Weekly Dharma Services are held on Sundays at 9am at the temple. Click here to see the speaker schedule.

family service

Sunday Family Service & Remembrance Day

For today’s Dharma Talk, Shirley Yanagisawa shared three things in November that help us to remember and give thanks:

  1. Veterans Day: we are reminded of the many sacrifices of the past and present members of the Armed Forces for our freedom.

  2. Eitaikyo: we held this special service last week as our expression of gratitude to the many members of our temple whose dedication, sacrifices, and support have made it possible for Kailua Hongwanji Mission to be what it is today.

  3. Thanksgiving: we all enjoyed our turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, and other food items, some of which we are all still enjoying as leftovers days later. Shirley made her broccoli casserole on Thanksgiving, and she made it again to share for today’s refreshments.

Shirley asked each member to note three things we are thankful for. The notes will be strung together and placed on display in the temple.

Our next Family Service will be on Sunday, December 9, 2018, which will be followed by the Annual General Membership meeting. There will be no service on Sunday, December 2.

Shirley’s broccoli casserole, the recipe to which remains a secret

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Eitaikyo Service with Guest Speaker Rev. Alan Urasaki

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We held our Eitaikyo service today, a special service where we remember all the members who have come before us and their many contributions that have allowed us to continue spreading the dharma today.

Our guest speaker was Rev. Alan Urasaki. Rev. Urasaki is the Supervisory Chaplain at the Federal Detention Center. When he joined the Federal Bureau of Prisons in 2002, he was the first Buddhist chaplain in the Federal Prison system.

Click below to watch the complete Eitaikyo service on our YouTube channel.

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Sunday Family Service

Today’s Dharma Talk was given by Keiji Kukino. Kuki just returned from a trip and shared his observations as he attempted to win it big in Las Vegas. Kuki also noted that we’ve entered November, when those in the East and West gather together and take time to give thanks, Eitaikyo and Thanksgiving, respectively.

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First Sunday Family Service

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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. 

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Sunday Family Service

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.

Sunday Family Service

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.

Sunday Family Service

In his Dharma Talk, Rev. Sumikawa explained the role of the sangha in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism and its importance to our temple.

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First Sunday Family Service

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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.

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Fall Ohigan Service with Guest Speaker Rev. Yuika Hasebe

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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.

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"First Sunday" Family Service

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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.