In the opening scene of [Chapter 23], one of the bodhisattvas from another part of the cosmos, Beflowered by the King of Constellations, asks the Buddha, “World-Honored One, how does the bodhisattva Medicine King travel in the saha world?” In the Chinese Vietnamese version of the Sutra, this passage reads “What is his business in the saha world?” But it is not really a matter of doing business; a better understanding of this passage would be, “How is that bodhisattva enjoying his journey in the world?” In the chapter on Avalokiteshvara in the Vietnamese version of the Lotus Sutra we see the phrases “enjoying a trip” and “enjoying a stay.” So the great bodhisattvas are those who know how to be at ease and enjoy their travels in the saha world.

We have to learn how to enjoy ourselves as we journey through this saha world. When we understand this, we will be more at ease and not think of our life as being some kind of task that we must accomplish. We do not have to scheme or hurry. We will be able to offer our service and work because we enjoy it. We can work without attachment to outcome. We can perform all our actions – organizing a retreat, building a Sangha, working with prisoners – in a spirit of freedom, liberation, and joy, rather than being bound up by notions of achieving a certain level of success or attainment.