Real hope for real change

“Shakyamuni Buddha who attained enlightenment countless kalpas ago, the Lotus Sutra that leads all people to Buddhahood, and we ordinary human beings are in no way different or separate from one another. To chant Myoho-renge-kyo with this realization is to inherit the ultimate Law of life and death. This is a matter of the utmost importance for Nichiren’s disciples and lay supporters, and this is what it means to embrace the Lotus Sutra.”—Nichiren Daishonin, The Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life.

Nichiren (1222-1262 CE) founded the Nichiren school of Buddhism. A large number of his writings, most letters of encouragement to his followers, are extant. A significant number of them have been translated into English and other languages by the SGI Buddhist lay association, which has members in 190 countries and territories, including the U.S.

The most important point of Nichiren Buddhism is that each human being has the potential to be “a Buddha,” or become enlightened. This is a daily-life oriented philosophy, based on the premise of cause and effect and that all our thoughts, words and deeds reflect our state of life at a given moment. Nichiren formulated the phrase Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, based on the Lotus Sutra, for practitioners to chant daily, sharing the practice with others, as he did.

Empowerment of the individual is thus the core of Nichiren’s teachings, which he saw as a rejuvenation and fulfillment of the highest teaching of the first historic Buddha, Shakyamuni Gautama. The individual does not look to others as the source of happiness and salvation, but to him or her self. This dramatically contrasts with other religious teachings that place the ultimate reality outside human beings and teach that only through intermediaries such as clergy can the individual connect with that ultimate reality.

The underlying philosophy of the dominant world culture today is the belief that others are the source of our happiness and our suffering. This distortion results in a spiraling cycle of suffering for individuals, families, and ultimately nations. Societies based on this distortion, as ours are at present, are plagued with constant violence, wars, avarice, and other manifestations of behavior Buddhists designate as “the six lower worlds,” or “evil” states of life which deny the dignity and sanctity of human life. Moreover, most leaders in our societies perpetuate the notion that our problems and solutions lie outside us, and that elites of one kind or another must guide and direct everyone else. We are not encouraged to take responsibility for our own lives, and in fact encouraged to surrender our innate power over ourselves to others. The cycle thus continues.

This year Americans will elect a new president and members of Congress, as well as various state and local officials. Most of those candidates will offer up policies that ultimately stem from this basic distortion. They will present themselves as the guides we must have to lead us to happiness and fulfillment, in one way or another. But essentially they will offer nothing else than to urge us to trust them, and to surrender a large part of our innate personal power over our own lives to them. This is not unique to political leaders; many in other areas of society do the same.

It is no accident that throughout recorded history, society’s leaders, with only a few exceptions, have had the same modus operandi as our current ones. The core philosophy, expressed at different times in varying ways, has been disempowerment of the individual and empowerment of elites. The practice of Nichiren Buddhism represents a radical, yet completely peaceful revolution – a human revolution conducted by individuals alone and in voluntary association with each other – that will some day obviate politics as practiced now.

The wave of change of millions of individuals will also bring about the effective end of war, and a new consciousness of the inter-related, and inter-dependent nature of all life. This will happen despite, not on account of, the activities of the institutions that today seem to be in charge of society. This vast change in the culture of a significant part of humanity will spill over into every aspect of society. The world of a century from now, two centuries from now, five centuries from now will be virtually unrecognizable to the war, conflict and suffering plagued planet we now inhabit. This universal cultural change is already underway through the lives of 16 million or more individuals practicing Nichiren Buddhism in the SGI lay association today.