hatsubon

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Obon & Hatsubon Service

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Rev. Charlene Kihara and Rev. Sol Kalu

Our annual Obon & Hastubon Service held on Sunday, July 6, 2025 with a Dharma Talk by guest speaker Rev. Charlene Kihara of Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin. Obon is a time when Buddhists remember those who have left this world before us, with gratitude for enabling us to exist and to encounter the dharma. This was also our Hatsubon Service, for families of those who passed away since the last Obon.

The service was officiated by Rev. Sol Kalu at Windward Buddhist Temple in Kailua, Hawaii.

Join us at our Bon Dance in Kailua on Saturday, July 12, 2025. One night only! Visit https://tinyurl.com/bondance2025 or https://windwardbuddhisttemple.org for details.

  • 00:00 - Opening Remarks & Program

    00:12 - Ringing of the Kansho (temple bell)

    02:48 - Offering of Flowers & Light

    03:16 - Meditation

    04:11 - Vandana & Ti-Sarana (page 7 in the red service book)

    06:15 - San Bu Jo (page 9 in the red service book)

    10:01 - Obon Aspiration

    10:43 - Offering of Incense

    14:20 - Sutra: Sanbutsuge (page 46 in the red service book)

    22:04 - Gatha: Obon, Obon, It's Festival Day (page 148 in Praises of the Buddha)

    24:31 - Dharma Talk: Rev. Charlene Kihara

    40:44 - Gatha: Ondokusan & Gratefulness

    42:59 - The Nembutsu (page 145 in Praises of the Buddha)

    44:51 - Announcements

    46:39 - July Birthdays

    48:02 - Bon Dance Announcements

    56:29 - Words of Thanksgiving (page 126 in the red service book)

    57:34 - July Dharma Service Schedule

    57:42 - How to Donate to WBT

  • We are now able to accept secure online donations using PayPal or a credit card. Please visit our Donation page for instructions or scan the QR code in the video.Item description

  • Download the Jodo Shinshu Service Book (the "red service book"): https://tinyurl.com/GetServiceBook

July Birthdays & Intergenerational Activity

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Obon & Hatsubon Service

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Rev. Jeffrey Soga

Our annual Obon & Hastubon Service held on Sunday, July 7, 2024 with a Dharma Talk by guest speaker Rev. Jeffrey Soga, resident minister of Waipahu Hongwanji. Obon is a time when Buddhists remember those who have left this world before us, with gratitude for enabling us to exist and to encounter the dharma. This was also our Hatsubon Service, for families of those who passed away since the last Obon.

The service was officiated by Rev. Sumikawa at Windward Buddhist Temple in Kailua, Hawaii.

Join us at our Bon Dance in Kailua on Saturday, July 13, 2024. One night only! Visit https://tinyurl.com/bondance2024 or https://windwardbuddhisttemple.org for details.

  • 00:00 - Opening Remarks & Program

    00:16 - Ringing of the kansho (temple bell)

    02:58 - Offering of Flowers & Light

    03:45 - Meditation 04:41 - Vandana & Ti-Sarana (page 7 in the red service book)

    06:57 - San Bu Jo (page 9 in the red service book)

    10:11 - Obon Aspiration

    11:22 - Hatsubon Remembrance

    14:28 - Sanbutsuge (page 46 in the red service book)

    22:16 - Gatha: Obon Obon It's Festival Day (page 115 in Praises of the Buddha)

    24:43 - Dharma Talk: Rev. Jeffrey Soga

    51:53 - Gatha: Ondokusan/Gratefulness

    54:19 - The Nembutsu (page 135 in the red service book)

    56:45 - Announcements

    01:06:25 - July Birthdays

    01:08:09 - Words of Thanksgiving (page 126 in the red service book)

    01:09:03 - July Schedule

    01:09:19 - How to Donate to WBT

  • We are now able to accept secure online donations using PayPal or a credit card. Please visit our Donation page for instructions or scan the QR code in the video.Item description

  • Download the Jodo Shinshu Service Book (the "red service book"): https://tinyurl.com/GetServiceBook

July Birthdays

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Obon & Hatsubon Service

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Rev. Bert Sumikawa

Our annual Obon & Hastubon Service held on Sunday, July 2, 2023 with a Dharma Talk by Rev. Bert Sumikawa, at Windward Buddhist Temple. Obon is a time when Buddhists remember those who have left this world before us, with gratitude for enabling us to exist and to encounter the dharma. It was also our Hatsubon Service, for families of those who passed away since the last Obon. 

The service was officiated by Rev. Sumikawa at Windward Buddhist Temple in Kailua, Hawaii. 

  • 00:00 - Opening Remarks & Program

    00:16 - Ringing of the kansho (temple bell)

    02:53 - Meditation

    03:56 - Vandana & Ti-Sarana (page 7 in the red service book)

    06:05 - San Bu Jo (page 9 in the red service book)

    10:14 - Offertory by Families for Hatsubon & Obon

    16:47 - Gatha: Obon Obon It's Festival Day (page 115 in Praises of the Buddha)

    19:27 - Dharma Talk: Rev. Bert Sumikawa

    41:43 - Gatha: Ondokusan/Gratefulness

    44:13 - The Nembutsu (page 135 in the red service book)

    46:29 - Announcements

    55:19 - July Birthdays

    57:16 - Words of Thanksgiving (page 126 in the red service book)

    58:07 - July Schedule

    58:20 - How to Donate to WBT

  • We are now able to accept secure online donations using PayPal or a credit card. Please visit our Donation page for instructions or scan the QR code in the video.Item description

  • Download the Jodo Shinshu Service Book (the "red service book"): https://tinyurl.com/GetServiceBook

July Birthdays

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Obon & Hatsubon Service

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We held our annual Obon and Hatsubon service to remember those who came before us. The Hatsubon service marks the first Obon Service for those who passed away in the last year. Obon and Hatsubon families were called up to offer incense while Rev. Sumikawa chanted a sutra. After the offering, Rev. Sumikawa gave a special Obon Dharma Talk, which can be viewed below.

Our July birthdays

Our July birthdays

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Obon/Hatsubon & Remembrance Day Service

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We held our Obon, Hatsubon, and Remembrance Day service, remembering and honoring those who passed before us. For Hatsubon, the names of the members who passed in the last year were called and family members offered incense. That was followed by our Remembrance Day calling of names of those who passed in July or August of any year.

In his Obon Dharma Message, Rev. Sumikawa spoke of the history of Obon in the Jodo Shinshu tradition. Obon is a festival of memories and joy. We gather in joy, remembering all of our ancestors, without whom each of us would not exist.

If you go back 10 generations, you have 1,024 direct ancestors. Going back 20 generations, that's over 10.2 million direct ancestors. If any one of those individuals were missing, you would not exist. 

Kailua Hongwanji's Obon is on Saturday, July 28. There will be no service on July 29 (Bon Dance clean up), no services in August (summer break), and no service on September 2. Our next Family Service will be on Sunday, September 9, 2018. 

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Hatsubon Service

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Our Hatsubon Service was held on Sunday, July 10 at the temple. The Hatsubon commemorates the first obon since the passing of a loved one.