Anyone who not only understands
This sūtra by faith
But also keeps, reads and recites it,
And copies it, or causes others to copy it,
And strews flowers, incense,
And incense powder to a copy of it,
And lights lamps of the perfumed oil
Of sumanas, campaka, and atimuktaka
Around the copy of this sūtra
And offers the light thus produced to it,
Will be able to obtain innumerable merits.
His merits will be as limitless as the sky.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. This teaching contains the Buddha’s highest wisdom, leads all beings to enlightenment, and calls us to transform our personal suffering into an aspiration to benefit all beings. The joy and clarity we gain by practicing and respecting this sūtra is beyond what we can imagine in our state of attachment and delusion.

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

You, the World-Honored One, saw that the aspiration for the knowledge of all things was still latent in our minds; therefore, you awakened us, saying, ‘Bhikṣus! What you had attained was not perfect extinction. I caused you to plant the good root of Buddhahood a long time ago.’

Five hundred of the Buddha’s monks give this explanation in Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, the Buddha has just assured them of reaching the same enlightenment he found. These monks had worked diligently for many years to rid themselves of suffering, and taught many other beings to become Bodhisattvas and reach the Buddha’s enlightenment, thinking they were not capable of reaching this wisdom. Not believing we are capable of something obscures the capability we have. When the Buddha proclaims that he leads all beings, he reminds us of this capacity and inspires us make efforts to bring all beings, including ourselves, to his joy.

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

He should respect the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones,
As his unsurpassed fathers.
He should give up arrogance
So that he may expound the Dharma without hindrance.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra in which he describes the peaceful practices of a Bodhisattva. By arrogance, the Buddha means not only acting as if we know what we do not, but any fixed understanding of the world and the beings in it. This opening of our minds allows us to be receptive to the innumerable ways the Buddhas are teaching us, and to learn to see the world for what it is. This receptivity also allows us to see the Buddha nature in all beings, no matter how deluded they are and how much harm they create. Respect is what allows us to fully hear and be present for what the world has to offer us.

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

The Buddha is great, but compared to the Lotus Sutra He is like the light of a firefly in front of the sun and moon. When compared in terms of height, the Buddha is like the earth while the Lotus Sutra reaches the heavens. If making offerings to the Buddha has such great merit, how much more so does one gain by making offerings to the Lotus Sutra?

Nichiren wrote this passage in a Reply to Lord Ueno (Ueno-dono Gohenji). When we encounter someone we consider great because of their fame, their wisdom, or anything else that leads them to be dear to us, our natural inclination is to show our gratitude to them by offering them gifts or services. When we learn about the Buddha, his life and what he taught us, even from a distance of 2500 years, we cannot help but be grateful for everything he has done to benefit us and all beings. But, as Nichiren instructs, when we realize the treasure of the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sūtra, and how it is the embodiment of the Ever-Present Buddha who continues to teach all beings through all worlds and all time, our gratitude to it is even greater. We make offerings to the Sūtra through our practice, our determination not to allow suffering to dictate what we do, but to cultivate the wisdom and compassion within us, and repay the Ever-Present Buddha with the enlightenment of all beings.

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

I see all living beings equally.
I have no partiality for them.
There is not ‘this one’ or ‘that one’ to me.
I transcend love and hatred.

The Buddha makes this declaration in Chapter Five of the Lotus Sūtra. He compares himself to a rain shower that waters all plants equally. He uses this example to show us how we should approach all living beings. Our respect for them and wish that they become enlightened cannot depend on whatever personal feelings we have towards them.

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

Anyone who expounds the Dharma, if he wishes,
Will be able to cause the living beings
Of the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds
To hear his wonderful voice.

The Buddha sings these verses to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. When we learn to hear the voice of the Wonderful Dharma, we recognize it in everything that surrounds us. When we speak with the voice of the Wonderful Dharma, we are in accord with the reality of all things. There is no need to distinguish between our voice and the voice of the Ever-Present Buddha who is always thinking of how to lead all beings to enlightenment. The only thing that blocks this voice is the comfort of our own attachment and delusion.

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

Just as the Moon God is brighter than the stars, this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma gives us more light than any of the other sūtras numbering thousands of billions. Just as the Sun God dispels all darkness, this sūtra drives away all the darkness of evils.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddha uses comparisons from our common experience of the sun, moon and stars to illustrate how this teaching of the Wonderful Dharma is superior to all other teachings. This is not just hyperbole. This teaching illuminates not only the other teachings of the Buddha, but all teachings. It lets us see them for what they are, and use them to do the Buddha’s work of leading all beings to enlightenment.

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

Anyone who keeps this sūtra in the evil world
In the age of the decline of my teachings
Should be considered
To have already made these offerings.

The Buddha sings these verses to Maitreya Bodhisattva in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. Given the trauma we have suffered in our previous existences, especially the calamity of death, it should be no surprise that our memories of those lives is dim at best. It can be enough to know that beneficial actions bring benefit and harmful actions bring harm, even if we do not know the specific causes of our condition. Our finding and practicing the Wonderful Dharma in this life is an indication of our great generosity in previous lives, and our capacity to continue practicing that same generosity.

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

Anyone who rejoices at hearing this sūtra,
And who receives it respectfully,
Know this, has already reached
The stage of not-returning.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Three of the Lotus Sūtra. The state of non-returning means having the certainty of reaching enlightenment. As Bodhisattvas, when we go into any realm, whether higher or lower, it is to benefit the beings there. It is easy to become discouraged by the difficulties we face in this world of conflict, and to forget that we are not alone in our efforts to help others. When we return to the joy of the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha reminds us of who we are, what we are doing, and where we are going, no matter what obstacles we may find.

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

It is not difficult
To grasp the sky,
And wander about with it
From place to place.
It is difficult
To copy and keep this sūtra
Or cause others to copy it
After my extinction.

The Buddha sang these verses in Chapter Eleven of the Lotus Sūtra for all those who had come to hear him teach. When we start on the path of enlightenment by finding joy in the Buddha Dharma, we might believe that the world will change around us to meet our expectations, and that we will have no more difficulties. Then when we do find hard times, we may even abandon this wonderful practice and go back to our habits of gratifying ourselves. Our founder Nichiren lived through unimaginable hardships so that we who follow him would not lose this precious teaching. The Buddha in these verses reminds us that difficulties are part of our practice, and that we can find a way to use any situation in life to benefit others.

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