Our Wishes Are as One

When the temple bell rings at midnight on New Year’s Eve and we welcome a brand-new year, we have the feeling of a solemn occasion. Shrines and temples in Japan are crowded with people making new vows for the coming year and wishing for the good health and well-being of their families and success in their work or business.

            In essence, these yearly wishes of ours and the Buddha’s vow to “bring salvation to all living beings” share the same roots.

            Many people may think that the wishes that stem from their own desires and the vow of the Buddha do not share the same origins.

            The wishes to achieve salvation, happiness, and peace of mind are common to everyone. Our wishes for the good health and well-being of our families and for success in business are part of these wishes.

            In the eyes of the Buddha, however, these wishes in common of human beings become “I want you to achieve salvation; I want you to be happy; I want you to attain peace of mind.”

            For that reason, we can say that our fervent wishes and the Buddha’s vow are one and the same.

            The reason that Shakyamuni renounced the world and undertook asceticism was that he had a personal wish to achieve salvation and be free from suffering.

            In other words, he was led to the Truth, the Law, by benefiting himself, through his seeking the way to resolve his own suffering. At the same time, he became aware that there was no true salvation for himself without salvation for others, and thus he attained the spiritual state of great compassion in which benefiting oneself and benefiting others become one.

            In this sense, our sincere wishes and the vow of the Buddha do not differ. They are one and the same.

The Source of All Life

Zeami (1363-1444), the man who perfected the form of the Noh drama as it is still known today, left behind the words, “Never forget the ideals with which you started out.” This is a lesson to always keep in mind one’s inexperience when attempting something new. For those of us who have faith, this means treasuring the purity in our hearts when we were guided to the teaching for the first time.

            While we should retain such a pure and humble heart, at the same time we should strive to fully understand the meaning of the teaching “All existence is the buddha-nature” and make it our own. The buddha-nature is equal to the life of heaven and earth, in other words, the original roots of life. We ourselves are sustained by the buddha-nature, and the Buddha and all living beings are one. Therefore, the source of all life is one.

            This year, we mark the seventieth year of the founding of our organization. The starting point of Rissho Kosei-kai was Shakyamuni’s vow to “Open the eyes of wisdom, so that all people achieve salvation.” This stems from the source of all life, the buddha-nature. Together, let us look squarely at that starting point, and from one day to the next advance spiritually with a sublime feeling of newness in our hearts.