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This page brings together the Monthly Words shared throughout 2022.
Originally written in Japanese and carefully rendered into English.
Infinite Light and Life Without End - From the Shoshinge (A Modern Hymn of Gratitude) -（January 2021）
Infinite Light and Life Without End - From the Shoshinge (A Modern Hymn of Gratitude) -（January 2021）
"Infinite Light and Life without end."
The Shoshinge (Hymn of True Entrusting) was originally composed in Classical Chinese by Shinran Shonin（1173-1263）, the founder of our tradition. It is a poem in which he poured out his profound admiration for the teachings of the sutras.
This phrase is the opening line of its modern Japanese translation. Often sung in musical Buddhist services, it is followed by the line, "Let us look up to Amida Buddha."
"Light -光-" and "Life -寿-" are bestowed equally upon everyone, representing the salvation of Amida Buddha.
This passage carries a deep meaning:
"Even if you cannot see it with your eyes, you are constantly illuminated by Immeasurable Light - 無量光 -. And you stand at the very forefront of Immeasurable Life - 無量寿 -, a flow that has continued throughout the long history of humanity.
No matter how desperate your situation may be right now, please do not forget that simply being alive is noble. You are already accomplishing the monumental project known as 'life - 寿 -'. Amida Buddha is silently watching over you, always."
Perhaps when I was younger, I was so full of life and light myself that these words didn't resonate with me at all. Yet recently, words like these have begun to echo deeply in my heart.
Kawaranai mono
nante
Naimo Nai
Sou Omoe ba
Nayami ya Fuan datte
Itumademo
Tudukanai yo
- Kodomo Buddha no Kotoba -
Nothing Stays the Same: If You Think This Way, Worries and Anxieties Will Not Last Forever ~ From "The Words of the Children's Buddha" ~ ( July 2021)
Nothing Stays the Same: If You Think This Way, Worries and Anxieties Will Not Last Forever ~ From "The Words of the Children's Buddha" ~ ( July 2021)
There has never been a year where I have heard and seen the word "anxiety" every single day like this one. It is an anxiety where the future is obscured. An anxiety with no visible exit, wondering how long this state will last. Even the infectious disease itself—we don't know where it creeps in from. It makes us anxious.
However, if we think about it carefully, these anxieties existed even before the coronavirus. Money, health, and life itself. If we could view things from the truly "vast and long-term perspective" of a Buddha, we would realize something. We would see that the object of our anxiety was merely shifting and changing. In other words, while anxiety is a part of us, it is not something that remains fixed in one place.
Shakyamuni Buddha taught the concept of "Shogyō Mujō - 諸行無常 - " (Impermanence). He taught that the world is constantly in flux. Impermanence is the simple fact that "nothing is permanent."
People aging, passing away, and precious things breaking are all forms of impermanence. But a baby being born and growing, discovering a new life, and recovering from illness are also forms of impermanence. Neither good times nor bad times last for long. That is exactly why there will definitely be an end to our current suffering. If we believe this, we might be able to relax our shoulders a little and make it through today and the days to come.
Pandemic ga
Bokura no
Bunmei wo Rentogen ni
kaketeru
tokoro da
- Paolo Giordano -
The Pandemic Is an X-Ray of Our Civilization - Paolo Giordano- ( October 2021 )
The Pandemic Is an X-Ray of Our Civilization - Paolo Giordano- ( October 2021 )
A loud voice shatters the silence of the train car. I look over to see two men arguing. From their conversation, it seems one man’s knee hit the other’s hard as he sat down. Neither side will yield, and the battle drags on. Yet, to an observer, it is almost comical. After all, despite the hostility, they are sitting right next to each other like companions.
Come to think of it, with the restrictions on our actions due to the spread of infection, an invisible irritation has permeated the air between us. This, too, is like a virus. Newspapers, TV, and the internet are filled with crude exchanges of words devoid of intelligence, disparaging others and neighbors. It seems everyone has caught the "Irritation Infection."
Transportation spreads the virus; on public transit, people curse at each other at the slightest touch of a shoulder. Information sharing has become a stage for conflict. Humans are strangling themselves with the very civilization that was supposed to make life convenient. However, this is not a tragic phenomenon. It is simply revealing the essence of human foolishness and shallowness that we have tried not to see. It is a "health checkup" for humanity via the Corona "X-ray." It is the natural result of our habitual neglect.
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