Dharma Talks

Good morning, everyone.

It has been a long time since we left here. Do you remember us? I am Rev. Chishin Hirai and she is my wife, Ritsuko. I had been here for 10 years and a half years and transferred to California 6 years ago. And now, we are transfering back to this temple. How have you been for these 6 years?

When we talked about this transfer with Rev. Sasaki, the manager of the International Affairs section of our Head Office, he said to me, “if it happens, your wife would be pleased.” I asked him why he thought so. He goes, “I know that your wife is from Hawaii. She must be very pleased if she can go back home.” I laughed and said, “I am sorry, but she is not from Hawaii. She is from the same home town as me, Saga. She was my high school classmate.” “What!” He was so surprised and said, “I am very sorry.” I said, “Never mind. We love Hawaii. She would be very delighted if we could move back there.” I told the story to my wife and she could not stop laughing for a while. Why did Rev. Sasaki think that way? It was because we all came here to help the 100th Anniversary of this temple last July. He saw that my wife worked hard without any hesitation at that time. It looked natural. That's why he thought that my wife must have been Hawaiian.

Now it is New Year's Day. However, how was the year 2012 for you? Some may say it was a good year. Some may say it was not. The year 2012 was the year of business trips and changes for me. I went to Japan 9 times, Southeast Asia twice, Italy once, and within the US, I went to Seattle 3 times, Los Angeles once, your favorite destination, Las Vegas twice. And, this is the 3rd visit to Hawaii. I went on a business trip almost every month. The total distance I flew this year is a circles the globe 5 times and a half. Finally, I didn't understand where I was. I flew so many miles with the airline company that the president of our Fujinkai is works for. I hope she will be kind to this very loyal customer.

The biggest change of the year for me is to transfer back to Hawaii. I never dreamt such a thing at the beginning of the year. Nobody knows what will happen next in his/her life. Although nobody knows what will happen next, we are happy to be back in Hawaii. That's why we can say the year 2012 was a good year. So, how was the year 2012 for you?

By the way, they say that nobody can change the past. What do you think? Do you also think that nobody can change the past? I don't think that way. I think that we can change our past. You may think that it is wired. Of course, we can not change each fact. However, our ways of viewing and thinking of the fact may change easily. For example, there are people who have hit the jackpot for a few hundred million dollars. They were very delighted when they hit the jackpot. However, many of them become bankrupt within a few years. I don't know how they become bankrupt with so many multi millions of dollars. They told an interviewer with sour faces that they would be happier if they hadn't hit it. Money changed everything. They really wished that they had not hit it. A fact that they had hit a jackpot can never be changed. However, viewing and thinking of winning a Jackpot are totally opposite.

As you understand, everything is changing. The Buddha teaches us that all things are impermanent. No matter how good the year 2012 was, we cannot evaluate it on the last day of the year. Evaluation of the year 2012 will depend upon the year 2013 and how you live your life later. If the year 2012 was a good one, you may continue to think that way. If not, you can change your way of viewing and thinking and make the year 2012 better.

As I said, all things are impermanent. It depends on you how you want to change. Let us try harder to say the year is good every year.