Abbot's Teaching
Obon
by Michael Zenkai Taiun Elliston Sensei
July, 2004
This time of the year all over the world is the time of Obon. In Buddhist temples in every country, Obon is the time when we stop to remember our ancestors and deceased friends, but also a time of many festivities. One of the events seen most often is the Japanese dances and beautiful kimonos that the women wear. Since this is the season of Obon, I would like to tell you about our Obon time and what it means in Zen. The word “Obon” can be translated as meaning the suffering in human life. On Obon, we feel the gratitude for the lives of our ancestors and friends, and then show compassion for the living.
I am glad to see all of you here today to participate in this year’s Obon service. Although Obon is a time when we remember our deceased friends and relatives, it should not be one of sorrow. Obon is the time when we reflect upon the good points that our many friends and relatives possessed and the good effect that they have had upon our lives. It is a time for gratitude and respect for the good deeds they performed during their lives here on this earth, and the way our lives have been shaped by them.
There is a story about a man and his deeds that will help me explain this. The story shows that we cannot escape from death and that all that we can truly claim as our lives fade away are our deeds in life. The story goes:
“Once upon a time there lived a very wealthy man. He could afford to have four wives, and enjoyed his life very much. But the expression of his love toward his four wives was quite different. He loved his first wife with all his passion and was with her every moment. But, his affection toward his second wife was a little less than to his first wife, although he loved her and did everything possible to please her. As for the third wife, he loved her just enough to keep her around him. The fourth wife was completely neglected, and he paid no attention to her and made no effort to love her. This wealthy man became old and suddenly realized that Death was coming nearer and nearer to him. He became terribly lonesome and helpless as he knew he had to go alone.
So he called in his first wife, whom he loved the best, and asked: “My dear, I am going to die very soon; will you please go with me?” Beyond his expectation, she refused it with no hesitation. She said “I am sorry, though 1 love you very much, I can’t go with you.” He was very sad and asked the same question to his second wife. Her attitude was cold, and she said: “I don’t want to go; you must go alone!” Then he asked the third wife the same question. She expressed her sympathy but said, “I can only go to the cemetery, but no further”.
He was greatly disappointed with these answers and did not know what to do. He went to see his fourth wife, whom he neglected very badly. He asked her the same question with an anticipation of her refusal. Much to his surprise, she said kindly: “Yes, I will go with you even if you don’t want me to go.” At last, he left for his journey with his fourth wife, whom he made no effort to love.
There are several morals to this story that we all could learn. The first one is that only our deeds on this earth will go with us to the grave — good ones, bad ones, unconscious and conscious ones; all the deeds that we perform or neglect in our lives. These deeds are what make us what we are. The first wife represents our physical body, while the second is our money or reputation and worldly fame. The third wife represents our family, relatives and friends who can go only to the cemetery. Instead, our deeds will go with us and it will be by them that we are remembered. Usually, a man’s appearance is forgotten over time, but what is remembered is the type of person he was, the kind of things he did or did not do. The fourth wife’s words are very apt. Whether we want them to or not, our deeds will follow us beyond the gate of death.
Zen is a way of action that urges us to deeds of compassion and a life whose time has been put to good use. In Zen, there is only life. We speak of death, but we actually know little more about it than we need to tell ourselves not to waste the time that is ours in this life. We are gathered here today not to think of the death of our loved ones, but to think of their lives and our lives, and how we might use their example they have given us; and respect for the efforts of their lives, imitating their merits and learning from their errors. Zen teaches us to make use of all that we inherit or experience in our lives and to live ours to tue fullest, making use of all our potential.
As the story of the rich man with four wives shows us that we have only our deeds in this life, so also does it teach us that our deeds can only be performed in this life. I will repeat again that in Zen, there is only life. To talk of death is to describe life, just as black is sometimes compared to white to make the one more clear. We have only this lifetime to live, only this moment. All that we know of this life is the present moment, for life is made of a series of passing moments that are for a moment and then cease to be. We never know when the present moment will be our last and will not be followed by another. Life cannot be lived for the future that may not come; what we want out of our lives must be sought now and not put off to a future date. If you hesitate, you are lost, is the saying. Think of the number of things you have put off and never begun. How much richer our lives would be if we only put action into our dreams. If we do not take steps toward our destination, we soon find that unforeseen obstacles have arisen in our paths.
In Zen, our intention is to live the life of a Buddha. We want to live a Buddha’s life in this life, not after death. The life of the Buddha is one that is lived to its fullest potential because the Buddha knows the true nature of all existence — including his — and that nature is then free to exert itself without the hindrance of an ignorant mind. The ignorant mind is one that sees itself as an entity apart from the rest of existence because it has not realized what its true nature is. The mind of the Buddha is clear and untroubled. The Buddha acts in unison with his Buddha-nature in a way of compassion and utmost efficiency. The Buddha does not waste time; he lives only in the present, putting his whole power into it. The Buddha does not fear death; he knows it is but part of his life like birth, and aging.
There is another beautiful story that I would like to tell you on this Obon. We have an old saying in Japan, which compares our human destiny to a beautiful cherry blossom. Here is a gorgeous cherry tree in full bloom. It is simply beautiful. But when the time comes, cherry flowers would start to be blown away by the wind. Some of them are gone with the wind first, and the others are in the destiny of staying in bloom a little longer. But we have to realize that the very last cherry flower on a tree, also has to be blown away exactly like the others, some day.
This story was taken from a poem of Basho, who was one of the greatest poets in Japan. When death attacked him very suddenly, he wanted to show his disciples his philosophy on death. He wanted to express himself in a piece of poem, and started to write: “A cherry blossom is about to be blown away!” He was in deep agony and could not finish it. One of his disciples took it and finished his poem. He wrote, “The rest of the blossoms on the tree will also be blown away”. Basho heard it and showed his smile of satisfaction and passed away.
Basho’s philosophy on death is one of the Buddha. We were born, and now we are enjoying our lives, but some day, sooner or later, we all have to go. This is what we should remember as we gather for an Obon Service. Our friends, relatives and acquaintances have been born, lived and passed away, just as we shall, some day. On Obon, we remember their lives and should reflect upon our own. Like our departed family and friends, we too have only this life in which to live, and only this moment to think of as our life. Like the man with four wives, only our deeds will follow us to the grave and all else will be left behind. A lifetime is contained in a moment. Today, we must ask ourselves how we will be remembered after our deaths?