84,000 Thoughts - Gato, The Humble Buddhist Cat

Transcription

1 The Newsletter of Ekoji Buddhist Temple alavinka Fairfax Station, Virginia - Established 1981 Vol. XXXIII, No. 6 June ,000 Thoughts - Gato, The Humble Buddhist Cat By Rev. Kurt Rye The alarm goes off and I slowly get out of bed. I have a glass of water and go to my Obutsudan. I open the doors, light a candle, hit the little gong and say the Nembutsu. When I m finished I look around and don t see Gato, who usually stands with me when I say the Nembutsu. I walk around and find he still is in bed. Rev. Kurt: Gato, what are you doing still in bed? We both like to start the day in front of the Obutsudan, saying the Nembutsu. Gato: I don t need to do that anymore. I have reached the point where I m beyond needing to do such silly practices. Rev. Kurt: Gato, I can t believe you said that! What has come over you? Gato: Cool down pops. It s just that I have Shinjin and I don t need to do all that stuff like chanting any more. Rev. Kurt: What are you talking about? Gato: I thought you were a Shin minister, and you knew about Shinjin true, real, and sincere heart-mind? Our founder Shinran spoke about it as something all Shin followers should have. I thought about it when you were gone overnight at a speaking engagement last month. I sat in front of the Obutsudan day and night only leaving to eat and drink. Then in the morning I felt good and realized I had Shinjin. It s cool you don t have to do anything anymore, just be humble, like me. Pops, you should try it. Think of the time you would save not chanting or going to Sunday services. Rev. Kurt: For a humble cat you sure think about yourself a lot. I m glad you learned about Shinjin true, real, and sincere heart-mind but it is not something you can give yourself. It is something that happens to someone naturally, and then one is not aware it has happened. Gato: What good is it if you don t know you have it or not? Rev. Kurt: In Jodo Shinshu Buddhism we re a not concerned about reaching spiritual goals. We focus on living a sincere life of wisdom, compassion, and gratitude. By living such a life we can be our true selves and help others understand the beauty of the Shin teachings. Gato: Okay, but why do we chant, say the Nembutsu and all that stuff? Rev. Kurt: We do it to calm our minds, and to focus on the Buddha s teachings. We are so busy in our everyday lives. It s nice to set aside a few minutes a day to think of the Dharma and try to use it in our lives. Something as simple as starting the day by saying the Nembtsu in front of the Obutsudan is a wonderful way to start the day by focusing on the Buddha. Gato: You re right; it is a nice way to start the day. Can we go to the Obutsudan now? Please let me lead the chanting, I have such a strong voice I m sure the neighbors can hear me! Besides I have a better pitch than you do. Rev. Rye: Ahh, Gato the humble Buddhist cat. In this issue: Sangha News and Events BCA Voices Ekoji President s Message Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Celebrating 20 Years of Nen Daiko Dana List Page 5 Page 6

2 June 2014 KALAVINKA Page 2 Sangha News and Events June and Future Events June 4: 7:30 pm: Dharma Exchange (Howakai) at Ekoji (Hondo) June 7: 5:00 pm: YBA Meeting June 8: 9:00 am 12:00 pm: Dharma School Year End Activity 9:00 am: Religious Committee Meeting (Board Room) 10:00 am: Bon Committee Meeting (Sangha Hall) 12:00 pm: Dharma School Picnic 1:00 pm: Bon Dance Practice (Temple Foyer) June 15: 9:30 am: Buddhism 201 (Hondo) 10:00 am: Parents Day Brunch Sponsored by the Dharma School and YBA (Sangha Hall) 10:30 am: Obon Meeting (Fireplace Room) 2:00 pm: Nen Daiko Practice June 16: 10:00 am: Oasaji Service (Hondo) June 18: 7:30 pm: Dharma Exchange (Howakai) at Rockville Memorial Library June 22: 10:00 am: Buddhism 101 (Hondo Foyer or under Walkway) 10:00 am: Obon Meeting (Sangha Hall) 12:30 pm: Board Meeting (Board Room) 12:30 pm: Bon Dance Practice (Hondo Foyer) 2:00 pm: Nen Daiko Practice (Sangha Hall) June 29: 2:00 pm: Nen Daiko Open House July 12: Bon Odori July 13: O-Bon Service July 19: Seabrook Bon Odori August 29-August 31: Eastern Buddhist League (EBL) Annual Conference hosted by Ekoji September 21: Shuki Higan-E Service, Autumn Equinox October 4: Fall Seminar, Reverend Kodo Umezu, BCA Bishop October 5: Kieshiki (Affirmation) Ceremony by Reverend Kodo Umezu November 16: Pet Memorial Service December 7: Bodhi Day Service December 31: New Year s Eve Service In-kind Donations and Thanks Thank you to the following idividuals who donated their time and skills to help out the temple: Kalavinka Editor: Andrea Walter Dharma School: Maya Horio, Superintendent, and all our volunteer teachers Office Management: Jane Blechman Pay Officer: Gail Kondo Wisteria Lane: Heidi Forrest Temple Supplies: Nora Nagatani Onaijin Set-Up and Clean-Up: Minister s Assistants and Heidi Forrest under the leadership of Erick Ishii and Rob Fike Dharma Talk Recordings: Michael Galvin Hondo and Tsuji Center Clean-Up: All of our Sangha Members, Dharma School Students and Nen Daiko who participated in the clean-up. Thank you! After-service refreshments: Thank you to all who contributed refreshments, prepared coffee and tea and cleaned up afterward! Thank you to those who volunteered to be service leaders, rang the kansho, and helped collect dana. Special thanks to Yuko Keicho for playing the piano. A belated thank you to Delana Oliver for coordinating the Ekoji booth and volunteers for Sakura Matsuri Street Festival in April. Volunteers included: Art Politano, Samanthie and Ajit Silva, Mark LaWall, Ann and John Ishikawa, Marion Goyette, Lauren Ohata, Laverne Imori, Kate and Isabelle Grimes, Erni and Scott Fugitt, Sam Fugitt, and Tia Otey. My apologies if we missed any names. We are, indeed, fortunate to have so many volunteers assisting with Temple activities. Laverne Imori Sangha Member News Our best wishes for a speedy recovery to founding member Ken Nakamura who is scheduled for surgery later this month. Please submit news such as special honors or awards, weddings, births, graduations, etc., to Laverne Imori at limori@comcast.net, so we can share with the Sangha.

3 June 2014 KALAVINKA Page 3 BCA Voices - A Lesson In Impermanence By Rev. Henry Toryo Adams The ministers of the Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) have important lessons to share with us. Through this column, we would like to share many of those lessons with the readers of the Kalavinka. The following article appeared in the September 2013 Oxnard Buddhist Temple newsletter, Prasada, and was written by Rev. Henry Toryo Adams. There is a well-known story about a Buddhist teacher in Thailand who has welcomed many Western students of the Dharma to practice meditation at the forest monastery where he serves as the abbot. His teachings emphasize the Buddha s teachings on impermanence and the importance of not becoming attached to our objects of desire in this ever-changing world. In order to practice nonattachment in their daily lives, monks in Thai forest monasteries strictly follow the guidelines established in the time of the Buddha regarding what kind of possessions monks may keep. As such, their personal property is generally limited to one simple set of robes, a bowl for receiving alms and eating, and few other practical items like a toothbrush or eyeglasses. While the abbot of the monastery closely observed these rules, it is said that there was a certain cup he always carried with him. Whether he was lecturing on the Dharma in front of hundreds of people or reading in his simple room, he always had that cup with him. One day, following a lecture on the teaching of impermanence, the abbot was taking questions from the audience. At that time, we are told that one of his Western students, perhaps a bold American, questioned him about why he seemed so attached to that certain cup if he was sincerely endeavoring to live a life of freedom from attachments. The abbot began his reply by freely admitting that he was quite fond of that particular cup. He went on to describe its fine qualities, talking about how comfortably it fit in his hand, its beautiful shape, and the way it sparkled as it caught the light from the morning sun at just the right angle. Having explained all the things he liked about the cup, he went on to explain that in his mind the cup was already broken. Which is to say that he had fully accepted the truth that at any moment it might slip out of his hand and crack on the sink while he washed it, or get tipped over and roll off the side of a table? He explained that living with the awareness that his favored cup could be shattered at any moment enabled him to fully appreciate its good qualities each time he picked it up and drank from it or admired it sitting on his desk. Through mindfulness of the truth of impermanence, he was able to enjoy every moment that he had with that beautiful cup. This wisdom can also be applied to time spent with friends and loved ones. Mindfulness of the truth of impermanence is particularly helpful to those of us who live the life of the Nembutsu, appreciating the Buddhadharma while fully immersed in the relationships of work, school, and family. I often hear my friends in our Sangha refer to difficult or disappointing life changes as A lesson in impermanence. When faced with a difficult change in their work situation, the loss of a favorite possession, or separation from a close friend or loved one, they will tell me about it and conclude by saying, I guess this is another lesson in impermanence, isn t it? Shinran once advised his companions in the Nembutsu, We come together when conditions bring us to meet and part when conditions separate us. (A Record in Lament of Divergences, Tannisho, Chapter 6) In gassho. HATSUBON- The First Obon On Sunday, July 13, at 11:00 a.m., we will be observing Obon Service, a memorial service when we remember those who have passed away before us and express our gratitude for all that they have done for us. During the service, there is a special time set aside for all those families who have lost loved ones since the 2013 Obon Service. This special time is called the Hatsubon or first Obon. Families are called forward so that they can light a memorial candle in memory and gratitude for the loved one who has passed. The loved one could be a family member or a dear friend who has touched and enriched our lives with their presence. If you are a Hatsubon Family, please contact Rev. Rye or Laverne Imori so that candles can prepared and you and your loved one can be remembered in Nembutsu a few weeks prior to the Bon Service. In gassho.

4 June 2014 KALAVINKA Page 4 Ekoji President s Message - June 2014 By: Laverne Shidou Imori Last month, I shared information about the Religious and Finance Committees. This month, the focus is on the Three Treasure Garden, Facilities, and Outreach Committees. THREE TREASURES GARDEN: Heidi Forrest volunteered to chair the Three Treasures Garden activities. So far, she has been doing much of the maintenance herself with help from Bob and Thomas Griffin. BDK generously paid for Shimizu Landscaping to do the pruning of the trees, shrubs, and wisteria in Spring, but the Garden requires regular maintenance. Our biggest project is to clean up the Garden path before O-Bon on July Heidi needs volunteers to help get rid of weeds and lay new plastic sheeting and gravel on the path. Please let her know you re interested in helping with this or other Garden maintenance activities. FACILITIES: Bob Shimokaji volunteered to chair the maintenance of the building and grounds (not including the Three Treasures Garden). As with the Garden, this is a committee of one person so far, but we welcome volunteers to help with many of the maintenance needs. Bob is responsible for managing the contracts with our landscape maintenance company, building security system and snow removal company. We have many maintenance projects on our plate. One example is removing rust from and repainting the outside railing. And, don t forget our monthly hondo clean-up which happens the first Sunday of each month. Please contact Bob to let him know you re willing and able to help. One special project we hope to get started on this year is our kitchen update. Rachael Harris is taking the lead on this and has contacted possible contractors to give us a bid on this long-overdue work. We ll keep you posted. OUTREACH COMMITTEE: Under the leadership of Ed Sams, this committee is responsible for reaching out to the community and to new members and to those who are interested in learning more about general and Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. High on their 2014 agenda is to review and possibly produce a new brochure, and to strengthen our media exposure. They have also revived the Greeter program to ensure that Sangha members are available to welcome guests to the Sunday service and answer questions. WE NEED VOLUNTEERS! To wrap up this month s column, I m requesting help from the Ekoji community to support, not only our committees, but also upcoming major events. As you are aware, Ekoji is supported through membership dues and through the volunteerism of members and friends of Ekoji at fundraising events. Our biggest fundraiser is Bon Odori. Last year, we raised over $14,000, a record high! Under the leadership of Michael Galvin and Bob Shimokaji and their hard-working volunteers, they trimmed expenses, recruited volunteers and publicized the event, which helped them achieve results surpassing prior years fundraising. This year we have been faced with unexpected challenges most notably the absence of seasoned Bon Odori veterans. However, under the leadership of Bob Shimokaji and his energetic team leaders, we are hoping to once again meet or beat last year s results. We cannot continue to rely on the generosity of our long-time benefactor, BDK America, to sustain us as they have in the past. In order to keep Ekoji s vision alive, we must become financially self-sufficient. Bon Odori is our biggest opportunity to invite the community to join us in celebrating this event and sharing the Dharma. It is also an opportunity to work together as a Sangha to raise funds for our operating budget. We rely on the energy and commitment of you current members, former members, and friends of Ekoji to help us meet our goals. Please contact Michele Amano, our Bon Odori Volunteer Coordinator, at michelle_amano@me.com, and let her know you are willing to help with this year s Bon Odori. Once again, I would like to thank members of our committees for their time and commitment. Much of the work they do is behind the scenes, but we depend on their contributions to help us keep the Dharma alive and vibrant at Ekoji. With much gratitude and in gassho, Laverne

5 June 2014 KALAVINKA Page 5 Celebrating 20 Years of Nen Daiko Nen Daiko is the taiko ensemble of Ekoji Buddhist Temple! We have come a long way since our founding in 1994 by former Ekoji member Beth Fujishige and practicing songs on old tires. Nen Daiko was first conceived as an organized activity to engage the sangha members of Ekoji Buddhist Temple. Rev. Tsuji, Ekoji s resident minister at the time, supported the group s inception and named us Nen Daiko, with the Japanese character for Nen being derived from the same character as in Nembutsu. Members from our sister groups Soh Daiko (affiliated with New York Buddhist Temple) and Hoh Daiko (Seabrook Buddhist Temple s taiko group) invited us to New York and New Jersey to learn basic taiko form and a couple of practice pieces. In this way, Beth provided Nen Daiko s organizational start; Rev. Tsuji provided our Buddhist foundation; and Soh Daiko and Hoh Daiko initiated our taiko education. Although we started as a temple extracurricular activity, the growth in our performance capability by the late 1990 s helped spur an increase in outside performance requests, and Nen Daiko s focus began to shift to performance preparation. Through our public performances and practice of Buddhist taiko, Nen Daiko became part of the public face of Ekoji, raising awareness of our temple throughout the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. The members of the group today are of different faiths and enter the group through a regimented training program, but the spirit of the original group can still be felt through our common respect for the art of taiko, the teachings of Buddhist taiko, and the joy and exuberance of expressing ourselves through the beat of the drum. Nen Daiko will hold a 20th anniversary concert on Saturday, August 30, 2014, to commemorate this occasion and to express gratitude for these causes and conditions that have supported our existence all these years. In that spirit, we have titled the concert In Gratitude. We hope to have tickets available to the public for sale in June, with ticket sales directly benefiting Ekoji Buddhist Temple, and a portion of the proceeds also benefiting New York Buddhist Temple and Seabrook Buddhist Temple. This fundraising event will be an opportunity to thank so many who have helped Nen Daiko; we have commitments from Soh Daiko and Hoh Daiko to attend and perform with us, and we are also planning to recognize 37 former members of Nen Daiko. Beth Fujishige has already agreed to be our honored emcee of the night, a fitting role considering her place in our group history. To our knowledge, our concert will be the first public performance in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area for such a large Buddhist taiko gathering. This concert will also coincide with the 2014 Eastern Buddhist League (EBL) conference, hosted by Ekoji Buddhist Temple over Labor Day weekend. As this will be a benefit concert for Ekoji, you too have a role to play in making this a success! Please stay tuned for many announcements in the coming months about opportunities for volunteering at the concert, making donations, and information about upcoming fundraising nights at local restaurants where a percentage of your check will be given to Nen Daiko for the concert! Check out the 20th concert section of our website ( for more details and updated information; we hope to have tickets available online in June. If we haven t met you around the temple before, we look forward to doing so in this exciting time leading up to In Gratitude: A Taiko Benefit Concert! Parents Day Brunch - June 15 The Parents Day Brunch is brought to you by the EKOJI Ekoji Dharma School and Ekoji s Young Buddhist Association WHAT: Combining Mother s Day and Father s Day, Ekoji this year will celebrate Parents Day 2014 with a brunch! WHEN: Sunday, June 15, at 10:00 a.m. WHERE: Ekoji s Sangha Hall WHO: Ekoji s Dharma School and the Young Buddhist Association are cohosting. WHY: To say Thank You! Parents, bring your appetites and enjoy the brunch!

6 June 2014 KALAVINKA Page 5 Ekoji Dana List - May 2014 Ajit and Samanthie Silva Allen A. Thomsen Andrew Barden Anna Chulaki Anna Tecson Annemarie Russell Arlene and David Kitahara Arlene and Wayne Minami Art Politano Bob Shimokaji Bud Uyeda Chiyoko Tilley Cris Fugate Curtis Rothrock Cynthia Gurey Damon/Margeret Pelletier Diane Miyasato Ella and William Maneely Emily Ihara Erick Ishii Erni Diez-Fugitt Francis and Mary Garrison Frank Swithers Gabrielle Harrison Gladyce Sumida Trust Gordon Bermant Heidi Forrest Helen and James Takemori Hollie and Mike Gordan Jane Blechman Jussara Cohen Karen and Kenneth Bano Kelli Gary Higgins Ken and Nori Nakamura Lan Pham Laura Clapsaddle Laverne Imori Lawrence Anderson Lisa and Greg Nakamura Mark LaWall Mark Nagy Mary Okamoto Michelle Amano Ngoc-Yen Vu Norm and Gail Kondo Paul Q. Piper Phat Hoc Tue Quang Tour Guests Quynh Hoa Hoang Rachael Lang Harris Rebecca Perry Reiko and Hisao Matsumoto Rev. Shojo Honda Rob Fike Ron and Fujie Ohata Sandra Lukic-Dapoingy Shigeko Walton Steven Kariya Stuart Ott Susan Grimes Susan Kasa Terry and Kay Hara Texas Instruments Thomas Griffin Yukiko Orlandella Yuko and Toshiaki Keicho In Memory of Masako Imamura Arlene/Wayne Minami Mary Okamoto In Memory of June Honda Arlene/David Kitahara Bud Uyeda Chiyoko Tilley Ella and William Maneely Emily Ihara Erick Ishii Francis and Mary Garrison Gabrielle Harrison Gladyce Sumida Trust Heidi Forrest Helen/James Takemori Jane Blechman Karen/Kenneth Bano Ken and Nori Nakamura Norm and Gail Kondo Reiko/Hisao Matsumoto Reverend Shojo Honda Ron and Fujie Ohata Steven Kariya Susan Grimes Susan Kasa Terry and Kay Hara Yukiko Orlandella

7 Kalavinka Managing Editor: Andrea A. Walter Assistant Editors: Rev. Kurt Rye, Ken Nakamura, Laverne Imori 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