What do we call the underwater “radiance distribution”? Why measuring radiance distributions?
Permit No. 24616 Address Service Requested The Wayhhbt-la.org/documents/TheWayJun10.pdfPage 3 The...
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Vol. 62, No. 6 June 2010 NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Los Angeles, CA Permit No. 24616 HIGASHI HONGANJI BUDDHIST TEMPLE 505 East Third Street Los Angeles, CA 90013 (213) 626-4200 - FAX (213) 626-6850 Address Service Requested TEMPLE SCHEDULE July 11 10:00am Shotsuki Service 18 10:00am Obon Family Service 24 OBON FESTIVAL 25 11:00am Obon/Hatsubon Service 25 OBON FESTIVAL Obon Family Service Sunday, July 18, 2010 10:00am OBON FESTIVAL July 24th & 25th 12:00pm - 9:00pm (Please see RADIANCE, page 3) W ay The Theme: The Radiance of Human Life Rev. Ryoko Osa Senior Care Facilities One of the important tasks of the ministers of the Los Angeles Buddhist Church Federation is to go to retirement facilities to make presentations of the Buddhadharma to their residents. As one of those ministers, I have the op- portunity to visit such facilities. My impression is that the facilities here in the United States are much brighter, cleaner, and generally happier than similar facilities in Japan. In Japan, such facilities have names like Best Life Kyoto, or Heartful Kyoto and you wouldn’t know just from the name what kind of facilities they are. Here in Southern California, such facilities have names like Keiro Home or Japanese Retirement Home, and give the impres- sion that they are more like residences rather than strict care facilities. Also, the naming of such facilities using words like Keiro (Respect for the elderly) shows a respect for the residents there. I think it would be good if Japan could learn from America and make such facilities more like home and provide that feeling of respect for their residents. The first time I entered such a facil- ity in Japan was about ten years ago. It was when I went to a facility in Fukuoka to visit my grandmother. Because we lived faraway from each other, I had only met her twice before then, and so it would have been difficult to recognize each other. Even though I had no real memories of my grandmother, I wanted to meet her again, in a sense, to find out more about my own roots. I was able to hold her hand once again before she passed away. Whether she recognized me or not, I quickly realized that she had already lost much of her memory. It wasn’t only my grandmother. Most of the patients there were already suf- fering from severe senility. Some were completely bedridden. And even those who could move around on their own seemed to have no life in their eyes. I was deeply shocked. I couldn’t help but think, why are these people still living? At the same time, I thought that
Transcript of Permit No. 24616 Address Service Requested The Wayhhbt-la.org/documents/TheWayJun10.pdfPage 3 The...
Vol. 62, No. 6June 2010
NON-PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE
PAIDLos Angeles, CAPermit No. 24616
HIGASHI HONGANJI BUDDHIST TEMPLE505 East Third StreetLos Angeles, CA 90013(213) 626-4200 - FAX (213) 626-6850
Address Service Requested
TEMPLE SCHEDULEJuly
11 10:00am ShotsukiService 18 10:00am ObonFamilyService 24 OBONFESTIVAL 25 11:00am Obon/Hatsubon Service 25 OBONFESTIVAL
ObonFamily Service
Sunday, July 18, 201010:00am
OBON FESTIVAL
July 24th & 25th12:00pm - 9:00pm
(Please see RADIANCE, page 3)
WayThe
Theme:
The Radiance of Human LifeRev. Ryoko Osa
SeniorCareFacilitiesOneof the important tasksof the
ministersoftheLosAngelesBuddhistChurchFederationistogotoretirementfacilities tomakepresentations of theBuddhadharmatotheirresidents. Asoneof thoseministers, Ihave theop-portunity to visit such facilities. Myimpressionisthatthefacilitieshereinthe United States are much brighter,cleaner, and generally happier thansimilarfacilitiesinJapan.
InJapan,suchfacilitieshavenameslikeBest Life Kyoto,orHeartful Kyotoandyouwouldn’tknowjustfromthenamewhatkindof facilities theyare. Herein Southern California, such facilitieshavenameslikeKeiro HomeorJapanese Retirement Home,andgivetheimpres-sionthattheyaremorelikeresidencesratherthanstrictcarefacilities.Also,thenamingofsuch facilitiesusingwordslikeKeiro(Respectfortheelderly)showsarespectfortheresidentsthere.IthinkitwouldbegoodifJapancouldlearnfromAmericaandmakesuchfacilities
morelikehomeandprovidethatfeelingofrespectfortheirresidents.
The first time I entered such a facil-ityinJapanwasabouttenyearsago.ItwaswhenIwenttoafacilityinFukuokatovisitmygrandmother.Becausewelived faraway from each other, I hadonlymethertwicebeforethen,andsoit would have been difficult to recognize eachother.EventhoughIhadnorealmemoriesofmygrandmother,Iwantedto meet her again, in a sense, to find out moreaboutmyownroots.Iwasabletoholdherhandonceagainbeforeshepassed away. Whether she recognized me or not, I quickly realized that she hadalreadylostmuchofhermemory.Itwasn’tonlymygrandmother.Mostofthepatientstherewerealreadysuf-feringfromseveresenility.Somewerecompletelybedridden.Andeventhosewhocouldmovearoundontheirownseemedtohavenolifeintheireyes.Iwas deeply shocked. I couldn’t helpbut think, why are these people stillliving?Atthesametime,Ithoughtthat
The WayPage 2
2010 Betsuin Membership
(Please see OTANI, page 4)
Betsuin NewsDHARMA SCHOOL
UPDATEDharma School went on a spring
field trip to see Oceans at the El Capitan TheaterinHollywood.Thekidsallen-joyedthemovieandhadfundiscussingthevariousseacreatureswitheachother.InJune,wewillcelebrateFather’sDayandthe2010Graduates.Towardtheendofthemonth,wewillbeginpreparingforObon!
DharmaSchoolisopentoallchil-dren and we welcome you to join usonSundays!
We had a very pleasant Mother’sDayPancakeBreakfastandFamilySer-vice.Manymemberscameearlyinthemorningtocookbreakfastforallofthemothersandtheirfamilies.Weenjoyedadeliciousselectionofpancakes,eggs,ham, fried rice, strawberries, yogurt,granola,orange juice,andcoffee. Allthemealswereservedwarmandfreshandthesocialhallwasfullofsmilesandhappybellies.
After breakfast, everyone wentupstairsforourMother’sDayFamilyService.Thisyear,GregElliotpresenteda very refreshing and memorable re-flection of his mother and experiences growingupaswellashisrelationshipwith his mother as he has continuedintoadulthood.Thankyou,Greg,forsharingyourwonderfulMother’sDaystorieswithus!
ThankyoutoeveryonewhohelpedcookandserveMother’sDaybreakfast!Wereceivedsupportfromseveralofourorganizations, including ABA, YABA, Jr. YBA, and Sangha Teens. Special thanks to Elaine Harada and DavidIkedaformakingsureeverythingwasready for Sunday! Thank you to theMurataFamilyfortheirdonationoffreshstrawberries.Weappreciateeveryone’ssupport!
Mother’s DayFamily Service &
Pancake Breakfast
Tanjo-E & Hatsumairi ServiceThisyear’sTanjo-eandHatsumairi
ServicewasheldonSunday,May16th.Special messages were delivered byRinban Noriaki Ito and Rev. NobukoMiyoshi.
Congratulations to our newestmembers Galilea Marquez, Noa Ed-wards,andAnthonySaletta.Theypar-ticipated inourHatsumairiceremonywith their families. Galilea and NoahavealreadybegunparticipatinginourDharmaSchoolprogramandwelookforward to seeingAnthony grow andincludinghiminDharmaSchoolashegetsolder.
Special thanks to Mr. Shin Ito forchairing service and to Toban A forhostingandpreparingdeliciouschirashiotokilunchforeveryone.
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Page 3The Way
(Please see RADIANCE, page 5)
(RADIANCE, con’t. from page 1)somethingwaswrongwiththewayIwas reflecting on this experience.
UrbanizationAllofyou,I’msure,haveheardthe
story of Śākyamuni Buddha’s experi-enceof theFourGates. Accordingtohisbiography,hisparentswishedthathewouldhaveonlyahappyupbringingand so they hid from him any experi-ences of the four principal causes ofsuffering,birth,aging,illness,anddeath.Intoday’sworld,wecanseeparallelstothe Buddha’s experience and the urban lifestylesofmanyofus.Inoldendaysin Japan, babies were born at homeand family members took their lastbreathsathome.Incontrast,intoday’surbanized societies, babies are born in hospitals, the elderly go to hospitalsandcare facilities, illness is treatedathospitals,anddeathusuallyoccursalsoathospitals.Inaddition,funeralsandmemorialservicesarenowoftenheldat specialized facilities set up for such observances,ratherthanhavingthemattemplesoratfamilyhomes.ItisbecauseofsuchtrendsthatIhadneverbeforebeentosuchanelderlycarefacility,andthat the experience was so shocking to me.Wenowliveinsocietiesinwhichone’s personal welfare is much moreimportant than community welfare.This trend towards urbanization and modernization serves as a major obstacle thatpreventsusfromlearningaboutlifethroughourinteractionswiththosewelivetogetherwith.
TheMeaningofLife“Isthereanymeaninginprolonging
lifeforthosewhohavelosttheabilitytothink?”Myquestionhereisbasedon a lifestyle in which human life ismeasuredbyone’scapabilities.Itistheviewthatsays,aproductivelifeisgood;a life that causes difficulties for others, thatisdependentonothers,isbad.Inthis system that measures human lifebased on one’s productivity, simplyliving(withoutdoinganythingproduc-tive)isbad.Itsayslifemusthavevalue,purpose,andmeaning.Attheforefrontofsuchanattitudeisthethoughtthatanyhumanbeingmusthaveareasonfor living. To realize that each of us hasourownspecialmissioninlifecan
serveashopeandasacatalystforliv-ingwithenthusiasmandenergy. Butsiftedthroughthescreenofthesystemofproductivity,ifonefallsshortofthegoals,thereisthedangerthatitcanleadtodepression.Ifitistruethatonemusthavemeaningandvaluesinlife,thenthosewhofailtodiscoverthatwouldbeexcluded from living in society. Gener-allyspeaking,mostpeoplewanttobegoodandthisenablesthemtocontributetotheadvancementofsociety.It’struethatcountriesandsocietieswouldfallapart if its citizens didn’t live with such attitudes.Iwouldagreethatsuchthingsasvalue,purpose,andmeaningcanbemeasuredinhowpeopleconductthem-selvesineverydaylife.Butcanvalues,purpose,andmeaningbeattributedtolifeitself?Andfurthermore,doweashumanbeingshavetheabilitytomea-suresuchthings?
Ibelievethathumanbeingscannotseethemeaningoflife,normeasurethevalueofhumanlife.Thereasonwhyisthatlifeistheproductofone’scausesandconditions.ThosecausesandconditionsthataffectalifeareascountlessasthesandsonthebanksoftheGangesRiver.No life exists outside of the influence ofsuchcausesandconditions.Inthemidst of that interconnectedness, weinfluence our surroundings; we create karmicconditions.Fortheretobelife,therehadtobethosecausesandcondi-tionsthatcreatedthatlife.Itisherethatthereisinterconnectednessandkarmiccausesandconditions.Evenifwearen’tconsciously doing anything, we arepresenting immeasurable amounts ofinfluence on life itself. It isn’t value per se;itisrealityasitis.Atragicsituationwillcausesadnessandsuffering.Butifweputasidejudgmentsofgoodandbad,weseethesituationasrealityandtheproductofkarmiccausesandcondi-tions.FromtheBuddha’sperspective,itisn’tsomuchwhatwedo,butrather,what exists at this moment as immea-surablecausesandconditions.Thisisrealityanditisnotamatterofwhetherit’sgoodorbad.Thetruthisthatwearelivingrighthererightnow.Butinorder to substantiate our individualconsciousness,weplacemeaningandvaluetoourlives.
The Buddha’s teaching does not
askustoquestionhowweareliving,but rather, to question human existence itself. Buddhism would hope that weawakentotherealitythatwearelivingrightnow,thatwearebeinggiventheopportunitytoenjoythislifewehave.Ifwecannothelpbutbepreoccupiedwithwhether life has value and meaning,weareaskedtochangeourperspectiveto reflect on life itself. Through our encounterwiththeBuddha’steaching,ourbeingabletotasteofthetruthoftheBuddhadharmaisinitselfthereceivingofmeaningandvalueinlife.
TheVarietyofColoredRaysEmanat-ingfromtheLotusofthePureLand
Itcanbesaidthateachlife,whetherin the present or in the past, is influenced by karmic conditions and in turn exerts influence on others. Even a person who livesa“bad” life fromasocietalperspective,receivesandcreateskarmalikeanyoneelse.TheBuddhistattitude,therefore,isthatalllifeisequalinvalue,alllivesareradiantjustastheyare.Oureyesmaydistinguishbetweengoodandbadlives,buttheBuddhawouldseealllivesasbeautifulandprecious.
IntheAmidaSutra,thereisapas-sage which describes the huge andbeautiful lotus flowers that decorate the beautifullakesinthePureLand.Itsays,blue flowers send forth blue rays of light, yellow flowers yellow rays, red flowers red rays, and white flowers white rays. All are pure and beautiful, every oneofthememitswonderfulfragrances.Idon’tbelievethatwhatisbeingtaughthereisthattheuniquequalitiesandchar-acteristicsofeachpersonarebeautifullike the lotus flowers of the Pure Land. Rather,Ithinkthatwhatisbeingsaidhereisthatregardlessofthedifferences,regardless of societal standards likevalueandpurpose,eachlifeisworthyof respect. Each life is likened to abeautifulrayoflightemittedbythoselotus flowers of the Pure Land; each life becomesthatbrightlyshininglight;each
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The WayPage 4
LUMBINI CORNER
(DOBO, con’t. from page 2)
The Higashi Honganji BuddhistTempleandthe2010ObonFestivalCom-mitteewouldliketoinviteallmembersandfriendsofourBetsuintojoininthe51stAnnualObonFestival.Thisyear’scelebration will be on Saturday andSunday, July 24th and 25th from 12:00to9:00pm.
ThisBuddhistCelebrationisatradi-tionalreligiousobservancethathonorsourancestors.OurtemplegroundswillbedecoratedwithhundredsofManto-elanternsforthetwo-dayfestivities.
The Obon Hatsubon (First Obon)Services will be held on Sunday, July25that11:00am.ThetraditionalManto-eServiceswillbeheldoutsideat6:00pmonbothSaturdayandSunday.
Thefestivalwillbeginat12:00pm.Come enjoy a variety of ethnic foodssuchassushi,udon,chickenandbeef
51st Annual Obon Festivalteriyaki,chilirice,tamales,kurimanju,shaved ice, and kintoki, as well ashamburgers,hotdogs,corn,andbakeddesserts.Therewillbeplentyoffoodforeveryonetoenjoyduringallofthefestivities.
Festival-goersofallagescanenjoygames,shoppingattheBigBargainSale,andfreshfruits,vegetables,plants,andcut flowers at the Farmer’s Market.
Therewillalsobeplentyofenter-tainment with cultural performancesthroughoutthefestival.Theprogramwillincludetaiko,Japanesedance,teaceremony,andmuchmore.
Intheevening,thefestivalgroundswill be full of dancers to join in BonOdori.Everyoneisencouragedtojoinin and dance both days from 6:30pmto8:30pm.
WrappinguptheeventonSundayat
8:30pm will be the raffle drawing. There will be great prizes to win such as the Special Prize - Hawaii Tour Package for 2, First Prize – Vizio 55” 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV, Second Prize – Apple iPad WiFi 8GB, Third Prize – HP Mini 10.1” Netbook computer, Fourth Prize – Apple iPod Touch 8GB, Fifth Prize – Sony blu-ray DVD player, and many other exciting and valuable prizes. Be sure to send in your raffle tickets, so you can haveachancetowinoneofthesegreatprizes. Extra raffle tickets are available in the temple office.
We are all very excited about the 51stAnnualObonFestivalandhopeyouwillacceptourinvitationtojoinusforthisveryspecialcelebration.
ObonFestivalCommittee
Manto-E LanternsOrdersarenowbeingacceptedfor
Manto-eLanternsforourAnnualObonFestival.Eachlanterncosts$15.00.ifyouhavenotreceivedanorder form,they are available in the temple office. Please call to reserve your lantern atyourearliestconvenience.
Obon Gift CertificatesObon gift certifcates can be pur-
chasedfor$5.00each.Theyaregreattogivetofriendsandfamilytouseoverthe weekend. Gift certificates can be usedtowardthepurchaseoffoodatourObononlyandareavailablethroughthetemple office.
Please bring items to the templebetween Sunday, June 20th (Father’sDay/GraduationService)andSunday,July11th(JulyShotsukiService).Ifyouhave any questions, or would like tovolunteer tohelpus,pleasecall (626)627-1682.
EmilyMatsumuraandIreneOta
Big Bargain Sale
Bon Odori PracticeDon’t be shy, come join the fun!
Learnallthelatestdancestepsforthisyear’sBonOdori.
Wednesdays—7:00pm 6/30•7/7•7/14 Fridays—7:00pm 7/2•7/9•7/16Lessonswillbetaughtinthetemple
socialhall.Pleasebringyourtenugui,uchiwa,andkachi-kachi topractice ifyouhavethem.Ifnot,pleasecomeandwe’llshare!
SubmissionsforThe Wayareduethe15thofeachmonthforthefollowingmonth’sissue.Articlesandannounce-ments forourAugust IssuearedueJuly15th,2010.Submissionsmaybesubjecttoprintingrestrictionsandstaffapproval. Thank you and we lookforwardtohearingfromyou!
SUBMISSION DEADLINE!
The WayPage 5FUJINKAI DAYORI
Happy 60th Birthday to Board President Ron Sato!
Girls Scout AwardeesOursanghahasalonghistorywith
scouting. There were five Higashi Boy ScoutsthatachievedtheEagleAwardinthemidseventies.TwoformerBoyScoutsarestillveryactivehereatHigashithatyoumaynotbeawareof.RinbanandourpresidentRonSatoweremembersofthistroop.
Speedforwardtothepresentdayand we still have active Girl Scoutswithin our sangha. Kamryn Ikeda isthe first Higashi member to obtain the Gold Award with the Girl Scouts ofGreaterLosAngeles.TheGoldAwardis thehighestachievement thataGirlScoutcanobtain.ThesecondmembertoobtainherGoldisJennaTomita.Jennaalsomarchedinthe2010TournamentofRosesParadeonJanuary1,2010.Ibelievethis is a first for a Higashi member.
Please extend a warm congratula-tionstothesetwomembers.Aformalplaqueishungupstairsonthecorridorwall recognizing their overdue accom-plishments.
Gassho,TedOyamaBelmontServiceUnitManager-GSGLA
lifeglowsinitsradiance.Livinglifeintoday’sworldwhereone’sproductivityisconstantlybeingquestioned,ifaper-sonweretodevaluehimself,hewouldnotbeable toaccepthimselfashe is.Consequently,hewouldnotbeabletoacceptotherseither.Whatthismeansisthatheisnotawareoftheradianceofneitherhimselfnorothers.Itisnaturalthatpeoplesearchforone’sownmerits,butwhatismoreimportantisthatthepersonbeabletoseethatradianceandthe preciousness of the lives of bothhimselfandothers.
Wewholiveeverydaylifeheretodaymay be able to realize the eyes of the Bud-dhawhoseestheradianceinalloflife.But it is so difficult to see that radiance ourselves.Itissoeasythen,toforgettoseethroughtheBuddha’seyes,toreceivethewishestheBuddhahasforus.ThisiswhyitissoimportanttocontinuetoreceivetheteachingsofthosewholivedbeforeusandtolistendiligentlytothewordsoftheBuddha.
TranslationbyRinbanNoriakiIto
(RADIANCE, con’t. from page 3)
Ourdeepestcondolencestothefamilyandrelativesof…
Mr. Masaharu Nagata (91)April 27, 2010
Mr. George Yoshi Arakaki (90)May 4, 2010
Mrs. Kouko Fukumoto (73)May 4, 2010
Mrs. Kimie Izumida (92)May 9, 2010
Mrs. Hatsuki “Doi” Kawahira (90)May 11, 2010
Mr. Haruo Harry Higashi (90)May 13, 2010
Namu Amida Butsu
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2008MEMBERSHIPLISTAsofOctober29,2008
In the event of an inadvertent omission of a donor’s name, please contact the temple office.
