March 11, 2011

Chanting for People of Japan

I was yet awake last night when a live broadcast from NHK from Japan reported the 8.9 earthquake and showed the tsunami movement along the coast near Sendai in Northern Honshu.  Frightening, sad, moving, humbling.  It will be many days before we know the full extent of the damage as aftershocks continue and will continue for months.

I immediately emailed and sent my concerned thought for my friends in Japan.  My friends are in southern Honshu and emailed back that they did not feel the quake.  Of course, the Japanese people all across the country are deeply stunned and are grieving for this heartbreaking situation.  It will be a long recovery.

The tsunami has now hit the California coast and midmorning we can feel the power of the ocean although nothing here can possibly compare to what happened in Japan.  Still, to feel the water surge back and forth, one is humbled by the power of nature and aware of our fragility in the face of these elements.

Along with the members of Olympia Zen Center, I offer our deepest prayer and chanting for the people of Japan.  Namu kie Butsu.