Gongyo—which includes reciting portions of the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span of the Thus Come One” chapters of the Lotus Sutra morning and evening—is part of daily practice for Nichiren Buddhists. This section of Living Buddhism will carry Ikeda Sensei’s explanations of gongyo, section by section. The full text can be found in The Heart of the Lotus Sutra, pp. 19–21.
Practicing the Lotus Sutra causes the sun to rise in our hearts. No matter how stormy our situation, when the sun blazes in the depths of our lives, a clear, bright sky—like the blue sky of May—opens in our hearts. And when we possess in our hearts the four virtues of eternity, happiness, true self and purity, then the land, the place where we are, shines as the Land of Eternally Tranquil Light.
While everyone has a sun in his or her heart, all too few are aware it exists. The Lotus Sutra is the scripture that reveals the brilliant sun of Buddhahood inherent in our lives.
“You, yourself, are a Buddha. Revere the sun of Buddhahood in your own life.” This is the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra, the message of the “Expedient Means” chapter.
Shakyamuni perceived that everyone possesses Buddhahood just as he did. He made it possible for everyone to advance along the path of which he had become enlight-
ened. Based on the irrefutable proposition that all human beings are respectable and that no human being is better than anyone else, Shakyamuni went out among the people and expounded the Law continuously. …
The Essence of the Entire ‘Expedient Means’ Chapter
Every day we recite the opening portion of “Expedient Means”—the most important part of the entire chapter.
Briefly, the contents of this part of the chapter are as follows: First, Shakyamuni clarifies that the wisdom to which all Buddhas are enlightened is “infinitely profound and immeasurable” (The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, p. 56) and that it is well beyond the capacity of Shariputra and the other voice-hearers to comprehend. Shakyamuni then says he has employed similes and various other means to skillfully expound the Buddha wisdom to the people. Finally, he reveals that the wisdom of all Buddhas is none other than the comprehension of the “true aspect of all phenomena.” This concludes the portion of “Expedient Means” we recite each day.
In a nutshell, the “true aspect of all phenomena” represents the principle that all people have the potential to be Buddhas. In other words, this passage reveals in theoretical terms the path whereby all people can attain Buddhahood. The portion we recite during gongyo is thus the very essence of the entire “Expedient Means” chapter.
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