Buddhist Temple of Chicago

Buddhist Temple of Chicago
Religion
AffiliationIndependent with informal ties to Higashi Honganji branch of Jōdo Shinshū
Location
Location1151 West Leland Avenue,
Chicago, Illinois 60640
CountryUnited States
Architecture
FounderGyomay Kubose
Completed2006
Website
www.budtempchi.org

The Buddhist Temple of Chicago (BTC) was founded in October 1944 by Gyomay Kubose,[1][2] a minister of the Higashi Honganji branch of the Jōdo Shinshū ("True Pure Land School") sect, along with several laypeople who had been released from the Japanese American internment camps.[3][4][5] Although the temple is administratively independent, the teaching lineage reflects the progressive Jōdo Shinshū thought of Manshi Kiyozawa and his student, Haya Akegarasu, who was Kubose's teacher.

The temple was originally called the Chicago Buddhist Church and was located in the Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's south side. In the mid-1950s, the temple relocated to the Uptown neighborhood on the north side.

In 2006, the temple dedicated its new building.[6]

The membership base continues to be Japanese American, but from early on in the temple's history the number of non-Japanese members has steadily increased. Today the active membership includes a diverse congregation of Asian, European, Latino and African members. The temple also accepts those who identify as LGBTQA+.[7]

  1. ^ Rev Gyomay M. Kubose Archived 2012-06-16 at the Wayback Machine (brief bio, and a remembrance) Retrieved 1 January 2012
  2. ^ Brown, Gita (2022). "The Buddhist Traveler in Chicago". Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  3. ^ Michihiro Ama (2011). Immigrants to the Pure Land: The Modernization, Acculturation, and Globalization of Shin Buddhism, 1898-1941. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-3438-8.
  4. ^ Melcer, Rachel (1997-02-28). "AT 92, FOUNDER OF AMERICAN BUDDHISM STILL ADDING TO HIS LEGACY OF FAITH, WORK". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  5. ^ Hussain, Rummana (2000-04-05). "REV. GYOMAY M. KUBOSE; OPENED 1ST BUDDHIST TEMPLE IN CHICAGO". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  6. ^ Noel, Josh (2006-05-19). "Buddhists' new spiritual home". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-04-04..
  7. ^ "About Us". The Buddhist Temple of Chicago. 2015-01-13. Retrieved 2024-08-28.