It will soon be an end of the year, so let me tell a story standing out in my memory.
A few months ago, I turned out to a live show of music label named 12K. I had wished to see a live of solo andata. Some of their performances were held at Komyoji temple at Kamiyacho Kanda in Tokyo. I could not understand why a live music show was held at a temple. There is an ocean of graves in front of portable stalls that sell food or drink. It should be impossible to enjoy bevvy in such a place. Also I could not see any reason to present such a delicate sound like Ambient in a temple that does not have good audio equipment. As predicted, the live was not satisfactory and I split after short 15 minutes. But there was a lay sermon by a bonze of the temple before the live. The content was as follows.
“Today, I will talk about a marriage. Once upon a time, a king and his wife in India were engaging their faith of marriage. A Buddhist monk asked, ‘What is your most significant thing?’ The king answered, ‘Absolutely my wife.’ But the wife, when being asked the same question, said nothing after a moment’s thought. She did not say that the husband was. The king the husband was downhearted by that. Looking the air, the monk admonished, ‘Human is always a very egocentric creature, and loves oneself first. There is nothing more important than oneself. If you marry someone and would like to live together forever, do think a great deal of the partner as much as you think of yourself.’ Do not forget this spirit and establish a good relation forever with the partner who is next to you.”
When I heard this story, I resolved not to forget this through my life. If one esteems someone higher than self, it may end up with ruining oneself. Also I experienced a case that ended while I was only a receiver and not a giver for the partner. If this is a magic formula for marriage, I think I listened to a very good story that day.
