Twin Cities Buddhist Sangha Celebrates Its 80th Anniversary

On a bright, beautiful spring day in Minneapolis, nearly 70 members and friends of the Twin Cities Buddhist Sangha (TCBS) gathered to celebrate our 80th anniversary. 

BCA Bishop Rev. Marvin Harada, BCA President Glenn Inanaga and Rev. Kurt Rye, Kyokucho of the Eastern District, were on hand to help commemorate this remarkable occasion on May 3.

Due to the presence of the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) Language School at Camp Savage and later, at Fort Snelling, several thousand Japanese and Japanese American soldiers came to Minnesota during World War II.

When the war was over, the MIS soldiers encouraged their families, after leaving the internment camps, to settle in Minnesota. 

These ancestors, many of whom arrived here with nothing, had the wisdom and foresight to establish a Sangha to share the Buddha-Dharma. 

And so, on April 14, 1946, the original constitution of the Twin Cities Buddhist Organization was ratified and operations began.  

We are forever grateful to Rev. Gyodo Kono, the founder of the Midwest Buddhist Temple in Chicago, who provided guidance and oversight from the beginning and traveled each month to Minnesota to hold services.

Beginning in 1973, Rev. Ron Miyamura became our Supervising Minister. He took special care to ensure our survival and continued his support for another 50 years. 

During our 80 years of Dharma sharing, we’ve never had our own building. Instead, we’ve gotten creative and have met in a variety of locations, including: the Minneapolis Business College, Shir Tikva Synagogue, a local beauty shop, a car dealership, First Universalist Church, the Midtown YWCA, Becketwood Senior Cooperative, and our current location, Cha Ami Japanese Cultural Center. 

One of our founding members, Frank Tsuchiya Sr., handcrafted a portable traveling Butsudan that we can take apart and bring anywhere for a service.  

It has served our needs well. We are portable and can gather for services indoors, outdoors, or wherever we can find a space.

At this very special service and celebration, Rev. Harada gave a Dharma message looking back on all the things that have taken place during the 80 years that TCBS has been in existence. That was a great trip down memory lane, and it made some of us feel a little bit old. 

A Shosan Shiki (welcoming) ceremony was performed for TCBS’s newest member, 9-month-old Lincoln Yun. He woke up just in time for Rev. Harada to place his new shikisho around his neck. 

Lincoln and his big sister Lillian are fourth- generation TCBS members. 

After service, it was time to party. Champagne was raised, food was served and we all had the opportunity to enjoy each other’s company and honor the ancestors who got our Sangha started. 

We gratefully acknowledge the Issei and Nisei pioneers who began this journey and the many others who followed. May we continue to persevere and be creative in finding ways to hear the Dharma, and may we continue to be here for future generations.