Editor's Note - This is an excerpt from the April 2005 issue of the Buddhist Wheel

“I will try to think pure and
beautiful thoughts,
to say pure and beautiful words, and
and to do pure and beautiful deeds,
knowing that on what I do now depends
not only my happiness and unhappiness,
but also those of others.”
-Golden Chain of Love

One important teaching of the Buddha is the principle of karma. Just as a tiny seed grows into a plant and bears fruits, a person’s act, once performed, has consequence. That is the principle of karma. All people and all things in the universe exist with karmic influence.

Everyday we make choices to maintain good health, to make a living, and to enjoy family life. Each choice made, carries the hope for happiness for the maker and for others. We all seek to make good choices and avoid poor choices.

The Golden Chain of Love illustrates in plain language this intricate principle of karma. It simplifies the Eight-fold Path that Buddha taught as it powerfully encourages children to try to choose pure and beautiful thoughts, words and deeds, so that the result will be their happiness and that of others as well.

While I intellectually understood what the Golden Chain of Love taught, I was fully aware of its contradictions. Unintentionally, I’ve had impure thoughts, used harsh language, and performed irrational acts, causing pain and suffering to others and to me as well. And yet, in the words of the Golden Chain of Love, I hear Sakyamuni Buddha’s kind admonishment that I follow what the Golden Chain of Love teaches.

The Golden Chain of Love makes much sense to me when I become fully aware of my imperfect nature and gratefully acknowledge the power of Amida’s Primal Vow directed to such a person living under karmic influence. Embraced by the Vow, I can enjoy inner peace.

In Jodo Shin life, the sorrows of karmic existence and Amida’s compassionate vow are complementary. Because of the imperfect nature of human existence, Amida made his Universal Vow; because of the light of his compassion, the consequences of man’s choices, especially the unhappy ones, are revealed and accepted with understanding and awareness.

I learned this truth through a scary experience. Ever since I had heard about the Empire State Building being the tallest building in the world when I was in middle school in Hiroshima, I strongly wished to see it with my own eyes. So in 1990, I included it in our East Coast tour. My family and I were on the 86^th floor when, together with about 150 tourists, we were stuck for nearly three hours because of a fire on the 52^nd floor. Facing imminent danger of being engulfed with smoke and fire, my heart ached. How would I lead my family to safety? Why did I have to face this kind of danger? Why did I come to this place?

No answers came, except that everything had been my choice. Then, the words of the late Rev. Masao Hanada came to me: “Because I stumble, making mistakes as a result of my blind self-centeredness, the eyes of Amida Buddha are forever watching over me. These eyes of Amida that recognize my limited self in love and care are presented as the Vow of Immeasurable Light (the 12th vow of Amida) in the Larger Sutra.”

Reminded that my life was supported by the Vow of Immeasurable Light, I assured my family, “Don’t worry. I will take care of you. We will stay together.” Eventually we got down to the ground floor by elevator, grateful to reach safety. The choices we make often have the potential of disappointment and sorrow. For us, with choice and its consequence, comes a responsibility that we must also assume.

Thankfully, the Vow of Immeasurable Light protects and sustains us at all times. Awakening to this vow, let us aspire to make the right choices for the happiness and well being of all, as taught in the Golden Chain of Love.

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