Temple Etiquette
Please enter the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temple quietly. Services
taking place in the Hondo can be disrupted by noises originating in the
lobby, multi-purpose room, or auditorium.
Each Sunday service is announced by the small, bronze bell outside the Temple’s main entrance. Appointed Dharma School students or Assistant Ministers are responsible for ringing the bell at the appropriate time.
The main service room is the Hondo. Please remove your hat before entering the Hondo. When you enter the Hondo, it is customary to bow and enter with your left foot leading. Traditionally, women bow from the waist with hands crossed in front, and men bow from the waist with hands at their sides. Your back is kept straight during the bow.
Service books are available to the right of the Hondo doors. Please take a service book before going to your seat and return the book to its shelf before leaving the Hondo.
Some soft conversation with friends and family is typical prior to service. Sensei will strike a large, brass gong to signal meditation. When you hear the gong, please sit comfortably and quietly, and briefly meditate. All conversations should end when the gong sounds.
The order of service is typically announced in a step-by-step fashion by an appointed chairperson. Dharma School students serve as chairpersons for the Family Service. The senseis chair the Adult services. Special services often have a printed program that gives the order of service.
Chanting of the sutras is done in unison. Choose the deepest pitch that suits you, and the chant will be a harmonious blend of all voices. We chant the Japanese transliteration of Chinese words, so the sound, rather than the meaning of the words, is the basic experience of chanting. Translations of most chants are in the blue service book on the page immediately following the printed sutra.
The sensei who gives the Dharma talk usually asks the Sangha to join him in gassho. Gassho, which symbolizes the unity of you and the Buddha, involves placing your hands together, palm to palm with your nenju encircling both hands. Place your hands just below chest level, pointing away from the body at a 45-degree angle. Your head is bowed. The sensei then recites the Nembutsu, or reads something followed by the Nembutsu. Nembutsu is a call and response part of the service. The sensei leads with, “Namo Amida Butsu,” and the Sangha responds, “Namo Amida Butsu.” The call and response is repeated three times, following by individual repetition of "namandabs."
Recitation of Namo Amida Butsu follows many sutras. It is chanted in unison. The Eko, or transfer of merit to the Sangha, is chanted next. The Eko is printed in the service book along with symbols, which indicate the changes in pitch.
Oshoko is the burning of incense. Offering incense is a means of praising the Buddha; it is an expression of thankfulness and gratitude. Incense has also been traditionally associated with cleanliness – it purifies the Temple air thus enhancing one’s religious experience. Oshoko typically precedes the Family Dharma Service and concludes the Adult Dharma Service. When you are in front of the incense burner facing the onaijin, take one step forward and bow. Then walk to the incense burner, pinch a small amount of incense and drop it onto the burning charcoal. Gassho with a bow to the altar (onaijin), take one step back and sideward, bow again, then turn and walk away using the side aisles.
Before leaving the Hondo, stop at the doorway and turn to face the altar (onaijin). Bow as you did upon entering. Then turn and leave the Hondo leading with your right foot.
Each Sunday service is announced by the small, bronze bell outside the Temple’s main entrance. Appointed Dharma School students or Assistant Ministers are responsible for ringing the bell at the appropriate time.
The main service room is the Hondo. Please remove your hat before entering the Hondo. When you enter the Hondo, it is customary to bow and enter with your left foot leading. Traditionally, women bow from the waist with hands crossed in front, and men bow from the waist with hands at their sides. Your back is kept straight during the bow.
Service books are available to the right of the Hondo doors. Please take a service book before going to your seat and return the book to its shelf before leaving the Hondo.
Some soft conversation with friends and family is typical prior to service. Sensei will strike a large, brass gong to signal meditation. When you hear the gong, please sit comfortably and quietly, and briefly meditate. All conversations should end when the gong sounds.
The order of service is typically announced in a step-by-step fashion by an appointed chairperson. Dharma School students serve as chairpersons for the Family Service. The senseis chair the Adult services. Special services often have a printed program that gives the order of service.
Chanting of the sutras is done in unison. Choose the deepest pitch that suits you, and the chant will be a harmonious blend of all voices. We chant the Japanese transliteration of Chinese words, so the sound, rather than the meaning of the words, is the basic experience of chanting. Translations of most chants are in the blue service book on the page immediately following the printed sutra.
The sensei who gives the Dharma talk usually asks the Sangha to join him in gassho. Gassho, which symbolizes the unity of you and the Buddha, involves placing your hands together, palm to palm with your nenju encircling both hands. Place your hands just below chest level, pointing away from the body at a 45-degree angle. Your head is bowed. The sensei then recites the Nembutsu, or reads something followed by the Nembutsu. Nembutsu is a call and response part of the service. The sensei leads with, “Namo Amida Butsu,” and the Sangha responds, “Namo Amida Butsu.” The call and response is repeated three times, following by individual repetition of "namandabs."
Recitation of Namo Amida Butsu follows many sutras. It is chanted in unison. The Eko, or transfer of merit to the Sangha, is chanted next. The Eko is printed in the service book along with symbols, which indicate the changes in pitch.
Oshoko is the burning of incense. Offering incense is a means of praising the Buddha; it is an expression of thankfulness and gratitude. Incense has also been traditionally associated with cleanliness – it purifies the Temple air thus enhancing one’s religious experience. Oshoko typically precedes the Family Dharma Service and concludes the Adult Dharma Service. When you are in front of the incense burner facing the onaijin, take one step forward and bow. Then walk to the incense burner, pinch a small amount of incense and drop it onto the burning charcoal. Gassho with a bow to the altar (onaijin), take one step back and sideward, bow again, then turn and walk away using the side aisles.
Before leaving the Hondo, stop at the doorway and turn to face the altar (onaijin). Bow as you did upon entering. Then turn and leave the Hondo leading with your right foot.
