Getting Your Driver’s License
My daughter has turned 16, the age at which she can get a driver’s license. A few years ago, she used to say, “When I turn 16, I want to drive,” but now she doesn’t seem as interested, and I haven’t heard her mention wanting to go to the DMV yet.
I am surprised that she is already old enough to get a driver’s license, but if she does obtain one and starts driving, I imagine I will have even more worries about the possibility of her getting into an accident. It is only natural for parents to be concerned when their child becomes a driver. When I first got my driver’s license, my parents constantly reminded me to “drive safely,” which at the time felt to me like nagging.
Well, it has been over 30 years since I got my driver’s license in Japan. In the driver education class that I took at the DMV, an instructor posed an interesting question – one that I still vividly remember. It was: “What type of driving is most likely to cause an accident?” Students offered many answers: drunk driving, driving while sleepy, driving while distracted, and so on. However, we were told that all of these quite reasonable responses were wrong.
“Assumptive Driving”
Although any of those guesses could create a bad situation, the instructor told us that the most likely cause is “assumptive driving.” For instance, when changing lanes or merging onto a highway, one might assume other cars will probably yield and then forcefully cut in. Or, while driving through a residential area, one might think no one will suddenly jump out and so continue to drive at high speed. Or, after drinking alcohol, one might believe, driving just a few miles to get home should be fine, and so end up getting behind the wheel. Our instructor taught us that this kind of driving – based on optimistic assumptions like it will probably be all right – is the most likely cause of serious, irreversible accidents.
It has been many decades since I got my driver’s license. These days I drive effortlessly with a practiced hand. However, as I think back on this story, it feels as though my arrogant driving is being focused on. Because I have forgotten a beginner’s mindset, it causes me deep self-reflection.
Tomorrow Will Surely Come
When we give this topic more thought, we might realize that “assumptive driving” describes not only driving a car, but also how we live our lives. Although we all understand that we must die someday, we nonetheless live each day optimistically without even realizing it. It is as if we are assuming, “It is unlikely I will lose my life today,” or “It is unlikely I will be separated from my family tomorrow.”
Before going to bed at night, don’t we usually forget to feel grateful or to rejoice in the fact that we lived through the day? Rather, don’t we tend to think only about the next day, as if it were a matter of course? That is because we believe that tomorrow will surely come, while forgetting that eventually each of us will surely die, and we don’t know when that will be. Living like this is very much like assumptive driving. It follows, then, that if we continue to live with unreasonable optimism, it will surely result in a life filled with regret…and at our last moment, we will lament, “It was not supposed to go this way!” I believe that living assumptively, without facing reality, is an extremely dangerous way to go through life.
“Anticipatory Driving”
So, what do you suppose our driving instructor told us was the safest way to drive? He told us that it is “anticipatory driving.” For example, even late at night, when you drive onto a narrow street, you start to slow down, thinking, “Someone might run out between the parked cars.” Or, when you are driving behind another car, you keep a safe distance back, thinking, “The driver might have to stop suddenly.” With this mindset, you are always driving cautiously in anticipation of an accident that might occur. This way, you learn to pay attention to pedestrians, keep your distance from other vehicles, and anticipate other drivers’ actions – all to avoid possible accidents.
Each Day Can Be Fulfilling
We can also compare this kind of anticipatory driving to how we live our lives. If we live each day with the awareness that “My life might end today,” or “This might be the last time I see this person,” I believe we would be able to make each day a fulfilling one without regrets. Even when we argue with someone, if we realize that we might not have tomorrow, our anger will naturally subside. Instead, a thoughtful and apologetic mindset will surely be heard. Moreover, we will be able to live each day rejoicing in the fact that we are alive in this moment, feeling deep gratitude for everything that supports our lives.
Let us never forget that what allows us to embrace this sincere way of living is Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow. When our life ends, through the working of the Nembutsu, we are assured of being born in the Pure Land where we will achieve true enlightenment and become Buddhas. Therefore, life is a journey toward the Pure Land during which we are filled with great peace of mind because the Pure Land itself nourishes our lives. Without the world of the Pure Land, we would have to live this fleeting life – whose end we do not know – recklessly, filled with anxiety. But because we have the Pure Land – our spiritual home, where our lives will return after death – we are able to live our fragile lives to the fullest, making each day bright as we are embraced by Amida Buddha’s light of wisdom and compassion.
Practice “Anticipatory Driving”
I would like to ask each of you to practice “anticipatory driving” whenever you get behind the wheel of your car. Above all, I hope that all of us can begin to live each day by firmly accepting the reality that we will never know what will happen to us in the next moment. It is within this way of life that the Nembutsu – the calling voice of Amida Buddha saying to us, “Rely upon me. I will surely guide you to the Pure Land” – will resonate even more deeply within our hearts.
In Gassho,
Rev. Yushi Mukojima