In the Lotus Sutra we are offered a number of stories of fathers and sons, but until we get to Chapter 27, no mothers. In fact, it’s only in the story of King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva that we have a family setting. Thich Nhat Hanh suggests in Peaceful Action, Open Heart that there was specific purpose in adding this chapter to the Lotus Sutra.
Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p225“In order to better understand [Chapter 27], we have to understand how Mahayana Buddhism became established as a viable religion in China. Chinese society was strongly influenced by the teachings of Confucianism, which especially upheld the importance of filial duty – the duty and reverence of children toward their parents and ancestors. This ideal has been one of the underpinnings of Chinese society and culture from the time of Confucius in the fifth century B.C.E. to the present day. … When followers of Confucianism condemned Buddhism as failing to practice filial piety, the practitioners had to prove the opposite, that in following the path of the Buddha they were also following the path of humanity and filial piety.”
And yet for Nichiren that filiality to parents could never override filiality to the teachings of the Lotus Sutra. As explained by Donald Lopez and Jacqueline Stone in Two Buddhas Seated Side by Side:
Two Buddhas, p252-253“Nichiren often cited [Chapter 27] to stress that, when faced with the choice between following one’s parents’ wishes or being faithful to the Lotus Sūtra, the Lotus Sūtra must take precedence. Such a stance flew in the face of common understandings of filial piety, an important cultural value of Nichiren’s time. A writing attributed to him, possibly authored by a close disciple with his approval, states:
‘King Śubhavyūha, the father of Vimalagarbha and Vimalanetra, adhered to heretical teachings and turned his back on the buddha-dharma. The two princes disobeyed their father’s orders and became disciples of the buddha Jaladharagaritaghoṣasusvaranakṣatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijn͂a, but in the end they were able to guide their father so that he became a buddha called Sālendrarāja. Are they to be called unfilial? A sūtra passage explains: “To renounce one’s obligations and enter the unconditioned is truly to repay those obligations.” Thus, we see that those who cast aside the bonds of love and indebtedness in this life and enter the true path of the buddha-dharma are persons who truly understand their obligations.’
“The logic here is that abandoning the Lotus Sūtra to satisfy one’s parents might please them in the short run, but by so doing, one severs both them and oneself from the sole path of liberation in the present age. Because such an act constitutes ‘slander of the dharma,’ it can only lead to suffering for all concerned in this and future lifetimes. By upholding faith in the Lotus Sūtra, however, one can realize buddhahood oneself and eventually lead one’s parents to do the same.
Our faith in the Lotus Sutra and our practice of its teachings prompts our desire to save all sentient beings, starting with our parents.
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