Editor's Note - This is an excerpt from the May 2008 issue of the Buddhist Wheel 

Good morning everyone. This morning as you all know, we are having a Welcome Tea for our new minister the Rev. Kazunori Takahashi. The Rev. Toyokazu Hagio, our rimban is now in Kumamoto, Japan with his mother who is over 85 years old. We should be happy that this good son and husband has taken time off from a busy schedule to travels thousands of miles to see his mother. In recent months, it was Rev. Hagio’s wife, Junko, who has been looking after his mother in Kumamoto. I’m sure that Rev. Hagio cherishes and appreciates Junko even more.

Editor's Note - This is an excerpt from the April 2008 issue of the Buddhist Wheel

Hilo is a town where much of nature has been left untouched.  It is a very beautiful town.  After I got used to living in Hilo, I was able to spend my time there comfortably and happily.

Still, when I would sometimes become depressed in the evening, I would go out to the yard and lie down on the lawn.  I felt both excited and surprised to see a lot of big shining stars right in front of my eyes.   Even if I closed my eyes, I could see the stars.  It felt as if I was seeing the infinite world there.  Whether my eyes were open or not, I felt the infinite world.  It was the first time for me to have this feeling that I became very attached to this feeling of the infinite world.

Editor's Note - This is an excerpt from the March 2008 issue of the Buddhist Wheel

As you know, Siddhartha Gautama, who later became known as the founder of Buddhism, was born about 2,600 years ago in Lumbini Garden in a Himalayan foothills village in what today is Nepal. The son of King Suddhodana of the Shakya clan, he was born among the beautiful blooming flowers. After renouncing his royal life as Siddhartha, he spent years seeking the truth of life, finally achieving Enlightenment. Then, known as Shakyamuni Buddha, he spent 45 years sharing the Buddha Dharma, the true and real teaching of Amida’s Universal Vows. Shakyamuni Buddha spent his life showing each person how to achieve awareness through discovering and realizing the entrusting mind, the Universal Law, or the Vow of Amida Buddha. As Shinran Shonin in the Shoshinge said, “The Master Shakyamuni Buddha did appear in this world to teach the Vow of Amida Buddha for everyone to hear”.