Last year, I went to Japan for the first time in my life. I was born in Brazil through Japanese parents and the trip to my ancestors' land came sudden and unexpectedly.
Sometimes, we limit ourselves and think that some trip or dream is unreachable, and we even do not dare to pursue it. In Brazil, Japan seems to be so far away and a such expensive trip to go for a visit. But when we are ready, people, things and circumstances come to us.
My mother passed away when I was just a small child. However, since early age, I learned from Seicho-No-Ie that life is eternal and our ancestors are always taking care of us. In many crucial moments of my life, I am sure that my mother was on my side. In April last year, before my trip to Japan, I was in Brazil looking at old documents. Surprisingly, I found her birth certificate with her birth town: Furano, Hokkaido, extreme north of Japan. The previous resident minister from Seicho-No-Ie in Canada (Rev. Kobayashi) and his wife had just moved from Toronto to Asahikawa, whose distance is only 60 km from Furano. My father was born in a totally opposite direction, in Tsukumi, Ooita, in the south of Japan.
In May last year, only one month after looking at my mother's document, I was invited to go to the Seicho-No-Ie International Conference in Japan as a translator. I stayed two weeks in Japan, and during this time, I visited the graveyard of my mother's ancestors, and the exact location that my father was born. Rev. Kobayashi and his wife drove me to my maternal ancestor's graveyard, and the person, who works in Tsukumi city hall, offered me to drive to my father's birth place. Without them, with my poor Japanese, I would not be able to do so. I am so grateful to them.
I have only few pictures of my mother. One of them shows my mom in the Seicho-No-Ie Spiritual Training Centre in Ibiuna, Brazil. This was taken in the late 60s before my birth. Who brought me to Seicho-No-Ie was my stepmother. One of the books written by Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi (Licoes para o Cotidiano - Lessons for the daily life) says that from a spiritual perspective, there is no stepmother, that a stepmother is the continuation of our biological mother's idea. In the same way that an almost-dying plant, when its roots are put together with an alive plant, gains new life, a stepmother carries on our biological mother's spiritual work and life. I have always called my stepmother 'mother', and this is also the way I feel. I thank her for having brought me to Seicho-No-Ie and giving me her love, attention and care. She never competed with my deceased mother. She taught me to pray to my biological mother, and to bring fruits and rice to the butsudan (Buddhist altar), location which represents where my ancestors including my mother's souls are. She keeps remind me of how intelligent and skilled was my deceased mother. She always put my brother's and my wishes in higher priority than hers. I am sure that she was chosen by my other mother, and from a different perspective that the limited and so called 'rational' one, these two mothers are one only life, as put it in Seicho-No-Ie's literature.
My paternal and maternal grandparents immigrate to Brazil in a time that there was nothing there. They had a tough life being in the middle of nowhere, without roads, electricity and proper infrastructure to live well. Besides that, there was the huge difference of cultures and language between the two countries. I emigrate from Brazil to Canada a few years ago, and now I understand better their feelings. I admire their courage and capacity to cope with the difficulties.
In Seicho-No-Ie we have many different ceremonies, Mind Purification Ceremony, Shinsokan Meditation for Mutual Prayer and so on. Among all, the ceremony I like most is the Ancestral Memorial Ceremony. In this ceremony, we write the names of our ancestral families and the names of our family members, call these names and read the holy sutra 'Nectarean Shower of Holy Doctrines' to them. We also offer them flowers, incense and food and this follows the Shinto ritual, which I found so beautiful. Shinto rituals are based on the old Japanese mythology, and in Japan, they are regarded by many as a neutral ceremony in which both Christians and Buddhists participate. When I read the sutra to my ancestors, I feel their presence and happiness. I also connect with myself, and understand at an emotional level that who I am is who they are. Our lives intertwine with one another and, differently from what our brain conceptualizes, we do not have separated lives. This awareness of unity gives me the sense of completion, which in turn brings me a fulfillment feeling. That is one reason that I look forward to participating in these monthly ancestral memorial ceremonies. When we thank to our ancestors, we thank to our single unique life; we start to naturally praise ourselves and see that no matter where we go, we are not alone. They are always together with us, encouraging us to succeed. Only when we forget them that we feel lonely and hopeless. It is like to shut our eyes to the sun, and negate its existence. To be in the dark is a matter of choice, and is not real.
After this trip to my ancestor's land, I understand better who I am. I feel now very proud of my name, my looks and this beautiful philosophy of life Seicho-No-Ie, which I consider my mother's inheritance. We definitely did not start to exist when we were born a couple of decades ago, and we will never die, despite the disappearance of our bodies. Our life and contributions to the world will follow us throughout the eternity. When we see the unity between all people around us and ourselves and carry a new life paradigm with us, not only intellectually but also emotionally, then our life really blossoms in an unexpected way. Our parents and ancestors are our intermediaries to God. It is always easy to say that we love God, who can be far away as an abstract concept. But when we put into practice this feeling of love and express it with acts of gratitude to our parents, ancestors, friends and 'enemies', then God becomes not only an abstract concept but a real one. I thank the Grand Life that gave me this deep understanding, and my ancestors to have always protected and guided me in Brazil, in Japan, in Canada and wherever I go. Thank you very much!
Sachiko
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