EngagedPureLand
LightNews LightNews
banner
engagedpureland.bsky.social
EngagedPureLand
@engagedpureland.bsky.social
710 followers 380 following 540 posts
Bathed in the boundless light of Great Compassion, may we work together to reduce suffering. Namo Amida Butsu.
Posts Replies Media Videos
engagedpureland.bsky.social
"Resistance and Regeneration Amidst the Chaos," Nov 15, 2025, 1-3pm PST. Speakers: Chenxing Han, Br. Phap Luu, Rev. Patti Nakai. Register at vbtemple.org/bcg

#buddhism #buddhist #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #engagedbuddhism
Vista Buddhist Temple's annual Buddhist Community Gathering "Resistance and Regeneration Amidst the Chaos" will take place Saturday, November 15, 2025, 1-3pm PST. Join us as we host three distinguished dharma teachers as they reflect on this year's theme and engage in dialogue with one another. Speakers: Chenxing Han, Br. Phap Luu, Rev. Patti Nakai. Register at vbtemple.org/bcg
October 22, 2025 at 4:29 PM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
The Hongwanji Hawaii Buddha Bus was out yesterday in the Honolulu Pride Parade, spreading the good vibes of Amida Buddha's universal embrace of all people. Get on board, we're all going to the Pure Land together!

#buddhism #buddhist #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #engagedbuddhism #lgbtq #pride #queer
A video screenshot of a mini school bus, with a sign on the front reading "Proud of Hongwanji, All-Accepting" and various rainbow-themed signs on the side showcasing LGBTQ support by Hongwanji institutions such as the Pacific Buddhist Academy.
October 19, 2025 at 3:08 PM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
The crew at Midwest Buddhist Temple assembled and delivered over 400 sandwiches to unhoused neighbours in Chicago today. They also dropped off plastic mats for bedding that the temple's Women's Association wove.

#buddhsm #buddhism #engagedbuddhism #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #unhoused #chicago
Six people of varying ages, genders, and ethnicities face the camera while standing in the Midwest Buddhist Temple's kitchen. Trays hold sandwiches in the process of being assembled. Photo is from the temple's Facebook page.
September 28, 2025 at 2:37 AM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
@georgetakei.bsky.social Thank you for 50 years of activism!

#buddhism #buddhist #engagedbuddhism #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #startrek #asianamerican
A portion of the front page of the May 1975 Wheel of Dharma. The headline reads "Edison Uno and George Takei Glorify WYBL Conference in Sacramento." Takei's remarks are excerpted as follows: "Sacramento is symbolic of the struggles our people had to fight, of segregated schools, of the origin of Earl Warren's evacuation orders to Japanese Americans... We have a proud legacy--a dynamic legacy. Kansha must not be passive but equally dynamic and aggressive."
September 15, 2025 at 8:15 PM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
Aug 4, 1985: peace activists surrounded the Pentagon and Capitol with a banner 10+ miles long. Banner panels depicted things each contributor feared would be lost in a nuclear war. This panel was made by the kids at the Oregon Buddhist Temple
#buddhism #buddhist #jodoshinshu #engagedbuddhism #peace
A black and white photo showing children of various ages holding a banner that says "peace" and has various designs on it.
September 13, 2025 at 7:25 PM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
And here is the correct course catalog description. As we can see, the instructor was well within normal university parameters to teach how gender and other aspects of children's literature can be productively studied. That said, the accusation is merely an excuse anyway, used for convenience.
ENGL 360 Literature for Children: Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Representative writers, genres, texts and movements. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification.
September 10, 2025 at 6:28 PM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
Today Texas A&M wrongfully fired a senior lecturer, falsely accusing her of teaching material that conflicted with the syllabus. Some people have shared the wrong syllabus info. Here is a screenshot of the correct course description.
#texasam #academicfreedom #university #freespeech #gender
A screenshot from the Literature for Children syllabus. It includes: "In this course, we will begin to tease out the boundaries of this capacious category called children's literature. What counts? Who decides? What differentiates writing for children from writing for adults? Why should we, as adults, read children's literature? In this course we will explore a range of children's literature in English, including picture books, poetry, contemporary novels, historical fiction, and fantasy. Our task is to think critically about what these books can tell us about how we (and others) understand childhood, how those definitions have changed over time, and how these books participate in larger movements of history, culture, and literature."
September 10, 2025 at 6:28 PM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
The crew at Midwest Buddhist Temple made and delivered 385 sandwich bags to unhoused neighbours in Chicago today!

#buddhism #buddhist #engagedbuddhism #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #unhoused #chicago
A baker's dozen of ethnically, age, and gender diverse folks smile for the camera in a classroom at the Midwest Buddhist Temple. Tables before them are piled with sandwich bags ready for delivery. Picture is from the temple Facebook page.
August 31, 2025 at 1:44 AM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
Praying for their captor: Apr 14, 1945, 5 Japanese American monks pray for the deceased Pres. FDR at the Minidoka concentration camp in Idaho. 120,000 legal residents and citizens were imprisoned due to FDR's Exec. Order 9066
#buddhism #buddhist #immigration #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #asianamerican
In this photo from the April 21, 1945 Minidoka Irrigator, five Buddhist monks in formal robes face away from the camera. They are on a stage, facing toward a cross that is mostly blocked by their bodies. Another cross hangs on a podium to the left.
August 29, 2025 at 9:20 PM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
Hawai'i Pride is approaching!

Sunday, October 5: 9:30am LGBTQ+ Service at Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin in Honolulu. Guest speaker is Aiden Aizumi, with a talk story session afterwards.

#buddhism #buddhist #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #engagedbuddhism #lgbtq #queer #pride #trans
A cropped photo of Aiden Aizumi. He has a red aloha shirt on and wears a lei with pink flowers. His extended right arm shows a full tattoo sleeve. He has short dark hair and pierced ears.
August 26, 2025 at 2:21 PM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
Here it is (courtesy of the July 1934 "The Buddhist Child"), your moment of Zen.
#buddhism #buddhist #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #penguin #happy
A photo of a penguin. The top caption reads "Happy," while the bottom caption says "Why is this penguin happy? Because he too has heard the Buddha's teaching." Note: the actual emotional disposition of the penguin in question is difficult to discern.
August 25, 2025 at 2:44 PM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
Dec 28, 1932: funeral for bishop Yemyo Imamura, the first major American engaged Buddhist, at Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin. Reps from Soto Zen, Nichiren, Shingon, Jodo Shu, Higashi Honganji, Shinto, and Christian groups all attended. #buddhism #buddhist #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #engagedbuddhism
In this photo from the January 1933 Kyōdan Jihō, hundreds of people in formal Western or Japanese attire stand on the steps of the Honolulu temple. Near the centre of the frame is Imamura's coffin. The caption indicates that it is December 28, 1932.
August 25, 2025 at 2:23 PM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
In April 1929 Taixu, founder of Humanistic Buddhism (the largest type of engaged Buddhism, and the direct forerunner of Thich Nhat's Hanh's Engaged Buddhism), opened a branch of the International Buddhist Institute at Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin
#buddhism #buddhist #engagedbuddhism #jodoshinshu
In this photo from the May 1929 Kyōdan Jihō, Taixu appears in dark monastic robes. Next to him on the right is bishop Yemyo Imamura. Behind him to the left is Rev. Ernest Hunt. Next to him on the right is a Sri Lanka Buddhist identified as Mitra, and next to him is Rev. Dorothy Hunt. Various other Japanese American and white Buddhists crowd around them on the steps of the Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin in Honolulu.
August 24, 2025 at 5:27 PM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
Engaged Buddhism, 100 years ago: the Fukugawa free medical clinic was founded by Kujo Takeko, daughter of Jodo Shinshu monshu Otani Myonyo, in the mid-1920s. It grew to become Asoka Hospital, one of the 1st modern hospitals in Japan.
#buddhism #buddhist #engagedbuddhism #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism
A black and white photo from the February 1928 issue of Kyōdan Jihō shows children receiving medical care. Two women face the camera. The one on the left is Kujō Takeko
August 24, 2025 at 1:55 PM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
The Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii English Teaching Division in 1925: Bishop Yemyo Imamura and Revs. Dorothy Hunt, Ernest Hunt, and M.T. Kirby. Their pioneering efforts continue to impact Buddhism in Hawai'i over 100 years later.
#buddhism #buddhist #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #hawaii
A photo from the May 1925 issue of Kyōdan Jihō, showing Bishop Imamura in a dark suit, Rev. Dorothy Hunt in a white dress, Rev. Ernest Hunt in a light suit with a bow tie, and Rev. Kirby crossing his arms while wearing a light suit and necktie. The Japanese caption says they are the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii English Teaching Division, while the English caption gives their names (with a typo accidentally identifying Dorothy Hunt as "Rev. P. Hunt")
August 24, 2025 at 11:37 AM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
Milestone in Buddhist history: announcement of the ordination of Dorothy Hunt, 1st woman ordained as a Buddhist nun in the USA. The ordination was performed by Jodo Shinshu bishop Yemyo Imamura on July 24, 1924
#buddhism #buddhist #engagedbuddhism #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #hawaii #womenshistory
This black and photo shows a headshot of a white woman with shorter hair. The Japanese caption says this is Dorothy Hunt, who was ordained on July 24th. The announcement is from the August 1924 issue of Kyōdan Jihō, the monthly newsletter of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii.
August 24, 2025 at 12:06 AM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
Midwest Buddhist Temple members assembled and delivered 365 sandwiches to unhoused neighbours in Chicago this past weekend.
#buddhism #buddhist #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #engagedbuddhism #unhoused #homeless
In this photo taken in the Midwest Buddhist Temple kitchen, nine people of various ages, ethniticies, and genders turn to smile for the camera while assembling trays of sandwiches. Picture is from the temple's Facebook page.
July 29, 2025 at 10:04 AM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
How did ChatGPT create this "answer"? We can ask it to show its sources. Turns out zero of the 22 sources discuss white spouses who were married to Japanese people and got interned in Canada. All discuss white Americans, or Japanese Canadians, or irrelevant topics. Some sources are random websites.
A screenshot of ChatGPT's answer about its sources. It's not super helpful as a graphic because you have to actually mouse over the sources and click forward to see each one in turn. But turns out they're things like a random guy's comments, a bunch of sites on the American (not Canadian) incarceration, that one Cambridge University Press article that doesn't talk about the subject of my actual query, and Wikipedia.
July 23, 2025 at 6:51 PM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
Despite what ChatGPT "thinks," Mary Keiko Kitagawa's ancestry was fully and only Japanese. Her mother wasn't European: she was Kimiko Murakami (nee Okano). Mary Kitagawa is actually a great Japanese Canadian educator and activist, and a survivor of the Japanese Canadian incarceration.
A partial screenshot from the Canadian Encyclopedia, showing Mary Kitagawa rocking the Order of British Columbia medal. The text explains that she grew up on Salt Spring Island with her six siblings on the farm. Her parents were Katsuyori and Kimiko Murakami (nee Okano), who surely had many interesting characteristics but being European doesn't happen to be one of them. By the way, check out Mary Keiko Kitagawa's full page on The Canadian Encyclopedia, it's well done and does a good job of humanizing the suffering that the unjust incarceration caused.
July 23, 2025 at 6:51 PM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
The ChatGPT answer was too long for one screenshot, so here's the rest. It tried to increase our confidence in the answer by offering us the full name of an actual person, giving her family history, and telling us that there are other documented examples. Spoiler: no she wasn't and no there aren't.
ChatGPT's crimes against history and education continue. In this screenshot, more bullet points spew misinformation, and then it ends with this zinger: "One known case is Mary Keiko Kitagawa, whose family was forcibly removed to internment camps. Her mother was of European descent. There are several similar stories documented in oral histories and research into the internment period."
July 23, 2025 at 6:51 PM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
So, AI Overview sucks. What about ChatGPT? I asked the same question, and got results that looked more reliable, used more sources, and were even worse.
#AI #ChatGPT #AIOverview #Google #teaching #education #aapi #canada #history
Screenshot of first half of ChatGPT's answer. It is a bulleted list that includes things like "Some white spouses of Japanese Canadians chose to accompany their families into internment voluntarily, especially when they had children and wanted to stay together" and "The government sometimes placed pressure on these families by making it difficult for them to stay in Vancouver or other 'protected areas,' essentially forcing the entire family to relocate." Both of these statements are historically false.
July 23, 2025 at 6:51 PM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
How was this wrong-in-various-ways answer generated?Opening the answer fully, we see the 3 sources it used. 1) a Reddit thread that only discusses Americans 2) A scholarly article that never discusses white spouses being interned 3) A Canadian gov site that doesn't discuss the Japanese internment
A screen shot of the sources. First, r/AsianMasculinity, a source with no reliability whatsoever. Second, the article "Marginal Citizens" from Cambridge University Press, which discusses how Japanese spouses married to white Canadians sought to get exempted from incarceration, while saying nothing about white spouses joining Japanese spouses in the camps. Third, a Canada.ca site about the History of Canada and the Holocaust.
July 23, 2025 at 6:51 PM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
"AI" can't be relied upon for research. Please stress this with all of your students. Here's an example. I asked Google's AI Overview "Were any white people married to Japanese people interned in Canada during WWII?" According to AI Overview, the answer is definitively Yes.
#AI #teaching #education
Text from AI Overview that reads: "Yes, some non-Japanese spouses of Japanese individuals were interned in Canada during WWII, though it was less common than the internment of Japanese Canadians. many interracial families were granted exemptions from internment based on their marital or familial proximity to whiteness. However, some non-Japanese spouses chose to accompany their partners to the internment camps, becoming one of the few non-Japanese individuals incarcerated during that period."
July 23, 2025 at 6:51 PM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
Joanna Macy, a foundational figure in Buddhism and ecology, has passed away. She trained Stephanie Kaza (the most sophisticated American writer in this field) and many others, was a pioneer in facing eco-anxiety, and tireless activist.
#buddhism #buddhist #engagedbuddhism #ecology #sustainability
A headshot of Joanna Macy in her later years. She has grey hair and mother-of-pearl earrings, with a red cloak. Picture is from https://believe.earth/en/
July 20, 2025 at 12:40 PM
engagedpureland.bsky.social
Tacoma Buddhist Temple at Pride Festival Tacoma: there was an origami folding table, butsudan with omyogo for those who wanted to offer their gratitude, and lots of good times
#buddhism #buddhist #jodoshinshu #shinbuddhism #engagedbuddhism #pride #lgbtq #queer
Several people stand or sit at the Tacoma temple's Pride booth. The table cloth is purple, and many kinds of Pride flags hang from the canopy. Photo is from the temple's Facebook page.
July 13, 2025 at 12:34 PM