Source elements of the Lotus Sutra lists Rahula, the Buddha’s son, as foremost of all who loved learning. Lotus World has him foremost in inconspicuous practice. Either way, he is an example to follow for those who take faith in the Lotus Sutra.

In his Lecture on the Lotus Sutra, Rev. Ryusho Jeffus offers this explanation of what the Buddha calls Rāhula’s “secret practices”:

“It is the ordinary day-to-day practice that each of us performs that is actually the great secret practice of Rāhula. It isn’t fame or acquiring a big name that is required to attain enlightenment. It isn’t being famous that will lead others to practice the Lotus Sutra. It is our practice of the Lotus Sutra in our everyday lives that will enable countless others just like us to ultimately take faith in the Lotus Sutra. We should not be discouraged, instead we can look at Rāhula who will become Walking-On-Flowers-Of-Seven-Treasures Buddha and we too can walk on the flowers of the seven treasures of Myoho-Renge-Kyo.”

Here is another place where Nikkyō Niwano’s principle of half a step fits. We must lead by example, but not from far in front, acting superior, but a measured half-step ahead, showing what’s possible.

While everyone who takes faith in the Lotus Sutra is declared a child of the Buddha, one can imagine that it wasn’t easy for Rāhula to be inconspicuous when his father was Śākyamuni. As Gene Reeves points out in Stories of the Lotus Sutra:

“While the name Ananda means ‘bliss’ or ‘joy,’ the name Rāhula means ‘obstruction,’ ‘bond,’ or ‘fetter.’ Born just shortly before the future Buddha left home to pursue enlightenment, it is said that he was named Rāhula by his grandfather after the future Buddha announced immediately after the birth of his son that an ‘obstruction’ (rāhula) had been born. Like many sons of noble Shakya families of the time, the future Buddha apparently had been thinking of leaving home from a fairly young age. It is said that his own father, the king, had arranged for his marriage to Yaśodharā when he was nineteen in order to discourage him from leaving home. Ten years later, Rāhula was born, and it was said that Shakyamuni called him Rāhula because he created “bonds” of affection. This story would later be used to show how a bond of love can be an impediment or hindrance to one who wants to follow the life of a monk.”

As Reeves explains, Rāhula was about 7 when his father returned home for the first time. As the child of divorced parents, I have always favored the story that Rāhula’s mother pushed her son to go ask his father, whom he’d never met, to give him his inheritance and his wealth. Divorced parents are like that. That the Buddha made Rāhula the heir to his spiritual wealth by taking him on as a novice monk says all we need to know about the Buddha’s love for all his children.

Chapter 9 offers an important lesson on the need for those who take faith in the Lotus Sutra to put that faith into practice in their lives.

This lesson comes in response to a complaint from a group of newly minted bodhisattvas who want to know why the Buddha is focusing so much attention on lowly śrāvakas.

The Buddha replies:

“Good men! Ānanda and I resolved to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi under the Void-King Buddha at the same time in our previous existence. At that time Ānanda always wished to hear much while I always practiced strenuously. Therefore, I have already attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, but he has not yet.”

Ānanda loved hearing about the Dharma but did nothing with that knowledge. Śākyamuni practiced strenuously and in doing so achieved his goal.

Our faith requires that we keep our gaze on the horizon, on the goal at the end, the goal beyond the daily needs. And in order to reach those goals we must act, moving one step at a time toward that horizon. Faith is the key to the gate of the teaching, but we must put the key in the lock and enter the storehouse of the Buddha’s teaching and walk the path to reach our goal.

The idea of vows and how they should shape our goals is another important lesson of the Lotus Sutra. As Gene Reeves explains in Stories of the Lotus Sutra:

“In Mahayana Buddhism there is a distinction between two kinds of vows, special vows (betsugan in Japanese) and general vows (sogan). Special vows, which might better be termed ‘resolutions,’ are relative to time and circumstance, individual ability, and so on. They may change. Here, however, we are talking of the Buddha’s original general vow, a vow that is said to be taken by all buddhas and to be good for all. It is sometimes taken to be a four-part vow: to save everyone, to remove all hindrances to awakening, to study all the teachings, and to attain the Buddha Way of supreme awakening. These four are sometimes known as the four great vows of followers of the bodhisattva way.

“The idea of making a vow that will last for uncountable eons, a vow that is to be the very basis of one’s life, stresses the importance of perseverance, persistence, or diligence. It is a fundamental teaching of the Dharma Flower Sutra that we should set goals for ourselves, such as saving all the living, or world peace, goals that we know very well may never be fully realized. Having set such a goal, we should be devoted to pursuing it. This is why perseverance in the face of difficulties is one of the six transcendental practices or perfections of bodhisattvas. Following this way, we will not easily become discouraged, want to give up, or turn back. Defeats and losses can be expected, but even small victories in the struggle for world peace and human happiness can be a cause for great joy.”