All of you, wise men!
Have no doubts about this!
Remove your doubts, have no more!
My words are true, not false.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. If we come to the Buddha, attached to our delusions and fearful of the potential for peace and joy we all have within us, it is easy to doubt what he says. We have been suffering a long time. Like the children playing in the burning house, we are so caught up in the drama and insanity of our world that we cannot imagine any other way to live. When the Buddha warns us of how dangerous it is to continue as we are, we are more certain of our familiar pain than of his enlightenment. When we trust the Buddha Dharma, and cultivate our potential to create unimaginable benefit in this world, then we realize the pettiness of the crises we create for ourselves. We awaken our curiosity and gratitude and learn to see this beautiful world for what it is.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Because we are your messengers,
We are fearless before multitudes.
We will expound the Dharma.
Buddha, do not worry!

In Chapter Thirteen of the Lotus Sūtra, innumerable Bodhisattvas sing these verses before the Buddha from whom they had come to hear the Wonderful Dharma. The Buddha had asked who would continue to spread and practice his highest teaching after his extinction. These Bodhisattvas vowed to uphold this teaching through all obstacles, particularly those created by people who were so attached to their delusions that they would slander and persecute anyone who keeps this Lotus Sūtra. The fearlessness of these Bodhisattvas comes from their certainty that this Sūtra leads all beings to enlightenment, and their compassionate resolve to benefit everyone.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

To see a Buddha is as difficult
As to see an udumbara[-flower].
To avert a misfortune is also difficult.

These verses are sung by two sons of a king in a story told by the Buddha in Chapter Twenty-Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, the boys have heard the Dharma from a previous Buddha and are asking permission from their parents to leave home and follow that Buddha. The legend of the udumbara flower is that it only blooms every 3000 years. Meeting a Buddha is not to be taken for granted. However, it is still important to remember the ties of our families. Rather than leaving in secret from their home, the sons’ asking permission from their parents creates more benefits. The King and Queen accompany their sons and learn the Wonderful Dharma. As Bodhisattvas it is important to use our relationships wisely as we lead all beings to enlightenment.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

I remember the extinction of that Buddha
As vividly as if he had passed away just now,
By my unhindered wisdom; I also remember
The Śrāvakas and Bodhisattvas who lived [with him].

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. Because the Buddha sees this world for what it is, his conception of time is much different from ours. We believe that our existence is tied up with the existence of our bodies. Here he reminds us that while our lives are certainly precious, this is not the whole story. Our existence is linked with that of countless beings, and there is no good reason to fear our extinction. There is no shortage of time, and no shortage of lives. Our opportunities to benefit others are truly boundless. The only things that restrict us are our own delusion and attachment.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

You have a grandson, Lord Jibu, who is a Buddhist priest. This priest is neither an upholder of precepts nor especially rich in wisdom. He neither observes even one of the 250 precepts nor maintains even one of the 3000 solemn rules of conduct. In wisdom he is like a horse or a cow while in dignity he is like a monkey. Nevertheless, what he reveres is Śākyamuni Buddha and what he believes in is the Lotus Sutra. This like a snake holding a gem or a dragon gratefully holding the relics of the Buddha in Dharma Body.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on the Ullambana Service (Urabon Gosho) written to the Grandmother of Lord Jibu. While it may seem to us that Nichiren is criticizing Lord Jibu, he is praising the young man in the highest terms. Our ability to use the Wonderful Dharma to benefit others does not depend on our skill, dedication or wisdom. It depends only on our devotion to the Ever-Present Buddha Śākyamuni, and our confidence and faith in the Lotus Sūtra.

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They also had already obtained [the four states of mind towards all living beings:] compassion, loving-kindness, joy and impartiality.

The Buddha gives this description in Chapter Twenty-Seven of the Lotus Sutra of two boys who had been the previous lives of Medicine-King and Medicine-Superior Bodhisattvas. These four states of mind are those which allow to see the world for what it is and bring true benefit for all beings. Any living being is capable of them. Their opposites: cruelty, indifference, misery and prejudice, are never what we aspire to, even though we find ourselves in them far too often. But even these states can be used as an indication that we are not seeing things for what they are, and lead us back to a true curiosity and appreciation for what we have.

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They will be able to know all the thoughts, deeds, and words, however meaningless, of the living beings of the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds each of which is composed of the six regions. Although they have not yet obtained the wisdom-without-āsravas, they will be able to have their minds purified as previously stated. Whatever they think, measure or say will be all true, and consistent not only with my teachings but also with the teachings that the past Buddhas have already expounded in their sūtras.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. Paradoxically, the process of clarifying our minds so that we can see things for what they are is not an intellectual exercise. The practice of the Wonderful Dharma is not based on learning complicated theories or arcane facts. It can be as simple as chanting Odaimoku sincerely, awakening our nature as Bodhisattvas, and working for the benefit of all beings.

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I knew that you were mean and timid. In order to give you a rest halfway, I expounded expediently to you the teaching of Nirvāṇa by the two vehicles. To those who attained the two [vehicles], I say, ‘You have not yet done all that you should do. You are near the wisdom of the Buddha. Think it over and consider it! The Nirvāṇa you attained is not true. I divided the One Vehicle of the Buddha into three only expediently.

The Buddha gives this explanation in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra after he tells the parable of the magic city. In that parable he compares himself, leading all beings to enlightenment, to a guide leading a group of travelers through a dangerous wilderness. The Buddha knows how frightening this world of conflict can be, so he uses teachings about ending suffering to keep us moving on the path. But then as the guide in the parable made the magic city disappear so that the travelers would continue to the real city, the Buddha tells us to abandon preoccupations with our own suffering so that we can enjoy his enlightenment.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

In this profound sūtra
The teachings for the Śrāvakas are criticized.
Those who hear
That this sūtra is the king of all the sūtras,
And think over this sūtra clearly after hearing it,
Know this, will approach the wisdom of the Buddha.

The Buddha sings these verses to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. He has already declared that the sūtra he is teaching is the closest to his own wisdom, that it is different from anything he has taught before, and that it is the teaching for Bodhisattvas. The expedient teachings he gave to Śrāvakas before this sūtra were limited because they did not show the way to enlightenment for all beings. As we keep this sūtra in our minds, and learn to recognize it in our daily lives, we not only approach our own enlightenment, we lead all beings to enjoy the Buddha’s wisdom.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Anyone who wishes to expound this sūtra
Should give up jealousy, anger, arrogance,
Flattery, deception and dishonesty.
He should always be upright.

The Buddha sings these verses to Mañjuśrī in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra in which he describes the peaceful practices of a Bodhisattva. The way we live our lives can either reinforce our delusions or help us gain more clarity about how things really are. In these verses, the Buddha advises against these actions not because he will think less of us when we do them, but because when we find ourselves behaving these ways it is because we are not seeing things for what they are.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com