Save the Date for Eshinni & Kakushinni Service with Reverend Anne Spencer
The Importance of Eshinni & Kakunni to Our Tradition
Live and Livestreamed Service on Sunday, October 23, at 10 a.m.
The Eshinni and Kakushinni Service
Please save the date and help us welcome Reverend Anne Rensho Spencer, our virtual guest speaker, for this important memorial service.
The Importance of These Two Buddhist Women
Eshinni was Shinran’s wife, and Kakushinni their daughter. Both were crucial to the existence of our Jodo Shinshu tradition. We are holding this memorial service in gratitude and in their honor.
About Our Livestream
Rev. Spencer will be attending via Zoom, but that is behind the scenes. Our remote guests simply need to log into the livestream on our YouTube Channel without special password.
This image of Shinran’s wife and daughter comes from a manga, Daijo, published by Hompa Hongwanji-ha, honoring both women.
About Rev. Anne Rensho Spencer
Rev. Anne Spencer began attending the Idaho-Oregon Buddhist Temple (IOBT) in the fall of 2002. At that point in her life, she was working in the medical field and helping families make difficult medical decisions and cope with grief and loss. She found that the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist teachings, along with her relationship with the community of people at IOBT, helped her find meaning in her work and a new perspective to help face life's challenges. Her desire to learn more about Buddhism led her to volunteer at the temple as well as pursue academic study in Buddhism.
In 2010 Rev Spencer received Tokudo ordination at Nishi Hongwanji in Kyoto, Japan. In 2012 she graduated with her M.A. in Buddhist studies from the Institute of Buddhist studies and the Graduate Theological Union. In 2018 she received her Kyoshi certification from Nishi Hongwanji in Kyoto, Japan. And in 2021 she received the status of assistant minister from Nishi Hongwanji. In addition to working at IOBT, Rev Spencer continues her work in the medical field as a lecturer at Boise State University College of Health Sciences and as a genetic counselor in a small private practice.
Buddhism, at its core, teaches that all life, all beings, are interconnected. Every living being – humans, animals, plants, and even yeast – shares common ancestors who lived thousands to billions of years ago. Seeing things from this perspective, that we are all cousins, can help us live a life of compassion and gratitude for those around us.
– Rev Anne Spencer
Eshinni and Kakushinni