SGI-USA Study Curriculum
Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra
by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda
Birth and Death Are Phases of the Great
Rhythm of the Mystic Law
Sho-i sha ga. Nyorai nyo jit^chiken. Sangai shi so.
Mu u shoji. Nyaku tai nyaku shutsu. Yaku mu zai-se. Gyu
metsu-do sha. Hi jitsu hi ko. Hi nyo hi i. Fu nyo sangai.
Ken no sangai. Nyo shi shi ji. Nyorai myo ken. Mu u shaku-myo.
"Why do I do this? The Thus Come One perceives
the true aspect of the threefold world exactly as it is.
There is no ebb or flow of birth and death, and there is
no existing in this world and later entering extinction.
It is neither substantial nor empty, neither consistent
nor diverse. Nor is it what those who dwell in the threefold
world perceive it to be. All such things the Thus Come One
sees clearly and without error." (The
Lotus Sutra, trans. Burton Watson, p. 226)
The Buddha Perceives the World Exactly As
It Is
In this passage, Shakyamuni clarifies the Buddha's magnificent
perspective on life, which could be said to represent the
essence of Buddhism. This sutra passage, in other words,
holds the key to elevating the state of life of all people.
For human beings, there is probably nothing so remotely
mysterious while yet so close at hand as birth and death.
I am convinced that the "Life Span of the Thus Come
One" (16th) chapter provides at once the most fundamental
and most convincing solution to this enigma. And this passage
contains an important part of that solution.
Nichiren Daishonin says, "First study death and then
study other matters" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 1404), thus
indicating the centrality of the issue of birth and death
to Buddhism.
Josei Toda, the second Soka Gakkai president, often said,
"The final problem that Buddhism must solve is that
of death."
How does one address the issue of birth and death? I think
that offering a viable solution will be an important requisite
for religions in the twenty-first century. It is partly
with this future in mind that we now study the profound
teachings of the "Life Span" chapter.
In this passage, Shakyamuni explains the Buddha's wisdom
to perceive the true aspect of life in the threefold world
exactly as it is.
Previously, in the "Expedient Means" (2nd) chapter,
he had explained the Buddha's wisdom in terms of the "true
entity of all phenomena." In this passage, he focuses
on the life and death of living beings and explains the
Buddha's wisdom to perceive the truth of the oneness of
birth and death.
With his initial question, "Why do I do this?"
he is asking why the Buddha, enlightened since the remote
past, can appear in various forms, appropriately expound
a variety of teachings, and unerringly guide all people.
To explain, he says: "The Thus Come One perceives the
true aspect of the threefold world exactly as it is."
The threefold world refers to the world of unenlightened
beings who transmigrate within the six paths (from Hell
through the realm of heavenly beings). This world is made
up of the world of desire, the world of form (or material
world) and the world of formlessness (or world of the spirit).
These are all "worlds of illusion" in which life
is dominated by ignorance (darkness). This ignorance is
itself the fundamental source of human misery and suffering.
The Buddha enlightened since the remote past is the Buddha
who struggles eternally to lead all people to happiness.
This Buddha perceives the true aspect of the threefold world
exactly as it is in order to liberate people from the "suffering
of birth and death." In other words, the statement,
"The Thus Come One perceives the true aspect of the
threefold world exactly as it is," indicates the Buddha's
wisdom to lead all people to enlightenment.
Shakyamuni then clarifies the nature of the threefold world
that he correctly perceives with this wisdom, saying: "There
is no ebb or flow of birth and death, and there is no existing
in this world and later entering extinction."
In other words, he indicates that in the threefold world
there is neither birth nor death, and that beings neither
appear nor disappear. Accordingly, there is no distinction
between those present in the world and those not.
That there is no birth and death strikes one at first as
most surprising, for people generally regard birth and death
as solemn facts of human existence.
This sutra passage, however, is not denying the phenomena
of birth and death. Rather, while recognizing their reality,
it offers a reappraisal of birth and death from a more profound
perspective on life.
What is being explained here is the true aspect of the
life of the Buddha who attained enlightenment in the remote
past. This Buddha is in fact an entity of life without beginning
or end who dwells eternally in the saha world. Accordingly,
there is no fundamental distinction between birth and death,
between existing in this world and later entering extinction.
Even so, the Buddha appears in the world and then enters
extinction as an expedient means to lead people to enlightenment.
In this passage Shakyamuni is directly applying the reality
of the life of the Buddha enlightened since the remote past
to the beings of the threefold world. And the comparison
is entirely valid; there is in fact no difference between
the true entity of life of beings of the threefold world
and that of the Buddha enlightened since the remote past.
This, therefore, is an exact description of the true nature
of the lives of all beings of the threefold world.
Faith in the Gohonzon Leads to a Life Free
of Error
Nichiren Daishonin clarifies this in no uncertain terms:
"Thus Come One" indicates the living beings of
the threefold world. When we observe these living beings
through the eye of the "Life Span" chapter, we
can perceive these beings in the Ten Worlds exactly as they
are in their original state. (Gosho Zenshu, p. 753)
The Thus Come One and the living beings of the threefold
world are each entities of life inherently possessing the
ten worlds. Accordingly, the Thus Come One of the "Life
Span" chapter represents none other than the living
beings of the threefold world. The Daishonin indicates that
to view living beings in this way is to perceive them exactly
as they are in their original state.
Needless to say, the original entity of life is none other
than Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the entity of the life of Nichiren
Daishonin. And the Daishonin manifested this entity as the
Gohonzon that is endowed with the ten worlds.
When we look at things in this way, we realize on a profound
level that even our own birth and death are the birth and
death of life in its "original state"; that is,
of the entity of our "greater life." Birth and
death are simply alternating phases of this entity.
Therefore, the Daishonin says, "Myo represents death,
and ho represents life" (MW-1, 21); and "the life
and death of all phenomena are simply the two phases of
Myoho-renge-kyo" (MW-1, 22). To put it another way,
birth and death are part of the great rhythm of the Mystic
Law, the very wellspring of the cosmic life.
Accordingly, the Daishonin says that all phenomena in the
universe exhibit the phases of birth and death and perform
the rhythm of the Mystic Law. To thus see the universe exactly
as it is is to "perceive the true aspect of the threefold
world."
Our lives in their original state exist eternally together
with the life of the universe; they are without beginning
or end. When certain conditions are attained, we manifest
birth. And, in time, we recede again into the universe,
entering a state of rest. This is the nature of our death.
It is not the case that our lives are terminated through
death; rather, it could be said that death is an expedient
means necessary for us to lead a fresh and vigorous existence
in the future.
Fundamentally, there is no ebb or flow of birth and death;
life, as thus conceived, embodies the oneness of birth and
death. Our lives exist eternally and are inextinguishable.
Those who thoroughly grasp this truth will neither take
birth lightly nor needlessly fear death.
In other words, we can correctly fix our gaze on the present
moment, and advance along the path of continual self-improvement
--- succumbing neither to impatience nor to negligence.
This is the way of life of one who "perceives the true
aspect exactly as it is."
The American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82)
confidently remarked: "It is the depth at which we
live and not at all the surface extension that imports.
We pierce to the eternity ,and, really, the least acceleration
of thought and the least increase of power of thought, make
life to seem and to be of vast duration."1
What matters is the "depth at which we live,"
the "power of thought" we manifest. A person who
leads such a truly profound life can make each day worth
10 days or even a month. In a year, he or she can create
the value of 10 or even 100 years. This is the true measure
of one's "life span"; it is not decided simply
on the superficial basis of length of time.
I have lived my life struggling with this awareness, and
I am determined to continue to do so. Therefore, no matter
what happens, I have no fear. I can overcome anything with
composure and with the spirit of a lion king.
When we base ourselves on this view of life as spanning
the three existences of past, present and future, we can
overcome the fundamental sufferings of birth and death.
We can manifest a state of life of great peace of mind like
that of the Buddha. Then, we need fear nothing. We can wholeheartedly
devote ourselves to the happiness of all people and the
realization of world peace --- to the eternal struggle to
create value that is the Buddha's will. We are all children
of the Buddha who can lead a dignified and grand existence.
In the sutra passage, Shakyamuni further explains the threefold
world that the Buddha who attained enlightenment in the
remote past correctly perceives, saying, "It is neither
substantial nor empty, neither consistent nor diverse. Nor
is it what those who dwell in the threefold world perceive
it to be."
In short, the Buddha perceives the threefold world exactly
as it is with his perfect wisdom of the Middle Way. His
view is not biased as are the views of those dwelling in
the threefold world.
Interpreting this passage in terms of its implicit meaning,
the Thus Come One who "perceives the true aspect of
the threefold world exactly as it is" is Nichiren Daishonin.
The Daishonin embodies the life of compassion and wisdom
existing eternally since kuon ganjo --- the life of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
contained in the depths of the "Life Span" chapter.
The Gohonzon we worship is the Daishonin's life of compassion
and wisdom. In a lecture, President Toda remarked:
When we reverently chant daimoku-to the Gohonzon and feel
the life of the Gohonzon in ourselves, the power of the
Gohonzon wells forth abundantly in our lives, because our
own lives themselves are Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. When that
happens, we will be free of great error in our judgment
--- regarding the affairs of society or whatever.
Through our faith, we feel the power of the Gohonzon, and
this enables us to unerringly make our way through the world.
This is what we assert. Let's lead lives free of error through
believing in the Gohonzon.
In the present age, in which we are surrounded by evil,
nothing is more difficult than to lead a life free of error.
At the same time, nothing is more important. Through faith
in the Gohonzon, we feel the Buddha's heart of compassion
and the Buddha's wisdom to perceive things exactly as they
are, and as a result, we can advance correctly through life.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson, Society and Solitude (Boston and
New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1904), p. 183.
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