Dharma Talks

Good morning, everyone!

We just held the Autumn Higan Service although it is a little earlier than usual. I am glad to see you this morning.

Twelve years ago, Ritsuko and I got married at my hometown in Saga, Japan. Our wedding anniversary is on August 25th. After the wedding, we went to Minobusan to report our marriage to Nichiren Shonin, and then went to Tokyo and other places to greet family and friends. It was September 7th when we came back to Hawaii. Our parents had a planned to come to Hawaii a week later. However, they could not make it since their flight was canceled. Why? It was because of the terrorist attack on September 11th. All US airports were closed, and all domestic and international flights were canceled. Our parents finally came to Hawaii a month later. Till today, I still remembered what happened on the day of the terrorist attacks later to be known as “911.”

Last Wednesday was the 13th memorial of 911. Ven. Ogawa and I prayed for the victims on that day and today too we offered a prayer. The attacks killed about 3,000 people and changed many people's lives. During my tenure in North America, I had opportunity to go to the Ground Zero site three times. When I saw the site where many people were killed in a single moment, my heart was broken. I was relieved when we held the 7th memorial service for the victims, together with all Nichiren shu ministers from North America at the Battery Park near to the Ground Zero site 6 years ago.

Again, as I mentioned, the attacks changed many people's lives. One of them was Rev. Shogen Kumakura of New York. Rev. Kumakura met his master, Rev. Takeuchi a long time ago and converted himself to a Nichiren Shu believer. However, he never thought of becoming a minister. He was working as a limo driver in New York City and had many famous customers such as the president of Toyota Motors Company. One morning, he drove South to Manhattan and saw an airplane flying very low. He wondered why it flew so low, and then he saw the airplane crash into the world trade center. He witnessed the terrorist attack right before his eyes. He was so shocked. So much that he decided to be a minister. This changed him because he could not do anything but see many people lose their lives before his very eyes. What he wanted was to pray for the victims as a minister. He quit his limo driver job and concentrated on his training to be a minister. He made about 3,000 tobas by himself and wrote the names of each victim on each toba. Today, Rev. Kumakura lives in New York doing missionary work and works as a limo driver. He is also praying and reading scores of tobas every morning.

After listening to his story, I thought how happy it is to have faith in Nichiren Buddhism. It is because Nichiren Buddhism tells us how to pray for the deceased. No matter how many years have passed, death is always a sad thing. We have a memorial service to ease someone's sorrow and pain. Others may think that death is the end of story. The living can not do anything for the deceased. I know that some religions teach of death as final - the end. However, I also know that many people cannot deal with death easily. It may take a long time to accept death especially the death of someone you loved.

The other day, a minister from another school told me a story. He said that a minister of a different denomination lost his father. It was not so sad for him at that time and held a funeral service for his father without emotion. More than 10 years later, the minister officiated a funeral service for one of his members. He did not know why, but he suddenly felt the sadness of losing his father and could not stop his tears. Have you ever experienced something like this before? It is said that we usually do not notice our feelings when we are conscious. There are however, some unconscious feelings deep in our minds. If we left those feelings behind, we might have mental disorder. Memorial service is for the deceased. No question about it. However, it is also for the living. I think that it is OK to express your feelings at the service. It is ok to express your sorrow and cry.

One of the common prayers of Nichiren Shu is “Genze Annon Gosho Zensho.” It is a phrase in the Lotus Sutra chapter V. It means to hope that we become peaceful in our present lives and we will rebirth in good places in our future lives too. Nichiren shu teaching and prayer cover happiness both in this and the next or future worlds.

I am confident that Rev. Kumakura's prayer reached the victims of the nine-eleven terrorist attack. Our Ohigan prayers today also reached our deceased family and friends and the victims of the nine-eleven terrorist attack. Let us all take comfort and seek refuge in the Nichiren Shu teachings because it contains prayers for both the living and the deceased.

Thank you very much for coming today and for sharing and offering your Ohigan prayers. Please Gassho… please put your hands together and let's recite the Odaimoku three times together…