A Happy New Year in Gratitude

A Happy New Year in Gratitude

-Light of Dharma 50 Years-

Rimban Hoshu Y. Matsubayashi, Ed.D.

            May the year of 2010 be a prosperous, healthy, and happy year for all.  My wife and I wish to extend our heartfelt appreciation to you for your kind support and friendship extended to us during the past year. 

Under the guiding light of Dharma, 50 years have been passed since I became a minister of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii on September 1, 1959.  Over the last 50 years, I have served as a minister of the Hawaii Hongwanji Kyodan, the Buddhist Churches of America, the Buddhist Churches of Canada, and again the Buddhist Churches of America, and I will be retiring from the ministry on July 31, 2010.

The propagation of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism on the mainland of the United States officially began with the arrival of the Hongwanji dispatched ministers, Rev. Dr. Shue Sonoda and Rev. Kakuryo Nishijima in San Francisco on September 1, 1899.  This year marks the 111^th anniversary of the Buddhist Churches of America.  Let us all pay our utmost respect and admiration to the dedicate Nembutsu followers who worked diligently to maintain and to develop the teaching of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism.

Miyoko Kaneta, a retired school teacher who was raised in Central California, recorded “A Song of Praise for Issei Pioneers” from her memory.  The first verse describes the Issei fathers who were determined to establish their lives in the wild and deserted land.  The second and third verses run as follows:

From the wrinkles on her forehead,

To the palms of her hands,

Holding me in her left arm,

A hoe in her right hand,

Ah--, the unforgettable figure of our mothers.

We live this day, grateful to our parents,

Deep emotions now move me to tears,

For we would not be here but for them,

And today, we stand firmly,

Here, on this land.

Over the course of my 50 years as a minister, I have learned and witnessed the dedicated lives of the Issei pioneers and the dedicated Nembutsu followers.  In order to awake to the Infinite Light of Amida Buddha, we have to listen to the Buddha-Dharma.  Rennyo Shonin instructed us on how to listen to the Buddha-Dharma in his writing Rennyo Shonin Goichidai Kikigaki (The Words of Rennyo Shonin), No. 155, “Even though we do not have spare time, we should listen to the Buddha-Dharma.  It is wrong to think that we listen to the Buddha-Dharma only when we have spare time.  The Buddha-Dharma teaches us that we never know for sure if we have tomorrow.”  There is no guarantee that there will be a tomorrow for every one of us.  We should listen to the Buddha-Dharma, so that we will awaken to the Compassionate Heart of Amida Buddha.  Rennyo Shonin encouraged us to listen to the Buddha-Dharma with our special determination.

When I was a resident minister at the Southern Alameda County Buddhist Church, a certain member of the church went back to Japan to see his 84 year old mother in the hospital.  When he met his mother at the hospital, she asked her son, who was a very busy businessman running multiple companies, “Are you attending church?”  He answered, “I am very busy, so I cannot attend the church as I wish to.”  His mother said, “Please attend church first.  Then you say, ‘I am busy.’”

When I heard this, I immediately recalled Rennyo Shonin’s words, “Listen to the Buddha-Dharma even though you do not have spare time.”  Her wonderful message was essentially same as Rennyo Shonin’s.  The word “busy” in Japanese illustrates to lose a heart.  If we fail to see the heart of the Buddha, the heart of mother, and the heart of people, we are not able to see the truth of our lives nor able to become the true Nembutsu followers.

Under the guiding light of the Dharma for 50 years, I was able to carry on my ministry with the support and friendship of countless Nembutsu followers in the Hawaii Hongwanji Kyodan, the Buddhist Churches of Canada, and the Buddhist Churches of America.  How grateful I am!  As we celebrate the new year of 2010, the year of my retirement as your Rimban, my wife and I wish to extend our sincere greetings to you all in gratitude.  Namo Amida Butsu