Monthly Bulletin of Berkeley Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Volume 12, Issue 4 April MIDDLE PATH Rev.

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1 BOMBU BOMBU Monthly Bulletin of Berkeley Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Volume 12, Issue 4 April 2017 MIDDLE PATH Rev. Ken Yamada On our way to visit Buddhist sites in India in January, my wife and I checked into a clean but very plain hotel. Upon entering our room, we heard a slow plodding sound of plop, plop, plop It was unmistakably a dripping toilet. My wife ordered me: Fix it! I jiggled the handle but the sound continued. I called an attendant into the room, who also jiggled the handle. He emerged with a big smile and said, Fixed! We heard plop, plop, plop We can t sleep in this room! my wife declared. I asked the attendant, Can we change rooms? He looked confused. I asked again. He went down to the front desk and returned with a big smile. Okay! We moved across the hall. Immediately we heard the roar of traffic from the road outside the window. Cars honking, motors roaring, cows mooing. I told my wife, The other room was much quieter! I asked the attendant, Can we go back? He looked confused. I asked again. He said, Okay! My story may seem reasonable in America, but this was India and we later realized how bizarre we must have seemed to hotel staff. And we learned something about selfishness, the nature of happiness, and the Buddha s search for enlightenment. In the area surrounding Bodh Gaya, where the Buddha attained enlightenment, people still live today like they did in ancient times selling fruits and vegetables from carts pulled by water buffaloes, tending to goats, burning cow patties for fuel, cooking over open fires, and living in homes built with local clay. Their lives are simple by Western standards. Women carry baskets on their heads, men without animals pull their own carts, windows are mere holes in buildings without glass, Bombu (böm bü) means foolish being, filled with passions, emotions and shortcomings. To be bombu is to be human. According to priest Shinran, we are all bombu. merchants squat next to goods spread out on blankets. The main road is paved, otherwise the ground is dirt and the air is dusty. This is village life in Bihar, India s poorest state. The average American lives at a level of comfort and convenience that most Bihar residents will never in their lifetime achieve or experience. Yet, Bihar villages are bustling and full of life, with people working, going to school, making crafts, farming, selling, shopping, socializing or just hanging out. By contrast, Americans, despite having so much more, never seem content. We tend to base our happiness on getting what we want, which always is more than we have. It s never-ending. More than 2,500 years ago, the Buddha pondered this same conundrum, remarkably in Bihar, which once was called Magadha. Before enlightenment, he was called Siddhartha, born the son of King Suddhodana. The king provided his son with a life of luxury in his palace. Our tour group stayed mostly at luxury hotels, welcomed every morning by a huge buffet offering a wide array of Western breakfast (Continued on page 4) 1

2 Date Day Time Event CALENDAR OF EVENTS April Sunday 10:00 a.m. Shotsuki/Dharma school service 2:00 p.m. All Together Now music 5 Wednesday 12:30 p.m. Mah Jong club 6 Thursday 1:00 p.m. Omigaki altar polishing 8 Saturday 12:00pm Hanamido altar decorating 9 Sunday 10:00 a.m. HANAMATSURI Buddha s birthday service 14 Friday District ministers meeting (Los Angeles) 15 Saturday Southern Cal Dobo retreat (Los Angeles) 16 Sunday 10:00 a.m. Family service/dharma school 18 Tuesday 7:30 pm Board meeting 19 Wednesday 12:30 p.m. Mah Jong Club 22 Saturday 10:00 a.m. Berkeley Dobo retreat 7:30 p.m. Concord Howakai 23 Sunday 10:00 a.m. Family Service/Dharma School (speaker: Rev. Nobuko Miyoshi) 30 Sunday 10:00 a.m. Family service/dharma school May 7 Sunday 10:00 a.m. Family service/dharma school (speaker: Mr. Rami Elkinaway) UPCOMING EVENTS APRIL TOBAN (Toban #2) Eiko Iwata, Connie Morita, Toyoko Araki, Nina Costales, Jane Fujii, Anna Hightower, Alice Horio, Shirley Imai, Tazuko Jitosho, Chidori Kubota, Yukari McCarthy, Karen Morioka, Nina Rizzo, Christine Sullivan, Tomiko Tanigawa, Lorraine Yoshikawa SHOTSUKI MEMORIAL SERVICE Please note, our Shotsuki service will be held on April 2. The following families will observe memorials for family members who passed away this month: Fujikawa, Yokota, Nakai, Araki, Nakamura, Nagatoshi, Ouye, Otani, H. Fujii, H. Ouye. We hope you ll attend this month s Shotsuki service. elebrate Hanamatsuri! C Birth of the Buddha Our annual service commemorating the birth of Shakyamuni Buddha, which occurred 2, 600 years ago, will be held on Sunday April 9. This is a special service in which we pour sweet tea over a baby Buddha statue, symbolizing the sweet rain that fell the day he was born. We will decorate the altar with (Continued on page 3) 2

3 (Continued from page 2) lots of flowers the night before. Lunch will be served. Schedule: Everyone is invited to the following activities: Omigaki: Thursday, April 6, 1:00 p.m. Hanamido altar flower decorating: Saturday, April 8, 12:00 p.m. Hanamatsuri service: Sunday, April 9, 10:00 a.m. Please join us for this special service, which includes a skit by our Dharma school. All Dharma school students are encouraged to attend. Lunch follows the service! DOBO RETREAT On Saturday April 22, we will have a one-day retreat/seminar at our temple sponsored by our Higashi Honganji North America District (NAD) with Rev. Nobuko Miyoshi of West Covina Higashi Honganji, speaking in English, and Rev. Ryoko Osa, of the North America Higashi Honganji Bishop s office, speaking in Japanese. Please see the attached flyer for more information. In addition, Rev. Miyoshi also will speak at the Concord Howakai on Saturday night at 7 p.m. and the next day (April 23) at our 10 a.m. Sunday service. Please join us! TEMPLE LIBRARY We have several new additions to our Buddhist library near the temple s front door, including more books by Thich Nhat Hanh, whose books are easy to understand, as well as DVDs on World Religions, including Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism. Other books on Jodo Shinshu, Zen, general Buddhism and the Buddha s life are available. Check it out! ISLAM TALK Next month at our May 7 Sunday service at 10 a.m., our guest speaker will be Mr. Rami Elkinaway from the Council on Islamic American Relations, who will talk about Islam and Muslims in the U.S.. He also teaches Islam and coaches a youth basketball team at a local Islamic Center. Muslims today face many of the same challenges Japanese Americans faced 60 years ago. Please come hear this special guest speaker. PLEDGE DONATION Many of you received a request for our annual pledge donation. The upkeep, repair and maintenance of our temple, as well as various programs and activities depend on the support and generosity of our members. Unlike other organizations, we don t require a membership fee, however we do rely on voluntary pledge donations from our members. If you d like to make a pledge, simply send a check for any amount, marked 2017 pledge to the temple, payable to Berkeley Higashi Honganji. To everyone who has pledged already for this year, we thank you very much. Spring Bazaar 3

4 (Continued from page 1) items, Indian food and even some Asian dishes. I thought how Siddhartha in the palace must have awoken to what seemed a similarly huge buffet, especially compared to what villagers outside the palace gates were eating. Despite living in such luxury, Siddhartha ultimately was dissatisfied, prompting him to leave home and seek spirituality in the forest. There he met five ascetics with whom he followed severe practices such as living in poverty, wearing rags for clothes and constant meditation. He fasted so much, he began to resemble a skeleton, mere skin and bones. This phase of Siddhartha s life is symbolized in a statue of him in meditation. My tour group presented me with a replica on our trip, a picture of which accompanies this article (Thanks everyone!) Siddhartha became so weak, he collapsed. He was nursed back to health, first with a bowl of porridge given by Sujata, a young village girl. Siddhartha came to understand the folly of living to the extremes of self-denial and luxury. Instead he began to follow the Middle Path, accepting his basic needs, but taking only what is necessary to live. I know now why the attendant looked confused by my request. He and other villagers will never in their lifetime stay in a room as luxurious ours. How could we possibly be unhappy with it? He must have thought we were crazy. After returning home, I really feel how as Americans, we have way too much stuff. I don t need more, in fact, I m trying to clean out and give away things I don t use. I really question the role materialism plays in achieving happiness. According to the Buddha, not much. It s been easier to let go. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS BIG THANK YOU S TO THE FOLLOWING SPRING FOOD BAZAAR Thank you to all the WBA and ABA members, various helpers and friends with their time, efforts, crafts and baked goods to help make The WBA Spring Bazaar another success. Our apologies if any names were inadvertently left off the lists. Saturday Preparations: Janice Adachi, Wendy Adachi, Toyoko Araki, Nina Costales, Chris Fujii, Jane Fujii, Anna Hightower, Hiroko Higuchi, Akiko Imai, Shirley Imai, Eiko Iwata, Itsuko Jitosho, Tazuko Jitosho, Iris Morioka, Karen Morioka, Connie Morita, Dorise Ouye, Kellie Ouye, Judi Tanaka, Debbie Yatabe, Lorraine Yoshikawa Baked Goods: Clayton Au, Shirley Imai, Chris Fujii, Karen Morioka, Satoko Davidson, Jane Fujii, Dick Horio, Eiko Iwata, Wendy Adachi, Tazuko Jitosho, Mayumi Beppu, Lynne Ogawa, Julie Kihara, Lorraine Yoshikawa, Lisa Toyama, Dorise Ouye, Darlene Wong, Grace Goto, Sachi Yamada, Laura Imai, Yukari McCarthy, Anna Hightower Crafts: Naomi Yamada, Karen Morioka, Janice Adachi, Wendy Adachi, Anna Hightower, Akiko Imai, Jane Fujii, Shirley Imai, Nam Fujii, Nina Costales Volunteers: Jack Toyama, Owen Morioka, Taro Raskin-Yokoyama, Peter Sullivan, Taro McCarthy, Joey Ouye, Kenny Ouye, Mayumi Beppu, Leslie Shintani, Judi Tanaka, Darlene Wong, Patti Yamashita, Lynne Ogawa, Laura Imai, Kayoko Raskin-Yokoyama, Lowell Toyofuku, David Asazawa, Paul Asazawa, Steve Yatabe Teriyaki chicken: Irv Yamashita, Jimmy Kihara, Mike Yatabe, Dave Yatabe, Steve Morioka, Adult Buddhist Association, and others Udon: Lowell Toyofuku, Paul Asazawa, David Asazawa, Steve Yatabe Higan service: Mr. dii Lewis (guest speaker) Credits: This is a publication of the Berkeley Higashi Honganji. Please contact Rev. Ken Yamada at 1524 Oregon Street, Berkeley, CA ken_yamada@rocketmail.com. Newsletter design by Kevin Sullivan 4

5 HIGASHI HONGANJI NORTH AMERICA DISTRICT 2017 Northern California Local Dobo Retreat We wish to invite you to attend the 2017 Northern California Local Dobo Retreat of the Higashi Honganji North America District. The lecture and discussion sessions will be given separately in English and Japanese. To register, please send the application form below to your local temple. Date Saturday, April 22, 2017 Time 10:00 am 4:00 pm Speaker English Group Rev. Nobuko Miyoshi (West Covina Higashi Honganji) Speaker Japanese Group Rev. Ryoko Osa (North America District) Location Berkeley Higashi Honganji 1524 Oregon Street, Berkeley, California Phone: (515) Fee $12.00 (Lunch included) Please make your check payable to Berkeley Higashi Honganji. If you have any questions, please contact your local temple or the district office at: Higashi Honganji North America District Office 505 E. 3rd St., Los Angeles, California Phone: (213) / northamerica@higashihonganji.org Detach Here I would like to participate in the Northern California Dobo Local Retreat (English Group). Name Phone # or Fill out the form below and send it to your temple by April 15 (Sat). 5

6 505 E. 3rd St., Los Angeles, California Phone: (213) / northamerica@higashihonganji.org 6

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9 NO EXTREMES The following thought occurred to me: How if I take food little by little, a small quantity of the juice of green gram, or vetch, or lentils, or peas! As I took such a small quantity of solid and liquid food, my body became extremely emaciated Just as a string of beads, even so did my backbone stand out and bend in for lack of food. Just as the rafters of a dilapidated hall fall this way and that, even so appeared my ribs through lack of sustenance. Just as in a deep well may be seen stars sunk deep in the water, even so did my eyeballs appear deep-sunk in their sockets, being devoid of food The ascetic Siddhartha was now fully convinced from personal experience of the utter futility of self-mortification which, though considered indispensable for deliverance by the ascetic philosophers of the day, actually weakened one s intellect, and resulted in lassitude of spirit He conceived the idea of adopting the golden mean, which later became one of the salient features of his teaching. (from The Buddha and His Teachings by Narada Maha Thera, Singapore Buddhist Meditation Center, 1973, available in our temple library. Check it out!) Berkeley Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple 1524 Oregon Street Berkeley, CA U.S.A. Address Correction Requested