Just a Slight Change in Perspective
Rev. J.K. Hirano
A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered, and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.
The Hero with a Thousand faces, Joseph Campbell
How many of you watched the game with the University of Utah (U of U) and University of Southern California (USC) on Saturday October 21? I know there are many of you who may not be fans of the University of Utah or even like college football. But I love watching college football. I am not a jock in any form. However, I do like college football. When I was a student at the University close to 50 years ago, I never watched any of the University’s sports. The University of Utah was not very good at any sports, except for Ladies Gymnastics. However, over the past 20 years or so, I have become a big fan of the University of Utah football.
As I watched the game, I thought to myself, “Why do I enjoy watching college football?” I don’t really watch any sports, except the Olympics, both Summer and Winter. Although, division one college athletes are the elite in their sports. I think, it is because of the imperfection in the college arena that make it so exciting. Just as in the Olympics In college football, there are always mistakes no matter how good a team and their past performances may be. You just never know what will happen. As the famous sports announcer Jim McKay would say every Saturday afternoon when I was young, “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” Isn’t this how each of our lives work too?
The other week, my Dharma talk touched on why I love all things Disney. The reason I love Disney is the hope these stories seem to embody. I will go into depth on this subject for an upcoming Center for Buddhist Education seminar. I am a huge Disney fan. The same reason I love Disney is also the reason I love the Wizard of Oz and many other fairy tales and myths. All are related to this quote I began with from Joseph Campbell’s book “The hero with a Thousand Faces”
“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder.”
You many ask, “Who is the hero?” or “What is the region of supernatural wonder?” In my story, the hero is me and the region of supernatural wonder is my life.
In the afterword to the Tannisho which we are studying in the Adult Study Class, Shinran Shonin says, “When I reflect deeply on the Vow that Amida fulfilled after five kalpas of contemplation. I find that it was for me, Shinran alone!”
In the story of Hanamatsuri, the baby Buddha was said to have taken seven steps and proclaimed, “In the Heavens above and the Earth below, I am the world honored one.” Both Shinran and Shakyamuni Buddha are clearly stating this journey they are on is not for their parents, their family and children, their community or society. It was for themselves alone.
I believe that this is also embodied in Dorothy’s wish in the Wizard of Oz, “There is no place like home. There is no place like home.”
In the novella “Tonio Kroger” by the Nobel prize winner Thomas Mann there is a passage that reads,
I admire those cold, proud beings who adventure upon the paths of great and daemonic beauty and despise ‘Mankind’; but I do not envy them. For if anything is capable of making a poet of a literary man, it is my hometown love of the human, the living and ordinary. All warmth derives from this love, all kindness and humor.”
It is my goal to make our temple’s environment and your reason for coming to the temple or to listen or read what I have written or speak about, to be a lens for examining your life. I cannot tell you how to live your life or what is right for you. For that is about your story, your journey. However, I can speak about the experiences of my life and how the Dharma has given me a better perspective in understanding it. I cannot tell you what is right for you or what is the way you should live your life. This is a decision that only you can make.
However, if I were to look to my life, I know that I am very common in almost every way. I’m not very smart, handsome, or rich. My childhood I would say was quite happy. I was lucky in this regard. I have spoken before that I was not very good at sports, I tried a lot of different things, from baseball, football, judo, soccer, wrestling and skiing, and I wasn’t good at any of them. I could do them, but I was nowhere near expert. I was never brave, quite the opposite, I was afraid of so many things. I’ve always loved girls and women, ever since I was small. I remember kissing a girl in about first grade. However, as I entered puberty, I was terrified. It’s amusing to look back and think, three women, have liked me enough to marry me. In my teens and twenties, I didn’t think I would ever meet someone who could love me. I had almost resigned myself to never finding my partner in life.
After my second marriage didn’t work out, I really thought, “I’m such a loser.” I than met Carmela. To my surprise, she agreed to marry me! When I went to my bachelor party in Las Vegas, I was sitting at a blackjack table with one of my close friends, he explained to the dealer an older Asian man, “Can you believe this guy, he’s getting married for the third time. Crazy isn’t he?!” I thought Wendell was right, a part of me thought, what am I doing? And then this older Asian dealer sincerely looks at me and says, “You are a very lucky man. Three women have accepted and agreed to be your wife. Some of us, cannot find one.” This changed my perspective, although, it’s ironic that it was at a casino that someone convinced me that yes, I am lucky. Maybe I’m not the loser I thought I was. Although, I was losing money at the casino. I was lucky man. Amazing, three women had agreed to be my wife. It wasn’t because of my looks, money or personality. It was the world embracing and taking care of me. And from here, I began to see the region of supernatural or as I may also say, “The realm of gratitude” in my life. With just a small change in perspective, my world view changed from one of feeling sorry for myself, to a view of wonder and gratitude. The Buddhist teaching of the four noble truths began to become clearer.
This world is filled with suffering, as in the first noble truth states. The second truth is that my ego, my immense greed, anger and ignorance is the reason for this suffering. However, the point and wonder of these truth is that there is a way to alleviate this suffering, the third noble truth. The fourth noble truth, the eightfold path’s first noble path is right view. Within our Jodo Shinshu tradition, we don’t believe that on our own we will gain enlightenment. However, this first noble path is rather about changing our perspective, just a little.
Last week I was having a conversation with a friend of mine Rev. Dr. Galen Amstutz and we were discussing how Buddhism can contribute to our western culture. He calls me “optimistic” when I told him, I think Jodo Shinshu will have a definite place in what will eventually be called American Buddhism. Although another friend Rev. Michael Zimmerman of “Two Arrows Zen center” had said, it was a Buddhist Dharma Talk where the priest said, “Buddhism was a religion of “No Hope” that resonated with him and why he became Buddhist. Michael Zimmerman is much smarter than I could even hope to be, but I would disagree that Buddhism is a religion of no hope. I believe, Jodo Shinshu is a religion of “Great Hope”. That for those of us, who by all reasonable standards, should lose, just as the game with the University of Utah, there is the possibility that we can still win. It just takes a little change in perspective and two points in the last seconds that can define a different perspective. Hoping each of you a wonderful Thanksgiving, Namo Amida Butsu. I’d like to close with the words of Rev. Jitsuen Kakehashi, which I believe is about a matter of perspective.
“Many things occur in human lives. But, whatever difficulties or sadness that we may have experienced, if we look upon our lives as being rare and wondrous events, the we will truly have lived. If we are able to realize this realm of gratitude, then what else could we need?”