Ichi-Mi: All of the Same Essence
An ocean sunset with text that reads, “They are like waters that, on entering the ocean, become one in taste with it,”
“Ichi-Mi (一味)” is a term found in Shinran Shonin’s Shoshin-Nembutsu-Ge.
bonjō gyaku hō sai e nyu
凡聖逆謗斉回入
nyo shu shi nyu kai ichi mi
如衆水入海一味
The translation of this passage is as follows:
When ignorant and wise, even grave offenders and slanders of
the dharma, all alike turn about and enter shinjin,
They are like waters that, on entering the ocean, become one in taste with it.
The meaning of this passage is that all beings, both the foolish and saintly and virtuous, once encountering and hearing Amida Buddha’s name, Namo Amida Butsu, are all of the same flavor or essence. In other words, under Amida Buddha, we are all of the same essence and value. (Ichi-Mi translation from GBC website)
On June 30, 2024, VBT’s Buddhist Education Committee and Buddhist Women’s Association co-sponsored a class called Cultivating True Compassion and Acceptance. The title was chosen to invite our sangha to look more closely at true compassion and acceptance when we say, “come as you are” in Jodo Shinshu sangha.
We presented the film, A Profound Silence which was produced by Ichi Mi, an affiliate organization of Gardena Buddhist Church GBC whose mission statement reads, “We pledge our best efforts as Jōdo Shinshū Buddhists to provide a safe space for LGBTQ+ identifying people within the Sangha, their family members, and allies, in order to create conditions for everyone to safely hear the Nembutsu teaching.”
The film interviews sangha members of the LGBTQ+ community, their family and allies to hear their experience, how and when they feel truly welcome, and how and when they don’t.
The film viewing was followed by a panel discussion featuring invited guests and film producer, Rev. Ko’e Umezu, Marie Miyashiro, West LA Temple, and Emily Turner, OCBC. Jon Turner Sensei from OCBC was the moderator. Each panelist spoke from their personal experience as Jodo Shinshu sangha members. VBT sangha members and guests asked questions, offered their stories and experiences.
Community guidelines were shared before the film and panel discussion as a way to underscore how we begin to build trust and safety in our sangha with respect and care as panelists and participants shared their experiences openly and honestly.
Our intention was to take a closer look at how to be a welcoming and inclusive place for newcomers and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Our sangha is a refuge, like the three treasures, a soft place to land as we are, a place to feel welcome with a sense of belonging to hear the dharma.
The class was born of a desire to speak and share more openly on the ways we can be more inclusive and how we might cause unintended harm and hurt. As a sangha, this was a step to embody the Eightfold Noble Path of right view and right intention through wise action.
This event had personal resonance for me as parent of LGBTQ+ kids, I wrote a letter to the VBT board last year with a request for us as a sangha to look deeply and inclusively at how we are including or excluding without being aware. Are we sure LGBTQ+ folx feel welcome here? I invited the board to watch the film, A Profound Silence and read an essay I wrote entitled The Evolutionary Journey of Mothering.
We are cultivating true compassion and acceptance one step at a time.
Namo Amida Butsu
Watch the film A Profound Silence: https://vimeo.com/814468816
Read the essay: https://www.lionsroar.com/the-evolutionary-journey-of-mothering/