By Rebecca Kunze
Good Morning, Everyone!
My name is Rebecca Kunze, and I’m so excited and honored to be able to share this talk with you today.
As I’ve been moving closer towards graduation recently, I’ve been doing a lot of reflection on what I will miss, what will change, and what I want to accomplish in the future. In thinking about those first few topics, I began to consider what role the Mountain View Buddhist Temple has held for me as I have grown up. I categorized this impact in three different boxes that overlap:
- Service,
- Obon, and
- Most importantly, Taiko.
Service
The Mountain View Buddhist Temple has been a constant presence in my life as long as I can remember, and far beyond that in the lives of my mom, her sister, and her parents. I remember sitting in the hondo with my classmates and tracing the pronunciation marks in the Service Book as each sound was chanted. I remember making an octopus out of yarn, where each leg represented one part of the eightfold path; the reason I still remember all of the parts today. But most significantly, I remember the people; my friends’ parents and grandparents stopping to say “Hi” and talk to me.
During the end of middle school and the beginning of high school, I stopped going to church regularly. When I began coming back this past year, it was like nothing had changed. The community at Mountain View Buddhist Temple truly embodies the idea of compassion, which I am reminded of every time I have to open a jar with my “Compassion is the heart of the Buddha” jar opener and every time someone stops me to ask “What’s new in my life.” Through becoming a sempai for Nakayoshi Gakko, I got closer with so many of the Dharma School kids, and I love seeing them grow up, change, and find new passions and hobbies. I also grew closer with others in my class through YBA, and the Coast District Board. Temple is somewhere I always feel like I can find a place for myself, and I know that will not change even as I go off to college.
Obon
However, my strongest memories of church from a young age revolve around Obon. Whether it was the bright lanterns, the fish that I won (and then had to give away), or dancing with my parents and friends, Obon was always a time of year that I looked forward to.
Honestly, I have all of you to thank for the fact that I’m going to college because this is what my common application essay was on. I’m going to read you all a quick excerpt from it that I think encapsulates why I love Obon so much:
“The festival is home, a place of comfort, something that has been present throughout my entire life. I love Obon because it is a time of joy and connection, a moment where everyone at my Temple those who have come before us, and because it has taught me to be part of something bigger.”
Obon shows me what it feels like to belong, it forms and renews connections among family, friends, and strangers. Obon has also taught me about the value of our Sangha, and what it means to come together to create something larger than ourselves. Through skewering beef, shaping manju, and working in game booths, I have truly learned what it means to put in effort in order to achieve a larger goal and help make something happen. Obon is something that I know I will return to year after year, as long as I am able to.
Taiko
Finally, I want to reflect on taiko, since it was because of Mountain View Buddhist Temple that I started playing. It’s crazy to me how significant of a role taiko now plays in my life. I remember being 5 years old and watching my sister play taiko, and I was so jealous that she got to play and I didn’t. When I turned 7, I began playing myself, first learning the basic hits, the parts of the drum, and the 3 original taiko groups.
Now, taiko is something that I use to form community, connect with my culture, and is one of the most integral aspects of who I am. To draw from my college application once again,
“Taiko is the heartbeat of my life, the rhythm that has held true ever since I was seven years old.
In every aspect of my world, I hear the synchronicity of the different drums combining to form a single song, one which grounds me and makes me a more centered, focused person.”
Today, I perform with two different taiko groups: both Mountain View Buddhist Temple Taiko and San Jose Taiko. I plan on hopefully continuing to play and learn as I move forward in college. Taiko has grown to be one of the most central aspects of who I am, and I will always be thankful to the Temple for introducing me to this instrument, because I genuinely could not imagine my life without it.
Thank You
Overall, in more ways beyond just these three, I am so thankful to this Temple for having played big role in raising me and forming my values, community, and identity in such major ways. My life would be far from what it is without all the people and activities the Temple has introduced me to.
Thank you to my Dharma School teachers throughout the years, my taiko instructors, the friends I have made at Temple, and to my family for encouraging me to be so involved in so many different activities and church events. As I move forward into college, I know that the values and friendships I have created are indelible, and that I will continue to cherish everything I have fostered here for the years to come.
Thank you