2011 JUNE
Dharma Message
By Rev. Akira Hata, Emeritus, Retired
ATTAINING NINETY
On Bodhi Day last December, I went to the Family Service and then to the
Jr. YBA chow mein luncheon which followed. During the luncheon, a 90th-
year birthday party was held in my honor. I had no inkling at all that this
was going to happen. What a surprise!
There was a very large sheet cake baked by LuAnn Lee (best I’ve eaten)
and a slide presentation of my life put together by my granddaughter,
Lauren Uchiyama. A birthday honorarium was also presented to me.
Watching the slide show, I thought, “Now I can die in peace.”
My daughter, Tissa, and Lauren had earlier gathered all the pictures
secretly and I didn’t suspect a thing. My past life was on display and it
was pretty accurate.
General Douglas MacArthur once said that old generals don’t die, they
just fade away. That would be me. I continue to come and sit in the
onaijin on Sundays but giving fewer Dharma talks. I am aware that my
eyesight, hearing and thinking are diminishing, unlike my hair.
Right now, three main things keep me going.
One is the Uchiyama family whom I live with. I thank them for putting up
with me these past ten years. I’m sure that they wanted to evict me many
times.
Another is the Buddhist Temple and you, its members, who have taken me
in and made me feel at home.
The third is Kaiser Hospital where I go every week for a Procrit shot that
treats my anemia. And of course there are many, many other things that I
am grateful for.
Our temple is dedicated to Amida Buddha and his Primal Vow (Hongan).
Its main essence is the Nembutsu. It is said that Amida works in mysterious
ways, leading us to salvation and the Pure Land. Okage sama de, I see
this in my life.
Reflections
As I look back and reflect on my ninety years, Amida Buddha’s love and
compassion made me what I am today.
When I think of my parents, I could never do what they did, coming to a
strange country and raising nine children. Had they stayed in Japan, I
would have ended up a dead soldier on some lonely Pacific Island during
World War II.
My father came to the U.S. in 1913 as one of the earliest priests in the BCA.
He served San Francisco and then Vacaville. In 1918, he returned to
Japan, got married, and I was born in 1920.
In 1923, our family of three went to the Oakland Buddhist Church. In 1926,
my father was terminated by Oakland, the BCA and the Nishi Honganji for
being a heretic. The main reason was that he was spreading the
teachings of Rev. Akegarasu who was a leading Higashi Honganji minister.
Nishi [Hongwanji] certainly didn’t like that, so he was expelled.
He set up a small mission church called the Kyudosha three blocks away
from the Oakland temple. In 1948, he was again united with BCA as
minister of the Richmond area. This was under Bishop Shigefuji. My father
was offered a position at Enmanji. He had to refuse because his wife and
children would not go with him to Sebastopol.
In 1949, the BCA had its 50th Anniversary and father was given a trophy
cup for being one of the two oldest ministers. Today, when you look at the
BCA memorial pillar at the Colma Cemetery, his name is there as a sign of
acceptance.
Life’s Enjoyment
So here I am, still living and, okage sama de, still mobile at 90. I thank
those around me who are assisting me to live, to enjoy life in what time I
have left.
When we hear Amida’s call, we respond and say Namu Amida Butsu.
Namu is the lost and confused me
Seeking a direction home and
Amida Butsu is the Buddha of Immeasurable Light and Life.
The two become one in my Namu Amida Butsu.
In gassho
Dharma Message
By Rev. Akira Hata, Emeritus, Retired
ATTAINING NINETY
On Bodhi Day last December, I went to the Family Service and then to the
Jr. YBA chow mein luncheon which followed. During the luncheon, a 90th-
year birthday party was held in my honor. I had no inkling at all that this
was going to happen. What a surprise!
There was a very large sheet cake baked by LuAnn Lee (best I’ve eaten)
and a slide presentation of my life put together by my granddaughter,
Lauren Uchiyama. A birthday honorarium was also presented to me.
Watching the slide show, I thought, “Now I can die in peace.”
My daughter, Tissa, and Lauren had earlier gathered all the pictures
secretly and I didn’t suspect a thing. My past life was on display and it
was pretty accurate.
General Douglas MacArthur once said that old generals don’t die, they
just fade away. That would be me. I continue to come and sit in the
onaijin on Sundays but giving fewer Dharma talks. I am aware that my
eyesight, hearing and thinking are diminishing, unlike my hair.
Right now, three main things keep me going.
One is the Uchiyama family whom I live with. I thank them for putting up
with me these past ten years. I’m sure that they wanted to evict me many
times.
Another is the Buddhist Temple and you, its members, who have taken me
in and made me feel at home.
The third is Kaiser Hospital where I go every week for a Procrit shot that
treats my anemia. And of course there are many, many other things that I
am grateful for.
Our temple is dedicated to Amida Buddha and his Primal Vow (Hongan).
Its main essence is the Nembutsu. It is said that Amida works in mysterious
ways, leading us to salvation and the Pure Land. Okage sama de, I see
this in my life.
Reflections
As I look back and reflect on my ninety years, Amida Buddha’s love and
compassion made me what I am today.
When I think of my parents, I could never do what they did, coming to a
strange country and raising nine children. Had they stayed in Japan, I
would have ended up a dead soldier on some lonely Pacific Island during
World War II.
My father came to the U.S. in 1913 as one of the earliest priests in the BCA.
He served San Francisco and then Vacaville. In 1918, he returned to
Japan, got married, and I was born in 1920.
In 1923, our family of three went to the Oakland Buddhist Church. In 1926,
my father was terminated by Oakland, the BCA and the Nishi Honganji for
being a heretic. The main reason was that he was spreading the
teachings of Rev. Akegarasu who was a leading Higashi Honganji minister.
Nishi [Hongwanji] certainly didn’t like that, so he was expelled.
He set up a small mission church called the Kyudosha three blocks away
from the Oakland temple. In 1948, he was again united with BCA as
minister of the Richmond area. This was under Bishop Shigefuji. My father
was offered a position at Enmanji. He had to refuse because his wife and
children would not go with him to Sebastopol.
In 1949, the BCA had its 50th Anniversary and father was given a trophy
cup for being one of the two oldest ministers. Today, when you look at the
BCA memorial pillar at the Colma Cemetery, his name is there as a sign of
acceptance.
Life’s Enjoyment
So here I am, still living and, okage sama de, still mobile at 90. I thank
those around me who are assisting me to live, to enjoy life in what time I
have left.
When we hear Amida’s call, we respond and say Namu Amida Butsu.
Namu is the lost and confused me
Seeking a direction home and
Amida Butsu is the Buddha of Immeasurable Light and Life.
The two become one in my Namu Amida Butsu.
In gassho
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