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Children’s Dharma Talk: Magic Words
Once upon a time, there was a little boy and a little girl who lived in a magical place called Maui, a beautiful island in the middle of the big blue sea. Maui was filled with kind and gentle people who always said “aloha” with a big smile and gave friendly hugs. One day, the…
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It’s not about ME
When a person realizes the mind of non-discrimination, That attainment is the “state of regarding each being as one’s only child” This is none other than Buddha-Nature; We will awaken to it on reaching the land of peace. Shinran Shōnin Hymns of the Pure Land, Verse 97 The…
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Living in a “Burning House”
The call came at 3:00 a.m. in the morning, as such calls always do. “We just received an Emergency Alert, ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii…” Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt. Anger. Complacency. Will our only son and family, our precious granddaughter, be alright? This can’t be real, can it? This has to be a mistake. Someone…
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Absolute Dependence
Buddhism teaches that our life is absolutely dependent upon the caring and understanding of other people, that human life is fundamentally not possible without other people laboring unseen on our behalf and unsustainable without animals and plants giving up their life energy so that we may live. Without the blessings of the `aina (Mother Earth,…
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The Answer is Always Namo Amida Butsu
(Photo Credit: Bob Murphy, our Dive Instructor in Koh Tao, Thailand) Aloha from Kyoto! Mimy and I arrived safely in Japan on March 2nd jet-lagged and tired from three weeks of packing up our ‘stuff’ and moving it into storage. Moving for the fifth time in six years, we realized that ‘attachment’ to ‘things’ is…
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Shinran’s Awakening: Imperfect Self is Perfect
Shinran, the founder of Jodo Shinshu in 12th century Japan, discovered True and Real Life when he was 29 years old, after extremely rigorous monastic religious practice for 20 years only to discover his ego-selfishness was too tough to break. Shinran despairs but is guided to his great teacher Hōnen, and then he heard the…
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SHINJIN IS A VERB, NOT A NOUN: Arigatai, Mottainai, Namo Amida Butsu
Today, I would like to talk about … the “F” word. No, not that “F” word! I would like to talk about “Faith” — which is one of the ways the expression “Shinjin” is translated into English. “Shinjin” is the key doctrinal tenant of Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, the core of Shinran’s thinking, and often described…
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Nembutsu ga deru ka ne?
All Buddhists seek Enlightenment—awakening to the Truth, seeing Life as-it-is, not as-we-want-it-to-be. Unnecessary suffering in life is caused by the gap between reality—Life as-it-is—and perception—the self-centered delusion that Life should be as-we-want-it-to-be. When Life doesn’t unfold the way we want it to, we get angry, blame others for our disappointment, or whine about it on…
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Everything I Needed to Know about Buddhism, I Learned in Dharma School
I just love the song, “Buddha Loves You”…it’s supposed to be a children’s song but it makes Buddhism so easy to understand for anyone! Fly, fly, little bird, Buddha loves you little bird, Tweet, Tweet, Tweet-tweet-tweet-tweet tweet! Run, run, little pup, Buddha loves you little pup, Bow-wow, wow-wow-wow-wow wow! Don’t cry pussy cat, Buddha loves…
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ASPIRATION FOR THE NEW YEAR
I will try to be grateful for this moment, aspiring to see the world as-it-is, not as-I-want-it-to-be, so that I may alleviate suffering for all beings. I will try to be wise so that I can see both sides of conflict wth clarity, and not insist that I alone am right. I will try to…
JUST SAY MAHALO® 