October 06, 2021     The first thing that comes to mind for the month of October is Halloween, along with costumes, candy, and masks. It’s fun to walk along the store aisles stocked with Halloween costumes and candy and think about how you’d like to disguise yourself. However, my attention is always on the candy since I’m not much for getting into costume. I say that I don’t like to dress up in costume, but I can say that I have a number of masks that I wear. I’m sure that all of us have occasion to wear a mask or two. The masks I’m talking about are ones that we use in...

September 15, 2021 My mother's health hasn't been too great this year.  She's spent a lot of time in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities and, to be honest, it's been a hard year for our family.  In this process we've met hundreds of healthcare providers and I know that each one of them is trying their best to take care of us, but there are a lot of stresses and not everything goes smoothly.    Reflecting on these stresses reminded me of something that happened about 3 years ago. My mother had heart surgery to replace her aortic valve. The surgery was pretty new...

August 30, 2021       It's been a rough year for many of us. Rev. Kathy shares these thoughts on dealing with adversity:  We have all endured a difficult 18 months. Many of us have witnessed a wide range of reactions to life circumstances. Some of these reactions make us cringe, and others make us smile. We might even judge others for how they deal with life’s bumpy road, forgetting that we, ourselves, have made missteps.  I reflect on this quote when I think about my own actions and thoughts and responses to difficulties: “The Buddha, in the causal stage, made the...

August 20, 2021 "Persons of the Pure Land tradition attain birth in the Pure Land by becoming their own foolish selves."   --Honen Shonin, as quoted by Shinran Shonin in "Lamp for the Later Ages." It’s hay season here in Southwest Idaho and Northeast Oregon.  As I drive around the countryside, I see hay bales in 3 shapes/sizes.  First, there’s a smaller rectangular kind, that weighs about 55 pounds—this is the kind a grew up with, the kind that I can actually lift up and stack on my own .     Then there’s a larger rectangular shape that needs a machine to...

August 07, 2021 by Rev. Kathy Rev. Anne, Mike Iseri, and I completed the 2021 Obon cemetery visitations last week. Visiting the different cemeteries is a reminder of how much I owe to so many people. Because we are all interdependent and interconnected, it is mind-boggling to consider how many people have touched my life. Each one of us owes a debt of gratitude to a multitude of beings throughout our lives and beyond. We are lucky to live at this time as a human being, having the ability to listen to the Teachings of the Buddha and our founder, Shinran Shonin. Here is a short story to illustrate...

July 27, 2021 Our annual Obon cemetery visits and services start tomorrow, July 27, 2021. Obon cemetery visits are an important part of our Jodo Shinshu Buddhist tradition and something I look forward to every year.   (For full schedule and a link to the map, scroll to the bottom of this post)     Bonye No Uta* Lanterns aglow from the house to house, Lighting the path of the Dharma Those who live and those now gone All come together this festival day. Time that flows shall not return, But deep within the cemetery’s moss Hearts beckon each other, every year, And loved ones...