Honoring Bishop Rev. Kenryu Tsuji

Rev. Melissa Opel
Nov 12
9 min read

Editor’s note: Rev. Melissa Opel, Resident Minister of the Buddhist Church of San Francisco, was the special guest speaker on June 29 at the Sochoki, the Bishops’ Memorial Service, at the Berkeley Buddhist Temple. The Wheel of Dharma is reprinting an edited version of Rev. Opel’s Dharma message with her permission.

Listen. Listen to the voice of the Dharma.

Listen to the birds, singing in the morning,

the wind sighing in the boughs overhead,

and the roar of the waves on the beach.

Listen to the rain on the roof and the snow falling in the fields.

The Dharma speaks to us through the sounds of the world —

forcefully and eloquently and beautifully.

It speaks of the unending change around us,

the immutable truth of interdependence,

and the peace in nature.

Do we have ears to hear and listen …?

Listen to the Nembutsu in the Hondo.

Listen to the noble silence of the Buddha.

Today we are observing the Bishops' Memorial Service. This service allows us to stop and pay gratitude to our past Bishops and the impacts they have had on our organization and our life as Nembutsu practitioners.

The Bishop, in our tradition, is more than a figurehead. They are the one who is steering our religious ship here in the United States. They wear many hats in their position and do everything from assigning ministers, communicating with our mother temple, conflict resolution, education, and most important, they have a vision for the propagation of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in America. They, of course, do so much more than this, but their vision and the ability to have others join them in that vision, is quite important.

This morning's opening quote comes from former Bishop Rev. Kenryu Takashi Tsuji from his book "The Heart of the Buddha-Dharma." Rev. Tsuji served as Bishop of the BCA from 1968-1981— 13 years — and as many of you know, that’s not even the longest term. His words remind us to listen deeply, not just with our ears, but with hearts open to receive the Dharma that surrounds us in every moment.

As I reflect on Rev. Tsuji's life and legacy, I'm struck by how his daily commitment to the Dharma created ripples that continue to touch our lives today. Born in 1919 in Mission City, British Columbia, his path was marked by both tremendous challenges and unwavering dedication to the Nembutsu way.

His journey took him from his family's berry farm to Kyoto for studies at Ryukoku University, where he was recognized for his gift of translation. But when World War II threatened, he returned to Canada on the last passenger ship, only to find himself interned at Slocan, British Columbia, not long after.

Even in incarceration, serving as both elementary school principal and Buddhist minister, he continued his daily practice of bringing the Dharma to others. It was in that camp where he met his future wife and where the seeds of his lifelong ministry took deeper root.

After the war, he learned that his family's farm was confiscated and sold, so Rev. Tsuji rebuilt his life in Toronto — washing dishes, working on a mushroom farm, all while ministering to a small but growing Sangha. That small group would eventually become the Toronto Buddhist Church. He went on to found two more temples in Canada before accepting the position of Director for the Bureau of Buddhist Education for the BCA in 1958.

What strikes me about Rev. Tsuji's life is not just his remarkable accomplishments, but how his daily practice of listening to the Dharma sustained him through every challenge and transition. Whether washing dishes or writing curricula, whether facing internment or founding temples, he maintained what one of his daughters described as a life guided by "intelligence, integrity and initiative"— the three “I's” he taught his own children.

This brings me to something I've been reflecting on: What it means to make the Buddha-Dharma truly present in our daily lives. How do we continue to grow in the Nembutsu and have it on the tips of our tongue, guiding us?

Of course, the Nembutsu is always available to us but our awareness to it can come and go. Rev. Tsuji understood something profound that we can learn from — that our daily practice is not about self-improvement, but about creating space to recognize what's already being manifested through Amida's Vow Power.

Many of our Issei and Nisei maintained daily rituals in front of their Obutsudan, just as Rev. Tsuji surely did throughout his life. Each morning, they would offer incense and say the Nembutsu. These weren't practices done to achieve enlightenment through their own power. Instead, they were moments when Amida Buddha's Vow manifested itself through their voices. Each recitation of "Namo Amida Butsu" was not their own practice, but rather Amida Buddha's wisdom, compassion and power expressing itself through them. Nonetheless, there was a choice being made to start the day, listening deeply to the teachings and bringing it forward as an anchor to remain grounded in gratitude for the Wisdom and Compassion that holds and sustains us.

Sometimes we can get a little hung up on what is practice in our tradition, wanting to avoid being calculated or manufacturing our entrusting. On the other hand, if we are not engaging, we’re also not making space for the Nembutsu to arise.

This last week, Rev. Harry Bridge and I were chatting and I was talking to him about getting our Buddhist education program off the ground at the Buddhist Church of San Francisco (BCSF), and he asked me if I thought I would be able to use materials from my many classes at the Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS).

It was such a simple question, but it was like a light bulb went off in my brain and I remembered all the papers and materials I’ve been collecting since starting this journey to ministry.

In my home, I have so much information and educational materials from wonderful teachers. I had a moment of awareness. If I do nothing to keep this on my mind — maybe write myself a sticky note or some other means to remember — I will forget until I am somehow prompted again.

In this way, it’s a little like the layers we have in our tradition. If I do nothing, the Nembutsu is there, but I do not know. If I come to service on Sunday, I am reminded of the Nembutsu and I get some practice in of reciting the Buddha’s name, but if I do something each day, to call my attention to the Nembutsu, I am with it every day.

Rev. Tsuji wrote: "The Nembutsu is the complete identification of myself with the transcendent power of Wisdom and Compassion from which I derive my meaning for existence. The Nembutsu is this center of my being, the spiritual home from which I operate and where I find the spiritual power to carry out all my moral, social and religious commitments."

This was not mere philosophy for Rev. Tsuji — it was the lived reality that enabled him to serve for 57 years, through war and displacement, through the challenges of building temples and educating ministers, through the daily work of administration and the profound responsibility of guiding our Sangha as Bishop.

When we think about honoring Rev. Tsuji's legacy, we might ask: How do we continue his work of Dharma propagation? How do we support our current Bishop and ministers in their efforts to share the Nembutsu teaching?

The answer, I believe, lies in understanding that we are all both teachers and students in the Dharma.

As Tao-ch'o wrote: "The person who teaches the Dharma should think of themself as king among physicians and of their work as the elimination of pain. They should think of the Dharma that they teach as sweet nectar. The person who listens to the Dharma should think that excellent understanding thereby increases and grows and that their sickness is being cured. Such a teacher and listener together can make the Buddha-Dharma flourish."

We all have the opportunity to support our Bishop in the propagation of Jodo Shinshu teachings — not just by supporting their endeavors, but by engaging our own daily practice with the same dedication that Rev. Tsuji showed throughout his life.

Every time we create space in our daily routine to recognize Amida's working, every time we share the Dharma with family or friends, every time we allow the Nembutsu to arise naturally from our hearts, we are participating in the great work of Dharma propagation.

This doesn't require us to be ministers or hold official positions. Rev. Tsuji said at Ekoji temple that "there should be no distinction between monk and layperson." He envisioned a community where "we will all be priests disguised as workers, homemakers, fathers, and yes, even children."

Our daily practice — whether it's a moment of gratitude before a meal, a pause to notice our impatience in traffic and hear the Nembutsu arise naturally, or gathering before the family Obutsudan each morning — creates sacred space within our homes and hearts. These moments make the Dharma part of everyday life and prepare us to be conduits through which Amida's compassion can work in the world.

When we maintain such practice, we're not trying to make ourselves better Buddhists. Rather, we're creating space to recognize what's already being manifested through Amida's Vow. We're receiving medicine for our suffering, drinking sweet nectar that has already been prepared for us. Our practice isn't about becoming something different — it's about becoming aware of what already is.

In this way, each of us becomes both teacher and student, both supporter and leader in the Dharma. We support our Bishop not just through donations or volunteering, but by living the Nembutsu way so fully that others are drawn to ask about the peace they see in us. We become leaders not by seeking positions of authority, but by allowing Amida's wisdom and compassion to manifest through our daily lives.

Rev. Tsuji's daughter Elizabeth wrote about her father's "many selfless gifts" and noted that "what we do in turn to give to others" keeps his legacy alive. This is how the Dharma propagates — through the countless daily acts of compassion, wisdom, and gratitude that arise when we live with the Nembutsu as our center.

As we remember Rev. Tsuji today and all of our Bishops who have led us, let us also commit to the daily practice of listening — listening to the voice of the Dharma in the morning birds, in the wind, in the rain, and most importantly, in the Nembutsu arising from our own hearts. Let us create small spaces in our daily routine where we can recognize the great compassion that is always working in our lives.

Perhaps it starts with just a minute each morning in front of a space we designate for the Dharma — sitting quietly, thinking on what we feel gratitude for and reciting the Nembutsu. If we're able, we can offer incense, letting its fragrance remind us of our connection to this temple, to our tradition and to all those who have walked this path before us.

Like Rev. Tsuji, whose life was "enveloped by the Dharma and the Nembutsu," we too can make space for this sacred practice to permeate our hearts and minds. In doing so, we honor not only his memory, but continue his great work of making the Buddha-Dharma flourish in our time and place.

Each moment offers a fresh opportunity to hear the Dharma anew. Whether we're offering incense, saying the Nembutsu or simply pausing to recognize our own deluded passions, we're creating space to recognize what's already there — Amida's infinite Wisdom and Compassion, working constantly in our lives.

This is how we become partners with our Bishop, our ministers and each other in the great work of Dharma propagation. Not through our own power, but by gratefully receiving what is already being offered and allowing it to manifest through our daily lives.

May we use today not only to express gratitude to Rev. Tsuji and all our teachers, but to recommit ourselves to the daily practice of listening — listening with ears that can hear the Dharma in every moment and hearts ready to respond with the Nembutsu.

As Tao-ch'o reminds us, when we engage the Dharma in this way — as both teacher and student, giver and receiver — we "dwell always in the presence of the Buddhas."

Please join me in gassho: