On June 26, 2021, I gave a Dharma talk at the Eifukuji Temple in Rumoi, Hokkaido, for their Eitaikyo Buddhist memorial service.
Living in Hakodate, it is not often that I get a chance to visit places north of Sapporo, so this was my first visit to Rumoi as well. After all, Hokkaido is a big place.
Once again, I gave a two-session, one-and-a-half hour talk entitled "What is Religion? Through a Trip Around the World.
What is religion to you?"
This is a problem that has been with me since before I became a monk until now.
What is religion anyway?"
What does Buddhism mean to me in the first place?"
What does the Buddha's teaching tell me?"
To face this question I set out on a round-the-world trip in 2019.
Once again, I shared my experiences from that trip, and together with those who visited us, we reflected on what religion means to us.
I was very grateful for the opportunity to talk with the congregation members about many things while giving the Dharma talk. Some of them had been to Israel about 20 years ago, and after the Dharma talk we had a lot of fun talking about Jerusalem, which seems to have changed a lot between Israel 20 years ago and when I visited in 2019. It was very interesting to hear about the differences between Israel 20 years ago and when I visited in 2019.
I was also very impressed by the Dharma words posted at the temple that I saw when I visited the temple.
At first glance, I said, "Wow! I love this!" I felt, "I see! I see!" I was so excited. I was thrilled.
I told Toshiya Fuji, "I like this Dharma word!" He also said that it was his favorite word. There were many other beautiful Dharma words that were chosen by the abbot, and they were displayed in the temple. I felt again, "Dharma words are so nice.
I would like to thank everyone at Eifukuji for their warm welcome. The atmosphere was very homey and comfortable. Thank you very much.
I would also like to thank Mr. Toshiya Fuji for giving me this precious opportunity.
We will continue to devote ourselves to this project and look forward to working with you in the future.
