Kailua Hongwanji members were up bright and early for the 6th annual Family Promise of Hawai`i 5K Fun Run at Kailua Intermediate School.
Family Promise has assisted hundreds of homeless families in Hawaii transition into long-term housing. Kailua Hongwanji partners with the temples in the Honpa Hongwanji’s Honolulu District to support Family Promise throughout the year.
At the end of the course, the Junior YBAs served shave ice.
Dennis Tashiro gave today’s Dharma Talk, sharing how he finds inner peace.
Peace begins with me.
I try to achieve my inner peace and tranquility
…By doing regular and frequent activities
…By assessing my activities and eliminating those that create stress and anxiety
…By being positive while doing the activities and
Being aware of limitations - of mine especially and others, and
Being appreciative of efforts used to do the activities - my own and particularly of others
Another way Dennis finds inner peace is through music, and he shared several video clips from the recent 2018 Choralfest. Dennis was one of several Kailua Hongwanji members who participated in this year’s Choralfest at Hawaii Betsuin in September.
In his Dharma Talk, Rev. Sumikawa explained the role of the sangha in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism and its importance to our temple.
Joy kicked off her Dharma Talk about interconnectedness by leading the congregation in the Baby Shark Dance, the YouTube phenomenon with over 1.7 billion views. She closed with the question, “Can you imagine if Buddhism spread like Baby Shark did?”
For our First Sunday family activities, we made paper-strip pumpkins and mixed up a batch of colorful slime.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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