Bulletin boards at temples, which usually have serious messages like precepts for living or Buddhist phrases, have recently been changing to become more approachable, with expressions that are expected to attract the attention of ordinary people.
The use of such messages has become increasingly popular, as these words may prompt temple visitors or passersby to think about their life. The recognition of temples' bulletin boards has also been rising, for instance, contests with photo images of the messages are held and the ones that resonate the most with people are awarded.
"Chocolate (or phonetically expressed as 'Chi-o-ko-re-e-toe'), Namu Amida Butsu (translated as 'I sincerely believe in Amida Buddha'): (Both) Precious Gifts (written) in Six Words." That is the message that is posted this month on the bulletin board at the Tsukiji Hongwanji in Chuo Ward, Tokyo. The temple means to render that the phrase 'Namu Amida Butsu (which is denoted in six kanji)' is a gift contained with the mindfulness of the Buddha, just as a piece of chocolate, which will be given as a present on Saint Valentine's Day, the temple said. The phrase was chosen by temple officials who are ordained to the priesthood.
In recent years, the temple has increasingly been using messages expressed in plain words, such as: "We offer our thanks not because we are happy. Our being able to offer thanks is where we can find our happiness" and "We can change neither others nor our past, but we can change ourselves and our future."
As the people who visit the temple often take photos of these messages and forward them to others via social media, the messages have become a topic of conversation.
Starting this month, the temple has also made an effort to explain the messages on its "commemorative card for visiting the temple," which is distributed to visitors free of charge. It is written not only in Japanese but also in English. Kazuki Kitamoto, an official in charge of public relations, said, "We would be pleased if those who casually dropped in for a short visit would feel something resonate with them, thus deepening their ties with our temple."
Temples putting up a bulletin board in front of their gate and propagating the Buddhist teachings is called "preaching via notice," and it is said to date back to the Meiji era (1868-1912). This long-standing practice has drawn particular attention after Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (the Society for the Promotion of Buddhism) -- a public interest incorporated foundation -- launched the "Kagayake! Otera-no-Keijiban Taisho" (Shine! The Temples' Bulletin Boards Grand Prize) in 2018. In a bid to give ordinary people the opportunity to experience Buddhism, the society invited people to send in photos of temples' bulletin boards via social media.
One of the prize-winning messages, "No Ancestors, No Life," was done by Ryuho Ikeguchi, a 39-year-old chief priest of the Ryuganji temple in Kyoto, who had placed this phrase on the bulletin board around the time of the Bon Festival. "The idea just occurred to me as I was thinking about something I want to ask people, saying, 'Why don't you become aware of the fact that you have been given your life and be grateful for it?'" he said. "It seems that with this message, people have come to have various feelings."
Temples have also been posting their own photos on Instagram. The Hokkeji temple in Izumi, Osaka Prefecture, posts photos of its bulletin board messages, which it calls "tera ('temple')-stagram," on the social media site. Buddhist priest brothers, Taigen Fujii, 28, and Shunsho Fujii, 25, of the temple, began posting photos in summer 2017 with the message on the bulletin board placed between the two of them. The messages chosen by the two vary widely, ranging from a message of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of India's independence, to lyrics of a song sung by the Japanese rock band The Blue Hearts. The messages do seem to serve as inspiration, as the words "I have been encouraged" was sent by a visitor to the temple.
According to an official of Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai, in response to the growing popularity of bulletin boards, some temples that did not previously have one have decided to set up their own. "Having been considered as outdated, bulletin boards at temples have recently come to be seen as a means to spread the messages of temples to people from all walks of life, thanks to social media," the official said. "People may find it interesting, the gap between temples, which are believed to be serious, and those tender and loose messages transmitted by them."
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