Two Kinds of Faith
Okyobi Sermon, September, 2004
Reverend Shogu Kimura
Today there are people who have faith in the Lotus Sutra. The belief of some is like a fire while that of others is like water. When the former listen to the teachings, their passion flares up like fire, but when by themselves, they are inclined to discard their faith. To have faith like water means to believe continuously without ever regressing. Since you pay frequent visits to me regardless of the difficulties, your belief is comparable to flowing water.
Today, on this occasion of the Okyo-bi Ceremony for September, I have sincerely recited the sutras and chanted Daimoku together with you. I have also offered my heartfelt prayers for the peaceful repose of all the deceased individuals for whom you have requested a memorial. Moreover, I have sincerely prayed for you to eliminate your sins and negative karma from this and past lifetimes; for you to redouble your faith; for you to enjoy a safe and long life; for peace and harmony to reign in your home; and for the ultimate continuation of the Law. I have also prayed for the further advancement of the Myoshin-ji Chapter of the Hokkeko.
Some of you may be familiar with the Gosho passage for this month. In it, the Daishonin described “faith like fire” and “faith like water.”
“Faith like fire” describes the faith and practice of a person who chants sincere Daimoku, comes to worship at the temple, attends the local discussion meetings, and assiduously performs shakubuku – when he makes his initial determination. However, he maintains his conduct only when he makes his determination. When circumstances become inconvenient for him; when he becomes busy at work; or when he makes some other excuse not to visit the temple, he completely neglects his practice and grows distant from the temple and from faith. Immediately after he listens to a sermon or to a fellow believer’s experience, he is touched by the preciousness of faith and feels grateful that he is fortunate enough to have embraced it; he determines to practice assiduously, as though a tremendous flame is ignited in his heart. However, when he leaves the location and as time passes, his determination wanes and disappears. In the end, he blames the temple or his fellow believers for his lack of faith and begins to grumble and complain.
If a person does not come to worship at the temple and does not attend Hokkeko functions and meetings for a while, even if he does not possess a volatile, hot-tempered personality, he would gradually grow distant from faith, would no longer care about his practice, and would ultimately discard his faith. Under such conditions, the individual loses his capacity to find value in faith itself.
In short, “faith like fire” signifies an attitude in faith that is based upon emotions and feelings. It is an unreliable attitude in our great objective of attaining enlightenment in this lifetime.
We must understand that, even if our practice is not characterized by “faith like fire,” if we distance ourselves from the positive bonds of True Buddhism, we will eventually slacken and abandon our faith. Therefore, we must put assiduously put forth our efforts in our daily faith and practice.
Conversely, “faith like water” exemplifies the practice of a person who never misses performing gongyo and Daimoku. He visits the temple every month, without fail, and he perseveres in his practice, as he and his fellow believers in his district encourage one another. An individual who possesses “faith like water” is able to handle all adversities in his life through his strong faith and practice and, furthermore, he is able to assiduously advance forth in his faith.
Needless to say, “faith like water” is the superior attitude in faith.
In our daily lives, we absolutely cannot survive without water. Seventy percent of the human body is composed of water. Even now, as you sit here, water is ever-present around you. Water is truly indispensable in our faith and in our daily lives.
Water consists of oxygen and hydrogen. These two elements combine to produce a drop of water. There is not much power in a single drop of water. However, when combined with other single drops of water, it can possess enough power to bore holes in rocks. The same is true in faith. An individual person upholding faith cannot protect the Law by himself, and he is unable to promote his own development. Furthermore, he cannot attain the life condition of enlightenment, based solely on his own power. However, when many fellow believers congregate together at the temple, chant Daimoku together, and persevere in their shakubuku efforts, they will create a tremendous force that will enable them to never regress, regardless of what adversities they may encounter. As a result, they will uphold unshakable faith.
A tiny brook or a large river, regardless of size, contains water that is never stationary. Even the smallest stream always advances forth, flowing towards the ocean. It never ceases to flow, and it certainly does not flow in a reverse direction. We must apply this characteristic possessed by water to improve upon our own faith.
The fundamental form of faith that we must uphold is to believe in the Gohonzon and to embrace the Mystic Law. We must convince ourselves that we must constantly persevere in our faith and practice. Doing so will enable us to establish faith like flowing water, never regressing.
In this way, faith like flowing water is cultivated through the repeated, daily efforts in faith. It is essential for us, in our faith, to constantly advance forth in our faith and practice, as we aim to achieve our great objectives of enlightenment and kosenrufu.
Your faith need not be fast-paced like the whitewater rapids, and it need not be deep and wide like the major rivers. Even if the individual “flows” representing the Hokkeko believers are “little streams,” the faith that flows forth, based on the constant spirit of different bodies but one mind of all the Hokkeko believers, will tremendously promote forth kosenrufu without fail.
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of Myoshin-ji Temple. Moreover, in 2009, we will celebrate the 750th anniversary of the revelation of the truth through the writing of the Rissho ankoku ron. We may encounter situations that will test us to see whether or not we are upholding faith that truly reflects our readiness to welcome this great juncture in our lives. Moreover, the stronger our commitment and practice to propagate the great Law the stronger the opposition forces of obstacles we will encounter. If we slacken even slightly, we will weaken or slacken in our faith, and we may even harbor some doubts. We must constantly uphold strong faith and practice towards the Gohonzon. We must maintain faith that is unshakable and unchanging, as we advance forth ever more vigorously.
My sermon today focused on “faith like water” and “faith like fire.” I would like to close my address to you on this occasion of the Okyo-bi Ceremony, by sincerely praying for all of you to redouble your faith, for each of the areas to propagate forth True Buddhism, and for the prosperity and development of our Myoshin-ji Chapter. I ask you all to drive safely as you return to your homes. I sincerely appreciate the efforts that you have made to come such long distances to attend this ceremony.