Nyozegamon

Three Priests Meet Again After 34 Years

rie — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 04:40:23 -0800

by BISHOP KOSHIN OGUI
Buddhist Churches of America

It was June 16, 2007 when a lecture titled “Sankesso Returns to San Francisco to Talk About Life” was held. The term Sankesso, literally meaning “three distinguished priests,” referred to a group of three Buddhist priests that were active in the San Francisco area for about a decade in the 1970s and ’80s.

The Greater the Hardship, the Greater the Joy

rie — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 06:47:30 -0800

by BISHOP KOSHIN OGUI
Buddhist Churches of America

About four months after I had taken up residence as the priest at Oxnard Buddhist Church, I had to preside over a funeral. It was for a Japanese woman who had committed suicide.

It was the second funeral I would do alone. I was relieved to find out that the incident had nothing to do with the agricultural trainees from Japan.

The Mystery of Fate Between a Man and a Woman

rie — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:44:16 -0800

by BISHOP KOSHIN OGUI
Buddhist Churches of America

About two months had passed since taking up my post at the Oxnard Buddhist Church when I received a request to do a wedding ceremony.

The families on both sides were members of the church. The mother of the groom was a Nisei, a second-generation Japanese American, and the father was a Kibei, a Japanese born in the U.S. but who had been sent to Japan for his schooling around the time of World War II and then returned the States after. So I guess that would make the groom half Nisei.

More About the Drama Between Men and Women

rie — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 04:54:49 -0800

by BISHOP KOSHIN OGUI
Buddhist Churches of America

I came to be known among the local agricultural trainees from Japan as a reliable priest, someone that could be trusted to be helpful and discreet. It was an honor.

They started coming around the temple in the evenings. One time, they came and brought beer and other drinks and we had a party every two or three days. They were all young and drank heartily. I was also 25 and single so I enjoyed the time and was able to keep up with them.

The Drama Between Men and Women

rie — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:20:50 -0800

by BISHOP KOSHIN OGUI
Buddhist Churches of America

I guess it must have been around midnight. I awoke to someone banging on the door. I opened it to see a man who begged me, “Please hide me, I’m being chased.”

I knew he was an intern from Japan on a short-term agriculture training program. He was also a college student. Apparently, he had come to be very friendly with a woman whose husband had just come home after serving in Vietnam. This husband had found out about their relationship and was now looking for him. And he had a gun.

Experience Can Lead to Enlightenment

rie — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 13:54:53 -0800

by BISHOP KOSHIN OGUI
Buddhist Chrurches of America

For this week’s installment, I will share a somewhat funny experience I had. It happened to me over 45 years ago when I was working at the Betsuin in Los Angeles.

A friend and I had been out drinking. By the time I got home, it was about 2 in the morning. Unfortunately for me, the door to the temple office was locked from the inside and I couldn’t open it.

Since I was out of luck, I decided to climb the tree next to the building that extended up to my room, which was on the third floor.

‘You'll Become a Real Priest Someday’

rie — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:33:19 -0800

by BISHOP KOSHIN OGUI
Buddhist Churches of America

It was April 2, 1965, right after having taken up my post at the Oxnard Buddhist Church. I was awoken by the sound of a train passing by. The whole bedroom creaked and dust fell from the ceiling. I thought to myself, “It’s a good thing I’m not married.”

I got up to prepare for the morning service and went to open the front door. For some reason, it wouldn’t open and that was strange, so I took a look out the window next to it. A man was sleeping there, his body blocking the door.

Grateful for the Good and Bad

rie — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 04:49:29 -0700

by BISHOP KOSHIN OGUI
Buddhist Churches of America

They threw a welcome party for me the third day after I had taken up my post at the Buddhist church. It was a dinner held at the biggest Chinese restaurant in town.

About 80 members from the church gathered and welcomed me warmly. The Japanese Americans there called the place “chaina-meshi resutoran” (literally Chinese meal restaurant). I got a kick out of that.

The Kindness Remains With Me to This Day

rie — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 04:31:44 -0700

by BISHOP KOSHIN OGUI
Buddhist Churches of America

My fresh start began at a town called Oxnard in California. It was April 1, 1965 and I was 25 years old.

Oxnard was a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Los Angeles and a bit over an hour from Santa Barbara. It was a town surrounded by farms, right in the middle of flower plantations on Highway 101 along the West Coast. If you drove six blocks from the heart of town, you would end up right in the middle of farmland. It was like that in all directions.

The Path Given to Us

rie — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 14:03:10 -0700

by BISHOP KOSHIN OGUI
Buddhist Churches of America

On April 1, 1965, I was assigned as a young priest to serve at California’s Oxnard Buddhist Church. It was a fresh start for me after two some-odd years, after having been released from employment at the Betsuin in Los Angeles and living under the tutelage of Socho at the BCA headquarters in San Francisco.

I had first come to the States in October of 1962. I was now 25 years old.