OCBC Buddhist Education Center

Take a Class. Read a Book. Meet Other Seekers.

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Take a Class

OCBC’s Buddhist Education Center (BEC) offers in-person and Zoom classes for beginner, intermediate, and advanced students of Shin Buddhism.

 

Classes in English (Beginner)

Beginner classes aren’t just for beginners! In Buddhism, we aspire to cultivate a “Beginners Mind.” Beginner BEC classes will resume on Sundays when health conditions permit. In the meantime, we recommend checking online offers from the BCA and Everyday Buddhist.

Monthly Classes in Japanese (Intermediate)

Taught by Rev. Dr. Mutsumi Wondra in Japanese, these classes explore the Three Pure Land Sutras and Shinran Shonin's writings. Email us for more information.

Spring Ohigan Seminar (Advanced)

This year’s Spring Ohigan Seminar will be pre-recorded, and premiere on YouTube, Saturday, March 16, 2024, at 9:30 am. Our guest speaker is Dr. Nobuo Haneda from the Maida Center of Buddhism.

“The Core Issue in Shinran’s Teachings” — Spring 2024 Ohigan Seminar

The pre-recorded guest speaker for our hybrid Spring Ohigan Special Service on Sunday, March 17, 2024 at 10am will be Dr. Nobuo Haneda. He will speak in English in the Hondo and in Japanese in the Kodo. Here is the link to the YouTube Live-stream: Ohigan Special Service 2024.03.17

Sign-up for our BEC Announcements to get Ohigan, Book Club, and other notifications.

Fall Ohigan Seminar (Intermediate)

The 2022 Fall Ohigan Seminar takes place in September. This year’s guest speaker will be Rev. Henry Adams. Sign-up for our BEC Announcements to get Ohigan, Book Club, and other notifications.

 

Previous Classes

The Tragedy at Rajagriha and a Visit from the Compassionate Buddha — Fall 2022 Ohigan Seminar

  • Rev. Henry Adams presents the Contemplation Sutra and the Buddha's approach to dealing with family crises and injustice. Watch it on YouTube

“They First, Me Last”: The Bodhisattva’s Innermost Aspiration — Spring 2022 Ohigan Seminar

Buddhist Values — Fall 2021 Ohigan Seminar

The World of Dharma-Friends — Spring 2021 Ohigan Seminar

  • Dr. Nobuo Haneda, from the Maida Center of Buddhism, discusses “The Pure Land” as a symbol of the World of Dharma-Friends. Watch it on YouTube. The handout can be downloaded here.

 

Questions?

Discuss the Dharma

Book club meets most months on the 2nd Tuesday at 6:00 PM via Zoom

 

Book Club

We welcome anyone interested in reading and discussing non-fictional and fictional books about Buddhist history, perspectives on Buddhist principles, or stories with Buddhist themes. We meet the second Tuesday of each month on Zoom. Join the BEC mailing list to get the Zoom link.

OCBC Recommended Books

 

Let This Be Known

Finding the Shin Buddhist Path

By James Pollard

“Shinran’s teaching challenges our conventional views and prejudices, just as it upended the religious assumptions of his day. Amid the instability of 21st century America, could the Dharma gateway of Shin Buddhism have opened again?”
— James Pollard
 

Discovering Buddhism in Everyday Life

By Marvin Harada

“Buddhism is all around us, if we have the eyes to see it, the ears to hear it, and the heart to feel it… I think that Buddhism, the truth of the Dharma, lies nowhere other than right in front of my own eyes.”
— Rev. Marvin Harada
 
 

Awaken to Your
TRUE SELF

By Hideo Yonezwa
Translated by Marvin Harada

“Shinjin is an expression of the realization that your life, which is limited and finite, has a place within the infinite. As I strive to express what shinjin is, I have tried to make it my own, which is a most difficult thing.”
— Hideo Yonezawa
 

American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War

By Duncan Ryuken Williams

“Raises timely and important questions about what religious freedom in America truly means.”
— Ruth Ozeki

Buddhist Education Center Publications

The BEC publishes select works from a diverse group of voices.

  • Buddhism On Air: Televised Kaleidoscope of a Growing Religion

    KENNETH KENSHIN TANAKA

    “While life is, indeed, a bumpy road, with our sincere effort we all awaken to the shining jewel within us, as well as those jewels that surround and embrace us. And when you do, Yes, life is, indeed, great!” — Kenneth Kenshin Tanaka

    Buy on Kindle

  • Teriyaki Priest: Tales from the Realm of Gratitude

    JERRY HIRANO

    “I find that as I grow older, I appreciate the fullness of what I am given, from the laughter of my children to the sound of my bones creaking in the morning as I awake. I am still alive! This realm of gratitude is the life of Nembutsu.” — Jerry Hirano

    Buy on Kindle

  • Encounter: Memoir of Orai Sensei as a Buddhist Minister in Canada

    ORAI FUJIKAWABuy on Lulu

    “Our religion has been asking us, now that we are born into human life, why are we here? This must be our lifelong question, and I believe it is a universal question. What is your answer? Did you forget, or don’t you know?” — Orai FujikawaBuy on Lulu

    Buy on Lulu

    Buy on Kindle
  • The Power to Live and Die

    The Power to Live and Die: Poems and Reflections on Buddha-dharma and Jodo Shinshu

    CHIKO IWAGAMI

    “We may find it hard to cast aside this world, even though it is filled with sorrows. Still, Amida Buddha calls to us, 'You may die just as you are. Don't worry...' And his boundless compassion continues its work for us.” — Chikō Iwagami

    Buy on Lulu

  • Discovering Buddhism in Everyday Life

    MARVIN HARADA

    “Buddhism is all around us, if we have the eyes to see it, the ears to hear it, and the heart to feel it… I think that Buddhism, the truth of the Dharma, lies nowhere other than right in front of my own eyes.” — Marvin Harada

    Buy on Kindle

  • Awaken to Your True Self: The Shin Buddhist Way of Life

    HIDEO YONEZAWA

    “Shinjin is an expression of the realization that your life, which is limited and finite, has a place within the infinite. As I strive to express what shinjin is, I have tried to make it my own, which is a most difficult thing.” — Hideo Yonezawa

    Audiobook

    Buy on Kindle

  • Let This Be Known: Finding the Shin Buddhist Path

    JAMES POLLARD

    “Shinran’s teaching challenges our conventional views and prejudices, just as it upended the religious assumptions of his day. Amid the instability of 21st century America, could the Dharma gateway of Shin Buddhism have opened again?” — James Pollard

    Buy on Lulu

    Buy on Kindle
  • The Awareness of Self: A Guide to the Understanding of Shin Buddhism

    The Awareness of Self: A Guide to the Understanding of Shin Buddhism

    GYODO HAGURI

    “What is critically important is that the teachings radically transform our way of thinking and living so that we become true individuals: strong in crisis, humble in success, tender in our feelings, and grateful at all times.” — Gyodo Haguri

    Audiobook

    Buy on Kindle

Previous Book Club Selections

 

Weekly Wheel Podcast

The Weekly Wheel Podcast provides guided meditation, chanting, and brief Dharma messages that you can listen to wherever you go. Podcast episodes are hosted by our ministers and minister assistants.