As the destroyer of the bonds of existence,
I, the King of the Dharma, have appeared in this world.
Since then I have expounded the Dharma variously
According to the desires of all living beings.

The Buddha proclaims these verses in Chapter Five of the Lotus Sūtra. This is another explanation for why he uses expedients to teach those who are not ready for his highest teaching. When we set aside the cravings that lead to suffering, and cultivate our desire for enlightenment, both for ourselves and all beings, then we are ready to receive the Buddha’s highest teaching.

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Bhikṣus! I will collect Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas and expound this sūtra to them when I realize that the time of my Nirvāṇa is drawing near, that the living beings have become pure in heart, that they can understand the truth of the Void by firm faith, and that they have already entered deep into dhyāna-concentration.

The Buddha gives this explanation in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. When we encounter even the smallest part of the Lotus Sūtra, it is because of all the wonderful things we have accomplished both in this life and in previous lives. Because we hear and practice this Sūtra, we are the Bodhisattvas who have vowed to benefit all beings and the Śrāvakas who have heard and practiced the teaching for their own benefit and are now awakening to the Bodhisattva path. The Buddha sees into the purity of our hearts, even though we may believe we are clouded by delusion and ignorance. He knows we can understand his teaching no matter how inadequate or unworthy we may think we are. No one besides us can bring the Buddha’s teachings to life and purify this world of suffering. This Wonderful Dharma helps us keep sight of who we are and what we are here to do.

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

With Nichiren’s boundless compassion, “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo” will be heard forever even beyond the ten-thousand year period of Degeneration. It has the merit of curing the blindness of all people, blocking the way to hell. This merit is superior to those of Dengyō in Japan, T’ien-t’ai in China, Nāgārjuna in India or Kāśyapa who was the Buddha’s disciple. Practice for a hundred years in the Pure Land is not worth the merit of chanting the daimoku for one day in this defiled world. Propagation of the daimoku in a two-thousand year period following the death of the Buddha is not worth as much as spreading the daimoku for even a short while in the Latter Age of Degeneration. This is not from my wisdom; it is solely due to the time in which I live.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Essay on Gratitude (Hōon-jō). In other writings, he explained that the superiority of the Lotus Sūtra is not in its power to change the world, but its power to lead all beings, without exception, to the same enlightenment the Buddha found. In this sūtra, the Buddha gives us a different idea of time, the world and our lives. All of these are truly boundless, and the Buddha is always here teaching us.

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My teaching is wonderful and inconceivable.
If arrogant people hear me,
They will not respect or believe me.

The Buddha sings these verses to Śāriputra in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra. We sometimes think of arrogance as acting as if we know something that we really do not. These verses contrast arrogance with respect and faith. Faith does not mean blind belief. It is still important to ask questions when we don’t understand. Respect does not mean blind obedience, but it does mean that we have confidence in what the Buddha teaches, no matter how difficult it may seem. Arrogance blocks our ability to hear the Buddha. Respect and Faith open our hearts to his enlightenment.

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They also will be able to locate the Śrāvakas, Pratyekabuddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas by smelling their bodies from afar. Even when they recognize all this by smell, their organ of smell will not be destroyed or put out of order. If they wish, they will be able to tell others of the differences [of those scents] because they remember them without fallacy.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. Our sense of smell is often unconscious. We associate smells with places, experiences or even people that we like or dislike. These smells can even cause an emotional reaction by causing us to relive a situation associated with that smell. In the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha teaches that our everyday experiences are no different from enlightenment, that his great wisdom is not about how to escape from this world. It is about how to use the senses and abilities with which we are blessed in ways we cannot imagine.

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

When you see any teacher of the Dharma
Who has obtained these merits,
You should strew heavenly flowers to him,
Dress him in a heavenly garment,
Worship his feet with your head,
And think that he will become a Buddha.

The Buddha makes this declaration to Maitreya Bodhisattva in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. This chapter tells the variety of merits enjoyed by anyone who understands, however briefly, the ever-present nature of the Buddha. This reminder is not just for the great Bodhisattvas such as Maitreya. It is also for all of us who are awakening our Bodhisattva nature through this teaching. It is important for us to treat all people, especially those who share this practice of the Buddha Dharma with us, with the same respect we would give to the Buddha himself.

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I still remember vividly how you accompanied me to Tatsunokuchi holding a horse by the bridle, and breaking into tears when I was about to be beheaded there. I will never forget this no matter how many lifetimes come and go. If by chance you should fall into hell, I will refuse the invitation of Śākyamuni Buddha to become a Buddha. Instead I will go into hell with you. If we both entered into hell, how could it be that we would not find Śākyamuni Buddha and the Lotus Sutra there?

Nichiren wrote this passage in his “Emperor Shushun” Letter (Sushun Tennō Gosho) addressed to his disciple Shijō Kingo. Despite the hardships he faced in his life, Nichiren never forgot the kindnesses shown to him by ordinary people. His great determination to save all beings made him fearless even were he to be threatened by the Buddha with the torments of the Hell realms for the sake of those dear to him. Nichiren knew that he would be able to find the Buddha anywhere, and that his devotion would overcome any difficulty.

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World-Honored One! It is by my supernatural powers, know this, that a Bodhisattva can hear these dhāraṇīs. Anyone who keeps the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma [while it is] propagated in the Jambudvīpa, should think, ‘I can keep [this sūtra] only by the supernatural powers of Universal-Sage.’

Universal-Sage Bodhisattva (Fugen, Samantabhadra) makes this declaration to the Buddha in Chapter Twenty-Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. The supernatural powers of this Bodhisattva are beyond the perception of our human senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell and thought. When we hear thunder, we know something causes it whether or not we understand that cause. In the same way, when we are practicing this Wonderful Dharma, we know it is because of the great help we receive from innumerable beings, even if we do not understand the powers they use to reach us.

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When I saw that some people of little virtue and of much defilement were seeking the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle, I told them, ‘I renounced my family when I was young, and attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi [forty and odd years ago].’ In reality I became the Buddha in the remotest past as I previously stated. I told them so as an expedient to teach them, to lead them into the Way to Buddhahood.

In Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha gives this explanation of a parable he tells in Chapter Three. In that story, the foolish children of a wise man were playing in a burning house. The man tried to warn his children of the dangers of the house, but the children were so preoccupied with their games they would not leave. Only when the man promised them better toys outside would the children leave the house. The words used by the wise man were meant to get the children out of the house, even though the toys did not exist. These words were necessary to motivate the children to set aside their delusions. They were not meant to be taken literally. We learn from this explanation how the Buddha uses words, and why we formerly needed his expedient teachings.

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Excellent, excellent, Ajita! You asked me a very important question. All of you should concentrate your minds, wear the armor of endeavors, and be resolute. Now I will reveal, I will show, the wisdom of the Buddhas, their supernatural powers without hindrance, their dauntless powers like a lion’s, and their great power of bravery.

The Buddha makes this declaration to Maitreya Bodhisattva, whom he calls Ajita (Invincible) in Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, innumerable Bodhisattvas spring up from underground and vow to the Buddha to keep the sūtra after his extinction. Maitreya, knowing the minds of many others who have come to hear the Buddha teach, asks about these Bodhisattvas, whom he has never seen before. This question from Maitreya then leads to the Buddha later giving his most difficult teaching in Chapter Sixteen. The Buddha’s declaration in this passage shows how important questioning is to our faith.

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