REFLECTIONS

All Who Are Born Must Die by Nichiko Niwano

February 15 is the date on which Rissho before that, sorrow at being confronted Nichiko Niwano is president of Kosei-kai holds the ceremony marking with the ruin of his country—accept- Rissho Kosei-kai and an honorary the day when, some twenty-five hun- ing such dire circumstances. Therefore, president of Religions for Peace. dred years ago, Shakyamuni entered nir- when I was reciting chapter 16 of the He also serves as special advisor vana. This observance of Shakyamuni’s Lotus Sutra, “The Eternal Life of the to Shinshuren (Federation of New entrance to nirvana is, along with the Tathagata,” and read, “The words of the Religious Organizations of Japan). anniversaries of the day of Shakyamuni’s Buddha are true, not false,” I was struck birth and the day of his enlightenment, by the thought that what the Buddha told one of the three important annual events us is the truth, not meaningless words. was eased by this. I whiled away today for Buddhists, and while we praise his I then pondered anew the importance doing nothing.” Conversely, when we virtues on this day, we also take the of accepting the truth of life and death lead our lives supposing that tomor- opportunity to again reflect upon what as the highest priority in our existence. row may never come, we fully expe- matters most in life. rience each and every moment of life. In this regard, as Zen master Dogen Shining Light into When we can accept the fact of death (1200–1253) declared, “The most impor- Hearts and Minds in this way, we need not uselessly fear tant matter for a Buddhist is to be com- it or find the thought of it abhorrent. pletely clear about the meaning of birth Everything that is born will someday Furthermore, by doing so we can cher- and the meaning of death.” In other die—that is the essential course of nature, ish the memory of those who have gone words, we should clearly understand which is preordained and necessary. and our perspective becomes richer the reality of life and death. The fact Yet when we hear this, the thought of and deeper. that all who are born must die, that death often captures our attention and We feel sad when those close to us death comes equally and indiscrimi- makes us feel gloomy. However, without die, but when we have been overcome nately to one and all, should be etched life there is no death, and so by being by this sadness in our whole being, the on our hearts. clear in our minds about death, we cast strength to once again face life positively We need to be clear in our minds light on life. Life and death are essen- wells up within us, meaning that such about this fact because it lets us know tially part of the same thing: one can- sadness is an essential part of life. At the the preciousness of the life we now have not exist without the other. same time, being able to accept that life and makes us aware of the value of our In Essays in Idleness, one of the clas- and death are parts of one thing allows being alive. sics of Japanese literature, Yoshida Kenko us to reflect more deeply on the legacy Incidentally, during morning recita- (1283–1350) tells us, “If we had the abil- of those who have passed away, learn tion not long ago, I suddenly thought, ity to live forever, how colorless our lives from and praise their positive traits, “Shakyamuni used his physical exis- would be. Because we are impermanent, and vow to lead our lives as they led tence to tell us these things.” As I have our lives are rich with color.” Precisely theirs. This is just like our learning said before, Shakyamuni was no super- because we know that our lives are lim- from Shakyamuni and looking up to human; he was born a flesh-and-blood ited, we lead purposeful lives and can Founder Nikkyo Niwano as our guide, human being, and he entered nirvana concentrate on the matters before our thereby gaining renewed power to con- at the age of eighty. Shakyamuni, who very eyes. We may forget the truth of life duct our lives. expounded the truth of impermanence, and death, as Zen master Ikkyu (1394– By doing so I want each of us to lead himself lived out the very truth of what 1481) described in this humorous poem: a life that can shine light into the hearts he taught: not only illness and death, but “‘Tomorrow is another day,’ my mind and minds of other people. ≥

Dharma World July–September 2014 1 JULY–SEPT. 2014 VOL. 41

FEATURES: Life After Death

1 All Who Are Born Must Die by Nichiko Niwano Dharma World presents Buddhism as a practical living religion and 3 East Asian Buddhists promotes interreligious dialogue and the Aft erlife for world peace. It espouses views by Miriam Levering that emphasize the dignity of life, seeks to rediscover our inner nature 5 Modern Perspectives and bring our lives more in accord on Death and Aft erlife with it, and investigates causes of by Liz Wilson human suff ering. It tries to show 9 Th e Practice of Faith in Th is how religious principles help solve World and Belief in the problems in daily life and how the Hereaft er: Th e Aft erlife in Islam least application of such principles by Jiro Arimi has wholesome eff ects on the world around us. It seeks to demonstrate 12 “Life aft er Death” in Traditional truths that are fundamental to all Tibetan Buddhism religions, truths on which all people by Margaret Gouin can act. 16 Exploring Traditional African Belief Systems and Th eir Publisher: Moriyasu Okabe Relation to the Understanding of Death and Aft erlife Executive Director: Jun’ichi Nakazawa by Nomfundo Walaza Director: Kazumasa Murase 20 Life in the Spirit: A Christian Outlook on Life beyond Death Senior Editor: Kazumasa Osaka by Juan Masiá Editor: Katsuyuki Kikuchi 23 Japan’s March 11, 2011, Disaster and the Strength of Buddhism: Editorial Advisors: Living with an Awareness of Death and the Dead Miriam Levering, Gene Reeves, Yoshiaki Sanada, by Susumu Shimazono Michio T. Shinozaki Copy Editors: 26 Th e Call for a Deeper and More Inclusive Interreligious Engagement William Feuillan, Gary Hoiby, by Dena Merriam DeAnna Satre, Catherine Szolga 32 Side by Side: Notes on the Twin Buddhas of the Lotus Sutra Editorial Staff : in the Stone Carver’s Art by Hank Glassman Ryuichi Kaneko, Satoe Izawa Subscription Staff : Kazuyo Okazaki 36 Th e Prism of the Lotus Sutra (5) by Atsushi Kanazawa Layout and Design: Abinitio Design 38 Pivotal Encounters with American Religious Leaders Cover photo: Shutterstock by Nikkyo Niwano Photoshop work by Abinitio Design THE THREEFOLD LOTUS SUTRA: A MODERN COMMENTARY 44 Th e Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law Chapter 23: Th e Former Lives of the Bodhisattva Medicine King (1)

Dharma World is published quarterly by Kosei Publishing Company, 2-7-1 Wada, Suginami-ku, Tokyo 166-8535. E-mail: [email protected]. Copyright © 2014 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

East Asian Buddhists and the Afterlife by Miriam Levering

Miriam Levering, Professor Emerita of The implication of the notion of samsara is that this lifetime is Religious Studies and Asian Studies the afterlife of a previous lifetime, indeed, of many previous at the University of Tennessee, is lifetimes. Likewise, more lifetimes are to come, shaped by an international advisor to Rissho both the previous and the present lifetimes. Kosei-kai. She received her PhD from Harvard University in 1978. She has edited a book called Rethinking One of the things that characterize the all lifetimes in this world were marked Scripture, a study of the concepts premodern world is belief in an aft er- by dissatisfaction and suffering, that and uses of sacred texts in the major life. Death was a hard fact of daily life: existence in samsara was more to be religious traditions, and has written as some Westerners still say at funerals, feared than loved. Some way of free- many articles on women and gender “In the midst of life we are in death.” ing oneself and others from samsara in Chan and Zen Buddhism. Th at is the case now, and it was even needed to be found. more the case in the premodern world, While Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists this life is passing and will be replaced where the germ theory of disease and all sought freedom from samsara, by a future life. antibiotics had not yet been discovered, Buddhists taught that freedom was to Th e Wheel of Life is a common fea- while plagues, wars, famines, and natu- be found by deeply grasping the real- ture of Tibetan Buddhist temples but is ral disasters constantly threatened. Yet ity of impermanence and change, while rarely found in East Asia. In East Asia, in the prescientifi c era, most people had Hindus taught that freedom was to be to remind believers and nonbelievers a conviction and hope that the present found through a deep insight into the alike of the possibility in the next life life was not the end. permanent core of the self, the essence of losing our joys and pleasures in the In India, around the time of the of all things. Jains and Hindus both held human realm, Buddhists painted scenes Buddha, people’s ideas of the afterlife that all actions were causes of the cir- of the process of judgment that held changed. Before there were Buddhists cumstances one faced in the next and the answer to our postmortem fate. In and Jains, people on the Indian sub- future lives, while Buddhists held that Buddhist theory the process that gov- continent believed that one lived in actions could be good, bad, or neutral, erned rebirth required no judges. It was this world once. The emphasis was on with only the good and bad actions shap- the natural law of cause and eff ect. But this one life—gods were petitioned for ing one’s future births. in China, Korea, and Japan, the servants wealth, sons, victory, and cattle, while Th e implication of the notion of sam- of King Yama (a Buddhist fi gure) and the notion of an afterlife was rather sara is that this lifetime is the aft erlife the Ten Kings of Hell hauled the newly vague. By the time of the Buddha, a of a previous lifetime, indeed, of many dead person before their courts in the new notion had just begun to take hold: previous lifetimes. Likewise, more life- dark realms to decide that person’s fate. that death is followed by a new birth times are to come, shaped by both the In East Asia, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in an endless cycle of life and death previous and the present lifetimes. In (known in Japan as Jizo and in China called samsara. Buddhists, Jains, and the Mulāsarvāstivāda Vinaya, it is taught as Dizang) assumed the chief role as proto-Hindus had different theories of that a large image of the samsaric Wheel the Savior of the Six Paths of Rebirth. what caused and shaped rebirths, but of Birth and Rebirth should be painted If one’s current circumstances, plea- all agreed that cause and effect was the on the wall at the entrance to the mon- sures and pains, are caused by past good cosmic law governing life and death. asteries. Th e Wheel of Birth and Rebirth and bad actions—the word karma means Not only that, all groups agreed that was thus to be a constant reminder that “act”—then death is the moment at which

Dharma World July–September 2014 3 those circumstances can undergo a large of one’s last thought at the moment of change. In the circumstances of this life, death in determining one’s afterlife des- you or I may be enjoying the fruits of tination. The best preparation for a good past good actions, but in the next life- death was, of course, a good life. But just time our circumstances may reflect our before death, memories and emotions bad actions. Now we are well-born, rel- from the life just ending would flood atively handsome, and intelligent; in the through the brain. If one’s last breath next life we may be born to a poor fam- occurred in the midst of a memory that ily in a war-torn country and be dull- made one angry, one could find one- witted and crippled from birth. Not self reborn as a ferocious beast. Even only that, Buddhists everywhere teach dying with emotional pain at leaving that the human realm is only one of one’s loved ones behind could prevent six realms of rebirth in which our past a good rebirth. The value of cultivating actions may cause us to find ourselves: mindfulness and surrounding oneself the hell realms (also called purgatories, with monks and buddha images rather since they are impermanent), the realm heavens in which the gods dwelled or than loved ones so that one could focus of hungry ghosts, the realm of animals, in one of the Buddha-purified lands. on a buddha at the moment of death the human realm, the realm of bellig- Particularly popular destinations were was emphasized in some schools. If one erent giants, and the realm of the gods. the Trimsaka Heaven, where the god died a good death, with one’s full mind Though we are human now, our past bad Indra presided; the Tushita Heaven, at peace and focused on devotion to a deeds may propel us out of the human where the next Buddha Maitreya awaited buddha, the living would see signs— realm altogether, into a hell or an ani- rebirth in our world; and the land puri- sounds, lights, radiant clouds—that one’s mal realm. The six rebirth destinations fied by Amitabha Buddha, where that death had been a good one and that one were powerfully illustrated in cave sculp- buddha currently taught. The merit from had achieved rebirth in a pure land. tures and paintings and in portable pic- good actions could be transferred to the All of the powerful East Asian tures used by preachers. In Japan, a book beloved dead or to all of one’s ances- Buddhist understandings of the after- by the Tendai scholar Genshin (942– tors, rescuing them from long, punish- life have had a great cultural impact. 1017), Ōjōyōshū (Essentials of birth in ing stays in the purgatories/hells and But they are merely the prelude to the the Pure Land), contains graphic depic- assuring them a desirable birth. deeper, universal East Asian understand- tions of the Buddhist hell realms and Uncertainty about one’s destiny after ing of samsara. The deeper understand- spurred many to seek rebirth in Amida this life was a powerful motivating force ing of our life and the Buddha’s life is Buddha’s Pure Land. in premodern East Asia, and to some that each moment of one’s life must be One who took refuge in the Buddha, extent remains so today. Even those treasured. One must, to the extent pos- Dharma, and Sangha and followed monks and teachers who encouraged sible, live selflessly and free from the Buddhist practices could be relatively their monastic and lay followers to for- distortions introduced by emotions, assured that he or she would not be get about the next life and concentrate attachments, and desires, manifesting reborn in the three unfavorable realms, in this life on awakening to the Buddha’s in each moment one’s true self that is that is, among the denizens of the hells, supreme insight made good use of the one with the Buddha. the hungry ghosts, and the animals. The zeal for practice of which someone fear- One must live each moment for oth- lives of animals were seen as undesirable ful of the next birth was capable. ers as well as for oneself. Fear of death because they were short and filled with In East Asia, the obligation of the must be fully faced, as must all of one’s killing. Humans suffer but are intelli- living to care for their ancestors in the attachments and problems, to enable gent enough to hear the Buddha’s teach- afterlife predated Buddhism, and the one to be free in each moment to create ing and follow it. A human birth was melding of the two produced powerful good things and avoid creating bad ones. described as being as rare as a deep- yearly Buddhist rituals to benefit all of Practice of the Dharma-gates taught by sea tortoise managing to find on the one’s ancestors. Funeral rites in which the Buddha is essential; its goal is to free ocean surface a log with a hole in it large monks performed rituals to transfer one from fear of life and fear of death, enough to permit its head and shoulders merit to the recent dead could assure including fear of possible rebirths. A to fit through it, and then succeeding in an improved afterlife. true follower of the Buddha vows to be pulling its head and shoulders through. In East Asian Buddhism consider- reborn in any realm in order to help sen- Devotion brought birth in the able emphasis was placed on the role tient beings attain the Buddha’s Way. ≥

4 Dharma World July–September 2014 FEATURES Modern Perspectives on Death and Afterlife by Liz Wilson

Liz Wilson is Professor of These are exciting times for those with an interest in what Comparative Religion at Miami might happen after death. One need not be a religious person University in Oxford, Ohio. She is an to fi nd some basis for believing that life can persist after the affi liate in the Asian/Asian American termination of our fl esh-and-blood existence. Conversations Studies program and in the Women’s, about the possibilities of postmortem life are drawing atheists, Gender, and Sexuality Studies agnostics, and scientists of all sorts to promising exchanges program. Her training is in South with religious people. Asian religious history, especially Buddhist and Hindu, with a focus on gender, sexuality, death and dying, Th ere are a number of ways to think Africa, in parts of the Middle East, in and family structures. She is the editor about life aft er death and a variety of the United States, and in Iceland, as of The Living and the Dead: Social issues involved. One can refl ect on beliefs well as in strongly Catholic European Dimensions of Death in South Asian about God, karma, or divine agents who countries such as Poland and Ireland Religion (SUNY Press, 2003). help to shape the fate of those who die. (Ronald Inglehart, Human Beliefs and One can think in purely philosophical Values: A Cross-Cultural Sourcebook to believe in life aft er death in the 1970s terms about probability and causality in [Siglo XXI Editores, 2004]: 338). with those who made such claims in the regard to the possibility of postmortem Americans typically score high 1990s. Th ey found that in the 1990s, the existence. One can investigate studies on religious belief in surveys. So it number of Jews and those with no reli- that explore the evidence for life aft er should come as no surprise that sur- gious affi liation reporting beliefs in life death. One can look at the impact of veys of Americans conducted at the aft er death was almost as high as that of such beliefs on those who hold them, end of the twentieth century indicate Christians, unlike two decades before. investigating their eff ect on the actions that more than 75 percent of Americans Not only are contemporary peo- and mental health of those persons. In believe in life aft er death (D. J. Klenow ple open to the possibility of life aft er this essay, we will combine all of these and R. C. Bolin, “Belief in an Aft erlife: death, but many also claim to have had approaches in order to give a brief over- A National Survey,” Omega: Journal of experiences in which they interacted view of modern perspectives on death Death and Dying 20, no. 1 [1989–1990]: with loved ones who had died. About and aft erlife. 63–74; A. M. Greeley and M. Hout, half of the widows and widowers in “Americans’ Increasing Belief in Life America and Britain believe that they Demographic aft er Death: Religious Competition and have felt the presence of their deceased Information Acculturation,” American Sociological spouse (A. M. Greeley, “Hallucinations Review 64, no. 6 [1999]: 813–35). among the Widowed,” Sociology and As one looks around the world with an Studies of surveys over time sug- Social Research 71, no. 4 [1987]: 258– eye to beliefs about life aft er death, one gest that these beliefs are growing more 65; W. D. Rees, “Th e Hallucinations of encounters considerable variation in popular, not less popular (as many of Widowhood,” British Medical Journal the degree to which people hold such the architects of modernity had pre- 4, no. 5782 [1971]: 37–41). beliefs. In a study conducted from 1999 dicted). For example, Greeley and Hout’s In addition to reporting a sense to 2002 that surveyed eighty-one coun- study “Americans’ Increasing Belief in of familiarity with the departed, con- tries, the results show a high incidence of Life aft er Death” compared the num- temporary people contacted in surveys belief in postmortem existence in North bers of American adults who claimed describe other very specifi c beliefs about

Dharma World July–September 2014 5 what happens after death. According as much time wondering to data released in 2009 by the Pew how to save for retirement Forum on Religion and Public Life, a as thinking about mat- quarter of Americans believe in rein- ters of death and postmor- carnation (http://www.pewforum tem existence. Modernity .org/2009/12/09/many-americans-mix has also brought skepti- -multiple-faiths, accessed January 21, cism. Many people cannot 2014). In Europe, the number of people accept the postmortem who believe in reincarnation is almost scenarios they were taught as large—around 22 percent, or just over as children. However, one out of five persons (E. Haraldsson, atheists and religious “Popular Psychology, Belief in Life after humanists who stand Death and Reincarnation in the Nordic outside conventional Countries, Western and Eastern Europe,” religious traditions sug- Nordic Psychology 58, no. 2 [2006]: 171– gest that one can believe 80). Given the Christian heritage of in life after death with- Europeans and Americans, these are out relying on traditional interesting statistics. We can speculate religious beliefs. In his about whether this demographic situ- recent book The Atheist ation is due to the persistence of pre- Afterlife, David Staume Christian beliefs or to the influence of calls for us to think about Asian religions or is simply a matter of an afterlife based on rea- thoughtful persons coming up with a son, imagining a postmor- full range of possibilities. tem existence without the It appears that belief in life after usual concepts of pre- death has salubrious results for a per- siding deity, judgment, son’s mental health. A study of 1,403 reward, and punishment adult Americans asked to report on their (The Atheist Afterlife: beliefs and their mental health found The Odds of an Afterlife: that a person who anticipated living on Reasonable; The Odds of after death is likely to experience less Meeting God There: Nil. anxiety, depression, obsession-com- [Agio Publishing House, pulsion, paranoia, phobia, and soma- 2009]). Staume compares tization (Kevin Flannelly et al., “Belief the afterlife with dream- in Life after Death and Mental Health: ing: using simple analo- Findings from a National Survey,” Journal gies like that of the dream of Nervous and Mental Disease 194, no. state, he seeks to remove the concept of have been resuscitated occasionally claim 7 [2006]: 524–29). the afterlife from its religious context. that when their hearts stopped beat- The question of what happens after ing, they experienced the world from Afterlife Scenarios death has traditionally been regarded outside their bodies and were able to and the Basis for Belief as a philosophical or religious one. In observe medical personnel trying to recent years, however, scientists have revive them, along with having other For some people, death is not as much shown interest in this avenue of inquiry. experiences such as seeing light, feel- of a preoccupation as it may have been Religious scenarios about life after death ing themselves move through space, for their ancestors. Contemporary med- have received scrutiny from scientific and interacting with deceased loved ical practices and medications, com- quarters in recent years, with scientists ones. Between 4 percent and 18 per- bined with better nutritional practices bringing their methods to bear on ques- cent of those resuscitated after a car- and higher safety standards than in tions about what happens to the brain diac arrest report having near-death centuries past, have led to longer life during clinical death and whether con- experiences (Daniel Williams, “At the spans for many people in the devel- sciousness persists after death. In cases Hour of Our Death,” Time International, oped world, who now tend to spend of clinical death, reports by people who September 10, 2007).

6 Dharma World July–September 2014 Culture appears to make a difference where only patients who are having an Swinburne and others suggest that we in the type of near-death experiences out-of-body experience would be able to can speak of the mind (or the soul) and that are common in different locales. see them. Patients who reported having the brain as two separate things. The Researchers have found, for example, had out-of-body experiences during car- brain may be responsible for the gener- that it is more common for Japanese peo- diac arrest were asked to identify whether ation of mental life, but mental life has ple to see rivers and ponds than tunnels they saw the signs and what information some independence from the brain. As during near-death experiences (Ornella the signs contained. Keith Ward puts it, “The soul need not Corazza and K. Kuruppuarachichi, Studies like this are designed to always depend on the brain, any more “Dealing with Diversity: Cross-Cultural counter the widespread belief in the than a man need always depend on the Aspects of Near-Death Experiences,” in medical field that what we experience womb which supported his life before Making Sense of Near-Death Experiences, at moments of cardiac arrest are just birth” (The Battle for the Soul [Hodder ed. Mahendra Perera, Karuppiah subjective experiences or hallucinations and Stoughton, 1985], 149–50). Jagadheesan, and Anthony Peake [Jessica that do not correspond to any entities Kingsley Publishers, 2012]: 52–54). in the objective world. According to the Perspectives Sam Parnia and colleagues have con- prevailing model of consciousness, these of Major Religions ducted promising studies of patients hallucinations are the result of a flood undergoing cardiac arrest in hospitals. of chemicals in the brain and do not The concept of reincarnation is central While Parnia’s team has not yet pub- correspond to any transcendent real- to how Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and lished the results, Parnia indicates that ity. But those who believe in life after Jains conceive of life after death. It is the first phase of the project has been death suggest that this is not the only also a theme that appears in the work completed and results are undergoing way to understand these phenomena. of some early Greek philosophers as peer review for publication (AWARE Philosophers like Richard Swinburne well as in strands of Celtic, Norse, and Study Update 2014, published online at argue that while one’s experiences and Kabbalistic Jewish thought. To those Horizon Research Foundation: http:// mental life may be caused by chemical with little exposure to what is meant www.horizonresearch.org/main_page reactions in the brain, these thoughts, by reincarnation, the idea may sound .php?cat_id=293, accessed April 25, 2014). ideas, and experiences are not just epi- quite pleasant. Since it entails the expe- Seeking evidence that the visions of those phenomenal. They in turn cause other rience of life in some other form after with near-death experiences can be con- experiences and ideas, and they help death, reincarnation seems to prom- firmed with empirically verifiable data, to shape a person’s ideals and behav- ise novelty and excitement as well as investigators in Parnia’s team placed signs ior (Richard Swinburne, Is There a the prospect of extended life. But none in hospital emergency rooms and car- God? [Oxford University Press, 1996], of the various forms of rebirth that diac units, signs that faced the ceiling, 77). Dualistic philosophers such as believers of reincarnation envisage, including extremely pleasant forms of life as a deity, offers the possibility of endless life. Those who take birth in various hells (or who are reborn as insects or other sentient beings with limited faculties) owing to a lack of vir- tue in their present lives will experience tremendous discomfort. Even those who, because of meritorious deeds in their present lives, enjoy tremendous ease and ready satisfaction of physical needs by taking rebirth as gods and goddesses will eventually die. Rebirth is inherently dissatisfying because life must end, and at the end of each life one not only endures the breakdown of one’s body and the pain of saying good-bye to life but must also sepa- rate from loved ones. This dissatisfying

Dharma World July–September 2014 7 marginalized, there are new ways of interpreting traditional doctrines about the resurrection of the body that sug- gest that while we may not have our former bodies returned to us, we will experience new forms of embodiment. Multiple-worlds theories make such cycle of rebirth is driven by karma, a in a new light. Beginning with a pro- forms of existence plausible in that they term that refers to the effects of our vocative dissertation published in the allow for other dimensions of existence actions, which bear fruit that we will 1950s, physicists and mathematicians in which a person might enjoy forms experience either later in this life or have explored the idea that there are of embodiment very different from that in future lives. many worlds parallel to our own. Various experienced in this life. One exception to this generally bleak terms are used to describe such a real- These are exciting times for those picture of reincarnation is the concept ity: parallel worlds, parallel universes, with an interest in what might happen of pure lands developed by Mahayana the megaverse, the multiverse, and so after death. One need not be a religious Buddhists. Assuming a cosmology of on. And indeed there are many differ- person to find some basis for believing multiple worlds presided over by bud- ent theories of multiple worlds. Some that life can persist after the termina- dhas, teachings in this tradition describe envisage other worlds separated from tion of our flesh-and-blood existence. ideal worlds generated by the vows of ours by huge stretches of space or time. Conversations about the possibilities of bodhisattvas, worlds that are designed Some suggest that other worlds are less postmortem life are drawing atheists, to make religious awakening easy. For than inches away from us. In a recent agnostics, and scientists of all sorts to example, the sounds of nature in the monograph, the physicist Brian Greene promising exchanges with religious peo- Sukhāvatī Pure Land are forms of teach- discusses nine possible types of multiple ple. Medical researchers are developing ing that convey the nature of reality to worlds, each one based on different sets methods for verifying near-death expe- those who have taken birth there. In the of theoretical assumptions (The Hidden riences. Mental health researchers are Abhirati Pure Land, one eats Buddhist Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep studying how belief in life after death teachings in the form of ambrosia. In Laws of the Cosmos [Knopf, 2011]). affects the experiences and actions of such environments, it is easier to com- Jewish, Christian, and Muslim tra- the individuals who hold those beliefs. prehend and behave in accordance with ditions about life after death revolve New theories in physics have inspired the truth than in environments where around ideas of the immortality of the innovative ways of thinking about tra- the truth is hard to perceive and follow. soul and the resurrection of the body. ditional afterlife doctrines. While the Developments in physics that The doctrine of bodily resurrection sug- results of some newly initiated research have led to theorizing about multiple gests that the dead will be revived and programs are not yet known, it is clear worlds have made it possible to con- judged at a future time. While in mod- that this is an area of inquiry with much sider Buddhist visions of pure lands ern times this doctrine has often been promise. ≥

8 Dharma World July–September 2014 FEATURES The Practice of Faith in This World and Belief in the Hereafter: The Afterlife in Islam by Jiro Arimi

Jiro Arimi is vice president of the There are said to be eight gates to paradise and seven gates Japan Muslim Association and a to hell in the hereafter, and the Qur’an contains numerous visiting professor at Takushoku passages that joyously proclaim and warn that people will University Shariah Research Institute dwell in one or the other according to the results of their in Tokyo. After graduating from the actions in this life. Toyo University Faculty of Sociology, he studied Islam as an invited student at King Abdul Aziz University, Makkah Life after death is certain in Islam. Th is life does not solely entail asceti- (Mecca), and at Imam Muhammad Ibn “Everyone shall taste death” (3:185) cism. As well as God’s rewards in the Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, from says the Qur’an. (All excerpts from the hereaft er, there are various rewards and 1975 to 1980. Qur’an are from Muhammad Taqi-ud- pleasures that may be received, albeit Din Al-Hilali and Muhammad Muhsin fl eetingly, in this world too. Compared people who revere and believe in God Khan, trans., Th e Noble Qur’an: Th e with those of the hereaft er, however, and follow this code of law. These fol- English Translation of the Meanings and these are fi nite and temporary: “And lowers aim to build a community that Commentary [King Fahd Complex for the life of this world is nothing but play makes possible the coexistence yearned the Printing of the Holy Qur’an, 1998].) and amusement. But far better is the for by humankind while being rooted Death in what we call this world does house in the Hereaft er for those who in monotheism. “Then when you have not mean death forever. Entry into the are Al-Muttaqun (the pious)” (6:32). taken a decision, put your trust in Allah, hereaft er comes through the resurrec- “And put forward to them the exam- certainly, Allah loves those who put tion of all fl esh aft er death. Rank in ple of the life of this world: it is like the their trust (in Him)” (3:159). “It is not the hereaft er is determined following water (rain) which We send down from for any Prophet to take illegally a part God’s judgment. In all sects of Islam, it the sky, and the vegetation of the earth of the booty (Ghulul), and whosoever is believed that this judgment is based mingles with it, and becomes fresh and deceives his companions as regards the on the consequences of the individu- green. But (later) it becomes dry and booty, he shall bring forth on the Day al’s deeds in this world. Whether one is broken pieces, which the winds scatter. of Resurrection that which he took destined for heaven or for hell depends . . . Wealth and children are the adorn- (illegally). Then every person shall be entirely on how one has lived one’s life ment of the life of this world. But the paid in full what he has earned, and in this world. good righteous deeds, that last, are bet- they shall not be dealt with unjustly” God’s message as proclaimed by his ter with your Lord for rewards and bet- (3:161). prophets contains law (hukum) ordained ter in respect of hope” (18:45–46). One must entrust everything to God by God that believers are required to Whether one is destined for heaven and heed the words of the prophets. If practice unwaveringly in their daily or for hell, the hereafter is a world where the practice of faith in this life is the lives: “Who has created death and life one will dwell in eternity forevermore. determinant of rank in the next, then that He may test you which of you is Practicing faith in this life in prepara- believers will strive to outdo one another best in deed. And He is the All-Mighty, tion for the hereafter means acting in in their devotion to good deeds. the Oft -Forgiving” (67:2). compliance with the revealed Islamic Th ere are said to be eight gates to par- Th is life is a time of preparation for code of law called shariah. Believers adise and seven gates to hell in the here- the hereaft er through the practice of form an Islamic community called the aft er, and the Qur’an contains numerous faith in submission to God the Creator. Ummah Islamiyyah, which consists of passages that joyously proclaim and

Dharma World July–September 2014 9 in silken garments and brocade. There they will recline on beds and know nei- ther severe heat nor bitter cold. The shade of the tree of Sidrah that grows in heaven is described as extend- ing so far that it cannot be traversed by camel in a hundred years. Those who enter this paradise will be given as much wine mixed with ginger and other drinks as they wish, served in pitchers and cups of silver by boys of everlasting youth whose beauty is like that of scattered pearls. As for the food in heaven, the pious will be free to eat from the gardens of dates, grapes, and all other fruits that grow there. The Qur’an describes in detail other rewards to be found in heaven, includ- ing fine palaces inhabited by pure maid- ens with wide, shining eyes who will be spouses of the pious. “And whosoever believes in Allah and performs righteous good deeds, He will admit him into Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise) to dwell therein forever” (65:11). Here is how the Qur’an describes the rivers flowing at the feet of the pious in paradise: “The descrip- tion of Paradise which the Muttaqun (the pious . . . ) have been promised (is that) in it are rivers of water the taste and smell of which are not changed; rivers of milk of which the taste never changes, rivers of wine delicious to those who drink, and rivers of clarified honey (clear and pure)” (47:15). These rewards are for those whose warn that people will dwell in one or “Those who are faithfully true to their efforts in this life have been accepted. the other according to the results of Amanat (all the duties which Allah has The disbelievers, on the other hand, their actions in this life. ordained, honesty, moral responsibility are described as being those who love There are some who deny God even and trusts, etc.) and to their covenants; the transient life of this world and put when informed of such a world, and And those who strictly guard their (five behind them a “heavy day” of judg- the Qur’an describes their fate in even compulsory congregational) Salawat ment. Out of God’s mercy, however, the greater detail than the fate of those who (prayers) (at their fixed stated hours). Qur’an repeatedly exhorts those who do go to heaven. These are indeed the inheritors Who not recognize him or who deny him to For the believer, the Qur’an brings shall inherit the Firdaus (Paradise). They relinquish their attachment to the life the following glad tidings about heaven. shall dwell therein forever” (23:8–11). of this world. (Heaven is called Jannah, the Garden of Those who submit to God and are Believers are required to devote Paradise, though this garden is known by patient and careful of their duty will themselves to propagating Islam in other names, such as Adn and Firdaus.) enter a paradise where they will be clad their daily lives, to be patient in this

10 Dharma World July–September 2014 life, and to recite the Lord’s names day collars. “Garments of fire will be cut out to come that is free of pain and filled and night, and they must never obey for them, boiling water will be poured with hope, the believer is to spend his the sinful or disbelievers. down over their heads. With it will melt or her days enduring trials and living Those who trust too much in their (or vanish away) what is within their bel- faithfully in abidance with the statutes own abilities, on the other hand, see lies, as well as (their) skins” (22:19–20). of the Lord and in accordance with fair only what is in front of them and show The descriptions of the painful tor- and just principles in order to be able to no interest in what they cannot confirm ments inflicted in the fiery prison of hell eagerly anticipate a fair judgment when with their own eyes. Although they too are enough to make people understand the hereafter comes. In addition to liv- are similarly destined for a world with- just what hellfire is. There they will have ing their faith as individuals, believers out death in the hereafter, the world that no cool respite from the searing wind are also required to practice the virtue awaits them is one of merciless, eter- that blows, and will have nothing to eat of moderation and display brotherly love nal agony where they will never die, no in their starving state but the bitter fruit toward their families and other believ- matter how great the pain. of the tree of Zaqqum, which grows at ers in order to coexist with all people. This hell that disbelievers, apostates, the bottom of hell. “You verily will eat God’s message to humankind does and those who reject faith or deny the of the trees of Zaqqum. Then you will not vary over the course of history or message of Allah and his apostles and fill your bellies therewith” (56:52–53). according to region, and it is this uni- prophets are destined for is commonly For drink, the Qur’an says that those versality that makes Islam a world reli- known as Nar, though it is also known by who dwell in hell will drink boiling water gion. The message at the beginning of other names such as Jahannam and Jahim like thirsty camels. Unlike the descrip- this article that “everyone shall taste because of its association with fire and tions of the food and drink served in death” is not the product of a single flames. These sinners will become fuel heaven, the picture is one of relentless, human’s wisdom but instead comes from for the raging fires of hell, and instead painful torment. the Lord of the worlds. Should this view of being clothed in silk and fine clothes For the believer in Islam, this life is of the hereafter seem to change at all, as in heaven, they will be enveloped in a transient one that precedes the hereaf- this is due not to the wisdom of God flames and placed in chains and iron ter. Confident of the existence of a world (hikmah) but solely to humans. ≥

Dharma World July–September 2014 11 FEATURES “Life after Death” in Traditional Tibetan Buddhism by Margaret Gouin

how Tibetan Buddhists approach dying For a Tibetan Buddhist, death changes—or at least can and death and how they conduct the change—everything, and it is because of this huge potential funerary rituals for a deceased loved that death is by far the most signifi cant life-cycle event. The one. Th ere are many regional variations importance of rebirth is a major infl uence on how Tibetan in the performance of these rites: this Buddhists approach dying and death and how they conduct article will focus on certain common the funerary rituals for a deceased loved one. themes running through them. Th e moment of death itself is an opportunity to attain enlightenment. In Tibetan Buddhist belief, rebirth is cen- in human form: there are six realms of It is believed that as the dying person tral to the entire structure of existence. existence, and one’s next life may be fi nally relinquishes this life, he will for Death is the bridge between lives. It’s as a god or titan, an animal, a hungry a moment see a clear white light. If the the end of one life, but at the same time ghost, or an inhabitant of the terrible person is able to recognize this light— it’s also the necessary prelude to rebirth hell realms. For a Tibetan Buddhist, that it reveals the true nature of reality— in a new life, which will also eventually death changes—or at least can change— he will immediately become enlightened end in death—and so on, across a vast everything, and it is because of this huge and escape from the round of samsaric expanse of time, the cycle ending only potential that death is by far the most rebirths. Th e hope that this will occur when enlightenment is attained. Nor is signifi cant life-cycle event. Th e impor- for the dying loved one infl uences the it inevitable that a person will be reborn tance of rebirth is a major infl uence on activities of the living from the moment it’s understood that death is inevitable. Every eff ort is made to ensure that the dying person is peaceful and undis- turbed. Th e person is surrounded with reminders of any religious teachings he may have received and is gently urged to settle his earthly aff airs so he won’t be distracted from focusing on the Buddha’s teachings as they move into the bardo (intermediate, or transition) state between death and their next life. In case the dying person didn’t rec- ognize the clear white light, other steps must be taken to assist him in the transi- tion to the next life. As soon as possible aft er death, a religious professional—a monk, a lama, or a yogin (female yoga practitioner)—will perform powa, a rit- ual that seeks to expel the deceased’s consciousness from the body through the top of the head, sending it directly

12 Dharma World July–September 2014 Margaret Gouin received her doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the University of Bristol. She is an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Theology, Religious Studies, and Islamic Studies at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (Lampeter, UK) and the author of Tibetan Rituals of Death: Buddhist Funerary Practices (Routledge, 2010).

to a buddha’s pure land, where it will The role of guide through the bardo good actions) is central to the everyday reach enlightenment without any fur- is performed by a religious professional. practice of lay Tibetan Buddhists. The ther samsaric rebirths. A wide variety of texts is used (the so- additional step of dedicating the merit After this, though, the rituals pro- called Tibetan Book of the Dead, famil- of an action to another’s benefit is itself ceed as if powa had not succeeded. It iar to Western Buddhists, is only one of meritorious, so the actor always adds to is as if the survivors, while hoping for very many), but they all contain the basic his or her stock of merit whether or not the best, also make provision for the elements of informing the deceased that it is dedicated to someone else, such as worst-case scenario. From this point she is dead and instructing her on the a deceased loved one. onward, their activities will primar- phenomena she can expect to encounter It is vitally important to perform all ily be directed toward promoting the in the bardo, and advising her on how to the funeral rituals properly, because oth- spiritual well-being of the deceased in react. At every step along the way, she erwise the deceased may be unhappy. the new life. They will also seek to pro- is urged to recognize the true nature of This will hinder his passage through the tect themselves from any supernatural reality, which will take her to enlighten- bardo, since he will be drawn by his dis- harm arising from the death, in par- ment (or at least to birth in a pure land), tress to stay attached to the people who ticular some hostile manifestation of and enable her to escape the round of have upset him. It will also mean that the deceased. These activities will con- rebirths. Although it’s recognized that the survivors will have a restless ghost tinue up to and beyond the disposal of the longer the deceased remains in the on their hands who may cause all kinds the body, and the spiritual concerns of bardo state, the more likely she is to be of havoc. The fear of ghosts is very real, the survivors influence practical activ- reborn in one of the samsaric realms, and every effort is made to ensure that ities such as arranging the disposal of it’s still hoped that she will be able— the deceased has no reason to be discon- the body. even by such a small thing as recalling tented with how his passing was handled If the deceased didn’t attain either a fragment of the Dharma she heard by the survivors. In addition to carefully enlightenment at the moment of death in her last life—to improve her chance following the directives of the death or rebirth in a pure land through the of finding a new life in which she’ll be horoscope, the relatives of the deceased powa ritual, the next-best result would able to make more spiritual progress. will “feed” him until the funeral ritu- be for the person to obtain a fortunate Another important mechanism for als are completed. This feeding consists rebirth as a human being who has the ensuring that the deceased will obtain a of offering various foodstuffs, usually opportunity to practice the Buddha’s fortunate rebirth is for the survivors to vegetarian, and liquids (anything from teachings. For this to happen, first of perform meritorious acts and dedicate water to alcoholic beverages), often by all the deceased must die focused on the merit arising from them to the ben- burning them. The smoke arising from the Dharma, and this is another rea- efit of the dead person. This is a major the burned food is believed to nourish son that so much emphasis is placed activity of the survivors, since it’s acces- the being the deceased has become in on ensuring that the dying person is sible to all without the assistance of a the intermediate (bardo) state. This, of kept undisturbed, reminding him of religious professional. The practice of course, is also a meritorious act, and the any teachings he may have received, merit transfer—performing acts that merit can be dedicated to the deceased’s and surrounding him with holy arti- Buddhism teaches are good (meritori- benefit, thus accomplishing two ends cles and prayers. Second, the deceased ous) and attributing the positive karma in one action. In addition, a portion of must be helped to navigate the bardo gained benefit not to the actor but to the food may be offered to the hungry period in such a way that the condi- someone else—has a long history in ghosts who are believed to be every- tions for his next birth will be optimal. Buddhism. Making merit (performing where: often they are dead people who

Dharma World July–September 2014 13 text, or paying religious professionals to recite particular prayers or perform special rituals. The disposal of the body also has connotations of merit making, since the gift of one’s body to feed other beings is regarded as highly virtuous. In expo- sure, the body is consumed by scav- engers, including birds, wolves, foxes, dogs, and even pigs. By feeding these animals with her body, the deceased is saving them from the bad karma of having to kill other animals in order to eat. In water, the body nourishes fish, and in earth disposal (either in a grave or under a cairn), it provides food for worms. In cremation, as in feeding the dead, the smoke from the burning body is believed to provide nourishment to hungry ghosts and thereby to ease their suffering. Following the disposal of the body, the deceased will continue to receive “feeding” and guidance through the bardo until the completion of the funeral period. Another important activity at this time is purifying the karma of the dead person. The person’s name is writ- ten on a card, and her consciousness is summoned into it by a religious profes- sional, who then conducts various puri- fication rituals to free her from negative karma accumulated in her recent life or more-distant past lives. At the con- clusion of the rite, the deceased’s con- sciousness is dismissed and the name card is burned. The ashes may be made have been forgotten, or left unprovided on the deceased’s birth horoscope. The into a small clay figure called a tsatsa, for, by their survivors. Feeding the hun- death horoscope will indicate the best which will be placed in some location of gry ghosts generates even more merit, form of disposal, as well as the proper special holiness or purity (for example, which can also be dedicated to the ben- day and time, and may also provide on a mountain or at a shrine). efit of the deceased. information on who should carry the The practice of generosity is consid- Among the actions undertaken to body, where it should be disposed of, ered to be one of the most basic Buddhist ensure the spiritual well-being of the and what the deceased’s prospects for virtues, accessible to anyone. A com- deceased, one of the most important rebirth are. If the forecast for the per- mon merit-making activity following a is to ensure that the mortuary rituals son’s rebirth is not auspicious, this will death is to distribute food to everyone are properly performed—and in par- call for remedial steps, which may also in the village. This may be a very elab- ticular that the body is disposed of in be indicated by the death horoscope and orate feast if the family is sufficiently an appropriate manner. This requires may include such meritorious actions wealthy. But whatever the extent of the the casting of a death horoscope, based as commissioning the painting of a holy meal, the most important element is its on the time and date of death and also picture (thangka), copying a religious impartiality. Every single person in the

14 Dharma World July–September 2014 village, irrespective of age, gender, or to psychologize afterlife beliefs as sim- social standing, must be invited, and ply coping mechanisms meant to help each must receive the same quantity people deal with the death of those they to improve the deceased’s chances of a of food. Some survivors go so far as to love, with no basis in reality (however fortunate rebirth. weigh out the individual portions to that may be construed). But the effect It is generally accepted that the more eliminate any possibility of inequality. of Tibetan Buddhist belief in the cycle money that is spent, the more merito- If the family is poor, they may simply of rebirth also extends beyond any psy- rious the death rituals are, and there- brew up a batch of chang (beer), go to chological effect of helping the survivors fore the more beneficial for the future the edge of the village, and give some cope with the fact of loss to having an state of the deceased. In order to pro- to anyone who passes until it’s all gone. impact on some very practical aspects mote this future well-being—and also Although the formal teaching is that of Tibetan life. Merit-making activities to avoid the possibility of the deceased’s the deceased may remain in the bardo such as food distributions are expen- returning as an unhappy ghost to pro- for up to forty-nine days, in practice sive, at a time when the family is barred test any perceived inadequacy in the the rituals are rarely continued for so from doing income-earning work by activities of the survivors—it is quite long. They are expensive both mone- mourning rules and the requirements usual for families to go deeply into debt tarily and in lost work time, and only of the mortuary rituals. in order to defray the costs of a suitably very wealthy families can afford seven The number of monks (or other reli- meritorious funeral. weeks of expenditure. High religious gious professionals) who perform the Moreover, friends and fellow vil- teachers may also receive the full length funeral rites also reflects the amount of lagers are expected to contribute to the of ceremonies from their followers. But benefit gained for the deceased: hav- well-being of the deceased’s family at often a layperson’s mortuary rites will ing more religious professionals gen- this time by providing gifts of money conclude just a few days after disposal, erates more merit. But they come at a and food, thereby setting up a system of with a final round of merit making and high cost: they must be housed and fed reciprocal indebtedness within the vil- purification rituals. for the duration of the ceremonies and lage. In some cases this may be formal- The influence of Tibetan Buddhist provided with all the necessary mate- ized in the shape of a ledger of entries belief in the cycle of life, death, and rials for preparing ritual items—and indicating exactly what has been donated rebirth is pervasive. Tibetans are taught everything must be of the best quality by whom in the case of each death, so early on to meditate on the brevity of the family can afford. Commissioning that when a villager dies, the person’s life and the certainty of death and are the painting of thangkas and the copy- family will be sure to receive the equiv- warned to live in such a way as to be ing of religious texts is also expensive. alent to whatever they had donated to ready to die at any time. The most feared In fact, such activities, which must be other local families for earlier deaths. death is the unexpected death—by acci- carried out by religious professionals, The economics of death are complex dent or violence—since a person who can form a significant element of monas- and deeply woven into Tibetan society, is not prepared to enter the bardo is tic income, as do the fees paid for the reinforcing the social cohesion engen- unlikely to succeed in finding a fortu- performance of religious rituals both dered by the shared belief in rebirth nate rebirth. It is somewhat fashionable within the flow of the mortuary rites that is foundational to the practice of at the moment, particularly in the West, and as supplementary merit making Tibetan Buddhism. ≥

Dharma World July–September 2014 15 FEATURES Exploring Traditional African Belief Systems and Their Relation to the Understanding of Death and Afterlife by Nomfundo Walaza

Because cultural and religious I would like to suggest that perhaps what we can do to notions can never be seen as static, many make our brief existence worthy is to ensure that we keenly concepts that are ascribed to cultural observe our interactions with others and constantly take and religious imperatives (including the the time to ask ourselves if we have lived in a manner that concept of ancestral spirits) observed by displays compassion and honors interdependence and many ethnic groups in Africa have been interconnectedness with fellow human beings. altered or adapted as a consequence of globalization and migration of people across continental boundaries. I there- Since the law of transience makes it of “God,” are oft en comfortable in their fore want to declare up front that the rit- clear that death cannot be avoided, the beliefs in ancestors as a source of all that uals referred to in this essay have been issue is what we can do to make our God and the divine power of religion transformed and adapted over centu- brief existence as pleasant as possible can provide. Indeed, for some, “God” ries to match current infl uences. It is for others as well as ourselves. and “ancestors” are interchangeable. also true that in South African tradi- —Nichiko Niwano, Cultivating the tional societies (as in many other soci- Buddhist Heart eties that order their lives according to traditional rhythms), many of these rit- Within the multiple religious and cul- uals, while stemming from the same tural African societies, human exist- belief systems, are practiced diff erently ence is construed as a dynamic process by diff erent clans and ethnic groups. that entails life’s not ending with death I was asked to refl ect in this essay but continuing in another realm. In on how traditional African beliefs in an other words, death does not end the life aft erlife continue to infl uence people’s or personality of an individual but only lives in South Africa. In attempting to denotes a shift or change in its condi- answer this question, I will fi rst exam- tion. Ancestral spirits, as an expression ine how traditional rites of passage prac- of people who have died and who con- ticed at birth, such as imbeleko , speak tinue to “live” in the community and to and underscore the critical connec- communicate with their families, are tion between the living and the dead. therefore seen as vital forces that main- I will then use examples of narratives tain the connection between the living drawn from the Truth and Reconciliation and the dead (Encyclopedia of Death Commission (TRC) process of South and Dying, http://www.deathreference Africa to show how burial rites of passage .com/A-Bi/African-Religions.html). are essential for healing and for laying For most African people, ancestors a proper foundation for reconciliation, are regarded as critical connectors and as well as ensuring that the deceased are mediators between life as we (the living) able to make a transition to the realm know it and the aft erlife. Individuals of aft erlife unhindered. It is my belief who describe themselves as atheists, that acknowledging and allowing for the and who do not believe in the concept expression of these rites of passage not

16 Dharma World July–September 2014 Nomfundo Walaza is the Chief Executive Officer of the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre in Cape Town, South Africa. She is also a clinical psychologist and has worked in the human rights field for the past two decades. For eleven years she was Executive Director of the Trauma Centre for Survivors of Violence and Torture in South Africa. Since 2012 she has been a member of the independent International Niwano Peace Prize Committee, which selects the prize recipient each year.

only secures the place of the deceased in the afterlife but also could provide a fertile ground for victims and perpetra- tors to begin a dialogue that may lead to true reconciliation and forgiveness. Lastly, I will explore how the concept of inimba (as it relates to compassion or “to feel for”) complements ubuntu and how living a life that embraces both is essential in ensuring our worthiness for ancestral guidance and protection.

Imbeleko

Imbeleko refers to three distinct but inseparable aspects of being: the act of giving birth, the act of the mother carry- ing a baby on her back, and the rites of passage associated with the ritual itself. In this section I aim to explore not be able to go through a circumci- attachment of the baby to its ancestral the concept of imbeleko and its sig- sion ceremony if this rite of passage home. Inkaba denotes one’s ancestral nificance to life and living. In tradi- was not performed. During imbeleko a home and symbolizes the relationship tional African societies, imbeleko is a goat is slaughtered as a sign of sacrifice, between the individual and his or her rite-of-passage ceremony performed and the elders of the family normally clan, the land, and the spiritual world. by family members of a clan for a new- speak and ask the ancestors to accept, It is believed that the burial place of born baby. Symbolically it is construed guide, and protect the child (http:// inkaba is where one must go to dream as an act of detaching the infant from www.kotifamily.com/amasiko.html). and communicate with ancestors (http:// the umbilical cord and introducing it The poignant question often asked to www.spiritualbirth.net/sacred-xhosa to its ancestors. The sole intention of ascertain whether all is in order before -birth-rituals-south-africa). Hence, the the ceremony is to introduce the infant another ceremony is performed for an highest honor usually bestowed on an to the elders or, more important, to individual is “Do the ancestors know African who has accomplished much ancestors of that family. It is manda- this child, or has the family done right and who has acted in a manner that is tory that all children of the family go by the child?” befitting a born leader is to call the per- through this ceremony. Imbeleko is Theimbeleko ceremony is normally son “a daughter of the soil” or “a son also seen as a precursor to all the other preceded by the burial-of-inkaba ritual, of the soil.” It is therefore perhaps no rites of passage that an individual will which usually takes place a few weeks surprise that former president Nelson go through later in life. For example, after the birth of an infant. During this Mandela’s last wish was to be buried in a young woman may not be eligible to ritual the umbilical cord, placenta, and the soil near where his inkaba is buried. get married if the ritual was never per- some of the hair that the child was born During his burial ceremony the world formed. Similarly, a young man may with are buried in order to seal the witnessed a seminal moment when a

Dharma World July–September 2014 17 son of the soil literally returned to the important, help consolidate the child’s would ensure that the dead would not soil in order to join a lineage of ances- identity. It is believed that when these continue to wander as a ghost. tors that came before him. critical connectors are not secured or After failing to secure the remains of I recall when I was a newly quali- honored, an individual may be prone their beloved son Siphiwo Mthimkhulu fied clinical psychologist and a young to wander aimlessly without direction. (who was tortured and poisoned while boy was referred to me because he was Hence the importance placed on occa- incarcerated, then later released, only behaving aggressively following the bru- sionally looking back to track, evaluate, to be abducted and killed by the secu- tal killing of his parents. I was requested understand, and where possible, put rity police), the Mthimkhulu family by a Department of Education official in right what was not done when prob- eventually decided to bury a clump of the Western Cape Province to provide lems arise in later life. hair that was his only remaining body trauma counseling for the boy and his part, to secure his rite of passage. They grandmother, who had, subsequent to Burial Rites had kept the hair for evidence follow- the death of the parents, assumed the ing his poisoning with thallium during responsibility for his parenting. The The significance of burial rites to the his incarceration. grandmother refused to engage with living was highlighted during the TRC The importance of this rite of passage me because in her view the problems hearings in South Africa. Faced with the for restoring equilibrium between the of the child could be addressed by sim- enormity of confronting crimes con- living and the dead was further affirmed ply performing imbeleko, which she fessed by their respective perpetrators for me at a conference I attended while believed would introduce the boy to and with questions about the fate of the TRC of South Africa was in prog- his ancestors and secure their guid- their loved ones, victims again and again ress. On that occasion, a TRC commis- ance and protection for him. She also asked for the bones of their loved ones sioner presented a paper in which he believed that the mere performance of so that they could perform the last rites revealed that a group of victims might the ritual would not only correct the of passage for the deceased. What was have been thrown into a river infested behavior of the child but address the significant was that they were not ask- with crocodiles. I was seated next to a trauma endured by the family as well. ing for money or symbolic reparations mother who, on hearing those words, Prior to this, through my career as but simply requested the remains of the became ashen and looked as if the blood a psychologist I had come across many deceased in order to secure rites of pas- had literally drained out of her system. African parents who firmly believed sage that would help with their heal- At that moment it became clear to me that problems of a psychological nature ing process and enable a transition that that any hope she had harbored of ever such as bed-wetting and sleepwalking receiving remains of her loved one to could be addressed by simply ensur- bury was taken away from her. As the ing that proper rites of passage were commissioner proceeded, I realized that performed. This made me realize as a he had no idea of the devastation he practitioner that Western notions of had visited on her. He was unaware of healing could not alone provide solu- the pain and suffering he had inflicted tions to such problems. and the wound he had unconsciously At this point I would like to reit- opened. erate that the importance of inkaba reminds us that in African cultures, The Dynamic rituals around birth speak profoundly Connection between to the significance of body parts (such as the umbilical cord, which is cut off the Concepts of after birth, and the hair the child is born Inimba and Ubuntu with) and the location of these within the life cycle of an individual. It is impor- To offer an explanation of the concept tant to note that these body parts are of ubuntu and its significance to life, the not thrown away but, rather, are bur- novelist Zakes Mda writes: “We are not ied as a symbolic gesture of connecting people, my grandmother used to instill the infant to its forebears, or ancestors. in us, until somebody makes us into These are rites of passage that connect people by being generous toward us, a newborn to its protectors and, more by showering us with acts of kindness.

18 Dharma World July–September 2014 The more acts of generosity and com- Invisible Earthquake: A Woman’s Journal Quran, into tribes and nations so that passion we receive from others, the more through Still Birth, represents the seat of we may know one another” (http://www human we become. In return, we become our soul that connects us to our ances- .ted.com/speakers/karen_armstrong). generous and kind to others, making tors and at the same time provides a link I have often wondered if we would them human as well. When we do that to future generations. In essence this not adequately address the many prob- our humanity is enhanced. When you means you should feel for my child as lems that cause suffering and grief in the make others human you enrich your you feel for yours. This denotes empathic world if we were to ensure that the prin- own humanity. Thus goes the cycle of resonance and a call for compassion. It ciples embodied in the concepts inimba humanity and humanness” (Sometimes is a plea to “feel for” one another’s pain and ubuntu were part of the curriculum There Is a Void: Memoirs of an Outsider and suffering and to respond appropri- taught in early childhood education. [Penguin Books, 2011]). It is for that ately—to allow oneself to be touched This would ensure that the foundation reason that our forebears composed the by another and to suspend anger and for norms and values would form the saying “Umntu ngumntu ngabantu” (A resentment in the service of avoiding basis for all subsequent lessons. person is a person through other people). further pain and suffering. What sums up the dynamic connec- Ubuntu speaks of the interconnect- Karen Armstrong, in a TED talk tion between inimba and ubuntu are two edness and interdependence that are titled “My Wish: The Charter for sentences contained in the last para- essential for human beings to thrive. Compassion,” reminds us that “it is graph of the Charter for Compassion, These elevate the notion that we need compassion, says the Buddha, which which read as follows: “Born of our each other to survive no matter the con- brings you to the nirvana. Why? Because deep interdependence, compassion is sequences. This profound saying helps in compassion, when we feel with the essential to human relationships and us relate the subject of interconnected- other, we dethrone ourselves from the to a fulfilled humanity. It is a path to ness to our daily reality. center of our world and we put another enlightenment and indispensable to In trying to understand the source of person there. And once we get rid of the creation of a just economy and a our compassion, I went back to explore the ego, then we are ready to see the peaceful global community” (http:// a common utterance among Xhosa Divine.” She further cautions that “you www.charterforcompassion.org). women that goes as follows: “Inimba could not and must not confine com- In conclusion, I would like to refer mayibenye, bafazi” (Birth pangs should passion to your group, your own nation, to the epigraph for this essay: “Since resonate among women). Inimba, as I your own fellow countrymen—honor the law of transience makes it clear that explained in Malika Ndlovu’s book The the stranger. We formed you, says the death cannot be avoided, the issue is what we can do to make our brief exis- tence as pleasant as possible for oth- ers as well as ourselves.” I would like to suggest that perhaps what we can do to make our brief existence wor- thy is to ensure that we keenly observe our interactions with others and con- stantly take the time to ask ourselves if we have lived in a manner that dis- plays compassion and honors interde- pendence and interconnectedness with fellow human beings. Following the recent passing of Nelson Mandela, we were comforted in our grief by what an elder from his clan said: “Inkosi ayingcwatywa, iyatyalwa.” This means that a king is not buried but planted. This reminds us of Mandela’s continued presence among us and sup- ports the belief that his legacy, like a seed, will grow and provide sustenance for us and for future generations. ≥

Dharma World July–September 2014 19 FEATURES

Life in the Spirit: A Christian Outlook on Life beyond Death by Juan Masiá

you are already living in. Th e eternal and We should not think about eternal life as a continuation of life true life should be called not ‘life aft er in this world. It is a new life beyond the limitations of space death’ but ‘life beyond death.’” and time. It is a life within the hands of God. It is defi nitive life What my teacher taught me through and a new creation. It is not an end but a new beginning, and this image was the teaching of the Gospel a new way of relating to God and to the world. about life beyond death. Years later, as I grew into an adult understanding of my faith and a deeper study of the Th ere is a wide variety of viewpoints who was a good catechist and educator, teaching of Jesus, I learned to grasp the about so-called life aft er death according answered: “Well, Juan, your question is main aspects of this Christian outlook to the Bible in the tradition of Catholic a good one, but you should not put it on death and life. Th ey can be summa- theology. I cannot summarize in a short as a question about where you will go. rized in the following points: article the origins and evolution of the Th e place you shall go is heaven. But Christian faith, which is expressed in you do not need to go anywhere to be • To believe is to awake. the “belief in the resurrection of the in heaven; you are already there. And • Death is birth. body and in life everlasting” (Catechism when you die, you will realize that you • Resurrection is life in the Spirit. of the Catholic Church, 1994, nn. 988, were already in heaven.” • Eternity is to be lived and experi- 1020). Neither can I present in a con- Th en my teacher went on explain- enced in the present. densed form the long history of the infl u- ing it to me with the following image. ence on Christian thought of several “Let us pretend that you have spent the That is a way of thinking about cultural traditions of mythical narra- night in a hut for mountaineers in the death and life, inspired by the teach- tives about paradise, heaven and hell, Alps at one thousand meters of altitude. ing of Jesus, which we can fi nd in the angels and demons, and so on, or phil- You get up early in the morning and go Gospel according to John and in the osophical opinions about the immortal- outside, eager to see the wonderful land- letters of Paul (John 5:24; Rom. 8:11). ity of the soul. What I intend to do in scape. But there is a deep fog. You can- Th e key and foundation for this view is this short essay is to focus on just one not see anything at all. You go back to the resurrection of Christ, understood important point of the Christian out- bed and get up two hours later. You again as an entrance into the defi nitive, eter- look on life beyond death—not merely go outside. Oh, what a surprising, won- nal, and true life of God. life aft er death—which is expressed in derful sight! Th e fog has dissipated. Th e the New Testament with the formulas sight is great. You enjoy it. Tell me: has Awakening “life in the Spirit” and “eternal or true this wonderful landscape been brought life” (Rom. 8:9–27; Gal. 5:18–25; John from somewhere outside all of a sud- To believe is to awake, namely, to become 17:3; 1 John 1:2). den? Or have you been suddenly taken aware of the dimension of the depth of Let me start with a reminiscence to a diff erent place from the one where life. To believe is to die to the surface of from my childhood. you were two hours ago? No, the land- life in order to live in its depth. An old When I was a twelve-year-old mid- scape was there before, and you are in the Christian hymn says, “Wake up, sleeper, dle school boy, I asked the teacher in same place you were before, in front of rise from the dead, and Christ will shine religion class: “What will happen when the hut. Th e diff erence is that the fog has on you” (Eph. 5:14. Quotations are taken I die? Shall I go to heaven or shall I just dissipated. Well, when you die you will from the New Jerusalem Bible, 1985). disappear into nothingness?” My teacher, realize that life beyond death is a reality To believe is to go out of our superfi cial

20 Dharma World July–September 2014 Juan Masiá, SJ, was previously a Professor of Christian Ethics and the History of Philosophical Anthropology in the Faculty of Theology at Sophia University, Tokyo, where he is now a Professor Emeritus. He also serves as a special fellow of the Peace Research Institute affiliated with the World Conference of Religions for Peace Japan.

ego, to die to our self-centered ego, and Resurrection Resurrection is usually translated to awaken to our deep self. That is what into Japanese as fukkatsu (with the char- Paul calls living in the Spirit, living in In his discussion with the Pharisees, acters for fuku, “again,” and katsu, “liv- Christ, living as a person who has been Jesus corrects their doctrine that the ing”). I have proposed that we translate resurrected already before dying: “Since resurrection meant a return to the con- it as shin-shin-katsu or “new and true we are living by the Spirit, let our behav- ditions of earthly life: “When they rise life” (with two different characters for iour be guided by the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25). from the dead, men and women do not shin-shin, meaning “new” and “true,” “Since you have been raised up to be res- marry; no, they are like the angels in and the character for katsu, “living”). urrected with Christ, you must look for heaven” (Mark 12:25). Faith in the res- Life after death, as life beyond death, is the things that are above” (Col. 3:1). For urrection of Jesus is the heart of the like the transformation of a new per- Paul, to believe, to be united with Christ, message of the Gospel. This is the foun- son into a true life. Paul expressed it and to overcome death were one and the dation of Christian hope: life is stron- like this: “What is sown is perishable, same reality: “It is no longer I, but Christ ger than death. but what is raised is imperishable, . . . living in me”(Gal. 2:20). “Life to me, of Answering the Sadducees, who denied what is sown is weak, but what is raised course, is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). resurrection, Jesus said, “He is God, not of is powerful; what is sown is a natural the dead, but of the living” (Matt. 22:32). body, and what is raised is a spiritual Transformation To those who did not believe that God body” (1 Cor. 15:42–44). calls each person to eternal life, Jesus said, Jesus overcame death by his own death To die is to be born into true life. Dying “You are wrong, because you understand (1 Cor. 15:51–57), which was an entrance to the life in this world means being born neither the scriptures nor the power of into the life of God. He deprived death of unto eternal life. When we die, we will God” (Matt. 22:29). its power (2 Tim. 1:10–11). The Christian die unto eternal life, toward true life. Jesus, when giving us hope of eter- experiences the victory of Jesus over death When we die, the whole person, and nal life, instead of saying, “I will resur- by sharing in his death (Rom. 6:2–11). To not just the body, dies, and the whole rect you,” said, “I am the resurrection” die with Christ is to live with him (Rom. person is transformed and created anew. (John 11:25). The Gospel does not intend 6:8). Christian believers overcome death There are many different ways in the to give information about the “how” of by being baptized into Christ (Rom. 6:4) Holy Scriptures to express the mean- an afterlife but to proclaim the good and by partaking of the Eucharist (John ing of death and the meaning of a life news that God calls us to himself in 6:50–51). beyond death. For instance, Paul under- and through death. In the Gospels the stories about the stands the dying of Christians to be a “On the third day he rose again” is empty tomb or about the resurrected dying with Christ (Rom. 6:8), a fall- a symbolic expression. “Third” is not Christ appearing to the disciples should ing “asleep in Christ” (1 Cor. 15:18). a date in the calendar. Resurrection is be read as symbolic expressions of the “Someone may ask: how are dead peo- not a miracle to prove the faith but an life of Jesus in God after his death. Those ple raised, and what sort of body do object of faith. The Creator, who calls stories express the Christian experience they have when they come? How fool- things from nothingness into being, also of faith of his followers, who believe ish. What you sow must die before it is calls persons from death into life. This that Jesus is not a figure of the past but given new life. . . . It is the same with cannot be proved historically, empiri- is present to us here and now; we live the resurrection of the dead: what is cally, or rationally but has to be grasped in him and he lives in us. sown is perishable, but what is raised with the eye of faith through contem- We should not think about eternal is imperishable” (1 Cor. 15:35–36, 42). plative illumination. life as a continuation of life in this world.

Dharma World July–September 2014 21 It is a new life beyond the limitations live and whoever lives and believes in speaking in conventional and collo- of space and time. It is a life within the me will never die” (John 11:25). “No one quial terms, that death is the begin- hands of God. It is definitive life and a who drinks the water that I shall give ning of life hereafter. But, instead of new creation. It is not an end but a new him will ever be thirsty again: the water “life after death,” it would be better to beginning, and a new way of relating that I shall give him will become in him name it “life beyond death.” to God and to the world. After death a spring of water, welling up for eternal Let me finish with a symbolic nar- we will not be “here” or “there” but in life” (John 4:14). Anyone who becomes rative that can enlighten us about life and with God, paradoxically, “every- united with Christ has eternal life” (cf. beyond death—the parable about the where and nowhere.” Not “up there,” John 6:54). He who becomes united cells of the womb. The cells were— not merely “on the other side of the with Christ lives in Christ and Christ anthropomorphically personified— river.” What awaits us is not disappear- lives in him. “As the living Father sent watching the growth of the fetus inside ance into nothingness but immersion me and I draw life from the Father, so the womb of the mother. Nine months into the life of God. whoever eats me will also draw life from passed. Suddenly, a kind of earthquake, Death and resurrection are the two me. . . . Anyone who eats this bread will a storm, running waters—that little crea- sides of the same coin. Catechism of the live for ever” (John 6:57–58). ture, the fetus, starts going out. Where? Catholic Church expresses this meaning- “On the last day, the great day of It goes through a tunnel. The little cells ful and positive approach to death in the the festival, Jesus stood and cried out: inside the womb had, for the past nine language of the theological tradition with ‘Let anyone who is thirsty, come to me! months, come to like that little crea- the following words: “Christ will raise Let anyone who believes in me come ture very much; they did not want its us up ‘on the last day’; but it is also true and drink!’” As Scripture says: “From “death” or disappearance. They tried that, in a certain way, we have already his heart shall flow streams of living to stop its going out. But they did not risen with Christ. For, by virtue of the water”(John 7:37–38). “In a short time succeed. She went out, and the “door of Holy Spirit, Christian life is already now the world will no longer see me; but you the tunnel” was closed. The little cells on earth a participation in the death and will see that I live and you will also live. cried. They thought the little creature Resurrection of Christ: And you were On that day you will know that I am in had died. But outside there was joy. A buried with Him in Baptism, in which my Father and you in me and I in you” girl had been born. you were also raised with him through (John 14:19–20). If we were able to look at the giving faith in the working of God, who raised of birth from inside the womb, it would him from the dead” (Catechism of the To Die Is to Be Born look like a death. But from outside, it Catholic Church, 1002–3). is seen as a birth. Could we say that to In the liturgical celebrations of the die is to be born into the life beyond Eternal Life Catholic Church, when praying at death? But looking at it from this side, in the Present memorial services for those who have from the side of our earthly life, it just died, the day of their death is called looks like death. Eternal life is not to be thought of as a their birthday. One prayer says, “May we That is what Jesus tried to teach prolongation of this life in the future. who recall their birth [natalitia colimus] Nicodemus: that to die is to be born Eternal life is to be lived and experi- imitate their courage.” Another prayer anew, but the wise Jewish doctor of law enced in the present. Eternal life is life for the dead says, “Lord, give them the did not get the point because he took in the Spirit. “If the Spirit of him who new life given to them in baptism to the words of Jesus literally. “Jesus told raised Jesus from the dead has made his the fullness of eternal joy.” “Lord, those Nicodemus: ‘Unless a person is born home in you, then he who raised Jesus who die still live in your presence and from above he cannot see the Kingdom from the dead will give life to your own they rejoice in complete happiness.” In of Life.’ Nicodemus said: ‘How can a mortal bodies through his Spirit living the hymn “Preface for the Dead,” we grown person be born? Can we go back in you” (Rom. 8:11). read: “Lord, for your faithful people, into the womb of our mother and be Let me gather the main words of the life is changed, not ended.” That is the born again?’ Jesus replied: ‘Unless you Gospel of John about eternal life in the main point of the evangelical teaching are born through the Spirit of Life, you present: “Whoever listens to my words, about death. Dying is a transforma- cannot enter the kingdom of Life. . . . and believes in the one who sent me, tion of the whole person. The Latin This man who is talking to you must be has eternal life” (John 5:24). “I am the text says, “Vita mutatur, non tollitur,” lifted up so that everyone who believes resurrection. Anyone who believes in that is to say, “Life is transformed, not may have eternal life in him’” (cf. John me, even though that person dies, will taken away.” It can be said, of course, 3:1–21). ≥

22 Dharma World July–September 2014 FEATURES Japan’s March 11, 2011, Disaster and the Strength of Buddhism: Living with an Awareness of Death and the Dead by Susumu Shimazono

Susumu Shimazono is a Professor in The boundaries between religions really need to be the Faculty of Theology and director transcended in order to widen the scope for cooperation. of the Institute of Grief Care at Sophia Doing so would make it more apparent to people that religions University, Tokyo, and is a Professor occupy an important position in Japanese society and engage Emeritus in the Graduate School in correspondingly important relief and social action programs. of Humanities and Sociology at the It would also demonstrate that the religious spirit of Buddhism University of Tokyo. His multiple and other religions plays a serious role in Japanese society. research fi elds include religions in modern Japan, comparative study of contemporary religious movements, The massive earthquake and tsunami temple inevitably entered into refugees’ new religions, and death and life that struck northeastern Japan on March own lives, many, in fact, reported feel- studies. He is the author of numerous 11, 2011, and the following nuclear ing more settled at the temple than did books on religion, spirituality, and accident in Fukushima, have served those at other shelters (according to the bioethics. as a reminder of the role that religion, chief priest, Shūtsū Onosaki). and Buddhism in particular, plays in In Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, they fl ed to the nearby Sōtō temple of Japanese society. This applies equally where the disaster left some two thou- Kōfukuji. Th e children remained there, to Buddhism as traditional culture and sand people dead or missing, the prin- joined by their families, following the to Buddhist organizations as social cipal and staff of Shishiori Elementary loss of their homes. As of the end of April groups and institutions. School led the eighty pupils from the 2011, fi ft y people in nine households school when the tsunami struck, and were living communally there. Th e Jōdo Temples as Places of Refuge Traditional Buddhist temples were the fi rst places to play a major role as ref- uges for people fl eeing the earthquake, the tsunami, and then the radiation. For example, Dōgen-in, a temple of the Sōtō sect of Zen Buddhism, located on a small hill in Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture, long sheltered hundreds of people owing to its proximity to the devastation caused by the tsunami. As it had already regularly hosted parish- ioners’ activities, such as homemak- ers’ and children’s groups, it was well equipped to fulfi ll such a role. While the rhythm of communal life lived in accordance with the daily routine of the

Dharma World July–September 2014 23 temple of Jōnenji, in the same region, the eleventh of each month and the forty- traditions of Buddhism has indubita- similarly opened its main hall to well ninth and hundredth days after the disas- bly gained ground. over a hundred residents who streamed ter. Remembering and mourning the to the temple. It was still sheltering eighty loss of many lives are acts of public sig- Diverse Relief people at the end of that April (Bukkyō nificance. That is why the media have Provided by Diverse Times, April 28, 2011). The Jōdo Shin reported them, and in so doing, they temple of Shōtokuji in Rikuzentakata, could hardly have left out of the pic- People of Faith Iwate Prefecture, also sheltered about a ture the Buddhist temples and priests What, then, of the support activities hundred refugees. It organized a range of that led these acts. undertaken by faith groups in the activities to help them (including tutor- History suggests that Japanese affected regions? Leading the way have ing children until they could go back to Buddhism’s spread among the common been those groups that have long been school). According to Nozomi Chiba, people was encouraged by its intense involved in providing disaster relief. who was born at Shōtokuji, it was not awareness of death. It consequently grew These include the Sōtō-based Shanti until the end of July 2011 that the last and developed in association with a cul- Volunteer Association, the Tenrikyo of the refugees left the temple to move ture of remembrance for the dead, and Disaster Relief Hinokishin Corps, and into temporary housing. Buddhist temples became an integral relief teams associated with Rissho Kosei- Opportunities for Buddhist temples part of people’s lives through their role kai and Shinnyo-en. In many cases, to shelter people in need have existed in funerals. In the year or so before the though, these activities have depended since ancient times. As temples are inher- March 2011 earthquake, however, there more on the efforts of small numbers ently places where all kinds of people had been much discussion of the merits of experienced individuals than on the spend time together, it has been natu- of simplifying and even doing entirely wider involvement of ordinary believ- ral for temples to function as shelters in away with funeral ceremonies. Certainly, ers and citizens. the event of disasters and other emer- in the big cities, there had emerged a Alongside such relief, the commu- gencies. However, we seem to have long marked tendency for Buddhist services nity-based activities of priests (espe- failed to notice that Buddhist temples, to be cold and formulaic, lending weight cially the younger ones) belonging to as religious institutions, can perform to the argument that it is now difficult traditional Buddhist organizations have such a function. to “properly grieve” and so “nurture the also drawn considerable attention as strength to live” through ritual. priests have continued to administer Buddhism as Agent After the March 2011 earthquake, to the physical and spiritual needs of of Remembrance on the other hand, the public mood the victims of the disaster. The fact that seemed to swing toward seeing Buddhist traditional Buddhism has always been and Mourning funerals and ceremonies of remem- deeply respected in the Tohoku region The period since the March 2011 earth- brance and mourning as indispensable. has helped. The everyday mechanisms of quake has also been distinguished by This is possibly a reflection of the deep relief for the vulnerable that had grown a renewed recognition that individ- community roots ual Buddhists, Buddhist groups, and that Buddhist tem- Buddhist organizations play an indis- ples in the Tohoku pensable role as agents for remember- region have. Temples ing and mourning the dead. Ordinarily, there still have strong the Japanese media offer little cover- ties with their local age of the religious groups’ activities. communities, and When they do, they usually report only in many areas they their scandals or their value as tour- now even function as ist attractions. But reporting after the places that transform earthquake frequently featured such grief into strength. scenes as priests reciting sutras for the Throughout the rest dead and presiding over joint memo- of the country too, rial services at temples. Viewers often however, the belief put their own palms together in prayer that remembrance when they saw on TV the traditional and mourning are Buddhist services of remembrance on inseparable from the

24 Dharma World July–September 2014 up in each region evolved into new forms of activity, including means of deliver- ing support to the areas most affected by the disaster. Diverse small Buddhist groups engaged in various forms of relief, the results of which attracted attention. But while it is all well and good for individual religious groups to contribute through their own various relief activ- ities, the boundaries between religions really need to be transcended in order to widen the scope for cooperation. Doing so would make it more appar- ent to people that religions occupy an important position in Japanese society and engage in correspondingly impor- tant relief and social action programs. It would also demonstrate that the reli- gious spirit of Buddhism and other reli- gions plays a serious role in Japanese society.

Interfaith Action encourage federations of Japan’s main The future may show that the reli- religions, including Buddhism, Shrine gious traditions of Buddhism and other It is for this reason that a number of Shinto, Sect Shinto, Christianity, and faiths can provide the foundations Buddhist, Shinto, Christian, and new the new religions, to coordinate their for tackling the various challenges to religious groups have come together to efforts and to enhance and publicize Japanese society. Government agencies, launch a new federated organization, their relief work. The World Conference too, now believe that religious organi- exemplified by the Counseling Room of Religions for Peace Japan, a coali- zations can play a role in supporting for the Heart in Sendai. Transcending tion of representatives of various reli- local residents in the wake of disasters, religious and denominational differ- gions, continues to pursue vigorous providing evidence of a renewed recog- ences, this organization has engaged in action in cooperation with both the nition of the strength of religions, and activities to provide consolation for the Counseling Room for the Heart and Buddhism especially, in Japanese society. souls of the dead and spiritual support the Japan Religion Coordinating Project The declining influence of religion for the living that were welcomed by the for Disaster Relief. Buddhist religious was long lamented in Japanese society survivors of the March 2011 disaster. organizations are playing a major role following World War II. Amid the suf- One of the alliance’s most prominent in such interfaith collaboration. fering caused by the March 2011 earth- initiatives was Café de Monk, a pro- It is as yet impossible to say what fruit quake, the spiritual stirrings among gram led by Buddhist priests and the these initiatives will bear. Nevertheless, those struggling to come to terms with leaders of other religious groups who there is a widely shared impression that the events of that day, and the activi- visited victims to lend them a sympa- the events on and after March 11, 2011, ties of the religious groups working to thetic ear. A program to train “interfaith demonstrated the fragility and transiency mitigate this suffering, however, there chaplains,” based at Tohoku University, of today’s material civilization. Many are signs that the trend may be chang- has also been set up to provide inter- Japanese no longer feel that economic ing. In both academia and the media, faith spiritual care. development can make them happier. opportunities to convey such obser- In a similar vein, volunteers from Now is perhaps the time to take a fresh vations are growing. It is not known religious circles and religious academia look, through the lens of religious tra- whether this marks a recovery of the came together on April 1, 2011, to form dition, at our lives’ foundations. Both concept of life after death, but what is the Japan Religion Coordinating Project as a cultural tradition and through its clear is that there is a rising recognition for Disaster Relief (http://www.indranet religious organizations, Buddhism will of the importance of being keenly aware .jp/syuenren/). Its purpose is to have much to contribute to this endeavor. of death and the dead in one’s life. ≥

Dharma World July–September 2014 25 NIWANO PEACE PRIZE The Call for a Deeper and More Inclusive Interreligious Engagement Niwano Peace Prize Acceptance Address by Dena Merriam, Founder and Convener of the Global Peace Initiative of Women

in resolving some of the key global con- The Niwano Peace Foundation awarded the thirty-fi rst Niwano fl icts, and it was the fi rst time the major Peace Prize on May 16 to Ms. Dena Merriam of the United religions were being invited to convene States, for her leadership of the Global Peace Initiative in the General Assembly Hall. I was of Women (GPIW). Ms. Merriam founded GPIW in 2002 to asked to serve as the vice chair and to strengthen women religious leaders’ roles in reconciliation and aid in the organization of the event. My problem solving. GPIW has conducted a leadership program experiences during this process helped for youth in collaboration with the United Nations. It also has to set the course of my work. tried to organize dialogues in areas of confl ict and has recently Since the summit was to be held at promoted environmental protection as well. The following is the United Nations, we were to work her acceptance speech at the award ceremony in Tokyo. at the highest level within the religious institutions. Th is was a real departure for me. Being a longtime meditation I want to thank the Niwano Peace study of the great masters and mys- practitioner, I had far greater interest Foundation for this tremendous honor tics of the major world religions and in the experiential and esoteric side of and for recognizing the global peace found an unexpected unity of experi- religion. However, I was soon to fi nd work of women spiritual leaders, who are ence and vision, although these have that even at the institutional level there the core of our organization. Interfaith oft en been cloaked in diff erent meta- were people of wisdom and great com- engagement is one of the most criti- phors and narratives to suit various cul- mitment to the common good—and cal human activities at this period in tures and times. I came to my spiritual this attracted me. history, and yet its importance is not path when I was about twenty years old, A few incidents occurred during the adequately recognized by most of the and one of the things that drew me to process of organizing the summit that global community. Th e Niwano Peace the Hindu path was that my teacher drew my attention. Th e secretary-gen- Foundation has long stood out as one Paramahansa Yogananda spoke of the eral’s offi ce had put together an advisory of the few organizations to recognize underlying unity of the world’s faith council from the United Nations, and the role interfaith engagement plays in traditions. My studies confi rmed what we kept them informed and updated creating a better world. I learned from my teacher and what I on how things were progressing. One I want to share with you some of intuitively felt to be true. woman on the council was particularly my experiences and observations dur- I didn’t engage in interfaith work concerned about having women reli- ing the last nearly seventeen years that professionally until some twenty years gious leaders participate in the sum- I have been involved in interfaith work, later, when the secretary-general of the mit. I was unaware of any problems in and I want to express some thoughts United Nations, His Excellency Kofi this regard and so began to seek out on what I see to be the most pressing Annan, consented to the organization women religious leaders. call for the interfaith community today. of the Millennium World Peace Summit I was seated at a dinner at Oxford, I have been involved in interreli- of Religious and Spiritual Leaders in England, with a group of religious lead- gious activities for most of my adult life, the year 2000, to be held in the General ers when I happened to mention to the but for many years it was more from Assembly Hall of the United Nations’ man seated next to me that we were the academic side. As a graduate stu- New York headquarters. Th e idea was having trouble fi nding women religious dent at Columbia University in New to explore how the religions could work leaders for the summit at the UN. I was York City, I undertook an enthusiastic in partnership with the United Nations only trying to make dinner conversation,

26 Dharma World July–September 2014 umbia University, and received an MA from Columbia University. As the founder and convener of GPIW, she has been engaged in reducing international tensions and fostering reconciliation by taking advantage of women’s qualities. She has also served on the boards of the Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions and the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy.

but he reacted strongly to my remark and asked in a rather stern voice, “Why do you need women religious leaders?” When he saw the surprise on my face, he added, “Take my advice and stay away from that issue or you might find that nobody will come to your sum- mit.” That was in 1999. The world has changed a lot since then—but in some quarters of the world, I would get the same response today. We had difficulty finding women religious leaders, and so we compen- sated by finding women public figures— like Jane Goodall. I was not happy with this solution, but I was still in a learn- the response came, “Because she is a the religious communities in Geneva, ing phase. Much of our time during the woman.” A number of people on our and the first response that I received organization of the summit was involved staff had tried to get her to move, but she was, “We don’t want your American in dealing with political issues—like the didn’t understand English and refused feminism here. We don’t have women fact that the Dalai Lama could not be to be separated from the monks of her religious leaders.” I was taken aback, invited to the United Nations and the delegation. The clock was ticking and because I never thought of this work as response from some prominent reli- we had to begin, and so I was asked a feminist matter, and I began to won- gious figures who said they would not to move her. It was a difficult moment der why this issue was so threatening come if the Dalai Lama was not invited. for me. But when I went up to her and to so many. In order to get around the So the gender issue got lost amid the took her hand, she smiled and followed subject of women religious leaders, the political negotiations. me. The crisis was solved, but it left a Geneva community suggested we change On the opening day of the sum- deep imprint in my mind. Later, when the title of our event from “The Global mit, as we were waiting for the religious the Thai delegation came to greet me, I Peace Initiative of Women Religious leaders to enter the General Assembly apologized to her, and we became fast and Spiritual Leaders” to “The Role of Hall to begin the prayers, we encoun- friends. She was one of the founding Women in the Faith Communities.” I tered another gender crisis. A prom- cochairs of the Global Peace Initiative refused, and so began the difficult pro- inent monk was to open the prayers, of Women. cess of bringing this vision to fruition. but he wasn’t permitted by his particu- The women religious leaders at the In 2002 we managed to bring 750 lar order to come in close contact with summit were not happy and asked for a women leaders, mostly from the religious any woman, and there was a Buddhist follow-up summit specifically for women communities but also some from busi- nun, the only woman in a delegation that religious leaders. We went back to the ness and government, from over seventy- included about a dozen Thai Buddhist secretary-general’s office, and he agreed, five countries to the Palais des Nations. monks, who was seated near the entrance suggesting that we could hold this sec- Whereas there were many political issues where he was to enter. I was told she had ond summit at the Palais des Nations and much competitiveness at the 2000 to be moved, and when I asked why, in Geneva. So I began working with summit, there were no politics at the

Dharma World July–September 2014 27 Geneva summit. We had no thought and has been for most of its short his- premise of interfaith engagement, and of forming an organization out of this tory an Abrahamic dialogue. There has this has been and still is the very cause of gathering, but we immediately received been a need and rationale for this, as so much religious tension. Until Hindus requests to come to conflict areas and there has been and still is much tension and Buddhists, among people of other help organize peace dialogues, and so in the Abrahamic world. However, half Eastern faiths, are at the table equally, the Global Peace Initiative of Women the world has been left out. not only participating in equal num- Religious and Spiritual Leaders was During the Millennium World Peace bers but equally shaping and forming born. We later shortened the name to Summit, I saw the resistance of many the discourse, we will not achieve reli- the Global Peace Initiative of Women Western institutions to deeper engage- gious harmony. (GPIW). ment with the Eastern traditions. And It is no longer enough to have token We spent our first five years organiz- then after the 9/11 tragedy in 2001, representation. True balance is what we ing dialogues in conflict and postconflict when the pope organized a World Day must strive for. This is an important areas—including Israel and Palestine, of Prayer in Assisi, I saw again the dis- point. Gender balance and East-West Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan, Cambodia, and regard, perhaps unintentional, for the balance are critical not for the sake of between India and Pakistan. The dia- Dharmic traditions. I remember that being polite or politically correct, not for logues were initially with women, and each faith was asked to pray in a sepa- the sake of being inclusive or of being then young leaders, and then eventually rate room. The Catholics had their room, considerate to these groups. It is criti- a mix of everyone. What was distinc- as did the Jews and the Muslims, but cal because the world is very much in tive about these dialogues is that they most of the Eastern or Dharmic faiths need of what the Dharmic traditions were shaped and led by a diverse group were lumped together—the Shintoists, and women have to offer. With regard of women religious leaders, always bal- Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and others all sent to the Dharmic traditions, a whole body anced between East and West. So we together to one room to pray. Not only of wisdom has been ignored, wisdom brought Buddhist nuns and women was it considered unacceptable for the that has great relevance to the multiple swamis to meet with the groups from world’s religions to pray together, but crises we face as a world community. Sudan, Iraq, and other conflict areas. This the Eastern or Dharmic traditions were This is changing, but it is changing most had a tremendously positive impact, as not given the same courtesy of separate rapidly outside the traditional inter- it opened the participants to the wider rooms. This was an indication to me of a faith networks. world and they saw the role women can great imbalance in the interfaith world, GPIW decided to make the achieve- play in other cultures. but this lack of awareness, which still ment of East-West balance one of its There is a second theme, aside from prevails in many interfaith gatherings, major goals, and so in 2009 we orga- the gender issue, that has motivated the was not even noticed. How can there nized a summit in Cambodia on the work of GPIW, and that is the need not be meaningful interfaith dialogue when theme “Giving Greater Global Voice to only for gender balance but for East- we still abide by a hierarchy of religions, Eastern Wisdom.” Hindu and Buddhist West balance. Interfaith work has mostly when some are considered more valid leaders came from all over the world to been shaped by the Abrahamic traditions than others? This is against the whole talk about the common ground between

28 Dharma World July–September 2014 these two great Dharmic traditions. meditation but also teachers. It is not right but, rather, which one speaks best The rediscovery of the shared wisdom, uncommon to find a Catholic priest to the individual. vision, and practices of Buddhism and who is also a Zen roshi. In the state of A few months ago GPIW helped to Hinduism gives the spiritual heritage of Colorado we have the first Christian- organize an interfaith retreat here in Asia a new strength globally. Buddhist Church, where the commu- Japan on the theme “Awakening Buddha- Around this time GPIW also turned nity practices both religions. At one of Nature.” Increasingly, we have been its attention to the United States. Thus the largest Episcopal churches in New choosing themes with language from far, most of our work had been global, York, there is a Living Christ Sangha, the East and asking other religions to in conflict and postconflict areas, but where mindfulness meditation is prac- reflect on how this theme speaks to them. American society was and still is under- ticed after the Sunday Christian service. We invited a group from the United going many tensions and transitions. We What does this say about the changing States called the Interfaith Amigos, com- decided to explore the changing religious religious landscape in America, and ulti- posed of a Christian leader, a Muslim landscape in America and to focus on mately what does it say about the future leader, and a Jewish religious leader. the growing meditation movement and of interfaith, as more and more people Amigos is a commonly used Spanish so brought contemplative leaders from cultivate dual affiliations? The same is word for friends. The group formed after the Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, happening in Europe, only not yet to 9/11 when a Protestant minister from Muslim, and Native American tradi- the same extent, because Europe is a Seattle in Washington State reached out tions to the Aspen Institute in Aspen, more secular society. To help give voice to a local imam and said they should Colorado. The purpose was to explore to this new dynamic movement, GPIW start working together to ease the ten- how the spread of meditation practice formed the Contemplative Alliance in sions caused by 9/11. They began speak- is influencing American society and the United States and in Europe, to ing at churches and mosques and then changing the religious dynamic of the explore how contemplative practice can decided to invite a rabbi to join them. country. Today, Buddhism is the fast- help foster the individual and societal The Interfaith Amigos have become est-growing religion in America. Many transformations needed to address the quite popular in the United States and Buddhist principles, such as interdepen- interconnected crises of climate change, travel around the country speaking on dence and mindfulness, have become environmental degradation, economic interfaith. I wasn’t sure how they would mainstream concepts and are finding inequity, and so forth. respond to the theme of “Awakening their way into the education and health The spread of meditation practices Buddha-Nature,” but to my relief they care systems, among other mainstream has helped to bring the religions much loved it. They usually speak about reli- institutions. At the same time, twenty closer together. There is a growing com- gious friendship, and they said it was a million Americans are now practicing munity of people who no longer see a novelty to delve so deeply into a spirit- some form of yoga, and concepts such as hierarchy of religions, who view all reli- ual topic. When they got up to speak karma and reincarnation are now widely gions as having their own distinctive together, this is how they began: embraced. Many, many Christian clergy perspective on truth, each being valid. The minister spoke first. He said, “I are not only practitioners of Buddhist It is no longer a matter of which one is have some good news.” We all waited

Dharma World July–September 2014 29 to hear what the good news was, and growth. Spiritual growth is becoming they wanted, and they responded. “This then he said, “Jesus Christ is not the more important than any specific doc- is why we have come to India. We live only savior.” Then the imam spoke and trine, and this will help in the evolu- in a state of fear, not knowing when or he said, “I also have some good news. tion of society. Our work as interfaith where the next explosion will be. We Muhammad is not the last prophet.” leaders is to see and understand what is need to learn to deal with our fears.” I Then the rabbi chimed in, “And I have emerging as the next stage of interfaith turned to the Afghan imams who were good news as well. The Jews are not and to tap this new dynamic energy so there, and they nodded their consent, the chosen people.” Everyone laughed. that it can be used to address the crit- and so one of the teachers in our group For those of you who may not under- ical challenges we face. The spiritual offered some basic stress-reduction med- stand this, these three beliefs—that shift now taking place in America and itation. This was the only time that we Jesus is the only savior, Muhammad is other parts of the world has the poten- did this—because the need was so great. the last prophet, and the Jews are the tial to change the way people regard a During that session, I realized that in chosen people—are what keep these host of issues—from economic dispar- many conflict areas people are seeking three Abrahamic religions at odds with ity to our relationship with the natural spiritual methods that ease their fears each other and the rest of the world. The world—because these changes depend and anger, regardless of religious tra- Interfaith Amigos now go around the on a transformation in the conscious- dition. More important than doctrine country disclaiming these beliefs in a ness of people. today are practices that help people cope humorous and loving way, and this is A few years ago we brought a group with life’s challenges. helping to build religious unity. Their of Afghans to India for a dialogue. I hap- There is much uncertainty and fear goal is not to discredit any one religion pen to find Dharamsala, India, to be a in the world—economic uncertainty, but to erase barriers. After this intro- very inspiring environment, and so we concerns about damage to the natu- duction, the minister, the imam, and the brought them there. As always we had ral world, and fear due to social strife rabbi then went on to reflect on what a mix of spiritual teachers, men and and polarization. How do we help peo- buddha-nature meant to them in the women, from the Eastern and Western ple deal with their fears? One way is by language of their tradition. traditions to guide the dialogue. We coming together around shared prac- The Contemplative Alliance orga- covered a number of themes relating tices that can connect people to their nizes dialogues around the United States to the conflict and to methods of peace innate spiritual resources. on critical issues, and wherever we go, no building, and then after a few days, one There is a growing community of matter how small the city or town, there of the participants asked, “When are people who either have been in the inter- are Buddhist centers, Hindu groups, we going to learn to meditate?” I was faith movement for a long time or have Sufis, and others. A new religious mix is surprised because we don’t proselytize had much exposure to other traditions emerging in America, and this bodes well and so never introduce spiritual prac- who truly see and function from the for the future, because it is helping peo- tices. We may pray together and sit in place of deep unity—knowing there is ple to overcome barriers and find those silence, but we don’t teach specific tech- one truth that speaks through many practices that enable their own spiritual niques. I asked the group if this is what tongues. Like biodiversity, religious

30 Dharma World July–September 2014 diversity is a gift to be treasured, but for gender bias. Our religious iconog- need all of our human ingenuity and we are not to be deluded into thinking raphy has profound implications for creative powers to envision and realize a that a single path is the only true one. how we function as a society. new way of living on earth, and the tal- This evolution in understanding has As we have traveled the world talk- ent and efforts of men and women are profound implications for our ability ing about the transformative powers equally needed, as well as the knowledge to live together peacefully. So much of held within the feminine expression of and wisdom of East and West. human history has been the imposition the Divine, we have found many within There is now a growing spectrum of of one religion or culture on another. the Abrahamic traditions who have res- interfaith work. There are still people We must as a human community out- onated with this message and who are in many parts of the world with little grow this instinct if we are to create a now delving more deeply into this aspect exposure to religions other than their more peaceful world. of their own tradition. So the issue of own. For them it is enough just to learn Now I want to return briefly to the gender balance has both an external and have some experience of “the other,” issue of gender, because we are also being and an internal dimension—a societal to gain respect and the ability to coex- called to evolve beyond gender bias now. and spiritual dimension. I have found in ist without violence. These elementary Initially the work of GPIW was to pro- our work that men often understand the steps can guide them to the next level, vide a platform for women religious lead- concept of the Divine Feminine energy where religions begin to truly engage ers, but over time that changed. In 2008 and its transformative power as much with one another and learn to see the we organized a big summit in India on as or sometimes more than women. beauty and truth in all traditions. When the theme of the feminine aspect of the Today so many aspects of our plan- I first began my interfaith work in the Divine in order to create balance in our etary life are under threat—the oceans, 1990s, the key word was tolerance. From understanding of that Ultimate Reality. forests, and rivers. We are losing plant tolerance we moved to respect and then One way of approaching this subject is and animal diversity. The climate has mutual respect and understanding. For to say the Divine or Ultimate Reality is become unstable, and droughts and those of us who wanted to go deeper, beyond gender, but another way is to floods more common. Resources are the next words that came into use were view it as containing both the masculine rapidly being depleted. We are told water oneness and unity—one truth with many and feminine qualities. The Abrahamic will become scarce in the future, and we expressions. For those who have been on traditions have lost sight of the femi- are losing the natural seeds that are our this interfaith journey for many years, nine aspects of the Divine, although heritage from our ancestors. What are we cannot operate but from a place of this understanding is there, hidden in we to learn from all of this but to find unity. Our focus must now be on how those traditions. In the East it has not a way of living more in harmony with we can gather our collective spiritual been lost, and there are practices for the the earth and the forces of nature— wisdom and practices so that we can realization of Tara, Durga, and other to live with greater respect, apprecia- transform our societies and address the female manifestations of the Divine. In tion, and love for the forces on which challenges facing the global community. certain Eastern traditions it is this fem- we depend for life. A transformation The interfaith work of so many com- inine aspect of the Divine that enables in understanding is very much needed. mitted men and women has led to a new transformation—both individual and Another crisis is forming at the same closeness and fraternity among the reli- collective—and transformation is what time. Economic inequity is reaching such gions—a real ability to sit together in we are all yearning for. After 2008 our an extreme degree that some change will our meditation and be in unity. But we work began to focus more on evoking have to come. More charity is not the must go further. Much is at stake for images of the Divine Feminine than answer but rather a fundamental shift our planet and its communities of life. on giving visibility to women religious in the way we live and work together— Can we enable this unity to foster now leaders. In part this was due to the fact a shift toward a more sharing and com- a real transformation in understanding that society was becoming more accept- passionate society, where the goal is so that we can reset our values, so that ing of women religious leaders, and so well-being rather than the amassment our spiritual growth and development this work was moving forward. Now of money. will have a place at least equal to that of the task was to bring gender balance The answers are not clear. The prob- humanity’s material development? It is to our understanding of the Primordial lems are very complex and intertwined. this spiritual growth that will provide Creative Force, the ultimate source of all. But one thing we know—there are spirit- the wisdom to guide us forward. The As long as this force is conceived solely ual principles at stake, and solutions will challenges we face are vast, but there are in masculine terms, as the Father, there be found in proportion to our ability to no problems that cannot be addressed is the ability to use this as a rationale grow and develop spiritually. We will through our united spiritual efforts. ≥

Dharma World July–September 2014 31 ESSAY

Side by Side: Notes on the Twin Buddhas of the Lotus Sutra in the Stone Carver’s Art by Hank Glassman

as synonyms in various textual sources. Here I explore some meanings behind . . . a small stone Th e sutra speaks of a “jeweled stupa” that depicts two buddhas sitting side by side in the lotus or “seven-jeweled stupa” [shippōtō], posture, sheltered beneath a heavy lintel. . . . These are old but the expansion to “many-jeweled gravestones, their connections to families lost two or three stupa” is a natural one because of the centuries ago. name of the buddha. The sutra also refers to the stupa as “Prabhūtaratna tathāgata’s stupa” [tahō nyoraitō]. Note In the world of Japanese stonework of ago. We no longer fi nd this theme in that throughout this essay, in order to the late medieval and early modern peri- contemporary Japanese cemetery mon- avoid undue confusion, I do not cap- ods, pairs or doubles are common. Th e uments—what is the meaning of this italize the word buddha.) Śākyamuni iconography of twin fi gures standing lost iconography, what are its roots? explains that Prabhūtaratna (“Many shoulder to shoulder is found in exam- Jewels,” Tahō Nyorai), a buddha from ples of the stone carver’s art through- The Story the far distant past, enlightened since out the archipelago. Here I explore of the Two Buddhas unimaginably long ago, made a vow that some meanings behind a subtype of always and in any future world system, this dyadic—a small stone that depicts Students of the Lotus Sutra will immedi- when the Lotus is being preached, he two buddhas sitting side by side in the ately recognize the resonance with chap- would appear there to declare the scrip- lotus posture, sheltered beneath a heavy ter 11, “Th e Apparition of the Jeweled ture’s excellence and praise the qual- lintel. (I refer to this stonework iconog- Stupa”: in one of the most unexpected ities of the buddha who preaches it. raphy as nibutsu dōza, or “two buddhas and miraculous scenes in the whole of Prabhūtaratna speaks, roaring the lion’s on the same seat.” Th e iconography is Buddhist scriptural literature, two bud- roar from inside the stupa, saying that also known more generally in various dhas occupy the same time and space, it is wonderful, “Excellent, Śākyamuni. artistic media as nibutsu byōza, “two an important impossibility. Splendid!” buddhas sitting side by side.”) Th ese Th at is, according to orthodox or Before the ancient buddha within are old gravestones, their connections mainstream Buddhist cosmology, there the stupa can reveal himself, Śākyamuni to families lost two or three centuries can be only one buddha at a time. In the must call back all of his myriads of ava- Lotus Sutra, this expectation is turned tars to our saha world, bidding them to upside down. Th ere is another buddha, return from their merciful missions in and he has come for a visit. At the open- distant worlds throughout the greater ing of the chapter, an enormous and lav- trichiliocosm. (Th at, is the sum total of ishly adorned “jeweled stupa” appears the universe as described in Buddhist before the multitude gathered at Vulture cosmology, consisting of one thou- Peak. (Th e terms jeweled stupa [hōtō] sand systems comprising one thousand and Prabhūtaratna/Many Jewels Stupa worlds each.) Presumably, this stipu- [tahōtō] require some explaining. While lation is meant to make perfectly clear the terms are used by Japanese art and that Prabhūtaratna is not a mere ema- architectural historians to diff erenti- nation or manifestation of Śākyamuni ate between two specifi c types of tem- but is a samyak sambuddha (completely ple building, in fact they are oft en used and perfectly awakened buddha) in his

32 Dharma World July–September 2014 Hank Glassman is Associate Professor of East Asian Studies at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. His scholarly work focuses on the religious cultures of medieval Japan. His book The Face of Jizō: Image and Cult in Medieval Japan was published by the University of Hawaii Press in 2012. Currently he is researching the history of grave monuments in Japan, especially the “five-elements pagoda” or gorintō.

own right. Whatever the reason for the Then from within the stupa the request, Śākyamuni complies joyfully Buddha Prabhūtaratna offered half and summons together all of his mag- of his seat to the Buddha Śākyamuni, ically created avatar buddhas (funjin saying: shobutsu). Each of the buddhas thus sum- “O Śākyamuni Buddha, please moned is urged to greet Prabhūtaratna. take a seat here!” After these few preconditions are The Buddha Śākyamuni immedi- met, the doors to the stupa open and the ately entered the stupa and sat cross- audience can see the glorious tathāgata legged on half of the seat. Thereupon Prabhūtaratna within. Prabhūtaratna the great assembly saw the two repositions himself to offer half of his Tathāgatas sitting cross-legged on seat to Śākyamuni, who then mounts the the lion-seat in the seven-jeweled lion throne. And so they sit, one next stupa and they each thought thus: to the other, two tathāgatas together. “The Buddhas are seated far away. O Tathāgata, we entreat you to use Thereupon Śākyamuni Buddha your transcendent powers so that opened the entrance to the seven- we may be in the air together with jeweled stupa with his right finger. you.” (Tsugunari Kubo and Akira There was a tremendous sound as if Yuyama, trans., The Lotus Sutra the bar and lock to the gateway of a [Berkeley: Numata Center for large city were being pushed aside. Buddhist Translation and Research, Then immediately the entire gather- 1993], pp. 184–85; Miaofa lianhua ing saw the Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna jing, Teihon 0262) in the jeweled stupa sitting on a lion- seat as if he were in meditation, his He would seem to be in many body whole and undecomposed. respects identical to Śākyamuni. The They heard him say: radiance of the two flanking figures sit- “Splendid, splendid! The Buddha ting in padmāsana (the lotus position) in Śākyamuni is teaching the Lotus all of their hieratic glory, shining through Sutra and I have come in order to the open door of the jewel-adorned hear it.” stupa, belies the intimacy and friend- course, unimaginably large, unimagin- At that time the fourfold assem- liness of the invitation “Come join me. ably splendid. At the temple Honkōji bly saw the Buddha who had entered Come on up and sit here next to me.” in Shizuoka Prefecture and at the tem- parinirvāṇa immeasurable thousands ple Honpōji in Toyama Prefecture, of myriads of koṭis of kalpas ago Telling the Story with we find two remarkable Kamakura- speaking those words. They praised Voice and Image period (1185–1333) sets of hanging this unprecedented experience and paintings on silk depicting scenes from scattered heavenly jeweled flowers But what does the jeweled stupa, or the twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus upon the Buddhas, Prabhūtaratna the Prabhūtaratna stupa, really look Sutra. Both sets clearly depict in this and Śākyamuni. like? As described in the sutra, it is, of chapter a “jeweled stupa,” meaning a

Dharma World July–September 2014 33 dome or bell-shaped one-story build- etoki preachers, to bring the sutra to life thundering hum, the nasalized final “un.” ing with a sweeping square roof, as in through the coloration of voice, a preg- These two are, of course, the gatekeep- the example from Honpōji. It is clear nant pause, the cadence and pitch of the ers, or dvarapalas, known throughout that these paintings were created for practiced orator. It is in these paintings, continental and insular Asia and com- the purpose of illustrated preach- displayed and preached upon on impor- mon to both Buddhist and Hindu tra- ing, or etoki. (See Masahiko Hayashi, tant temple occasions, that generation ditions. In many cases, the gatekeeper “Honpōji zō Hokekyō mandara zu— after generation of the faithful of the pairs represent an important locus for etoki to sono shūhen,” Kokubunkagu: Lotus Sutra beheld a vision of the elev- the interaction of global traditions with kaishaku to kanshō 62/3 [1997]: 141–47. enth chapter of the Lotus Sutra come local cults and local ritual practices. Also see Hirofumi Horie, “Hokekyō man- to life, knew themselves to be indeed That is, as Rolf Stein suggested in dara zu ni okeru buttō no ichi kōsatsu,” among the assembly there at Vulture his seminal article on the topic, this set Indōgaku, bukkyōgaku kenkyū 50/1 Peak, and connected the message of of twin guardians, the dvarapalas, is a [2001]): 200–202 and “Hokekyō man- the twin buddhas to their own experi- motif that artists, iconographers, and dara zu ni arawareru buttō ni tsuite,” ence and religious path. Yet there are clerics have employed at every turn Hokke bunka 28 [2002]: 15–25. The twin indications that the inspiration for the when seeking to integrate local and buddhas appear across illustrations of gravestone carvings of two buddhas translocal traditions in India and across various chapters in the painted scrolls, might be more complex than a simple Asia.* Often these pairs are oppositional although the sutra does not continue to evocation of this scene. or contrary male figures: the hand- focus on the theme. See Bunsaku Kurata some youth who stands for purity and and Yoshirō Tamura, Art of the Lotus Keepers of the Gate: ascetic or martial self-control and the Sutra: Japanese Masterpieces [Tokyo: Reflections ugly, pot-bellied dwarf who embodies Kosei Publishing, 1987], plates 7, 8, 9, wealth, pleasure, appetite—Skanda and 16, and 17.) on the Double Gaṇeśa, Weituo-tian (Jpn., Idaten) and That is, these paintings and later ones At the entrance to Buddhist temples in Mile-fuo (Jpn., Miroku) in Budai (Jpn., based on them were the vehicle by which Japan stand the fierce varjapāni figures, Hotei) form. Sometimes they are nearly Japanese Buddhists could begin to imag- the great niō (benevolent kings). They identical—the embracing twin elephants ine the jeweled stupa and the vision of are, famously, “a” and “un”—the alpha who are together Vināyaka, or Kangiten the twin buddhas. Drawing on icono- and omega—of the totalizing and mag- in Japan, or the cheery and auspicious graphic traditions reaching back cen- ical syllable “om.” One has his mouth pair Ebisu/Daikoku. (It is worth noting turies to the Dunhuang caves in China, wide open in a strong, earth-shaking here that Ebisu is strongly associated the artists created a setting for the priests vocalization of the letter “a,” while the with the stone gods. The stone gods are giving sermons, and for male and female other has his mouth shut, producing a understood to be the “body” of Ebisu

34 Dharma World July–September 2014 or the rejected “leech-child” Hiruko. Coming Full Circle their future burial together (Masatarō See Cornelius Ouwehand, Namazu-e Kawakatsu, Nihon sekizō bijutsu jiten and Their Themes: An Interpretative Of course, these pairs seen at the gate- [Tokyo: Tōkyōdō Shuppan, 1978], p. Approach to Some Aspects of Japanese ways and at the liminal spots are most 264), again strengthening the idea of a Folk Religion [Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1964], certainly not the same as the twin bud- connection to male-female pairs. pp. 137–40. Another work that takes dhas of the Lotus Sutra, and yet the And so at least two streams of up the sacred stones of Japan is Peter similarities in form in dvarapala and Japanese visual and material culture Metevelis, Japanese Mythology and nibutsu dōza iconography draw our flow into the creation and prolifera- the Primeval World: A Comparative curiosity. In Stein’s study he points tion of the nibutsu dōza grave: paintings Symbolic Approach [New York: iUni- to the crazy Zen pair Hanshan (Jpn., of the Lotus Sutra and stone carvings verse, 2009].) Kanzan) and Shide (Jpn., Jittoku) as of the dōsojin. These small, charming, The stone deities of Japan, sekibutsu, manifestations of the august bodhi- and silent memorials, like Stein’s gate- are of many types, but functionally they sattvas Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra keepers, thus stand between the great tend to be quite closely related one to (Stein, “Guardian of the Gate,” p. 133). pan-Asian Buddhist tradition as repre- the other. The stones known as sae no Here we might note that direct visual sented by the Lotus Sutra, and local fer- kami or dōsojin are of the general type readings—that is, an understanding tility cults as represented by male and pointed to by Stein. They are gods of the shaped by formal qualities and fam- female pairs carved in stone. ≥ boundaries, often doubled. These are the ily resemblances—often supersede or “stone gods” (shaguji, shakujin, ishigami). circumvent more-abstract symbolic * Rolf Stein, “The Guardian of the Gate: They protect villages and city wards from or doctrinal formulations. It is exactly An Example of Buddhist Mythology, from India to Japan,” in Asian Mythologies, ed. disease and calamity and are also tied to these sorts of linkages that are of inter- Yves Bonnefoy (Chicago: University of the generative power of sexuality. (For est. I have said above that the dōsojin are Chicago Press, 1991), pp. 122–36. This a fuller description of the stone god or not necessarily the twin buddhas, and article in particular and Stein’s bold her- gods, see Hank Glassman, The Face of yet Tomoichirō Kusakabe, in discussing meneutic approach in general have Jizō [Honolulu: University of Hawai’i the nibutsu dōza iconography, points to had enormous influence in the field of Press, 2012], pp. 162ff. The classic work an image of this type from Kyoto, not- Buddhist studies and religious studies. For example, the recent work by Bernard on the stone gods is by Kunio Yanagita, ing that it is not at all uncommon in Faure on the Indianization of medi- “Shakujin mondō,” in Yanagita Kunio the area. He points out, however, that eval Japan, “The Impact of Tantrism on zenshū [Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō, 1998], this one has an inscription of the two Japanese Religious Traditions: The Cult vol. 12, pp. 487–627. Also, see Shinobu characters that read sae or dōso on the of Three Devas,” in Transformations and Orikuchi, “Ishi ni ide hairu mono,” in base (Tomoichirō Kusakabe, Sekibutsu Transfer of Tantra in Asia and Beyond, ed. István Keul (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2012), Orikuchi Shinobu zenshū [Tokyo: Chūō nyūmon [Tokyo: Rinjinsha, 1967], pp. pp. 399–412; or Faure’s earlier writing on Kōronsha, 1965], vol. 19, pp. 212–55. 129–30, ill. 156). This is a clear indica- Vināyāka, “The Elephant in the Room: More recently, see Shin’ichi Nakazawa, tion of the relationship between the cult The Cult of Secrecy in Japanese Tantrism,” Seirei no ō [Tokyo: Kōdansha, 2003].) of the stone gods and the nibutsu dōza in The Culture of Secrecy in Japanese These deities are necessarily sexual in images. We can also find an example in Religion, ed. Bernhard Scheid and Mark character, but not only sexual. They reg- Kyoto where a double grave was set up Teeuwen (London: Routledge, 2006), pp. 255–68, reveal Stein’s impact. This influ- ularly take the form of a phallus (or of by a wife after her husband’s death for ence is also evident in the inventive and stone pillars inscribed with the name erudite work of Nobumi Iyanaga, espe- of the bodhisattva Jizō or the “Shinto” cially in his massive twin monographs deity Sarutahiko), but the stones are most dedicated almost exclusively to the elab- often carved or incised with a male and oration and expansion of Stein’s ideas— one volume on Daikoku: Daikokuten female couple. Some older images have hensō (Kyoto: Hōzōkan, 2002); and one explicit and detailed erotic content, but on Kannon: Kannon hen’yōtan (Kyoto: most are only tamely and humorously Hōzōkan, 2002). Readers wanting to suggestive: some business with hands think in greater detail about the issues or sleeves or teapot spouts. The Shinto raised in my superficial discussion of the deities Izanami and Izanagi are a com- gatekeepers are urged to consult the bib- liographies of these two worthy heirs to mon identification. In a further subli- R. A. Stein. For twin gods, see especially mation, the couple become two Jizōs, Iyanaga, Daikokuten hensō, pp. 113ff and or a monk and a nun. 537ff.

Dharma World July–September 2014 35 Atsushi Kanazawa is a Professor in The Prism the Faculty of Buddhism at Komazawa University, Tokyo. He specializes in of the Lotus Sutra (5) the Indian philosophy of language and by Atsushi Kanazawa the history of Indian philosophy and culture.

The Vulture The “City of Royal Palaces” is Rājagṛha, the capital of the former king- You may have noticed that the Sutra of dom of Magadha (present-day Rajgir in Innumerable Meanings and the Lotus Bihar), while Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa is a hill Sutra both have the same opening words: lying to the northeast of the town, known “Thus have I heard. Once the Buddha was in English as Vulture Peak (which is also staying at the City of Royal Palaces on known as Divine Eagle Peak or Sacred Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa with a great assem- Eagle Peak). Gṛdhra means “vulture” blage of great bhikshus, in all twelve and kūṭa “peak” or “summit,” and so its thousand.” In addition, the final chapter name literally means a (sacred) mountain of the Lotus Sutra (“Encouragement of “having a vulture for its summit.” Both the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue”) ends names are significant for devotees of the with these words: “When the Buddha Lotus Sutra: the hill’s original Sanskrit preached this sutra, Universal Virtue and name Gṛdhrakūṭa is important for seek- the vulture, which scavenges on carrion. the other bodhisattvas, Śāriputra and ing out the location of the place where But this is probably no cause for con- the other śrāvakas, and the gods, drag- the Lotus Sutra was preached, while cern, nor is the fact that the vulture fig- ons, human and nonhuman beings, and the designation Vulture Peak, which ures too, for example, in the parable of all others in the great assembly greatly evokes the image of a mountain with the three carts and the burning house, rejoiced together and, taking posses- a summit resembling a vulture with its in which it is included among the wild sion of the Buddha’s words, made salu- wings spread out, is important for being animals and birds of prey listed when tation to him and withdrew [from Mount able to recall it at all times. This is why describing the “burning house”—or the Gṛdhrakūṭa].” It should be evident from Kumārajīva sometimes transliterated terrifying and dangerous world of delu- these passages just how important a its name and sometimes translated it. sion—from which salvation and escape role Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa plays in the It is true that gṛdhra refers not to a are deemed to be a matter of utmost Lotus Sutra. golden eagle, the “king of birds,” but to urgency. ≥

The Campaka that anything emitting a sweet fragrance is to be admired. It is possibly for this In the Lotus Sutra there are mentioned reason that the “Merits of the Preacher” various plants apart from sandalwood chapter, describing the merits of those and aloes that are known for their fra- who receive and keep the Lotus Sutra and grance. In fact, it could perhaps be said make offerings associated with the Lotus that mention is made only of fragrant Sutra, includes what could be called plants. They appear, for example, in pas- a catalog of fragrances, which is end- sages dealing with the capacity to dis- lessly fascinating. The fragrance of the cern the odors of buddhas and other campaka (champac) flower, with which outstanding beings, and this is perhaps we are here concerned, also appears in owing to a basic notion in Buddhism this list. The campaka is perhaps not so

36 Dharma World July–September 2014 familiar to us, but both its flowers and Sun Moon Brilliance by the Bodhisattva oil of campaka and other flowers. After its leaves are scented, and an aromatic Whom All Creatures Delight to See, fully twelve hundred years, he anointed oil made from it is also well known on which culminate in his burning of his his body with perfumed unguents, and account of the fragrance that it gives off own body with perfumed oils of cam- in the presence of the Buddha Sun Moon as it burns, while in Buddhist scriptures paka and other flowers. This offering Brilliance wrapped himself in a celes- it is frequently mentioned in contrast to through the act of self-immolation has tial precious garment, bathed in per- foul-smelling things. It corresponds to been highly extolled as the supreme fumed oil, and by his transcendent vow the Magnolia champaca, a tree with thick example of the perfection of giving, and burned his own body. Its brightness glossy leaves and orange or cream-col- it is described as follows: “‘Though I by universally illuminated worlds fully ored flowers that belongs to the mag- my supernatural power have paid hom- numerous as the sands of eighty koṭis nolia family and grows to a height of age to the Buddha, it is not as good as of Ganges rivers.” This episode cannot more than ten meters (thirty-three feet). offering my body.’ Thereupon he partook be casually skimmed through. It should The “Story of the Bodhisattva of many kinds of incense—sandalwood, also be borne in mind that offerings are Medicine King” chapter describes the kunduruka, turushka, pṛkkā, aloes, and to be performed “with respect and sin- fervent offerings made to the Buddha resin incense—and drank the essential cerity.” ≥

Light illuminated all the worlds in the east- was no doubt intended by the Buddha, ern quarter. On account of this light, acutely aware of our never-ending lot “Skillful Means,” the second chapter of the assembled beings gained a glimpse in the cycle of rebirth, to strengthen the Lotus Sutra, is an extremely impor- of all the worlds and states of existence our desire as Buddhists to listen to the tant chapter in which the Buddha’s ser- through which they themselves would Dharma. But I cannot help thinking mon commences. Therefore, the first pass for as long as they did not become that it is intimating to us that it is, in chapter, “Introductory,” could be said to buddhas. fact, the light of the Buddha’s wisdom set the scene for the Buddha’s sermon, Why should this have occurred? that is indispensable for gaining true and what is about to be experienced by According to Mañjuśrī, “The Buddha, happiness. ≥ all of those waiting expectantly to hear the World-honored One, is now intend- the Buddha’s sermon is clearly set out ing . . . to expound the meaning of the in a dialogue between the bodhisattvas great Law. . . . Because of this, know ye Maitreya and Mañjuśrī, both seasoned that now the Buddha . . . intends to cause veterans. all creatures to hear and know the Law The Buddha first preaches the Sutra of which all the worlds will find hard to Innumerable Meanings to the assembled believe. That is why he displays this aus- multitude, and as soon as he has finished pice.” The Buddha preaches the Dharma doing so, he sits cross-legged and enters and we listen to it, but it is not enough a state of meditation called the station merely to listen to it. We need to know of innumerable meanings, his body and it and understand it, which is no sim- mind motionless. Thereupon heavenly ple matter. For us to see and know the flowers rain down and the world shakes in Dharma presented by the Buddha, light six ways. On witnessing this, the assem- that illuminates it is indispensable. To bly, “with joy and folded hands and with know is to illuminate and behold, but one mind looked up to the Buddha. Then regrettably we lack the power to illumi- the Buddha sent forth from the circle of nate. Wisdom is this power to illumi- white hair between his eyebrows a ray of nate. This makes sense when we read, light, which illuminated eighteen thou- “Rare are the divine powers and wis- sand worlds in the eastern quarter, so that dom of the buddhas; sending forth a there was nowhere it did not reach.” In single pure ray, they illuminate innu- other words, before commencing his ser- merable domains.” mon, the Buddha emitted a ray of light The mysterious light of the Buddha from the middle of his forehead that described in the “Introductory” chapter

Dharma World July–September 2014 37 FOUNDER’S MEMOIRS Pivotal Encounters with American Religious Leaders 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.

Rissho Kosei-kai celebrated its thirti- had previously been a religion whose Looking back, I think we can divide eth anniversary in 1968. Th is was to concern was for its own believers, in these thirty years aft er Rissho Kosei-kai’s become the most important year in the sense that those who believed founding into three distinct decades. its history aft er the declaration of the would be saved and those who did not Th e fi rst decade spanned the period Manifestation of the Truth in 1958, which would not be, now it was looking to from the Second Sino-Japanese War and transformed Rissho Kosei-kai and led guide even nonbelievers to happiness the Second World War to the period of it into a new age. Overcoming troubles through the Buddha’s compassion. confusion immediately following Japan’s from both within and without, such as defeat. Th is was when we were extend- the Yomiuri Incident [the public crit- He further described the signifi - ing the hand of liberation from suff er- icism Rissho Kosei-kai had received cance of the change: ing to people desperate just to survive. for its practices and methods of dis- Th ey were hard-pressed even to make semination] and the written compact Joining hands and transcending both a living, and if they fell ill, little medi- that leaders required me to sign, Rissho sect and diff erences in thought and cal attention was available. Th e bread- Kosei-kai made a great change of direc- ideology was something that even the winners had been sent to war and those tion from the Period of Skillful Means great leaders of Kamakura Buddhism left behind had nowhere to turn, their to the Period of the Manifestation of the were not able to do. Even the Pure possessions burned in the bombing. Truth. In contrast to this, the important Land and Zen sects were not able Th ey were seeking spiritual liberation changes that occurred in 1968 were the to overcome the idea that only they as a last resort. result not of trials such as those in 1958 were right and all others were wrong. Th e second decade lasted from the but of Rissho Kosei-kai’s moving onto Pure Land followers held that salva- time when Japan was beginning to a wider stage. tion was impossible unless a person emerge from its postwar chaos down Later, Dr. Kazuo Kasahara, profes- recited the nenbutsu, or the name to 1957. Now people were seeking a life sor emeritus of the University of Tokyo, of Amida Buddha, and Zen follow- that was a little more comfortable and analyzed this change as follows: ers said that no sect other than their were united in wanting freedom from own was any good. Rissho Kosei-kai, poverty, illness, and confl ict. Rissho Th is important change in direction however, joins hands with all, in the Kosei-kai grew rapidly at this time and for Rissho Kosei-kai represented the spirit of the Buddha and humanity, consolidated its organizational base. beginning of a new kind of religious launching activities that have no par- Members rigorously cultivated their reli- activity. Whereas Rissho Kosei-kai allel in religious history. gious training together, and the Dharma

38 Dharma World July–September 2014 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.

evidence of their practice appeared time Ordinary people became car owners, about revering the gods and buddhas. and time again. The whole of Rissho and cars were Japan’s star export. In an Even though desolation of the spirit, Kosei-kai brimmed with great enthu- instant, all of Japan had become prosper- which was the other side of prosperity, siasm. It was a period when we walked ous. The country was riding the wave of gnawed away at them, very few were the Way not knowing what that way was. high economic growth, and this growth even aware of its existence. The third decade saw the end of the was continuing ever more rapidly. The Also, it was at this time, when Japan Period of Skillful Means and the begin- postwar generation, which had never was rejoicing in peace, that great prob- ning of the Period of the Manifestation known war, was growing into young lems were arising in the world at large. of the Truth. Members throughout the adulthood and enjoying an affluent life- The Vietnam War had intensified into a country keenly studied doctrine, the Great style. On the one hand, some young kind of proxy war between the United Sacred Hall was completed as the main people joined groups of hippies, and on States and the Soviet Union. North center for Rissho Kosei-kai’s religious the other, student protest movements Vietnam, which was receiving aid from activities, and an image of the Eternal expanded at all the universities. And the Soviet Union, and South Vietnam, Buddha Shakyamuni was enshrined there at the end of 1968 there occurred the backed by the United States, bore the as our focus of devotion. It was a decade largest heist in Japan’s history, dubbed brunt of the global conflict that had when everything was fulfilled. the 300 million yen robbery. divided the world into camps in the Of course, this kind of periodiza- Drunk on economic prosperity, peo- Cold War. The National Liberation tion of Rissho Kosei-kai’s development ple were carried away by the idea that Front (NLF) had grown up in South may not seem quite so sharply obvious happiness could be found if only they Vietnam, and conflict erupted when from an individual’s point of view. For had enough money and possessions. it confronted government troops in a example, it is natural that for a person Gradually they lost sight of morality and guerilla war. North Vietnam supported who became a member yesterday, the ethics and appeared to have forgotten the NLF and was in turn backed up by Period of Skillful Means is just begin- the Soviet Union and China. ning. Be that as it may, Rissho Kosei-kai, The United States, on the other hand, having developed over thirty years, was feared that if the NLF gained ascendancy about to take its first steps into its fourth in South Vietnam, the bordering coun- decade. It was the period of walking the tries—Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand— known path. would fall like dominos and the whole It was around 1965 that the expres- of Indochina would become commu- sion “the three Cs” became popular in nist. Thus it sent military advisers to Japan. During the late 1950s, people had South Vietnam and continued to pro- wanted to acquire “the three sacred trea- vide the government forces with weap- sures,” that is, a black-and-white televi- ons and supplies. With the American sion, an electric washer, and an electric and North Vietnamese armies becom- refrigerator. Now the new “sacred trea- ing fully engaged in the conflict between sures” became the three Cs of a car, an government troops and the NLF, the air conditioner, and a color television. Americans began bombing military As the production of domestic auto- facilities in North Vietnam. The trag- mobiles moved into full gear, the cur- edy of this war was widely publicized tain rose on the age of the family car. throughout the world.

Dharma World July–September 2014 39 As the NLF continued its firm resis- Buddhist who had long been passion- Rev. Nakayama said, “The year 1969 tance, there seemed no end to war’s ately concerned with the question of is the centenary of the birth of Mahatma destruction, and its victims only kept world peace. He told me that he had Gandhi. In commemoration, Dr. Jack increasing. Voices rose from around met Dr. Homer Jack of the Unitarian said that he would like it to be this year the world urging an immediate end to Universalist Association when he vis- that we hold a conference where reli- the Vietnam War, and even within the ited the Church Center for the United gious leaders from around the world United States, antiwar demonstrations Nations, and Dr. Jack had made this can gather under one roof and discuss were held over and over again. request [to form a coalition of religion- matters relating to peace, and in this ists for peace] to him. way continue Gandhi’s nonviolent peace The Spirit Rev. Nakayama was a pioneer in the movement. A peace symposium of inter- of Mahatma Gandhi peace movement, moving around the national religious leaders will be held world speaking with the religious leaders in New Delhi from January 15 for five It was toward the end of 1967 that word of various countries seeking out ways to days to commemorate the centenary came to me that religious figures in contribute to world peace. All the same, of Gandhi’s birth. American religious the United States had made an initial certain people in Japanese religious cir- leaders called on us to discuss during approach about forming a conference cles had the view that he always burdened the symposium specific matters about to bring about world peace by gath- himself with work that took a lot of money the holding of a conference.” ering together religious leaders from to carry out. He had realized that Dr. I fully agreed with the purport of all around the globe. I heard about it Jack’s idea was not something he could this proposal. from Rev. Riri Nakayama, director of move forward with on his own, so he con- Gandhi had been the leader of a the Nihon Bukkyo Sangokai (Buddhism sulted Dr. Shinichiro Imaoka, president movement to bring about the indepen- Adoration Society of Japan) and the of the Japan Free Religious Association, dence of India from British rule. His Ganji Heiwa Renmei (Gandhi Peace which had close ties with Unitarianism, title, mahatma, means “great spirit.” For Federation). He was a leading Japanese and asked for my cooperation as well. more than a hundred years, from the middle of the nineteenth century, India had been governed as a colony within the British Empire. Gandhi was deter- mined that his great task be accomplished through nonviolence. Einstein wrote of him, “Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.” Gandhi said that although others declared that nonviolent resistance was impossi- ble, that it had never before happened in history, it was his aspiration to pro- vide a precedent. He showed us how to make the impossible possible. In 1919, troops led by General Reginald Dyer opened fire on a gath- ering of civilians in Amritsar, killing or wounding more than sixteen hun- dred people. Indians were outraged, and riots threatened to break out in various places. It was then that Gandhi stood before the people and pleaded with them that violence was not the answer, that the people of India had to unite their hearts and jolt the con- sciences of the English. In other contexts Gandhi said,

40 Dharma World July–September 2014 “When I despair, I remember that all A Watershed the Myoshinji subsect of Rinzai Zen; through history the ways of truth and in Japanese Rev. Yoshitada Takahara, chief priest love have always won. There have been of Yasaka Shrine; Rev. Toshio Miyake, tyrants, and murderers, and for a time Religious Circles founder of the Konkokyo Church of Izuo; they can seem invincible, but in the end In January 1968, the American reli- Rev. Isao Deguchi, leader of Oomoto; Dr. they always fall.” gious leaders broke their journey in Tetsutaro Ariga, president of the Kyoto He stated that even a coward can Japan on their way home from the International Religious Fellowship; Rev. retaliate when beaten by an enemy. But International Inter-Religious Symposium Koun Shigaraki, director of the Kyoto he advised that if one makes no resis- on Peace in New Delhi and attended Association of Religious Organizations; tance against the violence of an enemy, the Japanese-American Inter-Religious Dr. Joseph Spae, director of the Oriens one does not submit to evil. Rather, one Consultation on Peace, held in the Kyoto Institute for Religious Research, Tokyo; should forgive the enemy with a mag- International Conference Center. Fifteen Dr. Shokin Furuta, a professor at Nihon nanimous heart, and the enemy would American delegates attended, including University; and Dr. Masatoshi Doi, a then realize what he had done. This, he Dr. Dana McLean Greeley, president of professor at Doshisha University. It felt said, is true courage. the Unitarian Universalist Association; as if all of the people within Japanese Gandhi also said, “Not to believe in Rabbi Maurice Eisendrath, president religious circles who had a deep inter- this possibility of permanent peace is of the Union of American Hebrew est in international contacts had gath- to disbelieve in the goodness of human Congregations; Rev. Herschel Halbert, ered in force. n atu re .” executive council secretary for inter- The fift y religious figures from Japan I think we can interpret these words national affairs, Episcopal Church of and the United States sat side by side at to mean that unless we can reveal the the United States; Herman Will Jr. and a round table in the Kyoto International buddha-nature hidden deep within Bishop John Wesley Lord, both of the Conference Center. I was asked, as one the human heart, true peace cannot United Methodists; and Ralph David of the leaders, to greet the delegates. I be achieved. How can we prevent peo- Abernathy of the Southern Christian spoke about my own conviction of the ple from killing one another? The possi- Leadership Conference. need for interreligious cooperation: bility of doing so lies in achieving world The thirty-five participants from “Even though there has never been a peace. This will not remain a dream if Japan included, of course, Rev. Riri greater need than now to seek peace people of religion around the world Nakayama and Dr. Shinichiro Imaoka, among humankind, unless people of join together in the spirit of nonvio- as well as Rev. Kosho Otani, head of religion have the courage to join hands lence that Gandhi exhibited through the Otani stream of the Jodo Shin together, religion will lose its opportu- his own actions. sect; Rev. Taiko Furukawa, head of nity to make a contribution to human I replied to Rev. Nakayama, “I agree wholeheartedly with this conference of people of religion. However, my sched- ule is jam-packed with events over the New Year period, so I am afraid it would be very difficult for me to go to India.” Rev. Nakayama suggested, “How about if after the New Delhi sympo- sium the American delegates stop over in Japan? If we hold a meeting in Japan, I hope you’d be able to attend.” “If we can meet in Japan, I will cer- tainly make sure I can take part.” The meeting with the American reli- gious leaders was arranged through the joint auspices of the Japanese Association of Religious Organizations and the Shukyo [Religion] Center. It was the first step on the road toward the estab- lishment of Religions for Peace.

Dharma World July–September 2014 41 progress. There is a pressing need for divide into groups and call upon people very approachable, and when we spoke, people of religion from all over the world from around the world to bring about it was as if we had known one another to be of one mind about this.” world peace in the spirit of Gandhi?” for many years. An American representative replied: Dr. Jack immediately agreed: “Next Dr. Greeley made an ardent appeal “All the various religions surely have year is the Gandhi centenary, and the on behalf of American people of religion: many points in common. We have come following year will mark the twenty- to Kyoto so that religions may cooperate fifth anniversary of the end of World We have to look at the Pacific Ocean together, and strengthen one another, War II and the founding of the United that lies between our two coun- for the sake of peace.” Nations. If we can set up a conference tries, not as a sea dividing us, but Eager questions were raised and in either of those years, it will be of as a small pond. People of religion opinions exchanged concerning the great significance.” stand at the forefront in joining establishment of a peace conference My proposal was supported unani- together the hearts and minds of of people of religion from around the mously and included in the joint state- America and Japan. They above all world. It appears that American religion- ment, which said, “A world conference must lead the peace. There is great ists had determined two years before on religion and peace would be useful sadness now among both the people to set up a conference with peace as in 1969 or early in 1970.” of Vietnam and American soldiers its purpose, one that represented reli- The Japanese-American Inter- and their families. I want people gious leaders from around the world, Religious Consultation on Peace had of religion throughout the world and they were already making moves lasted only a single day, but it marked to join their voices in demanding in that direction. a watershed in that Japanese religious that America cease waging war in The Vietnam War had bogged down, circles had determined, on an official Vietnam. If they do so, America but despite demands from all parts of occasion, to hold a peace conference will certainly withdraw. It is for this the globe for America to get out, how- of world religionists. And for me too, reason I want to hold a conference ever much it wanted to withdraw it could it was a matchless opportunity to meet of religious people. My country’s not, and the cruelty continued as before. like-minded people. government is now committing a On both sides, much precious blood grave error. We have spoken with was spilled. Vowing to bring the war Making Good Friends the secretary of state three times. to an end through the power of people Both the secretary of state and the of religion throughout the world, the Three days after the Kyoto conference, president consider that unless we American religionists keenly desired Dr. Greeley and Dr. Jack visited Rissho confront communism in Vietnam, to hold a conference of such people Kosei-kai, guided by Dr. Imaoka. We the war will spread further, that in in the year marking the centenary of were able to speak together from the so doing we are preventing a world Gandhi’s birth. depths of our hearts about our faiths, war. However, we think that such However, nothing specific had interreligious cooperation, and the peace ideas make the danger of world war emerged from the International Inter- movement by people of religion. even more critical. Religious Symposium on Peace in New I think that at that time Dr. Jack was Delhi, and although a proposal was the director of the Social Responsibility I was moved by the courage of the raised at the Kyoto meeting to issue Department of the Unitarian Universalist American people of religion and felt a joint statement by the Japanese and Association. He had a doctorate from compelled to make a response on behalf American delegates calling for an imme- Cornell University and had also studied of other religious people in Japan. I diate ceasefire in Vietnam, no agreement at the Meadville Lombard Theological voiced my thoughts candidly: was reached, unfortunately. School, affiliated with the University of I asked to make a statement, and I Chicago. He had many friends at the At the time of the Pacific war, reli- said: “Gandhi’s principle of nonviolence United Nations and a thorough knowl- gious figures in Japan did not have is the starting point for a peace move- edge of international issues. Dr. Greeley the courage to urge the government ment among people of religion. Only was a graduate of the Harvard Divinity to cease the ill-advised war it was one year remains before the centenary School, and as the founding president of waging. As a result, cities throughout of his birth. A period of preparation is the Unitarian Universalist Association, the country were reduced to ashes needed to allow religious leaders from he had many occasions to speak in pub- and in Okinawa even teenage boys around the world to meet. Even if it lic in his beautiful and persuasive voice. and girls fought to the death. And takes two or three years, why don’t we Typically American, both men were finally there was the tragedy of the

42 Dharma World July–September 2014 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and To achieve our mission as people abide by his teachings and put them into Nagasaki. How many people became of religion in the world today, we practice. In this respect, Unitarians are sacrifices to war, in Japan, in other should unite the strength of reli- true Christians.” countries in Asia, and in your coun- gious figures from around the globe. The Unitarian movement is a try as well? It has taught us anew Our most pressing need is that we all Protestant denomination whose first that unless people of religion have become one. Interreligious cooper- church was established in London in courage, not even one person can ation means first of all to know one 1774. It spread to the United States, be saved. another. Apart, misunderstanding where it expanded from Boston. It is pos- arises and hostility can result. If we sible to say that this group blew a breath The third chapter of the Lotus Sutra, can meet together and talk, we will of fresh air into Christianity. In 1961, the “A Parable,” says: “Now this triple world achieve understanding. If we under- American Unitarian Association and the / All is my domain; / The living beings in stand one another, cooperation will Universalist Church of America consoli- it / All are my sons. / But now this place grow. And peace is sure to spread dated to form the Unitarian Universalist / Abounds with distresses; / And I alone from where there is mutual under- Association. Unitarianism warns strongly / Am able to save and protect them.” standing and cooperation. against doctrinairism, and its activities People living in this world are all are directly involved with modern life. the sons and daughters of the Buddha. Dr. Greeley’s words that day became I found Dr. Greeley’s views to be We have been entrusted by the Buddha engraved on my heart: “Some people say very close to my outlook on the Lotus to do all we can to protect his children that Unitarians are Christians, while oth- Sutra. The teachings of the Lotus Sutra struggling among the trouble and suf- ers say they are not. We look up to Jesus boil down to the idea that all religions ferings of the world. We have not been Christ as a great teacher, and we do not are, at base, one. It is my conviction that able to protect his children from the worry too much about traditional ritu- the way these teachings are put into scourge of war, however. We cannot als or miracles. From one point of view, practice is through the mutual respect allow mistakes to be repeated. you can probably say that Unitarians and mutual inspiration of religions one I spoke about my beliefs with all are not Christians. However, we believe for the other, and through their join- my heart: in the teachings of Jesus Christ and we ing together to create a peaceful realm (the Land of Eternally Tranquil Light) where all people can live in happiness. Seeing the Rissho Kosei-kai members gathered in the Great Sacred Hall, Dr. Greeley spoke in admiration: “Rissho Kosei-kai is a Buddhism that acts! Its growth has been remarkable, with a membership of three million in thirty years. I think the secret of this has been that it is a religion that strives to put the teachings of the Buddha into practice in daily life. In addition, it is promoting interreligious cooperation in a spirit of tolerance and altruism. Unitarians too are focusing their efforts on interfaith dialogue and service. I am very happy I have met a spiritual friend whose ide- als are the same as mine.” I also felt the same happiness, no less than Dr. Greeley’s. My meeting with Dr. Greeley and Dr. Jack was to have a profound influ- ence on determining my future reli- gious activity. To be continued

Dharma World July–September 2014 43 THE THREEFOLD LOTUS SUTRA: A MODERN COMMENTARY

The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law

Chapter 23 The Former Lives of the Bodhisattva Medicine King (1) This is the 117th installment of a detailed commentary on the Threefold Lotus Sutra by the founder of Rissho Kosei-kai, Rev. Nikkyo Niwano.

INTRODUCTION As noted at the conclusion of chap- a basic attitude to practice, but we need to affirm our atti- ter 22, “The Final Commission,” at that point in the Lotus tude once more to be doubly sure of it. Sutra the exposition of the Buddha’s teachings is almost com- How should we do this? We must seek strength from plete. It may be more appropriate to say that with chapter outside ourselves that encourages and inspires us never to 22 we have come to the completion of the Buddha’s teach- lose heart or forget our basic attitude to practice. In short, ing mission. we need something to stimulate our practice. That being the case, people may wonder why the Buddha We can find the best stimulus in examples. Nothing is went on to preach in chapters 23 to 28 and about these more inspiring than the examples of those who followed chapters’ significance. the path of the Buddha’s teachings in particular ways and It is true that by reading chapters 1 to 22 we can under- thereby obtained specific merits. stand the core teachings of the Buddha, confirm our belief We can say the same thing of moral deeds in our daily in them, and gain the resolve to practice them. lives. For example, even if parents teach their children to However, for most people the teachings are easier to be kind to the elderly, it is doubtful that the children will discuss than practice. So far the teachings have taught us understand and practice this. It would be helpful if the

44 Dharma World July–September 2014 parents give a concrete example. For instance: “Today I saw an elderly man at a loss how to cross a street where there was no pedestrian crossing. A boy of twelve or thirteen ran up, raised his hand to signal the traffic to stop, and took the man’s hand and led him across. It certainly was a refresh- ing sight.” Children will take an interest in a story like this and want to follow the boy’s example. They too will feel the urge to do good deeds. Ordinary people need concrete models to help them do good. Who should be their model for practice of the Dharma? Needless to say, Shakyamuni Buddha himself. The first thing that they must do is follow the path that the Buddha has shown them. But they have no idea how to begin to emulate the Buddha and cannot help feeling at a loss, because he is perfect and possesses all the virtues. Ordinary people can much more easily emulate one particular virtue or practice of a bodhi- sattva. Bodhisattvas provide suitable goals and models. As an example, we have already considered the single practice of emulating the Bodhisattva Never Despise’s revering the buddha-nature in everyone he met. The chapters from chapter 23 to the end of the Lotus Sutra provide us with a series of such bodhisattva models. In these chapters, the virtue of each of the bodhisattvas is described as belonging to the highest, ideal state of mind, and it is difficult for us to achieve such a state immedi- ately. Yet, because the aim is placed within sight and seems within reach, it gives us the very encouragement we need. At the same time, these chapters tell us that the true Japan, too, Buddhist monks have immolated themselves believer must achieve such ideal states. Since the standards and died sitting calmly amid the raging flames. Perhaps you are so clearly indicated, we can take them as aids to self- will also recall the instances of monks and nuns in Vietnam discipline and self-admonishment, because we are apt to who immolated themselves in protest against the govern- become self-satisfied. ment’s suppression of Buddhism. Therefore, ordinary people who continue to lead a reli- How we are to take these actions is a delicate, diffi- gious life of taking one step forward and a half step back, cult issue. then another step forward and a half step back, will rouse In principle, such acts violate the spirit of the Middle themselves from neglect and be inspired anew to humility Way preached by the Buddha. Also, in light of the teach- whenever they read about the examples of each of those ing of reverence for life, such acts can hardly be condoned. bodhisattvas in the sutra. This is the significance of these However, as I have said many times thus far, the Middle final chapters. For this reason, we must not neglect to study Way of the Buddha Dharma differs from the golden mean. these six chapters simply because we have already com- Since the Middle Way is the path of truth and high pur- pleted reading the core of the Lotus Sutra with chapter 22. pose, for some people in certain situations the Middle Way There is one point about which we must be very careful: may include extraordinary acts. in comparison with the preceding chapters, the following As for reverence for life, the Buddha Dharma teaches chapters mention many extraordinary acts. To avoid mis- that life is not only physical but spiritual, precious, and understanding them, we should pay close attention to the worth living. One way of giving our spiritual life greater following points. value is by sacrificing the life of the body. Likewise, people The first is that we must grasp their spirit and realize sometimes give their lives to save the lives of others. There what they really mean. are instances of this in many jatakas of the Buddha’s acts of For example, the Bodhisattva Loveliness set fire to his great self-sacrifice as a bodhisattva in earlier incarnations. arms. Many ascetics did this in ancient India. In China and (For example, “The Story of How the Bodhisattva Gave His

Dharma World July–September 2014 45 Life for a Verse” and “The Story of the Bodhisattva Giving This is why religion is necessary even today, or why, His Flesh to the Tiger,” in the November/December 1992 precisely because of the current social conditions, religion issue of Dharma World.) is all the more essential. Willingness to sacrifice oneself is the most noble expres- The second point to be noted is that we should not inter- sion of the human spirit. Of course, people should make pret the form of liberation superficially. the ultimate act of self-sacrifice only in emergencies such For example, in chapter 25 it is stated that anyone who as those in which the fate of the Dharma hangs in the bal- keeps in mind the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the ance or humanity faces a great crisis. Yet, self-sacrifice on a World will be delivered from suffering. If we interpret this much smaller scale is called for constantly in our daily lives. statement literally, it would seem to mean that we do not Many people have this spirit of self-sacrifice, and by have to practice the Buddha’s teachings earnestly. If that were showing it in minor matters, one at a time, they contribute the case, none of the teachings of the Lotus Sutra preached to human harmony and help things go smoothly. so far would bear any fruit. Anyone can easily understand A truly democratic society is just this sort of society. that in the last six chapters the Buddha cannot have been Individuals sacrifice their own desires to some extent to so illogical and contradictory as to deny fundamentally all benefit many other people. To gain the consent of the multi- of the teachings preached so far. It is surprising to find that tude, one must to some extent limit one’s own desires. That for centuries many people have put a shallow interpreta- is the way democracy works. This is the true meaning of tion on something that should be so readily understood and selfless service to humanity. have turned to an easy, lazy faith that they thought would The form of democracy that we find in Japan today, how- free them from suffering if they merely kept in mind the ever, erroneously insists on individual rights and privileges, Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World. neglecting the spirit of compromise for the common good. When we read chapter 25 carefully and in depth, how- People have lost sight of the vital point that unless every- ever, we understand that the supernatural powers of this one makes some self-sacrifice, there can be no consensus, bodhisattva are essentially identical with the power of the and the government cannot function efficiently. Dharma preached by the Tathagata Shakyamuni. We also This mistaken trend has spread widely, even into small realize that ultimately we must depend spiritually upon the matters of daily life. People fiercely guard all their rights, Dharma, but that in putting it into practice, we should take insist on their own opinions, and refuse to sacrifice any- the model of the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the thing for the good of others. World as our immediate goal. As a consequence of this clashing of avarice with ava- This point also appears in the words of the sutra, and rice, this wrangling between asuras (demigods), there is no when it does I will explain in greater detail. But it is most way for people to improve. The world will not work well. regrettable that misunderstandings and simplistic inter- This is why I mentioned earlier that nothing is more noble pretations of the sutra have sunk deeply into the minds of in the human spirit than the spirit of self-sacrifice. the general public over a period of centuries, vitiating the There is great hidden danger, however, in demanding self- true spirit of Buddhism. It is earnestly hoped that the read- sacrifice by others. The result of powerful people demand- ers of this commentary will not repeat the same mistake. ing self-sacrifice from people within their power almost Before we proceed to the text of this chapter, let us look always results in tyranny and the loss of human freedom. at its title. An example of this is the fanatical patriotism forced on the The Sutra of Meditation on the Two Bodhisattvas Medicine Japanese people by the upper echelons in feudal times and King and Medicine Lord tells us that Medicine King was more recently during the Second World War. a bodhisattva who offered important medical treatment Therefore, self-sacrifice should always be voluntary. at many gatherings of bhikshus and other people. So we Whenever it is forced, there will be immediate harm. may say that he is a bodhisattva devoted to treating illness. Yet, without a spirit of self-sacrifice, society will inevi- When one mentions faith healing some people are skep- tably become a realm of asuras, that is, a world of conflict. tical. Those with this attitude tend to be fundamentalists or So what should we do? scholars whose time is spent primarily in research. If the There is only one path we can take. Religion is the only mind is cured by religion, then it is entirely natural that the way to solve this issue. First, we must recognize our own illnesses of the body will also be cured. Surely one of peo- freedom and that of others. Then we should powerfully ple’s greatest desires is to stay healthy, so we ought to con- preach the spirit of self-sacrifice, appealing to the minds of sider this issue with flexibility of mind. We will return to others and helping them awaken to that spirit. Only peo- this subject later on. ple of religion can teach self-sacrifice. Whereas the term jataka is used strictly to describe the

46 Dharma World July–September 2014 stories of the Buddha’s practices as a bodhisattva in ear- lier incarnations, the term itivrittaka refers to narratives of deeds of the Buddha and his disciples in earlier lives. All rejoiced greatly after hearing the Buddha preaching in chapter 22, “The Final Commission,” and at the begin- ning of this chapter the Bodhisattva Star Constellation King Flower puts a question to the World-honored One.

TEXT At that time the Bodhisattva Star Constellation King Flower addressed the Buddha, saying: “World-honored One! Why does the Medicine King Bodhisattva wander in the saha world? World-honored One! What hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of nayutas of distresses the Bodhisattva Medicine King has to suffer! Excellent [will it be], World-honored One, if you will be pleased to explain a little, so that the gods, dragon spirits, yakshas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, mahoragas, human and nonhu- accustomed to them and are likely to understand them sim- man beings, and the bodhisattvas who have come from other ply as epithets for the Buddha. However, they all express the lands, as well as these shravakas, hearing it will all rejoice.” Buddha’s virtues, and we must understand them as such. Their meanings already have been explained in detail (in COMMENTARY Wander. The original term in the Chinese the January/February 1997 issue of Dharma World), so text here refers to touring, as in making a speaking tour, and please refer to the earlier commentary. traveling about, as a priest travels about the world preaching • [Numerous] as the sands of seventy-two Ganges rivers. and disseminating the Dharma. As a whole, the word means Seventy-two times as many as the number of grains of sand to sojourn in other lands and act in an entirely spontaneous in the entire basin of the Ganges River; that is, an infinite manner. In this passage, the Bodhisattva Medicine King is number. This is a particular Indian expression, and if one described as freely appearing everywhere in the saha world travels by plane over the innumerable tributaries which to enlighten and liberate sentient beings. The Bodhisattva fan out in a meshlike pattern along the Ganges, one gains Star Constellation King Flower asks what severe practices a clear picture of the meaning of this expression. the Bodhisattva Medicine King had to undertake to have attained such divine powers. TEXT His domain had no women, no hells, no hungry spirits, no animals, no asuras, and no disasters; TEXT Thereupon the Buddha addressed the Bodhisattva Star Constellation King Flower: “Of yore, in the past, kal- COMMENTARY The overall meaning of this passage is pas ago incalculable as the sands of the Ganges River, there that the Tataghata’s teaching has brought peace to the country. was a buddha entitled Sun Moon Brilliance Tathagata, As already explained in the commentary on chapter 12, Worshipful, All Wise, Perfectly Enlightened in Conduct, women are mentioned here along with hells and other bad Well Departed, Understander of the World, Peerless Leader, things because ancient Indians believed that women were Controller, Teacher of Gods and Men, Buddha, World-honored incarnations of sin and impeded men’s religious discipline. One. That buddha had eighty kotis of great bodhisattva- Therefore, we should not take the mention of women lit- mahasattvas and a great assembly of shravakas [numerous] erally in this context. We must also not forget the fact that as the sands of seventy-two Ganges rivers. The lifetime of the Buddha’s teachings broke down this generally accepted that buddha was forty-two thousand kalpas, and the life- idea of the India of his day. time of his bodhisattvas was the same. TEXT its land was level as one’s palm and made of lapis COMMENTARY Of yore, in the past. In past worlds. lazuli; it was adorned with jewel trees, covered with jewel • Worshipful, All Wise, Perfectly Enlightened in Conduct, curtains, hung with banners of jewel flowers, and jeweled Well Departed, Understander of the World, Peerless Leader, vases and censers were [seen] everywhere in the country. Controller, Teacher of Gods and Men, Buddha, World-honored One. These are the ten epithets for the Buddha. Since they COMMENTARY This is a description of the beauty of have been used many times so far, readers have grown that country.

Dharma World July–September 2014 47 • Jewel curtains. This appeared earlier in chapter 21, “The from place to place pondering the Dharma and reading and Divine Power of the Tathagata.” The “banners of jewel flow- reciting the sutras. Modern medical research has demon- ers” are exquisite banners which are tied with rope to one strated that walking makes the brain function more vigor- end of a pole. ously and that standing is the best position for thinking. People of long ago deserve our admiration because they TEXT Terraces were there of the precious seven, with realized this even though they did not theorize about it. trees for each terrace, the trees distant from it an arrow’s full • The contemplation of revelation of all forms. Contemplation, flight. Under all these jewel trees, bodhisattvas and shra- or samadhi (from Sanskrit), is a deep trance in which the mind vakas were seated. Above each of these platforms were a concentrates on one thing in order to discern true ideals and hundred kotis of gods performing celestial music and sing- put them into practice at will. It means virtually the same ing praises to the buddha in homage to him. as meditation (dhyana), but if we are compelled to draw a distinction, then samadhi is a state achieved by meditation. COMMENTARY An arrow’s full flight. Although the dis- There are various kinds of samadhi depending on the tance an arrow can travel varies, presumably the trees were object on which one focuses (that is, the ideal state that one about fifty to sixty meters from the terraces. attempts to attain), and “the contemplation of revelation of all forms” is the state in which one has acquired a full TEXT Then that buddha preached the Dharma Flower Sutra command of the art of manifesting oneself and communi- to the Bodhisattva Loveliness and all the bodhisattvas and cating the teachings in a way suited to the person whom host of shravakas. This Bodhisattva Loveliness had rejoiced one is guiding to the Buddha Way. Amenable people can to follow the practice of asceticism and in the Dharma of be led gently, and with them one should be kind and use the Buddha Sun Moon Brilliance had made zealous prog- kind words like those the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries ress, wandering about single-mindedly seeking [the enlight- of the World (Avalokiteshvara) might use. If people need enment of] the Buddha for fully twelve thousand years, after strict instruction, the instructor adopts a stern approach which he attained the contemplation of revelation of all forms. and uses hard words in the fierce spirit of Acalanatha. One can change one’s approach easily and appropriately. COMMENTARY The Buddha is not advocating religious Spontaneity and freedom from error are characteristics austerities here, but followers of the Way wish to perform of this samadhi. People who have not yet attained the state them only voluntarily, with the aspiration to fully engrave of samadhi are likely to misjudge the other people’s condi- the teachings in their own minds. However, austerities will tions and capacities if they try to judge them with ordinary come natural to devout followers. knowledge or common sense. But that never means that Shakyamuni gave up asceticism because he realized that they do not need any knowledge or common sense when it did not lead to the supreme enlightenment of a buddha, they teach and lead people to the Buddha Way. Those who not because he thought it entirely useless. have not attained the state of this contemplation of the Shakyamuni’s admonition also emphasized that, con- revelation of all forms must strive hard to put ordinary trary to the view of most Brahmans that religious austeri- knowledge or common sense into full play when they make ties were all-important, the primary goal was awakening to judgments so that they can figure out the most appropriate the truth. The Buddha was certainly not advocating an easy way to teach and guide other people. In doing so, if they form of practice. try to be as selfless as possible, they are at least unlikely to It is never easy to attain a high spiritual state, or reach make serious mistakes. the heights of anything. People who seek to master some- Moreover, those who strive for complete selflessness thing or achieve great things without effort take too much through samadhi will learn instinctively the right gradual for granted. This applies to everything in the secular world, approach to the contemplation of revelation of all forms. such as scholarship, technology, the arts, and sports. Thus, this samadhi has practical value, and is not just an Therefore, those who want to be outstanding in some- ideal state of mind. thing are unfazed by difficulty. They have the necessary To be continued spirit to overcome them. The Bodhisattva Loveliness, out of a desire fully to realize the teachings of the Buddha Sun In this series, passages in the TEXT sections are quoted Moon Brilliance, “had rejoiced to follow the practice of from The Threefold Lotus Sutra, Tokyo: Kosei Publishing asceticism” and “had made zealous progress, wandering Company, 1975, with slight revisions. The diacritical marks about . . . for fully twelve thousand years.” originally used for several Sanskrit terms in the TEXT sec- This practice of “wandering about” refers to walking tions are omitted here for easier reading.

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