class=”dropcap-paragraph”>The changing of the seasons often brings various physical ailments. How do you deal with symptoms such as headaches, joint pain, fever, dizziness, nausea, stiff shoulders, or skin irritation? For physical pain, there are many over-the-counter medicines available that can temporarily relieve symptoms, and it is indeed practical to keep them at home. However, medical doctors will always recommend undergoing a proper examination to find and treat the root cause of the ailment. In Buddhism, we take the exact same fundamental approach to life’s anxieties and worries: rather than relying on temporary distractions, we must address the root cause of our suffering.

Human anxieties can be broadly divided into two categories: those concerning health and finances, and those concerning the quality of life itself. While health and financial concerns do not apply equally to everyone, they represent areas where personal effort and diligence can often bring about positive changes. But what about the quality of life? What does “quality of life” actually mean? Is it determined by meeting wonderful people, or is it the accumulation of our achievements? There are many different perspectives on this matter.

By the way, do you feel that a year in childhood and a year in adulthood have the same length? Although they are objectively identical, many adults feel that a year passes by much faster. It is often said that as we age, a single year represents a smaller fraction of our lives lived so far, making it feel shorter. However, the true answer lies in the presence or absence of change. Spending our days in the same place, with the same people, doing the same things leaves us with fewer distinct memories, making the time seem to vanish. For instance, if you drive for ten hours on a routine route, how much of that journey will you remember later? But if you go on a ten-hour sightseeing trip and experience many new things, you will likely remember almost every detail of what you saw, where you went, and what you ate.

One day, every single one of us will look back upon our journey in our final moments. At that threshold, two things will be of vital importance. The first is being able to look back and say, “I have lived a truly good life.” The second is having a clear spiritual destination. In our teachings, this destination is the Pure Land, the world of Amida Buddha. You have come here today to encounter the Buddha at this temple. Your family may have long-held traditions of conducting memorial services for your ancestors here, but do you know the true meaning of these rituals? They signify that when this present life ends, we will be born into the Pure Land of Amida Buddha. The core teaching of Jodo Shinshu is precisely to aspire for birth in this Pure Land. Therefore, everyone gathered here today will surely meet again in the world of Amida Buddha. The teaching of this temple is to make the promise that we will meet again.

Our talk today began with the quality of life. In the end, a life of true quality is one where, as we look back in our final moments, we find ourselves filled with gratitude for a journey rich with meaningful memories, while also holding a clear answer to the ultimate question: “Where am I going?” We express this profound aspiration to meet again in the Pure Land of Amida Buddha through the Nembutsu. Thank you very much. Namandabu.