Achieving Spiritual Peace

by Nikkyo Niwano

The desire for freedom and liberation is constantly being played out within the course of human history. Especially from the beginning of modern times, this has taken the form of seeking freedom from poverty, illness, the restrictions of status and social class, and the pressures of those in authority, and it is possible today to see how this is gradually being achieved and to welcome that development. Nevertheless, human beings seem to be no happier for it. In fact, as the insistence on freedom persists, the reverse of responsible freedom seems to be widespread: selfishness and egotistic behavior are rampant, greed and a breakdown in morals are common, and people have lost their peace of mind, becoming captive to irritation, anger, and aggressive feelings. Why should the achievement of freedom and liberation lead to such results? Clearly this is due to the fact that when we live under a democratic form of government, we are technically free, even though in our hearts we may not always feel truly free. In other words, there has been no spiritual liberation.

Those who do not know Buddhism struggle to find happiness and freedom only within the bounds of the finite--their actual physical bodies, their everyday lives, and the realities of their society. But however much they rely on things that are finite and relative and strive only within those boundaries, they will never achieve true happiness or freedom. It is impossible to do so forever. Because things that are relative are only transient, undergoing constant change, yesterday's happiness disappears today, and today's joy will turn to pain tomorrow. The more we struggle, the deeper we are sucked into the whirlpool of confusion, and we find ourselves unable to escape from it.

In the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni spoke of the way of truth by which people might be rescued from their predicament. Thus he taught of the eternal life span of the Buddha. He preached that all human life is sustained by the Buddha (the Eternal and Original Buddha), and therefore it is eternal in the same way as the Buddha is eternal. Deep within our limited and transient physical bodies, within the painful reality of the present, lies the human essence that is sustained by an absolute existence, and this in turn means that we are endowed with radiant eternal life.

People who clearly recognize this truth are able to lead their lives cheerfully, however difficult their circumstances may be, for an inexpressible joy wells up from the depths of the spirit. If they are able to make this realization their own, however confused the situation in which they dwell, they can live in the confidence that they are being guided by a radiant light that emanates from deep within them. This leads to true happiness, true freedom, indeed, supreme human salvation.

This does not pertain simply to individual salvation. Only by awakening to the eternal life with which we are endowed can we achieve true tranquillity within society and attain genuine peace among all the peoples of the world. This is because real love between people, as well as real harmony between people and nature, first arises from this realization. When we understand that we live as part of this eternal life sustained by a single and absolute existence, it is only natural that we should realize that all other people do so as well. By the same token, we also recognize that this same absolute existence is bestowed on and lives within trees and plants, water and air, and the very earth itself. Consequently, we are aware that everything in the world has the same roots and is a member of the same family. This is not something we comprehend by logical reasoning alone; rather, it also pours out from us in direct experience.

If all humans are members of the same family that lives together sustained by a single great life force, how can we be deluded by simple surface differences to discriminate against, hurt, and reject some people? All matter is similarly the manifestation of the great life force of the universe, and it too can be said to partake of that eternal life. How can we then not encourage each life as the embodiment of that eternal life, so as not to use life wastefully before we dispense with it? Treating things as throwaway objects is as much a negative act as taking the lives of things.

All life in the universe, including human life, shares in this eternal existence and is connected like the webbing of a net. We must be careful not to pull on that net too tightly or break it out of a self-centered lack of concern, thus causing trouble to others. Rather, if we reflect on how we have deviated from the path that stems from our inherent nature, boldly turn our minds around, and return to the path that our innate existence dictates, we will attain for ourselves true peace, in turn giving rise to great harmony throughout the world. In other words, the Land of Tranquil Light will be manifested in this world.

I believe that we have to remind ourselves very carefully at this time that material things do not bring us true happiness. Real human happiness can only arise from realizing what constitutes spiritual peace. Spiritual peace arises from a deep conviction that we are one with the great life force of the universe, from regaining a sense of coexistence with all other things, and from acting in a spirit of "live and let live" with all others. No other way is open to us. Put in other words, the only way for us to follow is to act in accordance with the Buddha's Law.

True peace will come about when all individuals seeks to attain fulfillment in their own faith and work to perfect themselves based on that faith.

This article was originally published in the October-December 2007 issue of Dharma World.