Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist Church of Hawaii

RKLA will be hosting the Kasha Obon event this Saturday! The community event will be held at Rissho Kosei-Kai Buddhist Church, 2707 E. First St. in Los Angeles, CA from 12 noon to 2 p.m. https://www.rafu.com//kansha-obon-set-to-thank-sos-icf-su/

Online bon dance

Men's hoza hybrid meeting

More pictures from our Buddha's birthday service

Sunday service broadcasting on Zoom

"The teaching of impermanence (1)" The Three Seals of Dharma, impermanence, non-self, and nirvana or the Four Seals of Dharma, including suffering, are common t...o all kinds of Buddhism, whether Theravada, Mahayana, or Tibetan. They are the essence and center of the Buddha’s discourses. Here, the word seal means something never changed or altered. It means, therefore, reason, law, and truth. The sole purpose of the Buddha’s teachings is to end all human suffering. I am sure that it is fair enough for us to learn dependent co-arising, impermanence, suffering, non-self, and emptiness to do it. The people who know those four doctrines can extinguish the Four-Suffering-Eight-Suffering and attain peace of mind simultaneously. They become mentally and spiritually happy and secure, where they can cultivate their infinite potential, which is nothing but the ultimate merits of the Buddhist practice, liberation, nirvana, and Buddhahood. We must keep in mind that those merits are not just for particular discipliners or monks or nuns, but for ordinary people to realize the highest human happiness. The word truth means not a scientific one but for us to grow in character and become happy. The word impermanence reminds us of the phrase in Heike Monogatari, The sound of the bells of Gion Monastery echoes with the ever-changing nature of all things. The fading hues on the blossoms of the sala tree signify that all that flourishes must fade. The arrogant do not prevail for long, anything but a spring night’s dream. The mighty in time succumb, dust before the wind. It signifies the everlasting reason that all things are changeable and transient. Here, when we think of fading hues on the flowers or the might in time succumb, we do not even have to listen to the Buddha, as it is so understandable. I wonder that the Buddha, who attained the highest level of intelligence, would say something even a child can understand. The impermanence is the profound truth that only the Buddha realized before his time, which we must not forget. Under the law of dependent co-arising, anything that has arisen by the antecedent, specific causes would vanish when they vanish. It means that anything is unstable. It does not last ever. Instability and impermanence is the essential feature of all phenomena including our body and mind. Therefore, people should not attach to anything that is no substantial entity. Instead, they cannot do so. Such is the meaning of the Buddha’s precept of impermanence. Let me repeat the phrase which I quoted last time from The Teaching of Buddha by the Society of the Promotion of Buddhism: The body and mind consist of causes and effects, so the body has no definite and eternal entity. This body is the amalgam of causes and effects, so it is impermanent.Likewise, this mind has no entity. It is the amalgam of causes and effects, so it changes all the time. Also, Dhammapada expresses dependent co-arising as follows: Everything formed is impermanent. Everything created is suffering. All things are not what is not mine. Here, everything formed or everything created means what exists as the temporary amalgam of the various causes and conditions. So, they are all impermanent and unstable. Then, they are suffering because they are unsatisfactory to human beings. Impermanence and suffering go together all the time. Dhammapada further says: See the world as water foams. Do it as a heat haze. Those who see the world in this manner are the ones whom the king of death can find out. The world, including my body and mind, is emptiness or something like a heat haze. Those who regard it in such a way will be able to liberate themselves from samsara, endless rebirth of suffering, and attain nirvana and Buddhahood, where the king of death cannot find them. The conclusion of the Buddhist teaching of impermanence, suffering, non-self, and emptiness is that we should stay away from any attachment or unstained with selfish desires. While striving toward it, we can actualize infinite joy and freedom as the Buddha did some twenty-five thousand years ago. Here, I would like to emphasize that we should apply the discourses of impermanence, suffering, non-self, and emptiness not to the outside world but to our body and mind. The Buddha wants to say not that the world is impermanent or human life is suffering but that our body and mind are impermanent and suffering. Otherwise, we cannot extinguish our suffering. I am sure that it is not for what the Buddha hoped. The Buddha shows us not mundane happiness but unbreakable happiness, liberation from samsara, nirvana, and Buddhahood. He is ever teachings us as his children. Let us live a life on a different dimension, even if it seems to be the same as others live. Let us keep calm and joyful, even if others make a fuss about natural or human-made disasters.