"If you wish to free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death you have endured since time without beginning and to attain without fail unsurpassed enlightenment in this lifetime, you must perceive the mystic truth that is originally inherent in all living beings."
- Nichiren Daishonin,
from "Attaining Buddhahood In This Lifetime," The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Vol. I
"This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."
- Jesus,The Gospel according to St. John, Chapter 3:19-21
THE FAITH WITHIN
Is it really possible for one to free oneself, or to actually practice the truth? Whenever I hear promises or prophetic utterances like these by any ancient teacher, prophet, or founder of any religious affiliation, I, at first, feel full of hope and catch a glimmer of the possibility - I begin to have faith. But then as I try to pursue the practice that promises to enable me to "perceive", or "come to the light" (enlightenment) of the truth - the truth seems to move further away. It is a cat and mouse game that only results in a further sense of spiritual confusion and isolation from the "enlightenment" that promises peace and fulfillment.
What I am seeing, again and again, in all practices and belief systems is that the goal is really not somewhere out there - it is right here, within the very desire that drives me to seek for it.
In western spiritual terms; this already present condition of self-realization, or enlightenment, is referred to as "grace," - unmerited favor. In Biblical context it is given through faith - which is the gift. Thus the gift of faith produces grace which results in salvation, or fulfillment. In Buddhism it is the realization of the Buddhanature that is already present within all of us. In Christianity, it is the mind, or spirit of Christ, or the image of God, that dwells within us, no matter how tarnished or dark.
THE SAVIOR IN THE STONE
It is interesting how many Buddhists and Christians place so much emphasis on the personalities of the Buddha and Christ, yet what Buddha stressed, particularly in the teachings of the latter years of his life; The Lotus Sutra, in particular, is that he did not gain enlightenment. He perceived within himself the already existing nature of enlightenment and then dropped all clinging to everything that prevented the manifestation of it. Likewise, Jesus, according to the book of Hebrews (Chap. 5, Verse 9) "He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation." A good analogy that illustrates this process is that of a sculptor who does not create a form from a block of stone, but merely removes everything that prevents the form from being seen. The form is already in the stone - it just needs to be released.
TRUE ENTRUSTING
All forms of salvation - whether they relate to restoration of a fallen nature, or the realization of compassionate wisdom, or freedom from suffering - are not achieved through some effort in achieving a condition that can be added to our existence, but rather a dropping of all elements of our consciousness that prevent us from knowing that we are already "saved." There is the clue to the ultimate mystery - we look for salvation or enlightenment because we are already aware of it; else how would we recognize it when we see it? So, rather than grasping at attainment - seek to let go and trust the universe, or God to unfold itself/himself to you.
*Picture: The great Buddha statue in Nha Trang, Vietnam
No comments:
Post a Comment