Report by Ben Ryan, Nov. 2020 at William & Mary
Overview
The Buddhist Temple of Chicago (BTC) is a temple in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, IL that follows the Jōdo Shinshū tradition (also known as Shin Buddhism or Pure Land Buddhism). As a Jōdo Shinshū temple, BTC has ties back to Higashi Honganji in Kyoto, Japan, as Shin Buddhism is widely practiced in Japan. As one of Chicago’s oldest Buddhist temples of any tradition, it defines its mission as the following:
- To present and explore the Three Treasures of Buddhism.
- To be guided and inspired by the historical Buddha, Gautama Shakyamuni, and the teachers who have followed – Shinran Shonin, Manshi Kiyozawa, and Haya Akegarasu.
- To present the Buddha-Dharma in a language and manner relevant and understandable in contemporary America.
- To welcome all who seek the Dharma without exception.
- To be a positive presence in our local community, working to enhance the vitality of our neighborhood.
- To honor and continue the traditions of our founding members.
- To always live the Nembutsu – Namu Amida Butsu.
History
The Buddhist Temple of Chicago was founded in October of 1944 as an administratively independent temple by Japanese American Buddhist teacher Rev. Gyomay Kubose. Kubose, though born in the United States and a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, spent much of his childhood in Japan. After graduating from Berkeley, he returned to Japan to study under spiritual instructor Haya Akegarasu, who himself was a student of Kiyozawa Manshi, a notable Meiji-era reformer of Shin Buddhism.
Kubose, as a non-sectarian Buddhist, subscribed to Kiyozawa’s belief that Buddhism should be both a communal tradition, as it had become in pre-Meiji Japan, as well as a personal voyage. Many of Kubose’s teachings expanded the ideal that duality is an illusion created by egotism when originally everything was one, asserting that oneness and individuality can coexist so long as ego is not allowed to interfere. He also taught based on Kiyozawa’s assertion that Buddhism was a personal voyage, seeing Buddhism as a philosophy first and a religion second. In this way, while a practitioner may rely on the teachings of the tradition to some extent, ultimately, the philosophy is something they contemplate personally and therefore, the process of reaching Enlightenment is wholly their own to discern. Along with BTC, Kubose also established the American Buddhist Association and the Buddhist Education Centre in Chicago.
BTC was originally founded by Kubose as the Chicago Buddhist Church in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the south side of the city. When Kubose created the ministry, he was considered a pioneer in presenting Buddhism in everyday English and was one of the first Jōdo Shinshū ministers in the United States to conduct Zen meditation sessions. While the temple has historically been primarily Japanese American in membership, it now can claim members of European, African, Asian, Latin and Native American descent. Beyond an ethnically diverse set of members, its ministry also welcomes those of the LGBTQ+ community as well as practitioners of other religions, including some Christian members who feel that the Buddha’s teachings are compatible with those of Christianity. Ultimately, the community welcomes anyone and everyone to participate in it. After many decades in Hyde Park, the temple relocated to the north side in 2006, modeling its new temple building on the six-sided Rokkakudo Temple in Kyoto, Japan.
A documentary on Rev. Kubose’s teachings can be found here.
Current Leadership
The current Resident Minister at BTC is Rev. Patti Nakai, a third-generation Japanese American born in Chicago to a Buddhist father and Christian mother. Having attended the University of Minnesota for undergraduate study, she moved to Japan to receive education in Shin Buddhist studies and was later ordained as a minister and dharma teacher at Higashi Honganji, which is the head temple to the sub-denomination of Shin Buddhism that BTC falls under. She served as a minister at the Higashi Honganji temple in Los Angeles, CA for a number of years before returning to Chicago as an associate minister at BTC in 1995. At the retirement of Rev. Yukei Ashikaga in 2013, the previous Resident Minister and current Minister Emeritus, Nakai became the current Resident Minister of BTC. Nakai is a well-regarded figure in modern Buddhism, frequently speaking and writing within the United States and Canada and having been one of the Buddhist delegates to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican for a Buddhist-Catholic Dialogue in 2015.
Seen below is Rev. Nikai speaking at the Toronto Buddhist Temple in 2014:
Services and Education
As a temple which can trace its historical lineage within the Japanese Pure Land Tradition all the way back to the Higashi Honganji temple in Kyoto, all serving ministers retain strong ties to that head temple. The temple conducts regular services in English every Sunday, followed by an occasional service in Japanese. Special services are held on various days of importance as well as New Year’s Day.
BTC also hosts wedding and memorial services. On memorial services specifically, both the current Resident Minister and Minister Emeritus say that while these services are centered around death, they are primarily for the living and a reflection on how lives are shaped by those that the services honor. Therefore, the temple sees these services as a remembrance for those members who helped shape the fabric of the temple’s sangha as well as an opportunity to look forward joyfully.
In addition to the more standard services, BTC also provides many cultural and educational opportunities for it’s members. Some of the cultural programs include Qigong, which is a structured process of movement similar to Tai-chi that promotes health and wellbeing, Aikido, which is a non-violent martial art that focuses on improvement through cooperation instead of competition, and a ukulele group. Additionally, a Japanese drum troupe called Kokyo Taiko (lit. “Echo of the Lake” in reference to nearby Lake Michigan) was founded at BTC by Linda Tademoto in 1987. Its style takes its roots in wadaiko and kumitako performance but has retained a distinct and unique style over its 30+ years of existence. The ensemble performs frequently in the Midwest and is open to all new members.
Of course, as a Buddhist temple, BTC offers regular mediation sessions twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays. The temple welcomes all members regardless of experience but recommends beginners to arrive 15 minutes early for a personalized orientation. The temple offers more contemporary forms of education for all ages and experience levels as well, including the Dharma School for children and adolescents to learn the teachings of the Dharma in accessible manners, a 4-week introduction to Buddhism course that gives an overview of most Buddhist traditions, a Buddhist study group that focuses on theological discussion of Buddhism, and a Sunday Sutra Study that facilitates detailed study of relevant sutras to the tradition.
Connections Beyond the Temple
As has been previously mentioned, BTC is a part of the American Jōdo Shinshū community, especially connected to those temples that also claim lineage from the Higashi Honganji head temple in Kyoto, including the Higashi Honganji temple in Los Angeles that Rev. Nakai ministered at. Being strongly connected to its lineage with the head temple in Japan, BTC has had all past and current ministers ordained at that temple. BTC also is strongly linked to the Maida Center of Buddhism at Berkeley, a center for the study and enhancement of Shin Buddhism in the United States. Its director, Dr. Nobuo Haneda, taught study groups at BTC prior to his role at the Maida Center.
Conclusion
The Buddhist Temple of Chicago, with its mission to welcome all persons of any identity or origin, can be seen as an active place of serious religious practice in the Japanese Jōdo Shinshū tradition while also having adopted elements that make it accessible to a developing Western membership, such as educational classes for beginners and experienced practitioners alike as well as cultural experiences that bridges the temple’s tradition and heritage to a contemporary audience. While its membership is historically Japanese American, it serves as a shared place of community for all members of American society who wish to participate in Buddhism in any capacity.
(It is the goal of this report’s author to visit the temple once it is safe to do so given the COVID-19 pandemic taking place at the time of writing, as it is in close proximity to his home.)
Works Cited
“About Us.” The Buddhist Temple of Chicago. 07/04 2014. Web. <https://buddhisttemplechicago.org/about-us/>. “Aikido.” The Buddhist Temple of
Chicago. Web. <https://buddhisttemplechicago.org/groups/aikido/>. “Dharma School.” The Buddhist Temple of Chicago. 08/19 2019. Web.
<https://buddhisttemplechicago.org/groups/dharma-school/>. “Essentials of Jodo Shinshu.” Buddhist Churches of America. 2020. Web.
<https://www.buddhistchurchesofamerica.org/essentials-of-jodo-shinshu/>. “Kokyo Taiko.” The Buddhist Temple of Chicago. 03/13 2020. Web.
<https://buddhisttemplechicago.org/groups/kokyo-taiko/>. “Legacy Members.” The Buddhist Temple of Chicago. Web.
<https://buddhisttemplechicago.org/legacyintroduction/>. “The Maida Center.” The Maida Center. University of California at Berkeley. Web. <http://maida-center.org/>. “Meditation.” The Buddhist Temple of Chicago. 09/01 2018. Web.
<https://buddhisttemplechicago.org/services/meditation/>. “Rev. Gyomay Kubose (Founding Minister).” The Buddhist Temple of Chicago. Web.
<https://buddhisttemplechicago.org/about-us/gyomay-kubose/>. “Rev. Patti Nakai (Resident Minister).” The Buddhist Temple of Chicago. Web.
<https://buddhisttemplechicago.org/about-us/patti-nakai/>. “Rev. Yukei Ashikaga (Minister Emeritus).” The Buddhist Temple of Chicago. Web.
<https://buddhisttemplechicago.org/about-us/yukei-ashikaga/>. “Sunday Service.” The Buddhist Temple of Chicago. Web. <https://buddhisttemplechicago.org/services/sunday-service/>.
All images and media contained on this page were retrieved from the BTC website, its media archive, or its official Facebook group.