Dharma Message, April 24, 2005
By Rev. Shojo Honda
Near my home, there are two big bookstores: one is Borders and the other one is Barnes and Noble. I frequently go to these stores. Both of them have an Eastern religion section. There, I find many good Buddhist books of various kinds.
Forty-five years ago, when I first came to Virginia, there wasn’t a single Buddhist book on display in a bookstore. Today, there are many kinds of Buddhist publications available. Not only in quantity, but in quality too. Today, we can study general Buddhism with all these books now available at the bookstores. Books on Buddhism are very popular in Japan, too. Although many Japanese people read books on Buddhism, they seldom go to the temples to worship Buddha. There is no custom to attend Sunday service in Japan. Those who study Buddhism only through books are called “Bookish Buddhists.”
Needless to say, reading is absolutely necessary to learn anything, but reading many books on Buddhism and being a Buddhist are different things. Buddhism that is learned through reading is not Dharma. It is thoughts; it is the thoughts of Buddhism. And thoughts will never bloom into satory (enlightenment). We can learn a lot of knowledge about Buddhism from books, but knowledge will never grow into shinjin (trust). Knowledge is intellectual, but trust is meant by total participation to Buddha.
Ekoji offers some free printed matters and also sells books on Jodo Shinshu and Buddhism in the foyer of the Hondo. I know you read them, but besides reading, you come here to attend the Sunday service, to participate in the ritual.
Attending the Sunday service regularly is not so easy. Some Sundays don’t feel good. Some Sundays are gloomy, some Sundays are cold and rainy. Everyone wants to stay in bed late on Sunday morning. But, you got out of the bed this morning, and you are here, now.
Sunday service is a common affair, it is not an exciting event whether you attend or not; it may not seem to make a big difference, but, those who think they are Buddhists by learning the knowledge about Buddhism through only reading, and those who attend Sunday service regularly and honor Buddha through rituals, are not always the same Buddhists.
Every Sunday, we begin our service with a short meditation and conduct the regular ritual. Meditation time is short but it opens an access to the heart of Buddha. It creates the possibility for it. Then we chant the Shoshinge. After that you listen to a dharma message and offer dana. Then everyone comes up to stand in front of Amida and offers incense to purify oneself and have a personal contact with Buddha through your hearts. After that, we greet each other in respectful gassho posture and leave the temple.
Thus, regular Sunday service seems to be a common affair, but through the ritual something might have been growing inside you. That something is “in’nen.” In’nen is an external condition that lies or stands between cause and effect, and lets the cause bring about good results. Buddha said in’nen never deceives you.
When we chant the sutra, we inhale short but strong, and exhale while chanting aloud. Chanting of the sutra irradiates your energy. It is good for health, both mentally and physically.
Human beings, today, depend so much on non-animal energy, such as petroleum, gas and electricity. Today, people do not sing a song, but they listen to a CD. We are likely forgetting to irradiate human energy. Under these conditions man eventually will lose his sense of being; you will lose your feeling of your own being. Chanting of the sutra gives you your own sense of being, and this feeling of being will then support your life. That, you cannot learn by reading.
According to medical articles that I have read — contributed to by gastroenterologists and/or psychiatrists — singing loudly is a very effective way to relax tension. And many vocalists and Tantric Buddhists say that singing a song and chanting sutras loudly reduces stress.
I think the voiced sound of sutra chanting by many people is very solemn and beautiful. The famous violinist, Yehudi Menuhin, was invited to the 450-year Commemorative Service of Rten”nyo Shonin. After the service, someone asked him how he felt about the chanting of the sutra. He said, “I was deeply impressed with it. It was beautiful, very beautiful.”
Recently, I read a very interesting book review. The book was titled, Message from Water by Dr. Masaru Emoto, a professor of Yokohama Municipal University. This book has been translated into 15 languages and was ranked a “bestseller” in Europe last year. The book review explains: Dr. Emoto has discovered that sound waves affect the quality of water. According to his experiments, when one says gentle things to water or plays good music to it, the water, when frozen, forms beautiful crystals. However, when one says rough things to the water or abuses it, the water does not form such beautiful crystals when frozen. Dr. Emoto proves it with many photographs in his work. He points out that most of the human body is water. So sound waves affect us as well, in different ways.
The voiced sound of a sutra properly chanted has beautiful rhythm and volume of voice, as Menuhin was impressed. It might create beautiful sound waves. Taking Dr. Emoto’s theory more broadly, the voiced sound of sutra chanting may create beautiful sound waves. The chanting of sutras naturally has a good affect on our bodies. This is one of the factors of in’nen.
In the early stages of practicing the regular Sunday ritual, your brain may not understand what you are doing, but as you continue, your in’nen ripens and eventually will turn into your wisdom by in’nen. Wisdom is not synonymous with knowledge. Knowledge comes through books. Wisdom arises in your own being.
Weekly Sunday service may be a common affair, not an exciting event, but in’nen is working and you will be ripened in your inner being.
Namo Amida Butsu
© 2008 Ekoji Buddhist Temple