A Guide to the - Rissho Kosei-kai

If You Think You Are the Most ImportantScientific and technological progress has made Japan incomparably more prosperous andconvenient than it was half a century ago. Nevertheless, it does seem that our view of theworld has become singularly self‐centered.People tend to think that the self is the most important thing, but in reality they do not seem tobe taking such good care of that self. Rather, there seem to be more people who are wastingthe precious self, perhaps because they think that the self is merely the physical body, so thebest way to live is to fulfill one's desires. However, the true self is hardly so insignificant. TheBuddha justifiably did not disparage self‐esteem. A collection of short sutras quotes him assaying:The whole wide world we traverse with our thoughts,And nothing that anyone finds is more dear than self.Since the self is so very dear to others,Those who know the love of selfMust harm no other person.The lesson here is that those who love themselves must love others. If one would live in a waythat sets great store by the self, then one should not think only of one's own self, but earnestlyvalue the self of others.It may appear that as we take care of ourselves we absolutely ignore others. To the contrary,there are many who go through life envying, resenting, and showing enmity toward others.They are hardly taking care of themselves in the long run. What they are doing is wasting theself. It may sound paradoxical, but if one really places a high value on oneself, then one will loveothers.Gempo Yamamoto (1866‐‐1961) was known as the modern Hakuin (1685‐‐1768), after thepriest who revitalized Rinzai Zen Buddhism. A certain person came to him and complained ofbeing too weak to work. Yamamoto admonished him severely, saying, "It is not that you lackstrength. What you lack is virtue." Whenever Yamamoto stayed at an inn he would arrangefellow travelers' slippers at the bath entrance and even fold their nightwear and bedding forthem, constantly performing unnoticed acts of kindness. This is what is meant by having a highregard for yourself and the people around you.Japan's feudal period was one of obedience to authority. In contrast, the age of democracy maybe characterized as one of understanding and cooperation. And it is said that the final age ofhuman society will be one of loving others and respecting harmony. This is not to say that suchan age will simply happen; rather, it is up to us to establish it.Mahatma Gandhi once said that he believed that what is possible for one person is possible forall. It may be that loving others is something only a very few people can devote themselves to.Yet, however few such people may be, since there are some who can leap into that elevatedsphere, it must be possible for everyone. Hence I would like to propose that self‐love bebroadened little by little.Even those who feel that they have their hands full just thinking about themselves should try togive similar consideration to their own parents and brothers and sisters. This is comparativelyeasy to accomplish. There are, of course, homes where even this cannot be done and which arefilled with rancor, but if one simply allows oneself to be kind, then one will naturally be asconsiderate of friends and colleagues as of family members. With an open heart accept their25