The lotus [flower symbolizes] that we and all beings have a Buddha-nature. Generally, most plants seed after blooming, but the lotus has already seeded when the flower has bloomed. This shows that we, human beings, were born with the seed of the Buddha-nature originally. Because of the seed we can achieve enlightenment, like the Buddha. Again, this shows a primary teaching of the Lotus Sutra: “We already have a seed of Buddha.”
Spring WritingsQuotes
Death as an Illusion
The fact of death is an illusion, but a necessary one along our path. Imagine if we had no death. If there were not the fact of death I am guessing people would value life even less than many appear to do so now. Yet, death is an illusion to the fact of the eternity of life and the eternity of Buddhahood. I like to say that death keeps us honest. If it weren’t for death we may not work to change our lives or at least not in any highly motivated way. Death is the constant reminder of the necessity of working toward manifesting our own enlightenment.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraThe Power of the One Vehicle
In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha finally introduced the One Vehicle of Buddhahood, which unifies and ultimately transcends the previous three vehicles. The One Vehicle is the teaching that all beings can attain Buddhahood. Even those following the Two Vehicles of the voice-hearers and privately awakened ones, whom the Buddha declared unfit to attain Buddhahood, would be able to do so. In fact, the Lotus Sutra states that they had been on the One Vehicle all along, though they did not know it. This attainment of Buddhahood by those following the Two Vehicles is the main theme of the first half of the Lotus Sutra. In order to ensure that this teaching is understood, the Buddha taught it in many different ways. He used philosophical discourses, parables, similes, past-life experiences, and ultimately gave predictions of Buddhahood to all his many disciples.
More astonishing was the fact that the Buddha predicted that even his traitorous cousin, Devadatta, who had tried to kill him and take over the Sangha, would attain Buddhahood in the future. Shortly after this prediction, an eight-year-old dragon-girl transformed into a Buddha before the eyes of the whole assembly – despite the culturally perceived impediments of her sex, her age, and her birth as an animal. These examples extend the idea that even those previously believed unfit to attain Buddhahood would be able to do so in the end.
Lotus SeedsThe Great Vehicle
Since [reformists] believed that the Buddhist philosophy they advocated was capable of transporting the entire sentient world to Buddhahood, they called it Mahayana (the Great Vehicle) and disparagingly described Abhidharma Buddhism as Hinayana (the Small Vehicle).
Basic Buddhist ConceptsJū-Nyoze
The Ten Suchnesses (Jū-Nyoze) appear in Chapter 2 (Expedient Means) of the Lotus Sutra (Murano, p. 24). This is the portion of the Lotus Sūtra we recite as part of our daily services and which is repeated three times during Hōben-pon. … The Ten Suchnesses are:
- Nyoze-sō, or appearance as such,
- Nyoze-Shō, or natures as such,
- Nyoze-tai, or entities as such,
- Nyoze-riki, or powers as such,
- Nyoze-sa, or activities as such,
- Nyoze-in, or primary causes as such,
- Nyoze-en, or environmental causes as such,
- Nyoze-ka, or effects as such,
- Nyoze-hō, or rewards and retributions as such,
- Nyoze-honmatsu-kukyō-tō, or equality as such despite these differences.
Equal to the Buddha
It is interesting that the Buddha didn’t say that everyone will be just like he was, or that our lives would be identical. They won’t; it isn’t possible. But we can actually attain an enlightenment that is equal to the Buddha’s, even as it manifests differently in our own unique circumstances.
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1My Region Is Peace and Rest
Sakyamuni, explaining the real state of this world, says, “This my region is Peace and Rest.” And indeed the world, rightly understood, is the region of peace, joy, and purity, and is free from sadness, trouble, and pain. It is the duty of its inhabitants to welcome those who are born and come, and to mourn for those who die and depart. Thus their life-work is finished, and they will be exempt from disappointment. The Buddha says: “Peaceful and happy in this life, we shall pass into the Good Regions hereafter.”
Doctrines of Nichiren (1893)Japanese Morality
Scrupulous fidelity to tradition is everywhere a characteristic of tribal religion. Its morality is based upon the sanctity of the communal life amounting to the adoration of blood kinship and the observance of social rules. The individual is almost nothing in the face of the community, and unreasoning submission to social sanction is the essential condition of individual life. Authority and tradition, not the person and conscience, are the ultimate foundation of morality which, though remaining still in force, are being modified by the influence of modern civilization on village life. This has been the strength and at the same time the weakness of Japanese morality. It was the force that solidified the feudal régime and still sustains the solidarity of the people as a body.
History of Japanese ReligionThe Life of a Buddha
The life of a Buddha cannot be discussed in terms of a beginning or an end, because the true reality of life has no beginning or end. Though it may seem contradictory, this is in keeping with the three truths of emptiness, provisional reality, and the Middle Way. The life of the Buddha has no birth or death because it is a selfless expression of the dynamic and interdependent nature of life. However, as a part of the dynamic interplay of all things, the Buddha’s enlightenment unfolds in terms of this world’s concepts of birth and death, striving and awakening. From the perspective of the Middle Way, the Buddha’s enlightened life is what it is and cannot be defined as either transcendent or mundane, though it displays both aspects.
Lotus World: An Illustrated Guide to the GohonzonThe Example of the Lotus Flower
“Ren” is lotus and “Ge” is flower, and “Renge” means lotus flower. The Lotus Sutra is named after the lotus flower because the lotus and lotus flower have unique natures that are suitable to symbolize the teaching of the Sutra. The lotus grows in muddy ponds and blooms beautiful white flowers, but the flower is never defiled with a muddy color; it always remains white. Even though the pond becomes muddier, the lotus flowers become a purer white. This symbolizes human struggle, and the salvation of the Lotus Sutra. The muddy pond represents a degenerated human society. A pure white flower represents enlightenment. Although this world is corrupt and deeply defiled, as long as you hold the Lotus Sutra, you will never be corrupted, but achieve a calm state of enlightenment, and together we will be able to transform this world into an ideal pure land.
Spring Writings