A New Balanced Beginning BY REV. HARRY GYOKYO BRIDGE

SEPTEMBER ALWAYS FEELS LIKE a new beginning, probably because

the school year often starts around this

time, and of course our Dharma School

starts up again too! This year, though,

we also hope to have a new begin-

ning post-pandemic, where people can

come “in person” to the temple (as op-

posed to virtually) for service and social

interaction.

Unfortunately, we aren’t 100%

ready to do so yet, or at least it doesn’t

look that way at the end of July as I

write this. We are working on it, and will

make a decision during August, so keep

an eye out for an email/mailer with our

decision soon. In the meantime, maybe

we can learn from Ohigan. Ohigan is the

Japanese Buddhist observance of the

equinox. Personally, this always brings

balance to mind.

Although balance is often asso-

ciated with Taoism, it can be found

in Buddhism too. Ohigan happens at

the equinox when day and night are

of equal duration. My favorite expres-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

IN THIS ISSUE Minister’s Message 1 & 5

President’s Message 1 & 3

Dharma School News 2

Special Web Links 2

Youth Club News 2

Momiji Kai News 3

Jr. YBA News 4

BCO Golf Fun Day Outing 2021 4

Donations 5

August Busshin Deadline Info 5

September Shotsuki Service Info. 6

September 2021 Calendar 7

AmazonSmile Information 7

We want to hear from you 8

VOL 64 NUM 9

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1

AS WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE Fall 2021, I had expected to be writ-

ing about the “opening” of the Church

and the resumption of normal Sunday

services and activities. The pandemic

was to be over, and everyone would be

vaccinated. We would resume our life

as it was before. Yet, as I write this let-

ter, things don’t seem to be so bright

for the future. The story seems to

change each week. First “mask”, then

“no mask” and the back to “mask”. We

had such hope that the “Shot” would

be the answer. Then there is the “vari-

ant” that is spreading like a wildfire. It

makes it so hard to plan. So, we can

only be patient and hope to see what

happens next…

Although the Church has been

closed for over a year and half, the

Board, Committees, and Office have

been busy. New Church Committees

have been forming as set forth in the

recent Bylaw updates. See the past

August Busshin for a list of the differ-

ent Committees that are looking for

Sangha members. You do not need

to be on the Church Board of Direc-

tors to participate. With virtual Zoom

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

President’s Message BY NORMAN YOSHIDA

SEPTEMBER 20212

WELCOME BACK TO DHARMA School! We hope you enjoyed the

summer break and we are looking

forward to another year of sharing

the Dharma together (hopefully in-

person, at least some of the time).

This summer we sent new registration

forms to families as well as surveys in

the effort to find how Dharma School

can be more accessible, given modern

and current demands on the lives of

our students and their families. With

your feedback, we hope to adapt

and embrace a new vision of Dharma

School. It is the middle of summer

as of this writing and we have been

working with BCO leadership to cre-

ate a plan for how Dharma School will

take shape this fall, especially consid-

ering current pandemic conditions. 

We will keep Dharma School families

updated on Dharma School plans as

the national, state and local picture

changes with the variant and vaccine

availability for kids.

Dharma School extends our

deepest gratitude to Delia Ikeda

for her years of time, energy, and

skills serving as our Superintendent

and Co-Superintendent. Delia re-

cently announced that she will step

down as Co-Superintendent this fall.

She bravely stepped into the role of

Superintendent upon Mrs. Maya Lawrence’s retirement, and continued

to serve longer than initially planned in

order to support new volunteers and

help Dharma School through the pan-

demic. We thank Delia for her years

of service balancing the demands

of her many other roles and respon-

sibilities in her career and family, and

teaching our Dharma School pre-

school/kindergarten class. We also

wish to thank Delia’s family—Eric, Madison, and Grant Ikeda, and Do-

ris and Susan Okano—for their sup-

port of Delia as she led our Dharma

School. We are so grateful that Delia

will continue sharing the Dharma as

a Dharma School teacher and volun-

teer!

Dharma School would also like

to extend a warm welcome to our

new Co-Superintendent, Joemy Ito-Gates. She attends BCO with her fam-

ily, Henry Williams and Yoko Ito-Wil-liams. Joemy has also been teaching

our preschool/kindergarten class as

well as our remote learning classes.

Dharma School feels very fortunate to

have such a talented, passionate and

compassionate leader!

Happy BirthdayHappy September birthdays

to Emiko Masamori and Noemy Nguyen! n

Dharma School News BY CINDY SAKAI

Special Web LinksBUDDHIST CHURCH OF OAKLAND WEBSITE

http://www.buddhistchurchofoakland.org/

ONLINE SERVICES AND DHARMA TALKS

https://www.youtube.com/c/buddhistchurchofoakland/

BCA SERVICE BOOK

https://buddhistchurchofoakland.org/servicebook/

AMAZON “SMILE” PROGRAM

https://amazon.com/smile

GENERAL/REV. BRIDGE

www.dharmarealm.com

www.instagram.com/gyokyo48/

www.twitter.com/gyokyo

www.facebook.com/gyokyo48

YOUTH CLUB IS GEARING BACK UP FOR basketball! While there is still a lot of cover before

the  upcoming season, interested families can use this

link for registration. Please sign up right away, as rosters

will be finalized soon.

https://forms.gle/SCJz1pS9So8U7vcL7

Hope to see you out there soon! Go Rams! n

Youth Club NewsBY CINDY SAKAI

SEPTEMBER 20213

President’s Message CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE

meetings, it is even easier to get

involved. Please consider joining

a committee and help guide the

Church.

Throughout the Pandemic Oak-

land has had an increase in crime.

The Church has seen its portion of

problems from thefts of catalytic

converters from cars parked in the

Church lot, BB gun attacks on car

windows, storage containers bro-

ken into, assaults on tenants, and

other issues. It is unknown whether

the crimes are due to “Asian Hate

Crimes” or just the problems in Oak-

land. Proactively we have improved

the security cameras around the

Church, added screening on the

fences, improved the locks and other

security measures. Upgraded gating

and fencing are planned. The return

of the Oakland Fire Department af-

ter renovation of the fire station has

help reduce some crime.

In July, the “Black House” next

to the Fire Department was put up

for sale. Adding this property would

have greatly increased the Church’s

overall real estate value. Although,

we made an unsuccessful bid to

purchase the property, this exercise

stimulated several discussions and

dialogs about the long-term future

of the Church. We hope to continue

this dialog this Fall.

After months of long work, we

were able to hire a professional

property management company

to oversee the Church’s apartment

building. Through the process we

found several issues with the sta-

tus of the property that needed to

be corrected. Hopefully, the new

manager will relieve the burden

and lighten the responsibilities of

being a landlord in highly regulated

Oakland.

For the second year, we put on a

Virtual Obon Program in July. Hours

of planning, and work went into

this production. New videos were

planned, filmed, and edited for this

event. This program was presented

to the Sangha on Zoom and to the

public on YouTube. In addition, we

opened the Church kitchen to a “lim-

ited” number of Sangha members

who produced 400+ bentos that we

presold through the Church website

and distributed at a drive-thru pick-

up. Thank you to all the members

who help produce the Virtual Obon

Program and Bento Sale. We hope

to have another Sale around

October.

Finally, I want to give a “shout

out” and big thank you to Mary Hi-romoto, Doris Okano, Rev Bridge, Gary Lawrence, Rev Endo, Mark Shi-mamoto and the BCO Boys (John Minamoto, Jon Takagaki, and Ron Nomura) for keeping things run-

ning these past months at Church.

Though we were technically “closed”

due to Covid, the operations of the

Church continued with the tireless

support and effort of these people.

Take care, Norman n

ON JULY 1, MOMIJIKAI HAD A very interesting program for our

meeting on Zoom. We started out as

we regularly do with service with Rev.

Bridge. The service was followed by

our chair yoga exercises led by Patty Hirota Cohen. We thank Rev. Bridge and Patty for keeping our minds and

body well exercised and healthy. Our

special guest speaker was Mrs. Uota’s grandson Kai Orens. Kai put togeth-

er a detailed presentation about his

wedding in India. His wife Kiran also

participated in our zoom meeting, as

did Mrs. Uota and Kai’s mother Meta.

Kai talked about Indian wedding

traditions and shared with us pictures

of their wedding. We saw Kai riding

to the ceremony on a white horse

and dressed in a spectacular outfit.

Needless to say, Kiran’s outfits were

beautiful and her elaborate henna

tattoos were amazing. The wedding

celebration was held over three days

and Mrs. Uota traveled to India to at-

tend the wedding. Thank you Kai for

a memorable presentation.

At our second July meeting, after

service and yoga, we practiced Obon

dances. Rev. Bridge premiered the

Obon dance practice videos that he

filmed and edited and that were put

on the church website the following

day. Momijikai members are now ready

to join in the dancing during BCO’s

virtual Obon on July 31.

We are taking a break and will

not meet in August. Our next meeting

will be on September 2. If you would

like to join us, please contact Jean Nakazono (jenakam@aol.com). n

Momiji Kai News BY RENIE YOSHIDA GROHL

Jr. YBA News BY MAYUMI NOMURA

HELLO EVERYONE! WE HAVEN’T HAD A PARTICULARLY BUSY MONTH, SO THERE ISN’T MUCH to report. However, we did go bowling at Castro Village Bowl and had dinner at Knudsen’s Ice Creamery as

our end-of-summer activity. We also recently received a generous donation of a foosball game table from

Mr. and Mrs. Owoc. We are ready for the coming year and hope to have more events soon. Have a great month!  n

The group at Knudsen’s Ice Creamery, ready for dinner. (Left). The group painting the fence in the front of the church. (Top Right and Bottom).

SEPTEMBER 20214

SEPTEMBER 20215

Donations

MEMBERSHIP DUES

Aoki, Kathy

Hamamoto, Jun Donna

Shiraishi, Roy & Sumi

Terusaki, Steve & Kathy

Liang, Warrick

SHOTSUKI Aoki, Yas & Margaret, Mem of Misao Ohara

Davis, Patricia, Mem of Hisae Okemoto

Fujimoto, Kayoko

Grohl, Renie Yoshida, Mem of James Grohl

Harry Kurotori Family,

Mem of Rose Kurotori

Hirota, Nancy,

Mem of Konoye Hirota 33rd yr

Ikeda, Tokiko, Mem of Minai Ikeda

Ishizu Family & Fujii Family,

Mem of Akira Otsuka (April)

Mem of Kimino Fujii & Asano Otsuka

(May)

Mem of Karen Otsuka (June)

Kaneshige, Don & Clare,

Mem of Mother Sakae Kaneshige

Kanzaki, Al & Miharu,

Mem of Arthur Kanzaki

Kato, Cynthia,

Mem of Kaz & Mitsuye Kato

Katsumoto, Kiyoshi & Emiko,

Mem of Jane Tayeko Endo

Matsumoto, Michiko,

Mem of Minoru Matsumoto

Mitsuda, Mary Hatsuko,

Mem of Keiko Mitsuda

Mitsuda, Mary Hatsuko,

Mem of Yoshiko Hiyama

Mitsuda, Mary Hatsuko,

Mem of Haruko Mizushima

Sakauye, Keiko,

Mem of Tad Nakamura

Sato, Ronald & Frances,

Mem of Masao Sato (June Shotsuki)

Seiki, M/M Richard, July

Tamori, Bob, Mem of Mrs. Fuji Tamori

Taniguchi, M/M Gary/Teresa and Family

Mem of Ichiro Yamamoto,

Shichirouemon Yamamoto,

Mrs. Katsuyo Yamamoto &

Mrs. Misao Yamamoto

Yoneyama, Mollie

Mem of Kikue Suda (June Shotsuki)

Yoneyama, Mollie

Mem of Kazuo & Mitsuye Kato

Yoshida, Fusae

Mem of Takao Fujii

Yoshida, Kenji & Sharon

Mem of Agnes Ide

SPECIAL

Aoki, Kathy, Obon service

Hara, David & Grace, Obon

Hashimoto, Karen, Nokotsudo

Ikeda, Tokiko, Obon

Kato, Cynthia, Nokotsudo & Alter flowers-

Mem of Kaz & Mitsuye Kato

Lewis, Roberta & Carl, General

Miyasaki, Cathy, Annual Dana for

General Fund

Oniki, Christeen, Obon, Mem of Taigi &

Fujie Oniki

Seiki, Richard & Sandy, In lieu of Bazaar

Shimamoto, Mark, General

Takagaki, Linda & Jon, General

Tanisawa, Susan & Ted, Nokotsudo

Yunge, Pauline, Mem of Steve Yunge

BCO would like to acknowledge the donations from our members and friends. We are very grateful and appreciative of your continued generosity and kindness. Thank you!

A New Balanced Beginning CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE sion of balance is the Middle Way,

the path between extremes. It can

be found in the life story of the Bud-

dha (when he rejected the pleasure of

his life as a prince and the suffering

of difficult practices of the religious

paths of his day), in the philosophy of

Emptiness (the Middle Way between

the extremes of Existence and Non-

Existence), and even in the balance of

Buddhahood between Wisdom and

Compassion. This finds expression in

bodhicitta (or bodaishin in Japanese),

which is the aspiration both for awak-

ening for oneself and liberation for all

beings.

As we head into the social world

again, let’s keep both of these as-

pects in mind and take them as inspi-

ration as we move forward. We want

to stay safe ourselves, and under

the current circumstances it looks

like this means continuing to wear a

mask indoors and when among lots

of people. But we do this not only to

protect ourselves but also to try and

protect others. n

DEADLINE FOR OCTOBER 2021 BUSSHIN ARTICLES: AUGUST 27th

Articles submitted after this date may not be printed.

SEND ARTICLES TO: Joyce Yokomizo email: joyce@yokomizo.com You can also send articles to the church office.

BUSSHIN COLLATION: No Busshin collation due to Stay at Home Order.

SEPTEMBER 20216

2021 September Shotsuki Memorial ServiceService: Sunday, September 12, 2021 Dharma Message: Rev. Harry Gyokyo BridgeThere will be a pre-recorded online Shotsuki Service posted to our YouTube channel as we have been doing during the

pandemic. Assuming that we resume in-person services in September, there will NOT be a separate Shotsuki Service;

however, the September names will be read during the regular Adult Dharma Service.

Family and friends are invited to view this monthly memorial service online for those listed below. If any errors appear,

please direct them to the church office at (510) 832-5988 or officebco@gmail.com at your earliest convenience.

Mrs. Satsuki Abe

Mr. Joe Deguchi

Mr. John Fujimoto

Mrs. Nui Fujimoto

Mr. Hiroshi Fujiwara

Mrs. Fumi Fukawa

Mrs. Chieko Harada

Mrs. Chiyoko Hiramoto

Takayo Tamura Hiramoto

Ms. Hatsumi Hirao

Mr. Tatsumi Hori

Mr. Harry Hoshi

Mr. Masuji Idehara

Mr. Suekichi Idehara

Mr Kanroku Kada

Mr. Masaru Kanada

Mr. Masutaro Kanesaki

Mr. Harry Katayama

Mrs. Tomi Kisanuki

Mr. Nobuo Kitagaki

Mrs. May Kleven – 1st year

Mrs. Komae Kobata

Mrs. Sada Koizumi – 33rd year

Mrs. Ruth Shigematsu Kosut

Mrs. Toyo Kuwahara

Mrs. Mitsu Matsui

Mr. Ronald Matsui

Mrs. Tazuko Matsushino

Miss Alice Ayako Matsutani

Mr. James Messenzehl – 25th year

Ms. Alice Minamidani

Mr. Eizo Minamidani

Mr. Toshiro Minamoto

Mr. Toshio Mitsuda

Mr. Kenso Miura

Mr. Kameso Miyamoto

Mrs. Aiko Mizuhara

Mr. Ray Mori – 50th year

Mrs. Tsuru Mori

Mr. Zenshiro Mori

Mr. Russell Muraoka – 3rd year

Mr. Harukichi Murakishi

Mr. Tsurukichi Nagafuji

Mrs. Harumi Nagai

Mrs. Tsuru Naito

Mr. John Nakagawa

Mrs. Rowena Nakagawa

Mr. Magohei Nakagiri

Mr. Kengo Nakahara

Mr. Chiyotaro Nakano

Mr. Kenichi Nakano

Mrs. Kofuji Nakano

Mrs. Yoshiko Nakao

Mrs. Toyoko Nakao

Mr. Kikutaro Nakashima

Mrs. Sandra Nakashima

Mrs. Yoi Nakashima

Mrs. Sanaye Negi

Mrs. Ito Nishimoto

Mr. Akio Noda

Mrs. Fumiko Obayashi

Mrs. Mary Fujiye Ogawa

Mrs. Elsie Ogata – 7th year

Mrs. Kae Oka

Mr. George Richard Okano

Mr. Danzaburo Okawa

Mr. Robert Oto – 3rd year

Mrs. Kimiye Ozawa

Mr. Kozo Sasaki

Ray Simon Robles

Mrs. Kazuko Seiji – 33rd year

Rev. Shusei Shimada

Mr. Shigeru Shimamura

Mrs. Miyoko Shimizu

Mr. Mitsuo Shintani

Mr. Alan Suehiro

Mr. Kazunori Sunada

Mr. Kusutaro Sunayama

Mr. Kaoru Suto

Ms. Marsha Tagami

Mr. Kazuo Takahashi

Mrs. Fumiye Takashima

Mr. George Takashima – 25th year

Mrs. Sugi Takashima

Mrs. Harue Tamura

Mrs. Hanako Terakawa Tamura

Mr. Gihei Tanada

Mrs. Matsuye Tani – 1st year

Mrs. Marie Taniguchi

Mrs. Hayano Toyofuku

Mrs. Chiyo Tsuchiya

Mr. Muraku Tsuchiya

Mrs. Tome Tsujimoto

Mr. Kaoru Umeki

Mr. George Ushijima

Mr. Sadakichi Wada

Mrs. Tomo Watanabe

Mr. Jerry Yamamoto

Mr. Joni Yamamoto – 3rd year

Mr. Masaru Yamamoto

Mr. Sashichi Yamamoto

Mr. Shichiro Yokomizo

Mr. Shoji Yoshida

Mr. George S. Yoshioka

Mr. Tadaichi Yoshioka

SEPTEMBER 20217

HOST 4: Leader: Gail Taniwa-Ryujin

*Service format TBD

1

Board of Directors Meeting Online 7:00 pm

2 Momijikai Online 10:00 am

3 4

5 No Service

6 Labor Day Holiday

7 8 9 10 11

12

*Dharma Service & Shotsuki Memorial Service

13 14 15 16

Momijikai Online 10:00 am

17 18

19

*Fall Ohigan Dharma Service

20 21 22 23 24

Busshin Articles Due

25

26

*Dharma Service

27

Golf Fun Day Berkeley Country Club

28 29 30

SEPTEMBER 2021

AMAZON WILL DONATE 0.5% OF YOUR PURCHASES IF YOU DESIGNATE Buddhist Church of Oakland on your Amazonsmile account. Go to

www.Smile.Amazon.com and follow the directions to designate the Bud-

dhist Church of Oakland as your charity. Always start your purchase on

https://amazon.com/smile and contributions will go the BCO. Thank you!

Questions? Email Maya Lawrence. n

Shop Amazon? Designate BCO as Your Charity!

We want to hear from you!In the coming days, you will be receiving a questionnaire about your thoughts on the

pandemic and how it relates to the Buddhist Church of Oakland. Your response is very

important to us and will help us determine how the church will move forward.

�ank you,Buddhist Church of Oakland Board of Directors

Buddhist Church of Oakland

N O T I C E T O B C O S A N G H A

SEPTEMBER 20218