After publishing today’s Daily Dharma, I asked Gemini: “Why does the image include two animals in the crowd of followers?”
This is a wonderful observation. The inclusion of the two animals—a monkey and what appears to be a serpent or dragon (often called a naga in Buddhist terminology)—is not accidental. It is a deliberate and significant element in Buddhist iconography, especially in relation to the Lotus Sūtra.
Here’s why they are there:
Universal Compassion and Salvation: A central teaching of Mahayana Buddhism, and the Lotus Sūtra in particular, is that the Buddha’s compassion and teachings are not limited to human beings. They extend to all sentient beings in the six realms of existence (which include animals). Their presence visually signifies that the path to enlightenment is open to every form of life.
The Assembly of the Lotus Sūtra: The Lotus Sūtra itself describes a vast and diverse audience that gathers to hear the Buddha’s teaching. This assembly is not just human monks and laypeople; it includes vast numbers of bodhisattvas, gods (devas), and various non-human beings like nagas (dragons), garudas (mythical birds), and others. Depicting animals in the crowd is a way to represent this diverse, universal assembly described in the scripture.
The Buddha-Nature in All: The sūtra teaches that all beings possess the potential for Buddhahood (Buddha-nature). By showing animals listening reverently to the Dharma (teachings), the illustration visually reinforces this profound idea that even beings currently in animal form have the seed of enlightenment within them.
In essence, the animals are there to remind us of the boundless scope of the Buddha’s wisdom and the promise that his teaching is a vehicle for the liberation of all that lives.
The sources for this response:
Meridian University
meridianuniversity.edu
Mahayana Buddhism: Origins and Meaning – Meridian University
Mahayana tradition teaches people that a path that leads to their awakening is a path toward the awakening of all sentient beings because there isn’t a real …Tricycle: The Buddhist Review
tricycle.org
The Four Limitless Thoughts – Tricycle: The Buddhist Review
Therefore, the power of our own buddha-nature can extend to eventually liberate all sentient beings. This is the reason we practice. If there were no …SGI USA
www.sgi-usa.org
The Lotus Sutra – SGI USA
—Daisaku Ikeda, The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 4, p. 181. The Lotus Sutra teaches that all people can attain Buddhahood, just as they are, in this …
I’m sure there are better sources than Daisaku Ikeda, but the “thinking” that went into Gemini’s illustration is fascinating to me.