Special WOMEN OF JODO SHINSHU Service Held The Walnut

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Special WOMEN OF JODO SHINSHU Service Held
The Walnut Grove Buddhist Women’s Association sponsored a special service honoring four
historically prominent women of Jodo Shinshu. We were privileged to have Rev. Patti Oshita
from the Sacramento Betsuin as our guest speaker, and we very much enjoyed her dharma
talk. The BWA prepared a lunch for everyone following the service and we were able to enjoy
her company for even longer, along with Rev. Katsuya Kusunoki and Rev. Mayhugh. As you all
have probably heard, Rev. Patti is retiring soon, but we made sure to let her know that we
hope she will come back again as a retired-guest-speaker-minister!!
A PERFECT SPRING DAY
IN THE CHURCH’S BACKYARD
On Sunday May 14, we held our annual Picnic
Potluck.
We had fun in the sun roasting hot dogs and
consuming the many salads and desserts. As
usual with any church event, there was plenty
of delicious food to go around.
We enjoyed decorating kites for our craft,
and then the wind cooperated just enough so
we were able to get them airborne. What a
fun idea!
We barely got the flyers back for a few
rounds of Bingo to finish out the day. There
was a certain person (Yuri Yokoi!) that won
three times in a row!!! Talk about lucky!!!
Thanks to all who attended this event, and
thanks to everyone who helped with the
organizing, setting up and cleaning up.
六月祥月法要
June Shotsuki
Deceased
Misao
Sam
Asa
Shusaku
Azuma
Mizutani
Natsu
Harry
Sadako
Yoshimatsu
Saburo
Tadao
Jinkichi
Shina
Yuri
Masayoshi
George
Toshio
Asako
Jane
Fumiko
Toru
Sakogawa
Sakata
Hirotsu
Hamada
Kunioka
ancestors
Kusaba
Okada
Okada
Koga
Shoji
Hori
Yoshimi
Oda
Ogawa
Ito
Hamatani
Sakai
Nakahara
Oda
Mimura
Sano
迫川 みさお
坂田 サム
弘津 あさ
浜田 周作
国岡 あずま
水谷家 先祖
草場 ナツ
岡田 ヘリー
岡田 貞子
古閑 吉松
小路 三郎
堀 忠雄
吉見 甚吉
小田 しな
小川 ゆり
伊藤 正義
中原 朝子
小田 ジェーン
Moshu (Chief Mourner)
Margaret
Toshiko
Gary
Toshiko
Clifford
Edwin
Okada
Okada
Okada
Dorothy
Shigio
Sakata
Hirotsu
Hamada
Oto
Mizutani
Family
Family
Family
Koga
シギオ マーガレット
坂田 敏子
Kikue
Mary
Ted
Shigeko
David
Gale
Gene
Nancy
Tedmond
James
Kenneth
Hori
Yoshimi
Oda
Ogawa
Ito
Hamatani
Sakai
Nakahara
Oda
Hirakawa
Sano
堀 きくえ
吉見 メリー
浜田 敏子
水谷 エドウィン
岡田家
岡田家
岡田家
古閑 ドロシー
小川 滋子
中原 ナンシー
小田 テドモンド
REVEREND KUSUNOKI’S KORNER
[Amida Buddha’s wish and Human’s suffering are two sides of the same coin.]
“Life is suffering.” This is one of the teachings of Buddhism. “Suffering” means that things are not going as I
want. Buddhism is the teaching to overcome and be freed from our sufferings.
When Shakyamuni Buddha was still a boy named prince Siddhartha, he lived in a palace without want. He
had no chance to experience any sufferings. One day, he went outside of the palace. Then, he saw a tottering
old man. People in the palace were all young and healthy, so he had never seen a tottering old man. He
asked a vassal, “Who is he?” The vassal replied, “He is an old man. Everybody gets old just like him.” The second
day, Siddhartha saw a sick man who was worn out. He asked a vassal, “Who is he?” The vassal said, “He is a
sick man. Everybody gets sick just like him.” The third day, Siddhartha saw a funeral procession in which they
carried a dead body. He asked a vassal, “Who is he?” The vassal said, “He is a dead person. Everybody is going
to die someday just like him.” The fourth day, the prince went out and saw a trainee monk who looked calm
and peaceful. He was impressed by the monk’s attitude to life. These experiences became a trigger for
Siddhartha to renounce his life in the palace and become a monk. At the age of 29, he started practicing to
overcome his suffering. This is the famous story of the “four sights.”
Buddhism says that there are four common sufferings. These are birth, old age, sickness, and death. All human
beings have these four sufferings. As I said, “Suffering” means that things are not going as we want. People
want to stay young, but everybody gets old. People want to keep being healthy, but everybody gets sick.
Nobody wants to die, but everybody dies someday. We have these sufferings of getting old, having illness and
death because we are born in this world. Therefore, “birth” is also included in the four common sufferings.
I learned the four common sufferings like that. But, honestly, I could not truly get the reason why “Birth” is one of
the sufferings. I thought that “Birth” could be a cause of other sufferings, but “Birth” would not be an actual
human suffering. We don’t suffer from our birth at all. However, my view and understanding of birth has
changed because of my wife’s pregnancy.
We first found out about her first pregnancy at the beginning of February. We will become 39 years old this
year. It has been 7 years since we married. It was a big surprise. We were so happy and excited to find it out. At
the end of February, my wife’s condition was not well, so, I took her to an emergency hospital. While I was
waiting in a room, I was very nervous and worried about our baby. I had a negative feeling that we would
have to give our baby up. After a while, a doctor told us that our baby was fine. Everything was going well.
A few weeks later, my wife took a risk test. The result was positive. There was some possibility for our baby to
have some disease and disability. Again, I became very nervous and worried about our baby. I only had a little
knowledge of the risk test. Would our baby be born without any trouble? Would we need to make a decision
to have an abortion? How would we raise a child who has an illness or disability? Would we be able to raise a
child who has an illness or disability? My worries and anxieties came up into my mind one after another. My wife
took a reexamination, and the result was negative. Everything was fine. Later, she may need to take some
more tests and we may find some problems. There is still long way to go. For now, I just hope that everything
goes well and our baby will be born calmly.
Through these experiences, I deeply thought that birth is also one of human being’s sufferings just Shakyamuni
Buddha said. I am not saying that the suffering of birth is my suffering only because I, as a parent, have anxiety
and am worried about the baby who is still in my wife’s womb. A human life grows day by day and lives cheek
by jowl with illness and death even when a human life is still in a mother’s womb. A baby in a mother’s womb
may also hope to be born healthy and lively. However, a baby may get sick. A baby may die. A mother may
miscarry a baby. A person may decide to have an abortion owing to unavoidable circumstances. Thinking of
the suffering of birth in my family, my older sister’s children were born as immature infants although they are fine
now. My mother had two miscarriages. My sister in law had a baby born dead. There must be a lot of people
who have experienced these kinds of painful events. I deeply feel that human’s life is suffering and is not to be
what they want even before they are born. When I contemplate our human life, I sincerely appreciate my life
and all lives, which are able to be born. All lives are treasure. All lives are precious. (To be continued)
Gassho, (Palms together)
-The number of attendees – (Lodi)
The evaluation of 2016’s resolution
Date
Attendee
Date
Attendee
(E-excellent, G-good, S-so so, B-bad)
s
s
Propagate&Advertise Jodo Shinshu
G
Apr. 24th
300
May 15th
36
Take English enunciation class
G
May 8th
43
Play a golf once a month
B
2016 Memorial Service Schedule
2016 is the memorial year for those who passed away in:
Win a successive championship
2015
1 year
2000
17 year
Bake a fruit tart
E
2014
3 year
1992
25 year
2010
7 year
1984
33 year
2004
13 year
1967
50 year
Rev. Katsu: [email protected]
【苦のあるところに阿弥陀仏あり（前編）】
仏教には、“人生は苦なり”という教えがあります。“苦”とは、自分の思い通りにならないということ
です。その“苦”を乗り越えていく教えが仏教です。
お釈迦様がまだシッダールタという名の子供の頃、彼は、お城の中で何不自由ない生活を送っていました。
つまり、“苦”のない生活を送っていたのです。ある日、シッダールタは、お城の外へ出かけました。そこで
、一人の老人を見かけました。お城の中には、美しく健康な若者しかいませんでしたので、彼は、年老いたヨ
ボヨボの老人を見たことがありませんでした。そこで、従者に、「あれは何者だ？」と聞くと、従者は、「あ
れは老人です。人間はみんなあのように年老いていくものなのです。」と答えました。また、別の日に、今度
は病人を見かけました。そこで、従者に「あれは何者だ？」と聞くと、従者は、「あれは病人です。人間はみ
んなあのように病気になるものです。」と答えました。またある日、今度は、遺体を運ぶ葬儀の行列を見かけ
ました。そこで、従者に「あれは何者だ？」と聞くと、従者は、「あれは死人です。人間はいずれ死ぬものな
のです。」と答えました。またある日今度は、修行者を見かけました。そのもの姿は、穏やかで安らかでした
。それを見たシッダールタは、その修行者のようになりたいと思い、後日、家を捨てて、苦を乗り越えるべく
、出家の道を選んだということです。これが、有名な「四門出遊」というお話です。
人はみんな、老い、病になり、そしていずれ死ぬものです。その“老”“病”“死”に“生”を加えた四つ
を四苦といいます。“苦”とは、自分の思い通りにならないということです。人は、若くありたいと思います
が、必ず年をとります。元気でいたいと思いますが、病気をし、いつの日か、必ず死を迎えます。“老”“病
”“死”の苦は、我々がこの世に生まれてきたことが因となっていますので、この世に生まれてくる“生”も
苦というわけです。
人として生まれてこなければ、老病死の苦を受けることはなかったのだから、生も苦の一つであるであると
いう説明もわからなくはないのですが、なにか、自分の中で納得できないところがありました。その説明では
、生は、老病死の因であって、苦そのものではないのではないかと、思うこともありました。しかし、今回、
妻が妊娠し、“生苦”に対する見方が変わりました。
妻の妊娠がわかったのは、２月の初め頃です。結婚して７年が経過し、今年で３９歳になる私達にとって、
妻の妊娠は、大きな驚きであり、喜びでした。２月の終わり頃だったでしょうか、妻の体調不良で、救急病院
に行くことがありました。控え室で検査結果を待っている間は、不安で仕方がありませんでした。やっぱりだ
めだったかなと、あきらめの気持ちもどこかにありました。しかし、検査の結果、無事であったことがわかり
ました。
それからしばらくして、今度は、リスク検査をすることになりました。その結果、子供が病気や障害を抱え
て生まれてくる可能性があるかもしれないということがわかりました。私は、リスク検査についての知識がほ
とんどなかったので、どうしていいかわからず、不安になりました。子供は無事に生まれてくるのだろうか、
中絶の道を選ばないといけないのだろうか、病気や障害を抱えた子供を育てていくにはどうしたらいいのだろ
うか、不安は次から次に出てきました。再検査の結果、現在のところ、病気や障害を抱えて生まれてくる可能
性は低いということでした。今後も、いくつか検査があり、なにか問題が出てくることもあるかもしれません
。まだまだ、先は長いですが、今は、なんとか無事に生まれてきてくれることを願うばかりです。
これらの経験から、お釈迦様の言う通り、やっぱり、生も苦だなと痛切に考えさせられました。それは、お
腹の中の赤ちゃんのことで悩やんだり不安になったりする私の苦しみを生苦と言っているのではありません。
命は母親のお腹の中にある時から、日々成長し、その過程の中で、病や死と隣り合わせに生きているのです。
苦とは思い通りにならないということです。お腹の中の赤ちゃんも、元気に生まれてきたいと願っているでし
ょう。しかし、赤ちゃんが病気になることもある、死んでしまうこともある、母親が流産してしまうこともあ
る、家族の事情で止む無く中絶することもある。私の家族だけ見てみても、姉の子供は、今は元気にしていま
すが、未熟児として生まれてきました。母は二度流産を経験しました。兄夫婦は、２番目の赤ん坊を生まれて
くる直前に亡くしました。世の中には、そういったつらい経験をされている方がたくさんおられるでしょう。
命というのは、この世に生まれてくる前から多難で思い通りにはいかないものなのだなと感じます。そのよう
に考えると、私のこの命を含め、この世の命、一つ一つが宝物で、尊いものであるなと改めて考えさせられま
す。（つづく）
合掌
Cards For Buddhism
By Darcy Nishi
___________________________________________________________________________
The 2016 Federation of Dharma School Teachers League (FDSTL) Annual Conference was held
April 29 – May 1, 2016 at the Sacramento Betsuin & Hilton Garden Inn. The third part to a trilogy of
conferences, the theme was “What would Rennyo Shonin do?” The significance of this phrase being
Rennyo is often referred to as ‘Rennyo the Great Restorer’ since it was with his oversight that Jodo
Shinshu was able to recover from a period of great chaos and loss to thrive once again. In following with
this thought, the conference addressed current concerns about the future of the BCA and one of the most
important vehicles for strengthening the BCA; our Dharma Schools.
The card game my sisters, Audry and Blythe Nishi, and I adapted was meant to address this topic.
Since there is a demand for more Buddhist games and activities that can be implemented in Dharma
schools to engage students, we took up this project. The game is called “Cards For Buddhism” and is
meant to make learning Buddhism into an enjoyable card game for Dharma School students of a variety of
ages. Presenting the game to Dharma School teachers from around the nation we were worried about
how the game would be received but surprisingly we all laughed at the same jokes and understood each
other’s humor so the game was a success. Each participant in our workshop was able to take home a
deck to their own Dharma schools and decks were distributed to each of the Northern California District
Churches as well. From the onset of this project we hoped for one thing; that this game help make
Buddhism more engaging and fun for other Dharma school students, and I believe that we have
accomplished this and hope to see the game used in many more Dharma schools. Of course this project
would not have been possible without the guidance of our own Dharma School teacher Sharon Yokoi,
assistance from Den Mother Yuri Yokoi, and overall support from our parents Souris and Esperanza Nishi.
REPORT FROM AKI ITO
Bazaar
I would like to thank all the people in advance for all the time and effort that goes into the church's
annual Bazaar.
Please note items to be purchased for the Bazaar should be submitted by June 6, 2016 to the
Procurement Committee so they can begin the process of purchasing the items. We all know some
items may be left out from the initial order submitted and if this happens, please contact the
procurement committee ASAP.
Golf Tourney
The annual WGBC Golf Tournament hosted by the Sonenkai will be Saturday, October 15, 2016 at
Wildhawk Golf Course - same format as in the past.
In Gassho,
Aki Ito
WALNUT GROVE BUDDHIST WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION NEWS
Please see the Bazaar Work Schedule in this newsletter. This is your copy!!
We will be making Manju on Thursday June 16th. This is a fun day and a chance to learn to make a
very tasty traditional pastry if you haven’t participated before. We start at 8 AM and will break for
pizza for lunch. Hope to see you all there.
The WGBWA would like to acknowledge the following donations:
A special donation from Rev. Roy Mayhugh for $1000.00;
For the Women of Jodo Shinshu Memorial service: Frances Nakahara, 25.00; Christy Ishizuka, 25.00;
Gladys Katsuki, 25.00; Toshiko Sakata, 20.00; Lorraine Mizuno, 20.00; Nellie Kawamura, 20.00;
Shizue Nagoshi 20.00; Toshiko Hamada, 25.00.
Our next meeting is scheduled for Sunday June 5th at 11:00 AM. We will have lunch construction
schedules ready at this meeting. Toban will be Toshiko Sakata, Nancy Nakahara, Charlene Norman,
Janet Sakata and Virginia Uchida.
DHARMA SCHOOL/ADULT STUDY NEWS
In May the Dharma School/Adult Study session was shortened because of the Church Picnic later in
the afternoon. We had the meditation session as usual followed by the regular Dharma School
service. We had two visitors from the Brentwood area; Immanuel and his brother Nicco. We are
honored to have them with us. We held the study session in the Hondo (main chapel). It was not
quite as comfortable as the usual setting but participation was good. The purpose of the discussion
sessions is to help us teach each other and learn together how the Dharma applies to our lives. We
are successful because everyone participates and we grow in the Dharma together.
Our next service and meeting are on June 19th, starting with meditation at 10 AM. Service is at 10:30
AM, followed by Dharma School and Adult Study.
Walnut Grove BWA Bazaar Work Dates
Dear BWA Members;
The once a year fundraiser, the Buddhist Church Bazaar, is here again and we are asking for
your Dana help and participation on Saturday, July 2nd and Sunday July 3rd , 2016; the two
days of the gigantic undertaking by the Buddhist Church and its affiliated organizations.
May we count on your help in making the 62nd Annual Bazaar a huge success as well as a happy
weekend at the Bazaar?
1.
The Raffle Ticket stubs and money should be turned in to Mrs. Toshiko Hamada
by Sunday June 26th.
2.
Your Handicraft donations should be turned in as soon as possible to the church.
3.
The pre-Bazaar clean-up of the Kitchen area will be on Sunday June 26th, 8:00 AM.
4.
Omanju making for sale at the Bazaar will be on Thursday June 16th, 8:00 AM .
A mini clean-up of the lower kitchen will be on Wednesday June 15th at 8 AM
5.
Prep. for Chow Mein on Thursday June 30th, and Friday July 1s , 8:00 AM
Vegetables will be chopped and the noodles will be boiled and fried.
6.
Prep. For Sushi on Thursday June 30th, and Friday July 1st, 8:00 AM
The sushi ingredients will be prepped and cooked.
7.
Sushi and Chow Mein preparation on Saturday July 2nd, 6:00 AM
8.
Sushi and Chow Mein preparation on Sunday July 3rd, 6:00 AM
9.
Please bring your Pastry donation to the residence kitchen on either Saturday July 2nd
or Sunday July 3rd. If there is no on there to accept your donation, please put your
name on the bag or package so that we know who made the donation.
10.
The clean-up after the Bazaar will take place on Monday July 4th, 8:00 AM.
We realize you will be tired, but please come out to help.
Your Bazaar Booth Work Schedule will be mailed to you. If you cannot work at the time
scheduled for you, PLEASE FIND YOU OWN REPLACEMENT. DO NOT CONTACT THE
CHAIRPERSON.
The Bazaar Scheduling Committee thanks you for your cooperation in the above matters.
If you have some spare time and find booths short of help, please offer yours. It will be
greatly appreciated.

B
U
D
D
H
I
S
T
Sun
5
11:00 AM BWA Meeting
Sun
5
1:30 PM Shotsuki Service
Tue
14
7:00 PM Board
Sat
11
8:00 AM Tent Raising
Wed
15
9:00 AM Oasaji cancelled
Sun
19 10:00 AM Meditation Class
Sun
19 10:30 AM Dharma Service/School/Adult Study
Sun
19 8:00 AM Bazaar Construction
Sun
26 8:00 AM Bazaar Construction
Thu
30 8:00 AM Bazaar Preparation
BE
A
T
T
I
T
U
D
E
S
Student: what is this
that I apologize to spiders
when walking through their webs ?
Teacher: manners.
By Jerry Bolick, SF BUDDHIST CHURCH