Rev. Sumikawa welcomed the New Year in his Dharma Talk and discussed the importance of making resolutions. Making resolutions means that we recognize the reality of our imperfect selves and are trying to make improvements. We also celebrated January birthdays, including Patsy’s 96th!
After the service, we had an intergenerational craft activity. Chinese New Year is on January 25 and this will be the Year of the Rat, so we made colorful rocking rats.
Our guest speaker for the last Sunday service of the year was Katsumi Takemoto. Katsumi shared her Dharma Talk, “Taking the Time to Tune in One Sound Through Breath in Buddhahood” and she and Rev. Sumikawa performed a meditation accompanied by the shakuhachi.
Rev. Sumikawa returned from his journey abroad to India and gave today’s Dharma Talk. He asked us our response to the question often asked by visitors to Sunday service at our temple, “Your temple is so nice. What do you practice here?” The reality is that the strength of Shin Buddhism is that it’s practiced by ordinary people in every day life.
We also observed our monthly Remembrance Day during today’s service. Mahalo to the many guests who attended today to remember family, friends, and even pets who passed away during the month of December.
Today we welcomed Rev. David Nakamoto back to Windward Buddhist Temple. Rev. Nakamoto, who retired as our minister in 2017, lead the service and gave today’s Dharma Talk. He shared what he learned from attending Project Dana’s 30th Anniversary event. Mahalo Rev. Nakamoto for visiting us and filling in for Rev. Sumikawa!
We celebrated our December birthdays today. Happy birthday!
We held our Bodhi Day service today, celebrating the enlightenment of Shakyamuni Buddha under the Bodhi tree.. Rev. Bert Sumikawa gave us a special Bodhi Day Dharma Talk. After the service, we enjoyed a sweet rice porridge, just as the Buddha was offered.
Watch Rev. Sumikawa’s Dharma Talk by clicking on the video below.
Today’s Dharma Talk was given by Shirley Yanagisawa. November is a month of showing gratitude. From Veterans’ Day where we thank our military members for their service to Eitaikyo and, at the end of the month, Thanksgiving. Shirley shared what she’s thankful for, including her family, the sangha, being able to travel, and, most recently, the University of Hawaii Wahine volleyball team.
Jean brought emergency water storage bags, which have been provided by several state and local government agencies and are being distributed through Project Dana.
Our guest speaker for our Eitaikyo Service was Rev. David Fujimoto. Rev. Fujimoto is the resident minister of Mililani Hongwanji. The Eitaikyo Service is a time to remember all the members who came before us and their many contributions that have allowed us to continue spreading the dharma today.
Watch Rev. Fujimoto’s Eitaikyo Dharma Talk on our YouTube channel below.
At today’s family service, in honor of Veterans’ Day, we recognized our military veterans and thanked them for their service. Today we were visited by Mililani Hongwanji Dharma School children and parents. The WBT and Mililani children made stone soup and did crafts together.
Prudence read a story called “A Swim” from the children’s book, “Adventures of Frog and Toad.” The story is one of several stories in the book about the friendship between a frog and a toad. The story Prudence read was fun for the children but also was interesting for the adults.
Today we celebrated November birthdays, but only Rev. Bert was present. Two children celebrated with Rev. Bert as the congregation sang happy birthday.
Our inter generational activity was Thanksgiving card making.
Today was a very busy day, starting with our monthly Remembrance Day program. On this day, we remember those who passed away during the month of October of any year by reading their names and offering incense.
Jennifer Kane, who attended this year’s Minister’s Lay Assistant Retreat lead today’s sutra reading. Bob Nishita gave today’s Dharma Talk.
Bob reflected on the importance of learning from the past while looking ahead to the future. Growing up, he remembered playing games and losing — and being a poor sport about it. His father would remind him that losing was something that would happen in life — you have to learn from it and move on.
Following the service, we had a parade of those who came in their Halloween finest and we enjoyed an array of spooky treats.
We held a mini-bazaar featuring 1-day sale pricing on a selection of items. We sold our remaining inventory of fabric cushions, luggage identifiers, and greeting cards, along with freshly baked mango bread, chutney, hand-crafted nenju, and fukubukuro surprise bags.
Finally, several volunteers remained after refreshments to assemble our November newsletter for mailing. Mahalo!
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