Looking at Our Past as We Look to Our Future

In just a few weeks, the BCA will celebrate its 125th anniversary. It was on Sept. 1, 1899, that Rev. Dr. Shuye Sonoda and Rev. Kakuryo Nishijima arrived in San Francisco at the direction of Hongwanji to serve the spiritual needs of Japanese immigrants. 

Their efforts set in place the establishment of the Buddhist Mission of North America (BMNA) that was formalized in 1914, and the establishment of today’s Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) organization signed into being in the Topaz concentration camp in central Utah in 1944.

Looking at Our Past

The late Dr. Alfred Bloom of the University of Hawaii provided a uniquely detailed history of the BCA in his online self-study course that is available on the web. I encourage you to read this narrative in “Chapter 7: Shin Buddhism in the American Context” at:  <https://bschawaii.org/shindharmanet/course/chapter07/>

What is particularly important to take away from Bloom’s historical narrative is that we are here today because of the many devoted Shin Buddhist practitioners who committed themselves to a future for Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in America. 

Despite anti-Asian and anti-Japanese sentiment from the early 1900s that became laws that legally discriminated against Asians; from a worldwide Depression in the 1930s; and finally, in the face of forced incarceration of those of Japanese descent in 1941, the BCA has survived and flourished. 

It is with enormous gratitude to the efforts of the BMNA ministerial leadership and lay leadership that we are now stewards of a network of 60 temples and churches and fellowships across the United States in 2024.

Those who came before us had a vision for Jodo Shinshu in the 20th   century. It was to meet the needs of Jodo Shinshu followers who were majorly ethnic Japanese. In the face of the threat of an “Asian yellow peril,” the temples became a place of refuge to provide spiritual needs, but also a place to support the social and cultural needs of a growing Japanese American population. 

The preservation of culture and language became an important part of the mission for our Jodo Shinshu temples. It built strong and cohesive Sanghas as well as resilient communities that allowed the World War II experience of the mass incarceration to be lived through. 

It also allowed the promulgation of communities to parts of the United States beyond the pre-war ethnic enclaves along the West Coast and the re-establishment of Japanese American communities that had been eradicated as part of the forced evacuation of Executive Order 9066 after the World War II. 

This purpose of “refuge” sustained our temples for the first half of the 20th century. However, it also promoted an “exclusive” community that created barriers for others outside of the Japanese American community to be part of our Sanghas. This is a historical legacy of the BCA and a challenge that our temples have had to face in the latter half of the 20th century and one which can still be felt today.

Looking to Our Future

The BCA in 2024 is a different organization than the pre-World War II BMNA and the BCA of the 1950s and 1960s. We have moved forward to meet the current needs of our temples and churches: to be welcoming and inclusive to all who are interested in hearing the Nembutsu teachings; to promote an understanding of the teachings that help address the everyday issues of our current American context; to offer the 800-year-old teachings of Shinran Shonin in English to our English-speaking members; to be able to conduct the ordination of ministerial candidates in the United States; to spread the Nembutsu teachings virtually through social media platforms, webinars and podcasts; and to have additional revenue sources, including fundraising programs that go beyond revenue from temple dues. These are just a few of the many ways that the BCA has evolved to meet the changing times.

Furthermore, BCA is actively working to provide a framework for these ongoing changes. A key initiative is to adopt an updated mission and vision statement that will guide the organization as we look forward to our future. 

As reported in my message last month, our updated Mission Statement is:

To share the Shin Buddhist teachings of wisdom and compassion

for everyone to have a meaningful and fulfilled life of gratitude.

Our updated Vision Statement for what BCA is to be in the future is:

Shin Buddhism is a flourishing tradition that shares the teachings through an engaging ministry where inclusive communities cultivate peace, understanding, and compassion for everyone.

These statements inform the specific goals within the following five strategic areas for BCA’s future:

1. Propagation

2. Sangha and Community Development

3. Financial Capability

4. Ministerial Development

5. Organizational Development

In many ways, the BCA has already initiated actions for specific goals and actions steps within these strategic areas. 

Propagation:

• Investment in the Yakima Buddhist Church to rebuild its Sangha.

• Targeted programs to increase membership by BCA Minister Emeritus Rev. Dr. Kenji Akahoshi.

• Support of unique programs such as Buddhist yoga by Robert Matsueda, the only certified Indian practitioner and teacher in the United States.

Sangha and Community Development:

• New committees: BCArt and Film and Video are poised to bring a platform for artistic expression to build greater community and increased Sangha engagement

• Grants by the Social Welfare Committee to organizations and causes to alleviate suffering from deprivation of basic human needs increasing the visibility of the BCA to making a difference to communities beyond our existing Sanghas.

Financial Capability

• Fundraising has become an important focus for the BCA. The Dharma Forward campaign has generated more than $11.6 million for BCA and IBS initiatives for future investments and programs for both organizations. Furthermore, the Dana Program has annually funded about 3% of BCA’s $3 million annual budget.

• Strategic budgeting has now provided resources to address capital expenditures for ongoing maintenance of BCA’s physical assets.

• Increasing other sources of revenue has been a focus of BCA leadership resulting in additional revenue from leases on BCA properties and greater scrutiny on occupancy cost allocations among tenants on BCA properties.

Ministerial Development:

• Scholarships to support ministerial candidates pursuing Tokudo ordination.

• Programs to support certification of Minister’s Assistants.

• The endorsement that Tokudo ordination can be conducted at the Jodo Shinshu Center in the United States rather than the requirement to be conducted at Hongwanji in Japan.

Organizational Development:

• A board policy governance approach is being instituted for the leadership structure of the BCA. Operational decision-making has been moved to BCA staff allowing volunteer leadership at the Executive Committee-level to focus on strategic and policy issues that are important to the future of the BCA.

• Volunteer BCA committees are now supported by BCA staff to provide tactical work of the committee; all committee chairs are also encouraged to identify a committee vice chair to provide backup when the chair becomes unavailable. These changes are made to make our committees more efficient and effective in taking care of important tasks of the BCA

• Continue to seek BCA members with technical and professional experience to provide expertise in the various areas tackled by the BCA committees so that our committees can best address these areas of need within the BCA.

• Newly appointed BCA committee members in the last year that demonstrate the engagement and commitment of a broad spectrum of our BCA members:

Terri Omori (Vista) — Propagation and Membership, and Dharma Forward Allocation Board.

Charles (Chuck) Dean (Palo Alto) — Ministerial Affairs Committee.

Keiju Terada (Oakland) — Ministerial Affairs Committee.

Donna Yoshida Castro (Oakland) — Real Estate Committee.

Frank Perrott (Placer) — Real Estate Committee.

Joyce Nojima (Enmanji) — BCArt Committee.

Maho and Mayu Garner (Oregon) — BCArt Committee.

Kevin Yoza (San Francisco) — Film and Videography Committee.

Gaylen Kobayashi (West Los Angeles) — Film and Videography Committee.

Arlene Miya (Gardena) — Student Financial Assistance Committee.

Peggy Okabayashi (Placer) — Social Welfare Committee.

Kendall Kosai (White River) — Vision and Strategic Planning.

Kyle Yamasaki (SACBC) — Dharma Forward Facilities Pillar Coordinator.

BCA is on the move guided by a vision for our future, but also grounded in the 125 years of our historical past. These efforts represent the initial steps that will fulfill our vision that “Shin Buddhism is a flourishing tradition that shares the teachings through an engaging ministry where inclusive communities cultivate peace, understanding, and compassion for everyone.”

Namo Amida Butsu