REV. USUKI’S PAGEwestlosangelesbuddhisttemple.org/wp-content/uploads/2009_10_bulletin... · Vol. 52, No. 10 October 2009 REV. USUKI’S PAGE Boat Ride to Paradise My wife and I

Vol. 52, No. 10 October 2009

REV. USUKI’S PAGE

Boat Ride to Paradise

My wife and I just returnedfrom our annual trip to To-ronto, Canada, where we en-joyed visiting her family andseveral beautiful sites in theKingston area. The highlightof the trip was taking a boat

ride around Thousand Islands on the St. Law-rence River, which begins at Lake Ontario andflows northeast to the Atlantic Ocean. It iscalled Thousand Islands because there areactually over 1,800 small islands, ranging insize from that of a one-car garage to that of asmall town. They are actually rocky outcrop-pings that were formed when this continent wasborn. Most of the islands are now owned byfortunate individuals who have built manycreative and distinctive cottages and even cas-tles on them. I do not know what type of ad-dress system they use for these islands sincethey are scattered everywhere on the same river,but I mentioned to Rev. Patti that each shouldget a GPS zone and use its coordinates. The fa-mous 1000 Island salad dressing was namedafter this place, and there are many other re-lated histories that go along with it. Anotherfascinating aspect of the boat ride, which hasnothing to do with the scenery, is the continu-ous trilingual narrative over the P/A system.You would never guess which three interna-tional languages were spoken. Perhaps youmight say English, French, and Canadian? If soyou had one right. It was English, Cantonese,and Mandarin. Amazing!

We enjoyed the fortuitous weather and for abrief moment, my wife and I agreed that this

would be the place we would like to retire to, atleast for several months of the year when theweather is tolerable. However, after this fantasybegan to fade, reason and sense began to weighin on the dream. First of all, besides our lack offinancial means, my body cannot take the coldweather for long periods because I begin todevelop a cold rash. Also, my wife has been inCalifornia for too long now for her to endure thecold. But it was an amazing and beautifulexperience as we took in the natural wonders,and we will never forget the visit.

As we rode on the boat, the emotional fascina-tion reminded me of our short-sighted entitledmind which continues to seek the things we feelthat we deserve and desire without consideringthe true reality of the necessary sacrifices andcommitments to be made. It is no different fromour quest for Buddhahood and our desire for itsmerits, as though seen through the eyes of achild in a candy store. Many of us are attractedto Buddhism for its peaceful, serene, mysteri-ous, wisdom- and compassion-filled state ofexistence, but for the most part, we don’t realizethat in order to truly understand these won-derful conditions, it requires that we also seeour true inner self that compels us to experi-ence such desires. We welcome the cool and wetof the rain after a hot and dry season. We yearnfor meeting and conversing with people after along sojourn on a remote and desolate moun-tain. So it goes with the desire to find peace andhappiness after experiencing the frustration andanxieties of the daily grind of trying to make aliving and raise a family. But the contrast ofsearching for awakening while toiling through

(cont’d on page 2)

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West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple October 2009

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searching for awakening while toiling throughour lives does not mean they are separate fromeach other. If we look at the beautiful islandsfrom an ordinary boat, we come to realize thatboth exist on the same river. Happiness andpeaceful existence are not to be had in anotherplace other than in our own minds. They can beappreciated in our everyday, mundane existenceif we can understand that we create the frustra-tions as well as pure awakening in the samebody and mind.

As we experience daily challenges, we ask our-selves: “What’s in it for me? When can I get offthis boat that continually sways and rocks?”Before we get sick we want to go ashore andstand on firm ground, feeling that we can walkstraight without losing our balance. But whatare constantly variable and changing are our

home, family, community, work, and play—notto mention ourselves. We cannot disembarkwhenever we feel that we can’t hang on any-more. But we can allay the rolling and rockingby finding calmer waters in the wisdom andcompassion of Amida Buddha. Once we let theBuddha come on board, we will enjoy smoothsailing and our life will find balance. So, this iswhere we can find our true happiness. The boatride on St. Lawrence River was a reminder ofthis dualistic nature of our life in Los Angeles. Ittook a visit across the continent to make us re-alize it, but once we touched down at LAX, weboth looked at each other and simultaneouslyagreed that this is our home and not a badplace to be after all.

Rev. Fumiaki Usuki

Shinshu Corner

Introduction to Jodo Shinshu (Pure Land) Three SutrasFrom: The Three Pure Land Sutras, Volume I, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Hongwanji International Center

The origin of Pure Land Buddhism can betraced back to India. Its early form developedalong with Mahayana Buddhism, sharing thecommon ideal that all people can realize theultimate truth-reality and attain Buddhahoodjust as Sakyamuni did. In Pure Land Buddhismthis ideal is realized through birth in AmidaBuddha’s pure land called “Perfect Bliss.” Withregard to birth in that land, emphasis wasplaced on “being saved” by Amida Buddha; thisimplies that the ordinary Buddhist ideal ofattaining emancipation through one’s ownstriving does not apply here. Rather, even thoseunable to perform any prescribed Buddhistpractice can be saved by Amida’s compassion.The idea of “birth in Amida’s Pure Land” thusbecame popular among people along with thespread of its teaching from India to CentralAsia, China, Tibet, Korea, Japan, and otherregions in East Asia.

The original birthplace of Pure Land Buddhismin India, as well as its date, however, is notknown for certain. It is presumed that the dateof composition of the Pure Land scriptures isaround the beginning of our common era.

Among a number of Pure Land sutras trans-lated into Chinese, three sutras, in particular,

became popular in China over time; these arethe so-called Three Pure Land Sutras: the Sutraon the Buddha of Immeasurable Life, the Sutra ofContemplation on the Buddha of ImmeasurableLife, and the Sutra on Amida Buddha (commonlyreferred to as the Larger Sutra, ContemplationSutra, and Smaller or Amida Sutra, respectively).The authentic tradition of Pure Land Buddhismhas thus been maintained on the basis of thesethree sutras and they have been the object ofstudies by diverse interpreters throughout thecourse of history.

Shinran (1173–1263), too, was devoted to thesethree sutras. He developed quite a new systemof Pure Land Buddhism based on various trea-tises and commentaries on these sutras com-posed by the masters from India, China, andJapan. In his early forties, applying himself tothe study of the Contemplation and AmidaSutras, he made his own annotated copy ofthose sutras. Meticulously transcribing pas-sages from other scriptures, such as Shan-tao’sand Yuan-chao’s commentaries, he completelyfilled the margins, spaces between the lines oftext, and the back of the hand scroll.

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It is indispensable to clarify his essential view ofthe three sutras in order to know the entirety ofhis thoughts. As will be explained in detail later,his unique approach to those sutras is that heplaced the Larger Sutra at the center and em-ployed a twofold interpretation of the Contem-plation and Amida Sutras. He viewed the lattertwo sutras from two perspectives, “explicit” and

“implicit.” In their implicit aspects, these twosutras present the same teaching as that of theLarger Sutra, i.e., the doctrine of birth in thePure Land through Amida’s compassionateworking, which we call Other Power.

(to be continued in the next Bulletin)

END OF REV. USUKI’S PAGE

Autumn Evening

かぎりある

Kagiri aru

命のひまや

inochi no himaya

秋の暮蕪村

aki no kure

In a short life,

An hour of leisure,

This autumn evening. Buson

The Japanese feel the impermanence of things

persistently even if not deeply, and this autumn

evening Buson feels the value of the tranquil time, in

contrast to the limited life bestowed upon him. His life is

time, and this evening eternity.

Haiku, Volume 3, Summer-Autumn, R. H. Blyth


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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Rick Stambul

The year 2009 has already been one of the busiest for our temple in

recent memory. Each week has witnessed our temple sangha of fellow

travelers (ondobo ondogyo no sekai) reinvigorated by Usuki Sensei’s

weekly Buddhist services, dharma talks, study classes, and dedication to

West LA; by the don don don of our Taiko group; our Obon festival; and a

list of monthly events simply too long to set out in this column. Whew!

Our Board of Directors and Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC) seem

to keep everything running without pause and to plan for our temple’s future. I

continue to invite all members to join us for both our monthly board and LRPC

meetings so everyone’s voice is heard.

We’ve started a critical discussion at our LRPC meetings to find the best way to protect

the financial health of our temple, its committees and organizations, while allowing us

to properly audit all our temple accounts to ensure their safety and accountability.

Presently, we must periodically audit all our financial accounts in order to protect our

non-profit legal status. However, our intrepid auditor, Victor Naramura, presently

cannot perform a solid audit on a timely basis until we have all the financial data from

each committee and organization. Attend our next LRPC meetings on Tuesday,

September 22 and October 20 at 7:30 p.m., if only to listen to the positive changes

coming to our temple, or to help us.

The LRPC will also be talking about adopting a Mission Statement for our temple. A

Mission Statement is not merely words soldered together to look good. In my judgment,

we need a comprehensive Mission Statement for guidance, something to refer to when

creating functions for our members. When we begin planning an event we should be

able to rely on a clear statement of who we are and who we want to aspire to be as a

temple sangha: What do we want to accomplish from a religious or philosophical

perspective, as well as from a secular viewpoint. Only a Mission Statement seems to

provide the roadmap we all need to answer these important questions. How does the

event we’re discussing move us forward towards realizing our temple goals as set forth

in its Mission Statement? Dr. Jack Fujimoto is heading our Mission Statement Task

Force that will begin its discussions at our next LRPC meeting. Join us!

Our LRPC has also begun in-depth discussions of the transition of our Bulletin to a new

Editor and Bulletin production process when Sei Shohara retires from his long-standing

position. Anyone interested in helping us plan for this change is asked to join us for

these talks to continue the Bulletin’s outstanding quality and content.

Come together with us in visiting San Fernando Valley Hongwanji Buddhist Temple on

Sunday, October 18 for morning service, and especially on Saturday, October 24 at 5

p.m. for Family Fun Night at West LA. If you haven’t enjoyed watching the delight on

the faces of our youngsters when everyone, children and adults alike, arrive dressed up

to join together in meeting the goblins prowling our temple grounds, you’ve missed a

great moment. Please join in the fun!

Contact me anytime at (310) 284-8003 or at [email protected].

Namo Amida Butsu,

Rick Stambul, WLABT President


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SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

BCA BISHOP (SOCHO) OGUI REQUESTS REV. FUMIAKI USUKI

TO ASSIST OXNARD AND SANTA BARBARA TEMPLES

Socho Ogui’s office at Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) recently re-

quested Rev. Usuki to assist Oxnard Buddhist Temple and Buddhsit

Church of Santa Barbara by serving as a part-time supervising minister in

addition to his duties as resident minister of West Los Angeles Buddhist

Temple. Neither Oxnard nor Santa Barbara has a minister at present and

they are struggling without spiritual guidance. Historically, resident

ministers assigned to full-time responsibilities with BCA temples, such as

ours, have often answered the call for help from other temples that are

without ministerial assistance. This is particularly true in recent years as

the number of available resident ministers has decreased significantly,

most often due to retirement and the lack of new kaikyoshi ministers to

replace them.

The Board of Directors of our temple met in special session to discuss the

formal request from Socho Ogui and especially to examine the amount of

time that might be required of Rev. Usuki to fulfill his new obligations to

both Oxnard and Santa Barbara. After much discussion, and with Rev.

Usuki’s request for confirmation, the Board voted unanimously to approve

Socho’s request and to ratify the arrangement. This agreement terminates

when Socho Ogui assigns resident ministers to these temples, or when any

of the three temples involved so requests.

Rev. Usuki formally began helping Oxnard and Santa Barbara on Septem-

ber 1 and he will be in Oxnard and Santa Barbara periodically each

month. Consequently, Rev. Usuki will not be at WLABT as often as he has

been or as often as he would prefer. Our Temple will be financially

compensated for a portion of his time away from us but the thrust of this

agreement is not about money, but rather, to permit Rev. Usuki to extend

his helping hand to our brother/sister temples.

Let’s all support Rev. Usuki’s new ministerial assignments, and be under-

standing of the greater pressures he will be under. I think we should all be

proud of Usuki Sensei for his dana.

In Gassho,

Rick Stambul

WLABT President


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OCTOBER SHOTSUKI HOYO, 10:00 a.m., October 3, 2009

Adachi, KensaburoDeguchi, ToshikoFujino, KoheijiFukuhara, IchisukeHara, IchiHashimoto, TerukoIfuku, YugiIge, YasuIkkanda, KensoInabu, KimiInatomi, KametaroInatomi, MisaoIshihara, ToyoIshii, Akira

Ishioka, RiichiIwamoto, SeitaroIwamoto, TokiKafka, KathleenKanow, NobukoKimura, JimKoda, KiyonoKoda, ToraoKurauchi, MunezoMann, CharlesMatsuoka, TomMiyamoto, MasataroMorioka, YasutaroNagai, Harumi

Nagata, SadakoNakamura, KazumiNakasako, NedNakashima, MiyoNishiya, KinkameNitta, LarryOgata, KiyokoOhara, NijiroOkamoto, ChikakoOkumoto, ItonoSakurai, YayeShinto, HatayoSujishi, DonaldTakade, Sakuichi

Takemoto, KanichiTakenoshita, MoyoTakeuchi, TomoyoTakeuchi, WillardTamura, ToshikazuTominaga, MasaoTominaga, VirginiaTotani, ToshioUyemura, SueichiYabuta, TakeoYamamoto, GeorgeYamane, FrankYanokawa, Hideji

CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILIES OF:

George Toshimi ShintakuJuly 30, 1917 - August 5, 2009

Akira MurakamiAugust 15, 1922 - August 24, 2009


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BWA NEWS Connie Yahata

A meeting was held on Sunday,August 9 and was attended by12 members. Shirley Itothanked the following membersfor their help and food dona-tions at the booth constructionlunch held on July 19: Judy

Yee, Sam Hada, Kiyoka Totani, ToshikoUyekubo, Nobuko Kozawa, Kazuko Seike,Kiyoko Nakamura, Jacqui Pierce, KayoOhkawahira, Mary Hahn, Haru Matsumune,and Chiyo Nishina.

The upcoming FBWA conference in Sacramento(Oct. 9 – Oct. 11) will be attended by BeverlyYahata, Connie Yahata, and Haru Matsumune.A detailed account of the entire meeting will bedistributed at our next meeting.

Last month, my news concentrated on our verysuccessful Obon. This month I would like tocontinue sharing my e-mail visits with otherBWA groups, and focus on San Jose BWA.

Sumi Tanabe, who is the co-chair of Activities,was kind enough to write about their 2008activities. Last year was a milestone as theycelebrated their Centennial. Participants for thisevent included BCA Socho Ogui, Coast Districtministers, past ministers of their Betsuin, andtheir Betsuin affiliated organizations. Followingthe service, bento lunch was served andentertainment was provided. Their theme was,“ICHINEN: This Instant, Past, Present, andFuture.” Their gift to the Betsuin was a new

organ. Also, each member received an atomicclock with the inscription “SJBWA 1909-2008.”

In January, the Board members have aluncheon for both outgoing and incoming boardmembers. Their major fundraiser occurs inFebruary. They sell chirashi and botamochi.They also participate in the Day of Remem-brance, in which they sell sushi. July is whentheir Obon is held, and they make chirashi,sushi, and manju.

They participate in all of the major services atthe Betsuin. They celebrate Dana Day in honorof volunteers, and they honor Eshinni andKakushinni with a special service.

In August, they help with the annual templecleanup and they also schedule a trip to Reno.They participate in the Yu-Ai Kai (a JapaneseAmeircan community center for seniors in SanJose) Keiro Kai (a day to honor seniors), as wellas having a keiro kai of their own. At the end ofthe year, they have their general meeting andBonen Kai (year-end party).

During the year, they donate to communityorganizations such as the Yu-Ai Kai and theWilson Center (for homeless youths). Some oftheir members help with lunch preparation forthe Georgia Travis Center, a center for homelesswomen and children. They also donate clothingand toiletries to them on a regular basis. Keepup the good work, San Jose BWA!

Future meeting dates: 10/4 @ 1:00 p.m.; 11/1@ 12:00 noon; 12/13 @ 10:00 a.m.

2009 OBON DRAWING TOP 5 WINNERS

Beverly YahataWill TopputoNaomi NegoroAndrew KomesuS. Ohara

2009 OBON DRAWING PRIZE DONORS

Thanks to the following individuals, merchants,and businesses who generously donated prizesfor the drawing (number indicates number ofprizes donated if more than one):

Aki Restaurant 4Anonymous 2Baba’s Lawnmower Shop 3Fukui Mortuary 2George’s Hardware and Garden Supply 2Hide Sushi

Kubota Nikkei Mortuary 4LuluSakura Japanese Restaurant 4Sakura ProductionSan Fernando Valley Buddhist TempleSatsuma 4Sawtelle Kitchen RestaurantScotties Flowers & GiftsShuko Akune & Michael PacelliTaka Hair SalonUnion Bank 3

FridayOctober 167:30 p.m.


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BIRTHDAYS CELEBRATED AT AUGUST 80+ LUNCH

Left to right: Mrs. Jean Saito, Mrs. Ida Kurosaki, Mrs. Ruby Soeda

Amongst White Clouds is an intimate

insider’s look at students and masters livingin scattered retreats dotting China’s

Zhongnan Mountain range. These peakshave reputedly been home to recluses since

the time of the Yellow Emperor, some fivethousand years ago. It was widely thought

that the tradition was all but wiped out, butthis film emphatically and beautifully shows

us otherwise.

Inspired in part by the noted book by BillPorter (Red Pine), Road To Heaven: Encounters With Chinese

Hermits, and filmed on location in China by American directorEdward A. Burger, the film takes an unforgettable journey into the

hidden tradition of China’s Buddhist hermit monks.

One of only a few foreigners to have lived and studied with theseelusive practitioners, Burger is able, with humor and compassion, to

present their tradition, their wisdom, and the hardship and joy oftheir everyday lives among the clouds.

86 minutes / Color / English, Chinese (English subtitles)

Editor’s Note: A DVD of an interesting Buddhist movie, Amongst White Clouds, that hasmade the rounds of many film festivals, is available in the Temple Library. A descriptionof it from the International Buddhist Film Festival website is reprinted below.


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October 2009Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Office hours: 10 am - 4 pm

Phone: 310-477-7274E-mail: [email protected]

Web site: www.wlabt.org

Bulletin foldingtoban:

Asoka Fujinkai

1

1 pm Study Class (E)

7:30 pm taiko

2 3

10 am Shotsuki hoyo

4

10 am Service, lunchVHBT, Oxnard, SBvisit WLABT

1 pm BWA mtg

5

7:30 pm board mtg

6 7 8


7 pm B-Men mtg7:30 pm taiko

9

10/9-11: FBWA

SB: 5 pm Service,study class

10

Conference

Oxnard: 10 am Eshin-ni/Kakushinni, Shotsu-ki hoyo serviceSB: 3 pm Family/Sho-tsuki hoyo service

11

9:30 am Service/Study Class (E)

12

Oxnard: 7 pm boardmtg

13

10:30 am SDMA mtgat Betsuin

14 15


7:30 pm taiko

16

Rev. Usuki off

7:30 pm Bingo

17

11 am Buddhist Men- BWA Memorial svcLunch follows

18

WLABT, Oxnard, SBvisit SFVHBT

19

Oxnard: 7 pmService, study class

20

Rev. Usuki off

21 22


7:30 pm taiko

23 24

5 pm Family FunNight

Oxnard: 5 pm FamilyFun Night

25

9:30 am Service/Study Class (E)NO Dharma School

26

12 noon 80+ lunch

27

Rev. Usuki off

28

7:30 pm Asokasvc/mtg

29


7:30 pm taiko

30

Rev. Usuki off

31

West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple

12


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WEST LOS ANGELES BUDDHIST TEMPLE2003 Corinth AvenueLos Angeles, CA 90025

Return Service Requested

OCTOBER 2009 SPECIAL SERVICES(See Calendar pages for schedules of regular services)

Sunday, October 4 Saturday, October 17 Sunday, October 18

Venice, Oxnard,&

Santa Barbara visit WLABT

10:00 a.m.

Followed by lunch

WLABT Buddhist Men &Buddhist Women’s Assn.

Annual Joint Memorial Service

11:00 a.m.Followed by lunch

WLABT, Oxnard,&

Santa Barbara visitSan Fernando

(Details to be announced later)

Non-Profit Org.U. S. Postage

PAIDLos Angeles, CAPermit No. 20953

Documents

REV. USUKI’S PAGEwestlosangelesbuddhisttemple.org/wp-content/uploads/2009_10_bulletin... · Vol. 52, No. 10 October 2009 REV. USUKI’S PAGE Boat Ride to Paradise My wife and I