Weekly Dharma Lesson from the Lotus Sutra

Here is this week's Dharma lesson from Rev. Tsuchiya;

The teacher of the Dharma, chapter 10
(scripture 54)
Listen, Medicine-King. For example, there is a man who was thirsty and seeking water. He dug a hole in order to get water. As long as he saw that the dug-out lumps of earth were dry, he would know that water was still far off. But if he went on making an effort to dig hole and found mud finally, he would be convinced that water was surely near.

(significance)
It is taught about the Buddha-nature by the parable of digging a well. It is not easy to get water from the dry earth like India, when you are thirsty and dig a well. But if you continuously make an effort to dig a hole, you will finally find mud and be convinced that water is surely near. The Buddha-nature is the same as it. There is person who reveals his Buddha-nature without making many efforts. But also, there is a person who finally finds it by digging a hole more deeply. However, like you can get water from any kind of plateau if you don't stop digging a hole, all human beings surely have Buddha-nature. If you can find wet lumps and finally get water, making efforts to develop Buddha-nature will be very pleasure for you. That is to say, the Lotus Sutra encourages you to make efforts to perform the practice of Bodhisattva, and gives a great pleasure and good effects on your life by teaching the activity of Buddha-nature. This is a great spirit which runs through the entirety of Buddhism, and becomes the basis of our practice on the public moral, like the ethical doctrine of Mengzi that human nature is fundamentally good.

 

If you don't have a copy of the Lotus Sutra the best current translation available is that of Rev. Senchu Murano of NIchiren Shu, published by the University of Hawaii Press. Here is the link

http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/p-9062-9780971964563.aspx