Reflections on “Four Sights” and Heavy Mantles

Old photographs of family members scattered on a table.

As we step into April and prepare to share another Hanamatsuri together, remembering with gratitude the birth of Siddhartha Gautama the man (later known as Shakyamuni Buddha, or the historical Buddha), I invite you to look with me through the long lens of time. We are all, each of us, spiritual descendants of the historical Buddha, of Shinran Shonin, of Rennyo Shonin, and of so many others across the 2500 year expanse of Buddhist history.

Ancestors and descendants - both of blood and of spirit - are something I’ve actually thought a lot about over the last several months. 

At the age of 76, following a sudden and critical illness, my mother passed away in late September 2024. In the last YEARS of her life, she passed me the mantle of family historian. In the last DAYS of her life, she declared that I would be the one to keep the family together, to ensure we did not scatter to the wind with her passing. Not my father; not my older sibling; not any other family member. Me.

From an emotional standpoint, these are “heavy” mantles; not infrequently, they are uncomfortable and require effort. I confess there are times when I look around the proverbial room for an “adultier adult” better positioned for the role or task. My mother was wise, though; had she not passed these mantles to me, no one would have been willing to pick them up - and the unique legacy of my blood ancestors would be lost at the end of my lifetime. Imagine.

We are taught that Siddhartha Gautama was deeply impacted by encountering “Four Sights” (the inevitable realities of old age, sickness, and death, as well as an ascetic monk); together, they inspired him to trade his princely palace for life as a spiritual seeker.  I am a lifelong spiritual seeker, yet I now understand these Sights much more intimately; having witnessed my mother’s decline and death, they are no longer just abstract ideas - and I find myself reflecting more deeply on the dharma.

When I step back and think about our spiritual ancestors, the reality is much the same: someone must help carry the mantles or the unique legacy we have as Jodo Shinshu followers, as Buddhists in the West, will be lost. The difference with respect to spiritual mantles is that we have to be willing to pick them up ourselves.

Even after more than four years as one of VBT’s Minister’s Assistants, there are still times when I look around the proverbial room for an “adultier adult”. Like Shinran Shonin, I recognize myself as a bonbu - ordinary, foolish, and deluded - yet I also ask myself “If not me, then who?” on matters large and small. One small, concrete example: during the BCA‘s recent Eitaikyo Perpetual Memorial Service, as we were chanting the Amida Sutra in the hondo, the YouTube live stream cut out. Those of us in the hondo continued chanting - but only until we encountered the next leader line, when everyone paused. For an uncomfortable moment, there was silence; there was no Rev. Harada leading us from afar and no one sitting on the naijin as a clearly identified chosho (chanting leader) for us to follow. In that small moment - and seemingly of its own accord - I heard my own voice begin to chant the leader line; thankfully, sangha followed.

If we zoom out and reflect, how sad it would be if we had all, independently and jointly, neglected to step forward in the moment.  As our service book explains, the Amida Sutra recounts Shakyamuni Buddha addressing his disciples and first describing the Pure Land where Amida Buddha dwells; in it, Shakyamuni Buddha stresses that “all sentient beings who hear this teaching should aspire for birth in that Land” (p55). How sad it would be if we had let the recounting of that teaching be swallowed up into silence - and how grateful am I to have such an explicit reminder of that truth. 

May we each ask ourselves the fundamental question going forward: “If not me, then who?” May we each find our voices bubbling up, and our hands reaching out in service. May we, together, find ways to share the weight of our deeply important spiritual mantles - formal and informal, large and small. Namo Amida Butsu.

Four weeks before my mother would pass me that final mantle, I found myself incredibly moved and reinvigorated by Rev. Harada’s opening remarks regarding the “shoulders of our predecessors” and “shoulders for the future” at the BCA’s 125th Commemorative Service. I offer his remarks to you, below, in their entirety. 

“Today, we stand on the shoulders of our predecessors for the past 125 years, the countless ministers, lay leaders, and members who founded our Buddhist Churches of America, who built and grew our local churches, temples and sanghas, and who have carried us to this point in time. Today, we stand on the shoulders of Shinran Shonin, whose life and teachings of encountering Immeasurable Light and Immeasurable Life through the nembutsu, make the dharma accessible for anyone, of any background, of any ethnicity, of any gender or sexual orientation.

Today, we stand on the shoulders of great Buddhist masters, teachers and lay followers who transmitted the dharma literally on their backs, carrying the sutras and Buddhist texts from ancient India to China, to Korea, to Japan, and now to us - here in the West.

Today, we stand on the shoulders of Shakyamuni Buddha, and his disciples, and followers of his time, who began to turn the wheel of the dharma over 2500 years ago. We stand on the shoulders of giants - of untold sacrifice, dedication and deep faith. 

As we celebrate and honor our past, our 125 years of the BCA, the 800 years since the founding of Jodo Shinshu, and the 850 years since the birth of Shinran Shonin, may we challenge ourselves as we look to the future of our BCA, as we look to the future of our churches, temples and sanghas, as we look to the future of Shin Buddhism in the West. Now, it is our turn - to be the shoulders for the future. We must do our part - to listen to the dharma with our whole being, to receive the dharma with our hearts and minds, and to transmit the dharma until our bones are crushed - just as our predecessors and Shinran Shonin have done for the dharma to reach all of us. We cannot shy away from our task, or shirk our sense of responsibility. We cannot expect others to bear the weight on their shoulders; it must be our task, our challenge to do our part in this generation, to be the shoulders for the future.”

You may also listen to BCA Bishop, Rev. Marvin Harada’s remarks in his own voice on YouTube.