Why Buddhism?

Rev. Eric Tatsuo Matsumoto -Shaku Horaku

Increasingly, we are faced with making decisions and choices, and in our world of instant this and instant that we make choices and decisions at a moments notice. Many times, we do not have ample time to consider thoroughly the issues at stake and the consequences of our actions. Sometimes, we find ourselves blindly following the larger majority in our thoughts and actions. However, we should remember a majority is a majority, but does not necessarily always constitute what is right. In our life, we will meet with others who hold a different opinion, a different view. Unfortunately, frequently, the outcome of such encounters is anger, hatred and a hardening of prejudices and resentment. In such situations, let us remember the words of Prince Shotoku (573-621), of Japan who said,

Let us cease from wrath and refrain from angry looks. Nor let us be resentful when others differ from us. For all men have hearts and each heart has its own leanings. Their right is our wrong, and our right is their wrong. We are not unquestionably sages, nor are they unquestionably fools Therefore, although others give way to anger, let us on the contrary dread our own faults,

(Article X, The Seventeen-Article Constitution, From Sources of Japanese Tradition, page 50)

Again, the Prince says in the same Constitution, Sincerely revere the three treasures. The three treasures (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha) are the final refuge of the four generated beings, and are the supreme objects of faith in all countries. hey may be taught to follow it. But, if they do not betake them to the three treasures, wherewithal shall their crookedness be made straight?

(Adapted from Article II , The Seventeen-Article Constitution, From Sources of Japanese Tradition, page 48)

The Prince proclaims that the only way to correct oneself and errors of society are to rely on the Buddha, and the Teachings of the Buddha-the Dharma, as well as the importance of a truly united and caring Sangha. The Prince, in his time, was faced with uniting a politically fractured and divided nation one in which everyone was only looking out for their own interests. He looked at Buddhism as a means to accomplish his goal. We, human beings, are a product of hereditary and our environment. A large part of our behavior, actions and thoughts are conditioned by the culture and society we live in. And we make choices, decisions and value judgments according to them. However, our world is a diverse one with many different people and cultures and sometimes these differences prevent us from cooperating and living peacefully with each other. What we need is something universal, something that will unite us all and, if present, destroys our prejudices or at least enables us to see our limitations. The Enlightened Person through the Wisdom of Dharma shows great respect not only to human life, but all life including the plants, the animals, the air, the water, the earth, in short all life, all existence. Buddhism awakens us to our self-centeredness as individuals and our human-centeredness as human beings and introduces us to a world of total freedom and equality not only for human beings, but all life. Hence, in the passage I quoted earlier, it says "The three treasures are the final resort of all life" and not only people. Buddha and Buddhism encompass not only human life, but all life. Prince Shotoku recognized this aspect of Buddhism which asks us to look at ourselves and our world from not only my perspective, but various perspectives and especially a larger perspective not only our limited human perspective. We can call this larger all inclusive perspective "The Wisdom and Compassion of Supreme Enlightenment." We just as the people of long ago, still need to make many decisions and choices in life. We need to remember that though our choices and decisions are personal they also affect those around us-our family, friends, strangers and even the future of our Planet Earth. Our thoughts, our words, our actions, for that matter even non-though and not taking any action affect the future. We are all interrelated and interdependent and so naturally our actions influence not only my life, but all life as well. So the next time, I need to make a choice I should ask myself " What am I basing my decision?" The words of the Prince who lived over 1,400 years ago still has tremendous meaning for us of modern age today.

For those of us, who no matter how hard we try, we find that we are still not able to rid ourselves of our anger, greed and ignorance Shinran (1173-1262) of the Hongwanji urges us to entrust ourselves to Amida Buddha, the Buddha of Immeasurable Life and Infinite Light, whose Wisdom and Compassion is so great that it even embraces someone like myself who is not able to completely rid myself of these negative feelings and emotions. However, you may say anger and greed are not so horrible, in that "We all get mad at times." "We're only human." However, according to Buddhism, simply stated, anger, greed and ignorance are seen as the basic cause of all our personal and societal problems and sufferings.

Let me briefly comment that ignorance in Buddhism is not the lack of intellect or IQ, but the absence of Wisdom, the Wisdom of the Buddha Dharma as a guiding force in our life. The Buddha's Wisdom is the Buddha's Wisdom, but the Buddha is sharing this Wisdom of Enlightenment with all of us and eventually this Wisdom becomes our Wisdom as well.

For someone such as I, Amida Buddha, the Buddha of Immeasurable Light and Infinite Light contemplated for 5 long kalpas and established the Compassionate 18th Vow that includes all and excludes none leading us all to Supreme Enlightenment equal to that of the Buddha. I believe that this Teaching of Amida Buddha's 18th Vow is truly that which promises Perfect Equality and Freedom, Peace and Happiness for all life.

As a final comment, I would like to quote Robert Thurman (Wisdom and Compassion, The Sacred Art of Tibet, page 23,) "The greatest gift one could give others thus was teaching; it could help others come to understanding, freedom, and happiness" which will sustain us in life-and-death, ultimately taking us beyond life-and-death to the realm of Nirvana, the realm of the Buddhas themselves, a world and life of Supreme Wisdom and Unconditional Compassion.

Namo Amida Butsu,

I entrust myself to the Buddha of Immeasurable Life and Infinite Light.