Fasten Your Seatbelts – We’re in for a Bumpy Ride

When I began writing this message, I was flying back to Burbank from San Jose. Overnight the weather had turned from being unseasonably balmy to bringing a winter chill with strong gusts of wind and snow in the mountains. I shivered as we boarded but soon after take-off, the late afternoon sun offered welcome warmth as its rays penetrated the cabin. Outside, the brightness shimmered in silver and gold on the waters of Monterey Bay just to the west, contrasting with the lengthening shadows of the hills directly below. I settled in comfortably for the short ride home.

The flight attendants were working their way down the aisle taking orders for refreshments when the pilot’s voice abruptly broke the calm. Ordering the crew to take its seats, he explained to the rest of us that we were about to hit a patch of heavy clouds. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced, “please fasten your seatbelts. We’re in for a bumpy ride.”

The dollops of fluffy white clouds I’d noticed only moments before had morphed into massively threatening forms that were already beginning to obscure the view. Within minutes we were enveloped in greyness, unable to see beyond the windows. The plane jolted and bounced and dipped a couple of times. The little boy seated in front of me was having a great time, screaming and giggling with joy as if he were riding a roller coaster. Me, not so much. I don’t even like riding on merry-go-rounds. Still, his light-heartedness helped me put things into perspective.

I’ve flown many times in my life, and there have been some rough rides. Thanks to the skill of the pilots and the safety of the aircraft, the worst that has ever happened has been a drink spilled in my lap. Remembering this, I hit “save” and closed my computer before the next bump caused me to accidentally lose my work (which ultimately, I scrapped to write this).

Sitting in the gloom, it occurred to me that life is like this. In one moment, we’re just going along enjoying pleasant conditions, expecting to get to our destination as planned, when out of the blue we encounter obstacles. At times, we’re plunged into darkness. It can cause confusion, maybe even fear, anger, and other emotions. As we grow up, we develop a habit of believing we are solely in control, forgetting that what happens in our lives also depends on our interrelationship with all other beings and events. Bumps are inevitable. It’s how we choose to meet them that makes all the difference. Sometimes there’s nothing more we can do than to know that we’re not in this alone. From prior experience, we can rest assured that we will in all likelihood emerge somewhere further along to carry on with more of life’s ups and downs. We’re oblivious to so much and yet we’re receiving all the time.

I heard the little boy exclaim, “Look, Daddy!” As we descended below the cover, we were treated to a beautiful display of our slate-grey clouds tinted in pink, orange and violet. A surreal light bathed the Valley in an indescribable glow. It had been easy to forget that the sun was still shining, shrouded as we were in obscurity. No wonder the Japanese term for our normal state is “mumyo no yami,” meaning the darkness of ignorance. We are oblivious to the fact that the infinite light of wisdom and immeasurable compassion of life constantly surrounds us, because we are usually blinded by our own ego-minds. Why is it so difficult to simply open our eyes?

Night had fallen by time I got back to my car. The clouds were breaking up to reveal the glow of a crescent moon and jewel-like stars twinkling through the cold air. It was an extra treat after the colour-show of sunset.

Perhaps we are more able to appreciate the gifts of light in all its forms because of darkness. Shinran reminds us:

The cloud of light is unhindered, like open sky;

There is nothing that impedes it.

Every being is nurtured by this light,

So take refuge in Amida, which is beyond conception.

[Hymns of the Pure Land #6]

Namo Amida Butsu

Gassho,

Rev. Patricia Usuki