The clouds began to get heavy as we boarded the buses to the Kingdom Day Parade 2010. The windows steamed up as we joined in daimoku. We drove over hills in a caravan of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo.
One young band player wrote “Nam-Myoho-Rengo-Kyo” across a misty window, another wrote “PEACE.” We rode in joy.
Once we arrived, the clouds thickened. The light disappeared and was replaced by a downpour. After words to encourage our hearts, we erupted onto the path of marchers for Martin Luther King Day.
It was clear we were aware of what it meant to be a fighter for justice, like the parade’s namesake. The energy in the dance and the unity of the songs reflected the heart that we are living with our mentor.
The rainbow of 700 bright soka colored shirts and myriad of backgrounds broke through the dark and the wet. The harder the rain came, the more vibrant the performance grew.
The sun of jiyu in faces shone down the parade route. By the time we entered the buses again, the rain had ended. We arrived back at the Los Angeles Friendship Center, swaddled in towels and to the soup and cheers of the Youth Support Group.
It was then we witnessed that our life conditions had beamed into the sky. A rainbow arched its way across Los Angeles.
Many in body, one in mind, we cleansed our karma. The next generation of the Soka Gakkai in Los Angeles had won.
For more videos of the MLK parade click here.
For more pictures click here.
~written by Rebecca Helm