Save the Date for the Nembutsu

I spoke at the Southern District Conference, which was hosted by the Buddhist Temple of San Diego on Oct. 19, and the theme of the conference was, “Save the Date for the Nembutsu.”  

To me, this excellent theme challenges us to reflect on the priorities and choices we make in life.  

Usually, we might send out a card or announcement to family and friends to “save the date” for a wedding, or a family reunion, or something of that nature.  We would never send a “save the date” notice saying, “Save the date. I am going to have a colonoscopy in December!”  

But what do we “save the date” for in our lives?  What priorities do we make? What choices do we make?

Shigaraki Sensei from Ryukoku University often spoke of the “Nembutsu of choice.” He said that we have to choose the Nembutsu, we have to choose truth over secular things because, although we need things like our jobs, our homes and money, they are only temporary and false, in comparison to the truth of the Nembutsu.

However, we place the emphasis and the priority on all of the secular things in life. We pursue them, thinking that they are the source of our ultimate happiness. We strive to make money, but if our entire happiness is dependent on money and if our money disappears, then our happiness disappears, too.

The same thing applies to our careers. We work hard. We give the company we serve maybe 30 or 40 years of our life. We might even become a manager in charge of hundreds or thousands of people. But what happens when you retire? Now you have no position or prestige. If your happiness was dependent on your position, then if you get laid off or retire, your happiness also disappears.

Even our relationships like our spouses are not the source of ultimate happiness and, sadly, are also temporary. Your marriage might fall apart, or, even if you are fortunate to meet the love of your life, someday you must part. If your loved one is your only source of happiness, then when they are gone, then your happiness is gone. 

It was in that context that Shigaraki Sensei encouraged us to make the choice of the Nembutsu and to make the Dharma a priority in our lives. If you choose the Nembutsu, if you “save the date” for the Nembutsu, and you make listening to the Dharma a priority in your life, then you will be rewarded by receiving the deep and profound truth of Namuamidabutsu in your life. 

It will make your life fulfilling, meaningful, joyous, grateful and reflective. It will enable you to face and not just endure, but to transcend the many challenges of life that we face. It might even give us the insight to see the challenges of life as a great teaching, which turns that challenge into something we would not trade for anything.  

That doesn’t mean we can never go golfing on a Sunday, or go on a cruise or a vacation. But it does mean that sometimes the Dharma must be a priority for you in your life and that you consciously make that choice. As you choose truth over the secular, the truth, the value of the Dharma begins to become clear, as does the temporary falseness of everything secular in this world.