The Birthplace of Life for Us
Rev. Nichiko Niwano
President of Rissho Kosei-kai

The Origin of Thankfulness

"The heart of gratitude for having been born and raised is the origin of thankfulness," writes Professor Shigeru Tenmyo of Miyagi University in a recent book.

We are not born and raised under our own power. That we exist in the here and now is thanks to our parents, our ancestors, and many other people, and when we search for the source of life we come to understand that we are caused to live by eternal life-the Dharma of impermanence that has no beginning and no end. When we realize this and become aware of the origin of gratitude, each of us can open his or her eyes to the preciousness of our own lives and the lives of others.

I once heard about a woman who had felt she wanted to die because of the bullying she suffered after she changed schools as a junior high school student. After listening to her mother tell her of the joy and great hope she felt after her daughter was born, she recovered from her morbid feelings with a sense of "Thank you very much, Mother, for allowing me to be born twice." Today that experience is the motivation behind her wish to be helpful to others.

Similarly, through awareness of the source of life, even people who have been living self-centeredly can open their eyes to the realm of oneness of ourselves and others in which everyone is living one Life, and develop the feeling of wanting to do their utmost for the happiness of others.

One Birthplace

There is a verse: "Birthplace / That is where I came from. / Birthplace / That is where I will return."

I occasionally repeat to myself this verse by the educator Yoshio Toi (1912-91) because it is important in making us realize the role of our roots or the birthplace of our lives.

Through the realization of the Dharma of impermanence that says that all things in the world continue to change without ceasing for even an instant, we awaken to the source of life and clearly understand the need for thankfulness for today, for having been caused to live now.

Then, conceited thoughts of ourselves always being right disappear, and we are filled with the wish that everyone would be humble, friendly toward each other, and live in harmony.

In our daily lives we use every opportunity to chant the o-daimoku, "Namu Myo-ho Renge-kyo" (I Take Refuge in the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma). This is like saying that it is up to the one great Life that brings life to everything-the source of life.

The o-daimoku is, so to speak, the expression of the one single Truth that permeates everything in the world. We chant it because taking refuge in the Truth to which Shakyamuni was enlightened is our declaration of dedicating our lives in our heart of hearts to the Truth.

Kaicho Howa July 2005

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