February, 2007
HAVE WE LOST SOMETHING IMPORTANT?
By Rev. Yushi Mukojima
At the end of last year, Mika and I went to Knott’s Berry Farm. What was to be a pleasant first date
in quite a while unexpectedly became hectic because of a little carelessness on my part. In fact, I
lost my cell phone during the date.
As you know, Knott’s Berry Farm is a famous theme park in Southern California which has many
spectacular roller coasters. I’m crazy about roller coasters, so we tried to ride as many as we could
as soon as we arrived there and I really enjoyed it.
As we sat on a bench to take a rest, I put my hand to my waist without thinking and discovered my
cell phone as missing. “How stupid of me!” We went back everywhere we had been and looked for
it. I felt deeply regretful, but we couldn’t find it. Although my wife used her cell phone to call mine
several times, nobody answered it.
We continued to search for about an hour, but were unsuccessful. When I began to think that I
would have to give up looking for it and purchase a new one, Mika dialed the phone one more time
and a lady answered.
I immediately took my wife’s phone and tried to explain our situation. But the lady wasn’t very good
at English and in fact mostly spoke to me in Spanish. At that time, I was seized with anxiety that she
might keep and make bad use of my phone. So I asked her to meet at an appointed place. All the
while I was nervously thinking, “Please, don’t hang up!”
We waited at the agreed-upon place about ten minutes but it felt a lot longer. Then a young
woman who was looking around appeared. When I dialed my number on my wife’s phone, the
phone the woman was holding began ringing. “That’s my cell phone!” I was swift to approach her
and bowed again and again, saying, “Gracias!”
She said, “The phone was stuck inside the roller coaster seat.” It must have slipped off when I
fastened the seat belt. It was because I was careless. In any case, I didn’t know how to express my
thanks to the young woman for her kindness, finding my phone and returning it to me. I would like to
express my deep gratitude to her.
I had an important realization because of this incident. In our lifetimes, we undoubtedly lose many
important things. When we lose something that is tangible, we soon become aware it is lost. But it is
hard to know when we lose something intangible. Society has always continued to look for wealth.
Compared with the old times, the world has become more convenient in every aspect and we are
not troubled with much if we have money. However, if we try to look back over our search for
wealth, we might see that we have lost something that is very important. What is the lost article? I
believe that it is The Dignity of Life.
In Shin Buddhism, there is an often told story about a Gumyo bird that makes us think about what
a life should be. (As you know, the Gumyo is a mythical bird with two heads. You can see a Gumyo
image carved in the front of the large table in the Onaijin.) I would like to relate this story briefly.
A long time ago, there were many Gumyo birds, but there was one especially known for its beauty
and song. The two heads both bragged about themselves till one day, one head thought, “I am
praised by everyone for my beautiful voice. But the other head is also admired. If the other head
were to die, I would truly be the best in the world.”
So this head made the other head eat a poisoned fruit. Of course, the head that ate the fruit died
and the head that survived became the most beautiful bird in the world. The bird sang proudly.
However, the poisoned head eventually rotted. The body they had in common inevitably went bad
as well. As a result, the vain Gumyo bird lost its life.
Most of us know that bird was foolish. However, our society’s actions are not much different than
those of the Gumyo bird. If we always believe that we alone are the best and justify our actions to
hurt and destroy others, we are like the Gumyo bird. Unless we realize that we live selfishly, making
light of others’ lives, we will be on a course of self-destruction like the Gumyo.
When we stop to think about the nature of life, it is very important to realize that our lives are
connected to other lives and are supported by all lives. All life exists together. If we truly see this
truth, we would realize the preciousness of making others’ lives shine like our own.
Shinran Shonin said, “We must open the world where we are grateful for our present lives and
come to a realization of the value of our own lives and of all life.” Through the story of the Gumyo
bird, Amida Buddha shows us the direction we should take.
As a result of looking only for wealth, human society is in the process of losing the dignity of
others’ lives. Amida Buddha has picked up our important lost article and brought it to us. How
grateful we are.
In Gassho,
| Dharma Message |
