HUMAN REVOLUTION
What we are going to talk about tonight, which I think I have been saying, is the fourth lecture of these series, is what we call The Human Revolution, and what Nichiren Daishonin, the founder of this Buddhism, called Kosen Rufu. I will explain both terms.
Human Revolution, this is quite a modern phrase, as one might imagine, and it was first used by Mr. Toda, who was the second President of the lay society of Nichiren´s Buddhism in Japan. He became the president at the end of World War II. And this phrase “Human Revolution” is really a very odd one, because it means, basically, the reformation of one´s life and way of living through the power of this practice. Or you might say, in another way, it´s the overcoming of the negative and destructive tendencies, which Buddhism points at as inherent in human life, and turning all those thoughts, words, and deeds, into something positive and valuable. That might be another meaning of the words “Human Revolution”. Or, a third meaning could be, the act of changing the unhappy aspects of one´s destiny or karma, into something better. On that point of karma or destiny, I hope you understand that this is the name given to the chain, the chain of causes and effects that causes one continually to repeat the same kind of actions which lead you into unhappiness.
Of course, there is also good karma, which is why you repeat those causes and the effects of things that cause you happiness. But the purpose of Buddhism, basically, is to change your destiny, to change those aspects of your karma which you constantly repeat, leading one into unhappiness and often despair. So this is the whole purpose of the Buddhist practice, and this is the meaning of Human Revolution.
And the words Kosen Rufu, Kosen means to spread the teachings of the Buddhist philosophy and practice, speaking very generally, to spread the teachings of the philosophy and practice. And Rufu means that that practice and philosophy becomes gradually established in society, and known to most people. So Kosen Rufu, the words Kosen Rufu together, means the establishment of Peace and Happiness through the practice of Buddhism, in a Country, or in the World, indeed, even in a family, or in a Village, or community, or in a town, or city.
Kosen Rufu can be, in other words, in many levels. You could even say that the Human Revolution is one´s own personal establishment of Kosen Rufu, the establishment of happiness and peace in one´s life through the practice. So, Kosen Rufu is a very realistic concept, it does not imagine that the entire world would be chanting Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo, necessarily, not even in a family, doesn´t necessarily means that every single person in the family is practicing, but what it means is, that there are enough people practicing, and that there are enough people supporting those who are practicing, because they see the value and the wisdom of the actions of those people in order to actually influence and lead society.
So, in other words, putting it in stupidly mathematical terms, one might say that the concept of Kosen Rufu is that, let´s say one third of the world, or of a country, or of a family, are chanting Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo, and that there is another third who are so impressed by the results that these people get who will follow their lead even though they don´t practice themselves. And there is a further one third who couldn´t care less anyway. So, in other words, in this concept of Kosen Rufu, Buddhism, as always, is recognizing that the negative and destructive tendencies of life are an inherent part of life, and indeed play an essential role in life.
So, those of you who listen to the lecture on the Ten Worlds, you will remember that each of those basic ten states of life has the possibility of acting and reacting negatively or positively. And the purpose of this practice is to make sure that each of those worlds or states which are inherent in life always act and react positively and valuably. So, Buddhism recognizes, therefore, that life inherently consist of good and evil, value and anti value, negative and positive. And the purpose of the practice is to recognize and overcome that negative tendency in every state of life. You remember the states of life: hell, hunger, anger, animality, tranquility, rapture, and then the four higher worlds, which are: learning, partial enlightenment, bodhisattva or de desire to help others, and Buddha. So, those nine worlds, other than Buddha, all have the ability to act and react negatively and destructively. And the purpose of the practice is to make them positive and valuable. Then I hope that concept of Kosen Rufu is clear to you, and the understanding that Kosen Rufu is not just a view of the whole world, but is also a view of a society, or of a community, at that level as well.
So, in other words, you could say that Kosen Rufu is the sum total of human revolution which has taken place in a number of individuals in a group. Well, as the Human Revolution normally refers to one person only. In other words, you get a group like a family, or a neighborhood, or a village, or a town, and in that community there are people who are really working out their lives and doing their human revolution and the sum total of that effort creates what is called in Buddhism Kosen Rufu. So, you can see from there that the aims of Nichiren´s Buddhism, of its whole practice and philosophy, is firstly and most essentially, to reform oneself, to overcome those negative and destructive tendencies which we were talking about earlier. And through that, to discover one´s own true greater self, which is revealed through the overcoming and supremacy, if you like, of one´s life over those negative tendencies. And secondly, is to teach others to do the same, so that a happier world can be created, which is Kosen Rufu.
And thirdly, through one´s own human revolution, and one´s ability to enable others to start their human revolution, you can then change society itself, and eradicate the causes of war, and pollution, unbalance, which are affecting this world so terribly at the moment. So, the uniqueness of this practice, and I am sure I have said this before in a series of lectures, is that not only does it give you an amazingly great all embracing philosophy, but it gives you a practice which provides you with a power to actually live that philosophy, and this is very unusual in this world. The world is full of philosophies and ideals, but usually the power cannot be attained to sustain such a high and noble philosophy. Well Buddhism provides you with that practice to give you that power.
At this point I would like to quote from one of the writings of Nichiren Daishonin, well; I think you all know he is the founder of this Buddhism, when he declared Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo in 1253. In a writing called “The Gift of Rice” he said: “The true path of life lays in the affairs of this world. The sixth volume of the Lotus Sutra reads: no affairs of life or work are in any way different from the ultimate reality”. So, in other words, Buddhism equals daily life. Every aspect of daily life is Buddhism. And every aspect of daily life is embraced by this philosophy and practice. So true Buddhism is not escapism, it is not sitting on some mountain top meditating while the world goes on in its usual awful way down below. Neither is true Buddhism a matter of ritual and ceremony for Priests and Monks. Nichiren Daishonin´s teachings, and indeed, the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, which Shakyamuni preached three thousand years ago, is all aimed towards people understanding that Buddhism is daily life, that every aspect of daily life is embraced by Buddhism, and through the practice of Buddhism every aspect of that daily life can be transformed into something valuable, and therefore, something which causes one the deepest happiness and satisfaction.
So this Human Revolution is achieved by what we call the three practices. The three practices being, firstly, the practice for yourself, which is chanting Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo, and reciting what we call the ceremony of Gongyo, morning and evening, that will be the subject of another lecture. And secondly, practice for others, to spread happiness through others being able to achieve their own human revolution through the practice. And thirdly, study, study not in an academic sense, not the sort of study one did at school, but to grasp the spirit of Buddhism, and indeed, the qualities of the wisdom and the compassion of the Buddha through reading the Buddhist writings. Through that we understand what is going on in our own lives. And secondly, we are able to relate to the practice itself by understanding gradually the significance of Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo, and of the Gojonzon, which we practice too. And thirdly, of course, to study to understand the theory of the teachings enables us to answer people´s questions when we are spreading the Buddhism.
In this respect, of course, as human beings we are incredibly sensitive, aren´t we? to what goes on in our environment. In Buddhism this is a principle called Esho Funi, the inseparability of man and his environment. Man, or woman, will always react to what is happening in the environment. Something happens in the environment to make one sad or happy, to feel joyful, or to feel angry, and so on. And vice versa, Buddhism also points out that what happens in man, or woman, also affects the environment. If one is angry, that anger affects everything in your path, doesn´t it? If one is happy, that happiness radiates and affects everything that surrounds one. So, truly this is an incredibly important principle, yet it is not understood in this world, is it? That everything that occurs in man or woman affects the environment of that person, and vice versa. If we had understood this there certainly would be no pollution, because people would have understood that their actions, if they were not in harmony with nature, would cause serious disturbance to the harmony of the world as a whole. So, of course, there are other amazing examples, aren´t they? I am thinking there of the stories, several stories, where children that had been suckled by wolfs, for example, and although they´re human children, they grow up thinking that they are wolfs. We are amazingly susceptible to our environment.
So I like just for a moment, at this point, to look at human revolution as it can be applied, also, to a historical past, not in the sense of Buddhism, but generally in the world. So, really, it could be said that every religion has aimed towards a human revolution; certainly, all the higher religions that are known. First of all, those religions try to elevate the sate of mankind through precepts and commandments, and this includes Buddhism. In Shakyamuni Buddha´s early teachings, he gave a series of precepts and commandments the aim of which was to try to heighten or elevate the moral standards of those times. But after time, religions began to dig deeper, as history continued, and eventually reached a point where this and that religion were promoting reformation of oneself through prayer. And this much deeper approach to the solving of problems of life through religion led, of course, to a great change in the culture of society, generally. And this changing culture, this elevation of the arts, for instance, through music and literature, and so on, had its own reaction in terms of the minds and the lives of the people. As people began to have a higher understanding of these arts, so naturally their life´s state became generally elevated. So, in another words, a change in the environment, in the arts and other cultural aspects of society, began to have an effect on changing their minds.
So, let´s take a look, historically, let´s say, at the middle age, religion was successful for a time, in heightening values, in elevating people´s thoughts. During the middle age when the great cathedrals where built, probably, those higher religions, as they are called today, were at their zenith. And truly amazing results came from the effect of these religions on the people in the form of arts and culture, generally.
About 200 years ago, things began to change, as you know. Science began to make it´s discoveries, more and more, deeply, and the people, strangely enough, rather than broadening their view of life, their understanding of life, through these scientific discoveries, began to pin their hopes to the discovery from the point of view of its material value, to the surface well being of people. And the effect of this was the rapid growth of what Buddhism terms the three poisons. The three poisons being, anger, or, if you´d like, ruthless competitiveness; and greed, avarice; and stupidity. For the truth is that as science and materialism grew, so human beings began to lose their wisdom, and concentrate their minds and lives on material possession. Through this, of course, the poison of greed, of grasping all you can get, and the poison of anger, competitiveness with one´s neighbor, became more and more prominent, and more and more part of society, certainly throughout the western world. And mankind´s view became one of profit, and fame, and fortune, and self satisfaction.
Today we see a strange world, I think, in the west, where people due to this shallow competitive society, have resorted to specialization. We lack today people with a broad view of life, people who have the time and the ability to develop their wisdom and compassion. Life is a rat race, isn´t it? People go to school, they´re put in a particular ditch or channel, economics, business, and so on, and they have to follow that line in a very narrow way for the rest of their lives, usually because of the pressures of having to live.
The old days where people could broaden their views by wide experiences, has for the time being, anyway, gone, very largely. So, we don´t breed today men or women with a broad general deep view of life, instead of that, we breed specialists, I believe. In saying that, of course, I am saying something from a personal point of view.
Now, at the same time, as this happened, the growth of materialism, our environment was getting absolutely colossal. In the early days, in the middle age, which I was talking about earlier, man´s environment was very small, wasn´t it? It was the synergy of his own village, and the patch which he cultivated, and the neighbors that he lived amongst in that small community. By large, this was the way mankind lived, but today, and over the past one hundred years, through communications speeding up, developing, through travel, through the immense flow of knowledge which the media produces, and which has produced in books and other forms of literature, the environment is now huge, so that today what happens in Vietnam, for example, affects everyone else in the world, whereas two hundred years ago, what happened in Vietnam would have had very little effect on the people living, perhaps, in some small village in Vajinsha.
So, everything has hugely changed, and religion, I believe, has been unable to cope with this change, as the environment has grown and become greater, so it´s proved that the religious precepts and commandments are inadequate to cope with the immense variety of problems which the human race now face. The incredibly diverse situation that mankind is faced with as compared with two hundred, or three hundred years ago. So the rules of Judaism saying, or Islam´s, or Christianity´s, so often are unable to cope with the problems of this modern age, and indeed, that applies to Buddhism also.
The rules and precepts which Shakyamuni Buddha preached in the first days of his teachings, or the first years of his teachings, three thousand years ago, are no longer of help to people in this age, and Shakyamuni himself predicted that this would happen. Though, in the latter years of his life he taught that two thousand years after he died the world would enter an age which he called Mappo, when confusion and fear ruled the lives of human beings, and this, of course, is the age that we are living in now.
So, if you take some examples, which I think, a contemporary ones, you can´t nowadays say that sex should only be for childbirth when man has invented pills and devices which encourage sex anywhere and everywhere, and the world into the bargain is tending towards overpopulation. Or, as another example, you can´t say that divorce should result in excommunication, when you know the people in the next door´s country permit it. So, in so many ways, these old rules and precepts, which at one time guided people´s lives, are no longer sufficiently down to earth, for people to follow. And, of course, we have also seen the confusion brought above us by the situation, we have seen the result in the growth of bureaucracy, where the rule makers desperately try to create more and more rules and regulations, and in the end create a jungle, which has really resulted in men almost losing its freedom, and in some cases, actually losing it.
So, the decline in religion and religious belief, inevitable of course, has had a most desperate and serious result on society, hasn´t it? It has resulted in a total reaction in the opposite way to what those rules, and commandments, and precepts where aiming at. It´s resulted in the past over permissive society of today, it´s resulted in this vacuum that´s been left due to the decline of the efficiency of those commandments into our world, and in the moral vacuum that we see around us everywhere. So, there has been, in other words, a total swim from something that was strict and codified to something which is totally lose, or if I was to put it in another way, there has been a tendency to swim from moralism to hedonism.
But, this, of course, has led to tremendous confusion among any thinking persons, people are desperately concerned about the state of society, aren´t they? But they don´t know how to change it. Over the weekend, our papers were full of these really agonizing pictures, and repulse, on Liverpool. It makes one heart sick, doesn´t it? To see young people who, one could say, through no fault of their own, but through the state of society today, reach a point at which they can only satisfy themselves by such acts of cruelty, this violence is a stupid state of the world at this moment, and we have to face the fact.
And really, ever since, the higher religions, as they are called, began to lose their power, we have seen a constant swim to inflow from one extreme to another. So, just listing them down as I have done here, you could say that in the nineteenth hundred was the era of escape. People immigrated in large numbers to the United States in Australia and Canada, to get away from the confusions and ills of the old world. And the nineteen ten´s saw world war, and the nineteen twenties saw a reaction to the slot of that world war in escapism towards, if you´d like, hedonism, the roaring twenties and all the rest of it. And the thirties saw another swim beginning, a swim of deeply serious thought towards the state of the world, a tendency towards patetism, particular in this country, in movements such as the Oxford Union, and so on. And the forties saw war again, a war which was weighted on the evil idea that the race could remain supreme as long as it purified itself of any other tainted blood, and through that supremacy rule the world. And the fifties was the era of the cold war, the era of mistrust, one human being for another, and one country for another. And the sixties saw another reaction, didn´t it? The young people, the hippies, the beginning of the drug movement, the Beatles, and so on, a reaction against what was obviously a decline in the standard of the world. And the seventieths perhaps, you could say, saw another form of escapism into dreams of the world of space, into the revival of religious movements with a distinctly romantic theme behind it, such as Christ Super Star. And now, what are we seeing in the eighties so far? I am afraid it is nothing but violence and terror. This extraordinary swim from one side to another in standards of behavior and thoughts, of course, is merely an expression of confusion, human beings are totally confused, and they´ve lost the commandments and the precepts of the ancient religions. Above anything else that they may find it, I believe, difficult to realize they need a rock on which to base their lives, they need a bubble, a practice, which will enable them to stay on that rock, they desire some foundation of wisdom to enable them to make decisions, and they require some believe in the fact that there is, in fact, sufficient power and an influence in human life to overcome the terrible state of the world that we are in at the moment.
In other words, really, what everyone desires, though it may be difficult to put in words, is to discover happiness, and that after all, a human being is capable of being really great. That there is something in one´s life which could enable one to stir a cause which is valuable, and great, and which will bring fulfillment and happiness. This is what I believe human beings are more and more searching, and I think that the large numbers of people who go to such exhibitions as, I think it´s called, is it the mind and body exhibition (….) people who go in tens of thousands, is proof of the fact that so many are seeking the solutions to their own problems and the problems of the world.
So, as I said right at the beginning, the purpose, the whole purpose of Buddhism is to provide the solutions to those problems and the power to carry them on. This is the situation which Shakyamuni saw three thousand years ago, all that long time ago, he said in the age, in the terrible age of Mappo, only his supreme teaching, which was the Lotus Sutra, would have the power to give people happiness. And seven hundred years ago Nichiren Daishonin took the Lotus Sutra and extracted its essence in that phrase Nam Myoho Renge Kyo and declared that if people would chant those seemingly simple words, they would find themselves in rhythm with the rhythm of the whole universe, and at last would be able to build creative and happy lives.
So, of course, those of us who start the practice so soon get the experience that this is so, something is changing, something is changing inside, and something is changing in one´s environment, and as you pursue that practice so, it´s power, and efficacy, it´s ability to change one´s negative destructive tendencies into positive and valuable ones, becomes more and more and more apparent. Oh, this is an incredible thing. So then the human revolution in our world is the discovery of one´s own power.
I am going to read two more experts from Nichiren Daishonin´s writings. These are on a Gosho called “On attaining Buddha hood”. The first one is this: “You must never seek any of Shakyamuni´s teachings, or the Buddha’s and bodhisattvas of the universe, outside yourself. Your mastery of the Buddhist teachings will not relieve you of mortal sufferings in the least, unless you perceive the nature of your own life. If you seek enlightenment outside yourself, any discipline, or good deed, will be meaningless. For example, a poor man cannot earn a penny just be counting his neighbor´s wealth, even if he does so night and day.”
In other words, the purpose of the Buddhist practice teachings is the discovering that the highest state of life, which is Buddhahood, actually exists in every single one of us. The purpose of the practice is to reveal that. And through revealing that, in experience after experience after experience, we discover that this higher state of life has done a battle with the lowest state of life, and by succeeding in overcoming them, the human revolution in our own lives begins. This is why it is said that these teachings will not relieve us of mortal sufferings in the least, unless we perceive the nature of our own lives. In other words, we perceive that Buddha actually exists in every single human being. So the purpose of the practice is to gradually reveal this; that the wisdom, the compassion, the courage, and the power of the Buddha actually exist in every single one of us.
And in the same writing he went on to say: “For example, the JON Myo Sutra says that Buddha´s enlightenment is to be found in human life. That showing that common mortals can attain Buddhahood, and that sufferings of birth and death can be transformed into Nirvana, it further states that if the minds of the people are impure their land is also impure, but if their minds are pure, so is their land. There are not two lands, pure or impure in themselves, the difference lays solely in the good or evil of our minds.”
That is a very famous quotation, but an incredibly profound one, and of course, it is revealing that same principle which I have mentioned to you before, which is Esho Funni, the inseparability of man and his environment. “If the minds of the people are impure, their land is also impure; but if their minds are pure, so is their land. There are not two lands, pure and impure in them self, the difference lays solely in the good or evil of our minds.” So, as in old things with Buddhism, based as it is on a profound understanding of the Law of cause and effect, we reap what we create, the land that we see at the moment in the united kingdom is the result of causes and effects of the sum total of all the human beings in this land. If it is impure it is because of the impurity of people´s minds, if it is to become pure, then it is the minds of the people that must become pure. This, after all is nothing else but the human revolution which the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin set out to do.
So, of course, in the past, people thought that they could change things, through, for example, various isms, communism, materialism, and so on. In other words, they thought they could create a pure land through trying to change the environment, but painfully it has been shown to us all that that simply doesn´t work. The truth is contained in those lines in the Gosho, it´s the minds of people that have to be purified, if the land is to become pure in itself.
So, how to do it? Nichiren Daishonin, of course, then continued to teach that, and he pointed out a principle which in Japanese is called YUTU SOKU KANJY , don´t worry about that too much, but the English meaning of that is: to receive and embrace is to observe one´s mind, Yutu Soku Kanjy, to receive and embrace. In other words, to receive the teaching of Nam Miojo Rengue Kio and the Gojonzon, and embrace it, that is to say to do one´s optimums to practice it, will lead one to Kangy, to observe one´s life or mind, and through observing one´s life or mind, develops quite naturally the desire to change those aspects which one realizes, of course, one´s unhappiness, and in the process, of course, a lot of other people´s unhappiness as well.
So, this is the process that one goes through, through the practice, you receive and embrace, and through embracing or practicing, one observes one´s life, not only the bad things, but also you get glimpses of the wisdom and the compassion of the Buddha, actually working in one´s own life in situations where it would never have worked before, and you realize it´s really that must be something in it, the Buddha state must be in me. And you see that the rebellious impediment to its full blossoming and development in one´s life, and then, through the power of the practice, one finds one can actually change those impediments, and reveal more and more this higher state. So, I´d like to emphasize this is not repression, this is not control in the sense we understand, this is not will power, except in making oneself get down into practice, this is an actual 180 degrees change in one´s life.
In other words, Buddhism doesn´t deny any of the states of life in their destructive and worst side. It recognizes the natural existence of this in everybody, but by elevating the highest state of Buddha state, it has the power to change any of those other states of life as they´re drown through it, a 180 degrees from negative to positive, from anti value to value, and so on. This is not therefore, repression, but truly is change, truly is revolution within one´s own life. So, this change is carried about, this human revolution is carried out through those three practices that I have mentioned, the practice for yourself which is gongyo and daimoku, it´s for purification, through that exercise of gongyo every morning and every evening, we purify our senses. This is the purpose of the practice, and through the power of daimoku or prayer, chanting nam myoho renge kyo we express our desires in, as the theory of Ichinen Sanzen teaches, I can´t go through it today, in three thousand different ways, both, into oneself, and out into the environment. This is something incredibly powerful which every single human being possesses, yet, it lays latent in so many, and it´s never used.
So, the purpose of gongyo and daimoku is to activate that latent power of the Buddha state that exists in our soul. And the second practice, you remember, was teaching others. Through this, you also bring benefit to yourself, through teaching others you see your own life reflecting of it, through devoting yourself to helping someone else find happiness, through helping others you take yourself out of yourself, and by that very action you cut the chain of your desires which has shackled one for so long following the same course of cause and effect through the chain of one´s selfish desires. The action of helping others, teaching others, is what cuts that chain, every time you do it, until it weakens it, and finally it disintegrates, and you change your unhappy destiny.
And then I said the third practice was to study, to understand what is going on in your life, and in the life of others, to understand how life ticks, the mechanics of life, to be able to see the differences and the changes in your life, and in the life of others. Nichiren Daishonin, in the Goshos said: “If their minds are pure, so is their land”. To elevate the highest state or Buddha state of life, will create purity, more and more and more, in one´s own life. And through this, it reflects purity into the environment, and the land, in time, as the number of people doing their human revolution grows, becomes pure in itself. This of course is based again on that principle of Esho Funi, the absolute interdependence or inseparability of every single being and its own particular environment. And the fact that all those environments are overlapping, just the same as all of our environments, in this room, are overlapping at this moment. What one does affects another. What someone does in Vietnam affects everybody in London, in one way or another. And indeed, what one person does in the end, Buddhism would teach, affects the entire universe, this is mind bugling thought. But once one sees or conceives this principle of Esho Funi in action, this becomes so clear to one. What someone does to the atmosphere in America affects everywhere else in the world.
So, the sum total of all this human revolution as I said is Kosen Rufu, the changing of society, in another writing called the True Entity of Life, Nichiren Daishonin said this about the development of Kosen Rufu: “Only I Nichiren have first chanted Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo, but then two, three, and a hundred followed chanting and teaching others. Likewise, propagation will unfold in this way in the future, as surely as an arrow aimed at the earth cannot miss the target.”
So, in another words, through the practice of gongyo and daimoku chanting Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo and reciting the sutras, we activate life force, and that life force which bubbles up, if you´d like, in inexhaustible supplies inside us, inevitably overflows and we desire to pass this heritage on to other people. And furthermore, the very chanting of Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo down the life link which connect us with every other living beings in our environment, effects the Buddha state in that living thing, just the same as if we are angry, down that same life link, we affect other people by our anger, when we are in the Buddha state, it´s the Buddha state in other people and things which is affected. So, gradually, the purification of our selves purifies the environment.
Certainly, at this present time, people simply cannot get it together so far as the future advance of our so called civilization is concerned. Wherever we see progress we also see chaos and confusion. Progress, in no sense in this world, is harmonious. And because of this chaos, everyone is trying desperately, those who are real thinking people, people who desire to see a better world, who are wanting to find harmony, yet, in their search for harmony, all they reach is a pathetic, rather weak, compromise, which lasts for very little time, because it usually leads to stagnation and lack of progress. Yet, in this practice of Buddhism, as The Human Revolution grows and spreads, progress can continue to be dynamic, yet also, in can be harmonious. What is the reason for this? Buddhism expands a theory, in three words, Ku Key and Chu. Key is the physical or material aspect of life, Ku is the spiritual or unseen aspect of life. Every religion understood that, all the higher religions understood that there were those two aspects of life, but what they´ve growth and searched for sometimes wittingly, knowingly, sometimes unwittingly, is what connects the two. What is it that connects the seen, or the material aspect of life, with the unseen side of life? And because no one understood that, progress has never been harmonious since our so called civilization began. But Buddhism names that connecting power, Chu, or Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo. Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo, the ultimate reality of life. Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo, the force, or rhythm, which connects every living thing, and which is the essence of every living thing, this is Chu, Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo, or the Gojonzon.
Therefore, through chanting Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo, and coming back to the Gojonzon regularly, during one´s life, you are always putting your life into balance, you are hitching yourself up again, if you´d like, with the connecting link between the unseen, and the seen aspect of life, with the spiritual and the physical, with the progressive aspect of life, and the harmonious aspect of life. Chu is that point, prime point, or linking point, of those two aspects of life. Through coming back to that regularly, then one follows a course of perfect balance. And, as I said, progress can be dynamic and yet harmonious.
So, in a very small way, we see this at work in our activities. If you put on a show, or an extra especial meeting, or in some amazing way, everything moves very dynamically, yet very harmonious. This is because everyone who is practicing is coming back to the prime point, Chu, the linking point between Key and Ku, and it´s progressing in a harmonious way.
This is what Kosen Rufu is, so far as society concerns. Kosen Rufu is whether enough people coming back to that prime point in a regular intercourse in their lives, in their daily lives, to make sure that they follow the course of perfect balance, this is not the course of compromises; it is the course of perfect balance between the progressive and the harmonious aspects of life. This is an amazing thought, but we prove it in our own lives, firstable. We prove it because we discover that our environment is working with us more often, and against us, and in the end, is working with us all the time. And then we prove it as a group, in a family, and so on, this is Kosen Rufu.
So, no politician we believe in Buddhism, no skimming mind, or thinking mind can ever work out how to attain peace and stability, and happiness, in this world, only the wisdom, the natural wisdom of human life activated through the practice of Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo, can provide the power, and the wisdom, and the passion, to achieve Kosen Rufu.
First, it is formal Kosen Rufu, was in a sense achieved when Nichiren Daishonin inscribed the Dai Gojonzon in 1279. The Dai Gojonzon which still exists, and which is the prime point for all prayers and actions for the peace in this world. The Dai Gojonzon which is, if you´d like, the power house, and the current from there is what enables us to obtain the power through the Gojonzons that we have in our own houses. Each is the same power, transmitted, if you´d like, through the Gojonzon to our selves. And actual Kosen Rufu is what we are doing now, in the actuality of daily life we strive for Kosen Rufu in our selves, in our families, in our work places, and in our communities, and of course, ultimately, in our countries, and in the whole world.
So, it may seem a slow process, but the only way to peace is for man to change himself, but the truth of the matter is that there is no other way, I believe, so it may seem slow, but it´s sure. And the whole purpose of our movement, at this moment, throughout the world, is to spread this teaching of the human revolution so that by the end of this century there will be a sufficient great force of people to ensure that the balance of this world at last is held correctly, and doesn´t tilt in a downward way any further.
So, of course, people may say: “How do you know that there won´t be a nuclear war between now and then?” One can only go by the wisdom of the teachings. In the wisdom of the teachings, the year 2000, 2001 is a battling force, this is our target. Of course it won´t be ruled by Kosen Rufu by then, but at least there will be enough people doing their human revolution and chanting Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo to hold the balance and prevail the tilt towards destruction from getting any worse, and from then onwards the tilt will begin to go the other way. This in fact, in simple terms, is what the great movement for Kosen Rufu, which is already beginning all over the world, is aiming for. This is really unprecedented, never before, I believe, in the history of mankind, have people in every part of the world, moved in unity towards such an amazing aim. And that unity, of course, is achieved, because every single one of them is chanting Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo, and following the rhythm of the universe itself.
So this is quite unprecedented, and it is also very exciting. Sometimes we forget it, when we are in our own small worlds, but the fact is that all over the world there are an ever increasing number of people who are changing their lives, doing their human revolution, and living in the rhythm of natural life itself. So, of course, this practice of Buddhism is a battle, is a battle between the devilish nature of life and its opposite extreme, of value and anti value. This is the purpose of our daily practice, and the whole purpose of the effort that we make from day to day, month by month, and year by year. But just as Nichiren Daishonin says: “Kosen Rufu will be achieved just as surely as an arrow aims at the earth cannot miss.”
And since it is based on the rhythm of the universe, expresses its wisdom in the form of numbers, or anniversaries, there is a rhythm to live and this rhythm is marked by important anniversaries. So, for instance, this year, which is really the beginning of the mash, or the void, if you´d like to call it that, of the XXI century, is the seventh hundred anniversary of Nichiren Daishonin´s passing, and Nichiren Daishonin´s will and testament, if you´d like, all his efforts put towards the attainment of the Kosen Rufu. So, whereas up to this year, one could say, speaking in broadly historical terms, the effort has been on a narrow basis, firstly in Japan, and then gradually spread to each country, from now on it truly is in a natural way becoming a global effort. This has become apparent more and more, because the number of people and their ability to travel backwards and forwards to each other, to get to know each other, to establish trust and friendship has increase, and will increase more and more. And the facilities to enable us to do such things have also grown in accordance with that rhythm.
For example, just a couple of weeks ago, we were able to hold a summer course in Europe, in the south of France, attended by representatives from nearly all the European countries, I think only Iceland unfortunately couldn´t send someone. But that became possible, and the power of those people, both in strength and in finance also, enabled us to provide the buildings and the marquises, and all the rest of it, to feed and look after those people, for the first period of that effort. So, gradually, you know, in the rhythm of things, everything is progressive. So, 2002 is the seven hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the founding of this Buddhism, that is to say the seven hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the day on which Nichiren Daishonin actually declared Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo for the first time. So, these anniversaries marked the rhythm of Kosen Rufu in that way.
In fact, there are writings which go much deeper into this rhythm, that I can´t state here, and indeed, not all of those yet have been translated into English, but that, in a general way , is how this progress is marked into the future. Ok.
Answering a question: In the world of Buddahood once you reach a point where you can sustain it as the main tendency of your life, then, all the other worlds, all the other states of life, inevitably have to pass through Buddha hood, right? And in the process they turn from anti value to value… That is a very difficult question to answer, because, in the very nature of things mistakes are sometimes necessary in order to achieve great things. So, I don´t think that it would be right to say that on the surface of things a person who is in the state of Buddha hood would never make mistakes, because in fact, in the wisdom of life itself a mistake maybe necessary, as I say, in order to achieve something great. Ok.
Answering a question: Chu is in fact another word for the ultimate reality, that is to say the core or essence of life itself; it is also termed Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo. That is to say, all phenomena, at the core of it, or the essence of every phenomena is Chu, the ultimate reality. And furthermore, of course, it is that ultimate reality which is linking the movements and actions of every single thing. So, the ultimate reality, or Chu, is revealed in the state or aspect of Ku or Key, through the unseen side of life, and through the seen side of life. Yet, is that clear?
So, in other words, what Buddhism is saying is that if you are going to lead a happy and progressive and valuable life you must come back, as it were, to that ultimate reality. Some philosophers have used the term “the very ground of life”, haven´t they?... the core, cordon, or the essence of live. You have to get back to that, and as if it were, ride in its rhythm, if you are going to be able to follow the course of life which is both progressive and harmonious. Does it make sense? And Nichiren Daishonin expresses that ultimate reality in that phrase Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo, or rather, Myoho Rengue Kyo, The law itself being Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo to devote yourself to it. Ok. Of course, expressed in such words it sounds too simple to be true, but the amazing thing is that when you do it, you prove it to be true. And, although, myoho rengue kyo, or nam myoho rengue kyo is a very simple sounding phrase, yet, of course, the depths of its meaning goes on forever. You know, you could write books and books about each syllable.
Answering a question: Faith, or belief, in Buddhism is simply to do the three practices as the Buddha talks. In other words, faith in Buddhism is revealed in action. For some reason it is often difficult to believe, isn´t it? One gets down to it and decides to try chanting, this is faith, the action of doing those three practices, then through that action you get the proof. And, of course, it is true that then the proof which you are constantly receiving it´s what drives you on to practice more.
But, everything, and indeed, Nichiren Daishonin often stressed the need or the importance of the seeking mind, in other words, one should always be seeking or digging deeper and deeper into life through Buddhism and through the combination of the practice, and that seeking spirit, you will always get the prove, or the answer if you´d like, to your full satisfaction. So, in that sense, there is no such thing is blind faith in Buddhism. There is no such thing as people saying to you, you have got to believe in a particular sort of teaching, or philosophy, except the one precept, as Nichiren Daishonin said, was to chant Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo, and recite the sutra, and teach others, and study, the three practices. Ok, so that is faith in Buddhism.
Answering a question: Did you all hear the question? The question is, how different is Kyo and Chi, from Ku and Chu? They are totally different. Kyo and Chi, Kyo is object and Chi is subject. Ok? So, in fact that principle of Kyo and Chi refers to one´s practice to the Gojonzon specifically, the Gojonzon being Kyo, possessed of the Buddha state, and Chi being you in your subjective self… all right? So that is, that relationship of Kyo and Chi then fuses into one and it is called myoho. In other words, eventually, through that relationship between the Gojonzon with the Buddha state and your life with its Buddha state, you know, one reacts on the other and draws it out. So that is Kyo and Chi. Ku and Chu, Ku is, as I said, the unseen or spiritual aspect of life, Chu is the ultimate reality, or point that draws the physical and the spiritual all together, and enables them to act in harmony.
Answering a question: Anything else? Well, I think, how long have you been practicing. Yes, well I think that is it, the more you… the other great advantage, or one of the many great advantages of practicing regularly everyday is that you, more and more, engrave that practice or rhythm into your life, so that after, you know, even a few months, whatever happens, you know, you´ll find yourself without even realizing it, chanting Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo inside yourself. You know, in any crisis moment, you know, if you start skidding in your car, unconsciously you´ll find yourself doing it, you´ll even find yourself chanting in your dreams. So, you are not yet reach that point where it´s becoming engraved into your life, but it doesn´t take very long, well, don´t be too hard on yourself because you have only been practicing for a very short time, and that is why that spontaneous reaction to chant immediately didn´t come to you, but on the other hand, now you can really chant to turn poison into good medicine. Your determination, now, should be to get a much better job with a much higher salary. So please, pursue that and really, really, chant to turn poison into good medicine.
Ok, great. Well, thank you very much, indeed, for listening patiently, and I am sure you are dying to get out and get some fresh air. Thank you.
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