When I moved to this property five years ago, I told my friends and family, “I don’t care about the house. The important thing is the land.” And at that time in my life, it was true.
I’ve lived in crappy apartments and bunkhouses. When I went to Afghanistan, I shared a tent with 60 other US Marines. I’ve also slept on the ground under the stars many times in my life.
So I had a lot of flexibility when it came to my living situation. I was minimalist and I felt proud to be able to fit my life into one big backpack. As a Buddhist, I wanted to have no attachments outside of my own mind.
The house was a place to rest and study the scriptures—nothing more. But life changed and my mind changed with it. Every day I spent in the house and on the property, they felt more like a part of me. The faulty electricity and water leaking into the basement during storms started to bother me.
Step by step, I started projects to fix the house and improve the property.
Outside, I planted a garden and built a greenhouse. I filled in large holes in the lawn that threatened to swallow my lawnmower. At the house, a steady stream of contractors worked tirelessly. They installed modern electrical wiring and waterproofed the basement. New gutters were followed by a new roof and new vinyl siding.
The house improved, the land improved, and over time my mind improved. I felt satisfaction each time I saw the improvements, and I felt a connection to the property because I had stories associated with each project.
“The painters were excellent,” I told my family when I showed them pictures of the newly painted garage.
“Next, I want to create a new path in the garden,” I thought as I sipped tea and looked out at the lawn.
With each improvement, the work of my hands and the thoughts of my mind became reality, and I saw a part of myself in the world. With each change, the land and my hands became one, and I cared for one in the same way I cared for the other.
Slowly, my detachment was replaced with empathy. My disdain for the secular world was replaced with compassion. And every time I saw a toad, a bee, or a butterfly enjoying the fruits of my labor, a part of my heart was healed.
In Buddhism, we learn that everything in the world exists as a result of other things. Flowers live because the earth gives them nutrients and the sun gives them warmth. The oak tree lives because the squirrel plants the acorn. Every life and every action is the result of every other action.
In this way, we live in an infinite web that binds all things together. In the scriptures, this way of being is described in the story of Indra’s Net. The net is infinite in width and height. At every point where the string touches there is a diamond that reflects all the other diamonds.
Thus, each diamond is an individual and part of a larger whole. When these diamonds—and the people they represent—benefit others, they benefit themselves. And when the world improves, the individual also improves.
When we use our life, our body, our blood in the work of enhancing the world around us, it is impossible for our life, body, and blood to not be enhanced in the process.
The Buddha discovered this 2,600 years ago and left his life in the palace to teach this simple truth. And thanks to the love and compassion of students and teachers throughout the centuries, we have the ability to study his work and learn the truth of the universe.
A diamond’s light is reflected in other diamonds.
The incredible thing is that we don’t need to be brilliant scholars or ascetic monks to learn and teach Buddhism. We simply need the desire to help others and make the world a little better.
When we hang a beautiful picture on the wall or share a funny story with a friend, the light of the Buddha shines a little brighter in our hearts. And that light is reflected in the hearts of all people around the world.
This is an important lesson, but it’s a difficult one. The world can be harsh and cruel. Sometimes we don’t want to help others because others have hurt us.
Other times, we may feel we don’t have the power to make a difference.
But in these moments, it is important to remember Indra’s net. And remember that the light of a single diamond shines in all the diamonds of the world.
We don’t need to let others hurt us. And we don’t need to try and save the world. We just need to work to improve things in our own lives and watch as the world improves around us.
Namu Amida Butsu
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