Friday, January 27, 2012 at 3:40PM Hi everyone,
Yes, we will welcome the month of February less than a week! I thought we just celebrated New Year... time passes so swiftly...
On February 5th, we will observe Shotsuki Monthly Memorial Service at 11am. Please join us!
namo, kaz
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 5:24PM Hi everyone,
At Sunday service, I announced to start Friday night meditation from
Jan 13th. However, after the consideration, I decided to cancel Friday Meditation.
Thank you for your interest!
Namo, kaz
Sunday, January 8, 2012 at 9:37PM Buddhism 101, an introductory level course for adults, will start again on Sunday, January 22. The first few sessions cover Buddhist basics; later classes concentrate on Jodo Shinshu, the form of Buddhism practiced atEkoji Buddhist Temple. It's not necessary to register or make any other arrangements, there’s no book to buy, and the classes are free. Please come Sundays at 10 am, and feel free to "parachute in" if you miss the beginning of the series. Classes will meet on every Sunday for five weeks.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012 at 9:48AM Happy New Year Ekoji Sangha members:
On Sunday, January 8, 2012, 11 am, we will be observing Ho-onko, the annual memorial service for our founder, Shinran Shonin – this is a special year as it marks Shinran’s 750th memorial service. This will be a joint service including the Dharma School and Adult Sangha. Please join and participate us to make it an extra special Ho-onko observance.
Thursday, December 29, 2011 at 8:08PM Happy Holidays everyone!
I sincerely hope that all of you will have a happy and healthy life throughout the year of 2012. As we announced last week, there are two special services on December 31st and on January 1st. On December 31st, there will be the Joya-E service and on January 1st, Shusho-E.
Yes! We can say Joya-E as New Year’s Eve service and Shusho-E as New Year’s Day service. However, both terms of Joya-E and Shusho-E remind us of very important Buddhist teachings and practices. Let me explain. Both terms contain “E” which means gathering or service. Joya means a night for reflection. So Joya-E means the night gathering for reflection. In everyday life, we often say, “oh, I’m busy!” While we are busy, we really do not have time to look back at what we did in the past. So Joya-E was designed for each individual to reflect on the passing year.
Do you know that Joya has another meaning? “Jo” means remove or reset and “Ya” means night. So Joya could be translated as “a night for resetting”. After we do deep reflection, we try to analyze how we spent our life during the passing year and we meditate on how we could do better, and… we reset our minds!
Did you have a happy life in 2011? If so, forget about it! Did you have difficulties in 2011? If so, forget about it! As we teach in Buddhism, everyday is a new day, so every year is a new year. What happened in 2011 does not always reflect what is going to happen in 2012. Our life is not as simple as we think it is. So when we ring the Kansho Bell in the foyer of Ekoji Hondo after the Joya-E service, we try to reset our minds to welcome the New Year with clear minds. So please come and join our night gathering of deep reflection and Kansho ringing!
On January 1st, we will have Shusho-E, New Year’s Day service. Shusho means adjust your behavior or find out appropriate actions and thinking. New Year’s Day is a best day to set an individual resolution, and think about how you want to enjoy 2012. We can set weekly or daily achievements. But it is very important to set a yearly achievement. It gives you motivation to accomplish a bigger achievement.
On December 31st, we do deep reflection and meditation to look back at what we did in 2011 and the following day on January 1st, we make a resolution/achievement and consider how we want to spend the year of 2012.
They are very important practices in Buddhism, so see you at both Joya-E and Shusho-E.
Namo, Kaz