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9:45 AM – 10:15 AM: Zen Shin Sangha Meditation: 

As we welcome June and in a few weeks, summer, let us continue to be aware and enjoy these late spring days of 2025. This season of transition from the cold dark of winter to the hot long days of summer will soon be memory. Let’s not let them slip by… We will take a moment of contemplation and self-reflection by quiet sitting and guided meditation. We will chant the Heart Sutra, and recite sutras. We sit to calm our mind and body in order to focus on the present moment revealing our profound connection to all beings especially during this season of change. With this calmness we are more prepared to hear the Buddha Dharma in the Shin Buddhist service to follow. All levels, including beginners, and families with children are welcome.

(Check out our Children’s Table, complete with coloring books)

10:30 AM: Cleveland Buddhist Temple: Rev. Anita Tokuzen Kazarian:

• Shin Buddhist Service
• Shin Buddhist Memorial Service to express gratitude to ancestors who passed away in the month of June. Those attending may include the name of a loved one in our Memorial Service. Please provide Rev. Anita with the name by 10:15 AM.

Sangha Sharing:

• Following coffee and our Birthday cake for our Sangha’s June birthdays, we will share time and thoughts by reading and discussing a short passage of a Buddhist text. Handouts of text provided. This is a time for experiencing the 3^rd Jewel of Buddhism, the Sangha.

Initially the crest of the Hongwanji was a chrysanthemum crest assoiated with the Imperial Family. The direct blood linefrom Shinran Shonin, the Ohtani family, had married into the Imperial family…in the late Muromachi Period (1336 to 1573). When Emperor Meiji ascended the throne in 1868, the Chrysanthemum crest was restricted to member of the immediate Imperial Family.

The family crest of the Kujō family, a great patron of the Hongwanji, was then offered to the Hongwanji. This Wisteria crest has since been the offical crest of the Jodoshinshu Hongwanji-ha and the Ohtani family.

Originally, the Wisteria Crest was the emblem for the Kujō clan, founded in the 13th century Japan, It has two hanging wisteria blossoms forming a circle, with intertwining vines in the center. They reflect the beauty and impermanence of life. The downward hanging blossoms of the wisteria symbolize humility and sincere reverence to Amida Buddha.

The Kujō family (九条家 Kujō-ke) was a Japanese noble family and a branch of the Fujiwara clan derived from Fujiwara no Tadamichi, They were counted as one of the Sekke, the five regent houses and therefore one of the most politically powerful families among the kuge (court officials).

As one of the Sekke, the five regent houses, the Kujō clan monopolized the offices of Sessho and Kamaku along with the Konoe, Takatsukasa, Nijo and Ichijo clans from the 12th century until 1967. With the exception of Tokugawa Kazuko, wife of the Emperor Mizunoo, all Empresses were of the clans that formed the Sekke. In addition, the Nijo and Ichijo families derived from the Kujō family.

The clan was founded by Fujiwara no Kanezne (1149-1207), at the recommendation of Minamoto no Yoritomo. The fourth and fifth Shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, Kujō Yoritsune and Kujō Yoritsuga, came from this clan. Some sources claim the clan was founded by Fujiwara no Morosuke (908-960).

After the Meiji Restoration (1868-1889), members of the Kujō clan were given the title of Duke (some sources give the title as Prince). The Kujō family continues to this day with Kujō Michinari born in 1968

So what does Kujō Sagarifuji no Mon translate into? It means “Kujō Family Hanging Wisteria Family Crest.”

Excerpted and inspired by: Academic Kids at: https://academickids.com/encyc...

Rev. Masao Kodani and Russell Hamada, Traditions of Jödoshinshū Hongwanji-ha (Hanamastsuri: Pureland Publications, Senshin Buddhist Temple, 1995)

And, Rev. Brian Nagata

Eastern District Temples of BCA

• MIDWEST BUDDHIST TEMPLE
• EKOJI BUDDHIST TEMPLE
• SEABROOK BUDDHIST TEMPLE
• NEW YORK BUDDHIST CHURCH
• CLEVELAND BUDDHIST TEMPLE SANGHA
• TWIN CITIES BUDDHIST SANGHA

Midwest Buddhist Temple Live Zoom Service

If you would like to virtually attend services with zoom at Midwest Buddhist Temple in Chicago, please contact office@mbtchicago.org to request the weekly email newsletter with information about upcoming services and Zoom links. Sunday services are held at 10:30 AM, Central Time Zone.

Please contact the organizers to participate in this Cleveland event of Remembrance,

80 Years Ago

This August marks the 80^th Anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hiroshima was bombed on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. To commemorate this unprecedented violence and the advent of the nuclear age, Cleveland Nonviolence Network and Cleveland Peace Action propose a Silent Peace Walk from Cleveland Public Square to the waters of Lake Erie.

Eighty people dressed in white, the color of mourning in Japan, would walk silently and meditatively to our Lake, reflecting on the cries of “Water! Water!” in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as victims of the blasts sought relief from their suffering.

We invite you to join us to plan and participate in the event. The exact date is also to be determined. Whether you’ve participated in past commemorations or are newly inspired, please consider contacting us.

• Maria Smith, Cleveland Nonviolence Network ​maria.smith9907@gmail.com​
• Francis Chiappa, Cleveland Peace Action chiapski@aol.com​

Supervising Minister:  Rev. Ron Miyamura

Resident Tokudo Minister: Rev. Anita Tokuzen Kazarian

rev.anita.cbt@outlook.com

Buddha Post is published by the Cleveland Buddhist Temple, 21600 Shaker Blvd, Shaker Heights, OH 44122 

The Cleveland Buddhist Temple is an affiliate of the Buddhist Churches of America, founded in 1899: 

https://www.buddhistchurchesofamerica.org/

© 2025 Anita Kazarian. All rights reserved.

Web and Newsletter Design: Stuart "Kodo" Ott KodoDojo@clevelandbuddhisttemple.org