SGI-USA Study Curriculum

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

A Life Dedicated to the Mystic Law --- a Life of True Happiness

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)

Each passage of the Lotus Sutra crystallizes the Buddha's wisdom, illuminating the path of eternal happiness.

The Lotus Sutra speaks directly to the human heart. It calls upon people to ask themselves: For what purpose was I born in this world?

Are people born to suffer, to worry? No. Are they born to lament their destiny? No, definitely not.

In connection with the passage "where living beings enjoy themselves at ease," Josei Toda, the second Soka Gakkai president, always said: "We are born in the world to enjoy life. We are not born to suffer."

In other words, we have come here to enjoy ourselves, to live at ease. The sutra says that this world is a place "where living beings enjoy themselves at ease." These wonderful words overturn shallow views about the nature of life and happiness.

Of course, "enjoy themselves at ease" does not mean indulging in superficial or hedonistic pleasures. In the face of the turbulent waves of reality, such pleasures prove all too empty. The saha world, moreover, is a "world of endurance." How truly difficult it is to live, to endure life, in a world so replete with suffering and fear! If our life state is low, ultimately we will be defeated.

As seen with the eye of the Buddha, when we ordinary people open up the state of Buddhahood in our lives, this saha world itself becomes a paradise "where living beings enjoy themselves at ease." It could be said that we are enacting a human drama of joyfully living out our lives on the stage of the saha world.

Nichiren Daishonin says, "There is no greater happiness for human beings than chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo" (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 161). When deep in our hearts we base ourselves on the Mystic Law, we can lead lives of supreme happiness in which we thoroughly savor both the sufferings and joys of this world.

Again, to analyze "enjoy themselves at ease": It could be said that "at ease" means "freely," and "enjoy themselves" means to "enjoy life thoroughly and wholeheartedly." In any event, our life state is the key.

In nature, too, there is drama. There is great joy in spring precisely because of the severe winter that has been withstood. The year is beautiful because of the changing seasons.

The same is true of human life. In the course of life, we encounter mountains and valleys. Because there are steep mountains, we can enjoy mountain climbing. And because there are waves, we can enjoy surfing. Similarly, as long as we possess strong life forces and abundant wisdom, we can overcome all of life's difficulties, at the same time leisurely enjoying ourselves. And we come to possess unshakable selves, unshakable lives endowed with the four virtues-eternity, happiness, true self and purity.

President Toda referred to this free and indestructible, diamond-like condition as a "life state of absolute happiness."

Furthermore, the Daishonin says that "enjoy themselves at ease" refers to the "joy derived from the Law.... [It] means to know that our lives --- both our bodies and minds, ourselves and our surroundings --- are entities of ichinen sanzen and the Buddha of absolute freedom" (MW-1, 161).

True happiness enriches our bodies and minds as well as our selves, our environment and all those around us, with the benefit of faith. We are praying and taking action not merely for our own happiness, but for the happiness of both ourselves and others. This is the spirit of the Lotus Sutra.

We are advancing along the path of supreme happiness, and leading lives of true enjoyment and ease.

'Constantly Making Many Kinds of Music'

In the line "The gods strike heavenly drums," the original meaning of "heavenly drums" is "thunder." It seems that in ancient India thunder was regarded as the joyful music of heaven announcing a merciful rainfall. On one level, it could be said that this line indicates a heart of joy reverberating with supreme happiness.

President Toda explained "The gods strike heavenly drums, / constantly making many kinds of music" as follows:

Where it says that they are constantly making music, this is not like having a radio going. Let's say a father comes home and says something to the effect of "I had a really pleasant day today because..."; the wife, also unable to contain her joy, enthusiastically remarks on the events of her day, saying something like, "Darling, today, I happened to hear our neighbor's cat cry out"; the son says, "I saw my teacher on the street"; and so on and so forth. Isn't a family that can live amid such mirth and laughter" constantly making many kinds of music"?

But if the father is always yelling with a voice like a broken drum, the mother is constantly screaming, and the children break out in tears, it doesn't make for very good music.

In our lives, from moment to moment and day to day, we are "constantly making many kinds of music." Everything is music in the key of our life state.

Since we are alive, let's make our lives resound with the marvelous music of hope and happiness. Let us sing the triumphant song of a splendid life.

The SGI constantly rings with the joyous, hope-filled and confident voices of people who are striving to live life to the fullest. It is truly a place where "the gods strike heavenly drums, / constantly making many kinds of music." Each of these voices is a "sutra" embracing people in tones of happiness, a living manifestation of "the voice [that] does the Buddha's work" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 708).

Nichiren Daishonin says, "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is like the roar of a lion" (MW-1, 119). The great sound of our voices chanting daimoku each day dispels the sad music of sorrow and lamentation, and is steadily and surely creating an age resounding widely with the triumphant song of the people.

The text then reads: "Mandarava blossoms rain down." Mandarava are heavenly flowers said to delight the heart. They float down from heaven to the world of the Mystic Law. In other words, we who dwell in the realm of the Mystic Law --- that is, we who steadily persevere in faith-are certain to be embraced by flowers of happiness and good fortune and celebrated by the Buddhist gods.

"Mandarava blossoms rain down" also indicates causing joy in people's hearts. To illustrate: When a child works hard at something and the parents praise him or her saying, "You did a really fine job," the child can then take further action with joy, in high spirits, and manifest still greater ability.

"Scattering over the Buddha and the great assembly" means that these flowers of good fortune and benefit fall equally upon the Buddha and all people. There is no discrimination.

As this suggests, the Buddha and the people dwell in the same saha world. Our stage for realizing eternal happiness is here and now.

Faith Entails a Great Revolution in Our Frame of Mind

Ga jodo fu ki. Ni shu ken sho jin. Ufu sho kuno. Nyo ze shitsu juman. Ze sho zai shujo. I aku-go innen. Ka asogi ko. Fu mon sanbo myo.

My pure land is not destroyed,
yet the multitude see it as consumed in fire,
with anxiety, fear and other sufferings
filling it everywhere.
These living beings with their various offenses,
through causes arising from their evil actions,
spend asamkhya kalpas
without hearing the name of the Three Treasures. (LS16, 231)

The Unity of the Three Mystic Principles

"My pure land is not destroyed." What power these words convey!

This saha world is the true land of the eternal Buddha. It is the true stage on which the undying Buddha resolutely struggles to lead all people to happiness. Therefore, it absolutely cannot be destroyed. So the Buddha declares. When we firmly base ourselves on these words of the Buddha, we are fearless. Our confidence that we dwell in an indestructible pure land manifests as indestructible courage and inexhaustible hope. And the power to transform an impermanent and impure world into an eternal pure land wells forth in our lives.

Nichiren Daishonin says: "There are not two lands, pure or impure in themselves. The difference lies solely in the good or evil of our minds" (MW-1, 4). And:

You must quickly reform the tenets that you hold in your heart and embrace the one true vehicle, the single good doctrine [of the Lotus Sutra]. If you do so, then the threefold world will become the Buddha land, and how could a Buddha land ever decline? The regions in the ten directions will all become treasure realms, and how could a treasure realm ever suffer harm? (MW-2 [2nd ed.], 40)

The world changes completely depending on our frame of mind or single-minded determination. On the most fundamental level, peace can only be realized through a revolution in people's lives.

"Yet the multitude see it as consumed in fire" refers to the saha world as it appears to those who wander from illusion to illusion, from darkness to darkness. At the end of such wandering, they see only an abyss of despair and hopelessness. Therefore it appears to them that the world is consumed in the flames of an all-destroying fire that spells the world's end. But it is not actually an all-destroying fire; the flames they see are merely the fires of their own earthly desires.

Again, as indicated by the lines, "with anxiety, fear and other sufferings / filling it everywhere," to those who labor under such delusion, this world is rife with anxiety, fear and all manner of suffering.

Here, the word see is central to the meaning. It appears to people that the world is filled with suffering, but this is not the reality. As observed by the Buddha, this world is a solemn Buddha land, a pure land. Therefore the Daishonin says, "What ever trouble may occur, consider it as transitory as a dream and think only of the Lotus Sutra" (MW-1, 147).

Viewing the troubles and hardships of life as "transitory as a dream" entails having an immense spirit. This is the power of single-minded determination, the power of faith. Belief entails a great revolution in our frame of mind. And this revolution constitutes the driving force for transforming our lives and our surroundings.

Those unaware of this power are miserable. They are referred to in the subsequent passage: "These living beings with their various offenses, / through causes arising from their evil actions, / spend asamkhya kalpas / without hearing the name of the Three Treasures."

"Offenses" fundamentally means "disbelief in the Mystic Law." "Causes arising from their evil actions" means "endless wandering through earthly desires, karma and suffering."

Such people, while physically dwelling in the Buddha land, enshroud their surroundings in a mist, and so fail to see the Buddha who is before their very eyes. Owing to disbelief, they firmly close the doors to their hearts, and as a result cannot even hear about the three treasures, even after a duration of asamkhya kalpas.

The three treasures are: the Buddha, the Buddha's teaching (the Law), and the gathering of people who protect and spread that teaching (the Priest). The three treasures hold the key to people's salvation. Therefore they are most highly revered in Buddhism as treasures that lead people to happiness.

We solemnly recognize the correct three treasures of the Latter Day of the Law. The treasure of the Buddha is Nichiren Daishonin, the Buddha of the Latter Day. The treasure of the Law is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo of the Three Great Secret Laws And the treasure of the Priest is Nikko Shonin.

The Japanese term for priest (so) comes from the Sanskrit word sangha, which means "gathering." Therefore, in a broad sense, the treasure of the Priest refers to the harmonious gathering of people who correctly uphold and spread the Daishonin's Buddhism, exerting themselves to lead others to happiness and realize peace. Today, this harmonious gathering of people is of course the SGI.

Here I will mention something about the doctrine of the unity of the three mystic principles found in the "Life Span of the Thus Come One" (16th) chapter. The passage that begins "When living beings witness the end of a kalpa," which we also studied in the previous installment (March 1 World Tribune), explains that the saha world is in truth an indestructible pure land. This is the revelation of the mystic principle of the true land indicated in the earlier, prose section of the chapter in such passages as, "I have been constantly in this saha world, preaching the Law, teaching and converting" (LS16, 225).

Again, passages like "it has been immeasurable, boundless hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of nayutas of kalpas since I in fact attained Buddhahood" (LS16, 225) and "since I attained Buddhahood, an extremely long period of time has passed" (LS 16, 227) explain that the Buddha is always in this world and that his life is inextinguishable. This is the mystic principle of true effect.

Finally, "originally I practiced the bodhisattva way, and the life span that I acquired then has yet to come to an end but will last twice the number of years that have already passed" (LS16, 227) explains the permanence of the life of the nine worlds. This is the mystic principle of true cause.

These three mystic principles are all expounded in the "Life Span" chapter, and this is termed the unity of the three mystic principles.

The unity of the three mystic principles in the essential teaching, or second half, of the Lotus Sutra --- indicating that the Buddha, the beings of the nine worlds and the land are all eternal and indestructible --- completes the Lotus Sutra's doctrine of ichinen sanzen, or a life-moment possesses 3,000 realms. This doctrine, transcending distinctions among the ten worlds and between life and its environment, clarifies that the 3,000 realms of all phenomena are all eternal and everlasting. It reveals the great and eternal entity of life that encompasses within it the 3,000 realms of all phenomena.

Nichiren Daishonin's teaching of actual ichinen sanzen opens the path whereby all people of the Latter. Day can manifest this great and eternal life, which he identified as Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

We who earnestly embrace the Daishonin's Buddhism are therefore noble emissaries of the Buddha who put into practice in society this unity of the three mystic principles.

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