Local Buddhist Temple: who knew?
Jul. 1st, 2011 09:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gurdymonkeyBiked over to the Buddhist Temple of Alameda for the pre-parade meeting to check out the truck and do a short rehearsal with the dancers. It's literally about a 5 minute bike ride from my place on a side street I don't usually go down to get to Park Street. It's in a huge old Victorian house behind a high wooden fence. Nice photo of it linked to here as I didn't take it.
I found the door in the gate unlocked and rolled my bike inside and locked up against a pole. There's a little postage-stamp Japanese garden with a small pond and some lovely trees. I would like to try to shoot pics of it on Monday morning if I can, because the light was too harsh when I took one this evening. Still, you'll get the idea.
It's a Jodo Shinshu congregation, which produced a small inward squee as that particular sect is period for Saionji and would likely have been the one she would've followed had she really existed. I bowed to the bronze statue of Shinran on my way into the hall (promptly causing one of my bachi to fall out of my bag.)
Met Yumi again, who came to our class Tuesday and some of the other folks (names having of course been exchanged and not stuck in my head). Chatted with one lady who looks 60, claims to be 82 and told me she'd lived in Alameda until her family was sent to an internment camp during WWII.
The truck arrived, we clambered onto it with a ladder and the driver slowly backed and pulled forward a few times with a bunch of us on it. It should be fine, particularly after they put some railings on it tomorrow.
Did a runthrough with the dancers (See? I toldya accompanying "Tanko Bushi" isn't rocket surgery!) and a couple choruses of "Jisshin" in the echoey social hall with the drums arranged in a small square roughly the width of the truck bed. Ate a hot dog and had some iced tea, courtesy of the temple. Have been informed we will not be needed to assist with railing installation on Saturday, but if we want to help with float decorations on Sunday morning, we'd be welcome. And of course, we need to be there to line up for the parade bright and early on Monday. (NOAA Weather still predicts a high of 79 for Monday. We'll have to see.)
I really need to sit down and practice my flat-drum solo. It doesn't feel automatic yet. At least I have some time to work on it.
Note to self, their Obon celebration is July 30. Might be fun to check it out.....
I found the door in the gate unlocked and rolled my bike inside and locked up against a pole. There's a little postage-stamp Japanese garden with a small pond and some lovely trees. I would like to try to shoot pics of it on Monday morning if I can, because the light was too harsh when I took one this evening. Still, you'll get the idea.
It's a Jodo Shinshu congregation, which produced a small inward squee as that particular sect is period for Saionji and would likely have been the one she would've followed had she really existed. I bowed to the bronze statue of Shinran on my way into the hall (promptly causing one of my bachi to fall out of my bag.)
Met Yumi again, who came to our class Tuesday and some of the other folks (names having of course been exchanged and not stuck in my head). Chatted with one lady who looks 60, claims to be 82 and told me she'd lived in Alameda until her family was sent to an internment camp during WWII.
The truck arrived, we clambered onto it with a ladder and the driver slowly backed and pulled forward a few times with a bunch of us on it. It should be fine, particularly after they put some railings on it tomorrow.
Did a runthrough with the dancers (See? I toldya accompanying "Tanko Bushi" isn't rocket surgery!) and a couple choruses of "Jisshin" in the echoey social hall with the drums arranged in a small square roughly the width of the truck bed. Ate a hot dog and had some iced tea, courtesy of the temple. Have been informed we will not be needed to assist with railing installation on Saturday, but if we want to help with float decorations on Sunday morning, we'd be welcome. And of course, we need to be there to line up for the parade bright and early on Monday. (NOAA Weather still predicts a high of 79 for Monday. We'll have to see.)
I really need to sit down and practice my flat-drum solo. It doesn't feel automatic yet. At least I have some time to work on it.
Note to self, their Obon celebration is July 30. Might be fun to check it out.....
