Housekeeping

K. Ken Fujimoto

There are times that it is necessary to take care of housekeeping issues rather than write a regular article. We have a number of points that need to be addressed and/or clarified this month. Clarity is an important aspect of Buddhism and, sometimes, articles like this become necessary to provide that within our organizations.

Issue #1 – Hatsubon and Obon services

Though we have been doing this for a few years now, there still seems to be confusion. We have separated the Hatsubon, the first Obon service since the loss of a family member, and the regular Obon service. We have the Hatsubon service on Saturday evening, July 17, this year, with our own ministers. This is another opportunity for families who have lost a loved one since the past Obon to gather together and express gratitude to those who have been an integral part of our lives and to reflect upon the lives spent together. The Obon service (July 18, this year) is an opportunity given to all of us by those who have gone before to encounter the Buddha-dharma in our lives.

In the past, the two services were held together, but it got to the point where the hondo was so full with families observing their Hatsubon that most of the members would not attend the Obon service because it was so crowded and the service took so long with the families coming up for the burning of incense that there was little time to listen to the guest speaker. By separating the two services, the Hatsubon families have adequate time to remember their loved ones and everyone else will be able to listen to the Obon message of our guest speaker.

Again, this is not something new, but a format that we have implemented for a few years now. It seems that people still get confused because they are so used to the past that they forget what we have been doing in the more recent past.

Issue #2 – Summer Family service change

As of June 20, we have switched to our family service schedule. As in the past, this service will begin at 10:00 AM each Sunday. However, instead of having the service and then breaking up for English and Japanese dharma talks, we will have the Japanese dharma talk at 9:30 AM, then the joint service with the English message being given after the service. This may seem odd to some of you, but the custom of having a dharma talk with the service is more of an American or, at least, a more modern phenomena. The service and dharma talks are different ways of encountering the teachings. The Christian model was seemingly adopted by our churches and temples and this is fine, but that does not mean that we cannot further adjust to fit our needs today.

In doing it this way, we will not have to make one group or the other move out of the hondo into another room. This also means that if one of the ministers cannot be here for some reason, we will not have to worry about how to handle the situation. Another advantage of this is that those who can understand both Japanese and English do not have to choose one or the other to attend. They can listen to both if they should so desire.

Item #3 – Betsuin Japanese Language School

There seems to be quite a bit of confusion regarding the Betsuin Japanese Language School. The simple response to this is that the Betsuin Japanese Language School will continue operating as it has been. Much of the confusion regarding the status arose because of misunderstanding and miscommunication. Most of the people connected to and involved with the Language School were under the impression that the Betsuin Board felt that the JLS was a burden to the temple and wanted to get rid of them. The Betsuin Board was under the impression that the JLS parents and teachers wanted to leave the structure of the Betsuin. After direct discussion and dialogue (still, one of the best ways to break through the confusion), the misunderstanding was clarified and a consensus was reached that we, board, parents and teachers, would continue to work together and address the issues that arise in the operations of the JLS collectively,.

Another factor that seems to add to the confusion is that another school outside of the Betsuin structure has been started. This is a totally independent entity and has no connection to the temple.