Workshop

Shabutsu: Tracing Forms of the Buddha

7PM - 8:30PM, Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Murasaki Hall at The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles
(5700 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90036)

Admission FREE
Please register HERE

Shabutsu is the practice of tracing the image of the Buddha by hand, sharing the same spirit as carving Buddhist statues. Buddhist images are not created as expressions of personal creativity, but as objects of devotion, following traditional guidelines. At the same time, there is a long-standing belief that the Buddha exists within all things, and through sincere practice, that presence can be revealed.

In Shabutsu, a sheet of paper is placed over a model image, and the lines are carefully traced one by one. At the end, a personal prayer or wish is quietly written. More than an artistic activity, Shabutsu is a meditative practice filled with mindfulness and prayer.

In this workshop, we invite you to experience the spirit and practice of Shabutsu together.

Rev. Yuryu Mori, Shingon (Koyasan Beikoku Betsuin of Los Angeles)

Born in 2000 at Tamon-in, a sub-temple of Kumeda-dera in Kishiwada City, Osaka Prefecture, he was ordained in 2013. He completed his monastic training at Koyasan Senshu Gakuin in 2022 and received his official priest certification the same year. In 2024, he graduated from the College of Letters at Ritsumeikan University and was appointed to Koyasan Beikoku Betsuin (Koyasan Buddhist Temple in Los Angeles) shortly thereafter.

[Website] Koyasan Beikoku Betsuin

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