Origins - Tenrikyo Mission Headquarters of Hawaii
Transcription
Origins - Tenrikyo Mission Headquarters of Hawaii
Origins No. 301 September 2016 The 46th Annual Tenrikyo Bazaar held at Tenri Cultural Center on August 28 Tenrikyo Mission Headquarters of Hawaii 1 RELAY ESSAYS by Bishop & Mrs. Yamanaka & Board of Directors Tsunenori Ichise About 46 years ago, I heard an interesting story at a psychology class at the University of Hawaii. It actually happened at a retreat for mentally-disturbed criminals in Kaneohe. One day, while two inmates were talking, they came to agree that the most important thing in this world was money and that with money they could do anything. They said: “Let’s get money.” “Where can we find money?” “The bank has money.” “Let’s go to a bank to get it.” “You are silly! You cannot get it simply by going to a bank. You can get it if you have a gun” “OK, let’s go to a bank with a gun.” The professor of the psychology class did not know how, but they got a gun and went to the Bank of Hawaii branch which was a few minutes’ walk from the retreat (In those days, there was no outer wall surrounding the retreat.) They showed the gun to a bank teller and said: “We came here to get money. Give it to us!” After getting two bags of bills and coins, they walked out of the bank. The bank teller called the police immediately and some police cars came with a siren. As they got out of their cars, the police officers found the two men standing by the entrance of the bank with bags in their hands, and they were arrested right there without resistance. It turned out that their purpose was in “getting money” and they never thought of what to do with it after they get it. This 2 could be a story of only those who are mentally disturbed. However, even those who are not tend to do strange things if they lose sight of their “purpose.” Those who are working for the purpose of earning money would have achieved their purpose when they receive paycheck, and they may not get anything else. We are taught in the teachings that work (hataraku) makes those close to us comfortable; for that, it is called hataraku (hata: those nearby, raku: comfortable.) For those who work in order to make those close to them comfortable, they will receive the “joy of others” in addition to their paycheck. People desire the life filled with joy, happiness and smiles, which is the “Joyous Life” for the followers of the path. In order to make a living, we need to work to earn income. However, because earning money by working every day ought to be challenging and even difficult, before we realize it, the purpose of our work, which originally was to live a life filled with joy, would have become “earning money.” The reason Tsukihi began human beings was the desire to see you lead a joyous life. (Ofudesaki XIV:25) We get up and wash our face in the morning because washing our face and brushing our teeth will lead us to the Joyous Life. The order of these actions sounds normal and just a matter of course, however, we should rather change the order - do those actions for the purpose of living the life of true joy, and we would, then, realize as the result that we would become wide awake and that our teeth would become clean. The order of having meals should be also same. Instead of the order that we have meals in order to alleviate our hunger and to receive nutrition, so that it would lead us to the life of true joy, we should rather have the meals for the sake of life of true joy, we would then, as a result, found our hunger was alleviated and received necessary nutrition to our body. The followers of the path should not think that the life of true joy would be attained as the result of some actions we had taken. We, the followers of the path, should instead do whatever we do for the purpose of the life of true joy. We would then realize that we had fulfilled our needs. We go to school, get good grades, and make a lot of good friends, we would then live the life filled with joy. If this order of thinking were logical, we would not be able to live the life of true joy unless we go to school, get good grades, and make a lot of good friends. Instead, we go to school for the sake of the life of true joy. If this were the purpose in our minds, we would feel grateful that we were able to go to school. If we could feel grateful for the mere fact that we are able to go to school, we would be grateful for being able to study. We would then realize that our grades were good and that we were surrounded by many good friends. It’s not that if we work and earn money, you would be able to live the life filled with joy. We should instead work with the purpose to live life of true joy. As a result of this action, we would realize that we earned money. There are people who are not living happily even though they earn lots of money. It could be stemmed from the fact their purpose of work is to get money. If they have a good job and get a high salary, but they don’t feel happy, it may be simply because they are not working for the life of true joy. If there are days when we don’t feel happy, it must be because we forget the purpose of our life, which is to live the life of true joy. Let us live the life of true joy by always keeping in our minds this very purpose of our life, which is to live the life of true joy. Autumn Memorial Service On Tuesday, September 27, from 10:00 a.m., the Autumn Memorial Service will be held at Mission Headquarters. After the service, the following anniversaries will be observed: 5th Anniv. Rev. Sachiko Wakimoto, 3rd head minister of Hilo Church 5th Anniv. Mrs. Yoshi Inouye, spouse of 1st head minister of Hawaii Central Church 3 August Monthly Service Prayer Appearing before You, God the Parent, Tenri-O-no-Mikoto, I (Shugo Yamanaka) Bishop of the Mission Headquarters of Hawaii speak with reverence on behalf of the Hawaii congregation. God the Parent, we are truly grateful to You for Your boundless blessings and timely trainings to guide us along the path of spiritual growth. We are living each and every day in high spirits, always adhering to the teachings and intent on repaying our gratitude. Today is the day we are granted to conduct the August Monthly Service at this mission headquarters. We the service performers will unite our hearts as one to perform the Seated Service and the Dance with Hand Movements joyously while earnestly praying for world salvation. We will be joined by our brothers and sisters of the path in Hawaii who have looked forward to this day and have gathered here today, in singing the Songs for the Service in unison and high spirits. As You watch us, we hope You will be spirited as well. This summer many people from Hawaii, especially young ones who will be shouldering the Path in Hawaii in the future, returned to Jiba for Oyasato Seminar, Tenri Forum, YMA International Hinokishin Corps, and Children’s Pilgrimage. Despite the intense summer heat, they were all able to conduct their activities safely. By directly experiencing the truth of the Jiba, being embraced by the parental love of the everliving Oyasama, learning about the teachings, and diligently planting seeds of sincerity while wiping precious sweat from their faces, everyone was able to deepen their mind of gratitude and joy upon returning to Hawaii. Also a group from Hawaii Tenri Judo Club visited Jiba for the first time to participate in the Tenrikyo Children Judo Tournament and was able to experience the goodness of Tenri Judo. For all these, we sincerely thank You. On the 28th of this month, the Annual Tenrikyo Bazaar will be held. All the congregation and the people involved will unite our hearts and efforts as one to make this big event a success, and also through the bazaar, we hope to further progress in sprinkling the fragrance of the teachings to the local community. Furthermore, as we approach the All Tenrikyo Nioigale Day scheduled for next month, let us be always mindful of sprinkling the fragrance and helping and saving others while paying attention to those around us so that we may convey the teachings to as many people as possible. Together we vow to accord with the intention of God the Parent, whose desire is for all humankind to live the Joyous Life, and as instruments of Oyasama we will walk firmly on the Path of singleheartedness with God, single-hearted joyousness and single-hearted salvation here in Hawaii. All of us, who have been drawn to this Path, are determined to continue making daily efforts for spiritual growth, to always engage ourselves in hinokishin, spreading the fragrance of the teachings, and salvation work, and to focus on nurturing our successors of the Path in Hawaii, so as to respond firmly to the intention of the Parent. May You, God the Parent, accept our sincerity, and we ask that You guide us further towards the advancement of the Path in Hawaii and the reconstruction of the world into the truly peaceful Joyous Life World, even a day sooner, where everyone will come to know of the Parent of Origin thus awakening to the truth of universal brotherhood & sisterhood and live together in harmony helping and caring for one another. Together with all present, I sincerely pray that You bless us so. 4 Mission HQ August Monthly Service Sermon Rev. Melvin Iwata Head Minister of Honolulu-ko Church Good morning and Aloha everyone!! I am so very happy that we were able to joyously and spiritedly perform today’s August Monthly Service. If I may have your kind attention, I would like to share a few of my thoughts, in the hope that it may be of some help to you, as we try our best to follow this path of the joyous life, left for us by our ever living Oyasama. My sermon today is divided into 2 parts. I would like to begin by taking this opportunity, to thank everyone who participated in this years summer pilgrimage to the Jiba. I especially would like to say a big Mahalo to Bishop and Mrs. Yamanaka, and to all of the chair persons and staff members of the Tenri Forum, the YMA International Hinokishin Corps and the Boys and Girls Association Children’s Pilgrimage. Thank you very much!! This year for the first time ever we had a group from the Hawaii Tenri Judo participate in the summer pilgrimage. As the Chairman of our Hawaii Tenri Judo Committee, I have often been told by others and also thought it would be wonderful if we could plan a trip to Jiba to introduce our Judo Ohana to Tenri and to Tenri Judo. Last year for the first time, I approached our Judo instructors about this plan and they were very enthusiastic about this idea. Since this year was the 130th Anniversary Year of Oyasama, I felt that it would be a very appropriate time to implement this plan. After months of planning and meetings with the Judo instructors and parents, we were able to put together our plan for this trip. In addition, with the tremendous support and help of Bishop Yamanaka, and the Overseas Department, as well as our Judo Committee, we were able to set up a wonderful itinerary for this first ever trip to Jiba. Twenty-one people from our Judo Ohana made their commitment to go on this trip. This included 11 people from one family and 4 instructors, also from one family. 18 people were non Tenrikyo followers and 16 people were visiting Tenri for the first time. As Chairman of our Hawaii Tenri Judo Committee, my greatest wish was that everyone on this trip would have an enjoyable and wonderful time, with many fond memories to bring back to Hawaii. I am quite sure all of our committee members felt the same way. After arriving in Jiba and while in Tenri, we were able to view a video introducing everyone to Tenrikyo and our Church Headquarters. With Jason Miyauchi as our 5 guide, many of them entered and set foot into the Main Sanctuary for the first time. Jason was an excellent guide and left a lasting impression on everyone as we concluded our tour of the Sanctuary. That evening, Bishop Yamanaka hosted all of us to a delicious welcome BBQ dinner and also, set up a one day tour of Kyoto, the following day, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. Pertaining to the Judo part of our trip, we were able to watch a Judo practice at Tenri Middle School and one of the many highlights of this trip, was to be able to attend the Nara Prefecture Middle School Judo Tournament held on July 25th in Nara City. We were also able to participate in 2 practices at the Junsei-Kan dojo which is the birthplace of Tenri Judo and one of the highlights of the practice was when we met Tenri Judo World Champion, Takamasa Anai. The 4 instructors were also able to observe the Judo practice at Tenri University where Sensei Anai is the head coach. On July 28th, the Hawaii Tenri Judo participated for the first time ever, in the Judo Tournament held as part of the Children’s Pilgrimage activity. We were the only team participating from outside of Japan. In the opening ceremony, one of our Judoka from Hawaii Tenri Judo gave the opening pledge representing all of the participants in this tournament. The morning session was for the individual competition and the afternoon was for the team competition. It was limited to grade school (1st to 6th grade) children only and the competition was by grade level with no restriction on weight. I was so proud of all of the participants 6 from Hawaii Tenri Judo who fought very hard, showed good sportsmanship and really represented our dojo well. We received one medal for 3rd place in the individual competition. It was a very good learning experience for the participants, the instructors, as well as for all of the parents and grand parents. By the way, everyone who participated in this tournament received a gift from Tenri Judo. It was a photo, autographed by Tenri Judoka, Shohei Ono, who won the Gold Medal as a member of the Japan Judo Team participating in the Rio Olympics. On the morning of the 26th, we were all able to attend and offer our prayers at the the July Monthly Service and our group also participated in a few of the Children’s Pilgrimage activities which began that afternoon. Another of the highlights of this trip, was being able to walk in the parade that evening with the rest of the Hawaii group. There were over 100 participants from Hawaii and we were all anxiously awaiting the start of the parade at 8 p.m. Then, just as the parade was to begin, yes, it started to rain. The rain soon turned into a downpour. I was so impressed with everyone participating in the parade because they all continued to walk, dancing the hula to the Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride song just as if it was a beautiful dry evening. Until the very end of the parade, everyone enthusiastically and joyously danced the hula. One of the participants from our group was an only 4-month-old infant. I was very concerned that he would catch a bad cold from getting wet and that his parents would not be happy having to walk in all this rain. However, to my great surprise and relief they were smiling and just so happy to have participated, and according to the mother the baby was sleeping throughout the whole parade. I just thanked God the Parent and Oyasama from the bottom of my heart. Until the very end of our trip, this infant did so very well, never cried and behaved so well. I told his parents that I would be very happy to baby sit him at anytime. Eighteen people from our group left Tenri on July 29th. 11 members left for a tour of Tokyo and 3 members left for sightseeing in Osaka. The 4 instructors all returned to Hawaii that evening. On August 2nd at Kansai Airport, I met the 11 people from one family who had gone to Tokyo. One of the first things that they told me, really made my day and made me so very happy. They said, “Once they got to Tokyo they realized how much they missed Tenri.” Also, they tried some curry in Tokyo but they said that the curry in Tenri was much better. I was again so happy to hear this. During a three day period in Tenri, they had curry for their lunch everyday. By the 3rd day, the Bishop and I were getting a little worried that some of the people in our group may not want to eat curry again. However, not one person complained and they all said that they enjoyed the curry. In fact, the head instructor’s wife told me that it was the best curry she had ever eaten. Before we all departed, everyone of our Hawaii Tenri Judo group thanked me for an enjoyable and wonderful Tenri experience. They all said that they would like to come back to Tenri again. They were even talking about making this a regular, once every 3 or 4 year activity of Hawaii Tenri Judo. When I visited our dojo after returning to Hawaii, I was told there are already other parents and children who would like to join us for our next trip to Tenri. Hearing this again made me so happy. From the bottom of my heart, I would like to once again thank God the Parent and Oyasama for blessing all of us with a very safe and wonderful pilgrimage to Jiba. Now, in the time remaining, I would like to go to the 2nd part of my sermon. On October 26, 1838 as Oyasama became the Shrine of God the Parent, we are taught that “At this time, I have descended here to save all human kind.” Yes, 179 years ago Oyasama became the Shrine of God the Parent for the sole purpose to bring salvation to all human beings living here on this earth. Then for the next 50 years until She hid Her physical being on January 26th, 1887, Oyasama left us this path, Her Divine Model, to ensure world salvation for all human beings. In the Ofudesaki: All of you throughout the world are brothers and sisters. There should be no one called an outsider. (XIII:43) The reason Tsukihi began human beings Was the desire to see you lead a joyous life. (XIV:25) Hereafter, if all of you throughout the world save one another in every matter, (XII:93) 7 Know that Tsukihi will accept that mind And will provide any salvation whatever. (XII:94) Yes, Oyasama taught us that all human beings are brothers and sisters from one Parent, God the Parent. That we are here on this earth to lead the joyous life which can only be obtained by helping to save one another in every matter. Then and only then, will God the Parent accept our mind and will provide any salvation whatever. This year, 2016, is 179 years since Oyasama became God the Parent’s Shrine. How is the world we are living in now? Is it a more peaceful, safe and better place? Have we attained world salvation, the salvation of all human kind as intended by God the Parent and Oyasama? As all of you know, everyday in the world we hear or read of conflicts and war, suicide bombings and attacks by terrorists, killing and injuring many people, even women and innocent children. In our own country, and even in our own state, people are being hurt or killed everyday from stabbings, shootings, road rage, hit and run accidents, domestic abuse, home grown terrorists and you can go on and on. God the Parent and Oyasama must be so very sad. There was a survey taken recently listing each country in the world in the order of how safe and peaceful they were. What number do you think our country came in? It wasn’t in the top 50. It was not even in the top 100. American came in 103rd. It is really a shame and such an embarrassment as the leader of the free world and the leader of democracy 8 to be rated so low. As all of you are aware, in November we are electing a new president to lead our country for the next 4 years. One of the candidates for president has this for a slogan, “Make America great again.” I really believe that the slogan should read, “Make this world safe and peaceful.” This year, is Oyasama’s 130th Anniversary year. It is a very important time for all of us followers of this path to truly ponder and really focus our thoughts on Oyasama‘s teachings. What is the real importance and significance of Oyasama’s Anniversary? It is the Service!! Oyasama consistently and adamantly urged us to set about quickly performing the service. On January 26, 1887, Oyasama’s sole motivation in shortening Her term of life by 25 years and withdrawing from physical life was the spiritual growth of all of us, Her children, in performing the service. In the book entitled, “Oyasama’s Model Path for One and All.”the former Shinbashira tells us that “Oyasama’s 50 year Divine Model of salvation consisted entirely in bringing the Service to completion. This task is not something that concerns only Church Headquarters or regional churches. Rather it is a task for each of us, whether a head minister or a follower, bears an equal weight of responsibility. In the course of aspiring toward this goal of completing the Service, however, I think we need to be more clearly aware that this involves a day-to-day process of polishing our minds and making spiritual growth.” Further, in the book entitled, “Growing Spiritually Day by Day,” the former Shinbashira states that, “The blessings to be given through the performance of the Service cover every field of our life. To put it differently if we desire a peaceful life for all people, or if we want all countries and all people to help one another and live together in peace, I am positive that we have no choice but to depend upon the Service.” In the Ofudesaki: What do you think this Service is? It is none other than the means to universal salvation. (II:9) What do you think this Service is about? It is solely to bring peace to the world and salvation to all. (IV:93) If you quickly unite your minds and do the Service correctly, the world will settle. (XIV:92) From these words of the former Shinbashira Mission HQ Personnel Change On August 15th, Mr. Yoshitaka Iwata (Hofu/ Miyaichi) arrived and will serve as a Seinen for two years. Please extend your aloha when you see him at Dendocho. and as taught to us in the Ofudesaki, I feel that to maintain a full awareness of our mission and to strive to carry out our work means that everyone of us, all Yoboku and followers must perform the morning and evening service each day and the monthly service each month consistently. This is surely our most important mission as a Yoboku and follower of this path, to ensure peace and world salvation for all human kind. In this way, through our spiritual growth of focusing on the service and on Oyasama’s teachings each day, I truly feel that we will have taken a huge step in fulfilling our goal of bring much joy to the ever living Oyasama, during this, Her 130th Anniversary year. Finally, I want to quote from the Ofudesaki: What do you think this path is? It is the true path that will settle this world. (VI:4) Thank you for your kind attention and I pray for a very safe and successful Bazaar next Sunday. Thank you very much. New Baby Boy on Board! Quinn Chuji Qinsingha Nakao August 16, 2016 Lewis & Mimi Nakao (Pearl Church) Congratulations! 9 Tid Bits Associations’ Reports WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION Thank you very much for your sincere efforts of hinokishin and donations for the bazaar. I believe that Oyasama is very happy to see how we helped each other at the bazaar hinokishin. Let all of us participate in the All Tenrikyo Nioigake Day to bring joy to Oyasama. Nuuanu Hale Visitation September 10th (Sat) 9:30 a.m. Monthly Meeting September 12th (Mon)9:00 a.m. Women’s Musical Instrument Practice September 13th (Tue) 9:00 a.m. *The September Monthly Service luncheon hinokishin is assigned to Hofu group. Mahalo! YOUNG WOMEN’S CLUB Annual Bazaar I would like to thank everyone for your baked goods donation! YWC members, thank you for your help and making it another successful Annual Bazaar this year. We could not have done it without everyone’s sincere efforts. Thank you very much! Follow in Kokan’s Footsteps September 24th (Sat) 10:00 a.m. At Taitan Church 10 BOYS & GIRLS ASSOCIATION Children’s Pilgrimage to Jiba Bearing the heat and humidity of Jiba, 81 children and adults from Hawaii joined thousands of others from Japan and other nations in the summer pilgrimage festivities. Venturing through the Attack World game booths, being spooked by ghouls and monsters (and Auntie Mei) at the Haunted House, and getting attacked by super soakers Ninja warriors, the children enjoyed the different venue sites each day. Besides the fun and games, the Hawaii keikis practiced the musical instruments (narimono), wiped the sanctuary corridor floor and attended a lecture on the life of Oyasama. The Aloha band represented the State proudly as they performed at the Sanctuary, and later in the Oyasato evening parade. The rest of the Hawaii contingency also did a great job as they braved the heavy downpour while dancing and marching to the Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride on the first night. The crowd cheered on as the 100+ Hawaii group which included the Tenri Hawaii Judo Club members, danced their hearts out in the rain. The 2016 pilgrimage was a great success with everyone returning home in good health and high spirits. Much aloha and gratitude to all who joined us this year; and to all others who helped make this trip memorable and fun. The Hungry Reporter I love the savory goodness of roast pork, and this recipe will have you asking for more! Marinade, pop in the oven and you'll have a sure pleaser. Enjoy!! Chinese Roast Pork Ingredients: 4 lbs Bone-in Pork Roast 3/4 cup Soy Sauce 1/2 cup Dry Sherry Directions: 1/3 cup Honey 2 cloves Garlic, minced 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger 1 tsp Cornstarch 1 Tbsp Water 1. To Marinate: Pierce meaty sides of meat with fork; place roast in a large plastic bag. In a medium bowl combine the soy sauce, sherry, honey, garlic and ginger. Mix well and pour mixture into bag with pork. Press air out of the bag and tie securely. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight, turning bag over occasionally. 2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). 3. Remove roast and marinade from refrigerator. Reserving marinade, remove roast and place in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Roast in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Brush with reserved marinade; cover loosely with foil and roast for an additional 1 1/2 hours (or until the internal temperature has reached 145 degrees F (63 degrees C), brushing several times with marinade. 4. Remove roast from oven and let stand 15 minutes. Combine pan drippings with remaining marinade. In a small bowl combine cornstarch with cold water, mix together and add mixture to marinade. Boil marinade mixture for 4 to 5 minutes, or until mixture thickens. Serve with roast. 11 Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Honolulu, HI Permit No. 570 Tenrikyo Hawaii Dendocho 2920 Pali Highway Honolulu, Hawaii 96817 Phone: (808) 595-6523, fax: (808) 595-7748 e-mail: [email protected] Tenrikyo International Website: http://www.tenrikyo.or.jp Tenrikyo Online: http://online.tenrikyo.or.jp Mission HQ of Hawaii: http://www.tenrikyo-hawaii.com September Calendar 2016 st 1 Thu Monthly Community Hinokishin Day th 4 Sun Akinari Nishigaki to finish his duty and return to Japan 5th Mon All Tenrikyo Nioigake Day Meet @ Paki Park 9am - 11am WA Comm. Meeting Mission HQ 7:00 p.m. 6th Tue TCC Monthly Service TCC 9:30 a.m. th 9 Fri Adopt A Highway Cleanup Hinokishin Meet @ Mission HQ 9:00 a.m. 10th Sat WA Nuuanu Hale Visitation Meet @ Mission HQ 9:30 a.m. 12 9:00 a.m. Mon WA Monthly Meeting Mission HQ 9:00 a.m. TCC & Bunko Joint Comm. Meeting TCC 7:00 p.m. 13th Tue WA Musical Instruments Practice Mission HQ 9:00 a.m. 14th Wed YMA Meeting Rainbow Hale 7:30 p.m. 15 th Thu BGA Meeting Rainbow Hale 7:30 p.m. 17th Sat Board of Directors Meeting Mission HQ 2:00 p.m. TSA Hinokishin & Sleepover Mission HQ 6:30 p.m. 18th Mission HQ Monthly Service Mission HQ 9:00 a.m. Sunday School/ Aloha Band Practice Mission HQ Head Ministers Meeting Mission HQ th Sun 12:45 p.m. 19 Mon Kamina-nagashi in Waikiki Waikiki 10:00 a.m. 24th Sat Follow in Kokan's Footsteps Taitan Church 10:00 a.m. 26th Mon th 12 Meet @ Mission HQ Yohaishiki (26th day service) Mission HQ 9:00 a.m. Bazaar Booth Head Evaluation Meeting Mission HQ 10am/7pm 27th Tue Autumn Memorial Service Mission HQ 30th Fri YMA The Life of Oyasama Study Session Mission HQ 10:00 a.m. 7:00 p.m.