Our Dana (Sanskrit meaning "selfless giving") Day Service featured a guest speaker, Cyndi Osajima, Executive Director of Project Dana. Project Dana is a program that provides a multitude of services to the elderly and disabled through a corps of volunteers. Our M.C. for today, Jean Fukumoto, is Windward Buddhist Temple's Project Dana site coordinator.
Watch Cyndi’s Dharma Talk below.
For today’s Dharma Talk, Dennis discussed symbolism in both everyday situations, such as emojis, and in national icons, such as the Statue of Liberty. Did you notice that the Statue of Liberty is taking a step forward?
One of today’s First Sunday’s activities had to do with Indra’s net, and Dennis shared the symbolism around the interconnected jewels that we attached to the image of the world as we entered the temple. Our second activity was a Valentine’s Day craft, which both the kids and the adults enjoyed.
When the Aging with Dignity founder Jim Towey visited Mother Teresa’s home for the dying in India he was impressed with how people were treated with compassion and love. It inspired him to develop and present Five Wishes to individuals and groups who wanted to communicate their wishes to their families and caregivers of how they wanted to be handled during time when they could not speak for themselves.
The Hongwanji Compassionate Care Committee has engaged Kokua Mau to present this program at each temple as a service to its members, families and friends.
The Five Wishes are wishes for:
The person I want to make care decisions for me when I cannot.
The kind of medical treatment I want or don’t want.
How comfortable I want to be.
How I want people to treat me.
What I want my loved ones to know.
Hope Young, Advance Care Planning Coordinator with Kokua Mau, presented the Five Wishes workshop to Windward Buddhist Temple members, family, and friends after our service on January 27.
Wrapping up the month in which we remember Martin Luther King, Jr. and we observe Hoonko, Shinran Shonin’s memorial, Rev. Sumikawa shared the 7 masters of Jodo Shinshu. Today was also our Remembrance Day, in which we remembered family and friends who passed before us in the month of January.
Our visitors from Moilili Hongwanji Mission
Today’s Dharma Talk was given by Bob Nishita. Bob shared a cartoon that he saw that showed two people facing each other with a sign in between them. One person insisted that the sign showed a “nine,” while the other was positive that it was a “six.” Both were right; they just couldn’t see it from the other person’s perspective.
He also shared a show he watched on NHK, The Fisherman and the Forest. The documentary tells the story of an oyster farmer Shigeatsu Hatakeyama, who is forced to rebuild after the 2011 tsunami devastated the ocean that he farmed. The story demonstrates the interdependence of all life, as the path to recovery is found in the surrounding forest.
The Hoonko Service is the annual commemoration of the passing of Jodo Shinshu founder, Shinran Shonin. Our guest speaker for our Hoonko Service was Rev. Thomas Okano, retired Bishop of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii.
Rev. Sumikawa welcomed the new year in our first family service in 2019. It is the year of the pig, the twelfth of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac cycle. It is a year to reflect on the previous 11 years and period of joy and relaxation. He also shared Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii’s theme for 2019, “Embrace Change: Transformation (Walk in Peace).”
We celebrated January birthdays today. One member, Patsy, is celebrating her 95th birthday. Happy birthday!
After refreshments, which included ozoni, we held our monthly First Sunday activity. This month, we made botamochi (ohagi), a Japanese sweet made with glutinous rice, rice and sweet azuki paste.
I am again honored to serve as your President for a second year. I look back on 2018 and am grateful for the support I received from the Sangha as we worked together to create a place where we can not only learn but to practice the Dharma.
Some of the changes that occurred last year include changes in the altar. The Buddha’s statue graced by the scrolls of Shinran Shonin and Rennyo Shonin now fills our main altar. The photo and writing of the new Gomonshu are hanging in the main hall. The beautiful altar cloth is used at all of the major services.
Reverend Sumikawa has office hours on Saturday and Mondays. In addition, he has started early Saturday morning chanting and walking meditation on Monday evenings. Several people interested in learning Buddhism have participated in these activities.
I believe that our members find support from one other as we gather after each service to enjoy refreshment that fellow members have prepared. I am grateful for the many members who work “behind the scenes” such as the temple grounds maintenance crew, the newsletter editor, those who change the weekly service program, the team leaders of the temple prep teams, to name a few. There are many others who volunteer to fill various needs for Sunday service. To all of these members, thank you. To all of you who attend Sunday services and other temple sponsored activities, thank you. Without you we will not have the third Treasure: The Sangha.
We begin to use our new name Windward Buddhist Temple this year. With this change our community expands to include the other Windward communities and we need to find ways to spread the Dharma to those communities.
I am grateful for what we have accomplished this past year to share the Dharma through our services and programs. I look forward to work with the Board of Directors to find more ways to meet the spiritual needs of the members and the community.
Wishing you a Happy, Healthy, Safe and Peaceful New Year.
In Gassho,
Prudence Kusano
President
Windward Buddhist Temple
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