The meaning of Jodoh-E Service

I would like to share with you about the legend of shayamuni Buddha’s entering enlightenment. That’s why it will be held Buddha’s Jodo-e celebration, which means buddha’s enlightenment on 8th December.

     Shakyamuni Buddha has gotten opportunity to enter enlightenment under the Bo tree at Gaya Just on day 8th December.

He met four suffering at four gates of his castle. Four suffering are birth, old age, disease and death.   These suffering have most important meaning in Buddhism.   And also these suffering are most important meaning against human being.

Prince Siddhartha left his palace & family at Kapilavastū in his twenties and travelled all over the Indian Subcontinent to seek the Truth of Life.    He found out that the various practices & schools of thoughts he encountered were not the right ways.

He trained hard and suffering training called Kugyo also for 6 years. He couldn’t get middle way that is not prejudiced way.  And then he went to NeraJjara’s river.  Then he took water for become pure his body.  However Buddha Shakyamuni’s body became very weak for hard and suffering training. So his body looked to flow by power of the river.

    When he returned to riverbank then he sit down under the sacredness tree called Baniyan, One daughter who named Sujata came to Buddha.   Sujata came to this tree for offering milk porridge.  It is because her dream that I would like to get the boy as first child became coming true.  Then when she saw Buddha who became very thin, She offered milk porridge to the Buddha.  Buddha was so long time not to eat anything.   Buddha became well more and more.    He built up his physical strength.  

However when His five disciples watched this view, they thought that Siddhartha fell down depraved.    So they left from Siddhartha to Sarnath.

 So he then decided to meditate under a Bodhi tree at Gayā , which is later known as Bodh-gayā.    After 7 days of meditation, in the early morning of December 8, the prince attained Enlightenment (Bodhi) and became Lord Buddha, the Enlightened One.

     It is said that right after the Buddha attained Buddha hood, he Preached the Four Noble Truths for his five disciples as his first

Preaching at Sarnath, India.

Moreover, In Buddhism teaching, Buddha had taken three steps for get enlightenment.   These nights called first step, middle step, and last step.  Buddhism separates three steps.

   At first, I’d like to explain first night.  At first night, Buddha got the power of the heavenly eye called tengantsu that can watch the repetition from human being's born to death.   At middle night, He mastered the wisdom of destiny that can know Buddha previous existences called Shukumeichi for Buddha shakyamuni and human beings.   At last, last step, He mastered law of origin omen.

   He could understand Suffering of birth and old and cease and death occurred by cause Spiritual Darkness. This origin omen called twelve destinies because there are twelve type of origin omen in Sa-ha world.

After his understanding, he thought from Spiritual Darkness to power of eye again. Until 7 days, He awakened four noble truth and Eightfold Noble Path.  This training is for perishing cause of suffering that is also Spiritual Darkness.

Four Noble Truth means the truth of suffering and the truth of the origin of suffering and the truth of the extinction of suffering and last one is the truth of the path that leads to the extinction of suffering.

 This entire world is filled with suffering and then cause of suffering is earthly desire.　 Eightfold Noble Path is for extinction of suffering. If human beings train and practice Eightfold Noble Path, this person surely enters Nirvana.

Eightfold Noble Path are Noble understanding, Noble thinking, Noble language or word, Noble action, Noble life or activity, Noble effort, Noble memory, and last one is Noble attention.

Anyway, these training are for extinction of four suffering.  And then if this person train or practice Eightfold Noble Path, This person could get middle way called Chudoh the middle way means not prejudiced thinking.

I think you surely image this training is very difficult for us after listening these training.   However we as bodhisattva are doing already.   If we spend life as bodhisattva, we surely are doing already because bodhisattva will be able to do these training.  And then bodhisattva exists surely doing these training.

However there are many earthly desires in this Sa-ha world.  So we won’t be able to do in normal our daily activity.  Then actually sometimes we will fall down another world like the world of anger or animal. So we have to continue chant odaimoku for becoming pure mind and doing these training until your passing away.   Nichiren Shonin explains this to us:

     “If the mind is dirty, the soil is dirty.  If the mind is pure, the soil is pure.  Buddha’s pure land and this world illustrate this teaching.  - 衆生心汚,則土亦汚。心清則土亦清。云浄土, 云穢土, 土無二隔,只因我等心之有善悪。-”

     Our behavior makes cause and relation to fate and invents result.

     One thinking into our mind changes even the world.  Nichiren shonin says　that human desire exerted influence to three thousands world. Now please think about the world. There are many destroying nature and air pollution.   The news often reports the crisis of the world.

Now we should know that little the earthly desire is good enough. –小欲知足- .   Please think again that we continue training until our passing away.  We have to polish the mirror of our mind during our daily life.

  We always are thinking we want to it, we want to it although we are good enough.  We like to know good enough although it is few.  We can also get less than we want to it.  We should know we are full already.  Please think once more about around us.  We aware there are many lot things.  We never are in fix because we are good enough already.  We can change the environment of world and others if we like to considerate to the earth even in a little thing.  Our earthly desire will be able to get less than previous.  The global warming should be relieved, and then global environment should be changed too.  We never forget about North-east Japan disaster on 11th march in this year, and Fukushima prefecture the accident of a nuclear power plant.  All living beings will forever eternity together on the same earth. 

The eternal Buddha shakyamuni always is thinking how shall I cause all living beings to enter into the unsurpassed way and quickly become the Buddha?  Please think again why Buddha shakyamuni get enlightenment.  Shakyamuni Buddha likes to save the all-living beings from all of suffering. 

I hope your believing heart will become more strongly before conclude Thank you listening and sharing.