27. Humility

People who personally knew the Honseki all agreed on how humble he was. He would greet everyone that he would meet. He even greeted a beggar on his way to the cemetery.

One may wonder about the source of the Honseki’s humility. But it could be that he constantly observed Oyasama’s teachings. For instance, one of Her teachings to Izo was as follows:

“Paying tribute establishes oneself. The merit gained from respecting others allows one to establish oneself. Always make sure to respect others and keep yourself from becoming arrogant. If you happen to find yourself in a position of leadership, it is important for you not have a “high” (i.e., arrogant) mind. If you are in charge of leading ten people, be sure to place your mind down low at the very bottom (i.e., be humble) when you work with them. If you are in charge of leading a hundred people, be sure to place your mind at the bottom when you work with them. It is the same when you are leading a thousand or ten thousand people, be sure to place your mind at the bottom.”

Because Oyasama had so painstakingly taught the above¹ over and over, in later years the Honseki explained how he made it a point to observe Her lesson on humility.

A frequent visitor to the Honseki’s residence once said: “When I visited the Honseki at his residence and greeted him, I would bow and then raise my head, thinking I had bowed long enough. But then when I looked up, I saw that he was still bowing to me! I don’t know how many times I had made a fool of myself by having to bow once again.”

(Adapted from Shinpan Izo Iburi den pp. 126, 128, 140 and Ten no jogi pp. 146­–147)

• Next installment in this series: 28. A Comfortable Seat

*Note: This post has been revised since its original publication.

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