Reverend Shinkai Murakami, resident minister of Wailuku Hongwanji Mission, will be the speaker at the annual Eitaikyo Memorial Service on Sunday, November 8, beginning at 9 a.m.
He encourages members and friends to attend the Eitaikyo Service. This service is defined as a “perpetual memorial service.” It is to perpetuate the memories of our departed by means of dedicating the sutra-chanting to remember our debt to them and remind ourselves of what is essential for us to receive our spiritual strength during this life of travail through listening to the Teaching of the Nembutsu.
He continued, “we honor those names, which have been placed in our temple’s Eitaikyo Register. The word Eitaikyo actually means “perpetual sutra.” Eitai means “perpetual” and Kyo means “sutra,” or “teaching of Buddha.” Eitaikyo means to chant in perpetual memorial tribute to our deceased loved ones for as long as the temple exists. Eitaikyo services are held twice a year. A sutra is the Eitaikyo book and that a sutra is chanted perpetually.
Families usually provide an offering of dana towards the Eitaikyo Perpetual Fund. This fund is held in a separate account from the temple’s other funds, set aside for use by the temple in special circumstances or extreme emergencies. It is a fund that is not to be used for the general upkeep and day-to-day expenses of the temple