SGI-USA Study Curriculum
Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra
by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda
Expedient Means Are Words of Wisdom for
Raising People Up
Shari-hotsu. Go ju jo-butsu irai. Shuju innen. Shuju
hiyu. Ko en gonkyo. Mu shu hoben. Indo shujo. Ryo ri shojaku.
Shariputra, ever since I attained Buddhahood I have
through various causes and various similes widely expounded
my teachings and have used countless expedient means to
guide living beings and cause them to renounce their attachments.1
Here, Shakyamuni is elaborating on the immediately preceding
passage, where he says, "He [a Buddha] has realized
the Law that is profound and never known before, and preaches
it in accordance with what is appropriate [to the capacities
of the people], yet his intention is difficult to understand."
Shakyamuni had earlier discussed the "wisdom of the
Buddhas." In this passage, by contrast, he reveals
this wisdom as he has gathered it up in himself.
"Ever since I attained Buddhahood" refers to
the period from when Shakyamuni attained enlightenment until
he taught the Lotus Sutra, during which time he expounded
various provisional sutras. Shakyamuni then clarifies the
distinctive character of the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings.
He says that before teaching the Lotus Sutra he had employed
"various causes" (explaining why things are the
way they are) and "various similes" in widely
expounding his teaching; and that these teachings were "expedient
means" (Jpn hoben) for guiding people to the truth
and freeing them from their various attachments.
The Expedient Means of the Pre-Lotus Sutra
Teachings
An expedient means is a means or a device that the Buddha,
out of compassion, employs to help people attain enlightenment.
From the outset, Shakyamuni's ultimate purpose lay in enabling
all people to attain Buddhahood; but he did not reveal this
in the provisional sutras. He reveals it for the first time
in the Lotus Sutra.
The purpose of the provisional sutras is to enable people
to part with various attachments. People differ in terms
of the types of attachments or "fetters" they
possess. Therefore, Shakyamuni expounded a variety of teachings,
employing various causes and similes that matched the capacities
of specific people.
These teachings were all no more than "means"
for drawing people toward the "end" of attaining
Buddhahood. In this sense, the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings
are regarded as expedient means.
Still, the expedient teachings expounded before the Lotus
Sutra also arose from the Buddha's compassion. Shakyamuni
strove to respond to the different capacities of people,
to select teachings that precisely matched their needs,
and to satisfy everyone. He was waging a struggle of compassion
and wisdom.
"What is this person seeking?" "How should
I instruct this person to ensure that he or she will not
deviate from the correct path?" He deeply considered
the case of each individual, and gave instruction with an
earnest "must-win" spirit.
Though we may speak of "the people" in the aggregate,
they are not an abstract, homogeneous multitude; they are
not a colorless mass. "How can the heart of this person
before me be opened?" "How can I reinvigorate
this specific individual?" This is the spirit of Buddhism.
When speaking to a large number of people, only if we have
the attitude of addressing each individual can we offer
"living words" that reverberate in the hearts
of many.
Since attaining the Way, Shakyamuni thoroughly devoted
himself to expounding the Law for the sake of individuals.
Because his words and phrases were uttered for individuals
and with their happiness in mind, the Law imbued the life
of one person after another. Because he waged such a struggle
he sent people's hearts a fresh breeze, dispelling the dark
clouds of doubt and anxiety and causing the sun of hope
and happiness to rise. Because he regarded the individual
with such warmth, people from all walks of life -- young
and old, men and women -- gathered with joy and enthusiasm
to hear Shakyamuni expound his teachings.
Shakyamuni preached the expedient teachings because he
sympathized with the people, whose lives were steeped in
illusion and suffering. He was impelled by the desire to
somehow help them. This led him to consider, "By what
means can I save them from suffering?" "How might
I liberate them from illusion?" In other words, expedients
arose from his desire to help people; his compassion gave
birth to wisdom.
Shakyamuni, who attained enlightenment beneath the Bodhi
tree, aroused a spirit of great mercy and determined to
save all people from suffering. At that time, the Buddhas
of the ten directions appeared and urged Shakyamuni on,
saying: "Following the example of all other Buddhas,
you will employ the power of expedient means. We too ...
make distinctions and preach the three vehicles."2
Thereupon Shakyamuni, preparatory to expounding the Law
"never known before" to which he had become enlightened,
began to expound the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings using the
power of expedient means.
Expedient means are expressions of wisdom serving to raise
people up. Shakyamuni, armed with words of compassion and
wisdom, thus resolutely took the first step on the difficult
journey to expound the Law for the salvation of all people.
And so he raised the curtain on Buddhism, which sends out
a message of happiness to all humankind.
The 'Secret and Mystic Expedient' of the
Lotus Sutra
As I have already mentioned, the "expedient means"
to which this passage refers are the expedient means of
the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings. These are not to be confused
with the expedient means indicated by the title of the second
chapter of the Lotus Sutra. Profound significance is attached
to the expedient means of the Lotus Sutra.
T'ien-t'ai identifies three types of expedient means: "functional
teaching expedients," "truth-gateway expedients"
and the "secret and mystic expedient." The first
two correspond to the expedient means of the pre-Lotus Sutra
teachings. The secret and mystic expedients correspond to
the expedient means of the Lotus Sutra, the expedient means
of the "Expedient Means" chapter.
Functional-teaching expedients (hoyu hoben) are the various
teachings expounded according to the differing capacities
of the people. Through the function (yu) of these teachings
(ho) Shakyamuni brought benefit to people of various capacities.
Truth-gateway expedients (notsu hoben) are teachings that
represent the gateway for entering the truth. To follow
these teachings is termed notsu, because through them people
are led to the truth.
These expedients of the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings serve
to guide people to the wisdom of the Buddha; they are "means"
for directing people until they have reached the Lotus Sutra.
And, as Shakyamuni indicates when he says "honestly
discarding expedient means,"3
the expedients of the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings should be
discarded once the Lotus Sutra has been expounded.
Shakyamuni Dared To Express the Truth in
Words
By contrast, the expedient of the Lotus Sutra is not an
expedient that ought to be discarded; it is the teaching
of the truth. At the same time, however, it is still always
just an expedient. Although the second chapter explains
the truth, it is not titled "Truth," but "Expedient
Means." Herein lies the profound significance of the
secret and mystic expedient (himyo hoben).
In the opening of the "Expedient Means" chapter,
we are told that the wisdom of the Buddhas is infinitely
profound and immeasurable, and difficult for all voice-hearers
and pratyekabuddhas to comprehend. It is the ultimate teaching
that defies expression through words and so cannot be explained.
However, unless the wisdom of, all Buddhas is expressed,
all people will forever remain shut away in darkness. For
this reason, the Buddha ventures to put it into words.
Compared with the inexpressible truth, the words the Buddha
uses to expound it are an expedient. At the same time, however,
it is a fact that through these words people can be saved.
The words of the Lotus Sutra that the Buddha, out of his
compassion, expounded "according with his own mind"
(Jpn zuijii) for the sake of all people constitute the secret
and mystic expedient; more than simply a means, the words
are an expedient at one with the Buddha's wisdom.
Regarding the words of the Lotus Sutra, Nichiren Daishonin
says things like: "Its words are the reality of life"
(The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 3);
"Each of the 69,384 characters of the Lotus Sutra is
a Buddha" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 971); and "When you
cast your eyes upon the words of the Lotus Sutra, you should
consider that you are beholding the living body of the Buddha
Shakyamuni" (MW-5, 147). Nichiren Daishonin thus repeatedly
emphasizes the oneness of the Buddha's wisdom and the words
whereby it is expressed.
In a sense, it could be said that the expedients of the
pre-Lotus Sutra teachings and the expedient of the Lotus
Sutra are entirely opposite in their directionality. The
Japanese term hoben (expedient means) originally derives
from the Sanskrit word upaya, meaning "approach."
The pre-Lotus Sutra teachings enable people to move away
from illusion and approach enlightenment. The direction,
in other words, is toward the wisdom of the Buddhas. This
is the direction of the functional-teaching expedients and
the truth-gateway expedients. These expedients are no longer
of any use once we arrive at the teaching of the Lotus Sutra.
In the Lotus Sutra, by contrast, Shakyamuni explains and
articulates the wisdom of the Buddhas to the world and in
a manner according with his own mind. The directionality
of this expedient is thus that of the Buddha approaching
the world of human beings. This is the secret and mystic
expedient.
Through the power of the Lotus Sutra, the pre-Lotus Sutra
teachings take on importance as partial expressions of the
truth. They are said to be "revealed and unified"
in the teaching of the Lotus Sutra.
Revealing the Power of the Mystic Law Through
Our Struggles
The wisdom of the Buddhas revealed in "Expedient Means"
is the "true entity of all phenomena." Put another
way, it is the truth that all living beings are Buddhas.
The "secret" of the secret and mystic expedient
is that this truth can only be understood between Buddhas.
It is called "mystic" because it is difficult
for people to comprehend. The teaching that awakens people
to the truth that all living beings are Buddhas is the secret
and mystic expedient.
This is exemplified in the parable of the gem in the robe
related in "Prophecy of Enlightenment for Five Hundred
Disciples" (Jpn Gohyaku Deshi Juki), the eighth chapter
of the Lotus Sutra. This parable tells of how a man is given
a gem of priceless value by a close friend, who sews it
into the lining of his robe while he drowses in a drunken
stupor. Not realizing that he possesses the gem, the man
suffers hardships and is always in want. Much later he meets
the friend again, and only then does he discover that all
along he has possessed the priceless gem.
The mans friend (the Buddha) knew that the man possessed
the gem in his robe (the world of Buddhahood in his life),
even though the man (representing the beings of the nine
worlds) failed to realize it.
An ordinary human being is a Buddha. This is difficult
to understand. Unless we believe we possess the Buddha nature,
it will remain forever "secret.' However, once we recognize
it, it is no longer "secret," and our "mystic"
powers appear.
The second Soka Gakkai president, Josei Toda, said: "That
we are merely ordinary, unenlightened beings is the secret
and mystic expedient. The truth is that we are Buddhas."
To realize this truth is to understand the secret and mystic
expedient.
Although we are Buddhas, we are born as common mortals.
This is so that, through doing our human revolution and
showing proof of the Mystic Law, we can accomplish kosen-rufu.
If we had everything, including good health and riches,
from the outset, then other people could not understand
the power of the Mystic Law. Therefore, we try to reveal
it to them through our struggles as common mortals. This
is the secret and mystic expedient.
Victory in Life Through Victory in Faith
In a word, all of us who believe in the Gohonzon, the Lotus
Sutra of the Latter Day of the Law, and who are struggling
amid the reality of the nine worlds exemplify the secret
and mystic expedient.
As long as we always live based on the Gohonzon, then any
and all sufferings become expedient means for us to strengthen
and deepen the world of Buddhahood in our lives. Sufferings
and joys and everything that happens to us become expedient
means for us to reveal the power of the Mystic Law.
It is said that life is like a drama. Whether in the world
of business, education, the home or wherever, each person
acts out a drama. This "role" is itself an expedient
means; but should the "actor" abandon his or her
role, he or she will be at a loss for a mission. When we
are acting out our role we are manifesting our own inner
truth most fully.
Daily life equals faith. And the world of Buddhahood appears
nowhere except wedded to the stage of the reality of the
nine worlds. Let us enact the drama of human revolution
on the stage of our lives.
From misery to happiness, from disappointment to hope,
from fate to mission, from suffering to eternal joy - the
driving force that makes these dynamic transformations possible
is the Mystic Law, is faith.
Notes:
- The
Lotus Sutra, trans. Burton Watson (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1993), P. 24.
- Ibid., P. 43.
- Ibid., P. 44.
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