Sensei's September 2010 Message
Difficult or Impossible?
Extremely difficult is it to encounter an age in which a Buddha appears, And difficult indeed for a person to realize the wisdom of shinjin. To come to hear the Dharma rarely met with Is again among all things most difficult. To realize shinjin oneself and to guide others to shinjin Is among difficult things yet even more difficult. To awaken beings everywhere to great compassion Is truly to respond in gratitude to the Buddha’s benevolence.
Shinran Shonin - Kyogyoshinsho, CWS, Vol. I, p. 120
In Jodo Shinshu, is Buddhahood difficult or impossible to achieve? From what Shinran Shonin describes in his Kyogyoshinsho, with his perspective informed by his lifelong pursuit and study, the same would seem impossible for many of us. Of course his mission and realization were based on his no-nonsense, absolute understanding of human nature and defilements that resist the ultimate working of the Buddha’s wisdom and compassion to free us of our burdens. He recognized this especially in an honest assessment of himself.
In comparison, our mission is not as absolute, for we want the best of both worlds. We’re used to being rewarded and recognized for our accomplishments, whether graduating from a university, raising a child, or simply mowing a lawn. For each action and good deed, we expect to see the fruits of our labor and we often look for praise in the process. In this regard, our minds are selfishly conditioned and we come to feel entitled to a reward for everything we do. This trend has also become evident in religion, in which we can count hundreds of different kinds of Buddhist temples and sects. These represent various enlightened ideas of high priests in China, Japan, and other countries to cater to the needs of people of different generations long after the demise of Shakyamuni Buddha. Indeed, Buddhism has changed and evolved over the last 2,600 years in many ways. Christianity and other religions have also experienced similar transformations.
With preconceived notions, many people come to the temple to meditate, pray, or listen to the dharma message, perhaps expecting to be awakened instantaneously or to attain some sort of refreshed sense of mind and heart. Some of these ideas are often based on misconceptions of Buddhism. Thus, when the dharma message or a minister does not meet an expectation, we become disappointed and we may go home with adverse feelings. Like being in a supermarket or a restaurant, it has become too easy for us to expect to be satisfied by many options catering to personal tastes, needs, and wants. Recently I was invited to lunch with a group of people. They ordered Chinese chicken salad, but the vinaigrette dressing may have been too spicy and it was not presented in the way we are used to seeing Chinese chicken salad. Actually, it was described as “disgusting” by some. A few even went on to discuss the option of getting a refund. Since I have frequented many Chinese restaurants in my line of work, I knew this recipe to be the original Chinese salad and I rather enjoyed it. Although it was presented exactly as the menu described, it was contrary to what was expected and was therefore rejected. This is often the case with many who come to our temple to see what kind of Buddhism we serve. It is the menu of Shinran Shonin and Sakyamuni Buddha, but not what they may have come to expect today.
Encountering a Buddha or the Buddha appearing before us are metaphorical expressions of the Buddha being omnipresent, which means that it is everywhere, at all times for everyone. We simply need to open our minds and hearts sincerely, without discriminatory thoughts of entitlement to meet our expectations. Amida Buddha is an expression of absolute wisdom and compassion, which are the active qualities we aspire to attain so we can live in this world without causing harm. When we are genuinely engaged in such a pursuit, then we also can help others at the same time. There is no need to look for the Buddha or to go to a certain temple for such an encounter. It is always there if we choose to sincerely seek it with an open mind.
Thus, the Buddha or Buddhahood is rarely encountered, not because we do not go to the temple as often as we should, or because we do not read books on Buddhism. It is only because we fail to listen properly, denying ourselves the chance to truly hear Buddha’s wisdom and compassion, that we become misguided. As long as our minds and hearts are filled with the anxieties and regrets of our daily activities, there is no room left for the Dharma. Further, we are so agitated by the many unfulfilled expectations we have of others that even though we receive much, we are still wanting. These simple thoughts become unmovable barriers between us and the Buddhahood. It is ironic that these anxieties are exactly what the Dharma is trying to expose for us. Although we have good intentions and hope to find lasting peace, we still like our many life’s options. Saddled with these contradictions, we are far less focused than Shinran, yet we are encouraged to continue to pursue the Buddha in the best possible way.
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Sensei's July/August 2010 Message
Obon, Memorial Service, and Shinran
It is not often that I can write an article with thoughts that pertain to the month of the printing because it is written much earlier and it is difficult to have a sincere mindset about the time ahead. Today is May 21 and I am quietly contemplating Shinran Shonin’s birthday and related celebration, Gotan- E. This service seems to be the least attended of all major services and it is difficult to understand the reason. You would have to be a historian or scholar to know the birthdays of all the important figures and major events of our long Jodo Shinshu history. But we are not allowed to forget our anniversary or the birthdays of our wife, husband, children, or special friends. It would be chaos at home if we committed such a crime. So as I began to think about a topic for this July-August issue, I needed a lot of energy and encouragement to get kick-started. Soon the thought of Obon season entered my mind.
Much has been written about Obon, and the Internet is full of various Obon celebrations and descriptions. If you are confused by the many interpretations that mark this season, don’t be. It is impossible to come to any one conclusion about Obon since the interpretations vary depending on the Buddhist, cultural, or historical tradition. Since there are many truth claims in this regard, it is best left alone to simply enjoy the season and rely on your temple to provide the specifics. This year we printed 1,000 copies of our WLA Temple Obon Festival flyer in color to make our Jodo Shinshu point very clear. I hope you find one of these flyers as you visit us on July 24 and 25. Perhaps next year you may end up in one of the many photos we include in the flyer.
Obon season begins with an Obon-Hatsubon Service. Hatsubon, the First Obon service for the deceased, is when we remember, honor, and celebrate those people who have passed away since the last Obon. It is a time for everyone to gather at the temple and to have the names of the deceased read, to light candles for them, and to listen to the Dharma message. In our memorial services we are reminded of the opportunity to sincerely appreciate all life, which is sustained by the infinite working of Amida Buddha. Then we can truly learn to live and enjoy our lives with the true understanding of the constant changing nature of our existence, which includes our own death:
For Jodo Shinshu practicers, the significance of a memorial service is not for appeasing or consoling the spirits of the deceased, but is, rather, the opportunity to pay tribute to and recall cherished memories of the departed, while listening to the Buddha Dharma. In other words, the service is not for the sake of the deceased, but is indeed, for the sake of the living. In remembering the deceased, we acknowledge the influence of the deceased on our lives.
In regard to memorials and saying the Nembutsu for the sake of the deceased, Shinran goes beyond our normal understanding with this statement in the Tannisho:
As for me, Shinran, I have never said the nembutsu even once for the repose of my departed father and mother. For all sentient beings, without exception, have been our parents and brothers and sisters in the course of countless lives in many states of existence. On attaining Buddhahood after this present life, we can save every one of them. (Tannisho, Ch. 5)
This is a remarkable statement that transcends our religious or social obligations, or the perceived need for rituals, ceremonies, and filial piety for our most precious loved ones. Shinran makes this statement with the thought that all living beings on this planet are completely interrelated and dependent on one another, and to separate a loved one from this universality is not what he practices. Although Shinran had parents and was fully grateful for their sacrifices and love, he was committed to the complete, universal oneness of all living beings and his Onembutsu was for the sake of attaining enlightenment. He was certain that once enlightened, he could duly embrace all beings. Of course, we are not so humble and noble. Therefore, we are in need of and dependent on memorial services, birthday celebrations, and other remembrances that somehow keep our thoughts connected to our loved ones. Obon and other services are very meaningful and necessary for many and are embraced accordingly. With this in mind we hope you will truly enjoy the celebration of the season with your family and friends.
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Sensei's June 2010 Message
Bombu – Self Awareness
Formerly you were drunk with the wine of ignorance and had a taste only of the three poisons of greed, anger, and folly, but since you have begun to hear the Buddha’s Vow you have gradually awakened from the drunkenness of ignorance, gradually rejected the three poisons, and come to prefer at all times the medicine of Amida Buddha. - Letters of Shinran
We receive much praise in our lifetime, more than we deserve. If we were sincere we may have said, “I’m not worthy,” and yet quietly accepted the flattery. When we are committed to the reality of life we can face the worst situations such as illness, death, separation from others, and many uncomfortable, embarrassing, and regrettable moments. At other moments when we are not strong enough to face these daily challenges, we may unconsciously seek timely comforts, embraces, and praise. Although we are taught prayers and superstitions at such times are not reliable and give us a false sense of hope, we still find ourselves quietly looking for some miracle. At other times, although we claim to be Buddhists, many blurt out such words as “Oh my God” or “This can’t happen to me.” Shinran Shonin recognized this fallible human condition, and since we are not yet Buddhas, he clarified the wisdom and compassion that embrace us in such moments.
Shinran personally identified himself with this condition of being a “bombu,” a foolish self, an ordinary being, a person possessed of the core formula of life’s difficulties, full of ignorance and blind passions, unable to awaken with his own power. Being a bombu is not a license to knowingly be ignorant, stupid, or immature, laughing at one’s actions and being irresponsible. Recognizing oneself as a bombu is a true religious reality of awakening to who we are, good or bad, wise or unwise, compassionate or hurtful. So what is it that we can gain from this understanding? The answer may still be puzzling:
In fact, Shinran says that true wisdom is brought forth only from the heart and mind of the person who has awakened to Amida’s great compassion, and in the light of that compassion realizes himself to be a foolish being. (CWS, v.II, p. 187)
Perhaps we can follow Shinran’s example of selfawareness and great humility and call ourselves bombu, but we are not Shinran. When he decided to claim to be neither monk nor lay person, he decided at that moment to become a true and complete follower of the Onembutsu teaching and help all of us understand the very nature of how and why we are confined to frustrations of life. Whether he claimed himself as bombu before he realized his awakening or whether being bombu was the result of awakening is clarified in this statement: “and in the light of that compassion realizes himself to be a foolish being.”
It would be self-flattery if we simply called ourselves bombu, thinking that we could fully gain the compassion of the Buddha on our own. To truly identify as a bombu is to awaken to the Buddha’s compassion and see the true nature of what it is to be alive. To be able to live the rest of our lives within the embrace of ultimate wisdom and compassion is to have our bombu selves fully revealed without conditions. There is no mistaking that our lives must be lived just as they are to the end. There is no question that we will continue to make mistakes and blunders today and tomorrow, but for those who follow Shinran, there is a simultaneous and continuous process of awakening that helps us continue to improve, becoming more compassionate and loving till the end. Perhaps we may not discern these improvements, yet they are working within us all the time. In Shinran’s teaching, the bombu self is not eliminated in this lifetime but we are brought to see our karmic reality. While becoming persons of responsibility both to self and to others, we reflect on such moments with humility and gratitude. That moment is Namo Amida Butsu.
Since you have begun to hear the Buddha’s Vow you have gradually awakened from the drunkenness of ignorance, gradually rejected the three poisons, and come to prefer at all times the medicine of Amida Buddha.
Letters of Shinran
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Sensei's May 2010 Message
Just Say the Nembutsu
How could you express your deep gratitude for Amida’s benevolence? You should express your gratitude for the benevolence of Amida Tathagata by simply reciting “Namo Amida Butsu” always, whether awake or asleep.
Rennyo Shonin - Gobunsho 5-22
I remember a cereal commercial, from many years ago, with a slogan that went something like: “Let Mikey try it—He’ll like it.” No one wants to try new things unless you know for certain that it is safe, tested, and beneficial to you. And most of all, you don’t want anyone telling you what and how to do things when you’re of an age to control your own decisions, especially those that are of a personal or religious nature. So when someone says, “Simply recite the Nembutsu—Namo Amida Butsu,” this may not resonate well in our minds. Instead, we might become quiet and courteous foes of the suggestion, except when we’re called upon to do it during service. The Nembutsu formula seems simple, but it is actually difficult for most of us, despite the fact that we have had the Jodo Shinshu teaching for over seven hundred years. The age-old prescription, “Simply say the Name (Namo Amida Butsu) and you’ll be guaranteed a place in the Pure Land,” draws natural resistance because we are human beings and we are prone to do things on our own time and terms.
In everyday life, from morning to night, we go about our daily duties based on what we know and in the comfort and safety of the environment we create over the years. Most of us live in a nice home with a family, set income, and predictable everyday routine. My family, Rev. Patti, Mookie, and I, like to sit in one of the upstairs rooms in the morning, where it is nice and sunny, before we begin our day. These creature comforts are created over time from the accumulated experience of what we have learned about our likes and dislikes. The bedroom is exactly the way you want it, and you know where everything belongs, including the clothes, pills, and TV. You can go to the bathroom in the dark and not trip over anything coming back to bed. The house is your castle, where other people can come and go, but it will be put back to the way you want it after they use it. When your friends, children, and grandchildren visit, you can truly enjoy them and put on a good show and face, knowing with absolute certainty that they will all eventually go home, and once again you can be alone in your predictable and comfortable surroundings.
Perhaps this is the only semblance of faith we have in our lives. It is self-created from the simple experience and predictability of trial and error over our lifetimes. So when someone asks us to put our faith in Amida Buddha and just say Namo Amida Butsu, we will surely fight it with all our doubt. What Jodo Shinshu requires is complete and unfailing reliance on the Truth of all things, which is manifested as Amida Buddha. This spiritual and religious commitment is beyond anything we can compare in our lives. Isn’t this what we are asked to do—jump from our ordinary, comfortable, and predictable mundane lives to lives of absolute reliance on something we think we don’t quite know?
When we talk about faith or complete and absolute reliance, we can only think from our ordinary life perspective. We may think that one has complete faith in a husband or wife, but we must not mistake this for loyalty or love, whichever comes first. When our time is up, we may want to be buried together because we want the comfort of knowing that we can be with them for eternity. In this country we can only hope to be able to trust our government to provide us with security, retirement, elder care, environmental foresight, and many more things, yet we may have the least faith in the ever-changing politics of the government because we feel that we have so little power to contribute.
So we may not have any experience with the true, real, and absolute faith that Shinran suggests, and this is the inherent dichotomy of our existence. Yet the ultimate comfort, the awakening and enlightenment that is the essence of Jodo Shinshu, exists beyond our ordinary reliance on ourselves. Perhaps we may just have to “Try It” or follow the Nike suggestion of “Just Do It.”
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Sensei's April 2010 Message
New Hongwanji “Shokuji no Kotoba” - Words Before and After Meals
It is customary in any culture and tradition, whether you are religious or not, to offer some kind of “grace” before and after meals. In the Jodo Shinshu tradition there are prescribed formal passages known as “Mealtime Words” (Shokuji no Kotoba), which appear in Japanese service books, but are not often translated and included in English service books. During BCA events, words before and after meals were graciously offered, but today, even in my short time as a minister, this form of thankful expression has become simply (Namo Amida Butsu) Itadakimasu and Gochisosama.
In the December 1, 2009 Nishi Hongwanji Shimpo newsletter there was an announcement of change in the traditional Shokuji no Kotoba that may radically reform the way some people understand the meaning and appreciation of the food we eat. This is a significant development in Jodo Shinshu, especially in the Hongwanji tradition, as it poses greater implications with regard to the doctrinal interpretation of Amida Buddha, which often varies in Asian and Western contexts.
The reason offered by the Hongwanji for the need for new Shokuji no Kotoba is that since their inception in1958 and due to the current mindset of Shinshu followers, the words may be misunderstood as suggesting that the source of our food comes from a “creator” such as that which is understood by Christian grace. The following is a simple attempt at translating the current and new versions. Due to space limitations, the complete article is not provided here.
Words Before the Meal
Current version
Mihotoke to, Minasama no Okage ni Yori, Kono Gochiso wo Megumaremashita. Fukaku Goon wo Yorokobi, Arigataku Itadaki masu.
(Due to Amida Buddha and the effort and kindness of everyone, this wonderful food is placed before us. We are gratefully indebted to all causes and conditions as we receive this food.
New version
Oku no Inochi to Minasama no Okage ni Yori, Kono Gochiso wo Megumaremashita.
(We are gratefully indebted to the many lives and everyone’s kindness as we receive this food.)
Words After the Meal
Current version
Totoi Omegumi ni yori, Oishiku Itadaki mashita. Okage de, Gochiso sama deshita.
(Due to precious (Amida’s) blessings, we enjoyed this delicious meal.)
New version
Totoi Omegumi wo Oishiku Itadaki, Masumasu Go On Ho Sha ni Tsutome masu. Okage de, Gochiso sama deshita.
(We enjoyed the wonderful and precious blessings. We will continue to express gratitude with great indebtedness.)
Part of the translation of the Nishi Hongwanji Shimpo article follows:
These words were changed to reflect the idea that our daily food comes from the countless sacrifices of all lives, animals, and living things. Also we constantly receive indirectly and directly from the caring and many efforts (Gokuro and Okage) of countless people. The reason for this change is to be able to express the sense of true understanding of deepest gratitude. Understanding the intent of Amida’s most profound embrace and our desire to recognize and return this benevolence, yet truly unable to do so, we offer our thoughts. This comes about due to the manifestation of a sincere resolution.
The meal (shokuji) is not simply objectified food supplied to us for nutritional purposes. Therefore the words must express our awakening to the countless blessings and benefits we receive. We must understand the great value that all things have in our lives to support our existence, and we must respond with proper words to make our connection to them.
The Hongwanji’s explanation indicates a significant rethinking of the Japanese concept of Amida Buddha to include the understanding of the interconnectedness of all life.
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Sensei's March 2010 Message
J0do Shinshu Mission Statement
Having entrusted ourselves to the teaching of Namo Amida Butsu, we experience the joy of having received the assurance of buddhahood. From the constant gratitude that arises within, we shall strive to live in service to the community and humanity.
KYOSHO – The Essentials of Jodo Shinshu (Nishi Hongwanji)
Everyone has a mission statement in life, whether it is to accomplish a short-term goal of completing school and becoming a certain professional or to become the kind of person you wish to be for the rest of your life. Some of us may think that setting goals is not necessary and we may just try to live day to day in the best way we can. Whether we make a formal plan or not, we do set some ideals for ourselves. I don’t think many of us have looked at the primary declaration describing our Nishi Hongwanji teaching. It outlines the essentials of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism and its teaching is clearly described in the first statement in our service books. It is called Kyosho, the Essentials of Jodo Shinshu, as quoted above.
Jodo Shinshu is not a miracle Buddhism. Neither will it cure illness nor will it help this economy. It certainly will not make your child become another Einstein nor will it prevent another Haiti Earthquake. It certainly does not make you rich or help you become a better gambler. It simply makes us understand what we are made of and helps us to wake up to the constant struggle of dealing with all the challenges we make for ourselves in our everyday lives. To “entrust” ourselves to the teaching of Namo Amida Butsu is simply to understand and embrace the wisdom of the natural existence of all things, which we may call Universal Truth represented by Amida Buddha. In this teaching we come to understand that all living beings and the elements of the earth and the universe exist as one continuous moving unit. In nature, humans cannot be excluded or differentiated from this aspect of interconnection. When we think we are separate, it is as if we believe we are one simple grain of sand on the beach trying to escape the waves that thrash continuously around us.
Assurance of buddhahood can be understood as attaining the potential and complete wisdom that is available to us if we decide to make this our goal. There is no prerequisite for this accomplishment and no qualification. It is afforded to every living being—whether rich or poor, man or woman—without discrimination, and it is always there. Yet, as in daily life, no goal can be accomplished without sincere effort and an entrusting heart.
In the case of accomplishing our goals, we may find that our life does not stop there. What happens after you raise your children and they find themselves with their own children? Life goes on with more challenges for yourselves and your children and their children, and you are caught up in their struggles as well. You then have to create more goals with new-found challenges that you may not have imagined before. But, anxieties you knew in the past are not the same kind of challenges you know now. So it goes with life. As many people suggest, set short and attainable goals so you will not be disappointed. This is what Jodo Shinshu teaches as well, that living our life within our body and mind has many limitations. The ultimate joy we want somehow to attain cannot come from our selfefforts. The ultimate joy we can realize can only come from the ultimate wisdom of the Buddha. So when you have achieved certain milestones at age thirty, fifty, seventy, and even ninety, you may still find yourself coming to the temple for some relief and assurance that you are still okay and that there are still many challenges left that need attention. However, coming to the temple and listening to the Dharma is a continuous lesson in wisdom that is not only desirable, but necessary. We will need it to the end.
While being embraced by the Buddha’s wisdom, we will find that we also need to interact with the rest of the world, which we cannot escape. In this sense, we are asked to be a good member of our community, society, world, and the universe. This is the expression of ultimate compassion that comes along with the Buddha’s wisdom. The knowledge that we are completely embraced manifests in our activity to share our love, compassion, time, and wealth with the rest of the world to confirm that we are the same family and community. Perhaps our simple goal and mission statement in life is stated quite succinctly in our Teaching. It is simple, direct, and true, yet our complicated minds have obscured it from us until now, a time when we may see things more simply, directly, and truly.
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Sensei's February 2010 Message
Caring
Real mind—such reverent words, such a longed-for-feeling! When I look at growing plants, I see so clearly the true meaning of single mind and real mind. Plants are not disturbed by others: always they are themselves, single-minded; they really fulfill what they wish, what they want to do. … For plants there is no good and evil, no right and wrong—they don’t even try to judge what is good and right or wrong and evil.
Shout of Buddha – Haya Akegarasu
Our Mookie is a wonderful dog, but often displays a hidden personality and character that surprises us. At home, she can be submissive and obedient, but when she goes to my mother’s, she becomes obsessed with expressing her dominance over other dogs in the neighborhood. She’ll run back and forth along the brick wall that separates her from the two German shepherds next door, barking and trying to jump over until she’s exhausted. During winter there’s no grass left where she runs, only mud that cakes on her body and gets tracked into the house. I wish there were a dog remote control to turn her on or off, or we might have to consult the Dog Whisperer, Caesar Milan.
Humans also have hidden traits, negative or positive. The latter arises within us when we see or hear about others who are suffering from everyday situations and incidents. This sense of caring for others, or simply being sympathetic, is a wonderful facet of human nature that confirms our unity with all living things and with the world. Often we can do nothing to help, but at the same time we cannot ignore the suffering of someone who is close to us or those in other parts of the world. In the case of Mookie, perhaps she is reacting to the voices of other dogs. Dogs talk at night and maybe she wants to go and fight or even comfort them. We think she is just a troublemaker who wants to go poke her nose into other dogs’ business. For this she suffers, and it frustrates us as well.
There are many reasons why we care about others, and it can be both good and not so good. Caring can come from a loving, sincere regard for others. It can be a sense of concern and empathy for another, such as a family member or a friend. Care can be expressed for someone who needs help or attention. You may be caring enough to sit and listen to someone who is in need of you, a “listener.” We can even use the words to openly express our personal sentiments, such as “I don’t care about my work” or “I really care about what I do.” Caring can be a very intense, anxious feeling that comes over us when we know that someone is in need of support or serious assistance. All of us encounter these situations every day, perhaps all day. Rev. Akegarasu expressed much sorrow over these feelings, with the following passage:
Why do all these interferences disturb me? I keep worrying about people, about the world. I care about what they do and say, about what old men do and say, and about young people, what they do and say. Mymother, my wife, my friends—I care for every one of them and what they do and say. I keep wanting to say something to each one of them. But when I become this concerned about others, my inner life already becomes hollow.
At first, this analogy may sound strange or selfish. Why should we not care for others and try our best to help by just being there to listen to them and to be of comfort? Isn’t this a natural way to exist with all living things? Isn’t caring something we can do to keep this world sane? In contrast, Rev. Akegarasu reveals that
If a person is [as] single-minded [as a plant] and concentrated on his own life, then the whole world harmonizes with that life as if welcoming it. … The way of the intense mind and the single mind is not a matter of deciding or feeling that something ought to be a certain way. … I can’t describe it with words, because it is such a dynamic, lively, wriggling fact.
Perhaps if we let things flow naturally without feeling the self-centered need to visit every situation and every person we think is in need of our care, we might truly let our own self become natural in its own right and see things more clearly. Perhaps not all things need our assistance and some need to be left alone to their own doing. We need to carefully assess all circumstances before we thrust our kindness upon others. Many situations can be challenging and may not have immediate solutions, even with our best intentions. This is where we must become sincerely mindful of all things presented to us. Something to think about.
Namo Amida Butsu
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Sensei's January 2010 Message
New Inventions and a Cure for Human Woes
Here’s wishing everyone at West Los Angeles, Oxnard, and Santa Barbara Buddhist Temples a happy and wonderful New Year. As we make personal plans for the New Year, we may find that trying to make the best of this opportunity actually fills us with many thoughts and anxieties. Of course, we hope that every being on this earth may be happy and trouble-free, but the reality is that we are far from this grand notion of ultimate peace and harmony.
The November 23, 2009 issue of Time magazine presented “The 50 Best Inventions of the Year.” Many items are impressive and some have potential but many may end up in some gadget bag. They are a reflection of our society today. Human beings are constantly inventing things to improve living conditions, but creativity is not necessarily driven by necessity. Today we invent primarily to sustain the continuation and growth of the world economy. In the modern era it has been the automobile industry that has led society to grow accustomed to a “new model every year.” Isn’t it frustrating to know that the new car you bought in August of last year is already old, not to mention that it has lost 20- 30% of its value? New cars are designed to last 10 or even 30 years today, but the one you just purchased became old as soon as the new models were delivered in October. This probably did nothing for your ego or the pride of owning a new car. The automobile industry seems to survive not by generating new technology, but instead by appealing to basic human craving that has nothing to do with transportation. It is not how you get there, but rather how good you look and feel getting there, and that costs big money.
Inventions help keep us going and are an impetus for our minds and imaginations to move forward. Although we have not yet found life in the outer universe, we are encouraged by new technologies that include superior telescopes, electronics, computers, and rockets supporting eager and better-educated scientists who are taking us far beyond our present capability of understanding the cosmos. Meanwhile, we praise ourselves for some of the new inventions of 2009 that include the biotech Stradivarius, dandelion rubber, controller-free gaming, the smart thermostat, tweeting by thinking, the personal carbon footprint, vertical farming, and the $20 knee. These are very ingenious and some seem to have practical potential.
But despite their arguable contribution to society, do any of these new inventions cure human nature and suffering? Are there any new ideas that completely eliminate the core problem of all problems—greed, hatred, and ignorance? How about something to moderate discrimination or hard-headedness? Any cure for a heartbroken child? How about a daily pill for the everyday challenge of getting up in the morning with the right attitude? If you are down and out, is there a place you can go to, such as a human superstore, where you could get immediate help from someone? Where is the general rule in society that is based on compassion, compelling us to help those who lack food or basic medicine? Is anyone thinking about coming up with a machine that can detect the beginning of these ills? Since entering the industrial age, we have learned to become more engulfed in the world of “fix my life with new things” and “only me” attitudes. It has become easier to become detached from the rest of the world by being fixated on a new and wonderful plasma TV with 500 channels. True, the world has come into our living room and we have become an audience of worldwide news and tragedies, but we do not have to leave our comfortable homes to lend a helping hand. We give little and care even less about the suffering of others. So, the rich are more at ease in their ignorance and the poor continue to suffer in this high-tech society.
We would like to think that when we have more, we can share more, but as long as we are motivated by selfish notions we will continue to distance ourselves from the less fortunate. We may say that the Buddha-dharma helps us to understand this very nature of selfish existence but despite the advancement of human ingenuity, nothing else has been invented to awaken and actualize ultimate wisdom and compassion within us. Instead it seems as if we have drifted further from the reality of our shared existence with all life and become less attentive and engaged with the world we live in.
Perhaps this year, on the eve of another brand New Year, we can reflect not on moving forward with new inventions but on using what we have and spending more time learning to utilize it for better humanitarian causes. After all, this small world that we occupy will not last forever. The sooner we rely on the teachings of the Buddha to deal with our inner suffering and the roots of our suffering, the sooner we can become better stewards of ourselves and the entire universe.
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© 2010 West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple Online
