You may view other editions of the bulletin from the listing to the right.
Every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. I have been conducting the Meditation Service that we started about a year ago. It has been most gratifying to participate in these services, to sit in quiet meditation, to chant the entire Shoshinge and wasans, and to give a short Dharma talk. Traditionally, Shin Buddhism has not emphasized meditation, but I am convinced that it must be incorporated into tradition in the modern context.
Shin Buddhism focuses on listening to the Dharma, or monpo, as its center "practice". While they do not have the custom of meeting every Sunday like we do here in America due to the influence of Christianity, in Japan at special services, a speaker would be invited and there would be many opportunities to listen to the Dharma.
Because of that long and rich tradition of listening to the Dharma, there is a certain "atmosphere" or "context" when one attends services or lectures in Japan. People listen sincerely and attentively, and over the course of many years, wonderful followers of the Nembutsu are nurtured.
Here in America, we do not have that long history or tradition of listening to the Dharma. The "context" is different here, as it is for the modern man. In this day and age of mass media where we might change the TV channel twenty times within one minute, our mind and thoughts cannot focus for a very long time on one speaker or lecture. Even for myself, when one of the other ministers are speaking, I might hear my stomach rumble, and then rather than focusing on the message, my thoughts are, "Gee, should I have Jack in the Box or Burger King for lunch?" "Should I have a hamburger or chicken sandwich?" Before you know it, five minutes have passed and I haven't followed the message.
Meditation helps to prepare minds for listening to the Dharma. It settles, clears, and focuses our mind, such that we are more receptive to listening to and hearing the Dharma.
In our meditation service, we are not meditating as some kind of self power practice to get enlightened. We are simply sitting quietly, giving our scattered hearts and minds the opportunity to stop and reflect, even for just a moment.
To pause, to stop and reflect, can have great ramifications in our everyday life. Many conflicts, personal problems, even war, could be resolved or avoided if only people would take a moment to pause and reflect.
One of my favorite singers is James Taylor. One of his songs is titled, "That Lonesome Road." I think the lyrics have a wonderful message. It goes as follows:
Walk down that road all by yourself
Don't turn your head back over your shoulder
And only stop to rest yourself when the silver moon
Is shining high above the tree
If I had stopped to listen once or twice
If I had closed my mouth and opened my eyes
If I had cooled my head and warmed my heart
I'd not be on this road tonight.
I don't know the context of this song, but I can imagine it is about someone who has fallen out of love, who perhaps has had a bitter and painful separation. The words and lyrics express the pain and regret of separation, that has left him or her on "that lonesome road."
Meditation gives us that short pause, that short bit of reflection in our life. I wonder if people meditated, even just a little, how many personal conflicts, between parent and child, boss and employee, teacher and student, even just a little, how many wars and conflicts around the world could be avoided or resolved.
Meditation allows our hearts and minds to stop and reflect, to pause and consider. It calms our scatter-brained minds and gives us the opportunity to see what normally cannot be seen. Remember that you cannot see your reflection on the waves of stormy sea, but on the calm surface of the lake, your face and entire being is clearly reflected.
The news on television has been about the war - hours and hours of it. After listening to it for a while, one begins to tune it off and go outdoors and view the world outside. When one sees the beauty of the early spring flowers, so delicate and pretty, it's time for another season ahead of us. It's time to get the lawn mowers a going to look at those golf clubs, or for the farmers to get ready for planting, etc.
Spring is the time we think of Hanamatsuri time. Retired Reverend Newton Ishiura from California will be our guest speaker on April 6th at 11:00 a.m.; also, a welcome dinner is being planned on Saturday, April 5th - look for details on the schedule. Tobans for the Hanamatsuri day will be the Payette - Fruitland - Parma ladies. Since this group is very small and Hanamatsuri is one of the major services, we will be asking for some help from the others.
Activity Days are still continuing until April 23rd - with demonstrations, etc. - after that we will still continue with those who care to play their favorite card games. We have been having some wonderful demonstrations and a few show & tells for crafty items. Hideko Fujita made a hijiki, daikon & tofu dish and Kerry Iseri made his much talked about Bread Pudding - talk about yummy! Ben Plaza made Basque bread, Garlic Soup and Paella A La Valenciana - what a treat! Martha Mizuta made her famous cookies, Orange Cinnamon Biscotti and shared her Carrot, Miso & Ginger salad dressing served with vegetables or green salad. Tina Martinez will be making Tamales - Yum!
Fujinkai "SPECIAL POTLUCK LUNCH" will be held on Saturday, April 26th in honoring our new "younger Fujinkai members and other younger lady Temple helpers". This get together is going to be for "LADIES ONLY" - sorry guys! Please come at 10:00 a.m. - we will be having several demonstrations to show which will be part of the lunch.
Nuring home was done on March 21st with Shiz Inouye, Tamiko Tada and Reverend Tada visiting Yoshiko Okano, Hiroko Hasebe, Toshiko Takahashi, Ginger Sakano, and Mrs. Hayashi. Thanks for taking time to care for our patients.
Have you noticed the extended hand rail going down the basement? I didn't realize that we had a short hand rail. Thanks to Ken Ozawa for making the extention which makes it very comfortable all the way down to the last step.
Due to the fact that Hanamatsuri was changed to the first Sunday - there will be no April Fujinkai meeting. Our next meeting will be held on Sunday, May 4th at 1:00 p.m.
2003 Federation of Buddhist Women's Conference will be held on October 10-12th, 2003, at Los Angeles Airport Hilton & Tower's. Be thinking about it because it won't be too long before we will have to declare.
HAPPY HANAMATSURI to everyone! We will be celebrating the birth of the Buddha on April 6th with a combined service starting at 11:00 a.m. Dharma school students, please sit in the first few rows on the left side of the Hondo and be sure to bring a fresh flower to put alongside the Hanamido. We will be excused before the Japanese portion of the service to practice for the program. Lunch will be served and the program will start somewhere around 1-1:30 p.m. We hope that you will try to attend this auspicious service. The last few weeks, the children have been practicing for the Hanamatsuri program. The last two Sundays of March is spring break in the schools, so attendance will be light. We will still hold Dharma School service and classes.
We are in the planning stages for our trip this summer, and we are leaning towards going to Salt Lake. I have written to the Ogden Dharma school to see if they will have a Taiko session for the children and adults that participate in our Dharma school taiko group. As soon as we hear from them, we will set the date, but right now we are looking at the end of June. More information to follow.
Sagie Nishihara and Mike Iseri have been assigned the task of updating and/or creating policies and procedures for the Temple Nokotsudo. The Nokotsudo is the room off the side of the Hondo where cremated remains are stored.
We are seeking input from you all in an effort to address any concerns you may have as we define these policies and procedures.
We plan to improve the log that is kept for each urn so we have a more accurate accounting of when it was placed in the Nokotsudo, and when it is removed. We hope to design some sort of written form so that we can have records to identify next of kin and/or the responsible party for the care of the remains, among other things.
There are remains of several individuals for which we have no next of kin information. If you have any information you can share with us, it would be appreciated.
Mina Doi, passed away 11/11/52
Haruno Hayashi, passed away 8/17/13
Waichi Nakamura, passed away 6/13/76
Tommy Shigeyoshi, passed away 7/31/69
Kinuyo Yoshinari, passed away 5/29/28
Thank you for your consideration and assistance. Please feel free to contact Sagie Nishihara at 889-5866 or Mike Iseri at 889-8691. Thank you again.
Idaho Oregon Buddhist Temple
286 SE 4th Directions
PO Box 397 (mailing address)
Ontario, Oregon 97914
541-889-8562 (office)
541-889-8662 (fax)
10:00 am - IOBT Choir Practice
10:30 am - Adult Study
10:30 am - Dharma School Service
11:00 am - Adult Service
11:00 am - Dharma School Class
Site design, hosting and maintenance by JW2E - Web sites for small business.