No. 461
“Just as with the cultivation of the land, if we fail to cultivate our minds every single day, our minds will deteriorate further and further.” Young Priest.
畑を耕すように、私たちの心も毎日耕さないと、冷たくなっていく一方です。 （ある若僧分の言）
No. 462
“Although I have already started down the slippery slope towards old age, what I have in common with you is the fact that our lives set us questions for us to answer. Although you may consider your lives to be your own personal property, this is not in fact so. It is obvious your lives do not belong to you because you cannot even imagine when they will end. None of you has chosen your life. Your life exists in itself [beyond your understanding].” A message to students living at the temple from a priest of the Hokuriku District.
若い皆さんと、老いの坂を下り始めている私ですが、共通しているのは、命からの問いかけだと思います。命は我がモノだと思っておられるかもわかりません が、そうではありません。我がものでない証拠に、何時終わるのか見当も付きませんでしょう。またこの命を選んでもいないのです。命は命のものなので す。 （さる北陸のご僧分より、寺内止住学生へのメッセージ）
No. 463
“The essence of Buddhism lies in practice. Although there seem to be two kinds of futility: 1) ‘futility’ in the sense that you don’t work at all because you imagine your efforts will be ‘futile’ and 2) ‘futility’ in the sense that you find something ‘futile’ after you have worked at it with your whole being, you should understand that those two are totally different in quality.” Head Priest.
佛教は行。頭の中で整理して、「無駄であろう」と予測し、何も動かないことと、体を動かしてみて、「無駄だった」と体感することとは、同じ「無駄」でも、全く異なります。 （住職の言）
No. 464
“A photographer once said, ‘Between black and white there exists an infinite zone of grey.’ In our minds also there exists just such a grey zone. Shinran Shonin tells us that making use of this ‘grey zone’ to conceal our evil past and mystify others is being ‘false and untrue’.” Senior priest.
「黒と白との間に無限のグレーゾーンがある」とカメラマンが云った。そのグレーゾーンで、自らの宿悪を覆い隠し、煙幕を張っている実体を、聖人は虚仮不実と申された。 （ある老僧分）
No. 465
“The very first impression we had on entering the Samgha was how happy we felt to be welcomed just as we were in our absolute entirety, along with everything that had happened or was to happen to us, our whole past and our whole future.” Head Priest.
僧伽の原風景は、「善来」と迎えて頂いた前景と後景、即ち未来と過去を尽くし、全てを迎え取って頂いた喜びです。 （住職の言）
No. 466
“Because my demanding mind is not yet exhausted, I have only been receiving compassion from the temple. I would like, however, at least to continue to ask how I should properly receive it.” Young Dharma friend.
いつまでたっても要求心が絶えず、お慈悲を頂くばかりの私ですが、せめてその「頂く姿勢」を問い続けます。 （ある青年同行の言）
No. 467
“How can lay people attain Buddhahood? The only way is through repentance of their attachment to self-power and realization of how heavily burdened they are with blind passions.” Head Priest.
在家の者が佛になるとはどういうことか。それは自力心を懺悔する人であること、そして煩悩成就と知る人です。 （住職の言）
No. 468
“I am deeply ashamed that it is in my nature to make others work instead of working myself.” Young priest.
自分では動かず、すぐに人を動かそうとする我が本性を、恥ずかしく思うばかりです。 （ある若僧分の言）
No. 469
“When we surrender ourselves to the Buddha, forsaking all embellishments, an entirely different, resplendent world opens before us, a world wherein we find our strength and our joy.” Head Priest.
心に飾りを付けずに、頭を下げさせて貰った時に、全く違う世界、光明の世界が開けてくる。そこから喜びが生まれ、力が出てくる。 （住職の言）
No. 470
“There is no difference between preparation and performance. Every hour and every moment is an actual performance when we should attain faith.” Young priest.
準備も本番もない、時々刻々が信心決定の本番。 （ある若僧分の法話レジメより）