"Lessons Learned"
KHM 50th Anniversary
Events Calendar
Fall Ohigan Service with Guest Speaker Rev. Yuika Hasebe
Our guest speaker for our Fall Ohigan service was Rev. Yuika Hasebe. Rev. Hasebe is currently an Associate Minister at Hawaii Betsuin, but was once a liaison minister at Kailua Hongwanji. Rev. Hasebe shared the importance of reciting the Nembutsu, namo amida butsu.
Watch Rev. Hasebe’s Fall Ohigan Dharma Talk below or view it on our YouTube channel.
Cynthia showed us a preview of our First Sunday activity for October.
"First Sunday" Family Service
Today’s Dharma Message was given by Prudence, who shared a story about a gumyocho, a two-headed bird.
One head was named Karuda and the other Upakaruda. The heads had differing desires, which often caused conflicts between Karuda and Upakaruda.
One day, Karuda feasted until he could eat no more, while Upakaruda slept. When Upakaruda woke, he found he couldn’t enjoy the food since their stomach was stuffed from Karuda’s feasting.
Feeling resentful, Upakaruda ate poisonous fruits, hoping to punish Karuda. As expected, when Karuda woke, the poison kicked in and he died. Of course, because they shared the same body, the poison that killed Karuda soon after killed Upakaruda.
Before dying, Upakaruda realized the interconnectedness of his life and Karuda’s. By harming one, they both suffered.
After the service, we celebrated August and September birthdays. After refreshments, we had our First Sunday activity (postponed from earlier in the month due to our 50th Anniversary celebration), assembling paper plate doves to hang on our Peace Day tree.
Kailua Hongwanji 50th Anniversary Lunch
Bishop Eric Matsumoto gives his congratulatory message
After our 50th Anniversary Service at the temple, we celebrated with a luncheon at Mid-Pacific Country Club. Old photos and albums from the archives were on display for members to reminisce upon. Congratulatory messages were read by Bishop Eric Matsumoto and Pieper Toyama, President of Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii.
This was followed by a special video produced by Joy & John Nishida, Joshua Chang, and Neil Yamamoto. The video can be viewed by clicking below.
Before departing, we joined hands and sang Hawai'i Aloha
Kailua Hongwanji 50th Anniversary Service
On August 10, 1968, Kailua Hongwanji Mission became a full-fledged, independent temple of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii. Fifty years later, we celebrate accomplishing many of the goals our predecessors had, including replacing the former temple, a repurposed home, with a modern, multi-purpose building that serves the membership and the broader community.
We held a special service on September 9, 2018 to celebrate Kailua Hongwanji Mission's 50th anniversary. We were honored to have in attendance Bishop Eric Matsumoto; Pieper Toyoama, President of Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii; and several past KHM resident ministers and Kyodan presidents. Everyone in attendance also received a special 50th Anniversary program and a logo gift.
After the service, we took a group photo (thanks Josh Chang for squeezing us all in without any hidden faces) and proceeded to a luncheon at Mid-Pacific Country Club.
Inaugural Hongwanji Joint Conference
Top row: Shirley Yanagisawa, Kuki Kukino, Dennis Tashiro. Bottom row: Jennifer Kane, Prudence Kusano, Cynthia Rodriguez
Kailua Hongwanji at the First Joint Conference at the Ala Moana Hotel from September 1 to 3.
September 2018 Newsletter
Obon 2018: Kailua Hongwanji Bon Dance
Obon/Hatsubon & Remembrance Day Service
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.
