Orange County Buddhist Church
Orange County Buddhist Church
As we enter the holiday season, many parents will be confronted by the wish lists of their children for presents. I don’t know what kids want these days, but I would imagine that the list would range from the latest video equipment to the newest video games and things of that nature. Maybe older kids want a new computer, or a new dvd player. Adults are the same. We want new toys as well. Golfers will want the latest driver that will get them twenty more yards on their tee shot. Maybe ladies would wish for diamond earrings or something of that nature. We all have things that we would like to put on our “wish list.”
Those wishes would fall in the domain of “small wishes” in life. There are many other “small wishes” that we have in our everyday life. We might wish for a new car. You could say that a car is so expensive that it should not be in the category of a “small wish”, but from the perspective of Buddhism, it is a small wish.
We might wish for something as big as a new house. That couldn’t be considered a “small wish” could it? A house costs at least $300,000 or $400,000 dollars. How could something that expensive be considered a “small wish”? A house too, falls in the domain of a small wish.
What about becoming something like Governor of California? That couldn’t be a small wish could it? To be the leader of a state that has an economy as large as most countries, surely a wish like that would be considered a “big wish.” But this wish too, must be considered a small wish.
What then, is considered a “big wish”? In the Larger Sutra, the main text of Shin Buddhism, Shakyamuni Buddha relates a profound story, a myth, about a truth seeker named Bodhisattva Dharmakara. Dharmakara makes a vow, expresses his deepest wish for his life. This wish is not for something like a new driver or even a new car. It is bigger than wishing for a new house or even becoming Governor of California. Dharmakara makes a two-fold wish for his life. His wish is to save all sentient beings from the world of suffering and delusion. It is the vow that all beings find true enlightenment in their life.
Dharmakara does not make this vow overnight. Dharmakara meditates on it, contemplates on it for five kalpas. A kalpa is a unit of measure in India. It refers to an enormously long period of time. A kalpa is the length of time it takes for a celestial maiden to wear down a rock that is a mile long, a mile tall, and a mile wide, by brushing her silken garment over it only once every three years. That is how long one kalpa is. Imagine how long five kalpas must be.
After five long kalpas of thought, Dharmakara makes his wish, his vow for his life.
When we reflect on the story, the myth of the Larger Sutra, we may find that something stirs within our own hearts and minds as well. To live with a deep, a big wish for your life is to live a most dynamic, fulfilling, and meaningful life. This is the kind of life that Dharmakara teaches us in the Larger Sutra.
We must ask ourselves if we are living with small wishes or big wishes of life?
Take for example, an occupation like nursing. Someone who works as a nurse could look at their work in two ways. It could be just a job, an occupation, that they do for a living. They do the work, get paid, and then enjoy the fruits of their labor in their paycheck.
Someone who works as a nurse like that, may put in their eight hour day and think, “How do they expect me to take care of all of these patients? The patient load is too high at this hospital. Doctors are too demanding. Patients don’t understand what we nurses have to go through. They don’t see all the other patients that I have to take care of. I’ll just put in my eight hour day and do as little as possible. It’s no use busting my tail for people who don’t appreciate my efforts.” This is a nurse that lives with a small wish in life.
A nurse with a big wish of life makes for themselves a vow, to care for all the sick of the world, to heal all who are in pain and suffering. A nurse who has a vow, a wish like that, may go to work and put in the same eight hours, but at the end of the day may think to themselves the following. “Is it quitting time already? Where did the day go? I didn’t have enough time to take care of more patients. There are so many patients who need the care and concern of a nurse. They are sick and in great pain. They need someone to ease their fears, to help them deal with their pain. I wish I had more time to take care of more patients.”
The same can be applied to a school teacher. A teacher with a small wish may think, “I only have to put in five more years and I can get my full retirement. I just want to take it easy and get by until then. It’s no use doing more than that. Besides, how can any teacher be expected to teach 35 students in one class? It’s ridiculous. The principal doesn’t back the teacher up, and parents are always making demands.”
A teacher with a big wish, may have a vow for themselves of instilling in their student a love for learning. Maybe a teacher has the vow, “I want all the children of the world to be able to read, and to gain knowledge from books.” Such a teacher may have a totally different kind of day at work. Instead of questioning the teacher-student ratio, they might wish to have more students in their class. Even problem children are not a problem, but are the source of their greatest challenge as a teacher.
A teacher with a small wish would think, “How can I get this kid out of my class”, but a teacher with a big wish would think, “How can I reach this child in only one year? I have to do something to turn this kid around in his life. I only have nine months to do it in.”
In the Larger Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha, through the wonderful teaching method of telling a story, relates the myth of Bodhisattva Dharmakara. Through this myth he shows us the difference between the small wishes and the big wishes of life.
To live with a big wish is to live a most dynamic, creative, meaningful life. To have a big wish for one’s life, is to find something tireless to do. When we discover our big wish of life, we work endlessly without tiring. No amount of criticism or complaint can hinder one. No matter how long it takes, no matter how hard the task may be, the person with the big wish of life works to fulfill, to complete their wish, their vow of life.
In the Sanbutsuge, which we often chant in our services, Dharmakara expresses his vow and determination in the last two lines that go as follows:
During this holiday season, may we find for ourselves, a deep wish for our life. More than any amount of small wishes in life, to have one big wish is the most important thing. One big wish will become the focus of your life. It will give your life unending meaning, untold joy and gratitude. It will enable you to endure any suffering, to face any obstacle.
Namuamidabutsu,
Rev. Marvin Harada
