The Buddha is saying in the Simile of Herbs that all along – even as he was teaching appropriate to Sravakas, Pratyekabuddhas, and Bodhisattvas – he was in essence teaching in a way that was preparing for the Lotus Sutra. These initial teachings are all part of the Lotus Sutra. That is why it is important that people not come to a conclusion that the Lotus Sutra replaces or does away with the previous teachings of the Buddha. We have to think of the teachings as being on a continuum that is leading to the ultimate truth revealed by the Buddha in the Lotus Sutra.

The Buddha all along was teaching the same Dharma but he did so according to the capacity of the people he was teaching.

As people take faith in the Lotus Sutra initially there is limited capacity for understanding. As time goes on and our capacity for understanding and incorporating the teachings in our lives increases, then we are able to see even deeper into the Dharma.

There are some who may come to activities, perhaps frequently, but then the rest of their life is preoccupied with other things and so do not practice or follow Buddhism. There may be religious experience, but there is not fundamental embracing and manifesting in life of religious action. We could say they only have a nominal belief in Buddhism. It is worth our while to frequently reflect on our day-to-day actions and see how deeply our religious belief extends into our lives. Perhaps it is deep or perhaps it is shallow; honesty is the place where it can begin to change.

What the Buddha is trying to teach us in the Parable of the Rich Man and His Poor Son is that we all are inherently capable and endowed with the capacity to become enlightened and inherit the great fortune of all Buddhas. It isn’t about standing along side and comparing our life to the life of some other, but about being awakened to our own potential and recognizing the potential in others as being unique and yet the same.

In the Parable of the Rich Man and His Poor Son the son and the father are disconnected from each other. The son does not realize connection is possible and so does not seek it. The father though, does realize alienation or disconnection or separation from his son. The alienation becomes most strong when the poor son is directly confronted by the great wealth of the father. We may find this occurs in our own lives, we may feel most distant from enlightenment when we compare our lives to the lives of others.

In a way comparisons are a form of ensuring alienation endures.

Buddhism is in many ways constantly repeating this personal Odyssey, our Buddhist Odyssey, over and over again but with an ever-upward spiral. Sometimes we may be tempted to stop or slack off, or to run and hide, or to only sample briefly the joy of enlightenment. But the Buddha is always there, as we learn later on in Chapter XVI. The Buddha, through the teachings of the Lotus Sutra is ever present guiding and encouraging us until we are able to fully inherit the great metaphorical wealth of enlightenment. Because of the ever existing eternal and universal nature of Buddha and the fact of our inherent Buddha nature, our journey is not from one point in time such as past to present on to future, but a journey out of time or one that really transcends time and space.

It is our practice of chanting the Sacred Title, or Odaimoku, that slowly allows us to build up our lives. We begin to walk a path; we begin to take our journey towards the possibility of attaining the enlightened life promised to us by the Buddha.

Each of us is making a journey through life from birth to death, which is a fact of our existence. We are not sure of the length of that journey or the path it will take, but we do know for a fact the destination. We are unable to change the ultimate destination, and we may only be able to minimally impact the length of the journey. Buddhism gives us a way to take control of the single remaining element in this journey we can change and that is the path our journey takes us.

The wealth of the man in the Parable of the Rich Man and His Poor Son may be presented in terms of money, gems, and land – in other words material possessions – but remember the wealthy man was not happy until he was able to reconnect with his son, was able to raise his son’s life condition, and finally was able to pass on his fortune. The idea of connection, elevation, and transfer are important concepts for us to keep in mind more so than focusing on the accumulation of material possessions.

If what we do in life does not encourage or enhance connections then it is doubtful we could effectively carry out the mission of being a Bodhisattva. Without connections with others we will not be able to cause them to elevate their life conditions nor will we really be able to teach them Buddhism. The treasure that we really gain from practicing Buddhism is the indestructible joy that arises from the depth of our life and is not dependent upon outside circumstances. Our greatest joy though I believe ultimately comes from “sharing that wealth” with others through establishing a bond with them and then showing through the example of our own life how to practice Buddhism and make the necessary changes.