In the Pure Land...

On the day Rev. Shindo passed away, I wanted to go to the hospital but could not because I had a meeting at the temple with Kintetsu about the traveling to Japan in October.

Later, that night I had this dream where I was in a town/city that I was exactly sure where it was but it was familiar. All I know I spent the whole time looking for Rev. Shindo. Could not find him down the hall or up the street.

Finally, I noticed I was the only one there - I had not seen a single person at all during my search. At this moment, I thought I better wake up, so I did. I never got to know what I was doing or why I was there because I broke the dream by waking up.

A week later, Bill Dearth, minister's assistant of Orange County Buddhist Church, came to speak at our temple. In his discussion of an essay on Jodo Shinshu Buddhism written by a Catholic priest, he mentioned that in our beliefs that Amida Buddha had shown us the way and we instantaneously join him on death, and that if we do somehow go to the Pure Land, we would not see anyone there because that is not what believe in.

hmmmmm...I must be dreamt about being in the Pure Land, of course, where else would I be to look for Rev. Shindo? But it was not filled with palaces of precious stones and metals of different colors. It was a place that was bright yet familiar, yet unidentifiable. If so, that would be appropriate for the Pure Land to be - nothing. Gee, if I had not have waken up, would I have just remained there forever? No wonder I rushed to wake myself up, I still have tasks to finish here on this shore.

Namu amida butsu.

Funeral service for late Rev Shindo

The family of Rev Shindo in conjunction with the Bishop's Office of the Buddhist Churches of America and the Board of Directors of the Gardena Buddhist Church has scheduled the funeral service on Thursday, August 25, at 3:00 pm with otoki following in the Social Hall. The BCA announcement will be sent to all temples in the U.S. later.

The members of the temple may joined the family at a privste viewing of the casket on Tuesday, July 12 at 3:00 pm, followed by a short service at 4:00 pm at Gardena Buddhist Church.

Obon dance practice will continue as usual on Tuesday.

The Obon Service for the temple will be held on July 17 and Hatsubon for families that lost a loved one this past year will be later on the same day. The Gardena Buddhist Temple Obon Carnivsl will be held on August 6 & 7, with the obon dance on the street starting at 6:00 pm on both days.

Rev Hosho Shindo - Selflessness

On Sunday, Rev Harada, supervising minister, talked about selflessness, based on an essay written by Rev Kubose of the Chicago Buddhist Temple.

One person who exemplifies this is Rev Shindo. He would be working til late at night prepping for services. Sometimes, I would have to tell him to go home to rest. He worked daily, always thinking of our temple and the people it serves. He did not care to be the center of the center of attention.

I wished he hadn't always thought this way. For about one year and ten months, he had been battling a stubborn cancer. I wished we could all been in on it and fight it together. But he probably did not want us to be bothered by it. But he could not win it over and succumbed to it on Sunday. For us who only knew towards the end of service, it was not a surprise. Nor would we ave been surprise to learn that he wanted to come to temple to thank the people. Probably, not really to thank us for the gifts and thoughts of him during this illness, but most likely to thank us all for giving him the opportunity to be a service to us.

He really was a selfless person. I am truly blessed to have known him.

Also, we truly appreciate Mrs. Shindo, who had gone through all this alone, and probably not of her own wishes, but respecting the wishes of Rev. Shindo. She is a remarkable woman and should be noted.

In gassho,