One can say that the teaching of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha during the Ceremony in the Air is not merely a mythological portrayal of the timeless and placeless qualities of Buddhahood, but is also a symbol of the workings of the pure consciousness within the depths of our lives. This is likewise the dimension of our life that transcends space and time. Essentially, Chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra teaches that the true nature of Shakyamuni Buddha’s life is the true nature of all life, including our own. This means that the Buddha’s life and all of his awakened qualities are just as present here and now as they were 2,500 years ago in India when he was teaching the Lotus Sutra. Therefore, we should no longer feel we must devote ourselves to any cold, abstract principles or to any personifications of incomplete aspects of the life of the Buddha. Based upon his understanding of the Ceremony in the Air, Nichiren Shonin taught that we should take refuge in the Eternal Shakyamnni Buddha as the unity of the historical, ideal, and universal aspects of the Buddha-­nature. These are fully realized and manifested by Shakyamuni Buddha, and are also the potential within all of us. The Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha, therefore, should be our Focus of Devotion if we want to fully realize the true nature of the Buddha’s awakened life and our own.