Where Is Your Home?
Rev. Koen KikuchiN‘wa’harmony

Higashi Hongwanji
Hawaii Betsuin
Bulletin

11November 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 Saiki1685 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 Saiki

ovember is the memorial month for our founder, Shinran Shōnin. His
exact memorial day is November 28, 1262. Jōdō Shinshū followers
have celebrated this day and expressed gratitude to his great work bygathering at temples, chanting sutras and Shōshin-ge, hearing the Buddha
Dharma, and singing Ondokusan at the end of the service.
However, why do we celebrate Shinran Shōnin’s memorial day every year?
Traditionally, Jōdō Shinshū followers say that the oldyear ends at Hōonko and the new year begins at Hōonko.
This means that Hōonko is the time and the temple is theplace where we can return. Our ancestors hoped this would
be our home to which we would always come back. Butthis also shows the reality that our busy lives graduallytake us away from this peaceful place. Even if we feel true
happiness or joy at the moment of awakening, we naturally
move away from this experience. This is because of ourattachment to the past and illusion of the future.
Rev. Koen Kikuchi
Where are we now? Do we live in the past? Do welive in the future? We all think we are living now without any doubt. But, wesometimes live in the past. You remember the past through your senses. For
example, a sight, scent, taste, or sound can remind you of a person, place,or experience. We feel nostalgia when we think the past was good or bad.
“I should have or shouldn’t have done something that way,” or “I have thiskind of experience so I know the answer.” Even though time has passed andthings are changing, we stay in the past.
What about living in the future? We look at the future and we hope wewant more changes or improvement. We try to reach our goals. Or, we live inthe fear of the future, which is to be worried about losing our youthfulness,beauty, fame, property, money, strength, eyesight or hair. We are living in thefuture illusion in both positive and negative ways.
Even though we think we are living in the present moment, sometimes
we are living someone else’s life. We hope our children will live happy lives
and try to raise them in a better way. Sometimes it becomes too much. Whatabout our parents? What about our wives? What about our husbands? We
devote ourselves
to others so that
“There are two kinds of homeless. One is physicalwe forget to live
homeless. The other is spiritual homeless.”
our lives. Thismeans we areliving others’ lives.
What is your life in the present moment? What is your comfortable place
to return to? Where is your home? There are two kinds of homeless. One is
physical homeless. The other is spiritual homeless. Does each of us have aspiritual home where we can come back however terrible the situation is?
Our life may be a journey to find our spiritual home.
Past Jōdō Shinshū followers and our ancestors have shown us themeaning of Hōonko. One important aspect of Hōonko is the service in which
we express appreciation to the founder Shinran Shōnin.
Also, another important meaning found in Hōonko is that this is the timeand place that people can learn and share the Buddha Dharma. What ourancestors have shown us is that the place and the time could possibly be
our spiritual home. We might be able to find joy and peace by the teaching,teacher, and Dharma friends at Hōonko. What we find for ourselves depends
on causes and conditions.
In Gassho,Rev. Koen Kikuchi

SUNDAY SCHOOL PICNIC
Sunday, Nov. 12, starting at 10:00 am
Magic Island, Area 38 (near lagoon)

EVERYONE IS INVITED!

Potluck lunch! Join us for games, fun and fellowship!

Grab your folding beach chair,
goza and blanket, and head on
down to Ala Moana Park with the restof your family for a fun picnic with
the Sunday Dharma school kids andothers from the Betsuin family!
The date is Sunday, Nov. 12, startingat 10 am, at Area 38, at the far end ofMagic Island, near the lagoon blessedwith a row of shade trees.
Since it’s a potluck, you’re welcometo bring a dish to share. So far wehave the standby favorites BBQchicken and Spam musubi on themenu. Of course, if you don’t havethe time—or temperament—toprepare something yourself, you canalways pick something up along theway. Kimchee and takuan would gowell with what we have so far!
For organized games and prizes,
there’ll be spoon races to test yourbalancing skills, water balloon toss
and more! Recall the good, oldfashioned fun you had as a kid at
those kenjinkai picnics!
A lagoon beach is nearby so be
sure to pack your swimming gear andtowel, plus sun block.
The picnic is our outdoor activity
this year for our Golden Deer Sunday
school program. These activities
include planned outings thatchildren would enjoy, such as hiking,going to the beach and picnics.
So mark your calendar right now!
Sunday, Nov. 12, 10 am: Temple
picnic at Magic Island, Area 38,
no Sunday service...and let the restof the family know!

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Magic Island
parking lot
Area 38

Here’s where all the fun is going on at Magic Island!
See you there!

Betsuin Golden Deer Sunday Dharma school
marks four years of children’s activities

It’s hard to believe that four years
have already passed since Higashi
Hongwanji’s Golden Deer Sunday
Dharma school began in the fall of
2013. Three children—Ren, Kokoro
and Hana—are currently enrolled.
After receiving a special message
during the regular Sunday service,
they are excused
to attend theirown class in theconference room
while ministers
present the day’s
dharma message at
the service.
Activities vary,
including reading
stories and learning
fun crafts.

Led by the tireless Jeanne
Kawawata, the children havebeen busy with projects such as
decorating the Otani Center kitchen
window and making Mother’s Day
and Father’s Day cards for Sunday
service attendees. They are now
painting backdrops and making props
in preparation for a presentation atour annual Shinnen Enkai New Year
Party in February..
Through the program, we hope
the young enrollees will find more
importance and preciousness in theirlives and learn the way of life throughBuddha’s teachings.
Please encourage yourchildren, grandchildren and friends
to participate. Call 531-9088 formore information.

News on theBetsuin WirelessKoreeda’s After the Storm: Life is what you make of itHawaii Buddhists CareHBCHURRICANERELIEF FUND
Buddhists help victims of hurricane disasters

As you are well aware, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma andMaria wreaked havoc on fellow Americans in Texas, thesoutheastern part of the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Even afterweeks and months of relief efforts, many folks are still
without essential services such as water and electricity andare suffering from preventable diseases and loss of life.
The Hawaii Buddhist Council (HBC) fund to assist victimsof these disastrous hurricanes thousands of miles away alsoconveys a message that Hawaii Buddhists care. Your
tax-deductible contributions go to support the American
Red Cross, Salvation Army and American Society for thePrevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).
To assist in this humanitarian effort, HBC-affiliatedBuddhist temples throughout the state are collecting
disaster relief donations. For Betsuin families, please send
checks made payable to Higashi Hongwanji Mission ofHawaii to 1685 Alaneo St., Honolulu, HI 96817, noting“HBC Hurricane Relief Fund,” by Nov. 30.
While donations will continue to be accepted afterNov. 30, timely receipt of disaster relief funds will ensure
delivering our message with the most impact andproviding aid when needed most, which is right now.

Dharma Study Center lecture series features
Buddhism and Western Culture by Dr. Tanabe

How did an Eastern religion such as Buddhism get
introduced to Europe and beyond, and spread to become
one of the world’s great religions? What role does
Buddhism play in our society today?
Dr. George Tanabe, Professor Emeritus, Department ofReligion, UH-Manoa, will be guest lecturer for the twopart series, Buddhism and Western Culture. Dr. Tanabetaught university-level World Religion and Japanese
Religion classes from 1977 to 2006..
The lectures will be held on Thursday, Nov. 9 andFriday, Nov. 10, at the Betsuin main hall, beginning at 7:00
pm. Fee for each lecture is $9, collected at the door.
A question & answer period will follow each lecture, aswell as light refreshments.
For more information, please call 531-9088 or email
betsuin@hhbt-hi.org.

Movie Night regulars are familiar with Director
Hirokazu Koreeda and past showings of Our Little Sister,Like Father, Like Son and Still Walking, each featuring afamiliar cast of characters trying to cope with the present
while dreaming of the future, with a mother-figure right inthe middle of things.
After the Storm has Ryota (Hiroshi Abe), a middle-aged
man who won a literary prize 15 years ago and continues topursue his dream of success as a writer. He works at a private
detective agency to make ends meet and get material for a
new novel. He tries to get back with his ex-wife, Kyoko (YokoMaki), who’s tired of his excuses for his failure to keep upwith child support payments and has a new boyfriend.
One day, Ryota, Kyoko and their 11-year-old son, Shingo(Taiyo Yoshizawa) end up at the apartment complex ofRyota’s mother, Yoshiko (Kirin Kiki), when a typhoon forcesthem to stay together for the entire night, providing
another chance to bond.
Nominated in 2016 for Best Film at Cannes, Nikkan
Sports & Chicago International Film Festivals; also earlier
this year for Best Cinematography at Asian Film Awards.
Showtime: 6:30 pm, Tues., Nov. 28, 117 min. Released
2016. Color, Japanese audio, English subtitles. Freeadmission. Light refreshments, or bring to share!
海よりもまだ深く（うみよりもまだふかく）「海街diary」「そして父になる」の是枝裕和監督が、「歩いても歩いても」に続いて阿部寛と3度目のタッグを組み、大人になりきれない男と年老いた母を中心に、夢見ていた未来とは違う現在を生きる家族の姿をつづった人間ドラマ。
15年前に文学賞を一度受賞したものの、その後は売れず、作家として成功する夢を追い続けている中年男
性・良多（阿部寛）。現在は生活費のため探偵事務所で働いているが、周囲にも自分にも「小説のための取材」だと言い訳していた。
別れた妻・響子（真木よう子）への未練を引きずっている良多は、彼女を「張り込み」して新しい恋人がいることを知りショックを受ける。
ある日、団地で一人暮らしをしている母・淑子（樹木希林）の家に集まった良多と響子と11歳の息子・真悟（吉澤太陽）は、台風で帰れなくなり、ひと晩を共に過ごすことになる。
賞歴：第29回日刊スポーツ映画賞最優秀作品賞、カンヌ映画祭
第69回、シカゴ国際映画祭ベスト・フィーチャー、第11回アジア映画賞最優秀撮影監督
公開 : 2016年、カラー、言語 : 日本語、 字幕 : 英語 、映時間: 117分、11月28日(火)午後6:30時、入場無料。

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Strategic Planning
Enlightenment
by Fay Uyema

July 30 and August 6 were key
dates in kicking off a planning
process for our Betsuin to embark on
a new initiative to open its gates andlook to its future.
Members were invited to joinwith board members to devote two of
their Sunday afternoons to experience
Hōshin Kanri.
A History and Description

方針管理hōshinkanria compass of sorts to steer us throughcharting our course in planning for theBetsuin’s future initiatives.
We would be remiss to not pay
homage to the late W. Edwards
Deming, an American statistician andmathematician whose work with theJapanese Union of Scientist and Engineers
and Japanese businesses spurred thecreation and use of Hōshin Kanri.

4PLANosH

Hōshin Kanri, a strategic planning
method developed in Japan, is
credited as a key element in thesuccess of numerous Japan-based
companies in their recovery andrebuilding efforts during the period ofpost-World War II.
The literal translation of hōshin
is a course, a policy, a plan, anaim. Kanri translated into English is“administration, management, control,charge of, care of.” (It should be notedthat where Japanese words havedifferent meanings largely depending
on its usage, some of the intent canbe lost in English translation). For ourpurposes, Hōshin Kanri is the process
which will serve as a “direction needle,”

The more than hundred responses
collected and recorded on Post-It notes
were silently organized by the entire
group according to their affinity andsix categorical headers resulted torepresent the groups of like issues.
Through intense dialogue andconsensus building, members looked
at two issues at a time in a causeand-effect analysis. Charting theinterrelationships of the headers in a
diagraph resulted in a sequenced list of
the six issues. Three issues organicallyemerged as high priority challenges.
Establishment of Task Forces
The planning group which
generously participated with FOCUS andALIGNMENT led to this discovery. Theaction planning effort commenced
immediately following the twodays of intense Hōshinexercises. The 14
participants organized
themselves into
three task forces towork on strategies
with timelines andresponsibility
assignments. TheGovernance Task
Force, theUnderstanding Shin
Buddhism Task Forceand the Activities toEngage Stakeholders Task
Force were established.
Future efforts via the action
planning process will position theBetsuin to chart its coming years
with a “SUSTAINING STRATEGICADVANTAGE” (the stated purposeof Hōshin Kanri). The deliverable is a
PLAN (our Compass) for the long haul.
With everyone’s continued hard
work, honest intentions, and good
purpose in gasshō, there is little thatstands in the way of the successful
implementation of the Plan.
The three task forces aremeeting regularly to develop theiraction plans to present to the boardof directors for approval.
This is an open process and all
Betsuin members are invited toparticipate. For meeting schedules
or more information, please call thetemple office at 531-9088.

hin K anri

HoshinKanri

Deming, often regarded as
the “Father of Quality,” introduced
statistical methods and companywide quality concepts to the Japanesestarting in 1950, a technique known
today as Total Quality Management(TQM). In applying for the coveted
Deming Application Prize, winning
Japan-based companies such as
Toyota, Ricoh, and Matsushita
have attributed their success tothe use of Hōshin Kanri. Over thenext two decades, Japan rose to
global prominence, especially in theautomotive and electronic industries.
It wasn’t until the late 70’s that theUnited States took notice of Deming’s
achievements in Japan. His expertise
was highly sought in the U.S. thereafter
until his death in 1993. TQM’s standards
became the basis for serviceexcellence, customer
focus and process
improvement andre-engineering.
American businesses
competing for
global presence likenumerous Fortune
500 companies
integrated thesephilosophies intheir missions andoperations. Standards
developed around TQM
became the assessment measurements
used in competing for the prestigious
Malcolm Baldridge award.
The purpose of Hōshin Kanri isto discover the sustaining strategic
advantage for an organization. Its
governing principles are simply twowords: FOCUS and ALIGNMENT. It
is a method for organizing efforts tofocus on critical issues impacting anorganization’s success.
Planning Process in a Nutshell
To kick off the process, participants
were asked to contribute their
responses to a key question:“What are all the issues inhaving the Betsuin optimally
become the highest quality
center to teach the Nembutsu
in responding to the innermost
needs of its members andthe community?”

8/

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

NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Honolulu, HI
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Address Service Requested

In this issue of WA...
t8IFSFJT:PVS)PNF p. 1t.BHJD*TMBOEQJDOJDp. 2t4VOEBZTDIPPMNBSLTZFBSTp. 2t/FXTPOUIF#FUTVJO8JSFMFTTp. 3t)#$)VSSJDBOF3FMJFG'VOEp. 3t-FDUVSFTFSJFTXJUI%S5BOBCFp. 3t0DUPCFSNPWJFAfter the Storm p. 3t)ōshin Kanri Enlightenment p. 4t Acknowledgments p. 5t November shōtsuki service p. 5tTemple activities calendar p. 6Temple Activities Calendar

64NOVEMBERDECEMBER

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 (海よりもまだ く)

12/3 Sun 10 am HBC Bodhi Day service(No Sunday service at Betsuin)
12/3 Sun 12pm The Larger Sutra study class
led by Rinban Kawawata in Japanese
12/4 Mon 10 am Betsuin study class
12/10 Sun 10 am Betsuin Bodhi Day service
12/10 Sun 12 pm Omigaki altar items polishing
12/12 Tue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practice
12/14 Thu 7 pm The Larger Sutra study class
led by Rinban Kawawata in English
12/17 Sun 10 am Shōtsuki service/Sunday school
12/17 Sun 12 pm Betsuin board meeting
12/17 Sun 12 pm Art of Paper Folding class
12/18 Mon 10 am Betsuin study class
12/19 Tue 7 pm O-kō: Dharma discussion at Betsuin
12/24 Sun 9 am Mochi pounding
12/26 Tue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practice
12/26 Tue 6:30 pm Movie night: Jazz G-Men (Jazz Men)
12/28 Thu 10 am Shinran Shōnin memorial service
12/30 Sat 9 am Oosōji temple cleaning
12/31 Sun 5:30 pm Year-end service - Jōya-e
Ritual bell-ringing 108 times
After-service toshi-koshi soba

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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