[T]he Buddha teaches us through the Parable of Digging in a Tableland that one who practices the Lotus Sutra must earnestly seek after the Law with hope and unremitting zeal. A man who is extremely thirsty searches for water by digging in a tableland. So long as he sees dry earth, he knows that water is still far off. Continuing his labor unceasingly, in time he sees moist earth and then gradually reaches mud. Then he knows that water is near at hand. So he digs still more earnestly, without being discouraged or doubting. Bodhisattvas are like this. If they have not heard, nor understood, nor been able to observe this Law-Flower Sutra, they are still far from Perfect Enlightenment. But if they hear, understand, ponder, and observe it, they are near Perfect Enlightenment.

Once we have known the Lotus Sutra, we never have to be at a loss as to what to do. If we give up the sutra after only a little practice of it, as though starting to dig somewhere else because water does not appear immediately, we cannot realize the sutra, just as we cannot quench our thirst by digging only a little. The Buddha teaches here that if we endeavor patiently to attain Perfect Enlightenment, just as when we continue to dig unceasingly, we can assuredly reach enlightenment, just as we can reach the mud. This is the sixth essential point of this chapter.