My husband and I have a birdfeeder hung on our garage just outside our back door.   The feeder has a big clear plastic cannister that holds a gallon of birdseed. There are four metal perches for birds to stand on while they peck seeds out through holes at the bottom of the feeder. The birds enjoy our feeder all year, but they especially appreciate it when it snows because the snow makes it hard for them to get to the seeds and bugs that they usually eat.   After a snowstorm I like to stand at our back window and watch all the action as the birds—mostly juncos and sparrows— “flock” to our feeder.   Although there are 4 perches, there are far more than 4 birds trying to eat birdseed. But with all the seeds the birds spill on the ground below, there is still plenty of food for everyone.   But the fact that there is plenty of seed doesn’t stop them from fighting. Sometimes, there will just be one bird at the feeder and another bird will fly in full-speed from a nearb...

NOTE: This article was co-written by Georgette I. Magnin and Rev. Kathy Chatterton IOBT started its “satellite” pilot program in 2011 for Sangha members in Boise. We met  at the First Congregational Church on Tuesday evenings at 7:30 pm and connected with many  Treasure Valley Dharma friends at those in-person gatherings. Then the pandemic happened, and  in 2020, we had to end our in-person meetings and moved to Zoom meetings.  The new format allowed us to connect with new Dharma friends  from Seattle, Port Townsend, and Florida and stayed in contact with several of Boise folks  . At our December of 2024 we talked about a good cry,  the benefits of tears, and songs that were meaningful to us. Our Dharma friend, Georgette, shared  the following thoughts on songs and especially a song about the carousel of life that provides a  starting point for us as we begin a new year (and another ride on the carousel): Georgette writes:  “This is ano...

A guest message by Keith Hopper Novice Buddhist Meets Subtle Mechanical Teacher—Insights Delivered with a Wink  Buddhism, a vaguely mysterious element of my childhood, happily included Sansei friends.  Their parents were kind, there was a sense of order in their homes and cool machine shops,  and an atmosphere of gentle welcome. Fresh pillowcases when I slept over; waves and smiles  from the fields, always in the fields in rubber boots. As I considered the IOBT online sangha, I parted with a precious Inspiration Yellow Thunderbird  named "Tweety." Well-kept and hard-driven, it was time. Getting in and out became a challenge  and a spectacle. In Tweety’s absence, my heart longed for one thing—a Japanese kei (small)  truck. My son "diplomatically" conveyed concern and asked about my meds; my daughter was  relieved I didn’t buy the hearse (lovely, elegant, with good cargo capacity). Why? Just look. When I park in a row of Corvettes, Mustangs, and mas...

New Year's Bingo will help you focus on what is most important as you move into a new year.  Print off more than one card and play with friends and relatives! Say "Goodbye" to 2024 and say "Hello" to 2025  in style!

Recently, some of us were discussing how we handled the question of Buddhism as youngsters and teenagers. I didn’t have a specific answer because I don’t remember ever talking about going to a Buddhist “church” when I was in grade school.  Image: Rev. Kathy and her friend Sandy celebrating the Buddha's Birthday at "Church" Maybe I didn’t think I was different from my classmates because we all went to “church” on Sunday. Later when I was in high school, I might have referred to the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. I attended Northwest Nazarene College (now a university), and I did get the question from professors and students. I was required to take religion classes related to the Old or New Testament and Christian thought, and I had to examine my own beliefs. Prayers or hymns were often offered before classes began.  We were required to attend chapel three days a week. I did take an upper division world religions class, and of course, I was assigned the topic of ...

   Buddhism is, and has always been, deeply rooted in community. From the very beginning of Buddhism, monks and nuns have relied on the communities around them for food and support. In return, the monks and nuns offered teachings and blessings for the community, sharing the wisdom and compassion of the Buddha’s teaching to help communities find happiness and meaning in their lives. Image: Two volunteers help unload a truck of napa cabbages that were donated to our temple's bazaar.  In Buddhism, one of the most basic practices is to express one’s faith through the 3 Treasures by saying:   “I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Dharma (the Buddhist teachings), I take refuge in the Sangha” (NOTE: “Sangha” traditionally refers to the Community of ordained Monks and Nuns, but “Sangha” in our tradition also includes anyone who follows the Buddhist path). Without these three things supporting each other—the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha—Buddhist teaching...

by Rev. Kathy Chatterton  This is the time of the year when, in my previous life as a 4th grade teacher, I was preparing for the new school year. There was plenty to do: putting up bulletin boards, arranging desks, stacking textbooks, preparing lesson plans, studying the list of student names.  Since our temple will be returning to weekly Sunday services, we might also want to prepare ourselves with a review of key elements in our service.  We want everyone who attends service to participate and feel comfortable .   If our veteran service goers happen to be seated next to a newcomer, please introduce yourself and offer your assistance with the service elements.  Here is a refresher course on some of the terms and rituals that are used in a typical service Before service begins, we enter the “Hondo” or Buddha Hall. It is an expression of respect to stop in the doorway and do a small bow before stepping in.  The start of service is signaled by a tolling...

  A basic teaching of Buddhism is: Everything changes.   Nothing stays the same.   Our temple’s experiences over the last 5 years really demonstrate this principle of impermanence! In 2020, our temple, like millions of institutions around the world, had to rethink how we operated to reduce the risk of spreading COVID in our communities.    For us, that meant moving to online services.   In the beginning, we had just one service a month online, but we gradually moved to online services twice a month.  And once a month we would have take-out lunch pick-up in the parking lot, which allowed for a little social time.  Photo:  Even on a cold winter day, our sangha stayed connected We began offering face-to-face services at the temple in early 2022. But then, in July of 2022, the temple had a major fire.   We held our 2022 Obon service in our parking lot, just two days after the fire. The service was brief, but it reassured our community that...

  For a week each July, our ministers and members of the community gather at cemeteries around our region to offer short Buddhist services of sutra chanting, incense offering, and a short Dharma message. This year, with the assistance of our temple president, Mike Iseri, we have visited 16 cemeteries between Boise, Idaho and Baker City, Oregon.  Because it is hot this time of year, we often look for trees to gather under while we hold these services cemetery.  The shade is very much appreciated by all of us, as we stand there together in the heat for the service.   The trees we stand under and the gratitude that we feel for the shade, as well as the people we honor during Obon season, got me thinking about the phrase  " Okagesama de arigato. " " Okagesama de arigato " can be translated to English as “gratitude to everyone and everything.”    Often in Japan, when people greet each other they will ask “ Ogenki desu ka ?”   which means, “Are y...

In 2008, I was certified as a Minster’s Assistant—a first step in a long and often surprising journey to ordination and my current position as an Assistant Minister here at IOBT.   At the time of my certification,   I received my Homyo or Dharma name.   The name I received was Ren Sho 蓮生 “to live as a lotus.” The first character “ren” means “lotus” and the second character “sho” means “to live.”   The lotus is known for its beautiful flower, but what is especially impressive about the lotus is that the vibrant beautiful flower grows out of dirty, muddy ponds.   Image:   A beautiful pink lotus thrives in the mud As I was beginning my path into Buddhist ministry, my Homyo honored the challenges I had faced in my life so far as well as the challenges and frustrations I would likely face in my studies and in life.   These challenges were the mud, but they were not necessarily bad.    Just like the lotus draws nourishment out of the mud, we hu...