Moon and Star.

I think this picture is pretty(^○^) I am bogged down with paper and errands.... But as the saying goes, Stop to pause and wallow in the beauty of nature..... Hehehe(*^^*) it makes Honbu look pretty too.

Italian by Suzuki(^○^)

Tuna and tomato sauce home made and cabbage salad with home made onion dressing....!

DEATH. (WOMPT7)

*This is one of my FAVORITE piece of writing. Please enjoy.



Some day you will die.

Lying on your sick bed about to breathe your last, you will be assailed with every kind of pain, your mind will be filled with fears and anxieties and you will not know where to go or what to do.

Only then you will realize you have not practiced well.

The skandhas/ aggregates (matter, sensations, conception, impulses and consciousness) and the four elements in you will quickly disintegrate and your consciousness will be pulled wherever your ancient twisted karma leads it.

Impermanence does not hesitate.

Death will not wait.

You will not be able to extend your life by even a second.

How may thousands times more will you have to pass through the gates of birth and death.

If these words are challenging, even insulting, let them be an encouragement for you to change.

PRACTICE HEROICALLY.

Do not accumulate unnecessary possessions.

DO NOT GIVE UP.

Still your mind, end wrong perceptions, concentrate and do not run after the objects of your senses.

PRACTICE DILIGENTLY.

Be determined not to let your days and months pass by wastefully.

"Encouraging Words".

Happy Lunar New Year!

😄May everyone have a great 2012 and fulfill your New Year Resolutions!

You can see Mt Fuji waaaaay back in the picture.

Coffee Shop.

This coffee shop is no longer around but it was Sosai's andy family's favorite coffee and tea cafe.

The owner brought coffee for all meetings、branch chief meeting too.

Right before the 3/11 last year he moved to Nagano after retirement(｡-_-｡)

They had great coffee and sandwich toasts.... Miss them a lot.

Gratitude to Uchideshi.

Growing up, I have always known how my father felt about people training his karate and in particular, the Uchideshi.

I really feel how happy my parents are in Heaven, to have this person return to Honbu.
He came back from this year to Honbu. He trained as Uchideshi and graduated, finishing the three year program. He was also the Dorm Chief for few years.

 Honbu must be a special place for him because he met his wife here too. (^o^) This return of the "Uchideshi" (^@^)  as I call it is really so sweet because I can see how much it means to him. The personal journey is always so sacred and I almost can feel the conversation he has with his teacher in his heart.

It is moving to witness someone wanting to be and is being, the change they want to see in the world. (of Kyokushin that is.)

Om Shanti

Reiterating the Advice...

One of the Best Advice... (^;^)

May. 14th, 2009 at 8:58 PM

When I was in primary school, I was bullied A LOT by one group of kids. It was so bad that I do not remember my 4th grade year. There was one kid in particular who bugged me. I did not tell my parents about it especially in the beginning but it was really eating me alive, affecting my school work.

So one day I refused to go to school and locked myself in my room. When Sosai came home, (more like walked "up" home since our home was just above the office and the dojo), my frantic mother obviously had spoken to him.... I did not speak all during dinner nor next morning. Or that whole week I think... Sosai did not say anything significant in relations to my refusal to go to school either.

As time passed by I felt myself slip out of my protective shell and just as I started to relax (or forget) about my brutal treatment from my school mates, (some were older) he gave me one of the best advice- in life I guess too.

He said, "Who's is bothering you?" (He never asked nor did I speak about my refusal going to school, which is interesting),.

I said, "Everyone". (In reality it was only 4 or 5, as I recall)

He stared at me a bit (which seemed damn long for me...) and he said, "Is this boy or a girl?"

I said, "both".

He stared at me intently... I remember he was really looking serious... and was really taking in

what I was "speaking" to him.

He said, " I will tell you what. Next time any kid bothers you, take the nearest thing- a rock, a book, a pencil case... (I guess a blunt object) and lay him or her out".

I was shocked of his suggestion... so I was silent.

And he went on, " Just do not hit on the head and do it away from the ear, aim the jaw".

I was still silent.

Next day I went to school. I felt very quiet. I guess when I look back now, I was preparing.

So I did it when the next incident came around.

To my surprise, I actually "felt" good. And it worked.

I got in trouble, my parents were both called in the principal's office. Sosai was scolded by the Catholic sister's of the school. He apologized to the boy's parents too. But he turned to wink at me.

On the way back in the car, I put my head on his lap and slept all the way back home.

Since that incident, no one bothered me anymore and I made life-long friends.

Though I won't advise my child to do the same, it was a great lesson for me that stuck with me all through my life. Someone had invaded my "space" - my being and I learned that no one will stick up for you if you don't do it yourself.

Many years later, when my mother was used a bill board- we felt so invaded and claustrophobic. To learn to be honest and strong enough never allow oneself to deviate from what we choose to do was the hardest thing and sometimes, being "nice" is the worse deceit of all- especially to one self.

All choices we make should come from most truthful place of our beings and that is what I learned from Sosai. I am still learning of his advice and to this day it had helped me through the toughest cases. Regardless of the outcome, he had shown me that the only way is to never deviate from what is most true in our hearts and we have to protect it with all our being.