HIGASHI HONGANJI BUDDHIST TEMPLE

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1 HIGASHI HONGANJI BUDDHIST TEMPLE NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Los Angeles, CA Permit No The Way Vol. 67 No. 11 November 2015 HIGASHI HONGANJI BUDDHIST TEMPLE LOS ANGELES BETSUIN TEMPLE SCHEDULE NOVEMBER 15 10:00am Family Service 22 10:00am Sunday Service 29 10:00am Sunday Service Discussion Group DECEMBER 6 10:00am Shotsuki Service 13 10:00am Bodhi Day/Year-end Family Service 20 9:00am Temple Clean-up 28 9:00am Mochitsuki (Monday) 31 6:30pm Year-end Service (Joya-e) JANUARY 1 10:00am New Year Day Service (Shusho-e) 10 10:00am Shotsuki Service 17 10:00am Eitaikyo Service NY Luncheon Bodhi Day Year-end Family Service December 13 10:00am Temple Clean Up Sunday, December 20 9:00am MOCHITSUKI monday, December 28 9:00am

2 Volume 67 Number 11 November 2015 HIGASHI HONGANJI BUDDHIST TEMPLE LOS ANGELES BETSUIN The Doctrinal Dimension of Shinshū Rituals: As the Basis of the Theory of Shinshū Rituals 2 Rev. Futoshi Takehashi Reseacher, Shinshū Ōtani-ha Research Institute for Rituals This article is a translation excerpted from a lecture given by Rev. Takehashi who visited our district in September this year to speak at our retreat program. The original transcript was published in the No. 68 issue of the Center Journal newsletter of the Shinshū Ōtani-ha Nagoya District Educational Center. Our sense of self and surrounding environment emerge at the same time One of the fundamental aspects of Buddhism is the concept of anātman, which means that there exists no ego of an independent, self-contained, and permanent character. In other words, our sense of self is actually a product of causes and conditions. For example, take a look at the curtained windows in this room. When I see the curtains, what comes to my mind is, The curtains darken the room. But some of you might think of the same curtains just as dirty fabrics. Or some might not think of anything about the curtains. Even when we are looking at the same object, what crosses our minds can be different from person to person. In my case, the notion that the curtains darken the room is the content of what I perceive as my sense of self. The curtains appear in my view as the objects blocking the sunlight. In another person s viewpoint, the curtains appear as dirty fabrics. At this moment, a sense of self emerges as the one seeing the curtains as the objects blocking the sunlight, and the other sense of self emerges as the one seeing the curtains as dirty fabrics. We are encountering each sense of self. We might usually think of ourselves as the source of observation that permanently exists, but this is not the case. Actually, our sense of self that observes the environment and the environment in our view emerge simultaneously. Let s think about the concept of anātman from another angle. If Shakyamuni had not spread his teaching, we wouldn t exist at this moment. That s because there wouldn t be the Buddhist teaching if he hadn t. If Shakyamuni hadn t attained awakening, nor had he spread his teaching, nor had his teaching been established as Buddhism in India, there would be no Buddhist temples or priests today, and not only that, we wouldn t even exist in the first place. The history would have been totally different from the one we know. What I m trying to say is that all of the causes and conditions including those historical events comprise our existence. We are actually living those causes and conditions every moment. In other words, those causes and conditions constitute our existence. It is not that we are living as an independent and self-contained existence and then those causes and conditions merely have influence upon our life. The truth is that the causes and conditions are the only elements that comprise our existence. This can be said only with the benefit of hindsight, but our life is the result of inconceivable accumulation of causes and conditions in history. It is very important to reflect on our life from this standpoint. This is the basis of the Buddhist teaching. A sense of being embraced Human beings are beset with the fundamental discrepancy within the sense of self, such as the discrepancy between the self and the environment, or between the objective viewpoint of the self and the objectified self. I think this discrepancy is the driving force for all kinds of faith and religious rituals, and also of any other human actions. In order to drive away the sense of uneasiness or isolation caused by the self-discrepancy, we try to find a sense of unity. I think this sense of unity is the true identity of what we call love. All kinds of rituals are observed as a way to meet the human needs to ease a sense of isolation or to achieve a sense of fulfillment. Rituals can provide the participants with a sense of unity with other participants or with the object of worship. This sense of unity is the ultimate purpose of rituals. With that sense, we can have a positive view on our own lives or a feeling of being unconditionally accepted and embraced. I think this is one of the reasons why the style of chanting Shōshingé together with others (Dōbō Shōwa) was developed to arouse a feeling of fellowship among us. For that reason, human beings need religions and religious rituals. However, as I explained, whenever we try to achieve some kind of unification, we take on a characteristic of disregarding individual dignity. Since we need to establish a principle for the unification, but it always excludes people who cannot follow the principle. No matter how we advocate the unconditional and allembracing nature of the nenbutsu, when we try to demonstrate it in a certain form, some people are always left out of the circle, such as those of other faiths or non-believers, who just cannot accept the practice of nenbutsu. We have to realize the exclusive nature of human expression. When we embody an idea or concept, we always create certain conditions at the same time without knowing (Please see RITUALS, page 3)

3 Page 2 Betsuin News info@hhbt-la.org Temple clean-up Cleaning the temple is a huge task, but with everyone s efforts we can make it sparkle in no time. It is a tradition for all of us to help bring a clean temple into the New Year. Our annual Temple Clean-up will be on Sunday, December 20 th. Without the efforts of all of our members and friends, we could not complete this big task. Please join us as we clean our temple with pride and make it shine into Thank you in advance for all of your hard work. Mochitsuki Our annual Mochitsuki will be held on Monday, December 28 th from 9:00am. This is one of the most exciting and enjoyable events of the year, but not without your help! Come out and help us make MOCHI for the altar and for our New Years Day ozoni. There will be plenty to eat here and take home. Be sure to invite your family and friends to enjoy this very special cultural year-end tradition. You never know what kind of fun and delicious mochi you ll be taking home this year! SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER! Elaine Harada Higashi had their first dance fundraiser at Nishi on Saturday, October 3, dancing to the marvelous sounds of Kokoro! We had delicious and bountiful food platters from Nijiya Market, dynamic drinks served up by Elyse, Paul and Steven T., and delicious rainbow manju donated by Fugetsu-Do! Kathy and Cyndi s centerpieces, TEMPLE FUN DAY Hey there, Hi there, Ho there! You re as welcome as can be! In 2015, we had our 2 nd Disney themed Temple Fun Day! Walls were decorated with a mix of our favorite characters: Mickey, Donald, Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto, characters from the Cars series, and Frozen princesses Anna and Elsa along with vintage movie and Disneyland posters. As members and invited friends entered the social hall, they were each greeted with Disney music and their own set of personalized Mickey or Minnie ears, Goofy or Donald hats, or Daisy bows. Guests wore them throughout the afternoon and added to the fun atmosphere of the day. The kids were invited to enjoy various Disney-themed crafts planned by Mr. Danny. They made Baymax balloons, watercolor Finding Nemo scenes, and decorated other various coloring pages. Lunch included a tasty selection of fried chicken, potato wedges, freshly baked biscuits, corn on the cob, baked beans, a variety of salads, and lots of desserts. After lunch, everyone enjoyed a fun game of Disney Bingo. Janet s additional food and wine dona- tions, volunteer security, and clean-up by our sangha provided a most memorable Saturday night! All of this was made possible through the tremendous efforts, donations, and support of Carol Tanita and Wayne Nagao! Thank you so much for making this dream...a reality! After several Bingo players claimed their prizes, we played a Disney animal friends matching game and made as many words as possible with the letters in Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Afterward, we formed a couple teams to play Disney headbandz. Players would have to give clues to a teammate to help them figure out the character shown on a card attached to their forehead. It was entertaining for both those playing AND watching. To end the day, the kids played with water balloons outside and were also able to enjoy a Disney-themed moon bounce in the playground. Members and friends took home photos of themselves taken in our photo booth to remember the fun day. Thank you to everyone who came out early to set up, who helped in the kitchen and with games, crafts, registration, taking pictures, and more during the event, and to everyone who helped clean up after the event! Thanks to everyone who came out and enjoyed the event as well! We hope to have even more of you come out next time!

4 (RITUALS, con t. from page 1) it. For instance, even if we try to express the idea of unconditional salvation, it would always become a condition that the salvation must be unconditional. This is the limitation in human expression. Especially religious rituals have a strong tendency to have this exclusiveness. Therefore, we always have to keep in mind that the teaching of the nenbutsu embraces anybody unconditionally. The difference between Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Realization and Teaching, Faith, Practice, and Realization There is no doubt that the purpose of Shinran Shōnin s writing the Kyōgyōshinshō (Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Realization) was to prove that Jōdo Shinshū was the true and legitimate Buddhist teaching. The formal title of the book, Ken jōdo shinjitsu kyōgyōshō monrui (The Collection of Passages Expounding the True Teaching, Practice, and Realization of the Pure Land), clearly shows his purpose since the Teaching, Practice, and Realization are the essence of the entire system of Buddhist teaching. From the standpoint of self-effort practice, the essence of Buddhist teaching might be viewed in the order of Teaching, Faith, Practice, and Realization. In other words, from the viewpoint of self-effort, you encounter a teaching, have faith in it, practice it, and realize it. From this viewpoint, even the teaching of the nenbutsu can be seen in the same way. Without understanding what the nenbutsu is, we usually wouldn t even try to practice it because we can only accept what we can believe. That s our ordinary way of thinking and living. Take a shopping of a bag as an example. When we find a bag (teaching), we like it and want to have it (faith), do a parttime job to save money (practice), and buy the bag (realization). However, the system of the Jōdo Shinshū teaching is outlined as Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Realization. Especially the practice and faith are regarded as inseparable but the practice Namu Amida Butsu always comes before the faith. That doesn t mean faith is less important than practice. Actually those two are always together. It means that the recitation of Namu Amida Butsu (practice) also represents faith (awakening), which always comes with the practice. Simply put, the recitation of Namu Amida Butsu is awakening itself. The name of Amida Buddha is declared and transferred to us. We express the name in a verbal form. These events happen at the same time. That is the meaning of the practice and faith. It also means that the encounter with the Buddha and the realization as a worldly being happen at the same time. This is what the Nenbutsu, the recitation of Namu Amida Butsu, represents. Start from the effect and seek the cause and start from the cause and seek the effect The ritual of Jōdo Shinshū as a whole is the expression of the nenbutsu, Namu Amida Butsu. In the actual rituals, the statue of Amida Buddha is permanently installed and the participants are paying reverence to it. To put it another way, Shakyamuni Buddha is permanently preaching and the participants are listening to the teaching. The ritual participants who are placing their hands together and reciting the nenbutsu are the embodiment of the awakening itself. The rituals are based on the premise that Amida Buddha, i.e. the Dharma, permanently exists. From the viewpoint of the teaching, however, the Buddha or Dharma never exists until we encounter it. All the sutras and Shinran Shōnin s works were written in order to express the essence of Namu Amida Butsu. Namu Amida Butsu is already given to us as the expression (effect) of the Dharma, and we seek the cause of the Dharma by listening to the teaching. There is a term start from the effect and seek the cause. Namu Amida Butsu represents the realization of all sentient beings salvation, as the effect of the working of Amida Buddha, which is embodied as the form of rituals. We listen to the cause of the salvation in rituals. It is not until we are awakened to the world of Namu Amida Butsu that Amida Buddha appears in our life. At that point, we can understand that Amida Buddha has already been in the Pure Land after realizing perfect enlightenment. This is what is meant by Page 3 the word start from the effect and seek the cause. We trace back to the cause from the effect. On the other hand, the self-effort practice, i.e. the method of Teaching, Faith, Practice, and Realization can be described as start from the cause and seek the effect. We believe the teaching, practice as hard as we can, and as a result, we can attain the realization. In this case, we start from the cause and aim at the effect. But the teaching of Namu Amida Butsu and our rituals are opposite from this concept. You can see some actual examples of start from the effect and seek the cause in our society. For example, many masters of traditional crafts and arts train their apprentices according to the concept of start from the effect and seek the cause. During the early stage of training, they don t explain anything to the apprentices. For some apprentices, the method might seem to be unreasonable, but they aren t allowed to question or complain about it. In the postwar society where the democracy-based education has been spread for decades, it s become normal to express our own opinion. Of course it has a positive side but has a negative side also. That is, we tend to fall into the trap of thinking of start from the cause and seek the effect as the best and only way to deal with anything. Even if there seems to be something wrong with it, you should sometimes just listen without asking questions. That s the spirit of start from the effect and seek the cause. In some aspects, the same is true of listening to the Dharma. Namu Amida Butsu is given to us as the perfect form of accomplishment. At first, we might find something we cannot agree with in the teaching, but we can appreciate it when we have the whole picture of the teaching. In order to learn the Buddhist teaching, I think it s important to keep that in mind. visit our website at and like us on facebook at

5 Page 4 Our deepest condolences to the family and relatives of Mrs. Chitose Kobayashi (94) September 23, 2015 Mr. Ryoji Akiyama (84) October 3, 2015 Mrs. Tazuko Koyama (66) October 16, 2015 Mrs. Kinuko Miyagishima (80) October 18, 2015 Namu Amida Butsu SUBMISSION DEADLINE! Submissions for are due the 10th of each month for the following month s issue. Articles and announcements for our December Issue are due November 10th, Submissions may be subject to printing restrictions and staff approval. Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you!

6 Page 5 LUMBINI 2015 n i N E E R GOING G NOVEMBER Tip of the month Try replacing the foliage around your home with drought-resistant plants. CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER FOR CHILDREN AGES 2 1/2 TO 5 YEARS applications available! Call today to set up a visit to the school! TEL: FAX: missleslie_lumbini@yahoo.com WEBPAGE: open year round: MONDAY through FRIDAY 7:30am to 6:00pm closed national holidays

7 Page 6 PARKING POLICY I REMINDER i In 2012, we implemented a new parking authorization system. Due to the increasing shortage of affordable parking in Little Tokyo, we have experienced a significant increase in the unauthorized use of our parking lot. This has led to problems especially when we have funerals, memorial services, or special events. Since the lot remains unattended some of the time, individuals who are not coming to the temple, nor have any affiliation with our temple park in our lot without permission, even after we have notified them not to. Furthermore, because we operate the Lumbini Child Development Center, we must also ensure the security and safety of our children and their parents who bring them to school. As a result, we implemented a new parking authorization system and we ask again for your cooperation. Members of our temple are still allowed to park in our lot for short-term visits to Little Tokyo. However, we ask all of you to come to the office to receive a parking permit whenever you park in the lot. Most days we have someone monitoring the lot and you may be asked if you are a paid member of the temple. Generally speaking, short-term use of the lot is available for active members of the temple. We ask that you come to the office to receive a pass every time you visit. If, however, you are here for a Sunday service or for a funeral or memorial service, you will not require a pass. Repeat parking offenders will face the possibility of having their cars towed away. This policy is to ensure that our temple members and guests are able to park by asking for the parking permit in the office. We apologize for the inconvenience. However, with the limited spaces available, we want to ensure that those coming to the temple will have easy access to our parking lot. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. IJ IJ IJ Have you heard?! We have weekly YOGA & ZUMBA classes at the temple! YOGA WED 6:15pm ZUMBA TUES 7:30pm FRI 6:30pm JOIN US! Help needs your help and welcomes your contributions. With the cost of printing and postage steadily increasing, we request your support in helping to make our newsletter available in the years to come. Please consider making a donation to to offset some of the cost. Thank you for your continued support and readership. Onegai-shimasu! MEMBERSHIP Update 2015 Temple Members will receive the following benefits upon request from the office 10% off coupons - Fugetsu-Do - Mikawaya - SK Uyeda - Toyo Miyatake Membership dues for 2015 are $ for couple/family and $ for single members. We no longer send out membership cards. Please keep your receipt as proof of membership. Thank you for your continued support. Help us save paper and postage by requesting your newsletter delivery ONLINE! US at info@hhbt-la. org and specify ONLY for future issues of The Way. Thank you!