BUKKYO DENDO KYOKAI Society for the Promotion of Buddhism

Michi- The Path -

09
2020

No.

BDK
Newsletter

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Michi09- The Path -CONTENTS02BDK Japan News 2019
〜BDK Publications〜● "The Teaching of Buddha" Interview

Looking Back at the Intensive Distribution Project in India＊ Giving Children an Opportunity for Education● "The Teaching of Buddha" - Update for 2019
● "Let It Shine! Temple Bulletin Board Award 2019"● The Fourth BDK Buddhist Picture Book Prize Competition● The Sixth Competition and the Fourth Exhibition of the BDK Calendar "A Wise Teaching a Day"
● Exhibition of the "Picture Story of Shakyamuni" at Zuiganji Temple＊ Debut of "Picture Story of Shakyamuni" Jigsaw Puzzle● Newly Published "Himekuri Buddha Seikatsu, Living Daily with a Message a Day from Buddha"●The Campaign for Gratifying Verses from "The Teaching of Buddha"● "Buddhist Diary 2020"＊ A Life Changing Encounter with a Book

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〜Financial Assistance and Honoring Recipients〜● BDK Fellowship Programs＊ 2019 BDK Fellowship for Foreign Scholars ＊ 2019 BDK Fellowship for Japanese Scholars＊ BDK Fellowship "Gathering for Scholarship Holders"● The 53rd BDK Cultural Awards Ceremony

23● BDK Financial Assistance Programs - Update for 2019

〜Buddhist Lectures and Seminars〜● The 49th Jissen Fukyo Kenkyukai, BDK Buddhist Missionary Seminar at Koyasan Shingon Sect Main Temple Kongobu-ji● Special Zazen Retreat at Soto Zen Sojiji Head Monastery● The Weekly Radio Program on FM Osaka "WARAIMESHI TETSUO’s Saturday★Night Buddhism"– The Recording at Mitsutera Temple● New BDK Bulletin Board at the Entrance of Bukkyo Dendo Center Building● "Let’s Try Some Yoga and Zazen at a Temple" for Children at Ryuunji Temple● "Buddhist Vegetarian Cooking Class for Children and Parents" in Asakusa, Tokyo● The Premiers of Picture Story Show "Buddha"● The 5th Commemorative Lecture in Japan by the winner of the "Toshihide Numata Book Award in Buddhism"● Feel Buddhism: Experiencing Temples in Asakusa, Tokyo● "The 19th "Buddhist Music Festival BUDDHASPEL - Rediscovering Japanese Tradition– A Night of Noh, Kyogen and Buddhism" at Cerulean Tower Noh Theatre"● "Japanese Buddhist Vegetarian Cooking Class in English" in Asakusa● Special Event "Learning Buddhism Through Buddhist Vegetarian Food" with Movie "TENZO" and Buddhist

Vegetarian Lunch at Tokyo Grand Hotel● Other BDK Related Lectures, Classes, and Events - Update for 2019
＊ Studying "The Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)" for Business＊ Studying "The Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)" for Daily Life

＊ Buddhist Yoga

● Elementary Course of Buddhist Lectures on "Japanese Buddhism – Learning from Scratch" in Ikebukuro, Tokyo＊ Special Lecture: Comparison between Namu Amida Butsu and Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō● "Buddhism Through English" in Tokyo＊ New Lecture: "Buddhism Through English - Learning the Basics of Japanese Buddhism in English" in Kyoto● A New Series of Lectures: "Learning About Buddhism in the World Part I"

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2019 BDK Symposium＊ The 19th BDK Symposium "Facing Myself – My Eighty-Year Path of Zen" in Hokkaido＊ The 20th BDK Symposium "The Future of Japanese Buddhism" at BDK Center Building＊ The 21st BDK Symposium "Buddhism and Medical Treatment -Talking about Now and Future" at BDK Center Building● Take a Break - BDK Web Movie Promoting TTOB is Out!

BDK Aﬃliated Organization Activities
World map & Contact information● BDK Canada ＊ Numata Chair at McMaster University● BDK America ＊ UC Berkeley East Asian Library Reception and Symposium on Buddhist Philosophy＊ Toshihide Numata Book Award in Buddhism● BDK Hawaii ＊ Banner and Photo Exhibition at Hanamatsuri Celebration＊ Hawaii Book and Music Festival＊ Soul Shop Suicide Prevention＊ Handbells and Shamisen Concert for Peace● BDK Mexico ＊ Welcoming a New Member of BDK Mexico!
● BDK Taiwan ＊ BDK Taiwan Official Website● BDK Asia ＊ "The Teaching of Buddha" Donation to Mahamakut Buddhist University in Thailand● BDK Europoe ＊ Dusseldorf Japan Day

50＊ Hōonkō-Seminar＊ 20th Anniversary of EKO-Kindergarten＊ Increase in the sales of "The Teaching of Buddha"“Sasaeatte”「Kibō (Hope)」

BDK Newsletter No.9 2020 - 6/1/2020 - 4,500
Copyrightⓒ2020 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

2020“No Night Lasts Forever”
Do Not Take Ordinary Things for Granted
We truly appreciate your generous understanding and continued support for allof Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK)’s activities as we report our 2019 news andupdates in this issue.
2019 is the first year of the Japanese new era, Reiwa. We are currently experiencing the difficulty of being anxious everyday about the COVID-19 pandemic
in the world. Each country has taken safety measures to prevent infections, andthey have had a huge impact on our ordinary lives and our economies aroundthe world. Our 2020 activity will not be an exception for sure.
BDK founder, the late Rev. Dr. Yehan Numata, always kept in mind the saying“Asa-no-Konai-Yoru-wa-Nai, No night lasts forever” every time he had to
overcome the hard times with Mitutoyo management and BDK activities.
Our life is not always safe and smooth all the time. Suddenly, we may facedifficulties in dealing with ordinary things that we usually have no problem
with. Even though we find ourselves in a chaotic and anxious darkness, there
will be the sunrise coming back to light up our world.
In times of distress, we should not lose hope, and in ordinary times, we should
neither take things for granted nor forget to be grateful for them.

With Gassho,

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

1Interview

Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University Dept of Pali Prakrit“The Teaching of Buddha” Interview

Looking Back at the Intensive Distribution Project in India
A Life Changing Encounter with a Book
Giving Children an Opportunity for Education
Location: Bukkyo Dendo Center Building
Guests: Ms. Rumi (Yayoi Tsuruoka), President of Rumi Impex Private Ltd., Mr. Neeraj Puri,
Vice-President of Rumi Impex Private Ltd., and Yuhei Yanagie, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK)Interviewer: Emi Kanemaki, BDK
Editor/Photographer: Kaoru Eguchi, BDK

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) has been distributing “The Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)” for the past
decades as one of its major activities, and the books have been utilized in a variety of ways in today’s
modern world. TTOBs have been distributed to hotels, temples, medical facilities as well as educational
institutes.

We looked back at one of our biggest TTOB distribution projects ever done in India in 2019 and had an
opportunity to talk with Ms. Rumi and Mr. Puri from Rumi Impex Private Ltd., and with Rev. Yanagie from
BDK, who also joined the project in India and distributed the books to local people.

2

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─Kanemaki (hereafter K) : Firstof all, could you tell us about Rumi
Impex Private Ltd.?
Rumi (hereafter R) : To explain
our work simply, we import
Buddhist implements and sutras
from other countries to India, fix,
re-wrap and deliver them to those
who would like to obtain them.
Our head office is located in Delhi,
and there is a town nearby named
Majnu ka tilla, where Tibetan
Buddhist temple dormitories are
crowded into a small area. Tibetan
priests purchase some Buddhist
implements made in Nepal andespecially those for esoteric
Buddhism. We can see a small
Tibetan medical clinic there, andthey sell pills and thick Tibetan
style incense sticks as health careproducts.
K : I see. Your job sounds important for those areas. Well, I guessthat readers of our newsletter might
wonder how your company and
BDK have been related to eachother. And why did you cooperatewith our TTOB distribution project?
R : I have known that TTOB can befound at hotels all over the world,
so I was surprised at receiving a
copy of the book in Tibetan fromRev. Kunchok Sithar, Vice
President of “ POTALA COLLEGE” of the Tibetan Buddhist
Center. I had no idea that TTOB
was available in a Tibetan version
at that time, and I did not expectthat it would become a part of mywork. It was just amazing how I
was connected to TTOB.
After I accepted his offer, I was

Mr. Puri (left) and Ms. Rumi (right)

connected to more opportunities
and people. You would not believeit, but everything opened up fantastic opportunities for me to workwith TTOB. One time, I met a professor of the University of Delhi at
an electronics store just behind theuniversity where our company’shead office is also located. (I have
known him for a long time, and heknew about TTOB way before, but
he had no interest in TTOB at thattime.) After Neeraji had a strange
dream that His Holiness the Dalai
Lama, Neeraj, his elder brother andI(Rumi) were in his dream with
TTOB, the professor somehow hadinterests in obtaining a copy of
TTOB for himself. This became
the start of requests for TTOB fromeverywhere. People from the
University of Delhi really liked
TTOB, and they talked to someone
else, and finally, we were connected
to Rev. Chandrakirti, President ofMahila Sashaktikaran Sangh
Nagpur, who led our TTOB distribution project. We edited andrevised the original version of
TTOB in Hindi with the help of
Neeraj and his wife, who is a Hindi
teacher, and it took about a year tofinish. We could publish the new
TTOB in Hindi with confidence inthe end.
K : We truly appreciate this great
opportunity to work with you.
However, I can imagine that you
had a hard time to complete theproject in India? Could you tell us
more if you had any memorable
experiences while you were distributing TTOB in India at this time?
R : At the start of this project, only
Rev. Chandrakirti tried to help us,
so we originally planned to visit
each small temple and school.
However, news of what we were
doing spread widely through wordof mouth, and more people came toknow our project very soon. And
we had no idea, but surprisingly,
our activities were posted in a local
newspaper on the third or fourth
day after we started the project in asmall village (with smile). I mustsay that Rev. Yanagie, a BDK staff
member, came to join the project all
the way from Japan and added moresignificance to the project. We
managed to visit about 70 facilities
in only a week! The land of India is3

vast; therefore, many people cameto meet us and receive copies of
TTOB since we could not visit eachone of them because the distanceswere too great. That showed how
precious TTOB is for people inIndia. It was such a valuable experience, but I have to apologize toRev. Yanagie for forcing him into
an extremely tight schedule, which
we did not even expect at first.
Yanagie (hereafter Y) : No problem at all! I had such a unique experience after all. I felt their high levelof energy and excitement about
learning the teachings of Buddha.
Especially visiting schools was thehighlight of my visit.
R : Yes, I totally agree. If you tellsomeone in India that you would
like to donate very precious books
and hand them out to everyone,then when the books are mailed to

Nootan Mahila Vidyalaya

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BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

India, the books will be sold somewhere. I heard that a Taiwaneseorganization did something like thissome years ago, and their books
were illegally “distributed.” Therefore,
I believe that we must visit eachplace and hand them out to children
who really need them. It should be
the safest way for us to distributethe books for sure. Also for them,
the fact that someone came all theway from Japan to directly hand thebooks to them is very much appreciated, and they responded by treating us nicely.
Y : I was very much impressed withthe welcoming atmosphere atschools in Nagpur, and their educational level is high. I heard thatthose educational facilities wereoriginally built for children frompoor households by Dr. Bhimrao
Ramji Ambedkar. (Dr. Ambedkar
was Minister of Justice in the

Jawaharlal Nehru administration,
and was a Dalit, the lowest ofIndian caste. He was converted to
Buddhism from Hinduism twomonths before his death with
500,000 people and started a
revivalism of Buddhism in India.)
He wanted children to spread theirwings widely and freely fly in theworld with “a pencil and an education.” His spirit has taken root at
those schools, and they even do
meditation as a part of their curriculum.
R : That is so true. I agree that His
Holiness the Dalai Lama and Dr.
Ambedkar affected lot of people forsure. It is not always the rightanswer, but I can see some thatsome Dalit people financially andeducationally succeeded in modern
Indian society. Some people makefun of India because it did not
develop as well as other Asiancountries, and because modern
Indian people do not live with theteachings of Buddha anymore eventhough Buddhism was born inIndia.
K : I see. Do you think that thisgives them a chance for people inIndia to reexamine the moral senseof Buddhism?
R : Yes, I feel that the teachings of
Buddha are coming back into India
now. Some people believe that the
moral sense of Buddhism can teachthe moral value of work as well.

Jaibai Chaudhary Dnyanpeeth

K : India has been developing rapidly in recent years. Do you have
any ideas or comments on what
Buddhism can do to foster thefriendship of India and Japan as oursurrounding world is globallychanged?
R : Although Buddhism started
when Shakyamuni was enlightenedin India, Buddhism had to berevived as “New” Buddhism after
Hinduism reasserted itself. The
current government still adopts anational policy of Hinduism
supremacism, but I would like people to know more about Buddhism,
and not have them deny Buddhism
without knowing anything about it.
It is also important to understandhow Hindu people believe and feelas India developed. “Learning eachother’s perspective” is important,
and we can accept each other if you
find what is good in them.
Neeraj (hereafter N) : I couldn’t
agree with you more! I would likemore people to know about
Buddhism. Also, I hope more people can come and go to Nagpur

Bhadant Dhamakirti School J.R Collage

from Japan. People working fortemples and believers play a bigrole at the moment. Nagpur has aunique custom. Husbands follow
wives, and women play a huge partin the community. I can see many
women’s political activities.
Y : Yes, I still remember our driver,
Ashay and his mother. She is anenthusiastic activist and was trying
to improve women’s status in society. She was very friendly and welcomed us with beautiful flowers
and meals. It was simply blessed.
R : Of course, education is important, however, I really hope formore opportunities for people tocome and go. How can I say? It
is like an elementary level of people’s communication throughBuddhism? We need that. How
temples in India are, how we communicate with priests and believers,etc. We can learn find somethingfrom them. I also think that people
in the modern world should enrichtheir abilities to believe. Some people are not confident about themselves, but if they are trying to rely
only on themselves, it will easily
destroy themselves. It is very sadbut true. I strongly feel that weneed the right way of belief.
K : Thank you very much for shar-5

ing your ideas. Do you have anything that you would like BDK to
do in the future? You distributed
many copies to children in India
this time. Could you also tell us
your message for those children
who are trying to learn Buddhism
through TTOB?
R : I already know TTOB is fantastic, but every time I visit somewhere in India, I always receive
inquiries, asking if we have anything especially for children. They
would like to have more easy-toread type of books, such as picture
books, manga comics, etc. There
are a variety of ways to teach
Hinduism in India, for example,
they broadcast the TV dramas withthe tales of Hinduism. Children
watch those with their parents, sothey are automatically familiar withthe teachings of Hinduism.
Therefore, we need more childfriendly and easy-to-understandreadings for Buddhism, too. We
adults can also learn more easily bylooking at pictures, so it would benicer for children to learn themthrough lots of pictures and simple
tales of Buddhism.
As to my experience, the Tibetan
second or third graders are very
curious about TTOB. We usually
donate copies of TTOB to elementary schools and universities, andthey are very much enthusiastic
about receiving the books when
they are told that they are going toreceive the books at school today.
Even children at that age can understand how important the book can
be for their lives. Teachers at
school try hard to explain the books
by making it fun to learn, so children take very good care of the6

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

Alankar Sabha

book and take them home withcare.
In addition to that, mothers at home
play a big role. They have a customof going to temples daily and theywear white saris, traditional Indian
women’s clothes. They welcomed
us with those traditions when wewere there. We can still feel anancient atmosphere at Indian temples, and they create a welcoming
environment for everyone.
Therefore, children can naturally
learn how they should be. Many
people tend to lose their own moral
bearings the more they get rich.
They focus too much on the materialistic and business world. I would
like people to get familiar with
Buddhism and use the teachings of
Buddha positively in their daily
lives.
We would like to thank again thepeople of Rumi Impex Ltd. for
helping us in India regarding thisproject, and Rev. Myosei
Midorikawa, Buddhist priest of
Tendai-shu Jindaiji Temple, who
supported the distribution project in2018. BDK completed this big
project with all those supporters
and distributed 46,980 copies of
TTOB in June and September 2019.
We also distributed 29,000 copies
of “Buddha-no-Oshie Teachings of
Buddha” in Hindi in September
2019.
Children are special at any time,
particularly in recent years when
India has been rapidly developing.
We witnessed that children received
copies of TTOB with sparkling eyes
and with great care. The possibilities TTOB opens up to people
remind us to reconfirm our efforts,
and we aim to publish a book thatwill allow children to become
familiar with Buddhism.
For more information about “The
Teaching of Buddha” and other
BDK publications, please visit theofficial BDK website athttps://www.bdk.or.jp

BDK JAPANNEWS 2019

BDK Publications

01
Activity“The Teaching of Buddha”– Update for 2019

We distributed many copies of “The Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)” tohotels and temple guest houses inside Japan in 2019. We are
expecting more foreign tourists to visit Japan for the Olympic andParalympic games in 2021, and we are planning to approach newly
opening hotels. We also distributed about 40,000 copies of TTOB
to 337 Buddhist schools and childcare facilities.

Lamdon Model Senior Secondary School in Ladakh

We continued distributing TTOBs
in India this year and donated
46,980 copies of TTOB in Hindi,
Tibetan, Nepali and English alongwith 29,000 copies of “Buddha-noOshie, Messages from the Buddha”
in Hindi to Ladakh, the northernmost area of India, which is one of
the most popular places for Tibetan
Buddhism, and Nagpur in the mid-dle of India, which is famous forthe revival of Buddhism. Temple
visitors, priests, teachers and children all accepted TTOBs with great
appreciation. People living in surrounding areas of those cities heard
about TTOBs and asked to receive
the books for themselves, too.
Therefore, BDK will continue to
distribute more TTOBs to thoseareas in India and work on distributing more copies to respond to therequests.
For more information about the
distributions in India, pleasesee “The Teaching of Buddha”
Interview page.

7

BDK JAPAN

02
Activity

NEWS 2019“Let It Shine! Temple Bulletin Board Award 2019”

The “Let It Shine! Temple Bulletin Board” project invites SNS posts of slogans on bulletin boards at temples throughout Japan and selects a grand prize winner by reviews and comments. This project has
been widely reported on major websites as the first Buddhist SNS project, and websites took notice of
this.

“Let It Shine! Temple Bulletin
Board Award 2018” made a splash
last year, and we held it again in
2019. A variety of media such as
TV, radio, newspapers, weekly
magazines, etc. talked about theaward as a big topic, and we
received 925 entries in four months
for the 2019 project.
The grand prize for the 2019 award
was “Shujo-wa-Fuanyona. Amida
Ugokimasu, All sentient beings areanxious. I, Amida myself, will
make a move to help them.” It wasfrom Eimyoji Temple, a Jodoshin
Shu Hongwanji school in
Kitakyushu, Fukuoka and punned
on a word used by Mr. Hitoshi

03
Activity

Matsumoto of Downtown, one of
the most famous Japanese comedy
duos of all time. This slogan entry
received more than 100,000 Likes
and lots of big responses fromeverywhere, and Mr. Matsumoto
also commented on our project in
his popular TV show, “Wide-naShow” of Fuji TV in Japan.
The Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai Prize went
to “Oshaka-sama-wo-Kiraina-Hitomo-Ita. Darenimo “Kirawaretakunai”
nante Omowanakuteii,” which means,“Some people hated Shakyamuni, so
you do not need to think of not
wanting to be hated by others.”
This is from Myoenji Temple of
Nichiren Shu in Shibuya, Tokyo,

Grand prize for the 2019 awardand many people who are sufferingfrom human relationships agreed
with this saying.
We received a lot of great postings
and will hold the third competition
for the “ Let It Shine! Temple
Bulletin Board Award 2020.”

The Fourth BDK Buddhist Picture Book Prize
Competition “Kokoro-no-Ehon-Taisho(Picture Book for Your Heart and Mind)”

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) hosted the fourth Buddhist Picture Book Prize Competition co-sponsored by
Suzuki Publications and supported by Mainichi Newspaper, the Japan Buddhist Nursing Association and
the National Youth Indoctrination Council with the aim of promoting “the development of the hearts andminds of children through reading.”
We received as many as 89 submissions from a wide range of age

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BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

groups for the fourth competition in
2019. The total number of submis-

sions was more than the third competition and we even received

works from foreign countries such
Germany and Mongolia as well.
Mr. Keisuke Nishimoto, a writer ofchildren’s literature, Mr. Tomohiko
Fujimoto, a picture book artist, andMr. Minoru Haga, a chief editor
from Suzuki Publications, carefully
selected one work for the grandprize, three for outstanding awards,
and five for fine works.
The grand prize went to “Ari-ga-

04
Activity

Dance-wo-Odottara (When the Ant
Dances)” written and drawn by
mayfan. The story describes thedance of a tiny ant that makes
everyone smile, invoking theBuddhist idea of dependent origination.
BDK awarded the prize money tothe winner and published the picture book in March 2020.

mayfan (left) and BDK executive director Harumi Aoki

The Sixth Competition and the Fourth Exhibition of
the BDK Calendar “A Wise Teaching a Day”

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) hosted the sixth competition and the fifth exhibition of the BDK Calendar, “A
Wise Teaching a Day.” We received 2,115 submissions from 638 people. We held a selection meetingon September 5, 2019, and committee members selected 32 photos. The committee awarded them withprize money and certificates, and all of those photos can be viewed on our official website.

The fifth exhibition was held inthree places in Japan: theInformation Center at Tsukiji
Hongwanji Temple in Tokyo from
April 27 to June 2, 2019, Hoshokan
at Byodoin Temple Museum in

Kyoto from June 29 to September
16, 2019, and the main hall at
Zuiganji Temple in Miyagi from
October 11 to November 27. About
100,000 people visited the exhibition at Tsukiji Hongwanji Temple,

280,000 people at Byodoin Temple,
and 76,000 people at Zuiganji
Temple. Many visitors had a wonderful opportunity to become familiar with the Buddha’s words.

Mr. Mori Suzuki’s calligraphy performance
9

BDK JAPAN

05
Activity

NEWS 2019
Exhibition of the “Picture Story of Shakyamuni”
at Zuiganji Temple

Seven original pieces of the “Picture Story of Shakyamuni” painted by the Japanese artist, Mr. Kosetsu
Nosu, were exhibited with old reference materials and photos at Zuiganji Temple in Miyagi Prefecture.
The history of Mr. Nosu’s life and the reference materials such as his handwritten letters were displayed,
and many visitors enjoyed them along with appreciating his brush strokes and coloring.

Exhibition of the “Picture Story of Shakyamuni”at Zuiganji

Debut of "Picture Story of
Shakyamuni" Jigsaw Puzzle

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) published the jigsaw puzzle version of
the “Picture Story of Shakyamuni”
so that people can learn the story of
Shakyamuni as they enjoy putting
the puzzle pieces together. Allseven stories beginning with“ Conception” and ending with
“Death” are currently available forpurchase in Japan.
"Picture Story of Shakyamuni" jigsaw puzzle●B4 size (204 pieces) JPY 2,500. (+ tax) ●B5 size (70 pieces) JPY 1,500. (+ tax)
We currently do not ship BDK Japan purchases internationally. For more information about the “Picture Storyof Shakyamuni,” please contact us at our official website at https://www.bdk.or.jp

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BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

06
Activity

Newly Published “Himekuri
Buddha Seikatsu, Living
Daily with a Message a Day
from Buddha”

We published "Himekuri Buddha Seikatsu, Living Daily with a
Message a Day from Buddha" in June 2019. Mr. Makoto Miyashita,
the author of the bestselling book “Buddha-ga-Sensei, Buddha is
Our Teacher” compiled 31 teachings of Buddha that children canunderstand easily and that sets a goal for each day. The consultation pages for children at the end and 31 humorous illustrations
drawn by Tebukuroseijin, a popular Japanese illustrator, adds acharm that draw attention.

We can enjoy ourselves by justlooking at the illustrations or byfeeling something about Buddhism
through the words. This is a bookthat children and adults can enjoy
reading every day, and it can help
children’s minds develop with theteachings of Buddha in a daily life
setting.

07
ActivityMore than 30,000 copies of"Himekuri Buddha Seikatsu, Living
Daily with a Message a Day from
Buddha," have been sold already inthe seven months since June. It canbe purchased on the BDK Japan
official website for JPY 275 (taxincluded).
"Himekuri Buddha Seikatsu”

The Campaign for Gratifying Verses from
“The Teaching of Buddha”

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) released “The Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)” in 46 language versions as PDF
files to the public on its official website at https://www.bdk.or.jp in March 2019, so anyone who has internet access can read TTOB online at any time.

We launched “ the Campaign for
Gratifying Verses from “The Teachingof Buddha” to encourage people tobecome familiar with TTOB including
the PDF versions. Applying for the
event is quite simple: people can justtweet their favorite verses and phrases

from TTOB through Twitter, one of themost popular SNSs. Many people participated in the campaign and we
received more than 200 tweets for fourmonths. The prize for the campaign
was Shojin, Buddhist vegetarian readyto-eat curry packets, so lots of curryfans tweeted, too.
We found a variety of interesting
tweets and had great opportunities tolearn about what people value about
TTOB, and we will continue holding
this event in 2020.

11

BDK JAPAN

08
Activity

NEWS 2019“Buddhist Diary 2020”
Buddhism through Everyday Life

BDK tries to offer more opportunities for people to experience Buddhism through everyday life and published a diary/schedule planner as one of the BDK publications in 2019.

Many people in Japan visit temples on
trips, collect Goshuin, the red ink temple stamps for each visit, and enjoy
Buddhist statue exhibitions at museums and department store halls.
However, we have fewer opportunities
to experience something about
Buddhism in our ordinary life, and it ishard to say that the culture of
Buddhism is a part of modern Japanesedaily life.
BDK offers “Buddhist Diary 2020” forpeople to have more chances to appreciate Buddhism itself. The monthly
calendar pages have explanations ofmajor Buddhist events for each month,and the weekly sections have tips forlearning more about Buddhism. In
addition, we introduce various scenarios regarding Buddhism, such as how
you should visit a temple and pray,
what you should know about
Buddhism, how to sit in Zazen meditation, and how you can appreciate
Buddhist statues with some illustrations at the end of the diary. There are
extra pages for sutra copying and forcopying pictures of Buddhist-statues,
and you may write and draw as you
like. Also, there are some stickers todecorate your own diary as a fancylooking book so that it would be more
fun to carry.

12

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─We have finished selling the“Buddhist Diary 2020” at the
moment, and will inform you
about future publications on
our official website.

For more information about
BDK publications, please check
our official website athttps://www.bdk.or.jp“Buddhist Diary 2020”

Pages about statue of Buddha

Financial Assistance and Honoring
Recipients

01
Activity

BDK Fellowship Programs
2019 BDK Fellowship for Foreign Scholars

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) has two scholarship programs in Japan; “BDK Fellowship for Foreign Scholars”
and “BDK Fellowship for Japanese Scholars” to support scholars who would like to study Buddhism.

The BDK Fellowship was established to promote international cooperation and mutual understanding in
Buddhist studies, and it is intended to enable researchers to engage in research on Buddhism while in Japan.
The BDK Fellowship committee was established in 1991.
For the 30th year in 2020, we have selected three promising scholars at a committee meeting held in
February 2020 as listed below.

The 30th Annual Awardees for BDK Fellowship for Foreign Scholars

Rev. Choten Dorji
Nationality : Bhutan
Affiliation in Japan : Kyoto University
Academic Advisor in Japan : Prof. Izumi Miyazaki
Theme of Research : Annotated translation and study of Sārasamuccaya: A commentary on Skandila’s
Abhidharmāvatāra
Mr. Liyu Hua
Nationality : China
Affiliation in Japan : Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, The University of Tokyo
Academic Advisor in Japan : Prof. Norihisa Baba
Theme of Research : The Dynamics of the Early Buddhist Commentarial
Tradition : A study of the commentaries on verses from the Khuddaka Nikaya/Kṣudraka Āgama
Mr. Jonathan Edward Thumas
Nationality : U.S.A.
Affiliation in Japan : Historiographical Institute, The University of Tokyo
Academic Advisor in Japan : Associate Prof. Hiroki Kikuchi
Theme of Research : Buddhist Hermitage Communities in Medieval Japan

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BDK JAPANNEWS 2019
The 29th Annual Awardees for BDK Fellowship for Foreign Scholars
Question:1 ) What made you apply for the 2018 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?

Ms. Lu Lu
Nationality : China
Affiliation in Japan : The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology Soka University
Academic Advisor in Japan : Prof. Seishi Karashima and Prof. Noriyuki Kudo
Theme of Research : Critical editions and a glossary of the Chinese non-Mahāyāna Buddhist translations of
the Later Han Dynasty
1 ) I am working on the language ofearly Chinese Buddhist translations.
The literary style of these texts,
especially the works of An Shigao,
is usually erratic, full of vernacular
expressions and far different fromother contemporary literature. It is
usually impossible to interpret thesetexts correctly without comparing
them with their Indic parallels.
Professor Karashima Seishi was anexpert in Buddhist philology, particularly focusing on early Chinese
Buddhist translation and middle
Indic languages. Thus I believed myresearch could benefit a lot from thecooperation and guidance ofProfessor Karashima.
2 ) I would like to express my gratitude for the BDK Fellowship andthe generous support I received.
Since I came to Japan, I enjoyed an
ideal environment for research. I
had the great fortune of studying
with Prof. Karashima almost every
day, and received countless very
instructive academic advice fromhim, until he suddenly passed away

14

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

Prof. Karashima (the far right in the first row) Prof. Kudo (second from the left in the second row) and Ms. Lu(the far right in the second row)on the 23rd of July 2019. As one ofhis students, I experienced deepgrief of losing such a great supervisor. During that period, the support
from BDK gave me strength andconsolation, and it enabled me tocontinue my research under theguidance of Professor Noriyuki
Kudo in the same institute.
Therefore, I really appreciate thisopportunity for studying in Japan
with the support of BDK.

3 ) My focus is on studying Buddhist
philology, especially the languageof early Chinese Buddhist translations, and on providing critical editions and dictionaries for thesetexts. I hope through this kind of
philological study, we can have abetter understanding of Chinese
Buddhist translations, and learn
how and to what extent Buddhist
translations influenced the language
and culture of East Asia.

Mr. Maxwell Joseph Brandstadt
Nationality : U. S. A.
Affiliation in Japan : Department of Indian Philosophy and Buddhist Studies, Graduate School of Humanities
and Sociology and Faculty of Letters, The University of Tokyo
Academic Advisor in Japan : Prof. Masahiro Shimoda
Theme of Research : The Concept of the Icchantika in Jingying Huiyuan's Notes on the Meaning of theGreat Parinirvana Sutra
1 ) I applied for the BDK Fellowshipin order to advance my research on
the intellectual history of Buddhism
in 6th- and 7th-century China. My
research would be advanced in several ways by the institutional support provided by the BDK
Fellowship. Most importantly, it
would allow me to study in Japan,
and network with important
Japanese scholars of Buddhism. In
addition, there are some importantmanuscripts held in Japan that are
relevant to my work. These provided strong motivation to apply for
the BDK Fellowship.
2 ) The BDK Fellowship is a wonderful scholarship for several reasons:most importantly, it allows me tofocus on my research in consultation with my academic advisor. The

Mr. Brandstadt

BDK Fellowship is a rare and special research opportunity.
3 ) I intend to pursue an academic
career researching Buddhist history.

I hope this career will help promote
an international understanding of
Buddhism and the intellectual history of East Asia.

Mr. Anthony Robert ScottNationality : Canada
Affiliation in Japan : Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, University of Tokyo
Academic Advisor in Japan : Prof. Norihisa Baba and Associate Prof. Ryosuke Kuramoto
Theme of Research : Milindapañha-aṭṭhakathā, a modern and extraordinary Pali commentary on the
Questions of King Milinda, composed by a pioneer of early twentieth-century Burmese vipassanā meditation,
the Mula Mingun Jetavana Sayadaw (1868-1954)※Mr. Scott has just started his life in Japan, and his comments will be updated in the next issue.

15

BDK JAPAN

02
Activity

NEWS 20192020 BDK Fellowship for Japanese Scholars

The BDK Fellowship 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.

For the 8th year in 2020, we have selected four promising scholars at a committee meeting held in
February 2020.

The 8th Annual Awardees for BDK Fellowship for Japanese Scholars<For 12 months>
Ms. Miyuki Ishimura
Affiliation : Institut für Kultur- und Geistesgeschichte Asiens der Österreichischen Akademie derWissenschaften in Austria
Theme of Research : A Study of the Intellectual History of Apoha Theory in the Buddhist Logico-epistemological Tradition<For Five months>
Ms. Shoyo Tominaga
Affiliation : Center for Buddhist Studies, University of California, Berkeley in the U.S.
Theme of Research : A comparison between Chapter 2 of Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra in Kashgar and
Nepalese manuscripts<For Four months>
Mr. Masayoshi Watanabe
Affiliation : Asoka University in India
Theme of Research : The Theory on Perceptibility of Time in Vaiśeṣika Philosophy<For Three months>
Mr. Yuki Kyogoku
Affiliation : Section des Sciences Religieuses, École Pratique des Hautes Études in France
Theme of Research : Study of Dharmakīrti’s Apoha Theory in the Pratyakṣa of the Pramāṇavārttika

16

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─The 7th Annual 2019 BDK Fellowship for Japanese Scholars

Question:1 ) What made you apply for the 2019 BDK Fellowship?
2 ) What is/are the best thing(s) about being a BDK Fellowship holder and what do you think about your future career?
3 ) What did you like the most about life in a foreign country?
<For 12 months>
Mr. Yosuke Fujimoto
Affiliation : Department of Indian and Tibetan Studies, Asia-Africa Institute, University of Hamburg
Academic Advisor in Germany : Prof. Dr. Harunaga Issacson
Theme of Research : The origins and development of the Sarvāstivādin theory of defilements: with a special
focus on anuśaya
1 ) Prof. Nobuyoshi Yamabe, my academic advisor in Japan strongly recommend that I study abroad, and I
was interested in doing that, too.
When I was thinking about applying for the scholarship, Prof.
Yamabe welcomed Mrs. Meghan
Claire, who was a BDK Fellowshipholder in our research group at thetime, and I saw a poster in our university. These circumstances
encouraged me to apply for the2019 BDK Fellowship for Japanese
Scholars.
2 ) The best part is that I could learn
the trends of current Buddhist

Studies in other countries, and I
came to know some enthusiastic
colleagues from all over the world.
I would like to broaden my researcharea to China, and try to develop acomprehensive knowledge of
Buddhist philosophical history.
3 ) Germany is the center of the fieldof Indology; therefore, I thoughtthat I would be able to purchase
Sanskrit dictionaries easily in theneighborhood. However, I could
not find any good bookstores in myneighborhood, and I was surprised
how those references I needed areavailable online or digitalized.

Mr. Fujimoto (left) and Prof. Issacson (right)<For Short Term>
Mr. Chōjun Yazaki
Affiliation : Department of Indology and Tibetology, Faculty of Foreign Languages, University of Marburg.
Academic Advisor in Germany : Prof. Dr. Jürgen Hanneder and Dr. habil. Dragomir Dimitrov
Theme of Research : A Study of Non-Cognition (anupalabdhi)

1 ) I am studying the Cāndravyākaraṇapañjikā of Ratnamati with
Dr. Dimitrov now. I wanted tofocus on my research intensively

in Germany while doing my
Ph.D. thesis and taking my oral
examination.

2 ) Being able to focus on myresearch is the best part of receiving a scholarship grant while I am
staying in a foreign country and17

BDK JAPANNEWS 2019
pursing my research. The BDK
Fellowship gave me a great
opportunity for studying abroad.
3 ) I brought my family for the firstmonth of my stay in Germany.
My 8-year old son said, “Thetraveling carnival is fun!” My 6year old daughter said, “I made a
German friend!” My wife said,“German rye bread is so tasty!”
And I said, “White beer is amazing!”

From left to right: Dr. Dimitrov, Mr. Yazaki, and Prof. Hanneder<For Short Term>
Mr. Daisei Michimoto
Affiliation : Institut für Kultur- und Geistesgeschichte Asiens
Academic Advisor in Austria : Prof. Dr. Birgit Kellner
Theme of Research : A Study of the Cāndravyākaraṇapañjikā of Ratnamati

1 ) I wanted to study under the
direction of Prof. Birgit Kellner,
who is a pioneer in my research
field of anupalabdhi. Also, theInstitut für Kultur- undGeistesgeschichte Asiens is popular for researchers of Indology,
including Buddhist logicalschools. When I started thinking
about studying there, I found the
BDK Fellowship program that
supports scholars to study abroad.

development along with technology. The transportation is smooth,and the city is safe, therefore, life2 ) My research group in Austria
was translating Pramāṇaviniścayaṭīkā and compiling a critical
text. It was quite helpful for mycurrent studies.
3 ) The city of Vienna has historical cityscapes with good urban

18

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─Mr. Michimoto (left) and Prof. Kellner (right)

in Vienna was extremely comfortable for me.

03
Activity

BDK Fellowship “Gathering for Scholarship
Holders” on July 10, 2019 at Bukkyo Dendo
Center Building

The BDK Fellowship for Foreign Scholars program welcomed its 30th anniversary, and the BDK Fellowship forJapanese Scholars welcomed its 8th year in 2019.

BDK Fellowship “Gathering for Scholarship Holders” participants

Previous awardees have actively continued their researches and studies foryears on the front lines in the field of
Buddhist studies, and most of them
are now teaching at educational institutes all over the world. BDK encourages smoother communication
between each other and provides
more opportunities to connect students with their professors. We invited foreign scholars who are now staying in japan and Japanese scholars
who are going to start studying
abroad.

Eleven scholarship holders and threeof their professors attended the gathering and introduced themselves andtheir studies and researches to everyone. The BDK Fellowship selection
committee members were also invited, and they shared ideas about how
we should continue supporting young
promising scholars who wish to study
Buddhism in Japan and in other countries as well. We intend to continue
the long history of our scholarshipprogram.
After their presentations, participants

toured the Bukkyo Dendo Center
Building and had a Buddhist vegetarian dinner together. Everyone enjoyedthis opportunity and reconfirmed theircommitment to study Buddhism in
the future as well.
For more information about
BDK Fellowship, please visit
our official website athttps://www.bdk.or.jp

19

BDK JAPAN

04
Activity

NEWS 2019
The 53rd BDK Cultural Awards Ceremony
On October 17, 2019 at the Bukkyo Dendo
Center Building

The 53rd BDK Cultural Awards, Bunka-sho and Numata Innovation and Visionary Award, Numata Shorei-sho
ceremony and banquet were held on October 17, 2019 at the Bukkyo Dendo Center Building.
Rev. Tetsubun Fujita, the Bunka-sho
winner said, “I have not done anything special. I have only tried to deal
directly with the works given to me. I
shared many pains with my family
and colleagues, but I am able to standhere because of their efforts. BDK
has given me this award to a person
like myself. I am overwhelmed andtruly appreciate this opportunity.” At
the end of his speech, he said, “I wasshocked about winning this award. I
went to give talks everywhere in
Japan, but I could not achieve that bymyself. I met so many people byluck.”
Prof. Shinho Morimura, the Numata

Rev. Fujita (second from the left) and Prof. Morimura (second from the right)

Shorei-sho winner, remembered herchildhood and said, “I kept asking
myself about the meaning of life andhow human existence can be evil.”

BDK Cultural Awards, Bunka-shoRev. Tetsubun Fujita●Suggested the sociability of devotion. Contributed to missionary work with various publications and lectures throughout Japan.

20

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─She finished her speech by saying, “I
would like to continue making efforts
because BDK has recognized me andwhat I have done.”Numata Innovation and Visionary Award,
Numata Shorei-sho
Prof. Shinho Morimura●Investigated the philosophy of Master Shinran and has disseminated his work to a wide audience in the world.
Translated and published the Chinese version of“Kyōgyōshinshō, The Collection of Passages Expounding theTrue Teaching, Living, Faith, and Realizing of the Pure Land.”05
Activity

BDK Financial Assistance Programs– Update for 2019

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) supports individuals and groups that agree with the purposes of our non-profit activities and contribute to promote Buddhism and its culture with high quality public programs.

For 2019, we received 36 applications and the BDK Financial Assistance Committee selected 27 individuals/groups
and granted them financial assistance as listed below.
A. Support for Groups

Name of GroupThe Japanese Association of
Buddhist Studies
NPO Kamakura Terakoya

Project

International academic exchanges and promotion of cultural contributions, etc.
Promotion of temple communities through volunteer activities by universities, temples, local
government, and people

Japan-India Cultural Exchange
NetworkDevelopment of Japan-India cultural exchange network and promotion of cultural exchanges
between Japan and India“Freestyle Monks”

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

B. Supports for Projects: B-1 Buddhist Spiritual/Cultural and Humanitarian Activities

Name of Group

Project

General Incorporated
Foundation Hongwanji Vihara
Medical Welfare Association

General Incorporated Foundation Hongwanji Vihara Medical Welfare Association
Development of Buddhist priests who can work with medical personnel“JU YA FES” Executive
Committee
NPO Society to Promote
India-Japan Cultural Relations
General Incorporated
Association Kogen

Temple festival “JU YA FES”

Society for Interfaith Chaplaincy in Telephone consultation
Hokkaido and Tohoku
General Incorporated
Workshops and lectures for Buddhist priests who try to maintain temple communities in each
Association Terakoya Buddha
local area and provide useful information through its website

Dance Performance “Learn More – Brahmin monk Bodhisena the First Indian who came to
Japan”
Temple festival “Kogen”

Public Interest Incorporated
Training/education of Buddhist chaplains
Foundation Zenkoku Kyokaishi Renmei(Japan Buddhist Chaplain Union)
All Japan Young Buddhist
Mindfulness retreats of Thich Nhat Hanh
Association
General Incorporated
Training/education of chaplains
Association Society for Interfaith
Chaplaincy in Japan
General Incorporated
Association Project Gamon
Buddhist Cultural Resources
Study Group

Publication of free Buddhist magazine, “Wagense”
Series of lectures and seminars “Rakan, Arhat Buddhist Culture”

The ZENSEIKYO FOUNDATION Training/educating chaplains and sending them to facilities in needfor Youth and Child Welfare

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BDK JAPANNEWS 2019
B. Supports for Projects: B-2 Promotions of Buddhist Academic Learning

Name of Group

Project

Ryukoku Museum
Public Interest Incorporated
Foundation the Nakamura
Hajime Eastern InstituteSpecial Exhibition Fall 2019 “Japanese simple drawings – Relaxed, Cute, and Fun Art”
2019 research investigation

Klaus-Dieter Mathes, Universityof Vienna, Austria

150th anniversary Symposium for Japan-Austria Friendship “Celebration for Japan-Austria
Friendship: Southern Asia Studies, Tibetology, Buddhist Studies”

Jørn Borup, Arhus University,
Denmark
Japan Society for Buddhist
Nursing and Vihara

Academic Conference “Japanese Buddhism in Europe”
15th conference of Japan Buddhist Nursery Society for Vihara

B. Supports for Projects: B-3 Protections of Buddhist Cultural Properties

Name of Group

Project

Minobusan University

Restoration Project of Buddhist statues in the world heritage sites of Luang Phabang, Laos

Nousu Kosetsu Commendation
Committee

Preservation Project of Buddhist wall paintings by Mr. Kosetsu Nousu in Sarnath, Inida

C. Numata Program in Buddhist Studies and Its Related Activities

Name of Group

Project

The University of Chicago
Divinity School, U.S.A.
Leiden University, The
Netherlands）

Continuing Numata Program in Buddhist Studies

National Chengchi University,
TaiwanEstablishing Numata Program in Buddhist Philosophical Studies

McMaster University, Canada

Establishing Numata Program in Buddhist Studies

Continuing Numata Program in Buddhist Studies

For more information about BDK financial assistance programs, please visit our official website athttps://www.bdk.or.jp

22

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─01

Buddhist Lectures and Seminars

Activity

The 49th Jissen Fukyo Kenkyukai, BDK Buddhist
Missionary Seminar at Koyasan Shingon Sect Main
Temple Kongobu-ji: May 29-31, 2019

BDK hosted the 49th Buddhist Missionary Seminar (BMS) with the theme of “Learning from Master Kukai” at
Koyasan Shingon Sect Main Temple Kongobu-ji in Wakayama prefecture from May 29 to 31 in 2019. We welcomed 46 priests and their temple family members from different sects, and they practiced Ajikan, Esoteric
Buddhist meditation, and learned from participating in many discussions held among the participants in Bunkakai
discussion groups.

Study group at Hongwanji Tsumura Betsuin

Rev. Shinnin Hashimoto

We also provided an opportunity
for participants to discuss and communicate
withothersat
Jodoshinshu Hongwanji School
Hongwanji Tsumura Betsuin in
Osaka on May 28, the day before
the actual seminar dates. Ten people joined the study group and participated in enthusiastic discussions.
Rev. Kougi Kasai, the 414th Zashu,
head of Koyasan Shingon Sect
Main Temple Kongobu-ji, andKancho, head of Koyasan Shingon
Sect, greeted the BMS participantsat the opening ceremony on the firstday, and he gave them instructions
about Shingon religious services
and the “Hannyashingyo, Heart
Sutra.” On the following days, participants attended lectures given by
Rev. Shinnin Hashimoto, Rev.
Junkei Matsunaga, and Rev.
Ryugen Saito and practiced Ajikan,
etc. They learned the teaching of“Saisei Rimin, saving everyone in

BMS participants visiting the inner sanctuary

the world,” through those lecturesand practices. On the last day, they
visited Okunoin, the inner sanctuary, and chanted the Heart Sutra
together in front of Mater Kukai’s
mausoleum and completed the 49th
BMS with calm feelings.

23

BDK JAPAN

02
Activity

NEWS 2019
Special Zazen Retreat at Soto Zen Sojiji HeadMonastery on June 1, 2019

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) held an event combining Zazen, Yoga and Shojin Ryori, Buddhist vegetarian food,to provide another opportunity for people to freely visit temples more often and experience Buddhist spirituality
and culture.

Yoga session by Mr. Watamoto

This is our fourth year of holding a
special Zazen event at Sojiji in
Yokohama, and we welcomed one of
the most famous Japanese Yoga pioneers, Mr. Akira Watamoto. Morethan 100 people applied to participate
in this special event.
We also welcomed the music duo,
“Pranada,” who play the Bansli, anancient Indian vertical flute, and thesynthesizer. Once they started themusic, the atmosphere of the venue
completely changed, and participants
were drawn into their performance.
After the Yoga session, we had a dharma talk by Rev. Komyo Hanawa fromSojiji. He explained the history of
Sojiji and the basic teachings of Soto24

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

Participants enjoying Shojin lunch

Zen. After his talk, participants learned
how to sit, experienced Zazen forabout twenty minutes at the Zazen hall.
This was the first experience for mostof the participants, and they told us thatthey wanted to continue for longer.

After Zazen, those who were interested
in experiencing the authentic Soto Zen
style of Shojin Ryori enjoyed lunchand visited some halls in Sojiji. They
seemed to be having fun spending timeat the temple for a day.

03
Activity

The Weekly Radio Program on FM Osaka“WARAIMESHI TETSUO’s Saturday★Night Buddhism”– The Recording at Mitsutera Temple on June 9, 2019

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) started a weekly radio program in June 2018 for those who do not have
many opportunities to learn more about Buddhism as it relates to their ordinary lives. BDK sponsored alive recording session at Mitsutera Temple in Osaka to celebrate the first-year anniversary of the program.
The program is broadcast only for fiveminutes from 12:55 am to 1:00 am on
Saturday nights, and it is exclusive tothe Kansai area of western Japan.
However, listeners from all overJapan and even from overseas continued listening to it as a Podcast, and wefinished our first year of this programwith great success, celebrating it withthe live recording in front of fans at
Mitsutera Temple in Osaka.
We put out a call for participants forthe public recording and received 174
applications, of which 70 won tickets
for the event. They ranged in ages
from the teens to the sixties, but wecould see that most were women in
their forties and included Tetsuo’s fans.
Mr. Hideki Kobayakawa, one of themost popular DJs of FM Osaka, facilitated the event, and Tetsuo talked about
Buddhism. We also had a crosstalk04
Activity

Tetsuo talking at the main hall of Mitsutera

with Tetsuo and Rev. Shunyu Kagafrom Mitsutera and had a question-andanswer session with participants in theend. The talk was enlivening, and all
the participants enjoyed the memorialgroup photo shoot in Mitsutera after therecording session. Rev. Kaga kindly
answered the participants’ questions
about temples and Buddhism even after

the event, and participants could deepen
their understanding of Buddhism.
The recording was broadcast twice inJuly 2019. Some of the participants
uploaded the event on SNS, and webinterview articles also introduced ourprogram. It was a fantastic opportunity for many people to learn more
about the program.

New BDK Bulletin Board at the Entrance of
Bukkyo Dendo Center Building in July 2019

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) installed a new bulletin board at the entrance of the building in July 2019.

The BDK Bulletin board introduces
BDK lectures, seminars, and events,

and also posts interesting phrases suchas are found on temple bulletinboards. We select phrases from manysources, including our best-selling

25

BDK JAPANNEWS 2019
book, “The Teaching of Buddha,” andwe even have some quotations fromcelebrities. We post some uniqueones like “I cannot be Takuya Kimura(a favorite actor/singer for all ages inJapan like Johnny Depp), but he cannot be the way I am either.” This one
was the most popular post in our
Instagrams for 2019 as well.
People passing by the bulletin board
often take pictures and post them on
SNS. We find that our postings provide opportunities for people tobecome familiar with Buddhism. We

05
Activity

hope you will look at
our bulletin board ifyou happen to be in ourneighborhood, or checkthem out in our SNS
pages!

New bulletin board at the entrance“Let’s Try Some Yoga and Zazen at a Temple”
for Children at Ryuunji Temple on July 29, 2019

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai（BDK）held an event that combined Yoga and Zazen for children who do nothave an opportunity to visit temples in their daily life so that they can become familiar with a temple andBuddhism.

We wanted children to enjoy spending time at a temple during theirschool summer break, and about
thirty energetic elementary school
children participated in the event.
The venue was Rinzai Shu
Myoshinji-ha Ryuunji Temple in
Setagaya, Tokyo, a temple that has
been popular among the locals.
Adults expected that the children
would be noisy and joke around at
the temple, however, they were quietly focused during the Zazen session led by Rev. Shinsuke
Hosokawa, the head priest of
Ryuunji.
After the quiet Zazen session, theyexperienced Yoga. We welcomed
Ms. Mami Sakurai, who is an

26

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

Rev. Hosokawa

Children experiencing Zazen

expert Yoga instructor for children.
She started a fun filled and kidsfriendly talk and gradually worked
forward. We notice that the children did their poses seriously,
moved their bodies with theirfriends, and seemed to enjoy work-ing out at their own pace.
Most of us adults still have memories about our summer breaks. We
truly hope that the children will bewilling to visit a temple again
sometime in the future.

06
Activity“Buddhist Vegetarian Cooking Class forChildren and Parents”
in Asakusa, Tokyo on August 4, 2019

BDK hosted a “Shojin Ryori, Buddhist Vegetarian Cooking Class for Kids and Parents,” as one of ourschool summer break special events for children. We welcomed Mrs. Reina Aso, a Japanese culinary
historian and Shojin Ryori cooking specialist, to teach children under the age of twelve and their family
members to make Shojin lunch boxes together.

Mrs. Aso in the middle and participantsThis was the first time ever that BDK
held a cooking class for children andtheir parents. Sixteen people; including children ranging in ages fromthree to twelve years old and theirfamily members, attended the class.
After learning “ What is Shojin
Ryori?” everyone cooked the dishes
together with Mrs. Aso and arranged
the food beautifully into each lunchbox by themselves.
We prepared two kinds of rice balls(shiso perilla rice and corn rice), stirfried thin sliced zucchini, sweet pickled Japanese ginger and okura, friedsummer vegetables, Koya tofu, dried
tofu, deep fried Koya tofu, and deepfried kurumafu (gluten cake). The
children looked anxious at first, how-

Smiling children with their Shojin lunch boxes

ever, they were soon smiling as they
worked with Mrs. Aso. Some of themhated vegetables, but they ate everything, and we had no leftovers at theend of class. Some of the children
had never seen a traditional Japanese
wappa craft lunch box, which is madeby bending very thin cedar boards
into the shape of ring. There were avariety of great-looking lunch boxes
made by participants, and the children
had so many new experiences. They
even took photos of themselves with
their lunch boxes, and the experienceof making Shojin Ryori gave them an
opportunity to think about the importance of our daily habit of eating.

27

BDK JAPAN

07
Activity

NEWS 2019
The Premiers of Picture Story Show “Buddha”©TEZUKA PRODUCTIONS on October 1, 2019

BDK published the world’s first picture story book, “Buddha” under the supervision of ©TEZUKA PRODUCTIONS as well as the "Picture Story of Shakyamuni" jigsaw puzzle and donated them to 2,500
Buddhist kindergartens and pre-schools throughout Japan.

We celebrated the publication of thisart works and held the premiers at
the BDK Center Building in October
1, 2019.
We handed them out to the representatives of Japan Buddhist Childcare
Association and the Childcare
Federations of each sects of Japanese
Buddhism for the first half of theevent. We can enjoy a biography of
the Buddha and the original of the
comic book, “Buddha” at the sametime because the picture story isdrawn with similar brush touches of
Mr. Osamu Tezuka, one of the greatest Japanese manga artists of all time.
Rev. Takayama, chairman of Japan
Buddhist Childcare Association
appreciated BDK, “Children would
be interested in the picture story somuch! We would like to help raising08
Activity

Participants in the eventchildren with compassion by sharing
it at kindergartens.” Shibuya
Gagekidan, Japanese picture storytelling company established by
Manga Artist Network Inc. performed a special picture story showwith four professional voice actors.
Their actions were convincing, andeveryone attended the event was

impressed with their powerful performance.
BDK hopes that more children will
be able to have an opportunity tolearn about the life of the Buddha
and get used to some teachings of
Buddha through playing with puzzles
and picture story of “Buddha.”

The 5th Commemorative Lecture in Japan by thewinner of the “Toshihide Numata Book Award in
Buddhism” on October 4 and 9, 2019

The “Toshihide Numata Book Award in Buddhism" supports the advancement of Buddhist studies in thewestern world. BDK established the award, which is administered by the Center for Buddhist Studies at
the University of California, Berkeley. The winning entry for the best academic Buddhist title of the year isselected by an independent committee every year.

28

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─The 2018 winning author Dr. Roy
Tzohar of Tel-Aviv University, wasselected for his publication of “A
Yogācāra Buddhist Theory of
Metaphor” (Oxford University Press,
2018), and he gave public lectures
about his book in Japan.
He lectured on the theme of “WhatMetaphors Mean and Do within
Buddhist Philosophical Texts?” at
Ryukoku University on October 4,
2019 and the University of Tokyo on
October 9, 2019 and presented his cutting-edge research results in Buddhist
studies to Japanese audiences.

09
Activity

Lecture by Dr. Tzohar at the University of Tokyo

Feel Buddhism: Experiencing Temples in
Asakusa, Tokyo on November 9, 2019

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) hosted “Feel Buddhism,” a one-day field trip to temples located in Asakusa,
Tokyo with the theme of “feeling” the teachings of each Buddhist school.

We held the first event in the Shiba
area of Minato-ku, Tokyo in 2018,
and since most of the participantsfrom 2018 signed up for the 2019
event, we quickly reached the maximum number of 25 people.
Participants visited Sensoji Temple andwere able to go deep inside the temple
during the first half of the event. We
welcomed Rev. Ryojo Shioiri, the headpriest of Hozenin Temple, who is also
one of our popular lecturers of the
BDK study group for “The Teachingof Buddha for Daily Life.” He guided
the participants through the main hall,
the precincts of the temple, and thetreasure museum, which we normallycannot enter. Everyone was able tolearn the details of 1400-years ofDharma talk by Rev. Shioiri

Sensoji history through a dharma talkby Rev. Shioiri.
After the tour of Sensoji, participants visited Ryokusenji Temple,
which is also in Asakusa, andenjoyed Shojin Ryori with thetheme of “Tasting Shojin Ryori andits true mind” during the second

half of the event. Rev. Kakuho Aoe,head priest of Ryokusenji, who is
an author of many Shojin cooking
books, provided food and a dharma
talk. Most of participants told usthat they would like to attend suchan event again, and it was a satisfying experience for many people.

29

BDK JAPAN

10
Activity

NEWS 2019
The 19th “Buddhist Music Festival BUDDHASPEL- Rediscovering Japanese Tradition ～A Night ofNoh, Kyogen and Buddhism”
at Cerulean Tower Noh Theatre on November 14, 2019

BDK hosted the 19th “Buddhist Music Festival BUDDHASPEL – Rediscovering of Japanese Tradition ～A
Night of Noh, Kyogen and Buddhism” at Cerulean Tower Noh Theatre in Shibuya, Tokyo on November 14,
2019.

The theme of the 19th music festival featured Japanese traditional
performing arts, and we welcomed
Rev. Shotoku Tanaka, the headpriest of Shokannon Shu Sohonzan
Sensoji Temple, which is said to be
the place of origin of Hokkehakko(a Buddhist form of discussion),
Noh and Kyogen. His disciples at
the temple performed.
Mr. Mansai Nomura, a Kyogen performer, and Rev. Michio Henmi, thechairperson of the BDK Buddhist
Music Popularization Committee,
talked about the traditional performing arts based on Buddhist philosophy. After the discussion, Mr.
Yoshimasa Kanze, a Nohgaku performer, solemnly performed“Jinenkoji,” which was originally
written by Kannami, who is a legend in the history of the establishment of Noh. This song is about a
Buddhist priest rescuing a girl froma slave trader. The crowd loved his
serious performance and gave him ahearty round of applause. Mr.
Nomura performed “Shuron,” aplay that describes humorous
debates between two priests fromdifferent sects, the Hokke and Jodo.

30

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

Performance of Hokkehakko

People also enjoyed his performance, and the laughter fulfilled thevenue.
This was the first time that BDK tosponsored performances that deeply
relate the traditional performing arts
with Buddhism, and everyone truly
enjoyed the presentations of Rongi,Noh, and Kyogen.

Mr. Yoshimasa Kanze

11
Activity“Japanese Buddhist Vegetarian Cooking Class inEnglish” in Asakusa on November 20, 2019

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) hosted a “Japanese Buddhist Vegetarian Cooking Class” in Asakusa mainly
for foreign people who reside in Japan. We welcomed Rev. Kakuho Aoe, head priest of Ryokusenji
Temple, and provided an opportunity for foreign residents and Japanese people who are interested inlearning about Shojin Ryori, Buddhist vegetarian food, in English.
Offering a cooking class in English
was the first challenge for us, however, we were pleased that 15 participants (eight foreign residents
and seven Japanese) signed up forthe program. They heard a talk
“What is Shojin Ryori?” before thecooking lesson and tasted a variety
of dishes together.
Participants tried ofujaga, which isa vegetarian version of one of themost favorite Japanese homecooked dish, nikujaga (normally
made with meat and potatoes),spinach boiled in a kelp soup,
asparagus dressed with tofu, andsoup made with vegetable strips.
Everyone seemed to enjoy communicating in English with a lot of

12
Activity

Ofujagagestures and completed four dishes
together at each table.
We find many vegetarian/veganpeople in today’s world in a time ofdiversity, even for food. Some of
our foreign participants told us thatthey are having a hard time finding
good vegetarian restaurants andalso in finding vegetarian ingredi-

Participants helping each otherents at grocery stores in Japan.
BDK hopes that participants wereable to learn the Shojin Ryori spiritof “treating each ingredient welland not wasting anything.” Theyexperienced this style cooking andeating each ingredient with deep
appreciation.

Special Event “Learning Buddhism ThroughBuddhist Vegetarian Food” with Movie“TENZO” and Buddhist Vegetarian Lunch at
Tokyo Grand Hotel on February 15, 2020

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) hosted a special event called “Learning Buddhism Through Buddhist
Vegetarian Food.” The event also featured a movie, “TENZO,” produced by the All Japan Young Soto
Zen Buddhist Priests Association, and a special lunch provided by a young Buddhist priest, who is working as a French chef, as a way of introducing various aspects of Buddhism.

31

BDK JAPANNEWS 2019
There were 68 participants who
experienced the three-hour program. The first half of the program
was a combination of a short Zazen
meditation session with chairs andthe movie, “TENZO.” Rev. Chiken
Kawaguchi from Kounin Temple,
who is a main character in themovie, explained his thoughts on
the movie with episodes, whichhave been shown at movie festivals
overseas as well. After that, participants practiced Zazen meditation
using chairs and calmed their feelings before the movie. The movie
provided an opportunity for everyone to think about their beliefs.
For the second half of the event, wewelcomed Rev. Daiki Orihashi
from Josenji Temple, who is a
French chef at an auberge, and heprovided a special Shojin lunch forparticipants. Shojin Ryori can be aquite simple Japanese dish as you
might expect, however he cooks
Shojin Ryori with a twist of western
style added since most Japanese
tend to eat western food more often
in the modern Japanese world. The
lunch consisted of seasonal saladwith red bell pepper dressing, a
potage of turnip and Chinese cabbage, deep fried Japanese taro,
Shojin curry and rice, and almondblancmange with strawberry sauce.
Rev. Orihashi provided all therecipes to participants so that they
can cook for themselves at home.
Participants tasted each ingredient
while they learned how to cookwith the recipes.
More people accept vegetarian foodin today’s world of diversity, even32

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

Rev. Kawaguchi

Rev. Orihashi“TENZO”

Participants chanting together after Shojin lunchin our eating habits. Learning the
Shojin way of not wasting ingredients and consuming and communicating with others with appreciation

are important. Most of participants
told us that they had a precious
opportunity to reconsider their lives
through the essential act of eating.

13
Activity

Other BDK Related Lectures, Classes, andEvents – Update for 2019

One of the missions of Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) is to “support programs that advance the Buddhist
spirit and its culture.” Seminars and lectures geared toward specific and general interests are sponsoredthroughout the year.

Studying “The Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)” for BusinessThis lecture series was establishedmainly for businesspeople who
desire background in Buddhism tohelp them operate and manage theirbusinesses with opportunities tolearn about the spirit of compassion
and the wisdom of Buddhism. For
2019, we welcomed Rev. Tozen
Nakano, former head priest of Soto
Shu Ryuhoji Temple, and Prof. Rev.

Studying “The Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)” for Daily Life
This monthly lecture shares theDharma with participants who learn
how to live their daily lives with thespirit of the Buddha through reading
TTOB. The lectures were held in arelaxed atmosphere during the day.
For 2019, the lectures were delivered
by Rev. Ryojo Shioiri, head priest of
Shokanon Shu Sensoji Hozenin
Temple, and Prof. Rev. Ichigyo
Oyama, head priest of Jodo Shinshu
Hongwanji-ha Kogakuji Temple. We
hosted a monthly lecture on every
fourth Tuesday at 1:30 pm.

Makoto Ichiraku, head priest of
Shinshū Ōtani-ha Shuenji Temple,
Ohtani University, and hosted amonthly lecture on every fourth
Friday at 6:00 pm.

Lecture by Rev. Shioiri

Buddhist Yoga

The two aspects of Buddhism andYoga can help in developing a calmand healthy life. Rev. Yuuka Gazzo
from Jodo Shu Seiganji Temple led
the class held monthly on every
first Wednesday at 7:00 pm. She
taught clearly and carefully foreveryone, including beginners, tobe able to listen to their own innerfeelings and bodies through Yoga.

Yoga instruction by Rev. Gazzo

33

BDK JAPAN

14
Activity

NEWS 2019
Elementary Course of Buddhist Lectures on“Japanese Buddhism – Learning from Scratch”
in Ikebukuro, Tokyo – Update for 2019

The Elementary Course of Buddhist Lectures on “Japanese Buddhism – Learning from Scratch” is one of
the most popular educational courses hosted by Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) since 2016 to help people
learn the basics of Japanese Buddhist schools in terms of their principles, histories and the lives of eachfounder.

The lectures were held in
Ikebukuro, Tokyo for the 2019series, and they were about thebasics of each Japanese Buddhist
school with dharma talks that
included each lecturer’s own experience and beliefs. This series oflectures is sponsored exclusively by
BDK with the cooperation of vari-

ous Japanese Buddhist schools.
For 2018, we had many participantsfrom Kanagawa prefecture since thevenue was in Shibuya, Tokyo. For
2019, we had lots of people from
Saitama prefecture and could provide opportunities for them to getfamiliarwith
Buddhism.
Participants told us that “The twoRev. Gyodai Kiuchi

Rev. Ryukai Matsushima

hours flashed by! The photos of themonks’ trainings and practices arequite interesting, and it was easy tofollow.”
We planned to have the 2020 seriesin Akihabara, however, we had tocancel them due to the measuresrequired because of COVID-19.

Rev. Tatsuo Yoshida

Lectures in 2019
Month

Theme

Lecturer

April

Tendai Shu Founder SaichoRev. Gyodai Kiuchi, Associate Professor of Taisho University

May

Shingon Shu Founder Kukai

Rev. Ryukai Matsushima, Koyasan Shingon Shu Kudokuin Temple

June

Jodo Shu Founder Honen

Rev. Tatsuo Yoshida, Jodo Shu Banryuji Temple

July

Jodoshin Shu Founder Shinran Rev. Hisao Maeda, Associate Professor of Musashino University

October

Rinzai Shu Founder Eisai

November Soto Shu Founder DogenRev. Shinsuke Hosokawa, Rinzai Shu Myoshinji-ha Ryuunji Temple
Rev. Koji Chiba, Soto Shu Horinji Temple

December Nichiren Shu Founder Nichiren Rev. Eikan Hayashima, Nichiren Shu Myofukuji Temple

34

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─Rev. Hisao Maeda

Rev. Shinsuke Hosokawa

Rev. Koji Chiba

Rev. Eikan Hayashima

From Beginner to Intermediate Level
Special Lecture: Comparison between Namu Amida Butsu and Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō on
February 2, 2020
BDK received many requests fromprevious participants that theywould like to learn more deeply
about Japanese Buddhism, and wetherefore started holding a special
lecture for intermediate level learners since 2018. We held a lecture
about “Nara Buddhism and Heian
Buddhism” for 2018.
For 2019, we welcomed Prof. Satoshi
Hiraoka, president of Kyoto Bunkyo
University. The theme of this year
was about “A Comparison between
Namu Amida Butsu and Namu
Myōhō Renge Kyō - the Longer
Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra and the Lotus
Sutra / Master Honen and Master
Nichiren.” The first half of the lecture

15
Activity

focused on the two sutras and Prof.
Hiraoka explained the construction
and the relationship with the biographies of Buddha. The second half
compared Jodo Shu and Nichiren Shu
in Japanese Buddhism and the various
perspectives of the philosophies ofMaster Honen and Master Nichiren.
Participants told us that they could
understand the big difference as wellas the things held in common between
the two and felt how both masters had
lived in the same era.

Lecture by Prof. Hiraoka“Buddhism Through English” in Tokyo– Update for 2019

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) offers a two-year program of “Buddhism Through English (BTE)” with level 3
and level 2 classes. Each course has a final exam in February each year, and for the 2019 course, 45
people for level 3 and 23 people for level 2 passed.
BDK also offers recommendation
letters for those who passed thelevel 2 exam to work as an English
volunteer guides at Buddhist tem-

ples in Tokyo. For 2019, six ofthem applied and worked as

35

BDK JAPANNEWS 2019precinct guide service members at
Jodoshin Shu Hongwanji-ha Tsukiji
Hongwanji Temple. BDK started

the course in 2011 and continued
hosting it until 2019, however, we
had to cancel the 2020 course dueto the measures required because of
COVID-19.

tourists in English. We welcomed
Dr. Lisa Grumbach from Ryukoku
University and hosted a monthly
class in September, October,
November, and December 2019.
We informed the tourist associations

and interpreter volunteer groups in
Kansai area about this program, and56 people applied for 50 seats. The
satisfaction of the course is quite
high, and we are planning to holdthe course again soon.

New Lecture: “Buddhism Through English - Learning the Basics of Japanese Buddhism inEnglish” in Kyoto

Lecture by Dr. Grumbach

BDK received many requests andstarted the BTE in Kyoto as well in
2019. Kyoto welcomes tourists fromall over the world, and we expectedthat they have more opportunities tointroduce temples and shrines to

16
Activity

A New Series of Lectures: “Learning About
Buddhism in the World Part I”

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) started the new series of lectures: “Learning About Buddhism in the WorldPart I” in 2019.
Buddhism was originally founded inIndia, and it spread to the north and36

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

the south to other parts of the world.
We find various teachings andcustoms in each place to differ eventhough they are all Buddhist

countries. Part I focused on the northern route and featured the fantastic
instructors as listed below.
Participants learned about the unique
Buddhist perspectives and current
trends of each country.
More than 70 people applied for PartI, and we planned to hold Part II about
Buddhism in Thailand, Laos,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam,
Myanmar and Malaysia in 2020, however, we had to cancel due to themeasures required because of
COVID-19.

Prof. Kiyokuni ShigaRev. Akira Fujimoto

Dr. Hitoshi Yoshimura

Prof. Sudan Shakya

Dr. Seiji Kumagai

Prof. Takashi Matsukawa

Dr. Mikiyasu Yanagi

Dr. Atsushi Sato

Rev. Prof. Kenryo Minowa

For more information about
BDK lectures, classes, andevents, please visit our official
website athttps://www.bdk.or.jp

Lectures in 2019
Country
India

Lecturer

Date

Prof. Kiyokuni Shiga, Kyoto Sangyo University

July 5

Rev. Akira Fujimoto, Jodoshin Shu Seikyoji

August 29

Tibet

Dr. Hitoshi Yoshimura, The Nakamura Hajime Eastern Institute

September 26

Nepal

Prof. Sudan Shakya, Shuchiin University

October 24

BhutanDr. Seiji Kumagai, Kyoto University Kokoro Research Center

November 29

Mongolia

Prof. Takashi Matsukawa, Otani University

December 20

China

Dr. Mikiyasu Yanagi, Hanazono University

January 22

Korea

Dr. Atsushi Sato, Toyo University

February 27

TaiwanRev. Prof. Kenryo Minowa, The University of Tokyo

March 25

Sri Lank

37

BDK JAPAN

17
Activity

NEWS 20192019 BDK Symposium

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) invited a variety of accomplished people as our lecturers, and sponsored
events for the 2019 BDK Symposium introduced below.

The 19th BDK Symposium “Facing Myself – My Eighty-Year Path of Zen” in Hokkaido on
July 22, 2019

BDK welcomed Rev. Eshin
Nishimura, the 52nd BDK Cultural
Award winner and former presidentof Hanazono University, and held asymposium with the theme of “Facing
Myself – My Eighty-Year Path ofZen,” in which he talked about his life
and the teachings of Zen.
We had about 90 participants at thisevent. Rev. Nishimura recalled hiscollege life in the U.S. and enthusiastically talked about “my encounterswith Christian scholars and artists,and how learning Christianity while I
was in the U.S. broadened my views.”

BDK donated the entrance fees for this event to therestoration project money for “Hokkaido Iburi Tobu
Earthquake Aid” through Hokkaido Buddhist Association.

While he remembered his previous
life experiences, he confirmed that thepath of Zen lies in “pursuing himself.”
BDK hosted the symposium inRev. Nishimura

Hokkaido for the first time, and it wasa great success indicating a major new
step for our future activities.

The 20th BDK Symposium “The Future of Japanese Buddhism” at BDK Center Building on
October 29, 2019

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) welcomed Dr. George Tanabe, Emeritus
Professor of the University of Hawaii,
and he talked about “The Future ofJapanese Buddhism” with comparisons between examples of American
temples and the current situation ofJapanese Buddhism as they related toJapanese Buddhism.
He discussed the future of Japanese
Buddhism from the western perspectives with Prof. Shizuka Sasaki fromHanazono University and examined
together with the audience “what we38

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

Prof. Sasaki (left) and Dr. Tanabe (right)

need for changing the future ofJapanese Buddhism.”
BDK provided everyone with simultaneous interpreting service for the
first time. Therefore, audiences could

listen in both Japanese and English,
and it was a great first step for more
people to participate in our symposiums.

The 21st BDK Symposium “Buddhism and Medical Treatment -Talking about Now and
Future” at BDK Center Building on November 29, 2019

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) invited a variety of accomplished people as our lecturers, and sponsored
events for the 2019 BDK Symposium introduced below.
We often see more cases in which
religionists support medical work inrecent years, however, various issues
and questions have arisen at the sametime. BDK welcomed two priests
who actively work in the medical field
as well.
Rev. Dr. Taishu Kawano, a psychiatrist and head priest of Rinzai Shu
Kenchoji-ha Rinkoji Temple, spokeon the theme of “Buddhism Works for
Body and Mind,” in which he talked
about the effect of Buddhist mindfulness on psychiatric treatment. Rev.
Yugaku Ikawa, president of the Kanto
Buddhist Chaplain Association andhead priest of Koyasan Shingon Shu
Kanrakuji Temple, addressed thetheme of “Facing Life and Death” and

Take
a
Break

Rev. Ikawa (left) and Rev. Kawano (right)

talked about what he wants to communicate with people at the end of
their lives.
During the conversation between bothof them, they addressed questions
from the audience and offered advice
about the future of Buddhism andmedicine. Many people who work inthe medical field attended, and it gavethem a chance to think about the possible connections between Buddhism
and medical care.
For more information about the
BDK Symposium, please visit
our official website athttps://www.bdk.or.jp

Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) has been distributing “The Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)” to hotels
throughout the world to spread Buddhism widely.
However, more hotels refuse our offer of copies of TTOB
because modern hotels tend to simplify their room interiors
and staff operations. They also need to be sensitive about
religious sensibilities of guests coming from all over the world.
And sometimes, some staff members do not even know that
copies of TTOB are already in their hotels.

$&-9GD/QXKG2TQOQVKPI661$KU1WVTTOB relates Buddhism to daily life situations,
including business, and therefore we would likemore hotel guests and hotel staff members toknow about TTOB. In order to promote anawareness of TTOB, we created a short movie
about TTOB in a hotel.

The main character of the movie is an ordinary
business person who stays at a hotel for abusiness trip. He finds TTOB in a drawer andpicks it up. What kind of phrases does he findthat had an impact on his mind? Find out morein our web-movie page in our official website.

https://www.bdk.or.jp/move/doga-haishin.html

39

BDK Affiliated
Organization Activities

40

BDK AMERICABDK ASIA

BDK HAWAIIBDK TAIWANBDK CANADABDK EUROPE

BDK MEXICOBDK UKBDK SOUTH AMERICABDK POLAND

BDK Newsletter

Michi

─The Path─BDK Affiliated Organization Activities
World Map & Contact Information
1

BDK EUROPE(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: bdk@eko-hause.de
http://www.eko-haus.dec/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
http://www.bdkcanada.com

2

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

5

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

3

BDK POLAND

4BDK CANADA

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

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

4
2

1

3
5

7
6

8

10

11

9

BDK JAPAN

7

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

BDK TAIWAN

8

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: bdktaiwan@yahoo.com
https://www.bdk.tw

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

BDK MEXICO

10

Prolongacion Eugenia No. 17, Colonia Napoles,
Delegacion Benito Juarez, CDMX, C.P. 03810, MEXICO
Tel: +52(55)5669-1088
E-mail: bdkmexico@prodigy.net.mx / sakibdkmx@hotmail.com
https://www.ekojimdx.com

9

BDK SOUTH AMERICA

11

a/c Mitutoyo Sul Americana Ltda.
Rodovia Índio Tibiriça 1555, BAIRRORAFFO, CEP 08620-000 SUZANO-SP, BRASIL
Tel: +55(11)5643-0006 Fax: +55(11)5641-3745
E-mail: bdk@mitutoyo.com.br

41

BDK Canada
Numata Chair at McMaster University
Reports from Dr. George Tanabe, BDK Hawaii President
BDK continues to expand its supportof Buddhist Studies programs at various universities. In 2018, a new
Numata Program was established at
Princeton University, and in 2019,
another Numata Program was initiated at McMaster University in Canada.
This brings the total number ofNumata Programs to 17 in the U.S.,
Canada, the UK, and other European
countries. All of the program coordinators at American and Canadian universities meet annually at theAmerican Academy of Religion meeting, which was held in San Diego in
2019.
Professor Shoryu Katsura, presidentof BDK Japan, led a delegation of
BDK representatives at the signingceremony held at McMasterLeft to right: Prof. Benn, Prof. Hurley, Prof. William, Prof. Deane, and Prof. Katsura

University to celebrate the establishment of the Numata Program.
McMaster University is one of theleading universities in Canada for the

study of Buddhism, and the new
Numata Program will contribute to
making their program even stronger.

BDK America
UC Berkeley East Asian Library Reception and Symposium
on Buddhist Philosophy

Mr. Numata42

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─The C.V. Starr East Asian Library at
the University of California at
Berkeley celebrated its 10th anniversary on September 19, 2019. Built as
the only free standing East Asianlibrary in the United States, theBerkeley East Asian library contains
in one location a vast collection ofmaterials in East Asian languages. An
important part of the library is theYehan Numata collection of Buddhist
materials that makes the library one of

the most important resources for theacademic study of Buddhism.
In addition to the generous donation
made by the Numata family and BDK
for the construction of the library,
BDK makes annual contributions forthe advancement of the Buddhist collection. In recognition of the support
given by BDK, UC Berkeley invited
Mr. Yoshiaki Numata, president of the
Mitutoyo Corporation, and Professor
Shoryu Katsura, president of BDK

Japan, to be honored guests at the10th Anniversary celebration. Other
guests from the university and thecommunity enjoyed a wonderful
reception at the library, viewed a special exhibition about Yehan Numata’s
life, and ended the evening with dinner at the UC Berkeley Faculty Club.
On the day after the Library reception,a special symposium on Buddhist philosophy was held on the campus of
UC Berkeley. Organized as part ofthe celebration of the 10th anniversaryof the East Asian Library, the symposium featured presentations by prominent scholars from the University of
Chicago, Oxford, Harvard, theUniversity of British Columbia andPrinceton. Professor Shoryu Katsura
also presented a paper and chaired one

Left to right: Dr. Mackie-Mason, Prof. Katsura, Mr. Numata, Prof. Hopper, Prof. Zhou, and Prof. Sharfof the sessions. President Yoshiaki
Numata of the Mitutoyo Corporation
opened the symposium with welcome
remarks.
The specific field of Buddhist
Philosophy is not as well recognized

as the broader area of Buddhist
Studies, and this conference made animportant case for highlighting thestudy of Buddhist Philosophy as a
subject deserving greater academic
attention in its own right.

Toshihide Numata Book Award in Buddhism

The Toshi Award, as it is popularly
known in the West, is now recognized as the premier prize for the best
book published in English on
Buddhism in any given year. In
2019, Professor Paul Swanson of
Nanzan University won the award
for his book, Clear Serenity, Quiet
Insight: T’ien-t’ai Chih-i’s Mo-hochih-kuan. published by the
University of Hawaii Press in 3 volumes. Professor Swanson’s translation of Chih-i’s masterpiece wasdescribed by the selection committee
as a “formidable achievement,” “amasterwork of scholarship,” and the“fruit of mature and sustained scholarship at the highest level.” The
Toshi Award is administered by the
Buddhist Studies Center at UC
Berkeley, which selects an external
committee to review the submissions
and select a winner.
The award program was held at UC

Prof. Stone (left), Prof. Swanson (middle), and Prof. Kieschnick (right)

Berkeley on December 6, 2019 andfeatured a presentation by Professor
Swanson followed by commentsfrom Professor John Kieschnick of
Stanford University and Professor
Jacqueline Stone of Princeton
University. In his remarks, Professor
Swanson noted that it took him morethan 30 years to complete his translation along with commentaries andannotations explaining the terms andideas of this Buddhist classic.

Dr. Tanabe (left) and Prof. Swanson (right)

43

BDK Hawaii
Banner and Photo Exhibition at Hanamatsuri Celebration

In cooperation with BDK America,
BDK Hawaii sponsored a banner
exhibition on Buddhist Temples in
Hawaii, and a photo exhibition on the
Buddha’s Words in the Landscape of
India. Both exhibitions were installedin the social hall of the Honpa
Hongwanji Betsuin temple on theoccasion of the Hanamatsuri celebration held on April 7, 2019. The event
was organized by the Hawaii
Buddhist Council, which includes all
denominations of Japanese Buddhism
in Hawaii.

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BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

The banner exhibition consists of 12
large banners depicting various
aspects of Japanese Buddhist Temples
in Hawaii. It explores the traditional
and unique architecture of temples,the sectarian founders, major objectsof worship, temple art and furnishings, objects unique to Hawaii, andother aspects of the ninety temples
that still exist in Hawaii.
The photo exhibition was developed
by BDK Japan featuring photos ofcontemporary religions activities inIndia paired with sayings of the

Buddha. BDK America translated theexhibition brochure and photo captions from Japanese into English.
BDK America and BDK Hawaii havecooperated together in circulating thebanner and photo exhibitions to many
temples in California and Hawaii.
Large audience was mesmerized by
the beautiful, soulful music that celebrated the holiday season andexpressed the desire for world peace.
The event was co-sponsored by BDK
Hawaii and the BDK-FujitaniInterfaith Project.

Hawaii Book and Music Festival
BDK Hawaii again participated in theannual Hawaii Book and Music
Festival by distributing 200 copies of
The Teaching of Buddha to attendeesof this popular event held on the

grounds of the Honolulu City Hall.
Volunteers manned the BDK Hawaii
booth, and not only passed out books,
but also had many conversations withpeople about Buddhism.

Soul Shop Suicide Prevention
Soul Shop is a national movement
focused on helping religious communities develop skills and strategies for the prevention of suicide.
Soul Shop has conducted hundredsof workshops throughout the UnitedStates and BDK Hawaii was a cosponsor here in Hawaii for the firsttime in 2016 for church and temple
leaders of all denominations. Since
that time, the suicide rate has significantly increased in Hawaii andthe nation, and BDK Hawaii joined
several other community organizations in sponsoring an expanded
two-day Soul Shop program heldon October 18-19, 2019.
The main workshop was held in
Honolulu, but people on the neighbor islands were also able to participate through Webinar broadcasts
over the internet. In all, 160 people
from Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the

BDK Hawaii booth

Big Island of Hawaii participatedand benefitted from the presentations that were specificallydesigned for adults and youth leaders in Christian churches andBuddhist temples.

Handbells and Shamisen Concert for PeaceRev. Kazuki Moriyama of Fukujuji
temple in Yokohama organized thisunique concert performed byTinkerbell, a Japanese handbell group,and by two award-winning Tsugaru
shamisen players, Shoju Aratani and
Tatsuya Oikawa. The concert washeld at Chaminade University, aCatholic institution in Honolulu, on
December 7, 2019 in commemorationof Pearl Harbor Day and also in gratitude to the people of Hawaii who
donated funds for victims of the 2011
earthquake and tsunami disaster in
Tohoku. The large audience was mesmerized by the beautiful, soulful
music that celebrated the holiday sea-

son and expressed the desire for world
peace. The event was co-sponsoredby BDK Hawaii and the BDK-FujitaniInterfaith Project.

45

BDK Mexico
Welcoming a New Member of BDK Mexico!

“Eko Ennichi Matsuri” festival

Mrs. Sakiko Yokoo joined BDK
Mexico in September 2019. She firstcame to Mexico as one of the Japan
Overseas Cooperation Volunteers in
2003, and then established the NPO,

“ A.C.México-Japón Caminando
Juntos,” which contributes to the cultural exchanges between Mexico andJapan. Once she encountered the philosophy of Ekoji Temple, the spirit of“compassion and symbiosis,” shedecided to join BDK Mexico. She has
now been studying to be a Buddhist
priest to succeed Rev. Joshin Todaka,
the current head priest of Ekoji Temple.

Message from Mrs. Yokoo

2019 was a year of big changes for
Mexico as a nation, when the new government was launched, and it was thesame for BDK Mexico. As people
wish for the new government tochange society, we set “transformation” as our activity theme for 2019 toencourage each person to develop theirminds and try to create a society without crimes. About 200 people come to
Eko hall and practice Yehan Juku, martial arts, dancing, calligraphy, Zazen
meditation, Yoga, etc., and we encourage them to include these practices intheir life and work.
In addition to the distribution of “The
Teaching of Buddha,” we held a variety of events to encourage more people
to come and join our temple and to bea supporter of Ekoji Temple, where46

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

people can gather, learn and rest. The“Eko Ennichi Matsuri” festival on
December 14, 2019 was a special success, and over 300 people joined theevent.
The year 2020 will be the 35th
anniversary of BDK Mexico. We started reconstructing our building, and thiswill be a big first step of our changes. I
believe that we need to take a moment
once again and reconsider our “mission” to change how to approach local
people along with meeting the needs ofeach situation. Mexican people lovefestivals and something new, and they
are friendly and tolerant about changes.
Culture/art related activites are easy foreveryone to join, and it is easy foreveryone to join because it is the mostpeaceful way to introduce Buddhism

Mrs. Yokoo

as an important part of our culture. In
addition to the monthly Dharma talkby Ekoji head priest, Rev. Todaka at
Puebla University, we started a new
project of presenting a picture story
show for elementary school children totell Buddhist tales and morality stories.
We also began a project of visiting
prisons, and are contributing to spreading the teachings of Buddha with aspirit of compassion and symbiosis to
the Mexican world.

BDK Taiwan (Taiwan)
BDK Taiwan Official Website
BDK Taiwan is pleased to announce
that we have launched our official
website on April 1, 2020. We willkeep updating and improving our
website and hope to delight our viewers in the future.
● Official website URL：
https://www.bdk.tw/● E-mail address for inquiries：
bdktaiwan@yahoo.com

BDK Asia website

BDK Asia“The Teaching of Buddha” Donation to Mahamakut
Buddhist University in Thailand

TTOB distribution by Mitutoyo Thailand

BDK Asia donated 2,000 copies of“The Teaching of Buddha (TTOB)” tothe central library of Mahamakut
Buddhist University via Mitutoyo
Thailand on October 10, 2019. The
university is one of the major
Buddhist universities in Thailand, andMahamakut Buddhist University

has four faculties, a graduate school,seven campuses and three colleges.
On November 16, 2019, BDK Asia
exhibited and donated another 2,000
copies of “The Teaching of Buddha”
to the students and their relatives who
attended the graduation ceremony,

which was presided over by theThailand Patriarch. It was a great
opportunity for BDK Asia to receive
more enquiries regarding “ The
Teaching of Buddha” from various
interested organizations such as temples, hospitals and schools.

47

BDK Europe (Germany)
Dusseldorf Japan Day

Dharma talk by Rev. Nottelmann

The 17th Japan Day, which isplanned, designed and financed annually by the Japanese community andthe Consulate-General on theJapanese side, and by the State ofNorth Rheine Westphalia and the Cityof Dusseldorf on the German side,
took place on May 25th in 2019. On
the eve of Japan Day, an open-air
Taiko concert was held in front of the
EKO-Haus Temple. We left the door
open for visitors on the day of Japan
Day. In great weather, a lot of people

Tea ceremony

48

BDK Newsletter Michi ─The Path─

visited a workshop on calligraphy, aphoto exhibition, and a workshop
about Koto. The number of visitors
was estimated to be over 1,000 people. In addition, the Gōtan-e service(to celebrate the Birthday of Shinran
Shōnin, the founder of Jodo Shinshu)
was carried out at the main temple
and 80 visitors attended it. An introduction to Buddhism was presented
by a Buddhist minister twice after theservice with favorable responses.
We also set up a special booth for the

Koto workshop

Calligraphy workshop

sale of “The Teaching of Buddha(TTOB)” in front of the reception areaand sold 69 copies in that weekend.

20th Anniversary of EKO-Kindergarten
EKO-Kindergarten celebrated its 20th
Anniversary in 2019. On this occasion a commemorative ceremony washeld on July 3rd. After the memorial
ceremony in the temple, children of
EKO-Kindergarten performed theirdance in front of guests. After the performance, a celebration party took
place in EKO-hall. It was a grandparty with many special guests such as
Mr. Masato Iso, Japanese Consul
General in Dusseldorf, Friedrich G.
Conzen, Deputy Mayor of Dusseldorf
and so on. The display of works madeby the children and the chorus of theirparents added spice to the ceremony.

Children dancing in front of guests

Hōonkō-Seminar

Seminar participants

The Hōonkō-Seminar took place on
November 22 - 24. Rev. Dr. Kenneth
Tanaka, Professor Emeritus ofMusashino University, was invited as
lecturer. He talked about “Shinjin
Awakening in Shin Buddhism –Its

Mahayana Buddhist Roots, andNembutsu Meditation.” 12 Jodo
Shinshu ministers in Europe and 23
ordinary people participated in it.
This annual seminar is a quite important opportunity for European Jodo

Rev. Tanaka

Shinshu ministers and members
because they can gather to exchange
opinions about Buddhism and Jodo
Shinshu in Europe.

Increase in the sales of “The Teaching of Buddha”
The volume of sales of “Teaching of
Buddha (TTOB)” at EKO-House
increased dramatically in 2019.
More language versions of sample

books were available, and the eyecatching display in the main hallcaught the attention of many more
guests. Total sales in 2019 was 646

copies, which is triple what it is in
usual years.

49

Kibō (Hope)

Hope means to wish or desire. To live means toseek to fulfill our wishes. There is nothing moremiserable than a life that has no hope. However,
we often lose sight of our desire and lose hope.
For the person who has spent all his energies dealing with matters at hand and is overcome by present reality, there will be no hope after losing an
ideal. Living with hope means to live always withhaving an ideal.

The realm in which the ideal of life is realized is
the Pure Land. There is a passage in The Smaller
Sūtra on Amitāyus, which goes as follows:
The color blue radiates a blue light,
yellow a yellow light,
red a red light,
and white a white light.
Each color radiates its own light. Therein lies theideal of life and true hope.
Taken from “Sasaeatte” authored by the late Rev.
Toshihide Numata, former chairperson of BDK50

BDK Newsletter 道 ─みち─