Namo Amida Butsu
Cherished members and Dharma friends of Wailuku Hongwanji – how are you? I hope this message finds you in good health and spirits.
It’s hard to believe we’re already in the month of June. Time seems to pass so quickly these days. When I think of June, the phrase “June bride” often comes to mind, bringing with it fond personal memories. Minae and I were married on June 1, 1983, at the Honpa Hongwanji Los Angeles Betsuin. It’s been 42 years now—a passage of time that still feels like a blink. Whenever we visit Los Angeles, we make it a point to return to the Betsuin where we were wed.
Over the past four decades, I’ve had the honor of officiating many weddings as a Hongwanji minister. These moments have been among the most precious and fulfilling of my ministry. I often reflect on how different my path might have been had I remained in Japan. As many of you may know, in Japan it is still customary—even among Buddhists—for weddings to take place at Shinto shrines or Christian churches, while Buddhist temples are reserved primarily for funerals.
In addition to weddings, I’ve been fortunate to offer blessings and invocations at a wide range of meaningful events — from mayoral inaugurations and state legislative openings, to local ceremonies like the Maui Nisei Veterans Center’s opening and the State AJA baseball tournament. Each occasion has been a humbling reminder of the Dharma in daily life.
Sometimes people ask if I would recommend this path to the next generation. Would your children or grandchildren be interested in becoming Hongwanji ministers? If so, please don’t hesitate to reach out—I would be more than happy to guide and train them. Am I strict? Perhaps—but always with compassion and the aspiration to help them grow into thoughtful, caring ministers. Just last month, on May 10, I had the special opportunity to officiate a wedding at the bride’s home. This bride was once a quiet and thoughtful student in my Japaneselanguage class at Pearl City Hongwanji Gakuen. When I received her email, memories came rushing back—her shy demeanor, the way she would quietly arrive with her mother, her growing confidence as she made friends, her diligent studies and bright spirit.
More than 21 years have passed since then. We hadn’t seen each other in all that time, and yet she remembered me and asked me to officiate her wedding. Her message moved me deeply, and that same evening I replied with heartfelt thanks: “I am truly honored and happy that you are asking me to officiate your and your fiancé’s wedding. It is my
great honor and privilege. I am pleased to officiate your wedding.” This touching reconnection reminded me of the profound karmic ties—go-en—that bind us across time and space. It brought to mind these words from Shinran Shonin in the preface of his Collected Works:
Ah, hard to encounter, even in many lifetimes, is the decisive cause of birth, Amida’s universal Vow! Hard to realize, even in myriads of kalpas, is pure shinjin that is true and real! If you should come to realize this practice and shinjin (Entrusting mind and heart to Amida), rejoice at the conditions from the distant past that have brought it about.How joyous I am, Gutoku (foolish being) Shinran, disciple of Shakyamuni! (Collected Works of Shinran, p. 4)
These words speak deeply to me. Through my time here in Hawaiʻi, I’ve learned so much from all of you—our temple members, fellow ministers, and Dharma friends. Sometimes, without even realizing it, we may plant the seeds of the Dharma in the hearts of those around us. And years later, those seeds blossom in unexpected and beautiful ways.
Officiating the wedding of a former student reminded me of how the Dharma comes full circle—how what goes around, truly comes around. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity and for this path as a Hongwanji minister. It is an honor to serve here at Wailuku Hongwanji Mission. I feel nothing but gratitude for the life I’ve been able to live alongside all of you.
With sincere appreciation, I express my gratitude in the most meaningful way I know — by reciting the Holy Name:
Namo Amida Butsu, Namo Amida Butsu, Namo Amida Butsu
