A Byrd's Eye View

Over the Hills and Into the Future: Part 1

What a wonderful day yesterday was! I got up at 3:15 in the morning, picked up another SGI member, and drove for an hour into the mountains to celebrate the establishment of Nichiren Buddhism. At 5:45 am, we joined approximately 15 other people on a lookout atop Mt. Wilson in the Angeles National Forest to chant Daimoku and two chapters from the Lotus Sutra to the rising sun, and the experience was a treasure of the heart.

As we all know, Nichiren established the practice of chanting Nam(u)-Myoho-Renge-Kyo 750-some years ago. On April 28, or so the story goes, he emerged from a Hut of Solitude at Seicho-ji temple where he had been meditating, hiked to the top of the mountain overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and chanted to the rising sun. Then, he went back to the temple, gave a speech in which he declared the superiority of the Lotus Sutra, changed his name from Rencho-bo to Nichiren, told everybody to chant Daimoku, and all hell broke loose.

The Los Angeles Nichiren Shu temple, under the direction of Bishop Kanai of the Nichiren Organization of North America, has an annual service to commemorate the establishment of Nichiren's practice. It is held at a turnout facing east near the top of Mt. Wilson, looking out over row after row of rolling, forested foothills. The morning mist hangs over the hills, and as the sun comes up, the view becomes clearer and clearer - a wonderful visual reminder of how the clouds and darkness are dispelled from our lives when we chant. Yesterday was the second year that I attended.

Last year, the mountaintop ceremony was cold and there was snow on the ground, crunching under our feet as we walked out to look over the cliff and greet the day with our Daimoku. The fog and mist lent an aura of mystery as we chanted. We shivered and saw our breath, hoping some light would come soon. Then, very gradually, the sun sent bright streaks through the cloudy sky, spotlighting some hilltops and leaving others hidden. Ah, last years' view was wonderful to behold - sublime is not too strong a word.

This year was completely different. Same location, entirely different weather. Sort of like our lives when we have breakthroughs in our perceptions. One day cloudy, the next day clear. This year, the sky was completely clear and the weather was so warm that we didn't even need sweaters.

I had a spotty map of the location with most of the directions in Japanese, and I had my memory of last year's ceremony to help me get to the site. So I had to pray - Universe! Shoten Zenjin! Help us make it to the lookout! We hooked up with three others who were coming to the ceremony and we drove off from a rest station, winding over a mountain road until I finally recognized the right turn-off. It was touch-and-go there for awhile...it looked like we were going to miss the sunrise. The sky was getting brighter and brighter....and then we came out of a turn and saw the rugged little group off to the left of the road, looking out over a glorious view, beating their hand drums and chanting daimoku, silhouetted against the pink and orange of the bright, clear sky. We had made it in time! Thank you, Universe and thank you Shoten Zenjin!

We piled out, grabbed our drums and joined right in. And this year, the sun came right up! First some pink and orange in the sky and then POW! A big bright ball, just as clear as could be, came up from behind the hills and shone its radiance on everything - just like the Lotus Sutra, illuminating all. And there our little band stood, chanting Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, nothing between us and the brilliant light of the morning sun.

I will write more of this event tomorrow.....

Be adventurous, be bright, be cool,

Byrd in LA

Posted by wahzoh at April 30, 2007 12:01 PM