I’ve spoken before of perspective in viewing the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren and T’ien T’ai examined the Lotus Sutra from the perspective of the Buddha’s highest teaching and used that perspective to interpret the provisional teachings. A very different result occurs when the perspective is shifted so that other sutras are used to view the Lotus Sutra.

Here’s a quote from Thich Nhat Hanh’s Peaceful Action, Open Heart:

When our mind faculty and our other sense faculties have been transformed and purified as a result of the merit we have received from hearing, understanding, and practicing this wonderful Dharma, then we need hear only one gatha or one line of the Sutra to understand all sutras and teachings. We do not need to study the entire Tripitaka in order to understand the Buddhadharma. One gatha contains all other gathas, one teaching reveals the deep meaning of all other teachings, just as the truth of impermanence contains the truth of no-self and the truth of interbeing.

A follower of Nichiren would have no problem with that observation. But then Thich Nhat Hanh goes on:

This is the meaning of the Avatamsaka Sutra: the one contains the all.

Repeatedly in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Peaceful Action, Open Heart, he returns to the Avatamsaka Sutra [the Flower Garland Sutra]. In discussing Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, when the Buddha emitts rays of light with an immeasurable variety of colors from his pores, Thich Nhat Hanh writes:

Then there is the image of the rays of light emitted by the Buddha. “Light” in Buddhist sutras is a metaphor for awakened understanding. The world of the Avatamsaka Sutra is a world of light. The Buddha is light; beams of light stream out from each pore of his body. His light of mindfulness is very strong, and with that source of light the Tathagata is able to illuminate all the world-spheres, as if by shining the beam of a powerful lamp into them. With the light of his great spiritual power the Buddha can see clearly whatever phenomenon the light of his mindfulness rests upon.

We also have the source of this light in our own consciousness. When we develop our capacity for mindfulness and allow it to shine within us and around us, we are able to see many things that we cannot ordinarily perceive. When the light of mindfulness, of awakened understanding, illuminates a leaf, a blade of grass, or a cloud, we are able to see all the wonders of that phenomenon and the multidimensional world of the Avatamsaka Sutra is opened up to us in an amazing way. And just like the Buddha, thanks to mindfulness we too can perform miracles.

Suppose there is someone who lives very mindfully, dwelling in concentration. She comes home, goes out, stands, sits, speaks, chops vegetables, washes pots, carries out all the activities of daily life in mindfulness and concentration. In all her actions of body, speech, and mind she shines the light of mindfulness. When others encounter her they are able to get in touch with that mindfulness, and they are influenced by it. Touched by the light of her mindfulness, the seed of mindfulness in their own consciousness begins to sprout, and naturally they also begin to cultivate mindfulness in their activities as she does. This is a true miracle that any one of us can realize.

The light of mindfulness of those around us – a brother or sister, parent or teacher, spouse or partner – shines out onto us, and thanks to that we also begin to cultivate mindfulness and shine it out toward others. What is a Buddha? A Buddha is nothing other than the light of mindfulness, and that light, wherever it shines, is able to show us the wonderful truth, the ultimate dimension of whatever it illuminates. Those who are touched by the light of mindfulness in turn shine the light of their mindfulness upon other people and objects. Just as the Buddha’s rays of light, when they reached all the other world-spheres, caused the countless Buddhas to emit their light, when we live mindfully we shine that light broadly all around us and help others get in touch with and shine their light of mindfulness as well.

Another example of this comes in Thich Nhat Hanh’s discussion of Chapter 28, The Encouragements of the Bodhisattva Universally Worthy. Thich Nhat Hanh writes:

Universally Worthy is the last bodhisattva mentioned in the Lotus Sutra, and his role here is to protect and preserve the Sutra, to “broadly propagate it and cause it never to perish.” However, this brief chapter is not extensive enough to reveal the full dimension of Samanta-bhadra, who is called the bodhisattva of Great Action. So we can use elements from other sutras, such as the Avatamsaka Sutra, in which the great action of Samanta-bhadra is explicated more fully, to complete the chapter on this bodhisattva in the Lotus Sutra.

Clearly Thich Nhat Hanh uses the Lotus Sutra to illustrate his teaching rather than using the Lotus Sutra as the basis of his teaching. The difference is not subtle.

• Viewing the Lotus Sutra from the Inside Out
• Stretching the Truth to Pull Meaning Out of the Lotus Sutra
• Viewing the Lotus Sutra from the Avatamsaka Sutra
• Errata
• Thich Nhat Hanh’s Practice

In Peaceful Action, Open Heart, Thich Nhat Hanh describes the lessons of the appearance of the Stupa of Treasures:

When all his transformation bodies had arrived, the Buddha simply spread his hands and the door of the jeweled Stupa opened. Just like that, you arrive at the ultimate dimension from the historical dimension. The door is open. All the transformation Buddhas, the bodhisattvas, and the heavenly beings hovering in the space above Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa could see inside the Stupa very clearly. These beings were able to touch the ultimate dimension very easily, because they were no longer caught in outer appearances or dualistic concepts. But all the shravakas down below on the mountain itself could not yet see in. These disciples had only just begun to taste the flavor of the Mahayana, and the work of freeing themselves from attachment to the outer signs and appearances of reality had not yet been realized. They were still caught in ideas of existence and nonexistence, one and many, coming and going, and these dualistic concepts were a kind of glue that held them close to the surface of the Earth.

So once again the fourfold assembly appealed to their teacher, “Can you raise us up so that we can see inside the stupa?” Using his supernatural power Shakyamuni lifted everyone up to the level where they could look directly into the Stupa and see the ultimate Buddha, Prabhutaratna. “Lifting everyone up” here means helping them free themselves of attachment to the outer signs of reality. When we read accounts of miraculous events in Mahayana sutras, we need to be able to look past the mere words and fantastic images in order to receive the true message.

Several points here need to be addressed. The Lotus Sutra does not say, as Thich Nhat Hanh suggests, that transformation Buddhas, the bodhisattvas, and the heavenly beings are hovering in the sky at the time the door to the stupa is opened. In fact, the transformation Buddhas are clearly seated on lion thrones under jeweled trees of the expanded, purified Buddha land. And the idea that Many Treasures is the “ultimate Buddha” flies in the face of Chapter 16 and the revelation of the eternal life of Śākyamuni.

Here’s the relevant portion from Hurvitz:

At that time Śākyamunibuddha, seeing that the buddhas who were emanations body had all arrived, and seeing how each, seated on a lion throne, was hearing that the buddhas together wished to open the jeweled stūpa, straightway rose from his seat and rested in midair. All the four assemblies, rising with palms joined, single-mindedly beheld the Buddha. Thereupon with his right finger Śākyamunibuddha opened the door of the seven-jeweled stūpa, which made a great sound as of a bar being pushed aside to open the gate of a walled city. At that very moment all the assembled multitude saw the Thus Come One Many Jewels in the jeweled stūpa, seated on a lion throne, his body whole and undecayed, as if [he were] entered into dhyāna concentration. They also heard his words: “Excellent! Excellent, O Śākyamunibuddha! Happily have you preached this Scripture of the Dharma Blossom. It is to listen to this scripture that I have come here.”

At that time, the four assemblies, seeing a buddha passed into extinction for incalculable thousands of myriads of millions of kalpas speaking such words as these, sighed in admiration at something that had never been before, and scattered clusters of divine jeweled flowers over the buddha Many Jewels and Śākyamunibuddha. The buddha Many Jewels, in his jeweled stūpa, then gave half his seat to Śākyamunibuddha, speaking these words: “O Śākyamunibuddha, will you take this seat?” At that very moment Śākyamunibuddha, entering that stūpa, sat on half that seat, his legs crossed.

At that time, the great multitude, seeing the two Thus Come Ones in the seven-jeweled stūpa on the lion throne, seated with legs crossed, all thought: “The buddhas sit high up and far off. We wish that the Thus Come One, with his power of supernatural penetration, would enable the lot of us together to dwell in open space.” At that very moment Śākyamunibuddha, with his power of supernatural penetration, touched the great multitudes, so that they were all in open space, and with a great voice proclaimed universally to the fourfold assembly: “Who can broadly preach the Scripture of the Blossom of the Fine Dharma in this Sahā Land? Now is the very time!

Thich Nhat Hanh continues his telling of what happened in the stupa:

Then Prabhūtaratna smiled and said, “Shakyamuni, it’s wonderful that you are now teaching the Lotus Sutra.” He made room on his lion throne and invited Shakyamuni to come and sit with him. This is a very beautiful and poetic way of revealing the teaching. The ultimate Buddha and the historical Buddha sit together and become one. When we know how to read the Sutra in this way we can understand its deeper meaning. Imagine the ultimate Buddha Prabhūtaratna sitting there, inviting the historical Buddha Shakyamuni into his jeweled stupa. The two Buddhas sitting there—are they one Buddha or different Buddhas?

To consider Many Treasures the “ultimate” Buddha just doesn’t work for me. Of course going in the opposite direction is equally absurd. I’m reminded of Senchu Murano’s interpretation of the events later in the stupa when the Buddha reveals is eternal lifespan in Chapter 16:

Seeing all this, Prabhutaratna was shocked. He felt ashamed of his ignorance of the fact that the Buddha sitting next to him was his Original Buddha. He tried to change the seats, but Sakyamuni checked him, saying, “You are now the State Guest of the World-State of the Eternal Sakyamuni. You are now representing all the Buddhas of the past, present and future.” Prabhutaratna understood Sakyamuni, and remained at his seat, motionless.

Later in the book, when discussing Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva, Thich Nhat Hanh again elaborates beyond the actual text:

Seen with Joy by All Living Beings progressed well in his spiritual practice and was able to realize the freedom and insight of the ultimate dimension and attain the “samadhi that displays all manner of physical bodies.” He no longer identified his physical body as himself and could manifest various emanation bodies in order to help many kinds of people – if he needed to manifest as a child he became a child, if he needed to become a woman he took female form. If he needed to be a businessman, he could manifest as a businessman. He always appeared in the most appropriate form for the situation, which allowed him to bring about a feeling of joy for the people he encountered. He was not caught by the idea that the body is a fixed, permanent self. He was able to manifest himself in many transformation bodies, just as the Buddha and Avalokiteśvara do, in order to help various kinds of living beings.

Unlike Avalokiteśvara in Chapter 25 and Wonderful Voice Bodhisattva is Chapter 24, there is no mention in Chapter 27 that Seen with Joy by All Living Beings [Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings] Bodhisattva actually demonstrated his ability gained when he “obtained the samadhi that displays all manner of physical bodies.” For Thich Nhat Hanh, however, gaining this ability makes it possible for Seen with Joy by All Living Beings to end his life in a fiery tribute to the Dharma, something all other commentators I have read have avoided suggesting.

On the other hand, I enjoy Thich Nhat Hanh’s assertion that we all have transformation bodies:

If we look deeply into ourselves, we see that, like Shakyamuni, we also have many transformation bodies that are always active everywhere in the cosmos. At this very moment I am in my home country, helping the young monastics and laypeople. I am present in the form of books and tapes that have been brought into Vietnam so that people there can enjoy the teaching and practice. Right now I am in Vietnam, in England, in the United States, and in many other places, because my teaching has been able to go far and wide. My transformation bodies have even gone into prison to help inmates learn the art of mindfulness and the practice of walking and sitting meditation. When you have the eyes of signlessness and are not caught by mere appearance, you will be able to recognize me in my transformation bodies, in many other forms and places. All of us have many transformation bodies: our actions, our contributions, our very way of being penetrates the entire cosmos.

Thich Nhat Hanh works very hard to pull his meaning out of the words of the Lotus Sutra, but that effort too often requires distorting the actual meaning of this teaching.

• Viewing the Lotus Sutra from the Inside Out
• Stretching the Truth to Pull Meaning Out of the Lotus Sutra
• Viewing the Lotus Sutra from the Avatamsaka Sutra
• Errata
• Thich Nhat Hanh’s Practice

In discussing Thich Nhat Hanh’s interpretation of the Lotus Sutra it is important to underscore that Thich Nhat Hanh is not Nichiren or a follower of Nichiren or even a follower of T’ien T’ai.

Nichiren and T’ien T’ai looked upon the Lotus Sutra as the ultimate teaching of the Buddha, the ocean into which all of the rivers of expedient teachings flowed. To understand the Buddha’s expedient teachings, one must view them through the lens of the Lotus Sutra. Think of this as looking from the inside out.

Thich Nhat Hanh views the Lotus Sutra from the outside looking in. Here’s an example:

The Sangha has gathered on the Gṛdhrakūṭa Mountain, Vulture Peak. Their feet are on the earth; they are in the historical dimension. They see their teacher Shakyamuni; they see they are among a great assembly of disciples. They are in the realm of reality that we normally perceive, which is subject to past, present, and future. Suddenly, with the appearance of the jeweled stupa, everyone has been transported from the historical realm into the realm of the ultimate nature of reality, where there is no time or space. From the world of relative phenomena, we are able to touch the absolute, and this recognition brings about a powerful vibration, something like an electric shock. Those who have learned the art of mindfulness are finely tuned and are able to receive this vibration. The ultimate goal of our practice and studies is to be able to touch the true nature of reality with our mindfulness. In the beginning our mindfulness is not yet strong, but little by little it becomes more steady and solid. And as our mindfulness becomes more stable, the ultimate dimension of reality will appear more and more clearly to us, right here and now in the historical realm, the world of appearances.

And for the vast sea of people who are not monastics trained in meditation but have received Nichiren’s teaching, we have Śākyamuni’s Jewel:

For those who are incapable of understanding the truth of the “3,000 existences contained in one thought,” Lord Śākyamuni Buddha, with His great compassion, wraps this jewel with the five characters of myō, hō, ren, ge, and kyō and hangs it around the neck of the ignorant in the Latter Age of Degeneration.

Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Verable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 164

• Viewing the Lotus Sutra from the Inside Out
• Stretching the Truth to Pull Meaning Out of the Lotus Sutra
• Viewing the Lotus Sutra from the Avatamsaka Sutra
• Errata
• Thich Nhat Hanh’s Practice