September 1 is an important date for me for a few reasons. Maybe most significant for me is that it is the date that I arrived in Berkeley back in 1996, having quit my band and left on a quest to study Buddhism at the Institute of Buddhist Studies. I later found out that this date is also significant for the Buddhist Churches of America, which at some point declared September 1, 1899 as “BCA Founding Day” as seen in this explanation in a pamphlet dedicated to Buddhist holidays:

Later on, I began my ministerial career at the Buddhist Church of Lodi on September 1, 2006, which means that I have been a BCA minister for 9 years as of today! Seems like a good time to look at my life, see where I’ve been and think about what I want to do in this coming year leading up to year ten. There’s some interesting stuff coming up on the horizon – stay tuned!

Namo Amida Butsu