The Buddha In Me, The Buddha In You
Everyone's a Buddha-that includes F you, your best mate, your lover, your beautiful kids, your gorgeous grandma and your favourite teacher from school. But you knew that already, right? The thing is, it also includes the colleague who b****es about you, the friend who betrayed you, the lover who stopped loving you, the driver who cut yukata roundabout, the father who judged you, the boss who sacked you, and that snotty little kid down the road who you feel like strangling sometimes! Although this may be hard to believe, Niching was adamant that everyone has Buddha-potential, explaining that fire can be produced by a stone taken from the bottom of a river, and that a candle can light up a place that has been dark for billions of years. Of course, the qualities of Buddhahood-wisdom, courage, joy, life force and compassion-are more manifest in some people than others, but the big and bold claim of the Lotus Sutra was that everyone has Buddhahood somewhere deep inside, in a latent state waiting to be tapped. In the13th century Japan into which Niching was born, this spirit of equality had long since disappeared, with priests acting as intermediaries between ordinary people and the 'divine'. There is no better example of this than the belief, vehemently opposed by Nichiren, but taught in preLotus Sutra teachings, that women were unable to attain enlightenment and deserved no better treatment than animals ... He writes that the only way to repay the debt one owes one's mother is to follow the Lotus Sutra because all the other sutras 'speak disparagingly of women' his is not a 'pick and mix' religion-the challenge is that the teaching of everyone having Buddhahood, like the principle of cause and effect, is all or nothing. It's either true or it isn't, this Buddha in me, this Buddha in you. Nichiren Buddhism is not one of those religions where you can 'pick and mix' the bits you agree with-tempting as that may sometimes be-because they're all ultimately inseparable, they're intertwined and, i believe, watertight. To get back to the main point i want to emphasise: everyone's Buddha. Everyone's life can be more magnificent right here, right now, in the midst of daily reality. This was a revolutionary teaching in feudalistic 13th century Japan and still ruffles a few feathers now. I'm a Buddha; you're a Buddha... and so what? Well, to me this is a message of great hope. It means that you and everyone else can become indestructibly happy, that we have enormous untapped potential, that we are capable of progress even in the most difficult of circumstances, often in ways that we never imagined. Again, so what? Don't all the mod personal development books say the same thing? Yes, they do. But 750 yeaago, Nichiren took it a step further: If everyone’s a Buddha, it means that yond everyone else are worthy of reaps it's more inclusive than a self-help philosophy. It's also more democratiethan any political system ever will be everyone’s a Buddha, it means that wean overcome the differences that sepus; it means, in short, that the Destin the human race is completely and tion our hearts and our hands. The fun mental spirit of Buddhism is that AL people are equal. A person is not grimily because of his social standinfame, academic background or posit(Abridged from The Buddha In Me, Buddha In You: A Handbook For He ness, Rider, Penguin Random House
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are David Hare views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: David Hare and Speaking Tree,Times of India
The Buddha In Me, The Buddha In You
Everyone's a Buddha-that includes F you, your best mate, your lover, your beautiful kids, your gorgeous grandma and your favourite teacher from school. But you knew that already, right? The thing is, it also includes the colleague who b****es about you, the friend who betrayed you, the lover who stopped loving you, the driver who cut yukata roundabout, the father who judged you, the boss who sacked you, and that snotty little kid down the road who you feel like strangling sometimes! Although this may be hard to believe, Niching was adamant that everyone has Buddha-potential, explaining that fire can be produced by a stone taken from the bottom of a river, and that a candle can light up a place that has been dark for billions of years. Of course, the qualities of Buddhahood-wisdom, courage, joy, life force and compassion-are more manifest in some people than others, but the big and bold claim of the Lotus Sutra was that everyone has Buddhahood somewhere deep inside, in a latent state waiting to be tapped. In the13th century Japan into which Niching was born, this spirit of equality had long since disappeared, with priests acting as intermediaries between ordinary people and the 'divine'. There is no better example of this than the belief, vehemently opposed by Nichiren, but taught in preLotus Sutra teachings, that women were unable to attain enlightenment and deserved no better treatment than animals ... He writes that the only way to repay the debt one owes one's mother is to follow the Lotus Sutra because all the other sutras 'speak disparagingly of women' his is not a 'pick and mix' religion-the challenge is that the teaching of everyone having Buddhahood, like the principle of cause and effect, is all or nothing. It's either true or it isn't, this Buddha in me, this Buddha in you. Nichiren Buddhism is not one of those religions where you can 'pick and mix' the bits you agree with-tempting as that may sometimes be-because they're all ultimately inseparable, they're intertwined and, i believe, watertight. To get back to the main point i want to emphasise: everyone's Buddha. Everyone's life can be more magnificent right here, right now, in the midst of daily reality. This was a revolutionary teaching in feudalistic 13th century Japan and still ruffles a few feathers now. I'm a Buddha; you're a Buddha... and so what? Well, to me this is a message of great hope. It means that you and everyone else can become indestructibly happy, that we have enormous untapped potential, that we are capable of progress even in the most difficult of circumstances, often in ways that we never imagined. Again, so what? Don't all the mod personal development books say the same thing? Yes, they do. But 750 yeaago, Nichiren took it a step further: If everyone’s a Buddha, it means that yond everyone else are worthy of reaps it's more inclusive than a self-help philosophy. It's also more democratiethan any political system ever will be everyone’s a Buddha, it means that wean overcome the differences that sepus; it means, in short, that the Destin the human race is completely and tion our hearts and our hands. The fun mental spirit of Buddhism is that AL people are equal. A person is not grimily because of his social standinfame, academic background or posit(Abridged from The Buddha In Me, Buddha In You: A Handbook For He ness, Rider, Penguin Random House
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are David Hare views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: David Hare and Speaking Tree,Times of India