BUKKYO DENDO KYOKAI Society for the Promotion of Buddhism

Michi- The Path -

05
2016

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Michi05- The Path -CONTENTS

01

Welcoming Another Fruitful Year
After the 50th Anniversary● BDK 50th Anniversary Ceremony at Hotel New Otani, Tokyo, Japan● “BUDDHASPEL” Anniversary Concert – The 17th Buddhist Music Festival● BDK Special Buddhist Lectures & Seminars : “Listening to Fushidan, the Origin of Rakugo”● Mita-Rakugo-Kai:

Rakugo Fan Appreciation Day at Hamarikyu Asahi Hall● BDK Special Programs and Photography Exhibition for the Support of the Victims of the Great Earthquake and Tsunami– “Buddha’s Words and Views of India: Live out Your Life” in Fukushima-Prefecture● Photography Competition and Exhibition for BDK Calendar “A Wise Teaching A Day” at Tsukiji Hongwanji Temple● BDK Commemorative Publication for the 50th Anniversary● The 3rd BDK Global Meeting

10

BDK Japan News 2015
〜BDK Publications〜● “The Teaching of Buddha” – Update for 2015
● “The Teaching of Buddha” in a HospitalSpecial Interview with Rev. Dr. Tadahide Kuroda, Director of Sensoji Hospital and Rev. Ryojo Shioiri, Head Priest of Hozenin Temple● “BDK English Tripiṭaka” Translation Project● Other BDK Publications and Related Events〜Financial Assistance and Honoring〜● BDK Fellowship Programs＊ The 25th Anniversary Project for BDK Fellowships for Foreign Scholars: Publication of “BDK Fellowships in the World”＊ 2016 BDK Fellowships for Foreign Scholars＊ 2016 BDK Fellowships for Japanese Scholars● The 49th BDK Cultural Awards● Introducing the “Otera Oyatsu Club” Snack Delivery for Kids from Temples

Special Report from Rev. Seiro Matsushima, managing director of the Otera Oyatsu Club

〜Buddhist Lectures and Seminars〜● The 45th Jissen Fukyo Kenkyukai, BDK Buddhist Missionary Seminar at Sotoshu Daihonzan Eiheiji Temple● Intellectual Buddhist Lectures “How to Learn ZEN and Enjoy Calligraphy” “ZEN and Calligraphy– Make Your Life More Interesting”● Buddhism Through English● BDK Zazen-Kai, Meditation Retreat for Business People● Special Summer Program: One-day Field Trip to Chiba

Studying “The Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)” for Business and for Daily Life
● 2015 BDK Symposium: “Science and Piety in Buddhism”● Take a Break: Buddhist YOGA for People in the Modern World

34＊ Let's Try Some Yoga Poses!

BDK Aﬃliated Organizations
World Map & Contact Info.
● BDK America

Buddhist Ritual Music Symposium and Performance<Special Report written by Prof. Mark Blum, Buddhist Studies, Shinjo Ito Distinguished Chair, Japanese Studies, U.C. Berkeley>● BDK Hawaii● BDK Canada
2015 World Buddhist Women’s Convention in Canada● BDK Mexico● BDK Asia
Vesak Day 2015 – “The Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)” Distribution● BDK Europe
Celebration for the Establishment of a Permanent Chair for Japanese Buddhism at University of Hamburg
Thirty Year’s Anniversary of the Eko House of Japanese Culture

42"Sasaeatte - Doryoku (Eﬀort)"

BDK Newsletter No.5 2016 - 6/1/2016 -5,000
Copyrightⓒ2016 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

2016

Welcoming Another Fruitful Year
After the 50th Anniversary
Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015 and we
observed this milestone with a banquet ceremony, special events and someanniversary issues of BDK publications. I would like to take this opportunity to
express our deepest gratitude to everyone who supported us in the previous fifty
years.
During the last fifty years, BDK has diligently been translating and distributing“The Teaching of Buddha” with the support and cooperation of like-minded
individuals and organizations. In recent years, we focused on hosting a variety oflectures, seminars, cultural classes and publishing Buddhist related books for more
people to have better opportunities to experience Buddhism and its culture.
We have set the ultimate goal of propagating Buddhist wisdom found in the basics
of Japanese culture by sponsoring a wide range of cultural activities and academic
programs. However, wars and terrorism continue in today’s world and people arefighting over different religions, races, ideologies and so on, and they have taken
away many innocent lives. It is hard to imagine the follies that we human beings
can commit and I grieve over that.
We need to speak loudly about the spirit ofcompassion and symbiosis, which are thebasics of Buddha’s wisdom. BDK must
make contributions toward a more peacefulworld and I truly hope that we would havethe strong will to go one more step forward
for another fifty and even a hundred years. I
truly appreciate your generous understanding and continued support of BDK activities.
With Gassho,

Toshihide Numata,
Chairman1

BDK 50th Anniversary Ceremony

BDK 50th Anniversary Ceremonyat Hotel New Otani, Tokyo, Japan

Wadaiko, Japanese style drum performance by “KUSU”

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) held its 50th
anniversary ceremony and banquet at Hotel
New Otani in Tokyo, Japan on November
27th, 2015. We welcomed about 370 guests
Rev. Dr. Yasuaki Nara, Sotoshu
Eiheiji Saito and a BDK trustee, led
all the guests in chanting the
Sankiemon, which expresses faith
in the Buddha, the Dharma and theSangha. Following the chant, BDK
Chairman, Toshihide Numata,2

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

who have supported our activities for the last
fifty years, and the ceremony was successfullycompleted.

greeted everyone with an expression of gratitude and a fresh resolve
for the future.
Rev. Koshin Ohtani, Zenmon, the24th head priest of Jodo Shinshu
Hongwanji-ha, and Rev. Akisato

Saito, chairperson of the Japan
Buddhist Federation, gave congratulatory addresses that appraised
BDK’s fifty-year achievement on
promoting Japanese Buddhism to
the world without being biased
toward any specific sect or school

Rev.Koshin Ohtani, Zenmon, the 24th head priest of
Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-haRev. Akisato Saito, Chairperson of the Japanese
Buddhist FederationRev. Dr. Kiyotaka Kimura, Emeritus professor of the
University of Tokyo

of Buddhism, and on contributing
to the peace of the world.

priests wearing sacred robes haveattracted people’s attention andhave become popular at temples,
performance halls, and special
events.

guests from all over the world, we
hope that everyone enjoyed the
BDK 50th anniversary ceremony
and banquet. Ultimately, we must
thank everyone who has been supporting BDK and its activities forsuch a long time once again.

Rev. Dr. Kiyotaka Kimura, emeritus
professor of the University ofTokyo and a BDK trustee, gave atoast after those speeches, and we
started the banquet. The guests
enjoyed friendly conversation witheach other while KUSU, theWadaiko, Japanese-style drum performing group consisting of Mie
Prefecture Sotoshu youth members,celebrated this special occasion
with their energetic and magnificent
Wadaiko performance. KUSU
began with thirteen Buddhist priests
mainly in Mie Prefecture in 2006.
Their Wadaiko performance incorporating chanting by the Buddhist

Although we could spend only
about two hours with our wonderful3BDK 50th Anniversary Ceremony“BUDDHASPEL” Anniversary
Concert – The 17th Buddhist Music Festival

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) held the “BUDDASPEL” anniversary concert, the 17th Buddhist
Music Festival, at Yebisu Garden Hall in Tokyo on September 11, 2015.
More than five hundred people
attended the anniversary event. We
welcomed Ms. Hiromi Ohta, asinger, and Ms. Jian Xiaoyan, aNiko player, for the first half of theshow, and Karyobinga-ShomyoKenkyukai with Ensemble KOCHI
for the second half. The combination of the thousand-year-old
Shingon Shomyo chants with theorchestra performance and the projection of scenes from each story
created an impressive triple combination of sounds, lights and images,
thus transforming the event beyond
a musical performance into a total
work of art.

Karyobinga-Shomyo-Kenkyukai with Ensemble KOCHI

Ms. Hiromi Ohta

Yebisu Garden Hall

Ms. Jian Xiaoyan

4

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─BDK Special Buddhist Lectures &Seminars: Listening to Fushidan, the Origin of Rakugo
Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) held one of
the BDK Special Buddhist Lectures &Seminars, Listening to Fushian, the Originof Rakugo, as a BDK 50th anniversary
event. More than 150 people attended
the event, and it was a first-time experience for most of the people. Rev.
Yoshihiro Fukoshi, secretary general of
the Fushidan-Sekkyo Association,
explained the origin of Fushidan-Sekkyo
and related some of his experiences.
Following his lecture, Rev. Shogo
Sakuraba, a Jodoshinshu priest, performed his Fushidan-Sekkyo. Rev.
Kenjun Hirooka closed the eventwith his legendary Fushidan performance.

Rev. Kenjun Hirooka

Fushidan-Sekkyo performed on a
Rakugo stage includes big gestures,
accents, and typical choices ofwording. The audience got involved
with the performances and theatmosphere was one in which theperformers and the audience wereunited as one. We were thus able toprovide a good opportunity for people to learn more about the origin of
Rakugo.

Mita-Rakugo-Kai :Rakugo Fan Appreciation Day at Hamarikyu Asahi Hall
BDK’s 50th anniversary event for the Mita
Rakugo-kai was the Rakugo Fan Appreciation
Day, which was held at Hamarikyu Asahi Hallin Tokyo on January 30, 2016. We had nightand day performances, and more than 700
people attended the event.

For the matinee, we welcomed four
Rakugo masters: Mr. Hakushu
Togetsuan, Mr. Shinji Tsuyuno, Mr.
Iccho Shunputei, and Mr. Sankyo
Yanagiya. For the evening performance, we had another four masters:
Mr. Ichinosuke Shunputei, Mr.
Kyotaro Yanagiya, Mr. Kitahachi

Mr.

Yanagiya,
Yanagiya.

andGontaroFor more information about MitaRakugo-Kai, event schedules andticket purchases, please visit theofficial website at http://mita-rakugo.com/

Rakugo master, Mr. Shinji Tsuyuno

5

BDK 50th Anniversary Ceremony

BDK Special Programs and Photography
Exhibition for the Support of the Victimsof the Great Earthquake and Tsunami– “Buddha’s Words and Views of India:
Live out Your Life” in Fukushima-Prefecture

In Aizubange-cho

Even though five years have passed
since the 2011 Great Eastern Japan
earthquake and tsunami struck
Japan, we still need to continue avariety of support to help people
recover from the traumatic effects.
Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) continues to sponsor a variety of special programs each year and held

Special booth to talk to a Buddhist priest

6

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─In Minami Soma City

photography exhibitions in IwatePrefecture and Tokyo in 2014. The
exhibitions were a great success,and we welcomed over 13,000 people; therefore we decided to hold an
exhibition in Fukushima-Prefecture,
which is still suffering from thedamaging effects of the tsunami
and nuclear disaster.
We held an exhibition at aMichinoeki, a roadside station in
Minami Soma City from September
19 to 23, 2015 and held another one
in Aizubange-cho from September
25 to 30, 2015. Over 1,700 people
visited the exhibition and we handed out a free copy of “The Teachingof Buddha,” the BDK Calendar “A
Wise Teaching a Day,” and memorial picture postcards. We wereable to provide opportunities forpeople to listen to Buddha’s words
through those photographs and quietly consider how they live.
During the exhibitions, we set up a
special booth so that people could
have a chance to talk about anythingwith Buddhist priests. One of thepriests attending the booth told us,“I am pleased that I could directlylisten to their thoughts, their needs
and how they live.” It was a good
opportunity for both the local people in Fukushima and the priests.

Photography Competition and Exhibition
for BDK Calendar “A Wise Teaching A
Day” at Tsukiji Hongwanji Temple

We held a photography competition again andan exhibition of photos for the BDK calendar,“A Wise Teaching a Day” as one of our 50th
anniversary projects. We publish this popularcalendar every year, and for the 2015 version,
we invited people to send in good photo-graphs. We received about 1,500 pieces forthe competition and our selection committee
chose 31 of them in 2014. We decided toshow all of the winning entries with each saying of “A Wise Teaching a Day” at an exhibition at Tsukiji Hongwanji Temple in Tokyo.
English translation of the captions
for each photograph.

Exhibition at Tsukiji Hongwanji Temple

Since Tsukiji Hongwanji Temple issuch a popular sightseeing spot inTokyo among tourists from all over
the world, many visitors were able

to enjoy those photographs andteachings. About 10,000 people
visited the exhibition during two
weeks and everyone enjoyed theTaking photographs has become aneveryday experience for many people because the technology of digital cameras and other electronic
devices has improved so much inrecent years. Through the photographic competition and exhibition,
people could easily experience
Buddhism and its culture. BDK
hosted another competition for the2015 calendar, and the newest
series of “Michishirube,” an official
handbook for the BDK calendar
written by Rev. Ichijo Ogawa, is
now on sale for everyone.

7

BDK 50th Anniversary Ceremony

BDK Commemorative Publication
for the 50th Anniversary
Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) published acommemorative issue about its 50-year history and created a commemorative DVD, “TheSpread of the Buddha’s Wisdom Throughout
the World – The History of Bukkyo Dendo

Kyokai” that traces the story of BDK from thefoundation of the organization to its present
activities with images of the late Rev. Dr.
Yehan Numata, BDK founder.

In addition to that 50th anniversary
issue, we published “Michishirube– Meikowasen, the 50 Best Picks of
All Time” in two sets of books
named “Chie (Wisdom),” and “Jihi(Compassion).” Also “The Teachingof Buddha” editorial committee
provided explanations so thateveryone could understand TTOB
more easily. We also issued a new
publication, “Satori-no-Chie-woYomu,” Reading the Wisdom of
Enlightenment.
We express our appreciation to
everyone who has supported ouractivities for the last fifty years, andwe rededicate ourselves to a newstart for the next fifty years.

“Satori-no-Chie-wo-Yomu, Reading
the Wisdom of Enlightenment”

8

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

Commemorative issue about BDK’s 50-year history

Commemorative DVD, “The Spread of the Buddha’s Wisdom Throughout the World-The
History of Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai”

The 3rd BDK Global Meeting
With our primary goal of promoting the teachings of the Buddha, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai(BDK), and our affiliated organizations
throughout the world are involved in a wide

variety of activities and programs. BDK offers
diverse opportunities for introducing the spiritof Buddhism and distributing “The Teaching of
Buddha” to people in the modern world.

The executive members from BDK affiliated organizations overseas at Tsukiji Hongwanji Temple, Tokyo

Most of the executive members
from our affiliated organizations
overseas gathered in Tokyo at a
meeting held on December 1 and 2,
2015. We welcomed our friends
from BDK America, BDK Canada,
BDK Europe, BDK Hawaii, BDK
Mexico and BDK UK. BDK Japan
presented its future plans and activities first, then each member fromthe overseas branches reported how

Mr. Yasuo Honjo from BDK Canada

they manage their organizations andpromote the teachings of Buddha.
We discussed all the situations ineach different country and considered methods appropriate for eacharea to meet various demands ineach country.
We also discussed the present situations in which wars and terrorism
continue in the world and people

are fighting over different religions.
Everyone re-acknowledged that weshould contribute to peace and to
spread the teachings of Buddha’s
compassion and spirit of cooperation. And we reconfirmed that weare all going to cooperate with eachother from now on and keep an
open and broad perspective as wemove forward.

Dr. George Tanabe from BDK Hawaii

9BDK JAPANNEWS 201501

BDK Publications

Activity“The Teaching of Buddha” ─ Update for 2015

Distribution of “The Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)”
always has been one of the most important BDK
activities to date. Since BDK celebrated its 50th
anniversary this year, we decided to return to the spirit
with which we started our organization 50 years ago.
The late Rev. Dr. Yehan Numata, BDK founder, began
distributing TTOBs to hotels in Japan and other countries in the world. Following the path of the founder,
we focused on distributing them to hotels this year,
and a total of 51,869 copies of TTOB have been
donated to hotels in Japan just in 2015. The city ofTokyo is hosting the Olympics in 2020 and we are
expecting more tourists to come to our country.
Therefore, we also plan to distribute more copies of
TTOB in many different languages besides theJapanese version.
We started the TTOB distribution to
Buddhist schools and child-rearing
facilities in 2011, and we have distributed 57,851 copies to 359 educational
facilities in 2015. The cumulative
total over the last four years is245,000 copies. TTOBs have beenplaced in 60 % of all Buddhist highschools and universities in Japan, and
25 % of all child-rearing facilities at
the moment. Our value varies intoday’s world and it is totally up towhat choices people make about how
to liver better lives. We hope theessence of Buddhism can be the support for students and their parents.
In addition to the above, we receive

10

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─TTOBs at Zen Lotus
Flower Center in Brazil

inquiries from Japanese Buddhist
temples, Zen centers, and other institutions from all over the world eachday. BDK keeps trying to publish anddistribute more copies of TTOB to
spread the teachings of Buddha
amongst more people in the world.

Interview“The Teaching of Buddha” in a HospitalSpecial Interview with Rev. Dr. Tadahide Kuroda, Director of Sensoji
Hospital and Rev. Ryojo Shioiri, Head Priest of Hozenin Temple

Interviewer: Masanori Yamamura, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK)
Editing & Photography: Kaoru Eguchi, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK)
Location: Sensoji Temple, Tokyo, Japan
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, schools, correctional facilities, etc. throughout Japan and all over the world. Today, we are wel-Yamamura (Y) : First of all,could you tell us the concept of
Sensoji Hospital and its history?

Kuroda (K) : Sensoji Hospital was
originally started in 1910. Heavy
floods occurred in the Tokyo area incoming Rev. Dr. Tadahide Kuroda, director of Sensoji
Hospital and Rev. Ryojo Shioiri, head priest of
Hozenin, a sub-temple of Sensoji Temple, to ask them
about how they have been using our books at their
hospital and how effectively we will be able to use
TTOBs at hospitals and other locations in the future.

that year, and the head priest of
Sensoji Temple at the time wanted tohelp people who were suffering fromthe floods. He talked to representatives of Sensoji supporters, and theydecided to open a small aid station in
the main hall of Sensoji. We are currently open for anyone in the neigh-borhood as a special welfare corporation approved by the Japanese government, and have been active throughdisasters, wars, and other difficulties
until today.
Y : Oh, I thought Sensoji
Hospital was an incorporated

11

medical corporation. I had no
idea that it is a special welfare
corporation.
K : Yes, we focus on community
medicine, and it has always been
based on our community here in
Asakusa. That is why we emphasize
community based health care andwelfare as our hospital policy, and wetake care of our patients with the greatcompassion of Kannon Bodhisattva
and warm hearts. We put our policy
into practice by always remembering
the fact that we started from a small
aid station in a temple at a time of disaster.
Shioiri (S) : Dr. Kuroda talked about
the floods in 1910, when the banks of
the Sumida River were often collapsed, and I have heard that people
had to use boats to move aroundtown. The water even reached thelevel of the balustrade. It was such acatastrophe.
K : The hospital was deeply related tothe temple at the time. I understandthat keeping up with the improvements in advanced medical treatment
is important; but it can be very expensive for patients. We hope that we canbe a hospital for everyone, including
low income people, who can be treated without them having to worry
about costs at all.
S : By the way, patients always say
something like, “ Dr. A at BBB
Hospital is great.” And I was thinking
about what makes a doctor great?
What are the criteria by which
patients make their evaluations?
K : I know some patients complain
about their symptoms even though noproblem can be found through any

12

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

medical examination such as scans,blood tests, etc. We doctors need totreat not only their physical pain but
also their emotional problems. My
experience is that I am able to help
many patients get better just by carefully listening to them and easing theirminds.

Rev, Ryojo Shioiri

S : Listening is important, and giving
a sense of security to a patient canaffect the immune system?
K : Yes, it does have an effect. I
believe that the basics of medical careare found in the “treatment by hands.”
Just to rub or pat affected areas canmake a difference. Patients come to a
hospital with some worries and problems, so they tend to think negatively
about everything. It is our prioritythat doctors and nurses find out what
the patients really want to tell us andto support their mental healthcare.
The Chinese character, “看 (kan)” of“看護 (kango)”, which means nursing, is composed of 手(hands) and 目(eyes). Hands are fundamental tonursing. We touch people and listen

to them to open their hearts. Throughour hands we gradually build trust
between patients and doctors andnurses.
S : Speaking of Buddhism and medical care, we cannot forget about theevent of “楊枝浄水加持会 - YojiJosui-Kajie” at Sensoji Temple.
During this ceremony Sensoji supporters pray for safety of the family
and perfect health over the year.
Sensoji priests use willow twigs to
prepare holy water in a water jar in
the main hall of the temple and they
touch the supporters’ heads with thetwigs on June 18 of every year.
Tradition has it that it will remove
their sickness and enable them to live
a healthy life. And speaking of willow trees, Myohoin Temple, which isalso known as Sanjusangendo in
Kyoto, has a famous story about that.
About 850 years ago, Emperor
Goshirakawa was suffering fromheadaches all the time. One fortune
teller told him that his skull from his
previous existence had been on thebottom of the river and had beenpierced by a willow branch. The fortune teller suggested to the Emperorthat he should find the skull, remove
the willow branch, and hold a memorial service for it. He immediately
visited the river that the fortune teller
directed him to and he found a skull
pierced by a willow branch. He used
willow wood for one of the beams of
Sanjusangendo Temple, and his
headache was completely cured. I
know this sounds strange, but I thinkthat willow trees and headaches are
related to each other from that era
long before the development of western medicine.
K : Wow, I had no idea about the origin of the “willow” story. But actual-

ly, aspirin is a component derived
from willow trees and it does makesense! Medical care and Buddhism
were deeply related to each otherbefore we actually learned about modern medicine. Very interesting, isn’t
it? Sensoji Temple is the head templeof Shokannon Shu, and our nurses are
doing a fantastic job of performing thefunctions of Kannon Bodhisattva.
Y : It is surprising to learn that
we have such a connection
between medical care andBuddhism!
S : Yes. I still remember the story
you told at the Kannon-e Seppo, theservice in which you had to preach a
sermon as the new head priest of a
Shokannon Shu temple. I think, Dr.
Kuroda, you talked about medicalcare and Buddhism at that time, didn’tyou?

S : It might not be appropriate to say
this, but TTOB contains somethingordinary. It is just what it is, and there
is nothing special in this book. (smiling) But I guess that is the mostimportant thing. I know Dr. Kuroda
has some great knowledge of Chinese
medicine as well. I think “Ki” is theflow of energy throughout the bodythat keeps the body healthy.
Everyone says that they want to behealthy and energetic. When you talkabout sickness, Byou (Yamai)-Ki, we
need to remove Ki from sickness.
This means that you are going back to
the original Ki, Gen-Ki without Byou
(Yamai), sickness.

K : Yes, I talked about that because I
am a priest before being a medical
doctor so that is what I had to do. It issomething that I swear to in front of
everyone. It expressed my determination, and it was the moment when I
first met “The Teaching of Buddha.”
Y : Really? How did you meet
“ The Teaching of Buddha(TTOB)” for the first time?
K : Yes, I had been wondering about
what I should talk about at the
Kannon-e Seppo. And there it was,“The Teaching of Buddha.” I believethat Buddhism is not something thatyou understand or not, but is something that gives you a chance to awaken a person spiritually. I think TTOB
offers people a chance to realize
something significant.

Rev. Dr. Tadahide Kuroda

K : I cannot say which one is better,western medicine or eastern medicine;
however, I believe that you can use
the advantages of both to get backyour Gen-Ki (health), your original
condition, as Rev. Shioiri just said.
And I think that is our mission. When
you talk about the body’s condition
before you are actually sick, we call it“Mi-Byou,” and you say to a personthat it is just “Ki-no-Sei,” your imagi-

nation. If you apply the eastern medical ideas to this situation, you canpractically use “Ki” and solve theproblem.
S : When you lose your consciousness, faint, and such, you may have to
get yourself back on track to the original position. That is the most important thing in medical care.
Y : I see. Then what do you
think of TTOB being available inhospital rooms? Do you have
any ideas about how we will beable to use the book in a medical institution in the future?
K : I think that people have fewer
opportunities to experience someone’s
death in their household because wetend to live in nuclear families, not in
extended families with many otherfamily members living in the same
house. We would like to open peoples’ minds until they complete theirlives. Offering advanced medical careis important, but I think this has to dowith the affiliation between a big hospital and a small clinic. We are thehospital of the temple, so I am thinking of our cooperation with the temple. It is like we hang out at the temple and we can do the same thing at a
hospital.
S : I imagine that we are moving
toward an era in which we will havean increased need for more home careand home nursing. However, this will
increase the responsibilities of eachfamily, and it will be difficult for people to accept something they havenever experienced before. While you
are facing all kinds of problems,
TTOB can give you a hint about waking up to yourself. Reading a letter
makes you think deeply and more

13

calmly. I hope that everyone will
notice what they are actually facingnow.
K : Yes, it will be important for eachfamily to accept the deaths of otherfamily members. People do not usually have an opportunity to experiencesomeone’s death, and they have a hardtime accepting it calmly. Something
like the death of a member of yourown family cannot be learned fromsomeone else or something else. It is
nothing like that, so I think someone
like a priest can relate to people as aneutral third party.
S : There are many situations inwhich conversation can free yourmind. For example, if you lost amember of your family and you areseriously depressed, you can turn toyour “Butsudan,” the family Buddhist
altar. Whenever you feel sad andwant to get better, you might not havea chance to talk to someone.
However, you can always talk to your
Butsudan and express your feelings
freely. This is often witnessed athomes in Japan. I think that you
might go crazy or fall into depression
if you leave your sufferings inside

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BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

yourself forever. Talking to a
Butsudan is the same thing as talking
to someone in person. But when you
are hospitalized, you cannot have a
Butsudan with you, so you try to talkto your family and friends to comeand see you in your hospital room fora while or you talk to doctors andnurses at the hospital. But again, you
might not get enough time to have theconversations that you need. They are
all busy, and unfortunately, you cannot talk with them as much as you
want. In that case, reading letters andlistening to TV, radio, and music canease your feelings, but you may not
be able to do this all the time in aquiet hospital room. Therefore,
TTOB can be your perfect partner in a
hospital room. It is always there by
your side, and you can read whenever
you want, and you can start anywhere
within the book. “Words” can raise
your awareness in a variety of ways.
When you become aware of something of an awakening arising inside
you, you will be free from pressure
and won’t feel fear anymore.
K : The image of temples is linked todeath and hospitals are associatedwith life for most people in general,but I hope that everyone who reads
TTOB will experience a deepening of
the true self. Moreover, TTOB can be
the beginning of knowing the self andit should be like that.
S : The stereotypical images of hospitals and temples are contrasting, butthey are related to each other at a deeplevel. As Dr. Kuroda said, we priests
should be involved with mental care.
Doctors and nurses are the professionals of medical care and priests canalso play a role as counselors. TTOB
can be read by anyone, and it is justwonderful.
Y : Thank you very much for all
your compliments. As you havealready put many copies of“The Teaching of Buddha” ineach room of Sensoji Hospital,and patients can access themeasily, what do you think about
the future possibilities of “The
Teaching of Buddha” and other
BDK publications?
S : There are many socially disadvantaged people in the real world, and wewould like to save them. When I visit
the children’s ward in the hospital, Ijust cannot stand by and see them suffering. Why does someone so young
have to be suffering at a hospital? I
would recommend that everyone,
especially pregnant women and people who are stressed with child rearing, to read TTOB. I personally thinkthat “children” are in danger. We seelots of cases of murder and injury
involving children these days. For
instance, we heard the news aboutschool bullying and child abuse
everywhere. We should free children’s minds, and I hope everyone intown can see them with warm eyes as
if we all belonged to one big family.
Children are irresistible. It might be agreat idea to have a new version of
TTOB aimed especially at parents andchildren. I know Bukkyo Dendo
Kyokai has published a manga comic,“ The Wisdom of Buddhism,” inJapanese and in English for elementary school students or older. It would
be nice if there could be a version of
TTOB that even younger kids canread. We need books that can be readby all generations from children toolder people.

K : We have placed TTOB in drawers
in each hospital room for our patientsso that they can reach them anytime
they want. And we can see Sensoji
Temple and the five-story pagoda
from the windows of the rooms. We
have a beautiful statue of Kannon
Bodhisattva in our main lobby. Mostof our patients look upon Kannonsama as their guardian and they feelrelieved. We would like to takeadvantage of being a hospital of atemple, and we plan to start palliative
care units in our hospital in the future.
We want to create an environment ofpreserving all aspects of health, notjust curing a patient of a disease, thiswill be a key concern from now on.
Rev. Dr. Kuroda has been a director of
Sensoji Hospital for two years now,and he has a clear vision of the future.
His kind and honest personality alongwith the friendly comments by Rev.
Shioiri made the time of our interview
go by quickly and made us want tohear even more! Both of them sincerely explained the long histories of
Sensoji Hospital and Sensoji Temple.

Above all, we were able to learn how“Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)” hasbeen actually used in a medical institution and what we can do more forthe future.
As Rev. Dr. Kuroda promised, they
are going to have TTOB available intheir hospital from now on. BDK willcontinue to distribute free copies of
TTOB to hospitals throughout theworld. We bear the entire cost of thebook distribution, including shipping,
and we also supply additional complimentary copies at any time uponrequest.
If you are interested in participating inthis program, please feel free to contact your nearest BDK office. We will
be happy to receive requests from allover the world.
For more information about Sensoji
Temple, please visit the official
website at
http://www.sensoji-h.or.jp/

Rev. Dr. Tadahide Kuroda
Profile●President of Sensoji Hospital
Head priest of the Shokannon Shu Kongoin at Sensoji
TempleBorn in Tokyo in 1971. Graduated from the medical school of
Kyorin University. Medical doctor. Inaugurated as the director of
Sensoji Hospital in 2014.

Rev. Ryojo Shioiri
Profile●Trustee of Sensoji Hospital
Head Priest of the Shokannnon Shu Hozenin at Sensoji
TempleBorn in Tokyo in 1954. Graduated from Seijo University and thegraduate school of Taisho University. Completed course workwithout Ph.D. degree at Taisho University.

15

BDK JAPAN

02
Activity

NEWS 2015“BDK English Tripiṭaka” Translation Project

The “BDK English Tripiṭaka” Translation
Project was productive in 2015, and the editorial team completed “THE COLLECTION
FOR THE PROPAGATION AND CLARIFI-

Prof. Mark Blum, second from the left

The previously translated Vol. 1 of theMahaparinirvana sutra from

03
Activity

Dharmaksema’s 5th century Chineseversion by Prof. Mark Blum from the
University of California, Berkeley
was selected as the Outstanding
Translation for the 2015 Khyentse
Foundation Prize. It is the first translation into English of this key sutrathat expounds on the concept of the“Buddha Nature” (tathagatagarbha).

Some universities have used English
Tripiṭaka books as classroom teachingmaterials for the elementary level of
Buddhist studies.
For more information about the
Khyentse Foundation Prize, please
visit http://khyentsefoundation.org/

Other BDK Publications and Related Events“Wisdom of Buddhism in Japan” at the 23rd Jamboree

The 23rd Jamboree was held in
Yamaguchi-Prefecture, Japan for the
first time in 44 years. About 34,000
young people from 162 different countries from all over the world got
together and interacted with each other

16

CATION OF BUDDHISM, VOLUMEⅠ［弘明集（1）］” in April, 2015 as the 47th publication, and “THREE ESOTERIC TEXTS［密教の三典籍］” in November, 2015 as the 48th.

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

introducing Japanese Buddhism, and“The Messages of Buddha,” an elementary version of “The Teaching of
Buddha (TTOB). BDK distributed
5,000 copies of each to the boy/girlscouts to introduce them to Japanese
Buddhism and its spirit.

at the Achisu-Kirara beach in
Yamaguchi-Prefecture from July 28th
to August 8th. Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai(BDK) introduced some of our BDK
publications: “ The Wisdom of
Buddhism in Japan,” a Manga-comic

For an easier approach for beginnersof Buddhism, we published “TottemoYasashii- Hajimete-no-Bukkyo,”
Easy-to-Understand Buddhism for theFirst Time (available only in Japaneseat the moment) and also distributed
90,000 copies to temples throughout
Japan.

01

Financial Assistance and Honoring

Activity

BDK Fellowship Programs

The 25th Anniversary Project for BDK Fellowships for Foreign Scholars
Publication of “BDK Fellowships in the World”
The BDK Fellowship was established to promoteinternational cooperation and mutual understanding in
Buddhist studies, and it is intended to enable
researchers to engage in research on Buddhism while

In addition to two programs in Japan,
the BDK Fellowship for Foreign
Scholars and the BDK Fellowship forJapanese Scholars, there are three more
BDK fellowship programs in Germany
and Canada. Most of the previous
scholarship holders are now active inthe front lines of today’s Buddhist aca-

in Japan. The BDK Fellowship committee was established in 1991 and has selected over 65 promisingscholars up to the year 2015, the 25th anniversary of
the program.

demic world. On this special occasionof the 25th anniversary, we collected
the updated information about eachone of them and compiled a booklet
called “ BDK Fellowships in theWorld.” We hope to continue supporting promising scholars all over theworld for the development of Buddhist

studies in the future.
For more information about “BDKFellowships in the World,” pleasefeel free to inquire through the official BDK website at
http://www.bdk.or.jp/

2016 BDK Fellowships for Foreign Scholars

The BDK Fellowship was established in 1991 in order to promote international
cooperation and mutual understanding in Buddhist studies, and is intended toenable researchers to engage in advanced research on Buddhism while in Japan.
The BDK Fellowship committee selected two scholars for the 2016 grants listed
below in alphabetical order.

The BDK Fellowship committee selected two scholars for the 2016 grants listed below in alphabetical order.

Mr. Emanuele Davide Giglio
Affiliation : Doctoral Student at the Department of Indian Philosophy and Buddhist Studies, The Division of AsianStudies, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo
Theme of Research : The genesis of the 諸法実相鈔 (“On ‘The True Aspect is All Dharmas’”), an epistle attributed
to Nichiren but not yet recognized in the collection of his autographical works, from a methodological, bibliographicaland a philosophical viewpoint.

17

BDK JAPANNEWS 2015
Ms. Katarzyna Marciniak
Affiliation : Postdoctorate researcher, Research Centre of Buddhist Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies, Warsaw
University, Poland (will be affiliated with The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology, Soka
University in Japan)
Theme of Research : Buddhist Sanskrit as attested in the Mahāvastu of the Mahāsāṃghikas-Lokottaravādins. A
comparative study of the language on the basis of the oldest extant manuscripts of the text (MS Sa, MS Na).
We hope that our newest family members of the BDK Fellowships will have successful stays in Japan for the year 2016, and it
is with great pleasure that we present reports about previous scholarship holders of the year 2015.

Questions for the 2015 BDK Fellowship Holders
1 ) What made you apply for the 2015 BDK Fellowship?
2 ) What is/are the best thing(s) about being a BDK Fellowship holder?
3 ) What do you think about your future career?

Mr. Kevin Buckelew
Affiliation : Kyoto University, Institute for Research in the Humanities
Theme of Research : Reclusion in Chinese Chan Buddhism of the Tang, Song and Yuan periods

1) The BDK Fellowship is very wellknown in the field of Buddhist
Studies. Although it is a competitive
grant, my advisors and fellow students encouraged me to apply. I was
thrilled to be awarded the fellowship and have the opportunity tospend a year at Kyoto University
performing dissertation researchunder the supervision of Professor
Funayama Toru. While there aremany fellowships that allow graduate students to come to Japan inorder to study Japanese religion andculture, the BDK Fellowship is oneof very few that supports
researchers in other fields of
Buddhist Studies – such as myfield, Chinese Buddhism – to perform research in Japan. For this reason it is an extremely important fellowship for Buddhist Studies.
2) As a BDK Fellowship holder, I
have many unique research oppor-

18

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

Prof. Toru Funayama (left) and Mr. Kevin Buckelew (right) at Kyoto University

tunities and an excellent research
environment at Kyoto University. I
have been able to discover primarysources that have only been preserved in Japan, and to visit various
temples and view Buddhist rituals.
Not only that, I also have the opportunity to deepen my knowledge andtraining as a graduate student in

Buddhist Studies. Truly, a scholar of
Buddhism of any nationality cannot
operate without immersion in thelong history and rich world ofJapanese scholarship on Buddhism.
It has therefore been my privilege to
be a recipient of the BDK
Fellowship for the 2015-16 academic year.

3) After completing dissertation
research in Japan, I intend to spend
one further year performing academic research at Academia Sinica
in Taiwan. This research undertaken
in Japan and Taiwan, as well as previous research in China, will pro-vide a solid international foundation
for the completion of my dissertation. In this way I aspire to connect
the fields of Buddhist Studies acrossvarious countries. I will subsequently return to the United States to finish my dissertation and receive thePh.D. I will thereupon embark on acareer as a professor at a college oruniversity in North America, where
I will build on the fruits of myresearch as a BDK fellow to introduce the next generation of students
to the world of Buddhism.

Ms. Kyeongjin Choi
Affiliation : Doctoral Student at the Department of Indian Philosophy and Buddhist Studies, The Division of AsianStudies, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo
Theme of Research : Dharmakīrti on the Proof of Momentariness and Its Philosophical Development by Tibetan
Thinkers
1) When I applied for the 2015 BDK
Fellowship, the fellowship that I
had for the previous three years
from the University of Tokyo,
which is awarded to selected foreign students, was about to expire.
But since I was planning to write
my doctoral thesis during the next
several months, until the end of the2015 scholastic year, I needed tofind some other fellowship for students who continued their researchbeyond their fundamental course
term of graduate school. I had
passed through three years of thedoctoral course and was supposed
to complete my dissertation in thenext year. The BDK Fellowship
was among very few fellowships
available to students of Buddhism
in such a position, and so I jumped
at the opportunity to apply for it.
2) Thanks to the BDK Fellowship, I
could concentrate on my dissertation and complete it in this year.
Writing a thesis in a year whileworking part-time and constantly
being worried about living costs
and tuition would have been impos-

Ms. Kyeongjin Choi (left) and Prof. Akira Saito (right) at the University of Tokyo

sible. Even though I am not ready tolet go of my dissertation as totallycomplete (it seems this feeling will
last for a while, probably until I canpublish it as a book), I was able tosubmit it within the one year,
because the BDK Fellowship totally
freed me from stress and allowed
me to focus all my energies on thatdifficult task.
3) I am supposed to get a doctoral
degree in March 2016, but I hopethat I will be able to stay in Japan
longer and continue my studies of

Buddhism. In the course of writing
the thesis, I encountered many
themes and ideas that piqued myinterest, but was not able to explore
them fully. Thus I am planning torevise and expand my dissertation
to prepare it for publication over the
next year. I also intend to expand
my field of vision to other areas of
Buddhist philosophy, not just theepistemology. Ideally, I would liketo continue my studies here and beable to share those results with students.

19

BDK JAPANNEWS 20152016 BDK Fellowships for Japanese Scholars
The BDK Fellowships for Japanese Scholars program
was established in 2012, and aims to promote international cooperation and mutual understanding in

Buddhist studies. They are intended to enable
Japanese researchers to engage in research on
Buddhism while in foreign countries.

The BDK Fellowship committee selected three scholars for the 2016 grants listed below in alphabetical order.

Mr. Atsuki Nakagami
Affiliation : Department of Indian and Tibetan Studies, Asia-Africa Institute, University of Hamburg in Germany
Theme of Research : Buddhist Thought on Perception and Experience, and its Contemporary Meaning: A Study ofthe Works by an Eleventh Century Scholar, Rong zom Chos kyi bzang po

Ms. Hiroko Matsuoka
Affiliation : Institute for Indology and Central Asian Studies, University of Leipzig in Germany
Theme of Research : A Study of the Beginnings of the Buddhist Treatises

Mr. Toshio Horiuchi
Affiliation : Department of Indian and Tibetan Studies, Asia-Africa Institute, University of Hamburg in Germany
Theme of Research : Critical edition and philosophical study of the former part of the Lankāvatārasūtra
Chapter 2
We hope these three promising scholars have a fruitful year abroad and we are pleased to introduce one of our 2015 BDK
Fellowship holders at this time.

Questions for the 2015 BDK Fellowship Holders
1) What made you apply for the 2015 BDK Fellowship?
2) What is/are the best thing(s) about being a BDK Fellowship holder?
3) What do you think about your future career?

Mr. Suguru Ishimura
Affiliation : Department of Philosophy, The University of New Mexico in the U.S.
Theme of Research : A Conflict between the Buddhist and Brahmanical Schools about the Theory of Truth

1) While I was doing my research inJapan, I always wanted to study
abroad to broaden my views.
Fortunately, Prof. Hideyo Ogawa
from Hiroshima University introduced me to the BDK Fellowship
for Japanese Scholars. Right after
that, I decided to apply for it.

20

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─2) I am staying in Albuquerque, New
Mexico at the moment. While I was
in Japan, I had a hard time to maketime for research. However, I do
not have to worry about time andmoney anymore because the BDK
Fellowship supports me well now.
Moreover, I have enough time to

study other related fields of myresearch and I have broadened myperspectives about my current
research. My academic advisor in
the U.S. offered me some opportunities to audit his classes at the university freely. Learning something
in a different language about a sub-

ject I had already studied deepened
my understanding.
3) My research project in the U.S. has
been going well in a perfect environment for studying. I am planning to present my papers at an academic conference in the near future
after I go back to Japan.
For more information about BDK
Fellowship programs, please visit
the official BDK website at02

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

ActivityProf. John Taber (left) and Mr. Suguru Ishimura (right) at the University of New Mexico

The 49th BDK Cultural Awards

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) offers the Bunka-Sho,the Cultural Award for the Promotion of Buddhism andthe Numata Shorei-Sho, the Numata Innovation &Visionary Award, which is given to individuals who are
The BDK Cultural Award Committee
selected the following awardees at its
selection meeting on July 23, 2015,
and presented them with a gift andhonorarium of JPY 3,000,000 for the
Cultural Award for the Promotion of
Buddhism and JPY 2,000,000 for the
Numata Innovation & Visionary
Award. The 49th ceremony and ban-already exhibiting dedicated service to Buddhism, andin time will become an up-and-coming contributor to
the promotion of Buddhism.

quet were held at the BDK Center
Building in Tokyo on October 15,
2015.
For more information about BDK
Cultural Awards and its pastawardees, please visit our official
website at http://www.bdk.or.jp

The 49th Bukkyo Dendo
Bunka-Sho: Mr. Toshio
Kanamitsu

The Numata Shorei-Sho:Vihara Medical Foundation(Rev. Prof. Shunko Tashiro)●Born in Okayama Prefecture in 1927.
Worked for Nihon Hoso Kyokai (NHK),the oldest broadcasting station established in 1950, as a director of “Kokorono-Jidai, The Times for the Spirit.”
Contributed to the promotion of
Buddhism and the discovery of hidden
Buddhist talents from rural areas.

●Contributed to spreading the ideaof Vihara and medical services withthe spirit of Buddhism. Developed
ways in which Buddhist philosophy
can be used practically for terminalcare. Promoted the exchange ofideas and the hosting of seminars.

21

Interview
Introducing the “Otera Oyatsu Club”
Snack Delivery for Kids from Temples

Special Report from Rev. Seiro Matsushima, managing director of the
Otera Oyatsu ClubInterviewer: Kaoru Eguchi, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK)
Photography: Otera Oyatsu Club
BDK supports groups and organizations that actively
promote the spirit of Buddhism and Buddhist culture
through donations. We would like to introduce one ofthose groups, the “Otera Oyatsu Club,” which collects
snacks donated by people at temples all over Japan,

Could you tell us how you started the “Otera Oyatsu Club” andits activities?
There are 1.4 million households witha single parent and kids in Japan at the
moment, and about 60 % of those arehaving financial difficulties. Growing
up as children in an unfortunate environment is not their fault at all but
those kids usually experience hunger
and do not have a chance to eat
snacks. On the other hand, temples
throughout Japan receive extra foodand snacks called “Osonaemono”
donated by their supporters.
However, they usually receive morethan they can eat. That is why wethought that we should share those
donations with single-parent households.
The “Otera Oyatsu Club” collects
those “Osonaemono” offerings fromthe supporters of temples as our22

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─and delivers them to households with a single parent
and kids. The managing director of the group, Rev.
Seiro Matsushima, a Jodo Shu priest at Anyoji
Temple, answered questions about the group’s activities and explained how they manage to support kids.

“Osagari,” hand-me-downs from the
Buddha, and practice “Osusowake”
by distributing them to single-parent
households experiencing difficulties.
We have over 280 temples that aresupporting our activities as ofFebruary, 2016 and about 2,400 kids

are waiting for “Osusowake” every
month.
There are 70,000 temples in Japan at
the moment and any temple can participate and support kids. Unfortunately,
we see poverty problems all over theRev. Seiro Matsushima, managing director of the Otera Oyatsu Club (left) and his priest supporting members

country; therefore, we would like toinvolve more temples with our activities as one of the welfare programs ineach area.
Is there anything you must dowhen you actively support
those households?
The “Otera Oyatsu Club” is not just afood bank. We hand out the offerings
from the supporters of temples onbehalf of the temples. Therefore, wemust practice the compassion taught
by the Buddha.
There is a word, “Obuppan.” It usually refers to freshly cooked steamed
white rice that is offered on the
Buddhist altar in the morning or anything else we offer to the Buddha. We
Buddhist priests receive the offerings
as “Osagari” from the Buddha to help

us grow.
The “Otera Oyatsu Club” practices“Osusowake,” by handing out the“Obuppan” offerings to the kids.
However, we believe that by delivering the compassion of Buddha and,helping needy people, we create animportant opportunity to let people
know that they are not alone.
How do they actually feel about
the activities of the Otera
Oyatsu Club?
We often receive messages from thoseparents who received the snacks fromus, and they tell us how much they
appreciate the fact that someone actually watches over them and thinks
about them. I think that our activities
help them to feel that they are notalone without any help. Buddha gen-tly watches us being foolish, and we
Jodo Shu priests think that this isrelated to our faith belief. The messages from those parents allow us toreconfirm that what we are doing creates a great opportunity for us to deepen our faith and belief.
What do you think are the roles
and effects of the “Otera Oyatsu
Club” in today’s society?
We have sometimes experienced situations in which people do not expect
us as priests to do good things anymore, and that made us think about
how we have not done enough in previous decades. However, we truly
hope the activities of the “Otera
Oyatsu Club” can reach out to more
people in Japan, and this encourages
us a lot.

23

Moreover, we are creating a greaterawareness of the problems of poverty
in society and we are letting everyone
know about them and our activities.
The problem does not just exit in poor
countries somewhere far away, but inour country, Japan. We should noticethat this is happening right in ourneighborhoods, and this, I think, ismost important.

Thank you for sharing yourthoughts. Could you tell us yourfuture plans for the group?
Ultimately, we would like to build asafety net to support single-parent
households experiencing financial difficulties and solve the problem ofpoverty in Japan. By expanding ouractivities throughout the nation, we
hope to create friendly relationships

Boxes of snacks, ready to be delivered

based on trust among temples, supporting groups, and single-parent
households. In the end, we would liketo make temples all over Japan to betrue “Kakekomidera,” places thateveryone can run into and ask for help
anytime.
Do you have any thoughts
about the financial assistanceprograms by BDK?
We truly appreciate BDK’s support
given to us from the moment of ourestablishment. More Buddhist temples
and priests have begun to participate,
and we have a lot to do to manage allof our activities for supporting kids.
The support from BDK certainly provides a foundation for our activities
and we are thankful about that. We
hope that the “Otera Oyatsu Club”
will be accepted by society in generaland that the understanding and support from the world will continue
from now on.

Rev. Seiro Matsushima,
Managing Director of “Otera Oyatsu Club”
Head priest, Jodo Shu Anyoji Temple.
Graduated from Waseda University.
Worked for an internet solution company until 2010 and continued work-

ing as a Jodo Shu priest. Establishedthe “Otera Oyatsu Club” in 2014 forthe support of single-parent households in Japan.

Overview of “Otera Oyatsu Club”
We deliver packages of snacks, foods,
and groceries to single-parent households in Japan every month. We
receive “Osagari,” hand-me-down
goods from the Buddha as“Osonaemono,” offerings from supporters of temples, and we make24

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

packages for the needy. The “Otera
Oyatsu Club” connects temples, single-parent households, and supportinggroups with each other to solve theproblems of poverty throughout thecountry.

For more information about the“Otera Oyatsu Club,” please visit
the official website at
http://otera-oyatsu.club

BDK JAPANNEWS 201501

Buddhist Lectures and Seminars

Activity

The 45th Jissen Fukyo Kenkyukai,
BDK Buddhist Missionary Seminar at Sotoshu
Daihonzan Eiheiji Temple

The first Jissen Fukyo Kenkyukai(BDK Buddhist Missionary Seminar)
was held as a small discussion grouporganized by BDK founder, the lateRev. Dr. Yehan Numata, in 1970.
Annually, this seminar is held at theheadquarters of a different Japanese
Buddhist sect, and each host sectenthusiastically supports this BDK
event, which enables everyone toenjoy and learn a great deal each year.

Nakano from Sotoshu Ryuhoji
Temple / BDK comptroller, gave lectures, and participants could learn andexperience a lot about Sotoshu practice and Soto Zen.

BDK hosted the 45th Jissen Fukyo
Kenkyukai at Sotoshu Daihonzan
Eiheiji Temple from June 10 to June
12, 2015 with the theme of “Learningfrom Soto Zen,” and welcomed 44
priests and their family members
ranging in ages from 22 to 85 fromthroughout Japan.
During three days of the seminar, participants tried the Zazen meditation
called “Gyoten Zazen,” which starts
from 3:30 in the morning. Monks at
Eiheiji engage in this practice every
morning.
Rev. Taiho Fukuyama, the Kanshu,
head priest of Daihonzan Eiheiji
Temple, greeted the participants. Rev.
Yasuaki Nara, Saito of Eiheiji / BDK
trustee; Rev. Kobo Maruko, FukuKannin of Eiheiji; and Rev. Tozen

BDK Chairman Toshihide Numata greeting the participants

25

BDK JAPAN

02
Activity

NEWS 2015
Intellectual Buddhist Lectures“How to Learn ZEN and Enjoy Calligraphy”“ZEN and Calligraphy – Make Your Life MoreInteresting”

Mr. Mori Suzuki

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) hosted
its intellectual Buddhist lectures foreveryone to experience Buddhism andits culture through calligraphy taught
by popular calligraphy masters, andthrough meditation on chairs with aZen Buddhist priest.
Buddhism and calligraphy have coexisted for such a long time, andShakyo, the hand-copying of sutras, isgetting popular for all ages at temples
in Japan in these days. BDK offered
its first class on calligraphy in afriendly atmosphere that welcomed
everyone.
For the first lecture event on
September 27, 2015, we welcomed
Mr. Mori Suzuki, a Japanese calligra-

26

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

pher, and Rev. Shinju Matsubara, aRinzaishu priest. Mr. Suzuki’s performance using a huge piece of paperon the floor surprised the participants,
and the easy-to-understand speech ofRev. Matsubara gave the event a
warm and calm atmosphere. Mr.
Suzuki taught students one by one andeveryone enjoyed the dual experienceof Zen and calligraphy at the sametime.
For the second event on March 21,
2015, Mr. Soun Takeda, a Japanesecalligrapher who regularly appears on
TV shows and a variety of media
events in Japan taught a class with
Rev. Matsubara. The main theme ofthe event was “the most important
thing in life.”

For more information about future
BDK lectures and seminars, please
visit our official website at
http://www.bdk.or.jp/

Mr. Soun Takeda

Rev. Shinju Matsubara

03
Activity

Buddhism Through English

BDK offers an opportunity to learn
about the basics of Buddhism in both
Japanese and English. We hope to create more opportunities for those withan interest in Buddhist teachings tolearn more about themselves andBuddhism.

04
Activity

We welcomed a new lecturer, Dr.
Stefan Grace, visiting researcher at
Shinran Bukkyo Center, the Center
for Shin Buddhist Studies, and started
the class in April, 2015. The philosophy of Zen has been popular in many
western countries in the world thesedays and he focused on “Learning
Zen in English” and gave lectures
about the basics of Zen Buddhism andBuddhism itself. We had many
Japanese participants as well as somefrom foreign countries. There wasalso time for participants to havesome ordinary conversations inEnglish after each session and they

enjoyed that, too.
For the year 2016, Prof. Dr. Kenneth
Tanaka from Musashino University
will be back and we have scheduled
11 classes on the theme of “Humor,
Manga and Songs.” BDK will continue to offer more chances for everyone to learn about Buddhism and its
basic ideas through more modern
approaches.
For more information about“Buddhism Through English,”please visit the official BDK website at http://www.bdk.or.jp/

BDK Zazen-Kai
Meditation Retreat for Business People

BDK offers an opportunity for people
to reflect on their way of life and toprovide some calm and peace amidst
today’s stressful society. We havehosted “BDK Zazen-Kai” meditation
retreat for business people whichstarted from 2013 under the guidanceof Rev. Junsho Oka, head priest of
Tendai Shu Enyuji Temple. The meditation sessions are held monthly withan entrance fee of JPY 500 at the
BDK Center Building from 8:00 to
9:30 in the evening.
Each session has a short Buddhist sermon by Rev. Oka and a meditation
after that. We welcomed more maleparticipants this year and most ofthem regularly attended. We havecontinued these on the 3rd Tuesday of
every month and hope that theseopportunities can offer relaxing andquiet moments for busy business people in today’s stressful world.

For more information about “BDKZazen-Kai,” Meditation Retreat for
Business People, please visit theofficial Facebook page or BDK
website at http://www.bdk.or.jp/27

BDK JAPAN

05
Activity

NEWS 2015
Special Summer Program:
One-day Field Trip to Chiba
Studying “The Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)” forBusiness and for Daily Life

Nihonji Temple

Studying “The Teaching of Buddha(TTOB)” for Business was established in 1981 for business people
who desire a background in
Buddhism to help them operate andmanage their companies and businessventures. And Studying TTOB for
Daily Life was begun in 1982 to share
the Dharma so that participants could
learn how to live their daily lives withthe spirit of the Buddha through reading TTOB. People gather once amonth and learn some teachings fromthe lectures.
During the summer, those two separate study groups get together andhold a special program every year.
The 2015 program was held in Chiba-

28

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

Mrs. Masako Matsubara, Butsumoji Temple

Prefecture and twenty people attended
and visited Rinzaishu ButsumojiTemple and Sotoshu Nihonji-Temple.
Participants enjoyed visiting two different temples in the southern part ofthe Boso Peninsula in ChibaPrefecture. Butsumoji-Temple wasoriginally built in 1977 and is famousfor beautiful sceneries and the natural
surroundings of Mt. Kano. Mrs.
Masako Matsubara, the former headpriest’s wife, showed the participantsaround the temple and offered Matcha
green tea to everyone. NihonjiTemple was built in 725 under the
direction of the Emperor Temmu.
This historical temple was originally
opened as a Tendaishu temple and has

extremely expansive surrondings.
They have a famous SengohyakuRakan-zo, 1,500 Rakan statues, and a
Hyakushaku-Kannon, a Kannon statue that is 100 feet tall.
●Rinzaishu Butsumoji-Temple website: http://www.butsumoji.com/●Sotoshu Nihonji-Temple website:
http://www.nihonji.jp/index.html
For more information and schedules about Studying “The Teachingof Buddha (TTOB)” for Businessand Daily Life, please visit our official website at
http://www.bdk.or.jp/

06
Activity

2015 BDK Symposium:“Science and Piety in Buddhism”

BDK held two lectures for the “2015
BDK Symposium” with the common
theme of “ Science and Piety in
Buddhism.” We invited two professors, and they freely added subtitles tothe main theme and gave their lec-

Prof. Shizuka Sasakitures.

For the first lecture of the year, wewelcomed Prof. Shizuka Sasaki fromHanazono University in Kyoto, who
has been an active leader of Buddhist

studies for decades. He gave a lecturewith his own subtitle, “What We Can
Live For,” and explained the connection between Buddhism and science.
For the second lecture, we welcomed
Prof. Carl Becker from the Kokoro
Research Center at Kyoto University,
who is popular as a researcher ofdeath and terminal care in Buddhism.
He talked about the “scientific basison Amitabha” focusing on piety.
The venue was packed with people
each time and we got some feedback
from many of the participants, such as“I truly enjoyed the BDK lectures
every time and listened to their lectures intently. I am sure that I am
going to come back again.” Somepeople repeatedly attend the BDK
Symposium, and we appreciate theirsupport. BDK hopes to offer more
opportunities for everyone to experience the essence of Buddhism from avariety of different perspectives.
BDK donated all the of entrance feesfrom the 8th and 9th symposiums to
the Foundation for the Nepal Great
Earthquake Aid of the Japan Buddhist
Federation.
For more information about the“BDK Symposium” and the 2016
schedule, please visit our official
website at http://www.bdk.or.jp/

Prof. Carl Becker

29

Take a Break
Buddhist YOGA for People in the Modern WorldInterviewer & Photography: Kaoru Eguchi, BDK
Location: Bukkyo Dendo Center Building, Tokyo, Japan
People try to eat healthy and exercise to stay in shapeand there are many options to choose in today’s
world. Yoga is one of those choices and BDK started
the monthly “Buddhist Yoga” class from April, 2015.
Since the BDK Buddhist Yoga classes got so popular,
we relocated the class to a bigger room, and morethan 200 people attended throughout the year. Today,
we welcomed Rev. Yuuka Gazzo, the BDK Buddhist
Yoga instructor as well as a Jodo Shu priest, and wetalked about what “Buddhist Yoga” means to people
living in the modern world.

First of all, how do you like being an instructor for the BDK Buddhist Yoga class?

I feel honored to be a part of this wonderful opportunity and I am thankful
at the same time. Everyone attending
our classes is so enthusiastic and tries
to keep their motivation high. I
assume that students are very muchinterested in the connection between
Buddhism and Yoga, probably
because the class is hosted by Bukkyo
Dendo Kyokai (BDK). The experiences of the students vary, but I think
we have many office workers who30

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

work in the neighborhood, and theystop by here on the way home fromthe office. The Bukkyo Dendo Centerbuilding is located right in the middleof the big commercial district inTokyo, therefore the location is a perfect one that people can easily access.

When we talk about Yoga in general,people imagine that women practice
Yoga, not men. As most people canimagine, about 80 % of people whopractice Yoga are women in the realworld, but more men have started
Yoga these days. I believe that the
BDK classes have more men thanother classes I have taught. I truly
appreciate the fact that people of allages with a variety of occupations
participate in our classes. The BDK
Buddhist Yoga class teaches everyone
about finding potential abilities intheir bodies and using them efficiently
in the real world. They will find outhow they do not handle their own
bodies very well. Through the Yoga
class, you will be able to have a proper understanding of your own bodyand you will amaze yourself about
what you can do! That makes youeven more confident and gives you achance to have a stronger bond withyour family, friends, and colleagues atyour office by keeping a positive attitude in your daily life. This is what I
really tell everyone in my class. Aftera class, some students even tell methat they could understand the connection between Buddhism and Yoga.
I believe everyone can find somethingin each class.

Thank you so much for sharing the stories of yourexperience. Now what do you think about the relationship between Buddhism and Yoga?
In the long history of Yoga, you canfind possible relationships between“Buddhism and Yoga” and that iswhat I would like to tell everyone inclass. I usually ask everyone, “Which
one do you think is older, Buddhism
or Yoga?” People are likely to answer
that Buddhism is older. However,Buddhism started about 2,500 years
ago and Yoga began about 7,000
years ago. Both of them originated inIndia. Some people even think that
Yoga is a kind of popular exercise
method that was started in the U.S.,
but it is not like that.

sat under the Bodhi tree and tried
Yoga. The way he sits is like a Yoga
position itself. What you know now
is only a small part of Yoga. I think
Yoga and Buddhism are deeply related to each other. There are many
Buddhist sutras that are related toYoga; however they are not easy forJapanese people to read because mostof them are written in other languages
and with a Buddhist point of view.

Profile Rev. Yuuka Gazzo

Jodo Shu Priest at Seiganji Temple
in Yamagata-Prefecture, Japan /International Certified Yoga Instructor
and Director of the online Yoga lesson website, “Yogalog.” Official Real
Stone Yoga Wear Ambassador.
Practiced at Jodo Shu Daihonzan
Zojoji Temple. Started teaching
Yoga classes from 2006. Teaches
people about having a calm andhealthy life style and explains thepossibilities of Yoga and Buddhism
in the modern world. Also participates in the development of Yoga
instructors. Frequently appears on
TV commercials, magazines, etc. inJapan.
<Yuuka Gazzo Official Blog>
http://yuuka.blogspot.jp/

You might imagine that Yoga is gymnastics that you perform on mats, but
the word, “Yoga” has so many different meanings such as harmony, connection, tie, link, join, etc. It was
regarded as a training or practice inthe past. History tells us that
Shakyamuni even did Yoga to pause
for a moment for meditation and practice. Some ancient books state that he

I am a Buddhist priest more than I ama Yoga instructor, and I always practice Yoga as I feel the connection
between Yoga and Buddhism. In Jodo
Shu, we regularly practice Nembutsu
chanting, and I strongly believe that
my Nembustu chanting improved a lot
with my Yoga practice. Yoga can be“Jogo,” supporting and gently pushingfrom behind, and I can practice a higher quality Nembutsu. This might begoing too far to say, but suppose you
are watching TV with no intention fora long time while you are lazily eating

snacks. Now suppose that you arepracticing Yoga, breathing deeply andrefreshing your mind and body.
Please imagine that you start chanting“Namuamidabutsu” after that. I think
there would be a huge difference
between those two situations. Yoga
can support you and your piety andreligious beliefs from behind, and I
would like to encourage everyone totry something like this with Yoga.

I can list so many great points about
Yoga! For example, we can relax, heal,
detox, improve the abilities of ourinner muscles and organs, clear our
minds, shed the rubbish in life, and soforth. Yoga gives your body and soul asignificant impact. The breathing techniques of Yoga and the control of ourmind are related to each other, and we
can keep our emotional stability undercontrol. If we could easily stabilize ouremotions, we can satisfy our sense of
self-esteem and boost up what wealready have. I believe that is one of
the biggest advantages of doing Yoga.

What can be a positive aspect of Yoga for people living in today’s busy world?

31

Taking a Yoga class for one time cancost JPY 3,000 yen in general, but I
am surprised at how people need tomake some time just to be quiet andrelax. I can tell how hard it is to see
your true self in the modern world.
No matter how hard you are trying tosurvive with such a busy life, you willneed a little time to be true to yourself.
Yoga can be a great method for looking at your inner self and reconfirm
the connection between the world andyourself. There are too many things
out there and it is hard to see the true
nature of a thing. Everything looks
good in this material world, but reality
is filled with other good things. Yoga
is perfect to shed all the rubbish andclean your mind. After we are able to

finally clean up, we definitely need to
identify what we should do now andwhat we have to achieve.

Yes, they frequently ask me to suggest
some good postures for “better sleep.”On the other hand, some people ask
me about the postures for a “positive
attitude” to make them perform betterat work.
When you wake up in the morning,
you stretch your body and get motivated about going to work. Your backwill be bent and your chest will be

widely opened. When you feelexhausted and like to get some rest,
your shoulders will be hunched. Ourbodies are smart enough to control
themselves. The former leads to a
sympathetic nerve that becomes predominant and gives you energy towork and eat. The latter allows theparasympathetic nerve to become predominant and it lets the body berelaxed and calm.

We can say that each Yoga position
has a totally different effect, and thebody, soul and breathing techniques
are closely related to each other. In aclass, people have a variety of purposes for doing Yoga, therefore, I try tokeep a good balance between stimulating both the sympathetic nerve andthe parasympathetic nerve one after
the other.

This is easy (with a big smile). Start itanyhow! Come to a class three times
at least and experience it for yourself
at first. It does not matter with Yoga
or Buddhism or Nembutsu. It is
important to practice. It is fantastic
that you can think deeply about something in your head and do something,but this is not all. In my experience,
things are getting closer to finding thetrue meaning of the things themselves.
Yoga is not a sport and we do notdecide on a winner in the end. I totally
understand how we got used to the situation in which we have to pick a winner all the time. You do Yoga for“yourself,” not for winning or losing.
Just try to relax and be yourself. You
do not need to be an excellent student,
or to be better than your neighbor, orto be accepted by someone else, or tobe compared with someone else either.
You just focus on relaxing and letting
everything go to learn about yourself.
Yoga only needs a little space alongwith your body as it is. I would recommend “BDK Buddhist Yoga” toanyone who is interested because
Yoga is like a friend who can hang out
with you for a life time.

While I am taking the subway inTokyo, I see lots of people holding
smart phones or mobile phones. Afteryou have had a long day working andare feeling so tired, you put more
information into your brain from thosedevices. And you finally get homeand you turn on the TV and you put
even more information into your brain
from it. I think this cannot solve any
problem and you won’t relax at all.
Everyone needs some time and space
to look inside of the self, not outside.

der and find out your shoulders can be
moved while you are practicing Yoga.
Yoga gives you awareness about yourbody and this can be a big step forward. If you face your body and soulas they are, you will cultivate a better
understanding of yourself.

You can notice the pain in your shoul-

I see there are lots of people feeling tired in the modern world. Do they request
you to suggest any Yoga positions to make them feel better?

Lastly, do you have any advice for prospective students interested in joining“BDK Buddhist Yoga” classes in the near future?

32

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─The friendly personality and big
smiles of Rev. Yuuka Gazzo create apeaceful atmosphere in a “BDK
Buddhist Yoga” class. The location isperfect because the Bukkyo Dendo
Center building is close to all the
major commercial districts in Tokyo,
and the classroom has a high ceilingwith a huge space unlike that of regular Yoga studios. Her quiet voice
resounds gently within a spacious
room and this is the place where
everyone can relax and experience
Yoga!
The 2016 “BDK Buddhist Yoga”

class will continue to be taught byRev. Yuuka Gazzo. BDK hopes tooffer more opportunities for everyone
to feel a connection to Buddhism
through Yoga and absorb the essenceof Buddhism and Yoga by facing yourtrue self.

Let’s Try Some Yoga Poses!
Important Points to Try in a Yoga Pose

Try to do each step nicely and slowly and stop trying if you feel pain. Stretch yourbody as you relax and breathe slowly through your nose. Be stable for a moment andbreathe normally five to ten times while you are in a certain position.

Straddling Position - Upavistakonasanato#1 How
Straddle your legs at a 90 degree angle and bend the upper half of your body down to yourPoselegs. Straighten your back and push your heels forward while breathing little by little.
Point
Lower your buttocks close to the floor and try not to hunch yourshoulders too much.
What this is good for
Swelling of the lower half of the bodySensitivity to cold
Backache
Sciatica
Gynopathy

Twisting Position - Ardha Matsyendrasanato#2 How
Sit on the floor and twist your whole body. Balance your body and sit on bothPose

ischial bones. Keep twisting carefully while exhaling and stretch the upper
half of your body toward the ceiling.
Point
Inhale by pulling up your chest and twist from the waist and the chest to theneck.
What this is good for
Firming the muscles on your waist
Fixing and balancing the abilities of your visceral organs
Straightening your spine and backBending Position - Paschimottanasanato#3 HowStretch both legs and bend forward toward your feet little by little

Pose

while inhaling and stretching your spine.
Point
Loosen up your body and relax. Breathe deeply and repeat.
What this is good for
Soothing and calming nerves
Perfect preparation before going to sleep!

33

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
1675 School Street,
Moraga, CA 94556 U.S.A.
Tel: +1(925)388-0067 Fax: +1(925)388-0331
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)5573-5913 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

34

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
On May 5, 2015, with BDK
Chairman Numata and Executive
Director Ikuta in attendance, we held
the dedication ceremony of our new
office in Moraga, conducted by
Bishop Umezu. Our move to Moraga
became necessary as we outgrew theBerkeley office space which opened
in 1984 as the “Numata Research andTranslation Center.” We planted amemorial tree with more than 30
Buddhist scholars and friends in attendance on that day. We enjoyed live
koto and shakuhachi music while having a buffet style lunch.

BCA Bishop Kodo Umezu (4th from left) and BDK (5th from left) with guests at the dedication of the office building in Moraga, CA“Coincidentally today is the anniversary of our founder Yehan Numata’s
passing. I feel that there are unexplained forces working to make thisparticular day the opening day of our
new office.”“As long as I am able, I would like tocontinue our work. In return, I appreciate your help and support as wemove toward the future.”

We participated in the “Moraga Pear
Festival” on September 26, 2015 topromote our presence in Moraga andto get to know our neighbors. We had
a booth displaying Japanese embroideries and flower arrangement. The
following week we hosted the exhibition “Painting with Threads” showcasing beautiful Japanese embroidery
pieces crafted by local and Hawaiian
embroiders at our Moraga office. We
plan to continue hosting such events
to promote our presence and to be a

Chairman Numata thanked everyone and gave a speech.

Moraga City Councilwoman Teresa Onada, BDK Chairman Toshihide Numata and
BDK America President George Tanabe planting commemorative tree.

part of the community.
The 2015 Toshi Prize was awarded tothe co-authors of “Buddhist Stone
Sutras in China,” Dr. Lothar Ledderose
and Dr. Sun Hua. The book describes
scriptures carved on rocks in China
and includes photographs. They plan
to complete sixteen volumes total.
The award ceremony and the symposium was held at UC Berkeley with
60 people in attendance on October30, 2015.

Front view of new office building in Moraga

35

Buddhist Ritual Music Symposium and Performance<Special Report written by Prof. Mark Blum, Buddhist Studies, Shinjo ItoDistinguished Chair, Japanese Studies, U.C. Berkeley>Thanks to the generous support of
BDK and many others, the Center
for Buddhist Studies at the
University of California, Berkeley
held a 2-day symposium and performance workshop on Buddhist
Ritual Music on November 6 and 7,
2015. The idea was to bring together both scholars of Buddhist ritual
music and “performers” of thatmusic. There were eight Buddhist
nations represented in the performances that took place at the
Zellerbach Playhouse on campus,
and there were nine speakers who
gave research papers at the Alumni
House.

It is important to note that Buddhist
monastics in the Theravāda tradition are not permitted to perform oreven listen to “music.” Discussions
often centered on the distinction
between singing, chanting andreciting. Monks from Sri Lanka
and Laos introduced their performance as “ritual chanting,” not asmusical performance, and yet theirperformances were quite enchanting and very musical. Today theperformers from Mahāyāna traditions do not have such limitations,and we had performers from Tibet,
Nepal, China, Korea, and Japan
using wind instruments, drums, andeven dance.

It has been a lifelong dream of mineto bring together Buddhist scholars,musicologists, monks, nuns and lay
people to an event like this, and it
took more than a year of planning. I
particularly want to thank Trent
Walker and Michaela Mross (former BDK Fellowship recipient),
both of whom are young
Buddhologists who are also musicians. Our ultimate aim for thisevent was to raise the awarenessand appreciation of music as animportant part of the Buddhist tradition in every sect of Buddhism
throughout Asia.

BDK Hawaii
BDK Hawaii derives all of its financial support from the 15 unit apartment building we manage, and wetherefore have to take good care of thebuilding so that it will serve us long
into the future. Already the building
is more than 25 years old, and in
2015, we carried out major repairs
and remodeling. We will continue
our maintenance program in 2016 as
well.
Our annual board of trustees meeting
was held in February, 2015 and wewere pleased that Numata Kaicho and
Mr. Tadashi Ikuta were able to attend
our meeting. After the meeting, wetook a trip to Maui and visited the36

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─BDK Chairman Toshihide Numata, Mr. Mikio Yamashita, and Dr. George Tanabe at the summit of Mt. Haleakala

Lahaina Jodo Mission and Lahaina
Hongwanji temple. Mr. Mikio
Yamashita, who is one of the BDK
Hawaii trustees, joined us on this trip,

and we drove all the way to the top of
Mt. Haleakala, where we had a BDK“summit meeting.” Throughout thewhole time we spent on Oahu andMaui, we discussed major issues facing not only BDK Hawaii but BDK
America as well.

chanting from Native Hawaiian religion and Eastern traditions can have apositive effect on people.

In April, we sponsored a public talkby Mr. Jarrod Brown from the
University of Hawaii. Mr. Brown
spoke on “Buddhism and Violence inSoutheast Asia” with a focus on
Myanmar. The lecture was organizedby the Yoshiaki Fujitani-BDK HawaiiInterfaith Program based at
Chaminade University, a private
Catholic college in Honolulu.

Clyde Whitworth, the distribution
manager of BDK Hawaii, taught
monthly meditation classes at the
Byodoin Valley of the Temples cemetery. He also hosted meetings of anorganization called Death Café, which
explores end-of-life issues.

In November, the Fujitani-BDK
Hawaii Interfaith Program sponsoredanother presentation on “Healing
Through Sound.” In this event, which
was well attended, Ms. Leigh Ann
Philips and the Hawaiian chanter A’ia’
demonstrated the ways in which

Our main mission, of course, remains
the distribution of the “Teaching of
the Buddha” and other BDK publications. In 2015, we distributed 3,596
copies of TTOB, 3,226 copies of“Messages of the Buddha,” 1,000
copies of the “Wisdom of Buddhism”
manga, and 283 copies of TTOB in
Kindle format.

The year ended with the BDK Global
Meeting and the 50th Anniversary celebration held in Tokyo in December.
It was a great chance to meet BDK
and Mitutoyo representatives fromother parts of the world, and to discuss the best ways of promoting themission of BDK in the future

Mrs. Brown, Mr. Jared Brown and Bishop Matsumoto

BDK Canada
2015 World Buddhist Women’s Convention in Canada
BDK Canada supported the 2015
World Buddhist Women’s Convention
that was held in Calgary, Alberta on
May 30 & 31, 2015. About 1,800

Buddhists from Japan, Brazil, theU.S., Hawaii and Canada attended.
The participants were honored by theattendance and participation of the25th generation Sennyo Monshu or
Hongwanji head priest, His Eminence
Monshu Ohtani Kojun.

Minister participants

37

BDK Mexico
BDK Mexico and Mexico EkojiTemple have a variety of opportunities to promote the teachings of
Buddha among local people in
Mexico. We hold Buddhist weddings
and funerals that get the attention of
the Mexican people, and they are verymuch interested in those Buddhist rituals and ceremonies. The priest’s
chanting and talks give more opportunities for them to get to know more
aspects of Japanese culture andBuddhist customs.
Mexico has over one hundred years ofhistory for Japanese immigrants, andmost of them still live here in thiscountry. Lots of Japanese-Mexicans
come to visit Ekoji for Urabon-e andthe Obon ceremony in August, atwhich time they remember the dead,welcome the ancestral spirits, andappreciate their existence. The headpriest of Ekoji, Rev. Koichi Todaka, isthe only one in Mexico who is officially allowed by the Mexican government to hold Buddhist ceremonies
in public.
Ekoji also hosts a “Sosensai” ceremony in which people express theirappreciation to their own ancestors
every evening of the third Thursday ineach month. In general, Christians
believe in God and Buddhists believe
in Buddha, however at the “Sosensai”
ceremony, it does not matter which
religion people believe in or what they
pray for. People just put their hands
together in prayer for their ancestors,
not for God, Buddha, or some otherobject of faith. Ancestors are important and intimate, and people thankthem for giving them life.

38

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

Urabon-e and the Obon ceremony

Renewed Precinct yard of Ekoji

In 2015, BDK Mexico renewed theprecinct yard of Ekoji. The yard is thearea in which many people can gather
and communicate with each otherbefore and after the Ekoji events. In
January, 2016, Restaurante Cha-en, acafé/restaurant in the Ekoji precinct,
welcomed a professional Wagashi
Japanese-style confectionery chef andoffered a private cooking class. The

sampling party was held under a cherry tree in full bloom that gave theevent a beautiful touch. Since thecooking class was such a success, theJapan Foundation offered Cha-en
another opportunity to be one of theirofficial events at another occasion.
We had a good chance to tell everyone more about Japanese Buddhism
and its culture.

BDK Asia
Vesak Day 2015

─ “The Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)” Distribution
Mrs. Ee requested 600 copies of
TTOB in March 2015 to be distributed on Vesak Day on June 1, 2015.
We were very thankful for her kindand sincere thoughts about propagating Buddhism.

The team was led by Mr. and Mrs. Eefrom "The Buddha Tooth Relic
Temple" and the "Metta Welfare
Association" together with volunteers,
who worked the whole day from 8:00
am to 5:00 pm and successfully distributed 400 copies of the English version and 200 copies of the Simplified
Chinese version to local and overseas
visitors to the temple and welfare
home.
The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple andMuseum (BTRTM) was founded in
2002 by Venerable Shi Fazhao. It was

registered by the Registrar ofSocieties on February 20, 2003 as acharity under the Charities Act of2004. The Temple is dedicated to
Maitreya Buddha, The Compassionate
One, who is also called 'The Future
Buddha.' It has an architectural style
based on the Buddhist mandala and is
integrated into the arts and culture of
Buddhism during the Tang Dynasty
period.

Mrs. Ee informed us that she intends
to continue to distribute our TTOB in2016 on Vesak Day and seek B.D.K.
Asia’s support again, which we arevery pleased to provide for this noble
task.

The Metta Welfare Association is registered as a charitable organizationand provides services covering disability care, medical care, child care,special education and alumni care. It
incorporates Buddhist culture throughlearning and practicing the dharma,and helps to cultivate purity and loving kindness, while chanting wards
off ominous influences.

TTOB CHINESE VERSION - 200 COPIES
144 copies
South-East Asia
35 copies
East Asia
21 copies
OthersSummary of TTOB distributedin June 1, 2015: 600 copies total
TTOB ENGLISH VERSION - 400 COPIESSouth-East Asia
321 copies
East-Asia
79 copies

Quantity of TTOB distributed
in 2015: 1,968 copies total

Dr. Tanabe
ENG/CHINESE
ENG/JAPANESECHINESE (Simpliﬁed)
ENGLISHMYANMAR6 copies
1210 copies
201 copies
451 copies
100 copies

TTOB distribution by the members of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

39

BDK Europe
Thirty Year’s Anniversary of the Eko House of Japanese Culture

Thirty years have passed, since the
Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai Europe (thepresent “Eko House of Japanese
Culture, Registered Association”) was
registered in the City of Düsseldorf in
1985. In commemoration of thisevent, the Eko House of Japanese
Culture celebrated the Thirty Year’s
Anniversary on June 3, 2015.
On a sweltering day with temperatures exceeding 35° C more than 100
invited guests gathered to participate
in the celebration. Preceding the celebration a ceremony was held in the
Eko Temple, sutras were recited andthe Cologne Gagaku Ensemble
played. After the ceremony, a commemorative lilac tree was planted
beside the temple.
After the Thirty Year’s Celebration
was over, the assembly moved to the
Eko Hall. After the opening speech of

Chairman Toshihide Numata, who
expressed gratitude to all people who
contributed during these thirty years
to the activities of the center, the audience listened to the greetings from
North Rhine-Westphalian governor
Hannelore Kraft (read by the ministerof Federal German, European andMedia Affairs Schwall-Düren),
Düsseldorf’s mayor Thomas Geisel(read by deputy mayor Conzen), andJapanese consul general in
Düsseldorf, Kaoru Shimazaki.
Between the official speeches the
Koto player Makiko Gotō and theJapanese dancer Kinuyo Watanabe
entertained the audience with theirperformances and created a very harmonious atmosphere. In the second
part of the celebration the guests
received a commemorative magazine
about the Eko House, which was published on the occasion of the 30 year’s

VIP guests for the ceremony and BDK Chairman Toshihide Numata in the middle

40

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

anniversary, and Prof. Aoyama, thedirector of the Eko House, presented a
copy to Chairman Numata. The commemorative magazine tracks thedevelopment of the Eko House andrecalls the major events of the past
thirty years in many photographs.
Thanks to the commitment of the people who participated in the celebrationand many others, the Eko House ofJapanese Culture is now looking backon thirty years. It will continue its
activities playing the role of a bridge
between the Japanese and German
cultures.

Celebration for the Establishment of a Permanent Chair
for Japanese Buddhism at Universität Hamburg

Chinese, Japanese Buddhism, etc. areintegrated, opened its doors at the
Universität Hamburg. It plays anactive role in creating publicity andpresenting the results to citizens.
Because it is supported by BDK, thename of the institute was changed to
Numata Center for Buddhist Studies,and on this occasion, a ceremony similar to the present one was celebrated
on 11 June 2013.

BDK Chairman Toshihide Numata in the middle and participants of Universitäi Hamburg

On June 2, 2015, the establishment ofa permanent chair for Japanese
Buddhism within the Numata Chair
Program was celebrated at theInstitute of Asian and African Studies
at Universität Hamburg.
After a Bach sonata for flute andcello, the vice president of the university, Prof. Susanne Rupp, welcomed
the participants, and Bukkyo Dendo
Kyokai (BDK) Chairman Toshihide
Numata expressed in a speech thewish and hope that the new professorial chair may contribute to a deepening of Buddhist research in Germany.
Following Prof. Rupp, the dean of theFaculty of Literature, Prof. Oliver
Huck, and the Japanese consul general in Hamburg, Takao Anzawa, gave
their addresses. Finally, Prof. Shōryū
Katsura lectured on “The Activities of
the Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai in the Past
Fifty Years and the Progress of
Buddhist Studies Worldwide”.
Since its foundation by Yehan Numata
in 1965, BDK has promoted Buddhist

studies and has already established ten
Numata chairs in North America. In
Europe, similar Numata chairs where
every year visiting scholars offer
research and education programs were
founded at the Universities of Oxford
and London, later at the Universities
of Leiden, Vienna, and Hamburg.
Between 1973 and 2005 Prof.
Lambert Schmithausen lectured on
Indian and Buddhist Studies at the
Universität Hamburg, and manyscholars from the “Hamburg School”
found their way into research institutions all over the world.
In 2007 the Center for Buddhist
Studies, in which the various researchbranches concerning Indian, Tibetan,

Welcoming performance of flute and harpsichord

Finally, Prof. Michael Radich from
Victoria University of Wellington andProf. Michael Zimmermann, directorof the Numata Center, expressed intheir addresses gratitude for the establishment of the permanent professorial chair for Japanese Buddhism at the
Universität Hamburg. After the formalpart, the participating students and citizens had the opportunity to socialize
in front of a Sushi buffet. On October
1, 2015, Prof. Steffen Döll officiallystarted his lectureship.

Prof. Susanne Rupp, Vice President

Sushi buffet

41

Doryoku (Effort)“Doryoku” means to apply oneself diligently toa task, to exert oneself strenuously, to apply oneself vigorously.
In Buddhism, the Eightfold Path is set forth as
the way to enlightenment. The right way of seeing things, the right way of thinking about
things, right conduct, right livelihood, righteffort, right mindfulness, and right concentration
are the eight correct ways of the Eightfold Path.
And in regard to number six, right effort, it isexpounded in the Funbetsushotai-kyo: “Withregard to right effort, it is to address that which
is right without any hesitation.”“That which is right” refers to that which is consistent with the concept of “dependent origination” (things coming into existence through theirdependence on other things, pratītyamutpāda).
Stated simply, the truth of dependent origination

42

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

means that everyone is able to live throughdependence on everyone else, and right effort is
the kind of effort that is linked to the happinessof all those people around us who enable us tolive.
To work only for the good of oneself while
ignoring the inconvenience we cause to thosearound us who are helping us live is not the rightkind of effort.
Taken from “Sasaeatte” authoured by Toshihide
Numata, Chairman of BDK