How To Be a Buddhist
I will begin with the Three Jewels, because it is in these
that we take refuge. The whole idea of taking refuge is a
recognition that our life as it is ordinarily lived is full of
anxiety, dissatisfaction and even outright suffering. We seek to
find out if life holds any answers to our search for security and
happiness. We may even come to wonder if life is meaningful at
all. The greatest horror (it seems to me) would be to give up and
sink into the conviction that life is just an accident of
thoughtless waves and particles and heartless interactions in the
void. It is at this point that we may begin a sincere inquiry
into the meaning of things. Who am I? What am I here for? Why is
this all about anyway? Some of us, if we are fortunate, may even
stumble upon the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma and the
Sangha.
In the Buddha, we discover that it is possible for people to
awaken to the Truth about life. The life of Shakyamuni Buddha
shows that it is possible to resolve those perennial doubts in a
way that does not require blind faith and/or blind submission to
the rites, ceremonies, dogmas and rules of an institution that
may simply be another part of the problem. Shakyamuni Buddha
provided us with a primordial archetype of human wisdom and
compassion. When we take refuge in him, we take refuge in the
possibility of our own awakening. For those of us who put faith
in Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Flower Teaching, we are
reminded that Shakyamuni Buddha is no otherworldy reality,
abstract ideal or long dead teacher; he is, rather, the living
reality of our own lives.
In the Dharma, we find a teaching that will enable us to cut
through the illusions and karmic hindrances that prevent us from
awakening ourselves. The Dharma is a placeless and timeless
intuition of the True Reality of All Existence. These insights
are beyond words and phrases, but have no reality apart from them
either. As it is taught in the Heart Sutra: “Form
is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form.” Through the words and
phrases of the sutras, that tradition tells us originate with the
Buddha, we engage that True Reality in a way that turns us away
from abstractions and back to ourselves and the here and now and
enables us to see the timeless placeless teaching that makes us
rejoice in the Dharma all the more. Those of us who chant Namu
Myoho Renge Kyo (Devotion to the Wonderful Dharma of the
Lotus Flower Teaching) take delight in all the sutras as well as
in the unfathomable True Dharma because we are able to rejoice in
the true intent of all the sutras and in the clearest engagement
with that innefable Dharma through the Dharma-recollection
practice of chanting the Great Title (Odaimoku) of the Lotus
Sutra: Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.
In the Sangha, we join a community that supports and encourages a
life that is devoted to the Way. The local Sangha also provides
us with a base community that enables us to reach out to the
larger Sangha of all beings. Without a Sangha, we become like a
plant that has been uprooted from the fertile soil it needs to
grow. In a more positive light, the way of the truly
compassionate person is the way of engagement with one's fellow
beings. Certainly there are no perfect Sanghas, and certainly
there are times for solitude and reflection, but always there is
the need to maintain a connection with others in practice and in
caring. Those who chant Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, further realize
that we ourselves are the Bodhisattvas of the Earth who must work
together as the original and true disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha.
The sutra further shows that we do this by just transforming our
ordinary lives and creating a Buddha land right where we are.
This transformation of daily life is rooted in our faith, which
then gives us the confidence and motivation to practice and study
the Wonderful Dharma.
The Threefold Discipline is really the Eightfold Noble Path stated
in a more essential form. The three are Sila (Virtuous
Conduct), Samadhi (Meditation) and Prajna
(Wisdom). Through virtue one achieves a life of integrity and
stability. Through meditation, one cultivates mindfulness,
concentration and insight in both formal practice and daily
living. Through wisdom, one sees things clearly just as they are,
empty and marvelous. By following the Threefold Discipline one
actualizes one's faith in the Three Jewels. The Buddha is
realized, the Dharma is made a part of one's life and the Sangha
is the field of endeavor. When a person begins to find faith in
the Three Jewels and wishes to realize their own Buddha-nature,
the Threefold Discipline then begins to manifest as the defining
factors of their lifestyle. One could say that the Buddha-nature
is that seed within us which flowers forth as the Threefold
Discipline once we become aware of it. For those who chant Namu
Myoho Renge Kyo, the practice is itself the discovery and
cultivation of that seed as well as our joy in its unfolding.
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo should, therfore, never become mere lip
serive to the Dharma; rather, it should be our expression of our
total trust in and joyful reception of the Wonderful Dharma as
the infinite light and life which is our own Buddha-nature.
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