Amazingness of Living Each Day

“Although scarcely unexpected, Myoho-bo’s attainment of birth still makes me deeply happy.”

Lamp for the Latter Ages, Letter 20, CWS, p. 552

When I came to the temple this morning, I saw a bird’s nest on the ground and some broken eggs.  Probably it was attacked by another bird.  Thinking about the lives of the baby birds about to hatch, I felt so sorry for the bird’s family.  But the bird that attacked the nest might have needed to eat something, so I cannot blame the bird.

Looking at the remains of the bird’s nest and eggs on the ground, I was forced to realize how we cannot take even a single moment of life for granted.  It is a surprising and amazing thing that we are living in this moment.  But instead of appreciating the fact that we are still living, we complain about the heat, the busyness of the day, and spouses (maybe?).

The word I shared at the beginning is from one of the letters of our founder, Shinran Shonin (1173-1263).  Myoho-bo is his disciple who used to be called, Ben-nen, a mountain priest who was against Shinran Shonin and his teaching of nembutsu.  He even tried to kill Shinran Shonin, but was amazed by the countenance of Shinran Shonin enjoying the teaching of nembutsu. Myoho-bo apologized for what he had done to Shinran Shonin and entered the nembutsu path under him.  Shinran Shonin said he was “deeply happy” that Myoho-bo attained birth in the Pure Land of Amida because of this past.

But what I want to focus on are the words before that.  Shinran Shonin said “although scarcely unexpected…”  When we hear the news of someone’s passing, especially at a young age, we say “That is surprising to hear.”  But, we aren’t usually surprised when we wake up in the morning.  So, this word of Shinran Shonin teaches us to be mindful of the amazing fact that we are living in this moment.

Also, Shinran Shonin probably saw people around him as the manifestation of the Bodhisattvas from the Pure Land who appeared in this world to guide him to walk the path of nembutsu.  In this way of thinking, nothing in this world is meaningless.  The nest on the ground, the egg of the bird… even though the lives of the baby birds never came to pass, they taught me the impermanence of life and how amazing it is that we are living in this moment.

Gassho.

Rev. Yuki Sugahara