History and Thought of Honganji Pureland school

[Aemilius]

Speaker: Rev. Ken Yamada

Rev. Ken Yamada was born in Oakland, California. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a major in sociology focused on Kamakura period Buddhism. He attended the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley, and Chuo Bukkyo Gakuin in Kyoto, but encountered difficulties in learning Buddhism and dropped out. He worked as a newspaper reporter in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco, and later became a magazine editor. He rediscovered Buddhism, re-entered the ministry and served 13 years at the Berkeley temple. Two years ago, he became editor of Higashi Honganji’s Shinshu Center of America.

[FiveSkandhas]

Thank you for posting this treat! I'll look forward to watching it in full.

It seems to me that the biggest differences were caused by the fact that the Nishi supported the Meiji Restoration while the Higashi remained loyal to the Tokugawa Bakufu system. This resulted in closer ties between the Nishi and the government in the prewar era, while the Higashi ended up being a bit marginalized and thus more doctrinally "experimental". I'll be looking forward to getting a more nuanced view from your video.

Gassho.