Many people think that the Kingdom of God is a place where there is no suffering,
there is only happiness.
There are those of us who think that the Pure Land is a place
where there is no suffering.
If you have a beautiful garden,
and if you are the gardener,
you know that in your garden
there are are flowers, of course, but there is garbage also.
Because if there are flowers, there must be garbage.
Flowers are to become garbage.
But you don't mind,
because you know that garbage can be transformed back into flowers.
Without garbage there is no flower.
Without suffering there can be no happiness.
Can you imagine a place where there is only happiness?
Can you imagine a garden where there are only flowers?
And these flowers never become garbage?
You must agree with the fact that in the Kingdom of God
there is compassion, and understanding, love.
In the Pure Land of the Buddha also
there is compassion, understanding,
forgiveness.
But let us ask the question as,
with what substance we fabricate compassion?
And joy, and forgiveness?
The quality of a Buddha,
of a great being, is understanding and compassion.
Let us ask this question,
how can we cultivate understanding and compassion?
Understanding and compassion are the two most precious flowers.
It is very clear, everyone is able to see
that if you do not understand suffering,
you can never cultivate compassion and understanding.
It is by getting in touch with suffering
that you bring about understanding and compassion.
If you have no chance to get in touch with the suffering,
how can you cultivate understanding and compassion?
So,
the flower of understanding and compassion is made with the garbage of suffering.
It is by touching the suffering,
it is by getting in touch with the suffering,
that you have a chance to understand the nature of suffering,
that you can bring about understanding and compassion.
Therefore, suffering is very, very crucial,
very necessary for us to cultivate understanding and compassion.
Do you want to send your children to a place where there is no suffering?
In that place, he or she will never have a chance
to learn how to be understanding and compassionate.
Because understanding and compassion are born on the ground of suffering.
And you know it by yourself.
That is why, my definition of the Kingdom of God
is not a place where there is no suffering.
I would not go to a place where there is no suffering.
I have no chance to cultivate my understanding and compassion.
I refuse to go to such a place.
Such a place can never exist.
It is like a garden that only has flowers.
And the flowers never turn back into garbage.
This is absurd, this is impossible!
My understanding of the Kingdom of God
is that it is a place where there is understanding and compassion.
And if there is understanding and compassion,
there is also the other side of it: suffering.
That is a place where people know how to transform suffering
into understanding and compassion.
In the Pure Land also
there are bodhisattvas who master the art of transformation.
So you can bring your suffering over there.
They will help you to transform.
It is with this element of suffering
that you can cultivate compassion and understanding.
So, thinking of the Kingdom of God
as a place where there is no suffering is a very naive idea.
Thinking of the Pure Land of the Buddha
as a place where there is only happiness, no suffering,
is a very absurd, naive idea.
That is why, it is better to define the Kingdom of God
as a place where there are plenty of chances to learn,
to understand suffering,
so that we can cultivate our understanding and compassion.
And there are buddhas, bodhisattvas, angels, who know how to do it
and who teach us how to do it. And we are no longer afraid of suffering,
because we have mastered the art of transforming suffering
into understanding and compassion.
In the teaching of the Buddha,
it is by looking deeply into the nature of suffering,
the first noble truth,
that you have a chance to see
the path of transformation and healing, which is the fourth noble truth,
'magga', the path.
The fourth noble truth is the path of transformation.
And if you try to run away from the first noble truth,
there is no chance for you to see the fourth noble truth.
The first noble truth
and the fourth noble truth inter-are. Without one, there is no the other.
That is the teaching of interbeing.
That is why, we, practitioners,
we should not be afraid of suffering.
We should be able to face suffering, to embrace suffering,
to look deeply into the nature of suffering.
And then, understanding suffering brings about
the path of transformation and healing.
Trying to run away from suffering, you have no chance.