Excuse me, my English is not so very good, so if you don't mind I wrote down the text and I will read it to you, instead of telling it.
Thank you so much for the kind invitation and opportunity to participate at Zen River's First Nehan Sesshin.It already was a big honour to officiate Tenkei Roshi's Shinsanshiki Ceremony last September. Now I am very glad to be here again and to see that this Sangha is practising so well.
As I promised Tenkei-Sensei, today I would like to tell you a little bit of Maezumi Roshi and our mother's life. I guess some of the memories may enrich the understanding about Maezumi Roshi's background and the spring of the White Plum Lineage.
Some of you probably know the name Koshinji. It is our family home temple at Otawara, Toshige-Prefecture, in Japan. It's the place where we were born and raised in our early years. Although we were a big family and even though Maezumi Roshi was ten years older than me, I have fond memories of our childhood, together at Koshinji.
My mother, Yoshiko, was a little woman, even for Japanese standards and after her first son died with only four years, everybody was concerned about her. It happened that at that time, a little statue of Jizo Bodhisattva was found near the temple river. In honour of Jizo Bodhisattva's appearance, my father Baian Hakujun-Roshi, started at that place the building of a Jizo Bodhisattva temple. It's well known in Japan that Jizo Bodhisattva's powers are able to restore the disorder caused by the ‘Devils wind of transience'.
It is a common belief that the departed soul of a child, after death cross through the so-called ‘Sanzu-no-kawa', to meet his beloved ones at the river side. Together they play with the stones, building little Stupas, putting them together as if these were their father, mother, sister etc. But from time to time the Oni's (which means bad spirits) come and turn the Stupas upside down, so they have to rebuilt again and again. Jizo Bodhisattva's boundless compassion takes care of these children's souls and relieves people from their suffering. I really think the many prayers to Jizo Bodhisattva were answered: Koshinji Temple flourished and seven boys were born to my mother. Maezumi Roshi was the third boy and was called Hiro-chan in his childhood. As I said before, my brother was much older than me, so we did not really play together that much. He was like a senior for me.
One of my best memories of our childhood are our summer vacations, when Hiro-chan used to come back from his university studies in Tokyo. He liked very much to swim and so, we often took the step trail through the ‘Dragon Mountain' behind the temple, in order to reach the ‘Snake River' in the next valley. Together we enjoyed swimming in the fresh water stream, during those hot summer days. Unfortunately it happened later, that the son of his close friend drowned in this same river. Touched by the grief of his friend and his friend's wife, Maezumi-Roshi started carving a beautiful wooden statue of Jizo Bodhisattva, which he later gave to them.
During that occasion, he held a ceremony at their house. Still today, I can hear those prayers to Jizo Bodhisattva ‘On ka ka kabi sama e sowaka…' It made a big impression on me. It was the first time I could realize the meaning of ‘Sanzu-no-kawa', the river of transience.
Now, when I came here, I saw the same Jizo Bodhisattva statue in front of Zen River Dojo.
Really, how rapidly life swifts away! We always think: ‘oh, let's do this or that tomorrow'. But the day of tomorrow we never know. Our life is too precious to waste. So I'm very happy to see how earnestly you are practicing here together.
The following years of Maezumi-Roshi's life are more or less well known.
His training at Daihonzan Soji-ji, the head-temple of Soto-sect, and study under Koryu Roshi and Yasutani Hakuun Roshi, and his big trust in the Buddha-Dharma, later guided him to America where he first established the roots of the White Plum Sangha.
It was a time of hard and intensive work together with his Western students. Putting into practice all he had learned, and transmitted properly the Big Faith he had inherited from his parents during his childhood.
Today, we are sitting here together in homage of Shakyamuni Buddha's passing, which we call Nirvana, the state of no anger, no greed, no ignorance, the state of great peace. It is said that when feeling his last days were coming, at the age of 80 years, Shakyamuni Buddha decided to travel back to his birthplace, Lumbini, in the Kingdom of the Shakyas. Unfortunately, he could not reach his destination. He died on the way.
This was just to make a parallel with Maezumi Roshi's life, so now I will continue with his story. In the last years of his work in the US, he devoted all his time and energy to harmonize the Zen Sanghas and create a better dialog between the different groups. One of these big efforts was the organization of the great Sesshin in 1995 at San Francisco's Green Gulch Farm, where all the Zen leaders from the various Sanghas were invited. After the Sesshin was finished, he expressed his desire to travel to Japan. Every year Maezumi Roshi came to Japan, in cherry-blossom-season. We call it Sakura. It is symbol of the Japanese flower and mind. It comes up so nicely and very quickly, and then vanishes very quickly.
So also that year Maezumi Roshi came to Japan in Sakura-season, to pay homage to his deceased mother. At mother's day, he went to Otawara Kosshin-ji temple to pray and offer flowers at our mother's grave. He spent one hour to clean and polish it on that day. He stayed with our eldest brother, Kojun. Although it became late, Maezumi Roshi went back to our temple in Tokyo. I was surprised when I saw him, ten o'clock in the evening. And then we talked about the development of the Sanghas in America for a while. When I noticed Maezumi Roshi looked very tired, we ended the conversation around eleven o'clock, and he retired to his room. Then in the early morning, I went to his room to wake him up. But he could never answer me again.
I'd like to tell you one story.
April 8th is the birthday of Shakyamuni Buddha. On that day, coming April 8th, we will have an Opening Ceremony of our newly built temple Kirigaya-ji in Tokyo. And then we will have a play performed by a few actors and a pianist. This play will be about ‘Kamikaze'. I think you know about Kamikaze during the Second World War.
This is a true story of two young soldiers who had to fly as Kamikaze attackers.
Their flight date was decided. Just one day before, they heard that there was a primary school which had a grand piano. They run a long long way and begged the school teacher and said: ‘This is our last chance to play the piano. We will fly tomorrow. We will not be able to come back alive.' The 17 year young teacher had only one musical piece. That was ‘Moonlight Sonata', composed by Beethoven. The two young men played this and the children sang a beautiful Japanese song for them. But when they asked the kids what they would like to become in the future, all answered: ‘We want to become Kamikaze attackers, too'.
The two men replied: ‘Don't become soldiers. You should not die. We will go instead of you.'
They rushed back to the base camp of Kamikaze. And next day they left with a bomb for their one-way flight. Every Kamikaze-pilot made this movement with the wings as a last farewell (Hojo-san moves his arms in a wide gesture).
Six thousand Kamikaze pilots died like that.
Now. Please let's think of Peace and War.
It is so nice to see you all together here. Zen River is so new and already such a strong river.
When Maezumi Roshi was about 25 years old, he went to America. He studied and worked for several years, and then he bought a dentist house and changed it into a nice temple with a beautiful Japanese garden. Three years later I visited it for the first Ango and then met Tetsugen and Genpo Roshi for the first time.
With the Opening Ceremony Maezumi Roshi invited our parents, my father being the ‘honorable founder'. My father at that occasion donated a drum and a kesu (which is a big bell) which today still sounds through the temple so nicely. My father understood very well the beginning situation of Maezumi Roshi, and so he donated everything he had with him, just before going back to Japan. Then, in the airplane, he enjoyed music with a headphone, but then found out that this costed money. And he had just given everything to Maezumi Roshi. So my mother had to rescue him and pay instead. After that experience my father at every occasion told us: ‘never go away without some money in your pocket'.
Being a pioneer in America it might be that for Maezumi Roshi it was not always easy, and he needed all the support. But it turned out to be a wonderful place for so many people.
Now Tenkei and this Sangha is pioneering together in Holland, and I hope and think that this temple will grow up so nicely day by day.
Let's build it up together!
Thank you for listening to me.
