Editor’s note: The following article is adapted from Rev. Muneto’s message at the Mayor’s Breakfast Fellowship on May 1, 2003, at the Hawaii Naniloa Resort. This year’s theme was "Freedom is Why We Are Here." Rev. Muneto shared his thoughts on freedom with three other clergy from Hilo’s religious communities. This is also an excerpt from the June 2003 issue of the Buddhist Wheel

Freedom is a gift that our forefathers fought for and left for us. Thanks to this gift, we are able to share our religious perspectives on freedom at this year’s Mayor’s Breakfast Fellowship. Let me share mine.

Buddhism is primarily concerned with spiritual freedom from the self-centered delusive forces that affect our daily lives. Personal freedom is thereby restricted by circumstances caused by those forces. Every act is linked to what has happened before. Ultimate freedom from this condition has been guaranteed by the enlightened mind of the Amida Buddha, whose Vow was made on behalf of all beings. Awakening to this compassionate vow assures every being a kind of peace within the limited circumstances of earthly life.

Here in the United States, another kind of freedom is realized when everyone is assured of the protection of the First Amendment of the Constitution.

I have personally experienced that protection; in particular, personal freedom in religious practices, which led to my awareness of the spiritual freedom that Buddhism provides and the First Amendment guarantees as well.

In the spring of 1972, the United State Air Force was escalating its bombing over Vietnam and Cambodia. A group of young local Buddhists and I organized a Buddhist anti-Vietnam War demonstration at the Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu. After study and discussion about the Vietnam conflict, we decided to express to the public and to the government, our feelings against the war. We were also concerned for the Buddhist priests and nuns who were jailed as well as for the countless victims of the war. I was not acting as a Hongwanji minister but as a concerned human being.
When the morning paper publicized our demonstration, some members of the Hongwanji community complained to the Bishop of Honpa Hongwanji.
Some said, "The Buddhist minister from Japan is not supposed to demonstrate against the Vietnam War. Ship him back to Japan." At that time I was still an alien.
Several liberal ministers and lay members supported my group, but the majority of the temple members objected to the demonstration.

As a young minister, I feared the negative reactions of the temple membership. I discussed the situation with others in my group, evaluating my own thinking and beliefs, using Buddhist texts and research materials as references. Sustained by the universal compassionate vow of Amida Buddha, I became less worried about the negative views. After discussing the situation, the group’s decision was to go to the Hickam Air Force Base to distribute flyers appealing for a cease-fire.

After the demonstration, we continued to talk to the temple members to explain the demonstration. They ultimately understood our stance.

A while later, I received a phone call from an army officer whom I had met in a Dale Carnegie Course.

He said, "Tatsuo, I heard that you guys went to Hickam for an anti-Vietnam War demonstration." "Yes, sir. Just to express our religious sentiment," I replied. Then, the officer said, "Tatsuo, I think you are lucky to be in America."

Right away I understood what he was referring to. Yes, he was referring to the First Amendment that guaranteed my freedom of religion, speech, and assembly. Ever since this incident, I began to appreciate the First Amendment as a gift of freedom. To show my appreciation to the Buddhist heritage and to the American Constitution, 38 years after arriving in the United States, I became a citizen of the United States. Namu-amida-butsu

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