New Years Day Dharma Message 2023 " I hope that everyone will, deeply entrusting themselves to the  nembutsu and firmly embracing prayers [for peace in the world] in their hearts, together say the nembutsu. "   (From the Collected Works of Shinran p. 560) Happy New year! Happy 2023!  Akemashite Omededou Gozaimasu 今年もよろしくお願いします On December 31, members and friends joined us online from around the country for our New Year's Eve Joya No Kane service.   Traditionally  for this service the temple bell is rung 108 times. Because of the temple fire earlier this year and because we were on Zoom, we had to be creative--each person used bells that they had in their homes and we took turns ringing them. This bell ringing activity purified the 108 Bonno , our many attachments to the world of suffering. Ringing the bells cleaned out our greed, anger, and ignorance,  and reminded us of the Infinite Wisdom & Compassion of Amida Buddha that accepts us just as we are.  The process

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 Sanami Nakano w

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 filled in forms ove

Photo: 1958 Northwest Convention (Left Half)   Photo: 1958 Northwest Convention (Right Half) NOTE:  Feel free to leave the names of folks you recognize in our comments section! This summer has been a whirlwind. We started with the promise of in-person services inside our temple. That changed with the July 8 th fire, but we adapted and moved outdoors to hold services under the awning in the parking lot. Along with all the work to inspect and assess the damage of the fire, we had to plan for a convention. No one from IOBT gave any thought to canceling the convention. It was our “baton” to pass on in the convention relay circuit. We continued having convention planning meetings to discuss this Northwest event. We continued our temple board meetings to hear updates on the basement rebuilding and the smoke damage to the upstairs portion of the temple. No one skipped a beat. That is especially true for Mike Iseri. He is a multitasker extraordinaire. He was at the temple to meet adjusters, d

Editor's Note:   In this guest blog Melody Smit, a long-time resident of Idaho and member of IOBT, shares her thoughts on Buddhism and her recent move to South Carolina I am so pleased to be writing to you but I do not come to you as a minister's assistant or a scholar of Shin Buddhist teachings, but as a fellow member of Idaho-Oregon Buddhist Temple (IOBT) who would like to share with you some of my thoughts and experiences.  Some of you may know that I recently moved from Southwestern Idaho--where I enjoyed membership at IOBT--to South Carolina.   I know what you must be thinking, “why?”.  Well it has to do with long term retirement plans that would not work out in the cold winters of SW Idaho, and as beautiful as the Treasure Valley is, the Midlands of South Carolina are just at beautiful, albeit very different.  I can ride my horses all year long in relative comfort, that is a big plus, I don’t have to deal with dust and mud, and I still can’t get used to the idea that I do

Registration Q&A 1) How do I register for the Convention Email mikeiseri@fmtc.com   or  info@iobt.org  with name.  Payment can be made at  iobt.org  with the donate button on the right, noting that it's for convention.  2) What do remote registrants need to provide us in order to receive the link to the convention website?   Is there a deadline for online participants?  Best to  register at least 2-3 days prior.  Last minute may work  but I don't want to depend on it. 3) Is there a deadline for meal orders?   7 days ahead is best.  Any less and there may be problems ordering more of some ingredients.  If you prefer vegetarian, please note that when you email Mike 4) Do I need to register for Rev. Jerry Hirano's Intro to Buddhism talk and the Sunday closing service?  The plan will be to have these available from a link on our website--no need to register 5) Anything else? Not really.    ALL registrants will get an email (if they have email) with virtual instructions.  6)