Women in History of BCA Honored as Special Celebration

How critical were women in the history of the Buddhist Churches of America? 

Quite simply, we wouldn’t be celebrating BCA’s 125th anniversary without the “backbone of our temples”: countless women including ministers’ wives, Dharma School teachers and Buddhist Women’s Association members. 

Until recently, their contributions have been largely hidden and unrecognized. Bringing to light the stories of devout female Nembutsu followers helps today’s women and men understand the meaning of our Jodo Shinshu tradition.

Sept. 28 was an energizing day of “Celebrating Women of the BCA,” a special Center for Buddhist Education (CBE) seminar at the Jodo Shinshu Center in Berkeley, California, attended by 30-plus in-person and 40-plus online participants. In addition to recognizing women in our Sanghas, we talked about today’s limitless paths in Jodo Shinshu and had a terrific time eating, socializing and sharing with each other. 

Our dynamic leader, seminar chairperson Michiko Inanaga, gave delegates some prework: to identify individual skills based on a free “High 5 test” online personality assessment. The idea was to lean into strengths to uniquely impact temples and organizations. It was fascinating to share and learn about each other’s strength profiles because they were so varied, ranging from “Catalyst” and “Deliverer” to “Thinker” and “Time Keeper.” 

Festivities kicked off on Friday evening on Sept. 27 with a delicious spaghetti and garlic bread dinner and a fun Icebreaker led by Janice Doi and Terri Omori. We were challenged to learn interesting facts about every participant (Sumi Tanabe sang a solo at her eighth-grade graduation and Terri Omori was in an Armour hot dog commercial as a fourth-grader!).

The seminar officially started Saturday morning on Sept. 28, with an all-female minister-led opening service, officiated by Rev. Candice Shibata, Rev. Melissa Opel, Rev. Hitomi Kuwahara and Rev. Laverne Imori. A video Dharma message and welcome was provided by Bishop Rev. Marvin Harada, followed by Rev. Imori’s slideshow that featured significant women in Jodo Shinshu history, accompanied by a new “Women of the BCA” song created by Michiko Inanaga.

The two keynote messages were standouts. In her powerful and personal talk, Rev. Shibata shared the fears and tears of her life journey, including the trauma of her mother’s death and the anxiety of meeting expectations as a minister. A woman’s tears are not a sign of weakness, but of connecting hearts and emotions; these tears are beautiful and come from limitless love.

Rev. Opel talked about being struck by Shinran Shonin’s statement that “hell is decidedly my abode” (“Tannisho”), which made her see herself and her ego in a whole new way. Raised Catholic, she discovered the Spokane Buddhist Temple and began attending all available services, classes and workshops. 

Rev. Opel discussed the example of Kisa Gotami, who was a recipient of the Buddha’s support, then paid it forward by becoming a great leader among nuns.

“It was wonderful to meet a lot of new BCA friends from across the country and it was great to reunite with a lot of familiar faces, too,” said delegate Kevin Yoza of the Buddhist Church of San Francisco. “It was great to connect with everyone and to hear about what’s going on at our different temples. Rev. Shibata and Rev. Opel both shared wonderful reflections on their journeys and experiences on being a minister. It was a very heartfelt event and I hope to see everyone again in the future.”

If you attended for the food, we wouldn’t blame you. Judy Kono and crew worked their magic to feed us like royalty. After a group photo, we enjoyed a delectable “build your own” bacon, soft boiled egg, and ranch grain bowl lunch.

A panel discussion was the highlight of the afternoon, expertly moderated by Rev. Shibata with her wonderful active listening skills. Our three panelists talked about their unique individual journeys on the Nembutsu path and as leaders in their Sanghas. 

Sumi Tanabe recalled that as a young woman, the San Jose Betsuin board was all male. Told she was “bossy,” she was also a good organizer who enjoyed helping people. 

After breaking the glass ceiling as temple President in San Jose, Tanabe became one of the few female BCA leaders in the 1990s. Also passionate about helping the larger San Jose community, she initiated and continues a program to feed hot lunches to unhoused people in the local area. In light of declining membership, her message of “Don’t give up” on our BCA temples resonated with many attendees.

Andrea Chapman first visited the Ekoji Buddhist Temple in 2016 as company for her daughter, who was taking a Comparative Religions course. 

Experiencing a feeling of peace and belonging at the temple, she became an active member and leader, and now serves as Ekoji temple President. To the audience’s surprise, she shared that she was initially terrified about public speaking at her temple. After a lot of practice, she has gained confidence to share her thoughts about the Dharma and now cohosts the podcast, “Echo Ekoji.”

Sydney Shiroyama said the best aspect of the Palo Alto Buddhist Temple Sangha is that she can be herself and fit in. A big influence was the year she lived with her 91-year-old grandmother in Central California, seeing her take care of her Obutsudan, observe memorial services, and share joy and laughs with her temple friends. 

Shiroyama discussed how women feel judged and pressured to meet others’ expectations (empathetic, organized, good listener) and should be allowed to also be weak and human. Similarly, ministers should not be expected to be perfect.

Following the panel, Rev. Hitomi Kuwahara led an invigorating sitting yoga session. 

“I was surprised when we were doing yoga that there were so many people who commented on hearing their necks crack,” said delegate Darlene Okura of the Buddhist Fellowship of Concord. “It made me feel a little better since I was hearing my neck crack, too. It was very nice and surprising to meet so many people from so many different places throughout the country. It makes me hopeful that BCA can grow and change to accommodate modern times.”

Lively, interactive breakout groups followed, both in-person and online, where everyone shared their “Roses” (what’s going well), “Thorns” (challenging areas), and “Buds” (opportunities to grow). 

Molly Maseba, a Cal student from Sacramento Betsuin, presented a summary from her breakout group.

“My time at the Women of the BCA event was, fittingly, enlightening! I have participated in my fair share of Jr. YBA and BYR events in the past, but this was the first time that I have attended a conference that was catered towards all ages, not just teenagers,” she said. 

“While it was a little nerve-racking at first being one of few college-aged participants, I was met with such a welcoming and enthusiastic atmosphere,” Maseba continued. “I never felt out of place, and I was able to feel seen, heard and understood within the Sangha. One of my greatest takeaways was the intergenerational community building that I was able to experience — everyone had so much wisdom and insight to share and learn from one another.”

During the closing service, Rev. Kuwahara discussed her experiences as a minister and Bōmori (minister’s spouse and “guardian of the temple”) at the Berkeley Buddhist Temple (BBT). She displayed the special Bōmori shikisho worn in Japan, which helps temple members identify who they can turn to for help and advice, joking that Judy Kono ought to wear this at BBT. 

From her teacher Rev. Jitsuen Kakehashi, she reflected on how the three poisons of greed, anger and ignorance come out in our limited and biased perception of other people as useful, useless or indifferent to us. In contrast, in the Buddha’s Pure Land, each flower shines and is beautiful just as it is. The blue flower is not asked to turn red.

The day concluded with a superb miso salmon dinner and social hour with yummy drinks and goodies. Thank you to the seminar planning committee and JSC staff, whose hard work and dedication resulted in such an engrossing, empowering, and enjoyable event.

“The ‘Celebrating Women of the BCA’ gathering was a truly meaningful and inspiring gathering, among the most impactful experiences I have had at the Jodo Shinshu Center,” said Rev. Henry Adams, Resident Minister at the San Mateo Buddhist Temple.

“The thoughtful speakers and lively discussion beautifully captured this dynamic moment we are experiencing in the BCA, as we welcome a long overdue gender balance correction with more women entering the ministry and stepping into leadership roles at all levels of the BCA Sangha,” Rev. Adams said. “I look forward to participating in more events like this in the future.”