Live the Buddha’s Original Vow
Rev. Nikkyo Niwano
Founder, Rissho Kosei-kai
Aspiring to Be Like the Buddha
We members of Rissho Kosei-kai receive and embrace the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, and little by little, we engage in bodhisattva practice. This means, even if only one step at a time, we are walking the Buddha Way, the path to becoming a buddha.
Of course, “becoming a buddha” is no simple matter. However, rather than considering it especially difficult, I believe it is better to think about the Buddha Way in terms that make it easier, even if only a little, to put into practice.
The original meaning of the word “buddha” is “one who is awakened.” To be awakened means perceiving everything that arises in this world, including the workings of our own minds, with completely clear, unclouded vision, exactly as it really is.
In contrast with this, we are not capable of seeing things as they really are, nor can we always maintain the proper state of mind required. That is why striving to become “one who is awakened” by following Shakyamuni’s teachings constitutes bodhisattva practice and is the Buddha Way.
Incidentally, in chapter 2, “Skillful Means,” of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha declares, “You should know, Shariputra, / That from the beginning I made a vow, / Desiring all living beings / To be my equals, with no distinctions between us.”
The Buddha is saying that he wishes all people to attain, just as he has, a state in which they are imbued with unclouded wisdom and compassion.
What should we make of the Buddha’s original vow? On hearing the words, I suspect that many people would dismiss them outright, thinking, “Even if you say so, there’s just no way I could ever become like the Buddha.” Still, in my case, I humbly accept the Buddha’s words, saying to myself, “Because the Buddha reaches out to me with this guarantee, I too should surely be able to become ‘one who is awakened.’ ” Having such hope and a heart of gratitude allows me to live life very joyfully without losing my way.
We tend to think of our existence as limited to this life, so we relentlessly pursue nothing but immediate gratification. Yet no matter how materially affluent we may become, no one can escape the “four sufferings” of birth, aging, illness, and death. Additionally, we inevitably experience emotional distress, including the suffering of having to part with those we love and the suffering of having to encounter people and things we dislike.
But our existence is not limited to this life. So, if we engage in bodhisattva practice even a little during our lives in this world, then through the merits of that practice, whenever we are reborn, we will gradually free ourselves from attachment to our own happiness and develop a broader heart that is able to consider the happiness of the people around us.
Ultimately, Shakyamuni’s vow, “Desiring all living beings / To be my equals, with no distinctions between us,” is nothing less than his guarantee that each and every one of us has the innate potential to reach the same state of awakening as the Buddha.
Bodai no me o okosashimu (Kosei Publishing, 2018), pp. 108-110