By all accounts, the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada annual general meeting was a big success. Forty-five delegates from all across Canada congregated in Winnipeg from April 26 – 29 for this annual event. The out of town included representatives from the Hamilton, Toronto, Winnipeg, Lethbridge, Calgary, Kamloops, Kelowna, Steveston and Vancouver.

The Delta Winnipeg Hotel was the main meeting site. The Ministers Association met on April 26th. The JSBTC Board, Women’s Federation and Minsters Association, and pre-AGM meetings were held on April 27th. Later that evening, the delegates were transported by a school bus to the Manitoba Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre where they dined a wonderfully prepared Japanese meal. The AGM and BCCWF meetings were held on April 28th that was followed by a reception at the hotel attended by 75 guests.

A continental breakfast prepared by the Dharma School parents and the Tsuito Hoyo and Closing Service were held on April 29th. Approximately 150 people were in attendance. Jim Hisanaga chaired the service and Sensei Ulrich led us through most of the program.

Socho Grant Ikuta delivered a humorous Dharma talk in both English and Japanese and then installed the newly elected JSBTC Board of Directors. Everyone then went downstairs for a potluck lunch that was prepared by several members.

Based on the feedback I have received, we should be very proud to have hosted a successful fun filled event. Many of the delegates approached me to say what a wonderful job we did and for the wonderful hospitality they received. I believe we truly lived up to the phrase “Friendly Manitoba” on our license plates.

In Gassho,

Harvey Kaita
JSBTC AGM Coordinator


SEE MORE PHOTOS ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE...

Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada
2012 Annual General Meeting
April 26 – 29, 2012
Delta Winnipeg Hotel/Manitoba Buddhist Temple

Thursday, April 26
2:00 – 5:00 Ministers’ Association Meeting - Manitoba Buddhist Temple

Friday, April 27
7:00 Breakfast Buffet (no host) - Blaze Restaurant
8:30 – 9:00 Morning Service - Campaign B
9:00 – 3:00 Directors’ Meeting - Campaign B
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch Buffet (no host) - Blaze Restaurant
1:00 – 3:00 Delegate Registration
2:00 – 5:00 Ministers’ Association Meeting - Westminster Room
2:00 – 5:00 Pre-AGM Meeting (Directors & Delegates) - Campaign B
5:30 – 7:30 Dinner (no host) - Japanese Cultural Centre
8:00 – 10:00 Women’s Federation Meeting - Strathcona Room
8:00-10:00 Pre-AGM Meeting (Directors & Delegates) - Campaign B

Saturday, April 28
7:00 Breakfast Buffet (no host) - Blaze Restaurant
8:30 – 9:00 Morning Service - Manitoba Suite
9:00 – 4:00 JSBTC AGM - Campaign B
9:00 – 4:00 Women’s Federation AGM - Campaign B
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch Buffet (MBT host) - Campaign B
6:00 – 9:00 Dinner

Sunday, April 29
9:00 Continental Breakfast (delegates) - Manitoba Buddhist Temple
10:30 – 12:00 Tsuito Hoyo, Closing Service - Manitoba Buddhist Temple
12:00 – 1:30 Lunch - Manitoba Buddhist Temple


Delta Hotel - 350 St. Mary Avenue
(204) 942-0551

You may remember the Buddhist statues destroyed by the fundamentalist Taliban army in 2001. Many around the world were horrified that these ancient monuments were attacked. And while that event was not long ago, the incident is part of a long history that has seen these two faiths clash for centuries.

In an effort to bring peace to these two communities, the Manitoba Buddhist Temple invited members of the Muslim community to an interfaith service on Sunday, November 27, 2011.

Hammad Ahmad represented the Winnipeg Ahmadiyya Muslim community. He spoke on how the Buddha was not any different from other prophets of God, that have appeared throughout the world. And that the fundamental beliefs of Buddhism are at one with the rest of the other world faiths.

It is hoped the service will initiate a healing movement between the two faiths of Islam and Buddhism and help to promote a mutual understanding and respect between the followers of the faiths.

LEARN MORE ABOUT AHMADIYYA MUSLIMS JAMA'AT...

Our weekend with Jeff Wilson was a resounding success! Whenever our temple has a special guest like Jeff Wilson I am always amazed at the work that goes behind the scenes.

The planning for Jeff’s visit began over one year ago. Finally, he had an open weekend in June of 2011. We had to worry about promotion and advertisement. Luckily, the late, Dr. Leslie Kawamura promised to have the Living Dharma Centre in Toronto help our temple with Jeff’s travel and accommodations. Our temple Board had to meet to iron out the details of the visit such as the fundraiser lunch, the cleaning of the temple and temple grounds, transportation, clean-up after the event and meals for our guest. Then there was the matter of how to plan the service for Sunday as well as the format for the Saturday evening lecture. Posters were designed and distributed and notices in the Winnipeg Free Press were arranged. Sections of our wonderful website were devoted to Jeff’s arrival. These were some of the activities required for Jeff’s visit. Many people, who prefer to remain unnamed, worked diligently behind the scenes to prepare for this important visit.

Then Saturday and Sunday arrived. We were privileged to hear two remarkable presentations. They were remarkable because our guest Jeff Wilson was a top-notch scholar who was able to relate the basics of our wonderful Nembutsu teaching in clear down-to-earth language. To be able to do well in both worlds - the academic and the world of the average temple member - is a genuine gift. It is nice to know that our tradition has academic respectability. It is touching to know that we who live outside the walls of a university can understand and live this important teaching of the Nembutsu.

On Sunday, June 12, Jeff talked about three hallmarks of Shinran’s teachings: Relax, Trust and Thank. I could never do justice to his talk. It was the kind of presentation that requires being-there, with Jeff himself present. So to paraphrase:

Relax, because our Nembutsu teaching gives us permission to be ourselves just as we are in the flow of our natural lives. Amida’s Vow to bring spiritual fulfillment to all beings is just for us. Flowing beneath the events of our daily lives is a warm nurturing presence—even in the most difficult of times.

Trust is not only found in the Vows of Amida but also in the Sangha, our community. Finding true words worthy of trust, a community of trust and people to trust is a deep need for all of us. When we cannot have them, life seems a joyless affair, scary even. We find these things in the Buddha, Dharma Sangha and in the Nembutsu.

Thank, gratitude is also found when we become aware of all the causes and conditions that support us.

It is really a great privilege to arrive at a place in our journey of life where we can relax, find something worthy of trust and give expression to our gratitude. Please read his book, "Buddhism of the Heart" for further explanations. I am sure everyone there would have their own story about Jeff’s visit. Please reflect on his words and feel free to share your experiences with each other.

I am always proud of our community. Our ability to work in a relaxed friendly manner with trust and gratitude is an amazing feature of our experience together. Remember how we close our chanting? “Together we all share the truth of this Dharma, which gives rise to Bodhi mind (bodaishin) and birth in true serene joy.” How true, how true.

In deepest gratitude.

Sensei Ulrich
READ AN ARTICLE ABOUT JEFF WILSON IN THE WINNIPEG FREE PRESS...

This season's Tricycle Magazine puts the founder of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, Shinran Shonin on the cover. The 15-foot bronze statue of Shinran Shonin was taken outside the New York Buddhist Church.

But the Jodo Shinshu connection goes one step further with a feature interview with a Canadian who re-dedicated her life to Jodo Shinshu after growing up in a Anglican and Buddhist family.

Rev. Patricia Usuki became the head minister of the San Fernando Valley Hongwanji Buddhist Temple, near Los Angeles, California, in 2004. In 2007, her master’s thesis was published as a book, "Currents of Change: American Buddhist Women Speak Out on Jodo Shinshu."

Usuki was interviewed by author, Jeff Wilson. They discussed the Shin teaching of the Primal Vow and the role of women in Buddhism.

Here's a preview:

What about today? What about female clergy in the institution?

"My own experience has been very positive. Perhaps when you start from the understanding that the Primal Vow is meant for all people without discrimination, and that it works in your life regardless of distinctions that include such dichotomies as good and evil or priest and lay practitioner, then how could the question of gender possibly be a consideration? This should be empowering to anyone. As a consequence, when social stumbling blocks occur— and sometimes they do—it’s easier to realize that the institution is made up of human beings, and human beings are imperfect. That’s why an individual like Shinran or me or you cannot hope to realize the mind of nirvana through our self-power alone."

BROWSE TRICYCLE MAGAZINE ONLINE...
SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THE TRICYCLE MAGAZINE COVER SHOOT...

Discover how Shin Buddhism may have become the religion “best adapted to life in North America.”

Learn how your life can be full of grace, despite blind ambitions and foolish passions, by just entrusting ourselves to the compassion that exists in our interdependent universe.

Saturday, June 11th, 7:00pm at the Manitoba Buddhist Temple, 39 Tecumseh Street.
Admission is free. Donations accepted.

Jeff Wilson is an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and East Asian Studies at Renison University College at the University of Waterloo. He is also the founder of the “Buddhism in the West” program unit at the American Academy of Religion and author of numerous books and articles on the development of Buddhism in North America. His most recent books include: Mourning the Unborn Dead: A Buddhist Ritual Comes to America (Oxford University Press 2009) and Buddhism of the Heart: Reflections on Shin Buddhism and Inner Togetherness (Wisdom Publications 2009). His next book, with University of North Carolina Press, will examine Buddhism in the American South.

Yasuko Akiyama is a Japanese woman living in London. She was haunted and moved by the recent disasters in Japan, and decided to undertake a fundraiser for the people who were hurt and displaced by the tsunami, quake, and nuclear disaster.

She along with several others around the world, including Manitoba's Sensei Ulrich, translated Miyazawa Kenji's beautiful poem "Unbeaten By Rain" into English. She then produced a beautiful poster with a lovely typographic treatment of the poem. She's selling the poster as a fundraiser for £20, with all net proceeds go to Ashinaga, a 40-year-old Tokyo nonprofit that provides "education-focused financial and emotional support to children who have a parent/guardian with a serious disability, or who have lost one or both parents/guardians due to illness, accident, disaster, or suicide."

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE POSTER...