The thirteenth person I lent 25 dollars through Kiva is a member of a group in Malawi named Emma.
She is 31 years old and she started a business to make her life better and to educate her children.
She needs 750 dollars to buy clothes for her business.
She will return the money in 6 months.
I wish her business go well !
* This is my page.
I attended 'Tondo festival' held at my family temple in the morning.
This event was the first time at my temple.
We brought ornaments of New Year, used charms and so on.
The service was started with priest's sutra and and all ornaments were burnt clearly.
After that sweet bean paste soup with rice cakes which had been served to God during new years days were served to everyone.
Spiced sake was also served.
We all had a very good time.
*****
After that I went to a main hall in the temple to attend the sutra transcription meeting that is held on 17 day every month.
Everyone writes wishes on the transcription paper of the last line.
The wishes are various, for example safety of all the family, traffic safety, recovering from sickness, happiness of the ancestor, being healthy and so on.
Among them there was a wish for 'world peace' that was the first time I heard at the meeting.
I had been wanted to write ' world peace', but I had been hesitated to do so because it is a too big wish.
But 'world peace' is very important though it is very difficult.
I'll try to write 'world peace' on the transcription paper next time.
thirty-three Goddess of Mercy
Inari shrine
shrine of our district
Happy new year !
I hope this year be a happy and healthy one.
This morning I went to our temple for praying our happiness this year.
About twenty people attended to the meeting.
On my way home, I went to Inari shrines.
In the afternoon, I went to a shrine of our district too.
I met a few people both of the shrine.
It was a fine day and not so cold, so I felt comfortable.
* * * * *
Sister Kazuko Watanabe died on December 30 last year.
She lived to 89 years old.
She was my former teacher about half a century ago.
At that time she was young and very beautiful and the beauty seemed to come from her inside as well as her out side.
Needless to say, she was intellectual and severe but was very gentle and had much sense of humor.
Above all she had abundant humane feeling adding to divine of religion personality too.
I was lucky to be a student of her.
Lately her books became best sellers and media took up about the book and her life.
We can't live forever, but the news made me sad.
Her way of life was so nice.
She will watch many graduates and her students from heaven.
