Morning Daimoku #1,216 — A Clear Sunday at Navel Park: A Warm, Heartfelt Time

Good morning. I hope you’re doing well today. This is Shima from Oubaitori. This is my Morning Daimoku journal — ten thousand daimoku each morning.

Yesterday was a perfectly clear day. It felt so good — the sky was so high.

A Clear Day at Navel Park, and the Pony Course

Here in Koga City, Ibaraki, where I live, there is a place called Navel Park, a wonderful spot where children, and adults too, can really enjoy themselves.

There is a pony course there. The staff put a child on a pony and lead it around — I think they call it a led pony ride. At first I couldn’t hear, but when I listened carefully, the child and the staff member were really talking with each other.

The child was giggling and laughing, and as I gradually took it all in, I thought: Ah, how wonderful, how lovely. This must be such a good experience for a child. I was deeply moved.

A Warm, Heartfelt Time with My Wife

With my wife, too, natural conversation had somehow become rare in our everyday lives. So in that sense, we looked back on the past — “Oh, that’s right, when our own children were that age, we put them on a pony right there, didn’t we?” — and we were able to make a warm, heartfelt time together.

A Gongyo Meeting for New Members, and a Baby’s Smile

Then in the evening, at the Koga Cultural Center, I took part in a gongyo meeting welcoming new members of the organization I’ve been assigned to support. I went a little early and had a good talk with everyone. I’m so glad I did.

There was a little baby there, too. I smiled at the baby and said, “Isn’t this nice, ○○-chan?” — and it was amazing. From the waiting room at the very start right through to the very end, the baby was so good and so calm. And when I said, “See you!”, the baby waved back like this. It was a wonderful time.

Let’s Daimoku! With daimoku as our foundation, let us walk together toward a good day and a good life. Thank you.