Realization of the Other Power       Dr. John Guy

While I was sitting in my cramped seat munching on cashew nuts during the seventh hour of my flight from San Francisco to Sapporo, I began to examine what had brought my family and I on this journey. Certainly, it must be because of a decision made by Lyne and I that it was now time for the family to make a formal declaration of our commitment to live our lives as Buddhists. Once the decision was made, Japan seemed like the logical choice for the event.

As I looked into the reasons for this more deeply I began to see that things and events were not as simple as two people making a logical choice.  Since I had six hours to go before touch-down in Japan I decided to examine what causes and conditions had really brought me here. Was it my Karma? What does that really mean anyway?

My parents met at a dance in a small working class town in Scotland. My mother was 16 and my father was 18. When my father was 19 he almost died from a ruptured appendix for which he spent four months in hospital (wow no trip to Sapporo for me if he had died). My Parents married and had me about a year later.  My parents decided that prospects would be better if they left Scotland, so they decided to move to South Africa. Unfortunately, the South African consulate was closed on the day my father had taken off at work. The Canadian consulate was open!

Then at the age of 9 months, my parents and I traveled by ship from England to Toronto, Canada. I grew up in Toronto. During my final year of high school I developed the usual teenage angst and arrogance and decided to go to university at McGill in Montreal. I stayed at McGill for medical school. I met my wife Lyne 2000 miles to the west while at a wedding for friends in Saskatchewan, By coincidence both of us had been working at the same hospital in Montreal. We had never bumped into each other before the wedding.

After a wonderful 3 year courtship we were married. I spent 4 years of residency in London, Ontario. During that time I had some sense of wanting something more in my life. I was happy with my marriage but I felt I needed something more, More of what? I didn’t know. We went on a Caribbean cruise and I met an interesting man from the United States who sat with us at our table for dinner each night. Something about him intrigued me. I can not tell you what it was. Within a week of my return from the cruise I had decided to move to the United States.

Lyne moved first so that she could get me a visa. Lyne lived and worked at Duke University for a year before I joined her. We lived in North Carolina for almost 6 years. During that time I had that same feeling of angst/dissatisfaction that I had felt before. I examined my life again and realized that the fundamentals were good. One evening Lyne and I sat down and watched a video called Little Buddha. I felt something spiritual welling in me for the very first time in my life. I was very moved when the dead monk’s recited the Heart Sutra. I had no idea what the Heart Sutra was or what it really meant. Somehow it seemed familiar and had awakened something in me. Yet I thought Buddhism was only meant for Asians and weird westerners. Not my cup of tea!

I forgot about Little Buddha and the Heart Sutra for a while. However, that familiar old angst/dissatisfaction creped back into my thoughts again.  I went to the local bookstore in Durham and bought a book written about Buddhism.  The text of this book was very technical and I couldn’t see how memorizing 12 dependent links was going to make me more at peace. Buddhism was not for me!

We moved to Reno after an old friend from medical school called me and asked me to come and check out Reno as a place to live and practice medicine. We moved shortly thereafter. Even though in general my work and family life were fulfilling in Reno I still felt something was missing. Maybe I should look into that Buddhism thing again! I looked in the phone book and found the telephone number of RBC. I called and was directed to a telephone sermon. I heard Dr. Matsunaga give a short sermon that seemed very practical but moving.  I told Lyne that I would like us to visit RBC. We were both skeptical. I didn’t want to shave my head or have to live in a hippie-style commune. One Sunday morning we and our children attended a service.

When we walked into the church we were met by a very tall man named Phil Hurd. He shook our hands and warmly welcomed us into the church. As I walked down the isle at the church I noticed that the people attending were pretty much like me and my family. Dr, Matsunaga came to the podium and started to speak about life and Buddhism. His enthusiasm was obvious and his words were meaningful and heartfelt. RBC, Dr. Matsunaga and Buddhism seemed to be the part of the missing puzzle I was looking for.

As I examined these events on the plane I began to quickly realize that my choices were only a small contribution to my journey. Most of the events that took place were beyond my control. Karma perhaps? When I examined the series of events that led Dr. Matsunaga to Reno I new that my decision was not really my decision.  My parents, my wife and children, my interactions with others, the church members in Japan that supported Dr. Matsunaga and his ancestors and all the members of RBC l were involved.   

I was like a leaf that had fallen from a tree into a river. The direction I would take was minimally dependent on me. I was at the mercy of the fish, rocks, twigs, rain and the currents of karma that were traveling with me on my journey down the river towards the ocean. By logic and cognition alone it is not possible to see the incalculable series of events which guide our lives,  It is not possible to know how making one choice or decision will ultimately affect you. Relax, have compassion for your fellow travelers on the journey and have faith that the Other Power will bring you to the great sea safely.

I’m sitting in a chair with my family and 30 other Japanese parishioners who have decided to become Buddhists. We sit in a 106 year wooden temple built by Dr. Matsunaga’s ancestors and his congregation of hardy pioneers. I see my family and friends via satellite in Reno. I let go of myself for a moment and let all Buddhas, all friends and family, and all beings unite with me on my journey.