Rimban George Matsubayashi  |  Reverend Briones

BY RIMBAN GEORGE MATSUBAYASHI
JIHO MARCH-APRIL, 2005

"Our Spring Ohigan Service "
Tile Laying Delayed Due to Rain!

Because of the torrents of rain that fell on the Southern California area for three weeks – from about the end of December to the middle of January – construction of our Hall of Immeasurable Light and Life and the Wisteria Chapel has been delayed.

In the intervals between the rains, however, when the spring sun peeked between clouds, planks were placed on the roof, made waterproof, and over 19,000 Showa-gawara tiles were placed on it, in preparation to be laid. (In the past issue of the Jiho, I said the tiles were a make called Shanshu-gawara, but that was an error, for which I beg forgiveness.)

I am told that it will take workers who are specially trained to do so some two or three weeks to lay all the tiles. By the time you receive this issue of the Jiho, all the tiles on the roof should be shining brilliantly in the Southern California sun.

We were blessed with good weather during the end of April last year when construction of our new structures began. At that time, work progressed about 15 percent faster that scheduled. With the recent unprecedented rains, however, I am told that the schedule has fallen some 12 percent behind. Still, because the roof is now water-proofed, construction of the interior portion of our structure has continued as scheduled.

“We’re doing the very best we can within the circumstance,” the foreman told me the other day.
“I’m sure construction will not be delayed by very much.”

We began construction during April of last year in what was then nothing more than an empty parking lot. First a foundation was dug, pillars constructed, walls put in place, roof foundation constructed, ridge-pole raised, water-proofed, tiles placed on roof ready for laying…everything was completed on schedule and according to plan. As I wrote before, these structures are supported from below, from above, from in front, and from behind. As in the saying, “A trip of a thousand miles begins with one step,” we have moved forward step by step, and now it is just a matter of time before the structures are complete. And as I have also already written, the fact that they are, is solely due to the efforts of all you members of the Los Angeles Betsuin Buddhist Temple, and is the crystallization of the hundred years of your dedicated effort.

* * *

With the coming of spring, our thoughts naturally turn to Higan, the Other Shore (of Enlightenment). Perhaps because the seasons are more distinct in Japan than here in Southern California, the spring and fall, when the days and nights are of equal length, are considered an ideal time to reflect on life – considering how to move from Shigan (this shore of delusion) to Higan (the other shore of Enlightenment).

In all Buddhist denominations other than Jodo-Shinshu, moving from shigan to higan is referred to as To-higan, moving toward Higan. In those denominations, the Six Paramitas (ropparamitsu) are considered necessary to make this transition.

The Six Paramitas are “giving” (fuse), “observing precepts” (jikai), “perseverance” (ninniku), “diligence” (shojin), “meditation” (zenjo), and “wisdom” (chie).

A basic position of our Jodo-Shinshu teaching, however, is that, actually, we are incapable of putting the Six Paramitas fully into practice. We should, of course, do all we can to do so, but however far we may progress, it is far from being enough. As the Venerable Master Shinran wrote:

“I am without shame and self-reproach
And completely lack a mind of truth and sincerity.
Because the Name is directed by Amida, however, 
Its virtues fill the ten quarters
(Embracing me completely
And bringing me to the Other Shore).”

“The ocean of birth-and-death, of painful existence,
has no bound;
Only by the ship of Amida’s Universal Vow
Can we, who have long been drowning,
Unfailingly be brought across it”.

We “ignorant beings moved by base cravings”(bonbu) who live in this transient world of birth-and-death, are absolutely unable to cross over the higan shore of Enlightenment through our own efforts. What is most important to realize is that our puny efforts to purify our minds and hearts to the extent necessary to reach a Buddha-like state, are of absolutely no avail. That’s why we must abandon attachment to “self-centered effort” (jiriki) and accept the “Buddha-centered power” (tariki) that vows to cause our birth in Amida Buddha’s world (the Pure Land of Ultimate Joy) and the Other Shore of Englightenmet where we are guaranteed Enlightenment equal to the Buddha’s. That’s what Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow is.

Only by being allowed to ride the ship that is Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow are we able to cross the boundless ocean of delusion and arrive at the shore of enlightenment. This is how Saichi, revered as a myokonin (a person enlightened by the Jodo-Shinshu teaching) expressed this feeling:

“Darkness can never become light by itself.
Only by being shined on by the moon
Will darkness disappear.
Saichi cannot become the light;
But because he is shined on
By the “marvelously mysterious” myogo
His birth in the Pure Land is guaranteed.
Namo Amida Butsu.
Nomo Amida Butsu.

In this poem, Saichi expresses his joy about the fact that although he is absolutely incapable of attaining birth in the Pure Land through his own effort, he is completely taken in by Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow and is shined on by the “marvelously mysterious” (fushigina) myogo (Name of Amida Buddha) that guarantees his birth there “just as he is.”

Saichi expresses how even that joy is deepened:

“How fortunate I am!
I am made to be Namo Amida Butsu.
How deeply I enjoy the Pure Land
From this world of delusion.
I am welcomed 
By Namo Amida Butsu
And (brought to the Pure Land)
By Namo Amida Butsu.

That’s how Saichi expresses the fact that he, just as he is, is turned into Namo Amida Butsu. Within that recitation of Namo Amida Butsu, the world of delusion that he finds himself in is reflected in the Pure Land. Amida Buddha’s Pure Land is reflected in this Shaba world of delusion.

“Within the Nembutsu of Namo Amida Butsu:
Both this world of delusion
And the Pure Land are one,
As are all the myriad worlds
In the ten directions.
Namo Amida Butsu. Namo Amida Butsu.

Saichi clearly sensed the world of “suchness” in which he identified with everything around him. That’s what gave him such joy.

The world of higan – the world of Enlightenment – is absolutely not a world that I can arrive at through my own efforts. The world that I can reach with my impure mind and my attachment isn’t even close to the borders of that world.

As Saichi expressed this:

“There is no ‘self-centered effort’ in this world.
My mind itself is ‘self-centered effort,’
But that ‘self-centered effort’
Is taken in by ‘Buddha-centered power,’
And all there is,
Is ‘recitation of the Name (of the Buddha).’
Namo Amida Butsu.

That’s how Saichi expressed how what is impossible becomes possible, how our ‘self-centered effort’ is taken in by ‘Buddha-centered power,’ and how “marvelously and mysteriously” we are able to live in “oneness” with the world that we find ourselves in.

As the Venerable Master Shinran also indicated in another poem:

“By listening to the Compassionate Vow
That transcends this world,
We ‘ignorant beings moved by base cravings’
Though unable to leave this impure body,
Are allowed to play in the Pure Land.”

Although our physical body is trapped in this Shaba world of delusion, because of the activity of Amida Buddha’s Vow to cause my birth in his Pure Land, I take the greatest of joy in the world of “oneness.

* * * 

Construction of our twin structures continues. While being supported by the laying of tiles on the roof of those structures, I cannot help but feel cultivated by what they represent. I take the greatest of joy in knowing that I will unfailingly be brought to the Other Shore of Enlightenment. That’s what celebration of our Ohigan Services means to me.

In Gassho

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BY REV. WILLIAM BRIONES
JIHO MARCH-APRIL, 2005

It is the everlasting and unchanging rule of this world that everything is created by a series of causes and conditions and everything disappears by the same rule; everything changes, nothing remains constant.

As I reflect on the incomprehensible catastrophic events that occurred on the South and Southeast Asian coast on December 26, I see with renewed awareness how I live my life of change.

It is Natures fundamental lesson in life of impermanence and change that life is nothing but a flux of cause and effect that is constantly changing. Nothing in life remains forever. Everything is in constant flux.
The reading I began with, comes from the "Teaching of Buddha" and it is a vivid reminder of natures fundamental lesson of impermanence and change. And like the life of blossom, life too is unpredictable, for it may pass away with gust of wind.

This is the first characteristic of Buddhism, the doctrine of Impermanence. Impermanence means nothing is stationary, static, or unchanging. All things are moving and dynamic. Without an awareness of this fact of nature, there can never be any true insight through which we can see things as they really are.

The 9.0 earth quake that occurred below the sea off the coast of the Indonesian Island of Sumatra turned into a devastating tsunami, that killed over 220,000 people, leveled cities and destroyed families, has given people an opportunity to reflect on impermanence of life and nature. The cataclysmic event overwhelmed the world with grief and horror. Yet in the midst of this wave of destruction, a wave of compassion swept the world. Change of nature, as with the change of ones life, may bring encouragement or discouragement, it may create happiness or unhappiness, it may give us joy or anxiety. In any case change is change. It is reality.

The Tsunami is neither good nor bad. It just is. A tectonic plate shifted and a vast wave spread across the ocean, and took with it many lives and changed the geography of the depths of the ocean and the entire coast of Southeast Asia, changes that have existed since the beginning of time.

The Buddha teaches us that acknowledging the nature of impermanence helps us understand our suffering. Suffering arise when we try to cling to what is impermanent. Thus, the second Characteristic of Buddhism … life is suffering.

A lack of this understanding will no doubt result in obscuring our perception of reality. Anxiety and frustration in everyday living originates from our ignorance of the law of nature, which is change or impermanence. Therefore it is very important for each of us to understand the nature of impermanence so that we can face our problems realistically, so we may accept things that we cannot change. For when tragedy does strike, or misfortune occurs in our life, our understanding gives us an opportunity for self-reflection. From self-reflection we consider what is truly important to us, and to realize that ultimate truths remain constant in spite of ever changing conditions of our everyday world.

Many of us cannot even begin to understand the scope of this devastation … it is beyond our comprehension. Yet, it has given us an opportunity to truly reflect on what is most important in our life and it has opened our hearts to feel compassion for our fellow human being.

Our thoughts go out to the countless victims, to the family and friends, and to the countries that were devastated by the tsunami.

Namo Amida Butsu 

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Copyright © 2005  by Nishi Hongwanji L.A.