Faith cannot exist without practice, and the practices of Pūrṇa in Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples, should be studied as we seek to make the Lotus Sutra come alive in our lives.

Ryusho Jeffus in his Lecture on the Lotus Sutra offers this observation:

“The four kinds of unhindered eloquence are dharma, meaning, words, and joy. When one has these four they are able to teach the dharma without difficulty. You could say they will be confident in their ability to teach the Buddha’s teachings to others. Knowing the meaning and words of the Dharma goes beyond an intellectual understanding or accumulation of information and knowledge. It is about the ability to express the teachings contained in the Dharma in such a way that the listener will be able to understand, and relate to their own lives. … If we are able to relate our own joy as well as cause the listener joy in hearing and understanding, then we have been able to accomplish unhindered eloquence. It isn’t about fancy words. It isn’t about sharing information. It is about a deep person-to-person, life-to-life communication of the profound nature of the Dharma, which actually transcends words.”

We must avoid preaching to others with a superior manner or threaten them or attempt to force a change of heart. Instead, we must follow what Nikkyō Niwano calls the principle of half a step.

“In doing missionary work or leading others, we can learn something very important from [Pūrṇa’s] attitude, which he maintained both inwardly and outwardly. If one were a person of great virtue and influence, such as Śākyamuni Buddha, even though he never assumed an air of self-importance everybody would throw himself on his knees and concentrate his mind upon hearing that person’s teaching. However, in the case of one who is not endowed with so much virtue and influence, people do not always listen earnestly to his preaching of the Law. If he gives himself the airs of a great man, some will come to have ill feeling toward him, while others will feel that he is unapproachable. Pūrṇa’s attitude is a good example for us.

“It goes without saying that we must not look down on people or think, ‘They are unenlightened,’ but it is dangerous for us even to fancy ourselves to have gone a step farther than others. We must preserve the attitude of keeping pace with other people. But we cannot lead others if we completely keep pace with them, that is, if we behave exactly the same as those who know nothing of the Buddha-way. We should go not a step but only half a step farther than others. If we do this, those around us will still feel that we are one of them and will keep pace with us. While accompanying us, they will be influenced by us and led in the right way without realizing it.”

This is the way practiced by the Buddha’s children.

While Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples, doesn’t mention faith, it helps illustrate that faith is not for ourselves alone. We are directed to focus on the Mahayana and to avoid simply settling for what is close at hand.

In Chapter 8, the Arhats illustrate their understanding with the parable of a priceless gem sown into the garment of a poor man by his rich friend. The poor man, unaware of the priceless gift, satisfies himself with what little he can earn.

As Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya and the others explain:

“You, the Buddha, are like his friend. We thought that we had attained extinction when we attained Arhatship because we forgot that we had been taught to aspire for the knowledge of all things by you when you were a Bodhisattva just as the man who had difficulty in earning his livelihood satisfied himself with what little he had earned. You, the World-Honored One, saw that the aspiration for the knowledge of all things was still latent in our minds; therefore, you awakened us, saying, ‘Bhikṣus! What you had attained was not perfect extinction. I caused you to plant the good root of Buddhahood a long time ago. You have forgotten this; therefore, I expounded the teaching of Nirvāṇa as an expedient. You thought that you had attained true extinction when you attained the Nirvāṇa which I taught you as an expedient.’

“World-Honored One! Now we see that we are Bodhisattvas in reality, and that we are assured of our future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Therefore, we have the greatest joy that we have ever had.”

In Stories of the Lotus Sutra, Gene Reeves emphasizes how a bodhisattva should spend the treasure of the jewel left in the robe.

“In this story, using the treasure clearly means using it to enjoy life. Life is difficult, but we are much freer, more able to appreciate, more able to cope with whatever difficulties life presents us if we have an appropriate attitude toward life and toward ourselves. Having a good attitude toward life, for the Dharma Flower Sutra, means seeing everything that comes to us as a gift, more especially as an opportunity, as what we call a ‘learning experience.’ Yes, life can be very difficult, but if we approach the troubles and difficulties that come our way as opportunities for learning, we will enjoy life more fully.

“In Mahayana Buddhism, the importance of helping others is often stressed. But we should know that even helping others is never merely helping others – it always contributes to our own enjoyment of life as well. The Dharma Flower Sutra encourages us to look for and cultivate the good both in ourselves and in others.”

When we realize we are bodhisattvas – when we understand that we cannot advance until we can bring all others along with us – we begin to understand the true treasure we have been given. Properly spent, the whole world can benefit.

Chapter 4 is entitled Understanding by Faith but in many respects a better example of how faith enables understanding is found in Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City, in the story of the 16 sons of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha who each became bodhisattva-­śramaṇeras.

The sons, realizing there was more to learn than what the Śrāvakas had been taught, asked their father to expound the teaching of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi – unexcelled perfect enlightenment. Twenty thousand kalpas later, the Buddha finally expounded the “Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.”

“It took the Buddha eight thousand kalpas to complete the expounding of this sūtra. During that time he did not take a rest. Having completed the expounding of this sūtra, the Buddha entered a quiet room and practiced dhyāna-concentration for eighty-four thousand kalpas. Seeing him practicing dhyāna-concentration quietly in the room, the sixteen Bodhisattva­-śramaṇeras each sat on a seat of the Dharma, expounded the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to the four kinds of devotees for eighty-four thousand kalpas, and saved six hundred billion nayutas of living beings, that is, as many living beings as there are sands in the River Ganges. They showed them the Way, taught them, benefited them, caused them to rejoice and to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.”

In Buddhism for Today, Nikkyō Niwano explains the significance of the Bodhisattva-­śramaṇeras’ sequence of instruction.

“These words indicate the order of preaching the Law. First, one must show the general meaning of the teaching to people. Then, when one knows that they have generated the desire to enter the teaching, one must teach its profound meaning. Next, seeing that they appear to understand it, one must lead them to practice it and to obtain the benefit of the teaching. Lastly, one must so act toward them as to gladden them in keeping the teaching.”

That “desire to enter the teaching” is the essence of faith. The 16 sons received the sutra by faith and, in expounding the teachings, inspired faith.

“These sixteen Bodhisattvas willingly expounded the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. Each of them taught six hundred billion nayutas of living beings, that is, as many living beings as there are sands in the River Ganges. Those living beings were always accompanied by the Bodhisattva, by whom they were taught, in their consecutive existences. In each of their consecutive existences, they heard the Dharma from him, and understood it by faith.”

All we need now is to remember.

As Nichiren says in his Treatise on the Essence of the Lotus Sutra:

“Since time immemorial all the people on the earth have been the Buddha Śākyamuni’s beloved children. We had not realized the relationship because we had been undutiful children. It is a unique relationship. As the moon reflects on calm water, the Buddha appears in our calm mind.”

I suppose I have a special affection for Chapter 7 since the Parable of the Magic City inspired so much of my effort here to document my journey to the place of treasures.

Consider the faith demonstrated by the 16 sons of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha:

“When the sons heard that their father had attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, they gave up the playthings, left home, and came to that Buddha.”

Contrast that with the children playing in the burning house who couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to their father and his warnings.

These 16 princes of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha demonstrate a deep understanding of the perils faced in the triple world.

“All living beings are suffering.
Being blind, they have no leader.
They do not know how to stop suffering,
Or that they should seek emancipation.
In the long night fewer people go to heaven,
And more people go to the evil regions.
They go from darkness to darkness, and do not hear
Of the names of the Buddhas.”

I’ve always been struck by the line: “In the long night fewer people go to heaven and more people go to the evil regions.” These are the consequences of ignorance of the Dharma.

The great Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the zenith reinforce this message after traveling in search of the source of an unusual light illumining the universe:

“The All-Knower, the Most Honorable One of Gods and Men,
Opens the gate of the teachings as sweet as nectar,
And saves all living beings
Out of his compassion towards them.

“There has been no Buddha
For the past innumerable kalpas.
Before you appeared,
The worlds of the ten quarters were dark.

“The living beings in the three evil regions
And asuras are increasing.
The living beings in heaven are decreasing.
Many fall into the evil regions after their death.

“They do not hear the Dharma from a Buddha
Because they did evils,
Their appearances are getting worse;
And their power and wisdom, decreasing.
Because they did sinful karmas,
They lose pleasures and the memory of pleasures.
They are attached to wrong views.
They do not know how to do good.
They are not taught by a Buddha;
Therefore, they fall into the evil regions.”

The Buddha “opens the gate of the teachings as sweet as nectar.” We are asked to have faith and step through the gate.

Nichiren reminds us of just how rare it is to find this treasure:

“The chances of our being born in the three evil realms are more numerous than particles of dust on earth, while chances of our being born in the human realm are as scarce as the specks of dirt on a fingernail. (…) The chances of our encountering expedient sūtras preached in the forty-odd years before the Lotus Sūtra are more numerous than the particles of dust on earth, while encountering the Lotus-Nirvana Sūtras is as scarce as specks of dirt on a fingernail.

Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 66

Before getting into what I consider the meat of Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City, I want first to explore the idea of faith and its role in overcoming obstacles. Consider Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha’s trouble attaining Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi – unexcelled perfect enlightenment.

“The duration of the life of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha was five hundred and forty billion nayuta kalpas. [Before he attained Buddhahood,] he sat at the place of enlightenment and defeated the army of Mara. He wished to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, but could not because the Dharma of the Buddhas had not yet come into his mind. He sat cross-legged without moving his mind and body for one to ten small kalpas. During all that time the Dharma of the Buddhas did not come into his mind.”

Now, 10 small kalpas is a tiny fraction of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha’s lifespan of five hundred and forty billion nayuta kalpas, but it still represents a long time to remain “cross-legged without moving his mind.” Why was so much time required?

Consider the tale published in 2007 by Paulo Coelho that he adapted from a story sent to him by Sonaira D’Avila.

“A man spent hours watching a butterfly struggling to emerge from its cocoon. It managed to make a small hole, but its body was too large to get through it. After a long struggle, it appeared to be exhausted and remained absolutely still.

“The man decided to help the butterfly and, with a pair of scissors, he cut open the cocoon, thus releasing the butterfly. However, the butterfly’s body was very small and wrinkled and its wings were all crumpled.

“The man continued to watch, hoping that, at any moment, the butterfly would open its wings and fly away. Nothing happened; in fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its brief life dragging around its shrunken body and shriveled wings, incapable of flight.

“What the man – out of kindness and his eagerness to help – had failed to understand was that the tight cocoon and the efforts that the butterfly had to make in order to squeeze out of that tiny hole were Nature’s way of training the butterfly and of strengthening its wings.

“Sometimes, a little extra effort is precisely what prepares us for the next obstacle to be faced. Anyone who refuses to make that effort, or gets the wrong sort of help, is left unprepared to fight the next battle and never manages to fly off to their destiny.”

In the Parable of the Burning House in Chapter 3, the Buddha explains:

“Śāriputra! The rich man did not save his children by his muscular power although he was strong enough. He saved them from the burning house with a skillful expedient and later gave them each a large cart of treasures.

“In the same manner, I save all living beings from the burning house of the triple world, not by my powers or fearlessness, but with a skillful expedient.”

Faith sets us on the path. With our struggles we grow stronger.

In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha does not say, “You are a Buddha.” Instead, we are invited to open a gate and enter a wonderous path. Faith is the requisite of the Assurance of Future Buddhahood in Chapter 6 and elsewhere in the Lotus Sutra. Faith is the minimum qualification to unlock the gate.

In Buddhism for Today, Nikkyō Niwano explains it this way:

“ ‘Prediction’ means that the Buddha gives us the assurance, “You will surely become buddhas.” The term ‘prediction’ (juki) includes three meanings of great importance and subtlety, which it is essential that we understand. The first important point is that Sakyamuni Buddha says not ‘You are buddhas’ but ‘You will become buddhas.’ In the sight of the Buddha, all living beings have the buddha-nature, and any one of them can definitely become a buddha. But if the Buddha says merely, “You are buddhas,” this statement will be greatly misunderstood by ordinary people. They will be liable to take these words to mean that they are already perfected as buddhas while in a state of illusion and will have the idea that they can become buddhas without any effort, like riding an escalator.

“The prediction given by the Buddha is often compared to an admission permit to a school, and this comparison is quite just. It is not a diploma but only an admission permit. This assurance signifies, ‘You have passed the entrance examination of the highest university, which leads to the degree of buddhahood. If you study here for some years, you will surely graduate and will become buddhas.’ Having this assurance, ordinary people must hereafter practice all the more, and must make ever greater efforts to realize this goal.

“What a joyful thing it is for ordinary people to have obtained admission to the Buddha’s university — to have received the Buddha’s prediction, ‘You will become buddhas.’ ”

Just as we are certain to face obstacles to graduating from a university, as we practice and study the path to buddhahood we face many obstacles. In Misawa-shō, A Letter to Lord Misawa of Suruga, Nichiren warns of the three hindrances and four devils, the last of which is the King of Devils in the Sixth Heaven.

“Upon the sight of one within the reach of Buddhahood, the King of Devils in the Sixth Heaven would be stirred to say: ‘If one is an entity of this world, he (one) not only strives to depart from the illusion of life and death and become Buddha but also tries to lead as many as possible into Buddhism, controls this world, and transforms this defiled world into a paradise. What ought to be done?’”

Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 239-240

We are fortunate to be attending the great university of the Lotus Sutra in this Latter Age for we have Namu-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō to drive back the henchmen of the King of Devils. With the Daimoku we can overcome their efforts to distract us from our goal.

The word faith does not appear in Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood. In fact, when I first began my cycle of reading the Lotus Sutra, this chapter seemed to illustrate a lack of faith.

I was dismissive of the śrāvakas pleading to be given a prediction of future buddhahood. After all, these people were in this only for themselves. Influencing my interpretation were simplified definitions of śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha such as this one from the Introduction to the Lotus Sutra:

“Although ‘hearers’ and ‘private Buddhas’ are earnest seekers, they have one critical shortcoming. In pursuing their aim for individual emancipation, they tend to become self-absorbed and neglect the needs of other people. This weakness is the main reason why their teachings are called the ‘Lesser Vehicle’: They carry the driver but no passengers. Some Mahayana sutras are extremely critical of them, saying that followers of the Lesser Vehicle cannot possibly attain Buddhahood; they are too self-centered.”

Even though I realized the whole point of their prediction was to open the door to buddhahood for everyone, this constant pleading on their part just came across as self-serving. With each request for a prediction, I was reminded of the children in the Parable of the Burning House:

“Give us
The three kinds of jeweled carts
That you promised us!
You said:
‘Come out, and I will give you
The three kinds of carts as you like.’
Now is the time for that.
Give them to us now!”

In Buddhism for Today, Nikkyō Niwano makes the case for a different interpretation.

“At the end of the second verse portion of chapter 6, Maudgalyāyana, Subhūti, Kātyāyana, and others spoke in unison as follows:

“ ‘Great Hero, World-honored One!
Thou dost ever desire to pacify the world;
Be pleased to bestow our prediction.’

“What they are saying is: ‘The Buddha always desires to make all the people of the world feel at ease. We also desire to become buddhas and to make them live in peace. Please give us your assurance of becoming buddhas.’

“They do not mean that they alone be saved and become buddhas, or that they alone become buddhas and attain peace of mind. Their final purpose is to make all the people of the world happy. This is a most important point. We must understand that the real intention of these disciples in earnestly requesting that the Buddha give them his assurance of becoming buddhas lies in the fact that they wanted to obtain such freedom and power as to be capable of making others happy. If we do not realize this, we are likely to receive the mistaken impression that they asked the Buddha for only their own personal enlightenment and mental peace.”

I don’t necessarily agree with Nikkyō Niwano, but I admit that my interpretation is unhelpful. These predictions are necessary. They allow everyone to develop the faith needed to defeat doubt and fear – to walk the path to buddhahood, the Bodhisattva path that puts the interests of others before self.

In my last essay I said flatly, “We cannot expect flowering herbs to become towering oak trees.” Before I leave Chapter 5 and the Simile of the Herbs I want to take one last bite out of this topic in answer to those who would argue that there are right and wrong practices and a need for practicers to adhere to proper actions, especially when new in faith.

When I was in high school, I joined the cross country running team. I chose cross country because that was the only team that accepted everyone. All the coach cared about was your willingness to complete the 2.1 mile course. With work and perseverance, I became good enough to co-captain the junior varsity team, but I never possessed the fluid ease displayed by the varsity team runners.

In the off season I was expected to run track. I hated track. I could run up hills and across streams and down into valleys and back up the hills, but eight times around the flat, quarter-mile track – that was unbearable.

One season of track was enough. When track season came around the next year, I told the coach I would just practice distance running on my own and join him for the next cross country season. The coach said if I didn’t run track, I couldn’t be on the cross country team. So I quit running, took up smoking and drinking and spent most of my senior year at the beach. I did so poorly in my first year of junior college that there was no way I could defer the draft board’s interest in me. I escaped the Army by joining the Navy and replaced a ground tour of Vietnam with an 11-month cruise in the Gulf of Tonkin.

In pushing one practice over another, in criticizing in any way the sincere intent of another, we smother the flame of faith, especially in those new to the Lotus Sutra. I would never suggest someone must practice as I do, especially my 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra practice. Rev. Igarashi at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church never urges others to emulate his practice of reciting a full fascicle of the Lotus Sutra at each of his three daily services.

Nichiren stressed the importance of the Daimoku for a reason. My hourlong morning service and hourlong evening service is no more important than a single, heartfelt Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. Rather than attempting to force all of the round pegs into square ritual structures, we would be much more helpful encouraging sincere, good intentions and emulating the Buddha:

“I am not tired of giving
The rain of the Dharma to all living beings.
I have no partiality for them,
Whether they are noble or mean,
Whether they observe or violate the precepts,
Whether they live a monastic life or not,
Whether they have right or wrong views,
Whether they are clever or dull.

“Those who hear the Dharma from me
Will reach various stages
[Of enlightenment]
According to their capacities.”