Though the One Vehicle is expressed throughout the first half of the Lotus Sutra, the core passage, according to Nichiren Shohnin, is in the very first prose passage of the second chapter, “Tactfulness.” In that passage, the Buddha first reveals to his wisest disciple, Shariputra, that the teaching of the Buddha is beyond the ability of even his most advanced disciples to understand. He tells Shariputra that the true nature of reality can only be understood by the buddhas, and that this true nature of reality consists of Ten Factors (or “suchnesses”). … These Ten Factors are integral parts of the law of cause and effect, and they are found in the lives of all beings. They are present in the lives of ordinary beings, and they are present in the lives of Buddhas. It is due to the common ground of the Ten Factors that ordinary people are capable of becoming buddhas, and buddhas are capable of appearing as ordinary people.
Lotus SeedsQuotes
Reading and Reciting the Sutra in English
Another part of the core practice is reciting sections from the Lotus Sutra. … The basis of this practice is the words of the Lotus Sutra itself. In almost every chapter, the sutra describes the merit and importance of reading, reciting, and copying the sutra. This practice also serves to inspire us with the words of the Buddha in his highest teachings, which is only possible if we understand the words. This is why it i good to recite in one’s own languages.
Awakening to the LotusPerfect Spiritual Health
A physician who knows the illness, its cause, and the optimum condition of the body is able to prescribe a complete course of therapy, including such direct action as surgery, injections, and other medication as well as indirect treatment in the form of proper diet, rest, and exercise. In similar fashion, knowing the nature of suffering, its cause, and the condition free of suffering, the Buddha prescribes the Eightfold Path as a rational way to restore total spiritual health. The path, a system of practical discipline, must be connected by causal relations with the restoration of a sound spiritual condition, just as the physician’s therapy must have a cause-and-effect relation with the most rational way to restore good physical health. The fourth of the truths is the way to bring about perfect spiritual health.
Basic Buddhist Concepts
Getting Involved in the Buddha’s Life
We get involved in the Buddha’s life by devoting ourselves to participating in the Buddha’s activities. We can carry out the Buddha’s activities by using our bodies to carry out His work. This is attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form or Sokushin Jöbutsu. It is essentially attaining Buddhahood by receiving the teaching of the Lotus Sutra and expressing the teachings through one’s body.
This means to believe in the Lotus Sutra, to respect the Buddha, to chant the Odaimoku, and to realize oneself to be a messenger of the Buddha; and thus, work to help Him.
In the Teacher of the Dharma Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha states, “The good men or women who expound even a phrase of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma eve to one person even in secret after my extinction, know this, are my messengers. They are dispatched by me. They do my work.” (Murano, p. 172)
Buddha Seed: Understanding the OdaimokuSelfish Motives
Now selfish motives and disinterested motives form the point of differentiation between the good and the bad. Therefore it was that Sakyamuni chiefly insisted on the doctrines that we ought to forget the difference between Self and Non-Self, that we ought to pursue the conduct of Fugen [Universal-Sage Bodhisattva] or the Personification of Reason, and that we ought to live in peace with all our neighbours.
Doctrines of Nichiren (1893)Good Friends
Having good friends in a Sangha and a reliable teacher can help us fact-check our assumptions and conclusions, just as the Sangha at the time of the Buddha went to Manjusri.
Going to some skilled person to see what he has learned and what he has experienced can be a great aid in our practice of Buddhism. Yes, we ultimately have to personally absorb and inculcate into our own lives the truth of the matter, but having a good friend, a Sangha support, a teacher can help us to navigate the storehouse of treasures of Buddhism.
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1The Bond of Karma
Human life, according to the teaching of Karma, is an endless continuity of deeds and retributions extending to the infinite past and to the future far beyond the ken of any mortal being, and including the existences in all possible realms, celestial, human, bestial, infernal, and so on. Moreover, the bond of Karma is not limited to the continuity of one’s individual life, but extends to the ties of association binding fellow beings together in a group or realm of existence. The relationship of parents and children, of husband and wife, of any social, racial, or national groups, all are manifestations of Karma working to perpetuate the inherited links of deeds and dispositions.
History of Japanese ReligionTwo Buddhas
In Nichiren Buddhist Gohonzons, the two Buddhas are shown forming the anjali mudra (Japanese, gassho-in), the hand gesture in which both palms are placed together in front of the heart to indicate an attitude of praise and reverence. This is the same mudra that Nichiren Buddhist practitioners use when chanting the Odaimoku. It is unusual for Buddhas to be shown making this mudra, but in this case it indicates that both Shakyamuni Buddha and Many Treasures Tathagata have come together to praise the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Flower Sutra to which they have awakened and to praise the Buddha nature in all sentient beings.
Lotus World: An Illustrated Guide to the GohonzonLiving in Harmony
All the teachings of Buddhism are based on peace and harmony. This does not mean peace and harmony within only human society, but also encompasses animals, plants and everything in nature. The teachings direct us to live harmoniously and respect all living beings. This is the way of a peaceful mind and a mind of enlightenment, which Buddhists aspire to.
Summer WritingsBeyond Blind Faith
Frequently in the Lotus Sutra the Buddha encourages us to remove our doubts and have strong faith. I need to emphasize that this faith is not a blind faith based upon merely taking someone’s word for something. It is critical that each of us base our faith on our practice and our study. Proving the validity of the teachings in the Lotus Sutra is very important to having no doubts.
All of this is based upon the Dharma as taught by the Buddha in the Lotus Sutra. This is our intention to fully embrace and experience with our own lives the truth and actuality of the teaching of the Lotus Sutra for ourselves.
Lecture on the Lotus Sutra