2023-03-05
平等施一切 Byodo-se-issai [to donate equally among all beings]
日常勤行の中で念仏一会のあと総回向偈を称えます。
願以此功徳 平等施一切
同発菩提心 往生安楽国
(お念仏の)功徳を、等しく一切の衆生(しゅじょう)に施し、共に悟りの境地を目指し、極楽に往生いたしましょう。
「等しく・・・施す」というと、どこか偉そうですが、「独り占めにせず、分かち合う」ということでしょう。
「衆生」は「有情(うじょう)」ということもあります。有情とは感情など心の働きを持つ存在です。植物や微生物は該当しませんが、人間だけでなく鳥や獣などの多くの生き物を含みます。さらに、現世だけでなく前世、来世の存在も広い意味では衆生です。
この世だけでなく、すべての心を持つ存在が、安らぎの浄土に生まれ、悟りの境地に到ることを願う、というのが大乗仏教の理念です。
あまりにも壮大にして、かつ高邁(こうまい)であるといえばその通りですが、縁起の法によれば、すべてのことは関わり合って存在しているのですから、自分、あるいは特定の集団だけが幸せになるということはありえないことです。
もうすぐ春のお彼岸です。自分の縁者だけでなく、広く生きとし生けるものを供養しましょう。金だけ、今だけ、自分だけという世知辛い風潮の今だからこそ大切なことなのではないでしょうか。
合掌
Byodo-se-issai [to donate equally among all beings]
After chanting nenbutsu awhile we recite the so-echo-ge during the daily service at the temple.
Gan-ni-shi-kudoku Byodo-se-issai
Do-hotsu-bodai-shin Ojo-anraru-koku
Let us donate the merits (of chanting sutras and nenbutsu) equally to all sentient beings, so that together we may attain the state of enlightenment and reach gokuraku (Amitaba's paradise).
The word "equally...donate" sounds somewhat grandiose, but I think it means "to share with others, not to keep to oneself.”
衆生, shujo, which literally means all living beings, is a translation of the ancient Indian word, bodhisattva. It also translates as 有情, ujyo, which means all beings with heart, ones with mental functions. Plants and microorganisms do not fall under this category, but it includes not only human beings but also birds, animals, and many other living creatures of land, air, and water. Furthermore, (in Buddhism) they include, not only beings in this life, but those in previous and next lives in the broadest sense.
The philosophy of Mahayana Buddhism is that all sentient beings, not only those in this life, but all beings with hearts and minds, are to be born in the land of peace, and reach the state of enlightenment.
It may sound too magnificent and lofty, but according to the Law of 縁起, engi, everything exists in relation with everything else; so it is impossible for only one person or one particular group of people to be happy while others are not.
It will soon be 春彼岸, spring higan, a time to remember our ancestors. Let us make offerings not only to our own relatives, but also to a wide range of other living beings. It is important to do so because people these days seem to be only interested in “money, now, and oneself”.
After chanting nenbutsu awhile we recite the so-echo-ge during the daily service at the temple.
Gan-ni-shi-kudoku Byodo-se-issai
Do-hotsu-bodai-shin Ojo-anraru-koku
Let us donate the merits (of chanting sutras and nenbutsu) equally to all sentient beings, so that together we may attain the state of enlightenment and reach gokuraku (Amitaba's paradise).
The word "equally...donate" sounds somewhat grandiose, but I think it means "to share with others, not to keep to oneself.”
衆生, shujo, which literally means all living beings, is a translation of the ancient Indian word, bodhisattva. It also translates as 有情, ujyo, which means all beings with heart, ones with mental functions. Plants and microorganisms do not fall under this category, but it includes not only human beings but also birds, animals, and many other living creatures of land, air, and water. Furthermore, (in Buddhism) they include, not only beings in this life, but those in previous and next lives in the broadest sense.
The philosophy of Mahayana Buddhism is that all sentient beings, not only those in this life, but all beings with hearts and minds, are to be born in the land of peace, and reach the state of enlightenment.
It may sound too magnificent and lofty, but according to the Law of 縁起, engi, everything exists in relation with everything else; so it is impossible for only one person or one particular group of people to be happy while others are not.
It will soon be 春彼岸, spring higan, a time to remember our ancestors. Let us make offerings not only to our own relatives, but also to a wide range of other living beings. It is important to do so because people these days seem to be only interested in “money, now, and oneself”.