May, 2014 Newsletter - Reedley Buddhist Church

REEDLEY BUDDHIST CHURCH
P.O. BOX 24 ~ 2035 15TH ST., REEDLEY, CALIFORNIA 93654
PHONE & FAX (559) 638-2146
http://www.reedleybc.org
May 2014
Message from Rinban Nakagawa
Calendar of Events
1 Into to Buddhism Class at Fresno FDC
Rev. Alan Sakamoto
2
3
4
8
9
10
11
15
16
7:00 pm
In the month of May, we observe Gotan-e. We cele-
brate Shinran Shonin’s birthday as well as Sakyamuni Bud7:00 pm dha’s birthday one month prior.
Honestly speaking, I have a little uneasiness in my
Buddhist Broadcast on KBIF (900 AM)
7:25 am mind. As a Buddhist minister, I have often wondered how
Reedley BWA Meeting
9:00 am the sangha views these great Dharma leaders on their
Dharma School Service
9:30 am birthdays. Are they viewed as a great deity or do we adBWA Dharma School Teachers Appreciation
mire them for their past conduct. I hope they view it as
Luncheon
11:30 pm the latter, as the Buddha once said,
“People become a respected person because of their
Intro to Buddhism Class at Fresno FDC
Rev. Alan Sakamoto
7:00 pm conduct, not because of their birth. From any fuel, fire
burns. Everyone can be a sage, courageous, restrained by
Library Series - Speaker Rev. Harry
consciousness.
Bridge at Fowler Library
7:00 pm
We respect Shinran Shonin as well as Sakyamuni BudBuddhist Broadcast on KBIF (900 AM)
7:25 am dha because of their conduct, which show us the true
purpose of life, not only as a human but as all sentient
Combined Monthly Memorial, GotanE,
and Dharma School Service
9:30 am beings in this Universe. For the Buddhist, a birthday is not
related to the essential value of a person. When we celeIntro to Buddhism Class at Fresno FDC
brate birthdays, including our own, we first think of our
Rev. Alan Sakamoto
7:00 pm
Bazaar Meeting
7:00 pm parents who delivered us, nurtured us and loved us, particularly our mothers.
Library Series - Speaker - Rev. Henry
There is one story that I’d like to share with you.
Library Series - Speaker - Rev. Marvin
Harada at Fowler Library
Adams at Fowler Library
7:00 pm
17 Buddhist Broadcast on KBIF (900 AM)
7:25 am
18 Dharma School Service - End of Term &
Graduates Luncheon
9:30 am
21 Church Board Meeting
7:00 pm
22 Into to Buddhism Class at Fresno FDC
(Rev. Alan Sakamoto)
Library Series - Rev. Masao Kodani at
Woodward Park Library
7:00 pm
7:00 pm
23 Cemetery Flower Preparations
8:00 am
24 Buddhist Broadcast on KBIF (900 AM)
7:25 am
25 Memorial Day Service at Reedley Cemetery 7:00 pm
Memorial Day Service at Church
7:45 pm
29 Intro to Jodo Shinshu Buddhism at
Fresno FDC
7:00 pm
31 Buddhist Broadcast on KBIF (900 AM)
7:25 am
At an elementary school, during a PTA gathering for
children and parents, the principal asked the children to
turn around and look at their parents. The principal then
asked the mothers that were there, “How many of you
delivered your child very easily and had fun, singing and
laughing during the delivery? Please raise your hand!” No
one did.
Continued on page 4
MAY TOBAN:
BWA - Area 3 - Takayama & Nakagawa
Church - District 1– Kawagoe & Tavlan
Dharma Sch. - K. Ikemiya & D. Ikemiya
PAGE 2
MAY, 2014
Church Acknowledges Dana
Mrs. Tomiko Harada - Donation in
appreciation of Sacramento bus trip
$25.00
Mrs. Akiko Shiroyama - Donation in
appreciation of Sacramento bus trip
25.00
March Monthly Memorial Service
Mr. & Mrs. Kunimitsu Iwo
Mr. Alan Kubota
Mr. & Mrs. Hitoshi Aoki
Mr. Hideo Shiine
10.00
10.00
20.00
20.00
Mrs. Carolyn Ikemiya
Mrs. Keiko Sugai
$25.00
Mrs. Yukiko Ito
Dr. & Mrs. Kenneth Ikemiya
Mr. & Mrs. Kliff Justesen
Mr. & Mrs. Wesley Kubo
Mr. Michael Naito
Mrs. Sakaye Sally Oba
Mr. & Mrs. Dale Okamura
Mr. & Mrs. Joe Ikemiya
Mrs. Chizuko Iwasaki
Mrs. Sue Kawamoto
Mrs. Nancy Sakata
Mrs. Ellen Yamada
$30.00
Mr. & Mrs. Larry Iwasaki Mr. & Mrs. Clifford Hamada
Mr. & Mrs. Ben Kubota
Mrs. Yasuko Murase
Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Nishinaka Mrs. Laura Tavlan
Mr. & Mrs. George Tsuji
Mrs. Ayako Alma Sunamoto
April Monthly Memorial Service
$10.00
Mrs. Nancy Abe
Mr. & Mrs. Ben Nobuhiro
$15.00
Mr. & Mrs. Shuzo Toyota
$20.00
Mr. & Mrs. Hitoshi Aoki
Mrs. Kikuyo Ikemiya
Mrs. Toshiko Kawagoe
Mrs. Setsuko Kimura
Mrs. Yukiye Takayama
$30.00
Mr. & Mrs. Gary Sakata Mrs. Ayako Alma Sunamoto
Mr. & Mrs. George Tsuji
$50.00
Ms. Amy Naito
Mr. Hideo Shiine
Hanamatsuri Service
$5.00
Mrs. Alice Mori
$10.00
Mrs. Nancy Abe
Mr. & Mrs. Yasuo Hashimoto
Mr. & Mrs. Kan Ibara
Mrs. Sue Kawamoto
Mr. Alan Kubota
Mr. & Mrs. Ben Nobuhiro
Mrs. Fujiye Okino
Mrs. Ruth Sasaki & Family
Mr. Hideo Shiine
Ms. Shizuko Taguchi
Mrs. Yukiye Takayama
Mr. Akio Tatami
Mrs. Kasuko Tatami
Mr. Johnnie Togioka
Mrs. Mary Uyeda
Mrs. Ayako Yamada
$20.00
Anonymous
Mrs. Nancy Doi-Wilson
Mr. Gerry Hada
Mr. Stanley HIrahara
Mrs. Carolyn Ikemiya
$20.00 continued
Mrs. Kikuyo Ikemiya
Mr. & Mrs. Harry Inn
Mrs. Chizuko Iwasaki
Mrs. Toshiko Kawagoe
Mrs. Nagiko Konishi
Mrs. Amy Naito
Mr. & Mrs. R. Kobayashi Mr. Michio Miyamoto
Mr. & Mrs. Larry Nishida Mr. & Mrs. Gary Sakata
Mr. & Mrs. Sammy Nakagawa
Mrs. Nancy Sakata
Mrs. Kimiye Tanizaki
Mrs. Ellen Yamada
Mr. & Mrs. Hitoshi Aoki
Mrs. Joy Donaldson
Mrs. Joanne Hansen
Mr. & Mrs. Bill Hirata
Mr. & Mrs. Joe Ikemiya
$35.00
Mr. & Mrs. Kunimitsu Iwo
$40.00
Mrs. Setsuko Kimura
$50.00
Mrs. Nancy Kimura
Ms. Amy Naito
Mrs. Alice Nakamura
Mrs. Lillian Kuwata
$200.00
Mr. Terashi Ibara
Additional Maintenance Fund
$40.00
Mrs. Lynn Kurumaji
Mr. & Mrs. Kunimitsu Iwo
May Buddhist Broadcast Speakers
RADIO KBIF - 900 AM
May 3 - Chris Tange & Yuki Mori
May 10 - Cheryl Koga & Midori Nakagawa
May 17 - Calvin Doi & Midori Nakagawa
May 24 - Karen Mukai & Rev. Nakagawa
May 31 - Gary Mukai & Rev. Nakagawa
PAGE 3
MAY, 2014
Message from Rev. Alan Sakamoto
Animals
The other day I traveled to a home to conduct a
makuragyo or “pillow” service for a member who
had recently passed away. It was mid-evening, and
dark outside. I pulled up in my car, opened the
door, exited, opened the trunk, pulled out my bags,
closed the trunk, and when I turned around, there
was a dog standing there looking at me. My first
thought was panic! Uh oh! What should I do? But,
he just stood there, no barking and no growling. I
extended my hand, and he smelt it, then brushed
up against my hand, asking to be scratched and
petted. Later, I found out that his name was Bear.
We have a very deep relationship with our pets
and with other animals. The Buddha considered
Animals to be inferior to humans since they did not
have the capacity to understand the Dharma. We
see this since the Six Realms of Existence contains an “Animal” and “Human” Realm. This does
not mean the animals are less important, as a matter of fact, the Buddha said: “because animals are
dull by nature we should therefore have sympathy
for them. When it comes to desiring happiness and
wishing to avoid pain, all beings are the same.”
The Buddha realized that cruelty to animals arises
from the same problems that we inflict upon other
humans, i.e. anger, jealousy, vengeance, lack of
sympathy and hatred.
The Buddha noted that animals sometimes set
an example humans should notice and copy. When
a group of monks were quarrelling over some petty
matter he told them, “If animals can be courteous,
deferential and polite towards each other, so
should you be.” In a Jakata tale, a man named
Pessa, an elephant trainer, made an interesting
observation on the difference between humans
and animals. He said to the Buddha, “Humans are
a tangle while animals are straightforward. While I
am training an elephant, in the time it takes to go to
Campa and back again it will try every trick, ruse,
stratagem and dodge. But our slaves, messengers
and servants do one thing, say another, and think
something else.” The Buddha agreed.
We can be very good at disguising our real feelings or faking feelings we do not really have, but
animals are true. If a dog does not like you, he
barks or growls at you. If the cat has had enough,
she twitches the end of her tail and struts away.
Continued on page 4
HANAMATSURI 2014
B.C.A. GRADUATION
CERTIFICATES
Reedley Buddhist Church members, who have children graduating
from high school, college, and/or
university, are asked to inform Gary Sakata (email:
[email protected] or phone: (559) 250 - 9687) so
that their names can be submitted to the B.C.A. for
graduation certificates. Names of any college or university graduates from June 2013 and June 2014 are especially requested.
Decorating Graves for
Memorial Day
The Reedley Buddhist Women’s Association
will be decorating the Japanese graves in the old
section of the Reedley Cemetery with floral tributes. Members who have statice flowers growing
in their yard or garden, are asked to bring them
to the conference room between 7:30 - 8:00 A.M.
on Friday, May 23rd. They will be assembling the
flowers at that time.
PAGE 4
Thank you to all the members who donated their beautiful flowers from their gardens for the hanamido. Thank you to all
those who came out to help decorate and
place all the flowers to create such a special
hanamido for our Hanamatsuri service.
Rev. Nakagawa - Cont. from page 1
Then the principal asked another question, “Well,
then those who really suffered, feeling as if you were
dying and felt severe pain with much sweating, please
raise your hand!” To this question, even before the principal completed the question, all of the mothers, 100 of
them, raised their hands at the same time. All of the
children stared at their mothers with a surprised look. It
was a miraculous moment. The principal said to the children, “Each of you are very lucky, because your mother
brought you into this world in spite of all her suffering
during childbirth, you were born as a human being and
are here today. So I want you to be nice and thoughtful
persons, able to love one another.” The children all nodded at those words, and looked at their moms with appreciative and compassionate expressions.
Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers!
With Deepest Sympathy
We extend our deepest sympathy to the family members of the late Mrs. Joan Masae
Sasaki, who passed away on April 11th at the
age of 87 years.
MAY, 2014
Rev. Sakamoto cont. from page 3
Likewise, when our pets love us, they don’t hold
back. I remember coming home from a difficult day
at work, thinking no one in the world cares, only to
have my dog jump on me, knock me over, energetically lick my face, and unconditionally love me. Maybe, this unconditional and unreserved love is the reason why some people find it easier to love their pets
rather than another human.
The love imparted by an animal is also healing.
Just look at the joy that therapy dogs provide patients in nursing homes and hospitals. And our pets
reciprocate! You can often find stories about dogs
that drag their owners to safely away from danger, or
the cat that wakes her owner to alert them of a fire.
Other animals reciprocate our love too.
One famous Jakata story is about the dangerous
bull elephant Nalagiri. The Buddha’s jealous and unscrupulous cousin Devadatta schemed to have the
Buddha killed by arranging for Nalagiri to be released into his path during his daily walk. Trumpeting
and flapping his ears, Nalagiri charged. The Buddha
radiated love towards Nalagiri and, sensing his love
and lack of alarm, the huge animal lost his aggressiveness and suddenly calmed down. He approached the Buddha, picked up some dust from the
ground with his trunk and then sprinkled it on the
Buddha’s head.
Animals and our pets are indeed, Bodhisattva’s,
and we all can learn lessons from them. Perhaps,
the most important lesson is that we should all share
our love and compassion with every living being. I
was certainly reminded of this very valuable lesson
after my encounter with Bear.
Namu Amida Butsu
Rev. Alan Sakamoto
PAGE 5
MAY, 2014
Combined GotanE Service,
Dharma School End of Term,
Monthly Memorial &
Graduates’ Luncheon
The combined GotanE, Monthly Memorial,
and Dharma School End of Term Service will be
held on Sunday, May 18, 2014 at 9:30 A.M. followed by a luncheon to honor all the junior high,
high school, and college graduates.
Memorial Day Service
A Memorial Day service will be conducted on
Sunday, May 25th at 7:00 P.M. at the Reedley
Cemetery. A church service will be held at approximately 7:45 P.M. with refreshments following in the conference room. We hope you will be
able to attend and visit with those home for the
holiday.
Mrs. Midori Nakagawa during her Hanamatsuri
Dharma Talk
Dharma School students performing a play for the
Parents Appreciation Program
REEDLEY OBON FESTIVAL
SAVE THE DATE!
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Food Booths - 5:00 PM
Dancing at 8:00 PM
Obon & Hatsubon Service
Sunday, July 27, 2014
9:30 A.M.
Members enjoying the program
MAY, 2014
PAGE 6
May Monthly
Memorial Service
The May Monthly Memorial Service will be held in conjunction with the GotanE and Dharma School Service on
Sunday, May 11th beginning at 9:30 AM. Families and
friends are asked to attend and offer incense. The deceased and seshu (observant) for May are as follows:
DECEASED:
Katsuji Abe
Dorothy Antoku
Helen Matsuoka
Junzo Hashimoto
Tsurutaro Arakawa, Shizuye
Arakawa
Fumiye Asakawa
George Masato Hatanaka
Mariko Hiyama
Chiyo Hosaka
Shinichi Ikeda
Henry Hiroshi Iwanaga,
Tsumoru Kai
Harry Hayao Iwasaki
Fumi Kawagoe
Umeyo Saunders, Waka
Kawamoto, Setsuko
Kawamoto, Ken Kawamoto
Sakichi Fujioka
Gunzo Kubota
Toshi Hashimoto
Tsuyako Sue Miyakawa
Ryo Miyamoto
Kenneth Nishida
Matsue Nancy Hirasuna
Masao Okamura
Jintaro Kubo,
Kaizo Geo Kubo
Bobby Sakata
Tadayoshi Yamamoto
Kaichiro Sasaki
Ayano Takanishi,
Takumi Joe Shinkawa
Satomi Takasaki
Ginpei Takayama
SESHU (OBSERVANT)
Sadie Abe
Kay Antoku
Joanne Hansen
Yasuo Hashimoto
Keiko Hatakeda
Misa Hatakeda
Tatsuko Hatanaka
Bradley Hiyama
Michi Ikeda, & Sets
Kimura
Todd Hosaka
Michiko Ikeda
Eva Iwanaga
Chizuko Iwasaki
Roy Kawagoe
Sue Kawamoto
Jean Kobashi
Ben Kubota
Shiz Kunishige
James Miyakawa
Michio Miyamoto
Larry Nishida
Kathy Nishinaka
Dennis Okamura
Kathy Omachi & Patricia
Omachi
Nancy Sakata
Ruth Sasaki
Susumu Sasaki
Kay Takanishi
George Takasaki &
Yukiye Takayama
Lillian Takayama &
Yukiye Takayama
cont.
DECEASED:
Yukimi Noji
Tsuneko Ideuye, Masutaro
Toyota, Katsutaro Toyota
Ralph Tatsumi Kimoto
Naoemon Morikawa, Yasu
Kurokawa, Izo Kurokawa,
Imachi Yamada, Tomiko
Yamada
Bill Fumio Yamada, Robert
Minoru Yamada
SESHU (OBSERVANT)
Kazuko Tatami
Shuzo Toyota
Amy Tsuji
Ayako Yamada
Ellen Yamada
Procedures for Requesting a Minister
Funerals:
The family will contact the Reedley Buddhist Church
President, Mr. Gary Sakata at:
Home: (559) 638-3747
Cell Phone: (559) 250-9687
If a family requests a Makuragyo Service: During
the week contact the Fresno Betsuin Office (442-4054) or
Rev. Nakagawa on weekdays or weekends directly at
(970-7652).
Family Memorial Service:
For services at the Reedley Buddhist Church: The
family will contact the Reedley Buddhist Church President to check the availability of the Reedley Church.
Then the family will 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. (Do not call temple office during the weekends,
as the on-call person does not take reservations for any
service). Return call to Church President to confirm date
and time for the service at the church.
For services at family home: Family will contact Lee
Osaki at the Fresno Betsuin office to arrange for a minister.
If you know your preferred date for a memorial service,
please make your arrangements early. If you have any
questions, please do not hesitate to ask Gary Sakata.
ARTICLES/NEWS
All submissions must be made no later than the 21st of
each month to be included in the bulletin /newsletter. We
appreciate your help in adhering to the deadline. If your article or advertisement is print ready, you may email it to:
[email protected]
2035 15th Street - P.O. Box 24
Reedley, CA 93654
Phone/FAX: (559) 638-2146
Website: http://reedleybc.org
Email Church: [email protected]
Email Webmaster:
[email protected]
PAGE 7
MAY, 2014