MYOKEI CAINE-BARRETT, SHONIN
After nearly four decades as a Nichiren Buddhist practitioner, Myokei Caine-Barret, Shonin, began training in earnest in the early 2000s to become a Nichiren priest. Today, she is resident priest of the Myoken-ji Temple in Houston, Texas, and the first woman to serve as bishop of the Nichiren Order of North America. She also has worked with and in support of prison ministry, hospice care, and veterans’ programs. In this issue, Myokei Shonin speaks about how Nichiren Buddhists approach the tradition’s central practice, the Odaimoku chant.
REV. DR. KENJI AKAHOSHI
Before ordaining as a Shin Buddhist minister, Rev. Dr. Kenji Akahoshi enjoyed a more than 30-year career as a dentist in his hometown of San Jose, California, where he was an active member of his Buddhist church. Deciding to commit full time to religious service, Akahoshi enrolled at Sofia University and the Institute of Buddhist Studies, where he earned master’s degrees in transpersonal psychology and Buddhist studies, respectively. He received kyoshi certification, or authorization to teach, from the Hongwanji temple in Kyoto, Japan, in 2012. He is currently the resident minister at the Buddhist Temple of San Diego, a position that he has held since 2013. In “Shin Buddhism: A Path of Gratitude,” Rev. Dr. Akahoshi explains how gratitude lies at the center of Shin Buddhist practice.
JIHII JOLLY
Director of membership management and engagement at the International Association for Feminist Economics, host of the podcast Buddhist Solutions for Life’s Problems, and a writer whose work has appeared in publications such as the Columbia Journalism Review and the Atlantic, Jihii Jolly is a prolific producer of multimedia journalism. She is currently writing a book called How to Read the News. Jolly describes her practice in the Soka Gakkai school of Nichiren Buddhism in “Why I Have a Mentor.”
CHARLES JOHNSON
Charles Johnson is a scholar of Black American literature and philosophy, a Tricycle contributing editor, and an award-winning author. He has published dozens of works of fiction and nonfiction on a wide range of subjects, including African American history and culture, the art of writing, and Buddhism. Johnson is also a cartoonist, screenwriter, and martial artist. His article, “Advice for Future Generations,” begins with an excerpt from his new book, GRAND: A Grandparent’s Wisdom for a Happy Life.