It may have been a chilly and wintery night outside but this year we stayed warm and comfortable inside the temple to “ring in the New Year” as we took turns to hit the kansho bell 108 times. By ringing the bell 108 times, we symbolically acknowledge the 108 blind passions that we possess and bring ourselves into a greater awareness so that we can start the New Year with a more conscious mind of the Buddha’s workings in our lives.
Thank you to all who came out to participate in the bell ringing and to the volunteers who helped serve tea and hot chocolate.
We also had a fantastic time at the Hatsumode event on January 1st, 2018. There were so many new people who attended the event at the temple on New Year’s Day. Amazingly there were over 700 people who came throughout the day! The social hall was virtually at capacity from 11am to 9pm. So many people went through our Hondo for oshoko and also for a chance to ring our kansho bell to ring in the new year. Many people also attended the 11am and 1pm service too.
Thanks go to Susan Ebisuzaki and Diane Mark for assisting at the event. Rev. Yoshi put in yeoman hours at the event. In addition, Rev. Yoshi was the person mainly responsible as the temple rep who helped to organize this very successful event. Thank you to Team Samurai Resurrection, the restaurant owners and their staff for organizing and executing a happy and wonderful event!