We’d like to extend a big “Mahalo!” to our 2018-2019 board, pictured and listed above.
We have updated our Officers, Advisors, and Committees page with the 2020-2021 officers and board members. Welcome and thank you for your commitment!
A primary purpose of the BWA is to support the propagation of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism throughout the world. To implement this purpose, our World Federation of BWAs is proposing to establish a Jodo Shinshu teaching position at the BCA’s Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkely, California. IBS has been vital in spreading Jodo Shinshu not only in the Americas (North and South), but also in Hawaii, Canada, Europe, and Japan, etc.
The GOAL is to raise three (3) million dollars with the interest earned yearly to be used to fund the teaching position of an instructor. This position will be named for two individuals close to our hearts – The Eshin-ni and Kakushin-ni Endowed Chair for Jodo Shinshu Studies.
Each Jodo Shinshu Buddhist temple worldwide is being asked to support this project and the Hawaii Federation of BWAs is in favor of it. Each temple’s goal is approximately $300. The BWAs in Hawaii will spearhead this fundraising effort with all donations earmarked as coming from the entire temple membership. Deadline is December 31, 2018.
Thanks to the hard work of many individuals, we have met Hawaii’s goal of $11,000. As of January 15, 2019, we have raised $14,631 from 21 Temple and BWA groups. Additional thanks goes to the Dharma School Teachers of Oahu and the Hawaii District Ministers Association. If your temple/BWA missed the deadline and would still like to participate in this worthwhile project, contact your United BWA President for more information.
We want to make sure you aware of these two significant opportunities to connect with extended Jodo Shinshu sangha.
One is the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii’s first Joint Conference at the Ala Moana hotel in Honolulu from September 1 – 3, 2018. The conference will include the Lay Convention, the BWA Convention, the Minister’s Spouses’ organization, Jr. YBA, and Dharma School. Groups will hold their major conferences, and workshops will be open to everyone.
The theme of the conference is “Embrace Change – Harmony (Accept Differences)” and our keynote speaker will be Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin, a national leader in the fight for civil rights. For more information, including registration details, please see our Joint Conference event page.
The 2019 World Federation Jodo Shinshu Hongwaji-ha Buddhist Women’s Associations Convention will take place Labor Day weekend, 2019 (August 30 – September 1, 2019) at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis Hotel. The theme is “Live the Nembutsu.” For more information, including an overview letter and a video, please see wbwconvention.org. We’ll also post more to our event page for the convention as the date gets closer.
Hawaii Buddhist Women’s Associations has a new Facebook page. Look for it on our website’s homepage. Click the “f” icon in the upper right portion of the screen. We welcome current articles, photos, news, events. Send information to the following for posting: Federation (Tamayo Matsumoto, Lois Toyama); Honolulu United (Lois Toyama); Kauai United (Rev. Tomo Hojo); Big Island United (K.T. Cannon-Eger)
