A Guide to the - Rissho Kosei-kai

"All Work Is the Buddha's Work"Everyone realizes that it is important to be deeply immersed in something. But some peopletake it into their heads to do first one thing and then another, and end up obtaining nothing atall. That is truly regrettable, because if they could just live their lives absorbed in one interestthey would be able to accomplish great things.I have heard that there is a saying in America, "Never buy a car made on a Monday."Apparently, there is a greater chance that a lemon with loose nuts and bolts will be producedon a Monday, because workers tend to slack off after the weekend. Slackness is not, of course,limited to the United States. The commentator Naoki Komuro wrote in his Sobieto Teikoku noHokai (The Collapse of the Soviet Empire):In the Soviet Union when one purchases a household appliance, one always tries to select onecertified to have been made during the first half of the month. If it is made in the first half, youcan rest assured that it was not made in a rush. You can assume it will work. But if it was madein the latter half of the month, there is a possibility that it will fall apart rather quickly.The Russian worker thinks only of achieving the assigned quota, so in the first half of the monthhe works slowly. Then, in the second half, he hurries under pressure to reach the quota.Everyone knows the situation, so they try to buy the "early half" products.The Americans' slipshod method and the Russians' rushed way of manufacturing show acommon lack of enthusiasm for factory work. Without dedication, good workmanship canhardly be expected.Japanese people are rather disposed to concentrate on their work. That Japanese products areknown to be efficient, unlikely to break down, and long‐lasting is because of workers'dedication. This may be partly a national trait, and I think the influence of Buddhism issignificant. Buddhism places great emphasis on samadhi, remaining tranquil whatever happensand focusing one's thoughts on a single object. Though it was originally a Buddhist asceticpractice, Mahayana Buddhism teaches its application in all aspects of daily life, including workand study.The Japanese most noted for advocating the application of samadhi in daily life was SuzukiShosan (1579‐‐1655), a learned priest of the Soto Zen sect who served under the great feudalwarrior chieftain Tokugawa Ieyasu. In the section "The Daily Business of Farmers" of his moralessay Bammin Tokuyo (For the Benefit of All), Shosan writes:Heaven set farmers the vital task of nourishing the world and its people. If they work theirfarms in diligent accordance with the Way of Heaven, with no thought of themselves; if theyproduce the five grains and worship the Buddha and the gods; if they make a great vow to savelives and provide enough food even for the insects; if they invoke the name of Amida Buddhaeach time they sink their hoes in the ground; if they put their hearts into each stroke of theirscythes: then the fields in which they labor will be holy ground, and the grain they produce willbe holy food. For those who eat it, it will be like a medicine that dispels and vanquishesdelusion.If they invoke the name of Amida with each stroke of the hoe or scythe, they will not bedistracted and will be able to concentrate; they will be in a state of profound meditation as they35