Thread by @EngagedPureLand

Three of the 31 original founders of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship were Jodo Shinshu Pure Land Buddhists, including all of the Asian-American founders.

Though not among the list of official founders published in 1979, a fourth Jodo Shinshu Buddhist, Ryo Imamura, was long acknowledged as one of the two true originators of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship (along with Zen teacher Robert Aitken). The BPF page carried his bio until 2012

Ryo Imamura, who was a PhD in psychology and ordained Jodo Shinshu monk, was elected president of the board of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship in the mid-1980s. He helped to significantly grow the organization and to professionalize its record-keeping, among other contributions.

The Ministers Association of the Buddhist Churches of America passed an official resolution in 1983 requesting "the participation of all B.C.A. ministers and lay members in the Buddhist Peace Fellowship." By the end of that year 15% of BPF membership was Jodo Shinshu.

This represented nearly all of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship's non-white membership.

After Rev. Imamura left in the later 1980s, Jodo Shinshu (and thus Asian-American) participation in BPF dropped. Leadership was dominated by white Zen practitioners who--while sincerely pansectarian in intent--had little idea how to involve Pure Land Buddhists or Asian-Americans.

Despite a few Turning Wheel articles by engaged Jodo Shinshu Buddhists such as Rev. Kenryu Tsuji and Diane Ames, and occasional organizing of BPF groups by Shin Buddhists like Jeff Wilson, the white meditation culture of BPF accelerated the decades-long drop-out of Jodo Shinshu.

BPF experienced difficulties in the early Bush Jr. years. But by the end of that era it had stabilized and, after two decades of white leadership, another person of colour (Zen priest Zenju Earthlyn Manuel) was finally in charge. Sensitivity to BPF's racial dynamics increased.

That increased further under the racially-shared leadership of Katie Lonke and Dawn Haley. However, there was still no one with appreciation of Pure Land Buddhism and little awareness of Asian-American community dynamics. BPF's strong Pure Land roots were nearly forgotten.

BPF activities, such as the Block. Build. Be., became far more diverse overall than in earlier eras. But Pure Land Buddhists remained excluded, and despite intentionality around inclusion of other identities, no push was made to proactively include Pure Land voices or faces.

With recent BPF's default understanding of Buddhism that clashed w/Pure Land practices, no visible inclusion of Jodo Shinshu members, and an angry youth energy that fit poorly with elder-respecting Asian-American temples, Pure Landers sat out of BPF or supported from the sideline

This doesn't mean that there was zero Pure Land participation in BPF after the 1980s, just that it majorly dropped off, no attempt was made to retrieve it, and thus white (later, white/Black) engaged Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhist activism on the whole went separate ways.

With the changing of the guard at BPF today, will this trend continue, or will the next era reconnect some of the Pure Land and Asian-American roots that nurtured the early Buddhist Peace Fellowship? BPF has changed many times and done much good work. The future is wide open.

Whatever comes next for the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, may it be life-sustaining for those involved, as inclusive as possible, and deeply drenched in the Dharma. And shake the foundations of those who oppose it. Namo Amida Butsu✊🏿🙏

BTW for some reading on BPF history, see below. Turnign Wheel issues are largely non-digitized (other than 1992-2001), but will be coming eventually from the University of Idaho.
tricycle.org/magazine/worki…
tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.108…

This link got kind of lost in that last tweet. Here it is again.
tricycle.org/magazine/worki…

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