Often times I ask myself as a scientist, “What characteristic distinguishes successful scientists from others?”My answer has been the same, which is the ability to keep asking “Why?” and its quality.
What about for Buddhist practice? That would be one’s seeking spirit.
It seems obvious but it is not. Why? It’s because my arrogant nature prevents me from seeking the truth.
How can I even recognize my arrogance? It requires a clear mirror. For my job, it can be textbooks, articles, my supervisor, or my colleagues. For my Buddhist practice, it is the Gohonzon, the Writing of Nichiren Daishonin, President Ikeda’s guidance, and experiences from members of SGI. Even if it requires self-reflection and tremendous effort to overcome my arrogance, I will challenge it because I know it will change the course of my life.
I have to graduate from repeated struggles or habits and redirect myself every once a while, because my time with my mentor is really limited.
President Ikeda said, “The heart is what really matters. One simply cannot understand Buddhism without a pure seeking spirit stemming from the depths of one’s heart. When we practice with the awareness that we might only encounter the Gohonzon once in a hundred million or ten billion years, a profound sense of appreciation fills our heart each time we perform gongyo. Nichiren Daishonin, the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law, manifested the world of Buddhahood in his own heart through living the passage ‘single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha, not hesitating even if it costs them their lives.’ (WND1 -pp389). We should deeply reflect on what this means. The only way for us to attain Buddhahood is to manifest a spirit of utter selfless devotion, of ‘not hesitating even if it costs us our lives.’ Without this spirit, there can be no Buddhism. To arouse such a spirit in people, the Buddha leaves this existence. This is what is meant by ‘as an expedient means I appear to enter nirvana.’ ”(The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra vol. IV, pp286)
He goes on to say, “President Toda once remarked: ‘Whose ‘last moment’ do you suppose the line ‘now is the last moment of this life’ refers to? It’s the last moment of the Buddha’s life. How forlorn we would feel if the Buddha ceased to exist. We should summon resolute faith and practice with the sense that we now have to part with the Buddha.’
After President Toda died, those who had not listened carefully to these words were filled with regret, wishing that they had done more while he was still alive.
‘Now is the last moment of this life’ is an exhortation to struggle intensely for kosen-rufu with the thought that now is the last moment of the mentor’s life. It is a truly fortunate thing to work for kosen-rufu together with and supported by a mentor. Someone who doesn’t understand this point cannot be called a true disciple.
Those who realize this and devote themselves in earnest while the mentor is alive correspond to the children in the parable who have not lost their senses. Those who fail to realize this correspond to the children in whom the poison has penetrated deeply.” (ibid, pp286-287)
It continues, “The ‘Life Span’ chapter is the crystallization of the Buddha’s immense compassion to try to teach us about the oneness of mentor and disciple. The mentor is the Buddha enlightened since the remote past. The disciples, made up of all people, are also Buddhas from the remote past. How can people be made to realize this?—that is the Buddha’s constant thought as expressed in the chapter’s closing lines, Mai ji sa ze nen. There is no such thing as a mentor who does not wish for his disciples to become truly outstanding in their own right. However, it is difficult for the disciples to grasp the mentor’s spirit. No matter how much a parent is concerned about a child, the child rarely shares the same degree of concern for the parent. They become one only when they share mutual concern.” (ibid, pp287)
After reading this strict guidance, finally I was convinced that I am living in such a profound time in Buddhist history. How exciting! How fortunate I am to have such a profound mentor in my life! This must be what I have been wishing for from the remote past.
Now, I determine to be the genuine disciple who protects mentor.
Now, I determine to never slacken, even a bit.
Now, I determine to live my life to the fullest.
Then, I will report to my mentor that I have “no regrets” in my life, at the end of my present lifetime.
Yoshi Koguchi, Pacific Northwest Vice Zone Young Men's Leader
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