This is conducted by a multi-denominational South Bay group of Buddhist temples, similar to the Los Angeles Buddhist Coordinating Council, and is comprised of Gardena Buddhist Church, Higashi Hongwanji, Koyasan Harbor City, Long Beach Buddhist Church, Jodo-shu, Nichiren-shu, and Zenshuji Soto Mission. I may have missed one.
Rev. Naomi Nakano of Bardena Buddhist Church spoke in English of it being a day to memorialize the casualties of American wars, past and present, and for appreciation of the Japanese Americans for their tenacity during internment during World War II. She opened with words of Lao Tse a sage in China from the 6th Century BC:
If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbours.
If there is to be peace between neighbours,
There must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.
Reb. Shummyo Kojima of Zenshuji Soto Mission spoke in Japanese about his discovery of U.S. Memorial Day Observance when he first came to the U.S. - it really is about the remembrance of war casualties and about the origins of gassho, putting one hand's together.
Gassho and itakimasu before a dinner is getting rarer, even in Japan. However, when Rev. Kojima did some research, he discovered no reason why putting one hands together in Japanese text. He did discover in Inida the use of gassho while reciting the word, "namaste," which is the equivalent of "hello."
He told an amusing story of sitting down at dinner in India, and the traditional way of eating was without utencils and with the fingers on the right hand. He then discovered that the left hand is used to clean oneself, and is considered the "soiled" hand. So one hand is the outward, external self (use the same hand to eat and shake hands), and the other other hand is the inner, self-preserving...but to welcome each other, it takes both hands together to represent the whole of oneself. Thus how the tradition began.
Gassho
"Namaste"
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