BUDDHA IS NOWHERE
In the lobby of the temple, just before one enters the Vista house of
Amida, there stands a lecturn and upon it are pamphlets available to
anyone who wishes to pick them up. On my first trip to the Vista temple
I looked at one of those pamphlets titled: Brief Introduction To
Buddhism. When I read the third page of the pamphlet I found myself
smiling and once again feeling the gratitude and admiration I had for
the Buddha. The paragraph reads:
"The Buddha constantly taught his disciples to accept nothing
on hearsay, tradition or dogma. No statement was to be accepted
because it had authority. Not even his own words were to be taken on
trust. He urged his followers to investigate all principles he
preached, and to test them out by every test of reason and by its
application to ordinary life.
Truly, there is faith in Buddhism but it is not a belief in divine
revelation. The Sanskrit word Shraddha means faith, but it is based on
an unfolding experience that is verifiable...
What confidence the Buddha had in the power of truth! But what is
truth? In our times most seem to believe that truth is a matter of
perspective--the way each of us sees his or her world. For example, what
is the title of this article? You think so? Look again. Some of you
first saw Buddha is no where, others saw Buddha is now here. Which is
true? A matter of perspective. One thing is sure though, the person who
sees both sees more of reality than the one who sees only one.
How each of us perceives the meanings of Buddhist teachings also
influences how much reality we are willing and able to see. For
instance, one can insist to one's self that the Pure Land is somewhere
else, or that the most recent Buddha lived 2,500 years ago and we are
not likely to see another in our lifetimes, or that the Path of Pure
Land to becoming a Buddha which Tannisho speaks of (section IV) is
beyond your possibility. And this is thereby made your reality.
But on the other hand, one may perceive the possibilities that the
Pure Land is available here and now, that you yourself (and all about
you) are indeed Buddhas, though to some extent hidden from yourselves,
and that realizing your Buddhahood is attainable through your dedication
to saying the Nembutsu, and through many other paths as well.
If you choose to limit your perspective and to believe that Amida and
the Pure Land are distant and unreachable, that is not because Amida
wishes it that way, but because you do. You would probably be better off
to recognize that you have made this choice, rather than to tell
yourself that you would like to experience a wider range of perspectives
but you are unworthy or unable. In the first case one is in charge, in
the second one is a victim...Stan M. Herman
