Buddhist Churches of America

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The Buddhist Churches of America is the United States branch of the Nishi Hongwanji-ha (also known as Honpa Hongwanji / Nishi-Hongwanji) sub-sect of Jōdo Shinshū (淨土眞宗 "True Pure Land School") Buddhism. Jodo Shinshu is also known as Shin Buddhism. It is one of several overseas kyodan ("districts") belonging to the Nishi Hongwanji-ha. The other kyodan are South America, Hawaii, Canada, and Europe. Their headquarters is at 1710 Octavia Street, San Francisco, California, near San Francisco's Japantown.

1 Origins and development
2 World War II and Japanese-American interment
3 Post-war developments
4 Seminary and education
5 External links

[edit] Origins and development

The origins of the Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) began with the arrival of Japanese immigrants to the American mainland during the late 1800s. Devout Shin Buddhists who had expressed concern over the lack of religious services, and the activities of Christian missionaries among the newly-arrived immigrant population, petitioned the monshu (head abbot) of Nishi Hongwanji-ha to send priests to the United States. The first Jodo Shinshu priests arrived in San Francisco in 1893. During the decades leading up to World War II, the mainland American branch of the Nishi Hongwanji-ha tradition was named the "Buddhist Missions of North America" and temples were established throughout the West Coast, the first being in San Francisco, followed by temples in the Bay Area, the Central Valley, and Northern and Southern California. There were also temples established in the Northwest states, in Seattle, Washington and Oregon. Since the majority of the early immigrants were mostly farmers or laborers, many of these temples were built in rural areas such as Dinuba, Guadalupe, and Sacramento, California.

A separate branch of the Nishi Hongwanji-ha was established on the Hawaiian Islands, known today as the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii.

The activities of the BMNA focused primarily on the Japanese immigrant issei ("first-generation") community and their families. Priests were expected to perform funeral and memorial services, teach Buddhism, traditional Japanese culture, and generally serve as role models for young Japanese men, as at the time they were often considered the most educated immigrants. Services were in the Japanese language, and Japanese-language schools were common at many temples. Auxiliary temple groups like the Young Buddhist Association (YBA) and Buddhist Women's Association (BWA), common in Japan, were also established in America to enhance the feeling of sangha and ethnic community. Many temples also emphasized American civil principles: Boy Scout chapters were active in temples before and after World War II. The desire to assimilate into mainstream American society created changes in traditional Japanese Buddhist religious architecture and ritual: temples resembled Christian churches in their interior design (replacing tatami mats with pews), and supplemented traditional Shinshu liturgy with introduction of Western musical instruments in services, singing of gathas modeled after Christian hymns, and male and female choirs.

Although the focus of temple life emphasized Japanese Buddhism and Japanese culture, there was a limited outreach to non-Japanese Americans interested in Buddhism. A few Caucasian members were admitted into BMNA temples, and a notable few, like Rev. Sunya Pratt from Tacoma, Washington, and Rev. Julius Goldwater (a relative of Senator Barry Goldwater) from Los Angeles, even became ordained in the Shin tradition in the U.S.

[edit] World War II and Japanese-American interment

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent entry of America into World War II had a devastating impact on the Jodo Shinshu temples in America, which lingers to the present day. War hysteria, economic jealousies, and racial discrimination led to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's signing of Executive Order 9066 which called for the removal of Japanese-Americans from the West Coast and placement into internment camps. Temples were closed and many Japanese-American Buddhist families hid or destroyed their butsudans (home altars), and other religious items. Priests were arrested by the FBI, since they were viewed as community leaders, and imprisoned, often separate from their sangha. However, Buddhist services were conducted within the internment camps.

The term 'Churches' in the name of the sect derives historically from the desire of Japanese immigrant Buddhists to be accepted into North American society and to avoid attracting hostility and discrimination, especially after many Japanese-Americans were interned during World War II. The name was changed from the BMNA to Buddhist Churches of America in 1942 at the Topaz Relocation Center. Many Japanese-Americans enlisted in the U.S. Army to prove their loyalty to the U.S. and to end the internment. The BCA petitioned the War Department to have a Buddhist military chaplain assigned to the segregated Japanese-American units, such as the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, but this request was denied. Buddhist chaplains would not be accepted until 1987, when the BCA re-applied for and was granted endorser status. After the end of internment in 1946, Japanese-Americans returned to the West Coast and their former homes, and most temples were re-opened. Relations with the head temple, Nishi Honganji-ha, in Japan were also reestablished.

[edit] Post-war developments

After World War II, the newly reorganized Buddhist Churches of America resumed traditional Jodo Shinshu rituals and services, and served as a refuge from continuing discrimination in wider American society. For this reason, there was little or no desire by many sanghas in propagating Jodo Shinshu outside of BCA temples, with few exceptions. The internment experience also created a stronger desire to assimilate into mainstream American society by many nisei ("Second Generation"). The nisei soon replaced the issei in BCA ministry and leadership positions, and English was used more frequently in services and meetings. During the next several decades, as Buddhism became more widely known and accepted in American society, particularly in its Zen and Tibetan Buddhist forms, Jodo Shinshu Buddhism continued to remain unknown, or misunderstood as an ethnic or "Christianized" form of Buddhism. This view is gradually changing as the organization's membership is becoming more ethnically diverse due to the continuing American interest in Buddhism and inter-marriage among the sansei ("Third Generation") and yonsei ("Fourth Generation") families, who continue to constitute the majority of sangha membership. English is the predominant language spoken at BCA temples, although some Japanese-language services and classes are still held, and sutra chanting (or shomyo) is still in the Japanese-language; some temples have attempted to create an English-language shomyo.

The BCA continues to struggle with the legacy of the internment and the effects of assimilation, as it confronts many serious issues: temples which are in isolated rural or deteriorating urban areas (which were formerly Japanese-American enclaves), a membership that is aging and in numeric decline, lack of interest by young people in the Jodo Shinshu priesthood, and misconception of their doctrine within American Buddhism. However, it is hoped that ongoing American interest in the Dharma will lead to a new interest in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism and a revival of Jodo Shinshu in the United States. The BCA has attempted to accomplish this goal chiefly through academic educational programs, "minister's assistant" training, and through cultural events open to the public, such as the Obon Festival, taiko drumming, and Japanese food bazaars. The majority of BCA temples are in California, although there are other temples and howakai ("Jodo Shinshu Dharma Associations") in Washington, Idaho/Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia. The BCA is administratively and regionally divided into six districts: Northern, Coast, Southern, Central, Eastern, and Northwest. Each district may sponsor its own yearly conferences, lectures, and social and religious events.

In the United States, BCA priests may be addressed as either sensei ("teacher"), "Minister," or "Reverend." BCA ministers have historically been all male and ethnically Japanese, but there is now a substantial number of female, and non-Japanese, ministers. BCA minister's dress or koromo includes the full-length black fuho, which is the everyday priest's robe, and wagesa, a type of stole which is said to symbolize the original Buddhist robe worn by the historical Buddha. Additional, more formal robes include the kokue, a heavier black robe with longer sleeves and pleated skirt, hakama, and gojo-gesa, a colorful five-paneled apron which is draped over the kokue. These are worn for major services such as Obon or Hoonko. In Japan, Jodo Shinshu priests typically wear a white hakue, or undershirt, under their robes, and tabi, a traditional split-toe sock, but this is usually not worn in America. BCA ministers also carry an ojuzu, a string of beads with tassels said to symbolize a person's bonno or "evil passions" which one must be mindful of. They are similar to the mala in other Buddhist traditions. Jodo Shinshu Buddhism has no monastic vows so priests may marry: priests' spouses are called bomori, an archaic Japanese word which may mean "temple helper." Bomori are very active in temple activities, and may also be ordained and assist in rituals and services.

[edit] Seminary and education

The BCA's American seminary, the Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS), is located in Berkeley, California and is affiliated with the Graduate Theological Union. This seminary and graduate school offers a Master of Arts in Buddhist Studies and offers on-line courses. BCA priests graduate from the IBS after three years and are ordained at the Nishi Hongwanji-ha in Kyoto, Japan in an evening ceremony called tokudo. Most BCA priests receive additional ordination called kyoshi (which permits them to teach doctrine) and kaikyoshi, literally "overseas teacher" which permits them to teach outside mainland Japan. A typical course of instruction for priesthood includes study of Jodo Shinshu doctrine, history, and liturgy, courses in comparative religions, general overview of Buddhism, and some Japanese-language instruction. Efforts are being made to include Buddhist-based pastoral counseling courses for chaplaincy training.

On October 20, 2006, the Jodo Shinshu Center, located in downtown Berkeley, was opened, to function as a training center for ministerial candidates and assistants in the U.S., sponsor continuing education programs for priests and laymembers, and as a major site for the propagation of Shin Buddhism in North America. The Center also has ties with Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan.

Currently, the Buddhist Churches of America is the only Buddhist organization which may endorse chaplains for U.S Armed Forces chaplains of Buddhist faith as recognized by the National Council on Ministry to the Armed Forces (NCMAF). The BCA may also endorse Buddhist chaplains for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).