"The Lotus Sutra reads, "The true aspect of all phenomena [can only
be understood and shared between Buddhas. This reality consists of
the appearance, nature . . . and] their consistency from beginning to
end." The "Life Span" chapter states, "It has been immeasurable,
boundless [hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of nayutas of
kalpas] since I in fact attained Buddhahood." In this passage, "I"
refers to all beings in the Ten Worlds. Because all beings of the Ten
Worlds are inherently Buddhas, they dwell in the pure land.
The "Expedient Means" chapter reads, "These phenomena are part of an
abiding Law, [and] the characteristics of the world are constantly
abiding." Since it is the way of the world that birth and death are
eternally unchanging characteristics of life in the three existences
of past, present, and future, there is no need to grieve or to be
surprised. The single word "characteristic" represents the eight
characteristics, or phases, of the Buddha's existence. Even these
eight phases do not transcend the two words birth and death. To be
enlightened in this way is referred to as the attainment of
Buddhahood in one's present form by the votaries of the Lotus
Sutra."(Hell Is the Land of Tranquil Light)
"The sufferings of birth and death are nirvana" exists only in
realizing that the entity of life throughout its cycle of birth and
death is neither born nor destroyed. The Universal Worthy Sutra
states, "Without either cutting off earthly desires or separating
themselves from the five desires, they can purify all their senses
and wipe away all their offenses." Great Concentration and Insight
says, "The ignorance and dust of desires are enlightenment, and the
sufferings of birth and death are nirvana." The "Life Span" chapter
of the Lotus Sutra says, "At all times I think to myself: How can I
cause living beings to gain entry into the unsurpassed way and
quickly acquire the body of a Buddha?" The "Expedient Means" chapter
says, "The characteristics of the world are constantly abiding."
Surely such statements refer to these principles. Thus what is called
the entity is none other than Namu-myoho-renge- kyo."(Sufferings Of
Birth and Death are Nirvana)
"For example, Shakyamuni Buddha once ascended to the heaven of the
thirty-three gods to fulfill his obligations to his deceased mother.
But because of the Buddha's transcendental powers, with the exception
of the Venerable Maudgalyayana, no one in the entire land of
Jambudvipa was aware of it. Thus, even though Buddhism is before
their very eyes, if people lack the proper capacity, it will not be
revealed, and if the time is not right, it will not spread. This is a
principle of nature. It is as if, for instance, the tides of the
ocean were ebbing and flowing in accordance with the time, or the
moon in the heavens were waning and waxing."
"Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, treasured this Gohonzon in
his heart for numberless major world system dust particle kalpas, and
even after he appeared in this world, he did not expound it until
more than forty years after his first preaching. Even in the Lotus
Sutra he did not allude to it in the earlier chapters of the
theoretical teaching. He began things in the "Treasure Tower"
chapter, he revealed it in the "Life Span" chapter, and he brought
things to a close in the "Supernatural Powers" and "Entrustment"
chapters."(Reply to Niiama)
Thus we are not aware of the phases of life and death because
appearance and nature, the way in which we quantify and qualify
phenomena, change so radically between life and death, much
more so than the union of microscopic egg and sperm becoming
a great blue whale. Even Kirlian photography, infrared cameras,
gamma ray detectors, Bodhisattvas of the Kegon or Mahavarochaina
Sutra etc. are not adequate to see the appearance and nature through
the phases of life and death. A Buddha with a Buddha sees these things
and one day we may have the technology to see the appearances.
"Transmigrating" is used in the Lotus Sutra to describe the process
of change from life to death:
"Transmigrating in the six states of existence,
They suffer the utmost misery.
Received into the womb in minute form,
Life after life they ever increase and grow,
Poor in virtue and of little happiness.
They are oppressed by all the distresses;
They have entered the thickets of heretical views,
such as 'existence' or 'non-existence' ;
Relying on these (false) views,
Altogether sixty-two,
They are deeply attatched to these false laws,
Firmly holding unable to give them up,
Self-sufficient and self-inflated,
Suspicious, crooked, and faithless in mind;
During thousands and milliards of kalpas
They have not heard the name of the Buddha,
Nor have they heard the True Law;" (Lotus Sutra Chapter 2, Expedient
Means)
"The Benevolent Kings Sutra states: "If persons destroy the teachings
of the Buddha, they will have no filial sons, no harmony with their
six kinds of relatives, and no aid from the heavenly deities and
dragons. Disease and evil demons will come day after day to torment
them, disasters will descend on them incessantly, and misfortunes
will dog them wherever they go. And when they die, they will fall
into the realms of hell, hungry spirits, and animals. Even if they
should be reborn as human beings, they will be destined to become
soldiers or slaves. Retribution will follow as an echo follows a
sound, or a shadow follows a form. Someone writing at night may put
out the lamp, but the words he has written will still remain. It is
the same with the effect of the deeds we perform in the threefold
world."
The second volume of the Lotus Sutra says, "If a person fails to have
faith but instead slanders this sutra . . . When his life comes to an
end he will enter the Avichi hell." And in the "Never Disparaging"
chapter in the seventh volume, it says, "For a Humble
"Those who commit slander of the Law are in most cases reborn in the
hell of incessant suffering or, in a few cases, in one of the six
lower paths." (On Rebuking Slander of the Law and Eradicating Sins)
One should, by all means, carefully examine the teachings one
embraces so as to avoid slander.
"With their teachings for a ship, could one ever cross over the sea
of the sufferings of birth and death? With their teachings for a
bridge, could one ever escape from the maze of the six paths? But the
Buddha, our great teacher, has advanced beyond even transmigration
with change and advance, let alone transmigration with differences
and limitations. " (Opening of the Eyes)
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