Talk at Johnson C. Smith
January 20, 2010
Nichiren Shonin the founder of Nichiren Buddhism was a 13th Century Buddhist reform priest who taught that the way to Enlightenment was through the single practice of the Lotus Sutra. He crystallized this practice as the recitation of the Sacred Title or Odaimoku Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. He believed that if all people adhered to the principles as taught in the Lotus Sutra that we could all become Buddhas, attain enlightenment, and there by eliminate suffering.
Early on in his teaching effort he became concerned over the many recent tragedies that had befallen the Japanese people. During that time there had been numerous natural disasters such as earthquakes, strong and destructive typhoons, and severe weather conditions causing droughts and floods. Additionally there had been numerous epidemics and famines. All told in a span of three years almost half the population of Japan died due to these occurrences.
The thought occurring to him was that if Japan was a nation of Buddhists then why were there so many deaths and why were people suffering so. For several years he traveled to all the major Buddhist libraries at various temples throughout Japan in search of the answer to these questions. It was during these studies of the many Buddhist scriptures that he came to the conclusion that it was because the nation of Japan and Japanese Buddhist had abandoned the Lotus Sutra and no longer followed or believed in it as the supreme of all the Buddha’s teachings.
In 1259 he wrote and long letter to the governmental authorities outlining his conclusions and offering what he felt was the solution to the suffering of the Japanese people. His conclusion was that the Lotus Sutra needed to be placed first and foremost above all others and the government should stop supporting misleading Buddhist teachings.
Quoting from this letter which is called the Rissho Ankoku Ron Nichiren says: “I searched through some sutras and came to the conclusion that the cause of national calamities comes from all the people being against the right dharma, siding with false dharmas. Therefore, protective deities and sages abandoned the country, and will not return. This has allowed various evils and devils to invade, causing disasters and calamities” p. 108
In a way we can compare this to efforts we take to secure our personal property. If we have a home or an apartment we lock the door when we leave, and if we have a security alarm system we may set it as well. We secure the windows also. In other words we take prudent steps to try to ensure the safety of our living space. What he is proposing is that by abandoning the Lotus Sutra it is as if we fail to lock our door, even leaving it open. When we are away there is nothing to protect our belongings. So too, when people no longer follow the Lotus Sutra the protective forces that would normally benefit us do not work.
By not following the teachings of the Lotus Sutra there is no nourishment in a way for wise people to flourish and guide others in ways that will enhance their lives and enable people to block suffering.
I am sure that you have heard before people claim that their religion is superior to any others. In fact in our modern world we are constantly bombarded by claims of superiority from all directions. It is after all the basis for marketing and advertising. We don’t often if ever hear someone say my idea or my product is only second best. If we did do you think we would be convinced to try it? No I don’t think so.
We have become highly suspicious of claims of superiority. In the United States we even have a feeling that no religion should really assert it’s superiority over another, instead many people feel that it is up to each person to decide for themselves what is true. Though there are many who do assert their superiority, there are many who resist this approach.
Many people may even feel the need to confront claims of superiority with an attitude of ‘well show me’ or ‘prove it to me’.
In the Sutra of the Great Assembly it says; “greed, anger, and false views will multiply” p. 110 when people abandon the Lotus Sutra. In many ways we can look today at our society and see that these three poisons as Buddhism call them have certainly multiplied. Greed, anger and ignorance are at the heart of the economic problems afflicting our own society. Anger certainly can be seen in our nation’s rush to oust Sadam Husein from power in Iraq. Anger is evident in the actions of terrorists. Anger is evident when we drive down the road and hear drivers honking their horns aggressively at other drivers just because someone isn’t behaving in a way that fits our own personal standards, regardless of whether they made an innocent mistake or not, regardless that we too have made mistakes.
Anger is evident in our lack of patience in how other people perform their jobs. We see anger in stores because cashiers are not fast enough even though they may have already waited on several dozen angry customers, don’t get paid a lot and are worrying about their child in day care and how they are going to pay the rent and on and on.
We see examples of ignorance, that is to say an incorrect interpretation of life and the values of life in how we manage our natural resources. States are fighting over water rights while not doing enough to conserve what limited resources they do have. We can see ignorance in our use of fossil fuels even though we know that they will not last forever. We have taken a short sighted view of sustainability putting off our development of other ways of powering our lives.
Buddhism seeks to eliminate these three poisons of greed, anger and ignorance by teaching that first and foremost we are all interdependent. None of arises or comes into existence or continues living without the benefit of countless others. None of us were born without the benefit of a man and a women engaging in sexual intercourse, even if done artificially. None of us survived childhood without the benefit of someone feeding us. None of us continues to live without the aid of many people such as the asphalt crew that surfaces the roads that delivery trucks use to bring in the products we consume. The list could go on and on, our entire existence is dependent on many many unnamed and unthanked individuals. How many of us are constantly aware of it, not just occasionally but constantly aware.
Buddhism teaches mindfulness, that is being aware of all of the actions of other who make our lives possible. It also teaches us mindfulness of our own behaviors and how they affect others. Do we really express gratitude to that clerk at the Wal-Mart who has been on their feet all day or who got up and some awful hour to be at work, doing a job for which few thank them for and for which they receive a low wage and minimal benefits. Do we thank them even if they don’t smile at us or do we arrogantly expect them to show us undying gratitude? Do we predicate our appreciation on someone else first appreciating us? Do we some how feel that our own happiness is more important than someone else’s?
Buddhism teaches that we have already received great benefit from the countless labors of others and so we are deeply in debt to them and should gladly express our gratitude and appreciation. We come into this world in debt to our parents, even if we don’t like them we are indebted to them. We continue in this world in debt to many people. Our lives are in a constant deficit and one way for us to repay this debt is to first be grateful. But we have to be mindful of this.
So, what is the message in the Lotus Sutra that would warrant a claim of superiority? It would stand to reason that if something claims to be better than something else then there should be some way to substantiate that claim.
Well one of the major teachings in the Lotus Sutra that set it above all the other of the Buddha’s teachings is it’s message of equality. First and foremost the Lotus Sutra is based on the equality of all life. That there is no superiority in life, that all beings are equal to each other and also equal to the Buddha. That the Buddha’s message is one of enabling all people to become Buddhas.
Contained within the Lotus Sutra is for the first time the teaching that all plants and animals exist in the realm of potential Buddhahood. Also and most revolutionary considering this teaching is over 3000 years old is the teaching that women can attain enlightenment. There is hardly a religion if any at all that from that early period didn’t look down upon women or consider women as second class citizens or even property and possession. In fact there are even to this day cultures that in many ways treat women in such ways.
The Lotus Sutra also teaches that there is no division of classes that prevent one group from receiving the benefit of becoming enlightened just as the Buddha. There are many examples of the Buddha welcoming even murders into his community of believers.
When we treat all people as equals we then respect their value their contributions and their humanity. We see that there is not one class or group of people whom we can take advantage of. There is no one who is not deserving of our utmost respect. We value all life.
Anger born of arrogance is eliminated if there is nothing to be arrogant over. If I am equal to you, and I believe it and embrace it then you have value and you are important to my life. My life and my happiness are dependant on you and your happiness. Can you imagine what it would be like if every mistreated worker was suddenly valued and compensated accordingly? I am sure you have had interactions with workers who really enjoyed their jobs, who were treated fairly, who were respected. In those kinds of environments people are happy and we like being there. Heck we like it ourselves when we are valued and appreciated for our own unique qualities.
The Buddha says in the Lotus Sutra; “I see all living beings equally, I have no partiality for them. There is not ‘this one’ or ‘that one’ to me I transcend love and hatred.” Chapter V p. 111 In other words the Buddha makes no distinction between people, there is no thinking that someone is not worthy or that someone is not capable, or that someone is too lowly, or the wrong gender, or any of the distinctions that we frequently apply to people to judge their value in our lives.
At this time we commemorate the great life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a man of great compassion in the face of terrible hatred. Dr. King saw all people as deserving of being treated equally. He also felt that religion played a significant role in preaching and teaching this belief, even though many of his contemporaries in the ministry both African-American and Caucasian did not. Many of his contemporaries felt that he was too outspoken and should just be quiet. Nichiren faced the same criticisms because he too felt that people were worthy of respect and worthy of being treated with equality, just as is taught in the Lotus Sutra, a teaching 3000 years old.
Even the Buddha was met with resistance from some of the men in his congregation when he admitted women and recognized women as equally possessing the potential to become Buddhas.
In Chapter V of the Lotus Sutra the Buddha says; “I will cause all living beings to cross the ocean of birth and death if they have not yet done so. I will cause them to emancipate themselves from suffering if they have not yet done so. I will cause them to have peace of mind if they have not yet done so. I will cause them to attain Nirvana if they have not yet done so.” Chapter V p. 106
Please note the phrase “all living beings”. This is a recurrent theme in the Lotus Sutra, all living beings. Not some, not just the smart ones, not just men, not just the rich, not just the upper class, everyone without distinction is included in the Buddhas list of beings whom he wishes to emancipate from suffering.
Again in Chapter V the Buddha says’ “Nothing I say is false. I expound all teachings with expedients by my wisdom in order to lead all living beings to the stage of knowing all things.” Chapter V p. 105. The Buddha employs many methods of teaching, parables, directly expounding theory, similes, various examples, in other words many different techniques to helping people to understand the fundamental truth of Buddhism. He does all this not to benefit some and not others, but to benefit ALL LIVING BEINGS; to lead ALL LIVING BEINGS to the stage of knowing all things.
In Chapter II of the Lotus Sutra the Buddha says to one of his smartest and most learned disciples Shariputra; “Know this Sariputra! I once vowed that I would cause all living beings to become exactly as I am.” Chapter II p. 37
From the beginningless past the Buddha had one great thought one great vow and that was that he would see to it that all people would be able to become exactly like him, a Buddha. The Buddha determined that he would do everything in his power to see to it that all living beings without limitation or without distinction would be able to become enlightened so that there would not even be any distinction between himself and ourselves. The Buddha did not set himself up above others, he did not see himself as being superior to others, only that he had discovered something great and he wanted to share it with everyone. He knew that you could not have a teaching of equality if it didn’t include everyone and everything. This was a revolutionary concept 3000 years ago.
“The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to open the gate to the insight of the Buddha, and to cause them to purify themselves. They appear in the worlds in order to show the insight of the Buddha to all living beings. They appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to obtain the insight of the Buddha. They appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to enter the Way to the insight of the Buddha.” Chapter II p. 32
This is the heart of the Lotus Sutra. This is one of the most important reasons why it is superior over any of the other of the Buddhas teachings. It is also an important message for us living today, regardless of our religious beliefs. Can we honestly say that each of us truly have discarded the belief and the actions that some are not better than others, that some are less deserving of happiness and security, that some are inferior for any number of reasons that we are cleaver enough to dream up.
We spend so much of our energy and our thoughts on finding ways of supporting our own superiority over others. We think we are better, we think we are less prone to making mistakes, we think that we are more deserving, we think that we are in so many ways different that others. Or we may spend great energy denigrating ourselves, questioning our self worth because that is what others have done. The message of equality in Buddhism is two directional. It does teach that we are all equal that others are not less than us, but it also teaches that we are not less than others. To question or doubt our own value our own potential our own ability to become Buddhas is also against what the Buddha is teaching.
Equality in Buddhism works in both directions. We are not superior but we are not inferior. Buddhism does not seek to elevate some at the expense of others. We look out and we see the potential in others to become to manifest their enlightenment but we also must look inward and see that we too posses that potential. We must respect all others and ourselves too.
When we put this belief this message of equality at the heart of our every thought, word, and deed then we can begin to eliminate the three poisons of greed, anger and ignorance. We will not be greedy because to do so means to devalue someone else it means to place our needs above all others. We will not be angry at others because we recognize that while someone else may have done a wrong we too have done wrongs, we will respect others and ourselves. We value others and we value ourselves. We live a life of great wisdom basing all our actions on the idea of right behavior, right thought, right word, right action, right effort shunning a life of ignorance that only generates more and more suffering because we ignore the causes that bring about that suffering.
Of course the concept is an easy one to grasp on an intellectual basis, but what Buddhism encourages is that each of us, regardless of our religious affiliation, tries our best to put into practice a life that really values other life. Buddhism teaches that we each need to value each other, we each need to encourage each other, to be the best we possibly can, so that we can work together to eliminate the sufferings in our world.
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