On December 1, we join with other Japanese-origin Buddhist denominations for the…

2024 Hawaii Buddhist Council Bodhi Day Service

Guest Speaker:
Karma Lekshe Tsomo
La‘i Peace Center in Waialua, O‘ahu

Sunday, December 1, 2024 at 9:30 a.m.
Nichiren Mission of Hawaii
33 Pulelehua Way, Honolulu HI, 96817

See the full-size event flyer.

To watch the Bodhi Day Service via Zoom, use the QR Code or visit: bit.ly/nichirenmissionofhawaii

About the Guest Speaker

Karma Lekshe Tsomo is professor emerita at the University of San Diego, where she taught Buddhist Thought and Culture, World Religions, and Death and Dying for 22 years. She earned a Ph.D. in Comparative Philosophy at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in 2000 with a dissertation on death and identity in China and Tibet, published as Into the Jaws of Yama: Buddhism, Bioethics, and Death. She was the 2023 Numata Professor of Buddhist Studies at UH, where she teaches classes on Death and Dying and Tibetan Buddhism.

Professor Tsomo grew up surfing in Malibu, California, and has lived in Hawai’i since the 1960s. She became fascinated by Buddhism as a young girl because her family name was Zenn, which led to a life -long study of Buddhist thought. In 1964, she traveled to Japan to go surfing and began meditating at a Zen temple in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. In 1966, she completed a BA in Japanese at the University of California at Berkeley and then did an MA in Asian Studies on an East -West Center grant. During her field study, she began studying Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan language in Dharamsala, home of His Holiness Dalai Lama. Altogether, she studied and practiced Buddhism in India for 15 years, then completed an MA in Asian Religions at UH. She received novice ordination in France in 1977 and full ordination in Korea in 1982.

Professor Tsomo is a founder and past president of Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women and the founder/director of Jamyang Foundation, which supports education for women and girls in developing countries. Her publications include Women in Buddhist Traditions; Buddhist Feminisms and Femininities; Sisters in Solitude: Two Traditions of Monastic Ethics for Women; and numerous edited books and articles on women in Buddhism. At present, she is developing La‘i Peace Center in Waialua, O‘ahu, a project of Sakyadhita Hawai‘i.

About Bodhi Day

Bodhi Day is the date of the attainment of perfect awakening by Shakyamuni Buddha. In Mahayana Buddhist tradition, it is said that he attained the awakening at the age of 35 under a Bodhi tree on December 8th. The attainment of his awakening took place about 2500 years ago, and his teachings continue to lead us to the life of true peace and happiness.

The Hawaii Buddhist Council consists of seven Buddhist denominations: Higashi Hongwanji, Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii, Jodo Mission of Hawaii, Koyasan Shingon Mission, Nichiren Mission, Soto Mission, and Tendai Mission.

For More Information
Contact the Nichiren Mission of Hawaii (808) 595-3517 or the Soto Mission of Hawaii (808) 537-9409.