Recently we celebrated Peace Day. When we think of peace, we usually think of world peace. There are other types of peace, such as peace within the community, among friends or family members.

One of the unique characteristics of Shin Buddhist teachings concerns the foolish, evil person (bombu) who is the true object of Buddha's compassion. The question arises, who is considered evil in Shin Buddhism?

In Japan, there is a famous author, Shiba Ryotaro, who wrote that when he was in the eighth grade, he came across the word "bombu" in a textbook. His teacher asked the class if anyone knew what a bombu is. One of the students answered: "A bombu is an evil person." "Correct," said the teacher, who asked: "There is a bombu in the class. Do you know who he is?"

The students whispered among themselves: "It must be the boy who always gets into fights." Or, "It must be the boy who doesn't study much."

The teacher said, "Listen carefully! I am the bombu and individually we are all bombu. Shinran Shonin, the founder of Shin Buddhism, said that all human beings are evil."

From that moment Shiba Ryotaro came to admire Shinran. We are all foolish beings who are captive to our own egos and selfish desires.

Emperor Meiji in Japan bestowed the honorific title "Great Master of Buddhism" on Shinran in 1877. However, Shinran called himself a "stupid, foolish, dull, bald or bare-headed person (gutoku)." It is a designation for Buddhist monks who broke the rules of the monk order. Shinran realized he was unable to follow the rigorous disciplines of Buddhism, because he was captive to his passions.

The second word, "true object," indicates that Amida Buddha regards us foolish human beings who do evils as the true purpose of his compassion. By listening to Shin Buddhist teachings, the moment we come to realize what truly foolish, evil people we are, we have peace of mind and feel happier because we are embraced by Amida Buddha's compassion.

In an essay titled "Everyone in My Home is Evil," an elementary school student writes: "At my house, everyone is evil. The other day, my older sister knocked over the aquarium from a bookstand. My mother came running and blamed herself for putting the aquarium there. My sister said that it was her fault for asking father to buy it. From the other room father said that it was his fault for buying the aquarium. Then, everyone started laughing happily. Since everyone was at fault, my entire family is evil. If everyone blamed others and not themselves, then it would not be a happy family. Blaming each other, my family would end up fighting."

Here, we see an example of peace within the family.

Shakyamuni Buddha said that "the one who says he is not foolish is the most foolish. Those who realize their foolishness and evil are the least foolish."

Shin Buddhism is not a religion which makes you smarter as you listen to its teachings; just the opposite. It makes you realize your foolishness.

Rev. Ryoso Toshima is chief minister of the Honpa Hongwanji Betsuin.