Orange County Buddhist Church

93,000,000 Miles from the Sun

    One of our favorite television shows is the very popular show, “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire”.  I recall that on one show, the question for a million dollars, was, “How far is the earth from the sun?”  I can’t remember all of the choices exactly, but I think that three of them were a) 930,000 miles b) 9,300,000 miles or c) 93,000,000 miles.  I didn’t know the correct answer, but my son did.  He was cheering for the contestant to pick 93,000,000 miles.  Sure enough, the correct answer was 93,000,000 miles, and the contestant won one million dollars.  Ever since I saw that show, that answer sort of stuck with me.

    In college, one of my favorite courses was astronomy, and I found it to be a fascinating subject.  The dimensions of space are mind boggling.  Stars that are not millions of miles away, but millions of light years away.  If light travels at 186,000 miles per second, a light year is how far light travels in a year’s time, which is approximately 6 trillion miles.  There are stars and galaxies millions of light years away from us.  I found such things quite amazing.

    Remember how the movie “Star Wars” began?  I think it was something like, “In a galaxy long ago...”.  I found out that a galaxy is a group of millions of stars that revolve around a common center.  Our galaxy is the Milky Way, and it consists of millions of stars.  Our sun and its solar system is one of those millions of stars. 

    It is thought that in the universe, there are over 50 billion galaxies.  Our Milky Way is just one of 50 billion galaxies.

    Sometimes for a sermon, I play a game with the Dharma School children, and I have them name something, anything, and I try to relate that to Buddhism.  They come up with all kinds of things.  One Sunday, a very bright little six year old boy who sits in the front pew said the word, “planet”.  I thought it unusual that he would say that, so I asked him, “Do you know how many planets there are?”  Without a moment’s hesitation, he answered, “Nine”.  I had to ask the Sangha if he was correct, because I myself didn’t know for sure.    There are nine planets in our solar system.  Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. 

    My response to his answer was, “You know, Michael, there are billions of stars, and billions of planets in the universe, but we live on this one planet, earth.  On this planet earth, there are billions of people, but you know what Michael?  There is only one you.  Isn’t that amazing?!”

    In our services, we read the Three Treasures, which begins, “Hard is it to be born into human life, now we are living it.”

    Normally, we think of this to mean that without our parents, grandparents, generations and generations of people in our past, we would not be born into this world, we would not have human life.  This is all true, and I have often talked about that aspect of this passage.  But in reflecting on this passage in terms of the earth and the universe, equally amazing is that we live on a planet that inhabits life.

    Out of billions of galaxies, we happen to be in the Milky Way.  Out of millions of stars in our galaxy, we happen to be on a planet that revolves around one particular star.  This star, our sun, has nine planets.  Of those planets, the only planet to sustain life is the earth.   

How amazing it is that we are exactly 93,000,000 miles from the sun.  I would imagine that if we were 92 million miles from the sun, it would be too close and too hot to sustain life on earth.  On the other hand, if we were 94 million miles from the sun, we would be too far, and it would be too cold to sustain life.

    Exactly 93,000,000 miles from the sun.  And on this one particular planet, that is revolving around one particular star, within one particular galaxy, there are billions of people living.  However, among the billions of people and billions of other beings, plants and animals and insects, there is only one you. 

    Out of eons of time, in a vast and expansive universe, you now have this life, this one, unique life.  There is no one like you within this vast universe. 

    What will be this life of yours, that appears once within the astronomical dimensions of time and space?  How will we live this one life that we have? 

    Our life may be a brief, 70, 80, or 90 years that we will have on this earth, within this great universe.  But there is an essence of life, a truth of life that is timeless, that touches all of eternity.  In Shin Buddhism, this is expressed as immeasurable life (muryoju).  When I live my true and sincere life, I touch immeasurable life.  My physical life has its limits, but when my life touches the truth of the Dharma, it becomes immeasurable. 

    Shakyamuni Buddha lived over 2500 years ago, but yet his words, thoughts, and way of life of the Dharma continues to inspire and guide Buddhists throughout the world.  Shinran Shonin lived over 700 years ago, but the essence of his life continues to lead Nembutsu followers throughout the world.

    We have but one life within this vast universe, within great eons of time.  But when our life touches the truth of the Dharma, the truth of Namuamidabutsu, our life touches all of eternity. 

    A life that touches all of eternity is bright and radiant.  It radiates a light that travels faster than the speed of light, that is brighter than the brightest star.  The light of the sun travels 93,000,000 miles, but there is one place where that light cannot reach.  It cannot reach the darkness of my heart. 

    The light of the Dharma is a light that is unobstructed, unhindered.  It reaches into the darkest corner of my heart and mind, illuminating my life. 

    We have this one life on this one earth, that is exactly 93,000,000 miles from the sun.  While we have this one life, on this one planet, may we awaken to the great immeasurable light and life that is Namu-amidabutsu.

Namuamidabutsu,
Rev. Marvin Harada