Mantokuji O-Bon Festival 3-10pm July 13/24 in Paia
Mantokuji is happy to announce our O-Bon Festival on Saturday, July 13th. Please join us for this joyous event! Come early for the performances and good food! Parking is also available across the street at the Paia Community Center and the Paia Hawaiian Protestant Church. We hope you will be able to join us for this festive occasion when we welcome back our ancestors as they temporarily return to visit their families during the O-Bon season. Below is the schedule of events for our O-Bon Festival:
- 3:00 pm Graveyard Service
- 5:30 pm Food Concession opens
- 6:00 pm Zenshin Daiko performance
- 6:30 pm Maui Taiko performance
- 7:00 pm Reverend Tomoki Hirasawa will perform a short blessing service at the yagura
- 7:15 pm Bon Dance
Reverend Hirasawa's Message
Aloha. The weather is getting a little hotter, with less rain, and the days are getting longer, making it feel more like summer. Today I would like to share a story about a wedding that took place at Mantokuji last month, another first for me. This was the first wedding I had officiated as a minister. In Japan, weddings are usually held in Christian style at chapels, or in Shinto style at shrines. For many people, temples are places for funerals and memorial services, and only monks hold their weddings at temples. For many Japanese, marriage and religion are not linked, and the form of the wedding ceremony is determined by a preference for costume and atmosphere. So, it was a great opportunity for me to be asked by a Mantokuji member to perform a wedding ceremony.
On the day of the wedding, many people gathered at the temple to witness the exchange of vows and to wish the couple happiness, while receiving happiness from the couple themselves. The wedding ceremony is, of course, for the bride and groom, but their happiness must have filled the hearts of all who attended. I felt that happiness which was meant to be shared. During the ceremony, I told the bride and groom, "Say ‘I love you’ every day." After the ceremony, an attendee who was listening teased me, "Do you say I love you to Okusan every day?" Honestly, I don't say it every day because it has been seven years since we got married! But please forgive me because I do think about it in my heart every moment. I am sure that the participants of the ceremony and at the wedding felt grateful for their partners, and I, myself, was very happy. I pray for the couple's everlasting happiness.
As summer approaches, so does O-Bon season. Mantokuji's O-Bon will be held on July 13 and there is a lot to prepare. Food prep, yagura and booth construction, hanging of lights and chochins and cleaning the temple, the grounds, and cemetery. Please see the O-Bon article on page 4 and contact me if you have any questions about the O-Bon service on July 12, tobas, memorial ribbon, tanagyo and how you can help. We appreciate your help and thank you in advance for your continued support of Mantokuji. Mahalo. -- Tomoki Hirasawa
Date: Saturday, July 13th, 2024
Time: 3:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Cost: Free
Categories:
Mantokuji Zen Mission of Paia located at 253 Hana Hwy across from Paia Community Center, Paia, HI 96779 in North Maui
Phone: 808-579-8051 Email: info@paiamantokuji.org Website: www.paiamantokuji.org
Our Mission: Paia Mantokuji is a Soto Zen Buddhist temple founded in 1906 by a community of Japanese
immigrants. Our mission is to be a place of compassion, respect, and kindness for all who seek truth
through the teachings of Buddha, the practice of Zen meditation and arts, and the fellowship of the temple sangha.
Contact: Carol Murayama Phone: 808-579-8051
Email: Website: https://www.paiamantokuji.com
