Since my assignment to Kapaa, I am making an effort to visit all the members’ homes at least twice a year. I meet the members’ families and friends and talk stories with them. I am very happy to see everyone in good health. However, there is one thing that makes me unhappy. I hear from you that you cannot trust or believe in the Hongwanji or its ministers. I sometimes hear the same things from others. When I hear these things, I am really shocked. Although I ask them the reasons, most people do not answer. Why? The past has already passed and you should be seeing the present.

We are all family in the Nembutsu. If we cannot trust others in the family, then we are no longer a family. On the other hand, if you have trust with family members, the family will have harmony. Trusting others is very important. Everything will start from trusting. If you cannot trust Hongwanji or ministers, how can you listen to the True Teachings of the Buddha?

(The Collected Works of Shinran, P.662)

One evening, one of the members called me from the hospital at the midnight. She told me that a family member was about to expire. So I immediately went to the hospital. When I reached the hospital, she was suffering with an air musk. Although I did not know whether she could hear my voice nor the chanting of the sutra, I had a service close to her ear. After the service, family members told me that she probably would die tonight. So, next morning, I visited her again. She was still suffering. The following morning, I visited her again. I was surprised to see her eating breakfast. I could not believe she was the same person who was suffering the night before on the bed. She told the nurse that she was hungry. She ate a banana, two breads, eggs, and drank milk and coffee. During the breakfast, the nurse asked her if she knew who I was. She replied that I was the Bonsan, the minister. She remembered we had a bedside service. I realized she could hear Amida’s voice through my chanting. I was really surprised. I remembered how glad and happy I was.

If she and the family did not trust in Hongwanji or its ministers, they would not have called me and not been able to listen to the True Voice of Amida Buddha. Amida Buddha carries all beings at all times and in all places with his universal Vow which is like a gigantic ship. Amida Buddha carries not only us human beings but also all living beings without any exceptions. The petty things are insignificant in comparison to Amida Buddha’s Compassionate Vow.

We always grumble, complain, and get angry at others. This is our human nature. However, in spite of our faults, Amida Buddha’s great ship of compassion carries us across the ocean of human sufferings. Let us open our minds and see the Truth and listen to the voiceless voice of Amida Buddha.