Vol. 52, No. 11 November In Need of Wisdom

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1 Web: Vol. 52, No. 11 November 2009 REV. USUKI S PAGE In Need of Wisdom When people are happy and satisfied, class differences disappear, good deeds are promoted, virtues are increased, and people come to respect one another. Then everyone becomes prosperous; the weather and temperature becomes normal; the sun and the moon and stars shine naturally; rains and winds come timely; and all natural calamities disappear. The Teaching of Buddha I have encountered many people who are impressed with the WLA Temple Onaijin. I was also in awe of its overwhelming beauty when I first saw it five years ago. So it is always an honor and pleasure to adorn it with flowers, candles, and incense, and I consider it the most sacred place in my life. But our daily, mundane, and ordinary life is very different from that peaceful, spiritual world that our Onaijin represents. In our lives, we seek to get pleasure out of the things we see, touch, and feel but it s limited. Whenever we re feeling good, our thoughts are usually about things we like, such as praise, gain, pleasure, and fame. We don t have to go looking for this, but when it is there and we acknowledge it, then the world seems to be all right. For that moment anyway, there is no pain in sight. We smile, laugh, and feel beautiful, healthy, and even smarter. Conversely, when we re feeling uncomfortable, irritable, and fed up, our thoughts and emotions are probably revolving around pain, loss, disgrace, regret, or blame. Perhaps, many of our problems lie within these realities. In Buddhism, we use wisdom as the foremost means to understand how our mind, body, and environment work. We even say during difficult times, I m in need of wisdom. From this wisdom, we can understand how we are interconnected to all things in life, people, events, environment, and so on. Our Buddha, Amida Buddha, is known as the Buddha of Wisdom and Compassion. To truly become one with insight into our existence in this world is to gain the wisdom and compassion of Amida Buddha. The Japanese word for wisdom is chie. The first syllable chi means knowledge the truth. Chi is the ability to see the surface of things or the external aspect of things just as they are. We assume that, unless we are blind, we are seeing things just as they are. But, in fact, we see things on the basis of our likes or dislikes, or for our own convenience, and judge them as good or bad. As a result of this self-centered notion, we hurt others, often without even noticing it. But wisdom dictates that we let things be as they are, that we see a person as is, and leave it at that. The most important aspect of wisdom is to not let discrimination, judgment, or opinion cause us to categorize people as good or bad. This is the biggest flaw humans have judgment based strictly on what we see. (cont d on page 2)

2 West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple November 2009 The second part of chie is e, insight. Insight is being able to see the hidden side or internal aspect of things just as they are. For human beings, who cannot even see the outside of things as they are, it is virtually impossible to see the inside of things as they function naturally. It takes a while to truly engage with people and understand how they think and behave. Even in marriage, you can be working on the relationship until the end. Overlooking all conditions and being able to truly see another person s heart and mind with pure compassion is chie, wisdom. This mind is the mind of Amida Buddha. As long as we re living on this earth, we need something more than our own abilities to be able to live a noble, humble, loving, and compassionate life. We need a spiritual and religious life that is sound, wisdom-filled, and full of love. This comes from our association with Amida Buddha a life of Onembutsu. Onembutsu allows us to see life as is in its most natural sense, filled with wisdom and compassion. The person of wisdom, who can see both the inside and outside of things, just as they are, is a person who accepts both the pleasures and sorrows of others, and walks together with them. We call such a person a Buddha. Rev. Fumiaki Usuki Shinshu Corner Introduction to Jodo Shinshu (Pure Land) Three Sutras From: The Three Pure Land Sutras, Volume I, Shin Buddhism Translation Series, Hongwanji International Center (continuation from October issue) I. The Amida Sutra - Outline of the Sutra The Amida Sutra was translated from Sanskrit text into Chinese in 402 by Kumarajiva. Not only within the Pure Land school but also within Mahayana in general, it enjoyed great popularity for hundreds of years in China, Korea, and Japan. Needless to say, the popularity of the sutra attests to the popularity of Amida Buddha, the central figure of this sutra. A well-known characteristic of this sutra is that Sakyamuni started preaching without being requested to do so by his disciples. It has thus been called the sutra delivered spontaneously, not in response to a question. Paying attention to it, Shinran states in the True Teaching, Practice, and Realization of the Pure Land Way: (Next Bulletin: Explicit and Implicit View of the Sutra) Among the Mahayana sutras, this sutra is the one that was delivered spontaneously, not in response to a question. Thus, the reason Sakyamuni Tathagata appeared in the world, and the true intent of the witness and protection of Buddhas countless as the sands of the Ganges lies solely in teaching this [sutra]. (CWS I: 227) Shinran thus emphasizes Sakyamuni s spontaneous preaching of the Amida Sutra. This sutra consists of three main sections: 1. Prologue Sakyamuni s spontaneous preaching of the sutra. 2. Main Body i. Description of the Land of Perfect Bliss. ii. Cause for birth in Amida s Pure Land. iii. Praise of the teaching and protection of the practicer by all the Buddhas in the six quarters. 3. Epilogue Praise of Sakyamuni for expounding this sutra. 2

3 West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple November 2009 PRESIDENT S MESSAGE It s already the November Bulletin and I m writing this article in the still sweltering heat of September in order to meet the Bulletin deadline. How does one write about the chill of November while wearing shorts and a T shirt shortly after Ohigan? It s surreal. Our annual Eitaikyo Service will be held on November 8 at 11:00 a.m. with our own Rev. Fumiaki Usuki offering us insights into the Buddhadharma in English while Rev. Seikan Fukuma will be engaging us in Japanese. Eitaikyo is an abbreviation of Eitai Dokyo which means the perpetual recitation of the sutras. It is a time to pay respect and to honor those who have departed. Donations to the Perpetual Eitaikyo Fund are to preserve the memory of our loved one(s) forever. By donating to this fund, the deceased is remembered each year at our Eitaikyo Service. Everyone is welcome. On Saturday, November 14, at 5:30 p.m., Buddhist Men will be hosting a Longevity Celebration honoring its members who have reached, or will reach, auspicious ages of 60, 70, 77, 80, 88, 90, or 99 this year. This year Buddhist Men will honor, among seven others, two members who are, or will be, 90 (Sotsuju). For the first time in my memory of temple events, Buddhist Men are inviting Asoka and BWA members and their spouses for a delicious steak or salmon dinner free of charge! Reservations are required and you can read about all the details regarding this celebration later in this edition of the Bulletin. Please plan to attend this fun evening. November 15, Sunday, at 9:30 a.m. we will hold our annual Thanksgiving Service. Join us. And on November 22, Sunday, at 9:30 a.m., our regular Sunday service will be led by Rev. Ensei Nekoda while Rev. Usuki attends to the needs of Oxnard Buddhist Temple as its temporary supervising minister. Rev. Nekoda s generous participation as both a Jodo Shinshu minister as well as a member of our temple sangha has been a special gift. He regularly assists us and Rev. Usuki at our services and actively participates in many of our events. He is a valued member serving each of us in this special capacity and I thank him publically for his many years of service to WLA. We are all so appreciative of Nekoda Sensei s presence and good cheer. May we all awaken to the dharma. Contact me anytime at (310) or at wlabtpres.rick@live.com. Namo Amida Butsu, Rick Stambul, WLABT President 3

4 West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple October 2009 REFLECTION Jeff Wilson As Shin Buddhists, we have particular traditional scriptures that we return to again and again as guides in the religious life. The writings of our spiritual ancestors Shinran and Rennyo are especially important to us. Since they are important, we should reflect on how and why we go to them for nourishment. The point of hearing Gobunsho or reading Tannisho is not to have abstract dogma which is utterly alien to Jodo Shinshu preached at passive, ill-informed recipients. Rather, the reason these documents from the tradition are so well-loved and so often returned to is that they allow us to encounter Rennyo and Shinran in their own circumstances, and to write these texts ourselves along with them through our own lives. Gobunsho, Tannisho, Shoshinge, and so on did not descend fully-formed in fossilized amber from heaven, nor are they some sort of Bible that perfectly encapsulates the Word of God. In fact, they were produced by warm-blooded living beings in difficult situations, who came to entrust in Other Power through the living of their own lives. Likewise, we come to trust not through practices or doctrines, but through the arising of the settled heart within the turmoil of our ordinary challenges, loves, attachments, and failures. Shinran and Rennyo were not enlightened buddhas they were the recipients, like many others, of great wisdom and compassion. They were us. When we hear their voices in their writings, we hear the joys and also disappointments of real men who struggled with the teachings and their relationships, and in the process left us invaluable records of their shinjin-infused lives. These were long lives, full of mistakes and successes, with lots of joy and sorrow. Over the course of their lifetimes, Shinran s and Rennyo s religious understandings changed and matured, as we can see by reading their works chronologically. Shinjin did not freeze them into a single, locked perspective, but freed them from calculation and anxiety so that they could respond to life naturally. Thus when Rennyo wrote of his sadness, his tears actually fell and smudged the original copy of his Gobunsho. In the same manner, we will have truly understood Shinran and Rennyo when our own tears fall upon reading Tannisho or Gobunsho. At the moment of writing these were not words but feelings, emotions that came out as nouns and verbs in the same way that nembutsu is not the six characters of Na-Mu-A-Mi-Da-Butsu but is the vocalization of overflowing gratitude. This is why abstract dogma or rigid fundamentalism is alien to Jodo Shinshu. Shinjin is not assent to beliefs or doctrines which are secondary phenomena that arise out of subsequent human attempts to define the inconceivable but a heart-reliance that frees us from such deadends. I don t mean by this that we cannot understand Shinran and Rennyo at all if we don t cry each and every time we hear Gobunsho. These great writings work on many levels, and we may each receive different things from them, especially at different parts of our lives. There is no single, right approach to or interpretation of these scriptures, just as the sutras of the Buddha allow for a breadth of interpretations so that they might guide and nourish as large a number of people as possible. Rather, what I intend is a caution and an invitation. Let us be humble about assuming our ideas about the great men and women of our tradition are fully accurate, for who can claim to fully know the innermost heart of another? And at the same time, I invite you to encounter them again through the eyes and ears of the heart; which is to say, to meet them through your own life and struggles. Like you, Shinran and Rennyo were the children of real mothers and fathers. Therefore they felt love for their parents and also chafed at the restrictions that parents place on them. They were spouses of living human beings, which means they fought and made up, acted thoughtlessly and tried to please their wives. They were parents of many children, so they knew fear, heartache, frustration, pride, and unbreakable love. As we experience the facts of our own lives, we come closer to these living men and women of the past, and begin to perceive the range of circumstances in which they said the nembutsu. At such a point, we could be said to be writing the Gobunsho and Shoshinge ourselves, through our own living of the nembutsu. 4

5 West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple November 2009 NOVEMBER SHOTSUKI HOYO, 10 a.m. Saturday, November 7 Guest Speaker (J): Rev. Ensei Nekoda Arita, Toshio Deguchi, Setsuko Dote, Shikanosuke Fujimoto, Helen Hada, Art Hada, Niichi Hata, Tsutomu Hatanaka, Torazo Ichiho, Tsuyako Ige, Sueko Ikeda, Kuni Ishibashi, William Kakehashi, Tatsuyo Kawaguchi, Doris Kitagawa, Kaoru Kurauchi, Tamayo Kurokawa, Jure Maeda, Goro Marumoto, Shigeru Maruyama, Hideo Masukawa, Tomoko Matsumoto, Kichinosuke Miyada, Gonji Miyake, Torao Mochizuki, Keiko Morikawa, Gosuke Morita, Chiyoki Murakami, Sugae Nagaoka, Hiroshi Nagaoka, Sachi Nagayama, Yoshio Nakagawa, Ayako Nakagawa, Misao Nakagawa, Shinso Nakamura, Frank Nakamura, Michael Naramura, Hiroshi Nimori, Misu Nishida, Hirotoshi Nishimoto, Akira Nishimoto, Kyo Nomura, Toshihiro Nonoguchi, Matsuyo Ohigashi, Hozumi Okita, David Okitsu, Jou Onami, Yaeko Oshinomi, Sally Osumi, Chie Ota, Kane Ota, Tokizo Oyanagi, Tamaichi Sherriff, Shirley Shibata, Shozo Shimano, Katsu Takata, Hatsuko Takemoto, Yonezo Tanimura, Hirokichi Tanimura, Thomas Terashita, Masaru Tsuruzawa, Ayako Watanabe, Osamu Yahata, Tozo Yamaguchi, Helen Yamaji, Chieru Yoshidome, Saichi Yukawa, Anthony CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILIES OF: Masaye Maruyama January 29, September 17, 2009 Shigemitsu Ishii January 14, September 27,

6 West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple November 2009 WELCOME NEW TEMPLE MEMBER Walter Okitsu BWA NEWS Connie Yahata Our September meeting was held on Sunday, September 20. Connie Yahata expressed Thank You's to Toban 1 and others for staying after the August meeting to help fold the monthly newsletter. Led by Shirley Ito, Mary Hahn, Haru Matsumune, and Yasuko Shohara, prepared and served a light dinner and refreshments on Friday, September 11 for the Southern District Council service and meeting. Betty Takahashi also volunteered her expert help We wish to extend a special acknowledgement to Kazuko Seike. She not only encouraged members to attend the September 12 Ohigan Seminar, but also provided transportation to the temple for those who were unable to drive themselves. The SDBWA meeting was held at Venice Temple on Saturday, September 19. Haru Matsumune and Yasuko Shohara attended. A FBWA conference took place in Sacramento on October 9 11, with the theme, Looking Back, Looking Ahead - Passing on the Legacy. Haru Matsumune, Beverly Yahata, and Connie Yahata attended. Kayo Ohkawahira, chairperson of Toban 3, was busy with her group, supplying salads for the luncheon on October 4 when Venice, Oxnard, and Santa Barbara temples visited WLA s Sunday Service. Toban 3 also provided help on October 17 for the annual Buddhist Men/BWA Memorial Service. October was the month when the Ex-Officio met with the two other members of the nominating committee for the purpose of selecting a slate of officers for the upcoming year. Be sure to stay tuned for the results! Future meetings: 12:00 noon (election) and 10:00 a.m. (after cleanup). We encourage all BWA members to attend! DHARMA SCHOOL NEWS Grace Mizushima Dharma School started the new school year on Sunday, September 13. This year is especially exciting, as we have a High School class for the first time in MANY years. This also means we now officially have a JR. YBA again in the WLA Buddhist Temple as well. We have many things planned for our High Schoolers, one of them being Junior Teachers for our younger Dharma School students. Each of our High Schoolers has been assigned to assist our regular Dharma School teachers so that we can groom them into becoming fullfledged Dharma School teachers (and hopefully the current Dharma School Teachers can retire someday!). On Sunday October 4, we hosted the Venice, Oxnard, and Santa Barbara Sanghas at our regular Sunday Service, followed by lunch. It was a great turnout, as we had over 130 people for service and lunch! Dharma School would like to thank the BWA for providing salad and the Buddhist Men for providing cake as our dessert. Thank you also to the parents for coming out early to prepare the lasagna and garlic bread. I heard many compliments from our guests, so Good job, parents!! As I write this column, the next event will be Family Fun Night (see flyer on next page) on Saturday, October 24 from 5:00 p.m. We look forward to seeing you in your costumes, ready to enter the Haunted Temple downstairs in the basement!! See you then. Friday, Nov. 20 7:00 p.m. 6

7 West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple November 2009 ANNUAL BUDDHIST MEN LONGEVITY CELEBRATION The Buddhist Men s annual social night, the Longevity Celebration (formerly called Kanreki Party ), takes place this year on Saturday, November 14. Members reaching the auspicious age of 60, 70, 77, 80, 88, 90, or 99 anytime this year, or last year, are being honored. The reason we are honoring last year s celebrants this year is because the Longevity Celebration was postponed last year. According to our records, the following members reached (or will reach) an auspicious age during these two years: 60 (Kanreki) (Koki) Stanley Raposa 77 (Kiju) Tosh Ishioka, Kei Okamoto 80 (Sanju) Jack Fujimoto Mike Hara, Tak Morimoto 88 (Beiju) John Ikkanda 90 (Sotsuju) Bob Fujimoto, Ben Yamanaka 99 (Hakuju) This year we have two members celebrating 90 years! Banzai! Unhappily, we have no kanreki celebrants. Because Buddhist Men records may not be completely accurate, we may have overlooked others who should be honored this year. Anyone aware of such omissions should contact President Milton Iwamoto immediately at The party will begin at 5:30 p.m. This year we will have the traditional steak or salmon. Whatever your choice, we guarantee it will be great. The dinner will be followed by Bingo with plenty of terrific prizes. All Buddhist Men members and their spouses are urged to attend and wish our honorees continued longevity. Also, Asoka Fujinkai and BWA members and their spouses, and certain other guests have been invited. This year, there will be NO CHARGE for anyone attending! Please call Hidemi Ohkawahira ( ) with your reservation, with choice of steak or salmon, by October 31. Be sure to include your spouse if she will be attending too. RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED to insure we order enough steak and salmon. See you there! BUDDHIST HUMOR From the September 28 issue of the Los Angeles Times: 7

8 West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple November 2009 FALL OHIGAN SEMINAR AND SERVICE LUNCH AFTER OHIGAN SERVICE <<< Photo taken after Ohigan Service on Sunday This year s Fall Ohigan Seminar was held on Saturday, September 12. For the Japanese group, speakers were Rev. Kiyonobu Kuwahara (left) and Rev. Yūki Sugahara (second from left). Rev. Kuwahara is Director of the Jodo Shinshu Correspondence Course, and also of the International Ministerial Overseas Program (IMOP). He works out of the BCA Jodo Shinshu Center. Rev. Sugahara is a ministerial candidate from Japan in IMOP. For the English group, Rev. Fumiaki Usuki (right) was the speaker. Second from the right is Rev. Ensei Nekoda. <<< Sunday morning, September 13 Traditionally, lunch is served after our Fall Ohigan service, and Buddhist Men is in charge. Here Buddhist Men president Milton Iwamoto supervises BM members Hidemi Ohkawahira (background) and Stan Raposa (right) to make sure the teriyaki chicken is finger-licking good. As is frequently the case nowadays, the BM received much help from ladies and other non-bm members, for which the BM is very grateful. JEFF WILSON VISITS OCBC SHINRAN SHONIN 750 TH MEMORIAL Make plans now to attend the unique event described on pages 9-10 following. Contact the Temple Office to get the full package of information about this event. It is available as an attachment to or as a printed document. <<< Jeff Wilson (left) and Rick Stambul at OCBC For their Ohigan Seminar, Orange County Buddhist Church (OCBC) invited Jeff Wilson to be the English speaker. He was also the speaker at their Sunday service the following day, followed in the afternoon with a discussion of his popular book, Buddhism of the Heart, with the OCBC Book Club. A few WLA friends of Jeff made the long trip to the seminar, and Jeff s great presentation on intertogetherness made the effort very rewarding. 10 TH CAREGIVER S CONFERENCE See pages Many in the temple may be interested in the subjects covered by this conference. For more information, use the contacts listed in pages 15 or 16. The Temple Office has no more information than what is printed here. 8

9 Buddhist Churches of America February 27-28, 2010 Dear BCA Sangha Member, We trust that this letter finds you and your family enjoying the light and life of nembutsu in your daily life. On behalf of the Buddhist Churches of America we are truly grateful for your support and involvement in carrying out our mission to realize and share the heart of the Buddha Dharma in our families and communities. We would like to invite you to participate in two special events on February 27 and 28, 2010, when the BCA will be commemorating Shinran Shonin s 750 th memorial anniversary with a symposium and service at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, California. Following the Hongwanji s theme for the memorial observances, we have adopted an abbreviated English version, Peace and Tranquility, to be the focus of our programs. This historic gathering will be held in conjunction with the annual BCA National Council meeting hosted by the Coast District Council. The symposium will feature a keynote address by Dr. Rev. Ken Tanaka of Musashino University, Tokyo, a range of workshops, an interactive Shin Buddhist Expo, banquet speaker Pieper Toyama, Head of the Pacific Buddhist Academy, Honolulu, HI. On Sunday a commemoration memorial service will be open to the public at no charge, and will feature a new musically based program. In tribute to the spirit of Shinran Shonin s efforts to share the heart of Nembutsu by making the teachings accessible to people in all walks of life, the BCA National Board has designated the establishment of the Jodo Shinshu Center located in Berkeley, California, as our 750 th memorial commemoration project. Dedicated in the fall of 2006, the JSC has become the center of our religious education programs by housing the Institute of Buddhist Studies, Center for Buddhist Education, and the BCA Bookstore. Other tenants include a Hongwanji branch office out of which an international English correspondence course and ministerial training program are administered, and Ryukoku University s study abroad program. We look forward to your participation in this special commemorative event that we sincerely hope will bring our sangha together, affirming the spiritual legacy we ve received from the teachings of Shinran Shonin, in Peace and Tranquility. Gassho, Rev. Ron Kobata and Judy Kono Co-chairs of the Shinran Shonin 750 th Planning Committee

10 Buddhist Churches of America SHINRAN SHONIN 750 TH MEMORIAL SYMPOSIUM Fairmont Hotel, San Jose, California Saturday, February 27, :15 pm 5:30pm Shinran Shonin s Wish for Us and the World: From Inner Peace to Outer Peace Keynote Speaker: Dr. Rev. Ken Tanaka Dr. Rev. Ken Tanaka is a professor of Buddhist studies at Musashino University in Tokyo. Prior to that he was a professor at the Institute of Buddhist Studies of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He is currently the president of the International Association of Shin Buddhist Studies. He is the author of numerous texts, including The Dawn of Chinese Pure Land Buddhist Doctrine, Ocean: An Introduction to Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in America, The Faces of Buddhism in America, and many scholarly articles. SESSION I Symposium Speakers 3:10pm 4:10pm!"$#&% '(*) Amerika Jodo Shinshu no Ayumi to Tenbo to Sono Igi-Amerika Bukkyo Zentai wo Haike ni Speaker: Dr. Rev. Ken Tanaka The Meaning and Potential of Music in Shin Buddhism Speaker: Rev. Harry Gyokyo Bridge Rev. Harry Gyokyo Bridge spent various parts of his youth in both Tokyo and the Boston area. He encountered Buddhism while in college, and although he had dreams of becoming a professional musician, he instead found his way into the Buddhist ministry. He received Masters Degrees from both the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley, California and Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan. Rev. Bridge served as the resident minister of the Buddhist Church of Lodi for two and a half years and was assigned to the Buddhist Church of Oakland in January of Shinran Shonin and His Family; A Personal History Speaker: Professor James Dobbins James Dobbins is the James H. Fairchild Professor of Religious Studies at Oberlin College in Ohio. He is a wellknown scholar of Japanese religions, with a particular interest in Japanese Pure Land, Jodo Shinshu, and women in medieval Japanese Buddhism. He is the author of two texts, Jodo Shinshu: Shin Buddhism in Medieval Japan and Letters of the Nun Eshinni: Images of Pure Land Buddhism in Medieval Japan, as well as numerous scholarly articles. The Practice of Buddhism in Everyday Family Life Speaker: Jacqueline Kramer Jacqueline Kramer has been studying and practicing Theravadin Buddhism for 30 years. She is the founder and director of the Hearth Foundation of Northern California, which is dedicated to supporting and inspiring mothering and homemaking as a spiritual practice. Ms. Kramer is also the author of a widely acclaimed book, Buddha Mom, in which she explores how she has become a better Buddhist through opening herself to motherhood. SESSION II Shin Expo 4:20pm 5:30pm Shinran Shonin Video; Book Reading & Signing (Dr. Rev.Tanaka, Prof. James Dobbins, Ms.Jacqueline Kramer); Interactive Techno Display of Jodo Shinshu Communities in the World; Peace and Tranquility Displays; Display of selected Dharma School Art Posters and the Life of Shinran Shonin Panels.

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12 Kagoshima Heritage Club Please attend our GENERAL MEETING AND PROGRAM November 14, 2009 (Saturday), 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Location: West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple 2003 Corinth Avenue West Los Angeles, CA (310) General Meeting Program 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. All KHC members are encouraged to attend the General Meeting. Non-members are more than welcome to attend the General Meeting but may also attend only the program. PROGRAM Talk by Ted Uchida: Dreams Beyond the Pacific Until the end of World War II, Japanese Americans could be neatly categorized into three distinct generational groups: Issei, Nisei, and Sansei. With postwar immigration from Japan, interracial marriage, and other factors, the term Nikkei has a much more diverse meaning today. The postwar Japanese immigrant experience is a new and vital dimension in the overall story of Japanese Americans. KHC vice president for Northern California, Ted Uchida, will present the story of his late father, Zenichiro Uchida, who was dubbed The Father of New Immigrants. Through Zenichiro Uchida s tireless efforts, 350 Kagoshima natives were issued visas to America under the Asian refugee provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act of We will discover the far-reaching ramifications of postwar immigration from Kagoshima (and Japan in general) and how Mr. Uchida s inspiring story evolved into the book Yume Umi o Wataru. For more information, contact: Grace Iwashita (310) or gmiwashita@yahoo.com Hope to see you there!

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17 November 2009 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday :30 am Service/ Study Class (E) 1 pm Study Class (E) 10 am Shotsuki hoyo Rev. Ensei Nekoda (J) 12 pm BWA mtg 7:30 pm board mtg Rev. Usuki off 7:30 pm Taiko Rev. Usuki off NO Sunday service 11 am Eitaikyo service, Rev. Seikan Fukuma Oxnard: 5 pm Service, study class Oxnard: 7 pm board mtg 1 pm Study Class (E) 7 pm B-Men mtg 7:30 pm Taiko 2:30 pm SDMA mtg 7 pm SD Council svc/mtg 1-4 pm Kagoshima Heritage Club 5:30 pm Buddhist Men longevity party :30 am Thanksgiving Service 1 pm Study Class (E) 7 pm Bingo Oxnard: 10 am Family, Eitaikyo, Shotsuki Hoyo svc Oxnard: 3 pm Family and DS service Oxnard: 7 pm Service, study class Rev. Usuki off 7:30 pm Asoka svc/mtg 7:30 pm Taiko SB: 5 pm Service, study class SB: 3 pm Family, Shotsuki Hoyo svc :30 am Service/ Study Class (E), Rev. Ensei Nekoda Oxnard: 10 am Service, Rev. F. Usuki 11/25-27: Temple closed 29 Temple closed noon 80+ lunch Bulletin folding toban: Buddhist Men Office hours: 10 am - 4 pm Phone: westlabt@verizon.net Web site: 19

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20 WEST LOS ANGELES BUDDHIST TEMPLE 2003 Corinth Avenue Los Angeles, CA Return Service Requested Non-Profit Org. U. S. Postage PAID Los Angeles, CA Permit No Major Religious Services This Month (See Calendar page for schedule of regular services) November 2009 Sunday, November 8 11:00 a.m. Eitaikyo Service Guest Speaker: Rev. Seikan Fukuma (J) Sunday, November 15 9:30 a.m. Thanksgiving Service