Today I would like to begin a series of Dharma talks given occasionally that highlight certain sections of the Lotus Sutra and deal with them in a more detailed way and also talk about various interpretations. This is a bit of a departure from the manner in which I give the Lotus Sutra lectures which generally avoid offering specific interpretations and trying for a more scholarly approach. In the study classes my intent is to first and foremost open the door of the Lotus Sutra to each person to begin their own personal discovery and embrace of this great teaching of the Buddha.
During these Dharma talks though I will actually discuss various specific things in the Lotus Sutra that I feel are important in and of themselves and need to be examined in perhaps a bit more detail and offer some possible ways for each of us to interpret them and embrace and understand them.
The Lotus Sutra is sometimes very difficult for us because it is unlike most literature that we are used to dealing with. The Lotus Sutra in some ways is a collection of stories or events that only seem to loosely tie in to each other and even in some cases don’t seem to relate at all. But throughout there is an underlying theme or idea if you will. Sometimes when we think about the Lotus Sutra we may feel that we almost grasp it, if we step back from it, just as we may be able to see the image a Pointillist painter is representing if we stand back far enough to not see individual dots any longer. Yet just as in a Pointillist painting all of the dots are important to accurately convey the image so it is with the Lotus Sutra where all the parts, even though sometimes seemingly loosely related, are important to grasping the whole.
The Lotus Sutra is also difficult because in some ways the actual sermon seems elusive. We are confronted with an actual teaching in Chapter II and then it seems to wander and we can easily loose the thread that has been cast out to us in Chapter II. This even occurs in the very beginning with Chapter I where we normally begin our study, but even that beginning is just a continuation of what was begun in the previous Sutra.
The teaching of the Lotus Sutra is very much like a thin gossamer thread that is easily broken or even overlooked. But the teaching is there none the less even if on close examination we can’t see it. The connections and relationships are there consistently throughout.
It is a difficult Sutra to read if we merely try to read it as we would any other book in our contemporary world. Going back to the Pointillist painters who presented a different way to convey an image by on the one hand emphasizing the single dot of pigment yet considering the whole entire image. So it is with our reading and study of the Lotus Sutra. Each dot is important, yet it is not without relationship to the whole image.
In my overview lecture and in the lecture I gave over a year ago as I began the monthly study chapter by chapter of the Lotus Sutra I talk about the divisions of the Lotus Sutra and of various ways of breaking up and dissecting the Sutra. I suggest that we carefully keep this in mind too as we study the Sutra. It may seem like some academic rambelings and not that important, or it may seem like just something to get through so we can dive into the meat of the Sutra. But we really can’t dive into the heart of the Lotus Sutra without really understanding and appreciating the preparatory and foundational understanding of the construction of the Lotus Sutra.
Ok, so today I’ll begin an occasional series of Dharma talks where I’ll look at certain things within the Lotus Sutra and talk about them in detail and in a way I don’t normally discuss them when giving the more, shall we say ‘technical’ lectures.
With that I’ll go ahead and begin. I hope you won’t mind if this is a bit longer than my normal Dharma talks. In the future I won’t need to cover what I just did and I’ll try to keep them short otherwise.
Today I would like to talk about the Introductory Chapter and all the fantastic stuff that is in the first few pages, the stuff that makes our head swim and tempts us to just skim over it, yawn and yearn for something exciting, or makes our eyes and mind just glaze over like ice on a pond.
Lotus Sutra – Chapter I – Introductory
• “Thus have I heard” – should be read as ‘I heard this’ as opposed to something akin to ‘I have heard the Buddha’s teachings in this way’. The reporting is not an impression or an interpretation or an impression, but instead the actual teaching was exactly this way and I am reporting it as such
o basis for this is that this sutra is intended for everyone and not to be interpreted differently
o not an expedient for some listeners only
those in attendance represent all forms of beings, conditions, levels of faith, representatives of all living things
• Introductory chapter is tempting to skim over
o the Buddha isn’t actually teaching yet – it appears
o the listing of those present is mind boggling
o apparent only action is the exchange at the end of the chapter between Maitreya and Manjusuri and the physical phenomena that prompt the dialogue – except for the physical phenomena which occur such as the ground quaking and the beam of light that illuminates countless realms enabling those present to see all the worlds of all beings in all realms and those practicing and teaching the Dharma
• Yet it is important to not take this chapter lightly for a number of reasons
o the story or the Lotus Sutra is actually picking up or continuing the story as it began in the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings
o It is connecting us actually to the preceding sutra and the Lotus Sutra
o The Buddha has already preached the Innumerable Meanings Sutra and all beings are in a state of joy and admiration – they are in a right frame or state of mind to receive another teaching
how do they know this? because after preaching the Innumerable Meanings Sutra the Buddha enters into Samadhi
• Samadhi samādhi, is a Sanskrit term for the state of consciousness induced by complete meditation. Its etymology comes from sam (together or integrated), a (towards), and dha (to get, to hold). Thus the result might be seen to be to acquire integration or wholeness, or truth (samapatti). Another possible etymological breakdown of samādhi is samā (even) and dhi (intellect), a state of total equilibrium (samā) of a detached intellect (dhi)
• In a sense, class had not been dismissed, school was not out
o The Lotus Sutra is a grand drama – as we can see when reading it there are all sorts of fantastical things that occur throughout
this may be unfamiliar to us but we can be sure that those of that age saw great symbolism in the beginning of this story
• we must try not to read this story strictly from the frame of reference of a 21st Century mind a mind that thinks it has mastered and explained all the mysteries of the universe
• we are not reading this or studying this and trying to judge its literal accuracy or possibility
• part of reading the Lotus Sutra is to move us away from our rational and literal thinking
o but this does not mean that it is just a made up fairy tale – all life is present wherever we are at any given moment is that a fairy tale? When we speak, think or do anything are not countless numbers of atoms being affected. We know this now but even 100 years ago this may have seem quite remarkable or even impossible. In many ways the assembly is a very accurate representation of our own being.
• The assembly also represents all things in the universe, meaning that the Buddha’s ultimate teaching is not limited to just humans or even one kind of being but all life however it manifests itself.
• The great assembly also shows us that something really great and unprecedented is about to occur and everyone was in attendance. So too when we approach the Lotus Sutra it is with our whole body, mind, and spirit that is engaged on all levels of consciousness and thought and awareness.
• Further the fact of the presence of all kinds of beings represents that this teaching is for all beings and not just some limited group. This indicates that this teaching of the Buddha’s mind is the heart and soul of the Buddha’s intent.
o Chih-i considered the Buddha’s Dharma as being either fine or coarse. Those teachings that are considered coarse are those which were intended for specific listeners, and those that are fine were the teachings of the Buddha’s mind or those that revealed his true intent. Those teachings previous to the Lotus Sutra were relative teachings in that they were relative to the listener. The Lotus Sutra is absolute in that this is not subject to various interpretations by different kinds of listeners.
• Also the representation of the assembly shows us that this ultimate truth the Buddha reveals is one regardless of the physical manifestation. regardless of our causes and or our conditions. This truth this Sutra is for each of us. This comes up again in the Simile of Herbs.
