When we begin to practice and study Buddhism, we begin to open the door to our lives; we open our door, our inner door. But whom do we open the door to? It could be said that we open the door to no one but ourselves.
It is similar to the opening of the door to the great stupa of Many Treasures, the opening of the door to the practice of Buddhism. We practice the Lotus Sutra so that we can purify our lands, so that we can be of one mind and one body focused on living in the present both fully and mindfully. We open our door to reveal the Many Treasures Buddha that resides within ourselves and we also invite the Eternal Buddha to manifest in our lives.
Oratio Divina is an intimate dialogue between ourselves and the Buddha. We listen to the Buddha as we read the Lotus Sutra. Our response is based upon what we hear, and what we hear may change over time or due to our present life condition. Based upon what we hear the Buddha say, we decide on which actions we will take. It is up to us to move the study and reading beyond mere theory or beyond simply the parable and choose the most appropriate actions to engage in. We listen to the Buddha. We respond by taking action.
The epithet “Tathagata” is an adequate expression of the relation between the universal Bodhi and particular Buddhas. Buddha’s personal life is a particular phenomenon, and the significance of his Buddhahood is lost, is a vacuity, when considered apart from the Truth he has attained and revealed to us. Yet the Truth (tatha) is a mere abstraction, a dead name, unless there appears a Tathagata in concrete human life. The true reality in the person of Buddha consists in the dignity of the Tathagata attained by a particular person, in virtue of the universal Bodhi which is the essential condition of his communion with the Buddhas of the past and of the future.
To Nichiren Shonin, the essence of the Buddha’s true will was distilled in a scripture called the Lotus Sutra, which recorded his most important teaching. More specifically, Nichiren Shonin believed the essence of this was expressed in the Odaimoku. Odaimoku is the Japanese word for “Sacred Title.” This refers to the expression of faith in the ultimate truth that is embodied in the full title of the Lotus Sutra, prouounced “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo” in Sino-Japanese. Namu Myoho Renge Kyo means “I devote myself to the Sutra of the Lotus Flower or the Wonderful Dharma.” Nichiren Shonin saw himself as the Buddha’s messenger, and taught with the conviction that the Buddha had entrusted him with a teaching and practice that would enable all people to attain awakening.
One must … be aware that by chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, one chants not only the of heart of the Lotus Sutra and the essence of all the Buddha’s teachings, but the very nature of his enlightenment itself.
Approaching Buddhism as a practice of ‘self-improvement’ only, that is as a way to do self-help, is like being satisfied by the small bronze coin. While it is true that we do gain self-improvement by our practice, it is the greater goal of complete liberation from suffering and the attainment of Enlightenment that is the spiritual goal of our Buddhist practice.
Being our own physician to our own lives and seeking the medicine to cure our sufferings and attain enlightenment, we use the prescription of oratio divina by listening to what the Buddha tells us, by considering that in relation to our lives in the moment and then taking appropriate action.
The particular derives its being from the universal nature of things, while the universal could not fully realize its true nature without manifesting itself in a particular. Both are real, but either by itself is imperfectly real. The Middle Path consists in uniting the two aspects of existence, universal and particular, and in seeing therein the true reality.
Buddhism does not focus on worshiping or appeasing some superhuman being whose powers and understanding are forever beyond our reach. Neither is Buddhism idolatry: Buddhists do not worship arcane symbols, statues, or a group of deities. It is true that Buddhists believe in an ultimate reality, sometimes called the Buddha-nature, that enables us to attain awakening, but this should not be confused with the historical person called the Buddha. The historical Buddha is revered as the one who taught the Way, but he does not transcend our ability to emulate him. Likewise, the Buddha-nature is not a person to worship, but is the fertile ground from which we can bring out our own Buddha-like qualities by practicing the Buddha’s teachings.
Myoho Renge Kyo expounds two very special concepts, unique to its teachings:
that all beings can become enlightened just as the Buddha, and
that the Buddha’s enlightenment is not something that simply occurred historically under the Bodhi tree when he was 30 years old, but has always existed since the infinite past and is eternal.
The Lotus Sutra, therefore, represents not only the culmination and completion, but indeed, the very essence and nature behind all the Buddha’s teaching.
