The Seed of the Buddha

This year, as we celebrated the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Buddhist Churches of America, we have had many opportunities to reflect upon the dedication and courage of our Dharma ancestors who worked tirelessly to carry forward the Nembutsu teaching for our benefit.  

One of my personal Nembutsu heroes is Rev. Daisho Tana, who served the Berkeley Buddhist Temple, Lompoc Buddhist Church, Palo Alto Buddhist Temple, San Mateo Buddhist Temple, the BCA Sunday School Department and the Marysville Buddhist Church over a period of three decades from 1928 to 1959.  

Throughout World War II, Rev. Tana kept a detailed journal of his experiences and reflections as a prisoner in the U.S. Department of Justice incarceration camps in Santa Fe and Lordsburg, New Mexico.

Dec. 7, 1941, was a Sunday, and Tana Sensei received news of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor as he arrived in San Luis Obispo from Lompoc for a Young Buddhist Association Bodhi Day event celebrating the day that Sakyamuni Buddha attained awakening seated in the shelter of the Bodhi Tree. That evening, he gave a Dharma talk for the Bodhi Day service, in which he said: 

“As Buddhists, when we recall the land of our ancestors far to the west, more than longing to return to Japan, we aspire to return to the Pure Land in Western Quarter and day-by-day as if dwelling in the company of the Tathagata seated on the diamond seat, we endeavor to abide in the true diamond-like mind.”

— “Santa Fe Lordsburg senji tekikokujin yokuryūjo nikki,” Volume I, p. 2, Trans. H. Adams)

Like so many leaders of the Japanese American community at the start of the war, despite the fact that extensive investigation of his home and activities yielded no proof of unlawful activity, he was separated from his family and taken into custody on March 14, 1942.  

He was initially held at an old Civilian Conservation Corps camp in Tuna Canyon on the edge of the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles.  

On March 26, the Tuna Canyon detainees were transferred to Santa Fe, New Mexico. After traveling by train for 25 hours, mostly through the desert, they found themselves in a much less hospitable climate than the Southern California coast where they had been living.  

The cold desert nights at the Santa Fe camp reminded Tana Sensei of early spring in Hokkaido where he grew up. The overwhelming impression I received from the early days of Tana Sensei’s memoir of the war years was one of uncertainty and continually facing unexpected change. 

In the midst of all this chaos, Tana Sensei describes how he found comfort and peace of mind in the teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha. Buddhist ministers from all over the country were assembled at the Santa Fe camp, so their lives remained grounded in the Buddha-Dharma as they faced those adverse circumstances.  

In a journal entry for April 8, 1942, Tana Sensei recorded the following reflection on the Hanamatsuri service they held 11 days after arriving at the U.S. Department of Justice internment camp in Santa Fe: 

“Today we celebrate Sakyamuni’s Buddha’s Birthday. At 7:00 p.m. we will conduct the Hanamatsuri service in the camp dining hall.

“War between Japan and the United States has given rise to the causes and conditions by which Buddhists from the West Coast have brought the Buddha to this place where we celebrate his appearance in this world against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains. I am deeply moved when I consider the Buddha’s prediction that his teachings would continually spread Eastward.

“From this day forward, there is no telling where we will find ourselves and how long we will stay there. At the moment, there are 630 of us here.  When I consider the possibility that in the future as many as 1,500 Japanese may be interned here, with roughly half of the internees being Buddhist, I am reminded that the Buddha showed us that the Dharma is taught according to the circumstance of the times. Therefore, I have asked my wife to work on sending us Buddhist items. After all the Japanese have left the Pacific Coast, our temples may be abandoned, but the seed of the Buddha, once planted, will be carried by the winds of war, eastward across the American continent so that the Dharma Lotus will blossom in this land.”

– “Santa Fe Lordsburg senji tekikokujin yokuryūjo nikki,” Vol. I , p. 136, Trans. H. Adams

As we celebrate the enlightenment of Sakyamuni Buddha this month on Dec. 8, let us reflect on how our own lives have been transformed by the awakening the Buddha brought into our world. Guided by the wisdom and compassion of his teachings, may we find the courage and inspiration to live with peace of mind amidst the challenges of our lives.

Namo Amida Butsu