Institute of Buddhist Studies

09/03/2026

is a little different this week — it's a thank you. Last month, we gathered to celebrate the retirement of longtime IBS Registrar Helen Tagawa. For years, Helen has been the steady, caring hand behind the scenes, helping generations of students navigate their path through IBS.

Helen, thank you for everything. We wish you well in this next chapter.
www.shin-ibs.edu

09/01/2026

New to IBS or coming back for another year — welcome! As the semester gets underway, our best advice: you don't have to have it all figured out on day one. Find your kalyanamitra, ask questions, and remember that a Buddhist education is itself practice.
First day of the fall semester is Tuesday, September 8. We can't wait to see you!
Learn more about student life at IBS: www.shin-ibs.edu

08/10/2026

DATE CHANGE! The book launch event for Dr. Arai's Of Mud and Lotuses is Wednesday September 23. Thank you!

Join us on Thursday September 24 at 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time to celebrate the release of Dr. Paula Arai’s newest book — Of Mud and Lotuses: Dreaming the Lives of Buddhist Women.

07/30/2026

Coming soon! Dr. Paula Arai's latest book Of Mud and Lotuses to be published August 25!

Dr. Arai's book is a unique blend of personal reflection, creative histories, and interview-based nonfiction that vividly imagines the lives of Buddhist women over 2,500 years. Of Mud and Lotuses illuminates the hardships, resilience, and creative ways in which Buddhist women have applied the Dharma to daily life—often in ways that history has ignored.

This book was supported in part by a generous grant from the Lenz Foundation.

A unique blend of personal reflection, creative histories, and interview-based nonfiction that vividly imagines the lives of Buddhist women over 2,500 years. Of Mud and Lotuses illuminates the hardships, resilience, and creative ways in which Buddhist women have applied the Dharma to daily life&mdas...

07/23/2026

More than a graduate school and seminary, the Institute of Buddhist Studies is also a vibrant research center. Over the decades, we’ve published numerous monographs and academic journals, hosted research symposia and projects, and posted recordings from public lectures and conferences. Check out our website to learn more about the many contributions to Buddhist scholarship IBS has helped support!
https://www.shin-ibs.edu/research/

07/16/2026

En no Sh*ta no chikaramochi 縁の下の力持ち is a Japanese phrase that means “the power underneath the floorboards.” Watch this video to learn more about how your generosity can help power IBS’s mission of education for the next generation of Buddhist priests, ministers, chaplains, and scholars.

In Japan, there is a phrase "en no sh*ta no chikaramochi." It means...

07/09/2026

It’s Obon season! In the Japanese Buddhist tradition, Bon Odori (or Obon) is an annual summer festival to remember our ancestors, based in part on the story of the Buddha’s disciple Mokuren who saved his mother from the realm of hungry ghosts.

Japanese American Buddhist temples across the country celebrate Obon with dancing and music and special services. A partial list of some festivals can be found on Rafu Shimpo: https://rafu.com/2026/06/2026-obon-summer-festival-list/

Drop a comment below to let folks know about your own temple’s Obon schedule.



Photo courtesy Flickr user Mark: 34186459@N00/" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://www.flickr.com/photos/34186459@N00/

06/25/2026

Join us on Zoom for the official book launch of Dr. Paula Arai's Of Mud and Lotuses!

In conversation with Dr. Scott Morgensen, Dr. Arai will discuss her latest book, a unique blend of personal reflection, creative histories, and interview-based nonfiction that vividly imagines the lives of Buddhist women over 2,500 years. Of Mud and Lotuses illuminates the hardships, resilience, and creative ways in which Buddhist women have applied the Dharma to daily life—often in ways that history has ignored.

Register for this event online here:

Join us on Thursday September 24 at 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time to celebrate the release of Dr. Paula Arai’s newest book — Of Mud and Lotuses: Dreaming the Lives of Buddhist Women.

06/22/2026

In case you missed it: IBS Prof. Emeritus Dr. Richard Payne recently published Ta**ra Across the Buddhist Cosmopolis, a book decades in the making! Add it to your summer reading list. And big congratulations, Dr. Payne!

Buy it direct from the press, Bookshop.org, or your local independent bookstore!

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/tantra-across-the-buddhist-cosmopolis-9780195368475?cc=us&lang=en&

06/19/2026

Check out Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad's latest — The Fire Inside: The Dharma of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde

The Fire Inside explores the writings of Audre Lorde and James Baldwin through a Dharmic lens, revealing for the first time how two of America’s greatest literary voices reflect—and expand—Buddhism’s most timeless truths toward justice and liberation.

Buy the book directly from the publisher, Bookshop.org, or your local independent bookstore!



https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790233/the-fire-inside-by-rima-vesely-flad-phd/

Black, q***r, feminist, Buddhist: The Fire Inside casts a fresh new light on the radical literary legacies of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde A Lit Hub Independent Press Bestseller Includes meditation...