On Practicing the Buddha’s Teachings
Gosho Study (adapted from the SGI-USA World Tribune)
“The most important thing in practicing the Buddhist teachings is to follow and uphold the Buddha’s golden words, not the opinions of others.”
“I have launched the battle between the provisional and the true teachings. Donning the armor of endurance and girding myself with the sword of the wonderful teaching, I have raised the banner of the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, the heart of the entire eight volumes of the Lotus Sutra. Then, drawing the bow of the Buddha’s declaration, “I have not yet revealed the truth,”4 and notching the arrow of “honestly discarding the provisional teachings,”5 I have mounted the carriage drawn by the great white ox6 and battered down the gates of the provisional teachings.”
On examination [of the Lotus Sutra], we find that those who are born in this land and believe in this sutra when it is propagated in the Latter Day of the Law will be subjected to hatred and jealousy even greater than that which arose in the lifetime of the Thus Come One. “Since hatred and jealousy toward this sutra abound even when the Thus Come One is in the world, how much more will this be so after his passing?”
– Lotus Sutra Chapter 10
It’s no easy task to be a force for good in the world. Adversities will try to block our way. But we can break through them all because we have our Buddhist practice. A world of “peace and security” doesn’t mean a world in which there are no problems or conflicts. Rather, it indicates a world in which people base themselves on the Mystic Law and, through faith, can transform any disaster or suffering into a cause for happiness. Sharing Buddhism with our friends is a noble challenge to realize our own happiness and create a world where we can enjoy “peace and security.”
