Welcome Rev. Nariaki Hayashi, Guest Speaker at Ho-Onko, Shinran's Memorial

The Temple Welcomes Rev. Nariaki Hayashi of Ekoji Buddhist Temple

For our observation of Ho-Onko (Shinran Shonin’s Memorial Service), the Temple welcomes Rev. Nariaki Hayashi of the Ekoji Buddhist Temple. Ekoji is just outside Washington D.C., in Virginia.

Rev. Hayashi has introduced himself in the past as follows:

“I was born in Hawaii, so I guess that makes me a Nisei; the second generation. I moved back to Japan when I was 12.

“I come from a temple family with roots in Kagoshima, Japan. After my graduation from Kansai International Language University, my first job was working in the hotel business as a salesperson for over five years. The hotel business was a wonderful job and proved to be a challenging career. However, while working so hard to achieve good results at sales, there was always a feeling of emptiness in my personal time. The more I succeeded, the more I sacrificed, spending more and more time at work. I quickly found out that, yes, the Japanese do work too hard.

“Reflecting on this experience and what I was going through, I came to realize that the teaching of Shin Buddhism gave me an opportunity to pause and consider what life is. At the same time, it helped to fill the emptiness in my heart. Thus, from this experience, I believe that the teaching will guide me, and hopefully all of you who have not still encountered our tradition, to a greater journey and meaningful life.”

For Ho-Onko on January 16, Rev. Hayashi will be Dharma Messages for Dharma School and in English and Japanese for our adult Sangha, all helping us to appreciate the contributions of Shinran Shonin to our lives. Although the messages are by video, Hayashi Sensei is a warm and direct speaker, and we look forward to them.

Thank you Sensei, and Welcome!