation provided us with flower
seeds that visitors to the exhibition
freely took home.
BODAIJU, the restaurant inside the
Bukkyo Dendo Center Building,sold a special Buddhist vegetarian
curry and rice dish just for thisperiod to celebrate this event andmany people enjoyed the food.

“Nativity of Shakyamuni” and a Hanamido altar

Flower bed in front of the BDK Center Building

06
Activity

The 50th Jissen Fukyo Kenkyukai, BDK Buddhist
Missionary Seminar, at the Tendai Sect Head
Temple Hieizan Enryakuji: June 1-3, 2022

Zazen meditation practice

Bu k k yo Dendo Kyokai ( BDK)
hosted the 50th Buddhist Missionary
Seminar (BMS) at Hieizan (Mt.
Hiei) Enryakuji, the head temple of
the Tendai sect in Shiga prefecture.
We had postponed it for two years
due to the COVID-19 pandemic
and we were finally able to holdthe 50th anniversary seminar after
three years. We welcomed 30 priests
and their temple families fromvarious sects of Japanese Buddhism
this time, and they deepened theirunderstanding of the theme, “The
Buddhist Path of Mt. Hiei – Learningfrom *Kaihogyo Training.”
His Eminence, Rev. Kokei Ohki, theTendai Zasu, the head priest of theTendai sect, gave the participants
an exclusive welcome speech at the
opening of the seminar on Day 1.
The participants attended the earlymorning service at the Konponchudo

Guide tour by Rev. Kakushun Kogamo

Lecture by Rev. Soho Miyamoto

Hall, visited temples under theguidance of Rev. Kakushun Kogamo,
and encountered the mind of Master
Saicho through a lecture given by
Rev. Soho Miyamoto on Day 2.
The participants woke up at 2 am on
Day 3 and engaged in the Kaihogyotraining. They wore the white sacredclothes and chanted the “Hear t
Sutra” as they walked the mountainpaths of Mt. Hiei, and safely finishedtheir seminar trip of three days.
＊ Kaihogyo Training: ascetic
practice of the Tendai sect; athousand-day walk through themountains from Hieizan to the oldImperial Palace in Kyoto

27

BDK JAPANNEWS 2022

07
Activity

Studying “The Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)” forBusiness/Daily LifeOne of the missions of Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) is to “support programs that advance the Buddhist spirit
and its culture.” Seminar and lectures geared toward specific and general interests are sponsored throughout
the year. The one with the longest history is ‘Studying “TTOB” for Business,’ which began in 1981.

Lecture by Rev. Hogen NatoriThis lecture series was establishedmainly for business people whowant to acquire some backgroundknowledge about Buddhism to help
them operate and manage theirbusinesses with opportunities tolearn about the spirit of compassion
and the wisdom of Buddhism. For
2022, we welcomed Rev. Makoto
Ich i ra k u , Cha ncellor of O t a n i
University, and Rev. Koji Chiba,
Chancellor of Tohok u Fu k ushi
University, and hosted a monthly
lecture on every fourth Friday at
6pm.
The participants enjoyed a little

28

BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−gathering after each lect ure tocommunicate with each other andthe instructors.
Lectures for ‘Studying “TTOB”
for Daily Life’ also has a long
history and began a year after theestablishment of ‘Studying “TTOB”
for Business’ in 1982. The monthly
lectures share the dharma withparticipants who learn how to live
their daily lives with the spirit of
Buddha through reading TTOB.
The lectures are held in a relaxedatmosphere during the day. For
2022, the lectures were delivered by
Rev. Hogen Natori, chief priest of

Lecture by Rev. Makoto Ichiraku

Mitsuzoin Temple, and Rev. Chiryo
Matsumoto, chief priest of Enryuji
Temple. We hosted a mont h ly
lecture on every fourth Tuesday at
1:30pm.

08
Activity“Buddhism Through English (BTE)”– Update for 2022

BTE in Tokyo – Online Classes
The program of Buddhism ThroughEnglish (BTE) originally began in
2011, and Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai(BDK) renewed the program in2016 to teach people how to explain
Buddhism to tourists from all over
the world in English. 185 of 400
participants passed at level 3 and119 of 149 passed at level 2 by 2022.
Many people who passed at level 2

currently work for temples with lotsof tourists as a “Buddhist English
Tour Guide.”
Participants really enjoyed learning
Buddhism in English for all those
years with Dr. Kenneth Tanaka,
emeritus professor of Musashino
University, and Ms. Carrie Tanaka,
English Phonetics Specialist, ourfriendly lecturers who have a good

sense of humor. Although the 2022
lectures were the last ones for thisprogram, BDK will provide various
opportunities in different ways forlearning Buddhism in English fromnow on. (For more details about
the on-going/up-coming lectures,
please visit our official website.)

Guide tour by Rev. Gyoei Saile at Kofukuji

BTE in Kyoto and Nara, “Learning Buddhism in English ThroughExperiences at Temples”
BDK hosted “Learning Buddhism
in English Through Experiences
at Temples” by combining lecturesin a classroom with experiencesat temples in Kyoto and Nara.
We set three themes of 1) Zazen
meditation, 2) Buddhist architecture
a nd Japa ne se ga rde n s , a nd 3)

Buddhist statues. We welcomed
three lecturers. Rev. Muho Noelke,
for me r ch ief pr ie st of A nt aiji
temple, explained the teachings

29

BDK JAPANNEWS 2022
of Zen in lectures and directed
Za ze n me d it at ion at Sot o -shu
Koshoji temple in Kyoto. Dr. Lisa
Grumbach, lecturer at Ryukoku
University, explained the Buddhist
worldv iew of t he Budd ha a nd
Shinto Kami and gave a special tourat Kita Hosso-shu Kiyomizuderain Kyoto. Rev. Gyoei Saile, priest

09
Activityof Kofukuji, gave a lecture about
Buddhist statues and led a tour at
Hosso-shu Kofukuji in Nara.
Participants said that by actually
visiting the temples in person afterlear ning things in a classroom,
they were able to deepen theirunderstanding of Buddhism as wellas practice their English.

Zazen instruction by Rev. Muho Noelke at Koshoji“Buddhist Yoga” – Update for 2022

The BDK “Buddhist Yoga” class enables participants to focus on difficult poses while they are having fun,and it gained a popular reputation.

Yoga instruction by Momo

We welcomed Rev. Ryoyu Konishi,
also known as Momo, who is a
Koyasan Shingon-shu priest. Her
classes often involved diff icult
poses, however, the goal of the classwas not to do the poses perfectly.
She focused on the participants’breathings and body movements.
Participants performed the body
movements as much as they could
and enjoyed yoga at their ow npaces. Momo’s dharma talks offered

opportunities for participants tofeel closer to Buddhism because
she kindly explained the common
points shared between Buddhism
and yoga with easy-to-understandexamples each time.
Mr. Ken Harakuma, a legendary
Japa nese yog i n i, gave spe cialclasses in August and September
while Momo was in India for yoga
training. We had lots of participants
who joined in-person and online.

Special Zazen Retreat at Soto Zen Sojiji Head Monastery on November
19, 2022
After three years of the pandemic, BDK finally resumed the “Special
Zazen Retreat” in which people were able to experience Yoga, Zazen
and Japanese Buddhist vegetarian cuisine at the same time at Sojiji
temple.
We began this event at Sojiji in2016 to provide another opportunity
for people to freely visit temples
more of ten a nd exper ience30

BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−

Buddhist spirituality and culture.
This is our fifth year of holding
this special event after a pauseof three years, and we welcomed

Shojinryori prepared by Sojiji temple

Mr. Ken Harakuma for the yoga
class, and Rev. Zenchi Uno fromthe Soto Institute for Buddhist
Studies for the dharma talk. Rev.

10
Activity

Komyo Hanawa from Sojiji gave
explanations about the temple itself
as well. Participants tried zazen
meditation and had a Buddhist

vegetarian lunch after chanting the“Verse of Five Contemplations,” andthey were able to have a meaningfulexperience at Sojiji for half a day.

“Feel Buddhism” Experiencing Temples in
Meguro, Tokyo on November 29, 2022

Guide tour by Rev. Kodo Takiguchi

Bu k k yo Dendo Kyokai ( BDK)
hosted a special program, “Feel
Buddhism,” a one-day field trip
to temples located in Meg u ro,Tokyo with the theme of “feelingsome aspects of the significance of
Buddhism.”
Although we had to postpone thisevent for three years during the
COVID-19 pandemic, this was ourthird time after the program wasstarted at Asakusa in 2019.

The f irst par t was held at
Gohyakurakanji temple, and Rev.
Shujo Mukushina, the temple’schief priest, gave instructions about
Nenbutsu chanting at the mainhall. The second part was held at
Meguro Fudoson Ryusenji temple,
and participants were able to see
the Gomagyo, the sacred fire ritual,
conducted by Rev. Kodo Takiguchi,
the chief priest. They went on a
guided tour of the temple and heard

about the history of Meguro as well.
T he we at he r wa s fa nt a st ic onthat day, and we received manyc o m m e nt s f r o m p a r t ic i p a nt s ,who said that they were looking
forward to the next opportunity.
We are going to hold another “Feel
Buddhism” event in the fall of 2023.
(For more information about the
up-coming event, please visit our
official website.)31

BDK JAPANNEWS 2022

11
Activity“Symbolic Character of Hope for 2023” Contest

Calligraphy of “会 (Meeting)” by Mr. Suzuki

Bu k k yo Dendo Kyokai ( BDK)
hosted the “Symbolic Characterof Hope for 2023” contest formaking a wish based on a single
Kanji (Chinese) character for the
up-coming New Year. We invited
public participation from October 1
to December 15, 2022, through ourofficial website. We selected “会(Meeting)” as the 2023 character,which was submitted by someone
who wanted to meet people but

32

BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−

Mr. Harumi Aoki (left) and Mr. Mori Suzuki (right)

couldn’t for the past three years due
to COVID-19. “ 会 ” also means
attaining enlightenment, and weselected this character so that more
people can meet the teachings of
Buddha.
We welcomed Mr. Mori Suzuki,
a professional calligrapher, andhe did a special performance ofwriting “会 ” in front of the GreatHall of Daihonzan Zojoji, the chief
temple of the Jodo-sect, against

the background of Tokyo Tower on
January 6, 2023. He received lotsof applause from the audience forhis lively performance using hiswhole body. We also distributed tothe audience an exclusive gift of a
postcard on which he had written
the character “会.” We exhibitedthe master piece in the precinctof Zojoji temple for that day andlater installed it in the lobby of the
Bukkyo Dendo Center Building.

12“Tips from the Masters of Buddhism” is out!

Activity

The “Tips from the Masters of
Budd h ism” project bega n i n2022 in which we inter viewed
prominent people who have beenleaders in the field of Buddhism
in Japan for years. Their careers,
essays, a nd publicat ions a re
Themes of
w id2022
ely kFiscal
now n Yeara mong p e ople,
thebut t hei r pr ivate expe r iences,
Lies
April
personal characteristics, and theirMayfeelings about Eating
Buddhism have notbeen discussed
in public. In thisEnvironment
June
program, we introduced
their own
Fear
Julyexperiences, feelings and words that
Peace
AugustSeptember

Universe

October

HealthNovember

NatureDecember

Loneliness

January

FutureFebruary

Communication

March

Buddhist Training

Rev. Hoyo Watanabe

13
Activity

April

express what is important to themas Buddhists. We listened to theirstories by taking a step into theirpersonalities. We interviewed six
people so far in 2022 and presented
three shor t inter view videos tothe public and posted the entire
interviews in articles on our official
website. We are going to continue
to introduce more of the valuabletips they have to offer in 2023.

We are now broadcasting the following three programs:(Names listed without Honorifics/as of March 2023)
The 1st
Program

Hoyo Watanabe(Special distinguished professor of Rissho University)

The 2nd
ProgramTainen Miyagi(Monshu, high priest of Shogoin Monzeki)

The 3rd
Program

Noritoshi Aramaki(Emeritus professor of Kyoto University)

Rev. Tainen Miyagi

Emeritus Prof. Noritoshi Aramaki

Elementary Course of Buddhist Lectures on
Guestsof the 2022 Fiscal
Year (Name listed
without honorifics)“Japanese
Buddhism– Learningfrom Scratch” –NanreiYokota : for
KanchoHead Priest of Rinzai-shu Engakuji-ha
Update2022

Bike Kawasaki Bike : Comedian, NovelistMayThe
elementary
courseMuho
of Buddhistclasses
onlineas well asAntaiji
in-person
Noelke: Former chief
priestof Soto-shu
Templeinstructors talked about masters
June
lectures on “Japanese Buddhism –for the 2022 course and were able
w h o r e s t o r e d e a c h s c h o ol a s
Jun Miura : Illustrator
July
Learning from Scratch” is one of theto provide more opportunities forwell as the founders so that the
Matsuyama
chief who
priestdoofnot
Rinzai-shu
Taizoin Temple
Augustmost popular Daikoelementary
courses: Vicepeople
live closeMyoshinji
to theparticipants
were able to deepen
about the teachingsand histories
ofTokyoJapanesearea.
their understanding.
HakuzanKanda : Traditional
Storyteller
Septembereach JapaneseKeisho
Buddhist
school and: Priest,
We Jodoa d d eShin-shu
d “J i - s h uHongwanji-ha, I p p e n” t o Komyoji temple
Matsumoto
Octoberthe lives of their founders. We had
the 2022 prog ram, and all the
Sekaikan Ozaki : Musician, Novelist
November
December

Koji Chiba : Chief priest of Soto-shu Horinji temple

January

Kiyoshi Ibukuro and Daisuke Kaminaga from “Wagakki(Traditional Japanese instrument) Band”

33

Guests of the 2022 Fiscal Year (Name listed without honorifics)
Nanrei Yokota : Kancho Head Priest of Rinzai-shu Engakuji-ha

April
May

BDKNovelist
JAPAN
Bike Kawasaki Bike : Comedian,June

Noelke Muho : Former chief priest of Soto-shu Antaiji Temple

July

Jun Miura : Illustrator

AugustDaiko Matsuyama : Vice chief priest of Rinzai-shu Myoshinji Taizoin Temple

NEWS 2022

September

Hakuzan Kanda : Traditional Japanese Storyteller

October

Keisho Matsumoto : Priest, Jodo Shin-shu Hongwanji-ha Komyoji temple

November

Sekaikan Ozaki : Musician, Novelist

December

Koji Chiba : Chief priest of Soto-shu Horinji temple

January

Kiyoshi Ibukuro and Daisuke Kaminaga from “Wagakki(Traditional Japanese instrument) Band”

February

Junsho Oka : Chief priest of Tendai-shu, Enyuji temple

March

Yoneda 2000 : Comedian duo

Rev. Eshun Kobayashi

Rev. Kojun HayashidaRev. Naoto Iwata

Lectures in 2022 (Names listed without honorifics)
Month

Theme

Lecturer

April

Tendai shu Founder Saicho

Eshun Kobayashi, Disciple of Tendai-shu Shomyoji temple

May

Shingon Shu Founder Kukai

Koyu Amano, Chief Priest of Koyasan Shingon-shu Kozoji
templeJune

Jodo Shu Founder Honen

Kojun Hayashida, Professor of Taisho University

July

Jodoshin Shu Founder Shinran Kenjun Inoue, Associate Professor of Ryukoku University

AugustJi Shu Founder Ippen

Naoto Iwata, Chief Priest of Ji-shu Manpukuji temple

September Rinzai Shu Founder Eisai

Ryugyo Matsumoto, Chief Priest of Rinzai-shu Kenchoji-ha
Nomanji temple

October

Soto Shu Founder Dogen

Koji Chiba, Chancellor of Tohoku Fukushi University

November

Nichiren Shu Founder Nichiren Kankei Tanigawa, Vice Chief Priest of Nichiren-shu
Shinjoji temple

Special Lecture: Learning Nara Buddhism on February 28, 2023

Lectures in 2021(Names listed without Honorifics)
BDK hosted a special lecture, “Learning Nara Buddhism,” which addressed the Six Schools forming theCountry
LecturerDatefoundation of Japanese Buddhism.
April 22
Hidetake Yano, Professor of Komazawa University
ThailandWe
welcomed Dr.
Fumihiko
Sueki,
the Buddhist
schoolsthat flourishedcurrent Buddhism is
based
May
27 on Nara
Yosei
Ikegami,Professorof Minobusan
University
Laos
Emeritus
Professorof theKobayashi,
University Professor
around of
theSoutheast
south of Heijokyo,
the Kyoto
Buddhismand flourished
June 17all overSatoruAsian Studies,
University
Cambodiaof Tokyo, and had a special lecture
ancient capital of Japan. However,Japan.
July 29
Indonesia Toshiaki Kimura, Professor of Tohoku University
both online and in-person since wethe lecturer pointed out that his
August 26
Ishii, Emeritusof Komazawa
University
Vietnamhad
no chance Kosei
to introduce
Nara Professor
talk was not
only about the
Nanto
Buddhism during
the 2022
regular Associate
Rikushu,Professor
the six schoolsof theRyosuke
Kuramoto,of Institutefor Advanced
September 16
Myanmarlectures. We offeredadiscount
Southern
Capital,
but
was
also
about
Studies on Asia, the University of Tokyo
rate especially for people who
how Buddhism started in India,
October 28
Yun Huang, Associate Professor of Shokei University
Malaysia
have a student ID to encourage
developed various philosophies
more students to participate in thisin China, then came to Japan andopportunity.
developed their own ways in Nara
Handouts prepared by Emeritus Prof. Fumihiko Sueki
Nara Buddhism in general refers towith an emphasis on the state. Our

34

BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−14
Activity

2022 BDK Symposium

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) invited a variety of accomplished people as our lecturers, and sponsored
events for the 2022 BDK Symposium as described below.

The 28th BDK Symposium “Asking About Life and Death” on July 13, 2022
BDK hosted special lectures by Rev. Tetsubun Fujita, the 53rd BDK Cultural Award winner, and Rev. Ichijo
Ogawa, the 55th BDK Cultural Award winner, in Sapporo City, Hokkaido with the theme of “Asking About
Life and Death.”R e v. F u ji t a t a l k e d a b o u t t h e
direction of our lives by addressing
his own theme of “Where are you
going after death? -To you who live
here at this moment.”
R e v. O g a w a q u o t e d a p o e mwritten by his younger sister, Ms.
A k i ko Su z u k i, a nd ex pla i ne dthe importance of understandingthat we are not walking towards
death but are living in the present
moment. He addressed the theme of“What lies at the basis of Buddhism– Informing Patients of Cancer andBuddhism.”
To provide more opportunities formore people, we asked for help
f rom the Hok kaido Hand Sig nCenter and welcomed professional
simultaneous hand sign interpreters.
It was our first-time welcoming
hand sign inter preters, and we
we r e a ble t o welc om e t wo ofthem to assist in our event. The

28th symposium was our second
one in Hokkaido, and we had 92
participants: 60 people online and32 people at the venue.

Rev. Ichijo Ogawa

Rev. Tetsubun Fujita

35

BDK JAPANNEWS 2022
The 29th BDK Symposium “Is It Possible for Humans to Save Humans?
-Thinking About the Work of Chaplains” on September 10, 2022
Recently there has been a lot of media attention such as the novel that was made into a movie about
the efforts of chaplains to heal inmates of their mental problems. We welcomed three panelists: Mr.
Masatsugu Yazawa, a former judicial instructor at a correctional facility in Fuchu and Executive Officer of
the National Federation of Chaplains, Rev. Hiroyuki Yutani, a Catholic priest of the Tokyo Diocese, andRev. Kenjo Kuboi, chief priest of Soto-shu Daisenji temple.
They star ted talking about thereality of their chaplain activities
behind the wall, compared theiractivities as Buddhist and Christianchaplains, and discussed the theme“Is It Possible for Humans to Save
Humans?” The three panelists also
exchanged comments with eachother and answered questions fromthe participants.

Panelists (left to right: Rev. Kuboi, Rev. Yutani, and Mr. Yazawa)

The lectures were published on
our official YouTube channel with
subtitles and hand sign language forthe benefit of people with hearing
impairments.

YouTube movie with subtitles and Japanese sign language interpretation(JSL interpreter: Mr. Satoshi Ezoe)

The 30th BDK Symposium “How to Live Without Conflicts” on November
12, 2022
BDK hosted a symposium to consider the role of religion in how tolive without conflicts in the modern world in which we face disasters,
fatal diseases, and wars as daily problems. We welcomed Mr. Yosuke
Nagai, the executive director of NPO Accept International, and Prof.
Katsuhiro Kohara of Doshisha University, who is also executive directorof the Center for the Study of Conscience, as our guest speakers.
The theme of Mr. Nagai’s lecture
was “A new approach to solve
terrorism and conflict – What can
we do with terrorist groups withwhom we h ave no i nt e r a ct ive

36

BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−

communication?” He talked about
the role that religion can play inthe re-education and rehabilitation
into societ y of for mer soldiersand people who used to be partProf. Katsuhiro Kohara (left) and Mr. Nagai (right)

of terrorist groups and had beenarrested.
The theme of Prof. Kohara’s lecture
was “What we can do to not intensify
conflict through thinking about thehistory and reality of monotheism.”
He explained the characteristics ofhuman and modern society behind
conflicts, the history of conflicts inmonotheism, and the necessity foreducation in religious literacy.
It was a great opportunity to rethink
the relationship between religions

and conf licts by listening to theactive exchanges bet ween t wo

professionals working in different
fields.

Panelists exchange comments

The 31st BDK Symposium “The Beauty of Buddhist Statues: Why Do
People Pray?” on March 4, 2023
We welcomed four panelists, Prof. Yasushi Okada; Mr. Gizan Kato, a Buddhist sculptor; Prof. Hisanori
Kojima; and Mr. Atsushi Nishiyama to think about the beauty of Buddhist statues and their power to saveand answer the prayers of many people.

Panelists (left to right: Mr. Nishiyama, Prof. Kojima, Mr. Kato, and Prof. Okada)

Assoc. Prof. Okada from Tokyo
University of the Arts talked about
the meanings of icons in religions ingeneral, and Mr. Kato, the Buddhist
sculptor, explained the relationshipbet ween prayers and Budd histstatues through his experiences ofdedicating one of his statues to thedisaster area of the Great East Japan
Earthquake and Tsunami. AssistantProf. Kojima from Tokyo Universityof the Arts spoke about the ideas of
Buddhist sculptors and the beautyof Buddhist statues through the

production of replicas, and Mr.
Nishiyama, executive director of
the East Asia Buddhist Cultural
Institute, discussed Buddhist statues
as the accumulation of prayers.
We were able to think about various
elements of “the beauty of Buddhist
st at ues” and it was a precious
opportunity to learn about multiple
perspectives from each lecturer.
Each lecture had a different point ofview, but all lecturers agreed that at
the foundational level of Buddhist
statues there are the considerationsof both the sculptors and the people
who offer prayers.
Ever yone came to the common
conclusion that those thoughts andfeelings definitely create the beautyof the statues.

37

Take a Break

Renewal of BDK Oﬃcial SNS Pages
Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) renewed its oﬃcial SNS
pages in order to post and share information of ouractivities faster with more people.

Most people in the modern world use social networking
services (SNS) daily to receive useful information
concerning their interests and related matters. We haveoﬃcial SNS pages on such sites as Facebook, Instagram,
YouTube, Twitter (started in July 2022), and TikTok(started in October 2022), through which we introduce
our activities and announce various events and lectures.
We post announcements about our upcoming/new
events, lectures, and publications through Facebook
and Instagram, and share video clips of the previous
Weekly Dharma Talks,

lectures, symposia, and otherevents. The BDK SNS team, which started in August
2022, manages all the oﬃcial pages in order to reacheven more people. Especially, we focused on Instagram
for greatly renewing our postings of content according
to certain rules and schedules. Through trial and error interms of design and timing, we are disseminating
various contents related to Buddhism that go beyond
merely making announcements of events.

QR code for new registration

BDK official LINE pages

38

BDK Newsletter

Michi

Buddhist yoga

−The Path−

Buddhism throughEnglish

BDK

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Ɍɂ࢑

BDK Affiliated
Organization Activities
BDK AMERICABDK ASIABDK CANADABDK EUROPE

BDK TAIWANBDK HAWAIIBDK MEXICOBDK SOUTH AMERICABDK UK● January 5, 2022

245 likes / 20

Saturday★Night Buddhism‒ Episode on January 1, 20

BDK POLAND
現代人のための仏教ヨガ＋瞑想のすすめ
The most popular of all the

Saturday★Night B

posts was the episode in which we welcomed Suehir

popular Japanese comedian duo. Their fans shared otheir pages of SNS.

● August 16, 2021

Worldly Desigame with tha reprinted ver
The post about
popular in 2021.

them actually pur
Caption● April 13, 2021

247 likes / 2,

The Word of the Week ‒Those who are nnoises, but those who are satisfied are sile

We introduced some wise sayings by celebrities everour bulletin board at the BDK Center Building and the aearned the mostLikes

in 2021. The words of S

have the power to reach into the hearts of many peop39

BDK Affiliated Organization Activities
World Map & Contact Information
BDK EUROPE

1

EKO-Haus der Japanischen Kultur e.V.
Brüggener Weg 6, 40547 Düsseldorf, GERMANY
Tel: +49(211)577918-0 Fax: +49(211)577918-219
E-mail: bdk@eko-hause.de
http://www.eko-haus.de2

c/o Mitutoyo(UK)Ltd. Joule Road, West Point
Business Park, Andover, Hampshire SP10 3UX U.K.
Tel: +44 1264-353123 Fax: +44 1264-354883
E-mail: BDK.UK@mitutoyo.co.uk

BDK POLAND

BDK AMERICA

5

1675 School Street,
Moraga, CA 94556 U.S.A.
Tel: +1(925)388-0067 Fax: +1(925)388-0331
http://www.bdkamerica.org

3

c/o Mitutoyo Polska Sp.z o.o.
ul. Graniczna 8A 54-610 Wroclaw, POLAND
Tel: +48(71)354 83 50 Fax: +48(71)354 83 55

14

c/o Mitutoyo Canada Inc. 2121 Meadowvale Blvd.
Mississauga, ON, CANADA L5N 5N1
Tel: +1(905)821-6202 Fax: +1(905)821-4968
E-mail: honjo@bdkcanada.com
http://www.bdkcanada.com

BDK U.K.

2

BDK CANADABDK HAWAII

61757 Algaroba Street, Honolulu, HI 96826, U.S.A.
Tel: +1(808)942-1511 Fax +1(808)942-2622
E-mail: bdkshi@hotmail.com
http://www.bdkhawaii.com

4

3
5

7
6

8

10

11

9

BDK JAPAN

7

3-14, Shiba 4-chome, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, JAPAN 108-0014
Tel: +81(3)3455-5851 Fax: +81(3)3798-2758
E-mail: bdk@bdk.or.jp
https://www.bdk.or.jp

BDK TAIWAN

8

c/o Mitutoyo Taiwan Co., Ltd.
4F., No.71, Zhouzi St., Neihu Dist.,
Taipei City 114, TAIWAN
Tel: +886(2)5573-5913 Fax: +886(2)8752-3267
E-mail: bdktaiwan@yahoo.com
https://www.bdk.tw

BDK ASIA
c/o Mitutoyo Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.
24 Kallang Avenue, Mitutoyo Building,Singapore, 339415, SINGAPORE
Tel: +65 6294-2211 Fax: +65 6299-6666
E-mail: bdk@mitutoyo.com.sg
https://bdkasia.org

40

BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−

BDK MEXICO

10

Prolonagación Eugenia No. 17, Colonia Nápoles,
Alcaldía Benito Juarez, CDMX, C.P.03810, MEXICO
Tel: 52{55}5543-0507
Email: contacto@ekoccj.com
http://ekoccj.com

9

BDK SOUTH AMERICA

11

a/c Mitutoyo Sul Americana Ltda.
Avenida Mimes, 25 - Jardimi Ermida I- Jundiaī / Sāo Paulo. Brasil
Tel: +55(11)5643-0006 Fax: +55(11)5641-3745
E-mail: bdk@mitutoyo.com.br

BDK America
As we slowly recover from theCovid pandemic, we continue tobe cautious and also to be creativein how we do our work. Half ofour monthly staff meetings, forinstance, are conducted in-person,
and the other half by Zoom. After
two years of conducting our annual
board meetings by email, we had anin-person board meeting in March,
2023.
We are returning to our distributionof The Teaching of Buddha to hotels
by contacting our clients by phone
and will plan on attending nationaland regional meetings of hotel
associations. Distribution of TTOB
remains strong with the military andto date we have published 12,000
copies of the military edition.
Distribution of BDK books otherthan TTOB reached an all-time
h ig h i n 2022. We d ist r ibuteda t ot a l of ne a rly 9,0 0 0 b o ok ssuch as Learning the Wisdom of
Enlightenment, Jewels, Messages
from the Buddha, and A Teaching aDay. The demand for easy-to-readbooks remains high, and we plan on
publishing the BDK version of the
Dhammapada, the classic collectionof early teachings.
Fortunately, the Tripitaka project
was not affected by the pandemic,
and we distributed over 14,000
copies through sales, donations
and PDF downloads. In 2022, wepublished three new books, and weare looking forward to publishing
five new volumes in 2023.
John S. Strong, professor emeritus
of Bates College, won the 2022
Toshihide Numata Book Award forhis publication of The Buddha’s

Toot h: Wester n Tales of a Sr i
Lankan Relic. The award ceremony
a n d s y m p o si u m we r e h eld i n
Febr uar y 2023 at UC Berkeley,
which administers the book award
program.
BDK made significant contributions
to the Numata Prog rams in

Buddhist Studies at UC Berkeley
and the University of Chicago.
T he prog r a m at Be rkeley wa s
strengthened and rededicated as
the Numata Center for Buddhist
St udies with a conference andreception held in October 2022.
At t he Un ive r sit y of C h icago

41

Divinity School, the new Numata
Professorship of Japanese Buddhist
St u d ie s w a s i n a u g u r a t e d a n d
Stephan Licha (Heidelberg) has
been named to be the first holder ofthe position.
BDK continues to support Ekoji
Buddhist Temple located on theoutskirts of Washington D. C. Rev.
Nariaki Hayashi was reassigned
to the BCA temple in Denver, andRev. Kurt Rye was appointed toserve Ekoji along with the BCA
temples in New York Cit y andSeabrook, New Jersey. The Ekoji
congregation has ambitious plans toremodel the buildings and to installa new audio-visual system capableof connecting them to organizations
and individuals throughout theworld via the internet. Their vision
for creating a Worldwide Sangha isbold and promising for the future.
Mr, Numata at symposium in Berkeley

BDK Hawaii
In 2022, we still felt the effectsof the Covid pandemic as hotels
continued to be reluctant to placereading materials in their rooms.
In response to this situation, we
printed cards with a QR code fora free download of The Teachingof Buddha. We sent samples to
36 hotels in Waikiki but only two
accepted the cards for placement intheir rooms. Since the pandemici s slowl y e a s i n g , we pl a n o nrecontacting hotels in 2023 to see
if they are interested in our books
and/or the QR code cards.
Tourists have returned to Hawaii,
and many purchase TTOB fromthe gift shop at the Valley of the
Temples and its replica buildingof Byodoin. I n 2022, we sold2,312 books at this popular tourist
destination.
We continued our campaign toreach out to prisons nationwide
and sent samples to 528 chaplains.
Many of them requested books andwe shipped a total of 748 copies.
All of our community programs
were conducted as Zoom online
meetings. In Apr il, the BDK-42

BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−

Yoshiaki Fujitani Interfaith Program
sponsored a vir t ual discussion
by three clerics explaining themeanings of their places of worship.
The panelists represented Orthodox
Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism.

As we have in the past years, we
co-sponsored a workshop on suicide
prevention in cooperation with theSamaritan Counseling Center andthe Honpa Hongwanji Mission.
The online workshop was calledEmbracing Hope 2022: Suicide
Prevention During the Pandemic
Years.
In October, we sponsored an online
discussion about Vanessa Sasson’s
novel, Yasodhara, as part of the
Hawaii Book and Music Festival.
P rofe ssor Sa sson pa r t icipat edfrom Montreal, Canada, and our
discussion about Yasodhara, theBuddha’s wife, created so muchinterest that the Honpa Hongwanji
Mission of Hawaii has invited
her to give an in-person lecturei n Honolu lu i n Oct obe r 2023.
Since she will be in Hawaii, BDK
Hawaii will sponsor an in-person
discussion of her second book about
Yasodhara as part of the HawaiiBook and Music Festival. The

event will take place on the campusof the University of Hawaii.
Our BDK apartment building isgetting old and has required some
expensive repairs. Since it is ourprimary source of income, we arecommitted to taking care of it sothat we can continue our work long
into the future.

of Buddhist Tales,” recorded avideo interview of an atomic bomb
survivor who lives in Mexico andmade a video clip promoting the
EKO Center of Japanese Culture
with the help of instructors fromof the EKO-Dojo, our martial arts
gym. We tried to establish ourofficial website at ekoccj.com toenhance our online activities.
The situation of Covid-19 finallycame under control after June,so we were able to resume ouractivities in-person. Rev. Yokoo,
the assistant chief priest of Ekoji
temple, was able to receive her
missionary license from Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji school in person.

BDK Mexico

Line of people waiting to receive “TTOB”

We could not do much in-person at
the beginning of 2022 since someof the BDK Mexico staff members
tested positive for Covid-19, andwe therefore focused on online
activities featuring translations,publications, etc. We collected
some d rawi ngs f rom the local
children and created the “Animation

43

She brought back memories of herstay in Japan and remembered thatthe training opportunity she hadwith other fellows was just precious.
Her instructor said repeatedly that“being a Buddhist priest is not justa license, but is a matter of selfconsciousness,” and these words
really encouraged her for our future
activities in Mexico.
In addition to the above, BDK
Mexico welcomed a new st af f
member, Ms. Miyauchi, in June. She
has been working as a registerednutritionist for past years to help
people make their lives healthier.
She is going to contribute to our
new activities mai nly th roughBuddhist vegetarian cooking.
Moreover, we resumed the Buddhist
lectures at Alva Edison University.
Rev. Todaka, the chief priest of
Ekoji temple, holds an honorary
doct or at e f rom t he u n ive r sit yand was invited in October to the25th Inter national Educational
C o n fe r e n c e t h at 18 c ou nt r ie s
participated in. Rev. Yokoo’s picture
story show, which was a projectcommissioned by the Ministry of
Culture, was also restarted, and we
distributed about 6,000 copies of“The Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)”
as well.

Rev. Yokoo (middle) with children wearing Yukata

We attended the “125th Anniversaryof the Enomoto Migration” ceremonyand held a Buddhist ser vice inNovember for our ancestors in
the magnificent natural setting of
Chiapas in the southern state of
Mexico. Most of the immigrants
from Japan became Christians at
the time, so the younger generations
had no idea about Japanese
Buddhism, and they were reallyinterested in the Buddhist rituals.
We handed out many copies of
TTOB to the local people and feltthat we should explore more about
their cultural roots and pass theseon to the next generation.
All the BDK Mexico staff members
reaffirmed their important roles in
the community and will continue totake on new challenges in Mexico
in 2023.

increasingly difficult, and we arealways concerned about what to do.
We r e c o n s i d e r e d o u r l i s t o f
those who receive the books. We
contacted neighborhood leaders
as potential helpers. We thoughtthat if we send TTOB to them,
they will distribute the books totheir residents. After a trial run in
December 2021, the response wasbetter than expected. They werequite happy to accept TTOB.
We have finished donating moret ha n 6,0 0 0 T TOB (t r a d it ional
C h i n e s e) t o s e ve r a l a r e a s i n
Kaohsiung, for example, Xinxing

BDK Taiwan
Even though people have gradually
returned to their daily lives after
the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic
in 2022, there are still more than
10,000 new infections per day on
average in Taiwan. At times, there
are over 20,000 cases. As a result,the distribution of TTOB became

44

BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−District, Nanzih District, etc. After
finishing with Kaohsiung, we will
try to donate TTOB to the other
districts in Taiwan so that more
people can learn about TTOB.
Before the Lunar New Year's holidays,
we visited the neighborhood leaders
who helped distribute TTOB so far.
We recorded their experiences tocommemorate them, and we would
like to share our joy with global
BDK members.
We published an article about thison our website, and added photos
and a promotional video of TTOB
to make it easier for customers tounderstand. Also, the "Newsletter"has been published on the English
webpage so that more foreigners in

Taiwan can understand the global
activities of BDK.

Mr. Ciou The neighborhood leader of Jintian Vil.
Nanzih Dist. (left)

Mr. Li The neighborhood leader of Hanmin Vil.
Xinxing Dist. (right)

Asia in Thailand, distributed 2,234“The Teaching of Buddha” books
to visitors who visited the Mitutoyo(Thailand) booth at the Metalex
Exhibition organized at BITEC(Bangkok International Trade &BDK Asia
During November 16 -19, 2022,
Mit utoyo (T haila nd), wh ich
manages the activities of BDK“TTOB” distribution by Mitutoyo Thailand at Metalex

45

Exhibition Center).
The Metalex Exhibition is one of
the biggest industrial exhibitions
in Southeast Asia and there
are more than 100,000 visitors
attending every year except whent he ex h ibit ion wa s p ost p one d
temporarily due to the Covid-19
pandemic. Mitutoyo (Thailand)
regularly sponsors an exhibitionbooth for metrology instrumentsa nd prov ides a d isplay cor ner
or counter to promote TTOB tovisitors.
We star ted donating TTOBs to
Mahamakut Buddhist University
in 2019 and provided copies fortheir graduation ceremonies in2019 and 2020; but because oft h e p a n d e m ic , t h e u n ive r sit ypostponed the ceremony for year
2021 and combined it with the 2022

ceremony.
The ceremonies held on December
16-17, 2022, represented the thirdtime for us to par ticipate, andM it u t oyo ( T h a i l a n d) d o n a t e d

3,000 copies of “The Teaching of
Buddha” to the graduates and theirrelatives who attended the rehearsal
and graduation ceremonies.

Receiving “TTOB” at the ceremony

BDK Europe
Since the beginning of the covidp a nd e m ic, m a ny E KO - C e nt e r
events, such as our regular Buddhist
services, lectures, and colloquiums,
we r e held exclu sively on l i ne.
However, starting in the summerof 2022, many of these events

Ringing a temple bell for the New Year's Day eve

46

BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−

could be held in a hybrid format
that combined in-person meetings
t hereby allow i ng more people
to participate in our events andprograms.
Rev. Shoju Nakagawa Roshi, Chief
Priest of the Soto sect Fumonji

Temple in Eisenbuch near Munich,gave a lecture on the theme “Zazen,
da wir Menschen sind” (Zazen,
Because We Are People) and also
played the shakuhachi f lute in a
hybrid format. The day after thelecture, a Zazen session was heldat the temple under the guidance ofRev. Nakagawa. This was the first
official Zazen session held at EKOCenter since the start of the coronapandemic, and the Zazen session
was attended by many people who
had been waiting a long time for the
Zazen session to be restarted again.
After being unable to hold thet r a d it io n a l Joy a - e ( Ye a r E n d
Ser vice) since New Year's Eveof 2019, this service was held forthe first time in three years at theLecture by Rev. Shoju Nakagawa Roshi

end of 2022. However, this time,
the service was held at 2:00 P.M.
instead of at night as in the past,and the number of par ticipants
was limited to 35. After the Joya-e
service was held at the temple, theparticipants moved to the bell tower
to take turns tolling the bell.
The number of Shosanshiki (Infant
Presentation) ceremonies being held
at EKO-Temple has been increasing
year by year since the coronapandemic, and in 2022, we held
the largest number of ceremonies,
a total of 26 ceremonies (mostly
for Japanese families). The coronacrisis may be coming to an end,
but the situation in Ukraine andrising airfares make it difficult
for Japanese families to return toJapan even for just a short period oftime to conduct these ceremonies

Shosanshiki (Infant Presentation)

for their children. Therefore, int h is sit u at ion, more a nd morefamilies are celebrating the birthof their children at EKO-Temple.
In the three years since the corona-

pandemic began in 2020, we haveheld 66 Sho s a n sh i k i at EKO Temple.

47

Hansei (Self-Examination, Introspection)
Although “hansei” (Self-Examination,

Although true self-examination could result inIntrospection) invites us to think about whether

concluding that “What I did was wrong,” orthere is anything in our past for which we are“What I said was wrong,” we always conclude

regretful, it is doubtful that one can truly examine

in any event that the other person is wrong. Our

oneself.

self-examination is always only half-hearted andperfunctory.

We always adopt the immovable position that
we are right and others are wrong, whether in

The only way to know what we look like is toan argument with a spouse, a dispute with ourstand in front of a mirror. The only mirror thatchildren, or a disagreement with a friend, and ourwill show us what our life should be like is theconclusion is always the same even though we

Teaching. True self-examination comes about

wonder “Why did it become this way?” We say,when we are shown what we are when we stand“I have reconsidered. I have reconsidered.” But if

before the Teaching.

one asks what was your reconsideration, it is “Nomatter how I think about it, the other person iswrong.”

Taken from “Sasaeatte” authored by the late Rev.
Toshihide Numata, former chairperson of BDK

48

BDK Newsletter

Michi−The Path−