Ikeda Wisdom Academy
The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra
Review
June 2013 Study Review
The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 1, Part III - Section 6
SGI President Ikeda and the Study Department leaders advance the
dialogue to the second chapter of the Lotus Sutra, “Expedient Means”. This
chapter constitutes the heart of the theoretical teaching of the sutra and is
the chapter recited in the daily recitation of the sutra.
The “Introduction” chapter concludes with Manjushri, one of Shakyamuni’s
disciples, predicting that the Buddha will now preach the unsurpassed Law.
Following this, Shakyamuni arises from his deep meditation and utters his
first words to the assembly in the “Expedient Means” chapter.
Without being prompted to preach by the assembly, Shakyamuni addresses
his audience by declaring, “The wisdom of the Buddhas is infinitely
profound and immeasurable. The door to this wisdom is difficult to
understand and difficult to enter” (LSOC, 56). Shakyamuni then explains
that the Buddha wisdom can only be understood and shared between
Buddhas.
Shariputra, one of Shakyamuni’s principle disciples, wanting to understand
the meaning of his mentor’s teaching asks Shakyamuni to clarify his intent
and preach the unsurpassed Law.
Shakyamuni reveals that this wisdom is “the true aspect of all phenomena”
and that he employs expedient means, or skillful methods in teaching this
wisdom, which cannot be fully described in words alone.
Expedient means are seen as educational techniques that teach the essence
of the Law the Buddha was awakened to. First Soka Gakkai president,
Tsunesaburo Makiguchi developed a system of education with the purpose
of helping children becoming happy.
This approach is in accord with the aim of the Lotus Sutra. The sutra
teaches the development of the full potential of each human being by
tapping into their inherent Buddhahood. This is the spirit to raise capable
people committed to oneself becoming happy and helping others do the
same. This spirit also permeates the mentor-disciple relationship in
Buddhism.
Key Passages
Key Passage #1
These [“The wisdom of the Buddhas is infinitely profound and
immeasurable. The door to this wisdom is difficult to understand and
difficult to enter.”] are the first words Shakyamuni actually speaks in the
Lotus Sutra. This first utterance has a special significance. It is a dramatic
expression of the fact that the Lotus Sutra teaches the Buddha’s wisdom
just as it is, according to the Buddha’s own mind.
The profound and immeasurable Buddha wisdom is comprehensible
only to Buddhas. That is why Shakyamuni begins by praising the Buddha
wisdom on his own initiative and not in response to any question. Indeed,
his use of the unsolicited and spontaneous teaching format from the outset
of this chapter underscores how profound and unfathomable the Buddha
wisdom is — so much so that none of the assembly could have even
conceived a question about it (WLS-1, p. 112).
• The Buddha reveals that the Lotus Sutra is teaching that accords with
the mind of the Buddha and not the capacity of his audience. This is
difference between Shakyamuni’s provisional teachings and the Lotus
Sutra. To perceive this wisdom means that one understands that all
possess the Buddha nature.
Key Passage #2
He [Shakyamuni] then reveals to Shariputra that the ‘one great reason’
Buddhas appear in the world is to open the door to the Buddha wisdom for
all people, to show it to them, to cause them to awaken to it and gain entry
to it…
That the Buddha seeks to open the door of Buddha wisdom [the state of
Buddhahood] to living beings means that living beings already inherently
possess the Buddha wisdom. The reason they possess the Buddha wisdom
is that they are essentially Buddhas. Shakyamuni’s words are in fact a
great declaration that all living beings are worthy of supreme respect…
To his followers, it seemed as if Shakyamuni had set forth three
separate teachings, but to the Buddha there is only one Buddha vehicle
and no other. The one Buddha vehicle is a teaching that enables all people
to attain Buddhahood; it is endowed with the function of opening and
revealing the Buddha wisdom and awakening and guiding people to the
realm of Buddhahood (WLS-1, pp. 114–15).
• All people inherently possess the Buddha wisdom. The Buddha’s role
is to help uncover or unlock that wisdom within all people.
• Shakyamuni reveals that the various practices he set forth for his
disciples were an expedient means in revealing the one Buddha
vehicle intended to enable all people to unlock the Buddha wisdom in
their lives and become Buddhas.
Key Passage #3
The Buddha’s teaching methods are indeed skillful. Among his
honorary titles are “Teacher of Heavenly and Human Beings” and “Trainer
of People.”The Buddha is a teacher of not only humans but heavenly
beings as well, and as a trainer of people, he is skilled at forging harmony
among people. These titles derive from the fact that the Buddha leads
people unerringly based on the loftiest of goals. The Buddha, then, is a
superlative teacher of human education.
To return to our subject, when Shakyamuni declares in “Expedient
Means” that he will now preach the Law, “honestly discarding expedient
means” (LSOC, 79), he is discarding the two types of expedient means we
have discussed so far — functional-teaching expedients and truthgateway expedients. The secret and wonderful expedient is another thing
altogether. It is not an expedient to be discarded; it is an expedient that
represents the truth itself (WLS-1, p. 122).
• Shakyamuni taught to discard expedients (functional-teaching
expedients and truth-gateway expedients) not meant to directly lead
the people to attaining Buddhahood. He then taught to embrace the
one expedient that represents the truth itself, the secret and
wonderful expedient.
Key Passage #4
The secret and wonderful expedient is the heart of “Expedient Means,”
hence the chapter’s title. Secret of “secret and wonderful expedient” (OTT,
21–22) refers to the fact that it is only known and understood by Buddhas.
In other words, only Buddhas know the truth that all living beings are
Buddhas.
Though that truth is hidden, under certain external conditions it can be
revealed. That unfathomable reality of life is called “wonderful.” In terms
of the Ten Worlds, the world of Buddhahood is hidden in the lives of the
people of the nine worlds. Upon contact with the appropriate external
conditions, however, it can be manifested within the nine worlds. This
wonder is called wonderful.
In connection with the secret and wonderful expedient, Mr. Toda once
said:
You and I are ordinary people. Yet, at the same time, each of us is
theoretically a Buddha. To attain Buddhahood means to know that one
is a Buddha. This wondrous fact is secret and hidden; hence, the
designation “secret and wonderful.” Buddhas appear in the saha world
as ordinary human beings to undergo sufferings [in order to save
people]. This is the principle of the secret and wonderful expedient.
All of you are Bodhisattvas of the Earth. When you have truly
grasped this principle with the very depths of your being, you can
understand the “Expedient Means” chapter.
And on another occasion, he said:
The fact that we are just ordinary common mortals is the secret and
wonderful expedient; the truth is that we are Buddhas. The Gohonzon is
also enshrined in our hearts. The very heart of the Daishonin’s
Buddhism, therefore, lies in the conviction that the Gohonzon enshrined
in our Buddhist altar is identical to our own lives.
We ordinary people are Buddhas, just as we are. This is inconceivable,
beyond the scope of our comprehension. Therefore, it is “wonderful.”Those
who don’t believe in the Lotus Sutra cannot understand this. Therefore, it
is “secret.” (WLS-1, pp. 124–25)
• Regarding the secret and wonderful expedient, it is “secret” because
the fact that the Buddha nature exists within all people remains
elusive from people. It is “wonderful” because Buddhahood manifests
itself in daily life, a wonderful thing. Faith is the key to understand
this reality with one’s life.
Key Passage #5
When we realize that we ourselves are Buddhas, then we understand
the secret and wonderful expedient. The Daishonin writes: “Nevertheless,
even though you chant and believe in Myoho-renge-kyo, if you think the
Law is outside yourself, you are embracing not the Mystic Law but an
inferior teaching” (WND-1, 3).
Mystic of “secret and wonderful expedient” indicates the wonder, the
unfathomable nature of human life. In other words, the nine worlds are all
entities of Buddhahood. This is the principle that ‘the nine worlds have the
potential for Buddhahood.’ When one understands this truth, it becomes
apparent that Buddhahood does not manifest itself anywhere apart from
the nine worlds of ordinary living beings. It only appears within the nine
worlds. This is the principle that ‘Buddhahood retains the nine worlds.’
If we regard our goal of Buddhahood as “truth” and the nine worlds as
“expedient means,” then expedient means are identical to truth (the nine
worlds have the potential for Buddhahood), while truth is identical to
expedient means (Buddhahood retains the nine worlds). This is the
meaning of the secret and wonderful expedient.
For example, after we have embraced faith in the Gohonzon, the
sufferings of the nine worlds are no longer mere sufferings. Instead, they
serve to invigorate our faith and strengthen the state of Buddhahood
within our lives; they become sufferings in terms of the secret and
wonderful expedient, in that by triumphing over them, we can show proof
of our Buddhahood to others. Suffering becomes a source of motivation —
like a megaphone cheering us on to further spiritual growth and
achievement (WLS-1, pp. 125–126).
• The secret and wonderful expedient can be explained by the workings
of the Ten Worlds. The nine worlds of daily life are the realm in which
Buddhahood is expressed and the only place where it has expression.
• Their inseparability maintains that ultimately Buddhahood is
identical to the nine worlds. Sufferings in daily life serve as a means
for revealing the greatness of Buddhahood.
Key Passage #6
To those who believe in the Daishonin’s Buddhism, all phenomena —
birth and death, suffering and joy, benefit and loss, all things and events,
all forms and appearances — are manifestations of the Mystic Law as well
as expedient means that lead us to the Mystic Law. Mr. Toda said, “Both
loss and benefit are expedient means.”…
Problems or difficulties encountered in the course of our efforts for
kosen-rufu, in particular, exemplify the principles that ‘the world of hell
contains the world of the bodhisattva’ and ‘the world of Buddhahood
contains the world of hell.’ No problems or difficulties could be nobler than
these. The more we challenge and triumph over our problems, the
stronger Buddhahood grows within us. In that sense, if our faith is strong,
negative factors immediately transform into positive factors, and loss
transforms into merit. To a person of faith, everything that happens in life
becomes a benefit.
Whatever our circumstances, everything that happens is a vital scene in
the drama of our present lifetime in this world — the drama of attaining
Buddhahood, which is synonymous with the process of human revolution.
Everything is an expedient means (the nine worlds) to reveal the truth (the
world of Buddhahood). This is the function of the secret and wonderful
expedient.
The Daishonin writes: “Suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what there is
to enjoy. Regard both suffering and joy as facts of life, and continue
chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, no matter what happens. How could this
be anything other than the boundless joy of the Law?” (WND-1, 681).
Suffering and joy are expedients of the nine worlds. To chant Nammyoho-renge-kyo is to be in the world of Buddhahood, the realm of the
Buddha’s true wisdom.
From the vast, elevated state of life we attain through our practice of
faith, we gaze serenely upon all sufferings and joys, and at the same time
we savor the joy of the Mystic Law. This is what it means to have read the
“Expedient Means” chapter with one’s entire being (WLS-1, pp. 127–28).
• When we make efforts for kosen-rufu, the problems that arise are
expedients to strengthen Buddhahood within us.
• Viewed from the perspective of faith, both suffering and joy serve as
expedient means leading us to the Mystic Law.
Key Passage #7
The doctrine of the secret and wonderful expedient teaches us that even
people who do not yet uphold the Mystic Law, though it is likely they don’t
know it themselves (for it is secret), are actually one with the Mystic Law
(hence, ‘mystic’). Because of this, in the depths of their being, they are
seeking the Mystic Law.
In The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Nichiren
Daishonin says: “Even persons who are called great slanderers of the Law
will in time come to accept and uphold Myoho-renge-kyo — this is the
purpose of the ‘Expedient Means’ chapter of the Lotus Sutra” (OTT,
22)(WLS-1, pp. 131).
• All people have a connection with the Mystic Law, though it may not
be known. Through this connection, even those who were slanderers
of the Law can form positive connections with the Mystic Law.
Key Passage #8
Human education and Buddhism are two aspects of the same reality.
That is why Mr. Makiguchi’s quest in the educational realm brought him to
the Lotus Sutra and why I, based on the Lotus Sutra, actively promote a
movement for education and culture.
Let us look at Buddhism as an educational movement in terms of the
concept of expedient means. Clearly it is a movement emphasizing selfeducation with the aim of unlocking and developing our inherent Buddha
nature while at the same time bringing forth diverse wisdom and using
various expedient means to help others tap their Buddhahood. This
development of potential, this education of oneself and others, is the
noblest path a human being can ever pursue (WLS-1, p. 133).
• Buddhism can be considered an educational movement that promotes
the development of the Buddha nature and wisdom within the
individual. This path of education, when shared with others, is the
noblest path for the human being.
Key Passage #9
Propagating the teachings as well as fostering and raising capable
people are all activities that accord with the Lotus Sutra’s spirit. Other SGI
cultural and social activities only take on profound significance when they
contribute to developing people of ability and bring more and more people
into contact with Buddhism.
In “Expedient Means,” Shakyamuni states:
at the start I took a vow,
hoping to make all persons
equal to me, without any distinction between us. (LSOC, 70)
The Buddha vows to elevate all people to the same state of life as his
own. This is the spirit to raise capable people, to enable people to develop
to their fullest potential. This is also the spirit underlying the mentor–
disciple relationship.
Of course, since we also strive to keep growing and developing
ourselves, the determination to bring others not only to our level but
above and beyond is the true spirit of the Buddha’s vow to “make all
persons equal to me, without any distinction between us”(WLS-1, p. 134).
• The aim of the Lotus Sutra’s teachings is to elevate all to the life state
of the Buddha. The effort to enable people to raise their life condition
is the spirit behind raising capable people and the mentor-disciple
relationship in Buddhism.
Key Passage #10
The true essence of humanism lies in our compassion and earnest
commitment to pray and exert ourselves for the growth of our fellow
members, particularly those newer in faith. The SGI is a humanistic
organization. It isn’t run on authority or orders from above. It moves
forward with the joy of being in contact with genuine humanity…
I am nurturing and educating our youth today in exactly the same
spirit, and I hope you will do so as well. This is the way for a person who
believes in the Lotus Sutra to live — the path of the oneness of mentor and
disciple. When mentor and disciple work as one to promote an educational
movement that inspires and awakens people’s humanity and nourishes all
humankind, their unstinting contribution to society exemplifies the
principles that Buddhahood retains the nine worlds and the nine worlds
have the potential for Buddhahood. It becomes a dynamic demonstration
of the secret and wonderful expedient (WLS-1, pp. 135–36).
• The SGI is an organization dedicated to raising capable people based
on embracing the humanity of each individual. The oneness of
mentor and disciple is the spirit to elevate the life state of all
humanity, demonstrating the secret and wonderful expedient.
Questions for Discussion
The questions below can be used during discussion sessions. They are intended to serve as example
questions to generate faith-based discussion on the material covered.
1.
When the five thousand arrogant believers leave the assembly before
Shakyamuni speaks, Shakyamuni allows them to leave. Who or what
do the arrogant believers symbolize? (Refer to p. 114)
2.
If expedient means are educational techniques for leading people to
Buddhahood, what are the classrooms and tools used in that
education? (Refer to p. 117)
3.
Shakyamuni’s hesitation to share the Law came from his concern that
those he taught to would fail to believe in it but he bravely used
expedient means to share with others. What are your greatest
concerns in sharing Buddhism with others and how do we overcome
them? (Refer to p. 118)
4.
What does it mean that the “secret and wonderful expedient” is not to
be discarded if others are? (Refer to p. 122)
5.
How can it be that “both loss and benefit are expedient means”? How
do we transform “all phenomena” into a means to become happy?
(Refer to p. 127)
6.
Why do practitioners choose to be born in “adverse circumstances” to
help others? How does this principle empower us to lead lives of
victory, imparting our experiences to others? (Refer to p. 129)