Saturday, June 21, 2008

Japanese Language School Graduation

Hours before the graduation of the Japanese Language School students were to take place, an accident took place in front of the Hondo which took out the telephone pole and cut the power to the Hondo. The person and her vehicle were ok. This brought out the fire department, the Gardena Police (to close off the streets), and Southern California Edison.

After making the area safe as possible, which included cutting the power to the minister's residence, the Edison folks made the preparation to repair the pole.

In the meantime, we decided to proceed with the graduation service in the Hondo. The Social Hall was operating as usual, but it was being used for a private party to take place at the same time.

So we ran extension cords from the Social Hall to operate the portable PA system. We passed out the fans that we use for Bon Dancing, and we were set to go.

The reflection of available light is actually very beautiful.

Southern District Conference, June 7, 2008

At the Sportsman Lodge in Studio City, the annual Southern District Conference, "Now in the Present Moment," took place yesterday.

About 400 participate, which also combines District meetings for the Buddhist Women's Assocations and the Dharma School Teachers League.

The keynote speaker in English was Rev. Kuyo Kubose of the Buddhist Temple of Chicago. His father too was the minister at the same temple and also was at the Higashi Hongwanji in Los Angeles.

Rev. Kubose believes in the ease of gassho and that it could be done anywhere and anytime. Why not do in the bathroom each morning to start off your day right? Or everytime you shake someone's hand. Some people get self-conscisous about doing nembutsu in public, so why not wring your hands as a form of nembutsu. You may be thinking, "namo amida butsu," but you may be saying out loud, "awright, its time to eat."

Also, if you see football players make a cross with the hands after scoring a touchdown? Why not do the shape of the dharma wheel instead? (a circle with two xs inside.)

In the afternoon, there was a panel of interesting speaker talking about their moments when their lives changed.

The first woman is an 8-year survivor from a brain tumor that was removed successfully. Although she must return for tests every three months, she has a positive attitude about the whole thing.

The second woman lost her husband when he as 31 and a year after giving birth to twin boys, who are now full-grown. She did not expect to raise the boys herself, but she had to overcome that and now participates in many temple activity.

The third speaker survived the World Trade Center September 11, 2001. He was on the 55th floor, and he may not have been the good student in Sunday School classes, he did his best to get out of the building in time and the ordeal days later to return to his family in Los Angeles.

In each, the person did not plan for this critical point to take place. However, they have learned to live the moment each day of their lives. You don't need a critical point to take place to start living in the now.

In recapping the conference, even when you say you are living in the NOW, that moment had already past. You use everything you have learned to live in the NOW, but you don't have to dwell on the past or dwell on the future.

Today, I was listening to a report on an Olympic athlete who will probably be going on to the Beijing Olympics this year. She had stopped training as a weightlifter to raise a family. One of her children is autistic, and she almost could not cope with it. She is of the Mormon tradition and went to her Bishop to say that she had chosen to take of her son. The Bishop, instead, told her that she is the right person to do it, otherwise, she would not have had this child.

She takes the approach in returning to competitive weightlifting. As she competes, it is that moment that counts. It is now what is important.

Every Sunday, we see kids leave the temple to go to their basketball and baseball games. If they remember that it is NOW that is important, I think they have learned a valuable Buddhist lesson.

Namu Amida Buddha

750th Memorial Anniversary Contribution

Shinran passed away almost 750 years ago. It is a Buddhist tradition to conduct memorial services every 50 years.

The Hongwanji will be commemorating this event between April 2011 and January 2012. All BCA members are encouraged to travel to Japan in 2011. Members from the overseas Hongwanji districts, including the BCA, can partipate in special services at the Hongwanji in May 2011. These special services will coincide with the 14th World Federation of Buddhist Women's Associations Convention scheduled for May 16-17.

I'm interesting in taking a couple of groups to Japan for these services. Hold for more details later.

In addition, the BCA, districs and temples are encouraged to hold servies and other activities inlcuding district-wide family conferences in 2010 and 2011. The national 750th Memorial Service will be held in February 2010.

To join in the worldwide celebration, the BCA National Council at its annual meeting in Portland this yeasr approved a $400,000 gift to the Hongwanji. This comes to $25 per person, however, each person is asked to give generously through your temple.

Donatoin envelopes are available at each temple. Please make your contribution.

(from a recent letter sent by the BCA.)

Hongwanji Trip - The Grounds

Nishi Hongwanji complex is large. Although it is probably less than half of the original size. Just outside the current walls is a temple neighborhood of shopkeepers and other service providers to the visitors to the Hongwanji. At one time Higashi Hongwanji and Nishi Hongwanji bordered each other.

When you enter at the gate, remember to bow towards the Amida-do.

Eventually, the shops and temples around the Hongwanji were given the land. Even the lamposts in the area have a distinctive look.

Rikyu

I saw the film, "Rikyu," last Friday night at the Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple.

The film, directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara, himself an ikebana teacher and a devotee of Urasenke, was produced in 1989 (Japanese) and is about the late stages in the life of Sen Rikyu, the founder of the Omotesenke and Urasenke schools of tea. It starts at the end of Oda Nobunaga during the Sengoku Period of Japan and continues with his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Momoyama period). Sen Rikyu was a tea master to both, and spent most of his life avoiding the political life. But in the end, after political manipulations, Rikyu had to divulge his opnions of an upcoming attack on China and opposed Hideyoshi, which had tragic results.

Rentaru Mikuni portrayed Rikyu with the aesthetic passion and simplicity. He was awarded the Japanese equivalent of the Oscars that year.

Teshigahara does a great job in interpreting the story, of course, the importance of Sen is evident in the film. In the end, Rikyu walks to his death dressed in white in a dreamy-like sequence that is very powerful. In contrast to the near end of Hideyoshi, who becomes absorbed with power, playing "ball" with a globe with his son, almost deranged.

Rikyu preached minfulness. His teachings in tea were mindful of the process and the aesthetics of tea.

It is important to note, too, that this is the same period in which Hongwanji was built in Kyoto on land donated by Hideyoshi because he wanted the land in Osaka, on which Hongwanji had stood, for a fortress. This move was also partly a factor later during the Tokugawa period in which Hongwanji was split into two.

The current site of Osaka Castle was one of the last site of the Hongwanji prior to its move to Kyoto. In addition to the strength of the mass the Hongwanji was able to collect in people, this site was formidable in Osaka. The son of the monshu differed and he remained in Osaka to continue his fight. Because of this, he was not selected as the heir to the Monshu, but later plays figuratively in the formation of Higashi Hongwanji as the battle for succesion within the Hongwanji was played out during the Tokugawa shogunate.

One of the teahouses of Hideyoshi remains on the grounds of Hongwanji, the Floating Cloud Pavilion, which also appears briefly in this film.

FUN DAY, June 1, 2008

Today is the 2nd Annual Family Fun Day for all generations, with fun games that could be played by all. The theme was "Concrete Picnic" and was well coordinated by Nadine K., Dharma School Teachers, and Donna T., Gardena ABA.

A group of volunteers from different orgniazations helped put up the canopies, tables and chairs for the event. We pulled out a new PA speaker, and another one for music.

After a brief service, we started with some warmup exercise by our own Rev. Miura, and soon started our first game, which was passing water, cup by cup, person to person from one bucket to another.

The other games included a beach ball toss, dressing a teddy bear relay, dressing a person as a "princess (prince)," passing a plastic egg by spoon to spoon and after lunch there were more games - a water balloon toss and bingo.

Each "event" was coordinated by a different group.

Lunch was provided for all. It remined many of the church picnics from way back. I don't know, but maybe we will have a church picnic again someday. We're getting to be very portable.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Memorial Day Service at Chapel at Green Hills Cemetary in San Pedro, CA.

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"