SGI-USA Study Curriculum
Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra
by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda
An Indestructible Paradise Exists Within
Our Lives
Jin-zu-riki nyo ze. O asogi ko. Jo zai ryojusen. Gyu
yo sho jusho. Shujo ken ko jin. Dai ka sho sho ji. Ga shi
do annon. Tennin jo juman. Onrin sho do-kaku. Shuju ho shogon.
Hoju ta keka. Shujo sho yu-raku. Shoten gyaku tenku. Jo
sasshu gi-gaku. U mandara ke. San butsu gyu daishu.
Such are my transcendental powers.
For asamkhya kalpas
constantly I have dwelled on Holy Eagle Peak
and in various other places.
When living beings witness the end of a kalpa
and all is consumed in a great fire,
this, my land, remains safe and tranquil,
constantly filled with heavenly and human beings.
The halls and pavilions in its gardens and groves
are adorned with various kinds of gems.
Jeweled trees abound in flowers and fruit
where living beings enjoy themselves at ease.
The gods strike heavenly drums,
constantly making many kinds of music.
Mandarava blossoms rain down,
scattering over the Buddha and the great assembly. (LS16,
230-31)
The World Seen by the Buddha
What is life's purpose? It is happiness. And what is the
aim of religion or belief? Again, it must be human happiness.
What, then, is happiness? What is a happy life?
If happiness lay in fleeting pleasures, then the world
would abound with happiness. If true happiness could be
found in a life of amusement, then devoting ourselves to
such an existence would be most appropriate. But viewed
from the standpoint of life's eternity over past, present
and future, such happiness is a phantasm and in the end
it will prove hollow.
Buddhism teaches how we can realize eternally indestructible
happiness or, as President Toda put it, a "state of
life of absolute happiness." The passage we are studying
this time clarifies what this essentially entails. To begin
with, "For asamkhya kalpas /constantly I have dwelled
on Holy Eagle Peak / and in various other places" literally
means that the Buddha has dwelled at Eagle Peak for an extremely
long period of time, and that he has also appeared in various
worlds in the ten directions.
From the standpoint of the Daishonin's Buddhism, this indicates
that the Gohonzon solemnly exists in our lives at all times
and wherever we may be. The Gohonzon is always with us and
"at our sides," not parting with us for even an
instant. It is always with us. Let us engrave this in our
hearts.
From the next line, "When living beings witness the
end of a kalpa...," we get a description of two completely
different worlds.
"When living beings witness the end of a kalpa / and
all is consumed in a great fire" describes a world
of suffering that reflects the state of people's lives.
It is truly a hellish condition of suffering and fear.
But from the line, "this, my land, remains safe and
tranquil," the scene changes completely. Here, there
is peace, tranquillity and vibrancy. There is joy and brilliance,
lively music and rich culture. This is the true world as
perceived by the Buddha with his vast state of life.
These two worlds are in fact one and the same. Ordinary
people and the Buddha perceive and experience the same world
in totally different ways.
Nichiren Daishonin says that the "great fire"
people perceive is the "great fire of earthly desires"
(Gosho Zenshu, p. 757). It is not the world itself but their
own lives being consumed in flames. And at this they tremble
in fear.
And so the Buddha counsels them, saying in effect: "What
do you have to fear or lament? The truth is not at all what
you perceive!" And he tells them, "This land where
I dwell is eternally peaceful and tranquil."
With these few words, the Buddha shatters people's illusions
and opens up their shallow, limited states of life. These
words of great compassion express the Buddha's desire to
elevate all people, all humankind, to the great state of
life of Buddhahood. The pre-Lotus Sutra teachings taught
that the Buddha and ordinary people lived in different worlds
. They explained that people had to cross over from "this
world," the saha world, to the "other world"
where the Buddha was said to dwell-and that this was only
possible by practicing for an extremely long time.
But the "Life
Span of the Thus Come One" (16th) chapter of the
Lotus Sutra explains that the Buddha eternally expounds
the Law in this saha world. It teaches that this world is
the Buddha land, and that the Buddha and ordinary people
dwell in the same saha world.
In a Gosho, Nichiren Daishonin says:
Hungry spirits perceive the Ganges River as fire, human
beings perceive it as water, and heavenly beings perceive
it as amrita.1 The water
itself is the same, but it appears differently according
to the karmic capacity of individuals. (The Major Writings
of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 5, p. 163)
What we see differs depending on our state of life. Moreover,
when our state of life changes, the world in which we live
also changes. This is the ultimate principle of actual ichinen
sanzen, or a life-moment possesses 3,000 realms, found in
the Lotus Sutra.
Nichiren Daishonin says of his life of repeated persecution:
Day after day, month after month, year after year I have
been subjected to repeated persecutions. Minor persecutions
and annoyances are too numerous even to be counted, but
the major persecutions number four. (MW-2 [2nd ed.], 96)
During his exile to Sado --- by any standard a persecution
of the greatest severity --- Nichiren Daishonin calmly proclaimed:
"I feel immeasurable delight even though I am now an
exile" (MW-1, 94). From the vantage of a state of life
as vast as the universe, he took in everything with imperturbable
composure.
Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, the founding president of the Soka
Gakkai, endured life in prison with the thought, "When
I reflect on the Daishonin's sufferings on Sado, my difficulties
are as nothing." He also wrote in a letter, "Depending
on our frame of mind, we can experience joy even in hell."
A vast state of life is the product of profound humanity.
As another example, I recall how the second president, Josei
Toda, looked on the day his publishing company, having fallen
on hard times, finally had to curtail its operations. I
described the scene in my narrative history The Human Revolution.
At the time I was 21. As editor of the monthly magazine
Boy's Japan, I had been filled with enthusiasm. Then suddenly
the magazine was discontinued. It came as truly a great
shock --- like being aboard a jet that came to a halt in
midair.
But when I happened to glance at President Toda, I saw
that he was enjoying a game of shogi2
with a friend, looking completely calm and unperturbed.
For a moment, I couldn't understand how he could carry on
so at such a dire time. But then a moment later, I understood
him: "He's fine. Nothing in him has changed. His appearance
is a declaration that he will carry on the struggle."
The sense of inspiration I then felt is still fresh in my
mind.
No matter what violent storms of destiny might assail us,
our fighting spirit should not falter in the least. Our
mind of faith must not be destroyed at any cost. "This,
my land, remains safe and tranquil" describes such
a state of life.
I am Josei Toda's disciple. From the time I rallied under
him at age 19 until today, I have created a history of roughly
half a century, time and again weathering storms and navigating
rough seas. I have therefore now developed the fortitude
to withstand any and all difficulties without wavering in
the least.
President Toda taught that "this, my land, remains
safe and tranquil" refers to our homes, where the Gohonzon
is enshrined; that our homes will definitely become "safe
and tranquil" as a result of our practice.
No matter what, we absolutely must not be defeated. Let
us proudly advance with a lofty state of life and this great
spirit: Solid is the castle of my heart.
The Wonderful Workings of One's Mind
The passage from "constantly filled with heavenly
and human beings" to "scattering over the Buddha
and the great assembly" is like a poem to gladden our
hearts when we recite the "Life Span" chapter
every morning and evening. It is a pageant of truly dazzling
images --- of shapes, colors and sounds vying to outshine
one another. So joyous, bright and lively is the world of
the Buddha of the Lotus Sutra!
When he lectured on this passage, President Toda had a
look of true elation. And he seemed to embrace everyone
with his merciful, warm voice.
It was the 1950s, and everyone was poor and had various
worries. "Consumed in a great fire" indeed described
the state of their lives.
Therefore, even though morning and evening they read the
lines, "The halls and pavilions in its gardens and
groves are adorned with various kinds of gems...,"
it probably seemed to them no more than a fairy tale.
But President Toda explained,
We must not suppose that this passage has nothing to do
with us. Even though we may be poor, we can each still lead
a splendid daily life-a life in which "the halls and
pavilions in its gardens and groves are adorned with various
kinds of gems."
To illustrate, if you plant some saplings in an orange
crate and enjoy watering and tending to them every day,
then isn't that having a splendid garden or grove? And as
for halls and pavilions, while your home may only be a tiny
4.5-tatami mat room, it is still your palace. With this
confidence you solemnly adorn it with gems. When a child
brings home an outstanding report card, if the father and
mother post it on the wall and take pleasure in it, then
they are adorning their palace with a gem from their child.
The treasures with which we adorn our palaces are the treasures
of the heart.
Hearing him discuss the passage with such rich humor, everyone's
hearts became bright and expansive. They determined: "While
we may be poor, what do our happy homes really lack?"
"Let's splendidly adorn our homes with 'treasures of
the heart.'" "I will turn my home into a 'jewel
palace of happiness.'"
Even a single flower can completely transform a room with
a desolate atmosphere. The important thing is that we possess
the spirit and determination to change and improve our environment,
even just a little.
Moreover, it is absolutely impossible that someone with
a spirit of earnest faith could fail to become happy and
prosperous or that his or her environment could fail to
be revitalized. This is the universal principle of Buddhism.
Your heart changes everything. This is the mystic nature
of life. It is an unmistakable truth.
The Swiss philosopher Carl Hilty (1833-1909) said in his
book of sayings, Bausteine: "Rather than being upset
that the rose has thorns, we should delight that a thorny
shrub puts forth flowers."3
So much do things change depending on our perception ---
to the extent that even the most dreary, distasteful and
dead-end situation can become bright, beautiful and expansive.
The Daishonin speaks of the "wonderful workings of
one's mind" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 717). There is marvelous
power and activity in the mind of someone who believes in
the Gohonzon. Once we activate the fundamental energy of
our minds, the gears of the 3,000 phenomena immediately
engage. Everything changes. We can use every situation to
create hope and good.
"Adorned with various kinds of gems" could also
refer to cleaning and caring for our local community centers
or training centers. Maintenance groups and local members,
motivated by tremendous sincerity, are always cleaning,
raising lovely flowers and trees and beautifully adorning
these centers. Their sincerity is itself the supreme gem.
Moreover, pure-minded fellow Bodhisattvas of the Earth
joyfully gather at these "palaces of the Law,"
earnestly seeking a correct way of life and singing a song
of hope and courage. These are indeed the joyful gardens
the sutra describes as a gathering of "heavenly and
human beings."
The SGI itself perfectly matches the description in this
sutra passage. It is a gathering of fine people who are
always bright, high-spirited and lively. "Constantly
filled with heavenly and human beings" describes well
this organization.
The purpose of the SGI's advance, bright and jubilant,
is to turn our homes and communities, society, the world
and this precious planet Earth into a paradise "adorned
with various kinds of gems."
When we are embraced in the Buddha's immense state of life,
then we ourselves, those around us and the land itself all
shine with the light of happiness and hope. This is the
power of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo of a life-moment possesses
3,000 realms --- it is the dynamic principle of change.
Basing ourselves on this great teaching, we are struggling
in the very midst of society to change the world into a
paradise of happiness. This is our movement of kosen-rufu.
Notes:
- Amrita: ambrosia, regarded in ancient India as the beverage
of the gods. In China it was thought it would rain down
from heaven when the world became peaceful. Amrita, meaning
immortality, is said to remove one's sufferings and confer
everlasting life.
- Shogi: Japanese chess.
- Bausteine: Aphorismen und Zitate aus alter und neuerer
Zeit (Building Stones: Aphorisms and Quotations from Past
and Present), compiled by Carl Hilty (Leipzig: Walter
Leopthien Verlag).
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