Welcome, everyone, to the hearing of the Lotus Sutra. I also congratulate you on the successful completion of these two days of copying and reciting the scripture. Through these past two days of study, everyone has gained a deeper understanding and recognition of <the Lotus Sutra>. <The Lotus Sutra> is a vital scripture in Mahayana Buddhism. In the text, the Buddha calls it the “King of Sutras, the foremost among all scriptures,” and uses the unique mani-jewel from the topknot of a Wheel-turning King to describe its rarity and preciousness. The Buddha also states in the scripture that wherever <the Lotus Sutra> is found, it is as if the Buddha himself is present, and a stupa should be erected there for offerings. For all sentient beings practicing the Buddha-dharma, if they have not heard the Lotus Sutra, their cultivation is not yet complete. So, what exactly did the Buddha teach in this sutra? Why is it so important?
In this sutra, the Buddha reveals the Buddha-knowledge and insight —which is that we, as sentient beings, are all fundamentally Buddhas! As long as we hear the Buddha-dharma and practice the Bodhisattva path, we can ultimately attain Buddhahood. This is a perspective that shakes the three realms. Perhaps when we hear the phrase “all beings are Buddhas,” we do not feel particularly shocked; however, for someone who has practiced the Bodhisattva path for a long time, the shock of hearing this insight is beyond description. This is because practicing the Dharma is no longer about an ordinary person transforming into a Buddha, but realizing that we already are Buddhas. The fruit of Buddhahood is not something we cultivate into existence; it is our inherent treasure. We only need to open it and utilize it to obtain liberation from the cycle of rebirth and the great self-mastery inherent to life.
If we begin as a “self-centered” ordinary person and strive to become a Buddha, we might go through eons as numerous as the sands of the Ganges without success. But if we are fundamentally Buddhas, then attaining the Way becomes an easy matter. Buddhist studies often say that the reason we do not know we are fundamentally Buddhas is because we are defiled. If we wish to practice and attain Buddhahood, we only need to cleanse ourselves. One day, our Buddha-nature will be revealed. On the future path of cultivation, practitioners will not lose their way in the vast ocean of various “Dharma gates,” because all these methods become mere tools for cleansing—they are all meant to wash away our attachments and discrimination. Nor will they lose their way on the path ahead, or become confused by the Buddha’s skillful means and teachings tailored to specific capacities; all theories simply become guides, the finger pointing at the moon.
For someone who has never practiced the Dharma, this insight is also crucial. If we are fundamentally Buddhas, then who is this person sitting here listening to the Dharma—this ordinary being filled with habits, desires, and afflictions? Since we are fundamentally Buddhas, omnipresent and omnipotent, originally perfect and complete in merit, then what is this current “thing” we call ourselves? It is a dream of sentient beings. It is our dream. Just as when we dream at night, everything in the dream feels very real, but when we wake up, everything in the dream becomes an illusory state, unreal and insubstantial. Now, we are dreaming with our eyes open. Here, in this dream, you feel it is even more real, but when you attain the Way and return to the source of your Buddha-nature, you will know that all of this is also illusory and unreal.
If we do not hear the Buddha-dharma and we make an error in this fundamental insight, then throughout the long river of our existence, all our pursuits and attachments are equivalent to building illusory goals upon a deluded mind; we will commit error after error. From the perspective of a single lifetime, you might achieve certain life goals. But regarding the long river of life across many births, you are merely going in circles, constantly in the cycle of samsara. Whether you do good or evil, it only leads to continuous rebirth within the six realms. If you have good karma, you rise a bit higher to the heavenly realms. If you have bad karma, you fall into the hells. Once your blessings are exhausted, everyone simply switches places. These errors throughout lifetimes all stem from an error in the “first thought”—an error in the definition of the “self”—leading to births and deaths through eons.
In the second chapter of <the Lotus Sutra>, the Buddha also discusses the three vehicles of Buddhist study he taught previously—the Sravaka (Hearer) vehicle, the Pratyekabuddha (Solitary Realizer) vehicle, and the Bodhisattva vehicle. These were merely skillful parables taught to counter the desires and attachments of sentient beings. Ultimately, sentient beings cannot achieve deliverance or liberate themselves from samsara through the Sravaka, Pratyekabuddha, or Bodhisattva vehicles alone. Ultimately, everyone will be liberated from rebirth through the One Buddha Vehicle, attaining the Buddha’s state of Nirvana and reaching great awakening within it. Because sentient beings are fundamentally Buddhas, any fruits of the path offered to you—whether the fruit of an Arhat, a Pratyekabuddha, or the stages of a Bodhisattva—are all “toys” given by the Buddha to allow you to dwell within this Buddha-insight and persist in the practice of the Dharma. In the scripture, he uses the parables of the goat cart, the deer cart, and the ox cart. If the perspective that “sentient beings are fundamentally Buddhas” had not appeared in this world, it would mean the Buddha had never truly appeared. If this perspective had not been formed into scripture, it would mean the Buddha had not revealed the Buddha-knowledge and insight, nor spoken his highest teaching.
If a practitioner of the Dharma has not heard this perspective or does not understand this insight, then they are not truly a child of the Buddha, because the Buddha has not yet passed his final treasure to them. Within the Dharma realm and the universe, this treasure is realized only by the Tathagata and possessed only by the Tathagata. In this universe, no other figure we consider a “master” has spoken this perspective. They tell you that they are supreme, or that they created all things, and that you can obtain liberation or be saved through union with them or through their blessing and help. No master sits here and tells you that you and they are equal and without difference —that you are the same, equally omnipresent, complete in everything, perfect in merit, and that you are fundamentally them. No other master has spoken this. This perspective is realized only by the Tathagata. Without this insight, even the Great Bodhisattvas could not completely deliver all sentient beings. Because sentient beings are fundamentally Buddhas, Great Mahayana Bodhisattvas can deliver all beings, complete the Buddha-fruit, and perfectly attain the Way. Furthermore, during the process of practice, we can use the “mind of the fruit-stage” to cultivate the “enlightenment of the causal-stage.” Once we know this insight, we know that what we currently perceive as the “self” is an illusion, including the scientific understanding of the Big Bang, the Taoist “movement of primal ignorance,” and so on —all are our illusions. Fundamentally, we are neither born nor destroyed! We have never moved! Knowing this insight, a practitioner of the Dharma can finally shatter all appearances, remaining detached from appearances while within them, and truly enjoy the ease and self-mastery of the Tathagata within the mundane world.
Today, we will browse through <the Lotus Sutra> chapter by chapter to see exactly how the Buddha elaborated on this perspective throughout the entire assembly, as well as the shock it caused among his disciples when he spoke it.
The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, abbreviated as the Lotus Sutra, is divided into twenty-eight chapters. It was recorded from the perspective of a Great Bodhisattva looking at the six realms, capturing the scene of a Dharma assembly where the Buddha was teaching at Grdhrakuta Mountain in India. The first chapter is the Introduction, which describes the time, location, and origin of the Buddha’s teaching. The second chapter contains the Buddha’s core perspective spoken at the assembly: “we are fundamentally Buddhas,” and the teaching that the three vehicles of Buddhism ultimately return to the One Buddha Vehicle. Then, from the third to the twelfth chapters, we see the reflections and realizations of his Sravaka disciples (the followers of the Small Vehicle) after hearing the Buddha speak this insight. During this process, the Buddha continuously bestows predictions of future Buddhahood upon these Sravaka disciples. The thirteenth through nineteenth chapters discuss the merit of upholding, reciting, and copying <the Lotus Sutra>, as well as how to obtain this sutra and how to speak it for others without obstacles. Then, several chapters describe the deeds of various Great Bodhisattvas, including Never-Slighting Bodhisattva, Medicine King Bodhisattva, Wonderful Sound Bodhisattva, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, and King Wonderful Adornment—Great Bodhisattvas who delivered themselves and others. During this process—specifically in the eleventh, fifteenth, sixteenth, and twenty-first chapters—the Buddha manifests inconceivable states of Buddhahood. In the twenty-sixth chapter, various Bodhisattvas in the assembly speak dharanis (incantations) to protect the assembly, the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, and the practitioners who uphold, recite, and explain it. Finally, the sutra concludes with the Chapter on the Universal Worthy’s Conduct and Vows. This teaches us that after hearing this perspective, we must act—by practicing the Bodhisattva path, we can ultimately attain the Way.
There is one more question here for everyone to consider. In many scriptures, the Buddha speaks of the various merits of reciting the sutra, but he rarely mentions that denying the sutra will result in various retributions. Because the Buddha is very compassionate, he usually does not speak that way. However, only in the Lotus Sutra does the Buddha tell you that if you deny this insight and slander this scripture, you will suffer very heavy retribution. This is because if this insight is extinguished, the Buddha-dharma is extinguished. Denying this insight is equivalent to severing the Buddha-seed and the wisdom-life of sentient beings; the gravity of this offense is beyond words. It is more serious than shedding the Buddha’s blood or committing the five heinous crimes. From another perspective, this emphasizes the importance of <the Lotus Sutra>.