The goal of faith in the Lotus Sutra is to approach an understanding of the equality and differences of all things. This is especially true of Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs.
As the Buddha explains at the beginning of the chapter:
“I, the Tathāgata, am the King of the Dharma. Nothing I say is false. I expound all teachings with expedients by my wisdom in order to lead all living beings to the stage of knowing all things.”
But as the Buddha later explains, a single teaching won’t fulfill his goal:
“The various teachings I expound are of the same content, of the same taste. Those who emancipate themselves from the bonds of existence, from illusions, and from birth and death, will finally obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things. But those who hear or keep my teachings or read or recite the sutras in which my teachings are expounded, or act according to my teachings, do not know the merits that they will be able to obtain by these practices. Why is that? It is because only I know their capacities, appearances, entities and natures.”
The goal, we learn, is to inspire the faith needed to open the gate to the Buddha’s wisdom. As the Buddha explains in gāthās:
“I am honorable, and my wisdom is profound.
Therefore, I have been reticent on this truth,
That is, the reality of all things, for a long time.
I did not make haste to expound it to all living beings.“If they had heard it without expedients,
Men of ignorance would have had doubts,
And lost their way [to enlightenment] forever,
Though men of wisdom would have understood it by faith.”
And once we enter that gate, we are promised that our faith will be rewarded:
“Those who hear the Dharma from me
Will reach various stages
Of enlightenment
According to their capacities.”
Rev. Ryusho Jeffus’ Lecture on the Lotus Sutra offers an interesting take on the equality and differences of all things and variations that result according to our capacities:
“No longer is there a fundamental difference between the enlightenment of people and the enlightenment of Buddhas. The Buddha is showing us the path to an enlightenment that is exactly like that of all Buddhas. This is really what I think is remarkable. There is a way for us as common mortals to become enlightened just as the Buddha was, though I think it is also important to realize that our own individual manifestation of that enlightenment will perhaps look different than the Buddha’s. In other words, my enlightenment will not be an enlightenment of sitting under a tree, it might be an enlightenment of working with sick people. … It can manifest in any number of ways, not dependent upon our occupation or unique skills, but on our innate capacity, on the truth of the condition of Buddhahood being always present in our lives.”
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