2011 MAY
Dharma Message
By Rev. Yushi Mukojima, Resident Minister
LIFE OF BALANCE SCALE
Spring has come at last! I always feel the joy of life, seeing the many beautiful
blossoms nurtured by the warmth of the spring sun.
San Diego does not have four distinct seasons but instead offers mild weather
throughout the year, and it is wonderful to live in such a climate. Even so, during
winter there is still a big change from cold to warm and vice versa between noon
and night, so it is easy to catch a cold in wintertime. Therefore, it is natural to eagerly
anticipate the arrival of warm spring.
And also when this time comes, the insects which hibernated in the soil during the
cold of winter become active with the arrival of spring. That is why many ants in
procession now cheerfully come and go into my house.
A couple of days ago in the early morning, I was sleeping soundly when suddenly my
wife’s scream from downstairs rang throughout the house. When I heard her yell my
name, I almost fell out of the bed in surprise and I hurried downstairs to her even
though I was still half sleep.
When I entered the kitchen, I could see a lot of ants crawling over a piece
chocolate I had forgotten to clear off the counter. As the master of the house and
reliable father, I was pressed by my wife, who was almost in a panic, to handle this
unpleasant situation immediately. However, although it was an emergency, as a
Buddhist minister aware of the prov-erb, “Even a worm will turn,” I was simply unable
to kill the ants.
When I was little, I used to do very cruel things to ants while playing with my friend on
the grounds of our family temple, such as destroying their nest with a twig or flooding
it with water. One day my father found us doing such things, and he scolded us
severely. He also corrected us with a Buddhist tale.
It was an interesting Jataka tale called, “Life of Balance Scale” and I would like to
share it to you.
Long time ago, there was a king called Sibi who was known for his generosity. One
day, an injured pigeon, quivering with fear, appeared before the king. When the king
saw the pigeon, he felt really sorry for it and tried to treat it. The pigeon beseeched
the king, saying, “I am being chased by a hawk. Please help me!”
Just then, the hawk flew up to the king and said, “Hey, you! You saw a pigeon fly here,
right? That was the pigeon I found. I have eaten nothing for three whole days. If I
cannot have it, I’ll die. So give me the pigeon that is hiding behind you right now!”
King Sibi suggested to the hawk, “You should look for the meat of a dead animal
instead of this pigeon.” But the hawk rejected this idea. “No! Only the meat and
blood of a living animal can sustain my life.”
The king said, “I can’t just hand over this pigeon who came to me for my protection!”
To this, the hawk answered, “You may think that you are full of compassion if you
protect the pigeon. But to save the pigeon means to kill me!”
After worrying over this dilemma for a while, King Sibi said to the hawk, “I understand.
All right, what if I give you a part of my body that is the same shape and weight as this
pigeon?”
When the hawk agreed to his proposal, the king ordered his followers to bring a
balance scale and then to cut off one of his arms.
Then the king placed the pigeon on one plate of the scale and his arm on the other
plate. But neither side of the scale moved at all. The pigeon’s side of the balance
hung far below the side holding his arm. For some reason, the pigeon was heavier
than his arm. So he cut off one of his feet and placed it on the scale next to the arm.
Again, there was no indication that the weights were equal. The king was puzzled why
the scale hadn’t moved at all.
He was lost in thought for a while. But suddenly he had a realization. He quickly put his
entire body onto the scale. Finally, the pigeon’s side of the balance started to rise till
it was at the same height as the king’s, indicating that both sides were equal in
weight.
This is the story of how King Sibi saved the lives of both the pigeon and the hawk by
giving his body. And when King Sibi was reborn, he was born as Shakyamuni Buddha
and attained enlightenment.
Through this strange story, what my father wanted to teach me was that no matter
how small insects are, their life is equal to my own. And also regardless of size or
weight, each life is irreplaceable, precious and unique.
First, we have to reflect well on our own lives to realize the pre-ciousness of other
lives. When I went through a period of rebelliousness, I would boast to my parents
that I could live by myself without anyone’s support. But now when I look back on that
time, I feel deeply ashamed at how shallow my thinking was. Needless to say, we can’
t live alone. We should be aware that we are allowed to live because of the
relationship between the vertical and the horizontal.
The vertical refers to blood relations. All of us have parents. Of course, our parents
also have their own parents and our grandparents also have their own parents. When
we try to look back to the remote past, we cannot help but realize that we have an
immeasurable debt to the relation of blood. If even a single one of our ancestors had
not existed, we would not have been born into this world. That’s why the Three
Treasures, which we recite every Sunday states, “Hard is it to be born into human life.”
The horizontal means the lives of others that we consume at meal time every day, as
well as the great support we have received from our parents, friends, and many
others since our birth. Each of us needs the
help and support of many others. Our lives depend upon the sacrifices of many
others’ lives.
We are able to live where the vertical and horizontal meet. Even if we have the
horizontal relationship, we would never be born into this world without the vertical
relationship. Even if we have the vertical relationship and we were lucky enough to
be born, we would die without the horizontal relationship.
Last month, many members gathered at the temple to observe the Hanamatsuri
Service celebrating the birth of Shakyamuni Buddha. Ac-cording to legend, the
newborn baby immediately took seven steps, pointed his right hand to the heavens
and his left hand to the earth and declared, “In the heavens and on the earth, I alone
am the honored one.”
This statement means that each of us is invaluable, uniquely existing as a human
being in this world. That Shakyamuni Buddha took seven steps signifies that he
attained the world of enlightenment transcending the world of delusion, the six
realms of hell, hungry ghosts, beasts, fighting spirits, human beings, and heavenly
beings. From the viewpoint of the Buddha with his great wisdom and compassion, he
made clear the dignity of the lives of all living beings, saying, “Each life is an
invaluable being, uniquely existing in this world.”
There is also an expression in the Amida Sutra, one of the Three Pure Land Sutras: “Blue
flower shines blue, yellow flower shines yellow, red flower shines red, white flower
shines white.” As this sutra says, each blue, yellow, red, and white flower is very
beautiful, just as it is. All life in the world is precious, irrespective of age, sex, race,
culture, religion, handicap, whether human or not, because they are shining brightly
as can be. You cannot give out “my light.” I also cannot give out “your light.”
Therefore, all living beings have an irreplaceable and precious life.
One more important thing is that all life has the precious life which we were born with
as wished by Amida Buddha. Amida Buddha makes a vow that he will surely save all
living beings equally, without discrimi-nation, as he would his own child. The working
which makes us realize this is the Nembutsu, “Namo Amida Butsu.”
Our founder Shinran Shonin said, “The life that cannot see the true value of all lives is
a life lived in vain.” Therefore, Amida Buddha always leads us to the way of the truth
which we should accept with his light of wisdom so that our life will not be lived in
vain.
The Nembutsu is also the calling voice of Amida Buddha. His calling voice makes us
fully realize that the lives of all living beings are em-braced with his warm compassion
and illumined with his light of wisdom. I believe that when we begin to realize this
truth, we will truly understand that all lives are precious and equal to our own, and
that we can create the ultimate world where we acknowledge one another, placing
our hands together in Gassho, respecting one another openly. This is the world of
enlightenment where nobody can take or waste lives, and where all life shines
together.
In conclusion, I should tell you that when my wife cried for help, I took the chocolate
with all the ants out to the backyard. Since that was really a lot of labor so early in
the morning, now I have to work on a countermeasure to prevent ants from coming
into my house….
In Gassho
Dharma Message
By Rev. Yushi Mukojima, Resident Minister
LIFE OF BALANCE SCALE
Spring has come at last! I always feel the joy of life, seeing the many beautiful
blossoms nurtured by the warmth of the spring sun.
San Diego does not have four distinct seasons but instead offers mild weather
throughout the year, and it is wonderful to live in such a climate. Even so, during
winter there is still a big change from cold to warm and vice versa between noon
and night, so it is easy to catch a cold in wintertime. Therefore, it is natural to eagerly
anticipate the arrival of warm spring.
And also when this time comes, the insects which hibernated in the soil during the
cold of winter become active with the arrival of spring. That is why many ants in
procession now cheerfully come and go into my house.
A couple of days ago in the early morning, I was sleeping soundly when suddenly my
wife’s scream from downstairs rang throughout the house. When I heard her yell my
name, I almost fell out of the bed in surprise and I hurried downstairs to her even
though I was still half sleep.
When I entered the kitchen, I could see a lot of ants crawling over a piece
chocolate I had forgotten to clear off the counter. As the master of the house and
reliable father, I was pressed by my wife, who was almost in a panic, to handle this
unpleasant situation immediately. However, although it was an emergency, as a
Buddhist minister aware of the prov-erb, “Even a worm will turn,” I was simply unable
to kill the ants.
When I was little, I used to do very cruel things to ants while playing with my friend on
the grounds of our family temple, such as destroying their nest with a twig or flooding
it with water. One day my father found us doing such things, and he scolded us
severely. He also corrected us with a Buddhist tale.
It was an interesting Jataka tale called, “Life of Balance Scale” and I would like to
share it to you.
Long time ago, there was a king called Sibi who was known for his generosity. One
day, an injured pigeon, quivering with fear, appeared before the king. When the king
saw the pigeon, he felt really sorry for it and tried to treat it. The pigeon beseeched
the king, saying, “I am being chased by a hawk. Please help me!”
Just then, the hawk flew up to the king and said, “Hey, you! You saw a pigeon fly here,
right? That was the pigeon I found. I have eaten nothing for three whole days. If I
cannot have it, I’ll die. So give me the pigeon that is hiding behind you right now!”
King Sibi suggested to the hawk, “You should look for the meat of a dead animal
instead of this pigeon.” But the hawk rejected this idea. “No! Only the meat and
blood of a living animal can sustain my life.”
The king said, “I can’t just hand over this pigeon who came to me for my protection!”
To this, the hawk answered, “You may think that you are full of compassion if you
protect the pigeon. But to save the pigeon means to kill me!”
After worrying over this dilemma for a while, King Sibi said to the hawk, “I understand.
All right, what if I give you a part of my body that is the same shape and weight as this
pigeon?”
When the hawk agreed to his proposal, the king ordered his followers to bring a
balance scale and then to cut off one of his arms.
Then the king placed the pigeon on one plate of the scale and his arm on the other
plate. But neither side of the scale moved at all. The pigeon’s side of the balance
hung far below the side holding his arm. For some reason, the pigeon was heavier
than his arm. So he cut off one of his feet and placed it on the scale next to the arm.
Again, there was no indication that the weights were equal. The king was puzzled why
the scale hadn’t moved at all.
He was lost in thought for a while. But suddenly he had a realization. He quickly put his
entire body onto the scale. Finally, the pigeon’s side of the balance started to rise till
it was at the same height as the king’s, indicating that both sides were equal in
weight.
This is the story of how King Sibi saved the lives of both the pigeon and the hawk by
giving his body. And when King Sibi was reborn, he was born as Shakyamuni Buddha
and attained enlightenment.
Through this strange story, what my father wanted to teach me was that no matter
how small insects are, their life is equal to my own. And also regardless of size or
weight, each life is irreplaceable, precious and unique.
First, we have to reflect well on our own lives to realize the pre-ciousness of other
lives. When I went through a period of rebelliousness, I would boast to my parents
that I could live by myself without anyone’s support. But now when I look back on that
time, I feel deeply ashamed at how shallow my thinking was. Needless to say, we can’
t live alone. We should be aware that we are allowed to live because of the
relationship between the vertical and the horizontal.
The vertical refers to blood relations. All of us have parents. Of course, our parents
also have their own parents and our grandparents also have their own parents. When
we try to look back to the remote past, we cannot help but realize that we have an
immeasurable debt to the relation of blood. If even a single one of our ancestors had
not existed, we would not have been born into this world. That’s why the Three
Treasures, which we recite every Sunday states, “Hard is it to be born into human life.”
The horizontal means the lives of others that we consume at meal time every day, as
well as the great support we have received from our parents, friends, and many
others since our birth. Each of us needs the
help and support of many others. Our lives depend upon the sacrifices of many
others’ lives.
We are able to live where the vertical and horizontal meet. Even if we have the
horizontal relationship, we would never be born into this world without the vertical
relationship. Even if we have the vertical relationship and we were lucky enough to
be born, we would die without the horizontal relationship.
Last month, many members gathered at the temple to observe the Hanamatsuri
Service celebrating the birth of Shakyamuni Buddha. Ac-cording to legend, the
newborn baby immediately took seven steps, pointed his right hand to the heavens
and his left hand to the earth and declared, “In the heavens and on the earth, I alone
am the honored one.”
This statement means that each of us is invaluable, uniquely existing as a human
being in this world. That Shakyamuni Buddha took seven steps signifies that he
attained the world of enlightenment transcending the world of delusion, the six
realms of hell, hungry ghosts, beasts, fighting spirits, human beings, and heavenly
beings. From the viewpoint of the Buddha with his great wisdom and compassion, he
made clear the dignity of the lives of all living beings, saying, “Each life is an
invaluable being, uniquely existing in this world.”
There is also an expression in the Amida Sutra, one of the Three Pure Land Sutras: “Blue
flower shines blue, yellow flower shines yellow, red flower shines red, white flower
shines white.” As this sutra says, each blue, yellow, red, and white flower is very
beautiful, just as it is. All life in the world is precious, irrespective of age, sex, race,
culture, religion, handicap, whether human or not, because they are shining brightly
as can be. You cannot give out “my light.” I also cannot give out “your light.”
Therefore, all living beings have an irreplaceable and precious life.
One more important thing is that all life has the precious life which we were born with
as wished by Amida Buddha. Amida Buddha makes a vow that he will surely save all
living beings equally, without discrimi-nation, as he would his own child. The working
which makes us realize this is the Nembutsu, “Namo Amida Butsu.”
Our founder Shinran Shonin said, “The life that cannot see the true value of all lives is
a life lived in vain.” Therefore, Amida Buddha always leads us to the way of the truth
which we should accept with his light of wisdom so that our life will not be lived in
vain.
The Nembutsu is also the calling voice of Amida Buddha. His calling voice makes us
fully realize that the lives of all living beings are em-braced with his warm compassion
and illumined with his light of wisdom. I believe that when we begin to realize this
truth, we will truly understand that all lives are precious and equal to our own, and
that we can create the ultimate world where we acknowledge one another, placing
our hands together in Gassho, respecting one another openly. This is the world of
enlightenment where nobody can take or waste lives, and where all life shines
together.
In conclusion, I should tell you that when my wife cried for help, I took the chocolate
with all the ants out to the backyard. Since that was really a lot of labor so early in
the morning, now I have to work on a countermeasure to prevent ants from coming
into my house….
In Gassho
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