When I began this project I didn’t know I would include a chapter-by-chapter review of what the Threefold Lotus Sutra teaches about faith. But now, as I finish that review, I can’t imagine having done this any other way. The Lotus Sutra is the great encouragement for today. As Nikkyō Niwano explains in Buddhism for Today:
Buddhism for Today, p423“It is not known when and by whom this sutra, the so-called closing sutra of the Lotus Sutra, was first recited. The first man to do so, however, was surely a great person. This is because the Sutra of Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue is so profound that it is considered to be the continuation of the Buddha’s preaching of the Lotus Sutra, and because it teaches us how we should actually apply the Lotus Sutra in our daily lives. This method is repentance. The Sutra of Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue teaches us the true meaning and method of repentance so thoroughly that it is commonly called ‘the Sutra of Repentance.’ ”
In his Introduction to Buddhism for Today, Nikkyō Niwano explains that people who study the Lotus Sutra can feel that there is a great divide between the ideal taught and the reality of our daily lives.
Buddhism for Today, pxxvii“We are greatly encouraged when we read the Lotus Sutra, grasp the true meaning of the sermons that Sakyamuni preached during his lifetime, and realize that we can attain the same state of mind as the Buddha through practicing his teachings. However, the fact is that in our daily lives we are continually troubled with suffering and distress, and we are continually seized by desires of one kind or another. For this reason, we are apt to become disheartened and forget the valuable lessons of the sutra.
“Although we understand theoretically that we can become buddhas, we do not know how to rid ourselves of our illusions; our minds are liable to be covered with a dark cloud of illusion. Repentance means the sweeping away of such dark clouds, and the Sutra of Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue teaches the way to do this.
It is important to keep in mind that what Nikkyō Niwano and Universal Sage say about repentance is not the repentance of remorse or contrition or self-condemnation common in other religions. As Nikkyō Niwano explains in Buddhism for Today:
Buddhism for Today, p459-460“[R]epentance is to learn the teaching of the Great-vehicle and to practice it. Repentance means not compromising with oneself, not having a lukewarm or equivocal attitude, but polishing one’s buddha-nature by gradually removing illusions and defilements from one’s mind. The practice of repentance consists in the bodhisattva practice, through which one not only polishes his buddha-nature but also renders service to others. Repentance is an indispensable requisite of religious life. It is to be hoped that all people will repeatedly read and recite this sutra on repentance, realize its essence, and put it into practice in their daily lives.”
Repentant faith carries us to the ultimate, supreme enlightenment.
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