|
The Cleveland Buddhist Temple is honored to have Rev. Eric Matsumoto share his Dharma message on Thanksgiving with us. Rev. Eric was born and raised on a coffee farm in Kona, Hawaii. After graduating from University of Hawaii at Hilo he received The Crown Prince Akihito Scholarship including an audience with their Imperial Majesties in Tokyo, and graduated from Ryukoku University with a Master's Degree in Shin Buddhist Studies. He received Tokudo in 1988 and Kyoshi in 1991. Ministerial career spans from 1992 to the present including serving as the 16th Bishop of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii from March 2011-June 2023. His Dharma Name is Horaku or Dharma Pleasure.
Welcome to Cleveland Buddhist Temple Rev. Eric!
“Thank you” to Thanksgiving!
Reflecting upon this time of the year, it will soon be the time of the year which abounds with gatherings at which food plays a significant role such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, I would like to share a message about gratitude. Especially, with the Thanksgiving Holiday coming up, let me share an interesting story entitled “Thank you, Thanksgiving” by David Milgrim published by Scholastic. It is a story about a little girl who as she goes on an errand, along the way, says “thank you” to everyone and everything. For example, she says thank you to the boots that keep her feet warm, she says thank you to the music she hears playing, she says thank you to the pretty clouds in the sky, she says thank you to rabbits and ducks she passes along the way and so forth and lastly she thanks the Thanksgiving Holiday. You might think “Huh?” Yes, this little girl is expressing gratitude for the wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday that has brought her so much joy and happiness as she enjoys the warmth of family, the tasty food and all the things that have made the Thanksgiving Holiday possible including the Thanksgiving Holiday itself. And so, at the end of the story, she says “Thank you, Thanksgiving.”
Now, this may seem a bit strange, in that normally, we do not say thank you to a holiday or observance. However, when we deeply reflect what she is expressing is very appropriate. If it were not for the Thanksgiving Holiday, all that she enjoyed and treasured would not have happened and so as she says we should appreciate even the holiday itself which provides us with the opportunity to gather as family and friends to express our gratitude.
This story, then reminded me, of something that we emphasize in Buddhism as part of the “Four Kinds of Gratitude,” and that would be Gratitude to other sentient beings or more broadly, other life or all other existence. For it is due to other beings, both animate and inanimate, that we can live our life and do the things we do in our life. As Buddhists, for example, let us not forget to express gratitude or say “thank you” not only for the food, but also to the food. There is only one word that differs in these two expressions “Thank you for the food” versus “Thank you to the food,” but the meaning of the expression changes drastically (because of it) and that is what I would like to emphasize with this message. We commonly hear and use the expression “Thank you for the food,” but saying thank you to the food as “Thank you, plants and animals for your gift of life.” is not a common expression in English or America. This reflects our attitude or perspective towards food and eating.
In the Buddhist Tradition, gratitude is expressed both to the food and for the food. The two traditional Japanese expressions which beautifully express this, are the Japanese Words of Thanksgiving Before and After Meals which at its simplest is saying the words “Itadakimasu” before a meal and “Gochisosama Deshita” after a meal. At the end of a meal, we say “Gochisosama Deshita.” This expression, if you look at the Chinese characters used to write it, has the meaning of “running” and another part of the Chinese character has the Chinese character for horse. Thus, the image that comes to my mind is of our host or cook busily running around shopping gathering all the ingredients with a horse to prepare the meal which you have just enjoyed and thus the saying of “Gochisosama Deshita,” to me, acknowledges the generosity, the effort extended by our host and/or cook and others. On the other hand, the expression “Itadakimasu” at the beginning of the meal expresses appreciation to the food. The expression “Itadakimasu” can be translated as “I humbly and gratefully (even reverently) partake of this food” expressing gratitude to the food itself. It expresses my gratitude to the food by expressing my humbleness in receiving this food. I lower myself below the food before partaking of it to express my humility and gratitude. It expresses my awareness or understanding that this food that I am about to eat is not a given. It is something rare and very precious. It is another life.
Other life is supporting my life. It is my acknowledgement that because of the sacrifices of others, in this case, the plants and animals including the elements of Nature such as the sun, the rain, the soil and others, my life and my living are made possible. It is “arigatai” so precious and rare. Further, the attitude of “mottainai” which commonly manifest itself as the thought of “not wasting” also has the attitude of being “undeserving” (of this meal) and yet, here I am receiving it. My hope is that expressions or words such as “Itadakimasu,” “Mottainai,” “Arigatai,” “Gassho/Anjali” to name a few including “Namo Amida Butsu” will become a part of the English language as more people become aware of the deep meaning they contain enriching our lives.
Some people have mentioned that after hearing a message such as this, they feel guilty about eating. Please be assured that the intent of the message is not to make us feel guilty about eating. It aims at trying to bring about an awareness, an understanding, a realization, as to the preciousness of all life including the food we eat and just how grateful we ought to be and my gratitude does not end with only my personal appreciation, but this gratitude, then, manifests itself in our living our life not for only ourselves, but for the sake of others too.
To slowly conclude, please let me share our Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii “Words of Thanksgiving.” Before Meals we often recite We are truly grateful for this wonderful food, a gift of life. May we share its benefits with all beings. As we partake of this food, let us remember Amida Buddha’s compassion, which surrounds all people and all forms of life. Namo Amida Butsu. Itadakimasu (We gratefully receive). and After Meals, we may say We are truly grateful for the precious food we have received. May the wisdom and compassion of Amida Buddha so shine within our hearts that we are able to realize true harmony in our daily lives. Namo Amida Butsu. Gochisosama deshita (With Appreciation to all).
To conclude, for me, this is how the Buddhist teachings and perspectives can help us to live more meaningful lives. So, this Holiday Season and every day, but especially as we enjoy the Season and all that it offers us, I hope that it will be not only a happy and safe Holiday Season, but with a little bit of reflection guided by the Dharma, it will also be a very meaningful Season, one we can celebrate in awareness, joy and gratitude. Please have a good, safe, and meaningful Holiday Season!
Namo Amida Butsu / Entrusting in All-Inclusive Wisdom & All-Embracing Compassion.
In gassho,
Eric Matsumoto
|
