Quotes

Lotus Path

The Single Most Appropriate Practice

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The opening chapter of the Lotus Sutra is full of example after example of the great efforts that individuals have gone through to attain the wisdom of the Buddha.

Many of the things those individuals practiced are no longer applicable in this age. It isn’t necessary for us to practice the severe austerities those ancient practitioners engaged in. For us the single practice of chanting the Odaimoku, sacred title of the Lotus Sutra, is the most appropriate practice.

Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1

Physicians Good Medicine

Namu Activates the Medicine of Myoho Renge Kyo

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We have the medicine of the Lotus Sutra prescribed by the Buddha. How do we actually take it? It is through devotion, reverence if you will. Namu is what activates or enables us to take the medicine of Myoho Renge Kyo.

Physician's Good Medicine

The Buddhist Prophet

The Buddhist View of the World

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These things and conditions are not products of chance, but exist and change according to the definite order of laws, or truths. This order of truth is expressed pre-eminently by the law of causation, which is assumed by Buddhism to be universal and irrevocable throughout all changes of the world. “That being present, this comes to be; because that has arisen, this arises” — this is the key-note of the Buddhist view of the world.

Nichiren, The Buddhist Prophet

Spring Writings

The Emotions of the Ten Realms

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One of [the expressions taught in the Lotus Sutra] is the teaching of the “Mutual Possession of the Ten Realms.” This teaching is about the human mind, which is constantly changing. It is changing every moment, and with great complexity. This teaching also identifies the stages of enlightenment associated with each condition of the human mind. The Ten Realms are: Hell, Gaki, Chikusho (Animal), Ashura, Human Being, Ninten (gods and goddesses), Sravaka, Pratyekabuddha, Bodhisattva, and Buddha. In order to explain these more clearly, they are associated with various emotions. Hell expresses a hellish mind, filled with things such as hatred and suffering. The mind of Gaki expresses instinctive desire. The mind of Gaki expresses an ignorant mind, an ego, and selfishness. The Animal mind expresses being driven by instinctive desire. The mind of Ashura expresses anger, jealousy, and combat. The mind of Ninten (gods and goddesses) expresses joy and happiness. The mind of Sravaka expresses sympathy. The mind of Pratyekabuddha expresses emptiness. The mind of Bodhisattva expresses patience, and the mind of Buddha expresses compassion.

Spring Writings

Lecture on Lotus Sutra

Manifesting the Lotus Sutra in Our Lives

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[I]n Chapter XV we have a transition from Buddhist practices, including the Lotus Sutra, of being either solely spiritual or intellectual activities. In this chapter what comes out is the practice of the Lotus Sutra is one of action and involvement in the material world. It isn’t simply about self-improvement but about carrying our practice into the world where we work, live, and play. The value of the practice is only realized when we can manifest it in our lives.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

Lotus Seeds

Suffering Is Optional

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Craving transforms our life into a state of subtle agitation and anxiety, even under the best circumstances. For example, we worry about paying the bills, losing a job, or not getting a promotion. In the worst circumstances, it makes life an ongoing cycle of agony and unbearable suffering, such as when we face serious illness or the death of a loved one. While external circumstances can indeed bring about uncomfortable or tragic experiences, it is our internal craving that turns pain – whether physical, emotional, or spiritual – into suffering. The Buddha tells us that though pain and discomfort exist in everyone’s life, suffering is optional.

Lotus Seeds

Odaimoku

The Two Meanings of Myo

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In 593 CE, the Great Master of the Dharma, T’ien-t’ai, stated in his Fahua Ichi (Jp. Hokke Gengi, The Profound Meanings of the Lotus Sutra), that the word Myo has two meanings. The first results from a comparative analysis that illustrates the superiority of the Lotus Sutra over the other teachings of the Buddha. The second meaning of Myo is in regards to the all-inclusiveness of the Lotus Sutra, as it includes simultaneously each of the many doctrines of Shakyamuni Buddha preached throughout his 50 years of teaching.

Odaimoku: The Significance Of Chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo

Lotus Path

The Attainment of Enlightenment

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The greatest benefit of practicing the Lotus Sutra is the attainment of Enlightenment equal to that of all the Buddhas. It is the end to suffering, the end to delusions.

When we become Buddhas then this land in which we live will become the Buddha’s pure land. What greater joy is there than this?

Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1

Physicians Good Medicine

Taking Myoho Renge Kyo by Mouth as Needed

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Nichiren teaches that as we take Myoho Renge Kyo by mouth as needed we need to manifest this through Namu, our devotion. Namu isn’t in name only. It also must be manifest in action and behavior. As we continue to take Myoho Renge Kyo through Namu, as needed, we begin to see results, the poisons of false teachings and unskillful previous causes begins to be cured. We see results in our lives. This ideally will motivate us to even deeper faith, even more devotion and actions based in devotion and the cycle continues.

Physician's Good Medicine

The Buddhist Prophet

Nichiren’s Great Aim

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Nichiren’s great aim was to achieve his ideal of the Catholic Church, with its centre in his own country. Believing that he was himself the man to do this, and that the true import and end of Buddhism had not been apprehended in earlier times, even in India, he saw in vision a return of Buddhism from Japan to India, and its propagation thence throughout the world. He himself was always the cardinal factor in this new era, but the time and place were essential conditions of the realization of this universal Buddhism.

Nichiren, The Buddhist Prophet