On September 19, 1992, at West Covina Buddhist Temple's Second Dobo Retreat, keynote speaker Rev. Saito began his talk using the theme of "Discovering the true meaning of our birth and the joy of living." He began by explaining how we tend to view our lives relative to how "things are going" for us at the time. We are fine as long as "good conditions...fine as long as things go our way."
He also cited the recent Living Dharma article of WCBT's Mary Kato (GATEWAY, 9/92), as an example of how we never really understand until something powerful hits close to home. In her article, Mary had written that it wasn't until her very close friend was stricken with a brain hemorrhage that she realized the truth of impermanence. Then, very soon after she wrote that article, Mary herself had to undergo a quadruple heart bypass. "I'm sure her understanding of impermanence is even greater now," said Rev. Saito, "and we all hope for a speedy recovery for her." While at first glance these observations might seem depressing, Rev. Saito pointed out that "...this isn't only negative - it's also the teaching of eternal life and eternal light. It is a dynamic life expression. If life didn't change, it would be fossilized and stiff."
Rev. Saito then recalled a point that a certain Rev. Watanabe had made about the unfortunate lot of handicapped people in Japan. Japanese society is not sensitive to the needs of handicapped; there are none of the ramps, wide doors, etc., found here in the U.S. In Japanese, the phrase "Shin Sho Sha" refers to a physically handicapped person, but apparently it can also refer to the mentally handicapped person (with different kanji character). However, it means handicapped in the sense of being "polluted" rather than "ill." In other words, a person who is self-centered, and "fine" so long as things go their way. "We ourselves are all 'Shin Sho Sha,' but we don't realize this until a tragedy strikes," said Rev. Saito.
In contrast to most of us physically normal, but mentally polluted people, Rev. Saito sees the physically handicapped, in one way at least, as being more fortunate. Things are not "going well" for them; they are not "fine," and the hardships they must endure often deepen their appreciation of life.
To illustrate his point, Rev. Saito told the story of Hiromichi Mukaibo, whom Rev. Saito met quite by chance during a visit to Niigata, Japan (Shinran Shonin's place of exile). They had talked awhile and Mukaibo had given Rev. Saito a copy of his newly published autobiography. It was not until later though, upon his return to the U.S., that Rev. Saito was able to read the book. The story moved him deeply.
Mukaibo had been an extremely bright college student with a promising future. Suddenly, his life took a tragic turn when, at the age of 21, he was in a terrible car accident and ended up a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down. This was the beginning of a personal hell for Mukaibo. For several years he was in great pain, always complaining and terribly behaved. He felt sorry for himself, and wished he was dead. He was miserable and wanted everyone around him, including his family, to be miserable as well. He lived in this hell for 6 years.
One day, Mukaibo came upon a pamphlet on Buddhism. It was the start of his discovery of self-awareness. He began to accept that there was nothing to depend on outside himself. Reading this pamphlet led Mukaibo to begin to attend services at the local temple. Rev. Saito told of how the wheelchair-bound Mukaibo, without any access for the handicapped, had to listen outside the temple in the summer heat and the winter snow. This he faithfully did for several more years.
One day, on a visit to Fukuoka, which had recently received a rare snowfall (and some 9 years after his tragic accident), Mukaibo had the experience that was a turning point in his life. Suddenly, as he gazed at the white, freshly fallen snow, he received a powerful insight. Against the purity of the snow, he saw his own ugliness, selfishness and self-pity, and how mean and unappreciative he had been to his own family. Now he could be truly grateful for all that they had given him. He was transformed into a true human being.
"This transformation made him a dynamic person," stated Rev. Saito. One of his accomplishments was that eventually he gained financial independence and earned his own living. He also visited India and established a Buddhist retreat center there. In Japan, he became a champion of the rights of the handicapped.
When Rev. Saito met Mukaibo that day in Niigata, Mukaibo had said, "I wouldn't be here today if Shinran hadn't been exiled and started the teaching of Shinshu." Now, after reading his autobiography, Rev. Saito could truly understand Mukaibo's deep appreciation of the teachings of Shinran Shonin. "When we really become humble, we become dynamic, and we can see the world of unlimited light and life." To Rev. Saito, this is "the true meaning of our birth and the joy of living."
This liberation is not something that can be "sought," however. The crucial point of the Mukaibo story is that his liberation (his transformation while gazing at the snow), and his resulting dynamic life, came only from the years of suffering that eventually "killed" the arrogant, self-centered Mukaibo, and allowed a true human being to be reborn in his place. Still, though we hopefully will never experience that kind of suffering, we today do suffer, albeit in "contemporary ways." If we can honestly examine our lives, we too have the opportunity to become true human beings.
To Rev. Saito, the way to become a true human being was clear. He said that we must make the Nembutsu - Namu Amida Butsu - "the most important thing in our lives" The important thing, said Rev. Saito, is to "renew your personal pledge to become a true human being, by reflecting on the meaning of Namu Amida Butsu, each and everyday."