A Microcosm of Life

Our day would be off to a wonderful beginning if, when we opened our eyes upon awaking, we felt inspired by gratitude to think, “Today again I am happy to be alive.”
A poem by the educator Yoshio Toi (1912?91)includes these lines “When I opened my eyes, I was alive Nay, I was caused to live.”

Our ability to keenly realize the wonder of our being “caused to live,” in the poem’s words, can be called a religious awakening. Shakyamuni, who recognized the absolute truth of the Law of Impermanence that permeates the universe, teaches us,
“Everything continues to change without stopping a moment for ever.”

Our bodies are the same. The human body is said to be composed of some sixty trillion cells, and no matter what we may be doing, those cells are constantly metabolizing.
With our bodies changing from one moment to the next, we are constantly decaying and being regenerated as our bodies continue from one day to the next.

We could even say that we truly come into being every day. Today and everyday is a precious day that we experience for the first time in our lives. It can be said that each day is a microcosm of a human being’s life, so the accumulation of all that we accomplish in a day is the equivalent to a life, and making the most of each day makes our lives full.

Making the most of each day does not mean that we must do something special, however. Such simple home tasks as cleaning house and washing clothes performed with dedication and sincerity can contribute to our leading a meaningful life.

Spiritual Rebirth

What we sense to be a good day is a day on which things turn out well, when our wishes are granted and our plans go smoothly. The opposite, a day on which others misunderstand us or our plans fail is a bad day. We only think a day is“ bad,” however, because we are looking at things from a relative perspective.

If we could view things using the yardstick of the Buddha which measures the absolute realm, there would be no“ good days” or“ bad days.” Even failures and bitter
experiences should not be considered worthless, because they are the source of the wisdom we can bring into play on a future occasion. Furthermore, judging with the Buddha’s yardstick, we can understand that human beings and stones by the side of the road all are of equal value in their existence.

Then, awaking to the fact that everything is a part of life, including failures and
hardship, that everything is a manifestation of the Life of the Buddha, we experience
a spiritual rebirth. In November we celebrate the birthday of the founder. Using the founder as a model, with a feeling of renewal every day let us strive to disseminate the Way with reborn determination.