After this post, I’m laying off posting indefinitely. For now, I feel like I’ve said all I intended to say when I created this space.
Due to the threat of World War 3, my emotions are a jumble of fear; frustration; sadness; and, when I’m fired up chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, a fierce determination to save the world. With that last one, am I slipping into delusion? Probably. It wouldn’t be the first time and it won’t be the last.
But, admit it: Wouldn’t you like to save the world if you could? Actually, we — all of us — are the only ones who can.
My desire about this was born in a memory of the Lotus Sutra that came to me in a dream when I was 14 years old. If you’ve been reading or listening to me, you know I’ve mention this before. That’s because the dream parked itself in the front of mind the night I had it and has stayed there ever since. In it, I renewed the promise I made in what is known in Buddhism as time without beginning: to keep us (in the present case, humans) from destroying ourselves. I believe we’ve all made this promise.
In the beginning of this video, I retell some of the parts of my dream that echo the Lotus Sutra. Then, I read from the sutra — the part that showed up in my dream and what comes after. My dream included what’s depicted in Chapter 15, “Emerging from the Earth.” Next (not in my dream) comes Chapter 16, “Life Span of the Thus Come One.” There, the Buddha, Shakyamuni, explains that his life as a Buddha is eternal. In Chapter Two, “Expedient Means,” the Buddha had declared that we are “equal” to him. So, since his life as a Buddha is eternal, we are eternal Buddhas too. Cool, right?
See you later…
LaVora
lotussutrabuddhism@substack.com
I created a free study guide, based on Nichiren’s writings, to accompany you on your Lotus Sutra journey.
Read The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Chapters, Translated by Burton Watson (2009), Nichiren’s writings, and the Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism at NichirenLibrary.org.
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
“Devotion to the Wonderful Law of the Lotus Flower Teaching of the Buddha”
Hear Deva Pramal, Mitten, and Manose chanting:
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