I am the World-Honored One.
I am not surpassed by anyone.
I have appeared in this world
To give peace to all living beings.

The Buddha makes this declaration in Chapter Five of the Lotus Sūtra. If it were anybody but the Buddha saying this, we would accuse them of arrogance: pretending to know more than they really do. However, with the Buddha, we realize that his wisdom and compassion are boundless, and that his superiority is for our benefit.

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

These good men and women are great Bodhisattvas. They should be considered to have appeared in this world by their vow to expound the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma out of their compassion towards all living beings, although they already attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi [in their previous existence].

The Buddha declares these lines to Medicine-King Bodhisattva at the beginning of Chapter Nine of the Lotus Sūtra. In the teachings of Nirvāṇa, the goal is to remove suffering so that we can be reborn in a peaceful realm. In this Sūtra, the Buddha reminds us that we who keep this Sūtra have given up the privilege of higher realms so that we can benefit beings where we find ourselves now. We do not fear rebirth in lower realms since our compassion takes us even there so we can benefit beings in those realms.

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

Thereupon the Buddha said to the great multitude including Bodhisattvas and others, “Good men! Understand my sincere and infallible words by faith!”

With these words, the Buddha prepares those gathered to hear him teach in Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. “Understanding by faith” can be a difficult idea for those of us who believe faith is opposed to understanding; that it means believing something even though we do not understand it. The Buddha does not ask us to set aside our curiosity or our comprehension to practice his highest teaching. But he does say that it takes more than understanding to reach the wisdom he attained. As we apprehend more of what the Buddha teaches us, our confidence in him grows. As we set aside our doubts about the benefits of the Buddha Dharma, we increase our ability to see the world for what it is.

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

Enemies find it difficult to attack when two people are together. Therefore, do not keep your brothers at a distance even for a brief period, regardless of what faults they may have; always be close to them. Whenever you get angry, it is clearly written on your face. Please remember that at no time do gods or deities protect those who are short tempered. It is true that you are destined to become a Buddha, but isn’t it regrettable for you to get hurt, pleasing your enemy and causing us grief?

Nichiren wrote this passage in his “Emperor Shushun” Letter (Sushun Tennō Gosho) addressed to his disciple Shijō Kingo. Nichiren knew the temperament of this Samurai warrior, and gave him detailed instructions for how to navigate the political hazards he faced. No matter how vindictive his Lord Ema became, Nichiren reminded him to persist in leading Ema by the Buddha Dharma and to rely on those who kept the Lotus Sūtra with him. As a result, Kingo outlived both Ema and Nichiren himself and is well known as one of Nichiren’s first followers.

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If you hear his name, and see him,
And think of him constantly,
You will be able to eliminate all sufferings.

The Buddha gives this description of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva (Kannon, Kanzeon, Avalokitesvara) to Endless-Intent Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Five of the Lotus Sūtra. World-Voice-Perceiver is the embodiment of compassion. The power of World-Voice-Perceiver is the power of compassion. World-Voice-Perceiver is also known as the one who brings fearlessness. When we can face up to the suffering in the world, both our own and that of others, we can see it for what it is. Then we are no longer afraid of suffering. What else is there to be afraid of?

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They also will be able to see the living beings of those worlds, to know the karmas which those living beings are now doing and the region to which each of those living beings is destined to go by his karmas.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. In our world of conflict and ignorance, we sometimes envy people who use force to get what they want. In this deluded state of mind, we believe that cruelty, violence and greed can make us happy. When we use the Buddha’s wisdom to see things for what we are, we realize the power that comes from patience, generosity, compassion and selflessness. We avoid the misery of self-importance, and find the peace that comes from being tied into this world rather than setting ourselves apart from it.

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The merits of the Buddha are beyond the expression of our words. Only the Buddha, only the World-Honored One, knows the wishes we have deep in our minds.

In Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sutra, Pūrṇa has these words in mind while looking at the face of the Buddha. The thoughts we have are mostly words, and the words are about the things we want. Words can help us make sense of the world around us, especially the words the Buddha uses to teach us. But words can also confuse us when we mistake our expectations for the reality of the world. When the Buddha calls us to become Bodhisattvas, to realize that our happiness is linked to that of all beings, his words open a part of our mind with which we are not familiar. He asks us to set aside the habits we have learned from this world of conflict and see his world in a new way.

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

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.

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

The good men or women who expound even a phrase of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma even to one person even in secret after my extinction, know this, are my messengers. They are dispatched by me.

The Buddha declares these lines to Medicine-King Bodhisattva at the beginning of Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. When we are caught up in the suffering and unhappiness of this world of conflict, we can yearn for an escape from its troubles. We can believe that living in this world was not our choice, that we are here by chance or due to an obligation we no longer want to meet. When the Buddha reminds us that we are Bodhisattvas, beings whose existence is for the benefit of all beings, we realize that both the joys and the suffering we experience are for the benefit of others.

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