BWA
BWA
by Sandy Hongo
Thank you to everyone who helped at the Crab Fest on April 9! It was another successful event even with a little rain and a departure from our usual January time. We appreciate all of your efforts!
The month of May is another busy time for SLO Buddhist Church (SLOBC) and everyone else. Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, moms-to-be and moms in spirit! We will celebrate Mother’s Day on May 8 at the church service at 10 a.m. We will also be honoring Lady Eshinni and Lady Kakushinni who were the wife and youngest daughter of our founder, Shinran Shonin. There will be more on these ladies later in this article. On May 14, the annual SLOBC Golf Tournament will be held at Cypress Ridge Golf Club with a barbecue dinner following at the Hayashi Ranch. Please volunteer to help before, during or after the tournament in a variety of ways available. This is one of the largest fundraisers for the church and all of your help is needed. On Saturday, May 21, we will have Bon Odori (dance) on the church grounds beginning at 2 p.m. At our Obon Festival in August, many people do not have the opportunity to dance because of their many chores and clean-up happening during the dance time. This Bon Odori day is for us to have fun, dance, and socialize, so please attend.
SLOBC honors Lady Eshinni and Lady Kakushinni in conjunction with Mother’s Day in May. Lady Eshinni is considered as the mother of Jodo Shinshu. She was the wife of Shinran Shonin and gave him her complete dedication and support. Not much was known about her until 1921 when letters she wrote to her daughter, Lady Kakushinni, were discovered in the archives of Hongwanji. Lady Kakushinni took care of Shinran Shonin in his later years until he died at the age of 90. After his death, Lady Kakushinni is revered for planting the seeds that were to grow into today’s Hongwanji. Ten years after Shinran’s death, Lady Kakushinni built a Memorial Hall for his remains and established the means for insuring the Hall and the property it was built on would belong to the Jodo Shinshu Sangha in all future generations. This was the beginning of Ohtani Mausoleum and of the Hongwanji.
In 1978 the World BWA (made up of BWA organizations from Japan, mainland U.S.A., Hawaii, Canada and Brazil) passed a resolution to conduct annual services in memory of Lady Esshini. In 2002, the World BWA passed a similar resolution to honor Lady Kakushinni. More can be learned about these ladies in the book “Eshinni, from the Life of Eshinni” by Yoshiko Ohtani.
In gassho,
Sandy Hongo