Kelowna Buddhist Temple

Transcription

1 March 25, 2016 Kelowna Buddhist Temple The New Dharma Express PO. Box 22092, RPO Capri Centre Kelowna, B.C. V1Y 9N9 phone Special points of interest: Sun. April 3, Dharma School Wed. April 6, TSS Meditation Thurs. April 7, TSS Meditation, Temple Exec Fri. April 8, Sat. April 9, Temple Yard Clean-up 8am Sun. April 10, Hanamatsuri and Dharma Shotsuki 2:30pm Wed. April 13, TSS Meditation Thurs. April 14, TSS Meditation, Chow Mein Prep 6pm Fri. April 15,, Chow Mein Prep 6pm Monthly Memorial APRIL Miss Mrs. Mrs. Mrs. Miss Mrs. Mrs. Hanayo Ueda Masajiro Taniguchi Jusaku Yoshihara Shojiro Kimura Tora Shiosaki Masakichi Nishi Shinichi Nakayama Taka Tsuji Tomechiyo Teramura George Nishi Tsuyuko Nakayama Shigeharu Nishi Genzaburo Tamagi Yoshitaro Kitagawa Shigeto Kimura Ume Tatebe Setsuyo Tashima Yoshitaka Wada Carl Nishi Doug Mori Atsushi Sugimoto Special points of interest: Sat. April 16, Chow Mein Prep 8am Sun. April 17, Chow Mein Prep 8am, Pick-up 1-3pm Sun. April 24, Dharma School Wed. April 27, Clean-up Altar Toban Group #1 Rick Suzuki Peggy Tanaka M/M Alec Pelletier Janice Richardson Nina Typusiak M/M Tim Tahara M/M Jack Yamaoka M/M Rob Eikenaar Geri Nishi Julie Mori Lorne Terada Paul & Chantel Merckx Chairperson April: Hanamatsuri April 10, Dharma School Children Dharma Shotsuki April 10 Herb Tanaka Special points of interest: Thurs. April 28, Fri. April 29, TSS Meditation Inside this issue: Sensei 2 Fujinkai 3 Calendar 4 Executive 5 Recipes 6 Japanese 8 Kid s 9 Donations 10 Temple Yard Clean-up April 9th at 8am bring your rake and shovel we need help! In Gassho Spring Chow Mein April 17th Pick-up between 1 and 3pm Preparation Dates: April 14th, 15th at 6pm & 16th, 17th at 8am Chow Mein $8, Sushi $5.50, Gyoza $3.75 kbtchowmein@gmail.c om Or call

2 Page 2 From Sensei In Amida s Compassionate Grasp We are now looking forward to Hanamatsuri, the celebration of Buddha s birthday. In our Kelowna Temple our Dharma school students prepare the altar and organize the Hanamatsuri Service. This is a wonderful time of year for all of us. Buddhism is now one of the major religions in the world. After 2,500 years of history, more than one billion people throughout the world are followers of Buddhism. As you know, there are many different schools of Buddhism. During the First Century, Buddhism divided into two main groups: Mahayana Buddhism (Northern Asia) and Theravada Buddhism (Southern Asia). Pure Land Buddhism belongs to the Mahayana school. Mahayana Buddhism has also been divided into two Schools: Self-power, and Other-power. The Self-power School teaches about individual salvation, moral purity and enlightenment. These are considered to be the conditions for spiritual emancipation. In contrast, the Other-power School emphasizes absolute reliance on the power of Buddha. We ordinary people are felt to be unable to attain a state of perfect freedom and spiritual enlightenment. What is needed for the Other-power practicer is a complete and wholehearted reliance on the Buddha. There is a story which shows us the essence of the Other Power school. The story comes from the book, The Sayings of Priest Gojun Shichiri. The story begins with a blind man walking along a mountain pass. He has travelled this way many times, and knows it well. He is about to cross a log bridge over a river. Being a self-confident man, he walks straight ahead, feeling and tapping his way with his walking stick. When he reaches halfway, the bridge suddenly flips over. Quickly throwing away his stick, he holds on to one of the logs with both hands. However, he knows that further downstream there are treacherous rapids. He recognizes that if he is pulled into the rapids he may be drowned, and this frightens him very much. Suddenly, from a boat below, he hears a voice calling to him. This boat is positioned just below the bridge. Let go! the boatsman calls to him -- let go of your hold on the log. I am ready to catch you down here. The blind, man, however, doesn t listen to him, and calls back, I cannot --- If I let go my hold, I will be swept into the rapids. The boatsman calls again to the blind man, telling him just let go. Hesitantly, the blind man tries to release one hand, but he is too afraid to let go of both hands. After a short while, the boatsman becomes impatient and tells the blind man if he doesn t follow his advice, he will be swept into the rapids, and no one will be able to save him. In great despair, and with the fear of almost certain death, the blind man takes both hands off the log. To his great relief and joy, he quickly finds himself safe and comfortable in the boat below. Gojun Shichiri said that we human beings are like the blind man in this story. At first we wander from one god to another, feeling and sounding our way in vain with the walking stick of self power, until we come to Amida s pathway. But we tenaciously hold on to this pathway and refuse to leave it. Amida is waiting underneath with his boat (Amida s Vow) and is ready to take us in, telling us to entrust ourselves to His care and compassion. But we cling to the Nembutsu, to use. This is our attempt to cling to our self power. When we are told again that the Nembutsu in itself has nothing to do with our salvation, we still cling to the thought that the Nembutsu can help. This clinging on to the Nembutsu is like the blind man holding onto the log bridge with one hand. When, however, we give up our self-efforts, we are truly embraced in Amida Buddha s Original Vow, and are assured of our re-birth in the Pure Land of Amida. When we give up Self Power for Other Power a feeling of complete spiritual fulfillment and indescribable serenity is felt. In other words, to truly entrust oneself means to absolutely rely on Amida. Shichiri said to completely entrust oneself is to have no shadow of doubt concerning the Original Vows of Amida. Amida most definitely assures us of our rebirth in the Pure Land. This assurance is absolute. Amida does not lay down any conditions, nor does He expect of us any self-sacrificing or merit accumulating practice. When the entrusting heart is once established, our life will be entirely at Amida s disposal. In Gassho, Rev. Yasuhiro Miyakawa

3 Page 3 From the Women s Association At our last executive meeting the ladies voted to purchase a new microwave and electric stove for the kitchen in recognition of our 80th anniversary. As of the printing of this newsletter, the microwave is already in the kitchen and the stove will be delivered shortly (the old one has been removed). The cooking demo s held in January and February was a huge success, thanks to all that helped and participated in this event. Hanamatsuri will be Sunday April 10th, as we will be doing a pot luck dinner, please remember to call to let her know what you will be bringing. A huge reminder of our Spring Chow Mein Project, being held April 17th. Please plan on coming out to help starting Thursday April 14th at 6pm, continuing Friday evening and all day Saturday and Sunday. This is a major fundraiser for our Temple, the more people who come to help makes the work load less for everyone. One last reminder for everyone to submit their recipes for our cookbook, please forward your selections to Maureen Hatanaka, Darlene Yamaoka or just bring them to the Temple in an envelope marked cookbook and leave it on the board room table. In Gassho, Laurie Message from the Editor Thankful - the best word that I can describe after experiencing India. As you may or may not know, my wife and I travelled on a Pilgrimage of sorts to follow the steps of the Buddha. India is incredible, the sites, sounds and smells are all so fresh in my mind today. We took in the usual tourist sights, but we also travelled to northern India to experience the rural communities and historic sites of Buddhist History. We visited Lumbini Garden the cave where the Buddha spend 6 years in penance the place where the Buddha first became enlightened the place where he gave his famous lotus Sutra to the place where he passed away. A once in a life time trip and the first thought that comes to mind is the distance between these places without roads, it all seems impossible. The other thought that came to me was the amount of people that follow this pilgrimage is amazing, Buddhism is a very popular religion. But I am most thankful to be in a country like Canada where we don t face near the hardships or life styles that the people still face in India. I hope that everyone experiences what we did, so that they appreciate what they have to be thankful for. It will give you an appreciation for the local Temple and Sangha. The little I do here with respect to sitting on the Executive, being your Treasurer or working on this Newsletter is not a hardship it is a pleasure. You have no idea how lucky we are until you go to places like we did. We have been pleading for members to become more involved and pleading with young families of founding members to take out a membership well, if you ever get an opportunity to travel to India, take it because you will come back with a totally different attitude. We have everything and lack nothing hopefully you will recognize this without having to be pushed and will willingly accept responsibility for perpetuating Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in Kelowna In Gassho, jiro The Collected Works of Shinran When people are not in correspondence with the Primal Vow, various conditions arise to trouble and confuse them. To lose sight of shinjin in confusion is to lose right-mindedness. Since shinjin arises from the Vow, we attain Buddhahood through the nembutsu by the [Vow s] spontaneous working. The spontaneous working is itself the fulfilled land; our realization of supreme nirvana is beyond doubt.

4 Page 4 April 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 27 Dharma School Intro to Buddhism 6:45pm 31 Floor Strip & Wax 8am 1 Floor Strip & Wax 8am 2 Floor Strip & Wax 8am 3 Dharma School ,, Exec. Meeting 8 9 Temple Yard Clean-up 8am 10 Hanamatsuri, Dharma Shotsuki 2: Chow Mein Prep 6pm, TSS Meditation 15 Chow Mein Prep 6pm, TSS Meditation 16 Chow Mein Prep 8am, Jerry Takeda Lawn Mowing 17 Chow Mein Prep 8am, Pickup between 1-3pm JSBTC AGM in Winnipeg 23 JSBTC AGM in Winnipeg, Jim Nishi Lawn Cutting 24 JSBTC AGM in Winnipeg, Dharma School , Alan Yamaoka Lawn Cutting

5 Page 5 Buddha s Birth Alfred Bloom Professor Emeritus University of Hawaii Hanamatsuri, as a spring festival, particularly developed in China and Japan as an occasion of beauty and joy. It was an auspicious time in nature. One ancient account tells us: It was an auspicious time in All the Buddhas of the ten quarters are born at midnight of the 8th day of the 4th month because at that time, between spring and summer, all evil is ended, everything has fully matured, poisonous vapours are not yet spreading, there is neither cold nor heat and the atmosphere is harmonious and agreeable. (M. W. DeVisser. Ancient Buddhism in Japan. I, 51). Hanamatsuri was seen as the climax of the year. It was a point of tranquility and rest at the beginning of the agricultural season just before the harvest. There is a freshness in the air. Sprinkling flowers and washing image of the child Buddha became prominent elements of the ceremonies. The flower pavilion which brightens Temples appears in China in the 10 th century (Ibid.) The use of sweet tea to bathe the Buddha and flower pavilion became popular in Japan in the Tokugawa age after the 17th century (Ibid., pp ).) Flowers play a conspicuous role in many Buddhist myth stories and in relation to Buddha's birth. Along with streams of hot and cold water to bathe the baby, the gods showered him with flowers such as lotus, water lilies and Mandarava blossoms. The fragrance of sandalwood permeated the air (Buddha Karita. Sacred Books of the East. XXI, p. 7). According to ancient story, the child Gautama first stood on a lotus, and when he took the seven steps in each direction, and lotus flowers sprung up under his feet. From the Temple Executive: Just the other day, I was working with a new work colleague doing sales calls when he glanced over and asked if the beads on my left wrist represented or meant anything in particular. I answered that beads were called a Nenju or sometimes referred to as a Mala. Being inquisitive, he asked if there was any reason that they were on my left wrist and what did they stand for. I paused and thought for a second, replying, in Buddhism most everything has a special meaning. The left side represents the world of Samsara, or the world we live in and keeps me mindful of the Buddha. Further I said, the Nenju is a reminder to help me focus on mindful practice, thinking and to respect the world we live in. As I drove home from Vancouver at the end of my work week, I glanced at my Nenju and was reminded, as we look within our own temple over the past month there are many examples of mindful practice. The Terada family kindly donated several items of health care equipment. Many helping hands worked dozens of hours to prepare Chow Mein noodles and as always others constantly work behind the scenes ensuring the temple is clean & safe, our financial & community obligations are in order and the Naijin is always properly prepared and looking impeccable. In Gassho, Kent

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8 Page 8 行 事 案 内 3 月 27 日 ( 日 ) 午前 10 時 日曜学校 30 日 ( 水 ) 午後 6 時 45 分 仏教案内 31 日 ( 木 ) 午前 8 時 階下床修繕 4 月 1 日 ( 金 ) 午前 8 時 階下床修繕 2 日 ( 土 ) 午前 8 時 階下床修繕 3 日 ( 日 ) 午前 10 時 日曜学校 6 日 ( 水 ) 午前 10- 午後 12 時半千部経三昧 7 日 ( 木 ) 午前 10- 午後 12 時半千部経三昧 午後 7 時 仏教役員会 8 日 ( 金 ) 午前 10- 午後 12 時半千部経三昧 9 日 ( 土 ) 午前 8 時 お寺境内掃除 10 日 ( 日 ) 午後 2 時半 花祭り 祥月法要 13 日 ( 水 ) 午前 10- 午後 12 時半千部経三昧 14 日 ( 木 ) 午前 10- 午後 12 時半千部経三昧 午後 6 時 チャウメン準備 15 日 ( 金 ) 午前 10- 午後 12 時半千部経三昧 午後 6 時 チャウメン準備 16 日 ( 土 ) 午前 8 時 チャウメン準備 17 日 ( 日 ) 午前 8 時 チャウメン準備 午後 1-3 時 チャウメン持ち帰り 日於 ウイニペグ カナダ教団年次総会 24 日 ( 日 ) 午前 10 時 日曜学校 27 日 ( 水 ) 午前 10- 午後 12 時半千部経三昧 28 日 ( 木 ) 午前 10- 午後 12 時半千部経三昧 29 日 ( 金 ) 午前 10- 午後 12 時半千部経三昧 # 宮川先生のご都合で3 月 15 日から31 日迄ご不在となります # 春先は何かと慌しい時ですが ご覧のような行事が控えています 何卒よろしく お参り ご協力お願いします From the Dharma School: It's a busy time of year for Dharma school as Hanamatsuri is quickly approaching. We will be continuing on with our tradition of visiting the hospital and various care homes giving out daffodils and spreading some cheer. If you would like to join us, we will be meeting at the temple at. The Dharma school kids have some great entertainment planned. There will be a skit, martial arts demonstration, a Taiko performance from Yamabiko Taiko and a piano piece. After the entertainment we will have a delicious pot luck dinner. Please Shirley Tanemura stanemura@shaw.ca or call her at if you would like to bring something. We hope everyone comes out to celebrate Buddha's birthday with us! In Gassho, Tammy This is a reminder to Members of the Temple don t wait, get your Chow Mein Order in by the deadline, April 13th. When you wait, we cannot get an idea of total orders needed and it always creates confusion at the last minute. Last fall we were scrambling to fill the extra orders that came in last minute it would be a great help to those that keep track of numbers to see how the sale is progressing on a more even timeline. In Gassho, Organizing committee

9 Page 9 Kids Sangha This is an article especially for the Dharma School kids and their families. It is April, and there is a very special day that we celebrate this month called Hana-Matsuri, or Flower Festival. April 8 th is said to be the day when Sakyamuni Buddha was born. On Hana- Matsuri, it is customary to visit the Temple to bring an offering of fresh spring flowers. Children dress up in kimonos and visit elders in the community to bring them daffodils and a cheery smile to light up their day. Back at the Temple, we visit a special shrine with a statue of the baby Buddha inside. The children come up to the statue and bow and pour sweet tea on the head of the infant. This reflects the story that that a gentle rain of sweet tea bathed the baby Buddha when he was born, while celestial birds sang beautiful songs and flowers bloomed all around. These stories help us to remember that this small and helpless human baby would one day grow up to become the greatest of all sentient beings, the Awakened One, the Buddha. Our tradition teaches that Buddha was born 2500 years ago in Nepal. He was born to a high-ranking family and was named Siddhartha. As the son of his powerful father, he was destined to become a king. His father wished to protect him from all suffering as he grew up, and to see him become a great leader. As it turned out, young Siddhartha s curiosity about what lay beyond the castle walls that surrounded him soon lead to his exposure to suffering in the world around him. He became deeply concerned about this, and finally decided to explore and solve the problem of suffering, not just for himself but for others. He devoted the rest of his life to this purpose. Twenty five centuries later, we have the privilege of hearing and practicing his teachings in our present-day world. These teachings help our Buddha nature to grow, making us kinder, gentler, and wiser human beings. Hana- Matsuri is a time for us to express our gratitude and contemplate the importance the birth of our blessed teacher, master, and guide Sakyamuni Buddha. In Gassho, Genevra If you have thoughts and stories to share with the Kids Sangha and Dharma School, you are invited to correspond with us at KidsSanghaKelowna@gmail.com 'Sanpura' Quilt last chance for your bid on this amazing quilt... An oriental design handmade quilt generously donated to our Temple. It is on display at the Temple. Please enter your offer before 5:00 pm on April 10, 2016 at which time it will be sold to the highest offer. Proceeds to go to the Kelowna Buddhist Temple. If you have any questions please contact Shirley. Valued $500 - $ Hanamatsuri is less than a month away on Sunday, April 10. Service starting at 2:30 pm with a POTLUCK DINNER to follow at 5:00 pm The Temple will supply chow mein and shoyu weiners. Call by April 8 and specify in which category you would like to contribute to: Rice dishes, Meat Dishes, Salads, Side Dishes or Desserts.

10 With Gratitude the Temple and all of its Affiliated Organizations Acknowledge Your Generous Contribution and Apologies for any Errors or Omissions. Dharma School: Devin Harris & Miho Ogi $ Newman-Harris $50.00 Women s Association: Mori, Mrs. Mid (Shinbokukai) $20.00 Hatanaka, Mrs. Sugino (In Appreciation) $25.00 Dharma Shotsuki Hokazono, M/M Lloyd (In Memory of Eileen and Mary Hokazono) $ Mori, M/M Min (In Memory of Kinzo Nakano) $20.00 Terada, Nagatoshi (In Memory of Dad) $50.00 Ho-onko Mori, M/M Min $30.00 Newsletter Sugie, M/M Sam $50.00 Hayashi, Mrs. Shizue $50.00 Anonymous $25.00 Nirvana Day Tanemura, Mrs. Shirley $20.00 R. Suzuki/P. Tanaka $30.00 Tanaka, M/M Herb $30.00 Tomiye, Reg $40.00 Yamaoka, M/M Jack $40.00 Special Itani, Derek (Kelowna Women's Association) $20.00 Sugie, M/M Sam (Keirokai) $30.00 Sugie, M/M Sam (In Leu of Membership) $ Hayashi, Mrs. Shizue (Keirokai) $50.00 Yamada, M/M Ken (Keirokai) $40.00 Tanemura, Mrs. Shirley (Keirokai) $20.00 Tahara, M/M Morio (Keirokai) $50.00 Ueda, Mrs. Yoshiko (Keirokai) $20.00 Kawaguchi, Nancy (Keirokai) $20.00 Koga, Mrs. Carol (Keirokai) $25.00 Mori, M/M Min (Keirokai) $40.00 Ogi, M/M Teruo (Keirokai) $50.00 Suzuki, M/M Tosh (Keirokai)$30.00 Terai, M/M Isao (Keirokai) $50.00 Uemoto, M/M Kaichi (Keirokai) $30.00 Hatanaka, Mrs. Sugino (In Appreciation) $25.00 Yamaoka, Mrs. Tomoye (Keirokai) $30.00 Mizushima, Yoshi $20.00 Izukawa, Sandra $20.00 Dux, Larry $ OKM Students (In Appreciation) $75.00 Delport, Jeanette $30.00 Cavanaugh, Genevra $50.00 Sustaining JSBTC Ogi, M/M Teruo $ Ishikawa, Mrs. Mitsuko $ Tomiye, Reg $ R. Suzuki/P. Tanaka $ Dux, Larry $ Anonymous $ Uemoto, M/M Kaichi $ Anonymous $ Recent legislation enacted by the Provincial Government restricts organizations from divulging personal information without the approval of the individuals affected. The donations generously made by Temple members and friends fall under the realm of personal information. Therefore, if you object to your donations being published in the Temple Newsletter, please let us know and we will cease doing so (Mail or your wish to be omitted from the published list). In Gassho, Temple Board of Directors