Key Passages From The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings (Part 2)

The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings encapsulates the essence of a people-centered Buddhism. From this installment, let’s examine key passages from each chapter of the Lotus Sutra, beginning with the “Introduction” chapter.^[1]

The Lotus Sutra Depicts the Inner Drama of Life

My mentor, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda, began his efforts to rebuild the Soka Gakkai after World War II by lecturing on the Lotus Sutra. In those and later occasional lectures on the sutra, he always started by briefly discussing the “Introduction” chapter, explaining the standpoint from which he read the Lotus Sutra as a guide for our own reading.

The “Introduction” chapter is the first act of the Lotus Sutra. It opens with a scene in which all kinds of living beings assemble on Eagle Peak,^[2] where Shakyamuni begins to preach the sutra.

Mr. Toda elucidated the significance of this scene:

It states that hundreds of thousands of bodhisattvas, voice-hearers and other living beings of the Ten Worlds all gathered to hear Shakyamuni preach. But how could this be possible? For a start, there were no loudspeakers, and his voice would not have been loud enough for all to hear him. Also, there is no way that he would have been able to preach like this for a period of eight years. In other words, these living beings all exist within the mind of Shakyamuni, representing the Ten Worlds inherent in his life, so there is nothing at all strange about saying that hundreds of thousands gathered.^[3]

As a result of his profound awakening in prison,^[4] Mr. Toda realized that he was a Bodhisattva of the Earth^[5] who was among the assembly gathered for the Ceremony in the Air^[6] depicted in the Lotus Sutra.

He gained the unshakable conviction that the Lotus Sutra is a scripture elucidating the truth of one’s life and that the Bodhisattvas of the Earth have vowed to appear in this world to spread the Mystic Law, the teaching for the enlightenment of all people in the Latter Day. This led to his insight that the Lotus Sutra is the drama of human revolution, the triumphant drama of ordinary people dedicated to fulfilling their vow for kosen-rufu.

Mr. Toda’s awakening in prison is the starting point of the Soka Gakkai, which has inherited the heart of the Lotus Sutra and the spirit of Nichiren Daishonin in the present day.

The Ten Worlds Are Inherent Within All People

At the start of the “Introduction” chapter, a great variety of living beings assemble. Transcending attachment to differences, they eagerly gather around the Buddha to seek his profound teaching.

The Lotus Sutra identifies the Ten Worlds as the universal foundation of life inherent within all living beings. It reveals the truth—not disclosed in any of the earlier sutras—that all inherently possess the world or life state of Buddhahood. The opening of the “Introduction” chapter, we could say, sets the grand stage for the preaching of the Lotus Sutra, in which the Buddha expounds the principle of the “mutual possession of the Ten Worlds,”^[7] thereby abolishing any separation between the nine worlds and the world of Buddhahood. The presence of an audience representing an extraordinarily diverse range of life states and circumstances might also reflect Shakyamuni’s intent and ardent wish to open the way to enlightenment for all living beings.

Our lives are infinite in space and eternal in time—without beginning or end—and the entirety of the Ten Worlds is inherent in them. This is the concept of life presented by the Lotus Sutra. And The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings illuminates this transcendent Buddhist view of life.

We Embody Nam-myoho-renge-kyo

Point One, regarding the words “This is what I heard:” …

The word “heard” of “This is what I heard” cannot apply to a person of no faith. But a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra may be said to have “heard” the substance of the doctrine put forth in “This is what,” etc. With regard to this, Words and Phrases,^[8] volume one, says, “‘This is what,’ etc., are words indicating faith and compliance. Faith means understanding of what one has heard, and compliance means that [one proceeds to follow it as] one follows the path of teacher and disciple.”

In effect, then, Nichiren and his followers are persons to whom the phrase “This is what I heard” may apply. (The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings,
pp. 9–10)

The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings’ commentary on the “Introduction” chapter begins with a section titled “Point One, regarding the words ‘This is what I heard:’”^[9] referring to the opening words of the entire Lotus Sutra.

These words also open many other sutras, affirming that the speaker has heard what follows from the Buddha. From the emphasis on “heard,” we can see that “hearing” in Buddhism means active rather than passive listening.

The phrase “This is what I heard” also highlights the bonds of unity between Shakyamuni and his disciples. The disciples’ confident assertion “This is what I heard” tells us they have listened to the Buddha’s words with all their beings, taken them to heart and put them thoroughly into practice.

The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings delves further into the meaning of “This is what I heard” by quoting a passage from The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra by the Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai:^[10] “The words ‘This is what’ indicates the substance of the doctrine heard from the Buddha. ‘I heard’ indicates a person who is capable of upholding that doctrine” (OTT, 9).

Based on this, it explains “I heard” as follows: “The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: The ‘heard’ of ‘I heard’ indicates the stage of hearing the name and words of the truth; ‘the substance of the doctrine’ is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo” (OTT, 9). Namely, the essential meaning of “I heard” is “I heard that I am an embodiment of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.”

In the Lotus Sutra, “This is what I heard” recounts the drama of how our lives themselves are infinitely noble and precious.

Breaking Through Fundamental Ignorance

The passage we are examining begins: “The word ‘heard’ of ‘This is what I heard’ cannot apply to a person of no faith” (OTT, 9–10).

It’s important to note that here “no faith”—meaning also “disbelief”—is not the same as having questions or doubts [which can be a positive, motivating force in faith]. In “The Opening of the Eyes,” Nichiren Daishonin writes: “This doubt [of yours]^[11] lies at the heart of this piece I am writing. And because it is the most important concern of my entire life, I will raise it again and again here, and emphasize it more than ever, before I attempt to answer it” (WND-1, 243). Nichiren took his disciples’ doubts and questions seriously, clearly dispelling them one by one and helping each disciple deepen their conviction in faith.

Backed by documentary, theoretical and actual proof, his teachings can withstand any question. He declares: “So long as persons of wisdom do not prove my teachings to be false, I will never yield!” (WND-1, 280). Incidentally, founding Soka Gakkai President Tsunesaburo Makiguchi underlined this passage in the copy of Nichiren’s writings he always kept with him.

In The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, the Daishonin declares that “heard” of “This is what I heard” cannot apply to “a person of no faith.” The lack of faith referred to here is the inability to believe that one’s life embodies the Mystic Law. This is none other than a life state shrouded in fundamental ignorance.^[12]

Next, Nichiren states: “But a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra may be said to have ‘heard’ the substance of the doctrine put forth in ‘This is what,’ etc” (OTT, 10). In contrast to the person of no faith, the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra is a genuine “person of faith” who practices the Mystic Law just as the Buddha teaches.

Faith is the door to the vast, expansive realm of the Buddha. As the Daishonin says, “The single word ‘belief [or faith]’ is the sharp sword with which one confronts and overcomes fundamental darkness or ignorance” (OTT, 119–20). Without pure, unalloyed faith, an earnest seeking mind to connect with the Daishonin’s life and spirit, and practice based on that faith, we cannot break through the profound darkness of fundamental ignorance.

Living Our Lives Together With the Soka Gakkai for Kosen-rufu

The passage continues:

With regard to this, Words and Phrases, volume one, says, “‘This is what,’ etc., are words indicating faith and compliance. Faith means understanding of what one has heard, and compliance means that [one proceeds to follow it as] one follows the path of teacher and disciple.” (OTT, 10)

“Faith and compliance” means to live based on the teachings—in other words, to walk the path of mentor and disciple. It is striving to internalize the essence of the mentor’s words and faithfully putting it into practice. By doing so, one can gain a true “understanding of what one has heard”—that is, embody the correct teaching of Buddhism—and “follow the path of teacher and disciple”—that is, live out one’s life as a disciple walking the same path as one’s mentor.

The spirit of mentor and disciple is the essence of “This is what I heard.” It is the key to overcoming disbelief.

“Nichiren and his followers are persons to whom the phrase ‘This is what I heard’ may apply” (OTT, 10), the passage continues. All who follow the path of the oneness of mentor and disciple read the Lotus Sutra with their lives, thereby affirming, “This is what I heard.” They can all walk the path to attaining Buddhahood together.

From our perspective, the phrase “This is what I heard” applies to all who dedicate their lives to kosen-rufu with the Soka Gakkai, directly inheriting the spirit of Nichiren Daishonin.

Ordinary People Attaining the Ultimate State of Buddhahood Just As They Are

Point Two, the matter of Ajnata Kaundinya …

Today, when Nichiren and his followers recite the words Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they are illuminating the darkness of birth and death, making it clear, so that the wisdom fire of nirvana may shine forth. And when one understands that the sufferings of birth and death are none other than nirvana, this is what is meant by the words “where there is illumination, darkness cannot arise.”^[13] [Again, when Nichiren and his followers recite Nam-myoho-renge-kyo], they are burning the firewood of earthly desires, summoning up the wisdom fire of bodhi or enlightenment. And when one understands that earthly desires are none other than enlightenment, this is what is meant by the words “where there is burning, things [that is, desires] cannot be born.”^[14]

In the end, therefore, we see that this Ajnata Kaundinya^[15] is showing that for us, the votaries of the Lotus Sutra, earthly desires are enlightenment, and that the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana. (OTT, 10–11)

Next, let’s look at “Point Two, the matter of Ajnata Kaundinya.”

This and the following section in the commentary on the “Introduction” chapter deal respectively with Ajnata Kaundinya, Shakyamuni’s first convert to his teachings, and King Ajatashatru,^[16] who became a disciple in the last year of Shakyamuni’s life. They are discussed here as representatives of all the many disciples who appear in the Lotus Sutra.

The Lotus Sutra elucidates the principle of the “mutual possession of the Ten Worlds,” and here again the focus is that everyone without exception inherently possesses the Ten Worlds and is an entity of the Mystic Law.

We each possess every single one of these worlds, not only the worlds of hell, hungry spirits and animals—the so-called three evil paths—but also the worlds of bodhisattva and Buddhahood. In addition, each of the Ten Worlds also possesses the potential for all ten within itself, so our life state is not fixed or limited to one world but continually moving and changing. This is one of the reasons for the infinite diversity and potential of human beings. Nichiren Buddhism makes it possible for us to steer the workings of the Ten Worlds in a positive direction, vibrantly activating them to build lives of rich value creation.

The examples of Ajnata Kaundinya and King Ajatashatru are mentioned in The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, I feel, not simply as stories of the past or accounts of special individuals featured in the Lotus Sutra, but rather because they have a profound, universal significance for the enlightenment of all living beings in the Latter Day of the Law.

Nichiren Daishonin says: “In the end, therefore, we see that this Ajnata Kaundinya is showing that for us, the votaries of the Lotus Sutra, earthly desires are enlightenment, and that the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana” (OTT, 11). He then adds: “Nichiren and his followers today are like King Ajatashatru” (OTT, 12).

These two sentences embody the essence of the principle that “ordinary people are identical with the highest level of being” (OTT, 22). In other words, ordinary people who live as practitioners of the Lotus Sutra, embracing and spreading the Mystic Law, can transform their lives—steeped as they may be in earthly desires, ignorance and deluded impulses such as “greed and attachment” (OTT, 12)—to attain the ultimate state of Buddhahood, just as they are. The life philosophy of Nichiren Buddhism teaches that all people can bring forth their inherent dignity.

Illuminating Our Own Lives

The section on Ajnata Kaundinya in The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings cites the origin of his name detailed in T’ien-t’ai’s Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra, explaining that it is related to the word fire and adding that fire has two functions—namely, to burn and to illuminate (see OTT, 10).^[17]

The Daishonin then states: “Fire is the wisdom fire of the Dharma nature” (OTT, 10)—that is, the wisdom fire of enlightenment. And he explains the beneficial power of the Mystic Law in terms of these two functions of burning and illuminating.

What does this wisdom fire of the Mystic Law burn, and what does it illuminate? It burns the firewood of earthly desires, and it illuminates and dispels the darkness of life’s sufferings by bringing forth the light of our own inherent Buddhahood. That is the meaning of the principles that “earthly desires are enlightenment”^[18] (Jpn bonno soku bodai) and “the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana”^[19] (shoji soku nehan) (OTT, 11).

Earthly Desires Enable Us to Savor Deep Fulfillment in Life

Mr. Toda explained these principles in terms of our actual lives in a very succinct and accessible way: “‘Earthly desires are enlightenment’ and ‘the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana’ describe a life in which we savor a state of happiness and complete peace of mind, even while living and grappling with our earthly desires.”^[20]

Earthly desires are wants and cravings. The sufferings of birth and death are the fundamental sufferings of existence. Both are inherent parts of life. No one is free from earthly desires and suffering. In fact, earthly desires and craving motivate us to take action and enable us to savor deep fulfillment in life.

Today, Soka Gakkai members around the world valiantly strive for the lofty goals of realizing kosen-rufu and attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime. They lead extraordinary lives, benefitting themselves and others. Through their efforts, they transform earthly desires—a source of suffering afflicting living beings in the cycle of birth and death in the six paths—into the wisdom of enlightenment, a solid state of happiness. In this way, they burn the firewood of earthly desires to illuminate the darkness of suffering.

The important thing is to illuminate our own life with the light of the Mystic Law. The tremendous power of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo enables us to burn the firewood of suffering and shine with the light of compassion and wisdom.

Embracing the Principle of Life’s Eternity

Nichiren Daishonin indicates that by “illuminating the darkness of birth and death, making it clear, … one understands that the sufferings of birth and death are none other than nirvana” (OTT, 10). This means correctly apprehending the “originally inherent nature of birth and death”^[21] and seeing that both birth and death are transitory phases that life undergoes throughout the three existences of past, present and future.

Certainly, none of us can escape the sufferings of birth and death. But is death the end of everything? Is it a darkness that we must dread? No, not at all. The Buddhist view of the eternity of life shines as a bright beacon dispelling that darkness and imparting boundless hope.

Viewed from the standpoint of life’s eternity, death is just the departure into a new existence, part of the great rhythm of the workings of life. Nichiren urges us to strive in faith so that we can have “a correct and steadfast mind at the moment of death.”^[22] By doing so, he asserts, anyone can forge an indestructible, diamondlike state of life, unfettered by the sufferings of birth and death.

When our mind—the inner focus of our lives—is devoted to and based on Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the fundamental Law of the universe, we can live each moment to the fullest and convert the sufferings of birth and death into nirvana. This is the Soka family’s path, imbued with the four virtues of eternity, happiness, true self and purity.^[23]

Transforming Sufferings Into a State of Freedom

The word are in “earthly desires are enlightenment” and “the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana” is a translation of the Japanese word soku. In both phrases, it seemingly equates two opposing notions. But soku here does not signify a simple or direct equivalence.

The principle of change is inherent in soku. When we look at the true nature of life from the perspective of the Buddha’s enlightened wisdom, we see that a life state dominated by earthly desires and the sufferings of birth and death also contains within it the life state of enlightenment and nirvana. In other words, because living beings of the nine worlds all possess the world of Buddhahood, they can transform earthly desires into enlightenment and the sufferings of birth and death into nirvana. This opens the way for the “attainment of Buddhahood in one’s present form” and the “enlightenment of ordinary people.”

The Daishonin says that the word soku “is symbolic of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo” (OTT, 72). By activating the power of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo—the ultimate law of life and the universe—we can transform the fetters of birth, aging, sickness and death into a state of complete freedom pervaded by the virtues of eternity, happiness, true self and purity. Mr. Makiguchi creatively reformulated these virtues as meaning a state in which one is “always joyful, with a self that is pure.” This unsurpassed philosophy of hope and joyful action is the essence of Nichiren Buddhism.

Our Dedication to the Great Vow Is Identical to the Life State of the Buddha

The Lotus Sutra also describes the Buddha as having a “few ills and worries” (see The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, p. 254). Even the Buddha worries and struggles intensely to guide all living beings to enlightenment. That’s why the Buddha’s wisdom wells forth ceaselessly. Worries and struggles directly become the firewood that generates the wisdom of enlightenment.

Our struggles to realize kosen-rufu and the ideal of “establishing the correct teaching for the peace of the land” are equivalent to the noble struggles of the Buddha. When we pray earnestly and chant with all our hearts, tenaciously tackling the challenges that arise before us, we can create new value by “summoning up the wisdom fire of bodhi or enlightenment” (OTT, 11) in accord with the principle that “earthly desires are enlightenment.” When we make the “wisdom fire of nirvana … shine forth” (OTT, 10) according to the principle that “the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana,” we can forge a state of indestructible happiness for ourselves and help others do the same.

The great vow or desire for kosen-rufu is the loftiest of all earthly desires, the Buddha’s noble wish. Our life state as we burn the firewood of earthly desires with the fire of our vow and advance eternally along the bodhisattva way is identical to the life state of the Buddha. We manifest the world of Buddhahood, just as we are. This is why we can tap limitless strength and unsurpassed wisdom and courage from within us.

The Mystic Law enables us to triumph in the end, no matter what happens along the way. It allows us to change all poison into medicine and transform everything into victory for our lives. The good fortune and benefits emerging from our lives then illuminate our families and loved ones and lead them to Buddhahood, as Nichiren Daishonin’s writings attest.

At the same time, our daily activities as Soka Gakkai members are widely opening the way for kosen-rufu into the eternal future of the Latter Day and for the happiness of tomorrow’s children.

Joyfully Continuing Our Ever-Victorious Journey of Mentor and Disciple

Taking to heart the profound teachings of The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, let us joyfully continue our ever-victorious journey of mentor and disciple!

The progress of the Soka Gakkai, united by the bonds of mentor and disciple, is the great light of hope illuminating the darkness shrouding humanity. It is the great sun of compassion elevating the life state of the global family and bringing it closer together.

Translated from the December 2022 Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal.

From the October 2023 Living Buddhism