“Shariputra, in the land of Ultimate Bliss, a pleasant breeze wafts, swaying the rows of trees colored with various jewels and waving the gauze curtains with little bells, stirring an exquisite melody.  This is just as though hundreds of thousands of musical instruments were being played in unison.  For all who hear this melody, their devotion to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha is spontaneously deepened.  Shariputra, in this way the land of Ultimate Bliss is an ideal environment so that whatever one hears will bring about awakening.  Shariputra, why do you suppose this Buddha is called Amitabha?  Shariputra, this Buddha emits immeasurable light, shedding light upon all the worlds of the ten directions without obstruction.”[1]

Borders are defined as a line that separates one from another, usually referring to a state or country.  In the Amidakyo it is referred to as an obstruction.  But in this case it refers to Amida’s light reaching us despite the borders we create.  In a garden it refers to the bricks or hedges and in our homes as fences and walls.  In our everyday lives we live with borders that define where we live and who we are.  There are both visible and invisible borders that exist.  We have state lines, international date lines, and country borders.  We have doors, walls and fences that all define borders.  Starting from your home, you have your room that is defined by walls, then you have your house that is defined by fences, then you have your city defined by city limits which in turn has county, state and country borders.  With these borders we are defined as a resident of 1155 Noche Buena, in Monterey in California in the United States. 

There are numerous unseen borders which we all experience.  At our recent national minister meeting we gathered from Canada, Hawaii, and all over the United States in Berkeley.  On the first morning we chanted the Shuso Sango Saho Ongaku Hoyo which will be chanted all over the world in commemoration of the 750^th memorial of Shinran Shonin.  The main portion of the chant is the Shoshinge or Hymn of True Faith.  As we chanted together from all parts of the country there was one beautiful sound created.  At that moment all borders of Hawaii, Canada, New York and California disappeared and became seamless and borderless.

We have created for ourselves countless seen and unseen borders to keep us safe, to keep us defined, to keep us separated.  And yet there are the numerous ways in which life comes at us and crosses those borders unimpeded.  The sound of the wind chime in my garden, the wind cooling me on a hot night, the light of the sun and moon illuminating my life all cross over the borders I have created and touch me.  In the very same way Amida reaches far beyond and touches my life, illuminating me and revealing to me the truth of my life. 

Although I create all sorts of borders in my life, life still comes to me.  I am able to experience the wind, the sun the sounds of life.   I create borders of doubt and ignorance and yet Amida’s compassion still comes to me revealing my true nature.  I am eternally grateful for the people who have come and gone into my life and have compassionately shown to me my true nature.  As the Buddha explained to his disciple Shariputra, “For all who hear this melody, their devotion to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha is spontaneously deepened.  Shariputra, in this way the land of Ultimate Bliss is an ideal environment so that whatever one hears will bring about awakening.  Shariputra, why do you suppose this Buddha is called Amitabha?  Shariputra, this Buddha emits immeasurable light, shedding light upon all the worlds of the ten directions without obstruction.”[2]

Gassho,

Rev. Shinseki

Borders are defined as a line that separates one from another, usually referring to a state or country.  In the Amidakyo it is referred to as an obstruction.  But in this case it refers to Amida’s light reaching us despite the borders we create.  In a garden it refers to the bricks or hedges and in our homes as fences and walls.  In our everyday lives we live with borders that define where we live and who we are.  There are both visible and invisible borders that exist.  We have state lines, international date lines, and country borders.  We have doors, walls and fences that all define borders.  Starting from your home, you have your room that is defined by walls, then you have your house that is defined by fences, then you have your city defined by city limits which in turn has county, state and country borders.  With these borders we are defined as a resident of 1155 Noche Buena, in Monterey in California in the United States. 

There are numerous unseen borders which we all experience.  At our recent national minister meeting we gathered from Canada, Hawaii, and all over the United States in Berkeley.  On the first morning we chanted the Shuso Sango Saho Ongaku Hoyo which will be chanted all over the world in commemoration of the 750^th memorial of Shinran Shonin.  The main portion of the chant is the Shoshinge or Hymn of True Faith.  As we chanted together from all parts of the country there was one beautiful sound created.  At that moment all borders of Hawaii, Canada, New York and California disappeared and became seamless and borderless.

We have created for ourselves countless seen and unseen borders to keep us safe, to keep us defined, to keep us separated.  And yet there are the numerous ways in which life comes at us and crosses those borders unimpeded.  The sound of the wind chime in my garden, the wind cooling me on a hot night, the light of the sun and moon illuminating my life all cross over the borders I have created and touch me.  In the very same way Amida reaches far beyond and touches my life, illuminating me and revealing to me the truth of my life. 

Although I create all sorts of borders in my life, life still comes to me.  I am able to experience the wind, the sun the sounds of life.   I create borders of doubt and ignorance and yet Amida’s compassion still comes to me revealing my true nature.  I am eternally grateful for the people who have come and gone into my life and have compassionately shown to me my true nature.  As the Buddha explained to his disciple Shariputra, “For all who hear this melody, their devotion to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha is spontaneously deepened.  Shariputra, in this way the land of Ultimate Bliss is an ideal environment so that whatever one hears will bring about awakening.  Shariputra, why do you suppose this Buddha is called Amitabha?  Shariputra, this Buddha emits immeasurable light, shedding light upon all the worlds of the ten directions without obstruction.”[2]

Gassho,

Rev. Shinseki

For ministers and lay people alike we can think of a minister or a “sensei” a teacher whom we can look back on and recall their profound effect upon our lives.  In my life I can recall many zenchishiki or good teacher friends.  Some were younger some were older.  Some I knew very well and others came and went in and out of my life very quickly.   It is interesting that as time goes by my recollection of these sensei becomes clearer and their words and actions easily recalled.  The list would be too long to put down here on paper all of those ministers, but I recall two ministers who were bound together like brothers and whose effect on my life was profound. 

A few days ago I was standing outside the temple and I noticed a squawking blue jay flying around the garden.  In my usual unmindful way I thought to myself, “What is he squawking about?”  He flew near me and landing nearby allowing me to see him clearly.  It was then that I noticed he had one good leg and one badly deformed leg.  He stood on his one leg effortlessly and as he hopped around the garden, I thought to myself, “That is why he is squawking,  he has a bad leg”.   As I watched the bird hobble around and squawk I continued to have this conversation with myself and said, “kawaiso , how sad for that bird”.  Then as if to respond to my pity the bird squawked and flew around in circles and landed squawked and flew away.

I reflected upon my conversation and realized that I in my self- centered way was making judgments, assumptions and conclusions about the blue jay, and all the while the blue jay was just being himself/herself.    I had made the assumption that the bird was squawking because of his leg and that it was sad for him because of his leg.  In reality the bird was fine and was just being a bird.  He was not a handicapped bird or a sad bird, but just a bird, pure and simple.    Only my deluded mind had created a bird that was not a bird true and real.  In reality it was I who was creating this delusion. 

Two thoughts occur to me, one is that we all to often do this with animals and people as well.  We view them and extend our pity towards them and view them as handicapped rather than as just human beings.  The other thought is that we fail to just be ourselves as well.  We try to be someone, or something other than who we are.   As Buddhists we are seekers of the true and real self.  This is an elusive task as the true and real self is sometimes difficult to see. 

I spent an important part of my life at the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley.   Reverend Kusada and Reverend Eidmann were my teachers and were an important part of my introduction to Shin Buddhism.  Reverend Eidmann was in a wheelchair during all the years that I knew him.  He had contracted polio at a young age and spent the rest of his life confined to his chair.  In all the years that I knew him he never complained, never bemoaned his “handicap” and never expected special treatment.  He simply lived his life and taught us the dharma.  I had made all sorts of assumptions about his life and his relationship with others.  But truly Rev. Eidmann was just being Rev. Eidmann true and real and embraced in the life and light of Amida Buddha. 

The Buddha in his early life was profoundly affected by the human condition.   He saw the sick and weary, the dead and dying.  He then left his home and went in search for the answer to human suffering.  When he sat under the Bodhi Tree and reached his deep awareness or enlightenment, he realized that all beings are embraced in the compassion of Amida Buddha.  Our worldly discriminations of handicapped and whole are not relevant to the Buddha.   Through the eyes of the enlightened all human beings are recipients of kindness, goodwill and compassion. 

Thorough our encounters with others we are made to see the true and real self.  Through my observation of a blue jay and my reflections on Rev. Eidmann I am made to see my self centered view of the world, my misplaced pity and my assumptions.  How grateful I am to my sensei who dedicated his life to teaching me and many other students the Buddha Dharma.  Through his example I am reminded to make every effort to be true and real, to be me.  Rev. Eidmann was a great example of being just right for him.  I will always be indebted to him for his support, kindness and example of true and real.

Zenjo

 

Shari-hotsu. Nyorai chiken. Kodai jinnon. Muryo muge. Riki. Mu-sho-i. Zenjo. Gedas. Sanmai. Jin nyu musai. Joju issai. Mi-zo-u ho.

"Shariputra, the wisdom of the Tathagata is all-encompassing and profound. His mercy is infinite, and his teaching knows no bounds. Endowed with power, fearlessness, concentration, emancipation [from sufferings and desires] and the capacity to meditate, he dwells in the boundless and awakens to the never before-realized Law."

In the lotus sutra above, the Buddha is described as having great powers of concentration or zenjo which has also been translated as meditation.  When the Siddartha Gautama sat beneath the Bodhi tree he began a practice that became known as the middle path.  He gave up the rigorous practice of an aesthetic and the luxurious life of a prince.  Siddartha sat in quiet meditation until he saw the truth of life and became the Buddha on December 8^th which we know as Bodhi Day. 

 

Our lives are nowhere near the life of the Buddha but by his example he showed us that it was possible for us to become a Buddha.  He also taught us that although we may not be anywhere near becoming a Buddha, we can attempt to increase our powers of concentration.  A simple practice of sitting quietly and concentrating on our breathing can improve our powers of concentration and quiet our hearts and minds.  Simply sitting and breathing are exercises that we do everyday and yet to concentrate on sitting and breathing is not always an easy task.   Our minds wander, our body begins to fidget and our concentration fades into thoughts of tomorrow or yesterday instead of what is here and now.

 

At the same time the discipline of sitting can be a gift for someone who seeks a unifying center in life.  The quietude of our temple offers a contemplative moment in time and space for self reflection and just sitting.  Each Sunday when there is service a quiet sitting will be held at 9:30 AM.  Sittings will be for 20 minutes and will begin with the ringing of the bell and end with the same.

“Cherry Blossoms that are felt to last till the morrow, may well blow away”.  Legend tells us that these are the words that the young Shinran Shonin told the monk Jien as he entered Mount Hiei at the age of nine.  Jien apparently told Shinran that the sun had gone down and they would perform the ordination ceremony in the morning.  Shinran then composed the poem and Jien was so impressed with the insight and urgency in Shinran they performed the ordination on the spot.

 

Shinran lived during a period of time when the daimyos and samurai controlled Japan.  The emperor and his court were corrupt and ineffective.  The wealthy were very wealthy and the poor very poor.  Warring factions fought over control with little concern for the people.  The poor were starving and unable to make ends meet.  The city of Kyoto was at times littered with corpses of the starving and sick.  Shinran’s own mother had died, and as his uncle took him from Hino to Mount Hiei he must have seen the suffering along the way. 

 

For anyone of any age it would have had a profound effect upon them.  For Shinran he quickly understood and learned of the frailty of human existence and the pain of suffering.  His tenure at Mount Hiei was a search for the end of human suffering and an answer to the pain of separation.   Shinran found the answer in his teacher Honen who advocated the verbal recitation of Amida’s name.  Here Shinran found that his only recourse was to rely on Amida and his vow to save all sentient beings.  Shinran continued to express his gratitude for his teacher and others who opened his eyes to the universal compassion of Amida for his entire life. 

 

It is our time now to express this gratitude to those from whom we hear the Dharma and the compassion of Amida.  Each year in November we perform the Eitaikyo or perpetual memorial service. We chant the sutras for those names that are entered into the Eitaikyo book in perpetuity.  It is our expression of gratitude to temple members who have died and whose sacrifices have allowed us to have a place and time to hear the Dharma.  This memorial service is in their memory, but you and I are the benefactors.  It is truly for our benefit that this service is held. 

 

Human suffering has not ceased with time.  For the citizens of Kyoto the suffering was clearly in front of their eyes.  For us the suffering exists but is sometimes harder to see.  We are distracted by so many other things.  But if we look and listen carefully there exists the same things that Shinran saw in Kyoto 750 years ago.  As Shinran discovered back then the answer to the end of suffering, pain and misery can be found in the Buddha Dharma.

During a recent visit to Denver I was honored to speak to the members of the Longmont Buddhist Temple during their annual seminar.  I love Denver and the beautiful Rockie Mountains.  On Saturday we took a drive to an area called Blackhawk.  The 40 minute drive took us up through a beautiful canyon.  We saw rock climbers, hikers and fly fishermen in the river.  i began to notice that many of the Aspen trees and other foliage was beginning to turn yellow, orange and red.

I had immediate flash backs to Kyoto Japan and the vibrant colors of fall.  I lived in an area called Arashiyama and not far from me in the western hills of Kyoto were similar canyons with fall colors that were beyond description.  The fall colors are a stark reminder that a new season is upon us and nature is moving and changing.  

We celebrate this change and are in awe of the colors as the leaves change and fall to the ground.  For a brief moment the dying leaf brings us great pleasure and joy.  As with all things this is fleeting and soon the branches of the trees are bare and the ground below is littered with brown and decaying leaves.

Nature has a wonderful way of teaching us the fraility of existence and the truth of change.  Changes in the form of sickness and death are not easily accepted and often difficult to overcome, but in embracing change we can learn to fully appreciate and enjoy the moments we have together. 

As Autumn quickly approaches and nature reveals to us this wonderful change.  Let us all be reminded of the other changes going on around us all the time.  Let us also take a moment to enjoy, embrace and express gratitude to those nearest and closest to us.