The greatest benefit of practicing the Lotus Sutra is the attainment of Enlightenment equal to that of all the Buddhas. It is the end to suffering, the end to delusions.
When we become Buddhas then this land in which we live will become the Buddha’s pure land. What greater joy is there than this?
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1Nichiren teaches that as we take Myoho Renge Kyo by mouth as needed we need to manifest this through Namu, our devotion. Namu isn’t in name only. It also must be manifest in action and behavior. As we continue to take Myoho Renge Kyo through Namu, as needed, we begin to see results, the poisons of false teachings and unskillful previous causes begins to be cured. We see results in our lives. This ideally will motivate us to even deeper faith, even more devotion and actions based in devotion and the cycle continues.
Physician's Good MedicineNichiren’s great aim was to achieve his ideal of the Catholic Church, with its centre in his own country. Believing that he was himself the man to do this, and that the true import and end of Buddhism had not been apprehended in earlier times, even in India, he saw in vision a return of Buddhism from Japan to India, and its propagation thence throughout the world. He himself was always the cardinal factor in this new era, but the time and place were essential conditions of the realization of this universal Buddhism.
Nichiren, The Buddhist ProphetGenerally it is said that the nature of the Buddha’s enlightenment is too noble for us to express with words, because words are limited in their ability to describe the spiritual world. There is an expression in the Lotus Sutra: “Only Buddhas who attained the highest truth realize the world”. However, although we have not yet attained the highest enlightenment, we can perceive other levels of enlightenment. Thus, there are many expressions, descriptions, epithets, and parables in the Lotus Sutra to help us to perceive, sense, and feel the Buddha’s enlightenment and finally, to attain the highest enlightenment ourselves.
Spring WritingsWhen the Bodhisattvas emerge from beneath the ground and make their appearance in Chapter XV I find it interesting that unlike the contemporaries of the Buddha, who have all asked the Buddha for something, these new Bodhisattvas enquire of the Buddha how he is doing, what his condition is, and if he is tired from teaching the Dharma. These new Bodhisattvas are firstly motivated not for their own needs but the needs of others. This I believe further signifies how the Bodhisattva practice is a practice for all, including those of learning as well as the solitary self-enlightened practitioners.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraThe second noble truth of the cause of suffering is that suffering arises when we refuse to recognize the reality of life and instead attempt to make reality conform to our desires. This truth is often expressed as “the cause of suffering is craving.” This craving is the result of the unrealistic expectation that life should be a source of unchangeable happiness.
Lotus SeedsThe Lotus Sutra is the completion of over 50 years of Shakyamuni Buddha’s teaching the Dharma which extended over five periods. The Lotus Sutra was preceded by many varied and important propaedeutic sutras which were taught to the monks and laity in order to create and foster a Buddhist culture and practice, nurture and facilitate growth while finally leading them and all humankind towards enlightenment. These five important periods, also called The Five Periods and Eight Teachings, are as follows:
The quest for material gain, fueled by craving leads to suffering, or as the Buddha says: “You will be burned by them.” In the case of the Parable of the Burning house the children inside were so busy engrossed in their games, in their play, in their pursuit of happiness that they failed to notice the house was on fire and they were in great danger. If we approach our Buddhist practice as a way to gain benefit and not as a way to become enlightened then we will continue the cycles of suffering, of getting burned. Instead we should approach Buddhism as a way to become enlightened.
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1It may be that some will refuse the medicine, or that others will stop taking the medicine before being fully cured. It happens in life that way. There is no expiration date on the medicine the Buddha leaves for us. The medicine the Buddha leaves us in the Lotus Sutra is always good and is always available, even if it appears the physician has died and left us. The medicine, and through the medicine the Buddha, is always available for us to take and benefit from.
Physician's Good Medicine[A]ny individual is a Tathagata who realizes the universal Dhammata of the universe, not only in his ideas, but in his life, and lives the life of the universal self. So long as, and so far as, he regards himself as separate from others, every individual is only a partial, and therefore imperfect, manifestation of his own real nature (dhammata), while every one is destined to attain the height, or depth, of his own true self in communion with all others, by virtue of the basic unity of the fundamental Dhammata.
Nichiren, The Buddhist Prophet