November brings thoughts of Thanksgiving. What are we grateful for? It’s easy to say family, friends, our home, having food on the table. What happens when we change our view and look at the things we might not consider as something to be grateful for?  For example, we had a fire at our temple in 2022. The fire wiped out our basement and its contents. Smoke damage permeated the main floor rooms, hondo and onaijin. Such an event doesn’t seem like anything to be grateful for. However, as we look around our temple today, we see upgrades andrenovations that have made this temple a building to be proud of. These projects were needed, but would have been put off for the future. We can be grateful for the disaster clean-up crews, contractors, donors, volunteers, and Mike Iseri. Out of the disaster rises a reinvigorated temple. Another example is that I had a series of unfortunate events during the last month. I am going to try to find something to be grateful for amidst the chaos. Hopeful...

The Nenju or O-nenju is a circular set of beads worn/carried on the left hand. The length of the O-nenju might be small (worn like a bracelet around the wrist) or larger and carried in the left hand.  In Buddhism, these beads represent our negative and selfish thoughts and feelings that motivate us in ways that hurt ourselves and others.   A full-sized bead chain has 108 beads, but at our Jodo Shinshu temples most people wear or carry a much smaller O-nenju. During certain parts of our temple services, people place the palms of their right and left hands together (in a gesture called “gassho” which literally means “palms together”) with the o-nenju around both hands while bowing.  Carrying/wearing the beads on the left hand is a reminder that we are incomplete/imperfect—that no matter how hard we try, as humans, we will experience the “3 poisons” of greed, anger, and ignorance.  And putting our left and right hands together, surrounded by the circle of beads, re...