Disappointment V.S. Regret

"Do you have Sunday Service?" or  "What time do you start Sunday Service?"

I sometimes receive this kind of question on the phone.    Sometimes visitors here ask me in person.

After answering "Yes, we start at 10:30 am," most people in the past, have said, "Thank you.  We'll be there!"

Interestingly, however, most people didn't come to the service.   Sometimes I was expecting many people to come to the service and made lots of Sushi, because they said they were coming.  But "most people" never showed up.

In my heart, I have experienced many disappointments at Sunday Service.

Then last week, just before the Sunday Service, I was surprised to see "many" people at Hondo.

Actually, I expected friends from mainland come to the service but there were some more visitors and residents.

I became very happy but at the same time, I regretted I didn't make lots of Sushi.

What I did regret most was, I unintentionally said "I'm afraid I didn't make enough Sushi."

So after the service, when I tried to invite them to the refreshments, visitors were gone.   

I was scolded by my wife, too,  who made lots of "Miso Soup" in haste, after seeing unexpected visitors.

Almost one week is about to pass.  I still regret I couldn't invite visitors to the refreshment.  On the other hand, I realized disappointments in the past, were truly nothing. 

Disappointment happened only for a short while, however, the feeling of regret lasts long.

I think I'm going to make lots of Sushi tomorrow...I wouldn't care if I get disappointment.  If I make too much, then I can share them with other members.    It's much better than regret that I didn't make enough.

By the way, what do you guess the reasons why visitors who asked about service didn't come?

1.  They had a trouble such as sickness or car trouble so suddenly.

2.  They tried to come but got lost, then, gave up attending to the service.

3.  They did come to the temple ground and saw a few cars.  They were too shy that they couldn't come to the temple. 

4.  "We'll be there" means just "lip service" or "diplomatic."

5.  They were liars.