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| Deep Gratitude and Devotion
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| Dear Readers of the What's New, |
| I’m excited to share this issue of the What’s New because it represents the fruition of concerted enthusiasm and dedication. Below you will see features from PBA’s dean of students and Buddhist Club advisor Liane Viloria reporting on the Big Island Gratitude Tour we returned from early last week. Alumni column ghost writer and advancement director Megan Lee tells a story about the important influence fine arts teacher Wayne Takazono had on alumna Lisa Roerk, who has returned to Hawaii for the start of a graduate research fellowship. And senior Skye Li-Chan, who is the editor-in-chief of PBA’s journalism and arts magazine Karma Chronicle (advised by humanities teacher Paris Hitchcock ’13), whips up enthusiasm for the Winter 22-23 issue that dropped earlier this week. PBA welcomes the lay and religious leaders of the Honpa Honganji Mission of Hawaii to the Hawaii Betsuin temple campus for their 111th Legislative Assembly, the Giseikai. We look forward to celebrating with all of them the recognition of founding PBA board chair Fred Nonaka, along with Fred Cachola, Hiromi Peterson, and Peter Young as Living Treasures of Hawaii at the Kyodan’s Living Treasures of Hawaii Luncheon this Saturday. Sending gratitude to Fred and all the leaders of the Hongwanji. |
| Warmly, |
| PBA’s Buddhist Club Visits Big Island Hongwanji Temples as Part of Its Annual Gratitude Tour
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| PBA’s Buddhist Club returned home from the 2023 Gratitude Tour last Tuesday, restoring a much-loved tradition and valuable learning experience about the history of Buddhism in Hawaii, the variety of temple communities across the state, and dana. It was the school’s first Gratitude Tour since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first Gratitude Tour was held in 2017 following the completion of the PBA Weinberg Building as a means of expressing thanks for the support given to PBA by temple sanghas across the state.
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| Although exhausted, we can all say that it was a fun and purposeful trip! The students learned so much about neighbor island temple communities of the Big Island and how they support and love PBA. Temple members shared the history of their temples and explained how they helped create the foundation of Pacific Buddhist Academy. Beyond that, the most fulfilling part of the trip was seeing the students in a different element and watching them step up as leaders. On day one of the trip, junior Lycan De Vol impressed us with his confidence leading activities with Hilo Hongwanji preschoolers. He was interactive, goofy, and fun and the kids absolutely loved him. “I loved the energy of the kids and how excited they were to play,” said Lycan. “It’s fun when they all get into it and want to do the activities we planned.” Other club members followed suit as they played Red Light, Green Light and Duck Duck Goose with the preschoolers, who looked up to the big kids wearing ninja turtle crocs just like them.
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| The students continued to demonstrate their work ethic, positive attitude, and engagement at the clean-up of the Puna Hongwanji columbarium the following day. “For our community service project, we helped Puna Hongwanji clean the windows of their temple and columbarium. Since the pandemic, they have not been able to hold their annual cleanups, so we were glad to be able to offer our assistance,” said Chad Okawa. “One thing I have come to appreciate about the various Hongwanji temples and their members is their generosity and hospitality. In the evening, the congregation and Sr. YBA hosted a potluck for us. It was very enjoyable to talk to all the members and they made it a priority to get to know us. I was truly grateful for the opportunity to play their taiko group’s odaiko. The sound shook the room!” |
| The next day, we attended the morning service at the Honpa Hongwanji Hilo Betsuin. Several members of Karli Koyanagi’s family are members of the Honpa Hongwanji Hilo Betsuin and she looked forward to the visit. “I was really excited to see friends and family at the Hilo Hongwanji,” said Karli. “It was nice reconnecting with them after a long couple of years.” Immediately after, we joined the BWA (Buddhist Women’s Association) for a meeting and luncheon. It was great for our students to see how hard this group works to raise money for organizations such as PBA. They gave reports about their craft fair fundraisers and disbursement of funds to various Hongwanji groups. It was evident that these ladies work hard for various missions. We are honored that they include PBA as an organization to support. Our last stop was at Kamuela Hongwanji. Using what they learned from the beginning of the trip, Chad Okawa and Chase Sukekane delivered an inspiring dharma talk. Chad spoke about the neighbor island temple community and their ties to Pacific Buddhist Academy. Notably, he spoke about Fred Nonaka and his service to the Kyodan and PBA. He shared our gratitude and wish to connect with neighboring communities as PBA belongs to them as well. |
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| Chase shared his experiences at PBA and how it shaped him into the person that he is. His positive message put a smile on everyone’s faces! After a fun nagashi somen activity, we ended the day taking pictures of the cherry blossom trees and snow-capped mountains as we enjoyed shave ice with all the fixings. We knew that the message of gratitude was instilled in our students when they began to clean-up |
| without any prompting from the adults. The trip was an experience that students will remember for a long time. On behalf of the PBA Buddhist Club, we would like to thank the following for their support of our trip:
Mahalo,
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| Alumna Reflects on the Important Influence of Fine Arts Teacher Wayne Takazono, Who Retires this Spring
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| “Mr. Wayne Takazono was my teacher for all four years of high school because I made sure to take just about every class that he offered. He taught me the importance of exercising creativity to find balance in life,” said Lisa Roerk ’15, reflecting on the effect PBA art teacher Wayne Takazono had on her. While studying for her undergraduate degree in zoology at Oregon State University, Lisa utilized the school’s free art studio to teach herself ceramics. |
| “Although I was busy, I pushed myself to stay committed because it was therapeutic and an interest that made me a part of who I was at the time,” said Lisa. “I revisited the ceramics studio multiple times a week to follow through with each step of the process of wheel throwing, firing, and glazing.”
This hobby led Lisa to create her macrame and ceramics small business called Knot and Pot. She has previously sold items at the Kailua Night Market and hopes to be a vendor at more local markets after she completes her master’s degree in fish, wildlife, and conservation biology at Colorado State University. “Right now, I’m in Hawaii doing my thesis research on Hawaiian gallinule, the Hawaiian coot movement, and breeding ecology,” she explained. “Even with my busy schedule, I still find it important to make time for art and thank Mr. Takazono for instilling that passion in me from a young age.”
Like many PBA students, Lisa credits Mr. Takazono for being both a teacher and mentor saying, “When I started teaching math and fiber arts at PBA, Mr. Takazono was a great co-worker. He also taught me how to fix surfboards, as spending time in the ocean is another hobby of his. He modeled what it meant to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle and I wish him a great retirement moving forward. I’m happy for him and appreciate the positive impact he’s had on my life.”
To see some of Lisa’s creations, visit her Instagram page @knotandpot.
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| Student Journalism Magazine Karma Chronicle Publishes Winter 2022 Issue
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| The Winter 2022 Issue of Karma Chronicle dropped on Wednesday, February 8, in digital and hard copy form. Karma Chronicle is a student-led and student-created publication with the goal of sharing articles that appeal to everyone. “The Winter 2023 Issue includes stories, an interview with PBA’s Dr. Benjamin Bruch, informative guides, the iconic ‘Quizzical Questions’ column, and other articles written by the members of the journalism elective,” said PBA senior and Editor-in-Chief Skye Li-Chan. “I’m excited because this issue also includes a student photography spotlight. Our publication is evolving to become a fully-featured arts and journalism magazine.” By creating and writing in KC, we hope to share our love of writing and entertain every person who reads our publication. |
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| We would love it if avid readers of the What’s New at PBA became readers of the Karma Chronicle. Thank you again for your continued support of the Karma Chronicle and young student writers. Also, here's the link to the chronicle. Thank you in advance. Skye Li-Chan
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