One of my favorite expressions is “nothing remains unchanged forever.” Every situation, every person, every everything is constantly in flux, is constantly changing. Our own lives are ever moving towards eventual death and decay. Along that journey we may be joyful or we may be in agony. It is our Buddhist practice that can assist in being able to experience the joy amidst the uncertainty, loss, and change.
The Magic City: Studying the Lotus SutraQuotes
Namu
Joy and gratitude are fundamental practices of Buddhism. We say Namu because we appreciate our lives, we appreciate our practice and relationship to the Lotus Sutra or Myoho Renge Kyo. Namu is an expression of our relationship to the Lotus Sutra. Namu is not a question, it is not a seeking for something outside our lives, Namu is an expression of what is already in our lives and our ever-deepening relationship to those truths. Namu is not ‘I want this’, it is instead saying ‘I am this’.
Practice Guide
The Identity Perceived by Buddhas
It is the identity perceived by Buddhas that is the real state of things – the very Truth itself. Sakyamuni, fearing that such reasoning was above the comprehension of the people generally, embodied the Truth in the concrete form of his own person, in order that they might there see it for themselves, and thus addressed them: “Now, the three worlds – the mortal, the material, and the spiritual – are all my own possession; and all the living beings they contain are my own children.”
Doctrines of Nichiren (1893)Praising the Lotus Sutra in All We Do
We are given the perfect instructions in the Lotus Sutra for our individual attainment of enlightenment. It really doesn’t matter who we are, or even who we think we are. We can achieve the same enlightenment as all the Buddhas, though it will be unique to our individual selves. The directions are pretty straightforward. They are not complex, though they are difficult to maintain. Keeping, or upholding the sutra, reading it, reciting it, copying it and teaching are all we have to do. Praising the Lotus Sutra in all we do is fundamentally at the heart of each of these things.
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1Integrating Buddhism and the Lotus Sutra Into Our Lives
As we grow in our faith and learn better applications of Buddhism to our lives, we obtain a degree of inner wisdom that we can use to guide us in making wise choices in life. This greater integration of Buddhism and the Lotus Sutra into our lives allows more moments when we manifest the innate Buddha wisdom residing at the core of our lives.
Acedia, the idea of not caring or being curious about one’s life, is one of the ills curable by our faith in and practice of the Lotus Sutra. It can be a cure, though, only if we are willing to dig deep into our lives with honesty.
Physician's Good MedicineThe Sole Road of Truth
The revelation of the eternal past is thus followed by the assurance for the everlasting future. The past and the future are united in the oneness of the Truth, by the unity of purpose, methods, and power, in all the Buddhas of all ages — in short, in the Sole Road of Truth.
Nichiren, The Buddhist ProphetSeeing Our Own Eyebrows
Just as we can’t see our own eyebrow because it is so close to the eye, we cannot clearly recognize the nature which is in our own mind, because we are enjoying things like whisky, and are drowning in the sea of temporary enjoyment. Therefore it is impossible to make the seed of the Buddha-nature sprout. In order to develop the seed, you must chant Odaimoku. Once you recognize that everyone has this nature, and can become a Buddha, your character will naturally become modest. By way of practicing to attain enlightenment, you will feel the gratification of living not only for yourself, but also for other people.
Spring WritingsThe Inclusivity of the Lotus Sutra
This story in the Simile of the Herbs of the rain of the Dharma falling equally on all the various plants and herbs equally benefiting all according to their unique capacity also highlights the equality and inclusivity of the Lotus Sutra teaching. The teaching of Buddhism can benefit all beings and it does so without either diminishing the teaching or devaluing or diminishing those who apply it to their lives. There is no loss of the value of practice and faith regardless of our inner capacity or our physical ability. The Dharma looses no value and neither do we.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraThe Empty Table
Everything that we can point to or name exists only for as long as other things come together in a certain way to support its existence. A table, for instance, is only a temporary meeting of an uncountable number of atoms working together for a certain period of time. Another example is the human body, which is a changing process that requires a constant supply of new material in the form of air, food, and water to sustain itself, and which is constantly expelling waste material. Even consciousness is not a static thing, but a perpetually changing stream of thoughts and impressions that also depends upon constant input of new material in the form of ideas and sensations.
Lotus SeedsChange Happens
Managing and controlling change, or even preventing change can be found at the root of most if not all religious practices and teachings; Buddhism is in that regard no different. We just approach it from a different direction. Rather than controlling change we try to open ourselves up to the reality that change happens to every thing and not grasp for an unchanging reality.
The Magic City: Studying the Lotus Sutra