All Things Bright and Beautiful

“We Christians have no monopoly on the Holy Spirit:  All those who are led by the Spirit of God are [daughters and] sons of God. (Romans 8:14)  No wonder, then, that a Buddhist who is not afraid of the pain it brings to be truly alive—birth pain, growing pain—should recognize the Holy Spirit as the ultimate source of all aliveness.  The Spirit blows where she wills. (John 3:8)  And no wonder that alive Christians recognize their sisters and brothers in the Holy Spirit anywhere.”

These are the words written by Brother David Steindl-Rast, OSB, in the forward of the book called “Living Buddha, Living Christ,” written by Thich Nhat Hanh.

There is a Buddhist nun I met about 20 years ago named Jun-san Yasuda, who lives near the Grafton Peace Pagoda near Albany, NY.  She is from the Nipponzan Myohoji order whose life mission is to walk and pray for peace and social justice.  She has lead several walks for peace throughout the United States, and especially through New York State.

In 2010 Jun-san was preparing to walk for the Proliferation of Nuclear Arms and was especially interested in calling attention to Native American reservations being used to store arms.  She needed to get to Buffalo, NY to talk with the native chief and other Indian leaders.  She remembered I helped her when she did a similar peace walk to commemorate the anniversary of the Underground Railroad.  This time, she not only needed a ride but a place to stay the night before.  I said yes, come, Jun-san!  It’s what everyone generally says to this remarkable woman… yes!

One late afternoon in March this 62 year old Buddhist nun stood at my doorstep in her yellow and white robe and blessed my house with her prayer drum and chanted:   

Na-mu-myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo: "One Earth, one sky, entirely at peace."

I welcomed her into my home.  That evening we got to talk about her life and her dedication to peace and a nuclear free world.  I also asked her about her family, did she have brothers and sisters; what did her parents think of her vocation?  It was good to get to know this saint of a figure as another woman, like me, same age, same generation, same desires for peace and compassion in the world.

That night before she went to sleep she alerted me that she would be up very early to do some personal meditation and prayers and that I could join her when I got up.  She said she would burn incense and not to worry if it smelled like something was burning in the house.

Sometime after 5:00 a.m. I did smell a pungent smoke rise up the stairway and greet me in this unusual way.  I wanted to drift back to sleep.  The bed was warm.  The room was cold.  I closed my eyes and then heard the gentle tapping of the prayer drum.  I heard the chanting of her low voice, sweet and mysterious.  When I made my way down to the first floor of the house Jun-san was seated on her mat on the dining room floor facing the large window that looks out at the back gardens.  Incense was burning on the table.  She had a chair waiting for me.  She perhaps knew it was not easy for me to get up and down off the floor.  So I sat quietly beside her and listened and prayed at that very early hour… something I don’t usually do until later in the morning.

When Jun-san stopped, she turned to me and gave me her prayer drum and said, “Marie-san… you pray now.”

I was taken aback, though I kept my cool.  I could do this.  I’ve been working in the faith community over 25 years and have assisted in plenty of worship services. But honestly, I didn’t have a clue as to what to say.  I took the wooden prayer drum from her hands and held it in mine, tapping a similar rhythm .  I looked out the window at the sun starting to lighten the sky and thought how very spiritual this moment was.  I began to sing a Christian hymn I’ve known for many years; “All things bright and beautiful; all creatures great and small.  All things wise and wonderful; the Lord God made them all.” 

“We Christians have no monopoly on the Holy Spirit:  All those who are led by the Spirit of God are [daughters and] sons of God. The Spirit blows where she wills