In the Simile of the Herbs, the Dharma rain is falling everywhere, not in only certain places. This place where you practice is the perfect place for your enlightenment. Moving is not the solution, unless you are referring to moving your own life and awakening the inner potential of Buddha within your life. As your life begins to manifest the characteristics of Buddha then your land, your environment will begin to also look like the Buddha’s perfect pure land. You have inherently within your life all the necessary abilities to change your land and your life to one of enlightenment. It is simply a matter of illuminating your life with the Lotus Sutra, or as this parable teaches, water and nourish yourself with the wonderful rain of the Lotus Sutra.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraQuotes
The Emptiness of Our Lives
Our lives are not separate from the lives or others or the world around us. Our lives are constantly being changed – physically, mentally, and emotionally – through our interactions with our environment and other living beings. Our lives also have a great impact on our environment, and on the lives of those around us. In many ways, our lives extend beyond our own bodies and touch the far reaches of the universe, and our bodily life depends upon the very structure of that universe in order to maintain its existence. The universe as a whole is in many ways our own extended body, for our body depends upon the gravity exerted by the stars, the warmth of the sun, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the ground we stand on, and the many people and other beings who provide us with food, shelter, and companionship. This is true of our ideas and emotions as well.
Lotus SeedsThree Kinds of Mind
When we can deny ego, we improve our three kinds of mind; We can be grateful for all; we can respect all; and we can be compassionate to all. At the same time, by improving the three kinds of mind, we overcome our selfish ego and improve ourselves through our greater ability to live with others. We want to be persons who realize the joy and suffering of our surroundings.
Buddha Seed: Understanding the Odaimoku
The Mind, the Buddha and the People
Just as Sakyamuni regards all living beings as his own children, so may each individual man do likewise. The Buddha and the people are, in fact, one and the same; there is neither difference nor distinction between them. In the Kegon Kyo it is said that the Mind, the Buddha, and the people are not different from each other, although they have different names and different appearances.
Doctrines of Nichiren (1893)Changing Our Lives
Keep in mind that the practice of the Lotus Sutra is a difficult lifetime endeavor. Unlike hopping on a plane and knowing that the destination is just a matter of hours away, our journey on the Buddhist path is a lifetime endeavor if we are to reach our destination. Along the way we of course have obstacles, turbulence you might say, yet there are truly some victories as well. We can approach our practice as being good regardless of our immediate circumstance, because we know we are changing our lives, something that isn’t easy to accomplish.
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1Acedia
Acedia is a word we could use more often, although no one would have the foggiest idea what we’re saying. Having no interest or concern about one’s condition – in other words to be unable look at one’s problems and see the work that needs doing – is acedia. It is much easier to see the problems of others. It is easier to do that than to look at our personal issues and weaknesses.
Physician's Good MedicineThe Sun of Nichiren’s Proclamation
The sun, which at its rising had beheld Nichiren’s proclamation, the sun which at noon had witnessed Nichiren’s sermon, set as the hunted prophet made his way through the darkness of a wooded trail; only the evening glow was in the sky. What must his thoughts have been? What prospect could he have cherished in his mind for his future career and for the destiny of his gospel?
Nichiren, The Buddhist ProphetRealizing the Buddha World is the Real World
We all have Buddha’s nature, without exception. May we recognize it, and strive to realize that the Buddha world is the real world with Odaimoku. This is the faith of the Lotus Sutra. Please make the effort to chant Odaimoku everyday, for yourself and your neighbors.
Spring WritingsIn the Buddha Land
Another thing we can learn from the Simile of the Herbs is the notion that the Dharma is present everywhere. There is not a special place to attain enlightenment. The plants did not have to move or change location to benefit from the nourishing rain from the cloud. So too, we do not need to be in a different location, have a different set of neighbors, change jobs, or have different families, or even government. None of those things are factors in determining our ability to practice and receive benefit from the Lotus Sutra. The only limiting factor in our attaining enlightenment is simply our own self. If when you look around your life and you see some place that is not the land of the Buddha, it is simply because you are not viewing your life with the eyes of the Buddha. In other words if where you are is not the Buddha land then there is no Buddha present.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraThe Emptiness of Birth and Death
There is a deeper meaning to Emptiness than simply recognizing the impermanent nature of reality. Emptiness also means that things are without boundaries in terms of both time and space. Again, everything arises and ceases depending upon the coming together of many other elements or factors. But at what point can one say that something has begun or come to an end? For instance, do our lives begin at birth, or at conception, or at the time of our parent’s conception? At what point in the process that we call our lives can we definitely say that the process has begun? The same is true of our deaths. If our lives are carried on through our children or through the impact of our actions on the lives of others, at what point does our life really come to an end? In addition, the Buddha taught that some portion of our existence (composed of our intentions, habits, and to some extent an unconscious storehouse of memories) moves on from one life to another. So it is never entirely correct to say that someone has been born or has died. The reality of our lives defies such a simple description.
Lotus Seeds