Professor Williams is a scholar of Shin Buddhism who gave a lecture in Professor Soni's class on September 19th, 2018. One of my biggest takeaways from professor Williams' lecture was a formula he provided our class that provided a major framework for the Buddhist religion: Wisdom + Compassion = Liberation/Freedom. Every school of Buddhism has a 2,5000+ year history of teaching wisdom over ignorance, because suffering comes from ignorance. Though particular to our research project, Higashi Honganji does not boast a high volume of non-Asian temple goers. However, approximately 1/3 of American Buddhists are non-Asian. Additionally, Buddhism is spread throughout the United States with predominant populations in San Francisco and Hawaii. One tradition that started in Hawaii is the lantern ceremony in Waikiki, where nearly 50,000 people light floating lanterns into the sea.
A major discussion we had with Professor Williams was about Japanese-American life during World War II. We talked at length about Japanese-American involvement in the Armed Forces and about Japanese-American Internment. Something that Professor Williams notes as a contradiction is the fact that Buddhists in the military were killing people, which goes against their ideologies. However, these Japanese-Americans were not even formally recognized as Buddhist because dog-tags only had specifications for Protestants, Catholics, Hebrews (Jews), or "NO" to indicate no religious preferences. Though World War II was a moment in American history where Japanese-Americans and Japanese-American Buddhists specifically were deemed disloyal, ultimately to a point where their religion was invalidated, somehow Buddhist soldiers appeared resilient. These soldiers held on not only to faith in their religion, but also in their country. Resiliency was a common theme both on the battlefield and in the internment camps, as Buddhism became a headquarters for social and cultural services for many interned Japanese-Americans. Professor Williams showed us pictures of shrines made out of scrap wood and bracelets (juzu) out of peach pits from several internment camps. The same belief Buddhist soldiers had in America was resonant with interned Japanese-Americans as much of their decor inside barracks included elements of Buddhism, such as a poster of the Buddha, a Buddhist scroll and an American flag. These juxtaposed relics are symbolic of antithetical feelings between race (Japanese Americans) and religion (Buddhist).
Another interview our group conducted was with a temple goer and trustee, Trish Nicholson. Trish is a Japanese-American whose parents were interned in Manzanar, one of the larger internment camps in California. Trish told us that her parents met in Manzanar and while much of the time in internment camps was very difficult, Buddhism was a pillar of connection and strength for many who were interned. Her parents and many others of the Shinto Buddhist community were focused on the present situation, and did not want to dwell in their difficulty. They believed that while they were in the camps, they had to make the best of their situation. To do so, her grandfather made a garden at Manzanar. Attempts to find community and make the camps more livable were present throughout Manzanar. Buddhists formed groups, had dances and accepted where they were so they could live in the present moment. There was no looking back at where they had come from and there was also no talk of the future. Buddhists who were interned simply appreciated what they did and did not have.
When discussing Higashi Honganji with Trish, she told us that non-Asians who come to the temple are there through channels like word of mouth and their own interest in the practice. There are no advertisements targeting non-Asians, so ultimately there are fewer there. Trish believes that Buddhism in America is not widely expansive, and since the religion is not proselytizing, there is little reason to recruit folks to participate in the culture. One element of attraction that Trish believes helps non-Asians feel welcome is that the religion and the temple are open to all. Japanese is sometimes spoken at the temple during services, which can be seen as off-putting to some, but generally there is more English.
In comparing our research to our discussions with professor Williams and Trish, we found similar themes of resiliency and mindfulness of the present moment. When studying Japanese-American views of their World War II incarceration, Stephen Fugita remarks that Buddhists remember their incarceration as a less negative time in their lives. Buddhism was a headquarters for social and cultural services. While the Japanese American Buddhist Church grew rapidly directly after World War II, increasing church membership tapered off by 1950, but continued to strengthen through stable churchgoers. Buddhism is using it's focus on meditation and mindfulness to grow the practice and encourage new members to find the faith.
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