Shanti
Reverend Koho Takata
I am very happy to inform you that we now have a new family member. She was born on Sunday, April 18, 2004 at 10:58PM. Her name is Shanti Eri Takata. She is really cute and a pretty girl like my first daughter Kaylee Mai. We, Yuka, Mai, Eri, and I, would like to take this opportunity to extend our deepest appreciation to all of you for your gifts, kind words, encouragements, and so forth. We humbly ask for your continued supports and helps to our family and the temple.
When you receive a precious life, as parents you will try to give the best name to your child reflecting your hopes and aims in life. As well as my first daughter, Kaylee Mai, my wife and I tried our best to give a meaningful name reflecting happiness, hopes, and wishes to our newborn baby.
We gave her middle name, Eri. We picked the characters from Shinran Shonin's major work, Kyo-Gyo-Shin-Sho (The True Teaching, Practice, and Realization). The beginning of the writing, Shinran Shonin revealed about the true teaching by explaining about the one of three essential sutras of Jodo Shinshu, the Larger Sutra of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life, on why Shakyamuni Buddha appeared in this world.
"Shakyamuni appeared in this world and expounded the teachings of the way to enlightenment, seeking to save the multitudes of living beings by blessing them with this benefit that is true and real." (The Collected Works of Shinran, P.7)
It is our wish that Eri would always live in the Dharma by realizing the true and real benefit taught by Shakyamuni Buddha and always appreciate the eternal life which is already encompassed by Amida Buddha, the Buddha of Infinite Light and Life.
We also gave her first name, Shanti, which is a Sanskrit word. It means peace. When I talk about peace, I have two different definitions on the word. One is the state of being without incidents causes disharmony such as wars, terrorists' attacks, battle, fighting, making trouble, and so forth. It is mainly on the moral aspect. The other is the spiritual aspect. It is mainly the religious aspect.
There is a well known recitation "Golden Chain of Love". We recite "May every link in Amida Buddha's Golden Chain of Love become bright and strong, and may we all attain Perfect Peace." What is perfect peace? Perfect peace is the state of being without any sufferings. In other words, it is the state of being free from self-attachment, self-centered mind, and so forth. We also describe it as reaching Nirvana, Other Shore, attaining Enlightenment, returning to the Pure Land, and so forth.
"The land of bliss is that Pure Land of happiness, where there are always countless joys and never any suffering mingled with them. It is known as the land of peace.... The realm of nirvana refers to the place where one overturns the delusion of ignorance and realizes the supreme enlightenment. Realm means "place"; know it as the place of attaining enlightenment. ..... Nirvana has innumerable names. It is impossible to give them in detail; I will list only a few. Nirvana is called extinction of passions, the uncreated, peaceful happiness, eternal bliss, true reality, dharma-body, dharma-nature, suchness, oneness, and Buddha-nature." (The Collected Works of Shinran, P. 461)
My daughter, Shanti Eri, gave me a very precious opportunity to reflect upon myself and meaning of this life, and on what is the true benefit taught by the Buddha and what is the perfect peace.
We are truly grateful to the new life for this opportunity to sharing the Buddha-Dharma and wonderful gift of Amida Buddha.