Vacuity, according to Tendai, means nothing but the non-being of a particular existence apart from the universal Dhammata. We speak of this or that thing or substance, quality or condition, and think it to be a reality, in and by itself. Nothing is more erroneous than this, because we know that nothing in this world, visible or tangible, exists without causal nexus. It is a Dhamma, a thing or condition, because it is a manifestation of the Dhamma, the law of causation. Vacuity does not mean the voidness of any existence in itself, but vanity of the view that sees in it a reality apart from the fundamental Dhammata.
Nichiren, The Buddhist ProphetQuotes
The Prism Effect
For me relating to the Lotus Sutra from different perspectives gives me different understandings. It is kind of like the way a prism causes a beam of bright white light to scatter into a rainbow of colors. So too, using different prisms to look at the Lotus Sutra I think you get a different perspective and a different way of understanding. At least that is what I hope I can convey to you.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraThe Six Worlds
According to the Buddha, there are Six Worlds, or basic states of existence, that we can experience from moment to moment and even from lifetime to lifetime. These are the worlds or the hell-dwellers, hungry ghosts, animals, fighting demons, human beings, and the heavenly beings. Depending upon the positive or negative causes we make, the very nature of our body, mind, and environment can change to resemble one or more of these worlds. When we give in to despair or unreasoning hatred we experience life as hellish. When we are so dominated by selfish craving that we can never get enough of what we desire, then we are in the half-alive state of a hungry ghost. When we live only for immediate gratification and ignore the consequences of our actions, then we have become like animals who live only by instinct. When we puff ourselves up with pride and compete with others for money, power or sex, then we have become like fighting demons. When we are able to act reasouably and are not overwhelmed by pleasure or paain, then we are in the basic state of a human being. On those rare occasion when our desires are temporarily fulfilled and we are in a state of joyful harmony and wellbeing, then we are experiencing the heavenly realms. These different states are ever-changing and flow from one to the next.
Lotus SeedsThe Good Son
In our decision to dedicate ourselves, we entrust our very life and take refuge within the enlightened world of the Lotus Sutra. Namu, therefore, signifies that as we take shelter in the Buddha, we are embracing every aspect of the Buddha’s compassion, wisdom and enlightened life. On the other hand, it also indicates that in order to achieve this, we choose, then strive, to live our lives in accordance with the spirit and teachings of the Buddha, as his good son, daughter and student.
Odaimoku: The Significance Of Chanting Namu Myoho Renge KyoA Change in Our Surroundings
When we mistakenly place our happiness on the fulfillment of desires then we will always repeat the cycle of sufferings. If however we can begin to change ourselves in a fundamental way, if we change our outlook, if we change our very core of life, then slowly but surely the environment in which we live begins to change. It is not just our perception but our true self that changes which then influences the change in our surroundings.
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1Devotion to All of Life
The Lotus Sutra is more than a theoretical teaching to ponder. It is a teaching that repeatedly both demonstrates action as well as instructs each practitioner to engage in action. The formula that Nichiren gave us is the action of Namu based upon Myoho Renge Kyo. It isn’t simply a devotion to the Lotus Sutra. It is a devotion to all of life from the Lotus Sutra manifest in our individual actions.
Physician's Good MedicineThe Buddha’s Example
As to the relation between the particular and the universal, the case of Buddha is not only an example, but the typical representative. He was born as a human being, passed through mental struggles, and finally attained Buddhahood, and lived the fifty years of his ministry as the Truth-revealer. This is an actual life of a particular person, and no one can deny its facts, except the docetists, against whom the orthodox Buddhists took a united stand. Yet he was a Buddha, because he was enlightened in cosmic truths and realized the universal nature of Buddhahood, which is called Bodhi, or Enlightenment. He is Bodhi incarnate, so to speak, and Bodhi is the universal and fundamental nature (dhammata) of the spiritual existence, which is pre-existent to appearance of particular Buddhas, and the a priori basis of their attainment.
Nichiren, The Buddhist ProphetRevering the Teachings of the Buddha
In Chapter X we have a transition which shifts the importance of revering the relics of the Buddha to revering the teachings of the Buddha. In this shift we replace the body of the Buddha with the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddha makes it clear that Buddhas are not entities to be worshiped; it is their teachings that are important.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraKarma and Destiny
The Buddha was aware that the process of cause and effect extends beyond a single lifetime. Based upon his deep insight into the processes of life and death and of cause and effect, the Buddha saw that who we are and what we are faced with in this life are the result of our actions in previous lifetimes. Furthermore, what we will become in future lifetimes will be determined by what we do in the present. In other words, our every thought, word, and deed has the power to create our own destiny, both now and in the future.
Lotus SeedsFirm and Full Dedication
The word Namu … comes to signify a firm and full dedication of our lives, in both its physical and spiritual aspects. In other words, we express our faith in the Buddha and his teachings, particularly in the Lotus Sutra, and at the same time dedicate ourselves to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha in every possible way.
Odaimoku: The Significance Of Chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo