Jodo Mission of Hawaii

Bulletin - FEBRUARY 2013

(#1195-0213)

Jodo Mission of Hawaii 1429 Makiki St.

Honolulu HI 96814

Address Service Requested

DEN DEN MUSHI

Each year Shukutoku University Panel

Theatre Group called Den Den Mushi comes

to Hawaii to perform a musical picture story

show visiting care homes, schools, and Jodo

Missions.

This year five students from Shukutoku

University Panel Theatre Group Den Den

Mushi will be in Hawaii in February, arriving

on February 11 and departing February 22.

On Sunday, February 17, at 10:00 a.m.

(after Sunday Service), Den Den Mushi will

perform their musical picture story show.

Please come and enjoy their performance.

After their performance here on Oahu,

Den Den Mushi will travel to Maui and will

spend some time at the Lahaina Jodo

Mission, Kahului Jodo Mission and Wailuku

Jodo Mission.

Hope you enjoy your stay in Hawaii!

2012 photo of Den Den Mushi

Welcome to Hawaii

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Page 2

Buddha’s Memorial Day Service (Nehan-e)

Sunday, February 10th at 10 a.m.

Nehan-e is the Memorial Day Service of Shakyamuni Buddha. He is the founder of

Buddhism. He passed away at the age of 80 about 2500 years ago on February 15.

“Nehan” is “Nirvana” in Sanskrit. “Nirvana” means the state of things after a fire has

been put out. In other words, it means that Shakyamuni Buddha put out the fire of bad things

human beings have in their minds; such as, anger, confusion, sorrow and so on. Then, he

completely reached Enlightenment on that day.

Shakyamuni Buddha taught us how to live our daily lives and actually find meaning in our

lives.

Thanks to Shakyamuni Buddha, we can live with this wonderful teaching. Shall we express

our great appreciation to Shakyamuni Buddha on this Nehan-e

Service. The service will be held on Sunday, February 10th at

10:00 am. We look forward to your attendance.

This picture, the image of the passing of Shakyamuni Buddha, was drawn by Rev. Shokei Sasawaki (Osaka, Japan)

Check out her web site! http://www009.upp.so-net.ne.jp/Moon-6

New Year’s Day Offerings / Blessings

On New Year’s Day, Rev.

Narashiba performed

blessings to whoever

came to the New Year’s

Day service on January

1st. Photo at right shows

long time member Mrs.

Tsuruko Yamamoto being

blessed. Photo at left

shows offerings made to

Buddha.

Ozoni soup (mochi soup to

start the New Year)

Right photos:

Husband & wife

were blessed: Mr.

& Mrs. Toshiyaki

Hibi and

Mother and

daughter were

blessed: Yukari

and Sophie

Narashiba

Page 3

Bits of Knowledge of Buddhism Vol. 22 St. Honen’s Exile from Kyoto (Part 3) (Feb. 2013)

By Rev. Yasushiro Watanabe

St. Honen was sentenced to exile on Shikoku Island far from Kyoto at

the age of 75. Now, I will continue the story with two events that happened on his way to Shikoku Island. These events remind us that Nembutsu brought

much joy to many people.

[1: Fishermen at Takasago Beach]

On his journey to Shikoku, St. Honen passed by Takasago Beach. There, some fishermen and their families were waiting for him. The fishermen made

their living by catching fish and shellfish. “Do not kill living things” is the first

of the basic Five Precepts for a Buddhist. That’s why people looked down on

their job. And fishermen were afraid that they would fall into hell because of

their sinful lives. They really wanted to know if there was any way that they

could attain liberation.

St. Honen assured them that there was something that they could do:

Simply chant Nembutsu. They were both astonished and comforted by his an-

swer. They thanked him for his message to them, and they immediately began

to chant Nembutsu.

[2: Ladies at Muro Port]

When St. Honen arrived at the Port of Muro, a small boat approached.

Muro was once known as a town where prostitutes sang and danced at gather-

ings. Honen’s followers said that the passengers in the small boat seemed to be prostitutes. “Do not be immoral” is the third of the basic Five Precepts for a

Buddhist. So, like the fishermen, the women explained that they were leading

sinful lives. They, too, wanted to know if there was any way that they could at-

tain liberation. The women were worried that they would live more miserable

lives in the afterlife than in their present lives.

St. Honen told them not to worry. They could be reborn in the Pure

Land. He advised them to choose another way to live, but if that was not pos-sible, then they should go on as they are. However, they should chant Nem-

butsu. St. Honen said to them gently, “Amida Buddha has shown the way to

liberation for people in your situation. The compassion of Amida Buddha was

quite just for you.” The women said, “Just as we are? You mean that even low-

ly women like us can attain liberation by relying on Amida Buddha?” And St.

Honen replied clearly, “Of course.” These wonderful words made the women in the small boat very happy, and they, too, began to chant Nembutsu right

away.

In 784, the imperial capital was transferred frown Nara to Nagaoka and in 794 from there to Heian, the present-day Kyoto, where it was to remain nominally at least, until 1868. It is not entirely clear why the capital was removed to Heian. Possibly the growing influence of the Nara school and their hold on the court had something to do with it. There is no doubt that as the power of Buddhism grew, its interest in secular matters increased and it is probably true that Emperor Kanmu (782-805) decided to remove from Nara at least partly in order not to be troubled with Buddhist bu-reaucracy. Thus the transfer of the capital to Kyoto marked a turning point not only in government affairs but also in the history of Bud-dhism.

In the early part of this period two extraordinary men Saicho (767- 822, generally known by his posthumous title Dengyo Daishi) and Kukai (774-853, commonly referred to as Kobo Daishi), sepa-rately established in the vicinity of the capital two new schools, Tendai and Shingon. The leaders of these schools were both men who went to China *(at this tome under the T’ang dynasty) to ac-quaint themselves directly with the latest theoretical and practical developments in the world of Buddhism. A prominent feature of both school is their comprehensive and harmonizing character. In accordance with this orientation both sought to work out a system of thought in which every point of view, Buddhist and non-

Buddhist, could be assigned a place in an all embracing synthesis. As these school grew in strength and influ-ence, the structures of thought they created served as the theoretical foundation for the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism that later took place. The tone of the later Heian period is quite different from that of the beginning. The vigorous enthusiasm of earlier times gave way to certain disillusionment. By the eleventh century, the idea of Mappo or the end of the Dharma had chaptered the popular imagination. Mappo is used to express certain Buddhist eschatolo-gy. Immediately after the Buddha’s decease, the Right Dharma is considered to last for one thousand years, followed by the simulated Dharma lasting for another one thousand years, and finally by the End of the Dharma, which marks the end of civilized order. That such an end seemed to be approaching was evidenced by growing strife and dis-order, weak rulers, greedy clergy, and in general, the flagrant disintegration of morals that characterized the late Heian Period. The aristocratic Tendai and Shin-gon School were preoccupied with materialistic matters, while the older Nara school ware at most obsolescent. What was needed was a revival of faith by popular methods. Such a revival was led by men like Kuya, who taught in a sim-ple way the invocation of the Buddha’s name and its saving power. The move-ment was crystallized by Genshin (942-1017), a Tendai priest, who in his Essen-tials of Salvation urged the worship of Amida, the Buddha of Infinite Life and Light. His teachings, easily understood by the common people, promised help from outside, that is, from Amida himself. This was obviously a religion which attracted people weary of troubled times and in need of a simple, more intuitive belief. (To be continued)

From Understanding Japanese Buddhism -Published by The Japan Buddhist Federation

Saicho (767 - 822) Kukai (774 - 853)

The Introduction of Buddhism into Japan (5)

Heian Buddhism (794 - 1192)

Kuya Six Buddhas are coming out of his mouth.

Page 4

All in One Ajitsuke Kogai Rice

Ingredients:

2 c rice

2 c water

1 can ajitsuke kogai (do not drain)

2 T shoyu

1 T sake

1/4 tsp ajinomoto (optional)

1 c frozen carrots and peas

1/2 gobo, slivered

1 tsp salt

Preparing the rice:

1. Having washed and drained 2 c of rice,

add all other ingredients to the rice pot

and set the rice cooker to cook.

2. When done, mix rice gently

and arrange in serving dishes.

Jodo Mission of Hawaii, Gochiso-sama

Page 5

HAWAII STATE JODO SHU FUJINKAI SCHOLARSHIP

Namiye Nakamura Scholarship

The Hawaii State Jodo Shu Fujinkai offers a $750 Namiye Nakamura Scholarship to

a Hawaii high school graduate or a member of the temple who wishes

to further his/her education toward a degree or advanced degree in

an accredited college or university.

The applicant for the scholarship must meet the following criteria:

1. Priority will be given to a student graduating from a high school in

Hawaii.

2. If there are no graduating students applying, any applicant continu-

ing their education may receive the scholarship.

3. Be accepted at an accredited university or institution of higher

learning.

4. Possess good moral character and leadership potential

5. Be an active member of his/her respective Jodo Mission

6. Submit an application by April 15th.

The family or legal guardian of the applicant must currently be a member of his/her

respective Jodo Mission. Financial need will be considered. Determination of the

scholarship recipient will be made by a Scholarship Committee.

If there are any questions about the scholarship, please consult Rev. Yubun Na-

rashiba at 949-3995.

Page 6

Sewing Circle

Feb 9 and 23

8:30—11 a.m.

Ikoi Hall

Any person interested

in sewing is welcome

Fujinkai (women’s association)

Feb. 3 at 8:30 a.m.

Ikoi Hall

YBA

No Meeting in February

♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫

Jodo Mission of Hawaii

Children’s Choir “Malama”

Our Children’s Choir will meet on

Sunday, February 17, at 9:30 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.

Also will join Den Den Moshi pro-

gram.

♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫

Sunday School

We welcome children

to join our Sunday

School. Let’s enjoy

studying Onembutsu by

doing various activities.

2/17 @ 10 am will join Den Den Moshi

Program

Page 7

Did You Know!

The YMCA has a Seniors’ program called the “90 Something Club” at

the Kaimuki YMCA. To be in this club, you must be 90 years old and older.

One of our members Yoshiko Kitagawa belongs to this club. Recently, the

Star-Advertiser ran an article entitled “Nonagenarians pursue physical, social

health”. If you have not read the article (it appeared in the Tuesday, Decem-

ber 18, 2012 newspaper), you must read it! It is a very interesting article. Mrs. Kitagawa had

two knee replacements, lost mobility and was required to use a walker, but she wasn’t about to

give up hope of getting her old life back. By joining the 90 Something Club she has been able

to walk without the assistance of a walker or a cane. But this did not come overnight. She

goes to the YMCA regularly to work out doing aqua exercise classes five times a week and

works out on the weight machines. At 93, she is one of the younger ladies. The article men-

tions Cecilia Blackfield who is 97 years old and who informally organized this 90 Something

Club. This club really makes you feel so happy to be here on earth! They had a Christmas party

and celebrated Cecila Blackfield’s 97th birthday by serenading her with “Happy Birthday”.

So if you are in your 90’s or even if you are younger, check out the YMCA and see if you

can get into shape as well as keep healthy!

HELP NEEDED

For Nokutsudo/Columbarium

Our Nokutsudo or Columbarium has grown and is still growing.

We need more help with cleanup.

What type of help is needed you might ask? Clean up would in-

clude throwing out old flowers, carefully washing vases and putting them back onto the

shelf, changing water in vases if flowers are still good, etc. It does not mean this is for

only women to do. Men are most welcome to help. Gene Ikeda recently retired from

the Nokutsudo (he is in his nineties).

If you are able to help and/or if you have a friend or friends who would be willing to

help, please contact the temple office at 949-3995 with possible times you and your

friend or friends are able to help. If you can only help sometimes, that would be most ap-

preciated. Please contact the office. Any help is most appreciated. Thank you.

A R I G A T O !

THANK YOU GENE IKEDA: Did you know that Gene retired from the

Nokotsudo gang. Gene is in his mid-nineties and was coming to the temple

to clean the Nokotsudo and he also used to come on other days to do

some yard work or during O-Bon time, he even painted the entrance to the

temple yard so it would look nice. THANK YOU GENE for your help for the

past many years.

Announcements

ARIGATO!!

Did you enjoy the mochi you picked up on

Saturday, December 29? Wasn’t it delicious? It

was the efforts of all those who came out to help

on December 28 and 29 that you were able to

eat such delicious mochi!!

THANK YOU to all who came out to help on

December 28 and 29 with the mochitsuki and

preparation. It takes many, many people

(Temple members, friends, relatives) to prepare

mochi for all the orders the Temple members and

friends ordered. May we see you again next year!

Thank you for your time and hope you had FUN

and enjoyed fellowship!

Oldtimers like Masa Kitajima, Teruto Soma,

Richard Murashige, Doris Soma, Aki Nishiyama,

and others who have all the knowledge of the ins

and outs of mochi preparation and mochi mak-

ing. Everyone of these dedicated Temple mem-

bers have their own unique specialty in mochi

making and with their knowledge we were able to

handle the huge amount of orders.

ARIGATO (cont’d)

Younger members Ian Kitajima and Her-

bert Fujikawa and their friends and relatives

were also instrumental in steaming the rice!

As you can see from the photos on this

page and the next page, everyone also had fun;

especially those who for the first time got to

pound mochi!

THANK YOU also to the late Martha Miura,

Gene Ikeda and Jo Ann Matsuo who come

every Saturday to clean the Nokotsudo. For

2013, Gene is unable to come to help in the

Nokotsudo and we appreciate all his help for

the past many years. THANK YOU GENE!

THANK YOU Jo Ann for also taking care of

the recycling of cans, bottles, plastics and she

purchases things for the Temple with what is

made from the recycled products.

Page 8

MOCHITSUKI PHOTOS

Takeru and Joshua taking turns

pounding mochi

Boys are having fun pounding mocha and

everyone enjoying the fun!

Katie and Alex Ogawa take

turns pounding mochi

Pankai and Lynn Bhanot, hus-

band and wife taking turns

pounding mochi

PHOTOS TAKEN AT MOCHITSUKI DAY: 12/29/12

Page 9

Mochi rice steaming Steamed rice taken off heat Cooked rice taken out of pot

Cooked mochi rice in grinder. Beautiful mochi

rice coming out of grinder

Richard, Rocky and Ian pushing

steamed rice through the grinder. Mochi rice is then put in cutter

so the rice can be shaped

Sophie is shaping mochi while

Debbie & Ryan look on

Shaping okasane

Allison, Aki and Mia are dusting

extra powder off the mochi.

Left photo: rows of mochi cooling.

Mochi are weighed

and packaged

Rev. Narashiba and Burt work on

the gigantic Okasane for the altar

Jo Ann and Amy making juice

out of oranges Yukari and Anne making spam

musubi for workers

Obituaries

The Jodo Mission of Hawaii extends

its sincere condolences to the family

members and loved ones of the following

members who have recently left this

world for the Pure Land.

Seiichi Takara 85

Mutsuko Reed 80

Yoshio Okamura 89

May Aiko Takenishi 88

Shizuo Yoshikane 90

William Yasumichi Rothenberger 59

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 10

What is “Perpetual Memorial

Service?” (Eitaikyo)

This record of a perpetual memorial service and is called Eitaikyo in Japanese. When the date of death occurs for a person listed on this record, the ministers pray for that individual during the morn-ing service. The prayers will continue each year for as long as Jodo Mission exists. Anyone can be included in it. You may put your own name on the list, too. This also helps when it is difficult to have memorial services. We also wel-come you to attend the morning service at 8:30am.

How to apply

Stop by the office, and fill out the application form. Each name costs $200. After the application is accepted, the name will be listed on the record.

Rev. Yasuhiro

Watanabe Resident Minister

Jodo Mission of Hawaii

Website

For those with computers, please visit

our website:

www.jodo.us

to learn more about us. Thank you.

1. Itaro Yanagihara

The Yanagihara Family

Kisaburo Teraoka

The Teraoka Family

The Mitani Family Sumako Kishii 2 Kuma Kawamura

The Kawamura Family

Robert Hiroshi Yamanaka

Dorothy Mieko Oshita

3 Rymond Hisashi Narahara Ayame kano 4 Kii Hirohama

The Hirohama Family

Kiyoe Soma

Robert Takashi Maehara

5 Hatsu Konaka

The Yano, Konaka & Hayashi Families

Gorokichi Ishida

The Ishida and AimotoFamilies

Misao Mitsuyasu

The Mitsuyasu Family

Masaharu Kotake

Tsugio Hayase

Shigeyo Kawano

6 Matsuemon Tanimura (2) The Tanimura Family (2) Sawaichi Nakagawa Family

Kimi Higashi Misae Ichida

Bunji Kishii (2) Umeyo Yamamoto

Dr. Yasuhiko Hayashi Patrick Seiji Yamamoto

7 Namie Nakamura

Tsugi Hifumi Yoshizo Muramoto

8 Toshio Higa

The Higa Family

Yukie Higashi Tame Ito

9 Haruyo Yanagihara

The Yanagihara Family

Minoru Okawa

The Okawa Family

Kishichi Yoshikawa

Kimie Tanaka

Yoshiteru Sakaguchi 10 Satomi Yamamoto

The Yamamoto Family

Kame Uyehara

The Uyehara Family

Michie Watanabe

Jimmy Nestegard Chiyo Tanaka

11 Minekichi Taniguchi The Taniguchi Family

Tsuneko Nago

The Nag & Kunimoto Families

Rev. Shuen Inoue

Sue Nishimoto

Noboru Yamasaki Kameyo Fujita

Hisae Yamato Sue Nishimoto

12 Sumie Kanoyama

The Kanoyama Family

Bishop Shinkyo Tachikawa

Doris Umeno Nojima

Yoshihiro Hata

13 Torajiro Kusunoki The Kusunoki Family

Ichiro Yasumoto

Fusakichi Kawanishi Haruyo Tarumoto Seijiro Takabayashi 14 Hajime Nishimoto

The Nishimoto Family

Kensuke Hironaka

The Hironaka & Ishimoto Families

Sae Tachikawa

Hiroshi Sato

Raymond Shizuo Asaumi Shigeyo Otani Takeji Gushikuma Matsu Kiyuna George Sotoshi Tarumoto Kikuye Homareda

15 Kiyoshi Tsukiyama

Otake Takara

16 Shigeru Asaumi The Asaumi Family

Yukio Nakagawa

Motoo Muramoto

17 Masuyo Shimokawa

The Shimokawa Family

Kinzaburo Makino

The Makino Family

Kazuyo Hashimoto

Choshiro Ikuta

Tsuchiyo Fujimoto

Reiko Hata Alfred Akira Tanaka

18 Reiji Yamane

The Yamane & Harada Families

Tsutako Yamanaka

The Yamanaka Family

Matsuyo Machida

Otome Takara

Tomiko “Ruth” Inouye

Cory Ikuta

19 Chozo Kawano

The Kawano Family

Eijiro Murakami The Murakami & Yamamoto Family

Ishi Matsuda

The Murakami Family Eijiro Murakami 20 Ryozo Hamada

The Hamada Family

Magoichi Mineishi The Mineishi Family

Taro Takara

Tomoyo Takara

Kimie Matsuda

Sue Takabayashi Natsuko Aoki 21 Tamotsu Kuniyuki 22 Yoshi Hayashi The Yano, Konaka & Hayashi Families

Kinu Nishimura (2) 23 Taichi Sato

24 Kame Akamine

The Akamine Family

Kikuno Hisamura

Kamesuke Nakahama

Takiko Yanagihara

25 Sue Maeda

The Maeda Family

Shinichi Takao

The Takao Family

Takayo Matsuo

The Matsuo Family

Shigeki Umemoto

The Yoza Family

The Shimabukuro Family Tamotsu Nakamura

Florence Kimie Karimoto 26 Jirosaku Otani The Otani & Yanagihara Family

Shiro Fukuda

27 Taichi Wakagi The Wakagi Family

Keiko Hanano

Noboru Hirano Shigeru Takata

28 Fukuichi Fukuda

Mitsuyo GladysYoshihara

The Goichi Kawamura Family Tsuru Kuniyuki 29 Nobue Kochi

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