- December, 2008
CONTEMPLATING HATSUMAIRI
By Rev. Yushi Mukojima
Last month, I took two weeks’ vacation and went back to Japan with my family. We felt a little
uneasy about making the trip with our two-month-old daughter, Kurumi, but there weren’t any of the
problems her doctor had told us could happen. Although she sometimes cried because of hunger,
she was in a good mood and seemed to enjoy the journey the entire time. What a sturdy baby!
Our parents, who wanted to meet their granddaughter right away, had been waiting impatiently at
the airport for our arrival. Then, as soon as they saw Kurumi in my wife’s arms, they were moved to
tears. I think that they had been worried so much about her, born in a foreign land. Seeing our
parents’ joy, tears came into our eyes, too. How grateful we should be.
After that, they took turns holding their grandchild, saying tearfully to her, “Thank you for being
born.” Kurumi responded with a smile for each of her grandmothers and grandfathers she was
meeting for the first time. It was the happiest moment, filled with our parents’ love.
To change the subject a little, during our stay in Japan, we stayed mostly in Obama city which is
my hometown. To my surprise, Obama city had strangely livened up for the U.S. presidential
election more than I had expected. A statue of candidate Obama had been erected in front of a
department store and there were many banners for him along the street by the station. Things like T-
shirts printed with his image and manju (Japanese cakes) stamped with his face were being sold in
order to reinvigorate the city’s economy.
It is well-known that last year Obama city organized “an association that supports Senator Obama
our own way”; sent a thank you letter to him for spreading the name “Obama” over the world; and
received a thank you letter for their support from candidate Obama. I heard that the day Senator
Obama won the presidency, citizens of Obama city were excited and the whole town made
boisterous merrymaking that night. According to my parents, shouts of “Yes, we can!” were heard
everywhere. What a peaceful story that is.
Sorry to deviate from my message. One of the reasons for our return to Japan this time was to
have the Hatsumairi at our family temple, Renkoji. It is an important ceremony that wishes that a
child, no matter what might happen in life, can rejoice in their birth and live a fruitful life of the
Nembutsu teaching by encountering Amida Buddha and accepting everlasting ties with Buddha.
Under the direction of my father who is the resident minister, the Hatsumairi was held with only
our family present. We chanted the “Sanbujo” and “Jusei-ge” as Kurumi kept silent, all the while
looking at the statue of Amida Buddha in Renko temple which she was experiencing for the first
time. However, when my father started the Dharma talk, she became fretful and, at last, started
crying loudly as if saying, “Please finish up soon. I got tired!”
My father was embarrassed by her crying so he hurried to extend congratulations and finish the
short Dharma talk to us, thus ending the service. It seemed that the ceremony was a little long for a
two-month-old baby.
After that, a photographer came to the temple and we had a photograph taken to commemorate
this occasion before Amida Buddha. We really appreciate my parents who gave us such a wonderful
ceremony.
Although I was not able to listen to much of my father’s message because I was preoccupied by
Kurumi who had suddenly started crying, he used the words, “cultivating the seed of Dharma” in his
short message. To put it simply, it means, “Bring up the child to rejoice in the Nembutsu.”
You may know of the famous story about two girls a long time ago in India who were called wolf
children. Although human, they had been raised by wolves. As a result of this upbringing, they were
not able to return to a normal human way of life. They had been born human but because they had
wolves as parents, they had never learned to live like humans. In the end, to live as humans do was
shut off for them. What a sad story.
As we learn from this story, children can become any kind of person by how their parents raise
them. Therefore my father expressed his wish that we build a wonderful family which is filled with the
Nembutsu. This we must do in order that our baby becomes a person with a rich mind who can
share the suffering, sadness, and happiness of others through the teachings.
And lastly, my father said that we shouldn’t forget that parents and children are the same age. No
matter how old a person gets, if he doesn’t have a child, he is not called a parent. Only a person
who has a child can be called parent.
When one becomes a parent, an awareness begins to grow in our hearts and we learn to take
care of our child, protect our child, love our child and grow with our child. We gradually form a
parent-child relationship through the experience. It is not important who she or he becomes. What is
important is the process. Therefore, the environment in which the child is raised is the most
important.
As parents, we want our child to have a wonderful life. However, it makes no sense if we only
vacantly wish for their growth. In bringing up children, parents also experience learning and growth.
Children are raised by their parents, and parents grow by raising their children. This explains the
saying that parents and the child are the same age.
The Hatsumairi ceremony was our new starting point as parents. We really appreciate Kurumi
who provided the wonderful opportunity to vow to become good parents before Amida Buddha. As
children are raised by their parents, and parents grow through their children, we sincerely want to
build a wonderful family which is filled with the Nembutsu, laughing together, crying together, and
learning together.
There are few days left in this year. We would like to express our deep gratitude for all of the
Sangha members’ continual support throughout this year. Especially, we were deeply moved by
your warm thoughtfulness when Kurumi was born.
Although we are still inexperienced as parents, we sincerely hope all of you will give us your
guidance. Please look forward to welcoming a wonderful New Year.
In Gassho,
| Dharma Message |