The Meaning of EitaikyŌ
Finding the spirit of bowing in Namu Amida Butsu
Rinban Kenjun Kawawata‘wa’
harmony

Higashi Hongwanji
Hawaii Betsuin
Bulletin

10
October 2017

Higashi Hongwanji
Mission of Hawaii
At Higashi Hongwanji, we remaintrue 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
Rinban: Kenjun Kawawata
Minister: Koen Kikuchi
President: Faye Shigemura
Vice President: Jonathan Tani
Secretary: Debra Saiki
Treasurer: Edmund Nakano
Asst. Sec’y & Auditor: Ken Saiki
1685 Alaneo Street
Honolulu, HI 96817
Tel: (808) 531-9088
Fax: (808) 531-3265
Email: betsuin@hhbt-hi.org
Wa is published monthly byHigashi Hongwanji Missionof Hawaii for its members
and friends. Comments,
articles and other items for
publication consideration
are welcomed.
Editor: Ken SaikiE

very year in October, we hold an Eitaikyō service, a memorial service
for people who passed down the teaching of the Nembutsu and left
this temple for us.
Eitaikyō is a general memorial service for all departed members of thetemple. In particular, we honor those whose names have been placed in
the Eitaikyō Register.
Eitaikyō (永代経) literally is a “perpetual sutra.” The Japanese 永代, or“eitai,” simply means “perpetual” and 経, or “kyō,” means “sutra,” which is theteaching of the Buddha.
The Eitaikyō service was begun by the followersof Buddha who wished that the Buddha’s teachings
would continue from generation to generation to theirdescendants forever. So they began observing Eitaikyō
services to establish the Eitaikyō fund for maintaining
their sangha or temple.
In our Shin Buddhist denomination, it’s said that Abbot
Jakunyo, who was the 14th Abbot of Honganji during theEdo period in 1679, began the Eitaikyō service.
Rinban Ken Kawawata
Eitaikyō services give us the opportunity to think
about what kind of gift can we leave for our children, our next generation. I
think generally people think they’d like to leave money or property to theirchildren. Then we have a question, does money and property result in ourchildren having a good and meaningful life?
Sure, money and property can make our life more comfortable, but
those things are not able to solve the basic issue of our human sufferings.
Rev. Michio Miyato once said, “Normally we think of money or property
as the fortune we leave for our children. But what, really, are the importantvalues we want to leave to our children?”
Then he quoted a poem of Rev. Shiryo Umehara, who sent his daughter
off in marriage with only this simple poem:
Put hands together
And walk the path with spring wind.
The meaning behind this poem is that in reciting “Namu Amida Butsu”(put hands together in gasshō) and walking the path of the Buddha’s
teaching, you will feel the warm spring wind breeze, regardless of how
severe the cold north winds may blow.
In the words of Rev. Umehara’s poem, it is the teaching of Nembutsu thatwill enable his daughter to change the difficult stormy conditions of her life
into the comforting spring winds. No gift a parent can give to their children
can be greater than the wisdom of Buddha.
I think that the wisdom of Buddha in our Jodo Shinshu tradition is thespirit of Namu, which means “bowing head.” There are two meanings tobowing our heads. When you feel you are wrong or did something bad,(cont’d on p. 2)

Please join us!

2017 Betsuin Eitaikyo Service
Sunday, October 1, starting at 10:00 am

EitaikyŌ (cont’d from p. 1)
you bow down your head and say,
“I’m sorry.” And when you express
thanks to some one, you bow yourhead down, then say, “Thank you!”That is the spirit of Namu: “sorry”
and “thank you.”
When we appreciate everythingin our life, our head naturally bows
down. When we bow our head toeach other, we don’t have any fights
and arguments. We can live in theworld of peace and harmony, whichis the world of oneness.
That way, we just need the spirit of
Namu in our heart in our daily lives.

The spiritof Namu:“I’m sorry.”“Thank you!”
When you have a full cup of water,
you cannot pour any more water into
the cup. To make room, you have totilt the cup and let some of the oldwater go, then you can have space for
new water.
Similarly, in our head we are always
filled with the thinking of our own
selves and worries of our daily lives, so
we have to let those thoughts out andwe create space for a new direction.
We have to tilt our heads when webow, and those self-centered thoughts
can go out a little bit and you make aspace for the teachings of the truth.
That’s why the spirit of Namu, the spiritof bowing our head, is important inour daily lives. This is the life of Namu
Amida Butsu.
Our ancestors left this great wisdom
for us and we hand down this teachingto generation after generation.
This is the meaning behind theEitaikyō service. I’d like to invite you
to our Eitaikyō service on October 1,
starting at 10:00 am at our temple.
Thank you in gasshō,Kenjun Kawawata

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Dharma from the Sutras
Causes and Conditions
There are causes for all humansuffering, and there is a way by
which they may be ended, because
everything in the world is the resultof a vast concurrence of causes andconditions., and eveything disappears
as these causes and conditions change
and pass away.
Rain falls, winds blow, plants bloom,
leaves mature and are blown away.
These phenomena are all interrelatedwith causes and conditions, and arebrought about by them, and disappear
as the causes and conditions change.
One is born through the conditionsof parentage. His body is nourished byfood, his spirit is nurtured by teachingand experience.
Therefore, both flesh and spirit are
related to conditions and are changed
as conditions change.
As a net is made up by series of knots,
so everything in this world is connectedby a series of knots. If anyone thinksthat the mesh of net is an independent,
isolated thing, he is mistaken.
It is called a net because it is made up
of a series of connected meshes, and eachmesh has its place and responsibilities
in relation to other meshes.

Prejudiced Views
Since everything in this world isbrought about by causes and conditions,
there can be no fundamental distincions
among things. The apparent distincions
exist because of people’s absurd anddiscriminating thoughts.
In the sky there is no distinction of east
and west; people create the distinctions
out of their own minds and then believe
them to be true.
Mathematical numbers from
one to infinity are each complete
numbers, and each in itself carries no
distinction of quantity; but people
make the discrimination for their own
convenience, so as to be able to indicate
varying amounts.
Inherently there are no distinctions
between the process of life and theprocess of destruction; people make adiscrimination and call one birth andthe other death. In action there is nodiscrimination between right and wrong,but people make a distinction for theirown convenience.
Buddha keeps away from these
discriminations and looks upon theworld as upon a passing cloud. To
Buddha every definitive thing is illusion;
He knows that whatever the mind grasps
and throws away is insubstantial; thus
He transcends the pitfalls of images anddiscriminative thought.
— Messages from the Buddha (BDK)HŌonko Highlights

From top left, clockwise: Rev. Nobuko
Miyoshi, resident minister of West Covina
Buddhist Temple in California and guest
speaker at our annual Hoonko Gathering held
on Saturday, September 9 at Otani Center, leddiscussion on “Gratitude.” About 30 people fromthroughtout the district attended the lecture
and breakout group discussions, capping
the event with warm fellowship, meeting
new people and enjoying a Hawaiian fooddinner buffet. On Sunday, Overseas District
Choyu Otani officiated the Hoonko service inobservance of the memorial of the founder of
our Jodo Shinshu tradition, Shinran Shonin.

News on the

Betsuin Wireless

Mirror of Ohigan reflects truth

Rev. Tatsuo Muneto, former rinbanof Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin,
was guest speaker at our Fall Ohigan
service on Sept. 17.
Rev. Muneto explained how mirrors
are used to show how things actuallylook, as in the Subaru telescope; how thehuman mind perceives things, as with
the Evil Queen in the Snow White tale
and as a mirror of truth, as illustrated
in his self-reflection experience whilea minister at Lihue Hongwanji being
cited for speeding by police in frontof his Japanese school students.
When lost and confused, recite the
Nembutsu in gratitude.
As is our tradition at the Betsuin,following the service, attendees weretreated to trays of ohagi treats.

Higashi Hongwanji ministers Rev. Hideaki Nishihori, Rev. Koen Kikuchi, Bishop Kenjun
Kawawata & Rev. Hidesato Kita recite the Tanbutsuge sutra at the Ehime Maru Memorial
Sept. 24 following cleaning by some 20 members of the Betsuin and Kaneohe temple.

change one’s life and sponsors the costof Okuyama’s mask in return formonitoring his experience.
Film awards in Japan for this
1966 film include Kinema Junpo 5thplace, 19th Film Press Association
Award #3, NHK Best Movie #7 andBest Film Appreciation #2.
Showtime: 6:30 pm, Tues., Oct. 24,
122 min. Monochrome, Japaneseaudio, English subtitles. Free
admission. Light refreshments, orbring to share!
他人の顔 （たにんのかお）

As speaker at our Sept. 17 Fall Ohigan service,
Rev. Muneto reflects on his past experiences.

Teshigahara classic Face of Anotheris October’s Halloween feature

Because of an accident at a newfactory, the face of Okuyama (Tatsuya
Nakadai) becomes horribly disfigured.
Being unrecognizable with a bandaged
head, his relationship with his wife
(Kyo Machiko), boss (Eiji Okada) andothers at his company are affected. He
is rejected by his wife, disappointed inhuman relations and becomes
extraordinarily suspicious. So heconsiders changing his face completely
and wonders if he could tempt his wifewith the face of another. A hospital
psychiatrist (Mikijiro Hira) wants toknow how a different face could

奥山常務(仲代達矢)は新設工場を点検中、手違いから顔に大火傷を負い、頭と顔を繃帯ですっかり覆われた。彼は顔を失うと同時に妻(京マチ子)や共同経営者の専務や秘書らの対人関係をも失ったと考えた。彼は妻にまで拒絶され、人間関係に失望し異常なほど疑い深くなった。そこで彼は顔を全く変え他人の顔になって自分の妻を誘惑しようと考えた。病院を尋ねると精神科医(平幹二朗)は仮面に実験的興味を感じ、彼に以後の全行動の報告を誓わせて仮面作成を引受けた。
賞歴：1966年度キネマ旬報ベストテンの第5位となった。1966年度映画記者会
賞ベスト3位、NHK映画賞ベスト7位、優秀映画鑑賞会ベスト2位に選出。
出演者：仲田、京、 平幹二朗、 岸田今日子、 岡田英次
監督： 勅使河原、公開 : 1966年、モノ
クロ、言語 : 日本語、 字幕 : 英語 、映時
間 : 122分、10月2４日(火)午後6:30時、入場無料。

Betsuin member Atsuko Nonaka leads her Harada Nao Atsusa-kai, plus vocalists Kokoro &Hana Kikuchi, daughters of Rev. Koen Kikuchi. They performed before more than 300 guests at
the UJSH 43rd Annual Nenchosha Ian Engei Taikai held Sept. 23 at the Manoa Grand Ballroom.

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A Higashi Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii Dharma Study Center presentation

Buddhism andWestern Culture
Guest lecturer: Dr. George Tanabe

Professor Emeritus, Department of Religion, University of Hawaii - Manoa

When:

Thursday, Nov. 9, 7:00 - 8:30 pm (Part 1)
Friday, Nov. 10, 7:00 - 8:30 pm (Part 2)
Where: Higashi Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii

1685 Alaneo St., Honolulu (corner N. Kuakini St.)
Details: $9 fee per lecture
Call 531-9088 or email betsuin@hhbt-hi.org
Dr. George J. Tanabe, Jr., is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Religion
at University of Hawaii - Manoa, where he taught courses on World Religions andJapanese Religions from 1977 to 2006. He is currently President of Bukkyo Dendo
Kyokai (BDK) Hawaii, and is also President of BDK America in Berkeley, CA. With hiswife, Dr. Willa Tanabe, he co-authored the guidebook, Japanese Buddhist Temples in
Hawaii, published by University of Hawaii Press. Dr. Tanabe is a 2013 recipient of The
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, from the govenment of Japan.
Dr. George Tanabe# Clip & returnq YES! I plan to attend the Dharma Study Center lecture series, "Buddhism and Western Culture."Name____________________________________________________________________________________
Address __________________________________________________________________________________
City__________________________________________State ________ ZIP____________________________
Telephone_____________________________________Email_______________________________________

Higashi Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii
1685 Alaneo Street, Honolulu, HI 96817 • Telephone (808) 531-9088 • Email: betsuin@hhbt-hi.org

4Mahalo
Gozaimasu

We gratefully acknowledge the following for theirgenerous contributions and assistance. If we’ve missed
any names, please accept our apologies and let us know
by calling the Betsuin at 531-9088 so we can makecorrections to our records. For donations of $250 or more,
receipts/acknowledgment will be issued in compliancewith current IRS regulations. Thank you.

Acknowledgments for contributions and assistance in the past month will be published in a subsequent issue of Wa.

Every month at the Betsuin, wehold a shōtsuki service to allow
family members to pay our
respects to loved ones who
passed away in that monthin a past year. It’s usually
held on the first Sunday ofthe month.
But what is shōtsuki
anyway? It’s the month ofa person’s death. The kanji
characters that make up
shotsuki are 祥, or “shō”,
which means “happiness”
or “good fortune,” and 月, or “tsuki”, or“month.” In other words, “happy month.”
So we may be asking ourselves now,
“Is it really OK to consider the month
we lost a loved one a happy month?”
Shōtsuki services actually provide
a fortuitous opportunity for families
to gather together every year toremember family members who came

before us—our parents, grandparents
and others—and show our gratitude
for being on the receiving
end of this wonderful giftof life. If it weren’t for all
our ancestors—each andevery one of them—we,of course, would not evenexist today.
And as we remember
and honor our loved ones,
we have the good fortune
and opportunity to receive
Buddhist teachings simply
because we are in attendance at theshōtsuki service.
What better way is there tokeep their memories alive than byremembering and appreciating theircontributions to our lives today.
Yes, celebrating the lives of those
we made us what we are today is truly
something we can be happy about!

祥月

Shōtsuki

While shōtsuki services areobserved every year, special nenkihoyo memorial services are held
during certain auspicious years. These
years include the 1st anniversary,followed by memorial services for the
3rd, 7th, 13th, 17th, 25th, 33rd and50th years, held during the year prior
to the actual anniversay date.
If you have questions, please callthe Betsuin office (Ph. 531-9088) for
information about or assistance withscheduling a memorial service.

In Memoriam
We extend our deepest sympathy
to the families of the late
Dorothy Chiyome Tanaka (102)
July 21, 2017
Wallace Shigeru Naito (94)
August 28, 2017

Shotsuki Observance for OctoberOur monthly shōtsuki service in remembrance oftemple family members who passed away in themonth of September of a previous year will be held thismonth on Sunday, October 1.

The following list includes temple members whose
deaths occurred this month during the past 50 years.
Please call the office at 531-9088 if you have any
questions about the listing.

Miyo Abe
Yoshiko Anami
Gladys Misue Anzai
Karen T. Asahara
Tsuruko Asato
Masame Cabreros
Gladys K. EbisuyaThomas T. Fujihara
Helen Yukie FujikiWilliam T. FujimotoTakeshi Fujishige
Ryonosuke Fujisue
Shizuyo Fujiuchi
Gladys S. Fujiwara
Ted Tsuruo Gono
Clarence H. Hanai
Harry Y. Higa

Katsutaro Nii
Kikue Nonaka
Irene T. Odagiri
Matajiro Ogata
Toraji Ohara
Kazuyoshi Ohtani
Deann Sanae Oi
Richard A. Okuda
Helen H. Okuda
Grace Miyo Oshiro
Ushi Oshiro
Kaoru Oshita
Yoshito Sagawa
Hatsuyo Saida
Shizue Sakamoto
Paggy Y. Sakamoto

Waki Hirakawa
Tamae Kidoguchi
Hisako Hirakawa
Taichi Kimura
Tatsuo Hiraki
Doris H. Kodama
Myles Kuro Hirata
Kazuo Kono
Kinsuke Hosogai
Robert I. Koyama
Patrick M. Imamura Susumu Kunishige
Yoshio Inouye
Yoshio Kunitomo
Kiyoko Ishii
Lily S. Matsumoto
George Toshio Ishii
Hideo Matsuo
Anke Ishikawa
Thomas M. Ishimoto Shiro Matsuoka
Taka Minami
Terri M. Kamihara
May Mizue Miura
Kimie Kanemaru
Doris S. Kaneshiro Harukichi Mori
William Y. Kaneshiro Evelyn K. Motoyama
Robert S. Murakami
Harue Kawahara
Brandon M. Kawasaki Sekiyo Nakano

Elton H. Sakamoto Shika Tanaka
Masuye Sasabuchi George Y. Tanaka
Makaa Shimabukuro Judith F. Tokunaga
Yaye Shimamura
Morito Tsutsumi
Toshio Shimamura Bessie E. Uchiumi
Toshiki Shimizu
Sadako Uesato
Hiromu Shimogawa Steven Kenji Uesato
Toshio Shinko
Stanley T. Ujimori
Milton S. Shishido Mitsuko Uyehara
Tokio Shito
Tsugi Watase
Torao Shizuru
Hatsumi Yamada
George K. Sonoda Imata Yamamoto
Makoto Suyeyoshi Take Yamamoto
Taiji Suzuki
Susumu Yamashita
Helen A. Tagomori Marjorie A. Yonekura
Kazuto Taketa
Betty T. Yoshino

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8/

Higashi Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii
1685 Alaneo Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96817

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Temple Activities Calendar
OCTOBER
10/1 Sun 10 am Eitaikyō and Shōtsuki service/
Sunday school
10/1 Sun 12pm The Larger Sutra study class
led by Rinban Kawawata in Japanese
代語で

日本語
を こう

Betsuin study class
Sunday service/Sunday school
Ukulele class/band practice
The Larger Sutra study class
led by Rinban Kawawata in English
10/14 Sat 9 am Garage sale at Otani Center until 2 pm
10/15 Sun 10 am Sunday service/Sunday school
10/15 Sun 12 pm Betsuin board meeting
10/16 Mon 10 am Betsuin study class
10/17 Tue 7 pm O-kō: Dharma discussion at Betsuin
10/22 Sun 10 am Sunday service/Sunday school
10/22 Sun 12 pm Art of Paper Folding class (Otani Center)10/24 Tue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practice
10/24 Tue 6:30 pm Movie night: The Face of Another (他人の顔 )10/28 Sat 10 am Shinran Shōnin memorial service
10/29 Sun 10 am Hōonko service at Kaneohe temple(No Sunday service at Betsuin)
10/2 Mon 10 am
10/8 Sun 10 am
10/10 Tue 3 pm
10/12 Thu 7 pm

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4

NOVEMBER
11/5 Sun 10 am Shōtsuki service/Sunday school
11/5 Sun 12pm The Larger Sutra study class
led by Rinban Kawawata in Japanese
11/6 Mon 10 am Betsuin study class
11/9 Thu 7 pm Dharma Study Center lecture series, Pt 1
11/10 Fri 7 pm Dharma Study Center lecture series, Pt 2
11/12 Sun 10 am Dharma school outing at Magic Island(No Sunday service at Betsuin)
11/14 Tue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practice
11/16 Thu 7 pm The Larger Sutra study class
led by Rinban Kawawata in English
11/18 Sat 9 am Oahu MAP class
11/19 Sun 10 am Hōonko service at Palolo Hongwanji(No Sunday service at Betsuin)
11/20 Mon 10 am Betsuin study class
11/21 Tue 7 pm O-kō: Dharma discussion at Kaneohe
11/26 Sun 10 am Sunday service/Sunday school
11/26 Sun 12 pm Betsuin board meeting
11/26 Sun 12 pm Art of Paper Folding class
11/28 Tue 10 am Shinran Shōnin memorial service
11/28 Tue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practice
11/28 Tue 6:30 pm Movie night: After the Storm ( よりもま 深く)

Everyone is welcome to join the morning chanting held at 7 am daily (except on Sundays & the 28th day of the month) in the Betsuin main hall.

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