JODO MISSION OF HAWAII

BULLETIN - APRIL 2011

(#1173-0411)

Jodo Mission of Hawaii

1429 Makiki St.
Honolulu HI 96814

Address Service Requested

HBC BUDDHA DAY CELEBRATION

April 8th is the birthday of Shakamuni Buddha. This
birthday celebration is known as "Buddha Day” and is also
known as “Hanamatsuri”. The Hawaii Buddhist Council cor-
dially invites all to the Buddha Day Service.

WHEN: Sunday, April 10, 2011

WHERE: Jodo Mission of Hawaii
TIME: 9:00am—Ceremony
10:30am—Entertainment
Games for children
Admission Free
The Hawaii Buddhist Council is comprised of the following Buddhist temples:
Koyasan Shingon Mission, Tendai Mission, Jodo Mission, Higashi Hongwanji Mission,
Honpa Hongwanji Mission, Nichiren Mission and Soto Mission.
Please join us on April 10th to celebrate Shakamuni Buddha’s birthday. There will be
children’s games so please bring your children and grandchildren.
 Announcements
Flowers Needed for Hanamido for
Hanamatsuri Day
Please bring to Jodo Mission flowers (like
plumerias, orchids, or other small flowers)
to decorate the Hanamido before 2:00 p.m.
on Saturday,
April 9, 2011
The Hawaii
Buddhist Coun-
cil Buddha Day
celebration will
be held on Sun-
day, April 10
beginning at 9:00 a.m.
Pictured above is a Hanamido fully deco-
rated with flowers, with Baby Buddha in the
center. This represents the Lumbini Gardens
where Baby Buddha was born. Sweet tea or
amacha is poured over the statute of Buddha.
The tea symbolizes the gentle rains that fell
on the day Buddha was born.
SPECIAL TALENT
By Teruto Soma
We’re not sure how many of you have
had the privilege of reading the Kapaa Jodo
Mission’s monthly bulletin. The cover page
of these bulletins have a special drawing of
Buddhist images magnificently drawn by one
Bobby Murata.
Bobby Murata, in his early years was
a card carrying Professional Golf Association
(PGA) member. He is the pioneer of Ha-
waii’s golfers advancing into success of to-
day’s local professional golfing career. He
was MR. GOLF of Hawaii in his prime. He
also owned a golfing equipment and supplies
store in Lihue, Kauai. As age caught up with
him, his back and spine preventing his golf
career as well as any physical work. One
day Bobby decided to try his hand with
drawings/paintings and bought books from
Sunday School
We welcome children to join our Sunday
School. Let’s enjoy studying Onembutsu by
doing various activities.
4/3/11 following Choir practice
4/27/11 @ 10:30 a.m.
♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♫♫
Jodo Mission of Hawaii
Children’s Choir “Malama”
Our Children’s Choir will meet on Sunday,
April 3, at 11 a.m. (special practice). Per-
formance at Hanamatsuri Service on Sunday,
April 10 at 9 a.m.
Any child ages 5 to 8 years old can join.
Children will sing mainly Japanese songs and
Buddhist gathas. Practice will be in Japanese.
Sewing Circle
April 9 and 23, 2011
8:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Any interested person is welcome to
participate.
Special Talent (cont’d)
the Book Store to start his hobby. I’m sure
you will be impressed as I am, he has skill-
fully mastered his hobby enough for a
showing. He has donated a few of his draw-
ings which can be seen at our office. There
are other drawings that can be seen if you
ask the office for the Kapaa Jodo Mission
bulletin. He also shared his work with
members of the Kapaa Jodo Mission of
which he is a member. Thank you Bobby
for the drawings and keep up the good
work!
Page 2
 Vision For The Future (1)
Over a hundred years ago, Jodo Shu Japan sent ministers to
provide an oasis to the Japanese immigrant workers on the sugar cane plantations
of Hawaii. For this purpose, our predecessors did a good job.
However, 100 years later, the above-mentioned purpose does not exist
any more. Now, the purpose of the existence of Jodo temples is to provide an
oasis to the American people. “American” means not only Japanese-Americans but includes peo-
ple of other ethnic groups. Are we ready to open our doors to those people? Their background,
cultures or customs are very different from Japanese people. Can you welcome them as a part of
us?
We all know that our Jodo temples were built by the Japanese immigrants who were mostly
sugar cane workers. Also, they and their children (Nisei) donated lots of money, time and en-
ergy to support our temples. Their efforts will never be forgotten, but now, it's time to take a new
step.
It's time to open our temple to people of other ethnicities. It's time for us to understand that
people in America have different cultures and customs, various concepts of values, philosophy and
backgrounds. It's time for us to show our special hospitality to people.
Is there somebody always available to explain to newcomers about Buddhist teachings and
customs in "ENGLISH"?
We all know we want young people to come to our temples. However, do you have a play
area for small children just like a lobby of preschool or office? If not, how can young couples
come to the temple with other relatives for a prayer? There are many things we can do to attract
new people.
We must open our eyes! Look around you. Our society is changing very quickly. Why don't
we try new things and improve ourselves!!!
Your comments are always welcome to narashiba@hotmail.com.

Ganbare Nippon!
Don’t Give Up, Japan!
I would like to extend my heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the victims of the Japan
earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. The scale of the disaster is huge, and the stress and
the sadness of the victims are immeasurable. Many of our members have relatives and friends
in Japan. I hope they are all safe.
I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the kind and generous monetary do-
nations to our earthquake relief fund.
Whenever I watch the videos and pictures of the destroyed towns and the people who are
suffering of the shortage of water, food, or medicine in the severe coldness, I just can’t stay on
(Continue to Page 6)

Page 3
 Bits of Knowledge about Buddhism
Vol.05 “The Bond between This World and the Pure Land”
By Rev. Yasuhiro Watanabe

O-Ihai is a wooden tablet in memory of the deceased. It is

engraved with the deceased’s name, date of death, age, and Buddhist
name (Kai-myo). Especially, O-Ihai of the Jodo Mission is carved with
one character in Sanskrit which stands for Amida Buddha at the top of
the Buddhist name. And the base of O-Ihai is modeled after the image
of a lotus pedestal just like Buddha’s seat. These designs mean Amida
Buddha blesses the deceased and he/she is living peacefully in the
Pure Land.
Since old times, the Japanese have believed the trees to be
the home of the gods and refuge to the spirits. That is why O-Ihai, or a wooden tablet, is believed
to be a temporary body in which the soul of the deceased dwells during the funeral and memorial
services. In other words, it is the bond between this world and the Pure Land. We say a prayer
for the deceased via O-Ihai. It is a kind of communication tool to deliver our voice to the de-
ceased. Buddha promised us that our condolences and gratefulness reach the deceased in the
Pure Land. Also, our family and friends never forget to watch over us from the Pure Land.

Koloa Jodo Mission held their Centennial event on February 19, 2011.
Rev. Narashiba and his family joined the celebration and renewed old friendships. During
the years of 1987 to 1997, Rev. Narashiba was the resident minister at Koloa Jodo Mission
and he talks often of the many times he and the ladies of the Fujinkai would make maki
sushi for fundraising.

Fujinkai Meeting Oahu Rengo Fujinkai Conven-

(Women’s association) tion at Haleiwa Jodo Mission on YBA Meeting
NO MEETING April 17. Please call Jodo Mission April 24, 2011
in April at 949-3995 to sign up. 8:30 a.m.
Page 4
 A ZEN LIFE FILM
On Thursday, April 21, 2011 you are
invited to see a free showing of the documen-
tary about D.T. Suzuki. The event is at
6:000pm with show time at 6:30pm. Please
join us for refreshments and discussion imme-
diately after the viewing. Here is some back-
ground on the film:
"A ZEN LIFE - D.T. Suzuki" is a 77-
minute documentary about Daisetz Teitaro
Suzuki (1870-1966), credited with introducing
Zen Buddhism to the West.
D.T. Suzuki had an excellent grasp of
written and spoken English, combined with an
exhaustive knowledge of Eastern and Western
religions and philosophies. He was highly suc-
cessful at getting Westerners to appreciate the
Japanese mentality, and Japanese to under-
stand Western logic. The effect he had on
Western psychoanalysis, philosophy, religious
thinking, and the arts was profound. His nu-
merous writings in English and Japanese
serve as an inspiration even today.
Dr. Suzuki first lived in the United
States from 1897 to 1908. In 1911 he married
an American, Beatrice Lane, who helped him
with his work until her death in 1939. After the
War he traveled and taught extensively in the
United States and Europe. Of note is a series
of very popular open lectures he gave at
Columbia University. Many renowned Western
philosophers, artists, and psychologists were
affected by his writings and friendship, includ-
ing Carl Jung and Erich Fromm, Christmas
Humphries, Father Thomas Merton, Martin
Heidegger, Karl Jaspers, Dr. Albert Stunkard,
Alan Watts, Richard De Martino, Robert
Aitken, John Cage, Alan Ginsberg, and Gary
Snyder.
Gary Snyder calls D.T. Suzuki
"probably the most culturally significant Japa-
nese person in international terms, in all of
history." Along with Gary Snyder, there are
Page 5
exclusive interviews of many people respected
in their own right who knew D.T. Suzuki in per-
son, including his secretary Mihoko Okamura,
and rare footage of Thomas Merton, John
Cage, Erich Fromm, and Suzuki himself.
There have been few people capable of
bridging the logic of Americans and Europe-
ans and the Eastern approach to life as well
as Suzuki. Indeed, one of the goals of Zen is
to transcend dichotomies. The main purpose
of this documentary is to "bring D.T. Suzuki
alive," and serve to motivate people in the
West and Japan to know themselves better
while respecting one another. Daisetz Suzuki's
message is all the more important now, in light
of contemporary conflicts stemming from di-
vergent ways of thinking.
[This Article was put together by Burt Lum, new Kyodan
Board Member.]
Event: A Zen Life film
Date: Thursday, April 21, 2011
Time: 6:00 (film begins 6:30 pm)
Discussion and light
refreshments after film
Place: Jodo Mission of Hawaii
RSVP: Please call Jodo Mission
at 949-3995 to sign up.
Event is free.
(Continued from Page 3)

the sidelines.
May I ask you to do something more for the victims? Please write an encouraging message to
those in Japan who are feeling the terrible loss of family members or who are going through tremen-
dous hardship. Mail this message to Jodo Mission by April 7th. I will translate it into Japanese and
mail your card to the Newspaper Company in Japan so that the victims can read your messages of
hope and prayers. Please encourage your children and grand children, or friends to write their
cards, too.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to write your letters of support to the people of Japan. I
hope many of our members, their children, grand children, and friends will join us in this important
cause.
Rev. Yubun Narashiba

Mail your message to: Jodo Mission of Hawaii

Attn: Rev. Narashiba
1429 Makiki Street
Honolulu, HI 96814

News from Japan re former ministers of Jodo Mis- Obituaries

sion of Hawaii;
Rev. Hiroyoshi Oeda of Sendai in Miyagi Perfecture. The Jodo Mission of Hawaii extends its sin-
He and his family and temple are fine. cere condolences to the family members and
Rev. Yoshinori Nakazawa of Sendai in Miyagi Perfec- loved ones of the following members who
ture: His temple was severely damaged but his family is have recently left this world for the Pure Land.
okay.
Rev. Akinori Yoshimizu of Iwate Perfecture. His tem-
ple and family are fine. Tomoye Shintaku 93
MORE NEWS TO COME LATER. Tokusei “George” Arakaki 78
Helen Fumiko Fukuda 83
Jodo Mission Office Hours: Toshikazu Furuya 90
Monday to Saturday Stella Fusaye Nakamura 84
8am—5pm
Sunday & Holidays Isami “Lefty” Ippongi 94
8am—3pm Barney Rio 62
Phone: 949-3995 Arlene Yoshiko Takara 81

Rev. Yubun Narashiba Rev. Kanjun Nakano Rev. Yasuhiro Rev. Dwight
Head Minister Resident Minister Watanabe Nakamura
Resident Minister Retired Minister
Page 6
 EITAIKYO (Perpetual Memorial Service) for April
1 Anzaemon Kajioka 12 Naka Nakamura Eiko Gushikuma
The Kajioka & Morita Family Toshiko Umemoto Shigeichi Aoki
Yae Ogata Moushi Uyehara
Mistuko Arakawa 13 Yasuko Daitoku Shigeo Tom Muranaka
Shimoyo Karamatsu The Daitoku & Fujimoto Family
24 Setsuyo Misawa
Seiichi Kimura Kayo Doi
The Misawa Family
Tsuyo Uchiumi
2 Ryosaku Maeda The Watanabe Family
Zentoku Uyehara
The Maeda Family Yoshio Kunimoto
Yasu Iguchi
Shuzaburo Kunihiro Setsuyo Misawa
Masashi Yamane
The Kunihiro Family
25 Michizo Imaguchi
Masao Kamihara 14 Heiji Yasumoto
The Imaguchi Family
James Isamu Tomita The Yasumoto Family
Yasuko Ueda
Yoshi Okamura
3 Kinjuro Ajimura Tsunegoro Iwamoto
Yoshi Okamura
The Ajimura Family Michizo Imaguchi
Katsuichi Takeda 15 Toso Kamisato Soichi Sakai
The Takeda Family The Kamisato Family
26 Kikujiro Yokoyama
Takeo Kuniyuki The Aoki Family
The Yokoyama &
Katsusaburo Yamamoto Mikayo Higashimura
Morita Family
Kikue Kubota Toshiro Kawabe
Makoto Takahashi
The Kawabe Family
4 Masayo Kusunoki Masato Ishida
Masakane Himuro
The Kusunoki Family Haruko Teruya
Kenji Hayashi
Shinichi Amakawa
Toshiko Sumida Nishimoto 27 Misae Umemoto
The Amakawa Family
The Umemoto Family
16 Bunsuke Isobe
5 Tsune Isobe The Ida Family
The Isobe Family
The Isobe Family The Matsushima Family
Ryu Tsurusaki
Mamoru Najita Shizue Nose
The Tsurusaki & Inada Family
Isematsu Takenaka Robert Murakami
Masatoshi Umemoto
Kazumitsu Kaya
Patsy Hisako Himuro 28 Rokusuke Yanagihara
7 Yasu Hirohama Mitsuyoshi Gushikuma The Yanagihara Family
The Hirohama & Kawasugi Family Iwakichi Matsuda
17 Kenichi Namba
Kikujiro Uchiumi The Toichi Funamoto Family
The Namba Family
Naomi Fuse Johnson Misao Yamane
Tsuneharu Imaguchi
Fay Johnson Masa Miyao Okamoto
Yumi Yokoyama 18 Toyokichi Iguchi Ume Kawamura
Isaburo Terada The Iguchi & Sasaki Family
29 Mitsuyo Kamioka
Toru Yamane Eki Mineishi
The Kamioka &
The Mineishi Family
8 Tadaichi Aoki Hanaoka Family
Yojiro Watanabe
The Aoki Family Tatsuyo Ohara
Kojiro Okamoto 19 Jun Kunihiro The Ohara Family
The Okamoto & Nakamoto Family The Kunihiro Family Tsuchi Kajioka
Shigekichi Yoshizaki Motoo Ueda Heijiro Asai
The Yoshizaki Family The Ueda Family Tsune Uesugi
Naotaka Hayashi Maka Tamanaha Koji Kamioka
Misue Imamoto The Tamanaha Family Manzuchi Higashi
Yoshio Takara Matsutaro Shimizu Kazuto Hamada
Masamitsu Nakano Isamu Yoshioka Hatsumi Nakamura
Thomas Lai Yoshiyo Yanagihara
9 Shizuko Hironaka
Tatsuyo Ohara
The Hironaka & Ishimoto Family 20 Hiroshi Ohta Mitsuyo Kanai Yoshida
Fumie Iwasaki Mantsu Takara
Tokio Nishikawa Shozaemon Matsumoto 30 Tsuru Matsuno
Esa Yamane
10 Tomi Arakawa 21 Naomi Takara Kume Nakamoto
Matsuji Yamamoto Genichi Tamura The Nakamoto &
11 Tsunekichi Matsuno 22 Kyoichi Koyama Sakagawa Family
The Matsuno Family The Koyama Family The Matsuno Family
Sadako Yokoyama Chieko Miyakawa The Yamane Family &
The Yokoyama & Morita Family Hiroshi Nakai Harada Family
Teru Sakuda The Nakai Family Shigetaka Imada
The Sakuda Family Kazu Saiki
Sada Harada Kyoichi Koyama
The Kohatsu Family Francis Sadamu Furutani, Jr.
Yoshiko Hara
23 Bishop Sensho Fukuda
 8:30am Morning Service Jodo Mission of Hawaii
Everyday
April 2011 Phone: 949-3995

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2
Deadline:
O-Toba Orders

3 10:00 Obetsuji Service 4 5 6 7 8 9

11:00 Children’s Choir 8:30 am Sewing Class
Sunday School to follow **3:15 pm Jodo Shu hour 2:pm Hanamido Making

10 11 12 13 14 15 16
9 am HBC Buddha Day
Service at Jodo Mission
10:30am Maunalani
Visitation
11:45 am Board Meeting

17 18 19 20 21 22 23
NO SUNDAY SERVICE
**3:15 pm Jodo Shu hour 8:30 am Sewing Class
10am CCH visitation
10:30am Oahu Rengo Fujinkai
Convention in Haleiwa 6:30 Zen Film
Discussion to follow

24 8:30 YBA Meeting 25 26 27 28 29 30

10:00am Juzukuri Service

10:30 Sunday School

** Jodo Shu Hour Radio K-ZOO (AM1210Khz, Japanese station)

Jodo Mission Office Hours:
COMING EVENTS: Hanamido flowers (small flowers) needed on Saturday,
Monday to Saturday: 8 am—5 pm April 9, 2011, before 2:00 p.m.
Sunday & Holidays: 8 am—3 pm YBA Lei Making Project on Friday, May 27 for Punchbowl graves.