On Bonbu-ness
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T‘wa’harmony

Higashi Hongwanji
Hawaii Betsuin
Bulletin

11
November 2014

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
President: Faye Shigemura
Vice President: Jonathan Tani
Secretary: Debra Saiki
Treasurer: Edmund Nakano
Auditor: Ken SaikiRinban: Kenjun Kawawata
Minister: Makoto Honda
Associate Minister:Frank Childs
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 Mission ofHawaii for its members andfriends. Comments, articles andother items for publicationconsideration are welcomed.
Editor: Ken Saiki

his month, we will oboserve Ho-on-ko. As you know, Ho-on-ko is when
Jodo Shinshu followers hold memorial services for Shinran Shonin, ourdenomination’s founder, who died in Kyoto, Japan, on November 28, 1262.
Ho-on-ko is the occasion when we express our gratitude to Nembutsu
teachings which give us light for our lives and to Shinran Shonin, as well asother teachers who brought Nembutsu teachings to us. Ho-on-ko is the time
we re-examine our entrusting minds through Shinran’s teachngs.
I’d like to share a story by Ryotaro Shiba (1923-1996), a noted Japanese
author of historical novels, several of which were made into year-long NHK
Taiga dramas or other television series.
Shiba’s story goes like this:One day, a teacher asked his students, “What does
bonbu mean?’
One of the students answered, “Bonbu are ordinary,foolish and useless people.”
The teacher said, “That’s right! So then, who can you
think of that’s a bonbu?”
The students tried to figure out who might be a
bonbu and started looking around the room to see if
any of their classmates might be one.
Rinban Kenjun Kawawata“Hmmm, I wonder if he’s a bonbu because hisgrades are so poor...”“Maybe he’s a bonbu because he always goes to town to play and has nomorals...”No one, though, could name a single person.
The teacher asked once more, “Who’s a bonbu?”
Still no one answered.
Finally he said, “We are all bonbu!”
Surprised by the teacher’s frank statement, one of the students
immediately asked,, “Then does that mean that you are a bonbu, too, Sensei?”
The teacher answered, “Yes, I am a bonbu.”
The students were naturally shocked that their own teacher would admit,
in front of all of them, that he was a foolish and useless person...a dummy!
Then Sensei asked them to name whom they thought might be thegreatest person in this world.
Some thought surely it must be the Emperor of Japan. Others thought itmight be the President of the United States, or perhaps the prime minister ofsome other powerful country.
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On Bonbu-ness (cont’d from p. 1)
But Sensei said, “No, the greatest person in the worldis one who discovers his or her own bonbu-ness.
Then Sensei asked the class whether they knew who
was the first person t realize or discover this bonbu-ness.
Sensei went on, “That person was Shinran’s teacher,Honen Shonin. But don’t worry, since you’re still students,
it’s all right if you don’t understand this realization of‘foolishness’ right now.”“However,” he cautioned them, “when you become
an adult, please recall this question. If you do notunderstand this matter of bonbu-ness, you are an
unhappy person in this world.”
From this story, we can see that a person who
discovers his or her own foolishness is indeed a great
person in this world.

True story. I was held captive
at a man’s home. The man inquestion lived alone while his wife
was away on a trip. Held against
my will, I pounded on the door,
shouted and called out for help, but
none came. What was I to do in mydistress? What would anyone havedone in the same situation?
More about the perp. His name:Rev. Noriaki Fujimori, middle-aged
5’ 5” Japanese male, no prior arrests.
Be careful of this man.
It all started when after having
a beer too many at a thank you
party at his residence, I needed to
go to relieve myself, so I asked fordirections to the bathroom. Withoutskipping a beat, Mr. Arai stood up
and without a word, simply pointed
to the yard outside. Hmph.
After my business was done, Itried to open the bathroom door,but it wouldn’t budge. After pullingand pulling, I realized it wasn’t
about to open for me without afight. After about five minutes of“OK, let’s try this once more,” I cameto the conclusion it was time tostart asking for help. I called fromthe window on the side of thebuilding, but all it did was wake up
the neighbor’s dog, which, after awhile, went back to sleep.
“Makoto,” I called. “Makoto!” I2

Shinran Shonin made this greatest discovery throughhis teacher, Honen Shonin. Shinran said in his essay,“Notes on Once-Calling and Many-Calling,” that we are fullof ignorance and blind passion, bonbu.
“Our desires are countless, and anger, wrath, jealousyand envy are overwhelming, arising without pause; to thevery last moment of life they do not cease, or disappear,or exhaust.”
Shinran pointed out the essence of a foolish being,
which is ignorance and blind passion. This is human natureThis awareness of self causes us to be humble, leading us
to have a creative and dynamic life, just as Shinran
Shonin’s life was.
I wish I will see all of you at our Ho-on-ko weekend at
the Betsuin on November 15 & 16.
Thank you in gassho.

Help!

I Was aToilet
Prisonerby Faye Shigemura

started to yell. I could hear him talking
along with the others, whose laughtervolume started to escalate, causing
Makoto to talk more loudly, drowningout my futile calls for help even more.
Mild panic started to settle in. But
then I remembered that Makoto was
sitting on the far end of the table, soI should call the person on the tablenearest to the bathroom. “Frank,” I
called. “Frank!” I shouted, “Frank”!! I
thought of screaming, but all thatwould’ve done was to wake up thedog again. I could have prayed for
help, but we Buddhists don’t do that.
“Makoto!!” Just then I heard
someone say, “I hear something, likesomeone calling for Makoto. ““Yes, yessss, Makotooo!!!” He
finally came to the rescue. Freedom!
Saved at last!!
Back at the table, everyone
wanted to know what had happened.
After I told my story, one by one, otheradventures centered around thismischievous door began unfolding.
Irene said the same thinghappened to her once, but somehow,
she shoved on the door just right andmanaged to get it open.
Rev. Fujimori admitted it had
happened to him before, too, andgave the technical physics analysis
about wood expanding when the
air is damp. He also mentioned hehad thought I was taking too long,and had asked Yoko to check on me.
But Yoko just smiled. She probably
understood womanly needs, andthought, you know, what could gowrong in a reverend’s bathroom?
Tony graciously offered to shavethe door the next day to preventrecurrence of this uncomfortablesituation. Thanks, Tony. Hopefully, noone else will need to be rescued fromthe fearsome hold of that ominous
bathroom door.
I guess Mr. Arai was right after all.
The best “bathroom” was right out
there in the yard.
I just know it. This incident will
surely show up in the Wa.

/FXTPOUIF)BSNPOZPG+BQBOXPSLTIPQDPOEVDUFEBU0UBOJ$FOUFSAt the Harmony of Japan workshop
held at the Betsuin after our Oct. 5ohigan service, musicians associatedwith the Takamasa Fujima DanceInstitute in Japan not only performed
but also provided interesting source
information about their instruments.
The biwa, for example, with its
tell-tale crescent moon markings, wassaid to have originated in the Middle
East, while the ancient double-reededohichiriki, after introduction into
Europe, eventually evolved into themodern-day oboe. The Okinawan
sanshin, invented in Egypt some 3,000
years ago, made its way via the Middle
East to China and then Okinawa.
Musicians and dancers from theinstitute also performed at theUH-Manoa Orvis Auditorium Oct. 8with Rev. Masatoshi Shamoto’s
gagaku group, of which Bishop
Kawawata is a member, at a concert
sponsored by The Japan Foundation.
Mahalo to temple member Kei
Tsuji, who was instrumental ingetting the workshop booked at theBetsuin and also at Palolo Hongwanji
Oct. 6. Tsuji-san is a longtime friendof the Fujima family.

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All members and friends areinvited to attend Higashi Hongwanji
Hawaii District Ho-on-ko activities
scheduled this month in conjunction
with Shinran Shonin’s memorialservices held in November.
First is our )PPOLP(BUIFSJOH
 entitled “Transcending Gender:
Shinran Shonin’s Dream of Kannon,”by popular lecturer Rev. Patti Nakai of
the Buddhist Temple of Chicago. She
will be discussing how a dream
Shinran had influenced the way hetreated women as his equals.
The gathering is scheduled for
Saturday, Nov. 15, from 1 to 5 pm andincludes a light dinner. There is anominal $10 fee. For more
information, please call 531-9088.
Rev. Nakai will also be presenting
the dharma message at our )PPO
LPTFSWJDF on Sunday, Nov. 16.
Immediately following theHo-on-ko Sunday service, we will beholding a Kikyoshiki,PSDPOöSNBUJPODFSFNPOZ when interested members
will receive their homyo, or dharmaname. Overseas District Abbot will
officiate at the Ho-on-ko service andconfirmation ceremony.

Dancers and sanshin players were part of a Harmony of Japan workshop at the Betsuin.

44IJOTIV$FOUFSPG"NFSJDBQVCMJDMFDUVSFBU#FUTVJO Taking advantage of her

presence in Honolulu, the Shinshu
Center of America is presenting afree public lecture by Rev. Patti Nakai
on Friday, Nov. 14, in the Betsuin
Main Hall. “People Are Persons:Buddhism, LGBTQ and You” is thetitle of her lecture, which delves
into why Buddhists as a whole don’t
have a problem with sexual
orientation and gender identity.
The lecture is scheduled to run
from 7 to 8:30 pm. Call 531-9088
for more information.

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Our usual ukulele practice andmovie night for the 4th Tuesdaynext month will not be held becauseof the holidays.
We’ll still have our hands full withthings to do at year-end, such as our
top-to-bottom end-of-year oosouji, or
temple cleaning, and our twice-a-year
Ehime Maru Memorial community
service cleaning at Kakaako Waterfront
Park on Dec. 27.
We’re also planning a mochipounding get-together after our Dec.
28 Sunday service. Let us know if you
and your family are interested injoining us so we can have enoughsupplies on hand. We’d like to makesure everyone can enjoy this popular
New Year mochi-tsuki tradition andperpetuate it for future generations.
And let’s not forget the “yearpassing” toshikoshi soba and otherosechi dishes after bell-ringing at
our Joya-e year-end service on Dec.
31, New Year’s Eve. Then on Jan. 1
join us for slurping tummy-warming
ozoni (mochi soup) right after ourShuso-e New Year’s Day service.
Be sure to check December’s Wa
for full details of our year-end
calendar of events.

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

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

In this issue of WA...
t0O#POCVOFTTp. 1t *8BTB5PJMFU1SJTPOFSp. 2t #B[BBSp. 3t /FXTPOUIF#FUTVJO8JSFMFTTp. 4t )BSNPOZPG+BQBOp. 4t )PPOLPFWFOUTp. 4t /PWFNCFSNPWJFPGUIFNPOUIp. 4t "DLOPXMFEHNFOUT*O.FNPSJBNp. 5t 4IPUTVLJPCTFSWBODFGPS/PWFNCFSp. 5t5FNQMFBDUJWJUJFTDBMFOEBSp. 6Temple Activities Calendar
NOVEMBER 2014
11/1 Sat 10 am Omigaki
11/2 Sun 10 am Shōtsuki memorial service &Sunday school
11/2 Sun 12 pm Basic Buddhism study class
led by Rinban Kawawata in Japanese
11/8 Sat 10 am What on Earth Is Namuamidabutsu?
led by Rev. Frank Childs
11/9 Sun 10 am Palolo Hō-on-kō (no service at Betsuin)
11/9 Sun 12 pm Betsuin board meeting
11/11 Tue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practice
11/13 Thu 7 pm ABCs of Buddhism study class
led by Rinban Kawawata in English
11/15 Sat 1 pm District Hō-on-kō gathering11/16 Sun 10 am Betsuin Hō-on-kō service
11/18 Tue 7 pm O-kō: Dharma discussion at Betsuin
11/23 Sun 9 am Bazaar at Otani Center (no Sunday service)
11/25 Tue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practice
11/25 Tue 6:30 pm Movie night: Ichi
11/28 Fri 10 am Shinran Shōnin memorial service
11/28 Fri 11 am Recitation circle
11/28 Fri 1 pm Mako’s Computer Clinic
11/30 Sun 10 am Sunday service

DECEMBER 201412/6 Sat 1 pm Gagaku/Indian dance - Otani Center
12/7 Sun 10 am HBC Bodhi Day service - Tendai Mission(no service at Betsuin)
12/9 Tue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practice
12/11 Thu 7 pm ABCs of Buddhism study class
led by Rinban Kawawata in English
12/13 Sat 10 am What on Earth Is Namuamidabutsu?
led by Rev. Frank Childs
12/14 Sun 10 am Betsuin Bodhi Day service
12/14 Sun 12 pm Basic Buddhism study class
led by Rinban Kawawata in Japanese
12/16 Tue 7 pm O-kō: Dharma discussion at Kaneohe
12/21 Sun 10 am Shōtsuki memorial service &Sunday school
12/21 Sun 12 pm Betsuin board meeting
12/23 TueNo ukulele class or movie night
12/27 Sat 9 am Annual temple cleaning (প྽௾)
Ehime Maru Memorial cleaning
Lunch at Kakaako Waterfront Park
12/28 Sun 10 am Shinran Shōnin memorial service
12/31 Wed 5 pm Year-end service (Joya-e)
1/1 Thu 10 am New Year service (Shuso-e)

Everyone is welcome to join in on our sutra chanting at 7 am daily (except Sundays & 28th day of the month) in the Betsuin Main Hall.