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The final Dharmanar session is tomorrow, May 4, at the Buddhist Church of Oakland, from 2:00-4:00 pm. We will be examining the Smaller Amida Sutra. See flier for details.

Part 2 of the East Bay Tri-Temple Dharmanar is this Saturday, April 13 from 2:00-4:00 pm at the Buddhist Temple of Alameda. See flier or go to our website for details.

Hanamatsuri is the Japanese observation and celebration of the birth of Shakyamuni Buddha. According to the solar calendar it falls on April 8, so we celebrated yesterday at the Buddhist Church of Oakland! We were fortunate to have Reverend Kodo Umezu, Bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America, as our guest speaker. He also performed a Kieshiki Affirmation Ceremony - 17 people ranging from long-time members to people relatively new to the temple.received their Dharma Names. Rev. Umezu was the resident minister of the Oakland Temple in the '80s-'90s, so there was a real sense of excitement throughout the day!

This Sunday we will celebrate Shakyamuni Buddha's Birthday with our Hanamatsuri Service. Our special guest speaker is Rev. Kodo Umezu, Bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America! He actually served as the resident minister of the Buddhist Church of Oakland from 1987-1996, so our members are happy to welcome him back for this special occasion. Please join us - the Dharma Family Service begins at 10:30 AM - bathe the Baby Buddha with sweet tea and listen to the Dharma! (Image from the BCA Buddhist Holidays pamphlet by Bishop Tsuji and designed by Setsuko Tanemura)

The East Bay Tri-Temple Dharmanar is back! First session is this coming Saturday, March 30, from 2:00-4:00 pm at the Berkeley Buddhist Temple. See flier for further details, or go to our website: buddhistchurchofoakland.org

Today is the Vernal Equinox, commemorated in Japanese Buddhism with Ohigan. We can take the time to contemplate the Six Paramitas or Perfections that Bodhisattvas use to reach the Other Shore of Enlightenment. Enjoying the balance in nature we can take the opportunity to walk the Middle Path. Let us recite the Nembutsu as we deepen our insight into the Dharma and ourselves. Name Amida Butsu (Image from the BCA Buddhist Holidays pamphlet by Bishop Tsuji and designed by Setsuko Takemura)

Reminder that the Day of Remembrance Film & Performance is tomorrow, February 24 at 3:00 pm! See the event page we are co-sponsoring, as well as this page from the Oakland Asian Cultural Center: http://oacc.cc/event/hidden-legacy-with-shirley-muramoto/

February 15 is Nirvana Day according to the solar calendar in Japanese Buddhism. Rev. Dr. David Matsumoto, in a book called "The Heart of Jodo Shinshu: Living a Triple-A Life," relates the final words of the Buddha from the “Last Teaching Sutra”: “Make of yourself a light. Rely upon yourself; do not depend upon anyone else. Make my teachings your light. Rely upon them; do not depend upon any other teaching.” This reflects the paradox of Jodo Shinshu – we rely upon Other Power and yet are each responsible for our own lives. (The image comes from the BCA Buddhist Holidays pamphlet by Bishop Tsuji and designed by Setsuko Takemura)

Last week we had our annual Youth Club Service for our youth basketball teams, the Oakland Rams. Our guest speaker was Britinee Yasukochi, Assistant Coach for Cal State East Bay Women’s Basketball. She gave a great talk on “Kaizen” - continuous self-improvement - and Gratitude. Thank you coach Yasukochi for coming and inspiring us!

We had a wonderful Hoonko Service with our guest speaker Rev. Henry Toryo Adams from the San Mateo Buddhist Temple. Sensei’s Dharma Message about the simplicity and openness of the Nembutsu teaching touched everyone.

This Sunday, January 20, we will be holding our Hoonko Service - this is the memorial for our founder, Shinran Shonin, in which we express our gratitude for the teachings he left for us. Our guest speaker will be Rev. Henry Toryo Adams from the San Mateo Buddhist Temple. The images are from the BCA "Buddhist Holidays" pamphlet.

Regular Dharma Family Service this Sunday 1/13/19 at 10:00 am - Dharma Message by Rev. Michael Endo!

Happy New Year!!! May all beings be happy and well - May there be peace in the world!

There was a brief segment filmed at BCO on New Year's Eve - you can watch it here at 0:45 https://abc7news.com/community-events/east-bay-rings-in-the-new-year-with-a-variety-of-events-and-fundraisers-/4998206/

We had a wonderful New Year’s Eve Service - many people came and rang the bell - even ABC7 News came! It will be on tonight at 11 pm PST, and tomorrow morning online.

The Buddhist Church of Oakland doesn't observe Christmas but we take the time off (not sure why or when it started) and don't have services during the last weeks of December. Our next service is on Monday, December 31 - New Year's Eve! This year service will start at 7:00 pm, an hour earlier than past years. We also have service on New Year's Day at our regular time: 11:00 am. May your holidays be happy and healthy and we hope to see you in the New Year!!!

Happy Bodhi Day!!! We observed it at the Buddhist Church of Oakland last Sunday, but according to the solar calendar, today is the day! May the Wisdom & Compassion that Buddha awakened to pervade your life and help ease the suffering of all beings!

Here at the beginning of the Gratitude Season - a Buddhist approach to the holidays starting with Thanksgiving through the New Year and culminating with HoOnKo in January - let us wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving together with a wish for Peace in the world - Namu Amida Butsu

We are ready to observe our Eitaikyo “Perpetual Chanting of the Sutras” service today, November 18. However, the Buddhist Church of Oakland is not an airtight environment - if you have respiratory issues, if you have been experiencing health issues recently, etc., then please strongly consider not attending. If you do choose to come, please wear an N95 mask while outside.

The Dharmanar session scheduled for Saturday, November 17 from 2:00-4:00 pm at the Buddhist Church of Oakland will be held as planned. However, the Buddhist Church of Oakland is not an airtight environment - if you have respiratory issues, if you have been experiencing health issues recently, etc., then please strongly consider not attending. We will try to record the session and make it available at a future date. We won't be offended if you choose to take care of your health - but if you do come, please wear an N95 mask if you have one.

May you be happy and well in 2015!