The Four Noble Truths are the fundamental teachings of the Buddha, a straight-forward application of the law of cause and effect. The Four Noble Truths are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of freedom from suffering, and the truth of the way to eliminate suffering that is the Eightfold Path. The first two truths describe the effect and the cause of suffering. The last two truths describe the effect and cause of freedom from suffering.
Lotus SeedsQuotes
Myoho
Myoho is the translation of the Sanskrit term Saddharma. Myoho is often translated as “Wonderful Dharma” or sometimes as “Mystic Law”. As suggested by the translation itself, its meaning is broad and profound.
Odaimoku: The Significance Of Chanting Namu Myoho Renge KyoThe Ocean of Many Small Efforts
The great oceans are made up of many single drops of water, which come together to form one body of water. This is much like both our individual practice as well as the assembly of the Sangha and makeup of a temple.
We each have our part to play and the success of the whole depends upon each person.
In our individual lives, it is the accumulating of many small efforts on a day-to-day basis that results in the accumulation of an enlightened life manifesting Buddhahood. When we look at our small efforts we may not see the potential of the accumulation of those efforts, just as we don’t see the ocean in the single drop of water.
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1Study, Prayer and Action
If study is not followed with prayer and prayer not followed by action then the study is merely an intellectual indulgence. If the only response to our study is to hold that information inside, keeping solely for one’s own benefit, then the message of the Lotus Sutra has not fully been realized. The Buddha says teach others, cause others to experience joy and benefit them. How is it possible to say one believes in the Lotus Sutra and then not be moved to action?
Physician's Good MedicineThe Realm
Another group of categories, to explain life in group (dhdtu) is threefold: the stage on which a certain group of beings play their role and manifest their nature; the constituents which supply materials and components to the stage; and the individuals making up the realm.
Nichiren, The Buddhist ProphetThe Bodhisattva Practice
There is not a separate sravaka practice, not a separate Pratyekabuddha practice, and not a separate bodhisattva practice. … [A]ll those who aspire to enlightenment equal to that of all Buddhas should embrace the Bodhisattva practice of saving all beings. What this means for those who were practicing already as bodhisattvas is they also should embrace sravaka and Pratyekabuddha practices and not view themselves as different. As we work to help others we are instructed to not neglect our own life condition and circumstances.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraBeyond the Six Worlds
The Buddha also saw beyond the Six Worlds. He realized that it was possible to transcend these states and become free of both the suffering of the four lower worlds and the limited happiness of both the human and heavenly realms. The Buddha wished to share with others the ultimate happiness of the state of Buddhahood itself. However, be knew that most people would have trouble even imagining such a state, and that even fewer would have the confidence in themselves or in the Buddha to try to attain such a state. In order to help us, the Buddha provided many preparatory teachings so we could better understand our lives, free ourselves of suffering and attain the confidence to realize our own Buddhahood.
Lotus SeedsWishing to See the Buddha
In the prose section of the Juryo (16th) chapter of the Lotus Sutra we find the phrase “lsshin Yok-ken butsu, Fuji Shaku Shin’myo” which means “sincerely wishing to see the Buddha, one does not hold back his life.” These final passages clearly show that our determination, understanding, devotion and refuge must all rise in a sincere and non-selfish manner, and through earnest faith and practice.
Odaimoku: The Significance Of Chanting Namu Myoho Renge KyoRealizing Our Innate Buddha Condition
As we learn in the ‘Parable of the Rich Man and his Son’ told in Chapter IV the son did not know the rich man was his father he had left many years before. The son did not know he was heir to great wealth and fortune.
Over many years the father gradually raised up the condition of the son, teaching him and training him in the ways of the household. Eventually as the father nears his death and the son has been successfully managing the entire fortune for the old man, the old man reveals that he is none other than the father of the young man who will now inherit the entire estate.
In this parable the rich man represents the Buddha and the poor son represents us. We are naturally endowed, with Buddhahood; it is our natural condition, yet we do not realize it. The Buddha in his compassion to make us equal to him slowly guides and instructs us thereby elevating our life to the point where we can eventually realize our innate Buddha condition.
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1The Bodhisattvas from Underground
The Bodhisattvas who arose in Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground, did not go to the Buddha and say, “What will you give us?” They went to the Buddha and asked him how he was, if he was in good health, and if he was well enough to teach. They did not sit and wait for things to come to them. They vowed to spread the Lotus Sutra in this Saha world. They promised the Buddha that they would work tirelessly to teach others no matter the difficulty they faced.
Physician's Good Medicine