In the Devadatta chapter we learn that this person who caused the Buddha so much grief in the Buddha’s current lifetime was actually responsible for the Buddha being able to become the Buddha. In a previous lifetime Sakyamuni was a king who gave up his kingdom to his prince and sought the Dharma, going about the land beating a drum, seeking someone who could teach him. He came across a great seer who said that he would teach the Great Vehicle of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower on the condition the king would serve him without becoming disobedient.
With great joy the king began serving this seer. He performed all sorts of menial tasks but never begrudged his efforts because he was that sincere in seeking out the Great Dharma. We learn that not only was the king a previous life of the Buddha but the seer was Devadatta in one of his previous lifetimes. Because of this deep connection the Buddha was able to attain enlightenment and become the Buddha we know of today.
This is a wonderful example of how even the most evil person is at the same time not all bad, and also how we too may have a deep karmic connection with that person.
There are six traditionally given reasons for claiming the importance of Chapter 16. These six are: 1. The revelation of the eternity of the Buddha, 2. It shows misguided people the way to Buddhahood, 3. Revelation of the eternal Buddha Land, 4. Eternal salvation of the people, 5. Actual salvation of misguided people, and 6. The vow of the Buddha.
There is another important point regarding Odaimoku: Namu Myoho Renge Kyo is not simply one of the Three Great Secret Dharmas, but is itself all three. Namu Myoho Renge Kyo is the Wonderful Dharma, which is the true nature of reality–the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha. When we chant Odaimoku, we abide in the presence of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha, the true Focus of Devotion. Upholding Namu Myoho Renge Kyo is itself the most essential precept; thus, anywhere we chant is transformed into the Precept Platform at that time. Wherever and whenever one chants Namu Myoho Renge Kyo all Three Great Secret Dharmas are present.
The Sutra in Forty-Two Chapters, the earliest sutra to be translated into Chinese, in the second century C.E., has the line, “The Dharma I offer is the practice of non-practice, the action of non-action.” We think of action and non-action as two different things. When we say, “Don’t just sit there, do something!” we are urging people to act. But if someone is in a poor state of being, if they don’t have enough peace, enough understanding, enough inclusiveness, if they still have a lot of anger and fear, then not only will their action have no value, it may even be harmful. The quality of our action depends on the quality of our being: skillful action arises from the foundation of being, and being is non-action. So the calm, mindful, fully present quality of our being, the quality of our non-action, is already a kind of “action” in this sense.
The physician in the Parable of the Skillful Physician and His Sick Children encouraged his children, in their deluded state, to take the good medicine and not to be afraid they wouldn’t be cured. That statement takes on greater meaning when we consider again the Buddha’s statement at the beginning of this chapter, and his statement in the second chapter, that understanding by faith is the key. So we too should not be afraid to try the Lotus Sutra, and begin to understand by faith and by our actual experiences. This sutra is a good medicine that will cure each of us of the things that cause us suffering in our lives.
In Nichiren Buddhism, our practice begins with our own finite efforts and aspirations. These seemingly limited qualities are actually expressions of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha’s real presence within our lives, and thus can effect our transformation into a more awakened state. Due to this transformation, our practice naturally becomes beneficial to all sentient beings. Odaimoku is the practice that carries us through these stages and is itself the manifestation of these stages. Namu Myoho Renge Kyo is the aspiration for awakening, the awakening itself, and the sharing of that awakening.
The teaching of the Lotus Sutra on the ultimate dimension is a very great, joyful truth. From our limited perspective of reality we have etched in our minds the idea of birth and death, of coming and going, existence and nonexistence. We have gotten used to this view of reality. And now someone comes along and opens up the treasure of the ultimate for us, the priceless truth of no birth, no death, of infinite life span, essential Buddha nature, and imminent Buddhahood. Are we able to bear such a profound truth or not? When we hear the Buddha teach this truth – and we are able to practice it, bear it, accept it, and hold it in our hearts, smile and have faith in it – then we will enjoy the fruit of great merit.
The Parable of the Skillful Physician and His Sick Children reminds us that the Lotus Sutra is the perfect medicine to cure all the sufferings of this world and this life. It is perfect in every way and is the actual essence of Buddhism throughout eternity. The Buddha says, I have left you, meaning us, this perfect medicine in the form of the Lotus Sutra. Here “left” has two meanings, one being that he has given us the perfect medicine and the other that he has seemingly disappeared. The intent here is to cause us, the sick children, to pick up the good medicine because it will cure us of all our sufferings. All we need do is take it. And because he wants us to appreciate it he shows his death to us as an expedient to make us want to practice harder and to value this priceless teaching encapsulated in the Lotus Sutra.
In Nichiren Buddhism, a Middle Way is chosen between the way of awakening through self-effort and the way of awakening through total reliance on the Buddha. This Middle Way is the practice of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, which is the seed of awakening. This seed eventually bears fruit as the realization that the true nature of our lives is none other than the true Focus of Devotion, the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha.
We can truly change the world for good. This is the bodhisattva ideal: to save all living beings as we walk our own path to enlightenment. By following the teachings of Nichiren Shonin and the Lotus Sutra, we can walk the Bodhisattva Path and transform this world into the Buddha’s Pure Land.
