On January 7, 2024 Idaho-Oregon Buddhist Temple held our Reopening/Dedication Service, celebrating our recovery after the fire in July of 2022. Rev. Jerry Hirano officiated the service and invited our two Assistant Ministers, Rev. Kathy Chatterton and Rev. Anne Spencer to share their thoughts as the temple reopened.    Photo (left to right): Mike Iseri (Temple President) Rev. Anne Spencer, Rev. Jerry Hirano, Rev. Anne Spencer at the Hoonko & Grand Reopening Service on Jan 7 2024.  In this blog, we are sharing summaries of Rev. Kathy's and Rev. Anne's reflections on the reopening and the history and the future of the temple.  Rev. Kathy Chatterton: Our temple was officially dedicated on February 9, 1958, and officially rededicated on January 7, 2024. As a Sangha member who has been a part of the temple for over 60 years, I am very proud of our IOBT community for working together to bring the temple back to life. In my mind, the temple was on life support...

A special guest article by temple member and friend Melody Smit During November’s BWA memorial service (which I was able to attend remotely by Zoom from my new home in South Carolina) I was reminded of so many wonderful memories and ladies that I love in the temple and the many Nisei ladies that were so wonderful to me.   They took me under their wing, showed the ins & outs of temple life, and made it possible for me to be a true member of IOBT. Photo: Several of our Buddhist Women's Association Members with Rev. Dennis taken in 2016 During the BWA memorial service, when our guest speaker, Rev. Melissa Opel  of the Spokane Buddhist Temple   spoke of the importance of sharing and keeping alive the memories and connections we have with one another, it prompted me to think of my early days in the temple when I was new to the tradition, coming to services and meeting new people. And I wanted to share a few of these memories with you.   I have such fond memories of S...

The past couple years, I’ve spent a lot of time in doctors’ offices and hospitals. Mostly that was with my mother, who died earlier this year after a long series of illnesses.   But I’ve also had some issues with my own stomach/digestion--likely the result of my own aging and the stress of helping care for my mother, grieving her death, and managing the estate.   I am sure many of you have been through similar challenges and I know that, as Buddhism teaches, life is full of challenges like this. A central teaching of Buddhism is that sickness, old age, and death are inevitable in human life and they are hard! Photo: A bowl of noodles is a great comfort food on a stressful day The way modern American medical care is provided, along with the stresses of COVID, have made the last couple years a challenging time to get great medical care. Everyone is busy and many interactions are mediated by computers, limiting human interaction.   Over the past year my family and I fille...

  One of the simple pleasures that my mom misses now that she is residing in an assisted living community is Japanese rice. She mentions “ochazuke,” a comfort food that I remember from my childhood. Nothing was more enjoyable than a chawan (bowl) of rice with ocha (tea) poured over it. Slurping this bowl of rice along with tsukemono (pickled vegetables) was a favorite at mealtime. It certainly was not a fancy dish, and it did not take a long time to prepare. Even I could manage to make  ochazuke ! So I was surprised when I did a Google search for  “ochazuke” and found that there are actual recipes for making ochazuke --I cannot imagine that someone would need a recipe! Its awesome-ness lies in its simplicity...and all the childhood memories that come along with the flavors. I, and many other Shin Buddhists of my generation, who grew up going to a Jodo Shinshu temple, experience the same feeling of simplicity with our practice of reciting the name of Amida Buddha. The...