Dharma Talk
On Girl Scout Sunday, March 22, the Scouts gave a Dharma Talk with some history of our troop as well as some reflections on gratitude. This is an excerpt from their talk:
In early 2007, Auntie Naomi Nakano- Matsumoto wanted to start a Girl Scout Troop that would be affiliated with the MVBT. And she did just that! Our MVBT Troop 60736 was born with 9 Daisies, 8 Brownies, 2 leaders and lots of helpers.
We were a parent run troop and parents participated in all aspects of running our troop. It was this interdependence between the parents, leaders and girls that made our troop run so smoothly. Today we’re much smaller, but we represent almost all levels: we have 1 Daisy, 1 Junior, 2 Cadettes, 1 Senior and 1 Ambassador.
We have always tried to instill some aspects of Buddhism into our Troop ac- tivities. At Temple services, we have recited the Golden Chain, the Six Par- amitas, the Eightfold Path, and the Daily Creed, which emphasize compassion, gratitude and community service. As Girl Scouts, we have learned the Girl Scout Promise and the Girl Scout Law, which focus on leadership, service and character.
Girl Scouting and Buddhism share a focus on building character, compassion and ethical behavior. Both emphasize helping others and working for the betterment of the world, and both emphasize women’s empowerment and leadership…and gratitude. Some examples include gratitude to Reverend Mukojima, who has always shown such support to our troop, and whose daughter started as a Daisy and will graduate High School and Girl Scouts this year. We share our gratitude to the BWA for being role models to our Scouts and also allowing us to learn about planning and hosting events through our yearly luncheons we throw as a thank you. We share gratitude for our Sangha for supporting our many fundraisers throughout the years. And of course, gratitude to our Auntie Naomi for starting us on this path!
BWA Luncheon
The Girl Scouts hosted their annual luncheon for the BWA. There were 17 members of the BWA, and Reverend Mukojima, in attendance and were treated to a “Tea Party” themed luncheon.
In Gassho,
Girl Scout Troop 60736