Since last Friday, when the earthquake struck Japan and the tsunamis followed bringing their devastation, I have been filled with grief for the courageous, polite and refined people of Japan
It is useless to suffer, I know, for action is what counts now. And all of us can do something - find a Red Cross contribution center, follow your local television for hotlines where you can give money, pray for the Japanese, be brave for them so that they know we are all with them in their agony.
As I watch their stoic faces, searching for a wife, a child, a parent, but never giving in to despair, I see their lesson for all of us.
Seventy percent of Japanese people still follow Buddhism in some form, and ninety percent of Japanese funerals are conducted according to Buddhist rites.
This fact made me look for Buddha quotes that we can keep in our hearts as we try to help. These quotes may give us a glimpse, no matter how superficial, into the wisdom that will support the Japanese in their suffering and heroic recovery effort.
“I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.” “I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done.”“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” “Happiness is not the absence of problems but the ability to deal with them.”
“May all that have life be delivered from suffering.” “Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.”
And, finally, an Eskimo thought that comforts me : “Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.”
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