The Salt Lake Buddhist Temple is a community in Salt Lake City, Utah which practices Jodo Shinshu Buddhism (literally meaning “True Pure Land Teaching”). The first move to making some organized Buddhist congregation happened in 1912 when Reverend Koyu Uchida performed memorial services for the first generation. Though the first generation was well educated and trained, they often performed average tasks such as driving buses or took letters for the illiterate. Not much is said about what happened in the period of Japanese internment other than the internment of many of the temple’s leaders, causing a cessation in the Sunday School practices (“History of the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple”).
The exact date of the founding of the temple is hard to pin down, but the first Sunday School took place on April 23, 1918, organized by Reverend Renjo Hirozawa. At this time, the first generation did not want their children to become a part of the Buddhist religion in hopes that they would grow more accustomed to the Christian society and thus become more accepted. Unfortunately, this did not happen. The parents’ desire to see their children become aware of Buddhist concepts necessitated they establish a Sunday School which is the precursor to the present school (“History of the Buddhist Churches of America”).
The Sunday School was shut down during World War II, after which the teachers began to translate Reverend Shintatsu Sanada’s sermons into English; prior to the translation, everything was performed entirely in Japanese. The Jodo Shinshu teachings have been a source of comfort for the families of the community over the years and the school hopes to increase the following of Jodo Shinshu as it adapts to the community in the coming years (“History of the Buddhist Churches of America”).
The Salt Lake Buddhist Temple is a member of the Buddhist Churches of America, headquartered in San Francisco, California and the main temple being located in Kyoto, Japan. There is little discussion of a founder of the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple, but there is a great focus on the founder of the school’s sect of Jodo Shinshu, Shinran Shonin (“History of the Buddhist Churches of America”). Shinran was born in 1173 and never meant to found a new sect of Buddhism, yet many individuals came to follow him and his teachings due to his great influence on them (Lopez 612). The three main ways that Shinran is claimed to have interpreteded the Buddhist doctrine are that he “spoke of the possibility of enlightenment for the common man, nobility, and preists,” “he broke away from the monastic tradition and was the first priest to marry,” and “he emphasized the other power of Amida Buddha rather than self power in reaching spiritual peace,” (“History of the Buddhist Churches of America”).
As can be seen in the picture above, the constituency largely consists of Asian- (likely Japanese-, given its first followers) Americans, but there are a fair number of younger Caucasians near the front row. Also, on the main page, there is a cycling set of images which show certain events the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple has sponsored which contain some older Caucasians, leading me to believe that there is some amount of integration for the temple within the community.
As for beliefs, the temple has fairly normal beliefs for modern Buddhists. On the subject of reincarnation, the temple’s Frequently Asked Questions states that “as Jodo Shinshu Buddhists, reincarnation is not a very important or emphasized idea.” They still hold to the six realms concept and believe in being reborn in them, as is normal in Buddhism, but they do not stress the importance of the idea because “we believe that in trusting in Amida Buddha, we do not have to worry.” (“FAQs on Buddhism”). Shinran, the founder of their sect, believed that “once one… entrusts oneself to the power of Amitabha, one is instantaneously freed from the bonds of samsara in this life and will be born in his Pure Land at death.” This further states that even Shinran placed little to no importance on the deeds performed, but that it requires trust in Amida Buddha to help them achieve access to “the Pure Land”. However, this is not to say that Shinran did not believe in the consequences of one’s actions, but rather that if one truly “accepts” Amida Buddha (to use a Christian term), then they will be grateful and do good as Amida Buddha did as a bodhisattva (Lopez 612).
Further, they state that both men and women are equal within their sect, allowing both to become priests because they believe that training is the determining factor in a person’s ability to be a priest. This concept of equality extends to their view of other religions: “We believe that individuals must choose for themselves.” They go on to state that while they do not accept Jesus as the “only Son of God,” they do believe him to be a great teacher. Also, they hold that Christian teaching is similar to what Buddhism teaches as their “major teaching of interdependence” is referred to as “The Golden Rule” in Christianity (“FAQs on Buddhism”).
Another normal belief is that in order to become a Buddhist, they say that one must take refuge in Buddha, Dharma, and the Sangha, citing the Three Treasures. As would be expected, the temple has a rigorous method to become a priest, requiring a graduate degree in Buddhist Studies from their Graduate School, approval by a committee (involving years of post graduate study), and two separate ordinations. However, it is interesting that they specifically require a more modern and American approach of requiring a degree rather than requiring teaching from a master. This degree may effectively be just learning from a master, but the fact that they have a set method of training appears different than the norm of Buddhist training (“FAQs on Buddhism”).
Finally, although their priests must undergo such difficult training, they are still considered on the level of the laity, “[Shinran Shonin] expressed the equality of all followers in the face of Universal Truth and Compassion.” Although the priests have many years of training, “their main purpose is that of a teacher.” As for the laity specifically, “our main purpose is to live a life of gratitude… express appreciation for all the causes and conditions… all things should move use towards a better understanding of who we are.” There is no mention of alms here, though it is mentioned elsewhere, otherwise the temple appears to have adopted a very similar style to that of Christian churches; it is a place of teaching, not a revered center of the great minds of the community (“FAQs on Buddhism”).
A normal service starts with “Oshoko or burning of the incense is symbolic of cleansing or opening the mind and preparing oneself to listen to the teachings,” during which many of the constituency give alms called osaisen. Next, the congregations chants sutras “to praise the virtues of the Buddha.” Gassho, the next activity, is when the congregation comes before the altar, places their palms together with an onenju (beads holding symbolic meaning) around their hands, and recites the nembutsu “as an expression of appreciation.” Donations are given during or after most services as well as for funerals, weddings, births, and when there is a service provided by the temple. The donations are “standard protocol to donate for any occasion that instills a feeling of gratitude” for the member or their family (“Temple Information”).
As mentioned previously, the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple is a member of the Buddhist Churches of America, from which they received the first reverend to hold memorial services, Kuyu Uchida. To this day, they are still a member of the BCA, sending a portion of their membership dues to the national organization (“Membership at the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple”). Also, the temple maintains strong ties to Japan, specifically Kyoto, for the further study of their priests in the seminary. The priests are also assigned by the Home Temple in Kyoto specifically to the Buddhist Churches of America, meaning that all of their priests are assigned to the temple by officials in Japan (“FAQs on Buddhism”).
Frequently mentioned on the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple’s pages, Amida Buddha is highly revered in the temple. Amida Buddha, whose name translates to “infinite light and immeasurable life” is omnipresent in the universe. Originally a bodhisattva who “made forty-eight original vows in order to save all sentient beings… fulfilled them and so became Amida Buddha and succeeded in creating his Pure Land,” Amida Buddha is said to still preach in the Pure Land in the West (“About Pure Land Buddhism”).
Works Cited
“About Pure Land Buddhism.” Jodo Shu. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2015. http://www.jodo.org/about_plb/buddhas.html/.
“FAQs on Buddhism.” SLBT. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2015. http://www.slbuddhist.org/buddhism-faqs.html/.
“History of the Buddhist Churches of America.” SLBT. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2015. http://www.slbuddhist.org/bca-history.html/.
“History of the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple.” SLBT. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2015. http://www.slbuddhist.org/slbt-history.html/.
Lopez, Donald S. Jr. Buddhism. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2015. Print.
“Membership at the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple.” SLBT. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015. http://www.slbuddhist.org/temple-membership.html/.
“Temple Information.” SLBT. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2015. http://www.slbuddhist.org/information.html/.