Hi everyone!
sorry for the last minute entry…
Ok, Your resident spooky Sangha member is of COURSE drawn to the following quote:
“THE LOTUS SUTRA IS FOR ALL THE LIVING
Monks and nuns, laymen and laywomen, gods, dragons, satyrs, centaurs, ashuras, griffins, chimeras, pythons, humans and nonhumans, minor kings, and holy wheel-rolling kings, and others are all addressed by the Buddha in Chapter 1. What we should understand from this is that Buddha Dharma is not only for Buddhists, not only for those people who are good, and not only for human beings. Even gods and other heavenly creatures come to hear the Buddha’s teaching.
There is an important truth here. While the Lotus Sutra, like any book, is very much a human creation, its significance goes beyond the human. The range of concern, in other words, is not limited to the human species, but extends to all the living. In part, this sense of cosmic importance is a reflection of the rich Indian imagination at the time the sutras were being compiled. People simply assumed that the world was populated with a rich variety of what we regard as mythical beings.
This imaginative vision urges us to reach out beyond what our eyes can see and our hands can touch, to understand ourselves as being significantly related to a much larger universe that is located in and transcends ourselves, our families, countries, and even species. It is a vision that urges us to imagine ourselves as part of a vast cosmos in which our own lives are important.” (Reeves 44)
Ok… I had a big paragraph written about the unseen beings and my experiences and then deleted it because I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable, nor am I looking to turn this into a paranormal discussion. (I will say though that I can honestly tell you that I have seen and encountered some strange beings/things in my life. Things that make you question reality as you know it. I am also grateful that others were there with me too, as they can vouch and verify) My original paragraph went into some quick theories about the unseen realities and unseen beings… but really, the important lesson of that section for me is that the Dharma is universal. It is truth…That is the lesson here… The Dharma IS. And it is to be shared equally, freely, without discrimination, to all living beings everywhere, human or beyond. So, my question is, how do you teach a non-human entity the Dharma? (I also mean this question for all walks of human life… I’m not trying to only come at this from my little weird perspective)
Well, For me this chapter gives a partial answer…it is the beginning of our instructions on “how to be a Buddha”. During the omens section he reveals that “Note also that these omens appeal to different senses—we see light, we see and smell flowers, we feel the earth shake, and we hear drums beating. This means that we are to embrace the Dharma not only with our minds, but with our senses as well, with our whole being.” (Reeves 46-47) For then we develop skillful means and embody the Dharma… and we could teach by example. All that we do as a Buddha expresses the Dharma…
Reeves also asks us during this chapter to consider where we fit in these stories ourselves, and I would say that we are both student and teacher. Reeves in this chapter tells us that the lines between teacher and student blur, and that sometimes the teacher can learn from the student. This helped me to understand why Jundo refers to himself as “a friend along the way”. The Dharma is shared equally with all and through all. For now we may be a part of the assembly, hearing the Dharma, having it explained and coming to realization ourselves of the truth of the Dharma, but then, if we’ve been a good student and followed our instructions from our teacher, practice, follow the precepts… we will become a Buddha/Bodhisattva ourselves. Then we become the role of teacher… the lotus sutra, along with all our Mahayana scriptures are preparing us all for such a role, to be a Buddha/Bodhisattva who enthusiastically shares the Dharma with all who seek to become it.
Gassho,
Choujou
sat/lah today
sorry for the last minute entry…
Ok, Your resident spooky Sangha member is of COURSE drawn to the following quote:
“THE LOTUS SUTRA IS FOR ALL THE LIVING
Monks and nuns, laymen and laywomen, gods, dragons, satyrs, centaurs, ashuras, griffins, chimeras, pythons, humans and nonhumans, minor kings, and holy wheel-rolling kings, and others are all addressed by the Buddha in Chapter 1. What we should understand from this is that Buddha Dharma is not only for Buddhists, not only for those people who are good, and not only for human beings. Even gods and other heavenly creatures come to hear the Buddha’s teaching.
There is an important truth here. While the Lotus Sutra, like any book, is very much a human creation, its significance goes beyond the human. The range of concern, in other words, is not limited to the human species, but extends to all the living. In part, this sense of cosmic importance is a reflection of the rich Indian imagination at the time the sutras were being compiled. People simply assumed that the world was populated with a rich variety of what we regard as mythical beings.
This imaginative vision urges us to reach out beyond what our eyes can see and our hands can touch, to understand ourselves as being significantly related to a much larger universe that is located in and transcends ourselves, our families, countries, and even species. It is a vision that urges us to imagine ourselves as part of a vast cosmos in which our own lives are important.” (Reeves 44)
Ok… I had a big paragraph written about the unseen beings and my experiences and then deleted it because I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable, nor am I looking to turn this into a paranormal discussion. (I will say though that I can honestly tell you that I have seen and encountered some strange beings/things in my life. Things that make you question reality as you know it. I am also grateful that others were there with me too, as they can vouch and verify) My original paragraph went into some quick theories about the unseen realities and unseen beings… but really, the important lesson of that section for me is that the Dharma is universal. It is truth…That is the lesson here… The Dharma IS. And it is to be shared equally, freely, without discrimination, to all living beings everywhere, human or beyond. So, my question is, how do you teach a non-human entity the Dharma? (I also mean this question for all walks of human life… I’m not trying to only come at this from my little weird perspective)
Well, For me this chapter gives a partial answer…it is the beginning of our instructions on “how to be a Buddha”. During the omens section he reveals that “Note also that these omens appeal to different senses—we see light, we see and smell flowers, we feel the earth shake, and we hear drums beating. This means that we are to embrace the Dharma not only with our minds, but with our senses as well, with our whole being.” (Reeves 46-47) For then we develop skillful means and embody the Dharma… and we could teach by example. All that we do as a Buddha expresses the Dharma…
Reeves also asks us during this chapter to consider where we fit in these stories ourselves, and I would say that we are both student and teacher. Reeves in this chapter tells us that the lines between teacher and student blur, and that sometimes the teacher can learn from the student. This helped me to understand why Jundo refers to himself as “a friend along the way”. The Dharma is shared equally with all and through all. For now we may be a part of the assembly, hearing the Dharma, having it explained and coming to realization ourselves of the truth of the Dharma, but then, if we’ve been a good student and followed our instructions from our teacher, practice, follow the precepts… we will become a Buddha/Bodhisattva ourselves. Then we become the role of teacher… the lotus sutra, along with all our Mahayana scriptures are preparing us all for such a role, to be a Buddha/Bodhisattva who enthusiastically shares the Dharma with all who seek to become it.
Gassho,
Choujou
sat/lah today
But again, he is telling the story of the story... So, we definitely shouldn't expect the Lotus itself here, but mere glimpses into it through Reeves' eyes.
One thing I learned in this chapter was that I'm a part of the assembly, and I felt like it too at the end of the chapter. It also makes sense in a way, since in the Lotus Sutra the Buddha says (something like) "You know that Buddha millions of years ago? That was me. And all those monks were you."
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