What’s purpose of our life?

 Japanese old proverb also says   January goes, February will escape, and March leave.  We feel time passes to be early more and more if we get old.   We never want to waste time.  We should spend our life even during normal daily activity.  We like to spend time as precious at this year also.

Well, given a baby is really happy thing on our life since it was old past.   But Birth is also one kind of four suffering.   It is because we should invite death time if we born in this world.

Well, I like to share this question that how does everybody think about human beings born. What is it meaning?   What is death?   We need know about this meaning and then this knowing is very important for us.

 When we could receive that we should last moment in the future because we born in this Sa-ha world, we can separate suffering of death and born.

Buddha shakyamuni also had been seriously thinking about birth, old age, disease and death since he was prince Siddhartha.  It is because these four suffering was motive of aspire Buddha’s enlightenment.  But we receive birth even though we were living in the world of Buddha’s peaceful place.

     But it is very difficult that we could be born as human beings.  From old past, we continue to reborn as many worlds like the world of hell, greedy spirits, animals, anger, humans and heaven.  This is called transmigrating through six states of existence.

  And now we could be born as human beings.  So this life is most precious lives.  Moreover we could meet the lotus sutra as true teaching of the Buddha at last. 

Nichiren Shonin also explained in Reply to the Lay Nun Myoho this:

“As I contemplate my own life, I, Nichiren, have studied Buddhism ever since I was a child.  Our life is uncertain, as exhaling one’s breath one moment does not guarantee drawing it the next; it is as transient as dew before the wind and its end occurs suddenly to everyone, the wise and the ignorant, the aged and the young.   I thought I should study the matter of the last moment of life first of all, before studying anything else.”

   Nichiren explain we should learn the last moment first of all.

    But we can’t understand about tomorrow.   Suddenly death will come to us.   Nobody will be able to help to us at that time.   Even family and persons who are high position and rich man can’t help to me from death at that time.

We will pass away only us.   When we pass away, only our karma and action both of bad and good that we did in this Sa-ha world will take me.  What we did law of cause and effect in three existences about Past and present and future is obvious fact.   If we accumulated evil deed or some crime and then we gather bad karma, we fall into Hell or Anger.   If we accumulated good deeds, we will be able to live Buddha’s pure land.      

There are three ways that we receive reward for good and bad karma.   One is that we will receive reward of action during staying this Sa-ha world.  One is that we will receive it at Buddha’s pure land.   Last one is that we will receive it after reborn.

If we didn’t know three ways of appearing system, we think nothing that reward to bad and good karma.   At this result, we fall into another world.   We will receive suffering for the long time.   However Buddha is always opening the mercy gate with widely and with great compassion heart.

So although we should receive this bad reward, we could change pure heart by reflecting with deeply heart.  Moreover our bad karma and earthly desire disappear.   So if we reflect with deeply heart by chanting Odaimoku, we could receive protection of the compassionate heart of the Buddha.    After our reflection and then changing our heart to pure, we have to vow to the three treasures of Buddha and Dharma and Sangha.  This practice is very important.   We should do precious one for three treasures.   Moreover if we accumulate good deeds and karma and benefit, we will be able to enter enlightenment like the eternal Buddha shakyamuni.

    We should do good deeds without bad deeds.  We spent our life and help for other person and society.

 

   Moreover we keep protecting five religious precepts 五戒. Five precepts are no kill不殺生戒, no steal不偸盗戒, no indecent others intersection between man and woman不邪淫戒, no tell a lie不妄語戒, and no getting drunk 不飲酒戒.

       The person who enter Buddha’s world surely occurred compassion heart and then this person think that I would like to give this heart to other persons without myself.  And also Buddha’s heart will be born into this person.

     Moreover the people who join Buddha’s disciple surely practice Buddha’s way.   The heart that repays Buddha’s compassion will be born.

If we have Buddha’s compassion heart, All loving beings will get the providence of Buddha for getting Buddha’s enlightenment even during staying illusion world where always continue life and death.

     There are four kinds of giving way to other person.   One is sharing things with deeply heart and then never expecting other person to be terribly grateful.  One is telling compassion words to other persons.   One is never expecting rewards and then always is thinking to other person and then should do our best.  One is always thinking to everybody by becoming this person’s body and mind.

     Only human beings can do what we listen the Buddha’s teaching and practice this teaching.  So we must feel pressure what we was born as human beings.  Therefore we must make everyday very important and precious one. And then we must stay this Sa-ha world by following Buddha’s teaching.   At last, Buddha appears in front of us into our usually daily activity.  Actually, this activity is repaying to our ancestor’s favor.  If we will be able to live such as this life, we surely become a part of Buddha.

   Nichiren Daishonin, through his great understanding of the Lotus Sutra, drafted “Rissho Ankoku Ron 立正安国論” throughout the Country by Establishing the True Dharma, in which he tried to convince the government that through faith in the True Dharma, The Lotus Sutra, we can create Buddha Land here on earth and expel all the evil teachings.

He also presented us with the Odaimoku, which captures the essence of the Lotus Sutra.    When I think this recently news, I wonder and fear whether we can make 一天四海皆帰妙法.

I think making 一天四海皆帰妙法 will take for 500 hundred or 1000 years.  However we should spread this True Dharma of Lotus Sutra around us rather than doing nothing.

     Until when I came to overseas country, I didn’t know so many foreign persons are chanting Odaimoku same as Japanese Style although I knew only little bit things.

     Well we could know the true and Buddha’s highest teaching is the Lotus Sutra at last in this our life.  And then we could receive Buddha’s compassion heart.  So next is your turn.  You should tell to other person who hasn’t known it.  I hope every generation continue chant Odaimoku.