2005, Dharma School 50th Anniversary Year

Golden Anniversary Celebration

• 50th Anniversary Slide Show (5Mb PDF File)

• Messages

Special Pilgrimage Tour

• Itinerary

• Pilgrimage Tour Message

• Jidou-Nembutsu Hoshidan Program, Day 1

• Kikyoshiki Ceremony

• Jidou-Nembutsu Hoshidan Program, Day 2

• Commemorative Photo

• Message from Rev. Ryoga Suwa

• Visit Peace Park and A-Bomb Museum

• Venice Hongwanji in the News

Message from Rev. Iwohara

In a letter that Shinran Shonin wrote he states:  

Those who feel uncertain of birth should say the nembutsu aspiring first for their own birth. Those who feel that their own birth is completely settled should, mindful of the Buddha’s benevolence, hold the nembutsu in their heart and say it to respond in gratitude to that benevolence, with the wish, “May there be peace in the world, and may the Buddha’s teaching spread!” (Collected Works of Shinran, p. 560). 

These words help us to understand the significance of our trip in visiting our Mother temple, the Hongwanji, in Japan. It also helps us to understand the important work we do as the Venice Hongwanji.

As part of our visit to the Mother Temple, we will participate in a program where we will be able to help clean the temple and visit the many treasures that the Hongwanji maintains for all of its members including those of us from Venice. We will take part in the Hongwanji’s Obon Festival, and also visit the Atomic Bomb Peace Park in Hiroshima on this the 60^th anniversary year since the dropping of the first Atomic Bomb. 

Sometimes, in our struggles, we wonder “Why me?” “What is my place?” To help us from reaching the wrong conclusion Amida Buddha constantly calls to us saying, “My Enlightenment is meaningless without yours.”  When we hear this in the name Namo Amida Butsu, we discover that our lives are completely affirmed: My life has meaning. From this discovery, the desire to live a meaningful life is born. How do we do this? According to Shinran Shonin, a meaningful life is one that promotes peace in the world. It is a life that wants to share the peace that comes from knowing my life has meaning, and that my life has value.  When, through the Buddha’s benevolence, we understand that my life has meaning because it is a part of the immeasurable life we hear as Namo Amida Butsu, we discover, at the same time, that my life is also meaningful because of all the lives that have become a part of it, like the lives of my parents, my grandparents, and all those who have helped me to have this very special day we call today. We discover that it is not just my life that has meaning and value, but all life has meaning and value. 

We can create a world filled with hate and violence. We can create a world that negates and can destroy all life like an atomic bomb. Or, we can learn to appreciate this very special day we call today as a continuous moment filled with immeasurable life. We can live in the light of Namo Amida Butsu and discover a world that affirms and nurtures all life. The desire to share this appreciation of life is why Shinran Shonin wrote his letter over 750 years ago, it is the reason why the Hongwanji in Kyoto was built over 400 years ago. It is also the reason why we celebrate our Dharma School’s 50^th anniversary, and hopefully why we are participating in this pilgrimage journey. Through all these things we learn to receive and share the Nembutsu. “May there be peace in the world, and may the Buddha’s teaching spread!”