Stepping Stones

Shakyamuni contemplated the abilities of the people living around him at that time and realized after struggling to teach the profound wisdom of his enlightenment through the Flower Garland Sutra that “the true aspect of all phenomena can only be understood and shared between buddhas” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter 2).   He needed to find other ways to introduce the key themes of his enlightenment and to help people to lead lives that would flow with the natural rhythm of the world and create good causes for their future success until they were ready for this “true aspect”.  

A lot of these basic teachings which come from the first 12 years of Shakyamuni’s teachings are the concepts that many people may have come across before in pre-Lotus Sutra schools of Buddhism.  These early sutras, which acted as an  elementary course in Buddhism, introduced the basic stepping stones that Shakyamuni believed would eventually lead his followers towards understanding the complete and difficult to comprehend wisdom which he would later reveal in the Lotus Sutra – his advanced course in Buddhism.  

Some of Shakyamuni’s teachings are based on themes from the Vedas, a religious text that he would have studied as a prince growing up, and they basically fall into the following categories.

Everything Is Always In A State of Change

Everything in life is in a permanent state of change.  The weather changes, the current government changes, our bodies age, get sick and eventually die.  Even our attitudes change as we get older – some people may become more cynical or fatalistic with age, while others, such as those who embrace Buddhism can develop a shining attitude of joy and hopefulness come what may.   This was initially explained and clarified with the FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS.

 

Everything is Connected, Nothing is Wasted

We affect those around us and are affected by those around us.  What we do to others we do to ourselves.  A lot of the “rules” of early Buddhism were ways for lay Buddhists and monks to live in harmony within their environment, such as the EIGHTFOLD PATH and the PRECEPTS. 

 

The Rules of Cause and Effect

Because everything is connected, everything we think, say and do has an effect on our environment and on our lives.  With this knowledge, we strive to live our lives creating good causes, which will lead to positive effects in our future (or future lives).  Our karma is simply the result of all of the effects from all of the causes we have made in this life and previous lifetimes.  The way we are today is a reflection of these past causes and also determines the kind of life we will have in the future.  The early teachings focused on the simple TWELVE LINKED CHAIN OF CAUSATION and ways of living to create good causes, but these were clarified in more detail in THE TEN FACTORS of the Lotus Sutra.  From the Dhammapada, a selection of inspirational and wise quotes from Shakyamuni's early teachings, this is summarised as "The kind of seed sown will produce that kind of fruit".  

 

Reincarnation/Rebirth

Even death is a state of change and, depending on how we have lived and the causes we have made in this life, we can affect our future lives.  A lot of the early teachings focused on making good causes in this life to be reborn with a higher life state in the next life or the achievement of nirvana (rebirth in a heavenly land of Buddhahood and eternal joy). 

The main teaching from this section is the WHEEL OF LIFE (referred to as samsara in Brahmanic/Hindu philosophy) which highlighted that people live and are reborn in one of six worlds - Hell-Beings, Hungry Ghosts, Animals, Asuras (Beings with an Aggresive or Arrogant Nature), Humans and Heavenly Beings.  But by studying and awakening to these realities of life, and making good causes in this lifetime you could break free of these lower worlds and achieve one of the four higher states of enlightenment (Learning, Realisation, Bodhisattva and ultimately Buddhahood) in a future existence.   This entry-level approach to the TEN WORLDS was expanded upon in the Lotus Sutra which revealed everyone possesses all of these ten life states in every moment of their lives and they can reveal their Buddhahood at any time – MUTUAL POSSESSION OF THE TEN WORLDS.

DID YOU KNOW? - Did you know the game Snakes and Ladders is an ancient Indian board game about escaping from this wheel of life and that when your reach square 100 you have achieved moksha (liberation from these six lower worlds).  The ladders represent the benefit you will receive from virtuous acts, whereas the snakes represent descent into the lower worlds as a result of destructive actions.  The game also has more snakes than ladders highlighting that it is easier to be tempted by innumerable vices and desires than it is to follow a path of good.

 

The Middle Way

Shakyamuni’s initial teachings focussed on the Middle Way and how to create good causes for future happiness.  As a prince, and then later as a follower of very strict austere practices, Shakyamuni had experienced a life of over-indulgence and hedonism and the extremes of over-denial of food, sleep, etc.  and he realized that neither of these had led to the awakening he experienced under the Pipal tree.  The true reality of life was to be found in the Middle Way which falls between these two extremes and creates the right conditions for a purposeful life of good causes leading to a higher state of life in the future. 

Verse 183 of the Dhammapada, a book of inspirational and wise quotes from these early teachings, sums up the core of Shakyamuni’s approach to life:  “To avoid all evil, to cultivate good and to cleanse one’s mind.  This is the teaching of the Buddhas.”

Over the next few posts I will look at some of these earlier teachings in a bit more detail.  For Nichiren Buddhists these early teachings are not an essential part of our study or practice, but are presented here to show how Shakyamuni introduced, and led, his first disciples to the true aspect of all phenomena and provide them with a knowledge and practise that they would initially be able to follow. 

THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS (see Dr. Shakyamuni's Diagnosis)

THE EIGHTFOLD PATH (see Dr. Shakyamuni’s Cure)

THE FIVE PRECEPTS (see Buddhism Rules!)

THE TWELVE-LINKED CHAIN OF CAUSATION (see Chain Reaction)

THE SIX PARAMITAS (see Six of the Best) COMING SOON!!!