december 2005 - West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple

WEST LOS ANGELES BUDDHIST TEMPLE BULLETIN
2003 Corinth Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90025
(310) 477-7274
E-mail: westlabt@verizon.net
Fax (310) 477-6674
Web Site: www.wlabt.org
Vol. 48, No. 11 & 12
November & December 2005
TEMPLE SPECIAL SERVICES
(See Calendar pages for schedules of regular services)
NOVEMBER 2005
Sunday, November 13
Sunday, November 13
9:30 a.m.
2:00 p.m.
Thanksgiving Sunday Service (E)
Eitaikyo Perpetual Memorial Service (J)
Guest Speaker:
Guest Speaker:
Rev. Jim Yanagihara
Rev. Jim Yanagihara
DECEMBER 2005
Sunday, December 4
Saturday, December 31
9:30 a.m.
8:00 p.m.
Bodhi Day Sunday Service & Oseibo Taikai
Joya-E Year-End Service
Guest Speaker: Rev. Seikan Fukuma
.
Followed by lunch
REV. USUKI’S PAGE
SOUPLANTATION
Times of luxury do not last long, but pass away very quickly; nothing in
this world can be enjoyed forever. Nothing in the world is permanent or
lasting; everything is changing and momentary and unpredictable. But
people are ignorant and selfish, and are concerned only with the desires
and sufferings.
Therefore, people should cast away, while they are young and healthy, all
their greed and attachment to worldly affairs, and should seek earnestly
for true Enlightenment, for there can be no lasting reliance or happiness
apart from Enlightenment.
Teaching of Buddha (pp.196-200)
Coming to West L.A. was the best thing that
happened to my career…so far. One of the
many benefits for my wife and I is that we will
not starve here nor be lost to find a good place
to eat. We’re still exploring Sawtelle Blvd. and
its many superb eateries. We also like a place
called Souplantation and there is one in Camarillo, near my mother’s place. It is an all-youcan-eat salad bar complemented by soup,
breads, pastas, and desserts.
I’m sure you enjoyed these things and your
senses were satisfied after you got them. But,
since then, have you noticed that your wants
have changed to something else, perhaps to a
new car or trip to Hawaii? Are we here to only
satisfy our senses because we have so many
things to pick from in our smorgasbord? Sometimes we make our choices from what we think
we want out of habit, or worse, desperation. As
we get older and still can’t find that ultimate
comfort in life, then we keep buying. So we
catch ourselves playing these same games over
and over…new toys, but same old thing.
Eventually, everything loses its sparkle and we
start to wonder what it’s all about. We spend
our lives running after that elusive thing called
happiness that still escapes us.
Have you ever noticed how people act when it’s
a buffet? We have all this delicious-looking food
spread out in front of us, and suddenly we’re
acting like we haven’t eaten in weeks and may
not eat again for several more weeks. Have you
ever noticed how your sense-organs operate at
times like this? I think we get pumped up by
the aroma and presentation of the food. Our
eyes grow as big as saucers looking at the
many things that are there for the taking.
Whatever you want, as much as you want, and
we hear people saying “Oooh,” “Aaaah!” Our
palms may get sweaty when someone else
grabs the serving spoon we want… suddenly
we’re racing for the next item to pile it on … It’s
true that we are driven by our senses.
Whether it works for you or not, the time is going to come when you may start to wonder if
you have really found the kind of peace and
contentment that is going to allow you to move
on without regret. All the things in our
smorgasbord of life are okay to go after, but we
have to understand that attaining these things
is not what gives us the sense of well-being in
the long run. Obtaining things like wealth,
status, fitness, etc. is not going to make us
eternally happy as stated in the opening
passage above.
Do you know that some of these buffet restaurants now charge you extra if you don’t eat everything you take? That’s not a bad idea. Here in
the United States, we tend to be very wasteful
about food. A recent survey said that Americans eat 10 times more food per person than
the Chinese. In Japan, a nation of about 130
million people, the amount of food thrown away
every day would be enough to feed about 10%
of the population, or 13 million people in one
day. That’s a lot of food wasted.
However, we can enjoy all of these things fully
if we live in a sense of security and peace of
mind taught by the Buddha. It is difficult to
change the many habits and attitudes that we
already have, and it is in our karma to do the
things we do and live out our lives. Yet, if we
are aware of what we are doing when we make
choices in life, then we can fully enjoy what we
are doing everyday because we will stop being
so desperate. On Thanksgiving and New Year
Days, please take the time to eat slowly and
enjoy just the right amount of everything that
you like.
Life is also like a smorgasbord and often out of
control. Today, we can almost have anything
we want and more. With everything we can eat
and accumulate we think we’re going to be
happy. Perhaps, you made a room addition or
upgraded the kitchen. You may have bought
new drapes or may have planted rows of new
roses.
Namo Amida Butsu
(Continued on Page 3)
IMPORTANT NOTICE
To improve certain operations of our Temple, the monthly Temple Board Meeting day
is moved from the second Monday to the first Monday, starting in December 2005.
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REV. USUKI’S PAGE (continued from Page 2)
PRESIDENT’S COLUMN
Yuki Sakurai
Year 2005 is rapidly coming to an end but our
WLABT's activities are still going strong. This
past month, on Sunday, October 23, WLABT
hosted an Appreciation Service and Luncheon
for the former Tanomoshi members. Since
1961, the Tanomoshi group has been very active helping their members and the temple
financially. They have supported the WLABT by
helping to finance part of the construction of
the Social Hall, and to pay for pews in the
hondo, video and audio equipment, taikos, and
computers. Many Temple members are unaware of the many contributions to the Temple
by the Tanomoshi group. The group dissolved
on June 30, 2005 and although belated,
the Temple wished to show its appreciation
for all that they have done.
SHINSHU CORNER
Delusion
In Buddhism there is a phrase that literally
translates “One-water-four-views.” It means
that we all view the same thing from our own
perspective. For example, when a celestial being looks at water, it sees a blue-green gem, a
lapis lazuli. When a man looks at water, he
sees water. When a devil (Oni) looks at water,
he sees fire. When a fish looks at water, he sees
his own living quarters.
HELP NEEDED! We desperately need people
who can help maintain our temple. There are
countless jobs that need attention. It's simple
things that people do around the house such as,
changing light bulbs, buying paper goods, and
other tasks that keeps the temple running
smoothly. We could also use help with memorial services, assisting in our rental properties,
and maintaining our temple and parsonage.
These tasks are all being done by volunteers.
The more help we get, it'll make it that much
easier for everyone involved. Please volunteer a
few hours to help in the upkeep of the temple.
Call Yuki Sakurai at (310) 820-3237 or the
Temple office at (310) 477-7274.
One could easily change the example. When a
farmer, for example, sees manure, he sees it as
fertilizer. When a fly sees manure, he sees food.
When an ordinary man sees manure, he sees
something dirty and foul-smelling. When a cow
sees manure, he sees it as something cluttering
the floor of his room.
(Jodoshinshu Buddhism – Through Stories,
Translations, Sayings, and Sermons, Tetsuo
Unno)
Buddhist Service Etiquette
Our annual Mochi Tsuki will be held on
December 10, 2005. The young and old can
work together on this fun and cultural activity.
Let's keep up the tradition of pounding and
rolling the mochi just like our grandparents
and parents did to celebrate the New Year. Let's
all come out from 8:00 a.m. on Saturday,
December 10, and "ROLL THOSE MOCHIS"!
Please read the flyer and order form in this
newsletter for more details.
Flowers for the Altar
Those with abundant flowers in their gardens
should be encouraged to bring them to the
temple so they may be arranged for services.
For Hanamatsuri (Buddha Day Service), every
child should be encouraged to bring at least a
few blossoms to offer to the Hanamido
(miniature flower altar).
Giving of One’s Service
Our New Year Service, Installation of 2006
Temple officers, and Party will be held January
8, 2006. Tickets can be purchased from
organization or Temple Board officers, or the
Temple office, from November. Let's welcome
the New Year and strive for peace and
happiness in 2006.
Along with the giving of material goods and giving of labor, love for the temple must be taught
to the children. The unselfish concern for the
welfare of the temple, which is necessary for all
Buddhists, young and old, must be taught from
an early age. Cleaning the temple and temple
yard, helping with bulletin, volunteering for
child care, and lining up chairs or distributing
Gatha books can help the children acquire this
unselfish concern.
Have you visited our WLABT website recently?
The web address is www.wlabt.org. Anything you
want to know about the Temple, organizations
and events are just a click away. We have Jim
Shimomaye to thank for developing this
fabulous website.
Religious Day Services
Bodhi Day Service (Jodo-e)
The service held on December 8th to commemorate the day of Buddha’s Enlightenment is
called the Bodhi Day Service. This is the day
Prince
Gautama
Siddhartha
attained
Enlightenment to become the Buddha, the
Awakened One. Therefore this day signifies the
dawn of man’s universal emancipation form
suffering and ignorance.
November 18, 7:00 pm
December – NO BINGO
Year End Service (Joya-e)
Have fun, win big while
supporting your Temple.
This service is held at all temples on New Year’s
Eve when the old year is coming to a close to
express our thanks for Amida Buddha’s
guidance throughout the past year.
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(Editor’s Note: A revitalized WLA Buddhist Education Committee (BEC) recently planned and executed two seminars in the
past two months. The first was the Ohigan Seminar held on Saturday morning, September 17, and the second was the TriTemple Mini-Seminar held on Saturday afternoon, October 1. The Tri-Temple seminar is a project funded by the Southern
District BEC where the three local temples, WLA, Venice and Gardena, annually hold joint seminars with the hosting
responsibility rotated among the three temples. This year was WLA’s turn to be host. Below is a report on these seminars by
Haru Matsumune, the current chairperson of the WLA BEC.)
WLA FALL OHIGAN SEMINAR
For the first time in recent memory, we held an
Ohigan Seminar here at our temple. Rev. Shoken Ueda, resident minister at Oxnard, was
the featured speaker in Japanese. Mr. Jeff Wilson, PhD candidate in Religious Studies at the
University of North Carolina, was the featured
speaker in English. Thirty WLA members attended, roughly halved between the Japanese
and English sessions.
cally, the postscript confirms that Shinran was
a doso on Mount Hiei. Religiously, it touches
upon various topics, one of which is Shinran’s
willingness to follow Honen, even to hell, a notion which seems to be found elsewhere only in
Tannishō. It is also a very revealing letter about
the relationship between Shinran and Eshin-ni.
Eshin-ni describes a dream which reveals to
her that Honen is Seishi Bosatsu and Shinran
is Kannon Bosatsu. What is particularly
interesting about her dream is that Shinran
had had a dream which revealed Eshin-ni to be
Kannon Bosatsu. As Jeff observed, husband
and wife viewed each other as Kannon!
Jeff explored and discussed three different letters, each written by a different person: Shinran, Eshin-ni, and Rennyo. As he explained,
the letter he opened with (Shinran’s Mattōshō
5) is the most difficult of the three. It is a well-
The third letter, written by Rennyo, contains a
hymn in three verses. In it, he expresses his
understanding that by taking refuge in the
Vow, with sincere mind, there is the one
thought-moment of awakening in which there
is no hindrance of doubt, and one goes to the
Pure Land without any anxiety. In the meantime, “we should say the nenbutsu in gratitude
for Buddha’s benevolence.”
known text about jinen hōni (自然法爾 “to be
made so of itself”; suchness or thusness;
things-as-they-are; spontaneous, natural working of the Vow). The terms jinen and hōni were
used before Shinran, but he is likely the first to
use them together. In his later years, Shinran
put more emphasis on jinen hōni because of its
more natural, spontaneous, instantaneous
connotation.
Interested readers may stop by the office to
obtain a copy of Jeff’s handout with these three
letters.
The second letter is written by Shinran’s wife
Eshin-ni to their daughter Kakushin-ni. It is
interesting from different viewpoints. Histori-
As part of his talk, Rev. Ueda shared the following poem in Japanese, with his translation in English:
やさしさに出会ったら、喜びを分けてあげよう。
しあわせと思ったら、ほほえみかけていこう。
海を吹く風のようにさわやかな思いを添えて。
淋しさを感じたら、誰かに声をかけよう。
ふれあいを大切に語り合う友をつくろう。
花の輪をつなぐようにとりどりの思いつないで。
苦しみに出会ったら、ひたすらに耐えてゆこう。
合わす手の温もりにほのぼのと、やすらぐ心。
かぎりなきひかりのなかに生かされて、生きる日々。
“On Meeting Kindness”
When you meet kindness, spread joy.
When you feel happiness, smile, like a refreshing ocean breeze.
When you feel sad, open your heart to a friend.
Be a gentle friend, one who shares and listens to another.
Like entwining a variety of flowers into a garland.
When one meets with suffering, one accepts it as it is.
When we feel the warmth of Gasshō, we realize how fortunate
we are to be able to live daily in the boundless light.
Namu Amida Butsu
TRI-TEMPLE MINI-SEMINAR
Exploring Religious and Everyday Rituals drew
some sixty people to our temple on Saturday,
October 1, 2005. Besides numerous members
from co-hosting temples Gardena and Venice,
there were also people from LA Betsuin, Orange
County, and San Fernando. Thank you to all
the WLA members who came out to listen and
learn.
The featured speakers were our own Rev.
Usuki and Rick Stambul. Rev. Usuki took an
objective approach, laying the foundation for
the entire seminar by defining “ritual” and
explaining its purpose, providing examples of
both religious and personal rituals, and
discussing the need for rituals.
(continued on next page)
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(SEMINARS continued from previous page)
BWA NEWS
Rick, a self-described person with Jewish roots
and Buddhist wings, took a more subjective
approach, using personal experience as the basis for his presentation. During two months of
preparation, Rick found himself on a serendipitous journey exploring, testing, and questioning his beliefs. As the seminar date approached, he was surprised to discover that the Jewish rituals he thought of as boring or irrelevant
in his youth had begun to develop some meaning for him as he was studying and researching
Buddhist rituals. He came to see that rituals
could serve as a bridge between the mundane
world and the transcendent realm.
With just two months remaining, BWA members are urged to make an effort to attend the
final meetings:
November 20, Sunday, 12 noon
December 18, Sunday, 1 pm
Dorothy Ikkanda
November
6 Sun 1:00 pm Exploring Medicare changes
Speaker: Dianne Belli
11 Fri 7:30 pm SD Council Meeting
Nov. Toban – refreshment
13 Sun 9:30 am Thanksgiving Service
2 00 pm Eitaikyo Service
Speaker:
Rev. J. Yanagihara
19 Sat 5:30 pm Buddhist Men Longevity
Party
Betty Takahashi capably moderated the last
part of the seminar, a reflection/discussion
session. Yasuko Shohara shared her difficulties in understanding the relevancy of rituals,
and her honesty struck a chord with the audience. Many people contributed to the discussion, offering a range of perspectives, from the
more technical aspect of properly executing a
ritual, to the experiential aspect of appreciating
rituals simply for the comfort they offered. This
lively exploration of rituals would have
continued, had time not run out.
December
4 Sun 9:30 am Bodhi Day Service/Oseibo
Rev. Seikan Fukuma
Japanese Speaker
10 Sat
Mochitsuki
11 Sun 8:00 am Temple/Garden Clean-up
November toban chair: Kazuko Seike
December toban chair: Barbara Tanaka
You can’t be camera shy when Rev. Usuki’s
around. He pops up here and there clicking
away and the photos end up in the Bulletin. I,
for one, find the addition of his photos a plus
especially for those who are confined at home.
Rev. Usuki’s stated intention is to develop the
talents of West LA temple members, and he has
succeeded in doing so as shown by the efforts
of Rick, Betty, and Yasuko.
MEANING OF EITAIKYO SERVICE AND DONATION
The Eitaikyo service is observed by most of the
BCA temples in the state. It is usually held in
November. Eitaikyo is an abbreviation of “Eitai
Dokyo” which literally means the perpetual
recitation of the sutras. It is a kind of memorial
service to pay tribute to those who departed
before us. Memorial services for the immediate
family are held from time to time; however, after the 50th memorial anniversary or if the bereaved family is not of the Buddhist faith,
memorial services are often not observed at all.
Eitaikyo service. But the ultimate purpose of
the Eitaikyo service is to listen to the wonderful
Buddhadharma and pass it on to coming
generations so that as long as human beings
exist in this world, they can hear this Great
Buddhadharma.
The Eitaikyo Fund is rigidly controlled and
used for the preservation of the temple, especially for the Onaijin (altar area), and even then
only in extreme emergencies, and if used must
be returned. It is not to be used for general
temple maintenance. Your donation is greatly
appreciated and the suggested amount of donation at WLA Buddhist Temple is $200 or more
per person.
The donation to the Perpetual Eitaikyo Fund is
to preserve the memory of the loved one forever
at the temple. By donating to the Eitaikyo Fund,
the deceased is remembered each year at the
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永代経
無常なるが故に
永代経とは永代読経の略で、お経を読み先亡者追悼の意思を末代まで伝えていこうとするので
あります。永代経の勤めかたには二通りあって、一つは特定の先亡者一人に対するものと、も
う一つには先亡者数人を総括して常む総永代経があります。浄土真宗の文献には今から三百三
十四年前、第十四門主寂如上人（１６６２年）に執行された歴史があります。
永代経法要は寺院の財政的援助に貢献している行事の一つでもありましすが、真宗ではこの永
代経法要お通し、お念仏のみ教えを伝える時と埸のご縁として、又聴聞をさせてえただく機会
を与えられたのであります。
十一月には各寺院で「永代経法要」が勤修されますが、永代経懇志として懇念を運ばされた各
施主の方々には、それそれの想いがかけられているに違ひありません。無常が
故に、いついつまでも仏縁が結びつづけられる様にとの念願、無常なるが故に、何とかして長
くこの正法を護持せなくてはとの懇念。。。こうした施主の願を頂きます時、勤修される「永
代経法要」が本当にありがたい勝縁と想われてなりません。
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The last photo shows, from left to right, WLA
member Hajime Nakagawa, Rev. Usuki, and
Japanese guest speaker Rev. Terada having
hamburgers together.
FALL OHIGAN SERVICE
Ohigan services are held in our Temple in both
the Spring and Fall. They are important services, being two of the six major services held
at our Temple every year. The other four are
Ho-onko, Hanamatsuri, Obon, and Bodhi Day
(Jodo-e). As you know, each of these have a
special religious significance for us.
The Fall Ohigan Service was held on Sunday,
September 18. In keeping with the meaning of
Ohigan, for the first time the Temple sponsored
an Ohigan Seminar, reported elsewhere in this
Bulletin, on the day before the Service. This
was the first project of the new WLA Buddhist
Education
Committee
(BEC),
reported
elsewhere in this Bulletin.
The guest speaker for the Japanese portion of
the Service program was Rev. Kouju Terada, a
retired minister who is well known to our
Japanese speaking members. The service was
followed by the traditional hamburger lunch
cooked up by the Buddhist Men. Two of them
(Hidemi Ohkawahira on the left and Leo Tanaka) are shown here serving up the hamburger meat. If the meat looks a tad overcooked
in the photo, rest assured that it’s the lighting
and not their cooking. They all actually do a
great job cooking, and one wonders whether
they cook for their spouses at home…..or is it
still Japanese style at home?
Mr. Nakagawa and Rev. Terada are old acquaintances from Shiga ken, and Mr Nakagawa
kindly volunteered to drive Rev. Terada home
after the lunch. The Temple appreciates Mr.
Nakagawa’s assistance.
BUDDHIST MEN NEWS
Party Time! The annual Longevity Party (formerly Kanreki Party) will take place on Saturday, November 19. According to Buddhist Men
records, this year the following members will
celebrate one of the auspicious birthday years
of 60 (kanreki), 70 (koki), 77 (kiju), 80 (sanju),
88 (beiju), 90 (sotsuju), or 99 (hakuju):
77 Dr. Jack Fujimoto, Sho Matsumi
80 Sam Hada
88 Hiroshi Endo, Tom Ikkanda
90 Joe Hirabayashi
We are honored this year to have a member
celebrating 90 years!
The Hamburger Lunch is a long tradition at
WLA and everyone seems to enjoy it greatly,
including the opportunity to sit down with fellow members and just chat over a leisurely
lunch.
Our records may not be completely accurate. If
we missed any member, please contact President Mas Sasaki (477-9361) immediately.
The party will begin at 5:30 p.m. Dinner will
feature barbecue-your-own steak or salmon.
The dinner will be followed by Bingo with
plenty of great prizes. All Buddhist Men members and their spouses are urged to attend.
Also, Asoka Fujinkai and BWA members and
their husbands have been invited. A nominal
fee of $10 per person will be charged, except for
those being honored and other special guests.
Please call President Mas with your reservations and choice of steak or salmon before
Tuesday, November 15. RESERVATIONS ARE
REQUIRED to insure the proper quantity of
steak and salmon is purchased.
The ladies organizations help the Men by
making bowls of potato salad, some of which
are visible in this shot of the buffet line. Recognizable from left to right in the foreground are
Yeiko Yasuda, Toshiko Uyekubo, Marjorie
Morikawa, Shizuko Hayashi, and Hatayo
Shinto. If you have sharp eyes, Grace Fujimoto is visible behind Marjorie Morikawa.
TEMPLE CALENDAR
Due to postal delivery problems, many of you
have been receiving your Bulletin late. If you
are, please stop by the temple to pick up a
calendar.
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RALPHS MARKET TO CONTRIBUTE TO TEMPLE
The temple has enrolled in the Ralphs Community Contribution Program that contributes cash to
non-profit organizations for each dollar spent by its members at Ralphs. This is not like the old
Script program where you had to buy scripts before you went shopping and redeem them at the
store. It is much, much simpler.
To make this start working for us, Temple members with Ralphs Cards only have to register their
card number once with the Temple Office. That’s all. By registering, Ralphs knows which non-profit
organization is to be rebated for your purchases. The rebate amount is 4 - 5% depending on the total
amount purchased by each WLA member. Please help your Temple by registering your card.
この度WLA仏教会ではラルフマーケット（Ralphs）が行うキャッシュバック、地域貢献活動のプロ
グラムに参加する事になりました｡
WLA仏教会のリストに登録したメンバーがラルフマーケットで買い物をした総合金額に対して4-5%
のキャッシュバックがお寺に入リます。WLAのメンバーの方、そしてお友達も誘ってラルフのカード
のナンバーをお寺に登録してください｡宜しくお願い致します。
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WLABT Mochitsuki 2005
December 10, 2005
Mochi Order Form
The West LA Jr. YBA will be in charge of making mochi and okasane on Saturday,
December 10, 2005. The cost of the mochi will be $2.50 per pound. The okasane will
also be $2.50 per pound.
To accommodate all orders, please order your mochi and/or okasane by December 5,
2005. Please make checks payable to “WLA Jr. YBA.”
Please pay for your mochi order only. We will charge you for the okasane when you pick
up your order. Mochi/okasane will be available for pick up between 12:30pm and
3:00pm on December 10.
We appreciate the support you have given over the years and look forward to filling your
mochi/okasane orders this year. We would also appreciate any help from the temple
members.
For more information, please call Jim Shimomaye at 310.210.2407.
Please mail order forms and check by December 5 to:
West LA Jr. YBA
2003 Corinth Avenue
West Los Angeles, CA 90025
Please fill out the order form below and detach along the dotted line.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Name__________________________________Phone (
)______________________
Address________________________________Suite/Apt. No._____________________
City___________________________________State________Zip__________________
# of Mochi______________________________@ $2.50/lb. = $____________________
Okasane: Please indicate the quantity of each:
SMALL (Base is 3” in diameter)_______________________
MEDIUM (Base is 4” in diameter)______________________
LARGE (Base is 5” in diameter)________________________
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(Cut-out form on other side)
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NEWS CAPSULES
This is also now available for examination in
the meeting room/library.
Other Temples’ Newsletters Available
2005 Obon Photo Album Available
Something new has been added to the meeting
room/library behind the hondo area. On some
of the bookshelves against the wall on the
Temple Office side of the room, you will find a
collection of newsletters from other temples of
the BCA, the BCA monthly Wheel of Dharma,
plus newsletters from selected non-BCA temples. Both current and back issues (covering a
limited period) are available for your reading.
Drop in and take a look.
In the last issue of this Bulletin, we mentioned
that George Oshimo has presented an album
of photos he took at the 2005 WLA Obon Festival as a gift to the Temple. As most of you
know, Mr. Oshimo does professional quality
work, and we recommend you browse through
this album which is also now available in the
meeting room/library. Mr. Oshimo captured
many WLA members in his photos, and you
may be surprised to find yourself recorded for
posterity in one of his shots.
Social Hall Construction and Hondo Renovation
Project Album Available
Taiko Production Resumes
The biggest WLA expansion/renovation project
of recent memory was the Social Hall Construction and Hondo Renovation Project completed in June 1994. The late Bill Sakurai
made a detailed photographic record of this
project and created an album to preserve this
record. The album was produced with Bill’s
typical attention to detail and is a valuable
historical resource for our Temple. Mrs. Yuki
Sakurai, current Temple President, has
presented this album as a gift to the Temple.
The WLA taiko program began roughly at the
beginning of this year, and made its public debut with its premiere performance at the 2005
WLA Obon Odori. A big part of this program
was the production of taikos. Rev. Usuki,
Ichiro Ouchi and Mas Sasaki basically shouldered this task, and achieved the phenomenal
result of making ten taikos by Obon time. They
are starting work on the next ten taikos, and
would like additional volunteers to pitch in.
Please call Rev. Usuki.
NOW THAT WE’RE GROWN UP…..WHAT?
From an unknown issue of the Sunday Los Angeles Times
9
NOVEMBER SHOTSUKI HOYO
DECEMBER SHOTSUKI HOYO
7:30 pm Friday, November 4, 2005
7:30 pm Friday, December 2, 2005
Deceased:
Deceased:
Remembered By:
Ayako Nakagawa
Misao Nakagawa
Kane Ota
Tokizo Ota
Frank Nakamura
Toshio Arita
Gonji Miyada
Torazo Hatanaka
Kichinosuke Matsumoto
Shigeru Marumoto
Saichi Yoshidome
Kuni Ikeda
Shikanosuke Dote
Yonezo Takemoto
Akira Mukai
Misu Nimori
Hozumi Ohigashi
Hirotoshi Nishida
Shozo Shibata
Hirokichi Tanimura
Tamayo Kurauchi
Tamaichi Oyanagi
Goro Maeda
Hatsuko Takata
Gosuke Morikawa
Niichi Hada
Kaoru Kitagawa
Matsuyo Nonoguchi
Tatsuyo Kakehashi
Torao Miyake
Sally Oshinomi
Tomoko Masukawa
Kyo Nishimoto
Ayako Tsuruzawa
Setsuko Deguchi
Helen Yamaguchi
Helen Yamaguchi
Helen Yamaguchi
Helen Yamaguchi
Hiroshi Nagaoka
Thomas Tanimura
Masaru Terashita
Chiyoki Morita
Yaeko Onami
Yaeko Onami
Chieru Yamaji
Yoshio Nakamura
Hideo Maruyama
Shinso Nakagawa
Shinso Nakagawa
Hiroshi Naramura
Tsutomu Hata
Sugae Murakami
Art Hada
Anthony Yukawa
Tozo Yahata
Tozo Yahata
Osamu Watanabe
Yoshio Nagayama
Juro Kurokawa
Chie Osumi
David Okita
Helen Fujimoto
Jou Okitsu
Doris Kawaguchi
Toshihiro Nomura
William Ishibashi
Sueko Ige
Reiko Nakamura
"
"
Kaoru Nakamura
"
"
"
"
Masako Ishioka
Don Miyada
Alan Hatanaka
Robert Matsumoto
Tsutomu Marumoto
Masahiro Yoshidome
Stanley Ikeda
Fumiye Dote
Betty Takahashi
Hajime Mukai
Shizuka Nimori
Yutaka Ohigashi
"
"
Hatsuo Kawasaki
Yoshinobu Migita
Chiyoko Kawashiri
Tomoki Oyanagi
Barbara Ogawa
Tsuruo Takata
Marjorie Morikawa
Michio Hada
Takao Iwamoto
Hajime Nonoguchi
Hideo Kakehashi
Emiko Kimura
Sandra Oshinomi
Tamaso Masukawa
Akira Nishimoto
Yoshiko Iwashita
Masako Nekoda
Gary Yamaguchi
Douglas Yamaguchi
Susan Yamaguchi
Nobu Misono
Sachi Nagaoka
James Tanimura
Masaaki Terashita
Tetsuo Morita
Stanley Onami
Janice Onami
Hideko Yamaji
Emiko Nakamura
Masaye Maruyama
Fujio Nakagawa
Teresa Nakagawa
Shizue Naramura
Miyoko Hata
Katsumi Murakami
Sam Hada
Catherine Marshall
Neal Yahata
June Fujioka
Sadako Watanabe
Yaeko Nagayama
John Kurokawa
William Osumi
Judy Okita
Robert Fujimoto
Kaye Okitsu
Natsuto Kawaguchi
Kumiko Nomura
Yoshiko Ishibashi
Stephanie Ige
Remembered By:
Tobei Nakazaki
Tobei Nakazaki
Shunichi Ikkanda
Shizuka Uyeda
Eiko Masuda
Shoichi Masuda
Kenichi Masuda
Eiko Masuda
Shoichi Masuda
Kenichi Masuda
Ayame Kiyohiro
Masao Yamauchi
Kanichi Nakamura
Chokichi Koyama
Guri Kamitsubo
Masami Fujikawa
Choichiro Kuroda
Ren Miyata
Kenny Suzuki
Goichiro Nishida
Reigyu Miyada
Masu Miyada
Chiyono Tominaga
Satsuo Fuchiwaki
Kazuo Maruko
Hideko Nakamura
Juhachi Uchida
Kei Toguchida
Joe Tsuboi
Ayano Noda
Shizuko Oshinomi
Shizu Hashimoto
Yukino Hayashida
Muto Kawahara
Tomiko Kosaka
Tsune Sugimura
Ben Tamura
Ben Tamura
Frank Kawaguchi
Kenji Shiosaki
Eric Kotake
Chikano Nakamura
Bunsuke Shinto
Mitsuyoshi Tanaka
Sugi Kiriyama
Yukiko Kimura
Masatoshi Nimori
Satoichi Taniguchi
Kiyoko Nakamura
Glenn Abbott
Yoshiyuki Kofuku
Ato Kofuku
James Toya
Yasuhiro Murayama
Tazu Ikkanda
Tazu Ikkanda
Sachiko Hayashi
Joseph Dowdy
Tom Niida
Florence Bodnar
Florence Bodnar
Margaret Yasuda
Taijiro Asai
Betty Hatanaka
Hite Ohkawahira
Lilli Jeffers
Takashi Minazumi
Mary Kiyama
Kameyoshi Takayama
Hatsuko Nishikawa
Mae Muramatsu
Thomas Sakai
10
Tony Nakazaki
Chiyoko Nishina
Roy Ikkanda
Ichiro Uyekubo
Haruye Nakashima
"
"
"
"
Yuriko Nunokawa
"
"
"
"
Shizue Kiyohiro
Sakiko Broeske
Shuichi Nakamura
Shinkichi Koyama
Harry Kamitsubo
Seigo Fujikawa
Mike Hara
Tatsuye Miyata
Sumiye Suzuki
Ida Kaisaki
Don Miyada
"
"
Randy Tominaga
Mabel Tsukuda
"
"
Kaoru Nakamura
Emi Amy Uchida
Denise Louie
Aiko Tsuboi
Noriko Noda
Craig Oshinomi
Jane Nitta
Kimiye Hayashida
Takeshi Kawahara
Miyuki Kosaka
Naoyuki Sugimura
Emiko Matsumoto
Akie Okui
Masako Kawaguchi
Donald Shiosaki
Nancy Kotake
Dick Nakamura
Hatayo Shinto
Yoshikazu Tanaka
Taketo Kiriyama
Emiko Kimura
Shizuka Nimori
Shizuichi Taniguchi
Shizuko Hayashi
Alice Abbott
Noriko Matsumoto
"
"
Marie Toya
Atsuko Murayama
Tom Ikkanda
John Ikkanda
Midori Hayashi
Yukiko Dowdy
Bob Niida
Joseph Bodnar
Jay Bodnar
Yeiko Yasuda
Yaeko Asai
Alan Hatanaka
Hidemi Ohkawahira
Louis Jeffers
Chiyoko Kawashiri
Kumi Buettner
Gordon Takayama
Linda Johnston
Jim Muramatsu
Mabel Sakai
SPECIAL DONATION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
(NOTE: Special donations received and deposited in October and November 2005 will appear in the JanuaryFebruary 2006 issue.)
August 2005
Craig Iwamoto
Special donation
100.00
Hiro & Dorothy Nishimura
In memory of Gregory Yamanaka
100.00
Joy Tomita
Special donation, Obon raffle
Jimmy Tanimura
Funeral for Mary Tanimura
Marie Toya
In memory of James Toya, Craig Toya, Joanne Yamada
200.00
Alice Umeda
3rd year memorial for Masaru Sunada
300.00
Tussy Umeda
3rd year memorial for Masaru Sunada
100.00
Mabel Tsukuda
In memory of Masaru Sunada
Shigeru Kamibayashi
1st
BCA Southern District BBE
Facility use
100.00
George Nakashima
1st
year memorial for Jack Nakashima
100.00
Ikebana Class
Sayo Sasaki
Sam Hada
George Nakashima
Kyoko Kikuno
Facility use
3rd year memorial for Tatsuo Sasaki
In memory of Tatsuo Sasaki
In memory of Jack Nakashima
17th year memorial for Yoshio Kazumura
30.00
300.00
20.00
100.00
100.00
Tosh Ishioka
3rd year memorial for Masako Ishioka
33rd year memorial for Kosaburo Arita
3rd year memorial for Masako Ishioka
17th year memorial for Judy Shintaku
33rd year memorial for Shinsaku & Hama Mochizuki
7th year memorial for Yukio Ozaki
Funeral for Hisashi Kojima
300.00
year memorial for Roy Kamibayashi
10.00
150.00
25.00
200.00
September 2005
Karen Tokubo
Masami Shintaku Family
Yoshiharu Mochizuki
Michiyo Ozaki
Sekiko Kojima
100.00
200.00
100.00
150.00
300.00
Correction
To our great embarrassment, in recent issues of the Bulletin errors were made in the name of the
donor of a $50,000 gift to WLA Buddhist Temple. The correct name is Mr. Fred (“King”) Chishiki
Watarida. The Bulletin deeply regrets this error.
SHOTSUKI HOYO ANNOUNCEMENT
Beginning in January 2006, the Shotsuki Hoyo Service date will be the first Saturday at 10:00 am. We
are moving it from Friday evening so more people will be able to attend the service for their loved ones.
We hope this will not inconvenience anyone.
祥月法要の日時変更のお知らせ。
2006 年度より、祥月法要の日時が毎月第一土曜日の午前１０時からに変わります。今年度までは第一
金曜日の夜 7 時半からでしたが、土曜日の午前中に行うことによりさらに多くのご家族、お友達が、
亡き人々を偲んでお集まり頂けることと思います。この変更が不便を生じずに、沢山の方々のお参り
お待ち念じております。
CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILIES OF:
MR. HISASHI KOJIMA
12/11/26 – 9/ 9/05
MRS. KIMI INABU
8/25/05 – 10/ 1/05
MR TOM MATSUOKA
2/15/05 – 10/ 3/05
12
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
1
NOVEMBER 2005
Rev. Usuki Day Off
Thursday
2
4
7:30 pm
Shotsuki Hoyo
5
7:30 pm Venice
Westside Dance
westlabt@verizon.net
web site: wlabt.org
6
9:30 am Sunday Service/Dharma School/
Study Class (E)
7
Rev. Usuki Day Off
8
10:00 am SD
Ministers’ Meeting
at Betsuin
9
7:30 pm Taiko
10
1:00 pm Study Class
(English)
1 pm Medicare Part D (E) & (J)
Speaker Dianne Belli
Both Services Speaker:
Saturday
3
1:00 pm Study Class
(English)
7:30 pm Taiko
No Bulletin
Office hours: 10 am – 4 pm
Phone: 310-477-7274
Friday
11
12
7:30 pm SD Council
Meeting
7:30 pm Buddhist
Men Meeting
13
Rev. Jim Yanagihara
9:30 am THANKSGIVING SUNDAY SERVICE/
DHARMA SCHOOL (E) Toban: Temple
14
7:30 pm Temple
Board Meeting
15
Rev. Usuki Day Off
2 pm EITAIKYO PERPETUAL MEMORIAL
SERVICE (J)
6:30 pm BEC
Meeting
17
1:00 pm Study Class
(English)
18
7:00 pm
Bingo
19
5:30 pm Buddhist
Men Longevity
Party
7:30 pm Taiko
20
9:30 am Sunday Service/Dharma School/
Study Class (E)
16
21
22
23
NO Taiko
Rev. Usuki Days Off
24
25
Thanksgiving Holiday
7:30 pm Asoka
Fujinkai Meeting
Temple closed
12 Noon BWA Service and Meeting
27
Temple closed
28
12 Noon
80 Plus Lunch
29
Rev. Usuki Day Off
30
7:30 pm Taiko
In the event of an emergency in the absence of
Rev. Usuki, please call the temple office.
(310) 477-7274
26
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
DECEMBER
Wednesday
Thursday
2005
4
11
8 am General Temple and Garden Clean-Up
5
7:30 pm Temple
Board Meeting
6
Rev. Usuki Day Off
12
Rev. Usuki Day Off
Saturday
1
7
NO Service
8
7 pm Asoka Shrine
Omigaki & Meeting
1 pm Study Class (E)
7:30 pm Taiko
7:30 pm Buddhist
Men Meeting
13
10 am SD Ministers’
Meeting at Betsuin
2
3
1 pm Study Class (E) 7:30 pm Shotsuki
Hoyo
Office hours: 10 am – 4 pm
Bulletin Folding Toban: Temple
Phone: 310-477-7274
website: wlabt.org
westlabt@verizon.net
NO BINGO; NO 80 PLUS LUNCH
In the event of an emergency in the absence of Rev. Usuki, please call the office
9:30 am BODHI DAY SUNDAY SERVICE and
OSEIBO TAIKAI followed by lunch
Guest Speaker: Rev. Seikan Fukuma
Toban: Dharma School
Friday
14
7 – 9 pm Taiko Party
15
9
10
8 am – 2 pm
Mochitsuki
16
17
23
24
1 pm Study Class (E)
Rev. Usuki Day Off
18
19
20
NO Service
21
NO Taiko
22
NO Study Class
Rev. Usuki Days Off
1 pm BWA Service and Meeting
25
26
Temple closed
27
28
NO Taiko
Temple closed
Rev. Usuki Day Off
29
NO Study Class
30
31
8 pm JOYA-E
YEAR END SERVICE