Good morning everyone.
The tax season is coming. So, last Wednesday, I went to visit my
tax accountant, before he gets too busy.
This is my 4th time to pay taxes in the
Last week, I introduced 2 handmade puppets. I cannot handle 2 puppets at the same
time. So, today I would like to
call upon Kanamochi to help me with my Dharma
message.
“Kanamochi, Kanamochi.
Where are you, Kanamochi? Hmm. Please everyone call his name with
me. Kanamochi. Kanamochi!”
“Who’s calling my
name?” “Oh, where are you Kanamochi?”
“I am here, but I
am busy…” “Oh, Are
you busy now?
“Yeah, I am really
busy.”
“What are you
doing? What do you have in your
right hand?”
“It is a
controller. Go! Go!” “Hmm… He is
playing something.”
“Kanamochi!” “Oh yes, yes. Hi, Rev. Kaz. How
are you today?”
“I…I’m fine. What were you doing?”
“Oh, I am playing
a video game on Nintendo Wii…”
“That is the
newest video game console, right?”
“Yes, it is. I like to play video games.”
“How often do you
play?”
“Hmm…
I usually play about 3 hours a day and on
weekends, I play about 5 hours a day.” “Do you play that much?”
“Yes, I do,
although my mom says I should study more.”
“Oh, that is no
good.”
“Why do you say no
good? I know that our Jodo Shinshu teachings
especially don’t say I should not play and only study. So, I am free to do whatever I want… Right?”
“Yes, it is. You can do anything really want to.”
“So, I am right.” “No… you forgot one more sentence.”
“What did I
forget?”
“You can do
anything you want whenever you can, but also you have to consider the results
of your actions.” “Why do I have to
consider the results of my actions?
What does that mean?”
“Well…
I will share my
story to explain it. When I was a
little boy, I had very good eyesight.
So, I did not need to wear glasses…
When I was 11 years old, my father bought a video game for me as a
Christmas present. I was really
pleased to play it. Sometimes, I
played it for 4 or 5 hours a day. Needless to say, my parents warned me
against gaming for such a long time.
But, I did not stop playing…
Soon after, I began losing my good eyesight… So, since I was 12 years old, I have had
to wear glasses… Without my
glasses, I cannot see anything…
That’s sad… If I listened to my parents’ advice, I
might not have lost my good eyesight…”
“Oh… that is why,
you are wearing glasses. I thought
the reason why you lost your good eyesight was because… you studied too much.”
“No, that is not
the reason. I just wanted to play video
games a lot. I did not consider the
result of too much video gaming…
So, as a result, I lost my good eyesight…
One of my childhood
dreams was to become a pilot… but now that can not be…”
“Oh, I know that
good eyesight is a requirement for becoming a pilot…”
“Yes, and so, I
lost one of dreams to become a pilot and fly by myself. But I am very happy to
be a minister now… In our Jodo Shinshu
Buddhism, we have no absolute rules that we must follow… like some other
religious traditions… But each
time, when we do something, we should really consider about the results of our
actions… That is really, the Jodo
Shinshu way…
Earlier, I said to you that it is no good
to play video games too much.
Because you, Kanamochi, you are not considering
anything except you want to have fun right now…”
“Yeah, I never
thought about losing my eye sight by playing video games too much...”
“Yes… It was a bitter experience for me to
lose my good eyesight.”
“Oh, I see, Rev. Kaz. I had
better quit video gaming…”
“No, you do not
have to quit. Maybe it is ok to
play a couple of hours a day. But I
cannot guarantee that you will always have good sight by playing only1 hour a
day. There are always results from our
actions… You should ask your mom or dad for their advice before you do things. They are always thinking about what is
best for you.”
“Ok, thank you for
your suggestion, Rev. Kaz”
“You are welcome, Kanamochi.”
“See you next
Sunday”
“See you.”
In Gassho
In Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, we have no absolute
rules to follow… as in some other religious traditions…
But each time,
when we do something, we should really consider the results of our actions on
ourselves and on others… That is
really, the Jodo Shinshu way.