SLO BUDDHIST TEMPLE

Okazu

Preparations for San Luis Obispo Buddhist Church’s (SLOBC) Obon Festival are ramping up so July will be filled with activities like Bon Odori practices, temple clean-up, taiko practices and craft making. However, we can still appreciate the dharma services, giving us that little time in our lives to appreciate the Buddha’s teachings.


Those of you who received the Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) Calendar early in the year may have noticed that our naijin (altar) is featured for the month of June. It’s beauty is in the gold gilded pieces but it is more striking when beautiful flower arrangements are added. The flowers are the result of a group of ladies who volun-teer each Friday to bring in fresh flowers and arrange them for the upcoming Sunday service. Their duties are designated as “Hana Toban” or “responsible for flower presentation” in the naijin. SLOBC would like to ac-knowledge Judy Dunn, Janis Eto, Tamiko Fujikawa, Andrea Hambro, Katsuko Kagawa, Shizuko Kumabe, Rev. Nakano, Greer Nishikawa, Chiyo Okui and Ruth Vines for their unselfish efforts in preparing the flower presentations.

The flowers in the naijin symbolize the impermanence in all living things: they are fresh when first assembled but soon wither and
die. They remind us that we should live in the present and enjoy what we have now. The flowers brought to the temple by the Hana
Toban members are either gathered from a garden or bought. They are not strong scented nor have thorns. If you would like to
 help with Hana Toban duties or even provide flowers for use in the naijin, please contact Janis Eto at


Besides the beautiful flowers that are present in the naijin, you may have also noticed rice and fresh fruits on gilded stands. Since
rice is the most important food in Asian culture, it is given a place of honor directly in front of the representation of Amida Buddha
while the fruits occupy a space on the side. We offer rice, fresh fruits and other foods to show our gratitude to the Buddha and his
teachings. Fruits symbolize the “ultimate fruit of enlightenment” that is our goal. You may have seen Rev. Nakano present the rice
and/or fruit to a service attendee to take home and consume. The foods nourish us and open our hearts to the needs of others. If
you have fresh fruits from your garden, why not bring them to a service so they can be placed in the naijin. Rev. Nakano will be
grateful.


A popular food at many Obon Festivals is the sno-cone or shave ice or ice shaved, depending where you come from. Nothing beats
 finely shaved iced covered with delicious syrup and served on a hot day. The ice just melts in your mouth. A good shaved ice vendor
will have many different flavors ranging from basics like lime and strawberry to more exotic ones like mango, passion fruit and lychee. A better vendor will have vanilla ice cream or red azuki beans placed below the ice. The best shaved ice maker will have li hing powder that can be sprinkled over the ice, adding a little “zing” to it. Oh, so delicious! So remember to get an ice shaved at SLOBC’s Obon Festival on Aug. 6th.

A Beautiful Naijin

jnaeto@gmail.com.

A More Beautiful Naijin

The Colors of the Rainbow

by Gary Hongo