According to Buddhist mythology, the human world has eight wondrous places that give us protection. The first is a place where everyone is illuminated by a golden light. This golden light supports all sentient beings and helps them to grow and mature under all circumstances. Consider your own life. For the past ten, twenty, thirty, or forty years, how many troubles have you experienced? Countless troubles. But still, you're alive. How? You don't know. But this is reality. You are a survivor. You have been protected and nurtured by many things -- your parents, your teachers, your friends, and more. All this time, your life has been supported. You have been illumined by a golden light that constantly shines, and constantly helps you.
The second place is one in which you are immune to trouble. Of course, we all have troubles. But if you learn something from your troubles, then those troubles aren't exactly troubles. By realizing the true nature of trouble, trouble disappears. If you understand it properly, life really doesn't have trouble. Even though the human world is a place of trouble, it is also a place where all troubles disappear. This is why you have to take care of your troubles now. You can't escape them, but you can take care of them with wholeheartedness.
The third place is where you can awaken to Truth. There are people in the world who have awakened, and they can help you. So it is possible to open your heart and find a great peson who can help you. But you have to find such a person; don't expect the person to come looking for you.
The fourth place is one in which you can practice the bodhisattva's six perfections; giving, morality, patience, effort, imperturbability, and wisdom. The practice of giving is not a matter of having no desires but of keeping your balance within the realm of desire. This is difficult, but you can learn it. The practice of morality comes with the full understanding that you can't live alone and so you must learn to be considerate of others. Patience comes with learning to look with openmindedness beyond what is unpleasant. To make every possible effort to live with all sentient beings is to practice imperturbability. As long as you live with other beings, you must make your mind calm and see the total picture of human life -- both your life and the lives of others. In this way you can experience wisdom -- deep insight into the true nature of all living beings.
The fifth wondrous place of the human world is where life is lived as an art. Here the beauty of one's life is manifested, both physically and mentally, and here we can learn what the human world actually is.
Three more places give us protection. In one you can learn innumerable things beyond what you already know. In the next, people in all kinds of professions - political leaders, artists, physicians, philosophers, psychologists, ministers, and priests - can gather to share what they do and to discuss how they can work with each other. Finally, there is a place through which all the majestic heavens pass. This is where all the pure lands of the buddhas appear.
The human world is not a terrible place. It is a pure place that manifests beauty. Wherever you may be in this world, you can take care of your life by letting the beautiful flower of your life force bloom.
- Dainin Katagiri