UPDATES So You Can Plan for Dec. 31 and Jan. 1
Pictured, Bell Ringing at Shelter Island, 2015. Photo courtesy of Joyce Teague.
cancelled: new year’s eve 11:30 p.m. bell-ringing
Other Services and Events continue on New Year’s Eve and Day
The Buddhist Temple of San Diego regrets it will cancel what would have been the resumptiom of Bell-Ringing at Shelter Island on New Year’s Eve. The event is being cancelled because inclement weather. As of this writing, the chance of rain is at 98 percent.
December 31
At 6 p.m. Buddhist Temple, Joya-E. Join us for a short service in the Hondo (main hall) and a chance to help us ring in the New Year. After paying our respects to Amida Buddha, attendees are invited to ring our Kansho (bell) 108 times, a Japanese Buddhist tradition.
Joya-E Explained. Jo (除) means “to throw out” and Ya (夜) means “night.” So the Joya-E service is the night to cast out the troubles of the past year and begin the new year with new resolutions and a clear head. Adherents assemble before the shrine of Amida Buddha to quietly recollect the happenings of the year and to rejoice in the blessings of Amida. (Thanks to Seattle Buddhist Temple for this explanation.)
January 1
At 10 a.m. at the Temple, Shuso-E. In this short service we welcome the New Year by paying our respects to Amida Buddha and dedicate ourselves to .the Dharma for another year.
Shuso-E Explained. Originally a gathering to hope for a good harvest for the coming year, the observance was adapted within the Jodo Shinshu tradition for focusing on the Buddha’s teachings for the new year. Some translations suggest this is a way for us to correct our path or rededicate ourselves. (Your editor is confirming the Japanese characters, or kanji, and will add them soon.)
We hope you can join us for at least one of these events or services to help you start the New Year with a clean slate and a light step.
WHAT EVENT WAS CANCELLED?
Here is some background on the Joya no Kane service that would have taken place at Shelter Island this New Year’s Eve at 11:30 p.m. Traditioanally, before the pandemic, we would meet at 11:30 p.m. at the Shelter Island Friendship Bell to ring in the New Year through midnight. The photo above comes from the bell-ringing at Shelter Island in 2015. We had hoped to resume the practice following the restrictions of the Covid pandemic but will now look forward to this time next year to resume.
The two important aspects of the Shelter Island event are for the community and the Buddhist tradition.
Community. The event allowed us to honor the people behind choosing Yokohama as San Diego’s Sister City, and to allow the community the rare chance of ringing this large, two-ton, metal bell. Ordinarily the bell is not made accessible to the public. The event also allowed us to celebrate San Diego’s many other sister cities.
Buddhist Tradition. Especially in Japan, on New Year’s Eve, Buddhists flock to nearby Temple’s to join in ringing the Temple bells to akcnowledge and absolve human imperfections and to start the year with a clean slate.
Joya no Kane Explained. As shown above, Jo (除) means “to throw out” and Ya (夜) means “night.” Kane (鐘) means “bell.” The particle no (の) links Joya to Kane. So Joya no Kane refers specifically to the ritual ringing of the bell to allow us to ring out the old and ring in the new. The ritual specifies 108 times. For an explanation of this ritual, see here.
Ring Our Online Bell. If you can’t make it to one of our end of year bell-ringings, you can still ring the bell online with this post from the Covid years when we were unable to meet in person.