Hi folks,
Some people may wonder what I do all day. They might imagine that I sit behind a computer screen in my luxuriously appointed temple, surrounded by golden statues of the historical Buddha, goddesses, and baby-eating tutelary demons, wearing my embroidered silk robes with my reference library at my side. I scan the internet looking for Soka Gakkai members and Nichiren Shoshu members to refute chuckling evilly to myself, as I count all the checks people send me for my self-published book Dharma Flower and I spend all my days and nights daydreaming about sending ninja hit teams to get rid of this sensei or that high priest or to burn down this wooden mandala or that community center.

But in fact, my life is a lot less like a Buddhist Fu Manchu drama and more like the prosaic and boring life of a file clerk who sits in a cubicle doing data entry and putting away files most of the day from approx 9 to 5 and occasionally checking my email and the Yahoo groups out of sheer boredom and the desire to connect with other people, and esp. with those who share my interests. I engage SGI members (rarely ever NST) as well as Indies and Nichiren Shu members simply because there are not a lot of Nichiren Buddhists out there to begin with and I just enjoy chatting with people who know what I am talking about and at least share the same basic teaching and practice with me. Yes, I occasionally get on a high horse about something and I am an unrelenting critic of Taisekiji teachings, but on the whole I enjoy being able to share and agree with people rather than having to fight about divisive issues. On the other hand, I am not going to compromise my convictions either.

But getting away from that, I only spend one day a week at the San Jose temple. The rest of the time I must be content to practice at home. And whether at the temple or at home I am simply called "Michael." Not Ryuei or Rev McCormick (though some have called me "The Rev") but simply Michael. And my last name is spelled M c C o r m i c k. Thank you.

For those who are curious my home service consists of the Odaimoku, various prayers, and these days chapters 16, 21, the dharanis from chapters 26 and 28, and a passage from chapter 11 (or the Endon Sho from the Maka Shikan). I also do liturgical hymns and prostrations. It sounds very elaborate but only takes about half an hour. It allows me to keep all the things I learned at Mt. Minobu fresh in my mind and I also enjoy it. The variations keep everything fresh and new. But there are occasions when I drop all the frills and just chant 2 and 16 and the Odaimoku as well as the other traditional prayers and vows without all the hymns, dharanis, and prostrations. And that feels good too. For me the important thing is to awaken and express love and devotion for the Wonderful Dharma so that I can experience buddhahood and have it spill over into the rest of my day.

As for robes, I only wear my robes at the temple and I have chosen to wear the most plain designs and colors available. Oh, I also wear my robes on peace marches and during acts of civil disobedience and when I am giving a talk somewhere in my capacity as a minister/rep of Nichiren Shu. And then I only wear my informal black robes and a wakesa (an abbreviated kesa). Most of the time, I can be found casual work clothes or even jeans and a t-shirt. I have my black Australian hat which I wear rain or shine (as I don't want either directly in my eyes) and my wornout black leather coat (which I cherish so much that I don't have the heart to buy a new one and haven't had the time to get it fixed up). I dress for practicality, not to show off. Though I suppose my black hat might strike some people as odd, and every homeless person in San Francisco likes to compliment me on it.

Everyday after work I pick my daughter up from her afterschool program and we go home and have dinner. Yumi often cooks something Japanese or Italian or some other cuisine. She thinks I don't like her cooking but I actually do, and perhaps I don't say so as emphatically as she needs to hear it. I tend to be kind of low key offline for good or bad. Sometimes I will help Julie with her homework, she is only 6 so she doesn't have much. Other times Julie and I will play some kind of game. Our favorite is a board game where you each have a little person with a shotgun and you have to run through town shooting down zombies until you get to the escape helicopter. Each player gets cards with funny and/or gruesome pictures on them that they can use to help themselves or hinder the other players. Naturally I help her with the card part of the game. On Wednesday nights Yumi teaches Japanese at DeAnza so Julie and I go out for pizza and then come home to watch Smallville and Angel, though almost always Julie takes her bath and then I take her to bed before Angel comes on. During the week we occasionaly watch the second season of Buffy on DVD. Once Buffy got popular in Japan, Yumi got curious about the show and now she is hooked too. Once a week we go to movies and if we can find a babysitter or there is an evening program at day care, or a playdate with a friend, Yumi and I get a chance to go out and see a movie together just go out somewhere. Most nights, I put Julie to bed and read one of her favorite books like Curious George or the Cat in the Hat. Right now though I am reading her a children's version of the story of the Buddha.

Most nights I try to find some time to work on my current projects - the next chapter in my commentaries on the Pali Canon; or my translation of the Diamond Sutra. It is all a labor of love. To me the Dharma is infinitely fascinating in what it tells me about human nature (my own nature for that matter), about ethics, about common sense, spiritual practices, and many other things. Many sutras and other writings are also works of art or literature in their own right. They can be poetic, exciting, scandalous, mystical, mythic, and almost always thought-provoking. I find it a shame that people do not realize what they are missing in dismissing the sutras and other Buddhist writings as they often do. But then again, I don't expect everyone to share my interests and Buddhism is far from the only one.

Religion in general intrigues me. I am also reading the Jewish Study Bible that Oxford has put out. That would be the Jewish Publication Societie's translation of the Tenakh (the Hebrew Bible) with lots of footnotes full of interesting background and indications of what the various passages mean in Judaism.

I also like to listen to Vaishnava devotional music when I am not listening to punk, speed metal, industrial or gothic music. I especially like traditional music fused with more modern varieties. I have recently been turned on to Tuva, which is apparently Mongolian throat singing, and I have tracks of it mixed with blues, industrial and even the Mysterious Voices of Bulgaria. Of course my completely in left field taste in music is what makes me a fan of pirate radio, in addition to the fact that I think it is our patriotic duty as Americans to support a free media.

I am also quite devoted to anything that Joss Whedon does - Buffy, Angel, Fray, Firefly, etc... I think he is a storytelling genius. He and his crew of writers are just amazing in the way they portray the real drama of what it means to be human, the intricacies of human relationships, the fun and spontanaity of the
English language. I wish I could speak more articulately about what I like about Joss Whedon. Perhaps I will write more about Joss related stuff in future blog entries. If nothing else, it shows that I don't think about Buddhism all the time.

Did I mention that I am reading the entire Dune series as well as the new books by Frank Herbert's son Brian in collaboration with Kevin J. Anderson? The Dune series and the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Tolkien's other books are both high on my list of things that I go back and read over and over again. And yes, I think the Peter Jackson movies are great, but I have a soft spot for the Rankin Bass version of the Hobbit and the Bakshi version of Lord of the Rings (I also loved Wizards by Bakshi). I have recently been watching the Sci Fi channel productions of Dune and Children of Dune and I think they are a fair portrayal if a little slow paced and sleepy in execution.

I have also taken up the guitar again recently. I found a teacher who was a former punk musician. He, however, was a real guitarist and could play any style with ease and flair. He is truly amazing. Unfortunately he and his wife were strung out on heroin and crack and have returned to their families in other parts of the country to get cleaned up. I will miss my lessons with him, but now I know enough to practice on my own. I just need to find a way to fit it into my schedule, which as can be seen is a little packed.

Well - that was amazingly self-indulgent. But I guess I just wanted to show that most of the time I am not a pampered arrogant scheming priest. Most of the time I am a file clerk, family man, writer, translator, sci-fi/fantasy geek, dilettante guitarist, and somewhere in there still a punk at heart. Back in college I once lamented that I was always trying to go several opposite directions at once. My English prof smiled and quoted Whitman for me: "Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself! I am vast, I contain multitudes!" And I wouldn't want it any other way - it takes all ten worlds to be a Buddha in Nichiren Buddhism.

Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ryuei