Medicine-King! This sūtra is the store of the hidden core of all the Buddhas. Do not give it to others carelessly! It is protected by the Buddhas, by the World-Honored Ones. It has not been expounded explicitly. Many people hate it with jealousy even in my lifetime. Needless to say, more people will do so after my extinction.

The Buddha makes this declaration to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. For us who recognize how the Buddha’s teaching transforms our lives and the world, it can be hard to imagine that anyone would reject it. However, there are beings who are so filled with fear and delusion that they mistake the Buddha’s good medicine for poison. While we are committed to leading all beings to enlightenment, we realize that we are not alone in our efforts. The protective deities and the Buddha himself are always working to benefit all beings. In our current capacities, we may not be able to reach everybody immediately. We should not let this discourage us. The least we can do is hope in our hearts for the happiness of all beings, even if they are not accessible to us.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Faith is nothing special. A wife loves her husband, the husband devotes his life to her, parents do not give away their children, and children do not desert their mother. Likewise, believe in the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha Śākyamuni, the Buddha Tahō, all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and deities. Then chant “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.” This is faith.

Nichiren wrote this in his Letter to the Nun Myoichi (Myoichi Ama Gozen Gohenji). For many people, Buddhism can be a complicated practice requiring years of study, mastering difficult concepts, even learning new languages. In this letter, Nichiren emphasizes the simple, everyday aspects of our faith and practice. He describes how we can start from the simple love and concern we have for each other, chant “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo” to grow the seeds of faith in our Buddha nature and awaken compassion and wisdom in all beings, and find the joy of the Buddha Dharma in our everyday experience.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Anyone who respects the stūpa-mausoleum,
Who is modest before bhikṣus,
Who gives up self-conceit,
Who always thinks of wisdom,
Who does not get angry when asked questions,
And who expounds the Dharma
According to the capacities of the questioners,
Will be able to obtain innumerable merits.

The Buddha sings these verses to Maitreya Bodhisattva in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. The merits of which he speaks are not an indication that we are better than other beings, that we deserve more respect than others, or that we are closer to enlightenment. Merits are a measure of clarity. When we lose attachment and delusion, we gain merit. When we see things for what they are, we gain the wisdom to truly benefit others.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Good men! Ānanda and I resolved to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi under the Void-King Buddha at the same time [in our previous existence]. At that time Ānanda always wished to hear much while I always practiced strenuously. Therefore, I have already attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi[, but he has not yet]. Now he protects my teachings.

The Buddha gives this description to those gathered to hear him teach in Chapter Nine of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, he has just assured his cousin Ānanda that he will become a Buddha. He then explains the difference between hearing what the Buddha teaches and making it a part of our lives. It is when we practice the Buddha Dharma that we truly understand it. But even if we believe we do not have the capacity to practice, it is still important for us to hear and protect what the Buddha left for us. By giving others the opportunity to learn and do what perhaps we cannot, we help to improve their lives, and give them a chance to improve ours.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Mañjuśrī! A Bodhisattva-mahāsattva who performs this fourth set of [peaceful] practices after my extinction, will be able to expound the Dharma flawlessly. Bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, upāsikās, kings, princes, ministers, common people, brāhmaṇas and householders will make offerings to him, honor him, respect him, and praise him. The gods in the sky will always serve him in order to hear the Dharma from him. When someone comes to his abode located in a village, in a city, in a retired place or in a forest, and wishes to ask him a question, the gods will protect him day and night for the sake of the Dharma so that the hearer may rejoice because this sūtra was, is, and will be protected by the supernatural powers of the past, present and future Buddhas.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra. The fourth set of peaceful practices is not blaming those who do not hear the Lotus Sūtra and resolving to save them when one becomes perfectly enlightened. Rather than becoming upset with those who do not accept this teaching, it is useful to know that we are not alone in wanting to save them, and that by reducing our own delusions we increase our capacity to benefit others.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

World-Honored One! Now we see that we are Bodhisattvas in reality, and that we are assured of our future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Therefore, we have the greatest joy that we have ever had.

Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya and the others gathered to hear the Buddha teach make this declaration in Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. He and the others thought that their existence was merely to hear and preserve what the Buddha taught them, and to transmit it to others. They believed they were incapable of becoming as enlightened as the Buddha, because the Buddha’s earlier teachings had only led them so far. With the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha reminds all of us of our decision to come to this world of conflict to benefit all beings. He awakens us to our capacity to see the world with his eyes and experience the joy of reality.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

If after my extinction anyone rejoices, even on a moment’s thought, at hearing even a gāthā or a phrase of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, I also will assure him of his future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

The Buddha declares these lines to Medicine-King Bodhisattva at the beginning of Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. Other teachings had described beings becoming enlightened after making exorbitant offerings or strenuous practices over many lifetimes. In the teaching of the Wonderful Dharma, a single moment of joy at hearing the Dharma is enough to assure us that we will become enlightened.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Anyone who does not keep our spells
But troubles the expounder of the Dharma
Shall have his head split into seven pieces
Just as the branches of the arjaka-tree [are split].

The ten rakṣasī demons and Mother-of-Devils sing these verses in Chapter Twenty-Six of the Lotus Sūtra. They are among the many gods and other supernatural beings who vow to protect all those who keep and practice the Buddha Dharma. These verses help us to understand the nature of those who create harm in the world and to develop a heart of compassion towards them. The nature of delusion is that it sets up a world separate from the world we all share. It puts a barrier between us and the world out of fear that this world will harm us. The Buddha’s teachings show us how to develop the courage to live in harmony with this world, rather than splitting ourselves from it, and splitting ourselves in it.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

All this time I have been living in this Sahā-World, and teaching [the living beings of this world] by expounding the Dharma to them. I also have been leading and benefiting the living beings of one hundred thousand billion nayuta asaṃkhya worlds outside this world.

The Buddha gives this explanation to all those gathered to hear him in Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In the parable of the physician and his children, the Buddha explains how if he were to reveal himself explicitly to those still focused on their own suffering, they would take him for granted and not believe the Wonderful Dharma he provides for him. It is by learning to recognize the Buddha living with us here today, who is helping us all awaken from our delusions, and taking on his work of benefiting all beings, that we lose our suffering and attachment, and realize the potential for enlightenment that is at the core of our true being.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Having heard from you
Of the duration of your life,
Living beings as many as the particles of earth
Of eight Sumeru-worlds
Aspired for unsurpassed [enlightenment].

The Bodhisattva Maitreya sings these verses in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sutra. He describes the effect on all beings of the Buddha’s revealing his existence as the Ever-Present Śākyamuni. If we believed that the Buddha was just a man who lived 2500 years ago, we might think that we had to wait until another being became enlightened before we could follow them on the path to our own awakening. But with this understanding that the Buddha is always helping us, here and now, then we awaken our capacity to see things as they are and work confidently for the benefit of all beings.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com