REL 141g Fall 2018: Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple

Modern Adaptations of Shin Buddhism Impact on Ways of Practice Both Inside and Outside of the Temple                After speaking with the Minister of the service and hearing his explanation as to why he decided to pursue Buddhism, he handed me a small pamphlet called “a teaching day”. This pamphlet provided a sort of spark notes version of Buddhist teachings - the pamphlet consisted of 23 teachings and one was to be read per day. On one of these days of teaching (Day 5), it explains that the root of all suffering is “the principle desire for material objects”.                 The question of "How has society impacted Modern-Day Shin Buddhism teachings and practices?" then evolved into to "How can Buddha’s teachings be applied to modern day social constructs and societal expectations to benefit the change in times?" He then pointed me to an additional quote within the pamphlet: “People c...

INTERNMENT Japanese Internment happened during the second World War, where Japanese Americans were forced to leave their homes and relocate to concentration camps. There were roughly 120,000 people who were sent to such camps on the basis that they were seen as a potential danger to the country. After reviewing and researching about internment, it was surprising to learn that Japanese Americans actually stayed positive throughout the process. They did everything possible to keep traditions alive during internment, despite the unfavorable situation. Weekly Buddhist classes were held within the camps, and people turned to various art forms in an effort to preserve traditions. Music, painting, and dance were among the most popular methods people kept in touch with their roots. There was always singing going on in the camps and traditional songs remained in the mainstream within the camps. One article described the story of a little girl who was able to bring her koto, a tradit...

Shin Buddhism ( Jōdo Shinshū) is one of four popular schools of Buddhism in Japan. Others include : Pure Land Buddhism (aka Shin Buddhism), Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon Buddhism, and Zen Buddhism. Initially, there was some minor conflict between the two traditions, but both are largely able to co-exist peacefully side by side now. Although 90 million Japanese refer to themselves as Buddhists, few actively practice the religion - this means that Buddhism does not affect their everyday life strongly - rather it acts as a set of guiding principles for how to live life, similar to Confucianism or Taoism. The remainder of the Japanese population identify as either Shinto, Christian, or non-practicing.

HOW BUDDHISM CAME TO US: As we learned in class, Buddhism came to the US in the 1840s. Book Buddhism came to the East through books like the Lotus Sutra and the Light of Asia, while Immigrant Buddhism came to the west, basically meaning that Buddhist immigrants shared their stories / traditions / practices / etc. to Americans, thus exposing Buddhism to the public. WHO IS PRACTICING: Based on my own exposure to Buddhism here in LA (consisting of the temple study class I attended and research), it seems that there are two main groups of people who regularly practice Buddhism. Most people who practice Buddhism in the area are Japanese adults whose parents immigrated here. The other group seems to be a younger generation of people (Americans) who are well-educated and socially liberal. These people are exploring alternate religions and seeking to learn as much as possible about various faiths, Buddhism being one of the more popular ones. SOME DIFFERENCES: In my ...