Namo Amida Butsu
It is already December 2025; time truly flies! As I look back over the past 11 months, I remember many moments: happy times, times I felt frustrated over small things, times of loud laughter, and times of sadness. When we reflect on these experiences with a heart of “thankful, thanks to others,” isn’t that truly wonderful?
As the Buddha teaches, “All things change.” Not only the world around us, but we ourselves continue to change, our health, age, preferences, and daily habits evolve moment by moment.
Each month I visit the nursing homes in Wailuku and Kahului, where the residents always greet me with smiles and gratitude. I often think of Mrs. Shizuko Mori, who passed away in March of this year. Born in Kumamoto, Japan, and raised in a devoted Jodo Shinshu family, she found deep comfort in the Nembutsu teachings.
Whenever I visited her, she would immediately place her hands in gassho and say, “Thank you, Sensei, for visiting.” She often shared, “Sensei, I am so lucky. Since I became ill, so many people have come to see me and encourage me.” She would smile and say, “Every morning when I wake up, my eyes can still see my room. My hands and body still move. I am grateful; so grateful.” Even after she fell and broke her hip she told me, “Sensei, I’m lucky. I only have these injuries. I am still alive.” Her words always touched my heart.
Although Mrs. Mori has entered the Pure Land, I continue to remember her grateful spirit each time I visit the nursing home.
As we reflect on the past 11 months, we may recall sadness or hardship. But were we able to live each day with even a little gratitude? Our lives are precious gifts from our parents, and every experience, pleasant or difficult, teaches us something important. Life is coexistence and mutual support. We live because countless beings, such as vegetables, fish, animals, water, and many others, sustain us. When we truly understand this truth, gratitude naturally arises: “Thank you… it is all thanks to you.”
This December, let us quietly look back on the year with grateful hearts. When gratitude begins to grow within us, a warm feeling surrounds us, and the Nembutsu of joy – Namo Amida Butsu – naturally flows from our lips with the gentle thought, “Thanks to you.”
On December 31, our annual New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day (Joya-e/Shusho-e) service will be held at 11:15 p.m. Let us gather to offer heartfelt gratitude to Amida Buddha for boundless wisdom and compassion, and pledge to make the most of our precious lives.
