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

The title of this article may seem a little strange, and might not appear suitable for life here in Hawaii. But while I look at the sparkling blue sky dazzling me here in Hilo, I sometimes feel the coming of a wintry cloud, approaching with a fearful sound.

So many of us are directly affected by the war in the Middle East, with loved ones serving in the military. All of us feel the stress and sadness of these uncertain times. Regretfully, mankind seems no closer to reaching peace, and still many thousands of people are suffering from war and violence. When I feel this suffering, the “rain cloud” of my intense anger seems to spread all over the sky.

I think that war is an absurdity. In all of this Amida Buddha seems to call us with the truth of the Nembutsu, Namo Amida Butsu. Through the Nembutsu, how should we look at the truth of human life? Is life to be lived to the fullest, or is life to be taken by war?

Governments praise soldiers for fighting and dying for their country. They are honored for making this “ultimate sacrifice”. But, in reality, no one wants to die in war, and no family wants to send their loved ones to die or be injured in war.

Though they put on a brave face when leaving for battle, soldiers are often weeping as they write good-bye letters to their families, and their loved ones weep as they read their last words. It is the sadness of human existence that humans should cry, and the tears of each of us become the tears of Buddha seeming to flow into our lives. Are not the tears that Amida Buddha asks each person to shed making each of us aware of how precious life is?

One would think that the endless succession of wars would somehow make us resist fighting any more, knowing that there are really no victories in the end, and that the long term pain which results would remind us of war’s futility.

I learned that when World War II began in Hawaii, the U.S Army occupied Hilo Betsuin Temple and made it their headquarters. From early 1942 until the end of the war in 1945, the U.S Army occupied the main temple building, the Japanese School building, the head minister’s residence and the whole property. Some of you will remember that painful experience which severely restricted the Japanese-American community from its Buddhist religious life. And, of course, will know of those who were interned, all of their possessions taken from them.

In Japan, some residents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki continue to suffer terribly from the bomb blasts which destroyed their cities. The wounds of war in Korea are still felt by Americans as well as Koreans. The pain of the Vietnam conflict continues to profoundly affect veterans and citizens of both of our countries. Soon we will become more aware of the lasting effects of war on our own soldiers as they return wounded in body and spirit from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But do not forget the enormous destruction and loss that people in those countries have suffered. Not only families in Hawaii have shed endless tears, but many in other countries, as well.

As we think of the misery of war again we must cherish the experiences of the tears of all who suffer. Through this history of our community in Hilo Betsuin, the cold sky and the blue sky is the Dharma.

And I think that we should not forget that there is wisdom that comes to us from the numerous Buddhas. Unless we are peaceful, we cannot save others. Peace begins with us. We exist because others exist. We exist together with the world. We exist to live with others. So, our joy and sorrows appear in our relationships with them. This living interdependently with others is Jodo. That’s why Jodo is not an ideal world or Utopia. It is to live with absolute truth as human beings. Namo Amida Butsu.

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