The First 100 Days

May is a great time of the year. For those who live where the seasons are distinct, spring is in full bloom with flowering trees and woodlands with spring green growth, and in the West, the hillsides are a verdant green after a winter of rain.

It is also a time of anticipation of summer and the many bazaars and festivals that all of the Sangha members are gearing up for. 

For the BCA, May is a month when we are still regrouping from an extraordinary in-person National Council Meeting and are looking to our next confab — the June National Board Meeting. 

The National Board brings together representatives from each of our eight districts both lay and ministerial, the Directors-at-Large, the presidents of the affiliated organizations: Federations of Buddhist Women Association (FBWA); Federation of Dharma School Teachers League (FDSTL); Cal YABA, and finally the committee chairs from the 16 BCA committees. 

Our typical June agenda will be to accept reports from the BCA entities, review BCA financials and hear reports from both the BCA committees and the eight districts. I plan to focus this year’s discussion on the work of the Vision and Strategic Planning Committee. The input at the 2024 NCM provided great insights into what our temple leaders are wishing for BCA, the National Board Meeting will vet the updated mission and vision statements that the committee has been working on.

Now halfway through my first 100 days, I can report that I have received many congratulatory messages and wishes for success. I can only hope that I can make at least half of those wishes for success come true for BCA, for even half would allow us to create new energy and new dynamism in spreading the Dharma.

Although mundane, the work that I’ve set out to accomplish in these first 100 days is organizationally important to how the BCA operates. Greater connections between parts of the BCA organization as well as placing responsibility and authority where it is best situated to have impact continues the effort of a new governance approach for the BCA that was initiated last year while being President-elect. 

You may ask, “What does that really mean?” It means that we will be focusing on being more efficient, more nimble, and more strategic about decisions and decision-making for the entire organization. 

Greater communication between volunteer leadership, volunteer committees together with the assignment of BCA staff to these committees will enable our committees to move important parts of the BCA agenda forward and be more effective: Budget and Finance, Membership and  Propagation; Communications; Vision and Strategic Planning; Ministers’ Affairs; Social Welfare; Audit; Pension; among the many.

Recently, I was in a conversation with Rev. Michael Endo who introduced me to the Japanese word — “kizuna” (絆). It translates as the bonds between people; the emotional ties, relationships and connections. 

BCA exists because of “kizuna.” We must remember this essential tenet of our Shin Buddhist values. I will also dedicate my efforts to ensure that the “kizuna” of BCA stay strong so that we can flourish as we share in the Dharma into the future.