What we have taking place with the appearance of these Bodhisattvas from beneath the ground is a shift in the Lotus Sutra from theory to action. We, as those Bodhisattvas, manifest that life condition not by sitting around thinking about it or by some theoretical endeavor but by actually living our lives, by doing, by being. This is not a theoretical practice nor is it a practice only for oneself. This is a practice of engagement, of action, and of involvement with society teaching others and showing others by the example of our lives, not just our theories.

Remember we approach the Buddha and ask him how he is doing, not what he can do for us. The famous speech by John Kennedy, a president of my lifetime, keeps coming to mind. I can almost hear it today, and recall watching it on television as a youth. We should be asking what we can do for others and what we can do for Buddhism, not what Buddhism can do for us or what we can get out of Buddhism.