2007 September Bulletin - West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple

WEST LOS ANGELES BUDDHIST TEMPLE BULLETIN
2003 Corinth Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90025
(310) 477-7274 Fax (310) 477-6674
E-mail: westlabt@verizon.net
Web Site: www.wlabt.org
Vol. 50, No. 9 September 2007
REV. USUKI’S PAGE
Awakening to Your True Self
The lotus flowers in the lakes, large as chariot wheels, are blue-colored
with blue splendor, yellow-colored with yellow splendor, red-colored
with red splendor, white colored with white splendor, and they are most
exquisite and purely fragrant.
The Smaller Sutra on Amitayus
There are many Buddhist
icons and symbols that
express the very nature of
human existence but none
is more important or wellrecognized
than the lotus
flower. Over a long history,
the lotus has come to
represent the very nature of the human
passions that bind us to this world, yet its
flower is also symbolic of the human potential
for awakening, leading not only to personal
peace but also to universal peace.
Rooted in muddy waters, the existence of the
lotus mirrors the impurities inherent in both
individuals and society, but the simple beauty
of its flower reveals that each of us, too, is
capable of displaying the splendor of a wise and
compassionate nature that glorifies an interdependent
world. The key to this is through
realization of the true self and awakening to the
compassion of the Buddha who accepts all of us
just as we are―sono mama.
It is unrealistic to think that any one person
can be counted on to save the world and bring
global peace through ideology and hope alone.
This is to imagine that one being cannot only
rise above human frailties, but also cause all
other people to do the same. However, rather
than being pessimistic in the face of this reality,
we can look at our true potential and see what
can be done. The arena in which we can contribute
is within our own hearts and minds, as
long as we can see them as they truly are. It is
vain to believe that we can have only good
thoughts when our daily lives are filled with
contradictions of desire, anger, hatred, and
opinions about even the smallest things.
Most of us aspire for beautiful thoughts and to
do wise and noble deeds, but when our true
nature emerges, we don’t always like what we
see and it is easy to give up not only on
ourselves, but on others. So how can we benefit
others if we do not even like ourselves at times?
The task is impossible as long as we do not
respect ourselves and have compassion for who
we truly are, as we are.
The opening passage above is taken from the
Amida-kyo, in which the Buddha describes the
Pure Land to be the most beautiful of Buddhalands
and a place to which we would want to go
as a reward of our enlightenment. There are
four colors of the lotus flowers there, blue,
yellow, red, and white. In the Larger Sutra
(Muryoju-kyo), it is said that:
[E]ach lotus flower has a hundred thousand
kotis of petals with lights of numerous colors
... The brilliance of these lights is so
magnificent that it outshines the sun and the
moon. Each flower emits thirty-six hundred
thousand kotis of rays of light, each sending
forth thirty-six hundred thousand kotis of
Buddhas.
Each flower, just as it is―sono mama, is unique
in appearance, fragrance and beauty. Each of
these flowers is distinctively different, just as
(cont’d on page 2)

West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple September 2007
each of us is uniquely different. “Sono mama” is
being mindful of and grateful for the special
qualities of each individual. However,
understanding sono mama also allows us to be
aware and accepting of the personal bonno and
defilements that each person possesses as well.
In having compassion for ourselves, just as we
are, it helps us to generate compassion for
others, and from this compassion, wisdom
grows.
Recognizing this uniqueness, not only in
personalities and characters but also in the
various ways people suffer with their individual
frustrations and anxieties, is what sono mama
addresses. So, in this sense, the root of all
misunderstanding and frustration in life comes
from our inability to accept ourselves as we
really are, as well as others as they really are.
Therefore, when it is said that the green flowers
radiate green light or the yellow flowers radiate
yellow light, it means that we cannot be
anything but ourselves and to try to be
something else is a hypocrisy that will
eventually cause further frustration and
disharmony. To understand and accept
ourselves as such is to see blue as blue and
yellow as yellow. This is the beginning of
enlightenment and compassionate engagement
with others.
When Sakyamuni Buddha spoke of suffering, he
meant that the way we viewed everything
caused our suffering and frustration. It is due to
our ego and self-centeredness that our way of
perceiving the world is limited so we do not see
things as they truly are.
As long as we project our ego onto others, our
vision will be monochrome and unsatisfactory.
Instead, we could learn to enjoy life as it is, and
appreciate this wonderful world in which every
person radiates a unique light to illuminate and
enhance all others. This is the true world of
Amida Buddha, where everyone is different,
everyone is special and important, just as they
are.
SHINSHU CORNER
Quotation from December Fan by Manshi Kiyozawa
Religion is not a path to follow to become a good
person in this world. It is a path reaching
beyond man. To proceed along the path one
must become independent of worldly things.
Those who have actually traveled along the path
of religion would never say that we can attain
religious conviction while being dependent on
this world. To say so is a gross contradiction.
Hence, I recommend that anyone who is sincere
about religious conviction should completely
detach himself from all forms of dependence
and reliance on self-efforts.
Genshin Sozu (942-1017), a Pure Land monk,
said:
Detest and desert the Defiled Land. Joyfully
seek birth in the Pure Land.
(Ojoyoshu)
Rennyo Shonin (1414-1499), a Shinshu monk,
said:
Cast away self-efforts, which lie behind
every religious practice and discipline.
Single-mindedly implore, “Oh, Buddha
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Amitabha (Infinite Light). Please help us
attain birth in the Pure Land―this is such
an urgent matter in our lives!” (Ryogemon)
These passages reflect a depth of religious conviction
which can only be arrived at through a
life of experiment and testing. I am most
grateful for the world of these two writers.
A loyal retainer does not serve two lords, or a
faithful wife two husbands. A person chasing
two rabbits will not catch either one. A person
who, having become dissatisfied with this, seeks
to attain religious conviction, should devote
himself exclusively to religion. He should do so
to the point of total indifference to all things. It
may be different at an advanced stage, but
when starting out, one who attempts to serve
both the world of man and the world of Tathagatha
(One Who Embodies Truth) is like a disloyal
retainer, he will never gain the peace of
religious life.
(To be continued)
End of Rev. Usuki’s Page

West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple September 2007
Jeff Wilson
Ever since the baby was
born, it has been hard for
me to get much work done
or go out and do things I
used to do. Kristen is at
work all day so I’m at home
taking care of him until
about 5:30 pm. Among the
things that I used to do that are now very
difficult is attending the Thursday study class
at the temple. But this past week I thought that
Tai might be ready, so I fed him, put together a
bag of diapers and other baby stuff, and we
went to the temple.
I’m happy to report that he did just fine, and
everybody seemed to enjoy seeing a youngster at
the meeting. Often, I’m the youngest person at
these events, but with the baby in tow I’ve lost
my special status!
At the study class, a very important, puzzling
issue was raised. This often happens: some
people really come prepared to air their most
knotty confusion in the hopes that Rev. Usuki
and the others will be able to clarify matters.
Sometimes we do manage to answer such questions,
and sometimes we don’t. But either way I
really admire how nothing is off limits in Rev.
Usuki’s study class and he doesn’t pretend to
always have every answer. I think this kind of
openness and honesty is very important in
Buddhism.
The question this time struck right at the heart
of Buddhist thought: if there is “no self,” then
what does reincarnation or rebirth mean? How
can you be reborn if there’s no “you” to begin
with?
This is a paradox that all schools of Buddhism
have struggled with. In fact, because there are
many forms of Buddhism, this question has
been answered in many different ways. I want to
provide my own approach to the subject. I don’t
pretend it is the “right” one—it is just another
attempt by yet another Buddhist to deal with
this issue.
As I understand it, there is a crucial core to
Buddhist thought, and then there are many
other beliefs and attitudes that act as support
or ways of teaching that are not as fundamentally
important. Sometimes these two things
conflict with each other. If you are unable to
resolve these conflicts, you should hold to what
is central and discard or at least leave alone
what is less important.
Beliefs about reincarnation, talking snakes
(nagas), Mt. Sumeru, and other things were
common in India before and during the Buddha’s
lifetime, and there is nothing particularly
Buddhist about them. They are just part of the
shared religious atmosphere of India. But the
Buddha did pronounce four marks of existence
that are utterly unique to Buddhism and that
he considered to be the most important aspects
of his Dharma. These unique Buddhist contributions
to human religion are 1) there is a degree
of suffering in all unawakened human
experiences, 2) there is no unchanging self or
soul, 3) there is nothing truly permanent anywhere
in the universe, and 4) there is peace and
liberation obtainable through awakening
(known as “nirvana” or “the Pure Land”). All
forms of Buddhism, no matter what else they
disagree on, hold true to these four teachings.
When we talk about no-self, it means that there
isn’t some sort of eternal spirit hiding somewhere
deep inside the body or mind and that
constitutes our “true” identity. Instead, we exist
as collections of different parts (bones, brains,
blood, etc), mental states (thoughtful, sleepy,
hungry, etc), and relationships (son, father,
brother, husband, etc). These parts are changing
all the time, and as they change, we change.
We never stay the same, even from one moment
to the next. But we tend to cling to ideas about
ourselves (and others) and are slow to change,
and so we suffer. This is certainly true in my
own life. The Buddha was 100% right.
Reincarnation, to me, is one of the secondary or
provisional aspects in Buddhism. We can see
this in part because while all schools of Buddhism
agree on no-self, they disagree about reincarnation:
there are many rather different
interpretations of this idea. Many Tibetans talk
about a subtle level of the consciousness as
being reincarnated, for example, while many
Thai talk about karma as what is reborn.
Because there is no agreement, I tend to put
this question aside as secondary. There is a
famous recorded dialogue of the Buddha, where
someone asked him if anything survives after
death, and the Buddha said that this is not an
important question: what is important, he said,
was to understand the way of freedom from
suffering. Clearly, no-self was far more important
to the Buddha than reincarnation.
(Cont’d on page 4)
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West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple September 2007
Some scholars say that no-self and reincarnation
don’t really fit together, and that the Buddha
probably only talked about reincarnation
because his Indian audience couldn’t understand
religion if he left it completely out. That
may be true, but I don’t think we can ever be
sure either way. Whether or not the Buddha
really cared about rebirth, it is a fact that all
forms of Buddhism that have survived until today
do carry beliefs about it in one way or
another.
For myself, rebirth is not an important issue. I
may have lived many lifetimes before this one,
but I don’t have any way of knowing for sure.
What I do understand is that I am embraced by
Amida, so I don’t have to worry about anything
bad happening to me after I die. So future reincarnation
isn’t an issue for me either. With the
past and the future taken care of as issues for
me, I am enabled to focus on this present lifetime
and apply the Dharma to what I can see
and understand: the here and now. In the here
and now, there is no permanent “Jeff” that
never changes. Instead, this Jeff is always dying
(changing from what I was) and being reborn
(becoming something new) moment to moment.
In the present life, no-self and rebirth are completely
intertwined. It is because there is no self
that I am reborn every day. If there were some
fossilized, permanent Jeff-self, then I would
never change and never be able to adapt to life
as it comes. If there were no rebirth, I’d be stuck
forever as a baby or a surly teenager or a guy
who hadn’t learned about Buddhism yet. So
when I reflect on these things in this way, noself
and rebirth stop being confusing ideas
about metaphysics and the afterlife, and instead
become sources of gratitude for me.
I don’t think I’ve settled the issue of no-self vs.
reincarnation in this short essay. Ultimately,
each person has to come to a balanced understanding
of their own. But in sharing a little of
how I, as one Shinshu follower, have approached
these issues, I hope I can point out
how others might also fruitfully deal with them.
I am not sad that I have no permanent soul,
that everything changes, and that I’m always
being recreated day by day. It is these facts that
offer me some hope of living the way of nembutsu.
Often I am overwhelmed by all the stress
and responsibility in my life. But I am not permanently
stressed or overwhelmed. Just as often,
a sudden moment comes when I wake up to
all the forces that are supporting me in every
situation, and I am reborn as a thankful person
who can’t help saying “Namu Amida Butsu!”
And then I am grateful that I am able to change
from my self-obsession toward a more Buddhist
attitude. So, in this way, rebirth is important to
me after all. Whenever we turn away from selfcenteredness
we are born once again in the
Pure Land.
Namu Amida Butsu.
FAREWELL TO JEFF WILSON
We regret to report that it became necessary for
Jeff Wilson, frequent contributor to our Bulletin,
to leave us. He is going to fill a teaching position
at a university located in Eastern Canada. We
will sorely miss him and his family, Kristen and
baby Tai.
Jeff graduated from University of North Carolina
this past May with a Ph.D. in Religious Studies.
His dissertation examined how American
Buddhists and non-Buddhists have adapted
Japanese Buddhist pregnancy loss rituals to fit
the needs of North Americans. In addition to all
the research he did in the Unites States, he
spent three months doing fieldwork in Japan,
living at the Hongwanji International Center in
Kyoto (located at Nishi Hongwanji, our mother
temple).
By the time you read this, Jeff will have moved
to Waterloo, Ontario, where he will be teaching
at Renison College, a part of the University of
Waterloo. He will be teaching Buddhism,
Japanese religion, and related subjects in
Religious Studies. One plan he has is to develop
an undergraduate course on Pure Land
Buddhism, which would be the first such
course taught in the West.
Although he will be cutting ties with WLABT,
the Toronto Buddhist Church, where Rev. Patti
grew up, is only about an hour away from
Waterloo, so he hopes to go to services there
several times a month.
We wish him and his family the best in their
new and exciting phase of Life, and hope that
they will come back to visit us often.
(Cont’d on page 5)
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West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple September 2007
FAREWELL TO JEFF WILSON (cont’d)
At the last after-service study class before their
moving day, everyone enjoyed coffee and cake
with the Wilson’s pictured below. Here, baby Tai,
young as he is, obviously knows already where
the good stuff is.
later. On Sunday, September 16, we will have
our annual Fall Ohigan service starting at 10:00
a.m. with Rev. Kawawata as the guest speaker
in both languages.
On Saturday, September 29, Buddhist Temple
of San Diego and Vista Buddhist Temple are
jointly hosting the Annual Southern District
Family and Buddhist Women’s Association
Conference. To help cover the costs of the
conference, and thereby keep your registration
fees down, San Diego is conducting a raffle. So
please make sure you buy or sell as many
tickets as you can and turn in the stubs to the
Temple by September 13. If you would like some
raffle tickets, please contact me.
Note that the first Monday is Labor Day so our
monthly Temple Board meeting will be held on
Tuesday, September 4, starting at 7:30 p.m.
You can call me at (818) 831-4922, or email me
at wlabtpres.vance@verizon.net.
In gassho,
Vance Nishimoto
WLABT President
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Whew! At the time I wrote this
message, it was only a couple of
days after the Obon cleanup. I
know that those of you who
helped with this year’s festival
are at least as tired as I am, if
not more. I want to thank all
the Temple members, organizations, and
volunteers who helped make our Obon a
success. If you have any suggestions or ideas
that will help make next year’s Obon better,
please let Tosh Ishioka (Obon Chairperson),
Rev. Usuki, or myself know about it.
Now, this is the September issue of the Bulletin,
so guess what? It’s Back to School! Dharma
School starts on September 9. If you would like
to enroll your child in Dharma School, please
contact Grace Mizushima (Dharma School
Superintendent), Rev. Usuki, or myself.
On Saturday, September 15, we will be hosting
the WLABT Fall Ohigan Seminar starting at
9:30 a.m. Rev. Kenjun Kawawata of the West
Covina Buddhist Temple is the Japanese
speaker. The English speaker will be announced
REMINDER
Study classes resume again in September,
starting:
Thursday Class: September 6, 1:00 p.m.
Sunday: September 9, after service
Held in the meeting room behind the hondo.
Come ask questions and discover the basics
of what our religion is really about. It may
not be what you think.
80 PLUS YARD SALE Masako Ishioka
The annual yard sale for the 80-Plus Lunch
Program was a huge success. Many thanks to
the men and women who helped to pick up the
donated items, set up the tables and racks, and
helped with the sale and clean-up afterwards.
Your hard work is greatly appreciated.
The yard sale would not be possible without the
generous donations from members and friends.
Please keep us in mind for the next yard sale.
We thank you again for your wonderful support.
Yard Sale Committee
(Yard Sale snapshots follow on the next page.)
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West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple September 2007
YARD SALE SNAPSHOTS
- Photos by ?????
6

West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple September 2007
OBON 2007
Tosh (right) to Co-Chairman Glenn
Bungo: “This is all running just as
smooth as glass!”
- Photo by Peter Babida
Tosh Ishioka
2007 Obon Chairman
Obon 2007 was
a SUCCESSFUL
event, thanks to
the support from
the community,
other Buddhist
Temples and
WLA Temple
members and
their friends and
family. We thank all the banks and businesses
for their generous contributions to the raffle. A
special “Thank you” to Boy Scout Troop #39 for
its help with booth construction as a community
service project.
The organizations did an OUTSTANDING job
providing delicious food and fun games for all
ages. We had two new food booths, Okinawa
Dango and Chicken Salad/Spring Rolls, which
were very popular.
The beautiful flower arrangements and
wonderful bonsai plants are always a wonderful
addition to the Obon Festival. Thanks to Grace
Mizushima and her dance teachers, we were
able to enjoy and participate in the Obon dances.
Thanks also to the taiko groups for their
energetic performances.
Last but not least, a BIG THANK YOU to the
Obon Committee members who, year after year,
take care of all the necessary arrangements for
the event.
OBON RAFFLE DONORS
Co-Chairs Roy Higa and Victor Naramura
The Obon Raffle booth greatly appreciated the
following businesses and merchants for their
generous donations:
Aki Restaurant
California Bank & Trust
George's Hardware and Garden Supplies Inc.
Hide Sushi
Jo-Mi Plumbing and Solar Inc.
Kubota Nikkei Mortuary
Mike's Flatbed Service
Minato Insurance Agency
Morinaga Nutritional Food Inc.
Pacific Commerce Bank
Patch of Green
Safe and Save Market
Sakura Restaurant
Sawtelle Kitchen
Sawtelle Tempura House
Tabuchi Nursery
Taka Hair Salon
Union Bank of California
Victor with daughter Kristine: “Heh, heh. So you think you’re going
to win the first prize?” (No photo available of Co-Chair Roy Higa.)
- Photo by Peter Babida
OBON DRAWING TOP PRIZE WINNERS
1 st prize - $1,000 SUE UEMATSU
2 nd prize - $ 500 AGNES HIRAI
3 rd prize - $ 300 ALAN YEE
WLABT BON ODORI TEACHERS
Right: Head instructor Grace
Mizushima, Superintendent
of WLABT Dharma School.
Below: Odori Teachers from
left to right: Grace Mizushima,
Emily Hoy, Crystal
Fujimoto, Katie Hoy, Stanley
Raposa, Laraine Miyata,
Rick Stambul (the tall one in
the back), Atsie Murayama
(in front), Grace Fujimoto,
Diane Ohkawahira, Denice
Hoy, Rev. Fumiaki Usuki.
- Photos by Peter Babida
MISSING: Haru Matsumune, Kylie Mizushima, Kiku Nakaba,
Nathan Ohkawahira, Yuki Sakurai, Beverly Yahata, Kaylie
Nishimoto.
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West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple September 2007
2007 OBON SNAPSHOTS
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West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple September 2007
BUDDHIST MEN RESCUE LONG UDON
TRADITION
Rick Stambul
The making and sale of udon at our annual
Obon Festival has been a tradition at WLA
Temple for decades if not for its entire 50-year
history. To quote from an Udon Booth work
schedule sent to all Buddhist Men for the Obon
Festival, Sei Shohara eloquently wrote:
“Sam Hada, with his personal magic recipe
for udon, earned WLA the reputation for
having the best udon in Southern California.
Sadly, this year Sam informed our President
that he could no longer continue heading the
booth and asked to be relieved of this
responsibility. President Mas Sasaki tried in
vain to get someone else to take over, and for
a while, it looked like we would have to
cancel the Udon Booth this year. However,
an Obon Festival without udon was
unthinkable, so Mas and Rick Stambul
decided to fill the gap this year. Thank you
Sam for many great years of the greatest
udon ever!”
We (Buddhist Men) now had a job that may
sound simple but became overwhelming to us
novice (read that as ignorant) cooks. We
couldn’t reproduce Sam’s recipe since no one
knew how to use bones that Sam used to collect
during the year to brew the soup (dashi) base,
and no one had the know-how to add a little salt
here, pour in some extra ajimirin there, throw in
an extra pinch of hondashi, add more kombu
(dried kelp) to the water, all to taste as the brew
cooked and simmered. We needed a simple
recipe. Finally, after much angst, we found a
recipe, and then we needed to locate the soup
stock for which it called. However, no store or
market seemed to carry the right soup stock.
We even called Yamasa Corporation to ask for
help in finding a market that carried it. Finally,
after visits to numerous markets around town,
we got lucky! Whew, we thought. However, we
weren’t even close to being done. How will it
taste? How large a piece of kombu does one add
to 11 gallons of soup stock? We were like the
child who has a feast of food placed in front of
her but doesn’t know what to do with it. After
much time and effort, we decided to have a taste
test.
Gathering ten members of BM together in our
Temple kitchen, we made up the dashi, added
udon noodles, onions, chashu (barbequed pork),
and tasted it all. To our pleasant surprise, it
was unanimously proclaimed “Delicious!” Of
9
course, it wasn’t as good as Sam’s historic soup,
but we weren’t trying to match a master udon
maker to begin with. Whew! Almost.
Our problems were only starting. How would the
soup taste if we made up more than 1000 portions
from a recipe for about 25 people? We
made the calculations necessary to convert the
quantities we’d need to feed an army of hungry
people. How many gallons of dashi would we
need to feed everyone? Moreover, converting
tablespoons to ounces to quarts was a bit
daunting for our expert chefs. We realized we
needed to make up more than 60 gallons of
soup stock. Nevertheless, Buddhist Men came
through victorious. After innumerable other
problems emanating out of our ignorance about
making soup (let alone delicious udon) we were
ready to go. Almost.
We realized just days before our Obon Festival
that the gas lines Sam had always used took
much too long to heat up the soup. We searched
the town for an alternative heat source to
quickly cook up an enormous quantity of stock.
No luck. Then, we went online and found
propane burners that were low enough to the
ground (12 inches) to allow us to lift heavy steel
11 gallon pots to be filled with soup stock, and
also gave us enough heat too for so much liquid.
And we only had two days to go to test it all out
before our big weekend. What if canned or
instant soup turned out to be better? Uggh.
It did work; we made the dashi. It was proclaimed
delicious, and all BM were able to take
a break from the anxiety that our udon might
have been a public bust. We also learned that
almost anything is possible if we all worked together
in a common cause, in this instance, to
save a wonderful tradition and by doing so, to
honor the years of effort by one of our most
respected members, Sam Hada. We therefore
dedicate our 2007 Obon Udon to Mr. Hada with
thanks for his inspiration and tireless efforts for
the betterment of our Sangha. Arigato!

WLA Buddhist Temple September 2007
TAIKO BUSTS OPEN FOR NEW MEMBERS!
Our Taiko Group performed brilliantly at our July Obon! The pictures below reveal the sheer joy our
members feel in playing together. Most of us began with little experience in playing taiko. However, with
the expert and dedicated guidance of our selfless taiko sensei, Elaine Fukumoto, Joyce Layne, and
Audrey Nakasone, the group exerted maximum effort to learn. We began to play taiko both for the fun
of it as well as to entertain our own temple at its annual Obon Festival. Put this effort together with
Rev. Usuki’s inspiring vision to form a taiko group to begin with, then teaching himself how to make
taiko, and finally, constructing dozens of taiko for our budding students to use, and we have the West
Los Angeles Buddhist Temple Taiko Group! This uplifting experience is waiting for anyone interested in
learning to play taiko just for the joy of it all. Join us!
ANNOUNCEMENT! We’d like you to join us in the fun whether you’re 5 years old or 95 years young. We
are pleased to announce that, for a limited time, there are openings for five new members. The only
requirements are (1) to be a member in good standing of West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple and (2) the
desire to learn how to play Taiko and to have a great time doing so. PLEASE contact the WLA Temple
Office now to sign up for one of these open spots. Don Don Don!
GARDEN CLEANUP FOR OBON
The garden in front of our Temple is a neighborhood
attraction, and we often receive compliments
from passers-by as well as friends.
This does not happen by accident. It takes the
continuous effort of our Gardening Committee,
headed by Tsukasa Mukai, to keep up its
appearance. They come out each quarter during
Garden Cleanup to spruce up the grounds. Then,
for Obon, they bring out the Bay Cities Gardeners
to help do a major once-over.
- Photos by Mas Sasaki Tsukasa Mukai, third from right, and crew in front of parsonage.
Gardeners dress up Temple garden in preparation for Obon
Rev. Usuki (standing right) thanks tired gardeners for a beautiful job.
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West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple September 2007
I BOW TO YOU, EXHIBIT OF BUDDHIST SCULPTURES
(Editor’s note: Pieces of the following are based on a brief
autobiography of Mr. Thomas Matsuda, the artist who
created the works displayed at WLABT in July.)
Mr. Matsuda, Connecticut-born sansei, began
his formal studies in art at the Pratt Institute.
His interests were abstract drawings, paintings,
and prints, influenced by Eastern philosophy.
Drawn by this spirit, he joined a group of
Japanese Buddhist monks on a Peace
pilgrimage, walking across America for six
months.
Mr. Matsuda then spent six months living in
Arizona with the Dine (Navajo). Greatly
influenced by their philosophy of living, he
decided to move to Japan and continued his
studies for twelve years.
The words of renowned sculptor and teacher for
two years, Koukei Eri, “one can sense in old
sculptures, a mysterious strength that has the
power to touch and penetrate our spirits,” put
Mr. Matsuda on the path of sculpting Buddhist
images.
He states, “As a modern artist, it is my
aspiration to evoke this spirit in my art. I am
bringing together a syntheses of my early art
created in New York and evolved in Japan.” He
states that he is focussing future works on
Buddhist sculptures for today’s Americans.
Photos by Mas Sasaki
BUDDING ARTISTS OF WLA
A “Creating Jizo in Clay” session was held one
afternoon. Three WLA members took advantage
of this opportunity and their creations after
just an hour of instruction and work are
pictured at the right. Who would have guessed
that any of the three had such talent. With a
couple of more sessions under Mr. Matsuda’s
direction, they could be having a showing of
their creations!
West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple gratefully
acknowledges those who helped during Mr.
Matsuda’s visit. The Buddhist Men provided
‘security’ and BWA served daily refreshments
and lunch for Mr. Matsuda and helpers. Thanks
also to all those who donated refreshments.
Sculptors of above creations L to R:
Masako Ishioka, Stanley Raposa, Sho Matsumi
11

SEPTEMBER SHOTSUKI HOYO SERVICE, 10 a.m., Saturday, September 8, 2007
Aita, Nobuko
Arita, Kaneto
Fukuhara, Ume
Fukumoto, Jimmy
Hada, Wasano
Ishii, Sadako
Ishioka, Masako
Iwasaki, Karl
Kamibayashi, Yoshiko
Kato, Kei
Kazumura, Shizue
Kazumura, Yoshio
Kojima, Hatsu
Kojima, Hisashi
Kondo, Frank
Koshiyama, Harry
Koshiyama, Hisano
Kurokawa, Fusae
Maeda, Yoneo
Mataga, Tameichi
Mayeda, Tsutaye
Mayetani, Sadaichi
Miyahara, Karo
Mochizuki, Shinsaku
12
Mori, Hachijiro
Murata, Takeo
Nagatome, Seikichi
Nakagawa, Michiko
Nakamura, Takano
Nakashima, Chima
Nicho, Ei
Ohnoki, Pat
Okubo, Nobuichi
Sakahara, Matsukichi
Sakurai, Matasaku
Sasaki, Takeo
Sasaki, Tatsuo
Shimomaye, Wataru
Shintaku, Sadako
Soda, Steven
Takemoto, Mamoru
Takenoshita, Shintaro
Tanaka, George
Totani, Wakano
Ueno, Shotaro
Yabuta, Robert
Yuzuki, Minoru

West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple September 2007
BWA NEWS
Kiyo Teramaye
BWA is sponsoring a 2 Day/1
Night getaway to Las Vegas on
August 28-29 (Tuesday &
Wednesday), 2007, at the Four
Queens, $40 per person,
double occupancy only. The
bus will leave the Temple
parking lot at 6:30 a.m.
For reservations, please contact Margie
Morikawa (BWA) at 310-479-1150.
The 2007 Southern District Family Conference
will be held on Saturday, September 29, 2007 at
the San Diego Sheraton Hotel & Marina. The
speakers will be Rev. Dr. David Matsumoto
and Socho Koshin Ogui, Bishop, Buddhist
Churches of America. There will be activities for
all ages; supervised play for Dharma School
children and a visit to a near-by casino for the
adults.
Bus transportation has been arranged to leave
the Temple early Saturday morning.
In conjunction with the conference, there will be
a raffle drawing. Net proceeds from this raffle
will help underwrite conference expenses. Raffle
tickets are on sale for $10 a ticket. Winner need
not be present.
1 st prize $2,000
2 nd prize 1,000
3 rd prize 500
4 th prize 300
5 th prize 100
For tickets, please call Yasuko Shohara at 310-
454-7189. Your support is greatly appreciated.

September 2007
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
E-mail: westlabt@verizon.net
Bulletin folding toban: BWA
Office hours: 10 am – 4 pm
Phone: 310-477-7274
Web Site: www.wlabt.org
1
Sep 1 & 2
SD Jr YBL Conf
Host: Gardena
2
SD Jr YBL Conf
Gardena
NO SERVICE
3
Labor Day
4
7:30 pm
Temple Board Mtg
5 6
1 pm Study Class
7 8
10 am
Shotsuki Hoyo
Office Closed
Rev. Usuki off
9
9:30 am First day
of 2007-08 Dharma
School
Study Class
12 pm BWA Mtg
10 11
10:00 am
SD Ministers Mtg
at Betsuin
Rev. Usuki off
12
7:30 pm
Post-Obon Mtg
13
1 pm Study Class
7 pm B-Men Mtg
7:30 pm Taiko
14
7:30 pm
SD Council Mtg
at OCBC
15
9:30 am
Ohigan Seminar
Speaker: (J) Rev.
Kenjun Kawawata
(E) TBA
16
10 am Ohigan E
Speaker: Rev.
Kenjun Kawawata
Toban: B-Men
Lunch to follow
1 pm Kinryukai
23
9:30 Service,
Study Class
__________________
30
9:30 Service,
Study Class
17 18 19
7 pm BEC Seminar
Rev. Patricia Usuki
24
12 Noon 80+ Lunch
Rev. Usuki off
25 26
7:30 pm
Asoka Fujinkai Mtg
Rev. Usuki off
20
1 pm Study Class
7:30 pm Taiko
27
1 pm Study Class
7:30 pm Taiko
21
7:30 pm BINGO
22
28 29
SD Family Conf
in San Diego
Early bus
departure
Rev. Usuki off
15

West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple September 2007
16

West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple September 2007
17

West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple September 2007
18

West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple September 2007
19

WEST LOS ANGELES BUDDHIST TEMPLE
2003 Corinth Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Return Service Requested
Non-Profit Org.
U. S. Postage
PAID
Los Angeles, CA
Permit No. 20953
Major WLABT Events in September 2007
MARK YOUR CALENDAR!
Fall Ohigan Seminar
Saturday, September 15, 9:30 a.m.
Rev. Kenjun Kawawata (Japanese)
West Covina Buddhist Temple
TBA (English)
$10/person (lunch)
FALL OHIGAN SERVICE
Sunday, September 16, 10:00 a.m.
Guest Speaker: Rev. Kenjun Kawawata
(English & Japanese)
Hamburger Lunch to follow
Meet the Author
Rev. Patricia Usuki
on women and Buddhism
September 19, 2007 (Wed) - 7:00 pm
copies available
$10 donation