Lectures

In Japan, many Nichiren temples are holding special services on May 12th of this year, which marks 761 years since Nichiren Shonin’s infamous exile to Izu. In this issue, I would like to give a brief recap of the reason and the implications behind this event.

The main reason for Nichiren Shonin’s exile was in response to the claims that he presented to the government in his ‘Rissho Ankokuron.” Explaining the reasons behind all of the calamities that had been occurring in Japan at the time. When Nichiren Shonin was 21 years old, he entered the Buddhist school at Mt. Hiezan and it was there that he realized the significance of the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren Shonin claimed this Lotus Sutra as the most prevalent reaching of the Sakyamuni Buddha and thought that he could use it in order to bring peace into the world. History has it that in order to put his thoughts into action, he retired to the Kiyosumi temple in Chiba, where he began his propagation of the Lotus Sutra.

As the calamities in Japan continued to increase, Nichiren Shonin decided to restudy all of Sakyamuni Buddha’s teachings and reassured himself that the Lotus Sutra was in fact the only way to save the world from further calamities. At the same time, he believed that the source of the calamities came partly from the teachings of the leaders of other sects. Nichiren Shonin thought that while many of the leaders knew that the Lotus Sutra was the most important teaching of the Buddha because many if not all of them had studied at Mt. Hiezan along with Nichiren Shonin. Many of the leaders of other sects found the teachings of the Lotus Sutra to be very difficult and therefore hard to teach to the public. In Nichiren Shonin’s views, they had taken the easy way out and decided to teach the “easier” teachings of the Buddha. As a result, Shotenzenjin (the good deity and protectorate of Japan) left Japan, which led to the calamities that Japan was experiencing. Nichiren Shonin compiled such ideas into the Rissho Ankolruron and boldly-presented it to the government. Upon submitting his ideas, the members of the Buddhist Shinshu sect and the government collaborated together in order to ”make it seem” as if Nichiren Shonin had in fact been exiled to Izu. However, truth was that Nichiren Shonin had instead been left stranded on a thin rock, far away from any island or land in general. Nichiren Shonin seemed to show no objection in dying as a martyr. He would be dying for the sake of spreading Sakyamuni Buddha’s teachings. Therefore, Nichiren Shonin continued to chant the odaimoku while the rock continued to sink deeper and deeper into the ocean. However, history has it that a fisherman by the name of Funamori Yasaburo discovered Nichiren Shonin right before he started drowning. The fisherman put him on his boat and took him back to his home where his family hid and took care of Nichiren Shonin for some time being. In an eventual letter, Nichiren Shonin expresses his gratitude for the fisherman’s actions and states that most likely, the fisherman was the transformation of the Buddha. In this context, we can also interpret this as representing as the Buddha understanding the need for Nichiren Shonin to continue his propagation of the Lotus Sutra in order to save Japan and also the rest of the world from further calamities.

We as human beings living in this suffering world and even as followers of the Lotus Sutra undergo many hardships. However we must learn to interpret such hardships as being a way for us to decrease our “bad karma” in order for us to eventually reach enlightenment. We must remember that one of the important reasons for being born into this world is to practice the Lotus Sutra, which will help us rid of our bad karma.

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi
May/June 2022

Often times, we hear about individuals participating in volunteer activity. Volunteers share hardships with people who are suffering or those who are placed in predicaments, free of charge. People praise those who participate in such volunteering, and I do not deny that such actions of kindness are very important. However, these actions are more frequently praised we can see these actions being done with our very own eyes. Therefore, the idea of helping others and performing these same actions through spiritual means is considered very different from what we consider to be “Volunteering.”

Someone told me the other day that Buddhism is a religion, which exists for times when people need to hold funeral and memorial services. I believe that the reason for this “misunderstanding” is because the concept of memorial services in Buddhism is difficult to grasp here in the United States. This may also be because materialistic views are very prominent today and therefore, many people only tend to believe what they can physically see with their very own eyes.

In order to understand the meaning of spiritual prayer during times such as memorial services and Ohigan, we must consider the purpose behind our existence in this world. In Buddhism, we state that a human being is born into this world due to accumulated “bad” karma from past lives. Therefore, in order to rid of this “bad” karma, we are born into this suffering world and experience what Buddhists consider to be the four sufferings, which are birth, old age, sickness, and death. However, at the same time, we must also understand that not all individuals are born as human beings and many also fall into different realms of suffering, such as that of animals.

However, even when we are living in such a world, we know that there are different degrees of suffering that we experience even within the same realm, as that of human beings. As stated before, this is due to the differing amounts of bad karma that we carry with us. However, at the same time, we can also say that by actually living in this world, it is impossible to avoid creating sins because sometimes we do this without it. For example, we may unconsciously make a comment that hurts another individual

The prime reason why there are individuals who are unable to leave the suffering realms is because it is hard to fully comprehend their reason for being born into this world. Such souls repetitively return to the different realms of the suffering world and cannot rest in peace. In other words, they are always asking for our help.

Like stated before, in volunteering, we must understand the feelings and the experience of the other individual in order to help them. We can also say that praying during Ohigan also incorporates this same idea as well. We never fully know the state of deceased individuals or different spirits. In other words, they may be suffering or having concerns about the realm that they are currently living in because they want to escape it. However, due to the situation of the realm that they currently live in, they may not have the potential to accumulate “good” karma. Like volunteering, we as individuals living also in this suffering world, must also become one with these spirits and come to understand their pain and their concerns in order to help them. We do this by praying and chanting the sutra.

Therefore, during this month of Ohigan, we must get together and recite the sutra and chant the odaimoku in order to help those spirits, which cannot rest in peace or are unable to cultivate their own virtue and approach this in the same manner that we approach, what is considered to be “volunteering.”

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi
March 2022

Nichiren Shonin said that if our heart is not pure, our environment will not be pure, and that if our hearts are pure, our environment will be pure as well. This means that the pure land and defiled world are not in different places. It is just a matter of whether or not our hearts are pure. For example, a foggy mirror will turn into a beautiful one which reflects everything clearly once polished. Our wandering hearts are like that of an unpolished mirror. Polishing our hearts will make them more beautiful. We can polish our hearts by chanting Namu Myō Hō Ren Ge Kyo each and every day.

In Japan in the month of December nearing the new year, it is common to thoroughly clean one’s residence. Removing tatami mats and smaller cushions to get rid of the dust outside, repairing the paper on the sliding screen doors; the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church was also cleaned with the help of seven people last December. Though it is the main temple and not much dust is expected to accumulate, once cleaning it became very clear how dirty the temple had gotten.

If even the temple can get dirty without noticing, what about the human heart? Living our busy lives day-by-day, we can only imagine how our hearts can become without cleaning them. We may take baths and showers to make ourselves feel clean on the outside, but that does not equate to cleaning our heart. Then what are these impurities in our heart? They are the wrong teachings and actions we encounter and practice in our everyday lives. Nichiren Shonin teaches us that by cleaning our hearts in this current lifetime, we can attain enlightenment and become buddhas without being reincarnated over and over again into this world to train again. To reach enlightenment, he emphasizes the importance of encountering spring teachings.

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi
January / February, 2022

Right now, at this moment, we are living our life as human beings. However, there are those that are tired of living a life as a human being, which is a depressing prospect. Buddhists emphasize the teaching of “transmigration,” which is the process of reincarnating through the many stages of the suffering world. We are not randomly born as humans but are here right now due to the cause and effects created during the numerous past lives that we have lived. Through every reincarnation, we accumulate such actions, which lead us to this present moment. Living this life as a human being is important because the realm of humans is the only escape route from this suffering world. If we think of it this way, it would be unfortunate to waste our whole lifetime in this manner, when such an opportunity is a possibility.

Sakyamuni Buddha expresses the necessary graciousness involved in us being born as human beings in the following manner: “It is hard to be born as a human being. It is hard enough to provide life to those that have already lived in this suffering world – thus reincarnation. It is hard to meet the right teaching.” This quote states how while being born as a human being should be considered a benefit, at the same time it is hard to find the right teaching and follow the right teaching in the expected time period that every individual has in every life. To be able to accomplish this goal is difficult and thus to know that you may repeat this process of self-discovery and continued training in the next life is an interesting idea to consider.

In the Buddhist form of transmigration, it is stated that there are six realms of the suffering world. By ordering the levels of suffering from the least to the greatest it would be the following. First and foremost, heaven consists of the least suffering. The second is the realm of men or rather us, human beings. Third is ashura, individuals who always desire to fight. Next is the realm of animals, followed by hungry spirits. Lastly, hell, is the realm with the most suffering. The last three realms obviously involve the most suffering and are thus known as the three evil paths. In order to avoid such realms it is stated that we must make benefits through good deeds. Once you fall into these three evil paths, it is said to be difficult to escape such realms and to be born in the realm, of human beings is impossible. In the realm of hungry spirits and the realm of animals, it is quite hard to accumulate good deeds and make benefits in the way that human beings can. No matter how many times the individual goes through reincarnation and no matter how many lives they live, it is hard for them to be born a human being. However, it is possible for the individual to fall into the sub-realm of hell, abi, the lowest of hell where the sinners suffer interminable pain.

The idea that humans are the only individuals able to escape the suffering world was created from such reasoning. Thus, human beings are the only individuals with the possibility of obtaining emancipation from the six realms of the suffering world. Many of you may be wondering if being born as human beings is much more beneficial than being born into the realm of heavenly beings. The answer to that is yes, it is more beneficial to be born as human beings due to the following reasons: When we are born into the world of human beings, we have the physical body that we use and that enables us to create benefits, and move up the ladder to better realms. However, in the world of heavenly beings, without our body, we are unable to create the benefits that we created as human beings. It is true that the individuals born into heaven live a rather relaxed life; however, emancipation from the suffering world is not a possibility. Thus, as a result, we are able to live in heaven through using up our benefits. When we use up all of the good deeds that we have accumulated, we are forced to return to the different realms, including that of the realm of human beings and create benefits once again to move up that ladder, creating the possibility of obtaining enlightenment and escaping from the six suffering realms once and for all. As human beings we are underneath the realm of individuals in heaven, however, if we think of this idea of such ability and opportunity to practice through finding the right teaching, we are actually very lucky to be born into this realm. Such opportunity is only provided to human beings.

This is why as stated in “verses of opening the sutra” or kaikyoge that we chant during the service, we must understand the gratitude that we must have towards being born into this realm and meetings the teaching of Buddhism to provide us with the opportunity to escape the suffering world once and for all.

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi
November-December, 2021

A fourth grader in Japan wrote a poem titled “Undoujou” (“Sports Ground”) that was published in a Japanese magazine. The poem can be &translated into English as follows:

“Everyone is playing on the sports ground,
While saying repeatedly how small it is.
When everyone gathers early at school for the morning chores
And are told to pick up rocks on the tracks
The students do as they are told,
While saying repeatedly how big the sports ground is.”

This is a very well written poem. When the children are playing or doing their chores on the sports ground, there is essentially no difference in the size of the sports ground. However, how we feel at that specific moment allows us to perceive that same place very differently.

This poem also conveys the selfishness of human beings as well. When something horrible happens to us, we tend to blame our misfortune on others. However, when something good happens, we are quickly focused on the happiness that we feel at the moment and only think about ourselves. We forget to think about the other individuals that helped us achieve this happiness.

The same can be said about many people and their view on religion. Many people only start becoming devout or pious when they have a wish that they hope will be granted. Yet, when they do not have these goals or wishes, they do not even consider the importance of religion and suddenly become less devout or completely forget about the existence of religion. We must learn to re-evaluate our tendencies to have different views of religion depending on different situations. In doing so, we can learn to evaluate ourselves and continue to maintain and develop our own religious faith.

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi
September/October 2021

Each time that you have a memorial service for the deceased, you must be wondering why these services have to be performed and also how these services affect them.

Some people wonder if the minister can rescue those who have been sent to purgatory. This is not such a far-fetched idea because one of Buddhist teachings stresses the following point: “Whatever one does; one reaps.” In other words, “whatever sin one commits, one must face the consequences.”

These memorial services are periodically to do something good for the deceased. It is an aged-old custom that all Buddhist families have observed and practiced for many centuries.

The following story illustrates the significance of memorial services:

Lord Buddha spoke to the village people and asked, “If a rock is thrown to the bottom of the lake, can it be raised by prayer?” The village people said, “That is impossible.”

Whereupon, Buddha said, “If oil is dumped into a lake, would it sink to the bottom with your prayer?”

To which the village people responded, “Why speak of such nonsense!”

The Lord Buddha said, “If a person has committed one sin after another throughout his life, would he be able to gain rebirth in Heaven or Nirvana? On the other hand if a person has been good all his life, would that person be sent to purgatory by prayers?” questioned Buddha.

The villagers replied, “That’s impossible!”
Lord Buddha advised, “Listen carefully. If we really prayed earnestly and performed a memorial service for the deceased, we can take all deceased persons to the other shore of enlightenment in a huge boat. This goal is achieved by means of memorial service. Conducting memorial service is a way to show your expression of sympathy toward the deceased.”

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi
July / August 2021

May is a month where we will have a Memorial Day where we will pray for our ancestors and our loved ones who are deceased.

This month, I would like to explain a little bit more about memorial services. There was a time when I wanted to go back to Japan. One of the members in Los Angeles was able to understand my true feelings of wanting to go back to Japan because I thought that I would be able to live a better life there. My master had told me to come back to Japan to help his temple. However, I denied my master’s order. I had promised before that I would go back to Japan after having stayed in the United States for about three to four years. Because of this, my master no longer accepted me as his disciple and therefore the connection between the master and the disciple was broken.

During that time, the temple that I was in charge of in San Francisco was forced to shut down because another temple was going to be built jn the Bay Area. No other ministers would lend me a hand after the temple was closed. I could not leave the United States, however, because I had many members in Los Angeles and San Francisco who needed me. If I left, then they would no longer have a temple that they could go to. I was also forced to think about the reason why I became a minister. One of the reasons that I wanted to know why human beings were born into this world.

After death, we lose everything along with our body including knowledge, inheritance, and pride. Thinking about going back to Japan contradicted my general reason of why I wanted to become a minister. That moment I decided that it was my duty to work with the members to accomplish my goal. We were not born into this world just to have fun. The main reason why we were born into this world has to do with cultivating and purifying our spirit, using our body as a place where the spirit can reside. Buddhism is different from other religions in ways that we do not wait for a God to save us, yet we work hard to obtain Enlightenment. Even when we lose our body, our spirit continues to live on in the universe and nature.

Among many Americans, there are those who question the importance of chanting the sutra. As many of you may know, Buddhism is the teaching of the Buddha. Therefore, there are many words that cannot be translated into English. We humans have a body, and we think with our brain and make decisions through remembering our previous actions or experiences that we have had in the past. It is impossible for us to understand things that we have not experienced. If we were only able to understand things with our head, then why do Buddhists chant the sutra during memorial services for deceased people? When we die, we lose all of that knowledge and experience that we have gained throughout our life. Therefore, we Buddhists believe in a spiritual world and the fact that our spirit lives on after death. We are taught that all sorts of life such as the ten realms as well as the universe exist in our mind especially through the Lotus Sutra. This means that also of our knowledge exists within our spirit as well. Even without our body, our spirit is able to understand the Lotus Sutra, the supreme teaching of Śākyamuni Buddha. The Lotus Sutra is not a teaching where one asks someone to save them; however, Śākyamuni Buddha states, “The purpose of my teaching is to lead everyone to enlightenment.”

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi
May / June 2021

The Śākyamuni Buddha often speaks of the “six paramitas” as a way for followers Of the Buddha to practice his teachings. “Paramita” is a Sanskrit term, which literally translates to “go to Higan” in English. “Higan”, as we all may know means ‘the shore of the Sanzu River” and is a Buddhist holiday celebrated for seven days during the spring and autumnal equinox, where individuals focus solely on practicing Buddhism. In Buddhist literature, “higan” is a common euphemism referring to the attainment of Enlightenment and hence the purpose of practicing the six paramitas during “higan” is to lead individuals to Enlightenment.

The six paramitas are as follows: 1. fuse (generosity), 2. jikai (observance of Buddhist precepts), 3. ninniku (patience), 4. shojin (energy and diligence), 5. zenjou (meditation), and 6. chie (wisdom cultivated by studying the Buddhist teachings). Out of these six, jikai, zenjou, and jikai are also classified as sangakū or the ”three ways of learning.”

Fuse (generosity), the first paramita, can be practiced by providing monetary or psychological support to an individual or providing voluntary service to the community. Jikai (observance of Budddhist precepts), the second paramita, requires that an individual be very careful and aware of their five senses so as not to allow any intrusion, which may affect their practice and keep them from upholding the five Buddhist precepts. The third paramita, ninniku (patience), means solely to always be calm and maintain a harmonious relationship with all. Though it may seem easy, this may be one of the harder paramitas to practice. This is because it is hard not to be upset when living in this suffering world and in a society where many individuals commit crimes. In such a situation, we are advised to take our time to contemplate on the situation because often times, it is our emotions that keep us from making reasonable decisions. When we calm down, we tend to realize that we were overreacting about something very minor. While this is not always the case, we can say that the majority of our situations are similar to such. Shojin (energy and diligence), the fourth paramita, is often used interchangeably with doryoku, another Japanese term meaning to persevere and hard. The fifth paramita, zenjou (meditation), means to escape and avoid greediness and anything considered negative in order to maintain a peaceful state of mind. Lastly, chie (wisdom), the sixth paramita, emphasizes the need to understand the Four Noble Truths which are as follows: 1. the nature of suffering; 2. the reason behind the suffering; 3. the destruction of suffering; and 4. the path leading to the end of suffering.

As we approach “higan” we must think about these six paramitas and the ways that they will help us not only approach Enlightenment, but to also think about accumulating good karma and becoming a better individual. I hope that you will take the time to really practice these six paramitas this coming “higan.”

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi
March / April 2021

Even after 750 years since Nichiren Shonin presented the “Rissho Ankoku Ron” to the Japanese government, many scholars still debate the significance of the document to history and to the present day. Many argue that the document created the basis and structured the significant teachings present in Nichiren Shu Buddhism. While there are many arguments that can be made on the basis of the “Rissho Ankoku Ron,” this is not to say that the document itself is in fact the equivalent of Nichiren Shu Buddhism. As a result, out of the many ideas that the “Rissho Ankoku Ron” presents, I would like to take this opportunity to discuss the significance of the document to us as not only Nichiren Buddhists, but also as individuals living in this world today.

From a historical perspective, the “Rissho Ankoku Ron” is seen as a document presented to the Japanese government, predicting the Mongolian invasion of Japan due to the corrupting nature of Japan as a country. However, Nichiren Shonin used religion to explain the main consequence of this corruption by inferring to the departure of protective deities from Japan.

In a sense, the document questions Nichiren Shonin’s approach to religion as a basis for life. He seems to suggest that religion in general is important for not only human beings, but also for all creatures living in this world. Nichiren Shonin continuously emphasizes the significance of the Lotus Sutra throughout his life and most importantly in the “Rissho Ankoku Ron”, suggesting it also as the “only” way to save Japan. However, we can also reflect this idea to Nichiren Shu Buddhism as well, where the significance of the Lotus Sutra as the supreme teaching of the Sakyamuni Buddha is emphasized.

From this we get the sense that Nichiren Shonin tried to use the Lotus Sutra to create a better life in this world that we live in today. As mostly all Buddhist leaders of Nichiren Shonin’s time emphasized, we are living in “mappo” or the “Age of Degeneration of Buddhist Law.” Many suggest that Nichiren Shonin tried to use the document as a way to suggest that using the Lotus Sutra, it is possible to create peace in this world. However, it is in this respect that we can still relate the “Rissho Ankoku Ron” to our world today. While we still know that we are living in the age of “mappo,” there seems to be less concern about this, compared to the Kamakura Period. Nonetheless, what remains the same is the desire of all creatures in this word to live in what we consider to be “peaceful.” In some ways, we can equate this idea of peace to a type of utopia. However, the term “utopia” may not be correct because it seems to make this peace unattainable because the idea of creating a utopia is unrealistic – not everyone can live the lifestyle that they desire no matter what they do. While I will not go into detail to explain this in this newsletter, I have continuously stated before that in some cases, this relates to our karma that we have accumulated in our past and present lives.

One idea to consider is the relationship between the “Rissho Ankoku Ron” and the Enlightenment that we wish to reach once we leave this world. While it seems as if the document itself does not relate to the afterlife, we can also see the inference made in the document, that by practicing the Lotus Sutra, we will not only be able to live a happy life in this world, but we will also be led to Enlightenment. This may all seem very simple, however, like explained in previous newsletters and in my sermons, this notion of practicing cannot be summarized into one word because it can consist of many actions besides praying. Therefore, I wish that all of you will use this occasion of celebrating Nichiren Shonin’s “Rissho Ankoku Ron” to further understand what it means to practice the Lotus Sutra and what we ourselves can do in order to live a peaceful life in this “mappo” that we live in.

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi
January / February 2021