IBS Reopening Its Dorm, Thanks to Couple, Donation

Board of Trustees Dedicates Building to Rev. Dr. Seigen Yamaoka 

The renovated Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS) Haste Street dormitory is reopening, thanks to the generous efforts of a dedicated couple and donations from BCA Sangha members, supporters and IBS alumni.

The dorm reopening dedication ceremony was scheduled for Feb. 27.

In recognition of the late Rev. Dr. Seigen Yamaoka’s decades of service to the IBS and the Buddhist Churches of America (BCA), the IBS Board of Trustees named the building in his honor. The Rev. Dr. Seigen Yamaoka Memorial Dormitory will officially reopen for IBS students in March.

“Everyone at the IBS, present and past, are proud and pleased to know that a new generation of IBS students will once again bring life to the Rev. Dr. Seigen Yamaoka Memorial Dormitory,” the IBS said in a statement. 

The Haste Street dorm was in dire need of renovations and repairs before it closed in 2023. The IBS Board of Trustees initially decided that the IBS would not be able to fund the renovations and prepared to sell the building.

But Larry and Vicky Yamaoka, longtime supporters of IBS and Palo Alto Buddhist Temple Sangha members, stepped forward and offered to fund the entire $3 million renovation. 

The IBS said their generosity has led to a reimagined building revitalizing and maximizing living, meeting and cooking spaces. New appliances, bathroom and kitchen fixtures, closet and storage spaces and a fire sprinkler system for health and safety were installed. 

New floors, windows, walls and fresh paint were added, making the interior sparkle, the IBS said. 

As part of the Dharma Forward campaign, the IBS reached out in summer 2025 to the BCA community, supporters and IBS alumni to help furnish the Haste Street dorm. As a result of the many donations, new furniture and bedding were purchased and installed.

Throughout the project, Larry Yamaoka has overseen the work being performed and helped to bring it to completion.  

“We are deeply grateful to Larry and Vicky Yamaoka for their unprecedented  generosity that brought this renovation to fruition and to the other donors and supporters who have assisted in furnishing the dormitory,” the IBS said in a statement. 

The Haste Street building was purchased in the mid-1960s to house the BCA Study Center. Under the leadership of Rev. Kanmo Imamura, the BCA Study Center was incorporated as the Institute of Buddhist Studies in 1969. 

For the next three decades, the Haste Street dorm was the heart of the IBS, housing generations of students and teachers. For many years, classes were held in the common room until the Jodo Shinshu Center opened in 2006. IBS students have continued to live at the Haste Street dorm, creating strong bonds of friendship until its closure in 2023.  

In naming the building after Rev. Dr. Seigen Yamaoka, the IBS is paying tribute to the late Vice President of Development, who helped raise millions of dollars for the institute.

Rev. Dr. Yamaoka was also a member of the core faculty and was instrumental in the education and spiritual development of ministerial and chaplaincy students. He taught the Issues in Buddhist ministry course for more than a decade. He was also the H.E. Kosho Ohtani Professor of Shin Buddhist Studies. 

Rev. Dr. Yamaoka was a Kaikyoshi minister for the BCA for 44 years, serving at the Buddhist Church of Oakland and the Buddhist Church of Stockton. He served 15 years as BCA Bishop and concurrently as IBS President.

Through his efforts, IBS became a member school of the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley, California, in 2020. 

Rev. Dr. Yamaoka passed away on Dec. 15, 2023, in Seal Beach, California, at the age of 89.