Our Spiritual Legacy

On Sept. 1, we held the special service commemorating the 125th anniversary of our Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) in addition to the observance of the 850th anniversary of the birth of Shinran Shonin and the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Jodo Shinshu teachings. All three events are intimately connected.  

Our BCA history began when two ministers, Rev. Shuye Sonoda and Rev. Kakuryo Nishijima, were dispatched by the Hongwanji to serve the immigrant Japanese community in the United States The immigrants had come from strongholds of Jodo Shinshu in Japan and wished to continue their spiritual tradition.  From that point on and over the course of 125 years, some 60 churches, temples and Sanghas have been built, formed and maintained.  

A couple of years ago, we had a guest speaker at a seminar for Nishi and Higashi Honganji ministers by the name of Rev. Giei Sasaki. It has been a real joy to get to know him and his family. He has traveled from Japan to the United States often with his wife and son, who has medical challenges, as they visit specialists on the East Coast.  

Over dinner at the Jodo Shinshu Center (JSC) in Berkeley, California, we talked about the upcoming BCA 125th anniversary.

The conversation turned to the first BCA minister, Rev. Shuye Sonoda.  Rev. Sasaki told us that the great-grandson of Rev. Sonoda — Rev. Yoshiki Sonoda — was his close friend.  

We thought, “Gee, wouldn’t it be neat to have him as a speaker at our anniversary service.”  Rev. Sasaki said, “I’ll call him right now!”  He called him right then and there on his cell phone, all the way to Japan, and told him about the BCA 125th anniversary and encouraged him to speak at the event. As it turned out, he was not able to make the trip because of his schedule, but we all saw the wonderful recorded video message that he sent for the occasion.  

Rev. Yoshiki Sonoda is the great-grandson of the first BCA minister, but we are all the great-grandchildren and even the great-great grandchildren of the early Issei immigrants who were the ones to bring Shin Buddhism to the West.  

They did not carry it on their backs like the early Buddhist monks who first traveled from India to China on foot. Our great-grandparents brought the Dharma to this country in their hearts and minds. They were the ones to build the first churches and temples in the BCA as Japanese communities formed.  

Since that time, we have had many non-Nikkei who have come to the BCA and Shin Buddhism. Their children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren are also a part of our legacy.  As more individuals encounter Shin Buddhism, we will have many more “first generation” Shin Buddhists, who will carry the torch of the Dharma and hand it down to their children, grandchildren and others.  

Shinran Shonin, in one of his poems, or wasan, regarded Shakyamuni Buddha like a father and Amida Buddha like a mother.  Of course, they were not his biological parents, but they were his “spiritual” parents.  At the Sept. 1 service, we also paid tribute to the 850th anniversary of the birth of Shinran Shonin and the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Jodo Shinshu teachings.  

Our “spiritual” legacy goes back more than 125 years. Our spiritual legacy goes back to Shinran Shonin. It goes back to the Seven Masters and the countless Buddhists, both lay and monks, who were part of the transmission of the Dharma from ancient India throughout the Asian continent to reach Japan.  

Our spiritual legacy goes back to Shakyamuni Buddha and his early disciples who began to turn the wheel of Dharma over 2,500 years ago.

Our 125th anniversary of the BCA was an opportunity to pay homage to the history, but to also reflect on the spiritual legacy that takes us all the way back to Shakyamuni Buddha.  May we continue to do our part to see that this spiritual legacy continues into the future.