Rev. Prof. Toshikazu Arai

Towards the end of last year I stumbled across the blog of Rev. Toshikazu Arai, a JS priest from Osaka, because it has a similar name to mine.

I found his new year post today very moving, not least because at our temple we have an annual service of reconciliation which has seen a number of English and Japanese war veterans become close friends:

Last year I went to China twice: from October 24 to 30 and from December 25 to 29. The first trip was on business: my university sent a Chinese professor and me to China to administer entrance examinations at Hangzhou, Beijing, Changchun, and Shenyang. The second trip was for pleasure. My wife and I have been married for 25 years but this was the first time we had a leisure trip. We joined a package tour organized by a travel agency named Hankyu Kotsusha and visited Hangjhou, Shanghai, Suzhou, and Muxi.

In the first trip, my colleague and I met over 80 applicants and I was very much impressed by their seriousness about studying Japanese and Japanese culture. I was even more moved by the hospitality of the Chinese professors and university administrators that was extended to us. I was impressed by the professors’ mastery and control of the Japanese language. They generously helped us administer the examinations. Many of the applicants had a high proficiency of the langauge. They, professors and students, welcomed us with great respect.

I could not help recalling the series of Japanese invasions to China and the grave atrocities committed by Japanese troops. I was grateful to the Chinese professors and student as well as those who I met during my two tours for accepting me as a visitor from Japan and showing me such great respect. Most probably the Chinese people have not forgotten their sufferings caused by the invading Japanese military and still less have they forgiven the Japanese for the wartime atrocities, but they seem to be willing to put those memories aside and establish peaceful and cooperative relations with Japan and Japanese people. I feel that the Japanese of the present time should appreciate the goodwill of the Chinese peole toward Japan.

I also visited Jejudo in southern Korea to attend the conference of the Japan Association of Peace Studies held from November 9 to 11. Many of the discussions were concerned with learning from violent conflicts in the past and working out ways to construct peace. In this case, too, I felt Korean people were accepting us, including me, as good neighbors despite the humiliations and sufferings under Japanese rule from 1910 to 1945.

All in all, I strongly felt ashamed of the Japanese invasions to China and Korea in the past. I realize that peace can be established on the foundation of mutual respect for other countries’ cultures and traditions. When people are left to enjoy and develop their own culture, they can be at peace with others also.”

 

Visit to the temple

I spent the weekend past staying at the temple and enjoyed catching up with many friends and making a few new ones. In particular I was delighted to make the acquaintance of a guest, Rev. Fumihito Ando; 32nd successor to the Myougenji temple of the Takaha-ha Jodo Shin lineage. His temple is one of, if not the, oldest surviving Jodo Shin temples and also has many precious relics such as original writings of Master Shinran. Rev. Fumihito has trained as a professional curator and is doing great work helping to preserve and share the history of our tradition. I’m hoping that his encounter with Three Wheels and myself will lead to great Dharma friendships.

At Three Wheels the annual ceremony of peace and reconciliation between Japanese and British war veterans was held and was moving as always. This year it was particularly poignant though for two additional reasons. Firstly that the number of surviving veterans has dwindled considerably and secondly that the meeting was attended for the first time by a Burmese Buddhist gentleman who offered a prayer for the Burmese people who were caught in the middle during the war.

Staying in the temple, which was purified physically and spiritually by the hard work of the sangha - and particularly the taya residents - really gave me a boost and sent me home with new energy and mental stability … something that has turned out to be very precious as news of the health of my various elderly relatives continues to be very negative. Sensei’s Dharma talk at the weekend was on the three Dharma seals and could not have been more appropriate to my current state of mind. Equally the example of the war veterans that I have met at Three Wheels in discovering the ultimate meaning of human relationships which transcends death and suffering is a great inspiration.

Namuamidabutsu.

 

A dark episode in Jodo Shin history

For those interested in Jodo Shinshu history, and with an eye to the lessons of the past, Rev. Alfred Bloom has just published a thesis by Ronald Anderson on his website on the subject of the Nishi Honganji and Japanese Buddhist Nationalism, 1862 - 1945 (103.1MB .zip file)

Namuamidabutsu.