The Pink Lotus Flower
The [Pink] Lotus Flower, Nelumbo nucifera, also known as the “sacred lotus” or the “Indian lotus,” is often confused with true water lilies of the genus Nymphaea, in particular N. caerulea, the “blue lotus.” However, the lotus flower has historical, cultural and spiritual…
Happiness
It is like the case of a poor man who spends night and day counting his neighbor’s wealth but gains not even half a coin. – On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime [Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Vol 1 p. 3]…
On Attaining Buddhahood in this Lifetime
On Attaining Buddhahood in this Lifetime If you wish to free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death you have endured since time without beginning and to attain without fail unsurpassed enlightenment in this lifetime, you must perceive the…
The Kalpa of Decrease
Some are beyond redemption The present age [of the Latter Day of the Law] is such that neither the non-Buddhist scriptures, the Hinayana sutras, the Mahayana sutras, nor the one vehicle of the Lotus Sutra has any effect….The extremity of…
On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime
On Attaining Buddhahood In This Lifetime This letter was written to Toki Jōnin in the seventh year of Kenchō (1255), two years after Nichiren Daishonin established his teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Myoho-renge-kyo is the title of the Lotus Sutra, but to the…
Eternity In A Moment
The Buddhist principle of “three thousand realms in a single moment of life” suggests that the past, future and all aspects of the physical environment exist in the present. [1] Nichiren Daishonin writes: Just as a commoner can become a…
Pleasure Is Different Than Happiness
Dorian Gray, or perhaps Oscar Wilde once said that pleasure is different than happiness. Aristotle said “Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” [1] According to Buddhist teachings, there are two…
Refute the Erroneous & Reveal the True
Rune_poem_Hickes_1705 The Teaching of Universal Enlightenment The practice of refuting erroneous teachings in the realm of Buddhism is ultimately a struggle of compassion fought with the force of reason. The Lotus Sutra or Nam Myoho Renge Kyo constitute the name…
Courage Is Different From Recklessness
Respectful Actions Convey the Heart of Buddhism “The aspiration of leading all people to enlightenment would just be a pipe dream unless the Buddha taught the importance of our behavior as human beings.” As Nichiren Daishonin states: “The purpose of…
The Berlin Wall
Awakening People’s Buddha Nature Monthly Message ~ Encouragement from Ikeda Sensei Nov 2021 Living Buddhism p. 1 SGI-USA In October 1961, when I saw with my own eyes the Berlin Wall that had been built just two months earlier, I…
