Sometimes I’ll use the idea of Magic City as an explanation to the benefits we see in our lives as a result of our practice. As humans we naturally have difficulties arise in our lives that we wish to address. Sometimes these are material in nature and we achieve our desired goal. Yet all of those benefits are in a sense our Magic City along the path toward our ultimate destination of Buddhahood. They are necessary to our ultimate spiritual development, just as the Magic City was essential to the travelers. The Magic City, though an illusion, actually did provide benefit to the travelers because they could rest and become refreshed. So too the accomplishment of overcoming our difficult circumstances are necessary to our practice, but it is not the final objective.

The fact of death is an illusion, but a necessary one along our path. Imagine if we had no death. If there were not the fact of death I am guessing people would value life even less than many appear to do so now. Yet, death is an illusion to the fact of the eternity of life and the eternity of Buddhahood. I like to say that death keeps us honest. If it weren’t for death we may not work to change our lives or at least not in any highly motivated way. Death is the constant reminder of the necessity of working toward manifesting our own enlightenment.

I think the parable of the Magic City is fascinating because it presents us with the opportunity to examine the concept of illusions. The Magic City was an illusion for the travelers, a necessary illusion, which when its value had been realized it ceased to exist. So in that case it becomes substantial and then ceases to exist. When we think about what we learn later in Chapter XVI about the Buddha not really dying and not really leaving the world we have the illusion being the thing we no longer see. Hopefully that makes some sense. Let me state it again: The Buddha not being in this world is the illusion, the reality is that he is always present; Buddhahood is always present, though it seems to have disappeared, so the absence is the illusion.

Nirvana is taught as an awakening in which illusions and karma that lead to rebirth are extinguished. It is a goal along the path to the ultimate goal of becoming a Buddha. Looking at the predictions given to the contemporary disciples of the Buddha we see that the ultimate prediction given to them is not Nirvana but the attainment of Buddhahood in distant worlds; they become Buddhas. In Chapter XVI we learn that the Buddha does not leave the world, that leaving the world in death is only an illusion. Nirvana is not the final goal, but it is one goal along the continuing path to Buddhahood.

It would be a mistake to think that Nirvana is unimportant. It would be easy to think the Magic City served little or no purpose since it was not the final objective and it was only temporary. However we should also consider that without the Magic City the travelers would not have continued on their journey and instead would have turned back. So too with Nirvana, it is integral to our complete practice. The Magic City may not have been the destination but it was an integral part of the journey.

In the Parable of the Magic City, the Buddha continues with his message explaining that all he had taught before the Lotus Sutra was only designed to get folks to the place where they would be able to understand and follow the Lotus Sutra. Because the Lotus Sutra is being taught the other teachings are not invaluable, nor are they to be discarded.

The teachings of Nirvana are not the final objective of Buddhist practice; it can be compared to the magic city the guide conjured in the Parable of the Magic City. If the Buddha had not taught Nirvana and instead opened his teaching career with the Lotus Sutra then people would have thought it was impossible and not have made the effort. The Buddha knew the road to the enlightenment equal to all Buddhas is a long and difficult path and he knew that the people of his time, his disciples, would not be able to complete the journey if he had started with that as the objective. As it is, even in their own lifetime his disciples could not attain enlightenment, they are only able to attain this after several lifetimes and only in places other than this Saha World.

Concerning the Simile of the Herbs, it should be pointed out that all the plants live in harmony with each other. They are grouped together, even as they each grew according to their unique nature. Some would grow near mountains, some near the river, some in between. Yet they all grew together. Over and over in the Lotus Sutra the Buddha either refers to groups of people, alludes to groups of people or addresses groups of people. Even when he addresses specific individuals he does so as representatives for people of similar capacities. We each are important to the greater whole that makes up the entire universe as well as our local Sangha. Every person brings a unique perspective and understanding to the practice of Buddhism. The entire Sangha grows stronger by the contributions of each person, just as society is made stronger when all people actively participate.

It takes the combined efforts of many people to ensure that our society reflects the ideas and beliefs of Buddhism, which in turn will help eliminate the suffering that is around us in the world today.

I would like to remind you there are the Three Jewels in Buddhism of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. The Buddha and the Dharma are usually easy for people to respect and cherish. It is frequently the jewel of the Sangha that seems less important to some. I believe this is a great mistake and deprives us of tremendous benefit, if we choose to ignore the community of practitioners. If we think Buddhism is a solitary practice then I think we are missing many of the messages the Buddha tells us.

In the Simile of the Herbs, the Dharma rain is falling everywhere, not in only certain places. This place where you practice is the perfect place for your enlightenment. Moving is not the solution, unless you are referring to moving your own life and awakening the inner potential of Buddha within your life. As your life begins to manifest the characteristics of Buddha then your land, your environment will begin to also look like the Buddha’s perfect pure land. You have inherently within your life all the necessary abilities to change your land and your life to one of enlightenment. It is simply a matter of illuminating your life with the Lotus Sutra, or as this parable teaches, water and nourish yourself with the wonderful rain of the Lotus Sutra.

Another thing we can learn from the Simile of the Herbs is the notion that the Dharma is present everywhere. There is not a special place to attain enlightenment. The plants did not have to move or change location to benefit from the nourishing rain from the cloud. So too, we do not need to be in a different location, have a different set of neighbors, change jobs, or have different families, or even government. None of those things are factors in determining our ability to practice and receive benefit from the Lotus Sutra. The only limiting factor in our attaining enlightenment is simply our own self. If when you look around your life and you see some place that is not the land of the Buddha, it is simply because you are not viewing your life with the eyes of the Buddha. In other words if where you are is not the Buddha land then there is no Buddha present.