Sunday Family Service

Today’s Dharma Talk was given by Shirley Yanagisawa. November is a month of showing gratitude. From Veterans’ Day where we thank our military members for their service to Eitaikyo and, at the end of the month, Thanksgiving. Shirley shared what she’s thankful for, including her family, the sangha, being able to travel, and, most recently, the University of Hawaii Wahine volleyball team.

Jean brought emergency water storage bags, which have been provided by several state and local government agencies and are being distributed through Project Dana.

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Eitaikyo Service & Remembrance Day

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Our guest speaker for our Eitaikyo Service was Rev. David Fujimoto. Rev. Fujimoto is the resident minister of Mililani Hongwanji. The Eitaikyo Service is a time to remember all the members who came before us and their many contributions that have allowed us to continue spreading the dharma today.

Watch Rev. Fujimoto’s Eitaikyo Dharma Talk on our YouTube channel below.

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Sunday Family Service & Dharma School

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At today’s family service, in honor of Veterans’ Day, we recognized our military veterans and thanked them for their service. Today we were visited by Mililani Hongwanji Dharma School children and parents. The WBT and Mililani children made stone soup and did crafts together.

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First Sunday Family Service

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Prudence read a story called “A Swim” from the children’s book, “Adventures of Frog and Toad.” The story is one of several stories in the book about the friendship between a frog and a toad. The story Prudence read was fun for the children but also was interesting for the adults.

Today we celebrated November birthdays, but only Rev. Bert was present. Two children celebrated with Rev. Bert as the congregation sang happy birthday.

Our inter generational activity was Thanksgiving card making.

Sunday Family Service & Remembrance Day

Today was a very busy day, starting with our monthly Remembrance Day program. On this day, we remember those who passed away during the month of October of any year by reading their names and offering incense.

Jennifer Kane, who attended this year’s Minister’s Lay Assistant Retreat lead today’s sutra reading. Bob Nishita gave today’s Dharma Talk.

Bob reflected on the importance of learning from the past while looking ahead to the future. Growing up, he remembered playing games and losing — and being a poor sport about it. His father would remind him that losing was something that would happen in life — you have to learn from it and move on.

Following the service, we had a parade of those who came in their Halloween finest and we enjoyed an array of spooky treats.

We held a mini-bazaar featuring 1-day sale pricing on a selection of items. We sold our remaining inventory of fabric cushions, luggage identifiers, and greeting cards, along with freshly baked mango bread, chutney, hand-crafted nenju, and fukubukuro surprise bags.

Finally, several volunteers remained after refreshments to assemble our November newsletter for mailing. Mahalo!

Halloween Costumes & Scary Refreshments

Mini-Bazaar Fundraiser

Newsletter Assembly Line

Sunday Family Service

In his Dharma Talk, Dr. Michael Jaffe shared what he’s learned about Hawaii after moving his family to the islands a couple years ago. Dr. Jaffe has found that the aloha spirit is what makes Hawaii special and that it often parallels the spiritual principle of karma, or causation, where kind thoughts lead to kind words, which in turn lead to kind actions.

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Sunday Family Service & Dharma School

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We were joined today by Cub Scouts of St. Anthony’s School Pack 223, who attended our Sunday Service and Dharma School. They read the story, Stone Soup, learned about interdependence, and took part in a fun physical challenge to untangle themselves through the use of good communication (and the help of some of the adults).

Today’s Dharma Talk was given by Rev. Sumikawa, who shared the principle of dependent arising. Dependent arising, or dependent origination, can refer to the cycle of rebirth in Buddhist teachings, as well as things depending on causes and conditions.

Dharma School

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First Sunday Family Service

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Today’s Dharma Talk was given by Keiji Kukino. Kuki gave a brief history of yesterday’s first ever Bon Dance Festival at Windward Mall and how it came to be. Kuki also shared how he came to the understanding through Shinran’s teachings that the remembrance services after a death are really for the living, as the deceased are already cared for.

After today’s service, we celebrated October birthdays and, following refreshments, we welcomed the return of our monthly inter-generational First Sunday activities. Today’s activity was a toilet paper pumpkin craft.

Happy October birthdays, Jett and Annette!

First Sunday Activity: Toilet Paper Pumpkins