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Higashi Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii
1685 Alaneo Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96817
Address Service Requested

Oh,
Ignorance!

In this issue of WA...

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Higashi Hongwanji
Hawaii Betsuin
Bulletin

12

December 2013

Higashi Hongwanji
Mission of Hawaii

Temple Activities Calendar
DECEMBER 201312/1 Sun 10 am Shotsuki memorial service &Sunday school
12/1 Sun 12 pm Basic Buddhism study class
led by Rinban Kawawata in Japanese
12/8 Sun 10 am HBC Bodhi Day service
Jodo Mission of Hawaii
12/10 Tue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practice
12/12 Thu 7 pm ABCs of Buddhism study class
led by Rinban Kawawata in English
12/14 Sat 10 am What on Earth Is Namuamidabutsu?
led by Rev. Frank Childs
12/15 Sun 10 am Bodhi Day service & Sunday school
12/15 Sun 12 pm Betsuin board meeting
12/17 Tue 7 pm O-ko: dharma discussion at Kaneohe
12/22 Sun 10 am Sunday service
12/24 TueNo ukulele class or movie night
12/28 Sat 10 am Annual temple cleaning, followed by
Ehime Maru Memorial cleaning
12/29 SunNo Sunday service
12/31 Tue 5 pm Year-end service (Joya-e)
Toshikoshi soba served after service

JANUARY 2014
1/1
1/5
1/5
1/9

Wed 10 am New Year service (Shusho-e)Ozoni served after service
Sun 10 am Shotsuki memorial service &Sunday school
Sun 12 pm Basic Buddhism study classਠ৻ୁदบઇ॑ୂऒअ

Thu

1/11 Sat
1/12
1/14
1/19
1/19
1/21
1/26
1/28
1/28
1/28

Sun
Tue
Sun
Sun
Tue
Sun
Tue
Tue
Tue

led by Rinban Kawawata in Japanese
7 pm ABCs of Buddhism study class
led by Rinban Kawawata in English
10 am What on Earth Is Namuamidabutsu?
led by Rev. Frank Childs
10 am Sunday service
3 pm Ukulele class/band practice
10 am Sunday service & Sunday school
12 pm Betsuin board meeting
7 pm O-ko: dharma discussion at Kaneohe
10 am Sunday service
1 pm Recitation circle
3 pm Ukulele class/band practice
6:30 pm Movie night: TBA
Fukuhara Conference Room

Everyone is welcome to join in on our sutra chanting at 7 am daily (except Sundays) in the Betsuin Main Hall.

At Higashi Hongwanji, we
remain true to our origins
as an open Sangha,
welcoming anyone who
wishes to learn more
about the Jodo Shinshu
tradition of Buddhism.
A registered 501(c)3 organization

President: Faye Shigemura
Rinban: Kenjun Kawawata
Minister: Makoto Honda
Associate Minister:Frank Childs
1685 Alaneo Street
Honolulu, HI 96817
Tel: (808) 531-9088
Fax: (808) 531-3265
Email: hhhb@me.com
Wa is published monthly byHigashi Hongwanji Mission of
Hawaii for its members andfriends. Comments, articles andother items for publicationconsideration are welcomed.
Editor: Ken Saiki

Bodhi Day 2013
#JTIPQ,FO,BXBXBUB

T

his month, before we even realize it, we’re already at the end of the year.
Where, oh where did 2013 go? I hope, though, that everybody had agood and meanigful year.
In December we hold our annual Bodhi Day service. Bodhi Day, Dec. 8, isthe day of awakening of Sakyamuni Buddha. Bodhi means wisdom, way andawakening. So Bodhi Day celebrates the day of wisdom that the Buddha
attained on the day, when Buddha found the way to leave the suffering of life.
For Sakyamuni Buddha, this was a long journey, which began when he wasyoung, when he saw the realities of the world and himself.
You may know the story of the four gates. When Sakyamuni stepped out
from his palace, he faced realities of life, such as sickness, aging and death.
The fourth time he left the palace he saw a young seeker of the true life.
Then he thought he wanted to spend his life as the seeker.
At that time he established a wish called Bodhicitta, or Bodaishin, whichis the aspiration to be an awakened person in general Buddhism. So when
he saw the young seeker, he wished to have the wisdom or the way to be aliberated person from sufferings, and live fully and freely. We should
establish the same wish in our heart and we can start to walk on the
Buddha’s path. In Jodo Shinshu that wish, which is called yokusho-shin, or
the desire to be reborn into the Pure Land.
Sakyamuni was always thinking about sufferings and peace of mind. How
could he have peace of mind? He thought he could not have peace of mindby having materialistic things or money or power.
When he was 29 years old he left his palace home. For six years he sought
to transcend all of human sufferings. He visited the hermits who taught
ascetic practices and to learn methods of attainment, but he could not attainthe state of his mind that he wanted. In India at that time they thought theascetic practices made them have a pure mind and pure spirit called Nirvana.
Finally he gave up the practices of asceticism. He washed his body andwent under a big Bodhi tree to meditate. He thought he would have toreconsider his way to attain peace of mind.
It is said that early on Dec. 8 he saw a morning star, and at last, he became
the awakened one at age 35. He shouted, “Oh, Ignorance!” He discovered thatthe cause of human suffering is Ignorance. He found ignorance in himself.
(continued on page 2))"8"**#6%%)*45$06/$*-#0%)*%":4&37*$&
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Higashi Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii, 1685 Alaneo Street

Bodhi Day 2013 (cont’d from p. 1)
Then what is ignorance? Ignorance
means we don’t know the truth.
Then what is truth for us? Truth isimpermanence. For us, impermanencemeans aging, sickness, and death.
But in our daily lives we don’t wantto think like this. We always try to avoid
or escape this truth. We wish to bealways young and healthy. Buddha,
too, wished to be young and healthy
and live without change. So Buddha
shouted “Ignorance!” to himself. This
was the real understanding of himself
and truth. Buddha found he lived in aworld of impermanence that is himself.
He became impermanence. He
accepted his life as it is. From this point
he could discover the teaching of thetruth—Dharma—and a new life.
He taught the Dharma for 45 years,
until he died at age of 80. He becamea Bodhisattva, who shares the Dharma
with others and learns together withothers. He showed us the way of life.
It is said that there are 84,000
teachings in Buddhism. But the

84,000 teachings are not all
different; he taught Dharma fromhis realization. The contents of the
84,000 teachings are the same, butconditions and people are different.
So that is why, there are a lot ofteachings in Buddhism.
The main goal of Buddhism,
however, is the same. Becoming a
Bodhisattva, becoming an awakened
one, a person who awakens to true self.
And to become a person who lives indaily life with the peace of mind.
So it is important to remember
him as our teacher. We walk on thepath of the Buddha and Shinran
Shonin. Our everyday lives are on
the way to be Buddha. We listen to
the Buddha’s teaching and reflect
on our lives.
The larger sutra says that people
who live in the Pure Land always
respect each other and live in theharmony. Harmony and respect areimportant for our lives. If we wantto live in the world of harmony thatis peace, we need to respect each

Finding Harmony in Chaos
by Faye ShigemuraAfour-part lecture series in November launched
Higashi Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii’s new
Dharma Study Center. The lectures explored how fourindividuals, Sakyamuni, his wife, Bimba, Shotoku Taishi
and a grandmother in Hawaii all found harmony in thechaos of their ordinary lives.
As I was listening to Dr. George Tanabe’s first words as
his lecture began, they were coming out from his mouth inEnglish, and were full of bright ‘local’ color.

Dr. Tanabe’s easy-to-understand story-telling methods had
listeners wanting to hear more. James Dote photo2other. For respecting others, first we
have to know our own selves. Then we
will know others and we can respect
others whom we share our lives with.
We also share the happiness, thesadness and even anger, too. I thinkthat harmony symbolizes the world of
oneness and real peace and respect
by bowing down, humbly.
That is why Buddha said first ,“Know yourself.” After he attained
his awakening, he continued looking
at himself. Life is changing every
moment. He shares his awakening
with others. Eighty years of his life wasteaching and the path. And 90 yearsof Shinran Shonin’s life was the same
path as the Buddha walked. So wecontinue to listen their teachings andwalk on the same path.
Throughout the occasion of Bodhi
Day and this busy holiday season, we
listen to the Dharma and reflect on
individual lives.
I hope that we will have a peacefulyearend and see a new year filledwith happiness.

How odd, a lecture without a translator. His ideas, histhoughts were flowing out to the audience as though he
was a good friend, focused on using language that we could
relate to, full of a sincere desire to educate and inform.
How odd, I can understand what the lecturer is saying,
and want to listen to more. I sat at the back of the room, andcould see that every person was intensely listening to thisman. Everyone in the room seemed to have ears 10 inches
long, all cupped to face the front of the room, making sure
not one word was missed.
So did the very first lecture of this four-lecture series
begin. You could tell that Dr. Tanabe lectured many times
before. After all, he is Professor Emeritus in the Departmentof Religion at the University of Hawaii.
Organized and loaded with the information wewould need for the next three lectures, he made sure hesystematically laid down the groundwork so we would bebetter prepared to understand—and more importantly—
benefit from his lectures.
A thick air of renewed energy could be felt
throughout the room when the first lecture came to an
end. We could only look forward to the second lecture,
two whole days away.
For those who were not able to attend this lecture
series, umm… shucks. But, good news is, the Dharma
Study Center has additional lecture series like this oneplanned in the coming months, and you might just be
lucky enough to get another opportunity to attend oneof Dr. Tanabe’s presentations. Keep reading your temple
newsletter for announcements.

MahaloGozaimasu

We gratefully acknowledge the following for their generous
contributions. If we’ve missed any donor’s name, please accept
our apologies and let us know by calling the Betsuin at 531-9088
so we can make corrections to our records.

.&.03*"- '6/&3"- */63/.&/5#63*"-4&37*$&
Michele Chan
Dennis Tsuhako
Mid Pac Petroleum

James Hirakawa
Carol Asai-Sato

Victor Kimura
Wayne Ishii
Millicent Yamamoto Walter Yonekura

Ezra & Norma Koike
Debra Saiki
Peggy Arita

Roy Nakamoto

Henry Yoshino

Bert Kaizuka

Masako Yamatani

Matsuko Maeda

Haruko Abe

Barbara Konno

4)0546,*.&.03*"-4&37*$&
Ralph & Betty Nishida Hideo Fukunaga
Wendi Nishikawa
Tadao Iwasaki,:0%"/%0/"5*0/(including columbarium, Otani Center)
Sandra Abelaye

Patrick Miyamura

Tommy Oi

(0+*,"*.&.#&34)*1



Sandra Abelaye

Moriso Teraoka

Shigeko Tsuchida

Ikuto Taketa"-5"3'-03"-"33"/(&.&/54



We wish to extend our deepest
sympathy to the families of the late

Minako Ito)00/,0Masago Asai
Tadao Iwasaki
Helen Suzuki
Roy Nakamoto
Susan Ng
Sharon Kawagoe
Paul & Liane Briggs

James Dote
Takao Matsuzaki
Mildred Tashiro
Kenneth Saiki
Betty Nishida
Sumiko Kubota

Jonathan Tani
Peggy Arita
Toshimasa Arai
Harriet Yamada
Atsuko Nonaka
Beatrice Nakano

O

In Memoriam

Gladys Sakata
Faye Shigemura
Kazue & Sadao Uechi
Roy Hamakawa
Keizaburo Tsuji
Frances Makiyama

Mr. Sadao Uechi (85)November 14, 2013
Mr. Yoshiaki Tobara (96)November 18, 2013
Mrs. Stefanie Kimiyo Abergas (78)November 22, 2013

ur December 1 service is our monthly shotsuki
remembrance of our temple members who passed
away in December of a past year. The service provides
an excellent opportunity for family members to express

thanks to those who preceded them and, at the sametime, an opportunity to listen to the dharma. The listing
below includes Betsuin family members whom we havelost in the past 25 years.

Ayako Arima
Hatsuyo Fujimoto
Gladys Shizuko Gono
Hideo Gushikuma
Tsuruko Gushikuma
Thomas Togo Higuchi
Shizuko Imura
George Iwao Inabata
Tsukasa Ishimatsu
Terry Toshiharu Katsumoto
Kenneth Sunao Kawamoto
Kenso Kimura
Harry Seiji Kimura

Goro Nonaka
Halord Sueto Ogata
Hiromu Ogata
Haruko Ogata
Patric Takeshi Okawa
Heizo Ono
Ichiro Oyeda
Sumie Sakai Sagawa
Herbert Hiroshi Shima
Jean S. I. Shindo
Sumi Hirayama Starnes
Yasunari Sugimoto
John Hiroshi Sugimoto

Midori Kojima
Tsukasa Matsumoto
Hitoshi Matsumoto
Tatsuko Matsuoka
Susan Hatsuyo Morikawa
Helen Kiyono Motoyama
Henry Takao Murakami
Joyce Tsutayo Murotake
Natsuko Nakahara
David Kiyohiko Nakamura
Larry Shigeru Nii
Toyoko Nishimura
Shinko Nohara

While shotsuki services are observed every year,
special nenki hoyo memorial services are held duringcertain auspicious years. These years include the 1stanniversary, followed by memorial services for the

Shichiro Takahashi
Matsuyo Takaki
Shigeo Takimura
Allen Masayoshi Tanaka
Gilbert Tsugio Tokunaga
Yukito Torikawa
Uto Uehara
Teruo UjimoriDavid Sadafumi Uyehara
Hanae Uyeno
Mildred Shigeko Wada
Chiyo Watanabe
Tadayoshi Yamane

3rd, 7th, 13th, 17th, 25th, 33rd and 50th years. These
services are usually held prior to the actual anniversarydate. Please consult a minister for more information on
arranging a special service by calling 531-9088.

5

/FXTPOUIF.BSLZPVSDBMFOEBSTGPS%FD
GPSUFNQMF&IJNF.BSVDMFBOJOH
It’s time for the yearend oosouji,
when people traditionally clean theirhomes from top to bottom to start
the new year off right. For the same
reason, Betsuin members get
together for the cleaning of theirtemple to be ready for the new year.
We’re getting together for our on
yearend cleaning on Saturday, Dec.
28, starting 10 am. Once we’re done
we’ll regroup at the Ehime Maru
Memorial at Kakaako Waterfront Park(at the foot of Cooke St.) to wash it
down before having a picnic-stylelunch at the beautiful park.
We welcome all, including family
members. Many hands make lightwork. No experience necessary!

#FUTVJO8JSFMFTT

)PMJEBZTDIFEVMF

During the December year-end
holiday period, some of our regularmonthly activities will be suspended.
Ukulele/band practice andmovie night will not be held on
Dec. 24 and no recitation circle on
Dec. 28. Our regular activities
schedule resumes in January.

&YQSFTTZPVSHSBUJUVEFBU
ZFBSFOEOFXZFBSTFSWJDFT

You’re welcome to join us at 5:30
pm on New Year’s Eve, Tuesday, Dec.
31, for our Joya-e yearend service.
Immediately following the service, join
the fun in the centuries-old custom of
ringing the temple bell 108 times,
which is said to rid us of the 108 earthly
desires that cause us suffering. Thenenjoy a bowl of traditional toshikoshisoba. The long, thin buckwheat
noodles are said to signify longevity
and good fortune, and chewing them
implies severing any hardships
connected with the past year.
Then start off a bright 2014 bygreeting your temple ministers andfriends at our Shuso-e New Year’s Day
service at 10 am on Wednesday, with
hot ozoni mochi soup served toattemdees after the service.
Remember that Joya-e andShuso-e services are held so we canreflect upon ourselves and express
gratitude, and we should not expect
to receive blessings for the new year
because we attend the service. Also
note that we do not offer New Yearomamori good luck charms andomikuji fortunes as they are not partof Jodo Shinshu tradition.

On Impermanence
By Faye ShigemuraI’m a baby boomer, born the firstyear of the Baby Boomer
generation, 1946.
I was shy growing up, or I should
say I didn’t say much. I wasn’t sure if I
should voice my opinion, and worse,
was afraid to make mistakes. What if
what I want to say was stupid in theeyes of my peers who attended
school beyond high school? Okay,
better to not say anything.
I imagine my mother was
somewhat the same when she was
growing up. When I met my mother,
she was already married, a dutiful
housewife, who just did house stuff,
our daddy’s stuff, Babasan’s stuff, all
the dog stuff we kids promised to do
before we got the dog and school
stuff for her three pretty girls.
As my mother grew older, during
the third trimester of her life, thethings that came out of her mouth

4caught me by surprise. I thought I
heard words that sounded
opinionated with intermittent sighs ofimpatience. Was Mommycomplaining?
My mommy started to sound likea housewife who finally discovered
her voice after 50 years of marriage! I
couldn’t believe my ears! Poor
Mommy, how did she live all theseyears holding her tongue, while
dutifully carrying out her roles of wife,
mother, and daughter-in-law?
Actually, I found it pretty hilarious.
It must be an age thing, I thought.
After you’ve lived long enough, you
finally figure out that duty, schmooty,
who cares what other people think?
My opinions are just as important asanybody else’s, and I want to be heard.
Yo…go, Mama!
Only problem was by that time,
Daddy didn’t care, Babasan couldn’t

hear, us girls were out with ourfriends most of the time, and the only
one left at home to listen to her was
the dog.
Moral of this story? Everything isimpermanent.

(0(3&&/

To switch to an electronic versionof our Wa newsletter, simply send an
email, with subject line “Email Wa,”
including your name and address, to
CFUTVJO!IICUIJPSH
 Then, starting next month, yourWa will arrive in your email inbox
instead of being delivered to yourmailbox by your mail carrier.
You’ll be helping us save some
paper and receive a bonus while at it.
Your bonus? The emailed version of
Wa comes in color!

C

Little Differences: Japan and Hawaii

hristmas Day, Dec. 25, isn’t a day
off from work in Japan, but that
doesn’t stop this nation of mostly nonChristians from celebrating anyway. In
fact, they’ve adopted the holiday andmorphed it into something uniquely
their own.
Gift-giving and partying have beenpart of the December scene in Japanfor a long time. The traditional oseibo
year-end gifts and bonenkai year-end
parties, however, tend to be more
public expressions of appreciation
instead of private sharing amongfamily and friends. So it’s no surprise
to find red and green ornamentson oseibo and Bing Crosby karaoke
impersonations at bonenkai.
In Hawaii, many stores will at least
wait until Black Friday, the day afterThanksgiving, to officially kick off theChristmas shopping season. Not inJapan. Once department stores closeon Oct. 31, the smiley Halloween jacko’lanterns go to pumpkin heaven, andon the morning of Nov. 1, elaborate
Christmas displays and “Happy X’mas”
signs and banners take over thecityscape.
Shopping malls and major
boulevards in many cities around thecountry feature breathtaking Christmas“illumination” displays with thousandsof lights to brighten the season. You’dnever believe there was an energy
shortage in Japan. Honolulu City Lights
pales by comparison.
And just as quickly as the Christmas

Elaborate illumination displays in Tokyo:
top, Caretta Shiodome commercial complex;bottom, Roppongi Hills shopping area.
season begins on Nov. 1, it abruptly
comes to a halt on Dec. 25. On Dec. 26
when the shopping centers and storesopen, all traces of Christmas are gone
and it’s sho-chiku-bai (pine-bambooplum) and other New Year decorations
everywhere.
Do you know what many Japanesefamilies pre-order two weeks aheadof time and stand in line to pick up
for dinner on Christmas Eve? KFC! For¥3,980 (about $40) a KFC party barrel
includes eight pieces of fried chicken,
salad, a Christmas decoration, plus asmall, plain Christmas cake.
But if you really want to impress
the kids, you may want to come homewith a Christmas cake covered withwhipped cream and topped withstrawberries, though a really nicely
decorated one may set you back morethan the cost of a whole KFC barrel.
Instead of dinner with the Colonel,
young adults often prefer a moreromantic evening with a special
someone at a fancy restaurant. If witha group of friends, the celebration
will seem more like a birthday party,
except with a Christmas cake insteadof a birthday cake.
Some things about Christmas
in Japan are very familiar. You’ll hear
Christmas carols all day long (though
you probably won’t find too manynativity scenes). Children will write toSanta-san with their Christmas wish
lists, assuming the jolly old man canread Japanese. They eagerly wakeup early on Dec. 25 to open theirpresents. (Apparently Santa does
read Japanese!) Papa won’t be home
to help assemble the bike, however,since he’s off to work as usual, thoughschool is out for fuyu-yasumi, or winterbreak, from Dec. 25 until Jan. 7 in mostparts of Japan.
While being with family andfriends and gift-giving are central to
the Christmas season’s activities, it
is hoped that the spirit of “Peace on
Earth, Goodwill to Men” message isn’t
lost in all the merriment. It’s somethingthat Christians, Buddhists and peopleof all faiths, beliefs and religions theworld over can all celebrate.
– Ken Saiki“There is no way home; Home is the way.”T

his Christmas, if you buy and bring home a Christmas tree to decorate, remember that your “True Home” is notfound outside yourself, but it is right in your own heart. We do not need to bring home anything for us to feel
fulfilled. We have everything we need right in our heart. We do not need to practice for many years or to travel far
to arrive at our true home. If we know how to generate the energy of mindfulness and concentration, then witheach breath, with each step, we arrive at our true home. Our true home is not a place far removed from us in space
and time. It is not something that we can buy. Our true home is present right in the here and now; if only we know
how to return and to be truly present in it.
— Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist

3

/FXTPOUIF.BSLZPVSDBMFOEBSTGPS%FD
GPSUFNQMF&IJNF.BSVDMFBOJOH
It’s time for the yearend oosouji,
when people traditionally clean theirhomes from top to bottom to start
the new year off right. For the same
reason, Betsuin members get
together for the cleaning of theirtemple to be ready for the new year.
We’re getting together for our on
yearend cleaning on Saturday, Dec.
28, starting 10 am. Once we’re done
we’ll regroup at the Ehime Maru
Memorial at Kakaako Waterfront Park(at the foot of Cooke St.) to wash it
down before having a picnic-stylelunch at the beautiful park.
We welcome all, including family
members. Many hands make lightwork. No experience necessary!

#FUTVJO8JSFMFTT

)PMJEBZTDIFEVMF

During the December year-end
holiday period, some of our regularmonthly activities will be suspended.
Ukulele/band practice andmovie night will not be held on
Dec. 24 and no recitation circle on
Dec. 28. Our regular activities
schedule resumes in January.

&YQSFTTZPVSHSBUJUVEFBU
ZFBSFOEOFXZFBSTFSWJDFT

You’re welcome to join us at 5:30
pm on New Year’s Eve, Tuesday, Dec.
31, for our Joya-e yearend service.
Immediately following the service, join
the fun in the centuries-old custom of
ringing the temple bell 108 times,
which is said to rid us of the 108 earthly
desires that cause us suffering. Thenenjoy a bowl of traditional toshikoshisoba. The long, thin buckwheat
noodles are said to signify longevity
and good fortune, and chewing them
implies severing any hardships
connected with the past year.
Then start off a bright 2014 bygreeting your temple ministers andfriends at our Shuso-e New Year’s Day
service at 10 am on Wednesday, with
hot ozoni mochi soup served toattemdees after the service.
Remember that Joya-e andShuso-e services are held so we canreflect upon ourselves and express
gratitude, and we should not expect
to receive blessings for the new year
because we attend the service. Also
note that we do not offer New Yearomamori good luck charms andomikuji fortunes as they are not partof Jodo Shinshu tradition.

On Impermanence
By Faye ShigemuraI’m a baby boomer, born the firstyear of the Baby Boomer
generation, 1946.
I was shy growing up, or I should
say I didn’t say much. I wasn’t sure if I
should voice my opinion, and worse,
was afraid to make mistakes. What if
what I want to say was stupid in theeyes of my peers who attended
school beyond high school? Okay,
better to not say anything.
I imagine my mother was
somewhat the same when she was
growing up. When I met my mother,
she was already married, a dutiful
housewife, who just did house stuff,
our daddy’s stuff, Babasan’s stuff, all
the dog stuff we kids promised to do
before we got the dog and school
stuff for her three pretty girls.
As my mother grew older, during
the third trimester of her life, thethings that came out of her mouth

4caught me by surprise. I thought I
heard words that sounded
opinionated with intermittent sighs ofimpatience. Was Mommycomplaining?
My mommy started to sound likea housewife who finally discovered
her voice after 50 years of marriage! I
couldn’t believe my ears! Poor
Mommy, how did she live all theseyears holding her tongue, while
dutifully carrying out her roles of wife,
mother, and daughter-in-law?
Actually, I found it pretty hilarious.
It must be an age thing, I thought.
After you’ve lived long enough, you
finally figure out that duty, schmooty,
who cares what other people think?
My opinions are just as important asanybody else’s, and I want to be heard.
Yo…go, Mama!
Only problem was by that time,
Daddy didn’t care, Babasan couldn’t

hear, us girls were out with ourfriends most of the time, and the only
one left at home to listen to her was
the dog.
Moral of this story? Everything isimpermanent.

(0(3&&/

To switch to an electronic versionof our Wa newsletter, simply send an
email, with subject line “Email Wa,”
including your name and address, to
CFUTVJO!IICUIJPSH
 Then, starting next month, yourWa will arrive in your email inbox
instead of being delivered to yourmailbox by your mail carrier.
You’ll be helping us save some
paper and receive a bonus while at it.
Your bonus? The emailed version of
Wa comes in color!

C

Little Differences: Japan and Hawaii

hristmas Day, Dec. 25, isn’t a day
off from work in Japan, but that
doesn’t stop this nation of mostly nonChristians from celebrating anyway. In
fact, they’ve adopted the holiday andmorphed it into something uniquely
their own.
Gift-giving and partying have beenpart of the December scene in Japanfor a long time. The traditional oseibo
year-end gifts and bonenkai year-end
parties, however, tend to be more
public expressions of appreciation
instead of private sharing amongfamily and friends. So it’s no surprise
to find red and green ornamentson oseibo and Bing Crosby karaoke
impersonations at bonenkai.
In Hawaii, many stores will at least
wait until Black Friday, the day afterThanksgiving, to officially kick off theChristmas shopping season. Not inJapan. Once department stores closeon Oct. 31, the smiley Halloween jacko’lanterns go to pumpkin heaven, andon the morning of Nov. 1, elaborate
Christmas displays and “Happy X’mas”
signs and banners take over thecityscape.
Shopping malls and major
boulevards in many cities around thecountry feature breathtaking Christmas“illumination” displays with thousandsof lights to brighten the season. You’dnever believe there was an energy
shortage in Japan. Honolulu City Lights
pales by comparison.
And just as quickly as the Christmas

Elaborate illumination displays in Tokyo:
top, Caretta Shiodome commercial complex;bottom, Roppongi Hills shopping area.
season begins on Nov. 1, it abruptly
comes to a halt on Dec. 25. On Dec. 26
when the shopping centers and storesopen, all traces of Christmas are gone
and it’s sho-chiku-bai (pine-bambooplum) and other New Year decorations
everywhere.
Do you know what many Japanesefamilies pre-order two weeks aheadof time and stand in line to pick up
for dinner on Christmas Eve? KFC! For¥3,980 (about $40) a KFC party barrel
includes eight pieces of fried chicken,
salad, a Christmas decoration, plus asmall, plain Christmas cake.
But if you really want to impress
the kids, you may want to come homewith a Christmas cake covered withwhipped cream and topped withstrawberries, though a really nicely
decorated one may set you back morethan the cost of a whole KFC barrel.
Instead of dinner with the Colonel,
young adults often prefer a moreromantic evening with a special
someone at a fancy restaurant. If witha group of friends, the celebration
will seem more like a birthday party,
except with a Christmas cake insteadof a birthday cake.
Some things about Christmas
in Japan are very familiar. You’ll hear
Christmas carols all day long (though
you probably won’t find too manynativity scenes). Children will write toSanta-san with their Christmas wish
lists, assuming the jolly old man canread Japanese. They eagerly wakeup early on Dec. 25 to open theirpresents. (Apparently Santa does
read Japanese!) Papa won’t be home
to help assemble the bike, however,since he’s off to work as usual, thoughschool is out for fuyu-yasumi, or winterbreak, from Dec. 25 until Jan. 7 in mostparts of Japan.
While being with family andfriends and gift-giving are central to
the Christmas season’s activities, it
is hoped that the spirit of “Peace on
Earth, Goodwill to Men” message isn’t
lost in all the merriment. It’s somethingthat Christians, Buddhists and peopleof all faiths, beliefs and religions theworld over can all celebrate.
– Ken Saiki“There is no way home; Home is the way.”T

his Christmas, if you buy and bring home a Christmas tree to decorate, remember that your “True Home” is notfound outside yourself, but it is right in your own heart. We do not need to bring home anything for us to feel
fulfilled. We have everything we need right in our heart. We do not need to practice for many years or to travel far
to arrive at our true home. If we know how to generate the energy of mindfulness and concentration, then witheach breath, with each step, we arrive at our true home. Our true home is not a place far removed from us in space
and time. It is not something that we can buy. Our true home is present right in the here and now; if only we know
how to return and to be truly present in it.
— Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist

3

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Higashi Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii
1685 Alaneo Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96817
Address Service Requested

Oh,
Ignorance!

In this issue of WA...

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Higashi Hongwanji
Hawaii Betsuin
Bulletin

12

December 2013

Higashi Hongwanji
Mission of Hawaii

Temple Activities Calendar
DECEMBER 201312/1 Sun 10 am Shotsuki memorial service &Sunday school
12/1 Sun 12 pm Basic Buddhism study class
led by Rinban Kawawata in Japanese
12/8 Sun 10 am HBC Bodhi Day service
Jodo Mission of Hawaii
12/10 Tue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practice
12/12 Thu 7 pm ABCs of Buddhism study class
led by Rinban Kawawata in English
12/14 Sat 10 am What on Earth Is Namuamidabutsu?
led by Rev. Frank Childs
12/15 Sun 10 am Bodhi Day service & Sunday school
12/15 Sun 12 pm Betsuin board meeting
12/17 Tue 7 pm O-ko: dharma discussion at Kaneohe
12/22 Sun 10 am Sunday service
12/24 TueNo ukulele class or movie night
12/28 Sat 10 am Annual temple cleaning, followed by
Ehime Maru Memorial cleaning
12/29 SunNo Sunday service
12/31 Tue 5 pm Year-end service (Joya-e)
Toshikoshi soba served after service

JANUARY 2014
1/1
1/5
1/5
1/9

Wed 10 am New Year service (Shusho-e)Ozoni served after service
Sun 10 am Shotsuki memorial service &Sunday school
Sun 12 pm Basic Buddhism study classਠ৻ୁदบઇ॑ୂऒअ

Thu

1/11 Sat
1/12
1/14
1/19
1/19
1/21
1/26
1/28
1/28
1/28

Sun
Tue
Sun
Sun
Tue
Sun
Tue
Tue
Tue

led by Rinban Kawawata in Japanese
7 pm ABCs of Buddhism study class
led by Rinban Kawawata in English
10 am What on Earth Is Namuamidabutsu?
led by Rev. Frank Childs
10 am Sunday service
3 pm Ukulele class/band practice
10 am Sunday service & Sunday school
12 pm Betsuin board meeting
7 pm O-ko: dharma discussion at Kaneohe
10 am Sunday service
1 pm Recitation circle
3 pm Ukulele class/band practice
6:30 pm Movie night: TBA
Fukuhara Conference Room

Everyone is welcome to join in on our sutra chanting at 7 am daily (except Sundays) in the Betsuin Main Hall.

At Higashi Hongwanji, we
remain true to our origins
as an open Sangha,
welcoming anyone who
wishes to learn more
about the Jodo Shinshu
tradition of Buddhism.
A registered 501(c)3 organization

President: Faye Shigemura
Rinban: Kenjun Kawawata
Minister: Makoto Honda
Associate Minister:Frank Childs
1685 Alaneo Street
Honolulu, HI 96817
Tel: (808) 531-9088
Fax: (808) 531-3265
Email: hhhb@me.com
Wa is published monthly byHigashi Hongwanji Mission of
Hawaii for its members andfriends. Comments, articles andother items for publicationconsideration are welcomed.
Editor: Ken Saiki

Bodhi Day 2013
#JTIPQ,FO,BXBXBUB

T

his month, before we even realize it, we’re already at the end of the year.
Where, oh where did 2013 go? I hope, though, that everybody had agood and meanigful year.
In December we hold our annual Bodhi Day service. Bodhi Day, Dec. 8, isthe day of awakening of Sakyamuni Buddha. Bodhi means wisdom, way andawakening. So Bodhi Day celebrates the day of wisdom that the Buddha
attained on the day, when Buddha found the way to leave the suffering of life.
For Sakyamuni Buddha, this was a long journey, which began when he wasyoung, when he saw the realities of the world and himself.
You may know the story of the four gates. When Sakyamuni stepped out
from his palace, he faced realities of life, such as sickness, aging and death.
The fourth time he left the palace he saw a young seeker of the true life.
Then he thought he wanted to spend his life as the seeker.
At that time he established a wish called Bodhicitta, or Bodaishin, whichis the aspiration to be an awakened person in general Buddhism. So when
he saw the young seeker, he wished to have the wisdom or the way to be aliberated person from sufferings, and live fully and freely. We should
establish the same wish in our heart and we can start to walk on the
Buddha’s path. In Jodo Shinshu that wish, which is called yokusho-shin, or
the desire to be reborn into the Pure Land.
Sakyamuni was always thinking about sufferings and peace of mind. How
could he have peace of mind? He thought he could not have peace of mindby having materialistic things or money or power.
When he was 29 years old he left his palace home. For six years he sought
to transcend all of human sufferings. He visited the hermits who taught
ascetic practices and to learn methods of attainment, but he could not attainthe state of his mind that he wanted. In India at that time they thought theascetic practices made them have a pure mind and pure spirit called Nirvana.
Finally he gave up the practices of asceticism. He washed his body andwent under a big Bodhi tree to meditate. He thought he would have toreconsider his way to attain peace of mind.
It is said that early on Dec. 8 he saw a morning star, and at last, he became
the awakened one at age 35. He shouted, “Oh, Ignorance!” He discovered thatthe cause of human suffering is Ignorance. He found ignorance in himself.
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Higashi Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii, 1685 Alaneo Street