In every instance when a weakness appears in either faith, practice, or study the key to making things right again is to examine these three legs and then strengthen them. Buddhism rest upon this tripod of faith, practice, and study. … [A] tripod with it’s three legs is able to provide a level surface on any terrain no matter how bumpy or rocky. It would seem that four legs would be better, and sort of obvious one leg or two not good enough. But in fact three legs is the most stable configuration for achieving stability.

In the Lotus Sutra the Buddha praises the children who draw images of the Buddha in the sand with sticks and says the merit of their offering is as great as the offerings of precious jewels. What matters most is doing something, doing it joyfully, and doing it with sincerity. From the eyes of mere common mortals the offering of a sand image of the Buddha does not appear to be as great as the offering of gold statues. From the perspective of Buddhism, the sand images could be more valuable due to sincerity and joy.

Miao-lé says:

“Since ignorance and defilements are themselves identical with enlightenment, there is no origin of suffering to be eradicated. Since the two extreme views are the Middle Way and false views are the right view, there is no path to be cultivated. Since samsara is identical with Nirvana, there is no cessation to be achieved.”

Further, Miao-lé says,

“A single, unalloyed reality is all there is, – no entities whatever exist outside of it.”

Shutei Hoyo Shiki, page 399

There is the Myoho Renge Kyo and there is us, but it is a mutuality. There really is no way to write it or express it. The best we can do is what Nichiren realized with Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. Remember, Ananda begins his recollection of the Sutra with “Thus have I heard.” He is saying Myoho Renge Kyo is what I heard and what follows is the explanation. When we live Namu, we are not simply manifesting the words of the 28 chapters. We are in fact unifying in body, mind, and spirit our fundamental Dharma reality and revealing the Myoho Renge Kyo. In a way Myoho Renge Kyo is who we are, and everything we live and do is like the explanation of the Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.

For those who doubt their ability to teach others the Lotus Sutra, or who think they are not skillful enough to explain the Lotus Sutra to others, fear not. You are Myoho Renge Kyo. All you need do is let people experience your Namu and the Myoho Renge Kyo of your life. Your words are not nearly as important as your life. Never doubt yourself and don’t underestimate the power of your actions.

“You should know that there are 3,000 worlds in one thought moment within this body and land. So when [the Buddha] attained the Way, this true principle found in all bodies and all thought moments was able to spread throughout the Dharma realm. ” Miao-lé

Shutei Hoyo Shiki, page 400

There is no distinction between you and the Dharma. Your practice doesn’t make you into someone else. It doesn’t change who you are. What does happen is that the good or beneficial characteristics of all the Ten Worlds are strengthened so that they rise above the potential negative. In other words, you reveal the greatness that lies within you, the greatness of the Bodhisattva from beneath the ground who has been taught by the Eternal Buddha since the infinite past. You become the living manifestation of the truth of the Lotus Sutra. Now the book that was sitting on the coffee table is not merely a manuscript recorded thousands of years ago, but a living document of today.

The fact that you are not transported to some new magical perfect place with no troubles is a blessing. If that were the case, you would not be in this Sahā world. You would not be able to fulfill the vows of the Bodhisattvas from beneath the ground. And no one would be able to relate to you. You, with all your foibles and imagined shortcomings, are the perfect person for the role you are to play in spreading the Dharma. This, too, is the Middle Way. You are not perfect. You are just who you need to be. Awakening the Myoho Renge Kyo within your life allows all the truth of the Dharma to manifest in your life, allowing you to reveal it to others through your very real experiences.

And in truth, the realm of self, the realm of Buddhas, and the realm of living beings are all one. There is no distinction in terms of the True Dharma of the Myoho Renge Ryo. There is no you to be cast off. There is no Buddha to be taken on. There is only the one, fully awakened through your Namu, at one with Myoho Renge Kyo.

We have these images of the Buddha sitting under a tree, and we think that’s all we need to do. But that’s only part of the story. Yes, the Buddha attained enlightenment or awakening, but only after defeating Mara. I believe that one of the toughest battles the Buddha waged against Mara was doubt.

The Buddha doubted he could teach people. Mara tempted him by playing to those doubts, first creating them and expanding them, and then by offering alternatives. Had the Buddha not gotten up from beneath the tree and gone to teach the Four Noble Truths, whatever awakening that was achieved would have meant nothing. The awakening would have died right there, and Mara would have won. The image for us to hold on to is not of the Buddha sitting under the tree. The image of the Buddha we should hold on to is a man who got up and walked. He walked wherever he could, and he taught whomever he could. He did not rest. Sitting under the tree is a misrepresentation of the Buddha and Buddhism. Buddhism requires you to participate, and to participate with your entire life. The more of your life that participates the more Myoho Renge Kyo will manifest because of your Namu.

When one fixes [the mind] on the Dharma-realm [as it is], then there is not a single sight nor smell that is not the Middle Way. The same goes for the realm of self, the realm of Buddha, and the realm of living beings ” Grand Master Miao-lé

Shutei Hoyo Shiki, page 399

As our Namu more fully awakens our Myoho Renge Kyo and our lives manifest the fullness and truth of the Dharma, there is no distinction or separation of self and Myoho Renge Kyo. Every bit of our lives and our experiences of life more and more take on all the truth and beauty of the Lotus Sutra.

The cool thing is that as you, the subject, and Myoho Renge Kyo, the object, become more unified, you begin to experience your world differently. You begin to smell the flavor and scent of Myoho Renge Kyo. It’s everywhere, and it’s very pleasing, sort of like Christmas cookies. The tastes, the sights, the sensations, everything and everywhere is Myoho Renge Kyo. What’s even cooler is that it was always there, you just couldn’t see it, feel it, smell it, or sense it. You aren’t transported anywhere. You stay where you are, but your eyes are opened. You become awakened.

Our devotion and the devotional phrase are a two-part deal. One part is Myoho Renge Kyo, which we all know is the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Flower Sutra. Picture this as a book. The book, Myoho Renge Kyo, is sitting on the coffee table or perhaps on a bookshelf. You are on the sofa, all nice and comfy. You are Namu.

At this point you can see there is a separation between you, the subject, and the book, the object. But if you go over to the bookshelf and pick up the book and hold it and begin to read it, you and the book are connecting. Now Namu is appended to Myoho Renge Kyo. Mind you, this is only an illustration.

At this point you are more connected holding the book or holding it and reading than when you were in one place and it was in another. Suppose as you read it you become emotionally involved in some part of the sutra. Say you’re reading about this huge assembly of people watching the Buddha sit in meditation, and you are curious about this scene you’re reading. Now you are even more connected. You, Namu, have come closer to the Myoho Renge Kyo. You are nearing an experience of oneness of subject and object.

Now let’s say you’re reading the sutra and you come to the guy whose children are playing inside a dilapidated house that has burst into flame. You might be a parent yourself, and you imagine what you might feel if they were your children. At this point, you have entered the Lotus Sutra even more deeply and your Namu is even more at one with the Myoho Renge Kyo. You are closer to the unification of subject and object. You are not simply becoming the Lotus Sutra, you are beginning to feel the Lotus Sutra that is fundamentally at the core of your life.

Further along you read about some folks who pop up out of the ground and have wondrous bodies. Out of the ground they come, and they keep coming in what appears to be an impossible number. And you may realize that you too came from the earth, and you too have a desire to go to and praise the Buddha just as they did. You also realize that you have been trying to tell people about the Lotus Sutra just as they promised they would. And you begin to think you are acting as they did and fulfilling the promise they made.

You, the Namu, are now even more deeply connected to the Myoho Renge Kyo, but now it is not the book you’re holding but something deeper inside you. Perhaps it makes you feel warm, or even giddy at times. Or perhaps you simply feel at home. You may feel it’s just right; it fits. Now you begin to experience the connection of you and your Myoho Renge Kyo, which has been activated by your Namu.

Namu is you. It is your action. Namu is from the word Namaste. Namaste means devotion, reverence, respect. Namu and Namaste are action words. Being passive is not Namu. The more your devotion, your honoring, your behaviors, your thoughts, your every sense is directed to Myoho Renge Kyo, the more the Myoho Renge Kyo of your life is activated and the more of your environment becomes Myoho Renge Kyo. But you are the key. Myoho Renge Kyo is there, it always has been, it takes you to activate it. Buddhism is not a passive religion.

The Odaimoku we chant contains all the Dharmas of all the Buddhas from all the realms of the universe and manifests all the pure Buddha Worlds of Tranquil Light. They are all manifest in your life through the sound of your voice chanting the Odaimoku.

“…When we contemplate the Original Buddha with every thought and chant the wondrous name with every utterance, the inconceivable power of the wondrous name and the wondrous entity manifest itself. All delusions will be eliminated, and all merits will be achieved. Dedicate this merit so it will spread to the entire Dharma-realm and benefit all sentient beings in the depths of their minds so that they will attain the merit of the Buddha of inherent existence.”

Shutei Hoyo Shiki, Udana-in Nichiki, page 398

Our practice should be a joyful expression of our fortune to have been introduced to the Lotus Sutra. At first I know it is hard to find that joy, your legs ache, your running out of time, and you can’t seem to get the words correct. Try though to do your best, and let perfection go.

The Ten Worlds are mutually possessed in the Odaimoku, and each of these Ten Worlds mutually possess all Ten Worlds. All the virtues of each of the 100 Worlds thus derived are infused in the Odaimoku and thus we receive the merit of those virtues. Our chanting helps to restore the imbalances in our lives, smoothing out the rough patches. Perhaps we’ve had a bad day, and we have over exercised our world of Anger. We become out-of-harmony and our world appears as an angry place. Perhaps we have become musclebound by using Anger so much. To restore balance, we need not only to be less angry, but we need to strengthen the virtues of the other worlds.

Perhaps the problem is Hunger. I’m writing this on the sales weekend following the US Thanksgiving holiday. This is a time of heavy promotion to buy stuff. All sorts of emails have been flooding my inbox with solicitations to purchase things with supposedly special sales and discount coupons. It can be tough to keep Hunger in its proper perspective. Each of the Ten Worlds can present a problem if out of balance.

When we chant Odaimoku in front of the Gohonzon, it is these things we are advised to contemplate balance in our living, and calm and clear seas in our mind.

Think about the Odaimoku manifesting in our minds and hold the image of that Odaimoku as a great ocean. There are numerous waves, and they are formed due to a variety of causes. Some waves are the result of the gravitational pull of the moon. Various winds also cause waves. Further causes for waves are the geographic formations beneath the surface of the ocean.

Consider your mind and what sorts of waves are being created by your thoughts. In my case, my thoughts sometimes create those huge tropical storm waves and storm surge. You may, however, never make such waves. Your waves may be the gentle ones formed by gentle thoughts. Sometimes my ocean is calm and at other times it can be extremely stormy and hazardous to any ships or surfers. Other times I might get lucky and create the perfect surfing wave, and I’m imagining