UPDATE: Watch Kenji Sensei's Bloom-Futaba Lecture
UPDATE: Video Now Available
We are updating the announcement of BTSD’s retired minister, Rev. Dr. Kenji Akahoshi, presenting the 2022 Bloom-Futabe lecture, to include the newly available video recording. More detail on the background of the lecture can be found in the previous article below.
In an annual lecture that draws some of the most prestigious Buddhist teachers, our retired minister Rev. Kenji Akahoshi joins good company in an event that draws viewers from Hawaii and the mainland.
For the 23rd Annual Futaba-Bloom Lecture Series, hosted by the Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin, Kenji Sensei will speak on “Meditation, Mindfulness, and Gratitude: The Natural Path to Awakening and Joy.”
Join Live Online
Click here to register to stream the event, which starts at 9 p.m. PDT. on Friday, October 7.
https://forms.gle/kjSAZ3bCugc29ih97
Another Familiar Face
Moderating the lecture will be Dr. George Tanabe, the President of BDK Hawaii and Chairman of BDK America. Temple members may remember George and spouse Dr. Willa Tanabe for their visit in 2018 and presentation in the Annex Hall on the range of Japanese Buddhist Temples in Hawaii, based on their book, Japanese Buddhist Temples in Hawaii: An Illustrated Guide.
About Rev. Akahoshi
Kenji Sensei served the Buddhist Temple of San Diego as resident minister for eight years, retiring in the fall of 2021. He has published multiple articles in Tricycle magazine and elsewhere. He remains a popular guest speaker. At BTSD, he began recording Dharma talks from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, available on our website, where we have a special playlist on his Farewell messages in 2021.
About the Futaba-Bloom Lecture Series
The series was begun 23 years ago as endowed by the late Dr. Alfred Bloom to honor the memory of his friend and mentor, Professor Kenko Futaba. Dr. Futaba, a noted Shin Buddhist scholar, served as President of Kyoto’s Ryukoku University from 1983 to 1995 and then became Chancellor of Kyoto Women’s University.
Dr. Bloom expressed his hope that this lecture series would be a continuing inspiration for the nurturing of American Buddhism and for the social participation of Buddhists in the quest of social justice and peace. He is now celebrated as a pioneer in the field of Jodo Shinshu studies. He is remembered as well for his tenure as Dean of the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley California, from 1986 to 1994.
Upon Dr. Bloom’s death in 2017, the series was renamed to honor both Dr. Bloom and Professor Futaba.
Learn More
The full description of the event appears here.
Don’t forget to add three hours to the time shown in the flyer, which shows Hawaii time.