Please join me In Gassho.
“If Spiderman was real, my guess would be that Connor Sato is under that mask.”
Namo Amida Butsu,
Namo Amida Butsu,
Namo Amida Butsu.
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Good Morning, Everyone!
Thank you Alex and Cori for the introduction. So, the quote I opened with today was made by one of the greatest Coast District or CD presidents in history, Jarrett Wong. It was from his own speech last year and could never be more true.
Another quote I want to bring up is from one of my favorite movies, Spiderman Across the Spiderverse. How many of you have seen it?
Well, if you haven’t seen it, the basic gist is that the main character, Miles Morales, is a new Spiderman and finds out that there are others like him. The others believe all Spidermen must go through the same experiences to be one, however, Miles wants to change that. He finds his own path and says: “Everyone tells me how my story is supposed to go. Nah. Imma do my own thing.”
Throughout my experience at the Temple, I always felt like there were high expectations for me. My dad is known for being one of the go-to Temple facilities and maintenance guys and is forklift-certified now. My mom is a YBA advisor, and VISION Committee member and is always willing to help anyone. My sister, Jordyn, was YBA President and assisted at services with running Zooms. And my brother, Tyler, well, he’s good at basketball, I guess. In all seriousness, he co-chaired a YBA CD conference and always helped at YBA activities and Obon.
Considering all of these high achievers, I felt that I always had to step up and do more. I always volunteered during service or went to every event and helped as much as I possibly could. However, this slowly started to take the fun out of things. I started to dread what embarrassing thing I say next or what I must do at the next event.
When COVID hit and everything stopped, it gave me time to reflect. I wondered why I wasn’t enjoying my time at the Temple as much. I never found my answer till the first year back. My first year in YBA taught me that, here, the Temple, is a welcoming place. I went in not knowing anyone, but came out with the greatest group of friends I could ever ask for. I didn’t need to tell Sensei that I had pet shrimp or to take bigger leadership roles in YBA to be like the rest of my family, the Temple accepted me for who I was and what I could do.
Just like Miles Morales, I was able to find my own path.
I would like to thank the Sangha for everything they’ve done for me. You’ve made the Temple feel like a second home. Thank you to Sensei and all of my past and present Dharma school teachers for guiding me through life. I would also like to thank all the friends I’ve made along the way. Thank you, Brent, for being Brent and supporting me through my time in YBA, Jake for driving me everywhere, Ryan for being a great group leader and always getting boba with me, Jarrett for calling me Spiderman, Lacey for being a great wing-woman, Jillian for always bringing people together and a great person to talk to, Emi for being the kindest and most positive person I’ve met and Brad for sending me TikToks and Reels and being the greatest friend in my final year. Lastly, to my day one, Mason. You’ve always been a great person to talk to and inspired me to get through the lockdown. I’ll always cherish the memories we made together since preschool
The last people I’d like to thank are my family. Dad, thank you for yelling me into the person I am today and introducing me to all of my interests. Thank you, Mom, for always supporting me in everything I do and sharing your elite basketball knowledge. Thank you, Jordyn, for always paying for food and boba and mentoring me throughout my life. Thank you, Tyler, for always being a role model in my life and playing basketball with me.
Please join me in gassho
Namo Amida Butsu
Namo Amida Butsu
Namo Amida Butsu