Hinayana Buddhism is what Mahayana Buddhists call those who practice the Four Noble Truths or who contemplate Dependent Origination but ignore the message of perfect wisdom and universal compassion expressed in the Mahayana teachings. Hinayana is like a small raft only for those disciplined enough to make the crossing from the shore of birth and death to the other shore of Nirvana by themselves. Conversely, Mahayana is like a large passenger liner that can carry all beings over to the other shore of Buddhahood together.
Lotus SeedsQuotes
Striving in Practice
[P]eople who only chant for everyday material gain, are still at an infant level of their understanding of Buddhism and development. One who instead strives to practice and live in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha, will certainly obtain tranquillity and immense satisfaction in all facets of life over time.
Odaimoku: The Significance Of Chanting Namu Myoho Renge KyoIf You’re Going Through Hell
Winston Churchill said: “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” Makes sense to me. There isn’t much point in stopping in hell, not if you can keep going and get out. The trick is to know and realize that we are in hell, since sometimes we are not even aware that we are suffering. I think many of us become so acquainted with sufferings that we just think it is a normal part of our lives and there is nothing to do about it. Yet, as we learn in Buddhism, that doesn’t have to be the case. We can wake up from our anesthetized state, a state of almost being immune to the effects or feelings of suffering and begin to move on through.
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1Participating Fully in Life
When some people hear a term such as spiritual awakening they immediately think of some mystical experience, perhaps some brilliant light, or some other physical or emotional experience. Fundamentally, I believe it is an awakening, even if only subtly of an awareness of the ability to participate fully in life, living, and even death and dying.
Physician's Good MedicineParadise
Where there lives a true Buddhist, there is manifest in his spirit and life, the Mandala, the cycle embodying the cosmic truth. Where the Truth is manifest, there, is realized the eternal light of Buddhahood, and therefore the place is a paradise.
Nichiren, The Buddhist ProphetA Wonderful Medicine for Enlightenment
The Lotus Sutra is called, “A wonderful medicine for enlightenment.” Everything necessary is included in it: believing in the Lotus Sutra is learning; chanting the Lotus Sutra is practicing; keeping the Lotus Sutra is having faith. We can absorb all the nutrition that we need naturally from the Lotus Sutra. When you make these practices part of your daily life, true spiritual peace in the mind and heart will sprout. Having faith in this teaching is an ideal practice both mentally and physically.
Spring WritingsAll We Need To Be
Perhaps it is the reality of our modern advertisement saturated media that has led many to believe that only after buying and using every product known to man, after every single penny is spent that has ever been earned in the entire history of man- and womankind then and only then will somehow perfection and happiness be possible. Somehow by doing something so unlikely to produce indestructible happiness as buying a product is more realistic than the realization that each one of us is already all we need to be. We are as complete as we need to be in order to become indestructibly happy. All we need to do is simply wake up to this reality in our lives, and the Buddha is telling us that the Lotus Sutra is the most efficacious way of doing this.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraThe Sanctuary of the Sangha
[Within the Three Treasures of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha], the Sangha is the Buddhist community, consisting or both clergy and lay people who support and encourage us in establishing a life devoted to following the Buddha and the Dharma. The Sangha provides us with a community that enables us to reach out to the larger community of all beings. Without the Sangha, we are like a plant lacking firm roots that can easily be swept away by a storm. The way of the truly compassionate person is the way of engagement with one’s fellow beings. The Lotus Sutra teaches us that our awakening depends upon the awakening of all other beings around us. The Sangha is the community in which we grow in our own practice by supporting each other.
Lotus SeedsGreatest Joy of All Joys
Nichiren Shonin stated in the Ongi Kuden (Oral Teachings) that “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo is the greatest joy of all joys” and further taught us in the lssho Jobutsu Sho ( On Attaining Buddha hood), “Whether you chant the Buddha’s name, recite the Sutra or merely offer flowers and incense, all your virtuous efforts will implant benefit and good fortune into your life. With this conviction, you should put your faith into practice.” Here, the Buddha’s name is that of the Eternal Buddha of the 16th chapter (Juryo) of the Lotus Sutra: Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.
Odaimoku: The Significance Of Chanting Namu Myoho Renge KyoChoosing to be Happy
In spite of the fog created by the appearance of multiple choices for everything in our life, there really is one fundamental choice that we need to make and often ignore. That choice is the choice of whether or not to be happy. The Buddha has given us the ultimate teaching, the purpose for the existence of all Buddhas, the treasure-store of teachings. It is our choice whether or not we will take advantage of it, pick it up, and embrace it, and choose to be happy.
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1