Buds Sprout from Knots

by Zenye Nakayama

Each of the various events we encounter in our life is a juncture at which we are meant to progress to a new stage of human development. I wonder if we might speak about this today.

In the course of our lifetime, we cross a number of thresholds, each of which brings us to a new stage of growth. These thresholds begin with our birth itself and include such things as starting school, graduation, employment, marriage, becoming parents, and even moving into a new house or changing jobs. Almost everyone crosses these thresholds of passage. The change that occurs with each of these is not only one in our environment but also a transformation in our psychological readiness for a new role in life.

These thresholds serve to partition our life into stages, at each of which we finish with our life as we have known it until then and begin a new stage of life.

I should like to compare these thresholds to knots, "knots" in the sense of tree nodes or bamboo joints from which new growth occurs. Viewing them as knots, we can understand thresholds to be junctures in our lives, stages at which we set aside previous goals and step toward new ones, and even opportunities to change our direction in life.

This process of making growth at each of these knots calls forth the image of buds sprouting from tree or bamboo knots. Wouldn't you agree that the phrase "Buds sprout from knots" provides us with a totally optimistic viewpoint that can help us to meet any hardship without succumbing?

Among the knots we encounter during the course of our life, there are those that bring us delight and happiness such as our first day at school, our marriage, and the birth of our children. And there are also knots that bring us disappointment, suffering, or sadness such as illness, accidents, partings, and failure in school or business. The knots that bring us delight have a way of slipping by without our ever realizing they were knots. When we encounter knots that cause us pain and suffering, on the other hand, we very often become depressed, wondering why we always seem to be the ones who are so unfortunate. To make things worse, these painful knots often occur in spite of our usual carefulness and efforts to avoid them, and without our knowing why they happened in the first place.

When I was a boy, my mother would always tell any of us who became ill or had a swelling: "Illness and swellings are God's guidance for us. Whenever we receive such guidance, we should reflect on ourselves and correct the way we use our minds. What is more, we should always remember that it was the swelling or illness that provided us with the opportunity to reflect on ourselves. That helps us to be thankful for it. While it is important to reflect on ourselves, it is even more important to feel joy for the guidance we receive."

Similar things are happening around us all the time. Quarreling because of differences in opinion or being injured due to carelessness can also be thought of as guidance for us. Since these appear to be small problems, however, we may end up letting them pass by, without realizing that they are informing us of something.

Just as parents are always looking out for the well-being of their children, God the Parent, our true Parent, is constantly informing us of our mistaken thoughts while they are still small. If we are not attentive to this guidance, then the manner in which we are informed of our mistaken thoughts may become more exacting. This is very much like what happens with dust. When fine particles of dust alight on a surface, a single puff may suffice to blow them away. But when our inattentiveness allows dust to pile up layer upon layer, it becomes extremely difficult to wipe it away and thus restore the surface to its original pristine state. Likewise, when the dust of our mistaken thoughts piles up layer upon layer, the knots that inform us of this dust become larger and larger as well.

We can also think of knots as being tests that God the Parent gives us. Just as school children are given tests before being promoted to the next grade, we are given knots at each juncture when we pass from one stage of spiritual growth to the next. And just as the material covered by the tests will be more demanding from grade to grade, so will our knots differ in their degree of difficulty according to our individual stage of spiritual growth. Sometimes we encounter knots that seem to be more than we can bear, yet we should recall that these are also tests given by God the Parent who knows us through and through. By working to overcome these knots, therefore, we shall surely be awakened to a hidden source of strength that is one step above and beyond what we are presently aware of.

Frequently, however, the reverse occurs, whereby we turn knots into crises that trigger feelings of failure and disappointment with our lives. Isn't this because we are unaware of the intention of God the Parent, our true Parent who gives us knots out of love for us, and because we mistakenly think that we live by our own power and can accomplish everything through our human knowledge and endeavors?

As we have seen, it is from knots that buds sprout, and it is also from knots that buds can end up being broken off. Let us now consider, therefore, what way of thinking will ensure that buds will sprout from the knots we encounter.

I have always believed that "discontentment is the state of mind that severs, while joy is the state of mind that connects." When things go against our expectations or desires, we are quick to blame others and express our dissatisfaction: this has the effect of severing all connections.

On the other hand, if our mind is filled with joyousness, rejoicing at whatever we see and taking delight in whatever we hear, this will impart a richness and fullness to everything and will assuredly connect everything in joyousness.

To rejoice on happy occasions is not a very difficult thing for anyone to do. The real test comes in situations that we find painful, for these are the times when we must make a special effort to transform our pain into joy or, rather, to discover joy within the situation itself.

Since we have free and unlimited use of our mind, it is reasonable that we should be able to transform any suffering into joy. Whether or not buds will sprout from the knots we encounter depends entirely on whether we discover joy in them or, instead, find only dissatisfaction with them.

During the long course of our journey through life, it is quite possible that knots involving hardship and suffering will appear before us. When that time comes, what response will you make to resolve them? Can you be certain that you will not just resign yourself to them, accepting them as your fate?

At times such as these, I first try to visualize things that lie ahead. It seems to me that if we would try to think of the delight that lies ahead, we would be able to find a bright side to the situation at hand. If we forget to keep this in mind and become totally entangled in the knot instead, then our hardship will end in hardship and our suffering will end in suffering.

When you find yourselves in situations like these, please do not be discouraged. Try instead to visualize the delight that will follow and wish for that delight from the bottom of your heart. And be sure to firmly nurture your mind so that you will be able to overcome each knot with a radiant mind. I truly believe that when you have done this, buds of joy and delight will burst forth from every knot.

Some people may imagine that, by embracing faith, knots will no longer occur in their lives or that joy will automatically be given to them. But I doubt if that is what faith is all about. On the contrary, faith implies meeting each knot squarely and thereby reaping joy through one's own effort. That is the source, or the origin, that creates happiness.

In that sense, our entire life is spent in a face-to-face encounter with God the Parent, who trains us by constantly giving us knots out of concern for our future.

(This article was excerpted from Zenye Nakyama's Joyousness Day after Day, published in 1992 by Tenrikyo Overseas Department.)