Introduction to the Lotus Sutra[I]t would be a serious mistake to take the teaching of the “attainment of Buddhahood in this life” as meaning we can attain enlightenment without any effort. Even if we believe strongly in a religion, we must still practice it and apply its principles to our life. But by the power of their faith, ordinary people can attain the power of the Buddha without first completing difficult studies and practicing for eons and eons. This is what is meant by the “attainment of Buddhahood in this very life” [in Chapter 12, Devadatta.]
Category Archives: LS Introduction
800 Years: Only When We Believe
Introduction to the Lotus SutraIn this story [in Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata], the physician, the children’s father, is compared to the Buddha, and the children are like us, ordinary people. The father’s fictitious death is like the Buddha’s entrance into Nirvana. The children suffering from poison means that our life is afflicted by various worldly desires, the most basic of which are called the “three poisons” (greed, anger, and ignorance). We who writhe in agony but reject the Buddha’s eternal existence, are like delirious children. Only when he has left us, and we have found no other remedy, will we accept the remedy which he has left behind for us to take. And only after we have taken it in faith, does he reveal himself to us in his glorious reality.
We can comprehend this as a theory, or understand in our minds what is meant by the Eternal Buddha, but still not have faith in him. We can understand Buddhism, but still not realize its power. Only when we believe in him, can we actually see the Buddha.
800 Years: Joy
Introduction to the Lotus SutraIn the … 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, [The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra] 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.
800 Years: The Benefits of Understanding by Faith
Introduction to the Lotus SutraSakyamuni describes the great merit to be gained from taking the first step, “Understanding by Faith in a Single Moment’s Thought.” He says that the merits which Bodhisattvas gain by practicing the five perfections (Paramitas), which consist of generosity, morality, patience, effort, and meditation, are indeed great. However, when compared to the benefits of Understanding by Faith in a Single Moment’s Thought, all those merits are not equal to a hundredth, a thousandth, a hundred thousand myriadth of a koti of the merits for Understanding by Faith in a Single Moment’s Thought. These five perfections are the same as the well-known “Six Perfections,” minus the sixth and culminating one, the Perfection of Wisdom. To have faith in a single moment’s thought when hearing the Buddha’s deepest teaching, even if it is just a tiny bit, is an incomparably precious venture of the heart. Its merit is equal to that of the Perfection Of Wisdom (which it achieves at one stroke). It is equal to the wisdom of the Buddha.
800 Years: The Requirement of Faith
Introduction to the Lotus SutraSakyamuni begins [Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata,] by appealing three times for his listeners to “understand my sincere and infallible words by faith.” To this appeal, all the Bodhisattvas headed by Maitreya responded each time, “World-Honored One, tell us! We will receive your words by faith.” Then Sakyamuni replied, “Listen to me attentively! I will reveal to you my hidden core and supernatural powers” (p. 241).
Here “hidden core” means his deepest innermost self, and “supernatural powers” are actions outflowing from that hidden core.
800 Years: Seeing the Real Figure of the Buddha
Introduction to the Lotus Sutra[W]e can see the real figure of the Buddha when we devote ourselves to him in faith. We can attain this faithful state when we devote both our body and our soul to the Buddha and become unselfish. In other words, we reach a state in which our hearts are completely honest and gentle, and we leave all our cares in the hands of the Buddha. A simple fervent feeling of entrusting one’s life to the Buddha is the essence of faith. In the words of [Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata], we “wish to see (him) with all our hearts, and at the cost of our lives.”
800 Years: Four Faiths and the Five Stages
Introduction to the Lotus SutraSakyamuni 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.
800 Years: The Mental Attitude of Accepting Faith
Introduction to the Lotus Sutra[W]hy is Chapter Four called “Understanding by Faith?” This refers to the mental attitude of accepting faith. Faith appears in an honest heart. Neither logic nor reason can awaken faith in us. Faith grows beyond reason when we encounter someone beyond our capacities, or when we unexpectedly touch something absolute in our lives or in the cosmos. In Chapter Three, the sutra maintains, “They will be able to follow this sutra only because they believe my words, not because of their own wisdom.”
800 Years: The Four Faiths
Introduction to the Lotus SutraThe Four Faiths in the Present mean four steps of belief: Understanding by Faith in a Single Moment’s Thought, Understanding the Meaning, Disseminating it to Others, and Entering into Deep Faith.
- 1. Understanding by Faith in a Single Moment’s Thought
- As a first step, if anyone opens the heart in faith and understands the gist of the Sutra, even for just a moment, his or her happiness and virtue will be everlasting (p. 254-255
- 2. Understanding the Meaning
- In the next step, one becomes clearly aware of the inner meaning of the Sutra.
- 3. Disseminating it to Others
- In the third step, one’s practice makes further progress. The practitioner upholds and copies the Lotus Sutra, not only for personal satisfaction, but also for the sake of others, expounding it to them, and having them copy it, too, or make offerings to it (p. 257).
- 4. Entering into Deep Faith
- At the fourth step, the practitioner mentally sees clearly the figure of the Original Buddha and his Pure Land and is able to enter into the state of deep faith, thanks to the teaching of the “Duration of the Life of the Tathagata” (p. 258).
The Exemplar of the Bodhisattva-ideal
The perfect Bodhisattva shares the same heart with the Buddha, helping and saving countless humans and nonhumans by whatever means necessary for the occasion. [In Chapter 25, The Universal Gate of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva,] Avalokitesvara, World-Voice-Perceiver, is the exemplar of the Bodhisattva-ideal.
Introduction to the Lotus Sutra