If P ^ Q ^ R = Bodhisattva From Underground
Perhaps it is my logical mathematical inclinations that leads me to relate to the Lotus Sutra from the perspective of logic truths arguments. Frequently I allude to this when I talk about the Lotus Sutra here at the temple. Today I would like to lay it out for you in a diagram, I have become enamored of diagrams lately.
A logical conjunction is a form of proof that basically states that if one thing is true and another thing is true then the resultant third thing is true. The resultant third thing is only true though when all the conjoined parts are true. This same proof applies regardless the number of things conjoined. In all cases the only truth statement results when all the individual statements are true.
A table representing three variables in a conjunction logic table looks like the picture above.
If we have P equals the Lotus Sutra, and Q equals the Later Age, and R equals propagation we have a conjunction formula represent by P^Q^R equaling Bodhisattvas from Underground then when we plug in our corresponding values it would read like this If the Lotus Sutra and the Later Age and Propagation then Bodhisattvas from Underground.
So in other words from a strictly theoretical position if we practice the Lotus Sutra in the Later Age and we propagate then we are Bodhisattvas from Underground. The trick though is to move beyond a merely theoretical position to one of actuality. This position of actuality is I believe faith.
Another way of looking at it would be if I believe I am a Bodhisattva from Underground then I must have all the other conditions as true.
Ok, so for some of you this may be a bit too much. I just wanted to share with you how I process the Lotus Sutra from a logic standpoint and how it holds up to logical proof. Again, for us as practitioners the proof of the pudding so to speak lies in our actualization of this. We have to move from a theoretical understanding to one of manifesting in our daily life.
