Sharing Certain Prescriptions for Uncertain Times

Editor’s note: John DiGilio, a Minister’s Assistant at the Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple, delivered the following Dharma message to the Sangha on Nov. 10 following the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5. The Wheel of Dharma is honored to reprint his Dharma message with his permission.

By John DiGilio

Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us on this sunny and somewhat serene Sunday morning. I use that word — serene — both with a small bit of irony and in an attempt at provocation.  

Unless one is literally living under a rock, there is no escaping the fact that we find ourselves once again in uncertain and unsettled times. The recent election in the United States has rent both our national conscience and our national dialogue. It has been almost a week since America cast its votes  and tempers and tensions are still running hot.  

It is as telling as it is troubling when what is supposed to be a day that celebrates and demonstrates our nationʻs commitment to democracy results in a spike in calls to crisis hotlines. The emotional toll is going to be felt for a long time to come and many worry that, as a people, we are beyond healing.

About Healing

While my intention is not to minimize the urgency and impact of what is currently happening, my talk — my “kanwa” — today is not about politics.  

It is about that healing that right now feels so far beyond our grasp. As Jodo Shinshu Buddhists, we are called to entrust ourselves to a compassion that is greater than anything humankind can muster in this samsaric world of suffering and illusion. 

Amida Buddhaʻs Compassion waits to embrace us regardless of who you voted for, what party you affiliate with, or whether you pay any attention to politics at all. It is just very hard to keep that in mind when you are being pulled in so many directions and bombarded by so much noise in todayʻs oversaturated world.

It is my hope that with this talk today, we can cut through that noise just a little bit and remember that the greatest act of resistance we can offer in the face of the tumult and suffering that currently surrounds us is living a life of gratitude.  

Now, I am not going to stand up here today and tell you that things are going to be all right with the world tomorrow, next month, or even next year.  

But I do want to share with you my sincere beliefs that together, we can make them a little better and that our Jodo Shinshu practice offers us some real means to do so.

Upheaval and chaos have always been part and parcel of human history and the human experience. From the earliest days of the evolution of our species, greed, anger, and ignorance — what we call the Three Poisons — have evolved right along with us and, with them, so thus have attachment and suffering. 

For example, we know from our Jodo Shinshu history lessons that Shinran Shonin himself lived during some incredibly dark and dangerous times. He developed his teachings during a period of significant upheaval between the Heian and Kamakura periods. This was a time of frightening brutality in both the secular and religious spheres. 

Shinran’s Example

Shinran not only witnessed the violence, but was caught up in the political intrigue of the times. He was actually lucky to be exiled when so many others were being executed for standing against authority. It is important that we understand this historical context because of the deep influence these turbulent times had on Shinran and the doctrines he expounded. Through his teachings, we find that even today, we, too, can navigate uncertain times.

So just how does Jodo Shinshu help us to deal with the anger, fear and tension that surround us? I am no expert, but like you, I am living through this. If I may, I would like to share with you all some of the lessons I have learned. They are not just coping methods for the moment, but prescriptions that I hope will carry all of us from this shore to the next over the course of our lives.  

Let me start by saying that it is absolutely OK to not be OK with what we have seen and experienced over these last few months and with the outcome of last weekʻs vote. If you are happy with the result, that is also OK. It is still hard to deny that our country is still raw and wounded from the experience. I think there are things we can all do to help alleviate some of that pain.

First, I believe we all need to make the time to listen to and reflect upon the Dharma. Self-reflection is an essential part of “deep listening,” or listening with the very whole of our being to apply the teachings to ourselves and the way we approach the world. It is a central practice for us in Jodo Shinshu and an excellent way for us to develop both a bit of humility when it comes to our own opinions and actions and an understanding of the opinions and actions of others.

Second, I invite you all to join me in focusing on the present moment.  While it is impossible — and probably unwise — to never think about the future and its uncertainties, we must not lose sight of the magnanimity of the here and now. We talk a lot about “causes and conditions” in Jodo Shinshu. Both are truly innumerable and infinite — so much so that it is almost impossible to fathom just how rare and special this gift of human life — with its ups and downs — really is.  

The gratitude we live becomes inconceivable when you consider the odds of us all being right here, right now. The best we can do to describe the awesomeness of it all is to say Namu Amida Butsu. Despite what is happening around us, we truly are fortunate to have these lives and this present time. 

Lean on Sangha

And third, allow yourself the comfort of leaning on your Sangha and — when you have the energy — take an active role in creating and sustaining this community that we all share. 

Sangha is one of the Three Treasures for a reason. Your Dharma family is here to provide you with support in even the most difficult of times. The interconnectedness that we share means that virtually nothing you or I experience is experienced alone. We may feel isolated at times and may even cut ourselves off from others when we are faced with struggles and hardships. But we do this to ourselves. The tears, the fears, the laughs and the loves in our lives are actually shared experiences. 

As much as coming together can help us truly celebrate something good, it can also help us navigate the bad times. Especially during times like these — when it seems like every day another shoe drops — the affirmation that we are in this together may feel trite and hollow.  

But when we lay bare the grief, anger and other emotions that cloud our perspective, all we have left is each other. I challenge each of you to be the reason that someone smiles or feels even a little less stressed tomorrow.

Difficult to Practice

Now, my advice may seem simple, and it may even sound naive, but I think you will find each of these suggestions difficult to practice. As we say time and time again, we are creatures of blind passions and desires. Not only do we cling to the things and outcomes that we hope for, but we also latch onto the notion that all is lost when we donʻt get them. Desire and despair are just sides of the same coin.  

After 20 years in Soto Zen Buddhism, John DiGilio embraced the Nembutsu at the Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple, finding solace in Amida Buddha's compassionate acceptance toward all beings regardless of their shortcomings and imperfections. With gratitude as his practice, he has a newfound patience for life's chaos and has traded in his solitary Zen practice for the embrace of a busy Dharma family.