SGI-USA Study Curriculum

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

Strong are Those Who Continually Base Themselves on the Gohonzon

I do shujo ko. Hoben gen nehan. Ni jitsu fu metsu-do. Jo ju shi seppo. Ga jo ju o shi. I sho jin-zu-riki Ryo tendo shujo. Sui gon ni fu ken.

In order to save living beings,
as an expedient means I appear to enter nirvana
but in truth I do not pass into extinction.
I am always here, preaching the Law.
I am always here,
but through my transcendental powers
I make it so that living beings in their befuddlement
do not see me even when close by. (LS16, 229)

The Buddha Appears To Die As an Expedient Means

A great movement of discussion meetings, a flowering of human dialogue, is now unfolding throughout the length and breadth of Japan.

The discussion meeting is a wonderful forum of life. Where there is such joy, excitement, bounding vigor and solidarity of faith in the Gohonzon, the Buddhist gods of the universe all assemble, and the Buddhas and bodhisattvas envelop everyone in good fortune and benefit. Through such vibrant life-to-life interaction, the SGI is rapidly increasing in brilliance and strength.

Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and Josei Toda, the first and second Soka Gakkai presidents, no doubt rejoice at this harmonious solidarity. And Nichiren Daishonin surely praises all of you.

Once again, together let us study the Buddhist doctrine of life.

'As an Expedient Means I Appear To Enter Nirvana'

Shakyamuni, who attained Buddhahood in the remote past of gohyaku-jintengo, is the Buddha who eternally leads people to enlightenment over the three existences of past, present and future. Why does a Buddha, whose life is eternal, pass into extinction?

The answer is that he does so as an expedient means "in order to save living beings." In other words, the Buddha enters nirvana (that is, passes into extinction or dies) as an expedient means to lead people to enlightenment.

Nirvana indicates a state of tranquillity achieved by overcoming earthly desires. The Hinayana teachings, moreover, put forth the goal of "complete nirvana" attained by not only overcoming earthly desires of the mind, but by freeing oneself from the influence of the physical body itself, through death. For this reason, a Buddha's death was referred to as entering nirvana.

But the "Life Span of the Thus Come One" (16th) chapter of the Lotus Sutra indicates that the Buddha only appears to pass into extinction or enter nirvana as an expedient means. The truth is that, out of his compassion and wisdom, he eternally continues working to lead all people to happiness.

The profound stability of the Buddha's life derives from his ceaseless activity to save people --- just as the stability of a top derives from the rapidity of its spin. The Buddha's state of life, pervaded with compassion and wisdom, is one of absolute serenity and tranquillity.

True nirvana lies not in physical and spiritual extinction, but in the perfection of wisdom. Perfect wisdom is limitless and works in conjunction with compassion; it manifests as the Buddha's eternal activity to lead people to happiness. The sutra passage mentions the Buddha's "transcendental powers." Fundamentally, these are a function of the "compassion at one with wisdom" with which the Buddha's eternal life is endowed.

From the standpoint of the Daishonin's Buddhism, this perfect wisdom is an original attribute of our lives. We are eternally endowed with the Buddha's three enlightened properties. Those who have forgotten this original self are, as the sutra says, "befuddled."

The Buddha Is like a Concerned Parent Watching Over His Children

To the Buddha, "living beings in their befuddlement" are like children who have not yet reached the age of discernment.

Mischievous children may resent and feel constrained by a parent who constantly watches over them. But if the parent momentarily disappears from the child's sight, the child cries out for and tries to find him or her.

Similarly, only when the Buddha passes into extinction can befuddled people truly appreciate their fortune in having encountered the Buddha. He regards all people as his own children. Like a parent, the Buddha understands the people well and exerts himself in various ways on their behalf, employing all manner of expedient means. And passing into extinction is the ultimate expedient means at the Buddha's disposal.

The Buddha in fact constantly watches over the people, close at their side. He is "always here, preaching the Law," but purposely does not allow himself to be seen. Thus Shakyamuni says he makes it so that people "do not see me even when close by."

Why does the Buddha go to such lengths? It is necessary in order to awaken people to their true selves and enable them to become self-reliant.

Continuing this parent-child analogy, it is as though the Buddha is humoring us by playing a game of peek-a-boo or hide-and-seek.

Such games are thought to be very important for the psychological development of children. They cultivate a sense of assurance and trust that even though someone is not immediately visible, they are still somewhere, and will definitely reappear.

The development of such awareness gives rise to the power of self-reliance. In a sense, the parent dwells within the child's heart. In the child's heart there is someone in whom the child can firmly believe, even though that person may not presently be there. And as a result, the child becomes able to take action with a sense of freedom and self-assurance.

This principle remains operative even after we become adults. The sense of absolute peace of mind and unshakable trust we have when we know that someone will understand our efforts whether or not anyone else pays attention --- that there is someone in whom we can place our wholehearted trust --- is a source of great encouragement and, above all, strength.

And our relationship with the Buddha is not limited to this lifetime alone. The parent who constantly watches over the people is the eternal Buddha revealed in the "Life Span" chapter.

Yet befuddled people cannot even see the Buddha existing in their own hearts. For this reason, Nichiren Daishonin inscribed the life of the Buddha --- his own identity --- in the form of the Gohonzon. And this Gohonzon serves as a mirror for us to see the Gohonzon existing within ourselves.

In the Gosho "On the Treasure Tower," Nichiren Daishonin writes:
Abutsu-bo is the Treasure Tower itself, and the Treasure Tower is Abutsu-bo himself.... You, yourself, are a true Buddha who possesses the three enlightened properties. You should chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with this conviction. Then, the place wherein you dwell and chant daimoku is the place of the Treasure Tower. (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 30)

When we reverently pray to the Gohonzon, we manifest the life of the Gohonzon in ourselves. Illuminated by the mirror of the Gohonzon, the world of Buddhahood within spontaneously rises to the surface.

The Gohonzon, embodying the Daishonin's very soul, is the essence of the Buddha's life. Even though the Buddha is always here in the world in the form of the Gohonzon, unless people have faith, the Gohonzon will only appear to them as mere paper or wood. But it is in fact the embodiment of the noble life of the Buddha.

Regarding "always here" in the passage "I am always here, preaching the Law," the "Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings" says: "'Always here' refers to the place where the votaries of the Lotus Sutra abide. 'Here' is the saha world" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 756).

The Buddha is present wherever a person of action overcomes difficulties based on faith and correctly advances in life.

Regarding "preaching the Law," the "Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings" says: "'Preaching the Law' is the sound of the words of all living beings as they preach the Law through the wisdom that is freely received and employed, a part of their original make-up. Now that we have entered the Latter Day of the Law, preaching the Law means [chanting] Nam-myoho-renge-kyo" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 756).

The Buddha of limitless joy (the Buddha of compassion, at one with wisdom, who freely receives and employs the benefit of the Mystic Law) manifests in the lives of those who chant daimoku to the Gohonzon. In other words, the Daishonin teaches that by basing ourselves on faith we can tap the wisdom of the Buddha and manifest in our lives the Buddha's benefit.

When we have absolute confidence that we can overcome any and all sufferings through faith in the Gohonzon, our lives are bathed in the light of boundless hope, and limitless strength wells forth. This is the strongest and most secure way of life.

The passage "as an expedient means I appear to enter nirvana," according to President Toda, "sheds light on the question of why we die even though life is eternal." He taught that, viewed from the eternal state of one who perceives the oneness of birth and death, death is an expedient means.

President Toda often compared death to sleep. When we have been awake for a long time, we tire and go to sleep. And when we wake up after a sound sleep, our vitality is restored. After we have been alive for a long time, we grow weary and die. And then we set out on a new life with a fresh spirit.

Death is a period of "recharging" for our next existence. Those who dedicate themselves to the Mystic Law are immediately reborn, and in their new existences they rejoin their comrades struggling for kosen-rufu. They can lead fulfilling lives of mission according to their desires.

In Buddhism, therefore, there is neither fear of death, nor a defiant attitude toward death accompanied by sense of resignation. Firmly fixing our eyes on the truth that death is an expedient means, we can live through everything with dignity and composure. This is the way of life of a Buddhist. We can live with unremitting spirit and vigor in this lifetime and in every lifetime over the three existences.

However, as President Toda emphasized, even though life is eternal, our rebirth does not entail any discontinuity from one existence to the next.

From existences past to the present, and from the present to the future, our lives are continuous. The law of cause and effect operates eternally over past, present and future. The good and evil causes engraved in our lives do not simply disappear.

President Toda taught that after we die, our lives merge with and melt into the universe:

While our lives melt into the universe, they do not blend in with the lives of others. Each life retains its integrity and experiences joy or sadness depending on the person's actions while alive --- as though crying or laughing in a dream. And then, like someone waking up from a dream on account of some disturbance, a person is born once again in concordance with the proper external causes.

Therefore, we must not give up in this life using the rationale that "there's always my next lifetime." Nor can irresponsible or erratic behavior be justified on the grounds that "you only live once."

One's actions in previous existences are all engraved and contained in this lifetime. The causes for our present suffering or joy, happiness or misery, all lie in our own past actions.

But the Daishonin's Buddhism enables us to fundamentally reform our destiny. When we truly base ourselves on Buddhism's view of life's eternity, we realize the first thing to change is how we live in the present.

When we pray to the Gohonzon, change arises from the depths of our being. Strong, pure vitality abundantly wells forth. The iron chains of destiny are cut, and our original identity, the fresh and robust world of Buddhahood, appears.

Carrying out our human revolution means always living with exactly such new vitality.

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