Here, at this transition between The Variety of Merits chapter and The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing this Sutra chapter, I want to address expectations. Specifically, I want to discuss the expectations we should have when we declare faith in the Lotus Sutra. When I first chanted the Daimoku in 1989 as … Continue reading 800 Years: Managing Expectations
An important lesson from the very start of Chapter 17 is that the benefits of the Lotus Sutra are deeply tied to our first moment of faith, not to our subsequent practice. The Buddha says in gāthās: “With these merits of concentration of his mind, He sought unsurpassed enlightenment, saying: ‘I will complete all these … Continue reading 800 Years: The First Moment of Faith
Of all the concepts found in the Lotus Sutra the most profound and difficult to understand is the concept raised in Chapter 16 that the Buddha is always present. He didn’t die and, since he has always been teaching here, he was never born. “All that I say is true, not false, because I see … Continue reading 800 Years: Tuning in to the Original Buddha
In Rev. Ryusho Jeffus’ Lecture on the Lotus Sutra he sets the stage for discussing Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground, with this observation: “We each may think we are rather ordinary people, not capable of great things. Yet our ordinariness is in fact a disguise for our true self, Bodhisattvas from beneath … Continue reading 800 Years: Bodhisattvas from Underground
The Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church was founded by five Japanese families in 1931. If you exclude the years when all of Sacramento’s Japanese immigrant and Japanese American residents were locked away in distant camps during World War II, the church has been in existence continuously since then. Eleven priests served the congregation before Rev. Kenjo … Continue reading An Unexpected Treat
The first few times through my cycle of 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra I stumbled over the image in Chapter 10 of a thirsty man digging randomly on a plateau in search of water. Surely there are better places to dig. Then one day it struck me: That was what I had done when … Continue reading 800 Years: On a Plateau in Search of Water
Earlier this year, The Wife sent me a quote that one of her Instagram friends had shared: “Faith doesn’t always take you out of the problem, Faith takes you through the problem. Faith doesn’t always take away the pain, Faith gives you the ability to handle the pain. Faith doesn’t always take you out of … Continue reading 800 Years: Buddhist Faith
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 … Continue reading 800 Years: Admission to the University of Buddhahood
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 … Continue reading 800 Years: According to Their Capacities
With each reading of Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, I am encouraged by the sutra’s embrace of diversity. One Dharma rains on all manner of different species, and as we take faith in the Lotus Sutra and practice and grow, nourished by that universal rain, we obtain different flowers and fruits. We are not … Continue reading 800 Years: Diversity