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