- Happy New Year!
Thank you very much for all that you have done for us last year. My wife and I would like to
express our deep gratitude for all the Sangha members’ ongoing thoughtfulness. Our family humbly
hopes you to avail ourselves to your kindness again in the coming year.
Two months ago, I was invited to the Buddhist Church of Oakland as guest speaker for their
Eitaikyo service, so I flew into Oakland Airport the day before. Michael Endo had asked me to call
him on his cell phone when I got there, so right after I picked up my bag at the baggage claim, I took
my cell phone out of my pants pocket in order to call him. But the phone slipped from my hand and
fell to the floor. My cell phone was broken.
Although flustered by this unforeseen mishap, I wanted to call him by pay phone, but found I was
not able to call anybody to help me. His phone number and all my numbers were saved in my phone’
s memory. The only number I remembered was my home number which was not helpful to me at all
because my wife was in Japan at that time.
Outside it was already dark, so a feeling of loneliness and misery came over me. I felt a deep
regret for my carelessness and hoped Michael would come to pick me up soon. After about 30
minutes, he got worried that I hadn’t called him and came into the airport to find me. So in the end
the only bad result was the damage to my cell phone.
I had not imagined that having no cell phone would cause me so much inconvenience and
trouble. I was very surprised to realize that the cell phone -which nobody used until several years
ago- has become an indispensable part of our lives without our realizing it. After that incident, I
realized that it is very dangerous to depend too much on cell phones or computers which we take
for granted because they are such an integral part of our everyday lives.
Now I would like to share a famous Buddhist tale with you.
Long time ago, there was a man in a certain town who had four wives. He loved and treasured
his first wife the best among the four wives. He did not love his second wife as much as the first, but
was very affectionate towards her. His third wife was not treasured like his first and second wife, but
was still a favorite of his. And his fourth wife was always treated badly and was ignored by him.
One day, this man developed a serious illness. All treatments were unsuccessful and finally the
time came when he was nearing his end.
He called over his first wife and asked, “I loved and treasured you the best. So will you die with
me?” However, she deserted him coldly, saying, “Certainly, you loved me very much. But that’s
another matter. I can’t die with you.”
The man felt a deep regret and was pained by her heartlessness. He then called over his second
wife and made the same request. But she refused easily, saying, “Even your first wife whom you
loved the best didn’t follow you. How can I die with you?”
Then he asked his third wife to die with him. She said, “As you wish it so much, at least I will follow
you to the grave because, after all, you did love me.”
The man got very depressed. Finally, though he knew that she would refuse because he had
always treated her badly, he asked his fourth wife the same question. Though she had been
hardened by his heartlessness, she answered affectionately, “Yes, no matter what might happen, I
will never abandon you. I will gladly follow you anywhere.”
When the man on his deathbed knew that he was neglected by the three wives he had always
loved and treated so well, but that only the fourth wife whom he had always treated coldly would
follow him, he felt all the more a deep regret. He then truly realized what the most important thing in
life is.
The four wives are a metaphor. Shakyamuni Buddha explained this story as follows: The first wife
symbolizes our body. Every day we treasure our body. If the body says, “I am cold,” we will make it
warm. If the body says, “I want to eat something delicious,” we will feed it. And if the body says, “I
feel awful,” we will go see a doctor. Thus we love our body, but no matter how well we take good
care of it, it doesn’t follow us after our death. That which we treated so well will remain in this world
after death as an unsightly corpse.
The second wife symbolizes wealth. We never want to let go of our precious fortune because it
took such effort to gain it. But no matter how much we believe that money is everything in life and no
matter how much we have saved, when we die, we can’t take our money with us.
The third wife symbolizes our family and friends. Needless to say, family is very important to us.
But when we pass away, they will only follow us as far as the grave.
And finally, the fourth wife who was treated badly symbolizes the teaching of Buddha and the
mind of Buddha.
Our priorities in life are quite as Shakyamuni Buddha says. We treasure more than we need to
our body, our wealth, and the family that cannot follow us. On the other hand, we almost never
treasure, respect or depend on the Buddha’s vow that supports our lives.
If we only seek and revere finite things, we will surely lose sight of the meaning of living. If we
think that only material possessions are life’s treasure, we are greatly mistaken. There is something
that deserves our reverence even more. It is the primal vow of Amida Buddha and the Nembutsu
teaching.
In our impermanent world, Amida Buddha is here for us. He supports us and will never abandon
us no matter what may befall us. He will always follow us without fail wherever we go. Embraced in
his unlimited compassion, we are awakened to how important it is to find the true nature of our lives,
to accept each other’s existence, to feel joy together, to cry together, to respect and support one
another. We should share our lives being grateful for each moment we are alive. This is the very
essence of what a true life led by the teaching of Nembutsu should be. Then we will be reborn in the
Pure Land with the Nembutsu. How grateful we should be.
In telling this story, I realize again how dangerous it is to depend too much on physical things
while losing sight of the most important thing in life.
While hailing in the New Year, let us once again contemplate our daily lives. Which wife will you
love the most? I sincerely hope that your first wife will be the Nembutsu, filled with Amida Buddha’s
unlimited compassion.
In Gassho,
| Dharma Message |
- JANUARY 2009
WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT THING IN LIFE
By Rev. Yushi Mukojima