Orange County Buddhist Church

Listening to the Dalai Lama

    Recently I  had the wonderful opportunity to hear a public lecture by the Dalai Lama.  The lecture was held at the University of California, Irvine, and was given specifically to young people, from Jr. High School to college ages.  It was a very impressive gathering.  The five thousand seat auditorium was sold out long ago.  An additional lecture later that day was also sold out.  I was astounded by how many people were drawn to hear the Dalai Lama.  Of the five thousand young people, I would guess that the great majority of them were being exposed to Buddhism for the first time.  Young people of all ethnicities were there to hear this world-renowned religious leader.

    I was most impressed with how from the very beginning, the Dalai Lama related to people on a very down to earth level.  Upon entering, he was given a gift from a representative of the UC Irvine students, which was a visor that had UC Irvine written on it.  Immediately the Dalai Lama put it on and wore it for the duration of his lecture. 

    He began his lecture by stating that he is just a human being.  “You are a human being, and I am a human being.  We should relate to each other as human beings.  What all human beings want is to be happy.  I want to live a happy life, and you want to live a happy life.  The question is, how to live a happy life.  That is the most important question we must ask ourselves.” 

    I think that the Dalai Lama is able to strike a chord with many people through his books and lectures, because he relates to people on a very basic, universal level.  All beings seek happiness.  Who is there that doesn’t want to live a happy life?  Who goes around living their daily life thinking, “I want to live the most miserable life that I can!”  Of course, no one does.  We all seek to live a life filled with happiness.

    The problem arises however, in that we do not always know where to look for happiness, nor do we know the right sources of happiness.  Sometimes happiness is as elusive as a mirage.  When we think we’ve found it, it disappears before our very eyes.  That is usually because the source of our happiness is based on something that is temporary and illusory, like a mirage.  If our happiness is based on money, then when our money is gone, our happiness is gone.  If our happiness is based on our health, then when our health is gone, our happiness is gone.  If our happiness is based on our work, if we lost our job or retired, then our happiness is gone.  If our happiness is based on the love of our life, what happens when that love of our life is gone through death or divorce?  Our happiness is gone as well.  Not only is our happiness gone, we are left with nothing but misery and sorrow.

    One way that Buddhism describes the world of truth or enlightenment is by the expression, “It does not increase nor decrease, nor does it arise or perish.”  This may seem like a difficult statement to understand initially, but think about it in terms of our life.  Is there anything that does not increase nor decrease in our normal life?  Take for example self-esteem.  If you watch Oprah Winfrey or Dr. Phil, you might hear references to a person’s self-esteem.  I was depressed because I had low self-esteem.  When I lost weight I looked better and my self-esteem went up.  Such statements are frequently made on shows like Oprah. 

    Granted there is definitely a place for self-esteem in the world of psychology, but if our happiness is based on self-esteem, then it would rise and fall like the waves of the ocean.  When praised my self-esteem is high.  When criticized, my self-esteem is low.  If our happiness is measured, or based on self-esteem, then it will inevitably rise and fall like the tides of the ocean.

What about politics and government?  Is that a constant and reliable thing in life?  Look at history.  Empires and dynasties rise and fall.  Governments and rulers come into power, and then fall along the wayside.  Buddhist truth, however, “does not arise or perish.”

    Buddhism attempts to point us towards a source of happiness that does not increase or decrease, that does not arise or perish. 

    Saichi, the Myokonin, beautifully expresses this in one of his poems.

    The Namu-amida-butsu is inexhaustible,
    However much one recites it, it is inexhaustible;
    Saichi’s heart is inexhaustible;
    Oya’s heart is inexhaustible.
    Oya’s heart and Saichi’s heart,
    Ki and Ho, are of one body which is the
        Namu-amida-butsu.
    However much this is recited, it is inexhaustible.
            p. 157, Mysticism:  Christian and Buddhist
            By D.T. Suzuki

    Oya is the affectionate term that Saichi uses to refer to the Buddha, which has the feeling of “one’s spiritual parent.”  Ki and Ho refer to sentient beings (Ki) and the Buddha (Ho). 

    The important part of this poem is Saichi’s expression that Namuamidabutsu is inexhaustible.  Saichi never tires of the Nembutsu.  It is a source of unending joy, inspiration, fulfillment, meaning, and gratitude.  In other words, for Saichi, the Nembutsu does not increase or decrease, it does not arise or perish. 

    To live such a life is a most dynamic, and even courageous life.  It means one can face anything in life head on, without fear of gain or loss, pain or pleasure, praise or criticism. 

    Rev. Haya Akegarasu beautifully expresses this in one of his writings titled, “Karma and the Liberation From It.”  I would like to quote a brief excerpt from it that I have translated and conclude my article for this month:

    In this world, we meet and must part, we are born, and must die, we have things and must let them go.  Without being bound to them, we transcend them and are able to transform them into a source of joy.  That is what we mean by religious salvation.  Therefore, my Buddhism is not the Buddhism that heals illness.  My Buddhism is not the Buddhism that will make you rich.  The reality of life is such that we will become ill.  We will part with loved ones.  No matter how much you worry about such things, you will still someday become ill or part with a loved one.  After all, to be born as a human being means that we must die and part with loved ones.  However, there is an awareness of life such that even if confronted with those things, we are not shocked nor bound by them.

    When we receive that kind of awareness of life, then no matter what might arise, let them come!  If the winter brings a huge snowfall, let it come.  Even if I have a small hut that might be crushed, let the snow  come.  If it is going to be scorching hot, let it be hot.  I will receive the heat or cold as it is, transcend it, and move forward.  I will receive such challenges as my sustenance of life.  Therefore, those who are cold to me, let them come.  Those who are warm to me, let them come.  Those who are kind, those who are unkind, let them all come.  I will receive them all and a new me will come forth.  That is what it means to be liberated from one’s karma.  That is what it means to be illuminated by the unobstructed light of wisdom.

        p. 322-323, Vol. 18,
        Complete Works of Haya Akegarasu.

Namuamidabutsu, Rev. Marvin Harada

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