Today’s Dharma Talk was given by Dr. Michael Jaffe. Mike’s talk was about the trials and tribulations of a man in his 50s. He identified the different stages of his life with that of The Buddha. He is using the Teachings to help him understand and cope with his current phase in life.
As we get ready to enjoy the Halloween festivities this week, Rev. Sumikawa spoke of the hungry ghosts and the three poisons, greed, hatred, and delusion. Living your life free of greed, hatred, and delusion allows for the release of ignorance and the way of wisdom.
Dennis Tashiro gave today’s Dharma Talk, sharing how he finds inner peace.
Peace begins with me.
I try to achieve my inner peace and tranquility
…By doing regular and frequent activities
…By assessing my activities and eliminating those that create stress and anxiety
…By being positive while doing the activities and
Being aware of limitations - of mine especially and others, and
Being appreciative of efforts used to do the activities - my own and particularly of others
Another way Dennis finds inner peace is through music, and he shared several video clips from the recent 2018 Choralfest. Dennis was one of several Kailua Hongwanji members who participated in this year’s Choralfest at Hawaii Betsuin in September.
In his Dharma Talk, Rev. Sumikawa explained the role of the sangha in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism and its importance to our temple.
Joy kicked off her Dharma Talk about interconnectedness by leading the congregation in the Baby Shark Dance, the YouTube phenomenon with over 1.7 billion views. She closed with the question, “Can you imagine if Buddhism spread like Baby Shark did?”
For our First Sunday family activities, we made paper-strip pumpkins and mixed up a batch of colorful slime.
Our guest speaker for our Fall Ohigan service was Rev. Yuika Hasebe. Rev. Hasebe is currently an Associate Minister at Hawaii Betsuin, but was once a liaison minister at Kailua Hongwanji. Rev. Hasebe shared the importance of reciting the Nembutsu, namo amida butsu.
Watch Rev. Hasebe’s Fall Ohigan Dharma Talk below or view it on our YouTube channel.
Cynthia showed us a preview of our First Sunday activity for October.
Today’s Dharma Message was given by Prudence, who shared a story about a gumyocho, a two-headed bird.
One head was named Karuda and the other Upakaruda. The heads had differing desires, which often caused conflicts between Karuda and Upakaruda.
One day, Karuda feasted until he could eat no more, while Upakaruda slept. When Upakaruda woke, he found he couldn’t enjoy the food since their stomach was stuffed from Karuda’s feasting.
Feeling resentful, Upakaruda ate poisonous fruits, hoping to punish Karuda. As expected, when Karuda woke, the poison kicked in and he died. Of course, because they shared the same body, the poison that killed Karuda soon after killed Upakaruda.
Before dying, Upakaruda realized the interconnectedness of his life and Karuda’s. By harming one, they both suffered.
After the service, we celebrated August and September birthdays. After refreshments, we had our First Sunday activity (postponed from earlier in the month due to our 50th Anniversary celebration), assembling paper plate doves to hang on our Peace Day tree.
On August 10, 1968, Kailua Hongwanji Mission became a full-fledged, independent temple of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii. Fifty years later, we celebrate accomplishing many of the goals our predecessors had, including replacing the former temple, a repurposed home, with a modern, multi-purpose building that serves the membership and the broader community.
We held a special service on September 9, 2018 to celebrate Kailua Hongwanji Mission's 50th anniversary. We were honored to have in attendance Bishop Eric Matsumoto; Pieper Toyoama, President of Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii; and several past KHM resident ministers and Kyodan presidents. Everyone in attendance also received a special 50th Anniversary program and a logo gift.
After the service, we took a group photo (thanks Josh Chang for squeezing us all in without any hidden faces) and proceeded to a luncheon at Mid-Pacific Country Club.
We held our Obon, Hatsubon, and Remembrance Day service, remembering and honoring those who passed before us. For Hatsubon, the names of the members who passed in the last year were called and family members offered incense. That was followed by our Remembrance Day calling of names of those who passed in July or August of any year.
In his Obon Dharma Message, Rev. Sumikawa spoke of the history of Obon in the Jodo Shinshu tradition. Obon is a festival of memories and joy. We gather in joy, remembering all of our ancestors, without whom each of us would not exist.
If you go back 10 generations, you have 1,024 direct ancestors. Going back 20 generations, that's over 10.2 million direct ancestors. If any one of those individuals were missing, you would not exist.
Kailua Hongwanji's Obon is on Saturday, July 28. There will be no service on July 29 (Bon Dance clean up), no services in August (summer break), and no service on September 2. Our next Family Service will be on Sunday, September 9, 2018.
“The nembutsu is effortless power. Self power is powerless effort.”
Today's Dharma message was provided by Keiji "Kuki" Kukino. Kuki spoke about the nembutsu and illustrated it with a couple of practical examples in his life: learning to swim and his golf swing.
Our 50th Anniversary fans have arrived. These will be available at our Bon Dance on July 28.
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