This past year, 2005, started positively from the 2004 influences of our memorable 90th anniversary of the founding of our temple. The theme, A Special Place, based on a gatha we often sing in our dharma family services, reflected, to me, a renewed dedication and commitment of our sangha and expresses the faith, hope, and caring we share with and for each other. My deepest wish is to have this spirit in our temple grow in a continuous way within the boundless circle of Amida Buddha's wisdom and compassion.

There are many layers of participation and involvement of our sangha which make our temple "a special place".

Our Growing the Temple committee is quite active in developing strategic plans for our temple's future. They work closely with our temple Board of Directors so that our religious and spiritual legacy continues to grow positively and constructively. A special working retreat of our leaders identified four major goals to develop over the next 5-10 years, culminating in our 100th anniversary. They are 1. Increase active membership, 2. Increase community service activities, 3. Improve temple facilities; 4. Improve and increase Buddhist education programs and activities. A positive focus on our future direction also led to the inclusion of over 30 people who joined our sangha during the past year. The committee sponsored a newcomers evening for a night of sharing information about our temple programs and activities while engaging in a fun social.

Our spirit of Compassion in Action continues to be a vital heart-beat of our temple life. Many in our sangha may not be consciously aware of the kindness and compassion extended by our members. Quietly and often without much fanfare and visibility, various temple members, many from our "fun-loving" senior group - Yuwakai - unselfishly assist and support our seniors and others with health and life issues. They also extend dana to other service organizations outside our temple.

Our temple lay volunteer chaplains at Stanford University also continue to manifest "compassion in action" through their deep caring and attention to the many Buddhist patients, both members and non-members, at the hospital. One of the unique qualities of a teaching and research hospital like Stanford is that many of the patients are not only from the local area, but come from throughout our nation and other foreign countries. So it is not unusual for our volunteers to meet Buddhist patients, Asians, and non-Asians, from throughout Asia as well as locally and nationally. In the past three years since its inception at Stanford, our lay volunteer chaplains have made from 4500-5000 visits with Buddhist patients. This is an amazing number of visits when we consider 10-12 lay volunteers are most actively in making these visits. Because of the diversity of Asian Buddhist patients at Stanford, our volunteer chaplains have stimulated other Asian Buddhist groups to develop their own lay volunteer service. In the meantime, we continue to invite and encourage our members and friends to join and participate in this deeply rewarding ministry.

Our English language Dharma Family Services steadfastly reflect a positive mix of inter-generational and ethnically diverse listeners and participants. Our Dharma School participation clearly reflects this diversity. And, unlike the past where many of the parents have dropped off their children on Sunday mornings, our services and class involvement and participation reflect the family as a unit - parents and children involved in dharma activities and programs. Recently, many parents and adult temple members have formed a support group for the Dharma School. In such a way, our dharma school teachers are better able to prepare and develop our students in the dharma.

Our monthly Japanese language service also respectfully addresses our members who desire to continue listening to dharma in Japanese. We are fortunate in our area to have retired Japanese-speaking ministers who continue to enthusiastically share the dharma with our listeners. We invite you and your friends who too wish to participate in this monthly service.

We continue to be mindful of the life and needs of our sangha. We are always open to suggestions and advise which will strengthen our temple as "a special place".

Lastly, my diagnosis with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in June and subsequent surgery and chemotherapy treatments for nearly six months have curtailed my participation and involvement in many areas of our programs and activities. I wish again to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your understanding, support, and the good wishes you've extended to me and my family. As I continue to heal, my hope is to serve you in the dharma in the best was possible in the coming year.

In the spirit of Metta for this coming year, 2006, may you be happy and well; may no harm or difficulty come to you; may you live each day in peace and harmony.