Ohigan – Vernal Equinox
Spring 2021
This is Ohigan Season., Ohigan refers to the Other Shore. We observe Ohigan twice a year, around the Spring Equinox and the Fall Equinox, the time of year when the weather is mild, and when the days and nights are equal in length…when the earth is in balance. It is a time to reflect and re-balance ourselves.
And there is an important story that goes with Ohigan; we call it the story of Two Rivers and the White Path. The Two Rivers refers to the River of Fire and the River of Water.
In this story, there is a man walking in the desert when he is suddenly chased by wild beasts who want to kill him and have him for dinner, so the man starts to run, then the wild beasts are joined by bandits who want to rob and beat him…. so he runs even faster. He runs and he runs - he is getting tired. Then he comes upon a river, actually, Two Rivers, the river is divided by a narrow White Path. On one side of the path is an endless River of Fire and on the other side of the path is an endless River of Water. It seems so dangerous.
The man is frozen, not sure what to do. He cannot go back, the bandits and beasts are trying to rob and beat him or to kill and eat him. But to go forward seem impossible, the River of Fire is so dangerous, and the River of Water is so dangerous. He is just frozen with fear and not knowing what to do. Then he hears a voice calling from the middle of the River, telling him to trust himself and cross on the narrow White Path. The bandits and beasts warn him not to do it, it is too dangerous and “you will surely fall into one of the Rivers”
But the voice from the middle of the River is calm and peaceful; the voice is gently encouraging him to walk on the narrow White Path. Slowly and with unsteady steps, the man starts to walk on the narrow White Path…. As he continues along, there is another voice, from the opposite shore, is calling out, “trust yourself and soon you will reach the Other Shore of safety”. With these assuring words, he continues and is soon across the Two Rivers and is on the Other Shore of Amida’s Pure Land. So ends the story.
Of course there are many symbols in this story….the wild beasts chasing him are his own selfish hungers, the bandits are the poisons of ego and selfish pleasures that are always tempting us. The River of Fire is a symbol of our own anger and greed, the River of Water is a symbol of our Ignorance. The narrow White Path is the symbol of the Nembutsu Path, the path that can carry us across to the Other Shore. The first voice is the voice of Shakyamuni Buddha showing us the way to Enlightenment. The second voice is the voice a Amida Buddha assuring us the safety of the Pure Land.
Each of us is that man frozen with fear and not knowing what to do. At various times in our lives, we come to a crisis. However, to me the real significance of this story is that the man does not become a monk or a nun as a disciple of the Buddha. Most Buddhist stories end with becoming a monk or a nun. In this story, the main person is just an ordinary person. Shinran saw the importance of this story and quoted it in his main writing, the Kyo-Gyo-Shin-Sho.
We cannot but appreciate the importance of ordinary people coming to Amida, reciting the Nembutsu, saying Namu Amida Butsu. This is the treasure of Shin Buddhism: ordinary people finding Awakening. Until Honen and Shinran, one had to be a monk or a nun to be even eligible to find Enlightenment. Shinran showed us that Path of the Nembutsu. To me, this is the key to Shin Buddhism. That is, ordinary people living ordinary lives and yet to be Embraced by Amida.
Namu Amida Butsu
In gassho,
Rev. Ron
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