Ekoji Welcomes New Resident Minister

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1 The Newsletter of Ekoji Buddhist Temple alavinka Fairfax Station, Virginia - Established 1981 Vol. XXXII, No. 1 January 2013 Ekoji Welcomes New Resident Minister By Melanie Shatter, Ekoji Co-President Ekoji Buddhist Temple is pleased to welcome Rev. Kurt Rye as its new resident minister. He officially started on January 1, 2013, but joined us in leading the New Year s Eve service. As some of you may remember, Rev. Rye was a guest minister at Ekoji in August, sharing his story of crossing over to Buddhism. Please join us in welcoming Rev. Rye at a potluck luncheon on January 13 after service. Bring your favorite dish to share. Rev. Kurt Rye was born in Anchorage, Alaska, but his early years were spent in the Washington, D.C. metro area. He moved to Washington State in high school and graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from the Evergreen State College in He started his career working with the chronically mentally ill population in Seattle. He then moved to Japan and for four years taught English in Tokyo where he was exposed to Buddhism. He attended the English Buddhist Academy in Tokyo and had the opportunity to take several courses on Japanese Buddhism at Taisho University. Upon his return to Seattle, he became an active member of the Seattle Betsuin under the guidance of Rev. Don Castro. During this period he managed a housing program for homeless clients with mental illness to help them become stable and move on to more permanent housing. In the fall of 2003, he received his Tokudo ordination as a lower-level minister at the Hongwanji in Kyoto, and started attending Institute for Buddhist Studies (IBS) in January of He graduated in the fall of 2007, received his Kyoshi certification in December 2007, and his Kai Kyoshi (higher-level minister) certification in April He joined the Fresno Betsuin as an associate minister in April In this issue: Sangha News and Events Page 2 Page 3 Ekoji Presidents Message Ekoji Dana for December Page 4 Page 5

2 Page 2 KALAVINKA January 2013 Sangha News and Events December Events Jan. 1, a.m., New Year s Day Service, Rev. Kurt Rye, Officiant, Ekoji s Resident Mininster Jan. 5, p.m., YBA Meeting, Sangha Hall Jan. 6, :30 a.m, Sangha Hall Clean Up for Dharma School and 12:30 p.m., Hondo Clean Up Jan. 13, a.m., Joint Service, Ho-onko, Shinran s Memorial Service and Ekoji Board of Directors Installation Ceremony Jan. 13, :30 p.m., Welcome Party/Pot Luck Luncheon for Rev. Kurt Rye, Sangha Hall Ekoji Wish List From time to time, Ekoji Temple is in need of certain items. If anyone would like to donate the following items, please let Jane Blechman know at information@ekoji.org: new or used wheelbarrow for the garden and grounds and café tables and chairs for the garden breezeway. In-Kind Dana Many thanks to the following individuals: Dec. 9 Bodhi Day Pot Luck Luncheon: POC YBA, Dr. Audrey Sato, Lauren Ohata, Alexis Yamashita, Kim Nguyen, and Joy Aso Bob Shimokaji: Oil-Based Electric Heater (Ekoji Office), Facilities Maintenance Tamon Honda: Leaf Blowing (Sangha Hall Roof) After Service Refreshments: Kathleen Barton, Rachel Harris, Rebecca Perry, Bill Nelson, and Pete Bouldirault Kitchen Renovation Project: Emlen Hamilton and Ron Ohata Rice Cakes for Naijin for New Year s Eve and New Year s Day: Joy Aso and Ann Ishikawa Naijin Preparation: Laverne Imori Dharma Talk Recordings: Michael Galvin New Year s Eve Soba Tasting: Nori Nakamura, Laverne Imori, and Jane Blechman By benefit of Infinite Light, true entrusting is magnificent. The ice of desire is melted to become the water of Nirvana. Our desires are the essence of Nirvana, like the relation of ice and water. The more ice, the more water: the more desire, the more Nirvana. --Shinran Shonin

3 January 2013 KALAVINKA Page 3 By Rev. Gerald Sakamoto The following 84,000 Thoughts article appeared in the April 2012 San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin newsletter and is reprinted with permission of the author, Rev. Gerald Sakamoto. When someone asks you about your religion, don t panic. The answer always comes back to the Four Noble Truths. But the Four Noble Truths are like ingredients for soup. Familiarity with the ingredients can open up the possibilities for variations on a theme. Soup is delicious when prepared by someone who cares. Whether a chef or someone just learning to cook, when something is offered thoughtfully and with care, simple ingredients can make a wonderful meal. At the core of the Buddhadharma, the Four Noble Truths are the ingredients for happiness. Happiness is the resolution of difficulties. In the early years of Buddhism in the West, Buddhism seemed to speak only of the difficulties of life. It seemed to be saying reject this life filled with difficulties, this world of Samsara. The Four Noble Truths begins with acknowledging dukha, usually translated as suffering. It does not, however, stop there. It continues on to describe the cause of difficulties and how to resolve those difficulties. Clearly the Buddhadharma is not about rejecting, rather of transforming or changing how we experience the world of difficulties changing the world of difficulties into a world of happiness, to transform the experience of Samsara into Nirvana. Jodo Shinshu is Buddhadharma. So the same ingredients of the Four Noble Truths apply. As with making soup, adjusting ingredients will change the soup. Shinran had the same experience that everyone else had. His question too, was how to resolve the difficulties of life. The more he studied and practiced, the more he became aware of the limitations of his efforts. It seemed that the more he worked at fixing the difficulties the more difficulties there were. Like making soup, sometimes the more experience you develop the more imperfections you see. The last of the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, is made up of the activities that will resolve our difficulties. Not a temporary fix, but fundamentally change how we engage the world, so that we no longer experience or cause difficulties. Shinran recognized, after many years of practice, that no matter how hard he practiced the causes of difficulties were greater and deeper than he was able to resolve. The Eightfold Path and what it represented did not provide a way for him to resolve his difficulties. This awareness did not negate the first three Noble Truths, but simply recognized his inability to resolve difficulties. Shinran left the monasteries of Hiei and began studying under Honen who taught another way, other than the Eightfold Path, to resolve the causes of dukha; a way that was taught by Shakyamuni Buddha but had not been at the center of other practices. What Honen taught did not require anything other than reciting namoamidabutsu to remove the causes of dukha. Recognizing his own limitations, Shinran shifted his understanding of the benefits of Nembutsu originating from anything we might do completely to Amida. The benefits that were locked in the Eightfold Path were now available to everyone. Amida is the source of the resolution of difficulties. I am not required to do anything. Furthermore I am incapable of doing anything that would lead to the resolution of difficulties. If I understand this, my relationship with the world is changed. The importance of my need to assert my preference and views is diminished any my acknowledgement of the world sustaining me grows. Regardless of my abilities or accomplishments I am nurtured and sustained by life. These Continued on page 4.

4 Page 4 KALAVINKA January 2013 Ekoji Presidents Message January 2013 By: Fujie Ohata and Melanie Hatter Happy New Year Greetings Ekoji Sangha Members!! Akemashita Omedetoo Gozaimasu (Happy New Year Greetings) Kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegai shimasu (We rely on your support and assistance for another year). We have much to be grateful for this coming year. Closing out 2012, Ekoji gratefully thanks Ekoji s Minister Emeritus, Rev. Shojo Honda for his dedication in leading the Bodhi Day Service and Dharma Talk on December 9. Also thank you to the YBA and their advisors: Ron Ohata, Dr. Audrey Sato, Alexis Yamashita, and Lauren Ohata for their work in coordinating the Bodhi Day Pot Luck Luncheon. In opening up 2013, we welcome Rev. Kurt Rye to the Ekoji family. We hope all of you will welcome him with open arms and, at least for the first month, introduce yourself each time you greet him. That way he will have an easier time remembering your names. We gratefully acknowledge the wisdom and foresight of Bishop Kozo Umezu for assigning Rev. Rye to Ekoji and the generous financial support from BDK America, Rev. Brian Nagata, director, for making it possible to have a resident minister so soon at Ekoji. On January 13, we have a special observance service, Ho-onko, the memorial service of our founder, Shinran Shonin. The Service will start at 11 a.m. Following the service and group picture taking, we will have the installation of the Ekoji Board of Directors ( ) as well as a Welcome Party/Luncheon for Rev. Rye. You are all invited to bring your favorite dish to the pot luck luncheon to welcome Rev. Rye to the East Coast. We hope you will all feel free to participate. This new year, 2013, promises to be a busy year for Ekoji. We have a Spring Seminar scheduled for March 23, with Rev. Patty Usuki, resident minister, San Fernando Buddhist Temple, as guest speaker. Rev. Usuki is the author of Currents of Change. For the Fall Seminar, September 21, we will have Rev. Patty Nakai, associate minister and director of education, Buddhist Temple of Chicago as guest seminar speaker. Both seminars should be very informative, and will be open to the public, so please note these two events on your personal calendars and spread the word. The renovation of the kitchen continues, so please excuse the dust and construction materials. The renovation will be largely done by Ekoji volunteers, headed by Emlen Hamilton, so please be patient and understanding. Lastly, please renew your Ekoji membership. Our theme this year is, You Belong Here: Join Ekoji Temple. Details outlining the easy way to sign up/renew your membership will be available on our website and information sheets will be available in the Hondo foyer. We look forward to 2013 with hope, promise, and gratitude with the support of all of you, the Ekoji Sangha. While we expect challenges, working together, we will find a path to grow and flourish in the light of Amida s wisdom and compassion with the leadership of our new Resident Minister, Rev. Kurt Rye. Sincerely, Melanie and Fujie Continued from page 2. are the two aspects of deep faith; recognition of my absolute inability to resolve the difficulties I encounter and the absolute assurance of the resolution of difficulties by Amida. After all these words my current understanding is this: the Buddhadharma is about being happy by resolving the causes of the difficulties I cause and encounter. Amida s assurance or Nirvana allows me to see myself as I am sustained and nurtured by true and real life. Mindful of my limitations I am grateful for Amida s compassion.

5 Ekoji Dana List - December 2012 Ajit and Samanthie Silva Alexis Yamashita Anna Tecson Arlene Mayeda Arlene Minami Art and Marlene Politano Audrey Sato Brant and Maya Horio Charles (Bud) Uyeda, Jr. Christopher Macy Clare Mahan Cris Fugate Dale Shirasago Dewanda Marlow Diane Miyasato Emily Ihara Ernie and Cheyenne Fugiltt Evan Cantwell Greg Nakamura Jane Blechman John Carter John Sutch Jon Sjogren Jose Chagon Justin Carter Kay and Aravind Dasu Ken and Nori Nakamura Kevin Gates Laverne Imori Lillian Kashihara Mark and Terri Hamill Mark Lawall Mary Okamoto Melanie Hatter Michele Vanhee Ngoc-Yen Vu Norman and Gail Kondo Paul Q. Piper Paula Lucas Rebecca Perry Rev. Shojo and June Honda Richard and Margaret Myer Robert Fike Ron and Fujie Ohata Ron and Nora Nagatani Sandra Lukic Shenandoah University Shigeko Walton Stanley Fujii Susan Hundt Suzuki Farms Taron Murakami Tom Griffin Tylar Umeno Valorie Lee Wisteria Lane Wolf Run Foundation Inc. Yuko and Toshiaki Keicho Kalavinka Managing Editor: Andrea A. Walter Assistant Editors: Melanie Hatter, Fujie Ohata, Ken Nakamura Advertising: Sangha members and community businesses can publish advertisements in Kalavinka. Please contact us for information! Kalavinka is published by the Ekoji Buddhist Temple, 6500 Lake Haven Lane, Fairfax Station, VA 22039, (703) Join us at Ekoji! Adult Service: Sundays at 11 a.m. Meditation: Thursdays at 8 p.m. Yoga: Mondays at 7:30 p.m. Children s Dharma School (Sept. through June): 10 a.m. family service and 11 a.m. classes Consult the Ekoji website for the complete event calendar at. EKOJI BUDDHIST TEMPLE 6500 Lake Haven Lane Fairfax Station, VA ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED FIRST CLASS