JODO MISSION OF HAWAII

BULLETIN - APRIL 2011

(#1173-0411)

Jodo Mission of Hawaii 1429 Makiki St. Honolulu HI 96814 Address Service Requested

HBC BUDDHA DAY CELEBRATION April 8th is the birthday of Shakamuni Buddha. This birthday celebration is known as "Buddha Day” and is also known as “Hanamatsuri”. The Hawaii Buddhist Council cor-dially invites all to the Buddha Day Service.

WHEN: Sunday, April 10, 2011 WHERE: Jodo Mission of Hawaii TIME: 9:00am—Ceremony 10:30am—Entertainment Games for children Admission Free The Hawaii Buddhist Council is comprised of the following Buddhist temples: Koyasan Shingon Mission, Tendai Mission, Jodo Mission, Higashi Hongwanji Mission, Honpa Hongwanji Mission, Nichiren Mission and Soto Mission. Please join us on April 10th to celebrate Shakamuni Buddha’s birthday. There will be children’s games so please bring your children and grandchildren.

Sewing Circle

April 9 and 23, 2011 8:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Any interested person is welcome to participate.

Announcements

Sunday School We welcome children to join our Sunday School. Let’s enjoy studying Onembutsu by doing various activities.

4/3/11 following Choir practice

4/27/11 @ 10:30 a.m.

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Flowers Needed for Hanamido for Hanamatsuri Day

Please bring to Jodo Mission flowers (like plumerias, orchids, or other small flowers) to decorate the Hanamido before 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 9, 2011 The Hawaii Buddhist Coun-cil Buddha Day celebration will be held on Sun-day, April 10 beginning at 9:00 a.m. Pictured above is a Hanamido fully deco-rated with flowers, with Baby Buddha in the center. This represents the Lumbini Gardens where Baby Buddha was born. Sweet tea or amacha is poured over the statute of Buddha. The tea symbolizes the gentle rains that fell on the day Buddha was born.

♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♫ ♫

Jodo Mission of Hawaii Children’s Choir “Malama”

Our Children’s Choir will meet on Sunday, April 3, at 11 a.m. (special practice). Per-formance at Hanamatsuri Service on Sunday, April 10 at 9 a.m. Any child ages 5 to 8 years old can join. Children will sing mainly Japanese songs and Buddhist gathas. Practice will be in Japanese.

SPECIAL TALENT By Teruto Soma

We’re not sure how many of you have had the privilege of reading the Kapaa Jodo Mission’s monthly bulletin. The cover page of these bulletins have a special drawing of Buddhist images magnificently drawn by one Bobby Murata. Bobby Murata, in his early years was a card carrying Professional Golf Association (PGA) member. He is the pioneer of Ha-waii’s golfers advancing into success of to-day’s local professional golfing career. He was MR. GOLF of Hawaii in his prime. He also owned a golfing equipment and supplies store in Lihue, Kauai. As age caught up with him, his back and spine preventing his golf career as well as any physical work. One day Bobby decided to try his hand with drawings/paintings and bought books from

Special Talent (cont’d)

the Book Store to start his hobby. I’m sure you will be impressed as I am, he has skill-fully mastered his hobby enough for a showing. He has donated a few of his draw-ings which can be seen at our office. There are other drawings that can be seen if you ask the office for the Kapaa Jodo Mission bulletin. He also shared his work with members of the Kapaa Jodo Mission of which he is a member. Thank you Bobby for the drawings and keep up the good work!

Vision For The Future (1) Over a hundred years ago, Jodo Shu Japan sent ministers to provide an oasis to the Japanese immigrant workers on the sugar cane plantations of Hawaii. For this purpose, our predecessors did a good job.

However, 100 years later, the above-mentioned purpose does not exist any more. Now, the purpose of the existence of Jodo temples is to provide an oasis to the American people. “American” means not only Japanese-Americans but includes peo-ple of other ethnic groups. Are we ready to open our doors to those people? Their background, cultures or customs are very different from Japanese people. Can you welcome them as a part of us? We all know that our Jodo temples were built by the Japanese immigrants who were mostly sugar cane workers. Also, they and their children (Nisei) donated lots of money, time and en-ergy to support our temples. Their efforts will never be forgotten, but now, it's time to take a new step. It's time to open our temple to people of other ethnicities. It's time for us to understand that people in America have different cultures and customs, various concepts of values, philosophy and backgrounds. It's time for us to show our special hospitality to people. Is there somebody always available to explain to newcomers about Buddhist teachings and customs in "ENGLISH"?

We all know we want young people to come to our temples. However, do you have a play area for small children just like a lobby of preschool or office? If not, how can young couples come to the temple with other relatives for a prayer? There are many things we can do to attract new people.

We must open our eyes! Look around you. Our society is changing very quickly. Why don't we try new things and improve ourselves!!!

Your comments are always welcome to narashiba@hotmail.com.

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Ganbare Nippon! Don’t Give Up, Japan!

I would like to extend my heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the victims of the Japan earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. The scale of the disaster is huge, and the stress and the sadness of the victims are immeasurable. Many of our members have relatives and friends in Japan. I hope they are all safe. I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the kind and generous monetary do-nations to our earthquake relief fund. Whenever I watch the videos and pictures of the destroyed towns and the people who are suffering of the shortage of water, food, or medicine in the severe coldness, I just can’t stay on (Continue to Page 6)

Bits of Knowledge about Buddhism Vol.05 “The Bond between This World and the Pure Land”

By Rev. Yasuhiro Watanabe

O-Ihai is a wooden tablet in memory of the deceased. It is engraved with the deceased’s name, date of death, age, and Buddhist name (Kai-myo). Especially, O-Ihai of the Jodo Mission is carved with one character in Sanskrit which stands for Amida Buddha at the top of the Buddhist name. And the base of O-Ihai is modeled after the image of a lotus pedestal just like Buddha’s seat. These designs mean Amida Buddha blesses the deceased and he/she is living peacefully in the Pure Land.

Since old times, the Japanese have believed the trees to be the home of the gods and refuge to the spirits. That is why O-Ihai, or a wooden tablet, is believed to be a temporary body in which the soul of the deceased dwells during the funeral and memorial services. In other words, it is the bond between this world and the Pure Land. We say a prayer for the deceased via O-Ihai. It is a kind of communication tool to deliver our voice to the de-ceased. Buddha promised us that our condolences and gratefulness reach the deceased in the Pure Land. Also, our family and friends never forget to watch over us from the Pure Land.

Koloa Jodo Mission held their Centennial event on February 19, 2011. Rev. Narashiba and his family joined the celebration and renewed old friendships. During the years of 1987 to 1997, Rev. Narashiba was the resident minister at Koloa Jodo Mission and he talks often of the many times he and the ladies of the Fujinkai would make maki sushi for fundraising.

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Fujinkai Meeting (Women’s association)

NO MEETING in April

Oahu Rengo Fujinkai Conven-tion at Haleiwa Jodo Mission on April 17. Please call Jodo Mission at 949-3995 to sign up.

YBA Meeting April 24, 2011

8:30 a.m.

On Thursday, April 21, 2011 you are invited to see a free showing of the documen-tary about D.T. Suzuki. The event is at 6:000pm with show time at 6:30pm. Please join us for refreshments and discussion imme-diately after the viewing. Here is some back-ground on the film: "A ZEN LIFE - D.T. Suzuki" is a 77-minute documentary about Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki (1870-1966), credited with introducing Zen Buddhism to the West. D.T. Suzuki had an excellent grasp of written and spoken English, combined with an exhaustive knowledge of Eastern and Western religions and philosophies. He was highly suc-cessful at getting Westerners to appreciate the Japanese mentality, and Japanese to under-stand Western logic. The effect he had on Western psychoanalysis, philosophy, religious thinking, and the arts was profound. His nu-merous writings in English and Japanese serve as an inspiration even today. Dr. Suzuki first lived in the United States from 1897 to 1908. In 1911 he married an American, Beatrice Lane, who helped him with his work until her death in 1939. After the War he traveled and taught extensively in the United States and Europe. Of note is a series of very popular open lectures he gave at Columbia University. Many renowned Western philosophers, artists, and psychologists were affected by his writings and friendship, includ-ing Carl Jung and Erich Fromm, Christmas Humphries, Father Thomas Merton, Martin Heidegger, Karl Jaspers, Dr. Albert Stunkard, Alan Watts, Richard De Martino, Robert Aitken, John Cage, Alan Ginsberg, and Gary Snyder. Gary Snyder calls D.T. Suzuki "probably the most culturally significant Japa-nese person in international terms, in all of history." Along with Gary Snyder, there are

exclusive interviews of many people respected in their own right who knew D.T. Suzuki in per-son, including his secretary Mihoko Okamura, and rare footage of Thomas Merton, John Cage, Erich Fromm, and Suzuki himself. There have been few people capable of bridging the logic of Americans and Europe-ans and the Eastern approach to life as well as Suzuki. Indeed, one of the goals of Zen is to transcend dichotomies. The main purpose of this documentary is to "bring D.T. Suzuki alive," and serve to motivate people in the West and Japan to know themselves better while respecting one another. Daisetz Suzuki's message is all the more important now, in light of contemporary conflicts stemming from di-vergent ways of thinking. [This Article was put together by Burt Lum, new Kyodan Board Member.]

Event: A Zen Life film Date: Thursday, April 21, 2011 Time: 6:00 (film begins 6:30 pm) Discussion and light refreshments after film Place: Jodo Mission of Hawaii RSVP: Please call Jodo Mission at 949-3995 to sign up. Event is free.

A ZEN LIFE FILM

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Obituaries The Jodo Mission of Hawaii extends its sin-cere condolences to the family members and loved ones of the following members who have recently left this world for the Pure Land. Tomoye Shintaku 93 Tokusei “George” Arakaki 78 Helen Fumiko Fukuda 83 Toshikazu Furuya 90 Stella Fusaye Nakamura 84 Isami “Lefty” Ippongi 94 Barney Rio 62 Arlene Yoshiko Takara 81

Jodo Mission Office Hours: Monday to Saturday

8am—5pm Sunday & Holidays

8am—3pm Phone: 949-3995

Rev. Yubun Narashiba Head Minister

Rev. Kanjun Nakano Resident Minister

Rev. Dwight Nakamura

Retired Minister Page 6

Rev. Yasuhiro Watanabe Resident Minister

(Continued from Page 3) the sidelines. May I ask you to do something more for the victims? Please write an encouraging message to those in Japan who are feeling the terrible loss of family members or who are going through tremen-dous hardship. Mail this message to Jodo Mission by April 7th. I will translate it into Japanese and mail your card to the Newspaper Company in Japan so that the victims can read your messages of hope and prayers. Please encourage your children and grand children, or friends to write their cards, too. Thank you in advance for taking the time to write your letters of support to the people of Japan. I hope many of our members, their children, grand children, and friends will join us in this important cause. Rev. Yubun Narashiba Mail your message to: Jodo Mission of Hawaii Attn: Rev. Narashiba 1429 Makiki Street Honolulu, HI 96814

News from Japan re former ministers of Jodo Mis-sion of Hawaii; Rev. Hiroyoshi Oeda of Sendai in Miyagi Perfecture. He and his family and temple are fine. Rev. Yoshinori Nakazawa of Sendai in Miyagi Perfec-ture: His temple was severely damaged but his family is okay. Rev. Akinori Yoshimizu of Iwate Perfecture. His tem-ple and family are fine. MORE NEWS TO COME LATER.

1 Anzaemon Kajioka The Kajioka & Morita Family Yae Ogata Mistuko Arakawa Shimoyo Karamatsu Seiichi Kimura

2 Ryosaku Maeda The Maeda Family Shuzaburo Kunihiro The Kunihiro Family Masao Kamihara James Isamu Tomita

3 Kinjuro Ajimura The Ajimura Family Katsuichi Takeda The Takeda Family Takeo Kuniyuki Katsusaburo Yamamoto Kikue Kubota

4 Masayo Kusunoki The Kusunoki Family Shinichi Amakawa The Amakawa Family

5 Tsune Isobe The Isobe Family Mamoru Najita Isematsu Takenaka Kazumitsu Kaya

7 Yasu Hirohama The Hirohama & Kawasugi Family Kikujiro Uchiumi Naomi Fuse Johnson Fay Johnson Yumi Yokoyama Isaburo Terada Toru Yamane

8 Tadaichi Aoki The Aoki Family Kojiro Okamoto The Okamoto & Nakamoto Family Shigekichi Yoshizaki The Yoshizaki Family Naotaka Hayashi Misue Imamoto Yoshio Takara Masamitsu Nakano

9 Shizuko Hironaka The Hironaka & Ishimoto Family Fumie Iwasaki Tokio Nishikawa

10 Tomi Arakawa Matsuji Yamamoto

11 Tsunekichi Matsuno The Matsuno Family Sadako Yokoyama The Yokoyama & Morita Family Teru Sakuda The Sakuda Family Sada Harada The Kohatsu Family Yoshiko Hara

12 Naka Nakamura Toshiko Umemoto 13 Yasuko Daitoku The Daitoku & Fujimoto Family Kayo Doi Tsuyo Uchiumi Zentoku Uyehara Yasu Iguchi Masashi Yamane

14 Heiji Yasumoto The Yasumoto Family Yoshi Okamura Yoshi Okamura

15 Toso Kamisato The Kamisato Family The Aoki Family Mikayo Higashimura Toshiro Kawabe The Kawabe Family Masakane Himuro Kenji Hayashi Toshiko Sumida Nishimoto

16 Bunsuke Isobe The Isobe Family Ryu Tsurusaki The Tsurusaki & Inada Family Masatoshi Umemoto Patsy Hisako Himuro Mitsuyoshi Gushikuma 17 Kenichi Namba The Namba Family Tsuneharu Imaguchi

18 Toyokichi Iguchi The Iguchi & Sasaki Family Eki Mineishi The Mineishi Family Yojiro Watanabe

19 Jun Kunihiro The Kunihiro Family Motoo Ueda The Ueda Family Maka Tamanaha The Tamanaha Family Matsutaro Shimizu Isamu Yoshioka Thomas Lai

20 Hiroshi Ohta Mantsu Takara Shozaemon Matsumoto

21 Naomi Takara Genichi Tamura

22 Kyoichi Koyama The Koyama Family Chieko Miyakawa Hiroshi Nakai The Nakai Family Kazu Saiki Kyoichi Koyama Francis Sadamu Furutani, Jr.

23 Bishop Sensho Fukuda

Eiko Gushikuma Shigeichi Aoki Moushi Uyehara Shigeo Tom Muranaka

24 Setsuyo Misawa The Misawa Family The Watanabe Family Yoshio Kunimoto Setsuyo Misawa

25 Michizo Imaguchi The Imaguchi Family Yasuko Ueda Tsunegoro Iwamoto Michizo Imaguchi Soichi Sakai

26 Kikujiro Yokoyama The Yokoyama & Morita Family Makoto Takahashi Masato Ishida Haruko Teruya

27 Misae Umemoto The Umemoto Family The Ida Family The Matsushima Family Shizue Nose Robert Murakami

28 Rokusuke Yanagihara The Yanagihara Family Iwakichi Matsuda The Toichi Funamoto Family Misao Yamane Masa Miyao Okamoto Ume Kawamura

29 Mitsuyo Kamioka The Kamioka & Hanaoka Family Tatsuyo Ohara The Ohara Family Tsuchi Kajioka Heijiro Asai Tsune Uesugi Koji Kamioka Manzuchi Higashi Kazuto Hamada Hatsumi Nakamura Yoshiyo Yanagihara Tatsuyo Ohara Mitsuyo Kanai Yoshida

30 Tsuru Matsuno Esa Yamane Kume Nakamoto The Nakamoto & Sakagawa Family The Matsuno Family The Yamane Family & Harada Family Shigetaka Imada

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