Today, each of you has come to this place bringing your own unique thoughts and circumstances, gathering together to remember those who are so deeply important. Gently placing your hands together toward someone you cannot see, or quietly listening to the resonant sound of the sutras. Do you not find yourself suddenly wondering, “What is the true meaning behind these actions?” In fact, it is precisely within the outward form you are practicing right now that the deepest wisdom of Buddhism is hidden.

We often think that only after our hearts are completely purified, or after we have understood everything, can we begin to live serenely like the Buddha. However, those who attain true peace reverse this order. No matter how many uncertainties or doubts fill their hands, they first try to “imitate the Buddha.” They entrust themselves to the sound of the sutras chanted since ancient times, immerse themselves completely in the temple’s silence, and place their hands together with care. By entering this sacred form first, our once-restless minds are naturally rescued and calmed from the outside in.

Just as our bodies are built from the food we eat, our hearts are constructed from the words we hear with our ears and the thoughts we harbor within our chests. When our spirits are dry, we tend to calculate only the immediate present, thinking, “Will I lose something right now?” or “How much can I spare myself?” But choosing to live each day carelessly, thinking “this is good enough,” quietly destroys our peace of mind without our realizing it, moving us away from true tranquility.

It is incredibly difficult to build a world of inner peace that we do not yet know entirely from scratch inside our own heads. Therefore, shifting our point of view just a little, we try to choose the Buddha’s teachings first in the minor decisions of daily life. We experience following in his footsteps. Instead of looking at “how much I will gain,” we try to choose the invisible value: “How much peace will this gesture bring to my heart?” We deliberately select a single meal, a single encounter, or the gentle words that soothe someone else.

This is never a falsehood meant to make us appear good. It is, in truth, an indispensable mold designed to let the welcoming warmth of the Buddha, which already exists there, spread and adhere directly to our own hearts. Repeating this practice, even little by little, will one day transform our speech, change our perspective, and completely renew our way of living.

In the Amida Sutra, it is taught that within the Pure Land, “everything exists.” On the other hand, it is also taught that the realm of enlightenment is a “world where nothing exists.” To have everything and, at the same time, to possess nothing. This is not an unresolvable contradiction. Today, when you thought of those who have departed, setting aside immediate gains and attachments to join your hands in silent prayer… a “quiet and empty room” opened deep within your hearts. And it is precisely into this empty room that the infinite compassion of the Buddha enters and completely overflows. Without calculating prices or benefits, we experience simply surrendering ourselves to this serene reality. The very fact that you are here today for the sake of someone precious, joining your hands at this moment, is the surest proof and entrance into a life of peace, guarded by that immense power we call the Buddha.