Fashion
Reverend Koho Takata
I am sometime surprised by young generation, when I look at their fashions. Recently, the pierces are coming into fashion among young people. According to the old fashion, the word ‘pierce’ means ‘pierce earrings’ on girls or ladies. However, today’s many young people both men or women wear the pierces. Nowadays, they wear the pierces not only on their ears, but also on their lips, noses, eyebrows, tongues, navels, and so on. Although in our common sense, the pierces are commonly done on the ears, they wear the pierces every place of their bodies by making the holes.
When I was at Honolulu, I saw a person who had the pierce in his nose like cows. When he came to the temple to have a memorial service with his family, I could not hold back my laughing. At that time, I thought to myself. "Does he have a pain in his nose? Does he look good?"
To tell the truth, when I was a high school student, I had a pierce in my ear. At that time, I pierced a hole in my ear by myself. At first, I numbed my ear by ices. Then I pierced by putting a needle through my ear. My ear started to bleed a little bit, but it was no pain. At that time, I was thinking it was looking good.
Now, there is one more thing that comes into fashion among young people. It is the tattoo and body painting. Although I do not have any tattoo, today’s young people have the tattoos without any hesitations. Although the body painting can be removed by washing, the tattoo cannot remove all. Today, science and technology developed so that they can remove the tattoo by using a machine. However, even using the machine, it cannot remove all as well as original skin. Like this, although we are greatly concerned about our outer appearance, how about our minds which are no visible.
"I find that all beings, an ocean of multitudes, have since the beginningless past down to this day, this very moment, been evil and defiled, completely lacking the mind of purity. They have been false and deceitful, completely lacking the mind of truth and reality."
(The Collected Works of Shinran, page95)
As I reflect on myself, my mind always has many desires. They are like unremoved tattoos which that come to my mind one after another. Like this, my mind is completely lacking the purity, truth, and reality such as Shinran Shonin’s words.
Amida Buddha who is in our minds or is standing in front of us vowed to save all of us at any times and in all places without any discriminations, even though he knows we always have self-centered minds. We are always oneness with Amida Buddha.
Today, the time is changing from the old days such as coming into fashions of tattoos and pierces. Also, we are living comfortably by using computer, telephone, car, and so forth. Although I cannot guess our future, Amida Buddha’s Love is unchanging forever. Let us live happily and courageously by reciting the Nembutsu on every possible occasion in unchanging Amida Buddha’s Wisdom and Compassion.
Namo-Amidabutsu