Orange County Buddhist Church
Orange County Buddhist Church
Reflections on Progress
Tonight I conducted a funeral service for a woman who lived to the age of 101, and nearly 102. I couldn’t help but think about all that woman saw in her lifetime of 101 years. The year she was born, 1903, was the same year that the Wright Brothers flew the maiden flight of the historic Kitty Hawk. In her lifetime, man went from the fledgling flight of an airplane, just a matter of feet or yards, to airplanes, to jets, to rockets, to landing man on the moon, to sending spacecraft to Mars. She lived from the day of the horse and buggy to the Model T Ford, to the ’55 Chevy, to the Ford Mustang, to the Hybrid Toyota Prius. She lived from communicating by telegraph, to the earliest phones that you cranked, to the rotary phone, to the push button phone, to the cell phone. In her lifetime she washed clothes by hand, then used the earliest models of washing machines, to the automated ones that we have today. In terms of cooking, she lived from wood stoves to gas stoves to microwave ovens. It is almost unbelievable all of the technological advances in the 100 years of this woman’s life.
But in reflecting on the hundred plus years of her life, I wonder if man himself has made such progress? Besides our technological advancements, how far has mankind, humanity, progressed, in terms of being “human?” For example, although we have cell phones, faxes, internet and email, is man able to communicate with man on a heart to heart level any better than one hundred years ago? Is man better able to understand the heart of another person any better now than a hundred years ago? Can a husband and wife communicate and understand one another any better than one hundred years ago? Do parents and children communicate and understand each other better now than one hundred years ago? Is man better able to live in peace with one another any better now than one hundred years ago? Can countries get along any better now that a hundred years ago? Do world leaders communicate and understand each other better now than a hundred years ago?
I think it is easy to see, that despite all of our amazing technological advances, and believe me, I love them all just as much as anyone else….(after all I am writing this article on my computer at home, and will send it by email to the office to print tomorrow) ….that man has not progressed one iota in areas apart from technology. In areas that really matter, understanding one another, understanding oneself, living with a sense of humanity, that man has not progressed in a hundred years, or maybe even two hundred or three hundred. In some ways we might have even regressed since a hundred years ago.
So what can we do? Are we destined to regress in our humanity despite our progress in technology? I think the answer lies in Buddhism. Sutras that were written over 2,000 years ago, ancient and archaic in terms of modern technology, written on measly flattened leaves, have the answers for mankind, for humanity, in its ancient literature. We must go back to the religious thought of the ancient masters and teachers, to be able to go forward with our humanity. Shakyamuni Buddha, Shinran Shonin, Zen Master Dogen, or any number of great masters and patriarchs, all point to the inner life of man. Without seeing and understanding the inner life of man, no matter how much we advance in our technology, we will not be any happier, we will not have any more peace, nor will we find any more fulfillment in life.
That is why we come to the temple. That is why we study the Dharma. That is why we read books on Buddhism, to discover our inner, true self, to discover our inner humanity. This true self can be happy with a wood stove or a microwave. It can be happy riding a horse or an SUV. No matter what era, no matter what historical context, the person who lives the life of their true self is not bound to time, to history, or to culture. That is why Shakyamuni Buddha’s life and teachings can speak to me here today 2500 years after his passing. That is why Shinran’s Nembutsu teachings can resonate in my heart and mind over 700 years after his passing. That is why if I discover and live my true self, then I connect with humanity centuries from now.
Although we live in a high-tech society and world that advances faster than we can even keep up (I can’t even remember which version of Windows I have) we must remember that progress in technology alone will not lead to a better world. Ultimately, the world will only advance as far as the depth of its humanity.
Namuamidabutsu,
Rev. Marvin Harada
