In the Lotus Sutra, we often see the sentence, “You should keep, read, recite, expound, and copy this Sutra.” These activities are called the Five Kinds of Practice for a Teacher of the Dharma. To keep the Sutra is to steadily accept and uphold the Lotus Sutra in one’s mind. To read the sutra means to peruse the Sutra and read it. To recite the Sutra means to recite it or portions of it by heart. To expound the Sutra means to interpret it and teach it to others. To copy the Sutra means to copy it by hand. Practitioners of the Lotus Sutra should undertake these five practices. They have two aspects: practice for one’s self and practice for others. [Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma] says that persons who endeavor to practice the Five Kinds of Practice will be rewarded with splendid merits of their six sense-organs of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Sakyamuni explains this to a great Bodhisattva by the name of Constant-Endeavor.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraCategory Archives: LS Introduction
Moments of Joy
In the previous chapter, “Variety of Merits,” the teaching called the Five Stages of the Future was presented. The five stages consisted of joyful acceptance of the Sutra, reading it and reciting it, passing it on to others, practicing the Six Perfections, and mastering the Six Perfections. The first of these was joy. In this chapter, joy appears once again. It speaks about the joy which one experiences upon grasping for the first time the significance of the Sutra. That moment of joy is decisive for one’s faith, and has an immeasurable impact on all one’s future activities. This is the main point of this chapter.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraFour Faiths and the Five Stages
Sakyamuni Buddha continues teaching Maitreya about benefits which one can obtain after hearing the chapter, “The Duration of the Life of the Tathagata.” He explains how practitioners of the Dharma, even those who have just begun to practice, should believe and accept this Sutra, and what merits they will obtain. This is called the “Four Faiths in the Present and the Five Stages in the Future,” or the “Four Faiths and the Five Stages,” and has long been considered an important teaching. “The present” means the present then, when Sakyamuni was in this world, and not our present today. At that time, there were four stages in the ideal method of faith and practice for his disciples. “The future” means after Sakyamuni has passed away, which is to say, our present and future. Now there are five levels or stages for practitioners of the Lotus Sutra. The names, “four faiths and five stages,” are not found in the Sutra itself. Great Master Chih-i discerned them in this chapter, named them, and spoke about them in his book, The Words of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law. His analysis has stood the test of time, and we should examine it further.
Introduction to the Lotus Sutra
The Deepest Desire of the Buddha
I am always thinking:
How can I cause all living beings
To enter the supreme way
And quickly become Buddhas?
These are the final words of the verses of eternity. The verses themselves are a summary of the entire chapter. These final words represent the deepest desire of the Buddha: his innermost heart of compassion. Ordinary people see the world as a defiled land, but the Buddha leads such people and saves them from the agonies of defilement, transforming their concept of reality as a lotus rises above the muddy water. And just as the Buddha’s lifespan is eternal, so also is his yearning to save all beings from sufferings. “I am always thinking” is his eternal wish. “The supreme way” is perfect enlightenment, and that means the same enlightenment which he himself enjoys—the enlightenment of a Buddha, which is to say, omniscience and its accompanying omnipotence. He concludes by desiring that all of us “quickly become Buddhas,” and attain this highest state for ourselves.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraFour Kinds of Peaceful Practices
“Peaceful practices” designates ways to preach and spread the Sutra while keeping your body and mind relaxed and peaceful. The chapter discusses four kinds of peaceful practices: those of body, mouth, mind, and resolution (vows).
Introduction to the Lotus SutraPeaceful Practices of the Body
This means acting always with restraint. The Buddha divides these peaceful practices into two parts: “performing proper practices” and “approaching proper things. ”
The first means doing good deeds. Bodhisattvas should always practice the virtue of patience, be mild and gentle, and see things as they truly are.
The second, “approach proper things,” indicates how a Bodhisattva should relate to people—that is, his sphere of associations. The Sutra delineates ten points:
The Bodhisattva should always be willing to teach such people if they ask him, but he should not seek them out or ask for any payment from them. He or she should take pleasure in meditation and, in a quiet place, practice to control the mind (p. 211).
This is the first way to approach proper things. The Buddha also teaches a second way to approach proper things: the Bodhisattva should understand that all things are insubstantial, inexplicable, formless, not born, and without property. “Things can exist only by dependent origination” (p. 212).
Introduction to the Lotus SutraEncouragement for Keeping This Sutra
“Encouragement for Keeping This Sutra” means encouraging people to uphold it in spite of certain difficulties. It also implies effort and patience. In Chapter Eleven, “Beholding the Stupa of Treasures,” Sakyamuni called out to the crowd from the Stupa of Treasures, “Is there anyone here who is willing to expound the Lotus Sutra in this Saha-world (“World of Endurance”) after my death, and overcome all difficulties? If there is, I will transmit the Sutra to that person.” Responding to his words, many bodhisattvas promised to spread the Sutra in the evil world after the Buddha’s extinction, and they spoke about their resolution. This is the theme of this chapter.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraUnification of the One Buddha Śākyamuni
[T]he Sutra says that innumerable Buddhas or duplicates of Śākyamuni in the worlds of the ten directions were assembled in one place. Each of the duplicates can be seen as a manifestation of Śākyamuni himself, who took the forms of other Buddhas in order to expound the Dharma in other worlds. Now they were all assembled in one place, meaning that all the Buddhas throughout space were unified at that moment by the one Buddha Śākyamuni.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraOne Single Entity
Let us go back for a moment to the Stupa of Treasures. Ordinarily a Stupa is a mausoleum where the relics (ashes) of Sakyamuni are enshrined. Once Sakyamuni is extinct, living beings can worship him only in his relics. The Sutra says that Many-Treasures Buddha will appear whenever and wherever the Lotus Sutra is expounded. This means that the living Sakyamuni, represented by his relics, and the Lotus Sutra are united as one single entity.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraThe Most Profound of All Sutras
Sakyamuni’s words about the teachers of the Dharma being “messengers of the Buddha” clearly state the significance of their roles. He now goes on to explain this matter in more detail:
I have expounded many sutras (in the past). I am now expounding this Sutra (in the present). I will also expound many more sutras (in the future). The total number of these sutras is countless. This Lotus Sutra is the most difficult of all of them to understand and believe. This Sutra is the store of the hidden core of all the Buddhas; it is the greatest sutra ever expounded. Because it is so difficult to understand, many people despise it even now during my lifetime. Needless to say, many other people will hate it all the more after my extinction
The Lotus Sutra is now declared to be the most profound of all the sutras. Because of its profundity, it is difficult for ordinary people to believe and understand. If after the Buddha’s extinction, the teachers of the Dharma expound this most profound of all sutras, they are sure to be misunderstood and resented. They may even be persecuted by jealous opponents (for preaching universal salvation and abolishing distinctions between religions). The Sutra will go on to state plainly that teachers of the Dharma can expect the worst from their future audiences.
Introduction to the Lotus Sutra