For relief from the pandemic, recovery from illness
GREAT WISDOM PRAYER
Good fortune, safety in the home and safety on the road
Daihonzan Eiheiji
(translation of the card)
Shao Shan Temple just received the above prayer card from Eiheiji Monastery - one of the head Soto Zen Temples in Japan. We share with you, our dear sangha, this prayer and the below accompanying letter.
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A prayer for life-threatening times
By Fukuyama Taiho, The Abbot of Daihonzan Eiheiji
In the 21st century our world seemed
through globalization to have achieved so much in progress and development.
Now, in a short period of time, a virus has spread over the entire earth, revealing a fragility we had not imagined.
Struck by the force of this hitherto unknown infectious
disease, called the novel
coronavirus, many people all over the
world - despite the efforts of medical personnel risking themselves on the
front lines - have become ill and have lost their precious lives.
Furthermore, many are living daily in
invisible fear of the spread of viral infections. In such
"life-threatening times", it is probably not only old priests like myself
who ponder the fragility of human beings.
However , looking back on history , we
see that life-threatening times are not only a modern
affair. There have always been conflicts, violence and natural disasters. As
for illnesses as well, we have repeatedly faced plagues of infectious diseases,
and each time human beings have concentrated their wisdom and power to overcome them.
Zen Master Doge n, the founder of Eiheiji, taught that, "The realm of birth and death is the life of Buddha." This teaching means,
"This life, received in this world of inconceivable interdependent
affinities, must be lived to the fullest - as the life of Buddha."
If our
progressive and prosperous modern society, with
its emphasis of quantity,
' ' .
convenience, and speed, is concerned
about overcoming this crisis, we must look at
our lives in
the light of coexistence
and interdependence and transform our lives into the life of Buddha. In order
to do this, we must return to the fundamental matter of how to live our lives.
Humankind has always
found light in the darkness. Now, precisely because we are in a difficult
situation, we are able to abandon our self-centered thinking and desires, put
our hearts together as one, join hands and, using the Buddha Dharma as a light,
cross through the darkness the spread of this disease has caused.
At Eiheiji, at the
Kosodaishi·hoon·hoe ("Dharma Assembly Ceremonies, Expressing Gratitude to the Eminent
Ancestor Zen Master Dogen") from April
23 to 29, we dedicated our wisdom in order to transform these great difficulties into small
difficulties and to pray that the world
return to peace. We hope with all our hearts that in all
countries this pandemic will pass, that people will recover from their
illnesses, and the spirits of those who have lost their precious lives will be
at peace.
May we join our hearts
and walk forward together as people who enjoy their lives as the "life of the Buddha".
