REFLECTIONS

Eat in Moderation for a Healthy Body and Mind by Nichiko Niwano

At present in Japan, food equivalent to clearly that following a light diet has def- Nichiko Niwano is president of sixty meals (about fifteen kilograms) per inite health benefits. Some experts say Rissho Kosei-kai and an honorary person is discarded annually. So many the perfect amount to eat in one’s fifties president of Religions for Peace. of us are now obese or overweight, or is just enough so that the stomach feels He also serves as an advisor to suffering from illnesses caused by our about 60 percent full, and in one’s six- Shinshuren (Federation of New lifestyle habits, that it seems we are pay- ties to feel about 50 percent full. Religious Organizations of Japan). ing a heavy price for our wasteful over- While regularly eating less and keep- consumption when ample supplies of ing to a simple diet are considered to of their gratitude for the good health food are available. be healthy, doing so too strictly could implied by a naturally strong appetite. I am reminded of the old story about lead to malnutrition, so people in their And there may be other people whose a king of a certain country. Having eaten mid-seventies and older should exer- thoughts turn to those who cannot obtain until his stomach felt completely full, cise caution. even one meal a day, and feel anew the he experienced some discomfort and happiness of their current circumstances. heaved a great sigh. Seeing this, a wise Give Thanks Before They may then think of what they can man gave him these words of advice: Meals do to help those in need. “People who always keep their hearts When we do not gobble down our and minds calm and know the right I have quoted above the phrase of food by force of habit, but instead face amount to eat experience few pains, age Shakyamuni as a wise man, “always a meal with a calm heart and mind, gracefully, and live long lives.” keep . . . hearts and minds calm.” This we can awaken to a sense of gratitude. The king, who was concerned about involves seeing things correctly based Then, as we become aware of the ill physical decline and poor health, deeply on wisdom and accepting them from effects from eating more than we need of reflected on the words of the wise man, a broad perspective. the things we like, we naturally will start and by repeating them to himself at meal- What, then, do we see with such to eat in moderation, helping us main- times gradually reduced the amount eyes when we look at the food placed tain a healthy condition. Of course, it he ate and soon enjoyed robust health. before us? goes beyond saying that gratitude fosters In fact, this was a legendary exchange We see first of all the reality of receiv- a heart and mind that respect the sanc- between Shakyamuni and the king of ing the lives of animals and plants. And tity of life and are the starting point for Kosala some twenty-five hundred years then we see the hard work of the peo- developing a healthy heart and mind. ago, but it teaches us something important ple who have cultivated nature’s bounty, In Rissho Kosei-kai, before beginning that is equally true for people today. Above processed it, and delivered it to us, as to eat we recite the “Grace Before Meals,” all, it is the tragedy of human beings at well as the thoughtfulness of the peo- which gives us as human beings, who are the mercy of their desires. Our hearts and ple who have prepared it as food. Some easy prey for our desires, the opportu- minds leap when we see an “All you can people might now feel, in seeing a bowl nity to call to mind what is important. eat” sign in front of a restaurant, so we of miso soup, the thoughtfulness of a Let’s recite aloud, “For what we are are just like the king. In fact, we should mother who carefully made soup stock about to eat and drink, we are grateful learn the amount to eat that is appro- for the miso soup every day, despite her to the Buddha, to nature, and to many priate to our age and condition, and at impoverished circumstances, in order people,” put our hearts and minds in each and every meal should be careful to provide her children with nourish- good order, and enjoy our meals. Because not to overeat. In this story, Shakyamuni ment for their growing bodies. eating is something we naturally do is teaching us the fundamental way to Some people might think, when see- every day, developing healthy habits is live. Recent medical research indicates ing a bowl of rice placed before them, of great importance. ≥

Dharma World April–June 2016 1 APR.–JUNE 2016 VOL. 43

FEATURES: Buddhism and Food

1 Eat in Moderation for a Healthy Body and Mind Dharma World presents Buddhism by Nichiko Niwano as a practical living religion and promotes interreligious dialogue 3 Th e Karma of Food for world peace. It espouses views by David R. Loy that emphasize the dignity of life, seeks to rediscover our inner nature 6 Overcoming Ignorance about and bring our lives more in accord Food by Eating Spiritually with it, and investigates causes of by Yi Chan Su human suff ering. It tries to show 10 Shojin Cuisine: Cooking from how religious principles help solve the Heart problems in daily life and how the least application of such principles by Mari Fujii has wholesome eff ects on the world 14 Mindful Eating: How North around us. It seeks to demonstrate Americans Use Buddhist truths that are fundamental to all Meditation to Heal the Body, religions, truths on which all people Mind, and World can act. by Jeff Wilson

Publisher: Hirofumi Mizuno 18 Why Not One Grain of Rice Should Be Wasted Director: Kazumasa Murase by Kenichi Furuyama Senior Editor: Kazumasa Osaka Editor: Katsuyuki Kikuchi 21 Old Insights for a Hectic World: What Can an Eighteenth-Century Editorial Advisors: Zen Master Teach Us Today? Miriam Levering, Gene Reeves, by Masaki Matsubara Yoshiaki Sanada, Dominick Scarangello, 26 Buddhism and Social Engagement (4) Michio T. Shinozaki Toward Transnational Movements Copy Editors: by Ranjana Mukhopadhyaya William Feuillan, Gary Hoiby, 30 Kanenuiakea: A Living Faith and Practice DeAnna Satre, Catherine Szolga by Glen Kila and George Williams Editorial Staff : Ryuichi Kaneko, Satoe Izawa 35 Making Women Use Th eir Infl uence for Good, Subscription Staff : Kazuyo Okazaki and Th eir Power for Good Layout and Design: Abinitio Design Interview with Pastor Esther Abimiku Ibanga, Cover: Recipient of the Th irty-Second Niwano Peace Prize Photo: Shutterstock.com Photoshop work by Abinitio Design 40 Sent by the Gods and the Buddhas by Nikkyo Niwano

THE THREEFOLD LOTUS SUTRA: A MODERN COMMENTARY 44 Th e Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law Chapter 25: Th e All-Sidedness of the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World (3)

Dharma World is published quarterly by Kosei Publishing Company, 2-7-1 Wada, Suginami-ku, Tokyo 166-8535. E-mail: [email protected]. Copyright © 2016 by Kosei Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Printed in Japan by Komiyama Printing Company. Change of Address: Please provide both old and new addresses. Six weeks’ advance notice is requested. Requests for permission to reprint all or part of any article in this issue must be made in writing to the editor of Dharma World. FEATURES

The Karma of Food by David R. Loy

David R. Loy is a professor, writer, and If we don’t need to worry about disrupting genetic “essences” Zen teacher in the Sanbo Zen tradition such as the original and natural DNA of a plant or animal of Japanese Zen Buddhism. He is species, doesn’t that liberate us to do whatever we want a prolifi c author whose essays and technologically? books have been translated into many languages. He teaches nationally What does Buddhism have to say about Buddhists have had important impli- and internationally on various topics, genetically modifi ed food? As far as we cations for food practices—especially focusing primarily on the encounter know, the Buddha didn’t know anything the difference between monastics and between Buddhism and modernity and about DNA, much less the possibilities laypeople, and the difference between what each can learn from the other. of modifying it technologically. So it Theravada (traditionally South Asian) See www.davidloy.org. is not surprising that I’ve been unable and Mahayana (traditionally Central to fi nd references to genetically modi- and East Asian) Buddhism. Monastics earliest accounts we have, Shakyamuni fi ed organisms (GMO) in any Buddhist are expected to live a simple life largely Buddha died of a stomach ailment appar- text—though I admit that my search unconcerned about mundane matters ently caused or aggravated by eating has not been very thorough. such as food. In many Buddhist cultures pork. Buddhist vegetarians have some- An alternative approach is to con- they eat only before noon. According times considered this fact scandalous sider whether traditional Buddhist teach- to the Patimokha, which regulates daily and denied it, but it is consistent with ings might give us some insight into our life for Theravada monks, “There are what we know about the early Buddhist new situation. many fi ne foods such as ghee, butter, community. Because of the way it spread, and oil, honey, molasses, fi sh, meat, milk, According to the Vinaya rules estab- the diversity of Buddhist cultures that and curds. If any monastic who is not lished and followed by the Buddha him- resulted, Buddhism has tended to adapt sick should ask for them and con- self, Th eravada monastics are mendicant. to local dietary customs rather than sume them, it is an offense entailing Being dependent on what is donated to export and impose food restrictions. expiation.” Notice the careful word- them, they are not required to be vege- Given the diffi cult climate of Tibet, for ing. Evidently the problem is not with tarian—with an important restriction example, it is not surprising that Tibetan these foods themselves, but that seeking oft en followed by devout laypeople as Buddhists have usually eaten a lot of and indulging in them is a distraction well: “If a monastic sees, hears or sus- meat. Another factor is that, in gen- from what monastics should be concen- pects that [meat or fi sh] has been killed eral, Buddhism has been less concerned trating on. There is no suggestion that for his sake, he may not eat it.” about what we eat than how we eat it, lay followers should also avoid them, It seems a compassionate policy, since our dukkha, “suff ering,” is rooted and the qualifi cation “any monastic given Buddhist emphasis on not harm- in our craving—and food is the sec- who is not sick” is a good example of ing living beings. Nevertheless, the issue ond-most-popular example of human Buddhist pragmatism. There are times of animal suff ering is cited in Buddhist craving. How mindful are we when we when such “fi ne foods” may be impor- texts less oft en than the consequences are eating? Am I so eager for the next tant for one’s health. for one’s own karma. Even when those spoonful that I don’t appreciate the one Historically, the main food issue for texts mention the importance of com- already in my mouth? Buddhists is whether one should be veg- passion, the main concern is oft en the Nevertheless, some important dis- etarian. Th is has been somewhat compli- negative eff ects of meat eating on one’s tinctions within Buddhism and among cated by the fact that, according to the own capacity to cultivate compassion.

Dharma World April–June 2016 3 climate of India) to become more veg- key to Buddhist self-cultivation is less - the outer practice of what one does than tent with a general Mahayana emphasis on vegetarianism, a concern especially is especially emphasized in Mahayana, strong in China and textually supported which has a somewhat more relaxed by well-known Mahayana scriptures such attitude toward observances and reg- as the Lankavatara Sutra, the Surangama ulations generally. Sutra, and the Brahma’s Net Sutra. In the sixth century Chinese Buddhism Food to emphasize vegetarianism. Chinese and Korean monastics today usually What does all of this imply, if anything,

milk products and fertilized eggs as - well). Curiously, it seems to have been the laity that played a leading role in does not accord with Buddhist teach- this transformation: laypeople came ings, for there is little if any support for to expect monastics to uphold higher the position that “unnatural is bad” in standards of purity and renunciation. By the tenth century, vegetarianism had Buddhism does not romanticize nature become a minimum standard to be fol- or “being natural.” Our modern (orig- lowed by all monks and nuns in China. inally Western) ambivalence between As in South Asia, monastics are depen- infatuation with technological progress I once heard a Buddhist teacher dent upon lay support, so the concerns and nostalgia for a return to nature is not say that it is okay to eat meat, provided of an increasing number of vegetar- characteristic of traditional Buddhism. that it has passed through three pairs of ian laymen and laywomen could not hands before it gets to you—as if, some- be ignored. perspectives that are more helpful, such - as the three “basic facts”: dukkha (suf- - fering or dis-ease), impermanence, and tude, taking advantage of the unfortu- “pungent odors,” usually translated as not-self. nate situation of others who willingly garlic, onions, scallions, shallots, and Impermanence means that every- or unwillingly have the unsavory job leeks (sometimes chilies and other spices thing arises and passes away according of butchering and processing meat for are added to this list). In addition to the to conditions, including us. Socially, this the rest of us to consume. Today the implies an openness to change, including mechanics of the meat industry assure with them—perhaps the main concern progress—if it really is progress, that is, us that many hands have had a role in in a crowded monastic situation?—the a genuine improvement. New technol- preparing our meat, but I think that Surangama Sutra claims that they are ogies are not in themselves a problem, does not necessarily resolve the impor- stimulants to anger if eaten raw and tant issue, from a Buddhist perspective. stimulate sexual desire when cooked. on our dukkha. Buddhism is not nos- One might conclude that none of those Two points should be kept in mind talgic for some prehistoric time when plastic-wrapped chickens in the super- regarding these dietary restrictions. First, life was “natural,” because there never market has been slaughtered for me, although devout monastics in principle was such a golden age in the past. yet—given the way the food industry may have no choice, laypeople choosing Not-self involves realizing that noth- functions—one can just as well argue that to follow them make a personal decision, ing self-exists—not only because there is any I might purchase has been slaugh- in the sense that such practices are not no permanence but also because every- tered for me, because all of them have required in order to be a Buddhist or thing is interdependent on everything been raised and killed for any and all follow the Buddhist path. Not observ- else. is “interpermeation” is well of us consumers. ing them may create bad karma and expressed by ich Nhat Hanh in a Today there is a movement among famous passage from his book expatriate Tibetan Buddhists (most of to follow, but that is one’s own decision. of Understanding that every Buddhist whom now live in the more tropical should know:

4 D April–June 2016 If you are a poet, you will see clearly us to do whatever we want that there is a cloud floating in this technologically? It’s not sheet of paper. Without a cloud, there that simple, because the will be no rain; without rain, the most important criterion trees cannot grow; and without tree, for Buddhism remains the we cannot make paper. The cloud is consequences of any GMO essential for the paper to exist. If the for dukkha, “suffering”: cloud is not here, the sheet of paper does that particular genetic cannot be here either. . . . alteration tend to reduce If we look into this sheet of paper dukkha or increase it? even more deeply, we can see the In general, the genetic sunshine in it. If the sunshine is not modifications that I am there, the forest cannot grow. In fact, aware of seem designed nothing can grow. Even we cannot more for the convenience grow without sunshine. And so, we of the food industry than know that the sunshine is also in this for the benefit of consum- sheet of paper. The paper and the ers. The focus has been on sunshine inter-are. And if we con- growing and processing food more effi- GMO foodstuffs to be sold in Europe. tinue to look, we can see the log- ciently and profitably, rather than on taste The technological modification of plant ger who cut the tree and brought it or nutrition. Prominent examples are and animal species, without a much bet- to the mill to be transformed into sterile “terminator seeds” and Roundup ter understanding of how all the genomes paper. And we see the wheat. We Ready crops engineered to be resistant to of living creatures affect each other, is know that the logger cannot exist Monsanto’s own brand of herbicide. In an especially important example of how without his daily bread, and there- a controversial 1998 British experiment, our technical ambitions can outrun our fore the wheat that became his bread Árpád Pusztai reported that genetically wisdom. is also in this sheet of paper. And modified potatoes caused immune sys- In short, the genetic engineering the logger’s father and mother are tem damage to rats; his results have been of food, as presently practiced, may in it too. . . . criticized but have also been defended be incompatible with basic Buddhist You cannot point out one thing by other scientists. In 2000 StarLink teachings, insofar as it is more likely to that is not here—time, space, the corn, with a built-in insecticide and a increase dukkha than reduce it. earth, the rain, the minerals in the protein indigestible to humans, was acci- This does not necessarily mean that soil, the sunshine, the cloud, the river, dentally released into the human food genetic modification of food is always a the heat. Everything co-­exists with chain, leading to thirty-seven reports bad thing. From a Buddhist point of view, this sheet of paper. . . . As thin as this of serious allergic reactions. most technologies are neither good nor sheet of paper is, it contains every- These and many other incidents are bad in themselves. Nor are they neutral. thing in the universe in it. ([Parallax discussed in Kathleen Hart’s book Eating That is because technologies cannot be Press, 1988], 17–19) in the Dark: America’s Experiment with separated from the larger social, eco- Genetically Engineered Food (Vintage, nomic, and ecological contexts within Notice that this does not distinguish 2003). Such issues suggest what Buddhist which they are devised and applied. Since between natural phenomena (sun, rain, emphasis on interdependence implies: Buddhism does not privilege “being trees) and more technological ones (such that altering the genome of food plants natural,” including the natural selec- as the chainsaw that the logger uses or (and no doubt that of food animals as tion that drives the evolutionary pro- the paper mill that processes the wood well) is an extraordinarily challenging cess, there is the possibility that in the pulp). In short, nothing has any reality process with many consequences that future some GMO might actually serve of its own, because nothing is on its own. are very difficult to anticipate and eval- to reduce dukkha. For that to happen, Everything is part of everything else. uate exhaustively. Producing safe and however, it’s essential that the evaluation What does that imply about the food nutritious food seems to be more com- process not be distorted by other, more we eat? If we don’t need to worry about plicated than providing most other con- problematic concerns. When it comes disrupting genetic “essences” such as sumer products. to our food supply, it is important that the original and natural DNA of a plant Perhaps this helps to explain why the the profit motive be subordinated to or animal species, doesn’t that liberate European Union does not allow most human health and well-being. ≥

Dharma World April–June 2016 5 FEATURES Overcoming Ignorance about Food by Eating Spiritually by Yi Chan Su

A similar understanding can be Eating is a yardstick that measures the depth of one’s applied to food. Humans cannot live sensibility about human nature, religion, and life. Similarly, the without food, which is the cosmic energy processes of getting food and gaining spiritual enlightenment that keeps them alive. Food is not only are like the two sides of a coin; spiritual enlightenment is life’s starting point, but part of its fun- parallel to awakening to the meaning of food. damental process. Food can require work. For example, someone makes dough, adding various ingredients, and Not only humans but all living things For people to eat, there must be food, bakes it to create a tasty snack. But all must eat to stay alive. Th ey drink water, and food sources preexisted human the ingredients, including wheat for breathe air, and eat food. People used beings. Fruits were growing and grains fl our, existed before baking. to sacrifi ce food to God or the gods ripening. Everything humans needed as if God or the gods also had to eat. for survival preexisted them, such as Food Is Never Profane Th is may suggest that eating is one of air, water, and grains. the most fundamental and important Even the sun in the sky, rain, wind, Religion developed with reverence for human behaviors. and sources of nutrition in the soil all life as well as an understanding of the preexisted humans. All of the given ele- world of food. Religious believers rec- ments worked together to create rice ognize the origins of life and the world seeds. Cosmic energies then collabo- as “grace” and are thankful for the pre- rated to create grains of rice. Humans existing sources of food that they made have always depended on the earth’s no eff ort to create. energy resources. People who are mindful of the preex- istence of food sources do not monop- “Being in Food” olize them. Th ey respect other people and other living things. They avoid Martin Heidegger defi nes humans as unnecessary consumption. Instead of “in-der-Welt-sein” (being-in-the-world). monopolizing food sources, they sym- The “world” is neither just a physical pathize with the starving and want to place surrounding people nor a per- share. Th ey encourage people to share ceivable object. It is a fundamental with one another. Th ey also promote structure that includes human beings movements for social change. Th ey pre- and confi gures human perceptions. sent fundamental and religious ways The “world” serves as the epistemo- of understanding food. Th ey appreci- logical horizon that supports human ate the food consumed and continue to perception. Therefore, humans always be thankful and humble. For them it is exist by “being in the world.” In a broad more important to be grateful for food sense, this means that humans are part than to judge it as sacred or profane. of cosmic life, receive cosmic energies, Some people believe that Buddhists and continue to live in harmony with do not eat meat, but the Buddha never their input. explicitly forbade it. Instead, he believed

6 Dharma World April–June 2016 Yi Chan Su is Humanities Korea Research Professor at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies, Seoul National University. He received his PhD in Religious Studies from Sogang University and was a professor at Kangnam University. He has written extensively in Korean on religion and peace studies. The titles of some of his works can be translated as “Think or Be Thought About,” “Reading About the World Religions,” “The Kyoto School and Christianity,” “The End of Monotheism,” “Spirituality on the Table,” and “What Is Green Peace?”

that people should be thankful for any That teaching is similar to the but in favor of cultivating a pure and food. Since he forbade the taking of life, teaching of Saint Paul, one of the early honest heart. Following these teachings he taught that meat should be eaten Christian missionaries. He taught that and sharing food with those who starve humbly and only when “one saw, heard, it was all right to eat food offered on the can be one of the highest forms of reli- or is certain that the taking of life was altar of another religion but that this gious behavior with food, whose sources not done specifically for the sake of might mislead “weak believers” who felt have long preexisted human beings. Buddhist priests or monks” (Jivaka guilty for willingly sharing that food. Sutta, Majjhima-nikāya; Mahāsāṃghika Paul preached that food itself should Present Ignorance Vinaya, vol. 32). In other words, he not be a religious obstacle (1 Cor. 8:7– about Food believed that eating meat or any other 8). In other words, he meant that food food could be enjoyed with gratitude should not be a criterion for judging There are problems with food today, as long as it was done unselfishly and someone’s faith in God. According to and to address them it is not enough that a life was not taken only for one’s Paul, no food is sacred or profane in for people to eat thankfully and hum- own use. Eating any food thankfully itself, but it is people’s attitude toward bly. Not just Buddhists but everyone was considered more important than it that is important. He taught that it is should not only eat thankfully with a enforcing rules about food. This sug- all right to eat any food as long as it is pure and humble heart but also reflect gests that people should be honest, with eaten thankfully, without harming any- on where the food came from and the pure hearts before eating, since food is one. In essence, Paul’s teaching parallels problems involved in supplying it. It is the source of life. the Buddha’s teachings against gluttony not enough just to be grateful for food in societies where food has become the core of business and capital. It is neces- sary to know that some food is unsafe and how to make it safe. However, many people are unaware of the sociopolitical significance and proper uses of food. Even religious believers, who prepare and consume food daily, may have little interest in where it comes from, and few may know how to cook properly. Few know much about ingredients. Most are unaware of what goes into a bag of potato chips, how soy sauce and miso (fermented soybean paste) are made, or how all of the countless prepared foods arrive at the dinner table. To them, meat is simply something displayed and eas- ily bought at a supermarket. They are blind to what happened to the meat before it arrived at the store. All they

Dharma World April–June 2016 7 uses of food and what it means to eat, clearly recognized that the livestock yet they are conclusively subjected to a industry has come to dominate the global vastly evolving food industry. Growing food industry. Humans have degen- expertise led to the development of erated into becoming slaves of food, the food production and distribution although they started out as traders of industries. People who buy prepared food in early civilizations. foods rarely have the opportunity them- Now people want cheap, high-qual- selves to grow and harvest vegetables or ity food. In fact, this consumer desire cook. Nuclear physicists may not know is contradictory and is actually close to the proper uses of food, and Internet a form of inhumane greed. This greed experts may have little or no interest in demands that suppliers manipulate the the processes that prepare beef for con- ingredients in grains, vegetables, meat, sumption. Religious experts may not be and milk. To produce beef that is cheap interested in how much workers must and of high quality, numerous cattle are sweat to produce a cup of coffee or how kept inhumanely in factory-based barns. many artificial additives are in a bag of These and other large-scale food facto- potato chips. Numerous issues of food ries can never produce cheap food that distribution are forgotten. Meanwhile, is also of high quality. For instance, for a when foods packaged for sale look nice supermarket to sell an item more cheaply, and clean, competition among produc- it must ask suppliers to cut distribution ers intensifies. In the process, human costs. To achieve lower unit prices, sup- lives are threatened by unsafe process- pliers look for cheaper raw materials ing. Humans have created civilizations, and production methods, creating an but it is no exaggeration to say civiliza- inhumane production and distribution tions debase themselves as vast powers system. For example, Peter Singer criti- do is purchase food produced in fac- for human exploitation. cizes Wal-Mart as follows: “The bargains tories or restaurants. They tend to for- hide costs to taxpayers, the community, get the mass slaughter of cattle, pigs, High-Quality Food animals, and the environment. That is and chickens to make money. Schools Cannot Be Cheap why, despite the undoubted benefits of teach mathematical formulas and read- Wal-Mart’s low prices, a very large eth- ing vocabulary but hardly ever teach Food is the foundation of civilization. ical question-mark hangs over buying the proper uses of food or how to cook. As capitalism expanded, food became our food at Wal-Mart” (Peter Singer and Since buying cheap, high-quality one of its pillars. Cities are based on Jim Mason, The Ethics of What We Eat: food is common, a contradictory focus markets, and civilizations are based Why Our Food Choices Matter [Rodale, of greed takes over the human mind. on producing and exchanging surplus 2006], 80). Similarly, greed for cheap, As this process goes on, people are fur- food. In the process, food ceases to be high-quality food ignores the inhumane ther isolated from the realities of food sacred, and capital- production. While the proper uses and ist values are all that original meaning of food are forgotten, remain. For exam- such as universality, grace, and sharing, ple, cattle used to be people today are growing more igno- worshipped as sym- rant about food. Just eating thankfully bols of the god of is not enough to overcome the commer- creation, reproduc- cialization and lack of safety in today’s tion, masculinity, complex food industry. and abundance. Just as illiterate people have trou- However, cattle have ble reading and writing, people who been devalued as a are ignorant about food do not know, disposable medium or even try to know, about the evils of of exchange and food production. In fact, many people property. In recent today cannot comprehend the proper years, it has been

8 Dharma World April–June 2016

A Laboratory for Aroma Research in Dijon, France. treatment of animals and makes people suffer directly or indirectly. This logic of trying to acquire a life more cheaply is a combination of contradictory forms of greed and inhumanity.

Acquiring Food Insight

Humans may have reduced illiteracy, but they are exploited by civilization. Amid the turmoil of capitalist reasoning, food is a tool for raising capital, while humans are becoming more and more ignorant about the origin of their food. They delude themselves into thinking that they can choose what they eat, yet they distance themselves from the real- ities of production and forget reverence for life. This is happening because peo- ple focus on spending and overlook the Eating is not the mere ability to con- economic situations. This means that value, meaning, production, and distri- sume and digest food. From the per- those who ignore the unfairness of bution of food. spective of nature, people should reflect eating may not be fully enlightened, People do not intend to be ignorant on the fact that all things, including a even if they are experienced priests about food. While modern civilization grain of rice and the human body, are or monks. has worked hard to reduce poverty and composed of universal elements and are Food insight will not be acquired improve food quality, ignorance about organically interconnected. Then people only through individual satisfaction food has always been uncivilized, as should cultivate a healthy organic rela- and personal happiness. If there is no if civilization were one side of a coin tionship between themselves and what examination of the political, social, and and ignorance about food the other. they eat. From sociopolitical perspec- economical meanings of food, followed That is also why ignorance about food tives, industrial systems that compete in by a reduction in the inhumanity that cannot be remedied only by individual capital gains in the stock market using exploits humans with food and neglects effort in moral reflections and decisions. food as a “weapon” to exploit the world reverence for life, food insight will not Fundamentally, capitalism is to blame economy should be critically exam- be acquired. It can be acquired only by for exchanging money for food, and it ined. City dwellers should not only be reflecting on the proper uses of food is also a problem of regulated civili- food consumers but also be coproduc- and by movements that revive humane- zation. Bold changes in food policies ers with rural communities. Consumers ness and encourage reverence for life. may help; this is a complicated struc- and suppliers, ultimately humans and Eating is a yardstick that measures the tural problem, however, that is difficult nature, must cooperate to form a win- depth of one’s sensibility about human to solve by policies alone. win relationship that invigorates one nature, religion, and life. Similarly, the Nonetheless, it is clear that individ- another. This is specifically how food processes of getting food and gaining uals’ ethical and moral reflective actions insight can be awakened. spiritual enlightenment are like the two toward food and eating must be part of sides of a coin; spiritual enlightenment overcoming ignorance about food. To use Food Insight is parallel to awakening to the meaning Ivan Illich’s ideas, ignorance about food and Spiritual of food. People’s thoughts about food begins to disappear when people who are and eating reflect their spirituality and currently governed by society can hap- Enlightenment level of political understanding. Thus, pily govern themselves. As Ulrich Beck The process of awakening food insight eating is the most fundamental, natu- believes that only “consumer” conscious- is not much different from spiritual ral, human, and cosmic kind of behav- ness can change the vertical commercial enlightenment. People’s thoughts about ior that leads to peace. When it comes to structure, food consumers must exert food and eating reflect their human eating, no religion is unrelated, includ- more influence over food production. nature, religiosity, and political and ing Buddhism and Christianity. ≥

Dharma World April–June 2016 9 FEATURES

Shojin Cuisine: Cooking from the Heart by Mari Fujii

his youth written poetry and studied Preparing food that combines [the] fi ve tastes, fi ve colors, writing, so he was able to express him- and fi ve ways of preparation [the basic concepts of shojin self through the written word. cuisine] results in a well-balanced meal. . . . Shojin cuisine is Aft er his ten years of Zen training, he an art of cooking with these concepts in mind, and that is why joined a publishing company as an edi- people who partake of it say it brings them peace of mind. tor, and later became a freelance writer. It was at this time that we married. Th e It is now thirty-three years since my from people who had read my husband’s last temple where my husband lived and husband, Sotetsu Fujii (1941–2006), book Shojin ryori jiten (Dictionary of practiced was Kenchoji, in Kamakura, and I started the shojin cuisine learning Japanese vegetarian cuisine) (Tokyodo and when he left the temple he settled community, Zenmi-kai (Taste of Zen Publishing, 1985). My husband did a down in Kamakura. group). Shojin means “earnest applica- great deal of work related to Buddhism Aft er we were married we acquired tion” or “devotion” and comes from the and shojin cuisine, writing books, giv- a house in Inamuragasaki, a seaside Sanskrit virya, a Buddhist term com- ing lectures, appearing on television, neighborhood in Kamakura; we call monly translated as “energy,” “diligence,” and so on. Th is was when Japan’s rapid the house Fushiki-an (Th e hermitage of “enthusiasm,” or “eff ort,” which reached economic-growth period was starting not knowing). It’s a small house, but it Japan by way of China. to wind down and society was begin- was our base of operations for the sho- Zenmi-kai was set up in response to ning to return to normal. Th e television jin cuisine cooking school Zenmi-kai requests for lessons in shojin cooking program Ryori no tetsujin (Iron chef) and the studio where photographs of was very popular and the cuisine were taken for books and even broadcast out- magazines. Sometimes we welcomed side Japan; my hus- foreign guests there as well. band also appeared My husband would often say, on this show. “Cooking should be from the heart.” Before we were What he meant was, “Th ink carefully married, from the about the person who is going to eat time my husband was when you prepare food.” I have contin- twenty-two until he ued to convey this message to everyone was thirty-two, he whenever I cook and teach cooking. lived and practiced at Japan has four distinct seasons: Zen temples. During spring, summer, fall, and winter. What these years he served we try to do is put locally grown ingre- as tenzo, or temple dients in season to the best possible use cook, at three dif- while keeping in mind the person who ferent Zen temples. will eat the food and whether the occa- The experience he sion is a festival, a ceremonial meal, or gained during these an everyday meal, in order to create years he later shared dishes that will be easy on the body and in the form of several mind. We clasp our hands in prayer to books. He had since express our appreciation for the people

10 Dharma World April–June 2016 Mari Fujii is a specialist in shojin ryori (Japanese vegetarian cuisine) and teaches and popularizes it internationally. She has studied Chinese food therapy in Beijing and is the author of The Enlightened Kitchen: Fresh Vegetable Dishes from the Temples of Japan (Kodansha America, 2005) and several books in Japanese on shojin cuisine.

who created the ingredients and for tastes are salty, sweet, the fields where they were grown. We spicy, sour, and bit- try to prepare each dish on the menu ter. The five colors painstakingly, giving heed to what my are black, white, red, husband used to say: “Preparing food yellow, and green. The means taking good care of the mind and five ways of prepara- heart; that is what I hope to convey.” tion are raw, boiled, On days when cooking classes are grilled, steamed, and being held at Zenmi-kai, students come sautéed. Preparing to Fushiki-an, and everyone joins in to food that combines cook and taste the various dishes. At these five tastes, five these times, both younger and older colors, and five ways students unanimously share the same of preparation results expression, seeming to feel relaxed. in a well-balanced Shojin cuisine comes from the meal. There is also the Buddhist precepts against taking life. unique notion of awai Neither meat nor fish, nor even eggs that flavoring (sometimes give rise to new life are used. Strong- translated as “fleeting” The author with Julian Daizan Skinner, a British Zen master and smelling vegetables such as green onions, or “delicate”), which the founder of the Zenways Sangha, when he interviewed her on leeks, and garlic are not used either. involves avoiding shojin cuisine at the Yugagyo Dojo in London, in August 2015. The original purpose of shojin cuisine strong flavoring in was to sustain people undergoing reli- order to bring out the native goodness Japan, which include soy sauce, miso gious training at temples. It offers nei- of the ingredients. Shojin cuisine is an art (soybean paste), mirin (sweet sake), ther too much nor too little, and I think of cooking with these concepts in mind, vinegar, and salt. it is very pleasant to eat. and that is why people who partake Stock is made with dried kombu sea- The basic concepts of shojin cui- of it say it brings them peace of mind. weed and dried shiitake mushrooms. sine include five tastes, five colors, The flavorings used in shojin cuisine These are traditional Japanese ingredi- and five ways of preparation. The five are the fermented products typical of ents. The kombu is soaked in cold water for about an hour and then brought to a boil. Dried shiitake mushrooms are also soaked in cold water, imparting umami, or savor. The softened mushrooms are used as ingredients in the cooking. Sometimes people who are used to eating hurriedly and negligently or eat and drink so much that they feel unwell come to our Zenmi-kai lessons. These are people who realize the importance of what they eat only when their health has become compromised.

Dharma World April–June 2016 11 During the last ten years or so, I have had a growing number of opportunities to lecture on shojin cuisine abroad. The first time I did so was after Jipango—an organization set up in Paris to introduce Japanese culture to people in France— invited me to take part in eight cook- ing sessions in Paris. A group of young chefs in London also took the oppor- tunity of my visits to Paris to set up a venue for me to give a talk in London. Six years ago the Japan Foundation, an independent administrative insti- tution in Japan, gave me an opportu- nity to visit the Nordic countries. In all of these countries, people expressed an interest in shojin cuisine as a branch of Japanese food culture, and our cooking classes and tasting events were very well received. So far, I have cooked in the United States, Italy, Portugal, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, China, Taiwan, South Korea, and elsewhere. At a cul- tural-exchange event in India, however, the Indian matrons found the black color of the norimaki (vinegared rice rolled in laver seaweed) so frightening they would not try it. Some participants at the cooking les- sons in Paris and London were vegetar- ians. Their interest arose from various

12 Dharma World April–June 2016 standpoints, such as their religious back- grounds or considerations of animal welfare. A person who attended my lecture in Singapore was Danny Chu, author of the book Shojin Ryori: The Art of Japanese Vegetarian Cuisine. In Danny’s home- town of Singapore there are Indian and Chinese vegetarian restaurants, but he says Japanese shojin cuisine uses less oil and is healthier. After attending sho- jin cuisine classes in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, June Ka Lim, manager of a macrobiotic restaurant there, brought out the book Macrobiotics for Life. Thus it seems that more people out- side Japan have come to notice that Japanese shojin cuisine is healthy and has a background of Zen philosophy. Notably, in May 2015 I helped prepare shojin cuisine meals for forty attendees at a tasting-experience event at a Zen center in Paris. The organizer, Valerie number of people around the world Japanese food. Food is an extremely Duvauchelle, had practiced and studied who enjoy the Japanese tea ceremony. As comprehensible form of cultural expe- cooking at Sojiji, one of the head temples long as there is a peaceful atmosphere, rience, and everyone seemed to enjoy of Soto Zen Buddhism, in Yokohama. people can enjoy a leisurely bowl of tea. it. They were second-year students and The people practicing at the Zen cen- I also met tea ceremony teachers in were looking forward to studying in ter experienced eating in silence for the Finland and Denmark. The Japanese Japan the following year. I am sure they first time in conformity with Japanese words for the arts of tea ceremony had a variety of dining experiences dur- Zen temple etiquette. After this expe- and flower arrangement, as well as for ing that time. rience, the participants shared their Japanese martial arts, often use the Three years ago, our daughter opened impressions. They said they found some- Chinese character 道, pronounced dō, a casual shojin cuisine restaurant in thing fresh and new in earnestly con- meaning “way” or “road,” as in judo Tokyo’s Akihabara district called Komaki forming to ceremonial etiquette and (Jpn., jūdō; jū meaning “soft” or “pli- Shokudo. Akihabara is in central Tokyo eating in silence as a Zen practice. The ant”). These arts with their Japanese and is mainly known for its numerous Soto Zen sect was founded by the Zen cultural background also have a philo- electronics stores, which attract many master Dogen (1200–1253), who stud- sophical rather than religious basis and tourists, including people from over- ied in China from 1223 to 1227, dur- teach right conduct and thoughtfulness. seas. About 40 percent of the restau- ing the Song dynasty. After returning These things form the foundation of the rant’s customers are foreigners. They to Japan he drew on his experiences Japanese heart and mind. have included a businessman from India at a Zen temple there to write Tenzo Every year over the last ten years, who came every day for lunch during kyokun (Instructions for the Zen cook). I have been making and taste testing his stay in Tokyo and vegetarians from It describes the proper attitude and eti- shojin cuisine with people from other Taiwan and Singapore, with whom I had quette for preparing meals. Thanks to countries, exchanging opinions, and some conversation. Vegetarians coming this work, its precepts continue to be answering questions. Several years to Japan often have a hard time finding followed to this day. ago I participated in a workshop with somewhere to eat. Sen no Rikyu (1522–91), the founder about a hundred students studying the My work enables me to communi- of Japan’s Way of Tea, was also a Zen Japanese language at the University of cate with people from other countries practitioner and incorporated Zen Manchester in England, at which we through the medium of food. I enjoy temple dining etiquette into the tea made norimaki and miso soup. It was this kind of communication and am ceremony. Today there are a growing the first time for many of them to try always grateful for it. ≥

Dharma World April–June 2016 13 FEATURES Mindful Eating: How North Americans Use Buddhist Meditation to Heal the Body, Mind, and World by Jeff Wilson

diffi culty accessing nutritious food or Faced with . . . widespread suffering in relation to food, clean water. But regardless of their loca- many people are turning to Buddhism in search of possible tion or station in life, everyone knows solutions. After all, Buddhism is, at its root, a set of practices that food and drink are a source of pain and insights designed to eliminate suffering. as well as pleasure. But beyond the timeless problems Eating and drinking are universal activ- information about age, class, origins, and related to getting enough food and drink ities, and yet they are deeply personal much more without speaking a word. on a regular basis, there are forms of as well. In a world population of seven There is another way in which suff ering around eating and drinking billion human beings, every single one food and drink are both universal and that have become particular manifes- has his or her own unique preferences extremely individual in nature: All tations of modern-day living in North around favorite and least-favorite foods, people, from the richest celebrity to America. Obesity and weight-related times and ways they like to eat, where the poorest homeless person, experi- health problems are now a major health and with whom they wish to take their ence eating- and drinking-related suf- crisis for Americans and Canadians, as meals; and everyone has a set of associ- fering. Every day, each human being well as shame, fear, and depression that ations and memories around food and experiences hunger and thirst multiple arise in the midst of poor body image drink. Th e smell of a certain food can times. Some are lucky enough to have and self-hatred over appearance. North instantly send your imagination back their needs immediately taken care of Americans spend tens of billions of dol- to your childhood, or transport you for them; many labor to acquire their lars annually on diets and weight-con- to a faraway vacation spot. What you food, whether through farming, hunting, trol programs, to say nothing of the eat and how you eat it communicate or earning money; far too many have money that goes to treating diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, and other diseases linked to weight issues. Yet year aft er year the crisis seems to worsen rather than improve. Faced with this widespread suff er- ing in relation to food, many people are turning to Buddhism in search of possi- ble solutions. Aft er all, Buddhism is, at its root, a set of practices and insights designed to eliminate suff ering. Th e applications of Buddhism’s practices and ideas change and adapt as the forms of suff ering in each society evolve. And as food-related suff ering has become ever-more pervasive, Buddhist teach- ers have responded by applying age- old Buddhist tools to healing newly prominent eating-related disorders and unwise behaviors.

14 Dharma World April–June 2016 Jeff Wilson is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and East Asian Studies at Renison University College, an affiliate of the University of Waterloo, in Ontario, Canada. He specializes in Buddhism in North America and is the author of many publications on such topics as abortion rituals in Western Buddhism and Buddhist pluralism in the United States. His most recent book is Mindful America: The Mutual Transformation of Buddhist Meditation and American Culture (Oxford University Press, 2014).

Theravada Buddhism. His simple but profound teachings about every- day mindfulness have found a large audience among Buddhists and meditators in the West. On the other hand is Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, who has sought to develop a med- ical model for Buddhist mindfulness so that it can be used by doctors and patients. Many stud- ies suggest that mindful- ness has positive health effects, and Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program has trained tens of thousands of people Out of this encounter has come the of suffering can be truly life changing. in nonreligious settings. We might say tremendous popularity of “mindful eat- Mindfulness is part of various that Thich Nhat Hanh’s approach to ing,” which especially draws on two Buddhist traditions, but it especially mindfulness is clearly Buddhist but light forms of Buddhist meditation: insight reaches the United States through the on dogma and traditional cosmology, (vipassana) and loving-kindness (metta). Theravada tradition, where it is a key making it accessible as spirituality for These are used to cultivate or comple- part of insight meditation practice. Since many people regardless of their own ment mindfulness (sati), a form of clear, the 1970s, insight meditation has been religious background. Kabat-Zinn’s nonjudgmental awareness that observes growing in popularity, and mindful- approach downplays the connection without reacting. In traditional monas- ness is now a common part of stress-re- to Buddhism in order to bring mind- tic settings, sati has been crucial for duction clinics and psychotherapeutic fulness into secular and medical realms achieving penetrating insight into the practices. The efforts of two men in otherwise hostile to religion. Together transience and impermanence of the particular have been important and these two approaches—Buddhist med- self and all things, which releases cling- demonstrate the range of the mind- itation as spirituality or as medicine— ing and assists in the attainment of nir- fulness movement. On the one hand is have allowed millions of non-Buddhists vana. In mindful eating the goals are Thich Nhat Hanh, a world-renowned to begin exploring the benefits to be more modest—better health, weight monk who lives in France and travels gained from Buddhist meditation. Given loss, improved body image, greater self- often to North America. He is part of that so many people find eating to be a control. But the techniques are simi- the Vietnamese Zen lineage but has been source of suffering, the rise of mindful lar, and many argue that the reduction influenced by Southeast Asian forms of eating was probably inevitable.

Dharma World April–June 2016 15 Guide to Rediscovering a Healthy and give them our full attention, and we are Joyful Relationship with Food, she lays out habituated to doing almost anything a clear explanation of the ethos behind else other than paying attention as we mindful eating: eat, even when consuming our favorite foods. It thus takes practice and disci- Mindfulness addresses our disor- pline to develop an ongoing mindful der at its source. The problem is not style of eating and drinking, and there- in our food. Food is just food. It is fore many people who manage to estab- neither good nor bad. The problem lish long-lasting mindful eating practices is not in our fat cells or stomach or do so under the tutelage of an instructor small intestine. . . . The source of the and in a supportive group. Perhaps the problem lies in the thinking mind most interesting thing is that this typi- and the feeling heart. Mindfulness cally happens not at a Buddhist temple is the perfect tool for the delicate or retreat center but in a supposedly operation of laying open the inner secular setting, such as at a hospital, a workings of these two most essen- therapist’s office, or at school. tial organs. . . . When mindful eat- But how exactly does mindful eat- ing is ignored, it causes pervasive ing work? In her book Eating with Fierce and unnecessary suffering. When Kindness: A Mindful and Compassionate mindfulness is applied to eating, Guide to Losing Weight, psychothera- a world of discovery and delight pist Sasha Loring provides a succinct opens. ([Shambhala Publications, description of the process: “Mindful eat- 2009], xix–xx) ing allows you to make a stronger con- nection between your mind and your With a focus on the mind as the body, creating more of a partnership. source of our suffering, the connec- Mindfulness allows you to slow down tion to Buddhism is clear, even before and pay attention in a way that will inter- the application of Buddhist-based med- rupt the momentum of stress-driven The theory behind mindful eating itation techniques. Actual mindful eat- eating and bring outdated or harmful is that weight gain and other negative ing is both simple and difficult. It means beliefs and habits into greater awareness. effects associated with poor eating prac- paying close attention to the act of eat- In the process, you will have opportu- tices are rooted not in the eating itself ing, not allowing oneself to be caught in nities to take more pleasure in eating but in the untreated psychological issues daydreaming, worrying, or distraction. and to feel more satisfied with healthy and detrimental social habits that drive One’s attention is focused on observing portions of food” ([New Harbinger poor eating. Essentially, the problem is the food; mindfully lifting one’s fork; Publications, 2010], 162–63). So the “mindlessness,” that is, failure to under- intentionally taking appropriate-sized first part of the process is noticing how stand what we are doing and why we bites; chewing slowly and attentively; eating is often driven by stress, negative are doing it, and thus feeling powerless contemplating the tastes, smells, tex- past conditioning, or other problematic to break the karmic cycle of bad causes tures, and temperatures of one’s meal; forces that have little to do with actual leading to bad effects that become fur- and so on. It is the opposite of the rushed hunger and thirst. With mindfulness of ther bad causes, on and on. The Zen cramming of meals amid a multitask- one’s body and mind, the eater comes teacher and pediatrician Dr. Jan Bays ing whirlwind of activities or absent- to recognize whether she is actually is one of the most important promot- mindedly chomping on snacks while hungry or is simply eating because of ers of applying Buddhist mindfulness watching television that so often char- boredom, depression, anger, fear, anx- techniques to eating. In her practice as acterize North American eating pat- iety, or some other reason. She thus a doctor she has long seen the effects of terns. Thus in some ways it is very easy: becomes aware of her “eating triggers.” mindless eating on individuals’ health, it’s just eating with more awareness that At the same time, because she is paying and as a Buddhist priest she is also con- one is eating in the first place. Yet at better attention to her eating, the acts cerned for the larger social and envi- the same time it is quite difficult: pre- of eating and drinking become more ronmental effects of Americans’ eating cisely because eating and drinking are pleasurable. One actually tastes food habits. In her book Mindful Eating: A such routine parts of every day, we rarely instead of wolfing it down, and thus

16 Dharma World April–June 2016 needs less to reach a point of satisfac- you will increasingly become capa- gratitude so as to be worthy to tion. And you can actually tell when ble of eating and being satisfied by receive it. you are full, rather than continuing to appropriate portions of food. You 3. May we recognize and transform eat merely because there is more food will engage in less self-criticism and our unwholesome mental forma- on your plate or chips left in the bag. judgment, and you will offer yourself tions, especially our greed, and learn Loring continues with her explana- self-kindness, motiving you toward to eat with moderation. tion: “Slowing down will also make you health. (Ibid.) 4. May we keep our compassion alive by more likely to recognize and redirect eating in such a way that we reduce the urge to eat when it is for emotional Loving-kindness meditation involves the suffering of living beings, pre- reasons” (ibid., 163). In other words, wishing health and happiness for one- serve our planet, and reverse the mindful eating returns power over the self as an intentional practice; tradi- process of global warming. eating process to the eater. He can now tionally, such thoughts are also offered 5. We accept this food so that we may perceive the way in which his eating to your loved ones, neighbors, and the nurture our sisterhood and broth- is driven by emotions, and most cru- whole world. Since Loring and other erhood, strengthen our community, cially he can make better choices about psychotherapists see self-loathing at the and nourish our ideal of serving his eating habits. He can remind him- root of many destructive behaviors— all living beings. ([HarperCollins self that eating will not in fact solve the including mindless eating—they use Publishers, 2010], 124) emotional distress that has driven him Buddhist meditation practices of inten- to the refrigerator, and he can choose to tional well-wishing to redirect patients There are two things to note about put the fork down, or at least eat a very toward positive, cherishing attitudes. these contemplations. First, they teach sensible portion. It is here that mind- The improved self-regard reinforces the practitioner that internal efforts fulness has its greatest application, in the mindful awareness of one’s eating to transform mental defilements and the choice to break the chain of reac- choices and hopefully leads to better external work to save the environment tivity owing to blind karma, and in the habits that have psychological and spir- and make peace are connected. One’s moment-by-moment decision to act in itual effects as well as physical ones. mindful eating becomes imbued with wiser, healthier ways. On one level, mindful eating is a meaning and value well beyond the sim- A key part of Loring’s understanding very personal undertaking, designed ple desire to lose weight or look bet- of mindful eating is the use of loving- to stop the practitioner’s own mindless ter. Second, to the extent that eating kindness practices from the Buddhist eating and bring her closer to a state of with this form of mindfulness contin- tradition, which she refers to as “fierce health. But many people involved in the ually demonstrates the truth of emp- kindness.” As she explains: mindful-eating movement understand tiness and interconnection, eating is their goal to be much larger than healing transformed from a mundane activity With the application of the fierce one person at a time. With a Buddhist into a practice that could lead to gen- kindness approaches you have view of interdependence, these teachers uine Buddhist forms of awakening. So learned, food no longer has to be emphasize that eating practices are not while the goal may no longer seem to the primary antidote to distress. With simply private actions but are knit into be nirvana, mindful eating that begins practice, you will learn when to stop a wider network of beings, things, and with anxiety over obesity could still eating before you become overly processes. Our actions impact others; end up contributing to progress on the full. Integrating mindfulness into our choices affect our environments; and Buddhist path. your life will make it more appar- of course we are affected by others and Even if few North Americans are ent when you are “eating without our environment. In their book Savor: reaching buddhahood through partially really eating”—those times when Mindful Eating, Mindful Life, Thich Nhat secularized mindful-eating practices, you eat standing in the pantry, taste Hanh and Dr. Lilian Cheung recom- the impact of the mindfulness move- enough of the food you are prepar- mend that people rely on five contem- ment on Western culture is already sig- ing to equal a meal, eat while dashing plations as they prepare to eat: nificant. Mindfulness gives harried and somewhere, or eat off other people’s depressed people a powerful tool for plates. These kinds of eating patterns 1. This food is the gift of the whole approaching their minds and changing tend to keep the amount of food you universe: the earth, the sky, numer- their bodies. It is the latest evolution actually consume out of your con- ous living beings, and much hard, in the twenty-five-hundred-year story scious awareness. Over time, as you loving work. of Buddhism’s transformation of—and continue to practice mindful eating, 2. May we eat with mindfulness and by—the many cultures of the world. ≥

Dharma World April–June 2016 17 FEATURES Why Not One Grain of Rice Should Be Wasted by Kenichi Furuyama

If our current food wastage continues unchecked, it will undermine the global environment and may even in time threaten the survival of the human race.

I believe that we live in an age in which one of the world’s biggest food wasters. we must seriously rethink our approach to food. In Zen parlance, we need to was 39 percent on a calorie basis, and “shine a light where we stand” (kyakka 64 percent in terms of the value of out- shōko). put. What this means is that people in Food waste, or the discarding of Japan buy a large proportion of their food from abroad, but they also throw tion, is a worrying problem, and I was much of it away uneaten. astounded to see the statistics on the When I was a child, my parents amount of food that is wasted annu- scolded me and told me not to waste ally in Japan. According to estimates my food if I le even just one grain of for 2010, 17 million tons of food waste rice in my bowl. Human existence has were produced in the space of one year, been a long battle against hunger, and of the world. Most of the world’s starving of which approximately 5 to 8 million the moral principle that we should not live in “developing” countries. Starvation tons were thrown out despite still being in developing countries is caused by a edible. Japan might be aptly described as struggle to survive and was handed variety of factors that are simple neither down to us by our forebears. Given our to solve nor to address. However, the contemporary food proigacy, how- possibility that the massive wastage of ever, one would have to conclude that food in developed countries might be this principle has been lost or become among the causes is something that all of those living in a country that wastes so word mottainai, which has entered the much food, ought to seriously consider. international lexicon to express the con- Food waste is a problem in other cept of waste avoidance, seems to have been abandoned in the very country of tities of food means that this food has its birth, just like the food that is thrown to be processed or disposed of in some out while still edible. way, which creates not only a refuse According to a report by the Food problem but also an environmental one and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of owing to the emission of greenhouse the United Nations, one in nine people gases such as carbon dioxide. According to statistics produced by the United Nations, 28 percent of the world’s agri- and this despite the fact that human cultural land is used to produce food beings can now produce practically that is never eaten, and the carbon foot- enough to feed the entire population print of wasted food comes to annually

18 Dharma World April–June 2016 Kenichi Furuyama, PhD (Buddhism, Komazawa University), is a senior research fellow and a lecturer at the Sōtō Institute for Buddhist Studies, Tokyo, and teaches Buddhism at Komazawa University, also in Tokyo. He specializes in Pali studies and Sōtō Zen studies and has published many articles

3.3 billion tons carbon dioxide equiva- grain of rice should be wasted? He was, lent, making it a significant contributor of course, unaware of the food shortages, to climate change. If our current food hunger, and environmental challenges wastage continues unchecked, it will that the modern world now faces and undermine the global environment and was not directly addressing the problem may even in time threaten the survival of food wastage outlined above. Rather, of the human race. This must be taken he was simply applying the framework even more seriously than the decline of the Buddha Way (bu­tsudō) that he in food morals. At any rate we should had wholly absorbed and continued reduce food wastage, and that at the to practice as a lifelong priest and moment is my fervent wish. renunciant. That is to say, his precept I am a Zen priest who believes in and embodied the attainment of Buddhist studies the teachings of Dōgen (1200– enlightenment (shō) and the practice 1253), founder of the Sōtō school of of a life rooted in enlightenment (shū), Zen in Japan. Dōgen left us two writ- which he regarded as complementary ings on the subject of food. These are to each other. Incidentally, in Bendōwa Tenzo kyōkun (Instructions for the Zen (Discourse on the practice of the Way; cook) and Fushukuhanpō (Procedures written in 1231), Dōgen stated that for taking food). Tenzo kyōkun (written the Buddha Way was open to anyone, in 1237) is a set of instructions for the layperson or renunciant, who aspired head cooks at Zen monasteries, while to follow it. He thus did not exclude Fushukuhanpō (probably written some- anyone living in ordinary society from time after 1246) explains the etiquette of his teachings. eating for ascetic monks at Zen temples. So what exactly is the Buddha Way The former explains how food should propounded by Dōgen? The clearest recommended since the days of pre- be cooked, and the latter explains how answer is to be found in his 1233 essay sectarian Buddhism, and the practice food should be eaten. Both belong to the “Genjōkōan” (Actualizing the funda- of emptiness (kūgan) inherited from it monastic regulations for purity (shingi) mental point) in Shōbōgenzō (Treasury by Mahayana Buddhism. for monks living at Zen temples. of the true Dharma eye), in which he In Buddhist thought, the self is In the two works, Dōgen says writes that practicing—in other words, simply one of many phenomena that that not a single grain of rice must be imitating—the Buddha Way means for- together constitute the universe of all wasted, either when preparing food getting the self; and forgetting the self, things. However, our awareness of the (according to Tenzo kyōkun) or when he explains, means dissolving and fusing self seeks to comprehend the “self” in eating (according to Fushukuhanpō). If the self with myriad individual dharma isolation from the universe. The self thus we try not to waste even a single grain (sensed, perceived, and cognized phe- comes to be perceived as somehow not of rice when preparing and eating nomena) and eliminating the bound- bound by the laws of the universe, despite food, we might be able to make some ary between self and the self of other. simply being another phenomenon. This contribution, however small, toward This discourse is rooted in the prac- gives rise to two incompatible selves: the solving the problem of food waste. But tice of not-self (higa) or nonself (muga self as conceived by us in our thought, why does Dōgen say that not a single in Japanese and anātman in Sanskrit) and the true self. In Buddhism, this is

Dharma World April–June 2016 19 Dōgen interpreted to mean that all phenomena themselves embody truth) and shinnyo (suchness, or tathātā in Sanskrit). And when focusing more on the perceiver, he uses terms such as isshin (one mind). Terms such as these, along with their synonyms, per- vade Tenzo kyōkun and Fushukuhanpō. Returning to our original subject, why should we not waste even a sin- gle grain of rice? Because if anything is left over, intentionally or by accident, when we are preparing or eating food, it becomes dharma into which the self has failed to dissolve. Forgetting the self is achieved precisely when the self has dis- solved into all the dharma of the here and regarded as the root cause that pits us Dōgen expresses this state of perception now. Thus, if the self has been unable to against birth, old age, sickness, death, thus: “Dharma is food and eating, and dissolve into even a single grain of rice, and the nonfulfillment of desires, and food and eating are dharma.” the self remains apart from it and can- so creates suffering. Buddhism believes When placing the emphasis on the not be forgotten. One is thus left with a that the only way to be liberated from unified sensory echo of the “here and self that cannot be completely reabsorbed suffering is to restore the divorced self now,” Dōgen describes this state in into the universe of all things. Every day to—and make it one with—the uni- terms such as nikon (right now) or, that we leave a grain of rice in our bowls, verse, and so recover the true state of more simply, ima (now). When plac- the self will remain unabsorbed and life being. What Dōgen calls “forgetting ing the emphasis on the dharma, he will remain bound to suffering. the self” is the restoration of the self uses terms such as shohō jissō (the true It may just be one grain of rice, but to this true nature. aspect of all phenomena; Dōgen inter- that one grain of rice weighs enough to Thus the approach to food that Dōgen preted the phrase as “the true aspect is change our lives. Hence I believe that expounds for following the Buddha Way itself all phenomena”) and jissō (true there is an urgency to Dōgen’s advice does not propose that food or meals are aspect), or alternatively terms such as to us, founded in the Buddha Way, not simply a composite of completely dis- hosshō (literally, dharma nature, which to waste even one grain of rice. ≥ crete elements: the “I” (subject) who eats, the thing (object) that is eaten, the act of eating, and the various matters incidental to them. The same applies to the preparation of food. To practice the Buddha Way in our approach to food, Dōgen instead argues that the “I” here and now should completely dissolve into and become one with what is eaten here and now, with the act of eating here and now, and with the utensils used to eat here and now, so that the whole is per- ceived to constitute a single dharma. This is the state in which everything pres- ent becomes equal and is perceived as a single dharma that retains a sensory echo of the “here and now.” It is pre- cisely this perception that is the state of forgetting the self. In Fushukuhanpō,

20 Dharma World April–June 2016 ESSAY Old Insights for a Hectic World: What Can an Eighteenth-Century Zen Master Teach Us Today? b y Masaki Matsubara

After Zen monastic training with Hakuin’s voice in his Yasenkanna still resonates today, the Rinzai sect in Japan, Masaki but with purposeful and intelligible transformations, in a Matsubara earned a PhD in Asian larger context of the healing and awareness practices of Religions from Cornell University. He meditations. taught Buddhist Studies and East Asian Languages and Cultures as well as Religious Studies at UC Berkeley On October 31, 2015, Halloween, more Haas School of Business at the University (2009–13) and was the BDK Fellow than a hundred people participated in a of California, Berkeley; the Institute at the Ho Center for Buddhist Studies two-day seminar on mindfulness off ered for Transformational Leadership at at Stanford University (2013–14). He by Search Inside Yourself (hereaft er, the School of Continuing Studies at is now a Visiting Scholar in the East SIY) in Marunouchi, a leading district Georgetown University; and others. Asia Program at Cornell University for business in the heart of Tokyo. Off ering retreats, seminars, public talks, and is a Research Associate for the SIY is a program originally born at and coaching, the program has expanded Contemplative Studies Initiative at Google from Chade-Meng Tan’s dream its development worldwide—North Brown University. He is the head to bring peace to the world. Recently America, Europe, Asia and Australia, priest of the Butsumoji Zen temple in retired, Mr. Tan is one of Google’s earli- the Middle East, and Africa. Chiba Prefecture, Japan; supervises est engineers, who helped build Google’s At 8:00 on a quiet, chilly morning the nearby affi liated International fi rst mobile search service. He launched in Marunouchi, many participants were Zen Center; and travels between the SIY program with other fellows with waiting for the opening of the semi- the United States and Japan to lead the purposes of improving the qual- nar. With a cup of coff ee or tea in their retreats and seminars. ity of leadership performance by prac- hands, some people were introducing ticing mindfulness meditation and by one another, some were looking at the I have tried to interpret positively training in the practice’s essential ele- textbook for the seminar that had been this remarkable tendency among the ments, or emotional intelligence skills: handed out at the reception, and some younger generations to show their strong self-awareness, self-regulation, motiva- were checking their e-mails and read- interest in meditation. In a larger con- tion, empathy, and communication, in ing online news on their smartphones. text, it simultaneously refl ects a fl edg- an approach supported by neuroscience What caught my eye was that the partic- ling movement of mindfulness in Japan, and psychology. SIY has developed a pro- ipants’ ratio of men to women was six while mindfulness has become a pop- gram that focuses on the links between to four and that they were mostly young ular buzzword in Silicon Valley today. meditation, brain function, and emo- professionals, business executives, and To be sure, the meaning of this interest, tional well-being, or in other words, business elites in their thirties and for- depending as it does on use and con- between mindfulness, neuroscience, ties in a wide range of work fi elds, such text, is not always as clear as it would and emotional intelligence. as restaurants and food, management appear at fi rst glance. Numerous ques- It is a very popular program that consultation, IT, media, government, tions arise when I try to put it down has successfully increased the num- and yoga. Th e surprising thing is that on paper. Why are these young people ber of its clients in a variety of business they came not only from all corners of interested in mindfulness, and how do fi elds that include Google; LinkedIn; Japan but also from all over the world, they make use of mindfulness practice in Ford; Danone; American Express; for example, the Philippines, France, their work and life? Given the fact that Genentech; SAP; Comcast; Scotiabank; and the United States. incorporating meditation into business

Dharma World April–June 2016 21 itself is essentially a contemplative tech- nique and method widely accessible and beneficial for issues of the body/mind problem, which is an issue of the interre- lations between mental states and physi- cal states in the human body, and which is essentially unavoidable in our lives. The Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory in the Contemplative Studies program at Brown University conducts research on “the link between contem- plative practices, brain function, and affective disturbances, such [as] anx- iety, depression and substance abuse” (http://www.brown.edu/academics /contemplative-studies/research; last is certainly not a new approach, why has The program also helps nurture wis- modified November 3, 2015). The this particular field become important dom and compassion. According to Translational Neuroscience Laboratory today? What is the motivation that leads Mr. Tan at the Wisdom 2.0, organized in the same Brown program looks at the participants to take this seminar? by its founder, Soren Gordhamer, which how contemplative practices that engage How does meditation work for self-cul- is an international conference on look- body-focused attention cause “specific tivation and for the building of the team, ing at the relationship between medita- changes in brain synchrony and cortico- the organization, and the community? tion and business in today’s networked, muscular coherence.” The lab also focuses Buddhism is essentially a discourse on digital age with incredible technolo- on how meditation practices like mind- salvation, liberation, and holiness, and gies in Singapore in June 2015, wis- fulness “bring about changes at multi- to what extent is this discourse purpose- dom is cultivated by the elements of ple levels in the brain and body,” and fully (or without purpose) neutralized? calmness of mind, self-awareness, and indicates that “this knowledge is directly Given that mindfulness meditation is seeing beyond self; compassion is cul- relevant to treatments for chronic pain essentially a Buddhist practice, how do tivated by beautiful intentions, loving- and depression and disorders related to the models for Zen, life, and business kindness, and compassionate action. aging” (ibid.). differ? Does this differentiation, if any, The program as its main practice Weill Cornell Medical College confirm the secularization of medita- teaches concentrating on counting one’s reports, “A newly developed med- tion, or does it tend to indicate that a breaths, paying full attention to each itation-based program significantly religious, or spiritual, distinction is no inhalation and exhalation, and culti- improves quality of life for breast cancer longer truly significant? Is meditation a vating the awareness of being in the survivors from minority and underserved mere technique, or the main objective? moment. I argue that by cultivating the populations.” They continue, “The tech- The SIY program is a leadership pro- awareness of being here and now, sharp- nique, tested by Weill Cornell Medical gram supported by mindfulness med- ening attention and connectivity, and College scientists, helps survivors cope itation practice, neuroscience, and nurturing empathy and compassion, with the threat of recurrence, a pros- emotional intelligence. Indeed, the mindfulness meditation that engages pect that can lead to chronic and severe subtitle of the SIY program that was body-focused attention brings about stress” (“Meditation Program Increases held in San Francisco on December calm union with fellow human beings. Quality of Life for Breast Cancer 10–11, 2015, was “Mindfulness-Based This argument can answer the question Survivors,” http://weill.cornell.edu/news Emotional Intelligence for Leaders.” of how and in what ways this meditation /news/2014/11/meditation-program One of the primary questions inform- practice works in mutual relationships -increases-quality-of-life-for-breast ing this program is how one uses his or at four levels: individual, team, organi- -cancer-survivors-mary-charlson.html; her mind and interacts with others. On zation, and community. last modified December 8, 2015). The this point, the program helps cultivate Whether the meditation practice is effects of meditation practice on the the elements of flexibility, purpose, bal- a mere technicality or the main objec- body/mind problem have been an ance, insight, and inspiration in the face tive in the leadership programs con- important area of study in medical sci- of complexity, difficulty, and busyness. ducted by SIY and others, the practice ence, and the study has given scientific

22 Dharma World April–June 2016 evidence that meditation is essentially and once again throw myself life and that the essential point is concentrat- a physical and mental technology that limb together into the Dharma strug- ing ki in the lower body in general and, actively modulates issues of the body/ gle. With my teeth clenched tightly more specifically, in the tanden, or “cin- mind problem. and eyes focused straight ahead, I nabar field,” located below the navel. In his Yasenkanna, or “Idle Talk on began devoting myself singlemind- Furthermore, Hakuin recounts a tech- a Night Boat,” and other writings, the edly to my practice, forsaking food nique called “butter method” (nanso Japanese Zen master Hakuin Ekaku and sleep altogether. no hō): (1686–1769), a seminal figure who occu- Before the month was out, my pies a prominent place in the history heart-fire began to rise upward Imagine that a lump of soft butter, of Japanese Buddhism, relates the dra- against the natural course, parching pure in color and fragrance and the matic account of his struggle against my lungs of their essential fluid. My size and shape of a duck egg, is sud- the body/mind problem. Yasenkanna, feet and legs were ice-cold; they felt denly placed on the top of your head. one of his autobiographies, specifically as though they were immersed in Slowly it begins to melt, imparting focuses on his zenbyō, or “Zen sick- tubs of snow. There was a continuous an exquisite sensation as your head ness,” which Hakuin developed in his thrumming in my ears, as though I becomes moistened and saturated youth, and on the ways in which the was walking beside a raging moun- both within and without. It contin- meditation techniques that engage body- tain torrent. I became abnormally ues oozing down, moistening your focused attention, which he learned from weak and timid, shrinking and fear- shoulders, elbows, and chest, perme- a cave-dwelling hermit, brought him to a ful in whatever I did. I felt totally ating your lungs, diaphragm, liver, complete recovery over time. This writ- drained, physically and mentally stomach, and bowels, then contin- ing is particularly unique, not because exhausted. Strange visions appeared uing down the spine through the it talks about meditation as a tool for to me during walking and sleep- hips, pelvis, and buttocks. religious exercise toward enlightenment, ing hours alike. My armpits were At that point, all the congestions but because it considers the meditation always wet with perspiration. My that have accumulated within the to be a means of health, or therapeutic eyes watered constantly. I traveled far five organs and six viscera, all the hygiene. Perhaps most important, the and wide, visiting wise Zen teachers aches and pains in the abdomen and principal question asked by Hakuin in and seeking out noted physicians, other affected parts, will follow the this writing is consistently relevant to but none of the remedies they offered mind as it sinks down into the lower some of the crises of our own times, brought me any relief. (Norman body. You will hear this distinctly— in the larger context of our everyday Waddell, ed. and trans., Hakuin’s like water trickling from a higher lives today. Precious Mirror Cave [Counterpoint, to a lower place. It will continue to Exactly what Hakuin means by zen- 2009], 96–97) flow down through the body, suffus- byō is uncertain because he didn’t men- ing the legs with beneficial warmth, tion what it was. However, it has been Hakuin was physically and men- until it reaches the arches of the feet, proposed by scholars and physicians for tally exhausted from the rigors of Zen where it stops. the last decades that this malady was pos- training, so the hermit instructed him The student should then repeat the sibly either tuberculosis or some neu- in some of the introspective medita- contemplation. As the flow contin- rotic disorder, or something from both tion techniques (naikan no hō). Some ues downward, it will slowly fill the of these causes. I think that it could be of the techniques emphasize the prac- lower region of the body and suffuse very difficult with tuberculosis to con- tices that engage breath-focused atten- it with penetrating warmth, making duct the itinerant life Hakuin had at this tion, explaining, “Begin exhaling and him feel as if he is sitting immersed time. Hakuin relates: inhaling, counting your breaths from to his navel in a hot bath filled with a ten to a hundred, from a hundred to a decoction of rare and fragrant medic- Afterwards, as I began reflecting thousand,” which is called susoku kan. inal herbs that have been gathered over my everyday behavior, I could Some techniques instruct, “Close your and infused by a skilled physician. see that the two aspects of my life— eyes and confine all the ki [energy] in Inasmuch as all things are created the active and the meditative—were your mind within your breast. Place a by the mind, when you engage in totally out of balance. No matter goose feather on your nose. When your this contemplation your nose will what I was doing, I never felt free or breathing does not disturb the feather, actually smell the marvelous scent of completely at ease. I realized I would count three hundred breaths” (ibid., 107). pure soft butter, your body will feel have to rekindle a fearless resolve However, all the techniques emphasize the exquisite sensation of its melting

Dharma World April–June 2016 23 touch. Body and mind will be in per- What is crucial here is the very essen- fect peace and harmony. You will tial question, “Who am I?” In other feel better and enjoy greater health words, they are looking not only for than you did as a youth of twenty how to be successful but also for how or thirty. All the undesirable accu- to be happy. On this very point, rec- mulations in your vital organs and ognizing that SIY is a leadership pro- viscera will melt away. Stomach and gram, I have even realized that one bowels will function perfectly. If you needs to find one’s own leader inside continue to practice this contem- oneself. Hakuin’s meditation techniques plation unfalteringly, there is no ill- certainly work for these purposes in ness that cannot be cured, no virtue a larger context. They are not exactly that cannot be acquired, no level of the same as the mindfulness meditation sagehood that cannot be reached, no approaches taught by SIY, but there are religious practice that cannot be mas- a lot of shared points between them. It tered. Whether such results appear is significant that Hakuin had already swiftly or appear slowly depends only been asking the same questions as those upon how scrupulously you apply we are asking today. yourself. (Ibid., 108–9) On November 21, 2015, at Butsumoji, a Rinzai Zen temple located in the city Yasenkanna ends with Hakuin’s notes, of Futtsu, Chiba Prefecture, in Japan, which describe how, after receiving these there was a one-day seminar titled is essentially a Buddhist practice, meditation techniques from the her- “Mindfulness” offered by Morning been accepted in the United States? mit, Hakuin started to practice them, University of Marunouchi (MUM). Why are they not bothered about which brought about a successful recov- MUM is a public educational institute religion or Buddhism? ery from his malady over time. He adds that offers regular courses on weekday that he became very healthy even in his mornings, targeting businesspeople Her question immediately brought later life, and he became energetic not working in the areas of Marunouchi me some reminders of the shared ten- only in devoting himself to his everyday and its neighboring districts in Tokyo. dencies in the face of the term religion training but also in leading and train- That day, forty-five people (including among Japanese today and at a well- ing his students. the staff members) attended the sem- known insight meditation center called What I find most fascinating is inar. The ratio of men to women was Spirit Rock, located in California. The Hakuin’s claim to be a timeless voice approximately three to seven. Only a name of Spirit Rock doesn’t include any for any of those who have struggled few were over fifty, and the rest were Buddhist terms. Names are very inter- against the body/mind problem—phys- in their thirties, on average. Starting esting. Whatever the reason is, I have ically and mentally. People are living in at 10:00 a.m. and ending at 5:30 p.m., observed that the current popularity of this fast-paced everyday life and society this seminar offered a tea ceremony, mindfulness in the United States shows as well as under longtime, hardwork- walking meditation, mindfulness eat- an important process in the establish- ing circumstances, with multitasking ing, and sitting meditations inside and ment of American Buddhism, which in and a lot of pressure from the work/ outside the building. A woman asked my mind is more accurate than calling life balance besides. It is normal to have an interesting question: it Buddhism in America. many kinds of worries about family, Here I define the expression work, human relationships, as well as I heard that mindfulness is currently “Buddhism in America” as creating a clear about life, illness, and death. If I think very hot in the United States, and divide between Buddhism as a periph- about the SIY programs (and others), a bit of its influence has arrived in eral religion and Christianity as the main I can say that the participants (at least Japan. It is certainly not a major religion in the United States. Buddhism, those I’ve talked with) are looking not movement yet, but certainly it has which was born almost twenty-­ ve hun- only for ways to learn the best possi- been gradually accepted among dred years ago in India, has established ble leadership qualities and abilities but young people. Usually when we hear a series of Buddhisms in its long history also for ways to search inside them- the term religion, we try to avoid of transmission—Chinese Buddhism, selves, which cultivates self-awareness it. Mindfulness is not an excep- Tibetan Buddhism, Sri Lankan Buddhism, and self-recognition. tion. Why has mindfulness, which ai Buddhism, Korean Buddhism,

24 Dharma World April–June 2016 Japanese Buddhism, and so forth. I ethical systems, and aesthetics, medita- when he saw the morning star; Master think that American Buddhism has cer- tion has been secularized by substituting Xiangyan Zhixian was suddenly enlight- tainly established itself. It should have its scientific terminology for Buddhist con- ened when he was cleaning outside, hear- own unique style, as having been born, cepts that have no place in an emerging ing the sound of a bamboo stem being digested, and developed in the United worldview. Meditation practices offered hit by a piece of tile that he had acci- States. One might say that this digestion by SIY and MUM are linked to a creed of dentally knocked over; Master Lingyun means “Americanized,” as Buddhism has social, business, and secular values and Zhiqin reached his enlightenment when been “Japanized.” But I would like to to social networks that provide powerful peach blossoms were blooming; Hakuin contend that Buddhism is a religion that incentives for the perpetuation of heal- reached his decisive experience when has been transformed from the periph- ing and awareness, actively supported hearing the shrilling of a cricket as he ery to the center within the sphere of by younger generations. The links cre- was reading the chapter “A Parable” of American culture and spirituality. This ated in those organizations distinguish the Lotus Sutra. We rarely hear of anyone process and/or its influence represents their mindfulness meditation practices who has achieved enlightenment while the current mindfulness movement in from those of Buddhist traditions in the sitting in a meditation hall. Indeed, it is the United States. past and from their survival in the pres- in the very midst of everyday life that Yet this very same process has also ent. Where is the authenticity of the cur- one reaches enlightenment. We are liv- simultaneously provided the opportu- rent popular mindfulness movement? ing in this world, and it is in this very nity to develop many types of mindful- Authenticity is generated from within life itself that we have to see the real ness practices indeed—both practices what people need. meaning of meditation and its effects. that are manifestations of Buddhism and One of the issues of “secular med- Meditation is not just sitting. Meditation those that are more secular. From this itation” and “corporate meditation” is everywhere. I flatter myself that cook- point of view, when I often hear and am is whether doing mindfulness itself, ing and cleaning are good meditations. asked the question of how the traditional with no connections to all the posi- I am not saying that retreats are not a Buddhist establishment should under- tive Buddhist ethical values such as good meditation opportunity. Retreats stand American Buddhism and the cur- compassion, loving-kindness, and so are good. What I want to stress here is rent popular movement of mindfulness, on, is being faithful to the teachings of that the meaning of meditation lies in I also often hear many critical voices Buddhism or not. making use of it in our everyday life. saying that it is not Buddhism and that In addition, people easily believe that The body/mind problem that Hakuin mindfulness lacks Buddhist concepts. I they have learned mindfulness medi- discusses in Yasenkanna is a timeless, contend that this is a collective voice of tation practices after attending a few eternal issue for us humans. In a larger conservative essentialists within the tra- seminars or retreats. And as one can context, it involves the many violations ditional Buddhist establishment, which expect, they go back to take seminars of human bodies and spirits that we see has completely forgotten the important and retreats again after noticing a symp- around us every day. To delimit the cur- question of how Buddhism has become tom of the zenbyō kind, confessing as rent movement of mindfulness medita- Buddhisms in its history. Hakuin did: “Afterwards, as I began tion practice with essentialist Buddhist It has been the aim of this arti- reflecting over my everyday behavior, aesthetics is to diminish its connection cle to show that Hakuin’s voice in his I could see that the two aspects of my to Yasenkanna today. This text provides Yasenkanna still resonates today, but life—the active and the meditative— basic principles of Chinese medical the- with purposeful and intelligible trans- were totally out of balance.” They usu- ory from Chinese medical literature formations, in a larger context of the ally repeat this. I argue that one of the and Taoist and Buddhist sources. It is healing and awareness practices of med- most important things is not what we a writing on meditation with the “sci- itations. There are many types of mind- learn at the seminars and retreats but, ence-based evidence” available in eigh- fulness practices. What we have seen in perhaps more important, how we can use teenth-century Japan. Learning that this article is the meditation provided by and maintain in our everyday life what Yasenkanna is primarily aimed at nur- the SIY programs and MUM, that is to we learned at the seminars and retreats. turing life but that it also helped Hakuin say, the meditation that conducts more On this point, Hakuin tells us in his cal- to lead himself as well as his students, we scientific-evidence-based practices in ligraphy that practice concentrated in can see that it has something in common psychology and neuroscience, or, sim- activity is a hundred, a thousand, even a with SIY. It is remarkable to consider ply speaking, secular meditation prac- million times superior in a state of inac- that Yasenkanna still contains much of tices. In a sense, explicitly avoiding any tivity. In fact, Shakyamuni Buddha had what we can learn today in the twenty- overt connections to Buddhist values, the achievement of his enlightenment first century, worldwide. ≥

Dharma World April–June 2016 25 ESSAY

Buddhism and Social Engagement (4) Toward Transnational Movements by Ranjana Mukhopadhyaya

years. It has grown from thirty-six mem- Buddhist social movements are . . . becoming global, bers (Buddhist clergy and laypeople) in gradually going beyond specifi c regional and cultural eleven countries to a global organiza- contexts and developing into transnational movements tion, with many members from Western addressing common issues such as world peace, human as well as Asian countries. INEB con- rights, and environmental destruction. ferences provide, through workshops and reports by Buddhists from various countries, forums for the exchange of While modern Buddhist social engage- addressing common issues such as world information and for mutual encourage- ment has been local, rooted in particular peace, human rights, and environmental ment and support. Proposals are made regions, it also has a global outlook, as destruction. Th is trend is an important concerning various social and political in the case of the movements headed by aspect of Engaged Buddhism. issues analyzed from a Buddhist point of the Dalai Lama, Th ich Nhat Hanh, and Many people from Buddhist coun- view. Th e conferences fulfi ll an impor- Ghosananda. Th ese movements began tries and regions in Asia (Tibet, Vietnam, tant role in providing a network that as responses to issues in their own coun- Cambodia, Myanmar, among others) links Buddhist activists and their move- tries but now have a worldwide follow- have been forced to fl ee their homelands ments operating at a local level in various ing and have developed into movements as a result of war and political oppres- places around the world with the inter- that are multinational, multicultural, and sion. Th eir diasporas have brought about national Buddhist movement (Ranjana multireligious. Other Buddhist social the growth of Buddhist movements, Mukhopadhyaya, Nihon no shakai sanka movements are similarly becoming particularly in the West. It has been bukkyō: Hōonji to Risshō Kōsei-kai no global, gradually going beyond spe- one of the factors in the internation- shakai katsudō to shakai rinri [Engaged cifi c regional and cultural contexts and alization of Engaged Buddhism, along Buddhism in Japan: Social activities and developing into transnational movements with the Western societies’ adoption social ethics of Hōonji and Rissho Kosei- of Buddhist ideas and application of kai] [Tōshindō, 2005], 7–8). Buddhist doctrine to social work, and The international growth of the development of international net- Buddhism, particularly its spread to works of Buddhists involved in social the West, has exerted considerable infl u- work around the world. ence on Buddhist social engagement. Th e The International Network of extent may be inferred through the estab- Engaged Buddhists (INEB) consists of lishment of the English Buddhist group socially engaged Buddhists and Buddhist Friends of the Western Buddhist Order organizations. It started as an inter- (FWBO; now known as the Triratna national Buddhist conference held in Buddhist Community) and its support Bangkok in 1989 by Sulak Sivaraksa, a for the inauguration of the Trailokya Th ai Buddhist activist; Teruo Maruyama, Bauddha Mahasangha Sahayaka Gana a Japanese Nichiren-sect priest; and oth- (TBMSG) in India, based on the ideas ers. Its activities are centered princi- of B. R. Ambedkar. pally in South and Southeast Asia, with FWBO was founded by the English one of its main undertakings being an monk Sangharakshita in London in international conference held every two 1968. He had been ordained as a bhikkhu

26 Dharma World April–June 2016 Ranjana Mukhopadhyaya specializes in sociology of religion and Japanese religion. She is an Associate Professor at the Department of East Asian Studies, University of Delhi, teaching Japanese society, culture, and language. She received her doctorate in Religious Studies from the University of Tokyo in 2003 and has taught as an Associate Professor at Nagoya City University. She is the author of Nihon no shakai sanka bukkyō (Engaged Buddhism in Japan) (Tōshindō, 2005).

TBMSG but was also expanded into the 1950. He returned to England in 1966 large-scale restoration of Buddhism and founded FWBO with the purpose and a liberation movement for lower- of disseminating Buddhism in the West. caste members. Similar organizations Sangharakshita did not, however, try of Buddhists in the West include the to import Asian Buddhism unchanged Buddhist Peace Fellowship and the into English society; rather, he intro- Engaged Zen Foundation in the United duced a Buddhism that was adapted to States; the Amida Trust in the United Western culture and lifestyles. FWBO Kingdom; and BODHI (Benevolent was to contribute greatly to the expan- Organisation of Development, Health sion of Buddhism in many Western - countries, not just England. Besides ment encompasses Buddhist spiritual teaching Buddhist doctrine and med- practices such as meditation, social itation, Sangharakshita was concerned with putting Buddhist ideas into prac- have devised ways of solving various tice in society, and members took part social issues facing Western society in environmental-protection move- through volunteer work and commu- ments, visited hospitals and prisons, nity service based on Buddhist ideas. support generated through Japan’s high and worked with delinquent youths - (Christopher S. Queen and Sallie B. social activities and liberation move- King, eds., Engaged Buddhism: Buddhist ments of Asian Buddhists (Christopher nuclear proliferation, and environmen- Liberation Movements in Asia [State S. Queen, ed., Engaged Buddhism in tal destruction, also prompted interna- University of New York Press, 1996], the West [Wisdom Publications, 2000]; tional volunteer activities by Buddhist 73–111). organizations. Sangharakshita next looked to the Engagement in Western Buddhism,” Aid e orts for the relief of restoration of Buddhism in India. During Journal of Buddhist Ethics 2, [1995]). Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees his time there, he had been acquainted A globalizing Japanese Buddhism has in the latter part of the 1970s and during with Ambedkar, and founded TBMSG also seen a new growth in international the 1980s triggered international vol- in 1978 to continue Ambedkar’s ideas cooperation, especially in terms of sup- unteer activities by Japanese Buddhists. and work. TBMSG encouraged untouch- port given to Buddhist movements in - ables and other lower-caste members the developing countries of Asia. As we merly known as the Japan Sotoshu Relief to convert to Buddhism, and it pro- have already mentioned, one aspect of Committee), the Rinzai Asia Center vided them with educational projects, peace activities by Japanese Buddhism Kobe, the Association for Rengein Tanjoji vocational training, and activities sup- has been increased international aid International Cooperation, and the porting the protection of human rights - Hanazono-kai of the Myōshinji branch nizations. Even before World War II, of Rinzai Zen Buddhism are all Buddhist Karuna Trust to support these activities Japanese Buddhist groups were active volunteer groups that were originally by raising money in Western countries. overseas, for example, in social work in set up to assist Cambodian refugees in - the Japanese colonies. Such activities

Dharma World April–June 2016 27 were founded to promote interna- (Mukhopadhyaya, Nihon no shakai sanka bukkyō, 195–202). organizations established by Nichiren Buddhists, the Buddhist Aid Center Social Engagement and the T. M. Ryoyaku Center, as well by Nuns and as the multisectarian Ayus (Network of Buddhist Volunteers on International Buddhist Laywomen in many kinds of humanitarian work, beings as equal, in reality there is con- including refugee relief, poverty relief, siderable inequality between men and disaster relief, education, medical treat- women within Buddhist organizations ment, and development. and sanghas. Even monks and nuns Overseas aid undertakings by are not on an equal footing in terms - of their social and religious position. gious organizations occupy an important Nuns are ranked considerably lower place in the international cooperation than monks, and they are not permit- is building temples for nuns in vari- work carried out by Japanese Buddhists. ted to receive the precepts in the same ous places around Ladakh, providing way as men. Local cultural customs also them with the opportunity to undertake movements, antiwar movements, inter- Buddhist training, become literate, and national support for development, and they are ordained, in many cases they study traditional Tibetan medicine, and aid for UN projects. At the international do not receive the same opportunities so nurture them that they may become level, Rissho Kosei-kai, for example, has as monks for education and religious teachers, doctors, and social workers in taken part in numerous and varied aid training and are little more than the ser- their communities. activities, beginning with the reception vants of monks and unpaid laborers of Of all the Buddhist countries, center for Indochinese refugees it set up - social engagement by nuns is partic- at Amatsu Kominato in Chiba Prefecture during the 1970s. Since that time it has social engagement. Far more monks Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, extended development aid to develop- than nuns are able to take a leadership the world’s largest Buddhist NGO, was ing countries, engaged in disaster relief, role in social movements and activities, founded by Dharma Master Cheng Yen, and provided facilities abroad for med- given that they already have a guiding a Buddhist nun. She was a disciple of ical treatment and education. role in their communities. Dharma Master Yin Shun, who intro- Since 1984, it has been collecting In recent years, with the ever-grow- duced the idea of Humanistic Buddhism blankets in Japan to send to drought- ing interest in the issue of gender in to Taiwanese Buddhist circles. Cheng stricken countries in Africa as a mem- Buddhism, nuns and laywomen have Yen formed the foundation to carry on ber organization of the Japan Blankets been working in various ways to bring the teachings of her mentor about acting for Africa Campaign. Its Dream Bag about an improvement in the situation out the principles of Buddhism within Project, launched in 1999, collects school of nuns. For example, in 1996, Tsering society. One of its principal activities is supplies, toys, and small necessities, Palmo, a nun and a doctor of Tibetan health care. In Taiwan it runs general puts these in little bags, and sends them medicine, set up the Ladakh Nuns hospitals (including the Hualien Tzu to children in the former Yugoslavia, Association (LNA, http://www.ladakh Chi Medical Center) and other medical Northern Ireland, and other places who nunsassociation.com) to improve the facilities and provides medical volun- education and living situation of nuns teers through the Tzu Chi International in the Ladakh region of the state of Medical Association. Its medical relief Kosei-kai’s peace activities has been the Jammu and Kashmir in India, where activities (providing doctors, medical Donate-a-Meal Movement, which started Tibetan Buddhism holds sway. Since materials, medical technology) are being there are no temples for nuns in Ladakh, extended overseas through global aid a meal is contributed to Rissho Kosei- the nuns have to continue to live with programs. kai’s Donate-a-Meal Fund for Peace, Tzu Chi’s social contribution is based - on what it calls its Four Major Missions, cial support for the organization’s peace education and their labor is exploited which are charity, medicine, education, movement and overseas aid activities

28 D April–June 2016 other ongoing efforts, in international to abused wives in Edo-period [1603– but their work took place within the con- relief, the bone marrow donor registry, 1867] Japan)] [Kosei Publishing, 2008]). text of militarism and colonial rule by environmental protection, and enlist- Another Nichiren-sect nun, Jōkei the Japanese state. As a result, after the ing community volunteers, are collec- Majima, from Nagoya, gives support to war, people became wary of Buddhist tively called Tzu Chi’s Eight Footprints refugees and illegal immigrants in Japan. social and political involvement, and (Akira Kaneko, Kyōi no bukkyō boran- In almost all cases, social engagement Buddhist groups themselves were reluc- tia: Taiwan no shakai sankaku bukkyō, by nuns in Japan centers on the activ- tant to engage with society. Jizaikai [Wondrous Buddhist volun- ities of individual charismatic women One aspect of postwar activity by all teers: Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu who receive little understanding of and the Buddhist sects, though, was their Chi Foundation—a socially engaged support for their activities from their contribution in the fields of welfare Buddhism in Taiwan] [Hakubasha, sects and temples. and education, as they set up orphan- 2005]). A feature of Tzu Chi is that its ages and childcare facilities and estab- social work is carried out through active Additional Remarks lished schools and universities. Also, as volunteer and service activities by both we have seen above, Buddhist new reli- its lay and ordained members. As Buddhism moved from its cradle in gious organizations were highly active In Japan, few relief efforts are carried India across Asia and then to the West, in social movements on a global scale, out by nuns and female Buddhists. But it underwent many cultural and intellec- taking part in international cooperation one such effort is Street Workers Co-Op tual developments. In the twentieth cen- and projects promoting peace. Potalaka (http://www.interq.or.jp/great tury, and ongoing into the twenty-first, The social engagement of Buddhism /potalaka/index.htm), an organization the most striking aspect of Buddhism is has not been simply in charitable work that supports the homeless and was set undoubtedly the Buddhists’ active par- and volunteer activities by Buddhists up by a former Ji sect nun, Kōshū Hirao, ticipation in various kinds of social work and Buddhist groups but also in putting in the Sumida Ward of Tokyo. It provides and social movements. Of particular Buddhist ideas into practice in the soci- temporary shelters for homeless people note is the Buddhist social engagement ety. Social work by religious groups has and those discharged from hospitals and that looks for an alternative response long been one aspect of their dissemi- institutions who have nowhere to go. It to issues confronting humankind, such nation activities. However, as a result of also runs seminars to train care work- as war, environmental destruction, and the secularization and rationalization ers and introduces care workers to those discrimination. The greatest concerns of of Japanese society that has come with who need them to provide counseling the twenty-first century will be main- modernization, and of the separation and assistance. It also conducts funer- taining world peace and protecting the of religion and the state, religions have als for those who have no family (see environment. Peace movements based receded from the public arena, restrict- Kōshū Hirao, Nisō ga iku! [There goes on the Buddhist principle of nonvi- ing themselves to the private realm of a Buddhist nun!] [Shinsensha, 2001]). olence, along with grassroots social daily life, focusing on individual faith In 2003, a Nichiren-sect nun, Sōjū development and environmental-pro- and the family. Tozawa, opened a temple called Sangha tection activities by Buddhist clergy that Buddhism’s participation in soci- Amagi on the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka emphasize people’s spiritual improve- ety in the modern period has occurred Prefecture as a refuge for women suffer- ment, epitomize Buddhism’s contribu- within a secularized social environ- ing abuse or domestic violence to give tion in this field. ment that stresses the separation of reli- them the strength to go on living. From In Japan, from ancient times, monks gion and the state and of the public and her own experiences of pain and anxiety such as Gyōki (668–749) and Ninshō private. To ensure their smooth run- and based on the wisdom of Buddhism, (1217–1303) have undertaken charita- ning, Buddhist groups and organiza- she is able to solace those who flee to ble works for the good of the people. tions engaged in social work tend to the temple, and to give spiritual coun- However, as the term funeral Buddhism operate as social welfare corporations, seling to women in trouble by e-mail suggests, there has been the impression NPOs, and NGOs. However, this has and other means. Well over five hundred that Buddhism in Japan concerns itself meant that they are increasingly los- women have visited the temple (Sōjū only with memorial rites for the dead and ing their religious character. An impor- Tozawa, Hitori de nayamanaide! Gendai is passive about social engagement. This tant question for the future of Buddhist no “kakekomi-dera” funtōki [Don’t keep image has taken shape against a backdrop social engagement is how Buddhists can your worries to yourself! Struggles of of certain historical and social factors. express the social ideals of Buddhism a present-day kakekomi-dera (a type Before World War II, Buddhist groups and also preserve their religious iden- of Buddhist temple that gave refuge were actively involved in social activities, tity in the public sphere. ≥

Dharma World April–June 2016 29 ESSAY Kanenuiakea: A Living Faith and Practice by Glen Kila and George Williams

Because Hawaiian culture has been reconstructed from myths Western Contact and and stories that represent a child’s level of understanding, the Cultural Survival depth of its spirituality has not been seen or appreciated. As Professor Charles Long famously said, Western contact was not inno- Hawaiian religion is about aloha, a word others, including plants and all living cent (Signifi cations: Signs, Symbols, and so sacred and profound that it was one and nonliving beings), and about ka‘ana- Images in the Interpretation of Religions of the least used words in ancient times. niau, a way of “managing” the commu- [Fortress Press, 1986]). It brought neg- Th at is not true in tourist Hawai‘i, where nity’s natural resources. ative consequences of Western coloniz- everyone is taught to shout “Ah-low-HA.” Th ese principles can be called the ers: diseases, foreign religion, economics, (Queen Lili‘uokalani regretted com- “religion of the canoe”—derived from the governance, and almost cultural geno- posing the song “Aloha ‘Oe” because long open-ocean voyages that required cide—plus alcohol and modern weapons. it became so popular that it encour- the maximum of cooperation, sharing, To pay for this “progress,” sandal- aged people to misuse its sacred words.) eff ort, peacefulness, confl ict resolution, wood forests were clear-cut; less valuable However, the very heart of an article and expertise—an acquired appreciation wood was turned into coke for steamers; about Hawaiian indigenous spiritual- and understanding of nature, a “native an abundant food supply for perhaps four ity will be about aloha: aloha ‘āina (love science.” (For more on Kanenuiakea hundred thousand was diminished due of the land, environment), aloha ‘ohana values, see http://kanenuiakea.org to Hawaiians being forced to work for (family, people), aloha keiki (children, /values.) Th is indigenous religion is the sandalwood trade while not tending future generations), and a hundred more. several millennia old with a variety of their gardens, and fi nally arable land was It is about caring, malāma (caring for expressions across Polynesia. turned into foreign-owned plantations. Death for nine out of ten Hawaiians reduced the population to approximately forty thousand in fi ve decades. Western arms aided a minor chief, Kamehameha the Great, to “unify” seven of the eight major islands (Kauai would later be acquired by treaty) and install his war god, Ku, as the state religion, subordinating other Hawaiian religions and “consecrating” their temples with blood sacrifi ces. (Ku religion came from Tahiti in the twelft h century CE and brought with it a hierarchy of rulers [ali‘i]; a modifi ed form of patriarchy; and constant war, with blood sacrifi ce to its war god.) When Kamehameha I died, his queens persuaded Kamehameha II to end the establishment of the Ku religion

30 Dharma World April–June 2016 Kumu Glen Kila, a former school George M. Williams is Professor principal, was selected from birth Emeritus of Religious Studies at to carry on the Hawaiian religion, California State University, Chico. Kanenuiakea, being taught its ancient He has lectured widely on world beliefs and values. He has reinstituted and indigenous religions; among his the traditional Hawaiian Learning published works are Handbook of Center, Marae Ha‘a Koa, as a public Hindu Mythology and Shinto. Williams means for preservation of Hawaiian now works with Hawaiians for the faith and practice. restoration of their faith and nation.

in 1819. Christian missionaries arrived South and Central America. Their sym- workshops and retreats. Again, inap- a year later and would eventually bring bols and manifestations of the sacred propriate use, misappropriation, and about the establishment of Christianity (often called gods) were merged into commercialization of indigenous tra- as the state religion. Later plantation-era the Catholic saints and angels. Many ditions are a common story in Europe governments were less tolerant of indig- of the local faiths of Africa survived in and America.) Kanenuiakea was taught enous religion, language, and culture. sacred music and dance—and even in and practiced traditionally in Waianae Further, under the United States, the secret societies practiced by communi- by kupuna (elders), and many Hawaiians Hawaiian language was intentionally cants of a conquering religion. continued living the values and concepts kept from being used, children had to While other Hawaiian indigenous of Kanenuiakea such as aloha, malāma be given a Christian name, and the sup- religions may have been extinguished ‘aina, and respect for ‘aumakua (“ances- posed nonexistent indigenous religion by persecution and ridicule during the tors,” described further below). was persecuted as sorcery and supersti- remaining nineteenth and early twen- Religious discrimination and pre- tious healing practices until the 1970s. tieth centuries, Kanenuiakea survived, vention of the right to worship occur hidden (huna) on the Waianae coast even today in the Waianae wahipana in Surviving Persecution of Oahu island, its wahipana (sacred numerous ways. Here are some examples: homeland). (Alleged knowledge of lost Not one of the thirty-plus heiau Some indigenous religions survive Hawaiian spirituality as secret [huna] (temples) on the Waianae coast is owned, by hiding themselves in the conquer- is now sold as magical powers by sup- or even administered, by Kanenuiakea ing religion, as was done so often in posed masters in their commercial worshippers.

Dharma World April–June 2016 31 Currently Hawaiians are limited Silenced, access from entering and praying at but Speaking Again Kaneaki Heiau by a homeowners’ associ- ation. Further, the entire Makua Valley, Modern academic disciplines have “dis- the Garden of Eden in Kanenuiakea- covered” many voices that were ignored origin stories, was confiscated by the or silenced, especially those of women. US military, and entrance and wor- Conquered or oppressed people, espe- ship there is regulated by the military. cially indigenous groups around the The entire valley, with its more than a planet, have similar histories to ours in thousand historic sites, has been used Hawai‘i. Although the facts of occupation as an active firing range until recently, might have bred hatred, Kanenuiakea’s without regard to its cultural and reli- values, derived from the cooperation gious value (http://www.returnourheiau needed for long open-ocean voyages, .org). have made ours among the most peace- ful—and religious—of cultures. According to Professor John Charlot, ancient Hawaiians had more than ninety different kinds of heiau—temples that were also healing centers, craft guilds, and learning centers (Classical Hawaiian Education: Generations of Hawaiian Culture [Pacific Institute, 2005], CD-ROM). They found nature “alive” with manifestations of the holy (akua), resulting in the false charge of animism. Hawai‘i changed after “discovery” and Christianization. After Kamehameha .org/political-history.shtml, and http:// the Great lost almost his entire invasion hawaiiankingdom.org/us-occupation fleet when attempting to conquer Kauai, .shtml). Two presidents, Grover And Mauna Kea, Hawai‘i’s highest he seemed to have lost faith in Ku, his Cleveland and Bill Clinton, would apol- volcano, which is as sacred to Hawaiians war god. He declared, “Ua kapu ke ola na ogize for these illegal actions and for the as Mount Fuji is to Shintoists (and almost Kane” (all life is sacred to Kane). After imprisonment of Queen Lili‘uokalani. all other Japanese), rises to Kane, a heav- his death Queen Kaahumanu ended the enly symbol of the divine, the sun. tradition of men worshipping and eat- Hawai‘i’s Last Monarch Mauna Kea is akua (mistranslated in ing alone; men and women could eat English as “God”; see below for fur- together, and the food taboos were bro- Queen Lili‘uokalani was the last ther discussion), a manifestation of the ken. The old warrior religion of Ku as Christian monarch of the first nation ohana relationship of all creation, the the state religion was dead in 1819. The to declare itself a neutral nation, having interconnectedness of all of life. Hawaiian Kingdom joined the Family seven treaties with the United States. Yet The use of Mauna Kea for commer- of Nations as a Christian kingdom, and in 1893 Marines from the USS Boston cial, military, and outdated scientific then it became the first nation in his- aided proxies to take the “pearl of the purposes (reputedly for the US Air tory to declare itself as peaceful and for- Pacific” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki Force Space Command) is a desecra- ever neutral. No ships of war or their /Overthrow_of_the_Kingdom_of tion of its sacredness and a violation supplies would be provided a base in _Hawaii). The queen’s protest to of Hawaiian values of aloha and lōkahi. the Hawaiian Kingdom. However, the President Cleveland blended two tra- Worshippers have just regained the right United States wanted to extend Manifest ditions of nonviolence: “Sermon on to pray on Mauna Kea, largely because Destiny into the Pacific and sought to the Mount” Christianity (Matthew 5) of the support coming from the recog- annex Hawai‘i, especially as a naval sta- and Hawai‘i’s indigenous “open-ocean nition of Kanenuiakea’s existence by the tion. It took two attempts to acquire canoe ethics” of Kanenuiakea. (This is International Association for Religious Pearl Harbor, but annexation was never almost the same combination of values Freedom (IARF). completed (http://hawaiiankingdom that Gandhi utilized as he developed

32 Dharma World April–June 2016 satyagraha nearly three decades later— centering in their his second aspect being indigenous land (Mircea Eliade, Indian values.) Although Cleveland apol- The Sacred and the ogized and Hawai‘i was never annexed, Profane: The Nature the war party in Washington won out, of Religion [Harper & and the Hawaiian Kingdom would be Brothers, 1961]). Thus, occupied as a territory until after World they love and care for War II, when it “became” a state. their home and main- Hawaiians still wait for a just res- tain its resources. Most olution to what they believe is an are erroneously called illegal occupation. (As of December pantheistic (Greek: all 2015, Hawaiians are facing a vote to or everything is God), become “tribal citizens” under the US because they experi- Department of the Interior, with the ence manifestations privileges of Native Americans if they of the sacred in every finally renounce the rights as sovereign aspect of the natural and neutral nation.) universe. And that Even peaceful cultures usually leads to the notion that revert to violence when violence and they are either poly- injustice are inflicted on them. Queen theistic or animistic, although the man- a shelter or guardian from harm or Lili‘uokalani believed completely that ifold nature of reality, its polarities, its aggression. “all life is sacred to Kane.” She worked paradoxes, its mystery, are simplified only Lexicographers have trouble with until the end of her life for justice and an in stories or myths for children as their languages of oral traditions and special end to the American occupation of the earliest understanding of indigenous difficulties with contextual languages. Hawaiian Kingdom, whose treaties of wisdom. There is depth to these myths How many meanings ancient Hawaiians nonbelligerence with as many as eighty and complexities of interpreted natural knew indicated their level of education, nations, including the United States, experience unknown when the stories understanding, and mastery of cultural could have been an example for peace- are literalized in English. The Hawaiian values. Because Hawaiian culture has ful coexistence before the world wars. language, like Chinese, has a metapo- been reconstructed from myths and The kupuna (elders) in Waianae etic quality that points beyond the literal stories that represent a child’s level of remembered Queen Lili‘uokalani’s com- to something “more.” Translations into understanding, the depth of its spiritu- ing to specific Kane heiau (temples) to English were often deliberately “mythol- ality has not been seen or appreciated. pray near the end of her life. She had ogized”—made self-contradictory and One difficulty of discussing Hawaiian seen her kingdom destroyed and none nonscientific. religion and culture arises because of the treaties of nonaggression hon- Scholars have written that the Western languages and concepts about ored. Yet she still believed in the indig- Hawaiian religions were primitive, ani- “religion” and “God” are privileged. Note enous values of her ancestors, whose mistic, or polytheistic. They did not that a capital G means that this deity skills at solving conflict had survived study the living tradition but worked is the one true God and a lowercase g on this isolated and lonely coast—the with texts composed as Hawaiian spir- means that god is false. This binary logic values of aloha and lōkahi (peaceful ituality became more and more secre- applies to both religion and God—they coexistence). tive (huna). As oral Hawaiian was are either true or false. There is noth- converted into a written language, few ing like that in ancient Hawaiian. There Indigenous Hawaiian of the deeper meanings of words were are nuances and aspects and levels of Religion and recorded. Hawaiian is a contextual lan- understanding in human knowledge guage with organizing concepts situ- and wisdom. Inherited Values ated in processes of nature—in the air, Western ideas of God/god do Indigenous religions often do not on land, at sea, among plants, and so not adequately find an equivalence have the word religion in their native forth. So, for instance, the same word in Hawaiian indigenous religion, as languages, as they are inclusive of all koa means coral in the sea, a special the manifestations are immanent, in aspects of life. They are local and some- hardwood tree among plants, a protec- this world, and not transcendent, in times ethnic, with the axis of the world tor among humans, and so on—each a heavenly realm (with an exception

Dharma World April–June 2016 33 is another word in Hawaiian for the significance of the cycles and relation- “God beyond God” (Paul Tillich was ships of nature. When humans were in not the first to coin this phrase) that is harmony (lōkahi) with nature’s move- known but not said. ments, the rolling beauty of the seasons, ‘Aumakua is another notion among then life was right (pono). It entailed the reminders of the sacred. Kumu Glen all the “values of the canoe.” Properly Kila recalls: managing and sharing all the natu- ral resources of the air, land, and sea My ancestors still live in me [kupuna ensured prosperity. as ‘aumakua]. Plants, fish [sharks], Most indigenous people, and espe- birds, even insects, are able to sym- cially in island cultures, tend to evolve bolize them; they too are ‘aumakua. a sustainable use of resources. This was I do not worry about or fear death, especially true on the “rock canoe” of because I trust life. We have no Hawai‘i, where common resources such developed idea of an afterlife, so as fresh water, forest products, and a for Hawaiian mystical experience of we focus on living better and doing common fish pond made life almost a that which should not be symbolized). our kuleana [task, responsibility] paradise. Consequently, there was no Naturalistic and indigenous religion in this lifetime. We are all-encom- notion of hell and just a vague notion can function spiritually both with and passing. Consciousness doesn’t die. of an afterlife. without any theistic or polytheistic con- Our worldview demands care- ception of what is sacred and meaning- ful observation. In a sense, nature Kanenuiakea—a Primal ful. Akua is experienced in the natural talks to us. We listen to plants and Religion Shared order; it is seen or heard as a symbol winds; we observe subtle colors of or manifestation of the sacred. Akua is the ocean and the motion of waves, Kanenuiakea’s faith and practice was both singular (Kane) and plural (the tides, clouds, stars. We can smell the shared publicly for the first time in thousands of divine manifestations). seasons and see beyond the islands. 2012 at the First Unitarian Church What might be naturalistic manifes- Nature is our home. We love it and of Honolulu and internationally at tations of the holy, the sacred (akua, the care for it [malāma ‘aina]. Nature is the Birmingham (UK) International plural)? First, rocks, animals, fish, liz- our bible that records our history, Association for Religious Freedom ards, mountains, might be akua if they beliefs, and values. We see ourselves Congress in 2014. are “experienceable” as such. Second, as nature, not nature by our image. Kanenuiakea’s agrarian values* have they must be experienced as akua by That is, we describe our children as been kept alive and are now being shared kahuna (religious specialists, masters) baby chicks, as baby banana stalks with anyone interested in learning about and, more important, by the worship- or taro shoots—not the other way how indigenous peoples sustained their ping community. It is a social or cul- around. part of the planet. Reviving indigenous tural experience. Third, the experience Our cultural consciousness under- spiritualities that stress love, sharing, of akua is accompanied by a phenome- stands nature and its powers, even and harmony with others and nature non called mana (usually translated as troubling ones, as akua, represent- might just help humanity survive. ≥ “power,” but inadequately). ing them in the wisdom stories of Akua as the old highest manifesta- Kanenuiakea. These powers are tion of the holy was worshipped as Kane, also within each human and must * Another example of an ancient agrarian Kanaloa, Ku, and Lono. However, the be responded to appropriately. stratum dominated by a warrior culture is “rice or village Shinto” (peaceful, agrarian, symbols of Kane (the sun), the rain, and Consciousness is changed as one welcoming, and international) as different the four hundred thousand elements encounters such natural phenomena. from samurai or warrior Shinto (power- in nature were understood metaphor- ful, allied with the state, closed, and ethnic) ically as manifestations of divinity in Ka‘ananiau—Managing (cf. Shinto by George M. Williams [Chelsea the Kanenuiakea tradition. The con- House Publishers, 2005], 143; a book Rissho the Rolling Beauty Kosei-kai’s founder Nikkyo Niwano asked cept contains both an affirmation and of Time Williams to write—on their first meeting). a denial. It is said by the kupuna: “God These values are lived—values of coopera- [Kane] creates/needs man [kane]; man During traditional times, the con- tion, of sharing, and love of family, of com- [kane] creates/needs God [Kane].” There cept of ka‘ananiau emphasized the munity, of culture, of language, of land.

34 Dharma World April–June 2016 INTERVIEW

Making Women Use Their Infl uence for Good, and Their Power for Good Interview with Pastor Esther Abimiku Ibanga, Recipient of the Thirty-Second Niwano Peace Prize

Pastor Esther Abimiku Ibanga was The Niwano Peace Foundation awarded the thirty-second born in 1961 in the Nassarama State of Niwano Peace Prize on May 14, 2015, to Pastor Esther Ibanga Nigeria. She graduated from Ahmadu of Nigeria for her courageous efforts to promote women’s Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria, empowerment and peaceful coexistence. On May 15, Dr. and received her master’s degree Hiroshi M. Niwano, chair of the foundation, interviewed in business administration at the Pastor Ibanga at Rissho Kosei-kai headquarters in Tokyo. University of Jos, Nigeria. She worked The interview highlighted the importance of promoting peace for sixteen years in the Central Bank activities based on a maternal way of thinking. of Nigeria, as a senior supervisor of its headquarters’ Branch Operations Department; as an assistant manager Niwano: Pastor Ibanga, my fi rst impres- working with you go about their work of the Foreign Operations Department; sion is that your work is down-to-earth with a sense of security. and as a manager of banking and comes from the type of thinking that operations in Jos. She voluntarily is characteristic of women. My impres- Ibanga: I am so thankful to God for retired in 2001. In 1995, while serving sion is that your activities are based on receiving the award. We have worked as the Jos city manager, she founded a maternal way of thinking, on maternal so hard and in very diffi cult terrains for Jos Christian Missions International, love, if you will. You are doing concrete the past four years. We did not receive things on a large scale in the context of any support from our state govern- woman pastor. As its senior pastor she an unspeakably harsh environment that ment, our federal government, or any worked to take care of the poor and is unimaginable to us, with its terrible other organization. We as women used underprivileged, reaching out to young fi ghting and drugs, and yet when I see the little resources we had because we people, widows, and orphans. you here I am relieved, and I get the believed in what we were doing. When impression that perhaps all the people the announcement of this award came, speech, I didn’t believe at fi rst that the I felt it was God using award was real because I didn’t even the Niwano Peace know my name was nominated. When Foundation to reward I saw the award announcement with its us. It was very encour- off ered prize money I felt it was a scam, aging for us, and the and I didn’t answer the e-mail to me women working with about it until the foundation sent me us were so excited. Now a second e-mail, which mentioned the they believe that if you name of a person I know in the United keep on doing good States. But I still didn’t answer the foun- and what you believe dation. I got in touch with that per- in, someday God will son fi rst and asked her, “Do you know reward you. Th at’s how these people from whom I just got the I felt about the award. e-mail? Is it true?” She said, “Oh, yes, I Second, let me add gave them your e-mail address. Th ey are this bit. As I mentioned okay, and it’s true.” It was only then that in my commemorative I responded to the foundation.

Dharma World April–June 2016 35 who make sure there is food in the house. demanding that the government res- They go to the farms, they come back cue the Chibok girls kidnapped by Boko home, they sweep, they cook. They have Haram. I know that when the election pregnancies. Most families are sustained came, many people did not vote for the by women. They do petty trading to keep incumbent president because of these house. They sell vegetables in the mar- Chibok girls. ket, or bread or other food, or sweep You know he lost. We also had a the streets to have money to support rally for the release of the Chibok girls. their families. So they run the econ- We sent a communiqué to the govern- omy of Nigeria. But when it comes to ment, although there was no reply. We politics or job appointments, they are marched to the State House of Assembly, hardly considered. It’s all men. Men have and twice we marched to the governor’s political differences as well as religious office. Even though they received us, and tribal differences, and these cause they don’t like us. They think we are people to fight. When they fight, the troublesome. poor women have no political voices, Niwano: Pastor Ibanga, since women and which are in their hearts. They look Niwano: Are you thinking of applying children, the most vulnerable members after their children at home, trying to such pressure again? of society, were being killed in Nigeria make ends meet. as a result of long-running conflicts When conflicts break out, women Ibanga: If the new government doesn’t and violence, you felt a strong sense and children become the targets. Women bring about the visible changes that we of crisis. Under those circumstances, are the ones who are attacked and killed, want to see, we are going to make sure in 2010 you founded Women Without with their children. So that was what they hear from us again. Because the Walls Initiative [WOWWI]. Would you made me act in February 2010. Five government hasn’t cared for the peo- please, although I know you have done hundred and thirty women and chil- ple, and people are suffering too much so many times, comment once again dren were killed in a village close to in Nigeria, especially the poor, and the about the condition of society in Nigeria where I lived, so I had to go into the young, who have no jobs, no schools, and the present situation for women street. I led a protest rally directed at and no money. What do you expect us and children there? the government, and a hundred thou- to do? That is why we have violence sand women came out. We were dressed and crime. Ibanga: Nigeria is a country of so many in black because we were in mourning, mixtures. We have the very rich and and we told the government that these Niwano: Would you please tell us again the very poor, and this unequal dis- killings had to stop and that women specifically what you wanted to accom- tribution of wealth is because of bad and children should not be targeted in plish with the founding of WOWWI, government. We have a population of a conflict they had no part of. particularly from a woman’s perspective? about 170 million people, and out of Nigeria’s conflicts are caused by eco- that, 60 million of our young people nomics, politics, lack of social services, Ibanga: Number one is to stop politi- are unemployed. So you can imagine and so many other things. But now that cians from using religion to divide us. the social problems that will be pres- we have had fresh elections and have Number two is to stop politicians from ent. That’s why the rate of poverty is a new president, we are hopeful that using tribal and ethnic differences to high, crime is high, corruption is high, things will change. If they don’t change, divide us. Number three is to contrib- and disease is high, because there are we will go back into the streets. ute to stopping violence. That’s why we no social services. are involved in conflict resolution, rec- Our roads are bad. We don’t have Niwano: You just mentioned that a new onciling warring groups, warring tribes, electricity all the time. Civil servants in president has been elected. Did the activ- warring communities. my state, for example, work nine months ities of your organization influence this? Also, we want to show Nigeria and and are not paid any salaries. So the sit- the rest of the world that it doesn’t mat- uation is very bad. Ibanga: Yes, we were definitely part of ter what tribe you belong to or what reli- Women are marginalized, but they the pressure, along with other organi- gion you believe in. We are one people. are very hardworking. They are the ones zations. But we have been very vocal We are Nigerians. And we will make who go to the farms. They are the ones in demanding good government, in demands on the government to look

36 Dharma World April–June 2016 out for the interests of all Nigerians, not Ibanga: Men are more concerned with just people in the government. power. Even politics is all about power, Another thing is to see how we can because through power they control stop young people in our communities resources. I am sorry to say it, but most from becoming radicalized. We have a men are selfish. They only think about Mothers Schools program, which teaches themselves. But not all of them. But mothers how to detect signs of radical- a woman is a builder by nature. She ization in their children and how to love will build the home, she will build the them enough to spare them trauma. lives of her children, and if her hus- Young people themselves are prone band allows her to do so, she will also to violence, both men and women. We build his life. Women know the pain tell them that because politicians give of childbirth, and there is something them money to buy guns and let them that pain produces in you that makes go into the streets, they cause trouble. you appreciate the value of a thing. I In turn, we ask the politicians where think that’s what makes the difference their children are. The answer would be between men and women. that most of their children are at schools you convey and that pours out of you, in the United Kingdom or the United Niwano: Pastor Ibanga, you have two Pastor Ibanga, that comes across so States, or other places abroad. Then we children. Do you think that getting mar- wonderfully. say to politicians, if you believe in what ried and having two children changed I have a wife, and we have four chil- you are doing, let your children come you? dren. When she became a mother, I felt back here and lead other young people that her personality had changed. Her in the struggle against violence. Because Ibanga: Before I got married I was also way of thinking about children shows of this kind of advocacy, violence has selfish. But when I got married and I a quality that I don’t seem to have, an gone down a lot, and young people are had children, my life changed, and it unmatchable maternal love, a maternal no longer receiving guns with which to was all about my children. I am ready love for her children, which she doesn’t go into the streets and fight. to die for my children. I can deny myself show for her husband. It’s something I We have also encouraged dialogue something, but I will do everything I can’t imitate myself. That is why when I between the police and their communi- can to give my children what they want. observe my wife’s love for our children, ties. Police can come together and work So childbearing actually cures you of I think that is what it is to love human with local communities. Everywhere selfishness. When I look at other young beings, and I resolve to love our chil- you go, people don’t like the police. people, I also feel as if they are my chil- dren as much as possible in the same Even in Nigeria people don’t like the dren. That’s why I feel passionate about way she does. police. They believe police officers are changing their lives. corrupt and that some are criminals One day a Muslim boy in one of the Ibanga: That’s so wonderful. themselves, and that politicians use communities we walked in sent me a text them. But WOWWI has been able to in which he called me “Mother” and said, Niwano: That is why when I was lis- get the police and members of local “I love you.” That brought tears to my tening to you, Pastor Ibanga, I thought communities to sit down together, talk eyes, because these were Muslims we’d that if we men were willing to learn about their differences, and see how never had anything to do with before, from women who have children what they can work together. because we were enemies. That showed it means to truly love others, perhaps These have been some of our me that WOWWI had made an impact. we would have a better society. goals and objectives in forming our organization. Niwano: This is why so many people Ibanga: Absolutely. I believe that is why were truly moved by your speech yes- God created women to bring forth life. Niwano: What you have just said is won- terday at the award ceremony. I felt it A woman is a life giver. She doesn’t take derfully specific, and listening to you, I was because of the maternal love that lives. That’s why it is hard to find women am sure that what you say is true. But you show everyone. I heard from many that will take lives. It’s because by the I’m wondering why men, including us of the people there that they had wept nature of her creation she is a life giver. here, have difficulty thinking in that during your speech. I was one of them. You give a woman a seed, just a seed, and same way? It’s not just your words, it’s the love that she brings forth a child. You give her a

Dharma World April–June 2016 37 house and she turns it into a womb. I He taught us that we are the best. He are not anti–Boko Haram activists. We think it’s a gift from God. Women are taught us never to think less of ourselves are Women Without Walls Initiative. very powerful and influential. That’s because we were female. So we grew up This has happened because we want why we are trying to make women use with that confidence in ourselves, in our to stop violence in our communities. their influence for good, and their power abilities secured by our father’s love and We don’t know who the Boko Haram for good. the feeling that he would always protect people are, but we want to stop them I remember once when we went into us. He was also a very godly man. He from using young people. That’s what a very violent community. We were about taught us about God, and we saw God we have been doing. When Boko Haram eight or ten women from WOWWI, in him, so it was not difficult for us to is no more in Nigeria—and that is our and we wanted to meet with the youth follow his God. My mother was a dis- prayer—WOWWI will still continue of that community. About two hundred ciplinarian; when she slaps, you see the with its work. of them came with all the religious lead- mark on your cheek. But she taught us However, talking about Nigeria, the ers, traditional leaders—village heads the value of hard work. She was a very truth of the matter is we are a secular and chiefs. We asked the young peo- hardworking woman. I think I was blessed state—I don’t know how to explain it. ple, “What is your problem? Why are to have that kind of parents in my life. Our constitution does not force any you going around the streets killing religion on anybody. You are free to and becoming violent extremists?” One Niwano: I think that this balance believe what you like, but you cannot of the women on my team got up and between maternal nature and paternal force somebody to embrace your reli- spoke to all the young people. Many nature is very important, but my impres- gion. That is the situation in Nigeria. of them had red eyes and were drunk sion, according to what you have said, We have Christians, Muslims, and other or high at two o’clock in the afternoon. is that you were raised with maternal traditional worshippers, and even those She said to them, “My children, next love from your father and paternal love who don’t believe in God. time you want to go and make trou- from your mother. But we must learn to coexist. I per- ble, remember your mothers.” That was sonally believe that religion is based on all she said. The young people melted. Ibanga: Yes, through discipline. My personal revelation. The best way to tell They could not talk anymore. By the given name is Esther, but my father people about your God is to let them time we were leaving they were hang- called me Baban Meche, which means see him in you. ing on to us, and they said it was the “great woman.” All of his life he never first time anybody bothered to find out ever called me Esther. He always called Niwano: Do you mean that you pur- how they felt. That was, I think, in 2012. me Baban Meche. So I think he proph- sue the activities of WOWWI with an From that time to today there has not esied about my life and what I would awareness of such things, and at the been any violence in that community. become. All the girls in the family have same time with an awareness of reli- That’s the power of mothers’ love. It is gone on to become really great women gious things? God-given. That’s why it’s so impactful. by the grace of God. Ibanga: Yes, I do. I cannot speak for my Niwano: You have said many times in Niwano: You spoke about Boko Haram members because some of them belong your talks that a woman’s maternal love in your speech yesterday. Because you are to other religions. But my faith is in Jesus is God-given. Would I be right in think- doing your work as a Christian leader, I Christ, because my Bible tells me that ing that your parents fostered your reli- would think you are an easy target for we are the light of the world. What is gious faith? Boko Haram. Would you please tell us the use of light in a place where there is specifically, from your own point of already light? But it’s when you step into Ibanga: I had very wonderful parents, view, what the religious issues in Nigeria the dark that you need light, and light especially my father. My father loved us are, and the problems that arise from is only effective in darkness. I believe absolutely. We were eight girls and two the fact that there are many religions God has sent us to step into every dark boys born to my parents, and my father in Nigeria? area and bring his light. loved and believed in us girls so much that he sent us to school even when it Ibanga: Okay. Let me start by saying that Niwano: I would like to confirm one was not popular to send girls to school. my life is in God’s hands, and he is my thing. Would it be safe to say that when When we were in school, my father would protector, so I have no fear. Second, the you started WOWWI, it was to resolve ride his bicycle to the school to see if any- campaign against Boko Haram is just conflict and a variety of other problems, one might be bothering his daughters. one of the least of the things we do. We and not particularly for the purpose of

38 Dharma World April–June 2016 interreligious cooperation, but that your a problem with daddy, they will not go Ibanga: Yes. I am very grateful for the work gradually came to include work- to him. They will go to mommy. award. My people are very grateful and ing with people of various faiths other Women can bring reconciliation excited. My husband’s state is celebrat- than Christians? and peace to the world. When we came ing it. And even the whole of Nigeria is together as WOWWI, we had to hire celebrating this award. So we are very Ibanga: Yes, you are right. Let me make a consultant on how to brush up this happy about it. But I am curious about something else clear. I found out that natural skill and to teach us skills in what made you do this. working only with Christians was not conflict resolution and how to medi- going to solve our problems and that I ate between one warring community Niwano: The members of the Peace would have to engage with people of and another, between one tribe and Prize Committee take seriously the task other faiths to understand their think- another, and between people of one of finding persons who are active in the ing, why they do the things they do, faith and another when there was reli- service of world peace, and they put and to tell Muslims that if Islam is a gious conflict. a great deal of thought into identify- religion of peace, we can walk together We were taught, number one, that ing and selecting them. The commit- toward peace. I may not have started when you go to resolve a conflict you tee members are themselves religious with interreligious dialogue, but I saw must be neutral. Number two, you must leaders in their own parts of the world, the need along the way to engage with bring the two parties together. Number who put all of their efforts into lead- people of other faiths. three, you must not tell them what to ing and peace building. They had lists do; let them say what they will do as a of a variety of candidates and deliber- Niwano: What you are saying is so clear result of dialogue. Number four, if you ated diligently for two days on who to and easy to understand that I am mys- go to a Muslim community, don’t dress select for this year. As far as we are con- tified as to why so far this has not hap- in a way that will offend them, or when cerned, you were likely selected by the pened very often in human history, you come to a Christian community, Buddha, Pastor Ibanga. promoting such simple things. don’t argue with them. These are some Finally, although you were kind of the things we were taught. We even enough to deliver a message to us today Ibanga: Of course, it is the grace of God had to be trained to use the right tone at the headquarters of Rissho Kosei-kai, that is leading us. It’s God’s mercy. What of voice. That’s the kind of training and there are millions of other Rissho Kosei- we do is actually very simple. It’s noth- workshops that our women experienced. kai members in Japan and throughout ing complicated. Then, even among ourselves, we had the world, so we would appreciate it to learn conflict resolution, because we very much if you would deliver a final Niwano: We men tend to make things were sometimes quarreling with each message to all of our members, if you complicated, because we try to hold our other. One woman would say, “She didn’t have one. ground. I have learned so much from greet me”; another woman would say, you today and, through the award cer- “She talks too much.” Even some of my Ibanga: Thank you. I would like to emony, about the special characteris- vice presidents needed to be reconciled. remind all of your members of some- tics of women. I had to learn how to swallow every- thing that I learned from the founder of I understand that you have been thing. You know it’s not easy to keep your movement. I am sure they know putting a lot of effort into conflict‑ women together. We also had to learn that nothing they do for others will be resolution workshops. Please tell us how to deal with internal conflicts, and unrewarded for them someday. What you some of the specifics of these. members were also trained in how to do for others is a like a seed dropped in mediate between communities or war- the soil and covered by it, where it stays Ibanga: Our members have been just ring factions. hidden for a long time. But eventually a ordinary women from different walks of sapling will grow from that seed. It will life, so we have not been professionally Niwano: That consultant had a skill, grow branches and bear fruit, and each trained to handle conflicts. But I believe and it was an important one, wasn’t it? piece of fruit may produce hundreds that a woman is a natural conflict man- I think I’d love to learn that skill and of seeds, which you are now receiving. ager. In homes sometimes, when there use it in my own home. You have been You always get back more seeds from is a problem between the father and the so generous with your talk, and we have the one you sowed. My message to your children, you will hear the father tell gone on quite a bit longer than planned, members and your organization is to the mother, “Go and talk to your chil- but do you have any questions for us, keep on sowing; you never know what dren.” Sometimes when children have Pastor Ibanga? you will reap. Thank you. ≥

Dharma World April–June 2016 39 FOUNDER’S MEMOIRS

Sent by the Gods and the Buddhas by Nikkyo Niwano

In March 1999 an autobiography by Rev. Nikkyo Niwano (1906–99), the founder of Rissho Kosei- kai, was published in Japanese under the title Kono michi: Ichibutsujo no sekai o mezashite (The path that we have walked: Aspiring to the world of the One Buddha Vehicle). The book is a lively account of the life of Founder Niwano as a leader of an international lay Buddhist association and a pioneer of interreligious cooperation who dedicated himself to liberating all people from suffering with fi rm faith in the Lotus Sutra. Dharma World will continue to publish excerpts from the book in installments.

“Do we have the green light?” from around the world had gathered in religious leaders can discuss peace.” “No, not yet. We still don’t have a one place and seriously discussed how We talked for an hour, and our meet- clear passage.” to contribute to world peace. President ing was widely reported in the news- “Will we even be able to hold the Heinemann, a devout Protestant, lis- papers and on television. second conference next year?” tened attentively, and when we asked In West Germany both Catholics and Th ese were typical of the exchanges for his support for the second assem- Protestants were fairly equal in number, between the members of the executive bly, he told us, “I am full of admira- which seemed to make it representative committee of Religions for Peace when tion for the eff orts you are all making. of European Christianity, while Berlin, they met. From a personal point of view, I think divided between the communist bloc Eventually, it was decided to hold an that Berlin would be a most suitable on the one hand and the community of international conference every four years place for you to hold a meeting where free nations on the other, represented in when I was in New York in November 1971, attending the preparatory meetings of the executive committee of Religions for Peace for the Second World Assembly, which was held in Europe in 1974. We immediately began the prelim- inary groundwork. In 1972 Dr. Dana McLean Greeley and I traveled around meeting religious leaders in Europe, par- ticularly those in what was then West Germany. Accompanied by Dr. Maria A. Lücker, who had been a member of the executive committee for the Kyoto conference, we visited Gustav Heinemann, the president of West Germany, and described to him the achievements of the Kyoto confer- ence, explaining in detail how approxi- mately three hundred religious leaders

40 Dharma World April–June 2016 Nikkyo Niwano, the founder of Rissho Kosei-kai, was an honorary president of Religions for Peace and honorary chairman of Shinshuren (Federation of New Religious Organizations of Japan) at the time of his death in October 1999. He was awarded the 1979 Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion.

miniature the actual structure of the con- When I thought more deeply about temporary world. Truly West Germany what had brought me to where I was was a fitting place to hold a world assem- then, it seemed that in all that had hap- bly and we were confident that the sec- pened—my founding of Rissho Kosei- ond one would be held there. kai, my role in the establishment of We continued to visit religious lead- Shinshuren (Federation of New Religious ers, reporting on the Kyoto conference Organizations of Japan)—I thought I had and seeking their support for the second simply done what was needed to pro- assembly. They included Bishop Hermann mote interreligious cooperation. Because Kunst, who was the first authorized rep- I realized the necessity that someone as resentative of the Evangelical Church in a volunteer had to be assigned to achieve Germany to the West German govern- that goal, I decided to be that “someone.” ment; Metropolitan Irinäos, the highest This I explained to Bishop Kunst, and leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in spoke to him frankly about Religions western Europe; Metropolitan Nikodim of for Peace’s progress down to the pres- the Russian Orthodox Church; Professor ent. The bishop then threw me another Richard von Weizsäcker, later presi- pointed question, “Do you believe in dent of West Germany; and Dr. Joseph God?” Perhaps he was under the impres- J. Spae, general secretary of SODEPAX, sion that Buddhists held atheistic ideas. the Committee on Society, Development, He was uncompromising. “If you don’t and Peace, headquartered in Geneva recognize an absolute God, how can and run jointly by the World Council your organization be called a religion?” a lot of similarity here with the relation- of Churches and the Vatican. Because I knew that the Encyclopae­ ship between your God and Jesus Christ, Perhaps my most memorable meet- dia Britannica describes “Buddhism” as whom he gave to the world. I am here ing was with Bishop Kunst, who asked not recognizing any supreme deity or today at the command of the Eternal me out of the blue what my qualifica- first cause, I thought it was likely that Buddha. Hasn’t your God in heaven made tions were to be making such a visit. Bishop Kunst’s questions were based on similar demands of you? Don’t you hear It was a completely unexpected ques- this idea. Furthermore, since there was the voice of God also?” tion. I had certainly been traveling the another view in European thought that For the first time, Bishop Kunst nod- world calling for participation in the monotheism is a more advanced form of ded his approval. “I understand. Yes, I world assembly, but what actually were religion than polytheism, I thought his understand very well. Meeting with you my qualifications for involving myself uncompromising question was natural. today has indeed been deeply mean- in this way? I replied, “I am the pres- I responded: “In Buddhism we call ingful and valuable.” He clasped my ident of a lay Buddhist organization the fundamental great life that sustains hand tightly, almost as if he were going called Rissho Kosei-kai. I believe that everything in the universe and causes all to embrace me, and then himself tele- we can contribute to peace if we can phenomena to appear the Eternal Buddha. phoned a number of Protestant church unite the strength of people of religion The historical Buddha Shakyamuni was leaders and, his face beaming, told me from around the world. This is why I an incarnation of the unborn and undying to be sure to go and visit them. am visiting religious leaders to ask for Eternal Buddha, who was born human to Dr. Lücker, who was with me, was their support.” propagate his teachings. I think there is enthusiastic about how the meeting had

Dharma World April–June 2016 41 gone and told me gladly, “Today’s talk was very good, very philosophical.” I had heard that many Germans receive books as birthday presents and seem to like this kind of discussion. All the religious leaders that I visited expressed great interest in the activi- ties of Religions for Peace and prom- ised their support.

A Way Will Be Found

Despite all we had achieved so far, we still did not have the green light to hold the second assembly in Germany. In fact, it seemed as if the wind had started to blow in the opposite direction, with an unexpected tragedy. In 1972 an Arab terrorist group took nine members of the Israeli team at the Munich Olympics hostage and eventually killed them. In the end, seventeen people died. It was helplessness, I was not particularly wor- Tokyo. I still remember what the for- not too surprising therefore that West ried. The more gloomy the expressions tuneteller told me. “If you have the impe- German religious leaders felt appre- of those around me, the more cheer- tus, it will steadily lead you to success. hensive about holding a large assem- ful I tried to be. “There’s no reason to If you are put in situations where you bly in their country. Another element think,” I told them, “that we shall fail, can lead your daily life uneventfully, you that would affect the decision was the precisely because people of religion from will not achieve anything. Your positive plan for a large meeting of Protestants around the world will gather together attitude, which lets you clear obstacles, in West Germany in 1974, and it was felt and do good. If our hearts are accept- will make you grow as a person.” I just that it would be difficult to hold another able to the gods and the buddhas, then listened, neither believing nor disbe- large, similar conference in the same we will receive their protection, with- lieving, but since then I have come to year. We eventually came to the reluc- out any doubt at all.” agree with what was said. tant decision that it would be impossible This is how I invariably think. People Intrinsically optimistic, I tend to to hold the Second World Assembly in often say to me, “You are always so opti- think that most things will turn out West Germany and so faced the urgent mistic,” but actually my way of thinking well in time. Therefore, leading my daily task of finding another venue. is very simple. If we continue to do our life quietly and in peace, without doing Brussels was then proposed. The utmost to follow the Buddha’s teachings, anything, would make me too compla- Belgian capital was geographically in we cannot but receive the protection of cent. But if I am faced with an unavoid- the center of western Europe and was the gods and the buddhas, and we will able problem, I cannot relax, and telling also the headquarters of the European find our way as a matter of course. I have myself I have to do something, I give the Communities. However, we could not faith in this. In other words, if we entrust problem my full attention. Since the time expect a quick decision from Belgian ourselves to the Buddha, all we can do I realized this, whenever I face difficul- religious circles after being so abruptly is strive to do our utmost and believe ties, I make it a rule to tell myself that asked to organize an international assem- completely that whatever results in the things have only gotten more interesting. bly like the one in Kyoto in 1970. end is the Buddha’s reply. We don’t need Many people who draw fortune lots As the days went by, Religions for to worry or connive. By leaving every- at temples and shrines immediately feel Peace officials became more and more thing to the Buddha, we can devote our happy or unhappy depending whether anxious, wondering whether the assem- whole effort to the task in hand with- they draw a good or a bad one. Even bly could be held at all, and it showed on out being sidetracked. if we draw an unlucky lot, we should their faces. Despite their growing appre- I once had my palm read at a temple receive it with gratitude as the Buddha’s hension and the prevailing feeling of fair at Arai Yakushi Temple in Nakano, message—teaching us that we should

42 Dharma World April–June 2016 determine to rid ourselves of all conceit environment, but during the conference and accumulate merit by giving thanks I was greatly impressed over and over for everything. We can say that this is again by the trailblazing understanding the basis of the idea of turning adver- that European people of faith had of the sity into good fortune. time we were living in. Let me give an So even when it seemed that prep- example. Even I knew how important arations for the second assembly had breast milk is for infants’ health, but I hit a snag, I did not hold back, and told thought that manufactured substitutes myself that this was the just beginning. also provided nutrition and could not And then in February 1974 there came be bad. However, because large quanti- a message from Dr. Homer Jack, sec- ties of powdered milk were being sent retary general of Religions for Peace, as aid to developing countries, mothers beginning, “Dear Friend, good news.” He there had changed from breastfeeding passed on the text of a decision reached their babies to using formula, resulting by an extraordinary subcommittee of in a rising percentage of infant deaths Religions for Peace held in Amsterdam because it lowered their immunity. The at the end of January: “WCRP II [the smaller numbers of doctors in those Second World Assembly of Religions countries only exacerbated the prob- for Peace] will be held at the Catholic lem. People of faith from Europe and University of Leuven in Belgium from the United States insisted vehemently August 28.” that there should be a boycott of dairy Thus after many twists and turns, products from companies that produced single technical difficulty regarding dis- more than four hundred religious lead- this powdered milk. This surprised me armament that cannot be addressed, ers from fifty-three countries gathered very much. Apart from their proposal but peace could be achieved only with in Leuven for the second assembly. The of organizing a boycott campaign, I was people’s strong will to abolish nuclear city, surrounded by fields and woods, much inspired by their energy and ideas weapons and demand peace. Baron Noel- is some twenty-five kilometers east of directly connected with social issues. Baker knew very well the insanity of mil- Brussels, about an hour’s journey by On their side, the European del- itary expansion, having been Britain’s train. It is the site of one of Europe’s egates were very impressed to see sixty secretary of state for air. oldest universities, and about half of its Japanese delegates at the assembly, rep- I think it was about four years earlier population of some forty thousand was resenting various sects and denomina- that Japan had signed the Treaty on the students. Gothic spires dot the land- tions of Japanese religious circles. Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, scape, reminding us that its history is There is no doubt that the appeals but it had yet to be ratified [and was closely interwoven with Christianity. for peace by the delegates from Japan, a in June 1976]. For people of faith who Many of the old buildings bear scars country with a peace constitution, res- prayed for the day when nuclear arma- of the assaults made on the city during onated deeply among delegates from ment reduction at last became complete the Second World War, and I learned other countries. However, the Japanese abolition, this had to be the first step in that they have been left as memorials also faced the harsh question “Isn’t Japan containing nuclear weapons. to past sufferings. preaching peace after running to safety?” Earth has been around for six billion The very fact that at the first assembly Europe, we must remember, was a region years. Surely there is importance in the in Kyoto religious leaders from around the that was directly experiencing a con- fact that each and every one of us hap- world had been able to sit together in one frontation between two worlds. pens to have been born together at this place and exchange ideas for the sake of The English Nobel Peace Prize lau- time and in this place. The phrase “One peace was a matter of enormous signifi- reate and campaigner for disarmament time, one meeting” means we should cance. Here at Leuven we went one step Philip Noel-Baker (Baron Noel-Baker) cherish every occasion we first meet further. With “Religion and the Quality also took part in the Leuven assembly. someone, since it might be only once of Life” as the key theme, our discussion He said to me that since the Japanese in a lifetime. We must be grateful for a concentrated on the ways religious peo- had experienced two atomic bombings, single meeting in six billion years and ple could work together for peace. in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, they had a understand the inherent stupidity of Today the expression “quality of special responsibility to work for peace. the threat that we all face. life” is closely related to concern for the In today’s world, he said, there isn’t a To be continued

Dharma World April–June 2016 43 THE THREEFOLD LOTUS SUTRA: A MODERN COMMENTARY

The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law

Chapter 25

The All-Sidedness of the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World (3) This is the 124th installment of a detailed commentary on the Threefold Lotus Sutra by the founder of Rissho Kosei-kai, Rev. Nikkyo Niwano.

TEXT Even if the three-thousand-great-thousandfold being possessed by so-called evil spirits, others fall into mis- world were full of yakshas and rakshasas seeking to afflict taken religious faith and stray from the Middle Way, and people, these wicked demons, hearing them call upon the others are infected with perverse ideas and go to extremes. name of the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World, In any case, misfortune of demons means the threat of being would not be able to see them with [their] wicked eyes, possessed and deceived by something or someone. much less hurt them. If a demon trying to possess someone hears that person invoke the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World, COMMENTARY Yakshas. Along with rakshasas, these the demon will be unable to deceive and harm them. This is are reputed to be ferocious demons. It is held that if they what is meant by demons being unable to see “with [their] are converted, they become guardian spirits of Buddhism. wicked eyes” those who invoke that bodhisattva. • See them with [their] wicked eyes. This means to look at • Much less hurt them. Because demons with malicious people with the evil intent of possessing them and bring- intent cannot confront people, they are all the less able to ing them misfortune. harm or ruin them. In this sense, escaping the misfortune of demons by Misfortune of demons. People who suffer misfortune of invoking the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World demons are possessed by something vicious and lose sight means that evil like that of a demon cannot possess anyone of who they are. Some people actually lose their minds from who knows and steadfastly embraces the truth.

44 Dharma World April–June 2016 TEXT If, moreover, there be anyone, whether guilty of a People with money are bound by money; those with status crime or not, who, loaded with manacles, fetters, cangues, are bound by status; those with reputation are bound by rep- or chains, calls the name of the Bodhisattva Regarder of utation; those with scholarships are bound by scholarships. the Cries of the World, these shall all be snapped and bro- Thus, by restraining themselves, they are interfering with ken off and he shall be freed. acquiring what they really want. Without being aware of it, on their own they suppress actions that are truly human. COMMENTARY Cangues. A cangue is restraint similar It is all right to have any amount of money. It is fine to to a pillory, without being fixed to a base. have social standing, however high. Reputation is perfectly all right. Certainly the more learning one has, the better. Misfortune of imprisonment. If we take this literally, we The person who possesses such things without being con- are talking about something terrible. It would mean that strained by them and maintains freedom of mind can be the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World assists said to lead a truly human life. Furthermore, that person in prison escapes. Setting aside the possible case of false can put those things to excellent use and work for the ben- charges and false imprisonment, if real criminals could escape efit of society. from prison by invoking the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Freedom of mind brings happiness both to oneself and Cries of the World, there would be an end to public order. others and is a human being’s greatest joy. Completely achiev- The terms “manacles, fetters, cangues, and chains” are ing such a state of mind is the ultimate goal of humankind. used figuratively as symbols of mental restraints. People’s The person who attains it perfectly is called a buddha. greatest hope is for freedom. They may want many things, • Whether guilty of a crime or not. It is said that the Japanese but surely they want nothing as much as freedom. People word tsumi, which means “crime” or “sin,” derives from the desire money because it frees them from poverty. They want word for wrapper (tsutsumi). The purity that is the true status in order to be free of the inconveniences of restric- nature of a human being—whether we call it sincerity, the tions imposed by pressure and commands from above. higher self, or the Buddhist term buddha-nature—may be Unfortunately, although almost all people simply desire obscured by delusion, and that is called tsumi. That is, crime to be free of material restraints, they are not in the least or sin (tsumi) can veil and hide our inherent buddha-nature desirous of perfect freedom of mind, and cannot but per- and keep it from being revealed and thus calling forth our petually live lives that are restrained and not free. This must potential capabilities. be considered carefully. The passage in the text “If . . . there be anyone, whether One cannot, and should not, sever all restraints. What guilty of a crime or not” should be interpreted as follows: peo- would happen if one were not restrained from stealing? ple who are “guilty” hide, or “wrap up,” their buddha-nature Similarly, what would happen if one were freed from the so that it cannot be revealed. People who are “not guilty” do law against driving on the sidewalk? not “wrap up” their buddha-nature on their own, but are pre- Even in an ideal society there should not be a complete vented from revealing it by circumstances beyond their con- absence of restrictions. On the contrary, there should be trol. Whether guilty of a crime or not, if one is “wrapping up” even more restrictions. However, in an ideal society the one’s buddha-nature, it means voluntarily binding oneself or restrictions would not be felt as restraints. For example, involuntarily being bound by circumstances outside the self. people walking on a sidewalk feel no inconvenience from Whatever the case may be, if we just invoke the Bodhisattva confining themselves to the sidewalk, and do not even think Regarder of the Cries of the World, we are immediately freed about it, because they are used to sidewalks. They do not from restraints and gain complete freedom of mind. This even think about whether they are walking in the street or is because, as we have noted repeatedly, the Bodhisattva on the sidewalk. Regarder of the Cries of the World symbolizes true wis- Even if our minds are free, we agree that people should dom (the Wonderful Dharma). It stands to reason that if walk on the sidewalk rather than in the street, and we do we just take refuge in true wisdom, all the delusions that not think of the sidewalk as a constraint. Conversely, if we have bound us internally, and all the unfavorable social insist on complete freedom of action by walking in the street conditions that have bound us externally, will immedi- where there is a continuous stream of cars, what will hap- ately disappear. pen? We will anxiously watch each approaching car, and turn incessantly this way and that. In short, exercising free- TEXT If the three-thousand-great-thousandfold world dom of action alone can deprive us of freedom of mind. were full of enemies and robbers, and there were a merchant Freedom of mind is important, but most people have for- chief who led many merchants having charge of costly jew- gotten about seeking it. They impose restraints on themselves. els along a perilous road, and among them one man speaks

Dharma World April–June 2016 45 forth: “Good sons! Be not afraid. With one mind do you Suppose something frightening happens and a great invoke the title of the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of leader says, “Do not be afraid. If you invoke the Bodhisattva the World, for this bodhisattva is able to give courage to Regarder of the Cries of the World wholeheartedly, he will all the living? If you invoke his name, you will be delivered make you fearless.” If the multitude obeys, each will immedi- from these enemies and robbers.” On hearing this, if all the ately overcome fear and confusion, and regain peace of mind. traders together with one voice cry, “Namah! Bodhisattva Invoking the name of the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Regarder of the Cries of the World!” then, by invoking his Cries of the World means focusing on things in light of the name, they will be delivered. truth of the Middle. That means no longer feeling uneasy about phenomenal tribulations and trying to turn one’s eyes COMMENTARY Merchant chief. As we pointed out earlier, to the reality of this world. When you do this, you will nat- this refers not to the head of a merchant household, but to urally see that your tribulations are only waves on the sur- the leader of a caravan. In places like India and the Middle face of the great ocean of life. East, traders traveled in large caravans to avoid getting lost Waves have originally no substance or entity. They are in the deserts and dense forests and to protect themselves merely the temporary movement of the surface of the water from bandits. The merchant chief was the caravan leader. caused by wind and other agents. Without these agents, This merchant chief symbolizes the religious leaders, there are no waves. However turbulent the waves are, the mentors, and writers whose mission is to guide the hearts bottom of the sea is always calm and silent. and minds of the public. Tribulations seem real and can make people tremble with • Having charge of costly jewels along a perilous road. The fear, but like the waves of the sea, they are unsubstantial. costly jewels are buddha-nature, humankind’s most valuable The view of dependent origination determines how we treasure. They symbolize sincerity, or true human nature. see things. Since all things are only a phenomenal appear- “Having charge of” means to carefully preserve the pre- ance produced by the unity between causes and conditions, cious treasure and approach the destination. The destination when the causes and conditions change, we see things differ- is the state of mind that fully manifests one’s buddha-nature. ently. Similarly, if we view apparent tribulations philosoph- Passage along the “perilous road” signifies making one’s ically, in light of the truth of the Middle, our tribulations way along the perilous journey of life, filled with hard- will vanish before we know it. ships and temptations, to which one might give way and Therefore, if one wholeheartedly invokes the name of fall into a ravine. the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World (focus- • Able to give courage to all the living. Earlier we learned ing on the view of the truth of the Middle), then one will that there are three kinds of donation: donation of material surely be delivered from sufferings caused by “enemies and goods or money, donation of the Dharma, and donation of robbers,” that is, the fear of tribulations. the self. But there is another extremely important kind of donation: the donation of fearlessness. This means ridding TEXT Infinite Thought! Such is the awe-inspiring super- people of all their fears and leading them to an ideal state natural power of the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of of peace of mind. The Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries the World. of the World gives all people this donation of fearlessness. COMMENTARY Awe-inspiring supernatural power. “Awe- Misfortune of robbery. “Enemies and robbers” are the trib- inspiring” here refers to what may be called a force of char- ulations occurring in the course of human life. However acter that moves and inspires people. virtuously we may live, there is nothing we can do to fend This concludes the section on the awe-inspiring supernat- off “robbers.” All people, however respectable or spiritu- ural powers of the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the ally awakened, are afflicted by tribulations. But a person World to liberate living beings from the seven misfortunes. of noble character will not fear them. The brave do not share other people’s view of tribula- TEXT If any living beings much given to carnal pas- tions. Even death, which is the greatest human calamity, is sion [constantly] keep in mind and revere the Bodhisattva nothing to the brave. They die serenely in the belief that Regarder of the Cries of the World, they will be set free they are merely returning to where they ought to return. from their passions. But this is beyond ordinary people who have not fully matured through their religious practice. When something COMMENTARY terrible happens, they immediately panic, trembling with Greed. The phrase “much given to carnal passion” refers fear and having no idea what to do. to greed, one of the three poisons. As the passage says, it is

46 Dharma World April–June 2016 only natural that if one always seeks and values true wis- anger may cause headaches or loss of appetite. This is also dom, the mind will naturally grow impartial and virtuous why people who are always angry do not live long. and sexual desire will be curbed. Physical harm is one thing, but feelings themselves are Sexual desire is essential for preservation of the spe- also very unpleasant. Long after a provocative incident, cies and is neither good nor bad. However, unbridled sex- anger can leave traces. If someone apologizes and you get ual desire causes worries, brings misfortune to others, and your way, the cause of the anger should be completely gone. wreaks havoc on public order. Therefore, if one keeps in You realize this in rational terms, but you still feel through- mind the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World, out your being the “fuel” that gave rise to the anger, and whose spirit embodies the truth of the Middle, one is bound you recognize that it would not take much of a spark to set to exercise moderation. that anger off again. In Buddhism, such a state of mind is Actually, the phrase “any living beings much given to called “the residue of defilements (vasana),” and as long as carnal passion” does not refer to sexual desire alone, but this state remains, the feeling of unpleasantness will con- to all human desires. tinue unabated. Since desires are originally instinctual, they are neither Thus, anger caused by focusing on the “lesser” self will good nor evil. If a desire is given a good direction, it will torment above all the person who gets angry. There may be good; if it is given a bad direction, it will turn into evil. be meaning in this if, despite your own suffering, the tar- Furthermore, if a desire is kept within natural bounds, it get of your anger is made happier. But that does not hap- will not bring unhappiness to anyone. However, if it grows pen with the kind of anger that springs from the “lesser” unnaturally, the excesses will bring about various torments. self. The other person also feels bad. Consequently, your In any case, all natural desires are not bad, but when anger never causes things to take a favorable turn and nine one becomes covetous, and desires grow unnaturally, and times out of ten it makes things worse. when willfulness leads one in an unnatural direction, the In summary, anger brings suffering to oneself and oth- result is suffering and misfortune for oneself and others. ers and worsens the situation, so it causes great misfortune. Therefore, if we always keep in mind the Bodhisattva For this reason, Shakyamuni strongly admonishes against Regarder of the Cries of the World, who embodies the truth anger as the second of the three poisons, along with greed of the Middle, our desires will always remain natural, and and folly (or foolishness). we will lead virtuous and decent lives untroubled by desires. If one constantly keeps this in mind and reveres the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World, who embod- TEXT If any much given to irascibility [constantly] keep ies true wisdom and is the symbol of great benevolence and in mind and revere the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries great compassion, the selfish anger of the “lesser” self will of the World, they will be set free from their irascibility. no longer erupt. Anger is nipped in the bud by an aware- ness of the great difference between the boundless truth of COMMENTARY the Middle and the narrowness of willful anger. Anger. Indignation over great wrongs is important, and I know many people who, although they tried in vain on behalf of a nation or humankind, it transcends the self. to morally cultivate their character by admonishing them- It is born of great compassion, and not narrow wrath over selves not to get angry, learned to instinctively control their individual concerns. anger only after they accepted the teachings of Buddhism. “Irascibility” in the passage above means anger over small It is perfectly natural for this to happen. matters, on behalf of one’s “lesser” self. It means being angry In the first place, just seeing the compassionate face of over not having one’s own way, over things not turning out the Buddha in the morning and evening makes a consider- as one hoped, over insults, or someone else getting the upper able difference. The same is true of the Bodhisattva Regarder hand. This is anger caused by being caught up in the self. of the Cries of the World, for he is a manifestation of the This kind of anger first of all torments oneself. An Buddha and his messenger. Our minds are calmed simply American physiologist, Walter B. Cannon (1871–1945), by looking upon his beautiful, gentle, compassionate visage. verified this through research on cats. When cats in his Dr. Hideki Yukawa (1907–81), a theoretical physicist and experiments became angry, their heartbeat increased, their Japan’s first Nobel Prize winner, edited Ningen no Kagaku blood pressure and blood sugar rose, their red blood cells [Human sciences], volume 6 of the series Ningen to Kagaku increased, their adrenal gland secreted more adrenalin, and [People and science (Tokyo: Nakayama Shoten, 1956)]. For their stomach and intestines stopped functioning normally. the frontispiece he presented a photograph of an image of This is why, when people lose their temper, their faces the Eleven-faced Kannon with a Thousand Arms, with the turn red and their extremities may tremble. It is why deep following description:

Dharma World April–June 2016 47 Although this image of Kannon has eleven faces and a Foolish people give no thought to the consequences of thousand arms, it seems to lose nothing of the harmony their actions or how their actions might influence their sur- of the whole body and peace of mind. It may not suit roundings. They essentially have no idea what place they the taste of modern people, and its perfect features may occupy in the world or indeed what their own role in it instead dissatisfy them somewhat. People today possess is. They do not know the delight of loving others and liv- many faces and arms as a result of the remarkable prog- ing in harmony with others, a joy that belongs to a higher ress of science and technology. They now have new eyes dimension. for their work, such as the microscope and telescope. A wise person is just the opposite. Suppose someone They have produced magic hands in order to avoid the who could not finish elementary school is capable only of danger of radioactivity. Electronic computers have even tending cows. However, he does his work with complete begun to assist people’s mental labor. All of these aid sincerity. As a result, he can communicate so well with the human advances in science. People today, however, live cows that they thrive and give abundant milk. in a world surrounded by machinery, and have become He is always kind and genial, never arguing with any- rigid and willful. They seem to be finding more beauty in one. Because his employer trusts him completely, he is streamlined shapes and angular forms. A peaceful and given complete responsibility for the cows. He gets along compassionate expression like that of Kannon is not to well with everyone around him. be seen in the faces of people today. Someone showing He knows that tending cows is what suits him best, so not the least sign of neurosis seems to be considered if agents from factories in town offer to double his wages, abnormal. But is it not true that the more marked this he turns down their offers. When some unscrupulous per- tendency becomes, the more deeply and keenly do peo- son entices him to steal and sell milk for his own profit, he ple seek peace of mind and world peace? ignores that person. Behind his back, others may call him stupid or feeble- Together with his intention in selecting a picture of an image minded, but he is certainly neither stupid nor ignorant. of Kannon for the frontispiece of a volume on science, this He is truly wise. This is because only upright people, who passage is one of great significance. do their work wholeheartedly, are fully human. Those who lead admirable lives, working for the good of others, also TEXT If any much given to foolishness [constantly] keep possess true human wisdom. in mind and revere the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries That is why it is preached that shortsighted people who of the World, they will be set free from their infatuation. tend to act entirely by instinct should always remember and revere wholeheartedly the Bodhisattva Regarder of the COMMENTARY Cries of the World. He embodies true wisdom, so if they Folly (foolishness). Foolishness does not mean being constantly keep him in mind, they will receive and live slow-witted, but rather not possessing true wisdom. We with true wisdom and naturally come to act harmoniously. would assume that a high government official who grad- uated from a first-rate university must have a sharp intel- TEXT Infinite Thought! Such are the abundant benefits lect. Yet many high officials have been sent to prison for conferred by the supernatural power of the Bodhisattva taking only moderate bribes and have therefore wasted Regarder of the Cries of the World. Consequently, let all their lives. the living ever keep him in mind. Similarly, we would not think that a student who over- came great competitive odds to be admitted to a first-rate COMMENTARY The previous three sections preach the university is stupid. Yet there are cases of such students merits of the Regarder of the Cries of the World, who deliv- embracing revolutionary ideologies, which may be accept- ers living beings from the three poisons of greed, anger, and able, but then these radical students break up into mutu- folly (foolishness). ally hostile factions. They use violence against one another, and react to punishment by their university by commit- To be continued ting such aberrant acts as confining the university chan- cellor and members of the faculty. This is what is meant In this series, passages in the TEXT sections are quoted by foolishness. from The Threefold Lotus Sutra, Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Folly in the Buddhist sense means not knowing or attempt- Company, 1975, with slight revisions. The diacritical marks ing to learn the truth. It means acting instinctively, whether originally used for several Sanskrit terms in the TEXT sec- an act is right or wrong, good or evil. tions are omitted here for easier reading.

48 Dharma World April–June 2016