Orange County Buddhist Church
Orange County Buddhist Church
A Way of Seeing (The Reverend Ohata)
The world of dew
Is the world of dew;
And yet, and yet.
- Kobayashi Issa
A good friend of ours died last week. We knew him for at least 40 years. He introduced me to things Japan, including karate, of which he was a third or fourth degree black belt. Unfortunately, I never fulfilled either his or my hopes for my own black belt.
His death came as quite a shock, since he had just retired a few months ago and he was only a year or so older than I. And, not that it took a lot, he looked a whole lot better than I.
He was very concerned about the future of the Buddhist Churches of America and, by extension, that of Jodo Shinshu here in America. If he had had a firmer grasp of English, he would surely have given voice to those concerns more often and more vocally.
A couple years ago, he invited me to speak at his temple; he wanted me to speak in both English and Japanese. I told him my command of Japanese, especially with regard to giving a Dharma-talk, was quite poor, but he said to give it a try anyway. I did. He told me after the service that I was right! Ha! Subtlety was not one of his gifts, at least not with me. But honest. Yes. A very good man.
He will be missed.
Gasshō,
Donkon Jaan
Rev. John Doami
