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Many people have asked
me over the years why I became a Buddhist minister. Although the answer is
simple, it is a long story that I would like to share with you.
When I was 18 years
old and a senior in high school in Hiroshima,
Japan, I
experienced heart failure. I had a dream to become a professional baseball
player and a millionaire; but, this dream was crushed in that moment. I was
in the hospital for two weeks and told that I would need to have open-heart
surgery. The doctors performed a final exam before the surgery, thinking that
they would find a hole or some other defect with my heart. They did not find
a hole or heart defect and cancelled my surgery. The doctors met with me and
told me that they were unable to find any reason or cause for my experience
and could not help me. This shocked and frightened me very deeply. I felt
that the only hope I had, was to talk to a priest. I did not want to talk to
a Buddhist priest because I thought that they could only help you with
funerals after a person dies.
I knew of a Catholic
priest from California
who was working at the high school I attended and he told me that everything
I experienced was due to God’s will. At the time, I could not accept his
answer and met with many other members of the clergy and continued to
experience the same disappointment with the answers they gave me. Finally, I
went to see a Shingon monk who scolded me because I was only worrying about
dying. He asked me, “Why can’t you concentrate on how to live your life? The
teaching of Buddhism shows us how to live our lives, as ideally as we can, so
we have no regret. You are the only one who can live your life. No one else
can do this for you. Do not worry about what happens after death but
concentrate on this life. This moment is the only moment that matters!” His
words struck my heart, and I asked him where I could learn these teachings
quickly. He told me to go to Mt.
Koya.
I did what he told me, and was able to study the teachings of Shingon-Shu. The teachings changed my life from one of despair to
hope. It also taught me to think of and work for the well-being of all
people.
After completing the necessary
training, I asked [Koyasan] headquarters to send me overseas so that I could spread
the teaching of Shingon-Shu to people of different
countries. I was sent to the United
States in 1981. I am very grateful to have
been given the opportunity to share the teachings with all of you.
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