Living in Gratitude | Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada

In 2015, the Living Dharma Centre presented essays in honour of our 110th anniversary of Buddhism in Canada. These selected essays from our ministers, minister’s assistants and lay members as well as reflections from previous Canadian ministers will show you our various reflections of thoughts based upon our Shin Pure Land Buddhist tradition. We hope that this compilation will help lead you towards your journey of life following the Middle Path and of Gratitude.

In Deepest Gratitude,
Amy Wakisaka
Former Program Director, Living Dharma Centre & JSBTC Director

A REMINDER LEARNED
by Larry Wakisaka

One beautiful fall day the bazaar arrived. I watched as people allowed in surged towards the right to the Hondo to discover the bazaar delights which awaited them. I noticed one exception.

LIFE OF A MOTHER OCTOPUS
by Rev. Masumi Kikuchi-Taniji

I shed a tear over the sight of the “Mother Octopus”. She was born into this world, matured, became a mother and protected her babies with her life “as a matter-of-course”.

GRATITUDE LOVES COMPANY
by Rev. Robert Gubenco

We live in a life of duality; therefore, if “Misery Loves Company” then “Gratitude Loves Company”.

REFLECTIONS ON GRATITUDE
by Teruko Ikuta

I found that compassion wherever I went, kind, experienced and wise people were always there to help me. Thus I deeply feel that every day of the sixty years I spent with my late husband in the temple world was a precious learning experience.

BUDDHA ON THE PRAIRIES
by Rev. Fredrich Ulrich

I lay in the grass, feeling the earth breathe. The waving prairie grass bore a lesson. I would later call this Dharma. This was a place of no place, the addressless.

FREE TO BE ME
by Tanis L. Moore

I am grateful to have found a place where I feel welcome and at home, and accepted for who I am. The temple has allowed me to explore the Dharma and become more “myself”.

GRATITUDE FOR COINCIDENCE
by Anthony Chor

Being in my mid-twenties, life can get pretty busy and a little bit scary sometimes, but I plan to continue to remain mindful of the remarkable events that have brought me to the teachings and continue to be there for the Jodo Shinshu community.

AN ENTRUSTING HEART IS THE SOURCE OF OUR STRENGTH
by Rev. Yasuo Izumi

The popularity of Buddhism is growing. The Buddhist group in Canada, however, is rapidly declining in the number of members across Canada. Some leaders worry about the finances of the kyodan. Some people, on the other hand, quote the following words of Master Rennyo.

ALFRED LORD TENNYSON , BUDDHA, AND A DOG
by John Skelton

In the course of life, each of us will lose someone or something that we love deeply. It is when we lose that person or thing that the strength of our attachments is revealed most profoundly.

FIND US