Birthdays Are Days for Giving Thanks
Rev. Nichiko Niwano
President of Rissho Kosei-kai

All are Worthy of Respect

We are born into this world favored by many people, especially our parents and our grandparents. Each of us has a birthday of course and we should consider that day important because it is the anniversary of a day on which we were so favored.

Although we tend to delude ourselves into thinking that we grow up on our own, by ourselves, I would like for us to reflect quietly on ourselves on our birthdays and gain a deeper appreciation for the gift of life we have received thanks to the support of so many people.

April 8 is, of course, the day on which we celebrate the birth of Shakyamuni. Not only Buddhists but all of humankind should find great meaning in and be grateful for the fact that Shakyamuni was born. This is because through the gift of his being born and attaining supreme enlightenment, we are able to open our eyes to the Dharma and the Truth that pervades the cosmos, and thereby become aware of the preciousness of the life we should be grateful for having received.

Buddhist legend says that immediately after his birth the infant Shakyamuni exclaimed, "I alone am honored, in heaven and on earth." Shakyamuni did not mean by this that he alone was worthy of respect. Here he was teaching us that when we open our eyes to knowledge and insight, we will see that all living beings are precious. To become genuinely aware of the preciousness of one's own life means knowing that others' lives are precious also. When we achieve this realization we will arrive at a world of peace in which we pay respect to each other by placing our hands together in worship.

Kosei 04/2004

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