Vol. 62, No. 3March 2010

NON-PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDLos Angeles, CAPermit No. 24616

HIGASHI HONGANJI BUDDHIST TEMPLE505 East Third StreetLos Angeles, CA 90013(213) 626-4200 - FAX (213) 626-6850

Address Service Requested

TEMPLE SCHEDULEMarch

21 10:00am SpringOhigan Service 26 7:00am HanamatsuriGolf Tournament 28 10:00am SundayService DiscussionGroup 28 10:00am SpringCraftFair

April 4 10:00am ShotsukiService 11 10:00am SundayService 11 1:00pm Federation Hanamatsuri 18 10:00am HanamatsuriFamily Children’sService

HanamatsuriFamily/Children’s

Service

Sunday, April 18, 201010:00am

(Please see DINOSAURS, page 3)

WayThe

Theme:

Dinosaurs, Buddhists, and LightGreg Elliot, Sangha Contributor

Afewrecentconversationsregard-ingenlightenmenthavecausedmetothinkbacktolastfall’sday-longretreat,whenwegatheredwithmembersoftheotherdistricttemplesforadayofdiscus-sions,lunch,andmorediscussions.

Following lunch, and before webegantheafternoonsession,thespeakeraskedforquestionsorcommentsfromtheparticipants.JohnnyMartinezfromWestCovinastatedthathesawacom-parison between the world not beingenlightenednow,andtheworldofthedinosaurs,whennotbeinginthelightliterallyledtotheirextinction.Ifhumansfailtoseethelight,Johnnywonderedaloud,willitsignalthebeginningofourownextinction?

Asmostofyouprobablylearnedin6thgrade,dinosaurswerethedominantformoflifeonEarthforabout185mil-lionyears.Bycomparison,humanshavebeenaroundforbetweenfourandsixmillionyears(dependingonhowyoucount),andreallystartedlookinglikeusonlyaround150thousandyearsago.So, we’re the newcomers. Dinosaurs,

ontheotherhand,evolvedastheEarthevolved:asthecontinentsbrokeapartand shifted, as volcanoes and newmountainrangesformed,astheclimatesettled down. Dinosaurs weatheredall of it, surviving every cataclysmicchange that the planet threw at themfornearlytwohundredmillionyears.Thepterodactylsandplesiosaursruledtheskiesandseaswhilethedinosaurscovered the land with creatures thatrangedfromthetinytotheimmense.Infact,thedinosaursandtheirilkweresosuccessfulthattheyleftlittleroomfortheancestorsofmammals—small,shy,nocturnal creatures trying mostly nottoget steppedon—so the timeof themammalshadtowait.

About65millionyearsago,every-thingchanged.AmeteoroversixmilesacrossslammedintothewatersofftheYucatanpeninsula,andtheensuingblastthrewsomuchdustandashintotheairthatthecloudcircledtheglobe,blockedoutthesun,andledtotheextinctionofeverylandanimalthatweighedmorethan50pounds.Thereignofthedino-

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2010 Betsuin Membership

AEROBIC EXERCISE through OBON DANCING

Spring Ohigan Service

Betsuin NewsDHARMA SCHOOL

UPDATE

Spring Seminar

Hanamatsuri Family Service

HIGASHI HONGANJI BUDDHIST TEMPLE

SPRINGCRAFTFAIR

SUNDAY - MARCH 28 - 201010:00AM - 3:00PM

HIGASHI HONGANJISOCIAL HALL

505 E. 3RD STREETLOS ANGELES 90013

213-626-4200WWW.HHBT-LA.ORGINFO@HHBT-LA.ORG

the SPRING CRAFT FAIR is a fundraiser for

Temple Youth Programs

Thisyear’sSpringOhiganServicewillbeheldonSunday,March21stat10:00am.Higanisrecognizedtwiceayear on the equinox each spring andfall.ThesepartsoftheyeararesaidtohavethebestweatherandbethemostidealtimetostrengthenourBuddhistpractices.Thespeakersforthisyear’sSpringOhiganServicewillbeRinbanNoriakiItoinEnglishandRev.NobukoMiyoshiinJapanese.Pleasejoinusforthis special service. We hope to seeyouthere!

On Sunday, April 25th at 1:00pmwewillhaveourSpringSeminarwithguest speaker Rev. William BrionesfromLosAngelesHompaHongwanjiBuddhistTemple.Pleasekeepaneyeout for further information regardinghislecture.

It’s time again for Hanamatsuri,oneof themostenjoyableholidaysoftheyear.Ourtemple’sHanamatsuriincelebrationoftheBuddha’sbirthdaywilltakeplaceaweekaftertheFederationeventonSunday,April18beginningat10:00am.Again,thisyearwewillbehonoring the Buddha’s Birthday withaspecialChildren’sServiceconductedbyourDharmaSchool,SanghaTeens,andJr.YBA.TheChildren’sServiceispartofanefforttoteachandreinforcethe various procedures and significance ofvariousaspectsof thealtaraswellashowtorunaservice. Theyareex-citedtosharethisdaywithourSanghaandSenseisfromwhomtheylearnsomuch. Together,wewill all celebratetheBuddha’sbirthwithsweetteaoffer-ings and reflections on the occasion of Hanamatsuribythechildren.

Again this year, flowers to decorate ourbeautifulHanamidowillbedonatedby temple affiliated flower distributors andwillbedecoratedbymembersofourownBombuTaikogroup.

We encourage you to join us forthis festive occasion to celebrate theBuddha’sbirthday.

OnMonday,April19th,wewillalsobeholdingaHanamatsuriService forourLumbiniChildDevelopmentCenter.The children will give sweet tea andflower offerings and learn about this importantholiday.

DharmaSchoolattendedtheNewYearluncheoninfullforceandtookagrouppicturefortheMembershipDirec-tory.Theyenjoyedhangingouttogetherand watching the fun entertainmentduringtheluncheon.Atthebeginningof February, they made valentine flow-ersandheartswithlollipopstogivetofriendsandfamily.Laterinthemonth,theyworkedon theirartwork for theLABCF Hanamatsuri Art Contest.Their entries were each very creativeintegrating different types of mediasuch as paint, crayons and markers,tissuepaper,andglitter.Alloftheirartdisplayed this year’s theme “Spring”verycandidly.

OnSunday,April18th,wewillbehaving our Hanamatsuri Family Ser-vice/Children’sServiceatthetemple.Likelastyear,wewillbeworkingwiththeSanghaTeensandJr.YBAtoconducttheserviceincelebrationoftheBuddha’sbirthday.Rev.Miyoshiisleadingusinlearningthedifferentaspectsofthealtarandhowtoconductaservice.WewillbelearningthestoryoftheBuddha’sbirthandsharingthatwithourSanghaduringthisspecialservice.Ifyourchildrenareinterestedinparticipating,pleaseattendour services between now and then,becausewewillbespendingtimeeachweekpreparingforHanamatsuri!Wehopethatyouallcanattend!

Ifyouwouldliketogetaheadstartlearning the dances for Obon 2010and/orifyouarelookingforawaytogetsomeaerobicexercise,pleasejoinusfor our first session on Sunday, April 18tharound12:30pmaftertheserviceinthesocialhall.Wewillpracticesomeoldfavorites and some new dances. SOLET’SDANCE!

2010TempleMemberswill receive thefollowing benefits upon request fromthe office•10%offcoupons -Fugetsu-Do -Mikawaya -SKUyeda -ToyoMiyatake

Membershipdues for2010are$230.00forcouple/familyand$115.00forsinglemembers.Wewillnolongerbesendingoutmembershipcards.Pleasekeepyourreceiptasproofofmembership.Thankyouforyourcontinuedsupport.

MEMBERSHIP Update

Page 3The Way

Congratulations to our newly installed

2010 Higashi Honganji Board of Directors

(DINOSAURS, con’t. from page 1)saurswasover.Thatmeteorpavedthewayfortheriseofthemammals,and,eventually,ofus.

So,whathavewedonewithourtimehere?Truthbetold,we’veonlybeenadominant species for the last 10,000years,whenwebegantofarm,andtoraiselivestock,andtoactuallyalterourenvironment.About7500yearsintothatspan,Buddhabecameenlightened.Heandtheteacherswhofollowedhimheldout to us the possibility that we, too,couldbecomeenlightened.FromBud-dhatoShinranShonintothoseherewithustoday,themessageofenlightenmentcontinues.Andtheconnectionbetweenlightandlifehascontinuedaswell,eventooursloganforShinranShonin’s750thmemorial:Now,Lifeislivingyou.

Attheretreat,thespeakeraddressedthedistinctionbetweenimmeasurablelightandimmeasurableLife(notethecapital ‘L’). Immeasurable light, hesaid,iswisdom,andwiththatwisdomcomes our potential to understand.ImmeasurableLife,ontheotherhand,isalloflife,whichisreferredtointheNembutsu.BishopImai translates theNembutsuthisway:“IentrustmyselftotheawakeningoftheimmeasurableLife.”Asapartofthatvast,unbrokenstringthatisalloflife,wecanseekthat

wisdom,thatlight,andwecanchoosetospendourtimethere,orwecanchoosetostruggleinthedarkness.

Recently,KristaTippet,onherNPRradioshow“SpeakingofFaith,”hadaconversationwithFrenchscientistandBuddhistphilosopherMatthieuRicard.(Ricard,bytheway,hasbeenreferredtobysomeasthehappiestmanonEarth.Hesaysthathappinessisfoundthroughpractice.Ifonepracticesthepiano,onebecomesbetteratplayingthepiano.Ifonepracticesbeinghappy,onebecomesbetteratbeinghappy.)

Intalkingaboutlight,orenlighten-ment,Ricardreferredtothe“luminousaspectofmind.”It’snotthatthemindshinesalightintothedarkness,hesaid,but that the mind is enlightened, orawakened,bythepresenceofthelight,which allows the mind to see clearly.Ricardwentontosaythatlightinitselfdoesn’t change what we see, it onlyallows us to see more clearly. If lightshinesongarbage,wecanseethatit’sgarbage.Iflightshinesonadiamond,we can see that it’s a diamond. Thisistheessenceofenlightenment:toseethingsastheyare.

So,thelightshinesonourhumangarbage:onwar,impoverishment,andour own impatience with our fellow

man.Butitalsoshinesonourdiamonds:ourcompassion,ourgenerosity,ourac-ceptanceofeachother.Willweseethesethingsastheyare?Willweseethat,asa species, we have the power in ourdarkestmomentstowreakmorehavocuponourplanetthanthatmeteordid?Andifwedidunleashsuchacataclysmicdisaster,wouldourdemisethenallowsomeotherformoflife—thecockroach,perhaps—tobecomedominant,astheextinctionofthedinosaursallowedustorise?

The darkness that enveloped thedinosaurs was in no way caused bythem.Themeteorthatwipedthemoutwas, finally, a disaster too big for them to overcome. But the darkness at theedgesofourcollectiveconsciousnessissimplytheabsenceofthelight.Whenweareenlightened,whenweseeclearly,wecandistinguishthediamondsfromthegarbage.

Asweapproachthe750thanniver-saryofShinranShonin’smemorial,let’scontinuetosee,andtoreactto,whatthelight shows us. Because not even thedinosaurscouldsurvivethedarkness.

Ourdeepestcondolencestothefamilyandrelativesof…

Mrs. Masako Mizunoue (86)February 11, 2010

Namu Amida Butsu

SubmissionsforThe Wayareduethe15thofeachmonthforthefollowingmonth’sissue.Articlesandannounce-mentsforourMayIssuearedueApril15th,2010.Submissionsmaybesub-ject toprintingrestrictionsandstaffapproval. Thank you and we lookforwardtohearingfromyou!

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LABCC Summer CampLUMBINI CORNER

visit our website atwww.hhbt-la.org

Thisspring,theFujimaKanseiOdoriKaiwillbeputtingonaperformanceagainfortheCherryBlossomFestivalofSouthernCaliforniainLittleTokyo.ThefestivalwillbeheldtheweekendofApril10thand11thandthegirlswillbe performing on Sunday, April 11th.Thisyear’sperformancewillshowcasetheseasonsinaseriesofmoremoderndances.Forthisperformance,wewillbebringingoutmanyofouryoungestdancers.Overtwentydancerswillbeperformingforthisoccasion.

Also in April, many of the girlswill be performing at the MontereyParkCherryBlossomFestivalheldonApril17thand18th.FujimaKanseiOdoriKai will be performing on Saturday,April18th.SomeofourdancerswillbeperformingattheWestCovinaCherryBlossomFestivalonApril24th.

For the first time, we will be per-formingattheSokaUniversity’sInterna-tionalFestivalinAlisoViejoonSaturday,May1st.Forthisperformance,thegirlswillbedoingaseriesofdancesaroundthethemeofcherryblossoms.

Wehopetoseeyouatourspringperformances!

Fujima Kansei Odori Kai

LumbinicelebratedValentine’sDayin February with parties and lots ofsweetsandgoodiestosharewiththeirfriends.InMarch,wewillcelebrateandlearnaboutGirlsDay,orHinamatsuri.We’rehopingtomakepinkmochiagaintocelebrate. SpringtimeisalsowhenwelearnaboutHanamatsuri.OnApril19th, the ministers from upstairs willhaveaspecialservicewithusinhonoroftheBuddha’sbirthday.We’llallhaveachancetolearnaboutthisimportantBuddhistholidayandoffersweetteaandflowers to the Buddha’s statue.

Ifyouareinterestedinenrollingachildbetweentheagesof2½to6yearsof age in Lumbini’s program, pleasecontact the Lumbini office at 213-680-2976orlooktothetemplewebsiteforabrochure.

Archery,naturewalks,swimming,artsandcrafts,canoeing,hiking,over-nights,outdoorcookouts…don’tyouwish we could enjoy all of these funactivitiesatthetemple??Mostofuscan’tdothisonaregularbasisormaybeevenatall,butattheLosAngelesBuddhistCoordinating Council (LABCC) Sum-merCamp,wespendawholeweekinAugustdevotedtolearningaboutBud-dhisminthebeautifulSanBernardinoMountains and participating in all ofthesefunactivities!Ifyouhaveorknowofchildrenbetweentheagesof8through13,pleasespreadthewordaboutLABCCSummerCamp. Ifyouare interestedin learning more, please email labcc.outreach@gmail.comandwecansendyoubrochuresandother information.Wecanalsoansweranyquestionsyoumayhave,tellyoumoreaboutcamp,andprovideyouwithinformationonhowtosignup.Spaceislimitedandthespaceswill fill up, so make sure you register early!

Already,Hanamatsuri,thecelebra-tionof theBuddha’sbirthday isrightaround the corner. This year’s LosAngeles Buddhist Church FederationHanamatsuriwillbeheldonSunday,April11 from1:00pmat the Jodoshutemple right across from our HigashiHonganji. The theme of this year’scelebrationisBuddhismandCompas-sion.

Thecelebrationwillbeginat1:00pmwithaspecialperformancebyKinnaraGagaku of Senshin Buddhist Temple.ThevisuallystunningBugaku,theclas-sical dance that accompanies Gagakumusicwillbethefeaturedpartofthisyear’sperformance.

TheHanamatsuriServiceconductedby over ten priests of the federationtemples will begin at 1:20 pm. ThetraditionalchantingofthepriestswillbeenhancedbythemusicofGagaku.An awards presentation for the win-nersof thisyear’sChildren’sArtandPhotography contests will take place

immediatelyaftertheservice.This year’s highlight will be the

commemorative lectureonBuddhismandCompassiondeliveredbyDr.GlennWebb,ProfessorEmeritusofPepperdineUniversity and one of our country’sleadingBuddhistscholars.

In addition to the celebration onApril11,theannualHanamatsuriGolfTournament will be held on Friday,March26atCaliforniaCountryClub.ThefundsraisedatthiseventwillgotowardsmaintainingtheannualLABCCBuddhistSummerCampprogram.

The Hanamatsuri Children’s ArtandPhotoexhibitionwillbeondisplayat the Jodoshu North America Bud-dhist Missions fromApril 11 throughApril19.

LABCF Hanamatsuri Celebration

アメリカ合衆国の憲法では、１０年ごとに人口を数えることが定められています。この調査が来たる2010年4月1日におこなわれます。アメリカ国内に住んでいる人皆が国勢調査に参加しなければなりません。

あなたの国勢調査、あなたの未来。

TheConstitutionoftheUnitedStatesmandatesthatacountofthepopulationbeconductedeverytenyears.OurnextCensusisscheduledfor April 1, 2010. Everyone wholivesintheUnitedStatesneedstoparticipateintheCensus.

Becountedinthe2010Census.Thefutureisinourhands!