The Buddha is the master of the human and heavenly realms, the parents of all living beings, and the teacher who opens the way and leads us all to enlightenment. Lowly parents lack the virtue of a master, and the master without the virtue of parents is frightening. People with the virtues of parents or master do not necessarily possess the virtue of the teacher.
Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on Prayers (Kitō-shō). This illustrates three aspects of the ever-present Buddha to which we can aspire as we practice his highest teachings. Parents care about their children, but they can lack the skill and knowledge necessary to benefit them. A skillful master can be wise about how to live in this world of conflict, but without a true concern for the well-being of those he leads, can degenerate into cruelty and selfishness. As a teacher, the Buddha has found us all within himself, and cares for us as he cares for himself. He has also found himself within all of us, and knows what it takes to lead us to his wisdom.
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Expound it to clever people
Who have profound wisdom,
Who hear much,
Who remember well,
And who seek
The enlightenment of the Buddha!
The Buddha sings these verses to all those gathered to hear him teach in Chapter Three of the Lotus Sūtra. Much of this teaching is about how we see things as opposed to how certain we are of what we see. When we believe that those whom we wish to benefit are stupid, lazy and incompetent, then it surely will be difficult to help them. But when we realize the Buddha nature within all beings, then we can see them as wise and compassionate despite the obstacles they face.
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This is indeed inexplicable yet precious. If Devadatta does not become a Buddha, the numerous evil people who were induced by him to enter into his evil comradeship would never be able to escape the torment of the Hell of Incessant Suffering. It is solely due to the great favor of the Lotus Sutra that all of Devadatta’s comrades, too, are allowed to be Buddhas.
Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on Prayers (Kitō-shō). Devadatta was a cousin of the Buddha who was jealous of the Buddha’s accomplishments. He tried to set those who followed the Buddha against each other, and even tried several times to kill the Buddha. In the Lotus Sūtra, even Devadatta is assured of becoming a Buddha, opening the path of enlightenment even to those as perverse and deluded as him. When we learn to see even those who cause great harm as being capable of becoming enlightened, then it changes not only how we treat them, but how we see the world.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Those who have much lust will be saved from lust if they constantly think of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva and respect him. Those who have much anger will be saved from anger if they constantly think of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva and respect him. Those who have much stupidity will be saved from stupidity if they constantly think of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva and respect him.
The Buddha gives this description of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva (Kannon, Kanzeon, Avalokitesvara) to Endless-Intent Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Five of the Lotus Sūtra. World-Voice-Perceiver is the embodiment of compassion for all beings, the wish that all beings be freed from suffering and realize the enlightenment of the Buddha. This compassion is the antidote to the three poisons of lust, anger and stupidity. By aspiring to the example of World-Voice-Perceiver and awakening our own compassion, we can overcome these poisons and bring benefits to all beings.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Anyone who keeps this sūtra
Will be able to expound
The meanings of the teachings,
And the names and words [of this sūtra].
Their eloquence will be as boundless
And as unhindered as the wind in the sky.
The Buddha sings these verses to Superior-Practice Bodhisattva (Jōgyo, Viśiṣṭacārītra) in Chapter Twenty-One of the Lotus Sūtra. This teaching transforms us from beings who exist for our own comfort and awakens our true nature as Bodhisattvas: beings who exist for the benefit of all beings. This transition requires that we engage with these other beings and break out of the isolation of our own attachments. The first step is simply to listen, to be present and accept whatever the world has to offer. But at some point we need to speak. It can be difficult to know what to say. But with this Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sūtra, we find that because it embodies the Buddha’s highest wisdom, so long as we transmit what it has taught us, we will always have ways to use it to benefit other beings and bring this teaching to life in our world.
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Śāriputra! The Tathāgatas divide [the Dharma] into various teachings, and expound those teachings to all living beings so skillfully and with such gentle voices that living beings are delighted.
The Buddha gives this explanation to his disciple Śāriputra in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra. The work towards enlightenment is a shared enterprise. The Buddha cannot make us enlightened, and we cannot become enlightened by ourselves. The Buddha does not bribe, coerce, threaten or manipulate us into reaching the wisdom he knows we can find. Instead he sees deeply into our minds and uses the delusions we already have to lead us away from the suffering we create for ourselves. In our work as Bodhisattvas, we do well to keep the Buddha’s example in mind.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
When I saw that some people of little virtue and of much defilement were seeking the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle, I told them, ‘I renounced my family when I was young, and attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi [forty and odd years ago].’ In reality I became the Buddha in the remotest past as I previously stated. I told them so as an expedient to teach them, to lead them into the Way to Buddhahood.
In Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha gives this explanation of a parable he tells in Chapter Three. In that story, the foolish children of a wise man were playing in a burning house. The man tried to warn his children of the dangers of the house, but the children were so preoccupied with their games they would not leave. Only when the man promised them better toys outside would the children leave the house. The words used by the wise man were meant to get the children out of the house, even though the toys did not exist. These words were necessary to motivate the children to set aside their delusions. They were not meant to be taken literally. We learn from this explanation how the Buddha uses words, and why we formerly needed his expedient teachings.
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Having thought this, he said to his children as he had thought, ‘Come out quickly!’ He warned them with these good words out of his compassion towards them, but they were too much engrossed in playing to hear the words of their father. They were not frightened or afraid. They did not wish to come out. They did not know what a fire was, what a house was, and what they would lose. They ran about happily. They only glanced at their father occasionally.
This passage is part of the Parable of the Burning House, told by the Buddha in Chapter Three of the Lotus Sūtra. In this story, he compares us living in this world of conflict to children playing in a dangerous house. As the children in the story were too distracted by their games to hear their father’s warnings, we are often too distracted by the attachments of our world to hear the voice of the Buddha.
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The Buddhas, the Leaders, expound the teaching of Nirvāṇa
In order to give a rest [to all living beings].
When they see them having already had a rest,
They lead them to the wisdom of the Buddha.
The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. These are part of his explanation of the parable of the Magic City. In this story, a group of people hire a guide to lead them through a dangerous wilderness to reach a city of treasures. Halfway through the journey, the people lose confidence and ask the guide to take them back to where they started. The guide conjures up a magic city and gives the people a chance to rest. The people believed this illusion was their destination. The guide then made the city disappear and implored his charges to continue their journey. The Buddha compares his teachings of the end of suffering to the fabricated city, and the true city of treasures to his enlightenment. As the travelers had to leave their delusions about suffering and continue on the way of the Bodhisattva towards enlightenment, so must we set aside the Buddha’s expedient teachings and uphold the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sūtra.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
The Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, teach only Bodhisattvas. All they do is for one purpose, that is, to show the insight of the Buddha to all living beings, to cause them to obtain the insight of the Buddha.
The Buddha speaks these words in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sutra. Here he emphasizes the importance of practice for reaching enlightenment. We may think that just hearing what the Buddha teaches is enough to reach his insight of seeing things for what they are. We also need to be actively engaged with the world, doing our best, making mistakes, and confident that we can continue to learn how to make things better. This is no different from the mistaken belief that one can learn how to cook by merely reading recipes. Only by going in the kitchen and making something can one gain the insight of whoever came up with the recipe.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
