Guest Lecturer: Professor Jeff Wilson

25th Annual Bloom-Futaba Memorial Lecture
A Gift from Rev. Dr. Alfred Bloom

Friday, October 11, 2024
Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin, Annex Temple

Guest Lecturer: Professor Jeff Wilson
(Dr. Wilson will be in person at Hawaii Betsuin)

Radical Shinran’s Lessons for Today’s Troubled Times

Respondent: Dr. George Tanabe

• 6:00 pm  Welcome and Introduction
• 6:10 pm  Lecture One: Radical Shinran
• 7:00 pm  Discussion & Questions
• 7:10 pm  Break
• 7:20 pm  Lecture Two: Radical Sanghas
• 8:10 pm  Discussion & Questions
• 8:30 pm  Closing

Free Registration Advised – visit this Google form or the associated QR code to register.

Lectures will be held in-person at Hongwanji Betsuin and livestreamed on Zoom.

A flyer and brochure are available.

Background on the Lectures Topic

Jodo Shinshu Buddhism’s founder Shinran Shonin was a rebel who overturned the patterns of religious practice in medieval Japan, ushering in a radically-inclusive path for all people that transformed Japanese society. Shinran’s example has inspired individuals and movements for social change at multiple points in Japanese history, and Jodo Shinshu Buddhists set many of the milestones of Buddhist social engagement in American history as well, from prison ministry and women’s ordination to same-sex marriage and reproductive rights.

In our first lecture, Dr. Wilson will examine how Shinran’s approach to Buddhism provides resources for modern-day people to grapple with the social, political, and environmental challenges we face. A refugee, political criminal, and violator of the sexual standards of his day, Shinran faced intense persecution but never abandoned his quest to bring the liberating power of the nembutsu to ordinary people during an age of great turmoil and uncertainty.

In our second lecture, Dr. Wilson will provide examples from the history of Jodo Shinshu in the West which demonstrate Pure Land Buddhists working to create positive social change. Looking at climate change, LGBTQ+ rights, and other issues that Shin Buddhists have engaged with, he will invite participants to reflect on how Buddhists can productively carry out compassionate action and consider the potential benefits for themselves, their sanghas, and the larger society.

About the Speakers

Dr. Jeff Wilson (he/him) is a professor of Religious Studies and East Asian Studies at Renison University College (University of Waterloo) in Ontario, Canada. He also has tokudo ordination in the Nishi Hongwanji tradition and serves as a minister’s assistant for the Toronto Buddhist Church.

Dr. Wilson is the author of Living Nembutsu: Applying Shinran’s Radically Engaged Buddhism in Life and Society (Sumeru, 2023), Buddhism of the Heart: Reflections on Shin Buddhism and Inner Togetherness (Wisdom, 2009), and five other books. His current book project is a history of American Jodo Shinshu and social engagement.

He was the 2010 Futaba-Bloom speaker, on the topic of “Shin Buddhism: An American Religion” and the 2016 BSC Summer Session: “Mindfulness and Buddhism in America.”

Dr. George Tanabe (respondent) is a professor emeritus in the Department of Religion at the University of Hawai‘i. Dr. Tanabe is also President of BDK America, Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai (BDK), the Society for the Promotion of Buddhism. BDK promotes an understanding of Buddhist wisdom through sponsoring activities and programs around the world.

About the Lecture Series

The Futaba Lecture Series is endowed by Dr. Alfred & Ms. Dorothy N. Bloom to honor the memory of friend and mentor, Professor Kenko Futaba. Dr. Futaba, a noted Shin Buddhist scholar, served as President of Kyoto’s Ryukoku University from 1983 to 1995 and then became Chancellor of Kyoto Women’s University.

Al fervently hoped that this lecture series would be a continuing inspiration for the nurturing of American Buddhism and for the social participation of Buddhists in the quest of social justice and peace. His website continues to serve as a resource for students today: https://bschawaii.org/shindharmanet/