Now we live in a Latter Age. People are not saints, astray in a dark alley leading to hell, and are forgetting all about the direct route to Buddhahood. How sad it is that no one awakens them! What a pity it is that only false faith grows rampant!
Risshō Ankoku-ron, Treatise on Spreading Peace Throughout the Country by Establishing the True Dharma, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 122
Having sung this gāthā, Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva said to the Buddha, ‘World-Honored One! You do not change, do you?’
This description of the life of Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva comes from Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sūtra. In a previous existence, this Bodhisattva had given up his body and his life for the sake of teaching the Wonderful Dharma. He was then reborn into a world in which the Buddha he served previously was still alive and benefitting all beings. Recognizing this unchanging aspect of the Buddha despite his changing appearances helps us see into our own capacity for enlightenment.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.
Having last month learned how the story of Never-Despising Bodhisattva relates to those present now, we repeat in gāthās the story of Never-Despising Bodhisattva.
Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
There was once a Buddha,
Called Powerful-Voice-King.
His supernatural powers and wisdom
Were immeasurable.
Leading all living beings, he is honored
By gods, men and dragons with offerings.Some time after the extinction of that Buddha,
His teachings had almost died out.
At that time there lived a Bodhisattva
Called Never-Despising.
The four kinds of devotees at that time
Were attached to views.Never-Despising Bodhisattva
Went to them,
And said,
“I do not despise you
Because you will practice the Way
And become Buddhas.”When they heard this,
They spoke ill of him and abused him.
But Never-Despising Bodhisattva
Endured all this.Thus he expiated his sin.
When he was about to pass away,
He heard this sūtra,
And had his six sense-organs purified.
He prolonged his life
By his supernatural powers,
And expounded this sūtra
To many people.Those who were attached to views
Were led into the Way
To the enlightenment of the Buddha
By this Bodhisattva.Never-Despising [Bodhisattva] met
Innumerable Buddhas after the end of his life.
He expounded this sūtra,
And obtained innumerable merits,
He quickly attained the enlightenment of the Buddha
By these accumulated merits.
On my altar is a quote from Nichiren’s letter, Hōren-shō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Pages 56-57.
As you read and recite the ‘jiga-ge’ verse, you produce 510 golden characters. Each of these characters transforms itself to be the sun, which in turn changes to Śākyamuni Buddha, who emits the rays of bright light shining through the earth, the three evil realms (hell, realm of hungry spirits and that of beasts), the Hell of Incessant Suffering, and to all the directions in the north, south, east, and west. They shine upward to the ‘Heaven of neither Thought nor Non-Thought’ at the top of the realm of non-form looking everywhere for the souls of the departed.
This was originally created to honor the wife’s father. At my request, Rev. Igarashi decorated this with the Daimoku and characters for Fudo and Aizen. After the memorial service for my father-in-law, I made this an object of devotion for all of the dead.
When the wife and I heard a few weeks ago of the death of Caleb Bodine she wrote his name and date of death on a Post-It note and I attached it to the frame holding the Hōren-shō quote.
Morning and evening each day thereafter I concluded my Daimoku chanting with three Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo especially for his spirit.
What did I expect to happen? In his Hōren-shō letter, Nichiren explains the effect of chanting for the souls of the departed.
Upon finding the spirit of your father, they politely say, “Whom do you think we are? We are the characters of the ‘jiga-ge’ of the Lotus Sūtra chanted by your son Hōren every morning. We will be your eyes, ears, legs, and hands.” Then your father’s spirit will say, “My son, Hōren, is not my son but a ‘good friend’ who leads me to Buddhahood,” and worship you toward the Sahā World. This is indeed true filial piety.
In another letter, Nichiren tells what happens when a calligrapher writes the characters for the title of the eight fascicles of the Lotus Sutra.
Thus I-lung was forced to copy the titles of the sūtra, namely, from “The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, Fascicle One” to “The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, Fascicle Eight.” Returning home in the evening, I-lung lamented, “I was unable to disobey the Imperial order, and went against the will of my father by copying the Buddhist sūtra. Both the heavenly gods and terrestrial deities must be furious with me for being an unfilial son.” He then went to bed.
During the night he had a dream in which a great light appeared. While wondering whether or not it was the morning sunlight, a heavenly being accompanied by many attendants was standing in the garden, and there appeared 64 Buddhas in the sky above this heavenly being. Pressing the two palms of his hands together in gasshō, I-lung inquired, “What kind of heavenly being are you?” The heavenly being answered:
“I am your father Wu-lung. Due to my sin of slandering the Buddhist Dharma, my tongue split into eight pieces, my five sense organs bled, my head was broken into seven pieces, and I fell into the Hell of Incessant Suffering. I thought the torment at my death was unbearable indeed. Nevertheless, the pain in the Hell of Incessant Suffering was one hundred, one thousand, one hundred million times more severe. Even the pain a human being experiences when his nails are removed by a dull knife, his neck is sawed off, he is forced to walk on a charcoal fire, or crammed into thorns cannot compare to the torment in the Hell of Incessant Suffering. I tried in vain to inform my own son of this. One could not measure the regret I felt that I willed to you at my death not to copy the Buddhist sūtras. However, regret does not mend matters. It did not do any good no matter how much I regretted and blamed myself.
“Starting yesterday morning, however, the character myō at the beginning of the Lotus Sūtra came flying over the tripod kettle in the Hell of Incessant Suffering, transforming itself into the golden colored Śākyamuni Buddha equipped with the 32 marks of physical excellence and a peaceful face like the full moon. The Buddha preached in a resounding voice, ‘All the evil persons, as many as to fill the heaven and earth, will not fail to attain Buddhahood if only they hear the Lotus Sūtra once.’ Then heavy rain began to fall from those characters, extinguishing the blazes in the Hell of Incessant Suffering. As a result, King Yama, though strict as he is, bowed his head in respect, the guards of the hell stood still without their iron sticks, and the sinners all panicked wondering what was happening. Then came flying the character ‘hō,’ appearing just like the ‘myō.’ It was followed by the characters ‘ren,’ ‘ge,’ and ‘kyō.’ Altogether 64 characters thus came flying to become 64 bodies of the Buddha. The 64 Buddhas appearing in the Hell of Incessant Suffering seemed as though 64 suns and moons appeared in the heaven. Nectar rained from the heaven bathing the sinners in hell, who asked the Buddha the reason why this merry occurrence had taken place. The 64 Buddhas answered: “Our golden bodies did not come from the mountain of sandalwoods and treasures; they are the titles of the eight fascicles of the Lotus Sūtra, each consists of eight Chinese characters and therefore 64 in total, written by Ilung, son of Wu-lung, who is in the Hell of Incessant Suffering at present. The hand of I-lung is a part of the body begotten by Wu-lung, therefore, the characters written by I-lung are as though they were written by Wu-lung.’
“Upon hearing this the sinners in the Hell of Incessant Suffering lamented in vain: ‘We also have children, wives, followers in the Sahā World. Why do they not hold memorial services for us? Or, is it that even if they hold services, they don’t help us here because there is not enough merit of good acts?’ One or two days, one or two years, a half or one kalpa (aeon) have passed since we fell into this hell. I am now happy to encounter a ‘good friend,’ who will lead me out of hell while my fellow sinners are glad to follow me to go up to the Trāyastriṃsá Heaven led by you. Therefore, we came to worship you first of all.”
Upon listening to his late father’s account, I-lung was overjoyed to be able to see his father, whom he did not expect to meet again, and to worship the figures of Buddhas, though in a dream.
The 64 Buddhas then spoke to I-lung, “We do not serve any Buddha. As you are our patron, beginning today we will protect you as our parent, therefore please do not forget to help us. In the life hereafter, we will without fail come to lead you to the inner palace of the Tuṣita Heaven.” In response, I-lung respectfully vowed never to write the characters of non-Buddhist scriptures. It was similar to the vow made by Bodhisattva Vasubandhu who pledged not to read the Hinayāna sutras and Nichiren who vowed never to chant the nembutsu.
Today was the Higan service at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church. Before the service I gave Rev. Igarashi my list of relatives for whom I was requesting prayers and a separate paper I had prepared with a photo of Caleb and asked Rev. Igarashi to include Caleb in the prayers today.
In re-reading Nikkyō Niwano’s Buddhism for Today as part of a 34-week Rissho Kosei-Kai in North America (RKINA) advance course on the Threefold Lotus Sutra, I was struck by his description of Śāriputra’s realization at the start of Chapter 3, A Parable:
Śāriputra felt ecstatic with joy when he realized that there was an open gate for him to enter into the real enlightenment of the Buddha the instant he regarded the buddhas’ tactful ways themselves as valuable.
Buddhism for Today, p53
This is understanding by faith. We realize that a gate has been left open for us and we need only enter. Practice is then essential if we are to advance. Nikkyō Niwano stresses that this is not magic or superstition:
When a religion decays, it is likely to be rejected by thinking people because it teaches that one can be reborn in paradise by merely uttering a magic formula. If that were all, it would not be so bad; but sometimes it preaches that no matter what evil one does, one can be saved and go to paradise if only one buys a certain talisman. The real salvation of the Buddha is not such an easy matter. We cannot be saved until we not only learn the Buddha’s teachings but also practice them and elevate ourselves to the stage of making others happy by means of them. The Buddha’s teachings can be clearly understood by anyone and are consonant with reason and common sense; they are not a matter of magic or superstition.
Buddhism for Today, p54-55
Nikkyō Niwano goes on to make a strong argument for why being reborn in a heavenly realm is not a panacea. But the effect of that argument for me is to underscore the role of the protective heavenly deities and their “magical” intervention. Nikkyō Niwano writes:
The “heavenly beings” are beings who live in paradise. They seem to have no trouble or anxiety and so apparently have no need to listen to the teachings of the Buddha, but in fact that is not the case. As already mentioned, because the ideal way of human life is always to advance, not even heavenly beings can feel true joy unless they listen to the still higher teaching of the Buddha. They cannot truly feel joy unless they constantly practice good for the sake of the people who live in the Sahā-world. This is a distinctive and profound feature of Buddhism. To suppose that one can be free from care forever and lead an idle life once one has gone to paradise is a naïve and shallow belief.
Buddhism for Today, p55
I feel “thinking people” can leave open the possibility that one benefit of our Buddhist practice can be the unseen “magical” help from the deities who vowed to protect the keeper of the Lotus Sutra. (See Are the Gods Gone?)
British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke famously said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Perhaps the same can be said of any sufficiently advanced Buddhist practice.
They will be able to recognize all the sounds and voices inside and outside the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds, although they have not yet obtained heavenly ears. Even when they recognize all these various sounds and voices, their organ of hearing will not be destroyed.
The Buddha gives this explanation to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. As we shed our delusions and see the world more for what it is, we begin to see and understand things not visible or comprehensible to those still mired in their suffering and attachment. Knowing the suffering we have left behind, we may be lured into abandoning this world and those in it. In this chapter, the Buddha shows that all of the sense organs we have in this life, sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch and thought, all of these can be used either to increase our delusion or bring us towards awakening. The Buddha reached enlightenment in this world, and so do we.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 24 concludes Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma, and closes the Sixth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month considered the eight hundred merits of the body, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 19 with consideration of the twelve hundred merits of the mind.
“Furthermore, Constant-Endeavor! The good men or women who keep, read, recite expound or copy this sūtra after my extinction, will be able to obtain twelve hundred merits of the mind. When they hear even a gāthā or a phrase [of this sūtra] with their pure minds, they will be able to understand the innumerable meanings [of this sūtra]. When they understand the meanings [of this sūtra] and expound even a phrase or a gāthā [of this sūtra] for a month, four months, or a year, their teachings will be consistent with the meanings [of this sūtra], and not against the reality of all things. When they expound the scriptures of non-Buddhist schools, or give advice to the government, or teach the way to earn a livelihood, they will be able to be in accord with the right teachings of the Buddha. They will be able to know all the thoughts, deeds, and words, however meaningless, of the living beings of the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds each of which is composed of the six regions. Although they have not yet obtained the wisdom-without-āsravas, they will be able to have their minds purified as previously stated. Whatever they think, measure or say will be all true, and consistent not only with my teachings but also with the teachings that the past Buddhas have already expounded in their sūtras.”
Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
Their minds will become pure, clear, keen and undefiled.
They will be able to recognize with their wonderful minds
The superior, mean and inferior teachings.
When they hear even a gāthā [of this sūtra],
They will be able to understand
The innumerable meanings of [this sūtra].When they expound [this sūtra]
In good order according to the Dharma
For a month, four month or a year,
They will be able to understand at once
The thoughts of gods, dragons, men, yakṣas, demigods,
And of all the other living beings
Inside and outside this world
Composed of the six regions
Because they keep
The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.They also will be able to hear and keep
The Dharma expounded to all living beings
By the innumerable Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters
Who are adorned with the marks of one hundred merits.When they think over the innumerable meanings [of this sūtra],
And endlessly repeat the expounding of those meanings,
They will not forget or mistake the beginnings and ends [of quotations]
Because they keep the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.They will see the reality of all things.
Knowing the position [of this sūtra in the series of sūtras],
And the names and words [of this sūtra], according to the meanings of it,
They will expound [this sūtra] as they understand it.They will expound the Dharma
Already taught by the past Buddhas.
Therefore, they will be fearless
Before the multitude.Anyone who keeps the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Will have his mind purified as previously stated.
Although he has not yet obtained the [wisdom-]without-āsravas,
He will be able to obtain [these merits of the mind].When he keeps this sūtra,
He will be able to reach a rare stage.
He will be joyfully loved and respected
By all living beings.He will be able to expound the Dharma
With tens of millions of skillful words
Because he keeps
The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.[Here ends] the Sixth Volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
The Daily Dharma from Dec. 21, 2021, offer this:
When they hear even a gāthā or a phrase [of this sūtra] with their pure minds, they will be able to understand the innumerable meanings [of this sūtra]. When they understand the meanings [of this sūtra] and expound even a phrase or a gāthā [of this sūtra] for a month, four months, or a year, their teachings will be consistent with the meanings [of this sūtra], and not against the reality of all things.
The Buddha declares these lines to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep and practice this Sūtra. The words of the Sūtra are not specific directions for how to live. We need to interpret them and apply them to our lives in the world today. There are many others whose experience and guidance can help us see what the Sūtra means, and who can benefit from our experience.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
During my celebration of Higan here this month, I used Nikkyō Niwano’s definitions of the Six Pāramitā from his Buddhism for Today. I was very unhappy with his discussion of wisdom.
We cannot save others without having wisdom. Let us suppose that there is an impoverished young man lying by the road. And suppose that we feel pity for him and give him some money without reflecting on the consequences. What if he is mildly addicted to some drug? He will grab the money given to him and use it to buy drugs. In this way he may become seriously, even hopelessly, addicted. If we had handed him over to the police instead of giving him money, he would have been sent to a hospital and could start life over again. This is the kind of error we may commit in performing donation without wisdom.
Perhaps in Japan and perhaps in 1976, when Buddhism for Today was first published in English, but not today, and not here in America.
Caleb Michael Bodine was born in 1992 on the first day of November, the third child of Candi and Chris Bodine. Caleb’s older brother, Colin, and my son, Richard, were friends throughout school. The wife and I met Candi and Chris when our children were in kindergarten and we cheered together from the football field stands as our sons graduated from high school.
All three of the Bodine children grew up in a loving and supportive family, but all the love and attention and support and law enforcement intervention could not prevent Caleb from falling into a downward spiral of drugs and petty crime. He died, homeless, on the streets of San Francisco on Nov. 23, 2021. He was only 29 years old.
Four months later, Candi emerged from her grief to publish this notice on Instagram and Facebook:
March 23, 2022. It’s been four months. Four months from today when our hearts broke. Our son Caleb lost his life to the disease of addiction 22 days after his 29th birthday. I am finally coming out of the fog and felt like it was time to talk about it. It was a long hard struggle for him and I missed him every day. The difference is now I will miss him forever. I hope and pray that he is at peace and now out of the pain that addiction causes. The photo I shared is the last picture I have of him. I’m not exactly sure where it was taken but it’s something he sent me about three years ago. I like to imagine that he is up on top of a mountain -healthy and happy and living his best life. Caleb was so smart and funny and interesting, a great athlete and someone that I called a friend. I hate that drugs took him from us but he will forever hold a place in my heart and now he is home with us albeit not in the way we would have wanted. He was a son and a brother and a nephew and a friend and an uncle to 2 amazing little twin nieces that he never got the opportunity to meet. Rest in peace my little buddy. I love you. Caleb Michael Bodine 11/01/92-11/23/21
While Nikkyō Niwano’s explanation of Wisdom is not helpful, his discussion of Buddha Nature in his book The Lotus Sutra Life and Soul of Buddhism suggests a view we should all approach:
The word, Buddha, originally means the Enlightened One, that is, a man who perfected himself spiritually. Accordingly, to take the case of a man in actuality, the buddha-nature means the possibility which makes a man become a person who perfects himself spiritually and frees himself from the bonds of illusion and suffering, although, in a strict sense, it indicates man’s true nature which is united with the universal life in a body.
Sakyamuni saw through the fact that such a possibility is sure to exist in all men. He pointed out and taught this fact by His strong words. It was indeed something to be thankful for.
But for this teaching in this world, those who regard themselves as worthless and sinful men will be prepossessed by the idea that such worthlessness and sinfulness are their own true nature and they will not be able to get rid of this prepossession.
But for this teaching, for example, when we see the evil of another person, we take him for a bad man and hate him. For example, when we see a spiritless man, we conclusively brand him as a useless dullard and shall take no notice of him.
Toward others as well as ourselves, as long as we have such a way of looking at people and adopt such an attitude, we cannot find salvation in this manner. Others as well as we ourselves are covered by dark shadows of agony, hopelessness, desperation, contempt, faithlessness or hatred. The world always treats us coldly and sharply, and unpleasant disputes do not come to an end here.
At that time, if we can awake to the fact that “we have the buddha-nature and we have the possibility of elevating ourselves infinitely,” we shall have the same feeling as if a window were suddenly broken open in a wall of a dark prison and the bright sunlight streamed through it. As soon as we see that light, how much we shall be encouraged by it! We shall certainly stand up in spite of ourselves and shall begin to endeavor to steal out of our prison.
If we can realize the fact that “all other people also have the buddha-nature and that they, too, have the possibility of becoming perfect men,” we completely change our way of looking at them. If we believe the good of another person as being his true nature, while we also admit his wrongs and his defects as they are, we shall have the feeling of respecting him and receiving him as a man without only hating him, excluding him, forsaking him and disregarding him. Such a feeling is called the spirit of tolerance.
Also see:
A Modern Introduction to the Lotus Sutra Giving a Better Understanding of the Buddha’s Teachings
Nikkyō Niwano’s book, first published in Japanese in 1969 and in English in 1970, is not a book about the Lotus Sutra in the way Buddhism for Today is. Instead, this is a introduction to basic Buddhist teachings. The flyleaf on the book cover offers this handy outline:
This book
- gives you a systematic knowledge of the essentials of the Lotus Sutra;
- offers you a right view of life and the world from the standpoint of Mahayana Buddhism, and an ideal way of human life based on the Lotus Sutra;
- is an indispensable companion for those who desire to promote mutual respect and cooperation among men of religion for the purpose of world peace.
The contents of the book are divided into three broad categories: The Necessity of Religion, The Origin of Buddhism and The Doctrine of Buddhism.
The Necessity of Religion is further broken down into four topics: Ethics Alone Cannot Save Man, Two Missions of Religion, On Science and Religion and Faith to All Men.
The Origin of Buddhism covers The Unrivaled Great Sage, Lord Śākyamuni; First Rolling of the Law-Wheel; Śākyamuni’s Life Devoted to Preaching the Law; Śākyamuni Passes Away; and Creative and Developing Buddhism.
The Doctrine of Buddhism includes The Four Noble Truths, The Eightfold Path, The Twelve-linked Chain of Dependent Origination; Six Perfections, The Void and The Seal of the Three Laws, The Doctrine of the Reality of All Existence and the Three Thousand Realms in One Mind, The Middle Path and Life View of Buddhism.
The reason for the title of the book is explained by Nikkyō Niwano at the conclusion of the book.
It has been traditionally said that there are the three factors (san-in) in the perfection of the buddha-nature: shō-in, ryō-in and en-in.
Shō-in means the buddha-nature that is originally possessed by all the people. It is the truth that they are united with the great life of the universe in a body. Of course, this is the fundamental factor leading them to enlightenment.
Ryō-in indicates wisdom which enables one to realize his original buddha-nature by knowing the truth and comparing with it. The reason why we must hear the teachings of the Buddha and study the truth lies in this fact. This is because if we do not do so, there is often the fear that our valuable buddha-nature will remain undiscovered.
En-in expresses good deeds which help one as a secondary cause to develop his potential buddha-nature. Good deeds are understood in various meanings and they include the “practices of benefiting oneself,” such as making a right living according to the Buddha’s teachings, sutra-reciting, worshiping, meditation and other religious exercises. Good deeds also include the “practices of benefiting others,” such as showing kindness to every person with whom we come in contact, performing conduct useful for society and leading others to the right law.
By accumulating good deeds in this way, our original buddha-nature will be polished and developed more and more. Therefore, as long as we remain only recognizing the fact “we have the buddha-nature,” it does not light up nor develop a strong energy which make others as well as ourselves be saved and elevated.
After all, when we constantly repeat the practice of the way to Buddhahood, namely, “studying Buddhism,” “practicing it,” and “preaching it,” the buddha-nature of others as well as of ourselves will begin to light up and, turning this world into the Pure Land, will be completed by making the buddha-nature of all people be disclosed.
Boiled down to the utmost limit, Buddhism reaches this truth. We can conclude that Buddhism is the teaching that discovers the buddha-nature possessed by all people, discloses it and polishes it. It is the Lotus Sutra that contains this teaching to perfection. This is the reason why I have entitled this book, The Lotus Sutra: Life and Soul of Buddhism.
Each time as I cycle through the 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra (which, of course, is actually 34 days with the addition the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings and the Contemplation of Universal Sage) I am struck by the promises offered to everyone. This is especially true in Chapter 2.
“Any Śrāvaka or Bodhisattva
Who hears even a gāthā
Of this sūtra which I am to expound
Will undoubtedly become a Buddha.”
I believe it is these promises that have made the Lotus Sutra so important in Asia and why it translates so well as it is introduced to new readers. How can we not have faith?
Yet, some people won’t accept.
“Śāriputra, know this!
Men of dull capacity and of little wisdom cannot believe the Dharma.
Those who are attached to the appearances of things are arrogant.
They cannot believe it, either.”
But there is so much to believe that is made explicit in the Lotus Sutra. These promises don’t require a lifetime to accomplish or the endurance of painful ascetic practices.
“Anyone who rejoices at hearing the Dharma
And utters even a single word in praise of it
Should be considered to have already made offerings
To the past, present, and future Buddhas.
Such a person is rarely seen,
More rarely than the udumbara-flower.”
With enough faith to believe in the promise of the Lotus Sutra we can advance along the path.
“The boys who by playing drew
A picture of the Buddha
With a piece of grass or wood,
Or with a brush,
Or with the back of their fingernails,
Became able to accumulate merits one by one.
Having great compassion towards others,
They attained the enlightenment of the Buddha,
Taught only Bodhisattvas,
And saved many living beings.“Those who, without concentrating their minds,
Offered nothing but a flower to the picture of the Buddha,
Became able to see
Innumerable Buddhas one after another.”
Faith is not magical. We must act just as the children who lost their right mind needed first to believe the medicine would taste good and then take the medicine. We are promised a reward and all we are asked to do is practice and study.
“Those who do not study the Dharma
Cannot understand it.
You have already realized
The fact that the Buddhas, the World-Teachers, employ expedients,
According to the capacities of all living beings.
Know that, when you remove your doubts,
And when you have great joy,
You will become Buddhas!”
This final promise of Chapter 2 is a fitting end. As Ryusho Jeffus wrote in his Lecture on the Lotus Sutra:
“Chapter II ends telling us that when we are able to overcome our hurdle of doubt and when joy wells up from within our lives, then we are able to become Buddhas. That is my wish for you as you read this writing on the Lotus Sutra. I wish for you to be able to experience the great joy of the Lotus Sutra.”
