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.