Stories of the Lotus Sutra: Chapter 19 - Bodhisattvas of the Earth

[Bion]

image-32.jpg Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you had a fantastic weekend. Thanks so much for coming to practice, the monthly zazenkais on Friday and Sunday, and the Book Club Meeting!

As we kick off the new week, we’re diving into a new chapter in our book. Get ready for some truly amazing events—you won’t believe your eyes!

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Reading Assignment: Chapter 19 - Bodhisattvas of the Earth

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As always, take your time reading and thinking about what Reeves says about the story’s lessons. Try to spot the tricky parts and the ones that seem like they could be useful in real life. You’ll see the bodhisattva vows again, and the interesting way in which Reeves connects them to the Sutra.

If you missed the Zoom meeting on Saturday, you can catch the recording on our Study Page. It was a blast! If you have any thoughts to share after watching, please post them in the previous threads, and we’ll keep the conversation going.

Have fun reading! I’m really looking forward to hearing what you think about this chapter!

With metta, and in gassho
sat lah

[Taiji]

The action continues this chapter, and I am here for it! And that of course means I’ve got another thrilling Big Opinion to share.

I have to admit that my first mental images of the bodhisattvas of the earth were something like a horde of…like…giant ant bodhisattvas coming up out of tunnels in the ground, and then maybe a bunch of dinosaur-riding caveman bodhisattvas coming out of a hollow subterranean Land That Time Forgot or something like that. So like Maitreya, I also spent a good bit of the chapter surprised and confused.



But the sutra and Reeves’ commentary took this all in an interesting direction that really intrigued me. At first, I would have figured that the Buddha would have welcomed all kinds of supernatural help. Why not take all the help you can get, especially when you can call in a squad of superheroes? But he was very insistent that he had all the help he needed right here in this world in the form of all those surprise bodhisattvas who had apparently been chilling underground. Then, when Reeves talked about the Bodhisattvas of the Earth being the innumerable bodhisattvas of this world, and how they’re still emerging from the earth even now, that really shifted how I looked at the idea, and it suggested to me that we’re not separate from the action of the Lotus Sutra.

The idea that the Buddha has been teaching these mystery bodhisattvas for both about 40 years and for innumerable eons suggests that time is a little funky and non-linear here, at least to me. How could it be both? Maybe if all times have been collapsed into one instance, or if we’re perceiving all the bodhisattvas of this world throughout not only space, but also time, then that could be all the bodhisattvas that will ever be and who ever have been. And if that’s true, then we’re there, too. We’re part of this whole flying stupa fireworks show, and it’s totally unfolding right now…

I don't know, though! What do y'all think?

Gassho,
Taiji
Sat/LAH Today

[Ryūdō-Liúdào]

A bunch of dinosaur-riding caveman bodhisattvas coming out of a hollow subterranean Land That Time Forgot or something like that

So much yes! I love this image!

In general, I found this chapter quite simple: The bodhisattvas "of the earth" are the ordinary practitioners who arise from the very world of suffering and continue the Dharma here and now. Don't wait for salvation from elsewhere; the responsibility for carrying the teaching forward emerges right here, through actual people in actual conditions.

So get to it!

Wash those dishes.
Polish those mirrors.

...And don't forget to scoop out the litter box!

Gasshō,
流道-Ryūdō-Liúdào
Satlah

[Hokuu]

I have to admit that my first mental images of the bodhisattvas of the earth were something like a horde of…like…giant ant bodhisattvas coming up out of tunnels in the ground, and then maybe a bunch of dinosaur-riding caveman bodhisattvas coming out of a hollow subterranean Land That Time Forgot or something like that. So like Maitreya, I also spent a good bit of the chapter surprised and confused.

I could not stop myself

Gemini_Generated_Image_2gmdqc2gmdqc2gmd Large Medium.jpg

Here it is in a better quality.


satlah

[carolynz]

Taiji, Ryūdō-Liúdào, Hokuu -
Love love love it! When I first read the Sutra I was then read what you had to say Taiji, then for some reason I was riding a dinosaur while cleaning out the litter box!

Taiji, I really liked the imagery of us being a part of the Sutra. And I will never look at ants the same way again.

Carolyn
sat/lah

[Tenryu]

I have to admit that I never really spent much time wondering about the image of bodhisattvas physically emerging from the earth. My mind went somewhere much less exciting.

I more or less read “Bodhisattvas of the Earth” as “bodhisattvas of this world,” and the strange time scales in the chapter did not bother me much either. The way I found myself reading it, the Buddha teaches all those who come into contact with the Dharma, whether that is two thousand years ago or today.

Maybe that is why the chapter felt surprisingly straightforward to me. When Reeves writes that bodhisattvas are still emerging from the earth, I do not picture something supernatural. I find myself thinking about the countless ways the Dharma continues to appear in this world through practice, through teaching, and through ordinary human lives.

puts a saddle on his truck-sized ant and rides off into the sunset


Gasshō,
Tenryū
st&lah

[Taiji]

Bahaha, that's phenomenal, Hokuu! I love it. They fit right in with the rest of the Lotus Sutra, for real! I'm starting to think we need a Lotus Sutra power metal concept album...

carolynz, now you've got me thinking about ants, too! I wonder if the ones that show up in my bathroom every time the weather changes have any wisdom to share...

In general, I found this chapter quite simple: The bodhisattvas "of the earth" are the ordinary practitioners who arise from the very world of suffering and continue the Dharma here and now. Don't wait for salvation from elsewhere; the responsibility for carrying the teaching forward emerges right here, through actual people in actual conditions.

This makes me think of the first time I encountered the idea of bodhisattvas, way back in high school. I thought it was about the most amazing thing I’d ever read about. I imagined a very cinematic, fantastic kind of idea, with superhero monks plunging down into Hell-realms, hauling people out of the flames and battling devils, and all kinds of epic stuff unfolding across eons in realms we can't see. It all seemed pretty Metal, so I thought it would be the best thing ever to be a Bodhisattva…but then I also figured I had no chance at all of ever being living up to that standard. Regular old me felt pretty boring and disappointing by comparison.

By contrast, this idea that we real people in the real world, with all of our challenges and problems, are the ones who really can save each other, and that not only do we not have the supernatural rescue squad to rely on, but that we actually don't need them because we ourselves are capable—that's pretty inspiring.

As for the litter box, I'm starting to think I need a Scooping Gatha...

Edited: For mistags and other human Orange Cat Behavior. Time for more coffee!

Gassho,
Taiji
Sat/LAH Today

[Menmoku]

Who else could those earth Bodhisattvas be but us?
Big responsibility!

[carolynz]

I must say, it would be difficult for me to read these Sutras w/o this class!

Gassho,
Carolyn
Sat lah

[Bion]

I must say, it would be difficult for me to read these Sutras w/o this class!

Gassho,
Carolyn
Sat lah

I'm happy we get to do this together!

gassho
sat lah

[Chikyou]

We’re back to the fantastical non-linear time and space and I love it - I really enjoyed this chapter.

It really didn’t “click” for me that WE are the bodhisattvas of the earth until I read the responses here, so thanks for that! My head was still in fantasy land, though I pictured something more like the Terra cotta warriors come to life, earth cracking and falling away as they rise up.

Hokuu I love the ant-Dino- bodhisattvas!! That’s amazing.

Gassho,
SatLah,
Chikyō

[Chiko]

A memorable takeaway from this chapter was Reeves touching on the unfixed, non-static nature of reality. I find myself thinking about this more and more as I practice letting go of [ceaseless] heavy, sticky thoughts and attachments, while simultaneously living through the conviction that the world can be a static, predictable place if I can control all the details just right. It ironic that when we're bored, we want something new and exciting, but throw the wrong kind of excitement at me (disruption, unpredictability), and it's baaad news.

But there's also something reassuring about the dynamic nature of reality. If wanting a stable universe is unrealistic, then so are many of the demands we put on ourselves and others. Moment to moment, how many of us are affected by a drive to fill in the gaps with productivity or progress? How much of that could we just let go of, and no one would be the wiser? I certainly have my share. Wouldn't it be a shame to go through life pretending someone was keeping score?

Gassho,
Chiko
st/lah

[Bion]

But there's also something reassuring about the dynamic nature of reality. If wanting a stable universe is unrealistic, then so are many of the demands we put on ourselves and others. Moment to moment, how many of us are affected by a drive to fill in the gaps with productivity or progress? How much of that could we just let go of, and no one would be the wiser? I certainly have my share. Wouldn't it be a shame to go through life pretending someone was keeping score?

Gassho,
Chiko
st/lah

Our usual approach is to complicate things. We complicate everything by inserting ourselves into every aspect and making ourselves the central focus. This is why meditation is so important. It’s an act of simplification. It’s partly why we say that we let zazen do zazen. By taking ourselves out of the picture, we can see it completely. Doing so also helps us develop appropriate attention. This is the kind of attention that leads to good, skillful thoughts and actions.


gassho
sat lah

[Maro]

Hello friends!

For me what stood out from this chapter was the offer from the bodhisattvas from other worlds asking Shakyamuni to allow them to help him by staying in this world and Shakyamuni’s response “Oh, dear ones, there is no need. Look!”

And then all these bodhisattvas who were hidden from view, yet not being less-than-human regions, nor be among the heavenly beings appear from the sky (that could be) below the earth, just as there is above it !! - how wonderful!

I understood this in the wider context of trust and taking refuge.

Gassho
Maro
satlah