SGI-USA Study Curriculum

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra
by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda

We Can Attain the Buddha's Vast State of Life

Ji ga toku burrai. Sho kyo sho kosshu. Muryo hyaku sen man. Oku sai asogi. Jo seppo kyoke. Mushu oku shujo. Ryo nyu o butsu-do. Nirai muryo ko.

Since I attained Buddhahood
the number of kalpas that have passed
is an immeasurable hundreds, thousands, ten thousands,
millions, trillions, asamkhyas.
Constantly I have preached the Law, teaching, converting
countless millions of living beings,
causing them to enter the Buddha way,
all this for immeasurable kalpas. (LS16, 229)

Exactly a year has now passed since the Great Hanshin Earthquake. All too many precious lives were lost in that disaster, and there was all too much suffering. Never again should such a calamity occur.

From the bottom of my heart, I offer my profound condolences to those affected by the disaster and express my sympathies for the toils of those earnestly struggling for the region's reconstruction.

Every day I sincerely pray for the repose of those who lost their lives. And I am resolved to continue doing so henceforth.

The Kansai spirit is imperishable. Fight on, Hyogo! Carry on the struggle, Kansai! I will continue crying out, on your behalf, at the top of my lungs. I will continue sending you daimoku.

The Lotus Sutra is a scripture of revitalization: "Myo means to revive, that is, to return to life" (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 3, p. 23). The Mystic Law embodies hope, courage and confidence. The members of Kansai are now proving for us the great power of the Mystic Law, the great power of life. They are a light of hope for the entire world.

Today let us study a hope filled passage from this scripture of revitalization. We now commence our study of the jigage.

The Buddha Eternally Endowed With the Ten Worlds

As I mentioned last time (Feb. 2 World Tribune), the jigage explains matters pertaining to the Buddha himself. However, Josei Toda, the second Soka Gakkai president, made it a point to stress that the text can be read in two ways.

From a literal standpoint,
"Since I attained Buddhahood" (ji ga toku burrai) means: since Shakyamuni became a Buddha. But a more profound meaning is found in the text when we interpret it from the standpoint of its implicit meaning.

Regarding the words "attained Buddhahood," my mentor taught: "The state of Buddhahood is not something that comes to us from without. Rather, this passage clearly describes the function of the Buddha that bounds forth from within our own lives."

In other words, from the standpoint of the sutra's literal meaning, this passage refutes the view that Shakyamuni attained enlightenment for the first time during his lifetime in India and clarifies that he in fact attained Buddhahood in the remote past, reiterating the teaching articulated earlier in the chapter that the Buddha's life is eternal.

But from the standpoint of its implicit meaning, this passage teaches that all people's lives are eternally endowed with the Buddha's three bodies or enlightened properties.

In the "Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings," Nichiren Daishonin indicates that this passage "refers to the three bodies of a Buddha" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 756). This passage elucidates the three bodies that are the fundamental life of the Buddha, and indicates that since the beginningless past of kuon ganjo, our lives, too, have been endowed with these three bodies. This is the meaning of the passage in the Daishonin's Buddhism.

In terms of the view of life's eternity expounded in the "Life Span of the Thus Come One" (16th) chapter, the world of Buddhahood, as well as the nine worlds, are inherent and simultaneously present in life. The Daishonin interprets ji ga toku burrai as meaning, "The Buddha endowed with both the nine worlds and Buddhahood has come [to this world]" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 756).

From the standpoint of the passage's implicit meaning, the Buddha who attained enlightenment in the remote past did not "become" a Buddha by having eradicated the nine worlds, but simultaneously possesses both the nine worlds and the world of Buddhahood. This is termed "eternally endowed with the ten worlds."

"Eternally endowed" means originally or inherently possessing. It describes the original essence of life that "was not worked for, that was not improved upon, but that exists just as it always has" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 759). This is also termed kuon or "uncreated." It is the original and true aspect of life just as it is.

To manifest the essence of life that exists just as it is means to develop and utilize fully the power inherent in our lives.

To illustrate, after a severe winter, fresh young shoots soon emerge. The tender new flora grow at a frantic pace and glisten in the morning sunlight. There is nothing the least halfhearted or tentative in their appearance. There is nothing whimsical or snide about them. Each moment, they live life to the fullest. They certainly don't become stubborn and inflexible. Through and through, they live true to themselves. As a result they shine, and achieve a marvelous harmony with everything around them.

This is the condition of life that the French author Romain Rolland (1866-1944) describes when he writes: "I have gained my own fulfillment! I have won mastery over my self! What possession could compare to this." (1)

What's more, we who have encountered the Mystic Law can open up our original selves and make our lives shine eternally. What a tremendous privilege this is! How truly fortunate we are!

I will never forget President Toda lecturing on this passage [ji ga toku burrai] of the jigage. It was truly a great lecture.

"All of you, circle the characters ji (I) and toku (attained)," Mr. Toda said, his slightly hoarse voice resounding through the room. Everyone circled the two characters with their pencils. Some had a look of fascination, while others looked incredulous, with an expression that seemed to say, "Why are you having us do this?" President Toda gazed about the room, taking in everyone's reaction.

Then he continued:
When we put these two words together, we get "self-attained" (jitoku), and what is left over is "I, the Buddha, come" (ga burrai). "I" indicates the Dharma body or property of the Law; "Buddha" the bliss body or property of wisdom; and "come" the manifested body or property of action. In other words, these stand for the Buddha's three bodies or enlightened properties. So from the standpoint of the Daishonin's Buddhism, ji ga toku burrai means to attain, on one's own, the three enlightened properties .

"We attain, on our own, the Buddha's three enlightened properties." When we heard this, everyone was taken aback. In the phrase ji ga toku burrai, which we had read many times without clearly understanding, the two characters ji and toku now stood out conspicuously. He thus taught that Buddhahood is a state of life we achieve from within; that Buddhahood inherently exists within our own lives. And the participants could fully grasp his meaning.

President Toda's lecture was pervaded with his sincere wish to somehow teach us that all people are originally Buddhas, that ordinary people who chant the Mystic Law are Buddhas.

This was also Nichiren Daishonin's spirit. The Daishonin's free and nondogmatic interpretation of the Lotus Sutra in the "Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings," from the standpoint of the revitalization of the human being, is truly the crystallization of his immense compassion.

Let us now turn once again to the three bodies.

The Dharma body or property of the Law is the Mystic Law itself, the eternal and unchanging truth. Since this is the original entity of the self, it corresponds to ga (self) in ga burrai.

The bliss body is the Buddha's property of wisdom to awaken to the Mystic Law, and the benefit with which a Buddha is endowed in reward for awakening to the Law. Since a Buddha is someone awakened to his or her original self, the bliss body corresponds to butsu (Buddha) [which, in combination with rai, contracts to form burrai].

The manifested body indicates the Buddha's actions to lead people to enlightenment. Fundamentally, such actions arise from the Buddha's compassion. Since the Buddha appears where there are people, this body corresponds to rai (come).

These three bodies are the inherent properties of Shakyamuni who attained enlightenment in the remote past.

Dwelling at one with the eternal Law, the Buddha employs boundless wisdom and manifests immeasurable benefit to eternally lead all people to happiness. This Buddha who eternally leads people to enlightenment is Shakyamuni who attained enlightenment in the remote past. And Nichiren Daishonin is the Buddha who attained on his own the inherent and uncreated three bodies of the Buddha.

The three bodies represent the inherent power in one's life to enjoy one's existence to the fullest and lead others to happiness through the Mystic Law. To awaken to the true self that yearns for the happiness of oneself and others is the greatest of all joys, and the greatest peace of mind.

The "Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings" explains that we who follow the Daishonin are Buddhas originally possessing the three bodies: "Now when Nichiren and his followers chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they are acting as votaries of the phrase 'Since I attained Buddhahood' (ji ga toku burrai)" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 756).

When we chant the Mystic Law and carry out the practice for ourselves and others, we can attain the three bodies inherent in our lives. We can realize the same state of life as the Daishonin.

The three bodies become manifest in the lives of those who fight against adversity and struggle for kosen-rufu as Bodhisattvas of the Earth.

When friends suffer, we cannot stand by doing nothing. We cannot pretend not to notice. We take action for those around us --- even to the point of forgetting about our own immediate difficulties. The SGI is a gathering of such heroes and heroines of the people.

This was certainly evident in our fellow members' actions in Kansai at the time of the Great Hanshin Earthquake. "Defeat is unthinkable!" --- this was their spirit. Everyone was faced with calamitous circumstances, but they took action, wringing out every ounce of strength. Their actions, words and gestures of encouragement were sources of hope and courage to countless others.

Members sincerely turned to the Gohonzon to chant daimoku for suffering friends, even forgetting the passage of time. And, on seeing friends' agonized faces, they offered them words imbued with confidence and courage: "It's going to be all right. We can definitely overcome this!" The members were not directed to do this by anyone. Nor, for that matter, on the orders of someone else could people be expected to exert themselves so tirelessly.

When we are caught up in what others think, in formality or appearances, we cannot manifest the power eternally inherent in our lives. But we can manifest such power when we earnestly dedicate ourselves to others and to kosen-rufu.

The Buddha originally endowed with the three bodies --- the limitless power inherent in life --- vibrantly manifests in a person of such spirit, single-minded determination, and action.

In whom, if not in such a person, could the Buddha possibly appear? Just whom could the "Buddha endowed with the three bodies" possibly indicate? It is our lives that are described by the passage in the "Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings" that says:

The attainment of the Buddha Way takes millions of kalpas, but when you exert tremendous effort toward this goal with unwavering faith [in the Gohonzon], the three inherent bodies of the Buddha are manifested in an instant. (Gosho Zenshu, p. 790)

We ourselves can manifest the eternally inherent three bodies, the vast state of life of the Buddha. This is a state of life seldom attained even when sought, a state of life so grand that the very idea of seeking it rarely even occurs to people. Through the single word faith, through steadfastly embracing the Mystic Law, we can attain, on our own our inherent Buddhahood. As the sutra says, "This cluster of unsurpassed jewels has come to us unsought" (LS4, 87).

In our hearts we possess the supreme treasure. The courage to face any difficulty, boundless hope, burning passion and inexhaustible wisdom --- all of these are facets of the "originally inherent jewel" in our lives. Those who forge ahead in faith with this confidence are Buddhas. Their lives turn into "clusters of unsurpassed jewels." In lifetime after lifetime and world after world, they are people of wealth and influence, leading lives of great fulfillment.

Ultimately, Buddhahood is attained on one's own, not through someone else. It is something we achieve through our own efforts. Through faith in the Mystic Law, we can definitely manifest the great state of absolute freedom of the eternal and undying self. This is the essence of the jigage and the conclusion the "Life Span" chapter puts forth.

Notes:

1. Aisurukoto --- Romain Rolland no kotoba (To Love and To Live --- Words from Romain Rolland), trans. and ed. by Yuzura Ninagawa (Tokyo: Shakaishisosha, 1984), p. 81.

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