The Watsonville Buddhist Temple hosted the fifth annual Tsukemono Festival on March 1. This event, which held its first-ever gathering in 2003, was originally organized by Tom and Kevin Nagata with the mission of “Preservation and continuation of this cultural delicacy for generations to come.” Following a 19-year hiatus, Rev. Blake Honda and I worked with the Central California Young Buddhist Association and the members at the Buddhist Church of Fowler to hold the second annual event in...

Rev. Sydney Shiroyama reflects on her Tokudo ordination in Kyoto, sharing lessons on discipline, gratitude, and deep listening learned through ten days of intensive Jodo Shinshu training.

Editor’s note: Sydney Shiroyama, a Minister’s Assistant at the Palo Alto Buddhist Temple, wrote this article for the PABT newsletter. The...