Leading Service

The biggest news over the past couple weeks is that I led service by myself. Rev Kevin had business on another island, and since our temple doesn't have another minister "stationed" with us, the responsibility fell on me to lead service on Sunday. I sat in the altar area and led the chanting and gave a "sermon", although I wouldn't really call it a sermon since I'm not a minister yet.

The service went really well! I was nervous about all the technical details, like maybe I would forget to say "Namo Amida Butsu" when I was supposed to say it, or whatever. But I can't recall that I made any mistakes. My sermon (aka dharma message) was pretty simplistic. I talked about my recent trip to Singapore and how ethnically diverse that country is. Then I tied that in to how Shin Buddhism also needs to be ethnically diverse if it's going to survive in the West.

So this was two weeks ago, and tomorrow I lead service again on my own. After service, I have to rush downtown for an interview with the Bishop. The interview, as far as I know, is just a formal get-to-know-ya for all the Ministerial Candidates this year. Rev Kevin says that there's really no way to prepare for this interview, which to me means that I won't be quizzed on academic knowledge... but who knows.

In summary, there are some exciting leaps forward in my path to achieving my Tokudo. Wish me luck!

In Gassho,

-Hank

Essay - Why I Want to Attain My Tokudo

When I came to Hawaii five years ago, I had many goals in mind for my time here. One of them was to pursue Buddhism and, possibly, become a Buddhist. Because I was new to the island and knew nothing about Buddhism, I opened up the phone book to the Buddhist Temples section and chose a listing at random. The listing that I chose was the Wahiawa Hongwanji. Needless to say, at that time the term Jodo Shinshu meant nothing to me. Words like “dharma”, “sangha”, and “karma” were very unfamiliar to me, therefore, words like “nenju”, and “motoshikisho” were as yet unheard of. But the welcome I received at the Temple was exactly what I was looking for at that time. I was greeted, guided, listened to, and invited back. After having attended many services and visiting the temple on my own many times, I concluded that this religion, and this church, was for me.

My understanding of Jodo Shinshu has only just begun. While I feel like I’ve come a long way since that first day, I know that I have only scratched the surface. At this point in my religious journey, I interpret Jodo Shinshu as the most realistic way to practice a religion in today’s day-in-age. As human beings, we cannot escape our own human nature, some would say especially in modern times. But instead of insisting we resist our hurtful human nature, Jodo Shinshu endures it as a tool that we can use to see the path to Shinjin. Jodo Shinshu Buddhism is able to take my flaws as a human being and hold them in the same hand with the vow of The Pure Land. Using concepts like gratitude, community, self-less giving, and interdependence, Jodo Shinshu Buddhism doesn’t so much teach me as it allows me to see the Eight Fold Path in front of me.

Looking back on my life before I encountered Shin Buddhism, I can see that I was lacking something very important. My parents taught me to be a “good” person and to do the “right” thing, but what those things were, and why I had to do them were questions left unanswered. My own religious curiosity led me to Jodo Shinshu, but since then, it has required very little of my own effort to continue to come back to temple or to sit and listen to a dharma talk. When I’m at temple, in gassho in front of the altar, I feel like I’ve found what I was lacking. Since joining the temple, my wife, two sons, and myself have all been confirmed Buddhists. We have an altar set up in our house and we give offerings before meals. We say thanksgiving and we try to teach our boys why it’s important to swish out a bug instead of killing it. The teachings and traditions of Jodo Shinshu have begun to permeate my life and that of my family’s, and I feel we are better people for it.

For many millions of years, the sun has set in the west every single day. And every time this happens, a beautiful sunset occurs. It is probably one of the most beautiful sights we can witness, and it is so common! Why is it then that even to this day, people still paint sunsets and take pictures of sunsets? I would say that it is because when you see something that beautiful, you want to share it with those who weren’t there. When you’re fortunate enough to witness something of this magnitude, it doesn’t matter how easily accessible it is, you want to share it! This is why I want to attain my Tokudo. I feel like an extraordinary chain of events occurred that led me to being a member at the Wahiawa Hongwanji Buddhist Mission, and now that I’ve discovered something this beautiful, I want to share it in the most efficient and accurate way as possible.

The past five years of my life have been the most influential I’ve ever lived through, mostly due to my experience with and exposure to Shin Buddhism. Jodo Shinshu Buddhism has changed my life, and with a little luck, and a lot of hard work, will also change my career. We all look for ways to leave a mark on this world and we hope that when our time here is done, we will be remembered for what we accomplished. This is, perhaps, just our ego talking, but what better way is there to truly feel like you have given something back to your brothers and sisters on this planet than to help spread the dharma? To be a humble teacher of the most profound wisdom… what more can one ask for in life?

Hakujin Perspective - Finding Dharma In Singapore

I’m writing this quarter’s Hakujin Perspective in Singapore. I’m here on business and decided to wait until I had experienced the island a little before writing this piece. I must say that Singapore is a beautiful country! Not only have the people here been wonderful to me, but the city is clean, safe, fun, exciting, and educational.

While my purpose here is not related to Buddhism, there is clearly an opportunity here to explore a different aspect of our religion. It was recommended to me that I visit the Buddha’s Tooth Relic Temple so that was my main religious goal coming here. I was worried that I’d have a hard time finding the temple, being in a foreign country and all, but as it turns out, the very first day I was here, I accidentally found it in Chinatown! A friend of mine and I were walking through the hawker plaza in Chinatown, we turned a corner, and BAM… there was a huge temple with monks in bright orange robes wandering about. We were fortunate enough to go into the temple during a ceremony of some sort. We stayed and took pictures.

I’ve been back to the Tooth Relic Temple 3 times since I’ve been here and each day there has been a different experience, but today was the best of all. I learned that there are many Buddha’s you can pay respects to at the temple. There is a hall with dozens of statuettes, each with a placard stating the name of the Buddha. And in front of these small altars, men and women are bowing and chanting and making offerings. I quickly found Amida Buddha (although here he was called Amitabah) and discovered that Amida is considered the protector for those born in the year of the Dog. So after a quick search of the table listings, I found out that I was born in the year of the Dog! What an awesome coincidence that Amida ended up being my Buddha of Protection!

The main altar on the first floor is where the major ceremonies are held, and the Buddha statue there is HUGE! The sangha there kneel on pillows in order to perform religious acts, so it was a bit awkward for me, but I found a pillow and kneeled down in front of the altar and chanted the Juseige. I got a few strange looks, and I think a few people took a picture of me, but I could tell that the only people who took interest were the tourists. The monks were completely at ease with me chanting there, and I could almost feel that Buddha knew what I was doing.

Then I went upstairs to where the actual Tooth Relic is displayed. It is in an amazingly ornate altar behind glass. You can’t take pictures and you can only get so close. In this room, people sit and meditate and make offerings. There were also two monks there that were giving blessings to the sangha. Basically, if you gave them a red envelope with money in it, they would say a blessing for you! So I gave them my envelope and kneeled before the monk in gassho. He placed an object on my head and chanted in Chinese, then we bowed to each other and I moved to the next monk. I kneeled in front of him and he splashed some liquid on my head and shoulders, then held beads to my forehead and chanted in Chinese again. I have no idea what happened… but it was AMAZING! Definitely a once in a lifetime experience!

Being in Singapore during the Chinese New Year has been an incredible learning opportunity for me! I’ve seen many ceremonies and performances, and whether they be of a religious nature or cultural one, everyone seems to be unified in the spirit of being renewed. I watched a large group of people start a blazing bonfire one night in the middle of an open field. Once the fire had started they all bowed in unison over and over again. Then after about 10 minutes, they all stood up and walked away without looking back! They just left the fire there. When I asked someone, I was told that normally that sort of thing would not be allowed, but because it is part of their religious practice, the police allow them to leave the fire.

The people of Singapore are mostly of Chinese decent, but there are also Malaysians, Indians, and many other Asian minorities. Despite the stark language and cultural differences, the people here do not see each other as anything other than Singaporean. I wouldn’t say that this perspective would go so far as an “Ang Mo” like me, but I’ve definitely felt welcomed here, and I will always remember my time in this foreign place.

In Gassho,

-Hank

I'm Back!!!

Hello Everyone!

I'm safely back from Singapore. I arrived last week, and it has literally taken me a week to finally adjust myself to the Hawaii Time Zone again (Singapore is 18 hours ahead!).

After this entry, I will post two more. The first will be the Hakujin Perspective that I wrote while in Singapore. The second will be an essay that I had to write on why I want to attain my Tokudo.

In the meantime, I have some exciting news. Next week Sunday, a week from today, I'll be leading Sunday service ALL BY MYSELF! Rev Kevin has business elsewhere, so it's all me. This is really a huge deal, at least for me. I will be up on the altar and leading the chanting of the Juseige, Vandana and Ti-Sarana, and delivering a sermon. I'm really nervous, and I feel vastly under-qualified. But, Sensei says I have to do it, so that's that.

I also have an important interview at the end of the month with the Ministerial Training Committee. After the interview, the committee will officially decide whether or not I will be trained to become a Tokudo minister (hence the essay to follow). The big issue that I'm up against is that I want to be a military chaplain, which means I won't necessarily be working for the Hawaii Kyodan. So of course, there are bureaucratic issues with the Hawaii Kyodan training me. I'll let you know how it goes.

Well, it's great to be back! Stay tuned for more!

In Gassho,

-Hank