93rd LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY MEMORIAL SERMON
REVEREND KOHO TAKATA
　

"There are two sources of faith. One is born from hearing and the other from reflection. Those whose believing mind is born from hearing alone and not from reflection are not fully equipped. This is called "insufficient in faith."

Two kinds of faith are again distinguishable. One is to believe that there is the way, and the other is to believe that there is the person who has the way. The one whose faith is in the way and does not extend so far as to include faith in the person, is not sufficiently provided with faith in its fullness. This too is known as "insufficient in faith."

(The Kyogyoshinsho: The Collection of Passages Expounding the True Teaching, Living, Faith, and Realizing of the Pure Land, translated by Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, P. 110)


Bishop Yosemori, Bishop Ogui, President Mr. Nonaka, ministers, delegates, observers, and guests to the 93rd Legislative Assembly of Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii, Good Morning. I never thought I would be a speaker of legislative assembly opening service because I was thinking that only elder and senior ministers to be a speaker of this important gathering. However, as Buddhism teaches me about the impermanence, I am also becoming old. Already almost10 years has passed since I came to Hawaii. It was very fast. This morning, as I take this wonderful opportunity, I would like to share with you the Buddha-Dharma through my own reflection.

I was born and raised in the temple family. From my childhood, I was forced to attend the morning service every day in my family temple. If I missed the morning service, my grandpa did not allow me to eat breakfast.

During the summer time, the morning service started at 6:00am and in the winter time, it started at 7:00am. I sat with Seiza, traditional Japanese style on the tatami for about 1 hour. I remember I always could not stand up after the service because there was no feeling on my legs after sitting for 1hour. Especially, the winter time was very hard for me. There was no heater in the temple and I could only wear the robe. You probably know how cold Japan's winter time is.

After observing the morning service in the temple, then, our family moved to the residence and had an another morning service in front of the family altar. Then, our family had a breakfast. We ate rice which was offered to the Buddha in the temple and family altar. At that time, I always thought why I had to eat cold rice. I preferred more warm and freshly cooked rice. However, I now truly appreciate for my family had done for me. I now can realize that I was eating the best foods, offering of rice to the Buddha and the teachings. If I had not eating that offering of rice which became cold after the morning service, I would not know the true meaning of the offering, appreciation, gratefulness, and so forth. I was taught it through my whole body and senses.

I was also forced to join the Shorinji-Kenpo which is the Chinese Kung Fu, martial art from my childhood. Because my father was a master. Next to the temple building, my father had a dojo which is a place to practice. In the temple altar, Amida Buddha was enshrined. And in the dojo, Daruma Taishi, Bodhi-Dharma who was the founder of Chinese Zen Buddhism was enshrined in the altar. I remember that members of my family temple were grumbling about it. They said that this is Jodo Shinshu temple. You should not practice other religion on this temple ground. However, my father just listened to their grumbling and continued the Shorinji.

Before and after practicing the Shorinji, we practiced the meditation. We sat on the wooden floor with crossed legs. My father was standing in the back of everybody with a long wooden stick. If someone moved even a little bit, my father came to them and silently put his wooden stick on the shoulder. It was a signal I hit you. Then, they put their hands together in Gassho with bowing and my father hit them. I remember that it was very painful. At that time, like attending morning service every day, I was very unhappy to practice the meditation and Shorinji, too. However, I now appreciate what my father had done for me.

When I was 15 years old about 20 years ago and was still a high school student, I was ordained and became a priest. After my ordination, I started to visit members’ homes to conduct memorial services, funeral services, and so forth with my father. In my prefecture, a memorial service took about 2 hours or more. My father always chanted the three Pure Land Sutra which was Larger Sutra, Meditation Sutra, and Smaller Sutra. After the chanting, my father had his Dharma sharing about half an hour. I remember that I always could not stand the pain of my legs. After the service, the family served foods which they prepared for everybody who came to the memorial service. Priests, the family who observed the memorial service and their friends ate Shojin Ryori, vegetarian foods together. As we started to eat foods, family started to come to my father and me one by one to pour sake. So I actually started to drink sake at the age of 15 years old. I know it is illegal but I enjoyed drinking. The reason why they came to pour sake to the priest was to share and ask about the Dharma. They asked me many questions. Although I was ordained, I remembered that I could not reply most of the questions at that time because of lack of my knowledge and experiences.

After graduating from high school, I attended the Ryukoku University and learned mainly doctrine of Buddhism and Jodo Shin Buddhism. While attending the university and I was 20 years old, I had an opportunity to go to the USA. It was the first experience for me to go to the foreign country. The main reason for the trip was to visit the temples in USA. I visited the temples in the west coast, east coast, and Hawaii for about 2 months. As you know, the west coast and Hawaii temples are very similar. Most of the members are Japanese-Americans. And they had been the center of the social functions rather than on Dharma because of the history of the immigrants. However, when I visited the east coast such as Cleveland, Washington DC, and New York, most of the people who came to the temple were not Japanese-Americans. I was very impressed that their serious attitudes toward listening to and practicing the Dharma.

Another thing I was surprised was although east coast temples belonged to our denomination, Jodo Shin Buddhism, they had practiced meditation like Zen. Although I had experience about meditation through my father, I could not fully understand that they mixed Jodo Shin Buddhism and Zen.

When I was 25 years old, I came to Hawaii as a minister. Although I had some communications with senseis of the east coast temples, I still could not understand about mixture of Jodo Shin Buddhism and Zen practice. I now spent almost 10 years in Hawaii and I naturalized as an American citizen for about 4 years ago. I am now slowly realizing that my way of thinking, appreciation of the Dharma, propagational style, my vision to the future, and so forth are changing through my all past experiences.

My best friend came back from Boston and he already left this Hawaii Kyodan. He is really enjoying the Dharma and living in the Dharma at each moment. One day, he told me that you looked like not enjoying the Dharma, what you were doing while I was in mainland? I was shocked what he said. I thought to myself and reflected upon my ministerial life in Hawaii for about 10 years. I was made to realize that I was always listening to the Dharma in my head and not embodying the Dharma in my daily life. I was thinking that practice such as meditation is not my practice because I was just clinging to the words and I understood the Dharma in my head. Listening to the Dharma does not mean that I intellectually listen in my head as my knowledge. It means with my whole body and senses.

After last summer, I restarted the meditation practice by myself. When I restarted the meditation practice, I sent a letter to Bishop Ogui and wrote that I was made to realize that I was just clinging to the Japanese traditional way and style and listening to the Dharma in my head as my knowledge. Bishop Ogui kindly replied to me. "Yes, yes, Onembutsu no Ojiwai, appreciation and taste of the Nembutsu surpassing all the style and form, if immeasurable and boundless world such as the state of flowing in a wide and deep ocean and grasping in a sky is not born from your mind and heart, it does not make people to guide the Buddhist way of life. Encountering the Infinite Life and Light, it is the Namo-Amidabutsu no Ajiwai, taste and appreciation of Namo-Amidabutsu." I very much appreciate this letter and I am posting this letter in my office. I was made to realize what my grandfather tried to teach me through morning service every day and my father tried to teach me through Shorinji and meditation practice. I would not realize about it without 10 years of experiences in Hawaii. I am truly grateful for this realization.

What I want to share this morning is that I had a tendency to cling to the external and superficial forms and appearances of Buddhism or Jodo Shin Buddhism. The teaching taught by Shakyamuni Buddha during his life time was addressed to each Sangha's particular situation and each occasion's particular circumstance. For some situations and circumstances, Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings transcended human's conceptual knowledge. In this sense, how is it possible to interpret and pass down an essential teaching that can be applied to every possible occasion and individual situation by just listening to the Dharma in my head, following the traditional and Japanese way of sharing the Dharma in this country?

We always chant the Vandana and Ti-Sarana and recite Three Treasures. I go to the Buddha for guidance. All of you know the Buddha is Amida Buddha as Fulfilled-Body and Shakyamuni Buddha as Accommodated-Body. If you read books or listen to the minister’s Dharma talk, you know Amida Buddha represents Wisdom and Compassion. It is very important for me to embody the Buddha with my whole body and senses. Let us realize the importance of embodiment the Dharma-Body, the Infinite Life and Light in our daily lives.

I go to the Dharma for guidance. We tend to cling to the concrete idea. This is Jodo Shinshu because this book said or this famous Buddhist scholar or minister said. We tend to limit our world by our limited thoughts. However, Dharma is everywhere and everything. Let us listen to the Dharma and practice the Dharma with our whole body and senses wherever and whenever we are as a way of our lives.

I go to the Sangha for guidance. We tend to cling to only members and Japanese-Americans. However, as you say, Buddhism and Jodo Shin Buddhism is the universal religion. It means that the Dharma should be acceptable to everybody regardless of age, sex, ethics, nationality, and so forth. Let us give more chances to younger members to express their opinions and make more good atmospheres to other nationalities to join comfortably in our temple.

I believe all of you here is leaders of Hawaii Kyodan. Let us think about seriously why we are here today. Kyodan leaders always worry about appearances such as membership, finance, and so forth. I agree that they are very important elements to maintain this Kyodan. However, please reflect upon yourself and seriously think about yourself first. If you, those who are taking leadership of our Kyodan keep clinging to small Japanese community, do not give chance to younger members for taking leadership, do not practice a Buddhist way of life, do not enjoy listening to the Dharma, do not find values in the Dharma, how you can bring new people to your temple? I firmly believe that if we think about future, we need to seek more good quality rather pursuing the quantity. In other words, before talking about the appearances, we, each of us should deeply reflect upon ourselves and seriously seek what is the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha to each one of us. Without this deep reflection and strong conviction on your religion, your most concern such as finance and membership will be meaningless.

Let us all realize the importance of the self-cultivation to live in the truth of the Dharma and in the practice of the Dharma.


"We say that faith prospers. But it does not mean that it prospers just because men gather in large numbers and because there are pomp and power. When people, be it even a single person, obtain faith, only then can we say that it prospers. The flourishing of Jodo Shin Buddhism, which teaches single-minded faith, depends upon deepening faith in the individual." (Rennyo Shonin)