Dharma Talk by Dr. Reeves - If at first you don't succeed

"If at first you don't succeed, try again!"
November 17, 2002

This morning it occurred to me that the saying: “If at first you don’t succeed, try again!” is not quite what the Lotus Sutra teaches. The Lotus Sutra teaches: “If at first you don’t succeed, try again creatively!” Not just try again, but try again creatively!

Buddhism is often said to be a religion that has to do with texts and precepts, for example: precepts for lay people, precepts for monks, precepts for nuns (they get the most), Bodhisattva precepts and so on. Many people see precepts as the heart and soul of Buddha dharma, but this is not what we find in the parables for which the Lotus Sutra is so famous.

The first parable we encounter in the Lotus Sutra is in Chapter 3 ? the parable of the burning house and the three kinds of vehicle. It is a relatively simple story. A wealthy father returns home to find his house on fire with his children inside. The father goes in so save the children. The first thing he does is to shout at them: ”Get out!”

But the kids are too busy playing to pay any attention to their father. So, second, he does a kind of thought experiment: “I’m strong,” he thinks, “I can put these children on a table or something and carry them out.” But then he realizes: “Well, this won’t work either, as the gate is too narrow.”

So, the first thing he tried did not work. His second idea didn’t work either. If he was going to save the children, the father would have to try something else. He remembered that these kids always wanted some carts with which to play. So he tells the kids that right outside the gate there are goat carts, and deer carts and ox carts just waiting for them. When the kids hear this, they can’t get out of the burning house fast enough.

When his children are all out of the house, the father is, of course, much relieved. But the kids, not seeing the carts, ask their father for them. The father knows, though, that he has warehouses full of much better things to offer to the kids than the carts he had originally promised, and he gives them enormous, really beautiful, highly decorated and adorned carriages drawn by white oxen.

The story is partially about these three or four kinds of vehicle and it may be a bit confusing, but one thing you should notice about this story is that this father is the Buddha, and when he sees the fire and the kids in it he starts looking for a solution, a way to save the children. He does a kind of natural thing first, he yells at them to get out, but that does not work. Then he does a kind of thought experiment, but realizes that too would not work. Then he gets creative, remembering what the children had always wanted, he tells them various kinds of carts are waiting for them outside-something that does work.

Now let’s think about the parable of the physician found in Chapter 16. This is the story in which a doctor/father goes away, leaving some medicine laying around the house. His children get into the medicine, making them very sick. The father comes home and finds them in bad shape, having taken this poison. So, he makes up an antidote for the poison and gives it to the kids telling them to drink it. Some of them do and they get better. Some of them are so far gone that they don’t have enough sense to take the antidote. So the father thinks to himself: “Well that partially worked, but it didn’t work completely. I’ve got to do something more.” He thinks that the way to change the situation is somehow to shock those kids into taking the good medicine. So he tells them he is going to go away, and later sends back a messenger telling the kids that their father had died. This works. The kids are shocked by the death of their father, take the medicine and recover from the poison. The father then returns home and everyone is happy.

Notice again this father, too, is a Buddha figure. He, too, makes mistakes. First, he made a mistake by leaving the poison lying around the house. Second, he tried an antidote that only partially works. So he had to try something else, something more creative. There is no rulebook saying that the thing to do when your kids don’t take medicine is to tell them you have died. He had to think up a solution for that particular situation using his creative imagination.

Now let’s consider the parable of the poor friend. This is the story, about a rich guy whose poor friend comes to his home. We can imagine them eating and drinking and having a good time. And the poor guy, who had been having a difficult time in life, maybe drinks too much wine and falls asleep, or passes out, on the sofa.

The rich friend has to go out on business. We’re not told what kind of business. He’s probably a merchant or something, and he has to leave. So he tries to help his friend by putting a very valuable gem into the garment of his poor friend. (I call this “the parable of the gem in a hem.”) And he goes away.

The next day, the poor friend wakes up, goes off and continues to have a hard time finding work and getting enough to eat. Some weeks later the two of them happen to meet again in another town. And the rich guy says (Remember, this rich guy is the Buddha): “What happened? Why are you still so poor? I gave you a jewel worth a lot of money! You could live off of it forever! Why are you still so poor? That jewel must still be in your robe. Look!” And sure enough, the jewel is still there. Finally the poor man goes off, supposedly sells the jewel, and lives happily from then on.

Notice that what this rich man tried to do also didn’t work at first. He put the jewel in the poor friend’s robe but the friend didn’t know. If they hadn’t happened to meet again by accident, we can imagine, the poor guy would have been poor for the rest of his life, still carrying around that jewel in his robe. So, it was partly by luck that the strategy of this rich friend worked at all.

There are, I think, at least four things we might learn, or think about, from these parables.

The first is the importance of making mistakes. We all know, I suppose, at least in our minds, that you can’t learn to walk without falling down. It’s a lesson we should never forget. Everything worthwhile in life costs something. It’s going to cost you mistakes, its going to cost you pain, and if you go through life trying all the time to avoid making any mistakes, you might as well not go through life at all. Life is an adventure, an adventure in which mistakes play an important role.

Think about biological evolution. It’s really a history of one mistake after another. What happens is that in passing on genes from one generation to another, lots of small mistakes happen. It’s not a perfect reproductive system. Most of those mistakes don’t amount to anything. They get forgotten about. But sometimes a mistake is good. It produces something which is in some little way beneficial to the species, helping it to succeed, that is, to survive. Through those mistakes, through a long history of such mistakes, from tiny little one-cell organisms to smaller creatures, reptiles and so forth, to mammals and to human beings, there is a whole line of development of what we think of as biological evolution.

So the lesson is, we should not be afraid to make mistakes. This is not, of course, about going around trying to make mistakes. The point is we shouldn’t be afraid to make mistakes.

Of course, learning from mistakes can involve being able to recognize them, to be able to see or know that one has made a mistake. Too often, I think, when we make a mistake we are prone to hide it, sometimes by giggling, sometimes be being secretive, sometimes hiding it even from ourselves.

So, the first lesson is don’t be afraid to make mistakes, and don’t be afraid to recognize your own mistakes. Don’t hide behind laughter or silence.

The second lesson we might learn from these parables is the importance of perseverance, trying again, staying with it, being devoted to something strongly enough that we don’t give up at our first failure. This notion of perseverance is very important in Buddhist teachings. It occurs for example as the sixth step of the eightfold path. It’s also the fourth of the six bodhisattva practices. Actually the Sanskrit in these two cases is different, but in Chinese and Japanese they are the same.

The idea is that it usually takes effort to accomplish much of anything worthwhile. There are lots of problems in this world. All of us have problems in our personal lives, we have problems in our communities, and we have problems in our countries. Sometimes these personal, political or worldwide problems seem overwhelming, and sometimes we think: “Oh, there is nothing I can do about poverty or injustice or world peace. I’m so small, so little, so powerless?and the problems are so big. I’ll just go take a nap and forget about it.”

Well, part of the point of emphasizing perseverance in Buddhism is to say that to get anywhere you have to take a step. And that’s all you have to take is one step. And then, of course, you have to take another. But the point is you have to take a first step and move in the right direction. That’s the idea of perseverance-not allowing yourself to be pushed down or defeated.

The third lesson we might learn from these parables is the importance of creativity, which is, I think, a kind of Buddhist wisdom.

Creative wisdom requires both, knowledge, and imagination. You have to know something about a situation in order to deal with it creatively. We are not talking about working from ignorance. The father/physician, for example, could not have made the antidote if he didn’t have some scientific skill, some knowledge. The father with the burning house with the kids inside would not have thought about getting them out by promising them carriages if he hadn’t known, or somehow realized, that that was what they really wanted. Some kind of knowledge is involved in all of these cases.

What’s needed is a kind of combination of knowledge and creativity, or use of the imagination. To be creative we have to be able to imagine things being different from what they are now.

Information very often involves understanding someone else. That’s why it is extremely important to be a good listener ? to be able to become aware of, not just to hear with ears, but to really become aware of what the real needs or concerns of another person are. It’s not enough just to give advice. You’ve got to know to whom you are giving advice, where they are coming from, what the real issues are and so on. That’s what I mean about knowledge. You have to be open to others, both in terms of learning about them and also learning from them, so that you yourself can grow.

In a sense, creative wisdom and paying attention to others is a matter of doing one’s best. In the Member’s Vow we speak of ”perfecting” ourselves. The idea of being creative, that is, is to use what’s given to us to make as much of ourselves as we can, to perfect ourselves.

And doing one’s best, from the point of view of the Lotus Sutra, is to develop or cultivate one’s Buddha nature. That’s what Buddha nature is all about! It’s not just a fancy theory. It’s about how you understand yourself, and to understand that within yourself is a great creative power, a potential to make an important difference both for yourself and for others. That’s doing your best. And, of course, in that sense it’s not just your best ? it’s the Buddha’s. That’s how the Buddha is present among us ? by developing the best that is in us. At your best you are the Buddha.

Now, the fourth point. What if you try, and you try again, and try again, and try again, and you are very persistent, and you still don’t succeed. What then?

Well, the answer of the Buddhist tradition is: “Get help. Get some help!” That’s why we have Hoza and the Sangha. That’s why we have communities of monks and nuns and laymen and laywomen. It’s because we are not on our own and shouldn’t be on our own. In the Buddhist tradition the importance of recognizing the Buddhist community, of getting help from one another, has always been very important.

Remember, at your best you are the Buddha, but so is your neighbor. The Buddha is one who could see the Buddha in others. So, when you try and at first you don’t succeed, try again, try again creatively and get some help from the Buddha, that is, from others.

Dharma Talk by Dr.Reeves - The One Vehicle of Many Means

"The One Vehicle of Many Means"
May 26, 2002 at IBC

The One Vehicle Treasure Tower which holds remains of Founder Nikkyo Niwano is has become an important place for members of Rissho Kosei-kai. What is the meaning of this One Vehicle?

First, it is important to realize that in the Lotus Sutra this “one” is always associated with a “many.”In Chapter 2, entitled “Skillful Means,” we find:

Even if little children at play,
Use reeds, sticks or brushes,
Or even their fingernails,
To draw images of Buddha,

All such people,
Gradually gaining merit,
And developing their great compassion,
Have taken the Buddha way.

********

[Or] if anyone, even while distracted
With even a single flower
Makes an offering to a painted image,
They will eventually see countless Buddhas.

There are two ways of understanding "one-vehicle," the exclusive way and the inclusive way. The exclusive way holds that there is one true way, and we have it but you don’t. Here the one means that the other ways are excluded, or that other ways are wrong and only our way is right and correct.

The inclusive way of the understanding the one holds that there are many good ways, all are within the one. All are included within the One Vehicle.

The Lotus Sutra as we have understood it is a flowering of the wonderful Dharma. It both announces the universality of the One Buddha-way (the One Vehicle) and makes it possible for all of us ordinary human beings to follow the way. It is a kind of teaching for empowerment, giving energy and strength to people to enable them to follow the way.

The first part of the Lotus Sutra is primarily concerned with the "One Vehicle of many skillful means." Shakyamuni Buddha, and all of the Buddhas in the past, future and throughout the universe, use an enormous variety of means, basically various teaching methods, for the one purpose of leading people to enter more fully into the Buddha way.

The Buddha-way is always both a one and a many: It is one because the Buddhas have all taken a primordial vow to have everyone become just like themselves. It is one because all of the many skillful means serve the single purpose of enabling all living being to be Buddhas. And the One Buddha-way is one because it is universally intended for all the living, for everyone without exception.

At the same time, the Buddha way is a many. People are different. Although in some respects human beings are the same, otherwise we would not all be human beings, people are different in many important respects. The differences are created by culture, by language, and by religion as well as by time and the circumstance. Difference is what mpresses us. Therefore the dharma has to be taught in different ways, in appropriate ways, and a great variety of practices and literary forms had been used. Though they serve a common purpose, this many are a real many, a real diversity of teachings and practices. The one is always being transformed by being a many.

The Buddha-way is one in that it is for all people, without exception. This is emphasized over again in the Lotus Sutra. In one sense there is not a variety of vehicles for different kinds of people, one for women and another for men, one for Tibetan people and another for Chinese people etc. Each may have own distinctive methods, practices and sutras within the One-vehicle, because all are for the one purpose of having us be Buddhas by doing the work of the Buddha.

How, you might wonder, can ordinary people like us be Buddhas? Surely we cannot enjoy the same wisdom, dedication or compassion of Shakyamuni Buddha. Perhaps some great leaders, such as Nikkyo Niwano, can be like a Buddha, but not ordinary people, certainly not me!

In Chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha tells us that he has been doing bodhisattva practice for an extremely long time, longer than we can imagine, and that he is not finished yet. It may be surprising to us to find that Shakyamuni Buddha himself, far from having risen above the bodhisattvas, has been a bodhisattva from the remote past, is now a bodhisattva, and will continue being a bodhisattva into the distant future. In other words, becoming a Buddha, for Lotus Sutra, is not so much a matter of achievement or status as it is a kind of activity, not so much a matter of merely being awakened as it is of living a life of awakened practice. It is important for us to understand that being a Buddha is a matter of doing Buddha’s work. It is a matter of becoming a Buddha by doing the work of Buddha. And that is what a bodhisattva is ? someone who is becoming a Buddha. If Shakyamuni Buddha is not yet finished bodhisattva practice, is it any surprise or wonder that we are not?

By taking up the Buddha-way, the way of bodhisattva discipline and practice, we too are becoming Buddhas, that is doing Buddha’s work. In that respect we are exactly like Shakyamuni Buddha. Like him, we should not expect to be finished any time soon, but we can expect that way itself will be very rewarding. It will enable us to experience the joy of seeing countless Buddhas along the way.

"Commencement" is the word used in America for graduation ceremonies. While it marks the completion of a course of study, the word signifies a new beginning. Graduation is an achievement which is more like launching pad than a resting place, more of an opening than a closure. Entering the Buddha-way is like this. It’s not a completion but a place from which we are venture out into the world as a bodhisattva.

Where can we expect to see such Buddhas along the way? The Lotus Sutra says "everywhere." We can see many Buddhas everywhere. In Chapter 12 of the Lotus Sutra, there are two messages.

Shakyamuni Buddha recognizes that he has learned from his cousin Devadatta, who had usually been thought to be an embodiment of evil. The Buddha, however, recognized that Devadatta would become a Buddha. He did not say that he was becoming a Buddha because he reformed his character and become a good man. Devadatta was becoming a Buddha because Shakyamuni Buddha had the wisdom and insight to see in Devadatta a potentiality of becoming a Buddha, to see that even Devadatta embodies Buddha, to some degree is already a Buddha.

Shakyamuni Buddha, in other words, sees the Buddha in others, even in those where we might least expect to see Buddhas.

So Chapter 2 tells us that even little children at play, using straws, or sticks or brushes, or even their fingernails, to draw an image of a Buddha have entered the Buddha-way. Or if someone joyfully praises the Buddha in song, even with just a tiny voice, they have taken the Buddha-way. Or if someone, even while thinking about someone else, with even a single flower makes an offering to an image, they will eventually see countless Buddhas, as they too have entered Buddha-way.

Dharma Talk by Dr.Reeves - The Good News

"The Good News"
April 07, 2002

The following is an abbreviated version of that talk.

Last Sunday was Easter Sunday, the most important holiday for Christians. Easter tells us that the coming of Christ is good news. In the early days of Christianity, when it spread around the Mediterranean area, Christianity was indeed good news for people who were in slavery, people who were poor, people who were sick, and so on. That good news grew out the experience of the apostle Paul. He had been persecuting Christians. He hated the followers of Jesus. But one day walking on a road, he was grasped suddenly by a powerful insight which changed his life from hatred to love. He realized then that anyone's life could be changed. He though that one of the most important things that could happen to a human being was to have their life transformed into a way of love or compassion. He called this "resurrection." Resurrection, for him, meant for one's life to radically transformed from darkness or death to life and love. This is the Christian good news, brought to the sick, the enslaved and the poor. Shakyamuni was born with a different cultural background, one that included what we call "caste," a social system based on the religious texts of India. Saying that all that we normally see and think is mere illusion, it depreciated this world and the lives of human beings. Everything should be accepted, it said, just as it is. In this system every part of one's life was destined. One could not do anything to improve one's lot in this life. If we are born the child of a slave, one must always be a slave. If we are born as a woman, whose role in those days was to serve, we had to live as a slave. If lucky, a woman might be born as a man the next time, but for now she should accept her servitude.

This was the kind of world in which Shakyamuni was born. After his enlightenment, he started the Buddhist Sangha, a community in which people could opt out of the traditional life and become a monk or nun and serve the Dharma. They could change their lives by leaving their traditional lives behind to follow the Buddha. The Buddha went through an experience of awakening under the bodhi-tree, the tree of awakening. Though no one can know what the content of the experience was exactly, according to his teachings it is assumed that it was a very profound and deep insight into "causation." It means that there are reasons for the way of all things are. Nothing happens for no reason. If we want to understand present circumstance, whether it is social or personal, we have to understand the causes. But it is terribly important to realize that if we are results of the past, we are also causes of the future. What Shakyamuni had begun to offer people was this kind of alternative, a monastic way of life that eliminated hereditary caste, the four stages of life, the guru system, religious sacrifice, etc..

Probably Shakyamuni did not concern himself with changing the whole society. He basically offered people an opportunity to change their lives by leaving the world behind and joining the Sangha. It was, however, not so long before people began to realize that the Buddha's teachings, the dharma, had profound social implications. Gradually, in the years following the death of Shakyamuni, who had died as an ordinary human being, the Buddhist tradition began to adapt to new circumstances. Some began to think that the teachings of Shakyamuni included a profound concern for society. This movement which took shape gradually over centuries, called itself the "Mahayana," the Great Vehicle.

Among the Mahayana sutras, perhaps the most important is the Lotus Sutra, the full title of which is, "the Sutra of the Flowering of the Wonderful Dharma."

One of the ways in which the Mahayana defined itself was by stressing the importance of the world, and of working in the world by helping others. Where some earlier Buddhists had stressed the importance of the individual experience of awakening, the Mahayana says: "That is good, even wonderful, but not enough. You need to practice awakening. Implement it in your daily life, by following the bodhisattva way of helping others, in the world."

Meditation, reciting (even "Namu Myoho Renge Kyo"), studying (even the Lotus Sutra), copying and all those things thought of as Buddhist practices, are important, but they are not enough. In the Mahayana tradition, we have to bring the Buddha and the dharma into our bodies, and make them live through our own hands and feet. Our mind and mental life are very important. Our heart or will and emotional life are very important. But so is our body. This is the teaching of the Mahayana. This is the teaching of the bodhisattva way, the way of being in the world, and the way of helping others as the way of becoming a Buddha.

It is not only for those who call themselves bodhisattvas, however. In the Lotus Sutra. shravakas (traditional monks), beggars and even Shakyamuni Buddha are bodhisattvas. Shakyamuni is described as one who has practiced the bodhisattva way for countless years, and is not finished yet. The central message of the Lotus Sutra is that all of us are also bodhisattvas, whether we know it or not.

Dr. Reeves explained the meaning of being a bodhisattva by discussing the three parables found in Chapters 4, 8 and 12 of the Lotus Sutra.

Chapter 8, the story of "the gem in the hem"

A poor man, one day, visited his good friend who was rich. The poor man became drunk and fell asleep.
The friend, later having to leave to take care of his business, put a priceless jewel inside the robe of his sleeping
friend and left. After a while the man woke up and went to another place, where he had great difficulty earning
enough for food and clothing. Eventually he happened to meet the rich friend again, who scolded him, and
explained that he had given him the jewel so that he would not have to struggle so much. Then he told his poor
friend to use the hidden jewel to buy whatever he wanted so that he would no longer be poor.

The Buddha is like that rich friend. He reminds us of roots which were planted long ago. The poor man, satisfied with what little he had already attained, does not realize that he is in reality a bodhisattva who will attain supreme awakening. This story means that no matter how poor we are in spirit, we too can be rich. In fact we are already rich, but we just don't know it. We have riches inside of us that we need to discover. We have riches deep inside of us that cannot be taken away from us.

Chapter 4, the story of "the poor son and rich father"

There was a man who as a boy had run away from his father and lived a life of desperate poverty, moving from place to place in search of menial work. Meanwhile his father, who had become extremely rich and powerful, searched everywhere in vain for the lost son. One day the son accidentally came to the town where the father lived. There he saw his father in the distance but did not recognize him, and fled in fear of such great wealth and power. The father, secretly longing for him for many decades and wanting to give his wealth to his son, recognized the man immediately and sent a servant after him. When the servant caught up with him, the son, fearing that he would be forced to work or even be killed, pleaded that he had done no wrong, fainted and fell to the ground. Seeing this, the father told the servant to douse him with cold water to bring him to, tell him he can go wherever he likes, and then leave him alone. The son then went to another village to seek food and clothing. Later, the father secretly sent two servants to go to the son and offer to hire him to work with them at double-pay shoveling dung. To this, the son agreed. Later, seeing how poorly the son looked, the father, disguised as a lowly worker, went to the son, praised his work and promised him better wages and treatment to continue to work for him and assume greater responsibilities, explaining that as he was old he wanted to treat the man as a son. The poor man was pleased, and continued to shovel dung for another twenty years, gradually becoming more confident and more trusted by the father. Eventually the rich man became ill. Knowing he would die soon, he asked the poor man to take charge of his various properties and businesses. As the time of death grew near, the father called together various officials and all of his relatives and friends and servants and revealed to them that the poor man was in fact his son and would inherit all of his wealth. Thus, enormous wealth came to the poor man quite unexpectedly and he was very amazed.

The meaning of this story is that we too can be responsible and wealthy human beings whether male or female, whether rich or poor or whatever the conditions of our lives are. Most important is to notice that the son who was eventually replaced his father, who represents the Buddha, is ourselves. We too can be Buddha. This is our inheritance.

Chapter 12, the story of "the dragon princess"

A bodhisattva called Accumulated Wisdom asked Manjushri Bodhisattva whether he knew of anyone who had followed the Sutra so strenuously that he was qualified to become a Buddha instantly. And Manjushri replied, "Yes, the clever eight-year-old daughter of the Dragon-King. She has entered deeply into meditation, has understood everything, is eloquent and compassionate, etc. She is capable of becoming a Buddha instantly."Accumulated Wisdom, recalling that Shakyamuni had devoted much time and effort to achieving awakening, expressed doubt that this girl could do so instantly. Then the girl came to Shakyamuni and praised him, expressing the thought that she was qualified to attain awakening because she had heard the dharma and preached the Mahayana and saved all from suffering.Then Shariputra spoke to her, expressing conventional belief: "It is impossible to believe that you could soon achieve awakening; the body of a woman is too filthy even to receive the dharma! Only those who have practiced strenuously over many eons can become truly enlightened." Taking a jewel she had with her, the girl offered it to the Buddha, and he received it immediately. Then she asked Shariputra and Accumulated Wisdom whether the Buddha had received the gem quickly or not, to which both of them responded, "Very quickly." And she said, "Watch me with your divine powers and I will become a Buddha even more quickly!" Thereupon the whole congregation saw her suddenly change into a man, do the bodhisattva practices, go to the pure world in the South, sit on a jeweled lotus flower, attain supreme awakening, acquire the thirty-two major and eighty minor marks of a Buddha, and begin teaching the Dharma.

From this story, we can understand that we too can be a Buddha whether young or old, rich or poor, healthy or sick, male of female, even whether we are good or bad. The teaching of the Lotus Sutra is that every single human being has within them the wonderful, magical capacity to enter the bodhisattva path, becoming a Buddha.

Rev. Reeves concluded his talk by saying: "This is the good news which the Lotus Sutra brings us."

"You too can be rich, enriched by the Dharma, you too can be proud, responsible, and successful in what you undertake, you too can be a bodhisattva by being helpful to others, and you too can be a Buddha.” Inside of us, the Buddha is already there, waiting to be let out.

And that is one important meaning of the legend of the Buddha being born from the side of his mother--being born as a little adult, as a Buddha before he became a Buddha under the bodhi-tree. That story expresses the idea that there was a little Buddha in Queen Maya. So, too, there is a Buddha in each of us, waiting to be born.

Dharma Talk by Dr.Reeves - Ride the White Elephant

"Ride the White Elephant"
February 03, 2002

Rev. Gene Reeves gave a Dharma Talk this week entitled "Ride the White Elephant."

Universal Sage Bodhisattva, whose Sanskrit name is Samantabhadra, in Japanese is called "Fugen[i]." The literal meaning of the second Chinese character includes both "virtue" and "wisdom." The English translation, "sage" combines these two meanings. This Bodhisattva is often portrayed representing practical wisdom. He is usually found to the left of the Buddha, with Manjushuri[ii], representing wisdom, on the right.

Entering the Great Sacred Hall (Daiseido) of Rissho Kosei-kai, we find three portraits: Universal Sage Bodhisattva in center, Manjushuri Bodhisattva on the right and Maitreya[iii] Bodhisattva on the left. I think this order is unique, probably an idea of Nikkyo Niwano, the founder of Rissho Kosei-kai. It can identify an integration into daily practice of Manjushuri's wisdom and Maitreya's compassion.

In the Chapter 28 of the Lotus Sutra, "Universal Sage Bodhisattva," it is said that Universal Sage rides a white elephant, a symbol of purity. The elephant has six tusks that identify either the six perfections or purification of the six senses. The elephant usually walks on lotus flowers or wears them like shoes. His symbol is the cintamani, the wish fulfilling jewel.

Universal Sage Bodhisattva has two important aspects-- "interdependence" and "practice." He is an embodiment of these two virtues.

Interdependence is a central idea of Buddhism, an attempt to put its central vision into words, but it is extremely difficult to understand clearly. The primal purpose of the Flower Garland Sutra (Avatamsaka / Kegon) is to lead people to a certain kind of meditation, a visualization, in which people see this Bodhisattva in their mind's eye. Within the vision, Universal Sage sees all the Buddhas in all the worlds of the universe. Then within each of the atoms of those worlds, he sees a Buddha, and before each of those Buddhas there is another Universal Sage Bodhisattva who, in turn, sees all of the Buddhas. This is complicated, but the idea is that everything reflects everything else and is an integration of all things. It is a kind of Buddhist vision of the interrelatedness and unity of everything in the universe.

While Hinduism emphasizes that all is one and differences are illusions, Buddhism wants us to understand such differences as equally real but within an interrelated harmony. The vision of Universal Sage expresses the combination of a real many within a real unity through the ideas of interrelatedness or interconnectedness. The Tendai teaching of three thousands worlds in one moment of experience[iv] tells us that every experience is influence by the whole universe. Thus sometimes in meditation, we can gain a kind of feeling of oneness or interrelatedness. This interrelatedness of the whole universe in all beings is one of the aspects of Universal Sage Bodhisattva. That is why the Flower Garland Sutra is known in the West as an ecological sutra. In our capitalistic world, one of the highest virtues is independence, a kind of measure of maturity in Western culture. However, in recent years people have discovered that having independence a primary virtue can be a big mistake. People are coming to realize, as Buddhists did centuries ago, that all events in this world affect us directly or indirectly.

In the IBC we recite a "Transfer of Merit." This also comes from this aspect of Universal Sage Bodhisattva. It is very interesting that Buddhist teachings tell us that we can gain merit by transferring merit. It is a kind of "Win Win Game." It is similar to the idea of gaining one's own salvation by saving others, which is often taught in Buddhism. Thus, the Transfer of Merit is a ritual embodiment of the idea of interdependence.

The vision of Universal Sage Bodhisattva, and our vision of him, is an aesthetic vision--a vision which arises out of a profound sense integration, of relatedness, of wholeness, which is finally a vision of beauty.

The second aspect of Universal Sage Bodhisattva is "practice." There are many kinds of Buddhist practice. In America, meditation is often thought of as being equivalent to Buddhist practice. Americans sometimes ask, "how long do you practice every day?" In East Asia, however, the primary practice is sutra recitation. In the Sutra of Meditation on the Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva, we are taught about "Repentance Practice." Visualization is another kind of practice, as is yoga. All of these are kinds of Buddhist practices and all are important.

The most important Buddhist practice, however, is embodying the Dharma, also known as the bodhisattva way. It is to have the Dharma alive in our daily lives in this world. In other words, it is doing the Buddha's work in this world. The Bodhisattva's vow or promise is to try to save all the living. Thus, the mission of Buddhists in this world is to make the Dharma live and to make the Buddha live. We need to embody the Dharma in this world in whatever ways we can, not only with our mouths and hearts, but with our whole bodies.

Universal Sage Bodhisattva is a symbol of the integration of two notions--one which is the most abstract and complicated of ideas, the interdependence of all, and the simple idea of embodying the Dharma in the world.

Embodying the Dharma with skillful means also requires an integration of wisdom and compassion. It is not just a matter of being wise or just a matter of being compassionate. It is important to be both. Practicing without intelligence is stupid. But we are not going to be motivated to practice without compassion. Wisdom, compassion and practice have to be together, and Universal Sage Bodhisattva symbolizes this.

The lion, carrying Manjushuri, the embodiment of wisdom, can represent the realization of truth, a kind of king of the universe. The cow, carrying Maitreya, the embodiment of compassion, can represent gentleness, generosity and caring for others. The great white elephant carrying Universal Sage, the embodiment of practice, can represent the sturdy determination and great power to do the Buddha's work in this world.

Like all other great bodhisattvas, including Wonderful Voice, Kuan-yin, Manjushuri, Maitreya and others, Universal Sage is famous for hidden practice, for being disguised as a very lowly person. He is said to be both everywhere in the universe and extremely difficult to see, but at times he can be seen anywhere, by anyone, and in anyone. He is among ordinary people, among us, practicing where we do not see him.

So, when we ride the lion or the cow or the elephant of these great bodhisattvas, we should not imagine ourselves riding above the masses of ordinary people, or riding to some place in the heavens above.

Rather, we should understand these great animals--the great king lion of Manjushuri, the wonderful and sad and compassionate cow of Maitreya, and the great white elephant with six tusks of Universal Sage Bodhisattva--as taking us to the people, taking us not onto the mountain tops, but into the valleys and low places where ordinary living beings struggle in this world where suffering has to be endured. It is only here that we can reveal our own bodhisattva natures.

[i]普賢

[ii]文殊

[iii]弥勒

[iv]一念三千

Dharma Talk by Dr.Reeves - New Year's Hopes

"New Year's Hopes"
January 13, 2002

Dr. Gene Reeves, International Advisor to the IBC, gave a talk entitled "New Year's Hopes." First, he spoke about a New Year's ceremony held at a Unitarian Church in Ohio.

Some years ago I was the minister of a Unitarian Church in the city of Dayton. In that church we used to have a unique New Year's celebration. The first part of the celebration was a funeral for the previous year. Participants brought something symbolic of things that had occurred in the previous year that they wanted to get rid of or put behind them, and they put these symbolic things into a coffin at the front of the room. Some people remembered things in the world at large, like the tragedy that happened last September in New York, others brought things eminding them of something that had happened in the city, other things reminiscent of things that had happened in their personal lives. Some shared the meaning of what they were putting in the coffin the congregation. Others kept them secret.

A similar idea of putting unpleasant things behind can be found in Buddhism. In many Buddhist temples in places of Chinese culture, we find that one of the common activities is exorcism. Somebody who has some kind of evil or bad spirit in them comes to the temple, and an exorcist helps them to get rid of an evil spirit which is bothering them. It is a kind of putting bad things behind. In Japan, I also notice that the expression "cutting karma" reflects a kind of putting something behind.

Our relationship to the past is always a kind of interesting mixture of keeping good memories and putting bad behind. It does not mean you can completely get rid of the bad things in your past, because the memories are always there, but it does mean that we have this kind of mixed relationship to the past, of both gratitude and regret.

Buddhists sometimes talk about cutting karma and putting things behind us. However what seems to me to be much more important in the Buddhist tradition is encouraging us to look at the past as a way of understanding the present. There is an enormous amount of emphasis in the whole Buddhist tradition on what we call causality, on causes and conditions, innen. It insists that if we want to understand our present problems or our present joys, we have to analyze and look to the past. This is strongly emphasized in Buddhism.

The term for causes and conditions has several meanings in the Lotus Sutra. It sometimes refers to a kind of the philosophical notion of causes and conditions, which is the literal translation. It is also used to mean stories about previous lives, which is also a way of explaining the present by the past. At the very beginning of the Sutra, in the Chapter 1, Manjushuri tells a story about a previous time and previous lives of himself (as Wonderful Light) and Maitreya (as Fame Seeker), when there was another Buddha (Sun and Moon Light), in order to explain the present miracles -- the omens, especially, the ray of light from Shakyamuni Buddha.

This means that if we understand what has happened before, we can understand, to some extent, what is going on now.

When the Lotus Sutra tells stories of previous lives, it is not putting the past behind. It is to keep, and understand or explain something in the past for the purpose of understanding the present. One of remarkable things in the Lotus Sutra as religious literature is its emphasis on the positive acceptance of the past as something for which we should be grateful, even when such things seem primarily negative.

The Devadatta story is a good example. The Buddha wanted to explain why he was going to announce that Devadatta would become a Buddha. He might have said, because Devadatta has Buddha nature, but that term was not available. He tells a story. "Once upon a time there was a sage, Devadatta in a former life, and I was a king in that life, and the sage guided me." The story is a way of saying that a good past lives within the present Devadatta.

When we look at the structure of the Lotus Sutra, we will find that one of the central messages is that everyone has the power and potential of becoming Buddha. As it says, "everyone has…," I think the people who compiled the Lotus Sutra wanted to say that everyone really means "we." We can all accept the abstract idea that everyone has this power, but it is hard to believe that "I" do. To make this point stronger, it says "everyone," including Devadatta who had been thought as an embodiment of evil.

Throughout the Lotus Sutra we can find expressions saying, "He will be able to become Buddha because he planted good roots or seeds somewhere in the past…." These phrases tell us that if we do good things, we can be assured that they will have good consequences. Of course, the opposite is also true, even going to a hell. But the Lotus Sutra does not say much about this. It emphasizes, "Do good and you will get good results." Instead of trying to frighten you out of doing bad things, it encourages you to do good things.

In the church in Dayton, the first half part of New Year's celebration was a funeral at the end of which pallbearers took the coffin away. Then the second part begun as a ceremony welcoming the New Year. In this part, people danced and looked forward to the New Year with hope. We tried to find ways to express our hopes for the New Year.

Rev. Reeves then gave a Buddhist perspective on hope.

A central message in the whole Buddhist tradition is to give us hope. Buddhism promises that your life and our lives can be better in the future. At the beginning of the Chapter 3, Shariputra, a shravaka who had heard the Buddha preach in the previous chapter, was filled with ecstatic joy. He realized that he too was in fact a bodhisattva, one who was becoming a Buddha. He had thought that assurance of becoming a Buddha did not apply to him. But in the story in chapter 3, he was promised by Buddha that he to would become Buddha. He was given a kind of hope, and a kind of taste of awakening and enlightenment. The Lotus Sutra is filled with such assurances. It teaches us that we can do better and invites us to imagine ourselves doing better.

But this hope is sometimes misunderstood. It should not be understood as a kind of prediction or forecast, like a weather report. Nor is like Old Testament prophecy, which is always a kind of bad news of punishments to come. The Lotus Sutra does not emphasis punishment. That is not the point. The point is to hold out promise of becoming a Buddha.

Hope is not a matter of certainty but a kind of assurance. You have the power and the potential to do wonderful things and to be bodhisattvas and to become Buddhas. But there is nothing guaranteed about this. What is guaranteed is that you can practice the teachings. You can develop even liberate or free your Buddha nature and your ability to help others. You can be bodhisattva just as Shakyamuni Buddha himself was a bodhisattva. You can discover the Buddha nature in others - in your son or daughter, your husband or wife. You can discover the Buddha nature in your boss or in the person who sweeps the floor,
in your friends and in your enemies. You can see a Buddha in anyone.

My hope for 2002 is that all of us see countless, innumerable, unlimited numbers of Buddhas, as many as the sands of the Ganges!


We should know, Reeves concluded, that this place is the place of awakened practice!

"Wanting you to be in comfort and able to satisfy the five desires , a long time ago?, I sewed a precious jewel into the lining of your robe. It should still be there. In your ignorance you are slaving and worrying to keep yourself alive. How dumb! Go and exchange that jewel for whatever you need. Then you can be free to have whatever you want, and be free from all poverty and want."

After hearing parable, the monks who were in the assembly said to the Buddha as;

"…World-honored One, now we understand that we are really bodhisattvas, assured of attaining supreme awakening. For this we are filled with joy…" This story tells us what the Buddha is trying to do. It is to make us happy and joyous.

Then Dr. Reeves told the story of "The Fantastic Castle" in Chapter 7. It also provides an image of the Buddha's skillful means in guiding human beings to be happy. He concluded his talk by referring to the "Twelve similes" in Chapter 23, "Former Lives of Medicine King."

May all those who are thirsty find cool, clear water.
May those who are cold find a warm fire.
May those who are naked find clothing.
May those who are without leadership find a lead.
May children find their mothers.
May those who need a ferry find a boat.
May those who are sick find a doctor.
May those who are in the dark find a lamp.
May those who are poor find riches.
May those who in need of one find a ruler.
May those who want to trade find the sea.
May those who are in dark find the light.

All of these are images of happiness, of being satisfied and of being rewarded in life. That is what Buddhism is finally about. What is basic to Buddhism finally is the goal of happiness. In Sanskrit this is called "Sukhavarti," which is the goal of happiness, of well-being, even of "salvation" for all.It is a goal which:

always stands before us, never completed
never requires doctrines, but benefits enormously from them
always recognizes our utter interdependence
never requires obedience, but loves faithfulness
always seeks the best that is possible from what is given to us
never requires more of us than we can give
always balances fantastic vision with rootedness in the world
never insists on more than we can do.

"Are your ailments and troubles few? Is your daily life and practice going smoothly? ... Are the affairs of the
world tolerable? Are the living beings easy to save? Are they not excessively greedy, angry, foolish, jealous
and arrogant? .... Don't they have wrong views and inadequate goodness? Are they not unrestrained in their
five emotions?"

Dr. Reeves concluded this talk by suggesting four things Buddhists can do now in response to this tragedy.

First of all, we can express sympathy-sympathy for the victims, their friends and loved ones; sympathy for those who have worked so hard to rescue or treat or comfort victims; and sympathy, too, for those who are now and will suffer from acts of vengeful retaliation.

Second, we can reflect on what contributed to the Tuesday's tragedy. We might ask ourselves, for example, whether by blindly supporting American policies on the Middle East Japan has also contributed to Tuesday's tragedy?

Third, we need to work to spread the dharma. Too few Buddhist voices are being heard in America today. Buddhism is becoming more and more popular in the West, but this week I haven't heard a single Buddhist voice on American television or radio.

Finally, we might cooperate with those who seek peace. Many Christians, Muslims, and Jews are, in a sense, practicing Buddha-dharma without knowing it. Through a variety of international agencies we can try to support them, encourage them in many ways. The same Bible that says, "an eye for an eye" also says, "turn the other cheek." We need to join the peacemakers of every religious tradition, promoting interfaith cooperation and encouraging them to work together to build a more peaceful world.

"Bodhisattva" means one who seeks to be enlightened by working for others. But another meaning of "bodhisattva" is one from whom we can learn, just as Shakyamuni learned from Devadatta. May Tuesday's tragedy be Tuesday's bodhisattva for all of us?