Human formation in Buddhism

I am Sasaki gengo. Last year I talked on 「What is Buddhism?」. This time I am going to talk about 「Human formation in Buddhism」. What human formation is to be a sincere human and true human.

1.　Human formation (True human)

There was a president Lincoln in America. He was the 16th president. He was born as a poor farmer's son, studied for himself and finally became a president. However after he was elected again as the 17th president, he was shot to death by an assassin. He pronounced the Emancipation Proclamation and made a speech [of the people, by the people, for the people] to make the foundation of Democracy.

He was very generous and affectionate. One day, a person came to ask a job. But he refused. People around him wondered why he refused. Then Lincoln said that the person didn't have a good complexion. Lincoln said it was the reason he refused. He said when a person gets his forties, the lives he have had appear on his face. After that it became a lesson. So people say when they are forties, they are trying to be responsible for their complexions. Therefore have a look at your faces in the mirror to find what kind of faces you have.

「Be responsible for your face when you are forty.」

Lincoln said we have to achieve human formation when we are forty. And my teacher Hosokawa always said that 「When listening to Buddhism, we can have a good face. It is becoming a beauty.」. Here, human formation in Buddhism is if we keep doing question&answering, practicing, prayer, we can be people who can be responsible for own faces. And when we have good faces, we can achieve real human formation.

Just looking at people's faces, we can tell how noble they are. It means not that people are noble by nature but that by achieving Buddha's wisdom people can have good faces, said Rennyoshonin. To have a tender face with soft eyes is human formation, said Rennyoshonin. When we achieve piety, we can have that kind of face. So, now let me tell you Rennyoshonin's talking of how to be a person who has piety.

2.　The way to be a pious person

In the book, [Ofumi 2 11pages (line790)] which Rennyoshonin wrote, there are five righteousness. They are staying good, wisdom of knowledge, brightness, believing and name of it. Not achieving these five righteousness, we can not have Nirvana.Nirvana is being forward or living cheerfully. And to real human forming we surely have five righteousness, said Rennyoshonin. When looking at the picture, we can find that the basic is staying good.

Staying is said to be hard if there is no staying good which means root of good, called charity and family line of the ancient, we hardly achieve human formation. And wisdom of knowledge is a teacher. To meet a person who can be a good friend as well as a good teacher is important. Brightness is listening to wisdom of knowledge and to know oneself thorough the teaching. Next one is believing. And the last one is name of Namuamidabutu said this is the order. Without achieving these five righteousness, we can not have Nirvana.

Kamei Katuichiro is the person who made this modernize. In his book, 「About the emptiness of Love 」, he is talking about human formation. He said human formation is human creation. How can a person be a human being? Kamei is talking about it in the book with modernizing.

「About the emptiness of Love 」

written by Kamei katuichiro

Human creation

�@ Thinking

�A Hesitati

�BWishing to be like this

�C Meeting

�D Having own language

What is self? What is God? What is death? And what is society? Human think these things. Pascal said Man is a thinking reed. At first human thinks it is right and hesitates. Goethe also said Man hesitates while doing something. Therefore human hopes to be like this.

It is surely important to keep trying to achieve human formation. Between thinking and hesitating, you have to have a mind to be a person with piety. Kamei said from that point occurs meeting. It is the meeting with wisdom of knowledge.

Shinranshonin hesitated painfully and met Honenshonin at age 29. It became developing of stayed good so Shinranshonin could meet wisdom of knowledge. Kamei said through meeting we can have our own language. What is own language? It is the words Namuamidabutu becomes own language. After meeting wisdom of knowledge and becoming name of Namuamidabutu through meeting wisdom of knowledge, it is the real human forming. It is the way we can be people with piety.

Name of Namuamidabutu⇒  It becomes my own language.

Here let's think about what is staying good. When we think it in a different way, this meeting is wisdom of knowledge. Having own language is name of it. Those three before that is staying good. �@ Thinking
�A Hesitating

�B A mind wishing to be like this

�C Meeting

�D Having own language

Here, we achieve meeting after chaotic period when we think, hesitate and exist like this during own process of growing. I said meeting good teachers, good friends and what kind of human you meet as a teacher is half of the realization. However meeting a teacher is to arrive at the perfect realization. So meeting wisdom of knowledge is important itself.

There is a saying meet wisdom of knowledge wearing gold straw sandals . It is good when we are forty. We miss the chance when we are old. So to hurry up is very important. Again let's think what does wisdom of knowledge teach us and what is the teaching of wisdon of knowledge.

The teaching of wisdon(good teachers, good friends) is Q&A, practicing,prayer. Listening to the teaching to death
We are listening to Buddha's teaching. Listening to Buddha's teaching means listening to the teaching to death. In the second chapter of「Tannisho」there said「I came to ask withshinmyong. I came with the will to ask the way to Nirvana」(bible Ch. 626). Wisdom of knowledge teaches「Listening to the teaching to death」. However these days we don't talk about listening to the teaching to death in Jungtoshinjung. What is listening to the teaching to death? It is listening to the teaching, throwing away what one thinks own life. What we think our own life these days is money. Listening to the teaching using money is listening to the teaching to death.

Next important thing is time. We say we don't have time but it is listening to throwing away time. We are busy and have many things to do but we use time to listen to questioning. We listen while sleeping and eating. But still something is missing to say that we achieved human forming after only one hour listening and prayer. It is very important to listen to the teaching while sleeping and eating.

And one more thing, wisdon of knowledge talks about practicing. My teacher considered practicing important saying [If a person who does questioning for 5 years and 10 years doesn't do practicing in the morning and evening, it is an absurd idea.]. I worked at an elementary school. I tried to follow my teacher's teaching so it might look faithful. But I am still short.

That is to say, when we do something which has been said to be done for sure, we surely achieve human formation, will be respected, can have a beautiful face and finally can be a great human. This can be dealing but there won't be any sincere mind. Wisdom of knowlegde said it should be done for sure. What is important is not being able to exist without doing it, being one with Buddha.

3.　The function of people who has strong belief

Today I will talk about what kind of function a person who has strong prayer has. The function of strong prayer.

(1) Achievement in the family: Parents, Home Education, Husband and Wife

「Respect and Love」

�@ Eating everything �A Being able to join one's hands in prayer �B Playing with friends

A man of strong prayer achieves family first. Husband and wife are a family. That is to say, the first thing is achieving human relation through being husband and wife with respect and love. Then parents and children relation is important. Teaching manners to children is very important. It is said that a child who is younger is good for home education but from the moment a child was born it is important to teach at home. It is to make children be strong prayer.

Then how can be a child who grows well? My teacher made a nursery school. Through running the school he talked about some features of the children.

Having a meeting for the children. It is the grown-ups' role how to educate children to go through the future.

�@ Eating everything. Eating everything is important. Eating various food, eating well and making those kinds of food are important.

�A Being able to join one's hands in prayer. If they are left alone, they don't join their hands. So make them join their hands and say「Thanks for the food」before eating. Teaching children that way is very good. Grown-ups' mission is to take children in front of the Buddha. Young people are very busy so they don't have time to teach children but older people are free. People like me have some free time so I have time to bow to the Buddha. Then my grandchildren follow me. To raise children to be able to join their hands is a feature of growing children.

�B Playing with friends. A child who plays outside grows well. Old people's task is something like this. Not bowing to the Buddha because it is a duty after offering flowers and rice but taking children in front of the Buddha by being a grown-up who has mind exchanging with the Buddha is important.

(2) Achievement in career: Professional at work/ To be an excellent human.

Next is achievement in career. It is to be a professional or an expert and contact with the world through work. Today I came with a farmer Mr. Chikutoi from Hiroshima. He thinks his rice is delicious.

He knows how to water, how to fertilize and how to dry as an expert. So he can make rice delicious. At home housewives are professional at house works. My wife has been a house wife for 45 years and she still keeps a housekeeping book. We can see what we did last year or 10 years ago by looking at the book.

There are roles for everyone. For example, teachers at school should study texts for classes. They study what kind of text they will use or which teacher can make students study hard and feel them happy with studying. This is also a role for the person who has belief. It is to become an excellent person at work.

(3) Achievement with neighbors

Next is achievement with neighbors. If a person has virtue, then we simply think we achieve neighbors. To get along well with neighbors is important. Therefore a person who has belief does say hello to them. It is sad if there are no neighbors when we take tasty food or come back from the trip. If there is no one whom we can give presents, there can not be any achievement.

(4) Achievement in the society: The world will be peaceful and the teaching of the Buddha will be spread.

Next is achievement in the society. It is a serious world problem to be dead at war. Then how can we, as Buddhists, appeal to the society? In the book「goshosokushu」of Shinranshonin, there said 「The world will be peaceful and the teaching of the Buddha will be spread.」 surely. Everyone thinks this world will be peaceful.

The government dispatches troops to Iraq hoping the world to be peaceful. The way the world to be peaceful is to spread the teaching of the Buddha. Wishing world peace can not be achieved without spreading the teaching of the Buddha. Shinranshonin hopes the world will be peaceful through 「The world will be peaceful and the teaching of the Buddha will be spread.」.

Strong beliver, who achieves real human forming lives through the wish. Basically, there is devoting to the world peace but what is the most important thing specifically?

4. The energy which moves function

We need energy to do this. I see your saying but just you do it. I can not do so because I am too tired. Then it will be sad. Where can we get this energy to progress for achievement? The power and the resource of driving force. Going with engine burning. That also depends on this.

We can achieve energy when we become one with Q&A, practicing, praying which were told to do so at first. What do you think about this? I think that way. This is all for this time.