We can’t make the air. And of course we can’t make the sunlight. Nor can we make water. We do, however, benefit greatly from these things that human beings can’t make, and because of them we are caused to live. Within the endlessly interacting operations of causes and conditions, the air, the sun, the water, and everything else is working all-out to allow us to live. One way to express this is, “We live by the grace of infinite blessings.”
The same attitude appears in the Japanese phrase daion wa hōzezu, meaning “Large favors go unrewarded.” An example of a small favor is when you make a little mistake at work and a coworker helps you out. You can repay that favor by doing something that brings joy to both you and the other person. However, a favor such as the precious gift of life is so large that it is difficult to notice; therefore we don’t form any urgent desire to reciprocate it.
And yet, if you calm your mind and meditate on the sun, the air, water, and the Buddha, you will become aware of the large favors you have received from them. You will feel deeply, “It is not by my strength” and “I am not living; I am being caused to live.”
Kokorono manako o hiraku [Opening the Mind’s Eye] (Kosei Publishing, 2013), pp. 41–42
Nichiko Niwano is president of Rissho Kosei-kai and an honorary president of Religions for Peace. He also serves as an advisor to Shinshuren (Federation of New Religious Organizations of Japan).
