The Six Paramitas - Diligence
- rklabuddhistcenter
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
Kyohei Mikawa
Minister, Rissho Kosei-kai of Los Angeles
This is a story that exemplifies the practice of diligence. On my way to my office this morning, I noticed that the vehicle I was driving started to shake a little, and the engine light on the dashboard began blinking. Sensing that something might be seriously wrong, I parked the vehicle and texted board chair Toshimi to report the issue. The vehicle I drive is his generous donation to our RKLA Buddhist Center in 2023. He suggested that I contact Leo, a longtime leader in our dharma family who volunteers to fix various things essential to the life of RKLA.
At 8:50 AM, I called Leo. He answered and said, “OK, I will be there in about 40 minutes after finishing my breakfast.” He arrived with a smile, and after checking the engine he said, “Let’s go to RKLA. I will inspect it there and find a way to fix it. Since you may be worried about your safety, let me follow you in case something happens on the way.” After 20 minutes of driving with the vehicle still shaking, we both safely arrived, and he fixed it with the help of a couple of other people.
Leo’s presence upon arrival relieved my anxiety. I lost my father 11 years ago, and if he were alive, he would be close to Leo’s age. Leo’s arrival reminded me of the heartwarming feeling I had when my father came to help me in difficult moments. For example, he once came to support me when I was struggling to quit my previous job because of my short-tempered supervisor, who had been a member of a Japanese “violent running tribe” (bōsōzoku). Leo’s care, his willingness to come right away, and the way he helped solve the problem exemplified the practice of diligence, the fourth element of the Buddhist teaching of the Six Paramitas.
According to Ani’s The End of Suffering, “diligence” is “the antidote to apathy and despair” (112). She writes that “here in our world, diligence is overlooked in favor of immediacy” (112). I think she is right that our culture today shapes us to seek immediate results, or else we become frustrated and give up easily. What fuels this cycle is a more fundamental value prevalent in our society: the primacy of achievements over the process of making effort toward a goal.
Ani’s message reminds me that the value Buddhism promotes is noticing and appreciating the journey toward a destination. The practice of diligence is important to me because it helps me remain committed to cherishing the process without becoming frustrated (or at least less frustrated than before) when immediate results are not visible.
For instance, one of my favorite Buddhist practices is listening deeply to people’s emotions in order to increase my understanding of the person in front of me or the situation I am in.
When people shared their struggles or pain in the past, I often jumped quickly into giving advice because I felt frustrated with my own helplessness. But through years of training to become a better listener, I realized that holding space for someone by listening carefully and asking gentle questions is often far more effective than giving advice. That is what members of Rissho Kosei-kai strive to do in our hoza practice.
In a wondrous way, when the practice of listening allows someone to process their thoughts and feelings, they often begin to discover their own solution by the end of the session. When that moment happens, it fills me with happiness for them. Yet even before that, the moment when someone speaks their truth is already something for which I feel deep gratitude.
When results are pursued with force, they may arrive slowly. But when the process itself is cherished, results sometimes arise naturally and unexpectedly. This is how the Dharma works in our world. It is something I never learned in school.
What practice of “diligence” do you engage in? Please share in the comment section below. Let’s talk.
Wondrously,
Kyohei
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