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Practicing Buddhism in the
Military
King-Sau Kenneth Siu, MD
Lieutenant Colonel, USAF, Flight Surgeon
Yokota Air Base, Japan
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I am a physician working for the United States Air Force at Yokota Air Base in Japan. I was introduced to Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism in 1987 when the parent of one of my patients invited me to my first SGI meeting. Although I had studied Buddhism since I was a child, the novel idea that Buddhahood is attainable in our lifetime shone like a ray of hope in my heart, and I joined the SGI the same week. At the time, my life seemed to be mired in confusion and frustration; however, my Buddhist practice helped me transform these feelings into hope for the future.
In 1987 I was in private practice, and I also worked part-time as an Air Force Reserve pediatrician at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. I had always wanted to travel far and wide so I could meet people from all over the world. After chanting and reflecting on my personal goals and my future, I decided to join the Air Force. Over the past 13 years my family and I have been based at and traveled to various locations in the United States, Canada, Egypt, Turkey, and five countries in Europe, and we are currently back in Japan for a second tour. What I have learned as a result of meeting people from all over the world is that the desire for happiness and joy in helping others are universal.
I now work as a flight surgeon, taking care of pilots and other personnel and their families. As a pediatrician, I have come to value children's potential even more after studying Buddhism. I have developed much greater respect for every child I meet: children are indeed the leaders of the future. When I look into their eyes and see their carefree attitude, their spontaneous smiles and their ability to see everyone as equals, it brings me hope and strengthens my conviction that the state of Buddhahood exists in everyone.
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Dr. Siu (front) serves
as commander for the "Expeditionary Medical Support" unit
during an exercise at Yokota Air Base (May 2002).
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I am honored to be a representative of the SGI at Yokota Air Base. We have gained the trust of others on the base. The chapel has registered our Buddhist organization as a religious group. The seminars we had been conducting every year made a strong impression on the base chaplain who subsequently began advocating that the chapel become a place of worship for all religious beliefs. At present, our Buddhist group meets weekly at the main chapel, with many guests spontaneously dropping by to ask questions about our practice. We have also held interfaith dialogues with other religious groups, starting with the first Buddhist-Muslim gathering on base. We have forged friendships with people of other religions based on a mutual interest in peace, culture and education.
I believe that everyone in the world should encounter and come to know firsthand the unnecessary suffering endured by so many in developing countries. Last year I went on a one-month tour of duty to East Timor. We spent 30 days on an island that had been devastated by oppression and violence.
I worked as a pediatrician treating diseases that are almost unheard of in the developed world: tuberculosis, malaria and malnutrition were common. We saw over 200 patients every day. Orphanages way up in the mountains housed hundreds of children who had lost their parents during the conflict. Although most of the orphans do not have shoes and they are clearly undernourished, their warm smiles melted our hearts. These children seem perfectly content playing in the mud, in the water or on the beach.
A determination of mine, which has come from my Buddhist practice, is to start a PAIN seminar series designed to help people who are suffering from P: pain that is physical or psychological; A: anxiety and depression or addiction; I: insomnia, inherited disorders or interpersonal problems; and N: feelings of being unfulfilled or not appreciated. Since I am not a clinical psychiatrist, I am collaborating on this project with colleagues in the Behavioral Department on the base, Chaplain services and the Health and Wellness Center.
I am determined to demonstrate actual proof of Buddhism in everyday life in society and to relieve the suffering of others.
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