family service

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Spring Ohigan Service

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Our guest speaker for our Spring Ohigan Service was Rev. Koen Kikuchi, resident minister of Kaneohe Higashi Hongwanji. Watch his Ohigan Dharma Talk below.

COVID-19 Temple Advisory: As Prudence announced at the end of the service, to ensure the health and safety of temple members and guests and help to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Windward Buddhist Temple will be suspending all services and activities at the temple from March 16 through April 30, 2020.

Please continue to visit our website as well as follow us on Facebook or Instagram for updates. Our YouTube channel will also continue to feature past special services and Dharma Talks.

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Sunday Family Service & Dharma School

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Guest speaker Rev. Clarence Liu & Rev. Bert Sumikawa

We welcomed guest speaker Rev. Clarence Liu to today’s Family Service. Rev. Liu grew up in Kailua and pastored in several Central Oahu churches before finding his niche in clinical chaplaincy.

Rev. Liu shared what he has learned about the subject of death, something he has had a lot of experience with having retired as a hospice chaplain with Hospice Hawaii in 2012.

Dharma School

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Sunday Family Service & Intergenerational Activity

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Kuki spoke about our Founders Day which was celebrated last Sunday to honor temple leaders that came before us from over 50 years ago to present who helped make WBT what it is today. He also expressed his gratitude for the late Dorothy Ono for her generous donation to the temple that allowed us to build our beautiful temple.

We also celebrated March birthdays. After the service and refreshments, our intergenerational activity was making spring butterflies.

March Intergenerational Activity

Remembrance & Founders’ Day Service

In our Founders’ Day service, we remember the past members of Windward Buddhist Temple (Kailua Hongwanji Mission) and their efforts that helped make WBT what it is today. Today was also our monthly Remembrance Day service, where we remembered family and friends who passed away during the month of February in any year.

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Nirvana Day & Pet Memorial Service

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Rev. Sol Kalu

Rev. Sol Kalu, Associate Minister at Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin, was our guest speaker for today’s Nirvana Day Service. Nirvana Day commemorates the death of the Buddha and his achievement of Parinirvana, or complete Nirvana.

Watch Rev. Kalu’s educational and informative Dharma Talk about the Buddha’s final days prior to achieving Nirvana below or on our YouTube channel.

Pet Memorial Service

We also held our first pet memorial service at Windward Buddhist Temple. At the beginning of the service, Rev. Sumikawa and Rev. Kalu chanted the Sanbujo. Families were called up individually to offer incense as the names of their departed pets were called.

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Dana Day Service & Dharma School

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Today’s Dana Day service focused on the principle of dana, or “selfless giving.” Jean Fukumoto, the Windward coordinator for Project Dana, shared an update of the organization. Project Dana was founded in 1989 by the late Shimeji Kanazawa out of Moiliili Hongwanji. Today, it is a multi-faith coalition of 32 churches and temples across Hawaii with over 800 volunteers providing thousands of hours of services and support to the elderly. For more information, or to learn how to participate in Project Dana, please visit their website at www.projectdana.org.

We hold Dharma School on the second Sunday of the month during the school year. Today’s session continued the discussion of interdependence by investigating the interconnectedness found in nature in our local ecosystem.

Dharma School

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Sunday Family Service & Intergenerational Activity

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Today’s Dharma Talk was presented by Dr. Mike Jaffe. Mike, who also presented at the first Windward Interfaith Service last Tuesday, shared his knowledge of Jewish ethnicity, nationhood, and religion, which are all strongly interrelated, and interwove it with parallels in Buddhism, specifically Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha.

After today’s service, we celebrated our February birthdays. Our intergenerational activity for February had a Valentine’s Day theme and the crafts were enjoyed (and modeled) by all.

February Birthday Celebration

February Intergenerational Activity

Sunday Family Service & Remembrance Day

Rev. Bert Sumikawa went to India and Nepal last December. Today he took us on a journey through the cities and villages that he visited, and his stops along the way to many historical Buddhist sites.

Sunday Family Service

Today’s Dharma Talk was given by lay speaker Jennifer Kane. She shared experiencing the “shoulds” (“I should have…”) just 19 days into the new year. Jennifer read to us the story of Freddie the Leaf. Freddie, and his neighboring leaves, experience the changing seasons until they all finally fall to the ground during the winter’s snow. Their journey is a lesson in impermanence and a reminder of the temporary nature of human life.

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Hoonko Service

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Today we observed Hoonko, the memorial service for Jodo Shinshu founder Shinran Shonin. Our guest speaker for our Hoonko Service was Rev. Ryoso Toshima.

Rev. Toshima served as a resident minister at various temples around the state including Hanapepe Hongwanji (Kauai), Honokaa Hongwanji (Big Island), and Waipahu Hongwanji. Following that, he came to the Honpa Hongwanji Betsuin and served as the Rimban (head minister) for many years.

Watch Rev. Toshima’s Hoonko Dharma Talk below.