The Sūtras Speak True

I’m back from my short hiatus now … Whilst I was offline I spent some time at the temple and enjoyed catching up with my Dharma friends. It was especially moving to talk to those who have just come back from attending Hoonko at our head temple, and to share in their joy and the fruits of their introspection.

The most extraordinary part of my visit was a conversation that I had with some Dharma friends about the head priest of our parent temple. In my post about our Otorikoshi ceremonies I wrote; “Listening to Reverend CT … it was clear to me that his awareness of this history was not of a linear narrative from past to present, but rather of a unified nexus of relationships that are all still active and ongoing in the present moment.”

Talking with my Dharma friends I came to an even deeper appreciation of the activity of Amida’s Great Compassion as something which is both in and beyond time. In particular, as we talked about this point, the wife of my teacher made the unusual comment; “[Rev. CT] is always travelling. No one can catch him,” to which I replied, “Do you mean travelling around the country or travelling in time-and-space?” “Yes, in time-and-space,” she said. Suddenly I thought of the Bodhisattvas in the sūtras who visit different realms to learn from Buddhas and teach beings, and - when I said so - another Dharma friend said, “Yes, its like the Ninth Vow in the Larger Sūtra.”

(9) If, when I attain Buddhahood, humans and devas in my land should not possess the supernatural power of travelling anywhere in one instant, even beyond a hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of Buddha-lands, may I not attain perfect Enlightenment.

Of course, to be clear, I am not suggesting that the Reverend physically transports himself at will to far off galaxies, or anything like that. Frankly though I think that would actually be rather mundane. If one has the means, then travelling from A to B is not very impressive. What is awe-inspiring is the landscape that the true mind, given by Amida, opens up in the person of entrusting.

When I attended a memorial recently, at which Rev. CT was present, I appreciated the continuing influence and legacy of the deceased and could see them as ‘living’ in that somewhat limited and rather symbolic sense. Now I realise though that Rev. CT saw living Bodhisattvas. In Buddhism inter-relationships and things are the same, each comprises the other. The inter-relationships still existed but were just forgotten by us … but Rev. CT made them spring up out of the ground …

… the earth in the three thousand great thousand lands in the Saha World trembled and split open, and from its midst limitless thousands of tens of thousands of millions of Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas simultaneously welled forth … They had been dwelling beneath the Saha World in the space belonging to this world. (Lotus Sūtra, 15)

Our consciousness of time and self is like the tiny part of a wheel touching the road … never the same part and always dependent on the whole. To the person of faith, the person on the Dharma way, each new moment draws their attention to the ‘power beyond self’ that supports their existence. And sometimes, when confronted with such a panorama, the boundaries of the self become tenuous and permeable, and a Light of peace and bliss from beyond time and space pours into the heart, and out of the mouth … namanda, namanda …

To see in this way is the gift of the Buddha and a fruit that comes in its own season and time. My expectation cannot bring it to life. But, as my teacher’ s wife also said to me once, ‘ Every moment is a gift from the Buddha.’ It is in this latter awareness that one learns that the sūtras speak true. Namuamidabutsu.

On other matters … my closest Dharma friend and I are discussing the possibility of his joining this blog as a kind of exercise in dialogue. Whether or not this will happen or not I don’t know but there will probably be some changes and alterations to the site for a while either way so please be patient as the information is re-organised.

 

The Gathering of Joy

This week at Three Wheels the festival of OBon will be celebrated.

Originally Obon was a Mahayana festival of merit-transference based upon the Ullambana Sutra (Jp. Urabon) which tells the story of a monk called Mogallana (jp. Mokuren) and his efforts to save his deceased mother from suffering in the Hell of Hungry Ghosts. In Japan, however, and particularly in the Jodo Shin tradition it has become more specifically a time of grateful remembrance for one’s ancestors and deceased loved ones; as such it is also known as Kangi-E, or the ‘Gathering of Joy’.

By coincidence the post-funeral memorial service of one of my Christian relatives happened to fall this week; at a time when - due to OBon - I was already primed to reflect on what my deceased ancestors, friends and relatives have done for me. Though the service I attended was structured upon beliefs that I do not personally hold it was a very moving and surpisingly uplifting affair because many people who had known my relative contributed sincerely and naturally to the ceremony; doing readings, singing, sharing memories and so on. It was so appropriate that the gifts and qualities that my relative had nurtured and encouraged in others were used to celebrate her life.

Sometimes it is hard to see how certain Japanese Jodo Shin festivals can translate into our culture but I do not feel that this is the case with OBon. Afterall the value of ‘thanksgiving’ is universal in its relevance. As such something that I would perhaps like to see in future OBon ceremonies at my home temple is the opportunity for members of the congregation to stand up and briefly say some words of thanks and remembrance for deceased loved ones and relatives. Listening to such overlapping words of joy would be to hear a beautiful reminder of the significance of other-power, and a wonderful communal poem of gratitude.

“Joyfulness as mentioned in the Ullamabana Sutra is construed in Shin Buddhism as the nurturing of single-minded entrusting of Amida Buddha’s 18th Vow.” - Rev. Lee Rosenthal

 

Parental Benevolence

Last month seven children came over from Shogyoji Temple in Japan to stay at Three Wheels for two weeks. During their stay they had English lessons, did some sightseeing, celebrated Hanamatsuri (Sakyamuni Buddha’s birthday) and various other activities. I went down briefly for a weekend to welcome them and enjoyed hearing their young voices saying the nembutsu, and laughing and chatting.

For many of the children it was their first time away from their parents and to travel abroad. As such the absence of their parents and relatives, who usually support them, may have been somewhat on their minds. Either way, such an awareness will certainly have come into their thoughts at some point as I gather that one of the activities the children engaged in was reading of the Sutra of Parental Benevolence. This sutra is quite commonly used in the Shogyoji tradition as a means of introspection, in both formal and informal contexts.

The sutra is believed by scholars to be apocryphal and is apparently based on the Confucian Classic of Filial Piety; being an attempt to counter the criticism of Chinese Confucianists that Buddhism - which was still predominantly monastic at the time - is anti-family and destructive to the Confucian virtue of filial piety. Such a minor, apocryphal and reactionary text might therefore seem somewhat surprising and questionable as a focus of modern day Buddhist contemplation.

It is probably indisputable to suggest that introducing young Japanese people to ideas of filial piety, which are very much central to traditional Japanese culture, helps to maintain social cohesion within the Shogyoji taya environment where many generations and many families often live together. To limit one’s view to such a perspective, however, may perhaps be to ignore the way in which the message of ‘awakening to parental benevolence’ dovetails with the broader Jodo Shinshu teaching of gratitude for all that supports our existence, and the related Buddhist teaching of interdependence. That is to say that the teaching of ‘awakening to what our parents have done for us’ uses a very basic, fundamental set of relationships to help create a dynamic awareness which may gradually be extended, infinitely outwards, throughout one’s life. To put it another way; realising how much we have depended on our parents for everything including our conception, sustenance and character is a lesson in Otherness … in how little our existence depends upon our own self-will.

It is impossible for me to know in what spirit the children visiting Three Wheels actually absorbed the sutra, but in my own life a period in which I spent reading this sutra contributed very much to the healing and transformation of ill feelings I held towards my upbringing as a Christian, and the realisation that - whatever the side-effects - my parents taught me the importance of self-examination and religious consciousness which are treasures not to be under-estimated. This in turn led to increased dialogue with my parents and the successful transition of my close childhood relationship to them, through the awkwardness of adolescence, into a new, close and honest relationship in adulthood. Namuamidabutsu.

The usefulness of the Sutra of Parental Benevolence may not apply to everyone, and this is a fact acknowledge by the director of Three Wheels who calls it a ’skillful means’. For me, however, it has played a useful role in my life - for which I am very grateful. As to the children who visited England last month, the director told me in an email; “As a result of their reading the Sutra every morning, in spite of being quite young, they showed each one of them such a profound understanding of the sutra related to their daily life that I myself was very much moved to tears”.

Namuamidabutsu.