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The Masks We Wear: Halloween 2021
(Minister Message, Makawao Hongwanji Buddhist Temple Newsletter, October 2021) Twelve months have passed since the Makawao Buddhist Temple hosted its first (and supposed to be only) “in-person distanced trick-or-treat” Halloween Fun Day in October 2020. This was first time in months we were able to welcome back on temple grounds our precious keiki, Dharma School…
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Living the Life of Ingratitude
Living the Life of Ingratitude Lacking even small love and small compassion, I cannot hope to benefit sentient beings. Were it not for the ship of Amida’s Vow, How could I cross the ocean of painful existence? —Shinran Shōnin, Gutoku’s Hymns of Lament and Reflection, CWS I, page In today’s Dharma Story Time, the wonderful…
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Mahalo, Butterfly!
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“LOCK HIM UP!”
A reflection on my personal reactions to the horrific insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and how as Shin Buddhists, we can try to respond to the relentless images of violence and destruction. From a Buddhist perspective, there are no “winners” or “losers”, no “good” or “evil”, no “right” and “wrong”, just us, ordinary human beings…
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“A Great Torch in the Dark Night of Ignorance”
Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii Online Dharma Message on November 1, 2020: “A Great Torch in the Dark Night of Ignorance”. Grateful for the opportunity to give an Online Dharma Message today—because it means I woke up not dead! In reflection, everything in my life has led me to this moment, every person I encountered…
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It’s not about ME
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Lessons from the Chalkboard: Active Listening, Truly Hearing
The Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha way of “preparing the heart-mind to actively listen and truly hear” the Dharma also applies to actively listening to and truly hearing people in daily life. “On this remarkable and unrepeatable occasion, 1. Listen as if what this person is saying is the FIRST TIME, 2. Listen as if what this…
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Cherry Blossoms
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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…
JUST SAY MAHALO® 