BUDDHISM AND TIME

To study Buddhism, first of all we must know the right time.

In the past, the Great Universal Wisdom Buddha appeared in the world, but he did not preach at all for as long as ten small kalpa. It is said in the Lotus Sūtra, chapter 7 on “The Parable of a Magic City”: “He sat in meditation for ten small kalpa;” and “Though begged to preach, the Buddha sat in silence because He knew the time was not yet ripe.” Our Lord Śākyamuni Buddha, did not expound the Lotus Sūtra for more than forty years. As said in the Sūtra, chapter 2 on “Expedients,” it was because “the time was not ripe.” Lao-tzu is said to have spent as long as eighty years in his mother’s womb before he was born. Bodhisattva Maitreya, future Lord Buddha of this Sahā World, is expected to stay in the inner chamber of the Tuṣita Heaven (Tōsotsu-ten) for as long as 5,670,000,000 years, waiting for the time to attain perfect enlightenment. As nightingales wait for summer to sing and roosters wait for dawn to crow, even beasts know the time. How much more should we choose the right time in practicing Buddhism?

When the Buddha preached the Flower Garland Sūtra at the Hall of Enlightenment, various Buddhas appeared from the worlds in ten directions, and all great bodhisattvas gathered together. Moreover, the Great King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, and the Four Heavenly Kings danced for joy; eight kinds of gods and semi-gods such as dragon gods held their hands together in reverence; the wiser among ordinary men bent their ears to Him; and various bodhisattvas such as Moon of Emancipation (Vimuki-candra), who have attained enlightenment during the present life, begged Him to preach. However, Śākyamuni did not even reveal the names of His two most important teachings: “Obtaining Buddhahood by men of the Two Vehicles, śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha” (nijō-sabutsu) and “Śākyamuni’s attaining Enlightenment in the eternal past” (kuon-jitsujō). Nor did He expound the fundamental doctrines of the “becoming a Buddha with one’s present body” (sokushin-jōbutsu) and “3,000 existences contained in one thought” (ichinen-sanzen). It was not that He did not speak of those doctrines because no one had the capacity to understand them. It was solely because, as stated in the Lotus Sūtra, chapter 2 on “Expedients”, “the time was not ripe. ”

When the Lotus Sūtra was preached on Mt. Sacred Eagle, King Ajātaśatru, the most unfilial man in the world, attended the meeting; even Devadatta, who had abused the True Dharma throughout his life, was guaranteed to be Tennō (Heavenly King) Buddha in the future. Furthermore, a dragon girl, though females were considered incapable of becoming a King of the Brahma Heaven, an Indra, a King of Devils, a Wheel-turning Noble King, or a Buddha, became a Buddha without changing her dragon-body. Attainment of Buddhahood by men of the Two Vehicles, and those with fixed natures who had been considered definitely incapable of becoming Buddhas, was as wondrous as a toasted seed germinating, flowering and bearing fruit. When Śākyamuni Buddha’s “attaining Enlightenment in the eternal past” was revealed, the audience was so astonished as to wonder how a hundred-year old man could be the son of a twenty-five year old man. The “3,000 existences contained in one thought” doctrine explained that unenlightened beings in the Nine Realms and enlightened ones in the Realm of the Buddha are one and inseparable, opening the way for the unenlightened to attain Buddhahood. Therefore, each letter of this sūtra represents a wish-fulfilling gem that pours out 10,000 treasures; each phrase of it is the seed of Buddhahood. The preaching of these most profound teachings was not done because of the capacity of the audience, their intelligence to understand or faith to uphold them. It was because the time was ripe. The Lotus Sūtra, chapter 2 on “Expedients,” therefore says: “Now is the time to expound the Mahayana teaching definitely.”

Senji-shō, Selecting the Right time: A Tract by Nichiren, the Buddha’s Disciple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1,
Pages 188-189

Indeed, now is the time to expound the Mahayana teaching definitely.