The theoretical first half of the Lotus Sutra taught that we are all potential buddhas and that the Buddha actually taught only One Vehicle, which enables us to realize that potential. In the essential latter half of the Lotus Sutra, the promise of the One Vehicle bears fruit as the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha. Since the historical Shakyamuni was a real person, the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha makes the seemingly abstract ideal of Buddhahood concrete in a living exemplar. Furthermore, since Buddhahood transcends birth and death, the Buddha is able to be just as present to us right now as he was to his historical disciples. In being present to us, the Buddha is able to grant us the ability to live in accord with his teachings and realize our own Buddhahood, our own eternal life.
Lotus SeedsQuotes
The Recipe for Practice
Now that we have the parts that makeup practice, let’s take a brief look at how these elements come together. You should remember that there is no one correct recipe; as in your favorite home cooking, the recipe is there to give you the general idea, but the chef creates a wholesome dish with some personal discretion.
Awakening to the LotusEight Sufferings
When he set the Wheel of the Law in motion at Deer Park in Benares, the Buddha explained that birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering, union with the hateful is suffering, separation from the beloved is suffering, failing to obtain the desired is sufferings, and all elements of our physical and psychological environments are suffering. The first four of these are called the four sufferings, and the entire series the eight sufferings.
Basic Buddhist Concepts
The Buddha’s Ultimate Compassion
With the Odaimoku of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo the Buddha’s virtue of Ichinen Sanzen is transferred to us naturally. It is the Buddha’s way to save living beings in Mappō. Nichiren Shōnin understood this through his faith. It is the virtue of the Odaimoku left by the Buddha for those who are in Mappō. It is the Buddha’s ultimate compassion.
Buddha Seed: Understanding the OdaimokuChief Object of Worship
Just as the waters of a thousand rivers, entering the ocean, all mingle with each other and acquire one and the same flavour in spite of their individual differences, so all entities, when once brought together in the great ocean of Buddha’s Truth, and perceived by the eye of Buddha’s intellect, are instantly fused into one, and show themselves identical with that very intellect itself — the great intellect of the Buddha of Original Enlightenment. In this way Sakyamuni showed that the Mandala, or Chief Object of Worship, was his own body. But his idea, in all its truth and fullness, does not stop here. He went further, and taught that the body of any ordinary person, nay of any living creature, may be the object of worship, since it is identical with the body of Buddha himself, “What is the real substance of the [Lotus Sutra]?” asks Nichiren. “It is nothing else than a human being, who, born of human parents, believes in this [Lotus Sutra].”
Doctrines of Nichiren (1893)The Greatest Song
When we chant the Odaimoku we are on one hand meditatively engaging in the recitation of the Sacred Title of the Lotus Sutra, we are also singing our praise of the teachings of the Buddha, which it contains. The greatest song we can sing is the Odaimoku that comes from joy within our lives. When we can chant with great joy, a joy that wells up from within then our entire life becomes a song. Our life can touch other’s lives through the beautiful music that is our unique life.
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1A Religion of All-Embracing Love and Salvation
The characteristic feature of Buddhism in Japan consists in the emphasis laid on the universal communion to be realized and the dedication of one’s own wisdom and merit to one’s fellow beings. This universalism was indeed an ideal never dreamt of before by the Japanese, and this religion of all-embracing love and salvation gave the people a wider and deeper comprehension of human life, an aspiration for an incomparably broader communion than had been taught by Shinto or Confucianism.
History of Japanese ReligionThe Lotus Flower
Renge means “Lotus Flower,” … The lotus flower is rich in symbolism within Buddhism. In Nichiren Buddhism, two aspects are particularly emphasized. The first is the unification of cause and effect, the simultaneous nature of the aspiration for enlightenment and its realization. The lotus flower symbolizes this because it produces flowers and seeds at the same time. By chanting the Odaimoku, we express both the aspiration for enlightenment – the seed of awakening to the Wonderful Dharma – and also our awakened devotion to the Wonderful Dharma – the flowering of enlightenment. The second aspect is the undefiled flowering of enlightenment arising out of the defilements of ordinary life that are transformed by the power of Buddhist practice. In the same way, lotus flowers blossom untainted above the mud and water from which they draw their nourishment. Because it illustrates these two key principles, the lotus flower is a particularly important symbol for Nichiren Buddhists.
Lotus World: An Illustrated Guide to the GohonzonReceiving the Buddha’s Rewards
The sound of chanting Odaimoku echoes deeply into our mind and stimulates our mind to wake up the seed of the Buddha-nature. Awakened, our Buddha-nature will lead us to enlightenment, and respond to the Eternal Buddha. We will be able to receive the Buddha’s rewards automatically – wisdom, enlightenment, compassion, healing and supernatural powers.
Spring WritingsThe Goal of Our Intention
Beyond having a good intention we hold onto until completion there is the reward, and in this case for us as Buddhists the reward is our improved life condition, the manifestation of enlightenment in our lives and in our environment. It would be a mistake to think treasure in this case is about riches. This does point out though that it is important to understand what the objective is and how to determine if we are successfully accomplishing our objective. In the case of our Buddhist practice, if we mistakenly think becoming rich is the outcome of our practice then we would perhaps become disappointed when riches fail to manifest or when we realize that riches will not make us happy.
Lecture on the Lotus Sutra