Agape Table - Manitoba Buddhist Temple

Agape Table

Established to serve free hot meals to people in the inner city of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The need for this service has risen and today, 25 years later, Agape Table still serves a hot meal at the breakfast hour. Guests of Agape Table are single parents, the working poor, expecting mothers, unemployed, children, seniors, people with disabilities, and other people without food.

Agape Table serves approximately 66,000 guests every year including women and children.

Agape Table
The Higan service is observed during the spring and autumn equinox of each year. Higan means the “other shore’ of Nirvana or Enlightenment as opposed to “this shore” of Samsara or Delusion.

In Jodo Shinshu traditions, the Higan observance is also called Sanbutsu-e or Gathering in Praise of the Buddha, one of the two purposes of ritual gathering. The other reason is to listen to the Buddha's teachings. During the observance of meditation, the emphasis is placed on the observance of the six Paramitas. Paramita is the Sanskrit for “other shore”.

To celebrate Higan 2009 with our community, the Manitoba Buddhist Temple prepared beef curry stew and steamed rice that was served to approximately 250 individuals at Agape Table, a non-profit organization that provides free hot meals to the people of the inner city of Winnipeg.

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The meal was delicately prepared by the following members of the Manitoba Buddhist Temple:

Nancy Dufour
Barbara Bourrier-Lacroiz
Susan Holmes-Nash
Colleen Zobel
Ted Nakano
Mark Courtney
Robert Miyai

And served by the following members:

Tanis Moore
Ruth Shinoff
Jackie Sproule
Ted Nakano

The Manitoba Buddhist Temple would like to thank all the individuals who assisted with this worthy project. We hope to continue with another meal in the future and hopefully count on your help for assistance.

Jim Hisanaga
President, Manitoba Buddhist Temple

Manitoba Buddhist Temple

A Buddhist temple in the Jodo Shinshu tradition