By Dylan Ishida
Good Morning,
My name is Dylan Ishida, and I’ll be honest, I’ve been dreading this moment since I got the email that we had to give a speech months ago, and of course, I waited till the last day to write it. My family can confirm this worry, and I’m pretty sure my Grandma is more excited than I am just to hear what I decided to talk about, since she even managed to get my Grandpa to leave the house and come to the service. When I was little, I remember coming to service fairly often, not exactly paying close attention to what was being said, but I was there. As time passed, my attendance has definitely decreased, only improving a little more when I entered high school.
You Don’t Have to Do It Alone
The main contributor to my absences is due to something I love and know very well, and for some reason, many of my peers associate my name with: Basketball. Specifically, I want to talk about what happens when someone gets hurt. In kinesiology — which is what I will be studying in the fall — there’s the principle that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Without getting too scientific, this basically relates to how when one aspect, such as a bone, is affected, and it affects all surrounding and related joints and muscles, which is known as a kinetic chain. The body is so interconnected that an injury in one place will quietly reorganize everything else.
Team Work & Effort Always
This idea was something I didn’t truly learn in a classroom. I learned it here.
I’ve been playing basketball since I probably gained consciousness, and many of those developing years happened as a part of Tri-City, which were some of the most fun times, and where I made many of my best friends. I’ve had the opportunity to give back through coaching many kids throughout my four years in High School and I want to thank them for challenging me and making my time as a coach unforgettable. I’ve played many different levels of basketball, whether that’s high school or as a Ninja and I always thought I understood what a team meant — have fun, play your role, know your assignment, and trust the person next to you.
The moment I learned the true meaning of a team was one of the many times I sprained my ankles. When it happened, I expected everyone to keep playing, but the game was stopped right away. My coach checked on me, helped me to the bench, and my teammates checked on me throughout the game. We ended up winning, which helped with the pain since I knew I wouldn’t be able to play the game I loved until I recovered, but what helped even more was being surrounded by my team. It was a moment I started reflecting on more when I started learning about sports medicine. About how recovery isn’t just biological — it’s relational. Healing happens faster when you don’t have to do it alone. Which is something I realized the Temple has been teaching me for years.
Community Is A Kinetic Chain
I’ve been around the Temple for as long as I can remember. Dharma School on Sunday mornings, Obon every summer, Tri-City practices on the weekends, and two weeks of Nakayoshi Gakko. I watched the Seniors give their speeches, the same way some of you are watching me now, and I used to wonder what I’d say when it was my turn. In the end, the answer to that question is that the community is a kinetic chain. Every person in this Sangha is connected to every other person in ways that aren’t always obvious. The Dharma School teacher who said something in passing that you forget the next day — it’s still in you somewhere. The advisor who stayed late to help you prep for an event. All of it moves through you. And you move through all of it. That’s interdependence. And I used to think of it as a concept you memorize for Dharma School. Now I understand it as just — the way things actually work.
I have so many people to thank, and I know I won’t do any of them justice in the time I have.
- To Reverend Mukojima, thank you for the Dharma Talks that I didn’t always fully understand in the moment, but have a way of surfacing later, when I need them most.
- To my Dharma School teachers throughout the years and YBA advisors, you gave your Sunday mornings to us for years. You showed up, prepared, were patient, and consistent. I hope you know that it paid off.
- To the younger members and kids, you’re more ready than you think, and if you ever feel lost in service, just bow when everyone bows. It’ll be okay.
- And to my family, thank you for supporting me through everything and for bringing me here, even when I was difficult about it, and would have rather slept in.
Kinetic Change Continues
I started my talk with a basketball injury. I want to end with what happened after. Of course, I came back and recovered. Not because I’m tougher than I thought, though I hope that’s a little true. But because I had people to come back to. Because recovery is partly physical and mostly relational. Because of the kinetic chain—the body, the team, and the community adjust themselves when one part needs support. So, I’m not moving into my next chapter with just a diploma, but with a way of seeing the world. One where healing is possible, where no one has to go it alone, and where the people standing beside you are doing more for you than you’ll ever be able to fully measure.
I’ll carry that into every room I walk into for the rest of my life.
Thank you.
Temple Is My 2nd Home
By Kylie Uyekubo
For as long as I can remember. I have absolutely dreaded giving speech. I would sit down in the pews every single year whispering to my friends about how glad I was that it wasn’t me on this podium speaking in front of the entire Sangha. However, as I got older, especially now having ended my senior year, I have found myself dreading this speech for an entirely different reason. Yes, I still hate public speaking and that has not changed. But in a year full of so many lasts, the last day of school, the last rally, the last basketball game, I have realized that I’m approaching a lot of lasts here at Temple too. The last YBA meeting, the last time I’ll share pits and peaks during Dharma School, and the last Nakayoshi Gakko session.
Temple Has Impacted My Life
At every stage of my life, this Temple has been a place where I have made memories and found a sense of belonging in such a welcoming community. From when I was a little Dharma School kid sitting in the front rows, to a middle schooler sitting behind a computer for online service and zoom Dharma School, to the person I have become today. For years this campus has become like a second home to me. There are sometimes I’m here so often I think it would be more efficient to just sleep over. Over the span of my life, the lessons I have learned have exceeded that of just the Dharma Talks. The lessons I have learned from the Sangha and absorbing information about the teachings of the Buddha from watching all of you has had an insurmountable impact on my life.
One of the most important lessons that I have learned at the Temple is the importance of putting yourself out there and embracing all opportunities you are offered. Going into High School and joining YBA, I was encouraged to step outside my comfort zone and volunteer to lead projects and run for leadership positions. As a freshman, I was hesitant to speak up, still a little unsure of what I was supposed to be doing or what I was supposed to be saying. As the past four years have gone by, I have grown into myself as a person, I’ve volunteered to chair Spaghetti Dinner and made my voice heard by contributing to conversations. At every step of the way, there was always someone there to support and encourage me. This community has formed me into the person I am today who is more responsible, more confident, and more willing to take risks because of it.
Giving Back To The Community
I’ve also learned the impact giving back to the community can have. No matter how small the action may seem to me, I’ve seen how the small sacrifice of time to volunteer or help out can make a huge difference when everyone comes together to help each other. Watching the Sangha dedicate countless hours to the Temple has helped me realize that nothing would be possible without so many people willing to care for something bigger than them. It has taught me the value of kindness and selfishness that I continue to take with me.
Another thing from Temple that I will always take with me is the importance of building relationships with the people around me. And not even just becoming friends with peers who are my own age, but also making connections with the entire Sangha. Whether that is in the form of serving tea during Keiro Kai, learning how to sew and understand a car engine from ABA (which I now sort of understand), or playing with the younger kids after Dharma School or during Nakayoshi Gakko. Even if I have never spoken to them before, this Temple has fostered such a friendly and supportive environment where everyone gets to know each other and support each other in some capacity. The relationships I have made, especially here, have helped me in so many ways. They have shown me how to find fun regardless of the situation. Through the long conference weekends, a game musical chairs to the tune of K-pop demon hunters that got so competitive people were thrown to the floor, hours in the Polish Dog Booth during Obon, and scrambling eggs (or trying to scramble eggs) for Hawaiian Breakfast, the friends I have made here always manage to make me laugh and are the reason I have so many amazing memories here. Throughout everything going on outside, if I’m stressed about finals, AP testing, college applications, I know I can always come here on the weekends.
Thank You to Everyone
I would like to first thank Reverend Mukojima for all of your amazing Dharma Talks, I’ve picked up more from them over the years than I have even realized. I would also like to thank the entire Sangha for your support, along with all of my Dharma School teachers and YBA advisors for all of the support and guidance they have given me. Finally, I would like to thank my family. Thank you so much for all of your unconditional love and support, even when I’m not the easiest. You have led by example and taught me how important showing up for the people you care about is since you have always shown up for me no matter what in every single way and I am so incredibly grateful for you. Everything I am is because of you and I love you so much.
As I move into college, I will carry everything that the Sangha has given me into every chapter of my life moving forward.
Thank you!