Observing Eitaikyo – and Remembering, Thanking Ancestors

“Gan ni shi ku doku         (“I vow that the virtue of truth

Byou dou se is sai           Be given equally to all.

Dou hotsu bo dai shin.    May they awaken the bodhi mind

Ou jou an rak-koku.”       And realize the realm of peace and joy.”)

— Master Shan Tao’s “Ekoku”

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At San Luis Obispo Buddhist Church (SLOBC), we observe the Eitaikyo service close to the American holiday of Thanksgiving. We, like the Pilgrims, have a luncheon of “traditional foods.” We do not have venison like the first Pilgrims, but we feast on what we have been raised on. This luncheon is our version of the first Thanksgiving. 

It is our way of remembering and thanking those who have gone before us. It is our thankfulness, gratitude and appreciation for what they shared. 

These ancestors gave so much of their time, wealth, hard work and dedication so that future generations and newcomers could have a safe place to truly hear, listen, learn and begin to understand the Buddha-Dharma. It is through their entrusting that we can come together as a Sangha. It is saying Namu Amida Butsu to our ancestors for their compassion and wisdom.

American history has shown that it was the Pilgrims who first sailed to America. They arrived around 1620 on the ship Mayflower. They considered themselves “separatists” who rejected the Church of England and sought religious freedom in a new land. They would settle in Plymouth, Massachusetts. 

In 1630, the Puritans arrived. Some Puritans were considered non-separatists, who sought to reform the Church of England. They settled the Massachusetts Bay Colony, just north of the Plymouth Colony. Sarah Crabtree, a historian at San Francisco State University, wrote that Puritans rejected religious freedom and never tried adopting the Pilgrims’ initiative.

The indigenous people and Pilgrims did not gather to share a meal. Craig Lambert, deputy editor of Harvard Magazine, wrote that many Pilgrims perished during the first winter in America because of dysentery, pneumonia, tuberculosis, scurvy and exposure to the elements, as well as attacks by indigenous warriors. 

However, there was a lone warrior named Samoset who appeared and greeted the Pilgrims when he walked into their establishment. He eventually formed a union with the Pilgrims. It was Samoset who introduced the Wampanoag tribe and its chief Massasoit to the Pilgrims. 

Both groups of people realized they needed each other. The chief and 90 warriors did appear at the Pilgrims’ first feast, bringing venison to the meal. Centuries later, author and editor Sarah Josepha Hale encouraged President Abraham Lincoln to declare the third Thursday in November as a national holiday, known as Thanksgiving. 

We have our own “Pilgrims” in history. Some are unknown heroes. One was Manjiro Nakahama. At the age of 14 years, Nakahama and four other members of a fishing crew were caught in a violent storm and were stranded on an island 300 miles away from their coastline of Shikoku, Japan. 

After spending five months marooned on an island, they were rescued by an American whaling ship. Nakahama would be adopted by Capt. William Whitfield and his name would be changed to John Mung or John Manjiro. 

Manjiro was educated in English, mathematics, surveying and navigation in addition to shipbuilding. According to the National Endowment of the Humanities, Manjiro returned to Japan. His knowledge of America made him an important asset to the Japanese government. Some historians said that Manjiro was an ambassador and/or an interpreter for Commodore Matthew C. Perry. Whatever his role, Manjiiro would help “open the door to the West.”

Yet, there were unknown, adventurous and courageous people who helped generate Jodo Shinshu in America. If not for these Issei (first-generation Japanese in America) adventurers, who asked our mother temple, Nishi Hongwanji, to send ministers, where would we be today? 

These Issei were valuable in establishing Jodo Shinshu in America. In September 1899, Rev. Dr. Shuye Sonoda and Rev. Kakuryo Nishima arrived in San Francisco. This marked our beginning “roots” in the establishment of Jodo Shinshu in America. 

Eitaikyo is a time of sharing thanks and to honor our ancestors who saw a future. They wanted Jodo Shinshu to continue to help others “search and find” their path and continue to help those who are already on the path. 

It is Namu Amida Butsu in thankfulness, gratitude and appreciation for not giving up, so that we can begin and continue our path of realizing our “true self” and deepening our entrusting. 

As translated in Master Shan Tao’s “Ekoku,” it is the directing of the virtues to all beings, equally, hopefully helping open the Bodhi mind so we can begin to realize peace and joy. 

Namu Amida Butsu to our ancestors’ forethought, direction and for their entrusting in Buddha, so that we can always have a special Thanksgiving.