Rimban George Matsubayashi  |  Reverend Torimi

BY RIMBAN GEORGE MATSUBAYASHI
JIHO SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 2005

"Eager acceptance of leaving it all up to Amida Buddha…" Master Kakunyo
LA Betsuin Centennial
"Thoughts On Our Fall Ohigan"
As I write this – during the end of July – I am filled with excitement about the fact that the Centennial Celebration of our Los Angeles Betsuin Buddhist Temple is less than a month away. My mind and heart are filled with gratitude to all of you and the many committee members whose devoted efforts for such a long time will finally find expression then.

It was just six years ago, during the year 1999, that our Betsuin purchased the lot located just to the west of our temple. That was the beginning of the splendid structures that have now been constructed on it: our Memorial Chapel of Immeasurable Light and Life, and our Wisteria Chapel, which were completed on the last day of June.

***

By the time this issue of our Betsuin Jiho newsletter reaches you, our Centennial Celebration will be over, and we will be preparing for our Fall Ohigan Service. Those services will be the culmination of our first hundred years since our temple was established and also the first service of our 101st year.

A traditional saying is, "Even a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." Our Fall Ohigan Service is the first step of our next hundred years. Let us take that step firmly.

Ohigan Services are held during the Spring and Fall equinoxes, when the days and nights are of equal length, and it is neither too hot nor too cold. The following is a traditional poem about Ohigan, which, as you know, means "the Other Shore (of enlightenment)", 

The day of Ohigan
What a fine time
To plant seeds
Of enlightenment…

For all Buddhists, the most pleasant times during the spring and fall are when services are held to "move to the Other Shore" (to-higan). It is a time when we are encouraged to strive even more energetically along the Buddhist path and strive to become enlightened.

The Ohigan Service is unique to Japan, probably because the four seasons are so distinct in that country, making the Spring and Fall equinoxes the most pleasant times of the year. That’s probably why the Ohigan Services have such deep roots in the Japanese spiritual consciousness.

Here in the United States, in Los Angeles, announcements about Ohigan Services by various Japanese Buddhist Temples, and by the Los Angeles Federation of Buddhist Temples, are published together in all the Japanese-American newspapers. At our Los Angeles Betsuin Buddhist Temple we also conduct seminars during this time to deepen our understanding of the Buddhist teaching. How grateful I am for these seminars.

I must point our, however, that the significance of Ohigan Services in our Jodo-Shinshu teaching is slightly different from that in other Buddhist denominations.

The Third Spiritual Leader of our Hongwanji organization, Master Kakunyo, wrote the following in Gaijasho (Correcting Mistaken Views): 

Who said that the equinox periods during the Spring and Fall are times for us?
To perform the "practice of the Nembutsu"?

What these words point to is that after the Venerable Master Shinran passed on to the Pure Land, members of the Jodo-Shinshu community decided to conduct Ohigan Service in his memory during the equinox periods. Unfortunately, some of his followers began to mistakenly assert that this was a time when they should recite the Nembutsu as a religious practice in order to enhance their chances of being born in the Pure Land. It was in order to correct such a mistaken idea that Master Kakunyo continued:

The moment we receive shinjin and rejoice (that our birth in the Pure Land is Determined) is the moment we leave the ocean of birth and death and move towards the Other Shore of Nirvana.

He wrote these words in order to make clear that the correct cause for being born in the Pure Land was not through personal effort, but rather, from receiving "shinjin based on ‘Buddha-centered power’" (tariki).
The Primal Vow of "Buddha-centered power" is always directed towards us, wherever we are, and whatever kind of person we may be. Receiving that Primal Vow is what shinjin is. And with the single thought of joyous shinjin, we are cultivated in moving towards the Other Shore of Ohigan in our daily life, regardless of what we do. In technical Jodo-Shinshu terminology, this is referred to as heizei-gojo, moving along the path to enlightenment in our daily life.

That’s why, during the Ohigan period, there is no need for us to specifically engage in conduct that we think we will enhance our chances of being born in the Pure Land. Not only that, for those of us who are absolutely unable to conduct ourselves so we will be worthy of being born in the Pure Land, trying to do so,"… is turning against what the founder (the Venerable Master Shinran) taught. How can you say you are followers (of the Jodo-Shinshu teaching) with such an attitude?" Master Kakunyo concluded.
Master Kakunyo emphasized that the teaching of Master Honen and the Venerable Master Shinran lay in receiving the Name of Amida Buddha ("Namo Amida Butsu"), which is as already mentioned, what receiving shinjin based on "Buddha-centered power" is. Further, Master Kakunyo wrote: 

All that is required for birth in the Pure Land is receiving shinjin. 
Don’t even consider another cause. 
The "ignorant filled with base passions" (bombu) such as we are, should not even attempt such an important matter 
As birth in the Pure Land. We should leave it entirely in the hands of Amida Buddha.
"…Important matter as birth in the Pure Land," refers to the fact that it is something completely beyond the capabilities of "ignorant beings filled with base passions" such as ourselves. That’s why we are urged to give up "self-centered effort" (jiriki) in attempting to be born in the Pure Land, and leave it all up to "Buddha-centered power."

The Venerable Master Shinran expressed this feeling in the following poem:

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
Unfailing be brought across it.

Our theme for the Centennial Celebration of our Betsuin temple is, "Embraced by Amida… Rejoicing in Gratitude." We are embraced, never to be abandoned, by the Primal Vow based on "Buddha-centered power." That’s how we are cultivated and live the same immeasurable Life as the Buddha. That’s the joy with which we are allowed to live gratefully within the Primal Vow, not only during this Ohigan period, but every day of our lives. That’s what gives us the strength and confidence to move forwards for the next hundred hears of our temple’s existence.

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By the time this newsletter reaches you, all the activities planned for our Centennial Celebration and dedication of the Memorial Chapel of Immeasurable Light and Life, and the Wisteria Chapel, will have concluded. I would like to again express my deepest thanks to all of you for your great and unprecedented efforts that made it possible. This is what a temple is all about – the mutual helping of each other to bring about something that is greater than each of us individually. 

Makoto ni, makoto ni arigato gozaimasu.

Namo Amida Butsu

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BY REV. KOKEN TORIMI
JIHO SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 2005

The S.D. Jr. YBA camp was hosted by our Nishi Betsuin YBA. They did great job. They were quite busy but through their efforts it was a success. During the Saturday lunch, all the Juniors attended a meeting for the selection of new cabinet members. There were over 100 Juniors taking part in an active and positive democracy. 

The Jodo Shinshu Center’s retreat was also very interesting. The participants took part in a variety of unique activities (eg: walking meditation) and everyone appeared to enjoy them. 
Through these two retreats, I realized that our young people have this wonderful vital power. (There were times when they were awake until 3:00am!) They have so much energy! 
The future of BCA and the local temples cannot progress forward without these young people. We need their vitality. 

I am hopeful that there will be more opportunities for the exchange of opinions amongst the young, the “middle”, and the elders, for a better future. I would like to see these vital young people write about their experiences/insights in the newsletters of both the local temples and BCA.

I have always believed that people who have been nurtured by the Nembutsu are those of “flexible senses.” When I was amongst these young people, I was impressed by this “flexibility” which reminded me of bamboo. Though the youth are scattered across the vast land of America, they are deeply connected to each other by Nembutsu roots. They may have difficulties in their every day lives, just as we all do, but they support each other, spiritually, with Dharma. Just as the bamboo may be pushed by the winds, its flexibility allows it to return upright. Bamboo will never topple over, even during an earthquake, because it is firmly rooted into the earth. I believe that our youth will continue to maintain strong Nembutsu bonds, just as does the bamboo to the earth.

Gassho, 
Namo Amida Butsu

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