Good morning. How are you today? Bloom your own way, at your very best. This is Yukihiro Shima, Oubaitori.com. Morning Daimoku, ten thousand chants. Today is number 1,136.
Yesterday, after working from early morning, eight of us went out together. My daughters had searched hard on their phones and found the place. An all-you-can-eat sweets shop.
We walked in. And I understood where we were standing. The world of Hunger.
Eight of Us, One Hour, All the Sweets We Wanted
We booked from one in the afternoon. One hour. The shop had a Showa-era feel to it, and it was smaller than I had pictured. That surprised me a little.
The grandchildren did not care at all. “This is heaven,” they said. They read the posters on the wall out loud, word for word. Ice cream. Chocolate. There was a chocolate tower, and after that there was no stopping them. “Quiet down a little” was all this grandfather could manage.
What We Chose at the End: Salted Rice Crackers and Small Pieces of Bread
My wife and I ate along with them. But we could not eat much. Sweetness turns heavy, and it turns heavy fast.
So what did we choose at the end of that day?
Salted rice crackers. And bread, cut into small pieces.
That is where it settles. However strong the wanting is, salt takes over at the end. A cheese roll and a plain white one put you back in order. Desire seems to be built that way. I sat there thinking about it, in the middle of all that noise.
After that came the playground, of course. The children love it. It sits outside the all-you-can-eat world, and it was free. My daughters added that up. “The value here is good,” they said. Then they subtracted the children’s leftover energy, and they were pleased with both sums.
Experience Is What Decides a Life
The world of Hunger is one of the Ten Worlds. Wanting, wanting. Getting it, and still not being full. It is in every one of us. It is in me.
But reading about it is one thing. Walking into it with eight people is another. Experience is what decides a life. Yesterday I learned that again, in the world of Hunger, with my grandchildren beside me.
There is work waiting today as well. Early morning again, and the question is how much I can do in this short stretch of time. That is today’s challenge.
Let’s Daimoku. Let’s win today.
🙏 From Yukihiro Shima — Oubaitori.com
Bloom your own way, at your very best.
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