2024 VBT 120 th Anniversary ‘Okagesama’ / Building 45 th Anniversary    
 
     We are celebrating our the 120 th anniversary of our temple and the 45 th anniversary of our      building.  I am thankful for being able to share with all of you the special services coming in 2024.  The board and I are planning a series of services and special gatherings in 2024 so that as many of you, as possible, can join us and be a part of our celebrations. 
 
     While I was thinking about the theme for our anniversary, I came up with a Japanese phrase ‘Okagesama’.  The phrase, is often used  conversationally to express ‘thank you’, but I think the meaning is deeper and more difficult to translate into English.  The root of this word, ‘kage’, means ‘shadow’.  It acknowledges that there are many  unseen causes and conditions in this world which make out life       possible. There are a variety of ways to translate the phrase.  Okagesama can mean, ‘make your life possible’.  There are a variety of ways to translate the phrase.  Okagesama can mean: 
 
  “I am, because you are,” 
   
  “To gratefully live in the shadow of others.” 
 
     It is an expression of great humility and gratitude.  For the purpose of our anniversary, we would translate and interpret ‘Okagesama’ as ‘Thanks to the many causes and conditions known and unknown, I am given the privilege of coming to this moment’. 
 
     With Okagesama Awareness, ‘let us try to see with more than just our eyes and appreciate our rich history of 120 years. 
 
In gassho, 
 
Tatsuya Aoki