Good morning everyone.

 For the next 2 Sundays, I have to go to other churches to speak.  On February 5^th, I have to go to the Lodi Buddhist church and Walnut Grove Buddhist church as the supervising minister… and on February 12th, I will be attending the Fresno Betsuin Nirvana service as the English guest speaker...

 Today, I want to talk about our Sacramento Kings…

 In 2003, when I came to the United States, I arrived in San Francisco.  Rev. Yukawa, Rev. Bob and former Betsuin president Mr. Bob Tanaka came to San Francisco to bring me back to Sacramento.

 On the way to Sacramento, Rev. Bob asked me a question “Do you like Basketball?”  I said “No.  I am not interested in Basketball.  Because there is no professional basketball league in Japan.  So, I never had much interest.  I just learned how to play in school, when I was younger”

 So, before I came to Sacramento, I did not know anything about the Sacramento Kings.  But now, I love the KINGS!

 Since I came to Sacramento, I went to see the Kings at the Arco Arena many times.  When I went to my very first Kings’ game, I bought a Kings reversible Jacket.  And also I got Kings’ T-shirts, a Kings’ Sweater, the Kings’ pennants, a Kings’ keychain, the Kings’ earrings, a Kings’ hat, a Kings’ Wrist band, the Kings’ cups, the Kings’ Head band, the Kings’ Car license frame, the annual Kings’ Players posters, a Kings’ Drum and Peja’s Babooshkah.

 So now, my home is filled with many Kings’ Products…

Since I became a Kings’ Fan, I cheered especially for my favorite players.  In 2004, my favorite player was Vladie Divac.  But, when I said “my favorite player is Vladie Divac”, he left the Kings!  In 2005, after Vladie Divac left the Kings, I said “my new favorite player is Peja Stojakovic… And now he also has left the Kings!  So, I want to say sorry to all the Kings’ Fans.  And I will never announce my favorite player again.

 When people lose their favorite player from their team, they may be disappointed.  But we know well that everything is impermanent.  And everything is constantly changing.  So, we must try to accept the reality of loss and of change.

 When things change and we lose something, we also may experience something new.  Constant change can also mean the coming of something new.  Because of constant change in 2003, I came to the Sacramento Betsuin as a new resident minister...

 So, please try not to worry too much about the changes we must experience in life.  Because, even if we want to keep things from changing, it is most often beyond our power.

 Gassho