Takeoff And Landing
Today I leave for Japan to attend minister’s meetings at the Overseas Bureau of Nichiren Shu. Since Japan is a long way and across the ocean I have no choice but to fly. I am not a big fan of flying. When I was younger and making monthly trips across the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii and San Francisco during a six month period it was a lot of fun. Back then they played games on the plane and there were all sorts of special things done on the flights. Now a days, as you probably know service is bare minimum and the planes are packed and seating is cramped.
In flying they say that the takeoff and landing are the most dangerous. I don’t know all the technical reasons behind this except that there is a greater hazard with wind shear, violent upward or downward air currents near the ground. Also near the ground around airports there is increased flight traffic and so a greater risk of collisions.
Fortunately there are systems in place to detect with greater accuracy the wind shear hazard, and there are trained professionals directing the air traffic with more modern equipment. Still all things are not fool proof.
In Buddhism, the way I see it, things are a bit different. Sometimes the take off, our beginning practice, can be easy and even exciting. And the landing, well the landing is certain, since the promise of enlightenment awaits us. It’s the trip in between that is sometimes the most difficult and ‘hazardous’ when we practice Buddhism.
The journey can be long, it is certain to be turbulent at times. There probably will be times when we feel we have flown off course, or lost our way. We may occasionally enter foggy areas where it may seem we flounder around aimlessly. Yet we have the best ‘air-traffic controller’ around to guide us as we fly the enlightened skies.
“Ride in these Three Vehicles, eliminate asravas, obtain the five faculties, the five powers, the seven ways to enlightenment, and the eight right ways, and practice dhyana-concentrations, emancipations, and samadhis so that you may be able to enjoy immeasurable peace and pleasure!” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter III)
The Buddha set out a course for us to follow consisting of such things as the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the Twelve Link Chain of Causation, and finally and ultimately he taught the Lotus Sutra, which puts all these together into a single practice leading to enlightenment equal to that of the Buddha himself.
“The Bodhisattvas who hear, understand, think over, and practice this sutra, will approach Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Why is that? It is because Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi which all the Bodhisattvas should attain is expounded only in this sutra.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter X)
Nichiren, our founder, further distilled the practice of faith in the Lotus Sutra, by advocating the practice of chanting the Sacred Title, or Odaimoku.
“Therefore, anyone who hears this sutra and practices the Way after my extinction, should have no doubts about this sutra.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter XX)
With all of these aids, we merely have to rely on the ‘air charts’ and ‘maps’ to ensure that we can fly through the rough weather, stay on the correct course, and find our way through fog and clouds.
