This is the ninety-sixth installment of a detailed commentary on the Threefold Lotus Sutra by the late founder of Rissho Kosei-kai, Rev. Nikkyo Niwano.

TEXT Thereupon the World-honored One, desiring to proclaim this meaning over again, spoke thus in verse:

COMMENTARY With fearless mind. Here, "fear" includes not only fear of others and of external phenomena but also fear of oneself. Thus it refers to lack of self-confidence and hesitancy in one's actions. One who teaches the Lotus Sutra must not only be unafraid of misunderstanding, persecution, and ridicule from outside, but also be confident and undaunted within oneself. Because such fearlessness is founded on the excellence of one's life and conduct, the Buddha goes on to speak in detail of the sphere of action and the sphere of intimacy.

TEXT Constantly avoiding kings / And princes, / Ministers and rulers, / Brutal and dangerous performers, / Candalas, / Heretics, brahmacarins; / Nor does he consort with / Men of arrogance / Who are fond of studying / The Tripitaka of Hinayana,

COMMENTARY The Tripitaka. The scriptures of Buddhism are classified into three divisions or "baskets" (pitaka), called the Sutra-, the Vinaya-, and the Abhidharma-pitaka, which are collectively known as the Tripitaka (Three Baskets or Storehouses). Very briefly, the Sutra-pitaka is the collection of sutras, or discourses, by which the Buddha taught his disciples how they should perceive the world and human life and how to live as true human beings; the Vinaya-pitaka is the collection of monastic regulations by which the Buddha taught his disciples a basic attitude to life and a moral code for it; and the Abhidharma-pitaka consists of discourses by the Buddha explaining the truth, or important meanings, of his teachings, as well as commentaries and treatises by his followers (including those of later times) analyzing and organizing the teachings and illuminating how they should be understood. Scholar-monks of superior merit, deeply versed in the Tripitaka, were honored as Masters of the Tripitaka (tripitaka-dhara in Sanskrit; san-tsang-shi in Chinese); though knowledgeable in an academic sense, however, as adherents of the Hinayana teachings in regard to their own practice they did not accord with the bodhisattva way. Therefore the Buddha warns bodhisattvas not to be intimate with them, for they are interested in Buddhism only as an academic exercise.

TEXT With commandment-breaking bhikshus, / Arhats [only] in name, / Or with bhikshunis / Fond of jocularity, / Or with female disciples / Who, through sensuousness, / Seek present nirvana. / He consorts with none of them.

COMMENTARY Commandment-breaking bhikshus. These are bhikshus who break the Buddha's precepts, act wrongly, and disregard the regulations of the Buddhist community.
･ Arhats [only] in name. Arhats are people who have rid themselves of all illusion and who are therefore worthy of honor. "[Only] in name" means that they have not yet gained true enlightenment.
･ Seek present nirvana. This phrase means to enter the realm of nirvana in the present body, that is, to be detached from all afflictions of the defilements. Though lay believers seeking this condition have great faith, care must be taken when consorting with them, for it is a misunderstanding that lay believers should nourish such an aspiration. This is because "present nirvana" is a kind of selfishness, a retreat from life. Everyday life must be prized and enlightenment be made to work within it. This is the correct attitude of lay Buddhists.
text But if such people as these, / In goodness of mind, / Come to the bodhisattva / To hear the Buddha Way, / Then the bodhisattva, / With fearless mind, / Cherishing no expectation, / [Should] preach the Law to them.

COMMENTARY In goodness of mind. This means to be well disposed. It does not describe people's attitude to bodhisattvas but a pure-hearted willingness to listen to the teaching.

TEXT Widows and virgins / And all sorts of eunuchs / He never approaches / For close friendship; / Nor does he consort with / Butchers and meat mincers, / Hunters and fishermen, / Who slaughter for gain; / Those who vend meat for a living / And procurers, / With such people as these / He should not consort. / With brutal wrestlings, / Amusements and plays, / Whores and so forth / He should have no intimacy whatever. / He should not, alone in a screened-off place, / Preach the Law to a woman; / If he has to preach the Law [to her] / He will avoid jocularity.

COMMENTARY A screened-off place. This refers to a secluded place or a room with a closed door.

TEXT [When] he enters a hamlet in quest of food, / Let him take along [another] bhikshu; / If there be no [other] bhikshu, / Let him with single mind think of the Buddha.

COMMENTARY [Another] bhikshu. This does not mean only one other bhikshu but other bhikshus in general.

TEXT These then are what are called / The spheres of action and of intimacy. / Maintaining these two spheres, / He can teach with peace and joy. / And again [if] he does not observe / Laws, higher, middle, or lower, / The conditioned or the unconditioned, / Laws real or unreal; / Also [if] he does not discriminate, / 'This is a man' or 'This is a woman'; / [If] he discovers no laws / Nor recognizes nor sees them; / This then is called / A bodhisattva's sphere of action.

COMMENTARY This is a particularly difficult passage.
･ Laws, higher, middle, or lower. The "higher" Law refers to the vehicle of the bodhisattvas, the "middle" to the vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas, and the "lower" to the vehicle of the shravakas. The reference to "Laws, higher, middle, or lower" means that bodhisattvas should not adhere to the teachings of the vehicles of bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, or shravakas. There is only the teaching of the One Buddha Vehicle.
･ The conditioned. This is a translation of samskrita or samskara in Sanskrit, meaning all phenomena that arise through a combination of causes and conditions, that is, everything that we can perceive with the five senses.
･ The unconditioned. This term is a translation of the Sanskrit asamskrita, which signifies elements whose existence is permanent and immutable, or that which neither arises nor decays. Since all things arise through a combination of causes and conditions, there is nothing that creates or is created in any special way outside this.
･ Real. This designates that which exists of itself, that is, the (supramundane) Buddha Dharma.
･ Unreal. This refers to the things of this world, which, having arisen through dependent origination, are only temporary manifestations. Since they are neither fixed nor substantial, they are called "unreal." The teaching that bodhisattvas should not observe the laws of the conditioned (unreal) or the unconditioned (real) should be understood in the following way: Bodhisattvas should not adhere to such relative concepts as the difference between that which changes (phenomena) and that which does not change (the Buddha Dharma); both phenomena and the Buddha Dharma, being manifestations of the compassion of the Original Buddha and directly involved with the liberation of living beings, must be activated as the teaching of the One Buddha Vehicle.
･ [If] he does not discriminate, 'This is a man' or 'This is a woman.' Previously male bodhisattvas were told not to approach people in certain occupations or women. Here, though, there has been a complete turnabout, and all discrimination between men and women is denied. Bodhisattvas are therefore being taught that they must come to a complete realization of the fundamental equality of all human beings despite differences in surface phenomena.
･ [If] he discovers no laws, nor recognizes nor sees them. This is an extremely difficult expression. Bodhisattvas must not be misled by trivial manifestations of phenomena, nor imagine that they have perfectly understood all things, having known them or having penetrated them. Instead, they must realize the true nature of all things.

TEXT All laws [or things] are / Empty and nonexistent, / Without permanence, / Neither beginning nor ending; / This is named the sphere / To which wise men resort.

COMMENTARY In attempting to view all phenomena correctly, we will become confused if we are not absolutely certain about the standpoint from which we do so. For example, we think that cherry blossoms are very beautiful, but they soon fade and fall. In other words, they are "without permanence." Though they have scattered, however, they have not disappeared forever, for they will bloom again just as beautifully next year. Thus, they have "neither beginning nor ending." If we base our understanding on whether flowers bloom or fade, we are viewing all things as being in constant flux. If, however, we take our stand upon the truth, that the cherry will bloom with the circling of the seasons, we can be confident that this truth will never change.

The above passage urges us to associate with other people by understanding the workings of all things and never wavering from that understanding.

COMMENTARY Cultivate and control his mind, and be firmly fixed and immovable as Mount Sumeru. This does not simply mean to be of firm mind, but is concerned with how a person becomes convinced and is therefore unshaken in belief. Though not apparent in the surface meaning of the passage, this refers to enlightenment to emptiness.

TEXT Contemplating all laws / As though they were not, / As if they were space, / Without solidity, / Neither produced nor coming forth, / Motionless and unreceding, / Ever remaining a unity. / This is named the [proper] sphere of intimacy.

COMMENTARY Saying that we should contemplate all phenomena both "as though they were not" and "ever remaining a unity" seems at first to be contradictory. There is no paradox, though, if we remember the example of the cherry blossoms provided above to illustrate that the way we regard something depends upon our standpoint. All things come into existence through the law of dependent origination, so it is a truth that there is nothing that has a fixed and eternally unchanging substance. But our five senses tell us that what exists in the world is true. We should therefore, according to the truth that everything in this world exists through the law of dependent origination, view phenomena as being constantly existent and of one form. If we truly understand this, we will not be swayed by change but will be able to act positively, knowing that nothing is transient.

TEXT If any bhikshu, / After my extinction, / Enters this sphere of action / And sphere of intimacy, / When he preaches this sutra / He will have no timidity or weakness. / When the bodhisattva at times / Enters a quiet room / And in perfect meditation / Contemplates things in their true meaning, / And, rising up from his meditation, / To kings of nations, / Princes, ministers and people, / Brahmans and others / Reveals, expounds, / And preaches this sutra, / His mind shall be at ease / And free from timidity and weakness.

COMMENTARY Though the sutra previously warned against association with kings, princes, and Brahmans, here it is urging that the Dharma be fully expounded to such people. This is no contradiction, for what is important is the reason for the association. If our motivation is some sort of gain, then we should not approach them; on the other hand, we must draw near them for the purpose of teaching the Dharma.

The two important attributes of a person of faith are clearly represented here: reflection on the teaching and exposition of the teaching for the sake of all people. Such spiritual exertion, both inward facing and outward looking, is the mark of a true believer. When we reflect upon the teaching in our own mind we must meditate upon it with right mindfulness to be sure we have remembered it correctly, and contemplate it according to its true meaning. When we expound it for the sake of others, we must, so that our listeners can comprehend easily its true meaning, not be wedded to the literal meaning of the words but reveal its truth in a comprehensible way, employing various forms to do so. This is the very pinnacle of preaching.

TEXT Manjushri! / This is called a bodhisattva's / Stead-fastness in the first method. / He is [then] able, in future generations, / To preach the Law Flower Sutra.

COMMENTARY The first method. This refers to the pleasant practice of the body, the first of the four pleasant practices of a bodhisattva (see the October-December 2008 issue of Dharma World).
TEXT "Again, Manjushri! After the extinction of the Tathagata, in [the period of] the Decline of the Law, he who desires to preach this sutra should abide in the pleasant ministry [of speech].

COMMENTARY The following passage discusses the pleasant practice of the mouth, the second of the four pleasant practices.

TEXT Whenever he orally proclaims or reads the sutra, he takes no pleasure in telling of the errors of others and of the sutras;

COMMENTARY This is an extremely important rule, telling us how we should act when tempted to find fault with people or the teaching. Included here is believing something to be a fault when it is not and forcing a meaning into something that is not there. To respond to people or the sutras with such a warped and spiteful mind is contemptible, and not the attitude expected of a true believer. Such faultfinding occurs in the secular world even among those who occupy important positions. It is very difficult to help such people, for their minds are closed to both the truth and other people. Unable to open their minds to others, they constantly try to hurt them. Such people can be said to have placed themselves in the realm of violent asuras. They reject liberation, even when it is before their eyes.

In the final analysis, liberating others is an act of compassion. Compassion toward people and toward all things is the basis of rich relationships, a tranquil life, and a peaceful society. Compassion opens the heart to accept all, and to make others one with oneself. The same applies to the sutras: They should be read with a completely open mind, free from prejudice. It is then that liberation flows richly forth.

TEXT neither does he despise other preachers;

COMMENTARY This is also an important point. It applies to other teachers of the Lotus Sutra, to members of other Buddhist sects, and to followers of other religions. True bodhisattvas are not so proud that they despise all other preachers. Those who propound the truth, whoever they are, must be respected.

TEXT nor speaks of the good and evil, the merits and demerits of other people;

COMMENTARY In the secular world such criticism is necessary, but a person of religious faith must be a person of compassion above all. He or she must transcend a worldly spirit of criticism and be always tolerant and open minded.

TEXT nor singles out shravakas by name and publishes their errors and sins, nor by name praises their excellences; nor does he beget an invidious mind.

COMMENTARY Shravakas are students of the Hinayana teachings, whose religious practice is inspired by the desire to attain personal peace of mind. While they may be regarded as inferior from the standpoint of bodhisattvas, they must not be despised, for they practice the Buddha's teaching seriously. Though at the moment they are seeking Hinayana enlightenment, one day they may begin practicing the bodhisattva way and seek the Buddha's enlightenment. Therefore, to accuse someone of being hopeless, or to criticize his or her errors by name, causes the person targeted to feel discouraged and react negatively to the teachings. It is a thoughtless action that may well cause the seed of the aspiration for enlightenment to rot.

This is as true for secular as for religious life. Even if someone is inexperienced and in a humble position, we should not act inconsiderately, for example calling him or her worthless, as long as the person is trying hard to improve. To do so is to nip the bud that may someday grow into a flower; it is exactly the same as taking sentient life. On the other hand, in everyday situations, if we praise someone by name we can be assured that generally only good will result.
Strengthened by words of encouragement, the person will usually respond by blossoming. In the case of Buddhists, however, such praise often gives rise to excessive pride. Therefore the Buddha warns us not to praise their excellences by name. This is an indication of the strictness of religious practice.
･ Nor does he beget an invidious mind. We should not bear grudges against others or take things badly; that is, we should not regard people with hostility. In particular, we must not look on followers of what we may think of as inferior teachings as enemies, but seek to lead them to a higher stage through compassion. This is the mission of the bodhisattva.

TEXT By keeping well such a cheerful heart as this, those who hear will offer no opposition to him. To those who ask difficult questions, he does not answer with the Law of the small vehicle [but] only with the Great Vehicle, and explains it to them that they may obtain perfect knowledge [of the Buddha]."

COMMENTARY Not to "answer with the Law of the small vehicle" (Hinayana) means that we should not underrate others by preaching inferior teachings to them. However dramatic or simple our preaching style may be, what we teach must be of the highest order. This is very difficult but very important. In any branch of learning, writing a primer is much more demanding than anything else. Introductory works must be simple enough for beginners to understand, yet they must not deviate from the inherent truths of the teaching, and must be able to lead to the deepest understanding though treating the early stages. Religious instruction is the same. We must never compromise, using the excuse that we are only instructing beginners. Everything we do must be based on the teaching of the One Buddha Vehicle, the Way of Truth, and our preaching must always have the intention of bringing our hearers to the highest wisdom. Though this may cause us hardships, these difficulties are not insurmountable; to be able to deal with them is the bodhisattva's express task.
･ Perfect knowledge [of the Buddha]. This signifies the wisdom of being able to discern all things in this world in their essential equality and phenomenal differences, that is, the wisdom to see all things just as they are.

TEXT Thereupon the World-honored One, desiring to proclaim this meaning over again, spoke thus in verse:

"The bodhisattva ever delights / And is at ease in preaching the Law; / In a clean and pure spot, / Setting up [his] pulpit, / He anoints himself with oil, / Having bathed away uncleanliness, / Puts on a new, clean robe, / All clean within and without; / Calmly seated on the Law throne, / He teaches as he is questioned.

COMMENTARY Anointing oneself with oil (particularly the head, face, and hands) was a form of purification that was performed before sacred rituals in ancient India. Whenever we expound the Dharma, we should be sure that the place where we teach it, as well as our own body and mind, is clean and pure.

TEXT If there be any bhikshus / And bhikshunis, / Male lay disciples / And female lay disciples, / Kings and princes, / Their retainers and people, / He preaches the mystic principle to them / With a gentle countenance.

COMMENTARY The mystic principle. This is a phrase with many implications. The true meaning of the Buddha Dharma is profound and difficult to express, that is, "mystic" or subtle. Therefore bodhisattvas must explain its profound teaching skillfully and simply, so that it may be deeply ingrained in all minds. Furthermore, because the hearers come from a variety of backgrounds it is all the more necessary to be sensitive to their needs. This is extremely important in the modern world.
･ With a gentle countenance. Shakyamuni teaches the bodhisattvas that they should always approach others with a gentle countenance and kind words. This is the fundamental attitude for bodhisattvas, as for us all.

TEXT If there be any difficult question, / He answers according to its meaning. / By reasonings and parables / He expounds and discriminates it. / By this tactful method, / He stirs them all to earnestness, / To steady advance / And entry on the Buddha Way.

COMMENTARY This is the key to success in preaching, for it tells of the importance of skillful means (expedient devices). While we must never deviate from the true meaning of the Buddha Way, it is the height of stupidity to preach the Law to all people through hard-to-understand theory. We must also be able to teach using simpler devices, such as parables (see the July/August 1996 issue of Dharma World) and sermons about causes and conditions, for these encourage people to aspire to the highest enlightenment.

TEXT He rids [himself] of a lazy mind / And slackness of thought; / He is free from all worries / And with kindly heart proclaims the Law; / Day and night he ever propounds / The teaching of the supreme Way, / By various reasonings / And innumerable parables, / Revealing it to the living, / And causing them all to rejoice.

COMMENTARY The teaching of the supreme Way. This means the teaching that leads to the highest enlightenment.
･ Revealing. This indicates explaining difficult concepts in an easily understood manner.

TEXT Garments and provision for sleep, / Drink, food, and medicines-- / For all these things / He has no anticipation. / Only with single mind he thinks of / The cause of [his] preaching the Law, / Resolved on accomplishing the Buddha Way / And causing all others likewise so to do; / This then is [his] great profit / And joy and service.

COMMENTARY Here we have a direct exposition of how we should regard the purpose of preaching the Buddha Dharma. We are also shown, in a concise way, the true significance of profit and merit. It is an extremely important passage.

Causing all others to accomplish the Buddha Way is a lofty ideal, and we may think it beyond the realm of possibility. It is not, though. Most people can begin to imagine how the world can change, even when they have taken only one or two steps toward the ideal. As we advance toward the ideal, it manifests itself in its functioning. Thus, from the very first step we take to seek it, the ideal has already begun to function. Similarly, the ideal of aspiring to the Buddha's enlightenment must be understood in this sense, as something that functions in the present.

TEXT After my extinction, / If there be any bhikshu / Who is able to proclaim / The Wonderful Law Flower Sutra, / His mind will be free from envy and anger, / From distresses and obstacles, / And from grief and sorrow, / As well as from the abuse of men. / Further, he will be free from fear, / From laying on of swords and staves; / Nor will he be driven away, / Because he is steadfast in forbearance.

COMMENTARY Here the Buddha seems to be encouraging the bodhisattvas in the face of the persecution spoken of in the previous chapter, "Exhortation to Hold Firm." Rather than think that such persecution cannot happen, we should understand that the Buddha teaches that if the bodhisattvas can maintain forbearance, they will not interpret persecution as persecution but will sustain peace of mind. "Fear" here does not mean the feeling of dread but actual threats from without.

TEXT The wise man, in such ways as these, / Rightly cultivates his mind, / Being able to dwell at ease, / As I have said above. / The merit of that man, / Though thousands of myriads of kotis of kalpas / Were reckoned in illustration, / Is incapable of full expression.

COMMENTARY This verse marks the end of the discussion of the pleasant practice of the mouth, the second of the four pleasant practices of a bodhisattva. The next section begins to explain the third of those practices, the pleasant practice of the mind.

TEXT Again, Manjushri! The bodhisattva-mahasattva who, in the corrupt ages to come, when the Law is about to perish, receives and keeps, reads and recites this sutra, does not cherish an envious and deceitful mind;

COMMENTARY To be envious of other people or other teachings is to lack confidence in oneself and one's own faith. One who transmits the teaching by distorting it to flatter one's listeners or who, deceiving oneself with strained interpretations, takes what one wants from the teaching to suit one's own needs is desecrating the Dharma and lowering oneself. Since this is an evil path into which inexperienced believers can easily fall, the Buddha makes a special point of warning against it.

TEXT nor does he slight and abuse [other] learners of the Buddha Way and seek out their excesses and shortcomings.

COMMENTARY All who seek the Buddha Way are our revered companions. We should study and progress together, bolstered by this strong sense of solidarity. It is harmful and without merit to criticize other ways of thinking.

TEXT If there be bhikshus, bhikshunis, and male and female lay disciples who seek after shravakaship, or seek after pratyekabuddhahood, or seek after the bodhisattva way, he does not distress them, causing them doubts and regrets, saying to them: 'You are far removed from the Way and will never be able to attain to perfect knowledge [of the Buddha]. Wherefore? Because you are unstable people and remiss in the Way.'

COMMENTARY Even people who practice to achieve the shravaka, pratyekabuddha, or bodhisattva stage are, in the broadest sense, all walking along the path to the Buddha's enlightenment. They are merely aiming a little lower than buddhahood. Therefore to express contempt for them is mischievously to make them doubt their faith, and to nip their aspiration for buddhahood in the bud. The same applies to a variety of situations in society as a whole.

TEXT Moreover, he should not indulge in discussions about the laws or engage in disputations; but in regard to all the living he should think of them with great compassion; in regard to the tathagatas he should think of them as benevolent fathers; in regard to the bodhisattvas he should think of them as his great teachers; in regard to the universal great bodhisattvas he should ever from his deepest heart revere and worship them.

COMMENTARY This is a very important and apt teaching. It is worth memorizing the passage from "in regard to all the living" to "from his deepest heart revere and worship them."

TEXT In regard to all living beings, he should preach the Law equally, so as to accord with the Law, neither more nor less; even for those who deeply love the Law, he will not preach more [than it].

COMMENTARY Just as all living beings are equal, so are the teachings (the Law) equal. The preacher of the Law should not show favoritism toward any person or any teaching. This meaning is especially plain in the Sanskrit version of the Lotus Sutra.

TEXT Manjushri! When this bodhisattva-mahasattva, in the last age when the Law is about to perish, has accomplished this third pleasant ministry [of thought], and preaches this sutra, nothing will be able to disturb him.

COMMENTARY This third pleasant ministry. This refers to the pleasant practice of the mind, the third of the four pleasant practices of a bodhisattva.

TEXT He will find good fellow students who will read and recite this sutra with him. He will also find a great multitude come and hear him, who after hearing are able to observe it, after observing are able to recite it, after reciting are able to preach it, after preaching are able to copy or cause others to copy it, and who will pay homage to the sutra, revering, honoring, and extolling it.

Then the World-honored One, desiring to proclaim this meaning over again, spoke thus in verse:

"If one would preach this sutra, / Let him renounce an envious, angry, proud, / Deceitful, or false mind, / And ever do upright deeds;

COMMENTARY Ever do upright deeds. These deeds refer not only to behavior and activity but also, as we have seen above, mental activity and speech. TEXT He should disparage none, / And never for diversion discuss the laws, / Nor cause others doubt or regret, / Saying: 'You will never become buddhas.' / This Buddha son in preaching the Law / Will ever be gentle, patient, / And compassionate to all, / With never a thought of slackness.

COMMENTARY Thoughts of "slackness" arise from the idea of self. If our minds are filled with a deep compassion for others, such slackness will not occur. We should truly take to heart the teaching of being "compassionate to all, with never a thought of slackness."

TEXT To the great bodhisattvas everywhere, / Who walk the Way in pity for all, / He should beget a reverent mind, / [Thinking]: 'These are my great teachers.' / To all world-honored buddhas / He should feel as to peerless fathers, / And suppressing his haughty spirit, / Should preach the Law without hindrance. / Such is the third method. / Let the wise man guard it. / Such a single-hearted pleasant ministry / Will be revered by countless hosts.

COMMENTARY We come here to the end of the teaching concerning the third of the four pleasant practices and go on to the fourth, the pleasant practice of the vow.

TEXT Again, Manjushri! The bodhisattva-mahasattva, in the last age to come when the Law is about to perish, who keeps this Law Flower Sutra should beget a spirit of great charity to laymen and monks, and beget a spirit of great compassion for those not [yet] bodhisattvas. And he should reflect thus: 'Such people as these have suffered great loss; the Law preached, as opportunity served, by the tactful method of the Tathagata they have neither heard nor known nor apprehended nor inquired for nor believed in nor understood. Though those people have not inquired for, nor believed in, nor understood this sutra, when I have attained Perfect Enlightenment, wherever I am, by my transcendental powers and powers of wisdom, I will lead them to abide in this Law.'

COMMENTARY "Those not [yet] bodhisattvas" refers both to those who are practicing only in order to achieve personal enlightenment and to those who have no knowledge at all of the Buddha Dharma. They are not bodhisattvas because they have no aspiration to seek the highest enlightenment and because they do not exert themselves for the happiness of others. "Such people as these," needless to say, refers to "those not [yet] bodhisattvas." They are people who have no knowledge of the skillful means employed by the Buddha or of the essence of the Lotus Sutra, that is, the underlying meaning of the Law preached by "the tactful method."

The Buddha taught the Law in the way best suited to people's individual needs and situations. Because the teaching was tailored to the requirements of each listener, the surface details did not necessarily suit others. As a result, people in later times, when the Buddha was no longer in the world to teach people individually about the nature of the troubles and sufferings that continually arise, were forced to seek out the truths contained within the Buddha's discourses and to solve each problem, one at a time, on the basis of those truths.

The Lotus Sutra is a compilation of the essential teaching appropriate for everyone in every age. "Such people as these have suffered great loss; the Law preached, as opportunity served, by the tactful method of the Tathagata" means that people have been unable to grasp the underlying truth, that is, they do not know the Lotus Sutra. It does not mean that they have lost sight of the teaching that has been preached opportunely by skillful means. It is very important that such people are brought to realize the essence of the Lotus Sutra. Indeed, this is the first and greatest task of a bodhisattva. This is why the bodhisattva must vow that "though those people have not inquired for, nor believed in, nor understood this sutra, when I have attained Perfect Enlightenment, wherever I am, by my transcendental powers and powers of wisdom, I will lead them to abide in this Law."

TEXT Manjushri! This bodhisattva-mahasattva who, after the extinction of the Tathagata, has accomplished this fourth method, when he preaches this Law will be free from errors. He will ever be worshiped, revered, honored, and extolled by bhikshus, bhikshunis, and male and female lay devotees, by kings and princes, by their ministers and people, by Brahmans and citizens, and by others;

COMMENTARY This bodhisattva-mahasattva who, after the extinction of the Tathagata, has accomplished this fourth method. The "fourth method" is the pleasant practice of the vow, the fourth of the four pleasant practices. Here, "accomplished" does not mean "perfected" but "devoted himself wholly to." Thus it means to hold to a pure vow and practice devotedly to accomplish the vow.

TEXT all the gods in the sky also, in order to hear the Law, will always follow and attend on him; if he be in a village or city or secluded forest and someone comes desiring to put difficult questions to him, the gods day and night, for the sake of the Law, will constantly guard and protect him, so that he shall be able to cause all his hearers to rejoice. Wherefore? Because this sutra is that which all past, future, and present buddhas watch over by their divine powers.

COMMENTARY If a person has great faith, surely this will be his experience. A well-known episode in Nichiren's life is his vivid realization of this.

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