Hard as a rock, difficult to do as moving a boulder
Thinking today about the difficulty of Buddhist practice. Admittedly it is difficult to practice any religion or to adhere to any philosophy, as it takes continued work. I know that for many the Buddhist path is exceedingly difficult and often times short lived because of that difficulty.
I can’t say too much about the real practice involved in embracing any other religion because all I have to go on is observations of individuals and rhetoric.
By practicing a religion I am not referring to any observation of formalities or rituals, but instead of actually incorporating it into ones life on a moment by moment basis. What I often refer to as taking a religion beyond being a religion and into an actual philosophy by which to live one’s life.
What Buddhism requires of its practitioners is simply the fundamental change of their lives to become enlightened, to become a Buddha. There is no forgiveness to seek or to be given, there is no seeking of salvation. Quite simply it is about change, complete and total change of oneself and one’s view of life, and doing so continually. For enlightenment is not a terminus that we arrive at, but a process that continues throughout a lifetime.
Some people abandon the practice because it is hard, others do so after achieving some small amount of benefit, yet before long find themselves back where they started. Understanding that this is a process that happens gradually but surely with consistent practice and application, seems often to not be fully appreciated.
There were contemporaries of Nichiren, the founder of our denomination, who said that in particular practicing and believing in the Lotus Sutra is too hard for people and so they should be taught something easier. So, some advocated belief in a Pure Land, where one would be reborn in a Western Paradise and then as a reborn bodhisattva the person could proceed to become a Buddha. In other words a belief that by escaping this life seeking out some better afterlife would be more palatable and easier for people to practice. Still others taught that belief in esoteric practices performed by priests could bring out the end of suffering. In other words placing the responsibility for personal improvement and advancement into the hands of someone else who supposedly is better than oneself.
Nichiren points out, that the Buddha admits that to practice the Lotus Sutra in this age would be difficult, but not impossible and not without great benefit. He also points out that those other approaches to enlightenment completely ignore the specific point in the Lotus Sutra the Buddha makes that the most appropriate teaching of Buddhism for the later age is in fact the Lotus Sutra.
There is no shortcut to becoming enlightened, there is no end to it either. But, this we should always keep in mind, the Buddha was only a common man who achieved what he set out too, to become enlightened, to become a Buddha. It is possible, we can see from his example. Was it easy, certainly not, he faced many challenges and temptations, not the least of which was to abandon his quest because it was difficult. One by one he defeated the forces of Mara, who represents our own self doubt our own insecurities. At the last moments before attaining that which he sought, enlightenment, the Buddha faced Mara’s most fierce opposition, self doubt. Yet the Buddha persevered and overcame his self doubt and became the Buddha. This we too can do.
