Wisdom and Compassion
Rinban Kenjun KawawataD‘wa’
harmony

Higashi Hongwanji
Hawaii Betsuin
Bulletin

6

June 2019

Higashi Hongwanji
Mission of Hawaii
At Higashi Hongwanji, we remaintrue to our originsas an open Sangha,
welcoming anyone who wishes tolearn more about the Jodo Shinshu
tradition of Buddhism.
A registered 501(c)3 organization
Head Minister: Kenjun Kawawata
Resident Minister: Steven Toyoshima
Minister: Hidesato Kita
Minister: Koen Kikuchi
President: Kenneth SaikiVice President: Raymond Uyema
Secretary: Marian Tsuji
Treasurer: Karen Wong
1685 Alaneo Street
Honolulu, HI 96817
Tel: (808) 531-9088
Fax: (808) 531-3265
Email: betsuin@hhbt-hi.org
Website: betsuin.hhbt-hi.org
Higashi Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii
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 Saikir. Daisetz Suzuki, often cited as D.T. Suzuki, was a famous scholar, authorof books and essays on Buddhism and translator of Chinese, Japaneseand Sanskrit literature. My dharma friend, Rev. Yokoyama, who studied andtranslated many of Dr. Suzuki’s writings, told me that he noticed Dr. Suzuki
never talked about compassion in Buddhism. His focus was always on the
Dharma, wisdom.
Dr. Suzuki was born in 1870 and graduated from Tokyo University. In
1900, he came to the United States and translated many Buddhist writings
into English. Since he was a member of the Rinzai Zen tradition, thetranslations were mainly about Zen. He also taught at Columbia University.
In 1914, Dr. Suzuki returned to Japan, continued
translating Buddhist literature and also taught at Tokyo
University and Gakushuin University. In 1921 he becamea professor at Ōtani University.
At the Higashi Honganji Honzan, while in his latteryears, Dr. Suzuki was asked by Rev. Haya Akegarasu
to translate the Kyōgyōshinshō, which is the main
work of Shinran Shōnin, founder of the Jōdō Shinshū
tradition. Rev. Akegarasu had hoped that with an
English translation of Kyōgyōshinshō, Higashi Honganji
ministers would be better able to transmit Jōdō Shinshū Rinban Ken Kawawata
throughout the world. In 1966, after translating the work, Dr. Suzuki passed
away in Kamakura at the age of 95.
Even with Dr. Suzuki’s lifetime of translating and writing about Jodo
Shinshu, my friend Rev. Yokoyama was intrigued by why he couldn’t findany mention of compassion in his writings or talks.
I think it was because Dr. Suzuki was from the Zen tradition, and Jiriki(Self Power) and Tariki (Other Power) would not be part of any discussion.
Zen is a way of going, while Pure Land tradition is a way of receiving.
In Zen, one sits quietly and meditates, searching for peace of mind or
awakening. The setting in Zen is a tool or a way for attaining awakening.
One uses this tool or walks on this path. That is why Zen is said to be thepath of Self Power, without mentioning compassion. In Zen, the focus is on
Sakyamuni’s way of attaining awakening.
On the other hand, Jōdō Shinshū, or Pure Land Buddhism, focuses on what
happened after Sakyamuni Buddha’s awakening. For seven weeks Sakyamuni
was meditating under the bodhi tree. After his awakening, because he wasrejoicing the world of true peace, he wondered whether he should just stay inthe world of peace or share his wonderful experience with others.
During his meditation, the god of Brahmanism came down and asked
him three times to share his dharma with others. Sakyamuni realized that the
god was representing all human beings. If he did not share his awakening
experience, his awakening would not have had meaning for him and all
people in the world. He decided then to share the dharma with others andwent to the place where his old companions used to practice together.
This deed of sharing was compassion for others. During seeking,awakening was the way of going, Self Power. Coming back from the awakeningis the Other Power, which is the power of the dharma, compassion.
In Jōdō Shinshū, our practice is listening to the dharma, receiving theteaching, reflecting on the teaching and the dharma leads us to the worldof awakening.
Traditionally, we called this the power of wisdom, the dharma as Amida’s
primal vows as Tariki, Other Power, which is the compassion of Amida
Buddha. I think the difference between Zen and our Pure Land tradition is(cont’d on p. 2)

B ET SU I N

Wisdom and Compassion (cont’d from p. 1)
basically that in Zen, the focus is on the way or going toenlightenment.
Dōgen, Zen master of Sōtō Zen, said that just sit andmeditate in the dharma, then the dharma will come to you
and embrace you and your body and mind will fall into theworld of the Dharma. Does this sound like the teachingof the Pure Land Buddhism? He does not mention Jiriki or
Tariki. But he accepted the dharma as the power that makes
him awaken to the truth.
Our Jōdō Shinshū tradition focuses on the power thatcomes from the world of the awakening, the compassion of
the Buddha as Tariki.
I think that Nembutsu, calling from dharma, is the
manifestation of the working of the dharma, which is the
Buddha’s compassion.

Let usth eof

日本語の「思いやり」にあたる的確な英語の翻訳はないようですし、また此の言葉は非常に日本的な言い回しなのです。仏教的には慈悲という言葉がこれにあたりましょう。キリスト教では博愛または愛をと言う事なのでしょう。また儒教的には仁、あの仁義の仁です。仁とは礼儀に基づく自己の抑制と他者への博愛慈愛という事です。そして仁義の義は義理人情の義です。義とは人間の道、人間の行うべき筋道と言う意味なのです。渡世人の世界では仁義、義理人情という言
葉が大切にされたのですが本来の意味からは少し外れていたのです。
思いやり、愛をもって人との関係を保ってゆくとこ
ろに世界の平穏が保たれることは誰にでも解る事でしょう。しかし、他者への思いやり、気遣い、愛、慈悲を無私の心で実践することは難しいことです。それは自己愛、自我、執着があまりにも大きなものだからです。かならず私どもが何か行うときには必ず損得勘定をするのです。私どもは相互に依存し合い、関係しあって生きています。地球の裏側に居る人ともつながっている。私が今座っている絨毯はインドかパキスタンの子供達が織った物かもしれません。今来ているシャツは東南アジアや中国などのどこかの国の人が縫製したものです。私どもは知らない 数えきれないいのちによって生かされているのです。世の中が安穏であり、私どもが安らかに暮らせること願う時、他者への思いはいっそう深くなる事です。
大乗仏教の菩薩精神は自未得度先度他を言います。
今だ自らが渡る前に他を先に渡す。「自らが覚りを得る前に他の方を覚りせしむ。」と言う事です。他を優先させる、これが仏、菩薩の慈悲の精神です。この様な思いやり、慈悲の心を持つ事は私どもには到底不可能な事だと知らされます。しかし此処に仏様の思いやり、慈悲、本願が私にかけられているのだと知らされるのです。そしてその願いに生きる私を通して仏様の思いやりが他の方へ伝わっていくことです。仏の様の思いやり、慈悲以外に末通った慈悲ないと親鸞聖人は言われております。

2

G AT H E R I N

DiscoverJ oy

Living

Un lo ck in g th e Se
cr etof th e Ne mb ut su

思いやり
河和田賢淳

L O C A L

R E V. M A R COSJ I N E N S AWHIL O HIG ASH

ADAI HO NG WA NJI

O

K, so maybe you read the New York Times
bestseller, The Joy of Living, by Yongey Mingyur
Rimpoche, an internationally known Tibetan monk andteacher of Buddhist philosophy and meditation.
The Joy of Living can mean different things todifferent people. Rev. Marcos Sawada will share hisviews on Discovering the Joy of Living—our Hawaii
District’s theme through 2020—at our Local Gathering
on June 9. Rev. Sawada hopes to show the parallel
between the human ideal of happiness and theBuddha’s perspective, and explain the Joy of Living
through the Nembutsu.
We know you’ll want to be there, so details follow:

BETSUIN LOCAL GATHERINGLET US DISCOVER THE JOY OF LIVING
Sunday, June 9 • 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Higashi Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii
1685 Alaneo Street (corner N. Kuakini St.)
Honolulu, HI 96817$10 fee includes lunch
GUEST SPEAKER:
Rev. Marcos Sawada
Resident minister, Hilo Higashi Hongwanji

Marcos Jinen Sawada was born in Adamantina
Town, São Paulo, Brazil and graduated from Physical
Education & Sport College, São Paulo University, withadvanced studies in PE methodology. Besides working
as a teacher, swimming instructor and shiatsu seitai
professional and at the Brazilian consulate, he was aconditioning coach for the Oita Trinita, a J-1 League
professional soccer team in Japan.
He took his Tokudo ordination in 2008, becamea minister in 2011 and was named resident minister
at Hilo Higashi Hongwanji in 2012. He and his wife,
Norma, have a 10-year-old son, Nathan.

G

e
h
t
r
o
pping fPre

BIG DANCEF

or many Buddhist temples in Hawaii, the annual
summer bon dance is THE biggest event of the year.
Planning and coordination begin from months ahead
to help make sure all those who attend feel it was aworthwhile experience and want to come back again.
To help make our Higashi Hongwanji Bon Festival
bigger and better each year, we look for the many ways
we can continuously improve our event. We take into
consideration what attendees, volunteers and others haveto say, and try to address concerns. Of course, we’re also
encouraged by the many good things they say.
Because our bon dance has always attracted large
crowds, finding parking has also been a perennial
challenge, even with parking on the Lanakila Elementary
School grounds across the street. Last year we hadalternate parking with shuttle service, and this year, we’vearranged for even more overflow parking with regular
shuttle service. We’ve got a spot set aside just for you!
ARRANGING AMPLE PARKING
Lanakila Elementary School
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.
Shuttle service from Hawaii Housing,
Lanakila Center andCatholic Charities from 6 - 10:15 pm

P

What’s a bon dance without music? The Honolulu
Fukushima Bon Dance Club, Iwakuni Odori Aiko Kai and
Ryukyu Matsuri Daiko Hawaii have all agreed to perform
live at our bon festival. To add to the fun—are you readyfor this—we’re introducing new bon dance steps that are
all the rage on the mainland. Want to practice the new
dances, as well as old favorites? Come to our bon dance
practices every Wednesday in June at 6 pm!
A successful festival requires the help of a lot of
people, mostly volunteers from among our members,
friends and individuals and organizations in the local
community. Without everyone’s support and cooperation,
we’d have a difficult time getting the job done. And so,
once again, please let us know if you can lend a hand.
CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
Set up, food prep, cooks, servers,
parking attendants, runners,
utility, take down.

Many folks go to bon dances because of the variety
of foods available, and Higashi Hongwanji’s food booths
don’t disappoint in that department. We’ll have our usual
wide array of local favorites people come back for year
after year—like our famous curry rice and chili rice plates
and Spam musubi—as well as must-try delicacies such as
yakitori grilled chicken, plus bottled ramune and monaka
ice cream just like you’ll find at any festival in Japan!
FOOD BOOTHS GALORE
Concessions: Shimazu Shave Ice,
Superb Sushi and other local favorites!
Betsuin food booth: plate lunch, bento,
Spam musubi, yakitori and much more!
The concessions at our Bon Festival are run by wellknown local businesses and organizations. Shimazu Shave
Ice, for example, a fixture at our bon dances for decades,
brings their own equipment, supplies and workers.
The Betsuin food booth, on the other hand, relies
heavily on members, families, friends and volunteers for
preparation, cooking and staffing. The temple booth alsocounts on donations of ingredients to help turn a profit
for their labor of love.
We’d appreciate your kokua with donations of nonperishable foodstuffs. Cash contributions are welcome,too. Someone’s usually in the office to accept yourgenerosity and provide you an acknowledgment for yourrecords. You may want to call ahead at 531-9088.
NON-PERISHABLE FOODSTUFFS
Spam, rice, shoyu, coffee, sugar, cooking
oil and other non-perishables for use in
the temple food booth may be dropped
off at the Betsuin office.
And new to our bon festival this year is a HomeGrown
booth, where temple members can sell their “homemade”
products, earn some extra cash and help the Betsuin at
the same time with a donation of part of your proceeds.
Everyone wins! So whether you sew, bake, craft, paint,
raise plants or otherwise create something that others
may want to buy, here’s your chance to market your wares
to the hundreds of eager attendees at our Bon Festival!
Space is limited, so if you’re interested, call us now at
531-9088! You snooze, you lose!

3

News on the

Betsuin Wirelessleaves Ryohei at a dormitory in Shinshu
and works in a factory in Tokyo alone.
Years later, Ryohei (Haruhiko Tsuda)
graduates from Teikyo University andbecomes a teacher. He reunites withhis father at an onsen and tells him that
he wants to quit teaching and live
together. Shuhei implores his son forthinking of quitting his important job.
The film has been ranked among
the top 150 Japanese movies of all time.
Showtime: 6:30 pm, Tues., June 25,
94 min. B&W, Japanese audio, English
subtitles. Free admission. Light
refreshments, or bring to share!
父ありき（ちちありき）

HI, HI, HI, BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY: The Dharma Hawaiians played gathas at the Hawaii
Buddhist Council booth at the Hawaii Book & Music Festival at the Civic Centergrounds on Sun., May 5, then finished off with a rousing chorus of “Beautiful Sunday.”Bon dance practice continues
every Wednesday eve in June

As everyone in Hawaii knows, bondance season begins in early Juneand isn’t over until September.
Besides the dozens of bon dancesscheduled at one temple or anotherevery week throughout summer,other community organizations
feature bon odori at their events, too,such as at the Pan-Pacific Festival.
We know you’ll want to step in thedance circle and join in on the fun atsome point, so why not brush up yourbon dance skills at one of our practicesessions, held at the temple every
Wednesday in June at 6 pm?

June 30 Sunday service & lunch
at Kaka‘ako Waterfront Park

What could be more relaxing thanholding a Sunday service outdoors
near the seashore under a clear blue
sky with the vast Pacific in theforeground and a flotilla of sailboats
in the distance? The monotone
chanting of the Tanbutsuge sutra isaccented occasionally by the rustlingof palm fronds awakened by thecooling tradewinds.
Barring a rare rainy day, our June 30
Sunday service this month should be4

just like that at Kaka‘ako Waterfront
Park, following our twice-a-year cleaningof the Ehime Maru Memorial. What’smore, all that is capped by a fresh-air
potluck lunch at the shoreline pavilion.
Higashi Hongwanji takes turns withother community organizations to help
maintain the memorial each week as atribute to the nine students, teachersand crew who perished 18 years ago ina tragic collision off Oahu between theJapanese fisheries high school training
ship Ehime Maru and a Navy submarine.
Want to join us? Meet us at the
Cooke St. parking lot at 10 am. We have
all the cleaning supplies. We welcome
others from our sister Higashi temples
to join us for this great opportunity tolisten to the dharma, talk story andenjoy Mother Nature at the same time.

Ozu’s wartime There Was a Father ispoignant portrait of parental love
This heartbreaking Yasujiro Ozu 1942
masterpiece depicts love between
father and son. Shuhei Horikawa(Chishu Ryu), a junior high school
teacher in Kanazawa, lost his wife andlives with his elementary school age
son, Ryohei (Shuji Sano). Shuhei takes
responsibility for an accident on a classtrip and quits his teaching job. He

小津安二郎が池田忠雄、柳井隆雄とともに 書いた脚本をもとに監督。父と息子との愛情を描いた名作。金沢の中学教師である
堀川周平は、妻を失い、小学生の良平と二人で暮らしていた。しかし修学旅行先で教え子を溺死させてしまい、責任を感じた周平(佐野周二)は学校を退職。出身地の信州に帰るが、中学生になった良平を寄宿舎に預け、一人で東京の工場に勤めることにする。帝大を卒業し教師となった良平(津田父ありき晴彦)は、久々に父親と温泉宿で再会し、教師を辞めて一緒に暮らしたいと告げた。しかし周平は「今の仕事を投げ出してはいけない」と息子を諭すのだった。
1989年「大アンケートによる日本映画ベスト150」（文藝春秋発表）第138
位にランキングされている。
監督： 小津安二郎、公開 : 1942年、白黒、言語 : 日本語、字幕 : 英語 、映時間 :94分、6月25日(火)午後6:30時、入場無料。

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

NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Honolulu, HI
Permit No. 693

Address Service Requested

In this issue of WA...
• Wisdom and Compassion p. 1
• 思いやり p. 2
• Local Gathering p. 2
• Prepping for the Big Dance p. 2
• News on the Betsuin Wireless p. 4
• Uke band at Book & Music Festival p. 4
• Community service cleaning p. 4
• June movie: There Was a Father p. 4
• Acknowledgments p. 5
• June shōtsuki service p. 5
• Temple activities calendar p. 6

Temple Activities Calendar

6
4

JUNE

JULY

6/2 Sun 10 am Shōtsuki memorial service (Kawawata)
6/2 Sun 12pm Basic Buddhism discussion in Japanese
6/3 Mon 10 am Meditation Sutra class
6/5 Wed 6 pm Bon dance practice - Otani Center
6/9 Sun 10 am Betsuin local gathering
6/10 Mon 12 pm 99 Lunch Bunch at Moanalua 99 Food Court
6/11 Tue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practice
6/12 Wed 6 pm Bon dance practice - Otani Center
6/13 Thu 7 pm The Larger Sutra study class (English)
6/16 Sun 10 am Father’s Day family service (lay speaker)
6/16 Sun 12 pm Betsuin board meeting
6/16 Sun 12 pm Art of Paper Folding - Otani Center
6/17 Mon 10 am Meditation Sutra class
6/18 Tue 7 pm O-kō: Dharma discussion at Betsuin
6/19 Wed 6 pm Bon dance practice - Otani Center
6/20 Thu 7 pm Tea Time - informal dialogue session
6/23 Sun 10 am Sunday service (Kawawata)
6/23 Sun 12 pm Omigaki - altar accessories polishing
6/25 Tue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practice
6/25 Tue 6:30 pm Movie night: There Was a Father 父ありき
6/26 Wed 6 pm Bon dance practice - Otani Center
6/28 Fri 10 am Shinran Shōnin memorial service
6/30 Sun 10 am Service & Ehime Maru Mem. cleaning
			 Kaka‘ako Waterfront Pk. picnic (Toyoshima)

7/1 Mon 10 am Meditation Sutra study class
7/6 Sat 5:30 pm Kaneohe Higashi Hongwanji bon dance
7/7 Sun 10 am Shōtsuki memorial service
7/7 Sun 12pm Basic Buddhism discussion in Japanese			 仏教入門（お話と座談会）		
7/8 Mon 12 pm 99 Lunch Bunch at Moanalua 99 Food Court
7/9 Tue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practice
7/11 Thu 7 pm The Larger Sutra study class			 led by Rinban Kawawata in English
7/12 Fri 5:30 pm Manto-e service/bon dance
7/13 Sat 5:30 pm Manto-e service/bon dance
7/14 Sun 9 am Obon cleanup			
No Sunday service at Betsuin
7/15 Mon 10 am Meditation Sutra study class
7/16 Tue 7 pm O-kō: Dharma discussion at Betsuin
7/18 Thu 7 pm Tea Time - informal dialogue session
7/21 Sun 10 am Hatsubon service
7/21 Sun 12 pm Betsuin board meeting
7/23 Tue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practice
7/23 Tue 6:30 pm Movie night: Cold Bloom (2014)
7/26 Fri 6:30 pm Palolo Hongwanji bon dance
7/27 Sat 6:30 pm Palolo Hongwanji bon dance
7/28 Sun 10 am Shinran Shōnin memorial service

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.