We observed Nirvana Day and Monthly Memorial Service last February 15. Reverend Masumi Kikuchi from Toronto Buddhist Church was a guest minister who gave Dharma talk to us. She used a hand written picture-story show to introduce a story to Dharma school students. I summarized the story and want to share with you once again.
As the story goes, in the Sutra on Amida Buddha (Amidakyo), a bird called the "Gumyo Bird" (lit. "share-life bird") is introduced. As shown in the carvings on the large front table in the altar of the Founder's Hall (Goeido) at the Hongwanji, this fictitious bird has two heads, both with the human faces. It can be said that the body represents life, and the two heads symbolize our bonno, or "blind passions."
Bonno are a part of our human nature that we cannot rid ourselves of, and the reason they are referred to as "blind passions" is that we neither see them nor want to acknowledge them. This inability to rid ourselves of our earthly desires is represented by the two heads being linked to the body of the bird. If the two heads were to go in opposite directions, it would only be inviting disaster. If the two heads were to argue, one will eventually fall, with the other immediately following. They will both fall because they are a connected to one body. In other words, their roots are connected to the same life.
Namo Amida Butsu
Tatsuya Aoki
