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Thoughts on Being a Priest

William Briones, Rimban, Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple and Supervising Minister, SFVHBT

The emperor and his ministers, acting against the dharma and violating human decency, became enraged and embittered. As a result, Master Honen, the eminent founder who had

November 30, 2021 Ministers Message

Forgiveness and Buddhism

William Briones, Rimban, Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple and Supervising Minister, SFVHBT

If one abuses you, there is a temptation to answer back, or to be revenged. One should be on guard
against this natural reaction. It is like

September 26, 2021 Ministers Message

Thoughts on this Labor Day Holiday

William Briones, Rimban, Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple and Supervising Minister, SFVHBT

For those who make their living drawing nets or fishing in the seas and rivers, and those who sustain their lives hunting beast or taking fowl in 

August 30, 2021 Ministers Message

Obon

Rev. William Briones, Rimban, Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple and Supervising Minister, SFVHBT

This appeared in Nishi’s JIHO in 2003. Thank you for letting me share this with you.

I grew up less than half a mile from Mountain …

May 30, 2021 Ministers Message

Love Songs

I must have missed the timing of Valentine’s Day, the season of love, but our society might be looking for some warmth, compassion and love these days to heal our hearts. For that reason, I’d like to share some cute …

April 2, 2021 Ministers Message

Gumyocho – A Lesson on Living Together

It was about this time last year when we faced the unprecedented shutdown of our “normal” activities. Who would have been able to see that our society was about to turn upside down? But I had no idea the year …

January 28, 2021 Ministers Message

Having the Torch of Light in the Long Tunnel

In November, we started to receive good news about the long-awaited vaccines for COVID-19. Even on the TV, it seemed as if everyone’s face lit up when they reported the high efficiency percentage (90%+!) of the vaccine candidates. People commented …

November 29, 2020 Ministers Message

The Other Side of Goodbye

Recently I was going through issues of Temple Times from previous years and stopped at a beautiful photo filled with smiles that looked very familiar to me. Last year around this time those of us who travelled on the YBICSE …

October 4, 2020 Ministers Message

Hello, world! Hello, SFVHBT!

Hello, world! Hello, SFVHBT!

If you are a computer programmer or have touched upon programming languages, you might recall this sen­tence “hello, world!” with fond memory as it is generally the first program to be written by those who just …

August 1, 2020 Ministers Message

Good for What Ails You

This was going to be my farewell letter. However, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, I cannot help but focus on how you are doing, with my prayer that you be safe and well, free from harm and difficulties, …

August 1, 2020 Ministers Message