Dharma Dhatu (Truth Root/Realm)

Good morning!

After sittings and the service, we have a very quiet Sunday with spring sunlight brightening the world and this big beautiful amaryllis, peaceful and truthful.

But on the other side of the globe there is a lot of hardship and suffering, as we know. The largest recorded earthquake in Japan has now been revised from a magnitude of 8.8 to 9.0. The resulting big tsunami swept along the coasts, engulfing houses, ships, and people. Now they fear there are more than ten thousand casualties, with one community missing half of its population, ten thousand people.

This morning on the news I saw reports of the efforts to rescue survivors, unable to be contacted or communicated with, and of one nuclear reactor’s explosion and the possibility of another explosion. I have contacted my relatives and friends, by telephone and the Internet, and learned of their difficulties. I imagine you also watched scenes of the tsunami carrying things and of the nuclear plant exploding.

The No. 1 reactor at the Daiichi (No. 1) nuclear plant is in big trouble, with its explosion releasing radioactive steam. Now, at the No. 3 reactor, fuel – plutonium, more dangerous than uranium – is also exposed, failing cooling, and the reactor is in danger of exploding. To save the nuclear reactor, contaminated air – more than two times the allowable maximum – was released into the atmosphere, affecting hundreds, some seriously. Nuclear companies claimed that nuclear energy was safe and cheap, but this has now proven otherwise.

The government and the nuclear safety agency seem to be slow to disclose the real situation, possibly to prevent people panicking. This could cause more problems, and become the biggest nuclear catastrophe since Chernobyl. More than two hundred thousand people have been evacuated from the area. The disaster could contaminate not only Japan, but the whole world. Now people will become disillusioned with the nuclear safety mythology.

There are no fail-safe natural things, much less man-made ones, as humans wish. All created and composed things must be destroyed and decomposed. So, of course, nothing is safe. Companies and their cohorts knew that nuclear work and waste is not safe, with no way to store radioactive waste safely for tens of thousand of years. They just considered their own interests, not those of others – of future generations or of the environment.

A satellite television station reported that a man was assailed by the wall of water and, caught by a nail, unable to move, he resigned his life. But recalling his family, he decided to survive. He struggled to free himself and survived with wounds and cuts. A woman and her daughter struggled in the water, with debris repeatedly passing overhead. She survived, not knowing the fate of her daughter. Another woman reached the roof of a house and survived, but was unable to save the daughter of the house from drowning.

There are things we can prevent and prepare for. We could have avoided nuclear plants before contamination and meltdown. But we didn’t. Only after the deluge and destruction, we know we were wrong – no way to save. So, we must squarely see the truth of nature. Still, there are things we cannot avoid – tide and time, quake and collapse in this natural world. Just as the Buddha said, the wall of water, like the mortal mountain, is pressing upon us.

We cannot evade decay and death. So, we must know this and find out islands, refuges. Buddhism tells of two islands, self island and dharma island. We can rely on ourselves, not others or ideas, and the dharma (truth). We must resort to dharma to become awakened (buddha) and at rest. Then, we find the dharma dhâtu (truth root/realm), which is also the true community (sangha) of life.

As the woman who escaped the tsunami wanted to save the daughter of the house in which she found refuge, we all want to save a person who is drowning or in distress. This is our nature and nature’s truth, to live together in harmony and happiness, in the wholesome whole. So, the sangha is the community of the awakened ones. Awakened ones must live together in the wholly wholesome community. Otherwise we must share the meltdown of ecology, economy, and ego.

Thus, the triple treasure is just one. We find it in our quiet sitting, and realize it through practice. Our serious and sincere sameness and sympathy are shared with all, especially those in difficulties and sufferings, not only in Japan, but throughout the world; not only among humans, but with all beings. Truth, peace, holiness, and happiness depend on our awakened life and wakeful living.

3/13/11