Happy Spring everyone (well, almost Spring)!  

We are certainly experiencing impermanence first-hand here at the Betsuin.  With Rinban’s impending retirement at the end of the year, Bishop Harada has been very busy developing a plan for his replacement. This plan was announced in late January.  While the plan is dependent upon several factors, Rev. Henry Adams is under consideration to be the replacement for Rinban Sakamoto.  Rev. Adams is currently the resident minister at the San Mateo Buddhist Temple.  He is young, very knowledgeable, and speaks Japanese fluently I am told (as I don’t speak Japanese myself).  If you have not had the opportunity to meet him personally, we are attempting to arrange for him to deliver a Dharma message at an upcoming Sunday service.  So, stay tuned!

The other big change here is the relatively sudden departure of Rev. Mikame.  As most of you know, she had been forced to deal with a visa issue through no fault of her own.  It was at this point, we began working with some immigration attorneys that helped us navigate through the various issues.  Eventually, a new application was submitted which was ultimately denied.  It became necessary for Rev. Mikame to leave the US.  She departed from SFO and returned to Japan.  Bishop Harada, Endo Sensei (assistant to the Bishop) and Judy Kono (program coordinator for the BCA) met her at the airport to see her off, along with a small contingent from the Betsuin.  We will be submitting a new visa application for her and if things go well, she might be able to return within a couple of months.  We hope this to be the case.  Worst case, she might not be able to return for at least a year.  As you can imagine, it had been an extremely stressful period for her, but she always maintained her ever present smile and willingness to work with all groups and people.  Of course, we will maintain contact with her and hope to continue to receive Dharma messages from her.