November 2015 - Reedley Buddhist Church

P.O. BOX 24 ~ 2035 15TH ST., REEDLEY, CALIFORNIA 93654
PHONE & FAX (559) 638-2146
http://reedleybc.org
November 2015
November Calendar
Calendar of Events
Holiday Jokes
1
Reedley Food Bazaar
3 - 6 pm
2
Bazaar Clean Up
6:00 pm
3
Nikkeijinkai Meeting in
Conference Room
1:00 pm
4
Board Meeting
7:00 pm
7
Japanese Buddhist Broadcast
on KBIF (900 AM)
6:00 am
14 Japanese Buddhist Broadcast
on KBIF (900 AM)
BWA sponsored trip to
Shinzen Gardens, Fresno
Meet at RBC
9:00 am
15 Combined Monthly Memorial/
Family Dharma Service
& Luncheon
9:30 am
16 National Council Planning
Meeting at Reedley
7:00 pm
18 Ministerial Affairs Committee
Meeting
7:00 pm
21 Japanese Buddhist Broadcast
on KBIF (900 AM)
6:00 am
22 Eitaikyo/Family Dharma
Service - Guest Speaker
Rev. Yukiko Motoyoshi
6:00 am
9:30 am
26 Thanksgiving Day
28 Japanese Buddhist Broadcast
on KBIF (900 AM)
Message from Rev. Nakagawa
6:00 am
NOVEMBER TOBAN:
BWA - Area 3 - Nakagawa & Takayama
Church - Kurumaji & Kubota
Recently, we are getting to hear good Buddhist jokes from everywhere. And through
these jokes, we are surprised to learn that many people
in America already understand Buddhism well.
I’ve chosen a few here, including a ‘classic’.
The owner of an apartment complained. “Why
couldn’t those Buddhist monks vacuum
under the sofa?” A neighbor replied.
“Because they had no attachment.”
One High-monk visited NYC and was giving a lecture on Buddhism one day. He found a hotdog
food stall right corner of the building. This Buddhist monk was curious and wanted a hot dog,
so he went to there at lunch time. The vender
asked, “What would you like, sir?” The
monk straightened himself to answer, “Well,
make me one with everything.” (story continues..) The monk gave the vendor a 20 dollar
bill and waited for his change. After a moment
of waiting, he asked, “where is my change?”
The vender replied, “Sir, the change must
come within.”
There are two famous Dalai Lamma jokes and these
are the real conversations.
Dalai Lamma received a present that was beautifully packaged but someone forgot to put it into
the box. (We sometimes make same mistakes,
anyhow.) Dalai Lamma opened the package
and said, “Wow, it’s empty! That is what I
always wanted!”
Dalai Lamma was asked about his ‘reincarnation’.
He answered, “Do I remember my past
time? To tell the truth, recently, I don’t remember what I did yesterday.”
Continued on page 4
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Church Acknowledges Dana
The Family of Noriaki Hirasuna In Memory of Mr. Noriaki Hirasuna
Mr. & Mrs. Sammy Nakagawa - Annual
Bungo Hoji
Mrs. Ayako Yamada - Hanamatsuri
Donation
Mrs. Ayako Yamada - March Monthly
Memorial Service
Mrs. Ayako Yamada - April Monthly
Memorial Service
Mrs. Ayako Yamada - May Monthly
Memorial Service
Mrs. Ayako Yamada - September
Monthly Memorial Service
$800.00
250.00
15.00
10.00
10.00
10.00
25.00
In Memory of Mrs. Sayoko Otani - 1 Year Memorial
The Family of Sayoko Otani
200.00
Mr. & Mrs. Hideki Otani
25.00
Mr. & Mrs. Ted Kobayashi
30.00
Mr. & Mrs. Gerald Nakayama
20.00
Mr. Johnnie Togioka
40.00
Dr. & Mrs. James Morikawa
25.00
Mr. & Mrs. Glen Sasai
25.00
Mrs. Yuriko Togioka
20.00
Mr. & Mrs. Marvin Yotsuya
20.00
Jennifer & Serena Peeler
20.00
October Monthly Memorial Service
Mrs. Fumiko Ikemiya
Mrs. Kikuyo Ikemiya
Mrs. Sue Kawamoto
Ms. Priscilla Otani
Mrs. Ellen Yamada
Ms. Shizuko Taguchi
Mr. & Mrs. Harry Inn
Mrs. Toshiko Kawagoe
Mrs. Amy Naito
Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Nishinaka
Mr. & Mrs. Ben Nobuhiro
Mr. & Mrs. Gary Sakata
Mrs. Ayako Yamada
Ms. Marissa Okamura & Ms. Stephanie
Okamura
Mrs. Lynn Kurumaji
Mr. Johnnie Togioka
Ms. Priscilla Otani
Dr. & Mrs. Daniel Kaplan
Mr. & Mrs. Dale Okamura
10.00
10.00
10.00
10.00
10.00
15.00
20.00
20.00
20.00
20.00
20.00
20.00
20.00
25.00
30.00
30.00
40.00
100.00
100.00
Reedley Buddhist Church
Maintenance Fund Donations
$40.00
Mrs. Nancy Abe
Mr./Mrs. Mitchell Abe
Mr./Mrs. Hitoshi Aoki
Mrs. Joy Donaldson
Mr./Mrs. Clifford Hamada
Mr./Mrs. Yas Hashimoto
Mrs. Tatsuko Hatanaka
Mr./Mrs. Kan Ibara
Mrs. Fumiko Ikemiya
Mr./Mrs. Harry Inn
Mr./Mrs. Craig Ito
Mrs. Eva Iwanaga
Mr./Mrs. Kliff Justesen
Mrs. Sue Kawamoto
Mr. Kevin Kimura
Mr./Mrs. Robert Kobayashi
Mr./Mrs. Tim Kurumaji
Mr. Michio Miyamoto
Mrs. Amy Naito
Mr. Michael Naito
Mr./Mrs. Danny Nakamichi
Mr./Mrs. Larry Nishida
Mr./Mrs. Ben Nobuhiro
Mrs. Fujiye Okino
Mrs. Ruth Sasaki
Mrs. Ayako Sunamoto
Ms. Shizuko Taguchi
Mr. Don Takanishi
Mrs. Yukiye Takayama
Mr. Akio Tatami
Mrs. Margo Toyota
Mrs. Mary Uyeda
Mrs. Ellen Yamada
Mrs. Sadie Abe
Ms. Kay Antoku
Mr. Kiyoshi Aoki
Mr. Gerry Hada
Mrs. Joanne Hansen
Mr./Mrs. James Hatakeda
Ms. Carole Hirakawa
Mrs. Carolyn Ikemiya
Mrs. Kikuyo Ikemiya
Mrs. Mary Ishida
Mrs. Yukiko Ito
Mrs. Chizuko Iwasaki
Mrs. Toshiko Kawagoe
Mrs. Helen Kimura
Mrs. Setsuko Kimura
Mrs. Nagiko Konishi
Mr./Mrs. Craig Miyamoto
Mrs. Yasuko Murase
Mr./Mrs. Jeffrey Naito
Mr./Mrs. Sammy Nakagawa
Mrs. Alice Nakamura
Mr./Mrs. Ron Nishinaka
Mr./Mrs. Dale Okamura
Mrs. Nancy Sakata
Mr. Hideo Shiine
Mr./Mrs. Kenneth Sunamoto
Mr. Byron Taira
Mr. George Takasaki
Mrs. Kimiye Tanizaki
Mrs. Kazuko Tatami
Mr./Mrs. George Tsuji
Mrs. Ayako Yamada
Mr./Mrs. Gary Sakata
Mr./Mrs. Larry Iwasaki
Dr./Mrs. Kenneth Ikemiya
Mrs. Nancy Kimura
$ 50.00
60.00
100.00
100.00
In Sympathy
We extend our deepest sympathy to the
family of Mrs. Agnes Nobue Kamada, mother of
Mr. David Kamada, who passed away on October 8,
2015 at the age of 90 years.
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Rev. Sakamoto’s Meessage Cont.
The Golden Buddha
Located in the temple of Wat Traimit, in Bangkok, Thailand, is a Golden Buddha that weighs 5.5 tons.
The origin of this statue is uncertain, but believed to have
been made in the 13th or 14th Century. At some point, the
statue was completely plastered over to prevent it from
being stolen, then covered with a thick layer of stucco
and painted with inlaid bits of colored glass. Some scholars believe that this was done to protect the statue from
being stolen by Burmese Invaders in 1767. It remained
covered with stucco until the 1950s when it was moved
to a new temple in Bangkok. One story is told that the
monks would repair this clay, as cracks would appear
now and then. One day, one monk looked deep into a
crack and saw something shiny and reflective. He took a
flashlight and was amazed to see gold. When all the
plaster was removed, a beautiful golden statue was discovered. The temple monks knew that this statue of the
Awakened One was covered as a means of protection
from not only the marauding Burmese Army, but from
social disruptions, thieves and those who would harm
this beautiful statue. It is now a pilgrimage site as thousands and thousands of Buddhist flock to this temple to
see the world’s largest solid gold Buddha statue.
This statue is a representative of you and me. The
clay or stucco represents the afflictions, defilements, destructive, disturbing, and negative emotions that poison
our minds. In Mahayana Buddhism, ignorance, attachment, and aversion are identified as the root or source of
all those afflictions like fear, anger, jealousy, desire, depression, etc.
But our true nature, Buddha Nature, is just like the
gold statue found underneath all that clay. It is luminous,
shiny, beautiful, free, unselfish and golden. Sakyamuni
Buddha noted that one does not become noble by one’s
birth or caste, but this nobility shines from the heart of
each person.
This brings me to the true story of “The Tire Iron and
the Tamale,” by Justin Horner. He described a terrible
year where he had three instances of car trouble, and
each time as he was stranded on the side of the road, he
was disgusted with the way people didn’t bother to help.
Tow trucks and cars would fly by, seemingly ignoring
him. The people at the gas stations wouldn’t lend him a
gas can “for safely reasons,” but would be willing to sell
him a one-gallon can with no camp for $20. And, each
time, immigrants came to his rescue, Mexican immigrants who didn’t speak English. One time a van with a
family of four pulled over to help. The man got out of the
van and looked over the situation, and called his daughter to come over since she spoke some English. He
started to help take off the flat tire, and the tire iron broke.
He waved to not worry. His wife drove the van down the
road, and in fifteen minutes, returned with a new tire iron.
Continued next column
Soon the spare tire was on the car. Justin tried to give the
man $20 for his effort, but the man refused to accept it.
Justin then gave it to the wife as quietly and sly as possible. Soon, the daughter returned and asked if Justin was
hungry. He was, and she gave him a tamale. Justin was
embarrassed as the family was obviously poor and were
a seasonal workers where time is money. Justin returned
to his car, got in, and began to open the tamale and noticed the $20 bill snuck inside. He ran out to catch the
van, yelling “por favor, por favor (please, please).” The
driver lowered his window, shaking his head and said,
“today you, tomorrow me.” After that Justin has often
stopped to change a few tires, give a few rides to gas stations, and all without accepting a single dollar.
Sometimes, our fear prevents us from stopping to help
someone in need, or perhaps, it’s our perceived need to
get somewhere important on time, or maybe we just don’t
want to be bothered by something like that. Whatever the
case may be, you can see that our fear, greed and/or ignorance had covered our true “golden” nature with “clay.”
It takes effort, a lot of, and consistent effort to remove our
own “clay.” But, we can do it; there is no better time to
start than now.
I go to the Buddha for guidance.
I go to the Dharma for guidance.
I go to the Sangha for guidance.
Rev. Alan Sakamoto
Rev. Nakagawa Message Cont. from page 1
In the end, there is one bad joke.
“Why are there so few Buddhist rhythm & blues
band?” Because they have no soul.
We’d better not mention “no soul”, “no God” anymore,
because those kind of comments are not appropriate
from Buddhists. Yes, we carry a soul within, otherwise
any soul cannot be eternal. Our soul is changing moment by moment as well as any existence in this universe. That is why our soul continuously grows until it
reaches the state of Buddhahood.
So, “When R&B would know Buddha-dharma, a
new music will be born.” by Beastie Boys
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Message from Rev.
Matthew Hamasaki
The weather in the Valley is starting to
cool down (finally!) and it gives us an opportunity to look at how we can all “cool down” from
when we get “hot.” Last month, Rev. Dr. David Matsumoto spoke about the parable of the two rivers and the
white path. One river was made up completely of fire
and one was made up completely of water. The traveller in the story was terrified of going out onto the path
from fear of falling into one of the two rivers. In my
opinion, and perhaps I have not fallen into enough rivers to make a good judgment, I felt that falling into a
river of fire seems a lot worse than falling into a river of
water (if anything, falling into a river of water would
probably sound pretty good after you fell into a river of
fire).
Anyways, the point that I am trying to make is that
we see this idea of being burning hot as being generally
negative. And the emotion that gets associated with the
feeling of being hot is anger. We tell people who are
upset to “simmer down” or if they are easily agitated
we call them a “hot head”. So how can someone go
from being boiling hot to a light simmer?
Oftentimes, it is taught that our ego and delusions
are the source of our suffering. When we get angry and
fight, it is because something is challenging our ego,
whether it is because we have to be right or that someone else is critical of us. Our delusion is that we are the
only one that is perfect, the only one that is correct, and
we hang on so tightly to that idea. The remedy would
be, first, to be aware that we are getting upset (not as
easy as it sounds) and secondly to try to move beyond
our selves (no typo) and try to see through the other
person’s eyes. Our limited view is of our own world and
each person has this too. By realizing this truth and trying to put ourselves in another’s situation, we can begin
to find a middle path of understanding and douse the
flame of anger.
Eitaikyo Service
November 22, 2015 - 9:30 AM
Guest Speaker:
Rev. Yukiko Motoyoshi
(special service Dana envelope enclosed)
Please join us!
The Pastry Committee is again counting on
your homemade pastry for this year’s Food Bazaar.
Homemade pies of any kind, seem to be the best
sellers, but the Pastry Committee will gratefully
appreciate anything home baked. It will be helpful
also if your baked goods are labeled (i.e. Peach Pie,
Carrot Cake, etc.) If you are unable to bake, the
Pastry Committee will welcome your monetary donation.
The Chicken Committee is asking members to
help with the cleaning and washing of the chicken
on Friday, October 30th, from 5:30 p.m. and marinating the chicken on Saturday, October 31st from
3:00 p.m.
The Namasu Committee is requesting members to assist them on Saturday and Sunday, October 31st at 7:00 a.m. and November 1st from 7:00
a.m.
The Beef Teriyaki Committee has finished
skewering the beefsticks, thanks to all the members
who came to help. Since they are done, they are requesting committee members to help on other committees during Saturday’s preparations. Marinating will begin on Sunday, November 1st, from 6:00
a.m.
The Hot Dish Committee requests help with
the preparation on Saturday, October 31st, from
7:00 a.m. and on Sunday, November 1st, from 8:00
a.m.
The BWA is in charge of the sushi and is asking
for the help of all the BWA members and church
members on Saturday, October 31st at 10:00 a.m..
and Sunday, November 1st, from 6:30 a.m.
Everyone is requested to wear hairnets/caps and
refrain from using perfume or cologne when helping
with the preparation of the food. Everyone is required to wear caps/hairnets while helping on the
serving line also.
All Church and Buddhist Women’s Association members, regardless of whether your name
appears on the committee lists are requested to
come out and help with our Food Bazaar. We
need your HELP!
It’s nice to hear that some family members
will be coming from out of town to help. Thank
you!
Your support and cooperation will be greatly appreciated.
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It’s BAZAAR TIME!
Come out to help at our
biggest fundraiser of the year!
We’ll be busy all weekend, so
come on out!
(see schedule on page 4)
Procedures for Requesting a Minister
Contact Number for Church Business
Reedley Church Phone: (559) 638-2146
Church President: Mrs. Kathy Nishinaka
Phone: (559) 905 - 3107
Funeral Committee Chair; Mr. Gary Sakata at:
Cell Phone: (559) 250-9687
Fresno Betsuin Office - Lee Osaki: (559) 442-4054
(requesting minister or schedule family service in
Reedley after contacting Reedley president for church
availability)
Rev. Nakagawa: (urgent for Makuragyo)(559) 970-7652
Funerals:
The family will contact the Reedley Buddhist Church
President, Mrs. Kathy Nishinaka at: (559) 905-3107 or
Funeral Chairperson, Gary Sakata at (559) 250-9687.
Makuragyo Service:
During the week contact the Fresno Betsuin Office (4424054) or Rev. Nakagawa on weekdays or weekends directly at (970-7652).
Family Memorial Service:
For services at the Reedley Buddhist Church: Contact the RBC President to check the availability of the
Reedley Church. Then contact Lee Osaki at the Fresno
Betsuin (442-4054) to schedule the service. Fresno Betsuin office hours are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday thru
Friday. Return call to Church President to confirm date
and time.
For services at family home: Family will contact Lee
Osaki at the Fresno Betsuin office to arrange for a minister.
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PAGE 7
November Monthly
Memorial Service
The November Monthly Memorial Service will be
held on Sunday, November 15th at 9:30 AM. Families
and friends are asked to attend and offer incense. The
deceased and seshu (observant) for November are as follows:
DECEASED:
Masaichi Charles Abe
Sawaichi Matoi
Hikobei Hara
Douglas Hara
Chikashi Haraguchi
Shozo Kubo
Russell Shimizu
Mitsuko Ibara
Shigetaro Kodama &
Takashi Naito
John Nakata
Shun Ikemiya
Tatsuzo Ishida & Buntaro
Nishimura
George Tsunekawa
Torao Yamamoto
Yasumatsu Iwo
Yoshiko Kajihara
Fumio Shiroyama & Edna
Tonami Fujiwara
Masao Kubo
Herbert Fukuo Maruyama,
Kozuchi Nagao & Misayo
Nagao
Sasaichi Miyamoto, Mitsugi
Miyamoto & Shozo
Miyamoto
Yoshio Murase
Takashi Naito
Doris Miyuki Kawaguchi
Bob Akahori
Kimiko Nishi &
Sadao Nomizu
Fred Nishida
George Nishida
Sakuichi Mizokami
Janet Yuriko Ohashi
Toye Tashiro
Yasuno Mori
Fumikazu Randy Omachi
& Haruno Omachi
Monthly Memorial Cont.
DECEASED:
Chikara Sasaki
Kikue Sasaki
SESHU:
Dennis Sasaki
Satoshi Sasaki &
Shirow Sasaki
Kiyome Sasaki, Chikara
Sasaki & Kazuto Sasaki
Susumu Sasaki
Rikichi Nakamura, Masaye
Nakamura & Toshihiko
Nakamura
Hiroko Shimozono
SESHU: (OBSERVANT) Kakuichi Sunamoto &
Masano Sunamoto
Alma Sunamoto
Nancy Abe
Tome Taguchi, Mise
Evelyn Asato
Nakamura, Nisaburo
Isamu Hara & Alice
Nakamura & Charles
Mori
Taguchi
Shizuko Taguchi
Isamu Hara
Mitsuye Mori
George Takasaki &
Hatsuko Hanashiro
Yukiye Takayama
Mary Hirata
Tsune Takayama
Lillian Takayama
Eloise Ibara
Sada Tatami & Hatsuyo
Terashi Ibara
Sakamoto
Akio Tatami
Joe Togioka
Johnnie Togioka
Setsuko Kimura
Yoshito
Toyota
Shuzo Toyota
Carolyn Ikemiya
Kuichi Uyeda
Mary Uyeda
Toshi Kawagoe
Takashi Kimoto
Janette Wong-Sing
& Amy Tsuji
Mary Ishida
Bill Hisao Tsuji
George Tsuji
Yukiko Ito
Ise Kurokawa, Saburoku
Chizuko Iwasaki
Ishikawa & Kyuichi Yamada Ayako Yamada
Edith Iwo
Haruo Kajihara
Nancy Kimura
Yoshiko Kubota
Michael Maruyama
Michio Miyamoto
Yasuko Murase
Amy Naito
Grace Nakagawa
Nanette Nakamichi
Alice Nakamura
Julia Ueda
Larry Nishida
Ronald Nishinaka
Henry Ohashi
Dennis Okamura
Fujiye Okino
Patricia & Kathleen
Omachi
Continued in next column
Reedley Buddhist Church
2035 15th Street - P.O. Box 24
Reedley, CA 93654
Phone/FAX: (559) 638-2146
Website: http://www.reedleybc.org
Email Pres. Kathy Nishinaka: knish_1@comcast.net
Email Newsletter/Webmaster: jk108@sbcglobal.net
ARTICLES/NEWS
All submissions must be made no later than the 21st of
each month to be included in the bulletin /newsletter. We
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