What You Should Know:
About the Lotus Sutra
According to Nichiren Shonin, the Lotus Sutra is the highest teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha. In fact, all of his earlier teachings were simply preparation for the teaching of the Lotus Sutra. The Lotus Sutra itself declares that its teachings are the most important in several passages.
The full title of the Lotus Sutra in English would be Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. It’s title in Sanskrit is Saddharma-pundarika-sutra. In Nichiren Buddhism it is the Chinese translation by Kumarajiva (344-413) in eight fascicles (originally seven) that was completed in 406 which is at the center of our study and practice. His translation has the following title in five Chinese characters: 妙法蓮華經. These characters are pronounced Miao Fa Lian Hua Jing in Mandarin but in Japanese they are pronounced Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo. Koreans would pronounce them as Myo Beop Yeon Hwa Gyeong, while the Vietnamese would pronounce them as Dieu Phap Lien Hoa Kinh. There exist two other Chinese translations of the sutra: the Flowering of the True Dharma Sutra translated by Dharmaraksha (c. 233-310) in ten fascicles in 286 and the Supplemented Lotus Sutra translated by Dharmagupta (d. 619) in seven fascicles in 601. Lost Chinese translations include the Saddharma Pundarika Sutra and the Lotus Samadhi Sutra.
The Lotus Sutra is also the main part of what is called the Threefold Lotus Sutra, which consists of the Infinite Meanings Sutra as the opening sutra, the Lotus Sutra itself, and the Contemplation of the Universal Sage Bodhisattva Sutra as the closing sutra.
What is taught in the Lotus Sutra that sets it apart from the Buddha's earlier teachings? In the Kaimoku-sho (Open Your Eyes [to the Lotus Sutra), one of Nichiren Shonin's most important writings, he gives the following answer:
Now in my humble opinion, there are many differences between those scriptures expounded [by the Buddha] during the first forty years or so and those expounded during the last eight years. However, what scholars consider to be most important, with which I certainly agree, are the concepts of the attainment of buddhahood by adherents of the two vehicles and the attainment of buddhahood in the remotest past. (On the Opening of the Eyes, 26)
The two teachings which make the Lotus Sutra stand apart from all the other teachings of the Buddha are the attainment of buddhahood by adherents of the two vehicles (the "voice-hearers" and the "privately-awakened ones") and the attainment of buddhahood in the remotest past. This was not just Nichiren Shonin's opinion, but the opinion of many learned Buddhists down through the ages. Nichiren Shonin, however, made these points central to his teaching and practice of Buddhism. We should, therefore, examine these two points so that we can understand why they are so important for our faith and practice. The “attainment of buddhahood by adherents of the two vehicles” is also known as the teaching of the One Vehicle. The teaching of the “attainment of buddhahood in the remotest past” is also known as the teaching of the Eternal Buddha.
One Vehicle
Earlier, it was mentioned that the Lotus Sutra is the teaching of the One Vehicle. Though the Buddha taught a variety of concepts, such as the four noble truths for the monastic voice-hearers, dependent origination for the privately-awakened ones, and the six perfections for those who wished to become buddhas (the vehicle of the bodhisattvas), they are all different aspects of the One Vehicle of Buddhahood. When the Buddha taught the One Vehicle in the Lotus Sutra, he finally made it clear that all along his intention had been to lead all beings to Buddhahood.
When the Buddha first began to teach, he used the four noble truths as a vehicle of liberation for the voice-hearers who needed practical instructions to overcome selfish craving. Likewise, dependent origination was taught as a vehicle of liberation for those who sought to achieve their own realization. The four noble truths and dependent origination were specific ways of expressing the Buddha's fundamental insight suited to those who would become adherents of the two vehicles so they could free themselves of craving and ignorance. Only then would they be ready to take the next step. The Buddha knew that the goal of buddhahood would seem too remote for ordinary people and that it would only discourage the voice-hearers and privately-awakened ones if they were told that self-liberation was not the ultimate goal.
Once the Buddha observed that those who had been taught the four noble truths and dependent origination had obtained a certain measure of peace and freedom, he began to teach the bodhisattva vehicle of the six perfections. In effect, he challenged the voice-hearers and privately-awakened ones to move beyond their own individualistic ideas of liberation. In the Mahayana teachings, the Buddha criticized them for their selfishness and lack of concern for others, and praised those who practiced the six perfections, motivated by the wish to help all beings attain liberation.
The Buddha even declared that those who followed the teachings of the two vehicles would never be able to obtain buddhahood because they had eliminated all their desires, including the desire to progress further and help others. In a way, the adherents of the two vehicles were even worse off than unrepentant evil-doers who at least want to improve their lives and might one day redirect their selfish desires into the selfless desire to attain buddhahood for the sake of all beings.
The bodhisattva vehicle is not easy, however. In the Mahayana teachings prior to the Lotus Sutra, buddhahood was still considered a far-off goal that could only be obtained after many lifetimes of practicing the six perfections and serving many buddhas throughout the universe over countless eons. Just as the Buddha challenged the complacency of those who wished to find peace only for themselves, he also wanted to emphasize the need to develop great compassion, infinite patience, and limitless courage. All of these qualities and more would be necessary to work for the liberation of all beings by striving to attain Buddhahood. To prevent potential bodhisattvas from becoming discouraged by these difficult requirements, the Buddha also revealed that there were many heaven-like pure lands throughout the universe presided over by glorified buddhas (in their reward-bodies) where one could be reborn. In those pure lands, conditions would be perfect; practicing the buddha's teachings would be much easier in such idealized surroundings.
In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha finally introduced the One Vehicle of Buddhahood, which unifies and ultimately transcends the previous three vehicles. The One Vehicle is the teaching that all beings can attain buddhahood. Even those following the two vehicles of the voice-hearers and privately-awakened ones, whom the Buddha declared unfit to attain buddhahood, would be able to do so. In fact, the Lotus Sutra states that they had been on the One Vehicle all along, though they did not know it. This attainment of Buddhahood by adherents of the two vehicles is the main theme of the first half of the Lotus Sutra. To ensure that this teaching is understood, the Buddha taught it in many different ways. He used philosophical discourses, parables, similes, past-life experiences, and ultimately gave predictions of buddhahood to all his many disciples.
More astonishing was the fact that the Buddha predicted that even his traitorous cousin Devadatta, who had tried to kill him and take over the Sangha, would attain Buddhahood in the future. Shortly after this prediction, an eight-year-old dragon girl transformed into a buddha before the eyes of the whole assembly despite the culturally perceived impediments of her sex, her age, and her birth as an animal. These examples extend the idea that even those previously believed unfit to attain buddhahood would be able to do so in the end. The One Vehicle is the teaching that there are no permanent barriers to attaining buddhahood. Even the worst evil-doers can awaken to the truth about themselves, repent of their wrongdoing, and begin to follow the way to buddhahood if they take faith in the One Vehicle. Those who are looked down upon by others for any reason also have the ability to awaken to the incomparable dignity of buddhahood if they take faith in the One Vehicle. There is no discrimination in the One Vehicle. People may be different based on race, class, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, intelligence, personal habits, interests, spiritual maturity, and many other factors, but in the end, all people have the same capacity to attain Buddhahood.
The first half of the Lotus Sutra is sometimes called the theoretical section of the sutra because it teaches that, in theory, all beings will be able to attain buddhahood. So even if we feel that we are incapable of escaping from our own selfishness, or if we think that buddhahood is an impossible ideal, the first half of the Lotus Sutra tells us that we should have faith in our own undiscovered potential to attain buddhahood. But how can our potential turn into an actual awakening? Furthermore, how does the actual awakening of Shakyamuni Buddha help us? These questions are addressed by Shakyamuni Buddha in the second half of the Lotus Sutra, which is known as the essential section, in which the eternal life of the Buddha is revealed.
The Eternal Buddha
The latter half of the Lotus Sutra, the essential section, teaches that the awakened life of Shakyamuni Buddha transcends our ordinary way of thinking and is beyond birth and death. This is revealed during the Assembly in Space, the central event of the Lotus Sutra in which Shakyamuni Buddha finally reveals the ultimate truth that he had been leading up to with all of his previous teachings. The details of the Assembly in Space will be described later in connection with Nichiren Shonin's teaching since the mandala that he created depicts this event. For now, we will concentrate on the meaning of the teaching of the essential half of the Lotus Sutra, in which Shakyamuni Buddha reveals himself as the original and eternal buddha.
In all the sutras besides the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha is portrayed as a man who was born like all others, who attained awakening beneath the Bodhi tree as a young man, and who then spent fifty years teaching others until his death at the age of eighty. He is also understood to be one in a long line of buddhas who have appeared in this world. Before him, there were others, and there will be others after him. In addition, there are many other worlds throughout the universe, each with a presiding buddha. In that sense, Shakyamuni Buddha is portrayed as one among many buddhas throughout time and space. All of this changes, however, in the Lotus Sutra.
During the Assembly in Space, Shakyamuni Buddha is shown to be the Original Buddha, whereas all the other buddhas throughout the universe are merely reflections of him. He is not just one buddha among others. He is the one who perfectly expresses the ultimate truth, the Wonderful Dharma, which all buddhas teach. This truth is not many, it is one, and it is universal. The truth is the same for all beings, though it may be expressed and understood differently by different people. Ultimately, anyone who awakens to this truth and teaches it to others will be in harmony with Shakyamuni Buddha. Though other teachings may be distorted or partial reflections of the truth, when we uphold the Wonderful Dharma of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha, we are upholding the most perfect and complete expression of the true nature of reality.
Shakyamuni Buddha also revealed that he did not attain awakening for the first time beneath the Bodhi tree. He told his startled disciples that his buddhahood was attained in the infinite past. Ultimately, the Buddha's awakened life transcends the distinctions between beginning and end, subject and object, or self and other. It defies all categories and cannot be thought of or imagined. It can, however, be experienced when we awaken to these same immeasurable qualities in our own lives by upholding the teaching of the Lotus Sutra. The awakened life of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha is the awakened life of all beings throughout time and space. It is also actively present in our lives, a presence that enables us to live as buddhas when we open ourselves up to the Buddha's merits and virtues through our faith in the Lotus Sutra.
The Buddha's eternal life should not be seen as a violation of the three marks of impermanence, suffering, and selflessness that apply to all other forms of life. This is because the Buddha's eternal life does not depend upon a body or mind characterized by the three marks. Rather, the Buddha's eternal life is the true nirvana of buddhahood which is characterized by purity, bliss, eternity, and true self as opposed to the impurity, suffering, impermanence, and false self that characterize the life of delusion. When Shakyamuni Buddha revealed the eternal nature of his awakened life, he did not contradict his earlier teachings. Instead, he showed us how those teachings were fulfilled in terms of his own life and awakening. He also showed how those teachings would allow us to realize the purity, bliss, eternity, and true self of nirvana in our own lives.
The theoretical first half of the Lotus Sutra taught that we are all potential buddhas and that the Buddha taught only One Vehicle to enable us to realize that potential. In the essential latter half of the Lotus Sutra, the promise of the One Vehicle bears fruit as the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha. Since the historical Shakyamuni was a real person, the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha makes the seemingly abstract ideal of buddhahood concrete in a living exemplar. Furthermore, since buddhahood transcends birth and death, the Buddha can be just as present to us right now as he was to his historical disciples. In being present to us, the Buddha can grant us the ability to live in accord with his teachings and realize our own buddhahood, our own eternal life.
Nichiren Shonin recognized that the eternal life of the Buddha was of crucial importance. Therefore, he taught that we do not need to be born into a pure land after death so that we can come into the presence of the Buddha and thereby awaken to the truth. According to Nichiren Shonin, the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra reveals that we are already in the pure land. We are already in the presence of the Buddha. We can directly realize buddhahood through our faith, because it is already a part of our lives (indicated by Nichiren Shonin's reference to the "three thousand realms" and the "three categories of existence" which will be covered later in the section on the three thousand realms in a single thought-moment). In Kanjin Honzon-sho (On the Contemplation of the Mind and the Focus of Devotion), Nichiren Shonin summarizes his convictions regarding this point:
Now, at the time of the Original [Buddha], the Saha world [is revealed to be] the eternally abiding pure land, free of the three calamities and transcending the four kalpas. The [Original] Buddha has not ceased in the past, nor will he arise in the future. Those guided [by the Original Buddha] are the same entity [as him] because our minds perfectly contain the three thousand realms and the three categories of existence. (On the Contemplation of Mind and the Focus of Devotion, 74)
The Trace Gate and the Original Gate
The Lotus Sutra can be analyzed in many different ways to better understand its true meaning. The specific details of the various forms of analysis are of interest to advanced practitioners, clergy, and academic enthusiasts, and thus are beyond the scope of this book. However, the most basic analysis, which divides the sutra into its theoretical first half and its essential second half, is an important part of the daily practice of Nichiren Buddhism, and for that reason, we will briefly discuss it.
The division of the sutra into theoretical and essential portions is important because Nichiren Buddhism is unique in basing its practice on the latter half of the Lotus Sutra, the essential section, instead of on the first half, the theoretical section. Its importance will become clear as we look at the differences between these sections. The daily practice of Nichiren Buddhism includes the recitation of key passages from chapters two and sixteen of the Lotus Sutra in order to pay homage to the teachings in the theoretical section and the essential section, respectively.
The first half of the Lotus Sutra is the theoretical section, which is called the Trace or Imprint Gate. The Trace Gate consists of the first fourteen chapters in which the Buddha is still seen as the historical Shakyamuni Buddha who attained awakening 2,500 years ago. It is called the Trace Gate because it covers the teaching of the One Vehicle by the historical Shakyamuni Buddha as described above, and these teachings are the traces or imprints of the teaching of eternal life by the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha. The historical life of the Buddha and his teaching is like a print made in soft wax by a seal, or like traces left in the sand by a person walking on the beach.
The Trace Gate is also referred to as the theoretical section of the Lotus Sutra because it is in this part of the sutra that the Buddha teaches that all people are capable of attaining Buddhahood in theory. As mentioned before, this teaching is expressed philosophically, in the form of parables, then as stories of actual events in both the past and present.
Though the One Vehicle is expressed throughout the first half of the Lotus Sutra, the core passage, according to Nichiren Shonin, is in the very first prose passage of the second chapter, "Expedients." In that passage, the Buddha first reveals to his wisest disciple Shariputra that the teaching of the buddhas is beyond the ability of even his most advanced disciples to understand. He tells Shariputra that the true nature of reality can only be understood by the buddhas, and that this true nature of reality consists of ten factors (or "suchnesses"). The Ten Factors are discussed in detail later in this book when the teaching of Ichinen Sanzen is described. For now, the important thing to know is that the Ten Factors are integral parts of the law of cause and effect, and they are found in the lives of all beings. They are present in the lives of ordinary beings, and they are present in the lives of buddhas. It is due to the common ground of the Ten Factors that ordinary people are capable of becoming buddhas, and buddhas are capable of appearing as ordinary people.
The last half of the sutra, consisting of the latter fourteen chapters, is the essential section that reveals the Original Buddha; therefore, it is called the Original Gate. In this section, the Buddha personifies the universal and timeless ultimate truth. As such, he is known as the Original or Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha. The Eternal Buddha is an ever-present and active spiritual reality that leads all people to realize their own buddhahood. All buddhas who appear throughout the universe as teachers in the past, present, and future are reflections of this Eternal Buddha. In other words, they owe their awakening to the Eternal Buddha, their source and model. Once the Eternal Buddha reveals his unborn and deathless true nature, Buddhahood is no longer just a theory, the achievement of a special person who lived in the distant past, or a remote future possibility. Buddhahood is the essential truth of the present moment that the other teachings point towards. This is why the One Vehicle Teaching of the historical Shakyamuni Buddha is considered to be the reflection of the Eternal Buddha in this world of impermanence, while the Eternal Buddha is the ever-present actuality that is the source of all such reflections. It is important that we receive this teaching with faith and rejoicing and spread it to others.
The core of the essential section is the sixteenth chapter, "The Duration of the Life of the Tathagata." In this chapter, the Buddha finally reveals the birthless and deathless nature of Buddhahood, discussed above. The verse portion of the sixteenth chapter is especially revered because it is a simple and powerful summary of this teaching. These verses are known as the "Verses of Eternity" (Jiga-ge). When these verses are recited, we are reminded of the compassionate presence of the Buddha whose only concern is to enable us to attain Buddhahood just as he did.
Other schools of Buddhism often focus on the parables and other teachings of the theoretical section in the hope that, through their own practice, they will see for themselves the truth expressed in the Original Gate. In Nichiren Buddhism, the Original Gate is held to be primary, because our practice is based on our faith in the active presence of the Buddha in the form of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. Through upholding the Lotus Sutra by chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, we become one with the Eternal Buddha. The difference lies in whether we rely upon the future possibility of attaining buddhahood taught in the theoretical section, or upon our present ability to actually attain Buddhahood through faith in the Eternal Buddha, as taught in the essential section.
It should also be remembered that though the essential section is of primary importance for determining the faith and practice of Nichiren Buddhism, this does not imply that the theoretical section should be discarded. The theoretical section derives its own meaning from the essential section, but it can also be used to help us better understand the essential section. The point of this is that though the theory of the One Vehicle depends upon the essential reality of the Eternal Buddha, the theory and the reality are consistent with one another. If we have faith in the Eternal Buddha we will understand the meaning of the One Vehicle, and if we truly understand the meaning of the One Vehicle, we will be in accord with the true intentions of the Eternal Buddha. For this reason, Nichiren Shonin taught that the whole sutra was worthy of respect, both the theoretical and essential sections.
Both of these sections are acknowledged in the daily practice of Nichiren Buddhism when we recite passages from chapters two and sixteen. Again, these two chapters are the core of the theoretical and essential halves of the sutra, respectively. By reciting them, one is reciting the core of those two sections, and therefore the core meaning of the Lotus Sutra itself. The daily recitation of these passages accomplishes two things: first, it celebrates the One Vehicle teaching that all beings can attain Buddhahood; second, it celebrates the presence of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha, the present actuality of buddhahood in our present lives when we take faith in the Lotus Sutra and put its teachings into practice.
In a letter to a follower, Nichiren Shonin stressed the importance of reciting these two chapters as a part of daily practice:
Now for your question, as I stated earlier, each of the twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra is as meritorious as the others, but above all Chapter Two, "Tactfulness," and Chapter Sixteen, "The Duration of the Life of the Tathagata," are the most worthy chapters. The other twenty-six chapters are like the branches and leaves of these two. Therefore, you should chant all of chapters two and sixteen for daily services. You may also practice writing these two chapters.
The merits of these two chapters are accompanied by those of the other twenty-six chapters, just as a body is followed by its shadow and a gem has its intrinsic value. Therefore, when you chant these two chapters, even if you don't chant the other twenty-six chapters, the merit of chanting them all is yours. (Nyonin Gosho, p. 36, adapted)