Wonderful Voice Bodhisattva promises protection for those who call its name. But this Bodhisattva also provides us with a model upon which to base our own actions and we are able to do so because of our faith and practice of the Lotus Sutra. Calling out the name and believing in the name are two actions that seem distinct yet truly one feeds the other. Our own experiences of joy and overcoming of the sufferings of life enables us to foster within ourselves the capability of compassion like this Bodhisattva. A person drowning in suffering lacks the capacity to truly help countless others, but a life of joy and enlightenment has the power and capacity to lift up and save many.

We see the actions of Bodhisattva Never Despise as being of respect for others, yet this respect is based upon the absolute conviction or faith that the other person is also a Buddha worthy of respect. The action is not based upon a theoretical doctrine, but on the realization that within self is Buddha and within the other is Buddha.

Faith and practice in the Lotus Sutra are often presented in similar manner. I believe this is because faith is an actual practice for us. Faith is not simply the absolute belief in the teaching but is an experience of the truth of the teaching. Faith takes root in and grows from our daily practice and study. And yet, faith while growing from practice also nurtures that very same practice. In this way, faith and practice are not two separate activities but one constantly evolving cycle of activity.

In all of our efforts of propagation, we should always keep in mind that we do it for the joy and benefit of the person to whom we are teaching. It isn’t about acquiring points for converting others. It is about bringing joy into the lives of others. We should consider how best to benefit the person, even if it is helping them take small baby steps. There is no need, nor is it appropriate, to bludgeon someone or berate someone, or cajole someone into taking faith. We merely need to plant the seeds of their future enlightenment.

In our efforts to teach others of the truth of the Lotus Sutra, we will encounter some who accept easily. However, there will be some who may not accept or believe in what we teach them. We should not worry or be discouraged because the Buddha has said in those cases we only need to teach them some other of the Buddha’s great teachings, realizing that eventually they can obtain the merit to be able to take faith in the Lotus Sutra. For instance we might teach someone about cause and effect, or we may provide instruction in dependent origination or interconnectedness. We might give to them the message of the Four Noble Truths or even the Eightfold Path. All of these are commonsense teachings, which many people intuitively believe in already. Through gradually leading people, perhaps over many lifetimes, we can help them embrace the teachings in the Lotus Sutra.

In one of his writings, Nichiren says that no matter how long a cave has been dark, the minute a light enters, the darkness is eliminated. The same is true with our lives. The instant we begin practicing, our life begins to change and the dark clouds of suffering begin to roll back. If a candle is lit in a darkened cave immediately there is light, and so it is with our lives. As our faith and practice grows it is as if we light ever more candles to the point where every corner of the cave of suffering is illuminated.

In the special transmission we have the revelation once again that this place, the very place where the Lotus Sutra is practiced, is the place of enlightenment. In other words, there is no greater place to be, there is no greater place to practice than the very place where you are. Through this practice in your life you erect a great treasure tower containing the two Buddhas and you purify your environment revealing the pure land that it already is. We may not be able to perceive the reality of the Buddha’s pure land in our environment, through our practice we begin to manifest our own Buddha life and with the eyes of the Buddha we become, we have the ability to see our world with a new perspetive. As the Buddha says further on, when we practice exactly as the buddha instructs us in the Lotus Sutra we will be able to eliminate darkness in our lives.

According to Chih-i, within the special transmission to the bodhisattvas who appeared from beneath the ground is contained four great mysteries which according to Nichiren are Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. The four mysteries are all contained with the Lotus Sutra and they are, 1. All the teachings of the Buddha are here, 2. All the supernatural powers of the Buddha are here, 3. The hidden treasury of the core Buddhist teachings are here, 4. All the achievements of the Buddha are here. By our practice of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, and our determined efforts to know and live the Lotus Sutra we gain access to the four mysteries in this special transmission.

When the bodhisattvas who appeared from beneath the ground made their vow to carry out their practice of the Lotus Sutra in the Saha World after the death of the Buddha, immediately the Buddha gave his assent and praised their vow. There is no place in the sutra where the Buddha gives such a dramatic indicator of his pleasure. The Buddha immediately showed his supernatural powers to all present at the ceremony that is still continuing. His powers were displayed to the worlds of the universe in the ten quarters. He stretched out his long broad tongue, and he also emitted rays of light in various colors from the pores of his skin. All of this is not only seen in the other worlds but allows those in this world to see into those other worlds. All of this causes the other Buddhas, the replica Buddhas, to do the same, as well as coughing and snapping their fingers together. The snapping of fingers and coughing are devices employed by the Buddha to gain attention to an important teaching. And all of the various supernatural phenomena mentioned at this point in the Lotus Sutra serve to further demonstrate the importance of the Buddha accepting the vow made by the Bodhisattvas from Beneath the Ground.

Nichiren said time and again that each character of the Lotus Sutra is a golden Buddha. Imagine if you were to come into contact with the Buddha. How would you react? Would you be casual? How casual we allow ourselves to become when we chant Odaimoku or chant the sutra is something worthy of constant self-reflection.