Depth of Practice
The following is from a Dharma talk given at the temple in December 2010. As you may have noticed I am taking a few days off here and there as the summer season comes to an end.
Good morning to you, thank you for coming to the temple today to practice together the Buddha Dharma. Today as we do every Sunday, and as I hope you also do on your own, we recited a portion of Chapter 16, Duration of the Life of the Tathagata, from the Lotus Sutra.
Chapter sixteen is important for many reasons and it is that which I wish to talk about today. In a way you can consider this a preparatory Dharma talk to our celebration next week of the Enlightenment of the Buddha.
There are six reasons for the superiority of the Lotus Sutra over all the other of the Buddha’s teachings. Perhaps some of you are not aware of the doctrinal reasons why we choose to praise, practice and devote ourselves to the Lotus Sutra. Today I would like to share with you six major reasons for our practice of the Lotus Sutra.
First, in the Lotus Sutra we are exposed for the first time to the matter of the eternity of the Buddha. Previous to the Lotus Sutra the Buddha was merely a historical figure who was born in India, who grew up as a prince, later renounced his title and began practicing to find the answer to eliminating the sufferings of birth, old age, sickness, and death. The contemporaries of the Buddha, certainly saw the Buddha as such. And we today may also be tempted to view the person of the Buddha as a historical person who lived roughly 3000 years ago. If that were the case then our practice of the Lotus Sutra, or any sutra for that mater would be the act of trying to place a 3000 year old teaching with no connection to our present into this very time with no assurance that it was even possible or correct.
In the Lotus Sutra however the Buddha revealed for the first time that in fact the concept of Buddha spans all time and that the Lotus Sutra reveals the heart and soul of the multiple and infinite existences of Buddhas.
Second in the Lotus Sutra we given the way to the attainment of Enlightenment by all people, not just those closely associated with the Buddha nor limited to those who are already far along in their practice such as the Learners and the Contemplatives, or even those who have already firmly established Bodhisattva practices. The Lotus Sutra was taught and directed to all people in any of the 3000 conditions of mind, in other words all of the 10 Worlds are shown how they relate to and become Buddhas.
Third the Lotus Sutra reveals the indestructible and ever present and existing Buddha Land. The Buddha Land is no longer something that merely exists in mythical places or in times gone by or in times yet to be experienced. The Buddha Land is no other place than where the Buddha exists, and it is ourselves as we practice who transforms our mundane environment into that of the jeweled Buddha Land.
Fourth, expressed in the Lotus Sutra is the eternal salvation of all people or in other words the always possible manifestation of the very Buddha nature or enlightened life of all Buddhas. It is not necessary for any of us to be reborn into some other person or some other realm for us to attain the same enlightenment of all Buddhas.
Fifth is the actual application of the elimination of suffering that is possible by actually practicing the teachings contained within the Lotus Sutra. In other words it isn’t necessary for any of us to become something other than ourselves for us to benefit from the teachings of the Lotus Sutra. The Lotus Sutra has proof and examples of all people of all conditions of life who become enlightened, including the worst of the worst, Devedatta who tried several times to kill the Buddha and who also committed the great sin of causing disharmony within the Sangha.
Sixth, and finally we have the expression of the vow of the Buddhas, of all Buddhas. The single purpose and the single wish at the heart and soul of all Buddhas is that all beings attain the same enlightenment to which they have achieved.
So these are the Six major reasons for the superiority of the Lotus Sutra. And within the section of Chapter 16 that we recite we can find all six of them, though they are certainly elsewhere as well. In other words we are reading a condensed Lotus Sutra when we recite the small portion we include in our daily service. In a way we are reading the condensed version, the heart and soul of the Lotus Sutra which is the heart and soul of Buddhism.
Hopefully this helps you understand the importance of our rather simple practice.
Let me close by quoting from a letter Nichiren Shonin, our founder, wrote to Shijo Kingo. I am using the recent translation done by Tarabini Shonin from Italy whose title is “Reply to Lord Shijo Kingo – Earthly Desires and other Afflictions Transformed into Enlightenment.” Here is the quote:
“Though the doctrine I am now propagating may seem limited, it is extremely profound. That is because it goes deeper than the teachings expounded by the Great Masters of the Dharma T’ien-t’ai, Dengyo, and others. This doctrine comprises the three important matters contained within the Juryohon (Life Span of the Tathagata, 16) chapter of the Essential Teachings of the Lotus Sutra. Practicing and cultivating only the seven characters of Namu-myoho-renge-kyo throughout our life may seem limited, but since they are the master of all the Buddhas of the three existences, the teachers of all the Bodhisattvas throughout the Ten Directions, and the guide that leads all living beings to attain the Buddha Way, it is profound.”
Be safe, all of you.
