Temple News
Archives:
Temple News - Dec. 2009
Temple News - Nov. 2009
Temple News - Oct. 2009
Temple News - Sep. 2009
Temple News - August 2009
Temple News - July 2009
Temple News - June 2009
Temple News - May 2009
Busshin - April 2009
(PDF file, 3.3mb)
Busshin - February 2009
(PDF file, 4.7mb)
JANUARY & FEBRUARY 2010 Events
JANUARY: 1st New Year's Day, Shusho-E 10am
2nd-4th Temple Closed
14th Board Meeting 7:30pm
17th Dr Kato’s Buddhism Lecture (Japanese)
20th M.L. King Birthday Temple Closed
31st Monthly Service & Memorial 2pm
Fujinkai Meeting 1pm
General Meeting 3pm
New Year's Party 5pm
FEBRUARY: 7th Setsubun-E 1:30pm
9th Director’s Meeting 7:30pm
15th President’s Day - Temple Closed
21st Fujinkai Meeting 10am
Nehan-E Service 11am
28th Dr Kato’s Buddhism Lecture (Japanese)
Happy New Year 2010!
I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone at Zenshuji and our friends who live miles away a very 'Happy New Year' and Thank You for your tremendous support and participation in our activities and programs. Another year has passed and we sit and wonder where has all the time gone? Let's look back at our accomplishments in 2009...
January was the start of a New Year with several new Board Members: Dwight Fujii, Lance Kawakami and Ellen Nagamine. They have participated in many Board meetings and activity committees and now look forward to the second year of their term. Please encourage and support their participation.
Mrs. Hiroko Seki received the Nikkei Spirit Award by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce (JACC) of Southern California for her 24 plus years of service with Japanese-American youths through Zendeko Taiko Group. We are very proud of her and please to see others recognize her contribution to the Japanese American community. Congratulations Mrs. Seki!
Our 2nd Annual Casino Night and Silent Auction was a great success! We had people anxiously waiting for the tickets to go on sale. Ray Haynes and committee members worked hard to have a night of excitement and the guests were not disappointed. If you have any unique items to donate for the Silent Auction for this year, please contact Mrs. Soo Hoo at Zenshuji. Thank you for your support and please look forward to the announcement for the 3rd Annual Casino Night/Silent Auction.
The Theme for the 2009 Hanamatsuri was a global statement of "Buddhism and Ecology". The Buddhist Federation service was held in the beautiful garden setting at the Japanese -American Chamber of Commerce Center (JACCC) where the garden was designed with many wonderful meanings related to nature and environment. Zenshuji Hanamido was completed by Mrs. Seki and friends with the use of beautiful flowers gathered by Mr. George Takeyasu.
The cooking class for the Sansei and Yonsei, funded by the Sakai Fund, brought a cultural experience through the use of food. Learning to make some favorite dishes the simple or short cut method made life easier for our busy younger generation. They made dishes like maki-zushi, microwave daifuku mochi, chirashi, etc. Thanks to the guidance of the Fujinkai Ladies and the support of the parents, the young students really had a wonderful time. We hope to have more activities this year.
Obon/Carnival was under the new leadership of Ray Haynes. Doug Seki and Brian Kimura, assisted by Vivian Seki, Christine Kimura and Jeff Tani. James Monarrez, who had led the committee for many years left wonderful guidelines for the new committee. The various committees did a wonderful job preparing the great food for the Carnival and still keeping Zenshuji's food #1!
Spring/Fall Bake Sale continues to prosper at the Ohigan Service. Georgene, Janice, Ellen, James and Betsy managed the sale like a bakery. Their husbands and kids helped in the baking and set up of the sale. They have added craft items to the sale. Any contribution of baked goods or craft items are greatly appreciated. Contact Carolyn, Georgene or Kojima Sensei @ Zenshuji. We thank the members and family members for their support and purchase of the various types of goodies. The bake sale proceed continues to go toward the parking lot fund. We are still waiting to see what the city plans for the lot next to the gold line.
There are many more events and activities but 2009 will be known as the year that OUR Myoshin Lang Sensei was requested and later accepted to become the head resident minister at Hilo Taishoji Soto Zen Temple in Hilo, Hawaii. With mixed emotions, we see his departure as a great opportunity for growth and enrichment for Myoshin Sensei but a great loss for us and the temple. We will continue to work on the high goals that Sensei has set up and accomplish as many as possible. He has left great guidelines for us to use and if we don't understand something, he will be an e-mail away. Thank You Myoshin Sensei for your dedication in helping our temple grow!
I don't have enough words to thank all of you for the fantastic job you do to help keep the temple in operation. It is YOU, the congregation of the temple, that makes it a spiritual place, a gathering place for activities and a place for new ideas & growth. May the 2010 Year be filled with good health, much happiness, great prosperity and wonderful memories.
Carolyn Hashiba
President
NEHAN-E SERVICE
We will be having the Nehan-E service on February 21st at 11arn. Please join us in honoring the day that the Buddha passed into Parinirvana. Lunch will be provided by the Daruma club and the Zenshuji Fujinkai. Hope to see you there!
GENERAL MEETING FOR 2010
You are cordially invited to attend the Annual General Meeting for 2010 on January 31, 2010. The schedule is as follows:
2:00 PM - Service, 3:00 PM - General Meeting, 5:00 PM - Dinner Party
Your voice is an important part of our meeting. We need to hear from the congregation on how we (the Board of Directors) are doing: things that you enjoy, things we might add to our program, changes we might consider, problems we need to be aware of, and ideas for the future. We have had many good ideas, suggestions, and recommendations in the past but we need your input to continue supporting the needs/wishes of the congregation. We will also be voting to re-elect/elect Board Members who will be serving a 2 year term; read financial statements from the 2009 year; reports from the various organizations; review/adopt the 2010 budget; question/answer period; make changes if appropriate; and discussion of other topics as needed.
Please take advantage of the opportunity to attend the meeting and participate. Help us make changes and expresss your suggestions that will make Zenshuji a better place for us to be active. Changes can occur and time is on our side. Your voice is very important to us!
We look forward to seeing everyone: the youth and veteran generations working side by side to make Zenshuji a great spiritual and socially active place. Please come and join us at the New Year General Meeting!
SETSUBUN SERVICE
This service is related to the last day of the year in the old lunar
calendar, usually
falling around February 2 or 3 of the present
calendar. At the temple we will have
the festive ceremony of 'bean
throwing' (mamemaki) on the 7th of February this year.
The dried
roasted soy beans are thrown to bring in good fortune and drive
away evil
spirits. Everyone yells, "Fukuwauchi, oniwasoto!" Trans-
lated: In with good luck;
away with demons. People born under the
zodiac sign of the year (12, 24. 36. 48.
60. 72, 84, 96, etc, year old)
are selected as bean throwers and the crowd of people try to catch
the thrown beans which are said to bring good fortune. Please come and join us.
