When their thoughts aspire with longing, only then did I appear and preach Dharma to them:
Such is the power of my super-natural penetrations.
Throughout asamkhyeyakalpas ever am I on the Mount of the Numerous Eagle and in my other dwelling places.
When the beings see the kalpa ending and being consumed in a great fire, this land of mine is perfectly safe, ever full of gods and men.
In it are gardens and groves, halls and towers variously adorned with gems as well as jeweled trees with many blossoms and fruits, wherein the beings play and amuse themselves;
Where the gods beat their devine drums making melodies most skillfully played, and rain down Mandarava flowers, scattering them on the Buddha and his great multitude.
My pure land in not destroyed yet the multitude, seeing it consumed with flame, are worried, and fear the torment of pain.
The likes of these are everywhere, these sin-ridden beings who, by reason of their evil deeds, throughout asamkhyeyakalpas do not hear the name of the three Jewels.
There’s much written on the Lotus Sutra. Much of it comes from our University system, which has always seemed so wrong to me. Those who read and study it obsess over the particulars of the translation, and the true meaning of it, as though anyone in this time could possible know what it was that was actually being recorded by those who scribed the ancient teachings which originated from “the Buddha”.
I’ve always favored the above excerpt from the prose section of chapter 16. It offers promise, and even more than that, it offers clear explanation.
The message I read is, the price of sin in this world is simply delusion, which is it’s own punishment. C.S. Lewis, allegedly a Christian writer (I’ve always believed he was Buddhist and just didn’t know it) wrote of heaven and hell, God and Satan in the same self-responsible manner.
Fear is hell. We fear hell, but fear IS hell. The absence of faith in our own Buddha nature, which is to say our confidence that there is meaning for our lives beyond this immediate life, is the very hellish state so many of us fear.
This is where all religions meet on some level, this basic lack of knowledge of where we are going and what meaning our lives have. This basic function of our own unknown and our faith in “God’s plan” is at the heart of all human history.
I like this point of being, if you will, because it is at this very juncture where everyone becomes equal. Kings, peasants, the rich, the poor, the powerful and the powerless are all brought to their knees at this point in human life. Where am I going, and what does it mean?
It would normally be at this moment in a sermon that one would attempt to offer such answers, yet to do so would in itself be deceptive and disingenuous. It is generally accepted that a Minister’s job is to help one make a connection with their God, or their higher purpose, so I offer this thought in place of fake answers;
I believe that the entire truth of the universe is reflected in the largest, and the smallest definition. I believe that the above excerpt of the Lotus Sutra is as true for the Universal drama as it is for each individual human life, and perhaps other lives as well.
We are safe, we were always safe. Our lives now are a momentary reflection of something grander, and the only thing we should actually fear is our own reluctance to accept this reality. We either burn in our own personal karmic apocalypse or awaken in our own Buddha land, in this life, regardless of our physical suffering or emotional anguish.
Having said this I often wonder how deeply my generation as been affected by the drug experience of the 60’s and 70’s. We in the modern world have become children of instant gratification. I truly believe that we are consistently disappointed by our failure to enter some sort of orgasmic enlightened state upon hearing wise words of true inspiration.
Enlightenment is all around us. Just don’t expect a drug rush when you get it. Buddhahood lies in continuing your faith. Sometimes is just takes a while to realize where you’ve been, and where you’re going…
Enjoy the ride.
Rev. Greg Dilley
Rev. Greg -
This is ompletely Off-Topic, but I thought you should see this:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/bizarre/3792005.html
Caption: It's hard out there for a [ninja]
Namaste, Engyo Mike Barrett
Posted by: Engyo Mike Barrett at April 14, 2006 12:01 AMhehhee, love the new layout. i was kiddining before....e....kiddening..
just saw a program on american porn-business. one of the directors repeated the mantra "nam-myo-ho-renge-kyo". that´s rather offensive...
peter
Posted by: Peter Ulrik Röder at April 12, 2006 12:36 AMIs there something wrong with me or has there been a fundamental shift in cosmic law and the nature of reality? I just agreed with everything that Clown just wrote.
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ryuei
Great commentary,Greg. And I've been guilty myself. When I was young despite being quite the sinner, I was known for being obsessed with religions. One time a girlfriend, a devout catholic, said to me, "You think religion is a way of getting high,when really it's much, much, less." I still think it's much, much more, but it's not a search for something extrodinary,rather an appreciation and acceptance of the ordinary.
As far as the generational thing goes, I think time and situations change, in general people stay the same and most are controlled by their environment.
clown hidden
Posted by: clown hidden at April 11, 2006 06:02 AM Great commentary,Greg. And I've been guilty myself. When I was young despite being quite the sinner, I was known for being obsessed with religions. One time a girlfriend, a devout catholic, said to me, "You think religion is a way of getting high,when really it's much, much, less." I still think it's much, much more, but it's not a search for something extrodinary,rather an appreciation and acceptance of the ordinary.
As far as the generational thing goes, I think time and situations change, in general people stay the same and most are controlled by their environment.
clown hidden
Posted by: clown hidden at April 11, 2006 06:02 AMThe youth in my area seem to have gotten past the gang culture of the 90's. The kids are going back to just being kids.
r
Posted by: robin at April 10, 2006 04:27 PM"Now they're raising the underachieving "expectation-generation" of boody shaking narcissists that may will one day be the pawns of the Chinese and Indians. "Do you want fries with that, sir?" "
Wow, that's really nice, Charles. With that kind of nasty attitude towards younger people like myself, it is no wonder that Buddhism is not really growing amongst people my age.
But, then again I suppose I like being the youngest person at most Buddhist functions. It makes me feel special;well only because I am just a "boody shaking narcissist" and all.
Posted by: Erin Templeton at April 10, 2006 04:19 AM
And so Charles we American's will see our Karmic circle complete when the Mexican's and the Indian's take back what we took from them with force.
Greg... I really liked this one (yes I still read everything you write). And while we're enjoying the jouney we need to remember that when we happen onto the correct path there won't be any big sign that reads "Hey you're going the right way". I feel one of the biggest problems with asking "Why am I here?" is that we are forever looking for the BIG answer and therefore missing the simple answer's. People want to think they are here to do something that will change the world, and when that doesn't happened they feel like a failure. Maybe my life will just be a whisper, and that is fine with me. People make things to complicated when they search for the "why" of life. As you say we just just sit back and enjoy what's around us and relax a bit. As Thoreau said "Our lives are frittered away by details, simplify, simplify."
Danna
Hi Rev. Greg,
Great article, and great points. That is also one of my favorite passages from the Lotus Sutra.
Hi Charles,
LOL! Wow, and I thought I was dyspeptic. What a marvelous mini-rant and unfortunately all too true I think.
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ryuei
The generation of the 60s and 70s traded in their bongs for Napa Valley wine, they swapped their ideals to acquire a Roth IRA, and they have sold their souls to captialism. Now they're raising the underachieving "expectation-generation" of boody shaking narcissists that may will one day be the pawns of the Chinese and Indians. "Do you want fries with that, sir?"
Charles
Posted by: Charles at April 6, 2006 05:38 PMI just love the contradiction and conflict between Adrian's and Valerie's reply! Ah, good times, good times...
Rev. G
Posted by: Rev.Greg at April 6, 2006 04:45 PMRev. Greg,
I really enjoyed your article. In particular, “fear is hell” and “We are safe, we were always safe.”
Everything is exactly as it should be.
VW
"Sometimes it just takes a while to realize where you've been, and where you're going..."
Kind of reminds me of a favorite t-shirt which reads "Where are we going? And why are we in this handbasket?"
Posted by: Adrian at April 6, 2006 05:06 AM