Temple News
APRIL & MAY 2021 EVENTS
Below schedule is subject to change due to the health department regulations.
APR: 4h Zenshuji & LABTF Hanamatsuri 10:30 am Facebook Live on LABTF
13th Board Meeting 630 pm
18h Monthly Service & Memorial 11 am Facebook Live
MAY: 11th Board Meeting 6:30 pm
16th Monthly Service & Memorial 11:00 am Facebook Live
ZEN-BAZURU PROJECT for 100TH ANNIVERSARY
Are you good at Origami? Help us make paper cranes for our 100th Anniversary! Please see the flyer on the right for more information.
HIGAN-E / MARCH MONTHLY SERVICE
Higan-E was held on March 21st in person and online. Here is the video which was live-streamed on Facebook Live. A Dharma talk in Japanese/English by Rev. Kojima.
ZENSHUJI WILL BE 100 YEARS OLD NEXT YEAR!
For almost 100 years, Zenshuji Soto Mission has been providing spiritual needs and cultural attractions to Los Angeles and the surrounding communities. We are grateful and appreciative to everyone for their support, dedication and endeavor especially our members, families and friends. This past year has been challenging, stressful and restrictive but with the new and better vaccines and more information and knowledge about the Coronavirus, we will be able to continue with good health, mindfulness, safety at home, and possibly one day meet together.
Ten years ago we made a major improvement at Zenshuji’s 90th Anniversary celebration. Thanks to your generous donations, we were able to upgrade Zenshuji in various ways. We painted the railings/fences, replace chain link fence with iron wrought, replaced a few of the sliding doors in the Nikko Building, replaced some windows in the main Temple, replaced entry doors w/windows, remodeled the social hall Kitchen, replace floor tiles and many smaller projects to bring Zenshuji into code.
We are now approaching our 100th Anniversary in 2022 and look forward to more upgrades to Zenshuji. Our ancestors have helped us tremendously to keep the Spiritual, Cultural and Educational Activities alive at Zenshuji. We would like to continue with the various needs of the members and friends such as Monthly/Memorial Services, Funerals, Personal Services, Buddhist Classes, Cultural Classes and Activities, Health and Safety Classes, and many other events. Due to Covid-19 it has been difficult to hold many of these events and activities.
The 100th Anniversary Committee, with Atsuko Kubota as Chairperson, is planning on activities for the upcoming event. Major projects prioritized by the committee and ministers are: Expansion of the Nokotsudo, Repositioning the Handicap Parking and Ramp Location, Developing a Zenshuji History Book, Jukai-E Project, and staging a Ceremony and Banquet. Your contribution will help make this event a proud moment for our ancestors and future generations. We will inform you how to participate in our next letter.
Professor Giacomo Bono once said, “Life is more meaningful when we express ‘gratitude’ regularly and intentionally.” It’s a character strength within ourselves developed through our parents & grandparents and a character we want to instill in our next generation to be use in various ways. Professor Bono also mentioned that “like mindfulness and meditation if you don’t practice ‘gratitude’ genuinely, then it just doesn’t work.”
Zenshuji Soto Mission’s Ministers and Board of Directors are looking forward to the upcoming 100th Anniversary Year. We hope to find a balance in the future with this pandemic and Zenshuji so we can all enjoy the festivities and each other’s company. Zenshuji is looking forward to the future with gratitude, positive thoughts and happy gatherings.
In Gassho,
Rev. Shumyo Kojima, Zenshuji Head Minister
Rev. Daiki Toho, Zenshuji Minister
Howard Miyoshi, Zenshuji President
Carolyn Abe Hashiba, Chairperson of Board of Directors
Atsuko Kubota, 100th Anniversary Committee Chairperson
HANAMATSURI
This year’s Los Angeles Buddhist Temples Federation (LABTF)'s Hanamasturi Service (In commemoration of Buddha's Birthday) will be available for viewing via Facebook Live as well as via Zoom starting at 10:30 am on Sunday, April 4th. This service will take place at Zenshuji and the ministers from eight temples of LABTF (Higashi Honganji, Jodo Shu, Koyasan, Long Beach Buddhist Church, Nichiren Shu, Nishi Honganji, Senshin Buddhist Temple and Zenshuji) will all be in attendance. Dharma talks will be given in English by Nishi Honganji’s Rev. William Briones and in Japanese by Zenshuji’s Rev. Shumyo Kojima. Please join us online. Here is the Facebook link for the Hanamatsuri Service:
Facebook Live on LABTF
(Please note Zenshuji and most of the temples in LABTF will not hold its own Hanamatsuri Services this year.)