Sunday, August 30, 2009

A New Lotus Sutra

Recently I heard the following story: During a lecture the speaker was praising Sensei. The speaker referred to Sensei's writings, talks and lectures are creating a 'New Lotus Sutra.'” It seemed to some of the listeners that this went too far; this excessive praise was crossing a line. Phone calls were made. Letters were, I am told, written. A controversy erupted.

I was not at the lecture and didn't speak personally to the participants. Lack of information has never hindered me from having opinions. Some may say this is not a virtue. Oh well. Since I suspect my opinions may be different from others I will share them here:

I have no problem at all with the idea of a “new Lotus Sutra.” We are always in the process of creating a new Lotus Sutra. This is true historically as we look at how the Lotus Sutra developed originally. And it is all the more true today.

The twenty-eight chapter Lotus Sutra, that Nichiren revered and used, certainly did not date back to Shakyamuni's lifetime. It evolved over centuries through the struggle to find and apply the central point of Shakyamuni's teachings in the face of their ossification and ritualization.

Nichiren's thinking and writing were based on the twenty-eight chapter Chinese version of the Lotus Sutra. This twenty-eight chapter Lotus Sutra was translated from Sanskrit to Chinese in 400CE, about 1,000 years after Shakyamuni's passing (and about a hundred years after any translation of the Lotus had reached China). The twenty-eight chapters evolved from earlier texts arising out of the Mahayana movement in Kashmir, around the first century CE.

This evolution is historical fact, even though many details are obscured by the dust of history. The study of the history and the development of the Lotus Sutra is fascinating and encouraging. It is the story of a series of struggles, a continuous battle, if you will. It is the struggle between those who believe religion's purpose is to serve humanity and those who aim to maintain fidelity to some abstract concept of purity. Of course the latter group always defines fidelity and purity to suit their own purpose.

The evolution of the Lotus Sutra stagnated between the time of Nichiren and the appearance of Makiguchi. The fidelity-purity view was ascendant. Makiguchi's greatness and genius lay in his unwavering, determined application of the ancient (and, even, archaic) teachings to his time. He used the language of “value-creation” and in his magazine he published the “experiments in value-creation” by school-teachers who began to practice the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin.

Makiguchi-Sensei founded Soka Gakkai on two principles – that faith must find expression in daily life and that the community of believers (sangha) must be anchored in society. The heart of the Lotus Sutra is not to cling to some rigid past but to move in people's lives and into society.

Makiguchi's philosophy of Value Creation was developed further by his student Toda-Sensei. Toda-Sensei's two awakenings in prison – that he had the mission of a Bodhisattva and that Buddha is life itself – gave rise to what he called the “life-philosophy” of Buddhism. When young Daisaku Ikeda was invited to his first Gakkai meeting, 62 years ago this month, he was told he was going to a lecture on life-philosophy. Buddhist life-philosophy, as Toda-Sensei taught, takes every concept in the Gosho and the Sutras and finds their analogue in human life. The Treasure Tower is Abutsubo. Abutsubo is the Treasure Tower!

And for 62 years Sensei has struggled to give modern expression to the Lotus Sutra -- by speaking in the language of our times, by conducting dialogues with the great thinkers of our times, by engaging in the world through concrete actions, proposals, building schools, foundations and most of all, through teaching and training young people.

And now 10 million SGI members are engaged in the struggle to apply the Lotus Sutra in their lives and to find its expression in their families, their communities and their world. We carry on this work in over 190 countries, 24 hours a day.

I believe that the only way this struggle will be successful is when Buddhism is thoroughly integrated into our lives, in the terms and conditions and language of our own lives. It will only be successful when we apply these teachings to our world in the terms of our world, in the language of our world. As long as we cling to some fixed, yet un-graspable, concept of “purity” or “correctness” we will fail. We must understand this Buddhism in 10 million lives in terms that make sense to us and we must explain it to our world in 10 million ways that make sense to our world.

What is this if not a “new” Lotus Sutra? And, since Sensei is our standard-bearer it is only reasonable that he be the champion of the new Lotus Sutra. I, for one, am not afraid of crossing some line by using language like this. I am very afraid of not.

Ah, but I hear the voices saying, “But we must be careful, we must practice 'correctly', we must avoid our own 'interpretation.'” To which I say learn your history. The practice and spread of Buddhism has always been through courageous acts of translation, application and yes, interpretation.

As an example, Shakyamuni did not invent the concept of karma. The idea that we experience today the effects of previous causes was deeply ingrained in Indian thinking. The concept of karma had been exploited by the Brahmins to rigidify social inequity. Shakyamuni took this ancient belief and gave it fresh meaning, a fresh interpretation, by teaching how to change karma, how to break the chains of suffering.

Shakyamuni did not even invent the concept of “Buddha.” The Vedic scriptures are filled with predictions of a Buddha to appear in the future.

The scholar Stephen Bachelor writes that Gautama did not become Buddha at the time of his awakening under the tree. He became Buddha, and only became Buddha, when he walked for two months to find his former colleagues, the six ascetics and when he opened his mouth to try to teach them of his great awakening and that they too, could experience enlightenment.

I believe Bachelor is right. The teaching only exists in being taught. The teaching does not exist in some frozen static form locked in isolation in some hidden corner of the universe. The new Lotus Sutra is not some heresy. It is the only Lotus Sutra. It only exists in the ten million lives trying, with courageous but unsure steps, halting and stumbling and through trial and error, to integrate, apply and interpret it in their lives.

Nichiren, also, adopted the language of the Sutra, and used it to explain Nam myoho renge kyo. He was criticised for writing and speaking in common language. He was criticised for using language people could understand!

I hear the voices of fear that someone, somewhere will stray off of some “correct” path. I understand that fear. But I fear more for those millions of people who so desperately need us and need the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin but who won't find us because they can't understand us.

The path we fear straying from does not exist. Your human revolution, the transformation of your destiny, has never happened before. Kosen-rufu, the development of peace, education and culture, has never happened before. The path, ten million paths, is being built.

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