by BISHOP KOSHIN OGUI
Buddhist Churches of America

They threw a welcome party for me the third day after I had taken up my post at the Buddhist church. It was a dinner held at the biggest Chinese restaurant in town.

About 80 members from the church gathered and welcomed me warmly. The Japanese Americans there called the place “chaina-meshi resutoran” (literally Chinese meal restaurant). I got a kick out of that.

Most of them were good-natured people tanned from long days in the sun, the kind of people you could tell at a glance were making their living in agriculture. Some of them looked scary, people you knew you had better be careful with.

I remembered one of my father’s favorite sayings: “When you hit 25, you will have to take responsibility for how you look. The things you think, the words you use, and the actions you take all take part in forming how you appear. So be careful.”

He also used to say, “No one is really evil deep down inside. A person’s character is affected by their upbringing and their surroundings. It leads them to act the way they do.”

I remembered these words of my father, and how he told me to be grateful for the lessons I would learn from both good and bad people.

I became aware of myself while interacting with all these people. One of the church members admonished me, “Beware women and alcohol.” I muttered to myself, “That’s rough. I like both women and alcohol.”

I mentioned above that most of the people there were working in agriculture. Some of them actually ran plantations. I found out there was a person there who flew a plane and scattered fertilizer from the air for a living.

I was surprised to learn that some of these church members worked in large-scale farming, people who were running farms that sent produce like celery, strawberries, and lettuce to all parts of the U.S.

It was an enjoyable dinner. Everyone was speaking in Japanese and English and in the dialect of Mie Prefecture.

But the event was also a reminder of the power and can-do attitude of the Chinese there. Everywhere I turned, I saw them.

What I can say now that I’m 68 is, people are fascinating creatures. We have all been given one life and we live it while continuously experiencing a range of emotions, all the while searching for something. Our characters are enriched by the hardships we face.

We are happy to meet people that can be kind to others. Other times we come across those of poor character, people who cannot be kind to others, and that is saddening.

I thought of that, and wondered about the time that I would have to part ways with such people.

Gassho

Translated by Lefteris Kafatos