The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p50Parables are metaphorical; they are analogies, but never perfect ones. This parable provides an image of four separate vehicles. But if we follow the teaching of the Sutra as a whole, the One Buddha Vehicle is not a separate alternative to other ways; it includes them. Thus, one limitation of this parable is that it suggests that the diverse ways (represented by the three lesser carriages) can be replaced by the One Way (the great carriage). But the overall teaching of the Sutra makes it plain that there are many paths within the Great Path, and the Great Path integrates them all. They are together because they are within the One Vehicle. To understand the many ways as somehow being replaced by the One Way would entail rejecting the ideal of the bodhisattva way (the third carriage), which the Sutra clearly never does.
Category Archives: stories
An Ultimately Real World
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p12-13The stories in the Dharma Flower Sutra, or at least many of them, are so fantastic, so imaginative, so unlike anything we have experienced, that they cannot possibly be taken for history or descriptions of factual matters, or stories about actual historical events. The reader of the Dharma Flower Sutra knows from the very first chapter that he or she has entered an imaginary world quite different from what we ordinarily perceive. And if the stories are successful, the reader will come to understand that he or she is empowered to perform miracles by them.
That this setting is in the actual world, on earth, is very important for the Lotus Sutra. In it there is explicit rejection of forms of idealism – exemplified for instance by Platonism – in which actual things are only poor reflections of some other, ideal reality. In Buddhism, idealism sometimes takes the form of a “two-truth theory” according to which there is a conventional world of appearance or phenomena and an absolute world of reality or truth. For the Dharma Flower Sutra, however, this world, the world of things, is an ultimately real world. This is the world in which Shakyamuni Buddha lives, both historically and in the present. This is the world in which countless bodhisattvas emerge from below to indicate the importance of bodhisattvas of this world taking care of this world. This is the world to which buddhas and bodhisattvas from all over the universe come to witness the teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha. This is the world in which all human beings are offered a special opportunity to be bodhisattvas and practice the Buddha Way, the way by which we too can be buddhas, buddhas right here on earth in the midst of the world’s suffering, including our own.
You Can Too
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p4-5All of these stories [of the Lotus Sutra] essentially say to the hearer or reader, “you too.”
If shravakas and evil monks and little girls can become buddhas, so can you. And the teaching that buddha-nature is universal, a teaching not explicitly presented but strongly implied in the Lotus Sutra, does the same thing. It basically says that there are no exceptions to having buddha-nature; therefore you cannot make an exception of yourself.
That, I think, is the core purpose of the Lotus Sutra, not merely the abstract notion of universal awakening, but the always-present possibility and power of awakening, which is a kind of flowering, in each one of us.
The Buddha says to Shariputra in Chapter 3 of the Lotus Sutra, “Did I not tell you before that when the buddhas, the world-honored ones, by using causal explanations, parables, and other kinds of expression, teach the Dharma by skillful means, it is all for the purpose of supreme awakening? All these teachings are for the purpose of transforming people into bodhisattvas.” (LS 112)
These stories, then, are instruments, skillful means, to help us see and embrace what we might not otherwise see or appreciate – the potential and power in each of us to take up the way of the bodhisattva, which is to become supremely awakened, which is to become a buddha.
Buddha of All Worlds and the Sutra of All Time
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p42Manjushri Bodhisattva’s story about Sun and Moon Light Buddha indicates not only that the Buddha is the Buddha of all worlds, but also that the Dharma Flower Sutra itself is not something devised a few centuries ago. It too is in all time, at least in the sense that it teaches timeless truths. Thus the books we have called “The Lotus Sutra” and the like, whether in Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, French, or English, are at best representations or exhibits of the Sutra itself. Such pages of text, on wood or palm leaf or paper, are embodiments of the Sutra. This does not mean, however, that the Lotus Sutra itself is in any way more real than the concrete embodiments. Rather, it is only in such concrete embodiments – not only in printed texts, but also in recitation, in teaching, and in practicing it – that the Sutra lives.
The Lotus Sutra’s World of Enchantment
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p11-12A Chinese/Japanese term often used for “introduction” is more literally “entrance gateway.” And while that is not what the first chapter of the Lotus Sutra is called, that is exactly what it is. It is a gateway through which one can enter a new and mysterious world, an enchanting world – a world of the imagination.
The setting, the opening scene, is on Holy Eagle Peak. This Holy Eagle Peak is not off somewhere in another world. It is a real place on a mountain in northeast India. I was there a few years ago. But as well as being an actual, physical, and historical place, the Holy Eagle Peak of the Dharma Flower Sutra is a mythical place.
The place we visited, the geographical place, is like a ledge set on a steep mountainside, perhaps three-fourths of the way up the mountain. Above and below it, the mountain is both steep and rough, not the kind of place where anyone could sit and listen to a sermon or lecture. And the ledge itself would not hold more than three dozen or so people at a time.
In the Sutra this little place is populated by a huge assembly, with thousands of monks and nuns and laypeople, eighty thousand bodhisattvas, and a large number of gods, god-kings (including Indra, King of the Gods), dragon kings, chimera kings, Centaur kings, ashura kings, griffin kings, satyrs, pythons, minor kings, and holy wheel-rolling kings. Already, just from the listing of such a population, and there is more, we know we have entered a realm that is special, even magical.
We do not know much about the Indian origins of the Lotus Sutra, but we can be reasonably confident that it was produced in northern India by monks, and it is very likely that many of its first hearers and readers would have known perfectly well that Holy Eagle Peak was in actuality much too small for the kind of assembly described at the beginning of Chapter 1. We are to understand from the very beginning, in other words, that this is a story, not a precise description of historical events, but a mythical account of historical events. It is meant not just for our knowledge, but for our participation. It invites us to use our own imagination to participate in the Sutra’s world of enchantment.
Ecumenical Buddhism
While I struggle with Gene Reeves and Risshō Kōsei Kai’s doctrine of Interfaith Truth, I have no real problem with the idea that the ocean of the Lotus Sutra contains all of the rivers of Buddhist thought.
As Reeves states in his discussion of Chapter 22, Transmission, in his Stories of the Lotus Sutra:
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p235-236As the Dharma Flower Sutra often praises itself and asserts its own excellence or superiority, it is very important to notice that in [Chapter 22, Transmission], which entrusts the teaching to bodhisattvas, the Buddha says that if in the future there are people who cannot have faith in or accept the Dharma Flower Sutra, other profound teachings of the Buddha should be used in order to teach the Dharma Flower Sutra. In other words, the teachings of the Lotus Sutra are not only in the text called the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, they are also to be found in all of the profound teachings of the Buddha found in numerous sutras. By clinging too strongly to the text and words that we call the Dharma Flower Sutra, we may limit our ability to spread the teachings of the Sutra, the teachings that comprise the “real” Dharma Flower Sutra.
Later in the same chapter he expands on the need for a “generous attitude” when expounding the Lotus Sutra.
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p237-239It is common for people who are enthusiastic about something to want to protect it by preserving it just as it is and by taking pleasure in making it difficult for it to be understood or appreciated by the uninitiated. Being inflexible about how a text is to be translated and expressed, insisting, for example, on using unfamiliar Sanskrit terms or quaint English expressions, may make it very difficult for others to enter a particular circle of understanding and appropriation. In such ways we may be establishing an in-group/out-group situation in which we are on the inside, in some way perhaps protected from what is outside. Traditionally, secret religious doctrines or ceremonies often functioned in this way.
Perhaps this kind of group bonding through special, esoteric language is necessary to some degree. Certainly it is very common among religious groups. But when it means that the Dharma Flower Sutra, which entrusts us to spread it everywhere, is not taught generously to others, we fail to fulfill the commission of the Buddha.
I believe that teaching generously should mean that we share the Sutra in whatever ways are most appropriate to the intended audience, always, of course, within the real limits of our abilities. While it might be nice if everyone learned enough Chinese to be able to read Kumarajiva’s Chinese version of the Lotus Sutra, this is neither necessary nor necessarily desirable. It is good, I believe, that we have versions of the Dharma Flower Sutra that make it more intelligible to Japanese people, and it is good that there are English versions that make it more available to English-speaking people. This is not merely a matter of translation into other languages; it is important that the Sutra be rendered in ways that make it as understandable as possible.
This kind of generosity, a generosity in which one tries to understand and appreciate the linguistic and cultural situation of others, a generosity in which we do not insist that our own way of expressing something in the Sutra is the only good way, this kind of generosity is what the Sutra expects of those who are its genuine followers.
If we do not approach teaching the Sutra with such a generous attitude we will, I fear, fall into one more version of “merely formal Dharma.” In other words, we will be going through the motions of teaching and practicing, but very few will be deeply moved by such teaching. This kind of failure to be generous is largely unconscious, making it difficult, but not impossible, to detect and overcome. But another problem often stands in the way of our being generous in teaching: Often we are all too conscious of it, making it difficult to overcome. This is manifest in reticence or shyness in speaking and teaching.
For me this is all underscored in Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices:
A Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who wishes to expound this sūtra in the age of the decline of the teachings after my extinction should perform the following peaceful practices. When he expounds or reads this sūtra, he should not point out the faults of other persons or sūtras. He should not despise other teachers of the Dharma. He should not speak of the good points or bad points or the merits or demerits of others. He should not mention Śrāvakas by name when he blames them. Nor should he do so when he praises them. He should not have hostile feelings against them or dislike them. He should have this peace of mind so that he may not act against the wishes of the hearers. When he is asked questions, he should not answer by the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle, but expound the Dharma only by the teachings of the Great Vehicle so that the questioners may be able to obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things.”
And again later:
“Again, Mañjuśrī! A Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who wishes to keep, read and recite this sūtra in the latter days after [my extinction] when the teachings are about to be destroyed, should not nurse jealousy against others, or flatter or deceive them. He should not despise those who study the Way to Buddhahood in any way. He should not speak ill of them or try to point out their faults. Some bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās or upāsikās will seek Śrāvakahood or Pratyekabuddhahood or the Way of Bodhisattvas. He should not disturb or perplex them by saying to them, ‘You are far from enlightenment. You cannot obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things because you are licentious and lazy in seeking enlightenment.’ He should not have fruitless disputes or quarrels about the teachings with others. He should have great compassion towards all living beings. He should look upon all the Tathāgatas as his loving fathers, and upon all the Bodhisattvas as his great teachers. He should bow to all the great Bodhisattvas of the worlds of the ten quarters respectfully and from the bottom of his heart. He should expound the Dharma to all living beings without partiality. He should be obedient to the Dharma. He should not add anything to the Dharma or take away anything from the Dharma. He should not expound more teachings to those who love the Dharma more [than others do].
Yes, Nichiren didn’t appear to be so understanding or tolerant, but this is not 13th century Japan. This is a much different world. As Ryuei McCormick explained in his earlier reply to my inter-faith question, “Nichiren makes it clear that there are countries that are just ignorant and evil and then there are countries that slander. I believe the distinction he is making is between non-Buddhist cultures that need to be persuaded to give ear to the Dharma and learn more about it until they are able to take up the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sutra.”
The Example of Kenji Miyazawa
In Gene Reeves’ Stories of the Lotus Sutra he includes in his discussion of Chapter 1, Introduction, Kenji Miyawaza (1896-1933), the Japanese short story writer.
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p16-18One person who understood well the importance of enchantment was Kenji Miyazawa, the poet, storyteller, science-fiction writer, scientist, and lover of the Lotus Sutra. Chanting Namu Myoho Renge-kyo, he imagined his spirit in boundless space, where he was filled with joy in the great cosmos, and from which he returned to earth, having acquired strength and courage to endure a life of suffering.
Known throughout the Tohoku area of Japan as “Kenji bosatsu” (Kenji the bodhisattva), Miyazawa devoted his whole life to the Dharma Flower Sutra – to practicing the Lotus Sutra, to embodying the Lotus Sutra, to living the Lotus Sutra – for example by helping struggling farmers of Iwate Prefecture with modern agricultural science.
One of his most ambitious works, A Night on the Milky Way Railroad, was turned into a popular animated film and used in various Japanese manga comic books. It is a story about a young boy, Giovanni, and his friend Campanella, who ride a train to the stars together – a celestial railroad, soaring through deep space – experiencing numerous adventures and encountering unusual characters. In the final passages of the story it becomes clear that this night train to the stars that Giovanni and his friend Campanella are riding is actually a ferry for souls traveling to life after death!
In a chapter called “Giovanni’s Ticket,” the conductor asks the passengers for their tickets. Campanella, who is dead from drowning, like the other passengers has a small gray, one-way ticket. Giovanni, who at first is very nervous because he thinks he has no ticket at all, discovers in a pocket a larger folded piece of green paper with mysterious characters written down the center. Examining this ticket, the conductor is astonished, and asks: “Did you get this ticket from three-dimensional space?” Bird-catcher, another passenger, then exclaims:
Wow, this is really something. This ticket will even let you go up to the real heaven. And not just to heaven, it is a pass that enables you to travel anywhere you want. If you have this, in fact, you can travel anywhere on this Milky Way Railway of the imperfect fourth-dimension of fantasy.
Giovanni alone on that train has a magical round-trip pass that enables him to freely travel from the “three-dimensional space” of ordinary reality to anywhere in the “fourth-dimensional space” of the invisible, spiritual, imaginative, and enchanting world that is the Milky Way Railroad.
What is this extraordinary railway ticket that enables one to enter the fourth-dimensional world and then return to the ordinary world? Giovanni’s ticket is the gohonzon (object of worship), or mandala, of Nichiren, with its inscription of the daimoku, the sacred title of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma Sutra: “Namu Myoho Renge-kyo.” The daimoku, as it represents and embodies the Dharma Flower Sutra, provides a connection, a passage as it were, between earth and heaven, between earthly and cosmic perspectives, between science and imagination.
After reading Reeves’ description I purchased a copy of Miyazawa’s Milky Way Railroad and quickly devoured it, wanting to read more about Giovanni’s ticket. I was disappointed to find no mention of a gohonzon, nor Nichiren nor the Lotus Sutra or even any reference to Buddhism. “There were just ten strange characters printed on the ticket against a pattern of black arabesques.” Namu-Myōhō-renge-kyō is written with seven characters. Nichiren is written with two. What was the tenth character if this represented a gohonzon?
Having so narrowly focused my reading I missed the story, and having now read it twice I can imagine – if not understand – how an interfaith view of religion might coexist with a faith in the teaching of the Lotus Sutra: “This ticket will even let you go up to the real heaven. And not just to heaven, it is a pass that enables you to travel anywhere you want.”
The book contains several references to Christian icons.
Suddenly the inside of the car burst into a white glow. A single island came into sight in the midst of the voiceless flow of the gorgeous Milky Way River. And that island cast a halo of white light as if all the splendor of diamonds and the gleaming of grass were concentrated in one place. On the island’s flat summit stood, ah, so vividly, a white cross. Silently, it stood as though hewn out for eternity from the clouds of the frozen North Pole. And it, too, shed a halo of light.
“Alleluia! Alleluia!” Voices rose from all sides. Turning around, Giovanni saw that the passengers (there were quite a number now!) were standing at attention, some holding black Bibles to their breasts, others crystal prayer beads. All of them had their hands reverently clasped. Instinctively, the two boys also rose to their feet. Campanella’s cheeks sparkled like bright red apples.
By and by, the island and the cross passed behind them. Across the way now were cliffs and palely colored smoke which, like the marsh grass drifting in the breeze, now and again veiled the cliffs in silver as if they were breathing. (p.56-57)
There’s even a Catholic nun in a black wimple, “Her eyes were lowered and directed straight before her, as if she were reverently listening for something, for some words or some voice.” (p.58)
For Giovanni, his ticket inspires in him the attitude of a Bodhisattva:
Giovanni now, without knowing why, began to feel a strange, unbearable sympathy for the man next to him. He thought of the bird catcher catching herons, and happily saying, “Ah, that was so good!” and wrapping the birds in white cloth, and looking sideways in amazement at Giovanni’s ticket, and finally exclaiming in surprise at it. As he thought of these things one after another, he was seized with the desire to do something for this stranger of a bird catcher, to give him something to eat, or anything. If it would really make the bird catcher happy, Giovanni was ready to stand on the radiant bank of the Milky Way River catching birds himself, even for a hundred years. He thought to ask, “What is it that you really want?” But that seemed too forward. Wondering how to put it, he looked around. But the bird catcher had vanished.
Miyazawa’s train has many passengers, all of whom we learn – with the exception of Giovanni – have recently drowned. Not all are traveling to the same destination.
“We’ll be arriving at the southern cross soon – get ready to get off,” the young man said to them.
“I’m staying on the train a little longer,” responded Tadashi.
Kaoru stood up uneasily and began to get ready. But she seemed reluctant to part from Giovanni and Campanella.
“We’ve got to get off here,” said the young man, looking down at Tadashi and pressing his lips together.
“I don’t want to! I’m staying on the train and riding some more first.”
Giovanni, unable to bear it, said, “Ride along with us! Our tickets are good for going on forever.”
“But we really must get off now,” said Kaoru sadly. “This is the place for going to Heaven.”
“Who wants to go to Heaven? We have to make a place even better than Heaven right here. That’s what my teacher said.”
“But Mom is up there, and furthermore, God said so Himself.”
“That kind of god is false!”
“Your god is false!”
“He is not!”
“What kind of god is your god?” young man broke in, laughing.
“I’m not sure, really. But … anyway, He’s the one true God,” said Giovanni.
“Of course the true God is the only one.”
“Anyway, my God is that one true God.”
“Well, then, there you are! And I pray that you’ll be meeting us before the true God.” The young man pressed his hands together gravely, and Kaoru, too, was praying.
At that precise moment, in the far distance of the Milky Way’s downstream course, a cross, bejeweled with bright orange and blue lights, appeared, standing shimmering in the midst of the river. Its top was lost in a pale cloud, circular like a halo.
The inside of the train was thrown into commotion as all the passengers (just as they had before at the Northern Cross) stood up and began to pray. On all sides there were cries of joy – cries like those of children picking out gourds for the Milky Way Festival. As the cross gradually came parallel to their window, they saw that the silver cloud, pale like the twirling skin of an apple, was gently, ever so gently, revolving.
“Alleluia! Alleluia!” Brightly and happily the passengers’ voices resounded together. From far off in the distant cold depths of the sky came the clear, bracing, indescribable blast of a trumpet.
The train gradually eased to a full stop directly opposite the cross in a blaze of signal lights and street lamps.
“Well, this is where we get off.” The young man took Tadashi’s hand, and Kaoru, adjusting her coat and straightening her collar, slowly followed them out of the train.
“I guess it’s goodbye!” she said, looking back at Giovanni and Campanella.
“Goodbye!” said Giovanni – gruffly, but in fact he was only struggling to hold back his tears.
Kaoru looked back once more with big sad eyes, and then they were gone. The car, already only half full, abruptly emptied out and was left deserted with the wind blowing about it in gusts. Looking out, the boys could see the passengers lined up, kneeling on the bank of the Milky Way in front of the Cross. They saw a figure robed in solemn whiteness passing over the invisible water of the heavenly river, hand extended toward them.
But then the glass whistle sounded, and, just as the train began to move, a silver fog came flowing softly upstream and their view was blotted out. They could make out only the radiant leaves of many walnut trees standing in the mist, and electric squirrels with gold halos peeping out of the mist with mischievous faces.
Now, soundlessly, the fog rolled away once more. They saw a street, lined with little street lamps, that looked like a highway to somewhere. For some time it ran along beside the track, and as they passed the lights, the boys saw those tiny specks of red flame blink on and off, as if in greeting.
Looking back, they saw that the cross was now incredibly tiny and far away. It looked like something you could hang around your neck. They wondered about Kaoru and Tadashi and the young man. Were they still kneeling on the bank, or had they set out in whatever direction it is that leads to Heaven? But it was so blurry, they couldn’t tell.
Giovanni heaved a deep sigh. “Campanella, it’s just you and me again. Let’s stick together all the way, whatever happens! … You know, if it’s for everyone’s happiness, I’m ready to have my body burned like that Scorpion – even a hundred times.”
“Ummmm. I feel the same.” Campanella’s eyes were swimming with gentle tears.
“But – what is it that will make everyone happy?” continued Giovanni.
“I don’t know,” Campanella muttered.
“Anyway, we’re going to hold on!” said Giovanni with an explosion of breath as if his chest were brimming with new-found energy.
“Ah – that’s the Coal Sack. It’s the hole in the sky!” Campanella seemed to shrink back as he pointed to a spot in the heavenly river. Giovanni, too, was shaken as he looked over there. Beyond on the heavenly river, a great black emptiness opened out.
However he strained his eyes, he couldn’t tell how far down the bottom might be, or what might be inside – it only made his eyes smart. “I wouldn’t be afraid in a big dark place like that anymore,” he said. “I’d go looking in there for what would make people happy. You and me – together to the end!”
“Together!” echoed Campanella. “Hey! Don’t those fields look great, and everyone’s gathered there, and – that must be Heaven itself! And there’s my mother!” Campanella cried out, pointing suddenly out the window to a beautiful place he saw in the distance.
Giovanni looked where he was pointing, but all he could see was dim, white, rolling smoke, and nothing at all like what Campanella was describing. Feeling indescribably lonesome, Giovanni looked aimlessly around. He saw two telephone poles standing on the opposite bank, their arms linked as if joined in an embrace.
“Campanella, we’ll stick together, right?” Giovanni turned as he spoke and … in the seat where Campanella had been sitting until now, there was no Campanella, only the dark green velvet seat.
Giovanni burst into tears and everything went black. (p.119-127)
In Reeves’ description of Miyazawa’s tale he concludes:
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p18Like poets before him, Miyazawa understood the deepest meaning of the Lotus Sutra – an affirmation of the reality and importance of this world, the world in which suffering has to be endured, and can be, combined with an imaginative cosmic perspective engendered by devotion to the Lotus Sutra. And with his imaginative power and skill as a writer, Miyazawa offers Giovanni’s ticket to each of us. Like the Sutra itself, he uses his own imagination to invite us into an imaginary other world in order to have us become more this-worldly.
I wholeheartedly endorse Reeves’ statement that “the deepest meaning of the Lotus Sutra – an affirmation of the reality and importance of this world, the world in which suffering has to be endured, and can be, combined with an imaginative cosmic perspective engendered by devotion to the Lotus Sutra.” I just don’t see how you get from there to the place where all religions share a common, inter-faith truth.
Next: Ecumenical Buddhism
The Importance of Trajectory
Yesterday I published The Trouble with Interfaith Truth. I asked Rev. Ryuei McCormick, who leads the Nichiren Buddhist Sangha of the San Francisco Bay Area, what he thought and this was his response.
A very good question. And feel free to share my response:
In East Asia they sometimes talked about the five vehicles – because they would include the vehicle moral practice to attain a human rebirth, and the moral and meditative practices for attaining a heavenly rebirth. These were of course considered provisional and preliminary to Buddhism. Nichiren Shonin alludes to this kind of thinking in the beginning of the Opening of the Eyes (Kaimoku-sho) when he talks about how Confucianism and Brahmanism prepared the way for Buddhism in China and India respectively. In the Pali Canon the Buddha often gave a “progressive teaching” consisting of a review of those spiritual teachings and values that he shared with Brahmanism: generosity, self-discipline, and aspiration for rebirth in the heavenly realms, as well as the dangers of sensual pleasures and the benefits of renunciation. Once his listeners heard and accepted those teachings (almost a Spirituality 101) he would then teach the four noble truths.
And then there is the mutual possession of the ten worlds and the Tiantai teaching that even adverse seeds can lead to buddhahood. And these Tiantai teachings play off such things as Vimalakirti’s admonitions to the voice-hearers.
So, the One Vehicle is actually all the teachings of the Buddha including those he gave that weren’t even particularly unique to Buddhism (such as the above “progressive teaching”) and those he gave as bodhisattvas in times and places where there was no Buddhism but the ground needed to be prepared (Nichiren alludes to this also in Kaimoku-sho by citing Tiantai Zhiyi’s belief that Confucius was just such a bodhisattva).
To be more specific based on what I have discerned from the sutras, the Lotus Sutra, Tiantai’s teachings, and Nichiren Shonin’s teaching (and this is written about at length in my Kaimoku-sho commentary Open Your Eyes), Christianity and other such monotheistic religions are okay insofar as the encourage people to do things that are wholesome and refrain from what is unwholesome. That will enable people to attain a human or heavenly rebirth which is conducive to having the kind of wholesome attitude and way of living that will enable a person to give ear to the Buddha Dharma (including the Lotus Sutra) whereas those in the four lower realms have a more difficult time. Note that among the guardians of the Dharma mentioned in the Lotus Sutra are the eight kinds of supernatural beings, among whom are devas (god realm), asuras (fighting demons realm), nagas (animal realm), and yakshas (spirits considered to exist in the hungry ghosts realm, though I’ll admit it’s kind of odd). It is even possible for bodhisattvas to be born in times and places where there is no established Buddha Dharma and so they will express values and insights that are similar, though they will not turn the Wheel of the Dharma fully (so Jesus is at best a bodhisattva and not a Buddha because he did not teach the four noble truths but a relatively more humane form of monotheism). Now of course, these teachings also perpetuate delusions (like monotheism) and when they come into conflict with Buddhism they then become religions that are no longer preparing the way to Buddhism but blocking it and therefore lead to unwholesome conduct in relation to Buddhism.
Towards the end of Kaimoku-sho, Nichiren makes it clear that there are countries that are just ignorant and evil and then there are countries that slander. I believe the distinction he is making is between non-Buddhist cultures that need to be persuaded to give ear to the Dharma and learn more about it until they are able to take up the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sutra. This requires shoju or the way of accepting where people are at and encouraging them in their good qualities while leading them gradually to the Wonderful Dharma. Then there are those countries (like 13th century Japan) that were Buddhist and had centuries to digest the Buddha Dharma but they still turn away from the Lotus Sutra. These countries are slanderous because they are not just hostile to Buddhism out of ignorance but are Buddhists misrepresenting Buddhism and they should know better and they had their chance. For them, shakubuku or the way of subduing their arrogant misrepresentations of the Dharma must be used.
So I recognize the Dharma at work surreptitiously in other traditions, but I also see how their are unwholesome teachings that must be criticized not because they slander the Dharma (of which they are largely ignorant and even their misrepresentations lack authority because they are not coming from Buddhists themselves) but because they are inhumane and lead to lower realms because of the obvious harm they cause. For instance, fundamentalist Christians gathering in defiance of the law and endangering their own health and ours because they falsely and arrogantly assume they are immune to disease because they are “bathed in the blood of Christ.” Not on Buddhist or Dharmic grounds but simply on scientific grounds and for our own survival as a species these false religiosities must be opposed. That puts me at odds with fundamentalists but not with people of other traditions who truly are good hearted, open-minded, and share values and even insights with Buddhism (probably because their founders or saints were bodhisattvas or pratyekabuddhas).
With Buddhists I actually use shakubuku more than I expected and more than most people think. When I’m with other Buddhists I usually don’t need to contradict or argue as long as we are talking about shared values, insights, and so on. And there is a LOT of shared ground. However, I am quick to speak up when I think the Buddha Dharma is being misrepresented. More often than not I get admissions that my point is valid. I have pointed out to Zen Buddhists that they all too often pay more attention to the koans than to the sutras. I have pointed out to Pure Land Buddhists that ultimately there is no self- or other-power. I am very quick to point out that the Diamond Sutra and Heart Sutra are merely provisional sutras and are not the pinnacle of Buddha Dharma. I do this politely but firmly.
Another important point to consider, which those who emphasize the ecumenical implications of the One Vehicle (whether just within Buddhism or between Buddhism and non-Buddhism) is that trajectory is very important. In any given situation, is a teaching or practice leading people to a place where they will be able to appreciate and accept the Lotus Sutra on some level, or is it leading people away from the Lotus Sutra? This requires a lot of discernment and more discussion.
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ryuei
The Trouble with Interfaith Truth
Gene Reeves’ The Stories of the Lotus Sutra was published by Risshō Kōsei Kai in 2010 as a companion to Reeves’ updated translation of the threefold Lotus Sutra. This is the second Kōsei kai book I’ve read that brings up the concept that all religions share a common, inter-faith truth. As Reeves puts it:
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p81[W]ithout the nourishment of the Dharma [as revealed in the Simile of the Herbs] we would dry up and die. But this Dharma that nourishes all is not something to be found only in the Buddhist religion. It is universal. It is everywhere. The Dharma can be found even in the ordinary food that we eat and the water we drink, making it possible for us to live.
Or this conflating of Jesus and Krishna with the Eternal Buddha:
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p71[E]ven when we think we cannot see him, the Buddha can be found right next to us. The Buddha may not even go by the name of a buddha. Sometimes perhaps he goes by the name of Christ, or Krishna, or even Jane. Belonging to a Buddhist temple or organization is not, in itself, the Buddha Way, nor is it the only way to enter or follow the Buddha Way. The “universal gate” is many gates, many more than you or I could possibly know in a lifetime.
Reeves comes at this whole issue of inter-faith Dharma from a number of directions.
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p51One of the important insights to be gained from the teaching of skillful means is that many things that are not the whole truth are nevertheless important truths. Just as we should seek the potential to be a buddha in ourselves even though we are far from perfect, we should seek the truth, even the hidden truths, in what others say, in their words and in their stories.
“Others” includes of course other religions and their followers. Followers of the Dharma Flower Sutra can be glad when they encounter people of other faiths who have found carriages appropriate for themselves. The Sutra teaches that there are many successful ways, some, no doubt, beyond our imagination.
Or this:
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p70Apart from the Buddha and blind to the Buddha Dharma, we are like someone wandering around, destitute, impoverished, without purpose, miserable. In a sense, this is the destiny of those who do not, in some way, follow the Buddha Way. This does not mean, however, that one has to be a Buddhist in the ordinary sense. To follow the Buddha is to put one’s trust in and devote oneself to the happiness of others and the life of the whole. It is to share in a kind of common human faith that life is meaningful, a faith that finds expression in a variety of religious and other forms.
I struggle with this concept that the One Buddha Vehicle includes Christian chariots along with the Śrāvakayāna sheep cart and Pratyekabuddha deer cart and Bodhisattva bullock cart.
Stretching the One Buddha Vehicle to cover all of the Buddha’s teachings is, for me, the essence of the Lotus Sutra. I view the Lotus Sutra as the blueprint that allows the practicer to gather from all of the building materials (other sutras) what is needed to create a hall within which one can practice the Buddha way. The Lotus Sutra is the ocean into which all streams have flowed. But I’m unable – or perhaps just unwilling – to stretch it further to include all religions.
These ideas troubled me and it occurred to be that someone who had a statue of a Roman Catholic saint eye-opened for his Buddhist altar might be able to share some insight. I sent this as an email to Ryuei McCormick.
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra
From the Introduction to Gene Reeves’ 2010 book published by Rissho Kosei-kai:
Be forwarned! This book might transform you into the kind of Buddhist who loves the Lotus Sutra and therefore deeply cares about this world. It is a commentary on the stories of the Lotus Sutra, a sutra that more than any other has been both loved and reviled. Though intended to be a companion volume to my translation of the Lotus Sutra, this does not mean that it cannot be read without the translation at hand. I think everything in this book can be understood on its own. Still, one’s understanding of the Dharma Flower Sutra will be greatly enhanced by reading the translation – or better yet by reading a Chinese version! …
During most of my adult life I have been both a teacher and a preacher, roles which I understand to be different, though, of course, teaching can be included within preaching and sometimes a little preaching may show up in a teacher. And that is what this book does, at least that is what I hope it does. I hope it will inspire at least some readers not only to understand the Lotus Sutra better but also to embrace it, at least some part of its core teaching. I hope some will be moved by it to improve their lives in some significant way. But where it has seemed relevant to do so, I have included factual information both about the text and about the subjects of the stories in the text.
I hope it will shed some light on and even open up the profound meaning of that text – which is normally known in East Asia as the Dharma Flower Sutra. (In this book I will use “Lotus Sutra” and “Dharma Flower Sutra” interchangeably.) Though any text, including the Dharma Flower Sutra, can be interpreted and understood in various ways, I believe that this text is first of all a religious text, intended primarily not to settle some dispute among monks in ancient India, or to expound philosophical doctrines, but rather to influence the lives of its hearers or readers in highly significant ways. In an important way, we might say that the text wants to teach and transform you! For that purpose to be fulfilled or even appreciated widely, it is important that the meaning and thrust of the Sutra be readily available to ordinary English-language readers. This attempt to interpret the Lotus Sutra in plain words is an attempt to have its rich meanings and significance available to a wider and widening audience.
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p1-3
See this blog post: The Trouble with Interfaith Truth