Went to the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church today. It was something of a pot-pourri of Buddhism.
The day began with the annual Hanamatsuri service. During the chanting of Odaimoku, the parishioners ladle sweet tea over a statue of baby Sakyamuni and then offer incense.
Following that Ven. Kenjo Igarashi performed his kaji kito blessing on each attendee. Normally this is a separate service held on the last Sunday of the month but Rev. Igarashi needs to travel to Japan and can’t hold the service next week.
And after all that we got to watch as Rev. Igarashi “purified” a parishioner’s new car. This particular member travels more than two hours to attend services so everyone agreed she needs all the protection she can get. I knew that Rev. Igarashi offered this but had never observed it. The ceremony involves many of the same tools used in the purification ceremony. In addition, uncooked rice and salt are tossed on the ground and water and saki poured around the car.
Finally we had a lunch prepared by the women’s club. In all, we had 24 diners, which is a nice size crowd.
I’m going to finish with a short tale. It is the type of tale that might be put to use later as a lesson for something. For now, I just want to tell what happened.
We have a new member, a woman who struggles financially. Each month she mails the church $20 in cash.
This woman was practicing Buddhism with Nichiren Shoshu for more than 40 years before joining our church. She is anxious to understand the differences between that sect and Nichiren Shu. Today’s Hanamatsuri service, for example, is the first she has participated in. Apparently nothing like that occurs at the Nichiren Shoshu temple in Pinole.
While riding to church today, she mentioned that she has been using stamps that feature prominent black history figures on the envelopes she mails to the church. She wondered if that was OK. Is there some prohibition about using such stamps for letters addressed to the church?
“Not that I am aware of,” I replied. “Why do you think it might be a problem.”
The woman explained that she received an envelope from the church and inside were generic postage stamps.
“Ahh!,” I said. “I’m certain that the stamps were not sent as a criticism. The priest appreciates that it costs you money to mail your money each month. He is offering the stamps as a gift to you.”
The woman was greatly relieved.
Personally, I was deeply impressed that Rev. Igarashi had done this. It is another of the many examples I’ve witnessed that underscore his care and concern for those he serves.