rev. usuki’s page - west los angeles buddhist...

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Vol. 59, No. 5 May 2016 REV. USUKI’S PAGE

WLA 80 Plus Luncheon and Yard Sale

The dream seen in this world is momentary, but the Karma of a hundred thousand eons

Is contained within it. We are born like bubbles in the water,

And, like smoke dissipating in the air … are forgotten.

Takeko Kujo, “Eternity in a Moment,” Muyuge (1985, p.22)

The WLA Buddhist Temple Yard Sale has been going strong for many years, ever since Mrs. Chiyo Nitta dreamed of a fund-raiser to provide lunches for those seniors who are 80 years and older. What great foresight

it was for this temple. Not only does it fund the monthly luncheon, but the luncheon also brings together temple elders who may not have many opportunities to see and enjoy friends as they did in the past. Another benefit is the gathering of the many ladies who volunteer to diligently prepare the great dishes. It is a sight to see them working in the kitchen and serving the guests. Masako Ishioka, who has taken over the event after Chiyo’s passing nearly three years ago, is carrying on this wonderful tradition today.

The Yard Sale is our second biggest event after our famous Obon Festival. For one Saturday in June, it brings together the neighbors and peo-ple from distant places to scour the temple yard for used treasures. Donated items are collected throughout the year, and Masako diligently sorts all items one by one, and prices and tags them, making sure that the items are worthy for sale. It takes tremendous time and effort. Many items are not put out for sale unless they are clean and useable. It is a remarkable process. Just like the beautiful lunch she serves, the yard sale items are carefully sorted out and

presented. Please see the photos below.

I have witnessed this procedure for the last 12 years and I am still fascinated. Many items come from house cleaning or from the estate of a deceased person. Since the items generally belonged to the early Issei or Nisei members or community residents, there are many beautiful Japanese goods that have been diligently and carefully treasured by them throughout their lifetimes. People have many reasons to donate the items to the temple. They may have been treasures to the owners, but their children or grandchildren often decline them. Yet, they are too precious to simply give away or discard. Thus it is that exquisite Japanese dishes, dolls, artwork, kimono, large serving plates, furniture, and crafts come to our Yard Sale. It is rather sad to imagine the history of these items and to know how much they meant to the owners.

Although 80 Plus Lunch and Yard Sale photos have been shown in our Bulletin in the past, they continue to teach us more profound les-sons about life. As it is with all things, nothing can be kept forever. This is what I have learned from the 80 Plus Lunch and Yard Sale. It is sad to see so many nice things being brought to us by families. Many items will not find a home with another family, so after the sale, a huge pile of unsold items is given away to another charity. Having leftovers creates a dilemma for us, but we have no choice but to pass them on to another good cause.

mail: [email protected] web: http://westlosangelesbuddhisttemple.org

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.wlabt.org/

West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple May 2016

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As difficult as it is to let go of the many precious things that we have become so attached to, this is an important exercise that everyone should go through. When it is our turn, the Yard Sale will be a wonderful opportunity to donate items that were treasured so much for so long. The temple is such an appropriate place to experi-ence this lesson of letting go of things and con-tributing to something worthwhile that brings joy to others at the same time.

As far as religious belongings go, many families wonder what to do with the family Buddhist altar, the butsudan, when they can no longer use it for one reason or another. Along with it, Buddhist books and articles such as Onenju are equally difficult to discard. I consider it my responsibility to take such items and relieve the owners of the emotion or quandary they may go

through when they inherit them from their parents. I can’t tell you how many butsudan we have at the temple but they are stored every-where. Some smaller butsudan can be donated to another family. But many older and larger butsudan that are weathered and cannot be restored are not adoptable. I will have to sort them out eventually and make my own decision as to their future.

Whatever people choose to bring to the temple, they can rest assured that everything is treated with care and respect. We are very grateful that we can help the community in this way, and we are glad that people continue to show the prop-er reverence toward religious items that gave so much comfort to their loved ones. We never know when they might bring joy to someone else.

Original 80 Plus Gourmet Ladies

Chiyo Nitta (4th from the right) and the Ladies

< Leo & Barbara Tanaka, Ikuko Yamamoto, Yuki Sakurai, and Sam Hada

Crowded luncheon > in social hall

< Alice Umeda, Kiyo Teramaye, Torako Akutagawa, and Dorothy Ikkanda

2001 >


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November 2005

January 2012

March 2014

April 2014

March 2016 - corned beef & cabbage


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Check out

Tom Ikkanda

Connie Yahata and Beverly Yahata

Long day for Kathy & Vance Nishimoto

Hidemi Ohkawahira with fishing enthusiasts

Kayo Ohkawahira on the run

Tak Morimoto and Sho Matsumi

Jack Fujimoto and Stanley Ikeda


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New WLA Neighborhood Parking Restrictions

Please be aware of the new parking restrictions that may have taken effect in our neighborhood this year. These restrictions were passed by the City of Los Angeles after the petition was filed with the city. The affected area is as follows:

Parking District 49 - North: Missouri Avenue, South: W. Olympic Boulevard West: Barrington Avenue, East: Beloit Avenue

Restrictions: * 2-hour parking 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday only. Vehicles with District No. 49 permits exempted.

* NO PARKING any other time, including Saturday and Sunday.

Please contact the office if you have any questions. UPCOMING SERVICES AND EVENTS

2016 Annual Calendar Updated

Summary of the website calendar changes:

Obon meetings (4th Wed.): 4/27, 5/25, 6/22

Wine-A-Palooza 2: 5/21 7-9 pm

Memorial Day cemetery services: 9 am Woodlawn, 11 am Inglewood

80 Plus Yard Sale: 6/25

April 15 (Friday): Bingo April 17 (Sunday): No service April 24 (Sunday): Family service April 25 (Monday): 80 Plus lunch May 1 (Sunday): Family service May 7 (Saturday): Shotsuki hoyo May 8 (Sunday): Gotan-e Shinran Shonin’s birthday

and Mother’s Day service May 15 (Sunday): Family service

May 20 (Friday): Bingo May 21 (Saturday): Wine-A-Palooza 2

(flyer on page 13) May 22 (Sunday): No service May 23 (next-to-last Monday): 80 Plus lunch May 29 (Sunday): Family service May 30 (Monday): Memorial Day cemetery services

TEMPLE CLOSED June 5 (Sunday): Family service June 10 (Friday): Last day to bring Yard Sale items June 11 (second Saturday): Shotsuki hoyo June 12 (Sunday): Family service June 17 (Friday): Bingo June 19 (Sunday): Dads & Grads service

COME TASTE THE DHARMA!

Join us for Study Class Thursdays at 1:00 PM

Coffee and refreshments, too!

~ Everyone Welcome ~


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Adachi, KensaburoAkashi, DavidAkutagawa, TaroAmiya, KatsuyoshiDaly, DeniseFujikawa, MatsukoFujino, HarryGomez, BernardHarada, KakujiHayashi, YoshioHiga, TomohikoHirano, KimikoIkeda, EkiIkkanda, TomInouye, MargaretIshikura, YoshioIwamoto, TomikoIwasaki, EchikoKagawa, Harry

Kagawa, RichKamibayashi, RoyKamikihara, NobukoKamitsubo, AyakoKamitsubo, GuriKato, NobukazuKikunaga, JoeKobayashi, MasasukeKobayashi, TamakoKoyama, ChokichiMaeda, EdithMatsubara, TsurukoMatsuda, SamMatsuura, KanjiroMinato, JoeMiyamoto, YukinoMori, MasakiMori, TakaMorikawa, Yae

Morioka, KentaroNakamura, Tatsuno-sukeNaramura, ShizueNiiya, GeorgeNishi, NijiroNishi, ToyoNishimoto, AsayoNishimoto, MasaoNishimoto, KitoNoda, MitsuakiOhigashi, ToshiyeOkimoto, YurikoOkita, SetsuyoOyanagi, SumikoOyanagi, TetsuSakahara, KiyoshiSato, MarionShinmoto, George

Shirasawa, KatsusukeShirasawa, KeithShirasawa, MatsukoSuzuki, HatsukoSuzuki, TatsuoTakata, IkuoTakayama, TomTakayama, TsuneTakazumi, BunsukeTakazumi, HatsuTakeuchi, BeaTakeuchi, MichikoTanaka, JungoYamada, KoheiYoshii, ChizuruYoshimi, Gerald

JUNE SHOTSUKI HOYO, 10:00 a.m. Saturday, June 11, 2016 (second Saturday)

Dote, FumiyeFujino, YoshiFukiage, MiyukiHayashida, IsekichiHirabayashi, JoeHisaoka, DenichiIkemiya, ShigeakiItaya, PaulineIwamoto, ShoheiKawasaki, MinekoKinoshita, ZenzoKishi, SukeichiroKitahara, KeikowKitahara, MisukoKiyohiro, MarshallKoda, HideoMaeda, Emiko

Masuda, ChieMasuda, IshiMatsumoto, BobMiyake, KinueMiyasaki, TetsutaroMiyata, FredNakamura, KatsumiNakamura, KikueNakamura, ShuichiNakamura, SumikoNakamura, TatsumiNakasako, DoreenNakasako, NedNakashima, OwariNakawatase, ReikoNicho, TsukasaNishida, Mitoshi

Nishimoto, HisaeNonoguchi, ChiyoichiOgawa, TakeshiOhara, HideyoshiOkubo, TomiOnami, TazukoOshimo, TakeruSakurai, WilliamSasaki, KoyoshiSasaki, SeinoSeike, KazukoShimohira, IchiShintaku, JunSoeda, ToshioSujishi, MutsukoSunada, MiyaichiTakade, Yasue

Takahashi, ShotaTakayama, FrankTakemoto, YoshihikoTanigawa, YukioTerada, FumiToguchida, GonoTonai, IchiroUchida, AmyYamaguchi, MidoriYasuda, AkiraYasuda, YeikoYonemori, YoshitoYoshimoto, NoboruYoshimoto, Peggy

MAY SHOTSUKI HOYO, 10:00 a.m. Saturday, May 7, 2016

CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILIES OF:

Miyoko TachikiSeptember 28, 1920 - February 25, 2016(We apologize to the Tachiki family for publishing the

incorrect date of death last month.)

Kazue "Bambi" KudoNovember 1, 1924 - March 15, 2016

Henry Toshio YamaguchiNovember 2, 1930 - March 31, 2016

Mary Shigeko AkashiDecember 24, 1917 - March 26, 2016


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Sei Shohara Receives BCA Lifetime Service Award! On March 5, 2016, Sei Shohara, our good friend and fellow-traveler in the Dharma, was presented with the BCA Lifetime Service Award in recognition of his extraordinary service to BCA and its members. The Award recognizes ministers and lay members who have demonstrated a lifetime of outstanding leadership, achievement, and service towards the advancement of BCA. This was only the fourth time it has been presented in BCA’s 117 year history.

The Award was presented by Dr. Kent Matsuda, BCA President, and by the BCA Bishop, Rev. Kodo Umezu, in Visalia, Califor-nia at the annual BCA Ministers’ Association and National Council Meetings. We all congratulate Sei and Yasuko on this great accomplishment.

Metta, Richard A. Stambul Obon Festival Kombu Dashi Chef

Left to right: Sei Shohara, Yasuko Shohara, Dr. Kent Matsuda, and Bishop Rev. Kodo Umezu

Dharma Buddies

Pre-Banquet Cheer

Rev. Kory Quon and Neal Yahata

Thank you to Rev. Michael Endo, Tom Nishikawa, and Connie Yahata for the photos.


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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE by Connie Yahata

Last month, on March 4-6, I attended the BCA National Council Meeting in Visalia, CA. I would like to take this oppor-tunity to disseminate some key points from the meeting:

• Rev. Kodo Umezu will be Bishop for another four years.

• As we all know, most temples are facing the problem of declining membership and the assessments are calculated based on the total number of official temple members. In other words, if BCA’s budget is unchanged, the assessment will increase. Therefore, for 2016, the assessment will increase from $109.39 to $114.23 per temple member.

• Six new BCA ministers were introduced and are assigned as follows: Rev. Matthew Hamasaki – Central California District, Rev. Hayashi – Ekoji Buddhist Temple, Rev. Kory Quon – Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple, Rev. Sala Miho Sekiya – Seatle Betsuin Bud-dhist Temple, Rev. Candice Shibata – Berke-ley Buddhist Temple and Rev. Mutsumi Wondra – Orange County Buddhist Church.

• If you wish to view videos of messages on YouTube, three are currently available – Rev. Kory Quon, Rev. Candice Shibata and Rev. Mutsumi Wondra.

• Videos are also available for viewing of the 2016 Winter Pacific Seminar (East Meets West) on YouTube.

• The Jodo Shinshu Center will be celebrating its 10th anniversary on October 22, 2016.

• The 44th Conference of the Federation of Buddhist Women’s Associations (FBWA) will be held on October 7-9, 2016 at the Westin Bellevue Hotel in WA. The theme is “Linked in the Nembutsu” Tsunagatte. Dr. Sharon Suh will be the English Keynote Speaker and Rev. Mutsumi Wondra of Orange Coun-ty Buddhist Church will be the Japanese Keynote Speaker.

• Finally, at the banquet held on Saturday, March 5th, Mr. Sei Shohara was bestowed a most prestigious award from BCA – the BCA Lifetime Service Award. This was only the 4th time it has been presented in BCA’s 117 year history. Congratulations!!!!!

Blooms outside conference hall

Chinese dinner Neal & Connie Yahata, Reverends Patricia & Fumiaki Usuki, Rick Stambul


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SOUTHERN DISTRICT JR. YBA SEMINAR 2 by Justin Mizushima

On February 20, Venice and WLA Jr. YBA hosted Seminar 2 at WLA Buddhist Temple. Around 70 delegates attended. The theme of the seminar was “In the “I’s” of the Beholder.” The “I ’s” stand for impermanence and interdependence.

The first workshop was called the game of Life. In this workshop, delegates got into groups of four or five and were joined by a leader of the workshop. Each group was given a sce-nario of an average family and roles for each per-son to play. For example, say there was a family of four: a mom, dad, older son, and younger daughter. The son is just starting high school and wants to join the football team. He gets in, but because of it, his grades drop. The daughter is starting kindergarten and does not want to be apart from her parents and cries all day there. The dad is a lawyer and the mom takes care of the house. Then, different obstacles would be thrown at the family like losing a job or failing a test. The family would then have to find the best way to deal with these problems. This workshop depicted the idea of impermanence and how ever-

changing life can be.

The second workshop involves building towers out of straws and tape. The goal was to build the tallest, self-standing tower while only using your non-dominant hand. The delegates would have to depend on their group mates to build a tower. Th i s wor kshop was a f o r m o f in t e r de - pendence.

The last, and my personal favorite, workshop integrated a story called “Stone Soup” into the theme. The story is about how it takes a whole village to create a great batch of soup. For the workshop, each chapter was asked to bring a different ingredient for curry. During the actual workshop, the delegates prepared and cooked the ingredients and made curry, which we all ate for dinner. This really i llustrated the idea of interdependence. The people in the village couldn't have made soup if it weren’t for everyone working together.

The seminar ended with a dance that was DJed by Justin Parker, a Venice Jr. YBA member. I had fun and hopefully everyone else did, too. But more importantly, I hope the teachings and messages resonated with everyone who attended.

Happy Birthday to

Ichiro Ouchi and

Terumi Iwamoto

80 Plus Lunch Monday, March 28

SENIOR EXERCISE PROGRAM AND NUTRITIONAL LUNCH Japanese Institute of Sawtelle

Exercise Program 9-10 a.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

8:30-9:30 a.m. Thursday, Friday

Nutritional Lunch Program 11 a.m. Monday - Friday ~ uniquely offers gohan ~


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BWA NEWS by Connie Yahata

Our condolences are extended to the family of Mrs. Mary Akashi, who passed away on March 26, 2016.

March 13, 2016 – BWA meeting was called to order by co-President Haru Matsumune at

11:00 a.m. We would like to express our gratitude and appreciation to the following: Mrs. Alice Umeda for her generous donation to BWA; to the various BWA members who helped pack and distribute the chirashi on March 20th at our Ohigan service; and finally to Jacqui Pierce, who completed the BWA 2015 album. Please feel free to browse through the booklet. It is located the meeting room.

To bring up an old business matter, I had mentioned some time ago that I wanted to publish a WLABT cookbook. To date, I have received a handful of recipes from members, but not nearly enough for a cookbook. I know we have a tremendous number of excellent cooks out there. Don’t be shy. Please send copies of your favorite family recipes to me to be memorialized in our future cookbook. You can drop it off at the office or send a copy to: [email protected]. With your help, we can make this happen! With gassho.

Next meeting: June 5 at 11:00 a.m. See you there!

TECHNOBUDDHA CONFERENCE by Terumi Yahata

This year marked the 9th Annual TechnoBuddha conference for young adults aged 21-39, which took place March 25-27 at the Jodo Shinshu Center in Berke-ley CA. Being my second confer-ence, going to the JSC was more like a homecoming than an an-nual meeting of people. Seeing the faces of those I met last year

was like seeing family again, and it is always great meeting new people who are interested in the Jodo Shinshu tradition.

This year there were 65 attendees, from all over California and even Hawaii, who enjoyed the amazing food, six themed workshops, and social activities (and yes, this includes going to the local bar … to discuss Buddhism of course). Organizing the conference every year is really a team effort and this year’s committee—one member being our very own (Mitchell) Tsuyoshi Yahata—was fantastic in planning the theme, activities, and schedule to make for an awesome event.

This year’s theme was Mindfulness and what it means to us in today’s world, where it is seen as a “buzzword” for relaxation techniques and hip yoga studios. To help us on our journey in under-standing mindfulness was keynote speaker Rev.

Henry Adams (who was amazing by the way and you should listen to him speak immediately). Along with hilarious and insightful anecdotes, Rev. Adams got many of us thoughtfully discuss-ing how we can be mindful through something we call upon in our everyday lives that carries so much hidden meaning, the nembutsu. The first character “nen,” meaning to contemplate or to think on, to be mindful, represents that we can always look to and rely on the teachings of the “butsu” or Buddha as we walk on our paths through life. To be mindful of the nembutsu, to say Namo Amida Butsu, is to think on the Buddha’s immeasurable wisdom and compas-sion. If we stay mindful we are never alone and can always turn to the teachings to guide us.

In closing, this year’s conference was a blast! Workshops included Buddhism 101 for new-comers to Jodo Shinshu, Buddhism 201 for those who want to dive deeper, Enneagram Personality types, Yoga, Photo Collections, and Mixology. The planned, and unplanned, social activities allowed me to meet many wonderful new people and better connect with those I met last year. For those reading this article and having the slightest itch that this sounds fun and may be for you or someone close, sign up for next year’s conference! We will be celebrating TechnoBuddha’s 10th Anniversary and it is sure to be bigger and better! You can look for it on Facebook, TechnoBuddha Conference, to stay updated on important dates and events.


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OHIGAN SEMINAR

Saturday, March 19

Rev. Mutsumi Wondra Orange County Buddhist Church

Rev. Masaso Kodani Minister Emeritus


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May 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1

9:30 am Family service

11 am BWA meeting

2 Rev. Usuki off

3 Rev. Usuki off

4 [1-3 pm Shigin] 7 pm service and board meeting

5 1 pm Study Class (E) 7:30 pm Taiko

6 7

10 am Shotsuki hoyo

8

9:30 am Gotan-e (Shinran Shonin’s birthday) and Mother’s Day service

9 Rev. Usuki off

10

10:30 am SDMA mtg, LA Betsuin

11 [1-3 pm Shigin] [7 pm WLAYC]


13 7 pm service and SD Council mtg, Gardena

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15


16 Rev. Usuki off

17 Rev. Usuki off

18 [1-3 pm Shigin] [7-9 pm SJA]

19

Omimai 1 pm Study Class (E) 7:30 pm Taiko

20 [Rev. Usuki, Palo Alto] 7 pm Bingo

21 [Rev. Usuki, Palo Alto] 7-9 pm Wine-a-palooza

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NO service [Rev. Usuki, Palo Alto]

23 12 pm 80+ lunch

24 Rev. Usuki off

25 [1-3 pm Shigin] 7:30 pm Obon meeting


27 28

29


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Memorial Day cemetery services 9 am Woodlawn 11 am Inglewood TEMPLE CLOSED

31 Rev. Usuki off

Bulletin folding

toban: Taiko

Office hours: 10 am - 4 pm (M-F)

phone: 310-477-7274 e-mail: [email protected]

website: http://westlosangelesbuddhisttemple.org/

2016 年 5 月日曜日月曜日火曜日水曜日木曜日金曜日土曜日

1

午前 9:30 サービス

午前11 BWA ミーテング

2

宇宿先生休み

3

宇宿先生休み

4

[午後1詩吟]

午後7 サービス

幹部ミーテング

5

午後1 スタデークラス(英)

午後7:30 タイコ

6 7

午前10 祥月法要

8

午前9:30降誕会,

母の日サービス

9

宇宿先生休み

10

午前10:30 開教師会

西別院

11 [午後1詩吟] [7 pm WLAYC]

12



13 午後 7 サービス SD council ミーテング

14

15

午前9:30サービス

16

宇宿先生休み

17

宇宿先生休み

18 [午後1詩吟] [7-9 pm SJA]

19

おみまい



20 宇宿先生, Palo Alto 午後7 ビンゴー

21 宇宿先生, Palo Alto 7-9 pm Wine-a-palooza

22 お寺休み

23

正午80+中ランチ

24

宇宿先生休み

25

[午後1詩吟]

午後7: 30 お盆

ミーテング

26



27 28

29

午前9:30サービス 30 [お寺休み]

セメテリ•サービス

午前9ウードロン墓

地午前11イングルウ

ード墓地

31

宇宿先生休み

会報作リ

当番:

タイコ

オフィス時間：

午前十時 — 午後四時 (月-金) 電話：310 - 477 - 7274

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