Vol. 2, Issue 3

EDITOR’S POSTSCRIPT
Thank you very much for reading this issue. I hope that you are enjoying our
sharing of the Joy of Jodo Shinshu teachings. I extend my appreciation to all
contributors and editing committee members.
The other day, at Lahaina Hongwanji Mission, a rummage sale and food
sale was held for the first time since the pandemic started. One difficulty that
comes with a rummage sale is cleaning up under the LAHAINA sun because
the sale is held outside on the temple’s lawn. Basically, the heaviest things to
carry are books and plates. Plates are lighter than books, but if we don’t repack
them carefully, they may break. So, usually we insert newspapers between
plates or glasses. It is quite a common thing in Japan too. It makes me recall
the famous scholar Sensei, Reverend Kojun Shichiri’s (1835-1900) sharing of
his thoughts; they are collected in some books. One of many essays of Shichiri
Sensei is “Paper of Nembutsu.”
“To keep 5 or 10 plates in place without breaking them, you
must put a piece of paper between each plate. Even if you
do things in this secular world, if you put a piece of paper
of Nembutsu between them, you will not fail to do so. No
matter how fragile the plate may be, as long as you have this
Nembutsu paper, you will be fine. Insert the paper of Nembutsu
in between.”
So, he encouraged us to put the Nembutsu Paper in between challenging
events in our secular or dualistic world, me and world, me and you. You may
compare one plate to yourself and many other plates to the phenomena and
people around you. Without the inserted paper, you break yourself and the other
person by directly hitting each other. If you have a conflict, not only with others,
but also with yourself, body and heart may be hurt. When I see terrible news, I
get angry and try to get more information about it. But that only serves as fuel
for my anger and flares up even more.
But when that time does come, the paper of Nembutsu, uttering of
Nembutsu, compassionate calling voice of Amida Buddha will shower our
burning hearts; it will try to avoid breaking both sides in between. As we are all
fragile like a plate, I hope that this Paper of Nembutsu–your reading this journal
of Jodo Shinshu teachings–will help to protect you and others you may meet.
Namo Amida Butsu.
Rev. Ai Hironaka
Rev. Ai Hironaka is the resident minister of Lahaina
Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii. He was born in Hiroshima,
Japan and attended Ryukoku University, majoring in Shin
Buddhism. He was previously assigned to the Hilo Betsuin,
Aiea Hongwanji Mission, and the Hawaii Betsuin.
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