Address at Bon Memorial Service

The following is a draft of my address at Bon Memorial Service conducted at SNI Hawaii Jisso Center on July 19th, 2009.

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　　Thank you very much for coming to 2009 Bon Memorial Service. Especially, I believe those families who have the first Bon have a special feeling.

　　In this season, I sometimes see words of "Bon" or "Bon Dance" written in a sign at a Buddhist temple. Or I saw the words in the newspaper or flyer. I suppose there are many people who know the existence of "Bon" other than SNI members and Japanese descendants.

　　Bon is originally a Buddhist custom, however, "Bon" conducted here is different from the original one. "Bon" conducted here is that we welcome deceased spirits, memorialize them, and see them off. This custom is based upon a combination of Buddhist custom and Japanese ancient custom that is believed ancestors come to this earthly world and leave to a spiritual world back and forth.

　　Incidentally, let me explain an original Buddhist custom of "Bon." Bon is a shortened form of the legendary Urabonne or Ullambanna. It is Sanskrit for "hanging upside down" and implies great suffering. Then, that people started to try to alleviate the suffering of the "Urabanna" is the origin of "Bon."

　　One day, one of the top ten disciples of Buddha, Mokuren, who is considered as NO. 1 in terms of supernatural power, remembered his loving deceased mother. When he saw his mother with clairvoyance, he found her suffering. She was falling into the world of hungry ghosts. He felt so sorry for her and gave her some food with his supernatural power, however, when the food was about to enter her mouth, it burned. The disciple was shocked, shed tears, and got impelled to save her with at all cost, and asked Shakyamuni how he can save her. Shakyamuni instructed him to do this way; "You must try to save all the people in the hell of starvation as well as your mother."

　　Mokuren followed his advice and cooked and made lots of delicious food, and offered those foods to the monks who read the Sutras to those who in the world of hungry ghost on July 15. The reason such a loving mother had to fall into the hell is because she loved and took care of only her son and ignored others' happiness.

　　Please pay attention the following point in an original Buddhist context, they offered foods to monks, not to the spirits. However, when the customs came into Japan, it was combined with a Japanese tradition, the spirits are invited, memorialized, and seen off by their descendants.

　　In this way, a form was changed when the ritual was transferred to a place of another culture. However, the essence, namely a desire to help our ancestors have never changed. This shows that when a religion is conveyed in a distant land, while the essence and core remain the same, the outward elements of that religions like the rituals, ceremonies, and others should be changed in accordance with the situations of time, place, races, cultures, and others. In other words, when a religion is conveyed in a far place, if it doesn't change its formality, it has to be faded away.

　　In Buddhism, Buddhism that was originally believed in India at a time of founding and Buddhism that was believed in China and Japan are quite different. To put it simply, the Buddhism originally believed in India is called Hinayana Buddhism and the Buddhism believed in China and Japan is called Mahayana Buddhism. Hinayana Buddhism has a tendency to view Shakyamuni Buddha as a historical figure with a physical body, and disciples tried to follow that model of devotion and pursuit of faith by purifying themselves, studying the teachings, and trying to free themselves from the bondage of this world. It was believed and monopolized by the elite or socially and economically blessed minority. It is called "Lesser Vehicle" by the other party, namely, Mahayana Buddhism because Hinayana Buddhism tend to concentrate on their own enlightenment.

　　However, 700 years after the death of Shakyamuni, Mahanaya Buddhism was born and supported by the ordinary people and the newly emerging merchant class. In that Buddhism, the Buddha is not limited to being a historical mortal person, but is seen as the ideal superhuman transcending bodily existence.
In order to bring about salvation beyond individuals, the spirit of "altruism" and "mercy" were emphasized. The attitude of Mahayana Buddhism is that efforts should be made not only for personal salvation, but what Buddha truly desires is for the salvation of all human beings and all living beings.

　　It is not my intention that which is worthwhile to believe in. My intention is to let you know that the original Buddhism and the Buddhism believed in China, Japan, and even in the United States are quite different. I hope it is a good tip to understand that for a religion to survive in a global arena, it has to change its outer elements in accordance with time, place, and people. The same applies to Christmas. I will not talk about it in detail, but how to celebrate Christmas is very different from country to country.

　　In this respect, there is a possibility that Bon Memorial Service in the United States can be changed in the future. The Founder of Seicho-No-Ie, Masaharu Taniguchi taught as follows:

　　 "Enlightenment" or vibrant and flowing life cannot be captured by shape or form. However, it can be provisionally given form. When enlightenment is expressed in form it already begins to be confined to a set form. This causes the mistaken thinking that a set form is religion. While in religion life is expressed and understood through a particular form of expression, enlightenment itself is found deep beyond that form of expression. To express life a form is always necessary, however at the same time we must throw away that form of expression. The same applies to Seicho-No-Ie. While one manner of explanation was used in the past, on another occasion an entirely different method is used. The manner of explanation is form; therefore it must constantly change. A religion that does not change on its own will be reduced to a lifeless shell and be replaced by another religion. This is happening to religions of the past with the advent of new religions and religious revolution. A religion that can progress while revolutionizing itself from within is a religion that will continue eternally. Should a form of expression once decided continue on forever that religion will degenerate into a kind of explanation when that form must be changed. Life that is reduced to form cannot be expressed.(Masaharu Taniguchi, Truth of Life, vol. 33, p53)
　
　　By the way, the Founder Masaharu Taniguchi placed the importance of Ancestors Memorial Service as follows:

　God is the earth,　
　The ancestors are the roots,
　Parents are trunk,
　The descendants are the branches and leaves.
　To bloom and bear good fruits
　　in your family tree,
　Be good and kind to your parents
　　and memorialize your ancestors

　　As shown here, what is important as well as Ancestors Memorial Service is to be grateful to your parents. God says in "Divine Message of Grand Harmony" that "Those who are grateful to God but cannot be grateful to their parents are against the Divine Will." How strong message it is! Even if you practice Shinsokan meditation every day, read the Sutras and SNI books, and show your sincere respect to God, if you cannot be grateful to your parents, God said that it goes against His will.

　　You can be grateful to your parents if they are good and kind enough to be being grateful to, however, what if your parents are not those who are deserved to be grateful to? Your father may be a person who behaves like a dictator at your home and the rest of your family members are in serious trouble everyday. In that case, do we have to be grateful to him and if we cannot, can't we be happy?

　　I believe you don't think so, but it is quite natural that a beginner of Seicho-No-Ie or non member of Seicho-No-Ie thinks so. Because apparently it is very unfair. If we think that this earthly life is only our life, in other words, if we don't consider reincarnation, it is truly unfair. However, we can think that our life is a sort of life's school. By reincarnating so many times, we are able to learn our life's assignments given each time. An assignment for Mr. A may be learning politics as a politician, but Ms. B's assignment may be living as a pianist. But Mrs. C's assignment may be to be grateful to her father whom it is difficult to be grateful to. That is because by overcoming that situation, both Mrs. C and her father can grow spiritually.

　　We are no doubt given life. Where our life comes from is our parents. There is no exceptional on that. Our life is connected with our ancestors without fail for millions of years. Our life never choose our parents by coincidence. There is a strong spiritual tie between our parents and us. By that relationship, we can develop our life and our parents can also develop their lives most appropriately. It gives us mutual benefit. This is a world of Life of God and the workings of nature.

　　That you cannot be grateful to your parents right now is not necessarily to blame. This means that you are given an important assignment in life's school. When you become grateful to your parents whom the ordinary people cannot be grateful to, it means that you graduate from high-level life's assignment.

　　There is a woman named A who has various problems. She doesn't like herself, breaks up soon after she falls in love, gives up her job easily, and on and on. Then, she went to Seicho-No-Ie Uji temple to attend 10-day Spiritual Training Seminar. At the seminar, almost every day, the lecturers taught that be grateful to your parents, be grateful to your parents. She got bored to listen to those lecturers. When she was about to leave the temple by saying to a minister, "Thank you very much. Since I understood that to be grateful your parents is very important, I am now leaving here." However, the minister who talked with her sensed that she was strongly rebellious against the teaching that be reconciled with and grateful to your parents.

　　Then, the minister suggested her that if you understand that it is important to be grateful to your parents, why don't you go back home with peace of mind after you would actually be grateful to them. He finally persuaded her to pray with him and took her to a prayer room. They started to pray, "Dear father, thank you very much. Dear father, thank you very much."

　　Her father is usually kind and descent person, however, once he drinks, he completely changes to be violent and out of control. The rest of the family members patiently have to wait until he goes to sleep once he starts to drink. However, she once watched a disgusting and infuriating scene. Her father teared her mother's valuable kimono by sword. That kimono was a memento from her mother's mother who passed away way ago. When she saw the scene and her mother screaming, she made up her mind that she would never forgive her father.

　　The minister and A recited "Dear father, thank you very much, dear father, thank you very much," for half an hour in the prayer room, that disgusting scene that her father was going on a rampage and her mother was crying came to her mind and tears of sadness came down. Then, she kept on "dear father, thank you very much" chanting, then, an image of her father sitting helplessly came to her mind. He was scolded by his wife because he could not keep working for his job at one place and had to change his job quite often. Japan is a society where changing job too often is not considered decent. Since A's mother spoke ill of her father constantly, Miss A conceived ill feelings against her father and though she didn't speak ill of him in his presence. Now Miss A finally understood how he felt misery by being ridiculed by his wife, family, bosses, colleagues, and others. And Miss A could share the same loneliness, disappointment, and other negative feelings that her father conceived.

　　This time, a sense of repentance bubbled forth from her mind and she sincerely apologized him saying, "I am so sorry, dear dad, for looking down on, holding a grudge, and ignoring you. You must have been so lonely and disconsolate. I am sorry, dad." She started to sob convulsively. It was as if tears never stopped. When she stopped crying, their prayer also finished. The minister told he gently, "Now you are able to be grateful to your father. Go back home." But she said, "No, I would like to stay here and take the rest of the seminar programs."

　　Our love and sense of gratitude to our parents are our real nature like a appetite and need for sleep. However, when that honest feeling is clouded by some reasons such as hatred and other ill feelings, people encounter various kinds of challengings. In many cases, the source of the problems we face in our life is complaint against our parents.

　　One day, there was a participant for a SNI STS who had evil eyes. Actually, he was a seven-time convict. All of the attendees, receptionists, and others were afraid of his looking. A minister asked him why he came to a STS, and he answered that my son has been suffering from a severe illness. I've heard that many difficult illnesses were healed at this place." No matter noble a neighbor man would be, he will not come to STS for neighbor's child is suffering from a serious illness.
Even if a several-time convict, a mind that he will go to any places if his son can be saved is a mind of parent and mind of God. The Founder Masaharu Taniguchi taught in this respect as follows:

　　It is because there are roots that there are branches and leaves. It is because of parents that there are children. Since parents are the roots and their descendants are the branches and leaves, those who want to prosper must take good care of their parents. The mind that treasures one's parents cultivates the roots and, in turn, it becomes the source for our life to grow. Parental love far exceeds any child's feelings for his parents. (Masaharu Taniguchi, OPEN THE DOOR OF YOUR LIFE, vol. 4, p. 161)

　　In this good opportunity, I would like you to deepen your sense of gratitude to your parents and ancestors, and lead a bright and productive life. Thank you very much for your attention.