Diligently “Cultivating the Buddhist Heart”

Diligent Practice Is Like an Ox Moving a Heavy Load

I wish you all a happy New Year.

“The front of every gate / Is decorated with small pine trees— / Spring is coming, / From house to house.” This poem by the monk Saigyo (1118–1190) celebrates the New Year by describing the cheerful mood of spring’s arrival at every home.* Fewer homes now decorate their entryways with New Year’s pines, but I hope that all of us will together enjoy a cheerful and healthy 2024, feeling as refreshed at New Year’s as the invigorating scenery of Japan.

We learn the teachings of the Buddha because we hope that by doing so, we can take even a step or two forward in improving ourselves as human beings. We are taught that this is hardly wishful thinking because by setting out to live like the Buddha and practicing diligently as we follow the teachings, we can always find joy in evolving as human beings and improving ourselves.

However, many people hearing about diligence and practicing the Buddha Way suppose that it is only possible if you are an extraordinary person who makes a tremendous effort. But in the Sutta Nipata, one of the earliest sutras, Shakyamuni says that “Diligent practice is like an ox moving a heavy load, carrying us to a state of peace and tranquility.” There is not the slightest trace of harshness or sternness in this expression. Instead, what comes to mind is the image of an ox slowly, quietly pulling a cart, or a cow silently pulling a plow and furrowing a field. With this in mind, about a quarter of a century ago, I wrote Cultivating the Buddhist Heart because I thought it was important for us to steadfastly pursue a path through life, neither rushing nor stopping, as we learn the Buddha’s teachings that cultivate the fields of our minds.

In that book as well, I quoted from the Sutta Nipata, which is said to be closest to Shakyamuni’s spoken words; its universality transcends differences in sects and sacred texts. While I mention it, I want all of you to join me in thinking about what Buddhism teaches as the basis for living as a human being. Furthermore, I believe that simply accepting what Shakyamuni wished for us and wanted to convey to us, and reasonably putting that into practice in our daily lives, is the way to diligently pursue a state of peace and tranquility.

So, what did Shakyamuni want to convey to us?

Keeping to It, Continuously

Founder Niwano clearly stated: “Human beings are all the same and all things are one. These are none other than the basic ideas of Buddhism.” In other words, what Buddhism teaches us is that if we open our eyes to these basic ideas, our way of seeing things changes and our way of life changes, and if our world becomes a place where there are many people who have this kind of thinking, we will all be able to live together in harmony. Therefore, I believe that even though we may belong to different religious organizations or sects, we are all united under Shakyamuni’s teachings that “Every person has a life that is precious and equally worthy of respect” and “We are all fellow participants in the one life of the universe,” and that we all express these teachings in different ways, according to our individual natures and diverse needs.

Zen master Reirin Yamada (1889–1979), who served as abbot of Eiheiji, one of the two head temples of the Soto sect of Japanese Buddhism, said: “No matter what Zen Master Dogen saw or heard, he felt as though it were he, himself, who did it. . . . What we call ‘other people,’ Dogen called ‘the self of others.’ While other people were still other people, he felt as though they were also his own self and therefore, their joy was the joy of his own self and their sadness, the sadness of his own self” (Daihorin [The great Dharma wheel], vol. 36, no. 3, Daihorin-kaku, 1969). Yamada called this “the true way of life for human beings.”

While the rigorous practice of the Buddha Way is certainly diligence, whenever our minds are led astray by greedy desire, anger, or jealousy in the course of our daily lives, returning to the mindset of “all human beings are the same” and “all things are one” is also a form of diligence, and continuously keeping to that mindset is, for we who lead human lives, a way of life rooted in Shakyamuni’s wishes. I hope that we will cultivate our hearts so that this mindset supports our casual words and actions every day and we move forward, in health and peace, from one day to the next.

*In premodern Japan, New Year’s Day was determined by the lunar calendar and heralded the start of spring.