Orange County Buddhist Church
Orange County Buddhist Church
A Way of Seeing (Buddha Day, 2006)
A while back, a fellow minister told me that a minister from Japan had criticized the content of the Golden Chain. Unfortunately, he did not press the critic as to his reasons for doing so. Giving it a long second look, there did not seem to be any reason for any criticism. Was it the use of the word, “love,” he found offensive? Was it the “taint” of self-power? Unless the guy steps forward, we will probably never know. On the other hand, it was better, or more realistic, when it had the word, “try,” in it, as in “I will try to be kind and gentle…”
Because I did not have a copy of our service book at hand, I did not have a copy of the Golden Chain. Googling “golden chain” gave me a bunch of hits on chains made of gold and an occasional hit on the Golden Chain, so I googled “Buddhist golden chain” and got what I needed. However, every hit I checked had the “old” version, the one with “try” in it. Going to the OCBC site did not work, because we do not have it posted there, and maybe we do not need it. I do not know who changed it for our service book, but it would be very interesting to know his rationale.
During the search, I came across a very interesting blog by a Peter Hata, whom I have never met, although I have seen his name somewhere. In any case, he wrote a page and a half-blog entitled, “Self-Help,” which he opens with, “Whenever I recite the Golden Chain during our Services, I have ambivalent feelings when I say the words ‘I will be kind and gentle to every living thing…’ Although I’d like to be that way, I know I am not, and feel like a hypocrite. To be such a person, I would have to possess compassion, to respect and want to help others, even those I might not like or agree with.” My first thought when I read these words was, Wow! If he really feels that way, he is half-way, at least, to understanding what Jodo Shinshu is all about. (And as I am writing this, I have just noticed that his Golden Chain does not have “try” in it. Maybe his temple’s service book does not have it either.) If you would like to read the whole thing, the URL is www.purifymind.com/SelfHelp.htm.
It is possible that the minister who criticized the Golden Chain had in mind this impossibility of ever realizing these words. If that is what he had in mind, I would have to agree with him; however, after reading Mr. Hata’s essay, I think he might agree that perhaps it can serve to make us think about whether we are capable of such high-minded goals. And if we are not, why not; if we are not, what can we do if Buddhist wisdom and compassion are important to us?
Gasshō,
Donkon Jaan
Rev. John Doami
