BUKKYO DENDO KYOKAI Society for the Promotion of Buddhism

Michi- The Path -

03
2014

No.

BDK
Newsletter

BDK Newsletter BDK Newsletter BDK Newsletter BDK Newslett
BDK Newsletter BDK Newsletter BDK Newsletter BDK Newslett
BDK Newsletter BDK Newsletter BDK Newsletter BDK Newslett
BDK Newsletter BDK Newsletter BDK Newsletter BDK Newslett
BDK Newsletter BDK Newsletter BDK Newsletter BDK Newslett
BDK Newsletter BDK Newsletter BDK Newsletter BDK Newslett
BDK Newsletter BDK Newsletter BDK Newsletter BDK Newslett
BDK Newsletter BDK Newsletter BDK Newsletter BDK Newslett
BDK Newsletter BDK Newsletter BDK Newsletter BDK Newslett

Michi- The Path -03

CONTENTS

01

Following the New MICHI, Path to the Next Stage02

BDK Japan News 2013
〜BDK Publications〜"The Teaching of Buddha" Updates"The Teaching of Buddha" In A Classroom

Interview with Project Associate Prof. Seiji Kumagai, Kyoto University〜BDK Fellowship Programs〜
For Japanese Scholars
For Foreign Scholars

Interview with Prof. Katsuhiro Yoshizawa & Mr. Osvaldo Mercuri, Hanazono University〜BDK Financial Aids〜

The 2013 BDK Program for The Disaster Areas; Student Volunteer
In Miyagi-Prefecture And Their Photo Exhibitions After The Program
The 47th BDK Cultural Awards〜Buddhist Lectures and Seminars〜

The 43rd Jissen Fukyo Kenkyukai,
BDK Buddhist Missionary Seminar at Minobusan Kuonji
Mita Rakugo-kai
The 16th Buddhist Music Festival -Buddhaspel 〜Light of Hope〜
Buddhism Through English
Studying of "The Teaching of Buddha" for Business
Studying of "The Teaching of Buddha" for Daily LifeBDK Symposiums in 2013
BDK Meditation Seminar: Meditation Retreat for Busy Women
Introduction of Rev. Junsho Oka & The Voices of The Participants

18

BDK Aﬃliated Organizations

26"Sasaeatte - Kansha, Gratitude"

World Map & Contact Info.
BDK America
BDK Hawaii
BDK Mexico
BDK Europe

BDK Newsletter

2014

Following the New MICHI,Path to the Next StageIn 1965, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) was established by the late Rev. Dr. Yehan
Numata, the founder of Mitutoyo Corporation. His fervent wish was to spread theteachings of Buddha throughout the world. From that time on, BDK has diligently
been translating and distributing “The Teaching of Buddha” with the support andcooperation of like-minded individuals and organizations.
According to the new Japanese law on the authorization of foundations, theJapanese government has officially approved BDK to be recognized as a “Public
Interest Incorporated Foundation” and this was a fresh new start for BDK as ofApril 1, 2013.
Following this transition, BDK has set the ultimate goal of propagating Buddhist
wisdom found in the basics of Japanese culture by sponsoring a wide range ofcultural activities and academic programs. BDK is a non-sectarian organization,and does not promote any particular school of Buddhism.
As we have successfully ended our first year being a “Public Interest Incorporated
Foundation,” we will now be ready to welcome our 50th anniversary year coming
up in 2015. BDK will keep contributing to the overall achievement of global peaceand harmony from now on.
I truly appreciate your generous understanding and continued support of BDK activities.

With Gassho,

Toshihide Numata,
Chairman of BDK

1

BDK JAPANNEWS 2013

BDK Publications

01
Activity

BDK Japan Publication Updates“The Teaching of Buddha” has beentranslated into 46 languages and over
8.3 million copies of the book havebeen distributed in various countries
around the world.
BDK has already distributed “The
Teaching of Buddha” to hotels andhospitals in the world for the last
decades. In addition to those places,
for this year, we have focused on
donating copies of the book to thedomestic Buddhist schools andkindergartens, etc. For ceremonies,
seminars, and a variety of school
activities, “The Teaching of Buddha”
has been found to be useful for
explaining to students and their parents the basic ideas of Buddhism andintroducing traditional Japanese
Buddhist cultures to people from allover the world.
In 2013, BDK donated 74, 716 copies
of “The Teaching of Buddha” to 318
schools such as Rakunan junior andsenior high schools (Shingon school),
Todaiji Gakuen (Kegon school),
Uenomiya High School (Jodoschool), Hieizan High School (Tendai
school), and Rissho University(Nichiren school).
Moreover, in overseas countries,

2

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─BDK has distributed about 86,000
copies of “The Teaching of Buddha”
to BDK affiliated institutions andother organizations such as Yeedzin
Guest House / Khangkhu Resort in
Bhutan, The Dwarika’s Resort in
Nepal, the United Nations Population

Fund of Bhutan, Chakma Raj Vhar
Pali Examination Center in
Bangladesh, and the head temple of
the Soukei school in Seoul, South
Korea, which hosts Hanamatsuri, theBuddhist event celebrating Buddha’s
birthday on April 8th.

Interview"The Teaching of Buddha" In A Classroom
Interview with Project Associate Prof. Seiji Kumagai, Kyoto University
Location: Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University, Japan
Interviewer & Photography: Kaoru Eguchi, BDK
As BDK has mainly distributed
copies of “ The Teaching of
Buddha” to the world, books arepractically used in various occa-

sions. We have interviewed
Project Associate Prof. Seiji
Kumagai from Kokoro ResearchCenter at Kyoto University

regarding “ The Teaching of
Buddha” in his classroom.

Q“innovative” at the time he started, but
now his way has become “traditional”
in a good way to date.

first time. Then I thought that it would
be interesting if I could use this bookin my class and it must be a great
opportunity for students to touch theessence of Buddhism.

How did you encounter“The Teaching of Buddha”
for the first time?
I remember hearing that the late Rev.
Dr. Yehan Numata, the founder of
BDK, printed and distributed copies
of “The Teaching of Buddha” after
learning that Christian Bibles werebeing placed in a hotel rooms. He
accepted their ideas and tried to introduce a new version of the Buddhist
scriptures to the world. That was

I understand that it has been almost 50
years since Dr. Yehan Numata founded this organization (the year 2015
will be the 50th Anniversary for
BDK.). One of my friends who cooperates with the free newspaper called“Free-Style Monks” introduced me to“The Teaching of Buddha” for theQ

How did you actually use“The Teaching of Buddha”
in your class?
It is not proper to teach students about
one specific religion with a certain
perspective at schools in modern

3

Japan because education has to be fairto everyone. That is why teachers try
to make their syllabi very systematicand can only give an outline of thevarious religions. Therefore, I was a
bit worried at first if “The Teaching of
Buddha” could fit into this idea or not.
However, everything is in chronological order and it is based on proper
sources. I thought this would be wonderful and I was confident on using
this book in a classroom.

Q

Did you receive any feedback from your students
on their reading of “The Teachingof Buddha”?
My students seemed to enjoy reading“The Teaching of Buddha.” One said,“I could learn the basic ideas of
Buddhism from this book, and I've
found something congenial in Buddha
by knowing the words of Buddha.”
And another one finished reading thewhole book in his spare time eventhough we did not read most of it inclass. If I did not introduce it to thosestudents as a classroom reading, theymight not have any opportunity toknow about “ The Teaching of
Buddha.” I could have prepared asummary if I wanted to tell only thewords of Buddha; however, I thoughtthat it would be difficult for students
to understand the meaning of eachword in context. Papers can be easily
thrown away after the class, but thegreat looking book of “The Teachingof Buddha” made students treat itwith care, I think. Also, the size of thebook itself is nice and easy to carryaround. I am simply happy to see thatmy students enjoyed “The Teachingof Buddha.”

Q“The Teaching of Buddha”
has been already usedwidely at educational institutes inmany countries around the world,
but what do you think about theeffective practical use of “The
Teaching of Buddha” in the future
Japanese educational world?
It was not easy to bring some religious factors into the public field of
education especially after the WWII.
It is not acceptable that you particularly choose a specific religion or a sutra
and teach students with them because
you have to remain as neutral as possible.
Students are usually spending time ata school for five to seven hours, fivedays a week in Japan. However, I
think education needs 24 hours. For
example, greeting, eating, cleaning,
etc. can be a part of education, too.
And students are not at school for theother 17 hours. I do not believe that
we should stick to the “education at
schools.” I rather think that I can dosomething more feasible at a school.
You know the image of religion
among young Japanese people is neg-

ative in general. If you ask younger
people a question like “what do you
think of religion?” most of them will
express a negative opinion on it. It
must be because of the influence fromcult groups, terrorism, etc. Once you
get the proper knowledge of religion,
however, I believe that people will not
misunderstand it. Being religious differs from those stereotypical images
on religions.
When you go abroad and communicate with people from other countries,
it is very important to know andunderstand each others’ religion as acultural background. Even However,
we must remember that there will
always be people behind everything,culture behind the people, spirits andwillfulness behind the culture.
Therefore, I would like to use religious education effectively at school
and it will be nice to have “The
Teaching of Buddha” by our sides
when that becomes a reality in the
future.
If I could have one wish, I would ask
that BDK cooperates with professionals of teaching materials and reedit“The Teaching of Buddha” just as aschool text so that more teachers canuse the book at various occasions inschools.
About 75,000 copies of “ The
Teaching of Buddha” has been distributed to 318 schools in Japan in 2013.
As Prof. Kumagai said about“Buddhist education not being a propagation of Buddhism,” this idea
should be accepted more in Japan.
BDK hopes that more young students
will take active parts of the global
world from now on with a little help
from “The Teaching of Buddha.”

4

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─BDK JAPANNEWS 2013

BDK Fellowship Programs

01
Activity

BDK Fellowship
For Japanese Scholars

BDK established a new fellowship forJapanese scholars in 2012 to enable
worthy scholars to engage in research

on Buddhism in foreign countries.
This is our second year to welcome
new scholars to the 2014 program.

The 2014 Awardees:

Name : Sayaka Kishi
Affiliation : Graduate Student, Doctoral Program in Philosophy, Graduate
School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Tsukuba
Theme of Research: Who are Mahāyānikabodhisattvas?
―A comparative study of commentaries on Mahāyānasūtras and Yogācāravijñaptivāda treatises―

Name : Toshikazu Watanabe
Affiliation : Institut für Kultur- und Geistesgeschichte Asiens
Theme of Research: Acceptance of logical thought in Mahāyāna Buddhism andits development
We had a great opportunity to receive
a little report from one of our very first
awardees for the year 2013, Ms.
Maho Iuchi, Post-Doctoral Associate,
Department of South Asian Studies
at Harvard University in the U.S..
―When I attended an international
conference in 2012, one of theprofessors who also happened tobe there recommended the “BDKFellowship for Japanese Scholars”
to me. That was my first opportunity to know about this great program. I was already affiliated with
Harvard University at the time andwas thinking of staying anotheryear at Harvard to continue mystudies and research. I immediately decided to apply for it!
Shortly after I applied for it, I got
the wonderful news that I wasawarded the first BDK Fellowship
for Japanese Scholars! I could not
hold back my joy and told Prof.
van der Kuijp at Harvard, who iswelcoming me for another year.
I will be able to stay at Harvard one
more year and that will help me a
lot to continue my studies andresearch about Rgyal ba'i dben
gnas rwa sgreng gi bshad pa nyi
ma'i 'od which I started since2011, and I am publishing it verysoon. Thank you BDK!

5

Interview

BDK Fellowship For Foreign Scholars

Interview with Prof. Katsuhiro Yoshizawa & Mr. Osvaldo Mercuri, Hanazono University
Interviewees: Mr. Osvaldo Mercuri, research staff, International Research Institute for Zen Studies, Hanazono
University and Prof. Katsuhiro Yoshizawa at International Research Institute for Zen Studies, Hanazono University
Interviewer & Photography: Kaoru Eguchi, BDK
Location: International Research Institute for Zen Studies, Hanazono University in Kyoto, JapanThe Current BDK Fellowship
The BDK Fellowship was established to promote international
cooperation and mutual understanding in Buddhist studies,and is intended to enable

The BDK Fellowship committee
selected three prospective scholars forthe 2013 grant. It is with great pleasure that we extend our welcome toone of them at this time. Mr. Osvaldo
Mercuri, research staff, International
Research Institute for Zen Studies,
Hanazono University and his academ-Qfound out that you were officiallyselected?
Mr. Mercuri: Some scholars at
Hanazono University explained thisscholarship program and recommended it to me. I thought that it has to be awonderful opportunity and immediately decided to apply for it.

How did you two meet for
the first time?
Prof. Yoshizawa: When I first met
Osvaldo, he had just affiliated himself
at Hanazono University. I had heard
about him from several researchers,
however, I was not his academic advisor at the time. I remember that I told
him something to the effect that heshould try to read not only a language,
but also the meanings behind the language. Ritsumeikan University is oneof the leading universities in Japan for
sure, but I thought that it would be
perfect for him and his research if hecould come to Hanazono University.

Q

What made you apply forthe 2013 BDK Fellowship?
And how did you feel when you

6researchers to engage in
research on Buddhism while inJapan. The BDK Fellowshipcommittee was established in1991 and has selected 60 prom-

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─My heart was pounding and I was
extremely happy when I learned that I
had been selected for the 2013 BDK
Fellowship! I knew that excellent
scholars from all over the world haveapplied for the program each year andit would be difficult for me to be
selected. Soon after I heard the great
news from BDK, I was absolutely
delighted and expressed my feelingsof gratitude to Prof. Yoshizawa and all

ising scholars up to the year
2014. Most of the recipients areactive in the front lines of today’s
Buddhist academic world.
ic advisor, Prof. Katsuhiro Yoshizawa
at International Research Institute for
Zen Studies, Hanazono University
were interviewed.

the people who supported myresearch and me.

Q

Please tell us about yourcurrent studies andresearch at Hanazono University
and why you chose to cover thistheme in depth.
Mr. Mercuri: My current research
theme is basically about the history
and philosophy of Rinzai Zen in the
Kamakura and Muromachi Eras inJapan, especially about “ Daitō
Kokushi (Shūhō Myōchō)’s” Zen. I
have been trying to find out the particular Zen style at the time. Daitō
Kokushi (Shūhō Myōchō) is one of
the most important monks in Japanese
Rinzai Zen history, and today’s Rinzai
school monks are somehow related tohim. Also, the research on “O-ToKan”* can be valuable to study and I
believe that no one except myself has
currently focused on him and his philosophy.
*O-To-Kan： O応 ･･･Daiō
Kokushi 大応国師、To燈･･･
Daitō Kokushi 大燈国師、Kan
関･･･Kanzan Egen 関山慧玄
When I was in Italy, I wrote a thesis
for my bachelor’s and master’s degree
about “Musō Kokushi” but I realizedthat “Daitō Kokushi” has been always
been associated and compared with“Musō Kokushi”. And I was attracted
by his philosophy and came to knowthat the studies of “Daitō Kokushi”
have not progressed much. Therefore,
I finally decided to study more about“Daitō Kokushi.”This theme seems to be too difficultand impossible to examine just bylooking from the outside, but it is very
interesting and challenging at thesame time. I had some difficulties
with the language and vocabulary, andI had no preliminary knowledge ofKanji. Therefore, I had to start fromscratch and I learned like an elementary school student does. The dictionary does not help at all, and Prof.
Yoshizawa happily showed me steps
by teaching small things.
Prof. Yoshizawa: What he has been
doing at the moment is like climbing asteep mountain with rocks that no one
could ever climb before. You cannot
see the road someone walked beforeor there are no tools for climbing.

Even though you could find a great
tool such as the footprint of someone
left before, it can disturb your way. Or
if you are distracted by searching for atool too much, you might fall from themountain. This means that you shouldtake each step forward with an open
mind and light equipment. In a way,
this could be very “Zen,” and you
think thoroughly in your head by
yourself on the way to reaching the
top of the mountain. If you just sit andwait for tools to be ready to use, nothing will be enable you to start. (Stories
about “Zen” go on….)
Anyway, it is great that he chose “Aphilological study of Daitō Kokushi(Shūhō Myōchō)’ s Zen” as his
research theme because no one evertried before.

7Mr. Mercuri: You are exactly right,
but there is a competition between
previous researchers.
Prof. Yoshizawa: So… IF you climb
up to the top of this mountain, YOU
will be the pioneer! (With a big smile)
Mr. Mercuri: I think the image of Zen
is stereotypical in European countries.
However, the word “Zen” is becoming so popular and most people misunderstand what it is. I truly hope that
I will be the one who will be able totell everyone what it really is for abetter understanding for all.
Prof. Yoshizawa: Even in Japan, people sometimes take it wrongly. In a
Zen world, people think that you cannot speak or write, but that is a total
misunderstanding. The Zen school
has the most literature. You cannot
keep silent forever in the real world,
can you?
I remember one story about Rev.
Genpo Yamamoto, who is called
Hakuin Zenji in the modern world, ablind Rinzai Zen master, and Yukio
Mishima, who was one of the leadingnovelists and activists in the Showa
Era was strongly influenced by him.
One time, Rev. Yamamoto visited
London by himself. When he arrived
at the airport, it was so crowded andof course, he could not see anything
and could not find the person who
was supposed to pick him up. All thesudden, he shouted in a loud voice
only once, “喝Katsu!” in the arrival
lobby. People immediately noticed
where Rev. Yamamoto was in thelobby. I think this story indicates“Zen” very well and I really like that.
However if you are a scholar, you
cannot do something like this. It is

8

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

going a little too far if I say this, but itwould not have any meaning and it is
impossible to accept if you write 30pages of a blank essay or only theword “喝Katsu” on a sheet of paper inyour essay. For our world of
researchers, language is the mostimportant thing and you will always
have to explain things with some kindof language. For a world of religionists, he/she should train him/herself so
hard and come back to society andwork for it. I hope Osvaldo will realize that he is doing his studies andresearch not only in a language, butalso in a religion at the same time.

Q

How would you evaluate
the accomplishment that
Mr. Mercuri has achieved so far atHanazono University? And what
would you look for him to further
accomplish in the future?
Prof. Yoshizawa: He has a point and it
is great for him to focus on his current
research theme, the philosophy of“Daitō Kokushi.” This has not been
done properly by anyone to date.
Most Japanese students do not try toread old references like manuscripts
because it is time-consuming.
However, Osvaldo has been positively
trying it, and I am sure that his efforts
will bear fruit in the future. I am
impressed with his good sense of how
he notices the problems and focuseson small things. I hope that he willcomplete his thesis at first and thensend the results of his research out tothe world.
When you try to dig a hole 100 metersin depth, you will start doing it with adiameter of several kilometers. It
sounds unpractical, but if you would
like to dig it deeply, you will have to
do it widely. While Osvaldo is staying

in Japan, I hope that he will lookwidely outside of his own world. His
brain is made in Italy, and it is highly
efficient. Therefore, his brain is supposed to absorb more information.
(Everyone laughed.) The same can besaid of many matters, and it always
deepens when you come to know
broadly. “Zen” should be a religion in
the first place, so you cannot finish it
as just a subject of research. I knowsome people are doing it only for aliving, but this should not be rightbecause religion is a way of life. I
hope the results of his research will beknown among more people in theworld. And he should give back tosociety by showing the more appealing points of religion and philosophy
through his learning of other aspectsof Japanese culture and customs while
he is conducting his research here in
Japan.
Mr. Mercuri: I am simply pleased
with Prof. Yoshizawa’s great expectation.

Q

Please tell us about yourfuture research plans after
this year at Hanazono University?
Mr. Mercuri: I would like to stay inJapan and continue my research. For
my future, it is my dream, but I wish I
will be able to continue my life as it isand eventually stand on my own feetas a professional scholar. In the end, I
would like to teach everything I havelearned in Japan to European people
in Europe. However for now, I willtake my time and do what I can dohere in Japan under the supervision ofProf. Yoshizawa!

Q

What is the most rewarding aspect of receiving the
grant from BDK and anything you
two noticed about the BDK

Fellowship program?
Mr. Mercuri: This scholarship program certainly focuses on what scholars coming from other countries need.
First of all, the scholarship grant isgood enough to allow the pursuit ofresearch without any worries. BDK
also pays the health insurance and thisis also appreciated. Therefore, I am
able to focus on what I am doing andprospectively plan my future researchin a long term.
I am still young as a scholar; however,
it is always very nice to be noticed by
the world. And one of those leadingorganizations, Bukkyo Dendo
Kyokai, awarded me the scholarship.
This means a lot to me, and I am honored to be one of those BDK
Fellowship family members, and myresearch will thereby be recognized as
valuable to the world somewhat.
I believe that Japanese Zen studies
should be carried out in Japan.
Reliable professors can give me
advice and I can also meet excellent
scholars from all over the world inJapan. This experience is just priceless
to my life.
And one more thing that I reallyappreciate is the provision that candidates should be “preferably advanced
graduate students working toward a
Ph.D. degree,” and does not have to
be a Ph.D. holder. I like how BDK
helps cultivating the talents of young
promising scholars.
Prof. Yoshizawa: In addition to what
he said, I appreciate that BDK warmly
welcomed him like a family member.
The application steps are very simple
to follow and they do not take long todecide. It has been just wonderful.

Moreover, I truly appreciate the factthat BDK helps scholars from all over
the world. It is very disappointing, buteach Buddhist school does not support them enough at the moment. On
the other hand, the interest in
Buddhism is keenly higher these days.
We must thank BDK for the “great
spirits” in the form of the scholarship.
Interest in Japanese culture with afocus on Japanese Buddhism intoday’s world is enormous. “Kawaii”
and “Anime” are examples. In theEuropean world, prospective students
who are trying to major in Japanesestudies at universities are increasing inrecent years. Their interests are said tobe “Pop Culture,” however, I personally believe that this trend is great.
One of those students might be interested in learning Buddhism andShintoism that are deeply related toeverything in Japanese culture.

Q

Please give some advice
to future BDK Fellowship
candidates.

Prof. Yoshizawa: The most important
thing for those who intend to apply
for the BDK Fellowship in the futurewould be the “honesty” that Mr.
Mercuri has been exemplifying. You
cannot achieve big without following
thousands of small and simple steps. I
would like those candidates to makeefforts to accomplish small tasks as
your first step.
As Mr. Mercuri confidently stated, it
is BDK’s desire to assist scholars
from all over the world to come to
Japan and pursue their studies andresearch with BDK support. The 2015
BDK Fellowship application willappear online at the beginning of
October 2014. BDK most certainly
welcomes all promising scholars toapply for consideration of the BDK
Fellowship in next year’s program.
(For more information about the BDK
Fellowship, please visit
http://www.bdk.or.jp)9BDK JAPANNEWS 2013

BDK Financial Aids

01
Activity

BDK Financial Aid for the Great Eastern Japan
Earthquake and Tsunami Student Volunteer
Program and Photograph Exhibition

Three years have passed since theGreat Eastern Japan Earthquake andTsunami struck Japan. Since then,
BDK has been setting up a financial
aid program each year, and we welcomed 34 college/university students
from all over Japan to participate inthe"BDKStudent Volunteer Program"mainly in Kesennuma City, Miyagi
prefecture from September 4th, 2013.
For three nights and four days, they
stayed at the Ikkeikaku Hotel in
Kesennuma City, which was the only

10

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

hotel that survived in the area.
Students worked hard under the guidance of the Kesennuma Reconstruction
Association (http://kra-fucco.com/).
They cleaned along the coastline andbuilt a flower garden for the memorial
monument site, which used to be adesignated shelter for many people
who had been evacuated when thetsunami struck. Unfortunately thetsunami was larger than expected andmore than a hundred people died

there.
Students also helped by organizing afree concert featuring Minohime and
JPSA at Jifukuji Temple (Rev. Shuko
Katayama) in the area. Jifukuji wasalso hit by the tsunami and was
almost destroyed, but the local people
helped to rebuild the temple. After theconcert, students had an opportunity
to talk to the locals and heard aboutlots of sad and terrible experiences
directly from them.

The students also visited Kofukuji
Temple (Rev. Genpo Suda and Mrs.
Yuko Suda) and listened to their experiences of accepting many evacuees
including about 80 elementary school
students for days after the earthquake.
It was an absolutely hard time foreveryone, but the experiences ofspending nights with the students
affected them deeply. Mrs. Suda told
the student volunteers about theirexperiences and showed them gripping photos of the children.
After the visit at Kofukuji, students
attended a lecture given by Rev. Taio
Kaneda, who is operating "Café deMonk," a wagon café in his car serving a cup of coffee and a piece of cakefor evacuees and listening to theireveryday stories. He visited each shelter house in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures several tens of times. Students
listened intently to his lecture andlearned how difficult listening withcare is, especially to someone who
really suffered from an unexpectednatural disaster like the Great EasternJapan Earthquake and Tsunami.
Although the program lasted for sucha short time, BDK hopes that students
will share what they experienced there
and spread them more to the world.
Since students gathered from all over
the world, they held photo exhibitions
at each area after they completed theprogram.
Three students, Ms. Gi, Ms. En, andMr. Mori have participated in the program from Kyoto prefecture. Kyoto is
one of the world's famous sightseeing

spots, and those students planned tohold the exhibition at some popular
temple in Kyoto so that many tourists
can see it and know more about whatis still happening in the disaster areas.
Fortunately, Ninnaji Temple, one of
the most famous and prestigious temples in Japan (http://ninnaji.jp/), cooperated and offered a space for theirexhibition. It was held as part of the
Volunteers for the Earthquake

Recovery project, and although it
snowed in January, many tourists
stopped by and gazed at the photos
and read the explanations.
It is BDK's wish that this financial aid
will help revive the well-being andhappiness of the people in the strickenarea and will be a little boost to support them in the future ahead.

11

BDK JAPAN

02
Activity

NEWS 2013
The 47th BDK Cultural Awards

The Cultural Awards for the
Promotion of Buddhism: BUNKASHO / NUMATA SHOREI-SHO
Starting from the year 2012, BDK
established a new award besides the
BUNKA-SHO to be called “Numata
Shorei-Sho” (Numata Encouragement
Award), which is given to individuals
who are already exhibiting dedicatedservice to Buddhism, and in time will
become an up-and-coming contributor
to the promotion of Buddhism.
The BDK Cultural Award Committee
selected the following awardees andpresented them with a gift and honorarium. The 47th ceremony and banquet was held at the BDK Center
Building in Tokyo on October 2, 2013.

12

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─The 47th Bukkyo Dendo Bunkasho: Tayama Hoon Kai (the late
Mr. Kojiro Tayama, Founder of
Tayama Hoon Kai)
Contributed to the development ofsocial welfare and activities and continues to lead the Buddhist lecture series atthe Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital andthe Atomic Bomb Survivors Hospital.

Numata Shorei-Sho:Rev. Norihiro Nagakura
Enlarged the scope of "Vihara" activities, based on the teaching of the
Buddha, through direct dialogue withterminal patients in the hospital.

Buddhist Lectures and Seminars

01
Activity

The 43rd Jissen Fukyo Kenkyukai,
BDK Buddhist Missionary Seminarat Minobusan Kuonji

BDK hosted the 43rd Jissen Fukyo
Kenkyukai at Minobusan Kuonji
from June 4th to June 6th and welcomed about 60 priests and their temple family members from throughout
Japan.
During three nights of the seminarfrom May 29th, 2013 participants
experienced Suigyo, intensive water

02
Activity

training to purify the body and soul atonce in a Nichiren-shu way; listened
to lectures including Shodaigyo; practiced Nichiren-shu style meditation;and chanted “Nanmyohorengekyo” in
one combination. Moreover, all theparticipants gathered together and had
proactive discussions with the theme,“The Future of Japanese Buddhism,”and other solid programs.

Mita-Rakugo-Kai

Rakugo is one of the oldest forms ofJapanese verbal entertainments. It issaid that the origins of Rakugo camefrom Fushidansekkyo, which is a styleused by Buddhist priests to tell theteachings of the Buddha with gesturesand melodic rhythm. BDK offers
opportunities for the general public toexperience the essence of Buddhist culture and spirituality through the event.

We hold “Mita-Rakugo-Kai” sixtimes a year; in February, April, June,
August, October and December.
February includes the day of Buddha's
death, February 15th. April has theday of Buddha’s birthday, April 8th.
August has Obon, observed around
August 15th, the homecoming time
for the souls of ancestors. December
includes the day for celebrating

Shakyamuni's enlightenment. We
have both daytime and night performances in a day.
For the performance schedule for2014 and ticket purchases, please visit
the Mita-Rakugo-Kai official website.
(http://mita-rakugo.com/)

13

BDK JAPAN

03
Activity

NEWS 2013
The 16th Buddhist Music Festival -Buddhaspel～Light of Hope～

One of BDK's major activities is the“modernization of Buddhist music
and its popularization.” This was our
16th Buddhist music festival since1977. We had this event at Tsukiji
Hongwanji Temple with the theme of“Light of Hope” and introduced the
new idea of “Buddhaspel” on March
12th, 2014. The ticket sales and contributions from the audiences of theconcert were donated to “Iwate-noManabi-Kibou-Kikin,” the Funds for
Disaster Orphans operated by Iwateprefecture.
We welcomed more than 500 people,
who filled the main hall of the temple.
The audience included Mrs. Yoko
Tasso, the wife of the governor of
Iwate-prefecture. Tsukiji Gakuyu-kai,

04
Activity14

the Buddhist chorus group with thepipe-organ performance; JPSA, a pop
singer group that won the 14th
Buddhist Music Festival; and Kiroro,
one of the most popular pop singer
duos in Japan offered their beautiful
voices to the crowd.

survivors through the warm touch of
the music that filled the magnificent
atmosphere of the temple. Moreover,the crowd was introduced to a newword, “Buddhaspel,” with its great
connection to Buddhist music.

BDK invited the brass band club students from Otsuchi High School in
Iwate to the event. Most of those students lost loved ones from the Great
Eastern Japan Earthquake andTsunami in 2011, but the songs ofKiroro encouraged them a lot. They
seemed to enjoy the relaxing timewith the great music.
The audience empathized with theearthquake and tsunami victims andTsukiji Hongawanji Temple

Buddhist Lectures and Seminars

One of BDK’s missions is to “support
education programs that advance theBuddhist spirit, culture and its study.”
Seminars and lectures geared towardspecific and general interests aresponsored throughout the year.

teachings of Buddha to learn more
about themselves and Buddhism inEnglish. The lectures are provided by
Prof. Kenneth Tanaka fromMusashino University and started in2012.

Buddhism Through English
BDK provides an opportunity to learn
about the basics of Buddhism in both
Japanese and English. Through thismeans, we hope to create opportunities for those with an interest in the

The lectures for 2012 were mainly
based on the book, “The Teaching of
Buddha” published by BDK, and we
added “Japanese Buddhist Schools”
as a text from 2013. Starting from2014, we will use the BDK TV pro-

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

grams on Buddhist preaching, which
includes interviews with leading
priests and scholars in Buddhist
Studies. BDK will continue to provide
more chances for everyone to commune with Buddhism and its basic
ideas.
For more information about“Buddhism Through English,” please
visit the official BDK website and you
may browse those BDK TV reviews
online for free.

05
Activity

Studying of "The Teaching of Buddha"
for BusinessThis lecture series was established in1981 for business people who desire abackground in Buddhism to help them
operate and manage their companies
and business ventures.
This lecture takes place once a monthusually on the third Wednesday of

06
Activity

07“The Teaching of Buddha,” and there
is a convivial gathering after eachlecture. About 40 business people,
who are mostly company executives,attend this monthly event and they listen carefully to and take notes about
what the instructors explain.

Studying of “The Teaching of Buddha”
for Daily Life

This monthly lecture series was started in 1982 to share the Dharma sothat attendees could learn how to live
their daily lives with the spirit of the
Buddha through reading “ The
Teaching of Buddha.” People gather
on the fourth Thursday of each month.

Activity

each month and is open to all interested business people. BDK has two
experienced lecturers: Rev. Dr.
Kiyotaka Kimura, professor emeritus
at Tokyo University and Rev. Michio
Henmi, the head priest at Jodoji
Temple, who used to be a TV director
at TV Japan. The lectures are based on

BDK welcomes two friendly lecturers
with a sense of humor: Rev. Shoshin
Ichishima, Tendai-shu Kangaku, whoused to teach at the University of
Hawaii, and Rev. Kenneth Tanaka, aprofessor at Musashino University,
who is a third generation JapaneseAmerican. About 30 people attend

each lecture and they always learnsomething small but important for
their daily lives.
For more information about Studying“ The Teaching of Buddha” forBusiness and for Daily Life, please
visit our official website.

2013 BDK Symposium“What is Japanese Buddhism?”

BDK held two lectures and a symposium for the 2013 BDK Symposiumwith the common theme of “What isJapanese Buddhism?”

For the first one, we welcomed Dr.
Takeshi Yoro, professor emeritus ofTokyo University, and author of abest-selling-book, “Baka-no-Kabe.”
His lecture was about “The Revival of
the Spirit of Japanese Buddhism: The

15

BDK JAPANNEWS 2013
Role of a Temple in Japan,” and he
explained the basic ideas about
Buddhist values and ways of thinking
that can survive in the modern world.
The second one was a symposiumwith three popular foreign Buddhist
priests living in Japan. We welcomed
Rev. Alubomulle Sumanasara from
Sri Lanka, Rev. Kenneth Tanaka fromthe U.S., and Rev. Muho Nölke from
Germany, and they discussed the significance of Japanese perspectives of
Buddhism and religion. Their pointsof views made Japanese audiences

08
Activity

16

reconsider the virtues in which the traditions and old Japanese Buddhist
spirit are still alive.
The third lecture was about “The Roleof Temples” presented by Prof. Dr.
Noriyuki Ueda from the Tokyo
Institute of Technology. In his publications, “Gambare Bukkyo” and“Ikiruchikara-toshiteno-Bukkyo,” hefocused on “The Renaissance ofTemples” and insisted on the potential
for today’s Japanese Buddhist temples.

After those lectures and symposium,
there was a lot of feedback from manyof the participants. BDK would like tocontinue to challenge people and further develop the positive meaning andpurpose of Japanese Buddhism inpresent society through these types of
events from now on.
For the 2014 BDK symposium schedule and further information, please
visit the official BDK website. (Youmay also browse those symposium
reviews online for free.)

BDK Meditation Seminar

BDK provides an opportunity for people to reflect on their way of life andto provide some calm and peace
amidst today’s stressful society. For
2013, we held meditation seminars
especially for busy women under theguidance of Rev. Junsho Oka (Headpriest, Tendai-shu Enyuji Temple).
The admission charge is JPY500 andparticipants can pay at each time. A
total of 104 women participated in theseminar throughout the year.

It was the first year of having a“meditation” seminar as one of
the BDK hosted programs and it
was only for women. How wasit?
Rev. Oka: Yes, I am having meditation seminars regularly at my temple,
but it was my first experience in having ONLY female participants. Before
the first session, I thought that it
would be interesting but difficult at
the same time. However, we had
women around their 30s to 40s andalmost all of them had jobs, so theyshared similar kinds of feelings and it

was smoother than I expected.

aptitude for meditating.

Well, they are full of great spiritand I
was impressed. I am glad to havebeen able to help them have this kindof opportunity here through the assistance of BDK. At first, I thought thatmen would be more suited for meditation in general, but I threw away myassumptions after the first session. I
learned that women are brave and not
afraid of driving into a new world. If
there is anything they think might begood for them, they will try them out.
I noticed that women have a natural

What is the advantage of “meditation”?
Rev. Oka: Everyone in this world has
her/his own anxiety and they do notknow sometimes what is exactly rightor wrong. People always judge eachother and look back and regret about
the past. Those feelings are natural,and I think that meditation is a great
way to accept all kinds of feelings
inside themselves. After each session,
we have time to chat with some tea.
Some participants talk about worries

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

We invited Rev. Oka and two of thoseparticipants to ask them some questions about the “BDK Meditation
Seminar” for the year 2013.

in their daily lives, but their faces turnbright after the session and having thiskind of relaxing time refreshes them alot, I guess. They can get themselves

back on track and focus on “now,” notthe past by being “zero” and reconsidering the inner self. You know, it isimportant to have a moment in which

you believe in yourself 100% andrelax. This gives you confidence forsure.

Ms. YK (Therapist: Thirties: Shibuyaku)
Ms. EH (Government Employee:
Forties: Aoba-ku, Yokohama-city)

but I thought it would be difficult tostart something like it for a beginner
like me. I wanted to take a look atmyself quietly once in a while
because I am busy working every day.
So “meditation” sounded attractive tome.

first-timers. And you can pay at eachtime and there was no commitment
for participating. Rev. Oka gently
taught us how to take time to meditate. That gave me a good clue to try it
at home by myself as well.

How did you know about “BDK
Meditation Seminar”?
YK : I have been interested in “meditation” for a long time, but I had nochance to try. But Rev. Oka recommended that I join the group this time.
EH : I had an opportunity to go to a
Japanese Buddhist festival called“Kogen” and some people recommended the BDK seminar to me. I
liked the idea of it being “only for
women” and it gave me a great relief
for trying a new thing.
Why did you choose to participate the seminar?
YK : Yoga is very popular these days,

EH : I had an impression about medi-

tation that I had to think of nothing
and relax in a dark quiet place. WhileI am busy with everything in my life
like bringing up my children andworking at my office, I have almost
no time to spend for myself every day.
I wished I could have this kind ofquiet time and relax…

How did you feel about theactual meditation session?
YK : It was very relaxing and easy
because the participants were all
women, and almost all of them were

EH : I have been extremely busy
every day, but this opportunity gaveme precious time to get myself backto the real me. I do not have to care
how I look because there are only
women. I could relax and have achance to think about what I reallyam.
The 2013 seminar was quite popularand we started new “BDK Meditation
Seminar” for 2014 which welcomes
all working people. For more information about it, please visit the BDK
website or log on to Facebook andtype “BDK坐禅会.”

17

BDK Affiliate Organization Activities
World Map & Contact Info.
1

BDK EUROPE

c/o Mitutoyo Canada Inc. 2121 Meadowvale Blvd.
Mississauga, ON, CANADA L5N 5N1
Tel: +1(905)821-1261 Fax: +1(905)821-4968
E-mail: honjo@bdkcanada.com(EKO-Haus der Japanischen Kultur e.V.)
Brüggener Weg 6, 40547 Düsseldorf, F.R. GERMANY
Tel: +49(211)577918-0 Fax: +49(211)577918-219
E-mail: pool@eko-hause.de
http://www.eko-haus.de/2

BDK U.K.

5

BDK AMERICA
2620 Warring Street, Berkeley, CA 94704 U.S.A.
Tel: +1(510)843-4128 Fax: +1(510)845-3409
E-mail: orders@bdkamerica.org
http://www.bdkamerica.org/

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

3

BDK JAPAN4BDK CANADA

6

BDK HAWAII
1757 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/

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
http://www.bdk.or.jp/

4
2

1
5

3
6

7

9

8

BDK TAIWAN

7

c/o Mitutoyo Taiwan Co., Ltd.
4F., No.71, Zhouzi St., Neihu Dist.,
Taipei City 114, TAIWAN (R.O.C)
Tel: +886(2)8752-3636 Fax: +886(2)8752-3267
E-mail: sharon@mitutoyo.com.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

18

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─BDK MEXICO

10

9Prolg. Eugenia No. 17, Col. Nápoles, C.P.03810
México D.F., MEXICO
Tel/Fax: +52(55)5669-1088
E-mail: bdkmexico@prodigy.net.mx

8

BDK SOUTH AMERICA 10
a/c Mitutoyo Sul Americana Ltda.
Av. João Carlos da Silva Borges, 1240 CEP 04726-002,
Cx. Postal 4255, Santo Amaro, São Paulo-SP, BRAZIL
Tel: +55(11)5643-0006 Fax: +55(11)5641-3745
E-mail: bdk@mitutoyo.com.br

BDK America
The BDK English Tripitaka Series – Update for 2013
The following three volumes werecompleted in 2013 and comprise the15th set of the BDK Taishō Tripiṭaka
Series.
Tiantai Lotus Texts
ISBN: 978-1886439-45-0 • 251 pp. •$50.00This volume includes four texts considered to be essential for studying thedoctrine of the Tiantai Lotus (Jp.
Tendai Lotus) school.
Two texts translated by Tsugunari
Kubo and Joseph M. Logan: The
Infinite Meanings Sutra (Taishō 276)
has traditionally been regarded as an
introduction to the Lotus Sutra andextols bodhisattva practice; Tiantai
Zhiyi claimed that the The Sutra
Expounded by the Buddha on Practiceof the Way through Contemplation of
the Bodhisattva All-embracing
Goodness (Taishō 277), in its detailed
exposition of practical applications, isthe consummation of the teachings of
the Lotus Sutra.
The Commentary on the Lotus Sutra(Taishō 1519), translated by Terry
Abbot, emphasizes the ekayāna, thesingle buddha vehicle to enlightenment, and the tathāgatagarbha.

�teachings central to Zhiyi’s thought.

The Nirvana Sutra, Volume I
ISBN: 978-1886439-46-7 • 434 pp. •$80.00Translated by Mark Blum, this is thefirst volume of a four-volume translation of one of the most influential
texts in East Asian Buddhism, theMahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra(Taishō 374), more commonly known
by its abbreviated title, Nirvana Sutra.
Of the three Chinese translations of
the text, the most influential is theforty-fascicle effort by Dharmakṣema
produced between 420–431 C.E., thefirst ten fascicles of which are translated in this volume.
The Madhyama Āgama (Middlelength Discourses), Volume I
ISBN: 978-1886439-47-4 • 599 pp. •$80.00Marcus Bingenheimer, Editor in
Chief; Bhikkhu Anālayo andRoderick S. Bucknell, Co-Editors.
The Madhyama Āgama (Taishō 26),or Middle-length Discourses, belong
to the earliest stratum of Buddhist
sutra literature. The dialogues
between Śākyamuni Buddha and his
disciples and followers present theteachings of early Buddhism on

karma, death and rebirth, and thetraining of the mind in order to reachnirvana. The speakers often make useof parables and tales to illustrate thecorrect understanding of early doctrine. The Madhyama Āgama corresponds mainly to the Majjhima
Nikāya of the Pāli canon, althoughmany of its sutras have parallels inother sections of the Pāli canon.
Volume I contains the translation ofdivisions 1–6 (of 18) and sutras 1–71
(of 222). Translations of the remaining divisions and sutras will be published in two subsequent volumes.
These English Tripitaka volumes canbe purchased from the Bukkyo Dendo
Kyokai office in Tokyo, BDK
America, University of Hawaii Pressor from Amazon.com.
1. TENDAI LOTUS TEXTS(無量義經 Muryōgikyō, Taisho 276)
Translated by KUBO Tsugunari andJoseph M. Logan(觀普賢菩薩行法經
Kanfugenbosatsugyōbōkyō, Taisho
277)
Translated by KUBO Tsugunari andJoseph M. Logan(妙法蓮華經憂波提舍Myōhōrengekyō-upadaisha, Taisho

A Guide to the Tiantai Fourfold
Teachings (Taishō 1931), translatedby Masao Ichishima and David W.
Chappell, was written by the Koreanmonk Chegwan in the late tenth century as an introduction to the teachings of Tiantai Zhiyi, and is composed
as an outline of the Tiantai fourfold

191519)
Translated by Terry R. AbbottYamada(天台四敎儀 Tendaishikyōgi, Taisho
1931)
Translated by David W. Chappell &ICHISHIMA Masao
2. THE MADHYAMA ĀGAMA
(MIDDLE-LENGTH DISCOURSES)

2013 Toshi Prize

In 2009, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai andthe University of California, Berkeley
Center for Buddhist Studies established the “Toshihide Numata Book
Prize in Buddhism” to annually recognize what is felt to be the bestEnglish-language book in Buddhism.
Previous awardees have included Dr.
James Robson, Dr. Todd Lewis andSubarna Man Tuladhar.
In 2013, the independent and anonymous Selection Committee awarded
the 2013 Prize to Dr. Dan Arnold
from the University of Chicago
Divinity School for his intriguing title“Brains, Buddhas, and Believing: The
Problem of Intentionality in Classical
Buddhist and Cognitive-Scientific
Philosophy of Mind,” published by
Columbia University Press, 2012.
Quoting from the Columbia
University Press release, “Premodern
Buddhists are sometimes characterized as veritable “mind scientists”
whose insights anticipate modern
research on the brain and mind.
Aiming to complicate this story, Dan
Arnold confronts a significant obstacle to popular attempts at harmonizingclassical Buddhist and modern scientific thought: since most Indian

20

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

Volume I(中阿含經 巻一～十六 Chūagongyō,
Taisho 26, Divisions 1-6 = fasc. 1-16)
Translated by
Bhikkhu Anālayo (Division 1)
Kin-Tung Yit (Division 2)
William Chu (Division 3)
Teng Weijen (Division 4)
Marcus Bingenheimer (Division 5)
Shi Chunyin (Division 6, fasc. 11-13)
Kuan Tse-fu (Division 6, fasc. 14-16)

Buddhists held that the mental continuum is uninterrupted by death (itscontinuity is what Buddhist mean by“rebirth”), they would have no truck
with the idea that everything about themental can be explained in terms ofbrain events. Nevertheless, a predominant stream of Indian Buddhist
thought, associated with the seventh
century thinker Dharmakirti, turns out
to be vulnerable to arguments modern
philosophers have leveled against
physicalism….Arnold shows thatseemingly arcane arguments among
first-millennium Indian thinkers canilluminate matters still very much at
the heart of contemporary philosophy.”

Edited by
Marcus Bingenheimer, Bhikkhu
Anālayo, and Roderick S. Bucknell
3. THE NIRVANA SUTRA
Volume I(大般涅槃經 巻一～十Daihatsunehangyō, Taisho 374, fasc.
1 - 10)Translated by Mark L. Blum

The 2013 Prize Presentation Ceremony,
Reception and Symposium on the
topic of Professor Arnold’s book washeld on November 15, 2013 at the
Jodo Shinshu Center in Berkeley.
Participating in the symposium“Taking Buddhist Philosophy of Mind
Seriously” along with Dan Arnold
were Professors John Taber of the
University of New Mexico, Evan
Thompson of the University of British
Columbia and Parimal Patil ofHarvard University.
Dan Arnold is an associate professorof philosophy of religions at the
University of Chicago Divinity

School. His first book, “Buddhists,
Brahmins and Belief: Epistemology inSouth Asian Philosophy of Religion”
won an American Academy ofReligious Award for Excellence in the
Study of Religion.

At the special invitation of BDK, Dr.
Arnold gave presentations on his topic
to the academic communities inTokyo and Kyoto.
BDK extends its congratulations toProfessor Dan Arnold on the recogni-tion of his work in this timely subject
and extends its deepest appreciation to
the University of California, Berkeley
Center for Buddhist Studies, its director Dr. Robert Sharf and Vice Chair
Dr. Sanjyot Mehendale for annually
coordinating the Prize.

BDK Hawaii
Dr. George Tanabe’s Imperial Award

On January 24, 2014, Consul General
Toyoei Shigeeda (right) presented theImperial Order of the Rising Sun
Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon to Dr.

George Tanabe (left) for his contributions to a better understanding
between Japan and America. The
award ceremony took place at the2013 BDK Hawaii Board Meeting
The BDK Hawaii Board of Trustees
and Advisors met on February 14 in
the meeting room of the BDK Hawaii
building. We were pleased to have as
our special guests from Japan Mr.
Toshihide Numata, Chairman of the
BDK organization, and Mr. Tadashi
Ikuta, the Managing Director of BDK

Japan. Board members who attended
were Brian Nagata (BDK America),
Mikio Yamashita (Mitsutoyo), Donna
Higashi (Moiliili Hongwanji), andBishop Eric Matsumoto (Honpa
Hongwanji).
Advisors who attended were Rev.

Japanese Consulate in Honolulu andwas attended by thirty guests.
The Imperial award recognizes his
work in the study of Japanese religions, especially Buddhism. Dr.
Tanabe was a faculty member in the
Department of Religion for 27 years
before his retirement from the
University in 2006. In 2007, Dr.
Tanabe received the Foreign
Minister's Award in recognition of his
work as a consultant to the U. S. Navyin the recovery of the Ehime Maru, aJapanese training ship that had been
sunk accidentally by an American
nuclear submarine in 2001.
Currently, Dr. Tanabe is Professor
Emeritus of Religion at the Universityof Hawaii, and also serves as
President of BDK Hawaii.

Irene Matsumoto (Palolo Kwannon
Temple), Rev. Chikai Yosemori (pastBishop of Honpa Hongwanji), andRev. Thomas Okano (past Bishop of
Honpa Hongwanji). Rev. Clyde
Whitworth, Distribution Manager of
BDK Hawaiʻi, was also present.

21

After the meeting, other guests joined
us for lunch: Prof. Michel Mohr
(University of Hawaii), Dr. Elisabetta
Porcu (Numata Visiting Professor atUH), Dr. Ugo Dessi (University ofLeipzig), and Rev. Kevin Kuniyuki(Buddhist Study Center).

After lunch, George Tanabe conducted a tour of the exhibition of Japanese
Buddhist Temples in Hawaiʻi at theJapanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi.

Exhibition of Japanese Buddhist Temples in Hawaii

In conjunction with the publication of
their book, Japanese Buddhist
Temples in Hawaii: An Illustrated
Guide (University of Hawaii Press),
George and Willa Tanabe organized
an exhibition at the Japanese Cultural

Center of Hawaii. The exhibition
opened in December, 2012 and ended
in February, 2013 shortly after the
BDK Hawaii board meeting. It waswell received by the public, and even
the Governor of the State of Hawaii

toured the exhibition. The Governor
was attracted to a tall and thin wooden
carving of Kannon, and the Tendai
Mission of Hawaii later presented it to
the Governor, who now has it in his
office at the State Capitol.

Rev. Takemi Takase Visits BDK Hawaii
It was a great pleasure to meet Rev. Takemi Takase, and his wife Katsuko
for tea at the BDK Hawaii offices on June 21st, 2013. Rev. Takase wasone of the earliest editors and translators of the Teaching of the Buddha,
and he gave us a good sense of the long history of the Bukkyo Dendo
Kyokai. Rev. Takase was happy to know that the book is still bearing
fruit, even now in eBook format as a Kindle edition.

BDK Hawaii Preaching Workshop
It is not easy to watch yourself on avideo giving a talk, and then to haveothers critique your performance, but
on August 5, 12 and 19, five braveministers participated in the first BDK
Preaching Workshop organized by
George Tanabe and Clyde Whitworthof BDK Hawaii. The free workshop
was offered as a continuing education
service to Buddhist ministers of all
denominations. Limited to five people, the participants were Rev. Hiroko
Maeda (Higashi Hongwanji), Rev.
Makoto Honda (Higashi), Rev. Earl
Ikeda (Honpa Hongwanji), Rev.
David Nakamoto (Honpa), and Rev.
Koji Ezaki (Jodo).
Ministers had to give short talks thatwere videotaped and viewed by

22

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─(Left to right) Makoto Honda, David Nakamoto, George Tanabe, Hiroko Maeda, Clyde Whitworth, Earl Ikeda,
and Koji Ezaki. Note photo of Rev. Yehan Numata on wall.

everyone, who made comments about
the strengths and weaknesses of thepresentations. During the first session, we concentrated on how people

spoke (fast, slow, body movement,eye contact, etc.), and in the last two
sessions, we paid attention to what theministers said. Everyone had theirown style of speaking, and each was
encouraged to develop their own
styles and ideas.
The ministers worked hard each week
in preparing their sermons, and were
nervous about their presentations.
The interaction between everyone,

however, was relaxed and informal,
and we all laughed a lot, especiallywhen we had lunch, which was provided by BDK Hawaii. The discussions were very helpful, and everyone
felt that they had learned a lot about
how to become better speakers. We
had such a good time that we are planning a reunion meeting in six months.
The participants also said it was awonderful opportunity to get to know
ministers from other denominations.

Many others have expressed an interest in participating, and we are planning to hold more workshops on
Oahu as well as on the neighborislands, not only for ministers but lay
members as well. BDK Hawaii isworking with the Buddhist Churchesof America to hold a preaching workshop in Berkeley, California next year.
We are also planning to hold workshops on counseling and new music.

90th Birthday Celebration ofRev. Yoshiaki Fujitani

BDK Hawaii co-sponsored the 90th Birthday Celebration for Rev.
Yoshiaki Fujitani with the Hawaii Association of International
Buddhists (HAIB) on August 10, 2013 at the Honpa Hongwanji
Hawaii Betsuin. Rev. Fujitani is a former Bishop of the Honpa
Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii, and is a former President of BDK
Hawaii. Approximately 150 people attended the event.

“Hear My Concerns As I Enter The Twilight Of My Life…”
Clyde Whitworth of BDK Hawaii
worked in cooperation with the Endof-Life committee of the Honpa
Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii todesign and implement “ AnIntergenerational Retreat.” The retreat
was held on Saturday, September
28th, 2013 at the Wahiawa Hongwanji
Mission.
Participants at the retreat heard fromcaregivers and those who work withcaregivers about their experiences incaring for the elderly. People wereable to ask questions and share theirconcerns about entering the twilightyears of their lives. Discussion topics
included care giving, durable powerof attorney, wills, advanced healthcare directives, living trusts,
spiritual/religious issues, and proce-

Intergenerational Retreat at Wahiawa Hongwanji

dures/etiquette at Buddhist funerals.
The retreat was very well received.

There were approximately 100 people
in attendance.

23

BDK Mexico
Buddhist Wedding at Mexico Ekoji Temple
Since BDK Mexico was establishedin 1985, over 1,000 hotels in Mexico
have placed the book in their rooms,
and more than 150,000 copies havebeen distributed as of 2013. BDK
Mexico also operates a non-sectarian
Buddhist temple called “Mexico
Ekoji“ in Mexico City, which currently has a population of about 20 million people.

In Mexico City, we can see changes inmany customs. One of those is how
people feel about weddings. Even in
Japan, how young couples think about
weddings varies. Some hold big fancy
weddings and some others do nothing.
In Mexico, almost all the people
believe in Catholicism, and the wedding has always been supposed to beheld at Catholic churches. However,young Mexican couples cannot
always afford to hold wedding ceremonies and they simply start their
new life with their partners without
having wedding ceremonies. Becauseof this trend of simplifying ideas

about weddings, the Japanese way of“Buddhist weddings” has attracted
some young Mexican people.

Mexico Ekoji has been popularamong locals, and 144 people are officially affiliated with Ekoji as of 2013.
There were four wedding ceremonies
at Ekoji in 2013, and three of those
couples were Buddhists. Another couple thought that the Buddhist wedding
looked cool and they wanted to try
something new.
The stereotypical image of Mexico isthat of a nation of Catholicism, andmost local people believe in the Holy
Mother/Blessed Virgin. However,people open their minds to something
new like Buddhism through learning
something about Japanese culture
such as literature and martial arts.
Some of those people start believing
in Buddhism and choose “Buddhist
weddings” as one of their biggest life
events. Ekoji has been welcomed to
the local world as a center of Japaneseculture and Buddhism.
Mexico Ekoji has been preparing various programs for more people to get
to know Buddhism and Japanese culture. BDK Mexico aims at being
accepted by local people who mightchoose to hold more “Buddhist weddings” as a part of their life events.
For more information about BDK
Mexico, please contact them directly.

BDK Europe
The Annual Garden Festival
BDK Europe hosted a garden festival
on July 13, 2013. It is an annual
Japanese cultural event, which the
EKO Center of Japanese Culture
holds usually in the summer. For thisyear, we welcomed more than 800

24

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

people under a blue sky.
At the beginning of the event, BDK
Chairman, Rev. Toshihide Numata
gave an opening address. Immediately
after his message, a popular German

drum ensemble gave a taiko drum
performance of “Wadōkyō" on astage. ” They hold concerts in various
cities throughout the country. Every
year, most of the people in the neighbourhood notice our festival becausethey hear the beautiful sounds oftaiko.
Following the drum performance,
Japanese traditional dance master
Hanayagi and her students took thestage and fascinated the audiences.
During their dance performance, master Hanayagi welcomed everyone in
the audiences to join the Bon dancing.
The scene of the Bon dancing with thecircle of people looked exactly like asummer festival in Japan and everyone shared the feeling of the beauty ofa Japanese summer day.
Besides those outdoor performances,
master Kuramoto from the Urasenke
school hosted a tea ceremony, andmaster Watanabe and her Ikebana students prepared an exhibition in themain building as well.

The EKO Center is located in
Düsseldorf, a city which has one of
the largest Japanese communities inGermany and therefore maintains agreat friendship with Japan. Every
year in May, the city of Düsseldorf
becomes a venue for a so-called“Japanese day,” the biggest Japanesecultural event in Europe. The EKO

Numata Center for Buddhist Studies
at the University of Hamburg
The Numata Center for Buddhist
Studies at the University of Hamburg
was formally inaugurated in July 11,
2013. BDK Chairman, Rev. Toshihide
Numata and Prof. Shōryū Katsura
from Ryūkoku University travelled all
the way from Japan to attend the ceremony.
The ceremony started with a beautiful
cembalo and flute performance, andProf. Katsura, Prof. Schmidthausen

and other scholars gave some shortpresentations on Buddhist studies in
the world and their present state inAmerica, Japan and Germany.
After those presentations, Rev.
Numata gave the following address:“The Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai supports
the Numata chairs for Buddhist
Studies, the BDK scholarship forexchange students and other projects
in Buddhist research.
We are very proudthat many outstanding scholars andresearchers, talented
people who are leaders in contemporary
Buddhist research,work together in the
different fields. On

Center makes it possible for both
Japanese and German people to haveopportunities to enjoy a Japanese
atmosphere and come to know more
about Japanese culture at the sametime. The EKO Center of Japanese
Culture will continue its efforts tobuild a bridge between Europe andJapan by organizing such events.

this occasion, I am delighted that on
the initiative of university president
Lenzen and Prof. Zimmermann, thisNumata Center for Buddhist Studies,by which Buddhist research here in
Hamburg and Germany, but also generally in Europe will be promoted,
could be established. The Bukkyō
Dendō Kyōkai will as far as possible
support the development of this center, so that it can contribute to theadvance of Buddhist studies in
Europe.”Finally, the vice president of the university and Rev. Numata unveiled thename plate of the “Numata Center at
the University Hamburg” together.
President Lenzen once again emphasized the significance of the Numata
Center at the university.

25

Kansha (Gratitude)

To the people who are close to us, we grumble
and complain, but we cannot express our heartfelt appreciation.
Because we cannot appreciate people who areclose to us, we cannot lower our head and say“Thank you.”
Because we have the tendency to depend too
readily or expect too much from those close tous, we simply accept whatever favors or kindness we receive as a matter of course. The causes and conditions behind their favors and kindnesses have been forgotten; therefore, we do not
feel any gratitude for things done for us.

26

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

If we could truly see ourselves, we will naturally
feel grateful when we realize that the person
who is close to us is always kind and considerate to us despite the fact that we are so self-centered. But, as we are so conceited and think sohighly of ourselves, we cannot lower our heads
in gratitude for favors received.
Gratitude is a word known by a person who isaware of the self and it reflects the person’s
actions. The most important thing is to know
one’s self.
(Taken from “Sasaeatte” authored by Toshihide
Numata, Chairman of BDK)