To the Left and below;
Our Sangha
A Bit of History
For over a year Rev. Ryuoh Faulconer came down from Portland Oregon were he was the resident minister to officiate services and conduct study sessions for a group of people who where interested in becoming members of Nichiren Shu.
The Nichiren Buddhist Sangha of Texas was officially established on
To the Left and below;
The Texas Sangha at Cullen Oaks taking refuge and joining the Nichiren Shu order in April of 2002. The group would meet in members homes.
The Sangha was officailly recognized by NONA (Nichiren Order of North America) and became a Temple of NONA in the fall of 2004. On June 9th, 2005 an official ceremony conducted by the NONA Bishop. Bishop Kanai preformed a ceremony to officially mark the occasion. At that time the name of the Temple was designated as Myoken Ji or Myoken Temple. Myoken is the polar and guiding star. Rev. Ryuoh Faulconer was placed as the interim minister for the Sangha as he was already the resident minister of the Portland Temple in Oregon and by NONA bylaws could not be the Texas Temples resident minister.
above & below; The dedication ceremony of the Temple, June 2005. Bishop Kanai leads the service. Rev. Ryuoh Faulconer assists along with Shami Myokei Caine-Barrett.
The Houston Sangha wished to name their Temple, which is the custom in Japan. After thinking of several names, they decided on Myoken, the protective diety of the polar star, as they lived in the lone star state. The Temple was dedicated in 2005 as Myoken Ji as shown in the above pictures. Shami Jeffus while in Japan in early 2005 was going to find an image scroll of the star diety for the Houston Temple under the direction of his master, Rev. Faulconer. He inlisted the help of Rev. Matsumoto of Minobu. As they looked around they could not find any scrolls or pictures of Myoken.
Rev. Matsumoto knew Bishop Ueda of Myoken Sama the Temple on the top of Myoken mountain in Japan. This Temple has a very long history and is now a important Temple of Nichiren Shu. Rev. Matsumoto called him up and explained the situation. The Bishop being very happy that the Houston group had decided on this name, wished to make a connection between Myoken-Ji on Myoken mountain and Myoken-Ji of Houston Texas. As seen in earlier photos on this page a image was given by Bishop Ueda for the Myoken Ji Altar in Houston. This was to be a temporary image as a new one was being created specifically for Houston. In 2006 Shami Myokei and Rev. Faulconer went to Japan to Myoken mountain. The Omandala written by Bishop Ueda with the image done by a local artist of Myoken mountain Temple was ready. On May 15th which is Myoken's feast day Rev. Faulconer and Shami Myokei received the Omandala. It has a dedication to Myoken-Ji Houston and would be inshrined in Myoken Temple's main Altar. The mon (crest) used at Myoken mountain is shown below in orange. After recieving the Omandala from the Bishop we were instructed to use this mon in Houston also as it is the mon of Myoken Bodhisattva. The mon in the background of this page is of Nichiren Shu. It is the family crest of Nichiren Shonin's family.
Myoken Bodhisattva's Mon
click the mon for more information on Myoken
Myoken Ji Houston
The installation of Rev. Caine-Barrett, 8 July 2007, Cullen Oaks.
See more of the installation pictures by clicking here.
Rev. Myokei Caine-Barrett 
Our Sangha meets at the Temple on a regular schedule for Meditation, Sutra chanting and Study of the Dharma (Buddha's Teaching). If you would like to join us please see our calendar and give us a call or email. All of our events are open to anyone who would like to learn more about the Lotus Sutra and the teachings of Nichiren Shonin.