Faith is a personal aspect. It has no relationship to others. My faith is mine; yours is yours. This is something I don’t believe many people appreciate.
In Chapter 1, Mañjuśrī tells a short story about the previous life of Maitreya. It seems the Buddha-to-be wasn’t always a perfect example of a man of faith.
“There was a lazy man
Among the disciples
Of Wonderful-Light, the Teacher of the Dharma.
The lazy man was attached to fame and gain.“Always seeking fame and gain,
He often visited noble families.
He did not understand what he had recited,
Gave it up, and forgot it.
Because of this,
He was called Fame-Seeking.”
No criticism of Fame-Seeking is offered. Instead, we learn:
“But he later did many good karmas,
And became able to see innumerable Buddhas.
He made offerings to them,
Followed them, practiced the Great Way,
And performed the six paramitas.
Now he sees the Lion-Like One of the Sakyas.“He will become a Buddha
In his future life.
He will be called Maitreya.
He will save innumerable living beings.”
The Lotus Sutra is clear on this topic: We are not to criticize those who practice the Lotus Sutra.
In Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma, the Buddha warns:
An evil man who speaks ill of me in my presence with evil intent for as long as a kalpa is not as sinful as the person who reproaches laymen or monks with even a single word of abuse for their reading and reciting the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
In Chapter 13, Peaceful Practices, we are instructed:
“A Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who wishes to keep, read and recite this sūtra in the latter days after my extinction when the teachings are about to be destroyed, should not nurse jealousy against others, or flatter or deceive them. He should not despise those who study the Way to Buddhahood in any way. He should not speak ill of them or try to point out their faults. … He should not have fruitless disputes or quarrels about the teachings with others..”
In Chapter 28, The Encouragement of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, the Buddha warns:
“Those who, upon seeing the keeper of this sūtra, blame him justly or unjustly, will suffer from white leprosy in their present life. Those who laugh at him will have few teeth, ugly lips, flat noses, contorted limbs, squint eyes, and foul and filthy bodies, and suffer from bloody pus of scabs, abdominal dropsy, tuberculosis, and other serious diseases in their successive lives.”
It is not our place to judge others. Never-Despising Bodhisattva did not read or recite sūtras. He only bowed to the four kinds of devotees. When he saw them in the distance, he went to them on purpose, bowed to them, and praised them, saying, ‘I do not despise you because you can become Buddhas.’
Fame-seeking became Maitreya. Never-Despising became Śākyamuni. Our faith grows amid our causes and conditions. We should nurture and encourage others, not criticize.
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