Welcoming attendees to our Sunday services, I am impressed by the different types of people who come through our doors. From “first timers” to our temple to ones that have returned after many years, it is an honor to meet them and later learn about their reasons for being here.

For first timers, probably the most common reason is, “I’ve always wanted to come to the Bud-dhist temple here but hesitated to take that step for-ward” or “I’ve lived in the area all my life but never knew there was a Buddhist temple here.” Another main reason for coming is to seek refuge from the chaotic world around us and Buddhism may be the answer. Whatever the reason, we are all glad to see new faces at our services.

What we are seeing is families attending our services – a refreshing sign that our sangha is growing in numbers and also in age (getting younger). This necessity to attract families with children drove us to restart our Dharma School, holding classes on the 2nd and 4th Sundays each month, dovetailing with our regular Dharma services. Within the leadership ranks of all temples and in the Buddhist Churches of America, we strongly believe that our youth are crucial to the flourishing of Buddhism.

By the time you may have read this article, our Annual Crab Feed may have been history, but I would like to thank all who volunteered to help at this major fundraiser. Without your help, it would be difficult to undertake this event. For those who purchased tickets for the event, I say “Thank You!” For those who say, “How can we as Buddhists undertake an event where a large number of crabs are harvested from the sea to satisfy our fundraiser?” An answer would be, “We are grateful and
appreciate the sacrifice of the crabs to provide sustenance in our lives, to further the concept of interdependence.

Finally, I will be attending the Buddhist Churches of America’s (BCA) annual National Council Meeting (NCM) in Seattle, Washington. The NCM is BCA’s forum where delegates from all of its temples/churches and affiliate organizations address issues facing BCA and its organizations and temples. As its membership continues to decrease, the BCA must focus attention to helping temples/churches spread the Buddha Dharma, attracting new members and providing an avenue for many to find inner peace in this volatile world.

Gassho,
Gary Hongo