Orange County Buddhist Church
Orange County Buddhist Church
This weekend we celebrate the Fortieth anniversary of the Orange County Buddhist Church since its establishment as an independent church.
In celebrating the Fortieth Anniversary, we naturally reflect back on the past forty years that have brought us to this point. Past members, past ministers, past history, the blood, sweat and tears of countless individuals who built and established our wonderful temple and facilities all come to mind. A Sangha of only 75 families took on the task of building the Hondo, classroom building, and social hall, forty years ago. In terms of today’s dollars, it might be equivalent of our present Sangha taking on a project of $5 million dollars or more. They did not ask, “How can we pay for it?” They simply saw the need, had the foresight to understand the importance of establishing the temple, and then moved forward. How amazing, and how wonderful it is that they had the courage, the religious faith, the fortitude and dedication to build the Orange County Buddhist Church.
In celebrating the Fortieth, I cannot help but gaze into the crystal ball of the future. What does the next forty years have in store for our OCBC? What will the faces of our Sangha look like? Who will be the ministers? What will our services look like?
I am sure that the founding families of forty years ago, did not dream that OCBC would grow to what it is today. Those founding families, however, must’ve had a dream of what it could become.
The question that we must ask now is, “What is our dream for the next forty years? How do we see our OCBC progress over the next forty years of its history? Do we see growth or decline? Do we see expansion or reduction? Do we see diversity or ethnicity?
Forty years from now I will be 91 years old. Although there is a chance I could be here forty years from now, I have to assume that it is rare to live into your 90’s. Even if I am not here though, I have a vision for the kind of OCBC that I foresee.
I foresee an ethnically diverse OCBC, with people of various backgrounds attending services and becoming involved. I foresee an expanded OCBC, with satellites in other parts of Orange County and even the Inland Empire. Perhaps there might even be an independent temple or two that evolves from those satellites. I foresee a Buddhist Education program that offers many courses on Buddhism, Jodo Shinshu, and related topics, bringing hundreds to its classes. I foresee an accredited education program offering extension courses of the Institute of Buddhist Studies and the Graduate Theological Union. I foresee people being educated for the Shin Buddhist ministry from our Buddhist Education Center. I foresee a publication department which regularly publishes books on Buddhism and Jodo Shinshu, and that those books reach the shelves of major bookstores. I foresee an OCBC that does not have to depend on bazaars and festivals for its financial stability, but has its financial basis on the proceeds of its book sales.
Forty years from now I foresee tremendous growth of interest in Buddhism in the west. Forty years from now, Buddhism will not be an exotic religion from the East, but will have made deeper inroads into the mainstream of American society. Meditation and Buddhist principles will become more and more prominent in the lives of the general public.
My vision into the state of our society and world is not as good though. I cannot say that I do not foresee a world without war, a world without suffering, a world without tragedy. A look at past history of the world leads one to believe that such things will still occur forty years from now. What I do foresee, however, is the influence Buddhism will have in responding to those tragedies, those sufferings of mankind. There will be more people who seek solutions through peaceful means, who reflect on themselves, before blaming others, who find the essential oneness of life to be the rationale for not bringing harm to others. Just as Buddhism has for its 2500 year history, it will continue to respond to the ills of society and the world in the only way that it knows how, through the introspection of the self, through the transformation of the self.
What will be my role over the next forty years? That I do not know. But I do know that each and every one of us has a role, an important role in the next forty years of OCBC history. We are all seekers of the Dharma. We are all listeners of the Dharma. We are all followers of the Dharma. Minister and lay alike, we must each find the role, the contribution that we can make towards the next forty years of OCBC history.
I would love to live until 91, so that I could see these dreams fulfilled. I would love to live and see the growth, the progress, the diversity that will take place in the next forty years. But even if I cannot, I know somehow in my heart that it will all take place, that those visions and dreams will be fulfilled.
Oh, what a wonderful forty years awaits us. Isn’t that something to live for? Isn’t that something that we would all want to participate in and be a part of? Isn’t it something that we can work to help accomplish within our lifetimes?
Just as our predecessors envisioned something special when they built the Orange County Buddhist Church forty years ago, so too must we envision something special that awaits the Sangha that celebrates the 80th or 100th anniversary of the temple years from now. Our efforts, our contributions, our sacrifices now will determine what that something special will be forty years in the future.
May the future generations be able to look back upon our work with gratitude and appreciation for what we have done to carry OCBC into the next forty years of its history.
Namuamidabutsu,
Rev. Marvin Harada
