JUST SAY MAHALO®

Category: my stories

  • Peace of Mind

    True peace of mind begins when we stop asking ‘why?’ 「なぜ？」が なくなった瞬間 真実の安心

  • Living in a “Burning House”

    The call came at 3:00 a.m. in the morning, as such calls always do. “We just received an Emergency Alert, ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii…” Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt. Anger. Complacency. Will our only son and family, our precious granddaughter, be alright? This can’t be real, can it? This has to be a mistake. Someone…

  • True Peace of Mind

    True peace of mind begins with a heart of compassion for all Life ずべての命へ 慈悲の心から始まる 真実の安心

  • Seeing Things as They Are

    Missiles fly overhead, Typhoon strikes Japan, Grandniece and Granddaughter play by the pool in Hawaii, Namo Amida Butsu ミサイルが頭の上を飛び、 台風が日本を直撃、 姪孫と孫娘がハワイでプール遊び、 南無阿弥陀仏

  • Raindrops on the Tips of Leaves in the Rain

    Walking to school in the rain, I pause to reflect upon raindrops on the tips of blossoms on a tree. I am reminded of Rennyo’s ‘Letter on White Ashes’ especially this verse: “Whether I go before others or other before me, whether my last breath is today or tomorrow, who is to know? We depart…

  • Absolute Dependence

    Buddhism teaches that our life is absolutely dependent upon the caring and understanding of other people, that human life is fundamentally not possible without other people laboring unseen on our behalf and unsustainable without animals and plants giving up their life energy so that we may live. Without the blessings of the `aina (Mother Earth,…

  • The Answer is Always Namo Amida Butsu

    (Photo Credit: Bob Murphy, our Dive Instructor in Koh Tao, Thailand) Aloha from Kyoto! Mimy and I arrived safely in Japan on March 2nd jet-lagged and tired from three weeks of packing up our ‘stuff’ and moving it into storage. Moving for the fifth time in six years, we realized that ‘attachment’ to ‘things’ is…

  • Meditation Script: Waterfall

    Waterfall Let’s begin a guided meditation. Please settle down and get comfortable. Loosen your clothing and take off your shoes if you like. Sit up with back naturally straight, not too tense, not too loose. Place both feet flat on the ground. Lay your hands comfortably in your lap. Form a circle with both thumbs…

  • Enlightenment

    enlightenment       is a journey           not a destination

  • Shinran’s Awakening: Imperfect Self is Perfect

    Shinran, the founder of Jodo Shinshu in 12th century Japan, discovered True and Real Life when he was 29 years old, after extremely rigorous monastic religious practice for 20 years only to discover his ego-selfishness was too tough to break. Shinran despairs but is guided to his great teacher Hōnen, and then he heard the…