August 20, 2021 "Persons of the Pure Land tradition attain birth in the Pure Land by becoming their own foolish selves."   --Honen Shonin, as quoted by Shinran Shonin in "Lamp for the Later Ages." It’s hay season here in Southwest Idaho and Northeast Oregon.  As I drive around the countryside, I see hay bales in 3 shapes/sizes.  First, there’s a smaller rectangular kind, that weighs about 55 pounds—this is the kind a grew up with, the kind that I can actually lift up and stack on my own .     Then there’s a larger rectangular shape that needs a machine...

August 07, 2021 by Rev. Kathy Rev. Anne, Mike Iseri, and I completed the 2021 Obon cemetery visitations last week. Visiting the different cemeteries is a reminder of how much I owe to so many people. Because we are all interdependent and interconnected, it is mind-boggling to consider how many people have touched my life. Each one of us owes a debt of gratitude to a multitude of beings throughout our lives and beyond. We are lucky to live at this time as a human being, having the ability to listen to the Teachings of the Buddha and our founder, Shinran Shonin. Here is a short story to...

July 27, 2021 Our annual Obon cemetery visits and services start tomorrow, July 27, 2021. Obon cemetery visits are an important part of our Jodo Shinshu Buddhist tradition and something I look forward to every year.   (For full schedule and a link to the map, scroll to the bottom of this post)     Bonye No Uta* Lanterns aglow from the house to house, Lighting the path of the Dharma Those who live and those now gone All come together this festival day. Time that flows shall not return, But deep within the cemetery’s moss Hearts beckon each other, every year, And...

July 22, 2021   Welcome to Hometown Buddhism!  This is the blog of Idaho-Oregon Buddhist Temple in Ontario, Oregon.  In 2022 our temple will be celebrating 75 years in Ontario, Oregon.  We are proud of our history and are grateful for the Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans who founded our temple and helped it flourish by sharing the Buddhist teachings, supporting each other, and connecting with the larger community.  We hope to keep their legacy alive by continuing to share what they taught us.     Up until last year, we did most...

ASSISTANT MINISTER (TOKUDO) Rev. Kathy was born in Nyssa, Oregon and grew up in Nampa, Idaho. She has been a part of the Idaho-Oregon Buddhist Temple Sangha from a very young age. She was a Dharma School teacher, a lay speaker, and has conducted an adult study class since 1976. After retiring from a 32-year career as an elementary school teacher, she was certified as a minister’s assistant in 2007. In 2010 she received Tokudo ordination at Nishi Hongwanji in Kyoto, Japan. In 2021 she received the status of assistant minister from Nishi Hongwanji."'My parents stressed the teaching of ‘living...

ASSISTANT MINISTER (KYOSHI) Rev. Anne began attending Idaho-Oregon Buddhist Temple in the fall of 2002. At that point in her life she was working in the medical field and helping families make difficult medical decisions and cope with grief and loss. She found that the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist teachings, along with her relationship with the community of people at IOBT, helped her find meaning in her work and a new perspective to help face life's challenges. Her desire to learn more about Buddhism led her to volunteer at the temple as well as pursue academic study in Buddhism. In 2010 she received...