ホッとする仏教のおはなし

私たちは、情報を聞いただけで、分かったような気になってしまうことがあるようです。やはり百聞は一見に如かず。実際に体験することで、聞いた情報が「本当だった」と納得できる形が最も良いように思いますし、そうすることが情報を本当の意味で活かすことになります。

今回は、仏教の「指月の喩え」と「ラーメン屋さんの喩え」をお話しして、そのあたりを味わってみたいと思います。

指月（しげつ・しがつ）の喩え

「われは指を以て月を指し、汝をしてこれを知らしめんとするに、汝は如何指を看て、月を視ざる」

（『大智度論』）

佛が涅槃に入られるとき、諸の比丘に語られた

今日より法に依って人に依ってはならない

義に依って語に依るべきではない

智に依って識に依ってはならない

身体や心によい影響を及ぼす事や物が、私たちの周りには溢れています。ただ、それらも度を超すと、逆効果になってしまうことがよくあります。

仏教は【中道】を勧めます。極端な端っこではなく、真ん中の道を通りましょうということですが、今は「ほどほど」を勧める言葉として受け取ってみたいと思います。

ご紹介するのは、やり過ぎを戒めるお話し。どうぞお聴きください。

仏教の魅力のひとつに、「不安を和らげる力がある」という点が挙げられます。それは何か宗教的な境地などの類ではなくて、ちょっとホッとするような、些細だけれどあると嬉しいようなものにすぎませんが。

私は音楽療法士としての活動もしていますが、音楽にもそういった力があると感じています。

今回はその点をお話ししてみたいと思います。

私たちの周りの人間関係は、複雑で、ややこしくて、どうしたら良いか分からなくなることもある、そんな悩ましいものだと思います。

「こうしておけば大丈夫」という単純明快な答えはありませんが、良い人間関係を築くためのヒントが仏教にはあります。因果の法則からそれを考えてみたいと思います。

仏教は智慧の宗教と言われます。智慧というと少し難しいので、私は「気づき」と言い換えて受け止めています。気づきにも色々とありますが、仏教の気づきとして【自分の居場所】に気づいていくという点が挙げられ、そこがとても大事なのではと思うのです。

今回は仏弟子のお話を通してそのあたりを窺ってみたいと思います。

会議や話し合いにおいて、話がうまくまとまらなくて、明らかにズレた結果になってしまうことありませんか？そこには様々な要因があると思いますが、そのうちの一つに、「特定の人の意見が必要以上に大きくなってしまう」ということがあるように思います。

そんなことにならないようにと戒めるお話しをしてみたいと思います。

シンプルなお話しです。ズルをしてはいけないことを戒める物語。しかし、シンプルだからこそ、なんだか心に残るストーリーなのが不思議なところです。

仏教の世界観に耳を傾けてみてください。

ヤキモチを妬いてしまうこと、ありませんか？嫉妬というほうがいいのかもしれません。

異性であれ同性であれ、大好きな人がいるとします。その人が素晴らしく思え、時に自分より秀でて見える。そんな時に心には「離したくない」という気持ちや、劣等感、執着などなど色々な気持ちが浮かび上がります。

そんなヤキモチや嫉妬の心をどう扱えばいいか。物語にヒントを求めてみましょう。

人間関係って難しいですね。社会で生きていくためには、周りに合わせていくことを求められています。しかし、それがとっても辛い時もあると思うのです。

そして、周りに合わせることが習慣となってしまい、流れに任せることが身についてしまうと、大事なことを見落としてしまうのかもしれません。

自分にとって軸や芯となるもの、いわゆる信念を持つことができれば、周りに惑わされずにいられることもできのかも。

そんなことを教えてくれる物語を紹介します。

英語で仏教を味わってみる取り組みです。

北米で語り継がれる「船乗りの喩え」は、浄土真宗の教えのエッセンスが込められている物語で、私はとても好きです。改めてご紹介致します。

船乗りの喩え

the Ocean metaphor

At night a ship leaves the port of a tropical island. After many hours on the high seas a sailor falls overboard. No one on the ship notices that the man is missing, and the ship sails on its way. The water is chilly, and the waves are choppy. It is hauntingly dark. The sailor paddles frantically to keep afloat.

He then starts to swim toward an island he saw before he fell overboard. He has lost all sense of direction. So he is not sure that he is heading the right way. Though he is a good swimmer, his arms and legs soon grow weary. His lungs are tired, and he gasps for air. The sailor feels lost and totally alone in the middle of the ocean. This could be the end for him. As despair overcomes him, his energy drains from him like sand from an hourglass. He begins to choke on the water slapping his face, and he can feel his body being dragged under.

At this instant he hears a voice from the depths of the ocean, “Let go. Let go of your striving! You’re fine just as you are! Namo Amida Butsu.”

The sailor hears the voice and stops his useless striving to swim by his own power. Instead, he turns over on his back with limbs outstretched as if he were in a backyard hammock on a lazy summer afternoon. He is overjoyed to find that the ocean holds him afloat without any effort on his part!

Now, the water feels warm and the waves are calm. The ocean that seemed ready to drag him under now caresses him. He is grateful and happy to know that he is all right. He realizes that he was fine all along. He just didn’t know it. The ocean has not changed at all. By changing his thinking, the sailor’s relationship with the ocean has changed. The sea changed from being a dangerous and frightening enemy to a friend who embraced and supported him.

The sailor knows that he cannot stay afloat forever in the middle of the ocean. If he had no worldly obligations, maybe he could afford to stay and rest in this joyful calm. But the image of his wife and small children waiting anxiously at home inspires him to try to reach the shore.

He begins to swim as before, but with one important difference. He now trusts the ocean as he would a caring and protecting loved one. He knows that whenever he becomes tired, he can let go, and the ocean will support him. More importantly, he now knows that while he swims, it is the power of the ocean, not his own power that keeps him afloat. Yes, he moves his limbs to swim, but he has learned he can stay afloat by not striving.

Now that he feels safe in the arms of the sea, the sailor can think about finding the island. He studies the positions of the stars and the moon and the direction of the wind. Using his training as a sailor, he imagines where the island might be and moves toward it. The swimmer has no guarantee that he has chosen the right direction, but he is now sure that the ocean will not let him down. Eventually he will reach the island. In appreciation for this newfound confidence and joy, the sailor hears himself uttering, “Namo Amida Butsu.”

「一年生になったら友達100人できるかな？」という歌詞が私は苦手でした。友達ってなかなか難しいものです。遊びや目的が一致して仲良くできているうちは良いのですが、ひょんなことで、または全く知らないうちに友達ではなくなってしまう、友達でいられなくなることも。みなさんは経験したこと、ありませんか？？

友達って、なんだろう？？

今回はそんなことを考えてみました。

ギリシャ神話などにみられる「イカロスの翼」をご存知でしょうか。ロウで固めた翼により迷宮を脱出できたものの、父の戒めを守らず夢中になって高く飛んだために太陽の熱で翼が溶けて、、、という有名なお話です。

今回のお話は、「イカロスの翼」と類似点を持ったジャータカ物語です。インドの風景を想像しながら仏教の要素をお楽しみください。

SNSのフォロー数や年収や外見などに、一喜一憂しているのが私たちの姿。しかし、仏教では「数字やデータは大事なことの一番外側」だと教えてくれます。

その視点からは、分かりやすいことではなく、目に見えない大事なことに気付かされるように思います。

「教え」というものはひとりでに伝わりゆくものではありません。仏教が遠くインドから日本にまで伝わったのは、その過程において多くの人間のはたらきがあったからです。古代の社会にあっては、「語り」が重要な役割を果たしました。とりわけ古代インドは物語の宝庫でした。お釈迦さまがこの世に生まれる以前の前世の物語、それがジャータカです。世界に伝わる『イソップ物語』や『アラビアンナイト』などの昔ばかしや伝説とも関連しています。ジャータカのいくつかの物語は経典を通じて、日本にもたらされました。その中でも『今昔物語』の「月の兎」の話は特に有名です。

仏教には教訓や気づきを与えてくれる話もたくさんありますが、ただただ物語として心に届くようなお話しもあります。

今回ご紹介するのは、後者のようなお話しです。

隙間時間に聞き流したり、眠れない時のおともなどにしていただけると幸いです。

期待を裏切られることは辛いですね。物事は移り変わり、多面的であると知らされていても、「こうあるべき・こうあってほしい」という期待を抱かずには、私たちはなかなか暮らしていくことが難しいようです。

そんな私たちに、気づきをもたらしてくれるかもしれない物語をご紹介いたします。

英語で仏教！の10回目。テーマは【因果】です。

現象には原因があり、行動は結果に結びつく。当たり前のことのようですが、原因と結果を丁寧に考えることで見えてくることもあるように思います。

●チャプター①

Inga, in the sense of cause and effect, is the idea that if there is a cause, it will always summon forth some kind of effect, and in reverse, every effect comes forth because of some cause.

●チャプター②

We carry out some act. That act becomes a cause, and it gives rise to some sort of effect. From this logic Buddhism concluded that if one carries out an act of goodness, it will have a good effect, and if one carried out an evil act, it will have an evil effect. This is referred to as “good cause good effect” and “bad cause bad effect.” Therefore, Buddhism promotes goodness and avoid evil.

●チャプター③

There is a saying that the sins of the parent will be the retribution of the child, but “cause” is something that one brings about oneself and the “result” is something one receives oneself. Therefore, such sayings are clearly mistaken.

英語で仏教の第９回。今回のテーマは「縁起」です。

一般的には「縁起がいい・悪い」という文脈で使われることが多い言葉ですが、もともと吉凶を表す言葉だったのでしょうか？

仏教において最重要ワードとも言える「縁起」を、日本語と英語で少し味わってみたいと思います。

⚫︎チャプター①

Does the word “origin” (engi) come from Buddhism?

The answer is Yes. The word engi is a shortened form, using the second and fourth characters, of the four-character expression in-nen-sho-ki.

The four character phrase means that everything has a cause and condition. ”Cause”(in) are the factors which directly bring about a result, and “condition”(en) refers to factors which complement the direct factors. The example of a flower is often used to explain this.

⚫︎チャプター②

A flower blooms because seeds are planted and shoots come forth. Therefore, the seed is the direct cause (in) for the blooming of the flower.

However, flowers will not grow simply from seeds. They must be given water and sunshine. In this instance, water and sunlight are indirect factors causing the flower to bloom, and are, in other words,”conditions”(en).

⚫︎チャプター③

In the same way that a flower is made to bloom as a result of the”cause” of the seed and the “condition” of the water and sunshine, all existences including ourselves are not realized independently, but rather are materialized as a result of various cause and conditions.

⚫︎チャプター④

Hence all phenomena are manifested as a result of the mutual relationship of innumerable cause and conditions. Engi refers to the fact that when those causes and conditions change, the phenomena too will change. Therefore, this is connected to “impermanence”(all things arise, change, and are extinguished) and “no self”(no existence is absolute and immutable).

英語で仏教、今回のテーマは【苦】です。

仏教は【苦】を大きなテーマとして扱う宗教です。そのあたりを、日本語と英語で味わってみたいと思います。

⚫︎チャプター①

The Buddha was aware that this world is one of suffering. All things are impermanent; we will someday grow old, fall ill and have to die.

⚫︎チャプター②

We feel this as distress, cause for grief and anguish. Buddhism takes the fact of being born, growing old, becoming ill, and dying as fundamental sufferings of all sentient beings and calls this the “Four Sufferings.” These four are:

(1) birth

(2) old age

(3) illness

(4) death

⚫︎チャプター③

At a later time, four more were added;

(5) parting from those one loves

(6) having to meet those one hates

(7) not being able to have what one desires

(8) clinging to the five aggregates; suffering of the mind body

These four added to the first four are called the Eight Sufferings(hakku), and from this comes the Japanese expression shiku-hakku, meaning “in agony or distress.”

英語で仏教の第７回。テーマは【無我】です。

無我とは「それ単独で存在するような、唯一絶対的なものは存在しない」という概念で、仏教のベースとなるものです。

そして、物事はみんな関わり合って成り立っているという「縁起」という思想につながるものでもあります。

ですから無我をinterdependence（相互依存）と訳すこともあるようです。

⚫︎チャプター①

What is nothing has an ego？This means that there is no ego or self which is an absolute existence and remains unchanged forever. It is similar to “impermanence” and the two concepts are inseparable. 

⚫︎チャプター②

“Impermanence” places emphasis on the truth that everything arises, changes and extinguishes, while “nothing has an ego” stresses the negation of an absolute, external existence. Because everything is “without a self,” it is said that “nothing has an ego.”

●チャプター③

There has appeared some doubt as to whether the Buddha actually directly preached the idea of selflessness. According to the scriptures, the Buddha stressed elimination of attachment to the self. This is because he held that suffering arises from the self’s attachments to things. Therefore it is said that this emphasis was later developed and formed the idea of “no self.”

英語で仏教！の第６回です。今回のテーマは「諸行無常」。

平家物語でも有名な言葉ですが、仏教の基本的な概念でもあります。英語と日本語の両面から触れていただき、仏教の世界観を味わってみてください。

●チャプター１

The belief that all things arise , change, and die is one of the fundamental understandings of Buddhism. This is often expressed  as “all things are impermanent.” What this means is that nothing exists forever and absolutely unchanged.

●チャプター２

Even in our own bodies, there are a large number of cells dying each moments, and at the same time they are being replaced by numerous new cells. Eventually our individual bodies arrive at death. Even the universe which appears to be infinite is forever transforming and will one day be extinguished.

●チャプター３

However, we tend to live under the illusion that the present state of affairs will continue forever. As a result, we make various mistaken perceptions and misunderstand the truth. Buddhism teaches us to fix our eyes upon the truth of impermanence and to form a correct judgment about all things.

英語で仏教！の第5回は、「悟り」とは何かをテーマにしました。お釈迦さまが悟ったこととは一体何か？その一端をすこしお話しさせていただきます。

●チャプター①

Enlightenment, or satori, is a translation of the Indian word bodhi, which is transliterated as bodai in Japanese, hence enlightenment and bodai are synonymous. This is the absolute understanding of the composition and the truth of the universe and human beings.

●チャプター②

The Buddha thought that human beings are originally beings which bear suffering. Every human eventually has to grow old, experience illness, and die. That is suffering. One has to part from who loves and may be unable to obtain what one wants. This, too, is suffering.

●チャプター③

Why is it that we must suffer in this way? It is because human beings have desires and attachments. Humans suffer because they grow attached to life despite the fact that they have to die, and because their desires expand from one to another and they are unable to attain satisfaction.

●チャプター④

How are we be released  from such suffering? The Buddha thought that since attachment and desire were the causes of suffering, if we could cast attachment and desire aside (or at least control them), suffering would also disappear. He also conceived a means of practice whereby one could control attachment and desire.

●チャプター⑤

The Buddha seated himself beneath the bodhi tree and entered meditation. He comprehended the makeup of the human mind and the nature of the universe and awakened to the truth. This experience is called “enlightenment”(satori) and is referred to as bodai.

英語で仏教の基礎を味わう第四回です。今日は「涅槃」どんな何？」ということのお話しです。難しい言葉ですが、仏教において大事な言葉ですので、紹介させていただきました。英文を以下に記載します。

●チャプター①

The Japanese word Nehan is a transliteration of the Indian word nirvana or nibbana, meaning “the state of a flame being blown out.” It represents the quiet, refreshing state of mind that exists when the fires of raging attachment and desire are extinguished.

On the other hand, “enlightenment” is the truth that the Buddha grasped during meditation by logical inquiry. In accordance with the contents of his enlightenment, the Buddha struggled against the attachments and the desires in his own mind. Extinguishing this vigorously burning flame, he achieved a tranquil state of mind separated from suffering. This is the realm of nirvana.

●チャプター②

So it may be said that “enlightenment” possesses a somewhat logical nuance, whereas “nirvana” seems rather more emotional. In general usage, enlightenment and nirvana can be thought of as having the same meaning, and to have truly attained both is to have achieved true awakening.

Further, one can take the “flame” of “the state of flame being extinguished” as referring to “ the flame of life.” Therefore, nirvana can also have the meaning of death. As a matter of fact, the death of the Buddha is referred to as “the Great Extinction,” in the sense of “absolute nirvana.” 

英語で仏教の基礎を味わう第三回。今回は、「仏と如来は違うの？」ということをお話ししてみたいと思います。

●チャプター①

“Buddha” and “Tathagata” are one and the same.

“Buddha” means “one who has awakened to truth.” The compound word “Nyorai” comes from an Indian word tathagata, meaning tatha (the condition of being as it should be) and gata (going), or perhaps agata (coming).

●チャプター②

The Chinese laid the stress on the sense of “coming,” thus leading to the current characters for nyorai in Japanese.

The word tatha indicating the original condition of something was also translated as shinnyo, meaning “thusness” and representing the world of enlightenment, the world of Absolute Truth. This is what meant by truth in the expression “one who awakened to the truth.”

●チャプター③

Therefore, tathagata (nyorai) has the meaning of “one who has come from the world of absolute truth in order to save all sentient beings.” It is therefore another name for “buddha” which places special emphasis on the workings of the buddha. Whether one refers to Amida Buddha or Amida Tathagata, the meanings is absolutely identical.

英語で仏教の基礎を味わう第ニ回。今回は、「仏ってどんな意味？」ということをお話ししてみたいと思います。

●チャプター①

In an Indian language, the word for an aspirant is buddha. After practicing austerities for six years, the Buddha forsook these severe practices, began to meditate under a bo tree, and eventually discovered the truth. For that reason, people began to call him “Buddha” in the sense of “one who has awakened to the truth.”

●チャプター②

At some later time, as the teachings came to be received in the western region of Asia and were received by China, the Chinese used two characters Butsu and Da for the word Buddha. When this two-character name was transmitted into Japan, the first character Butsu was the only one used, and it came to be read as both Butsu and Hotoke.

So, Hotoke means Buddha, and Buddha means “one who has awakened to the truth.”

英語で仏教の基礎を味わってみる。今回は、「仏教ってどんな特徴があるの？」ということを少しお話ししてみたいと思います。

チャプター①

Buddhism is the teachings of the Buddha, just as Christianity is the teachings of Jesus Christ and Islam is the teachings of Mohammed.

Yet there is one major characteristic that is unique to Buddhism, and this is that those who embrace Buddhism can also become Buddhas. In Christianity, Judaism and Islam, believers are encouraged to learn the teachings of the founder and to devote themselves to a unique, absolute deity, but human beings cannot become a deity.

チャプター②

However, in Buddhism, by learning the teachings of the Buddha, and awakening to the truth concerning the universe and human beings, anyone is said to be able to become a buddha. Hence it can be said that ultimately Buddhism is everyone’s attempting to become  such a buddha.

ついつい「いい人」のフリをしてしまうことってないですか？良く思われたい・人に好かれたい。そう思うのも自然なことですが、時に「いい人」のフリをしてしまい疲れてしまうことも。「いい人」のフリが習慣になってしまうと、自分らしさが分からなくなってしまいそうです。そんな私たちに、仏教の物語はちょっと気づきを与えてくれます。

性格が合わなかったり、なんだかフィーリングが合わない人っていますよね。人間関係に悩まされることが多いように思います。そんな私たちに、仏教はどんなアドバイスをしてくれるのか。少し考えてみたいと思います。

物欲や食欲など、「欲」ってコントロールが難しいですよね。

海水を飲むが如くと言われるように、キリがないのも良くなのでしょう。

欲は生きるエネルギーだとも、思たり、、、

そんな欲について、少し考えてみました。