Bishop’s Corner: ‘From the Mud, the Lotus Flower Blooms’
Bishop Toshiyuki Umitani
September 2024 Ka Leo Kāhea newsletter
Osono lived in Mikawa (present-day Aichi Prefecture) from 1777 to 1853. She got married at a young age and had two children, but unfortunately, both passed away early.
This led her to seriously engage with the teachings of the Nembutsu. She eagerly took part in her monthly visits to Ryusenji Temple, her home temple, deepening her spirituality.
One day, Osono visited the neighboring temple, Fugenji, to listen to the Dharma Message of Rev. Zenkei Nishiwaki. During the conversation, Rev. Nishiwaki asked Osono, “I have been to the area where you live and it didn’t seem that Buddhism was thriving, but when I saw people like you, Buddhism seems to be thriving in your area these days.”
Then Osono replied, “I am not sure about others, but in my case, yes, it’s been thriving, thriving a lot.”
Rev. Nishiwaki asked, “What does the prosperity of one person look like?”
Osono said, “Well, from morning to night, all the time, all kinds of thoughts arise in my mind, such as ʻI have this,’ ʻI don’t have that,’ ʻI have enough,’ ʻI don’t have enough,’ ʻI like this,’ ʻI don’t like that’ . . . the three poisons and five sensual desires are thriving!”
Rev. Nishiwaki replied, “Is that not the prosperity of the Buddha-Dharma, but the prosperity of your bonno (blind passions)?”
Osono smiled, placed her hand on her chest, and said, “Indeed. That is all I have.”
As Osono mentioned, we burn the fire of blind passions all the time, consciously or unconsciously. The term “bonno,” or blind passion, comes from the Sanskrit klesha, but the literal meaning of this Japanese rendition, bonno, is “that which agitates mind and body.”
Buddhism teaches us that this agitation of mind and body is the source of turmoil in our lives.
Jodo Shinshu Buddhism is not about getting rid of a disturbing state of agitation, purifying our hearts and minds, and becoming a special person. It is about listening and entrusting to the universal voice of wisdom and compassion, the main target of which is those who are consumed by anger, hate and self-centeredness.
Shinran Shonin taught us that this universal voice of wisdom and compassion, as “Namo Amida Butsu” pursues us, continues to call us and nurtures us so that we can bloom a beautiful flower of awakening out of the mud of our own blind passions.
In his major work, “Kyogyoshinsho,” Shinran Shonin quoted the following passage from the Vimalakirti Sutra:
“The lotus does not grow in the solid ground of lofty plateaus, but in the muddy ponds of the lowland marshes.”
This is an analogy meaning that we live in the mud of blind passions, but awakened and guided by Amida Buddha, we are able to put forth the blossoms of the Buddha’s perfect enlightenment in our daily lives. Through our blind passions, we come to awaken to and appreciate the working of great compassion.
In other words, what we experience in our daily lives, our feelings of agitation, frustration and insecurity, is actually a “practice hall” for us to ascertain the truth of the Dharma.
While Osono felt shame and self-reproach for her “thriving” blind passions, she also experienced that the compassionate embrace of Amida Buddha was simultaneously “thriving” within her heart and mind, giving her a sense of joy, gratitude and comfort.
In the very midst of these agitations, the awakening to a new and bright life, the blossoming of lotus flowers, occurs.