Waay more than one life to live

In keeping with my belief that religious issues must be addressed as well as political issues in the public forum, I present the following product of my own meditations:

[Source: The 16^th Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, as translated by Burton Watson]

[Please note the portions I’ve boldfaced below:]

BEGIN QUOTE:

Since I attained Buddhahood

the number of kalpas that have passed

[NOTE: one "kalpa" is at least 1 million years]

is an immeasurable hundreds, thousands, ten thousands,

millions, trillions, asamkhyas.

Constantly I have preached the Law, teaching, converting

countless millions of living beings,

causing them to enter the Buddha way,

all this for immeasurable kalpas.

In order to save living beings,

as an expedient means I appear to enter nirvana

but in truth I do not pass into extinction.

I am always here, preaching the Law.

I am always here,

but through my transcendental powers

I make it so that living beings in their befuddlement

do not see me even when close by.

:END QUOTE

My Interpretation:

Shakyamuni Buddha did not die, but is in fact alive - and not just symbolically. He's alive in the same way that you and I are alive, right now! He had merely given the appearance of death - those thousands of years ago in India - as an expedient means, that is, as a device he uses to lead others to Enlightenment. Furthermore, in light of the Buddha's extremely long life span, as indicated above, we must know that Shakyamuni Buddha is alive right now, always side by side with us wherever we go; wherever each of us goes, since he is able to divide his body into an infinite number of emanations (or "copies").

[Oh, that business about emanations is also described in the Lotus Sutra.]

I actually have no problem with such a fantastic assertion, since I try to practice and to live my life as if Skakyamuni Buddha were always right next to me, no matter what I might be doing. Such an outlook can be very sobering, I assure you.

History tells us that Shakyamuni died by eating some poisonous mushrooms. However, for such a master of cause and effect as was he (in addition to being a great observer), who had in fact lived in the forests of India for 50 years, doesn't it seem ridiculous that he would have actually (and unknowingly!) eaten poisonous mushrooms? Such a scenario defies common sense as well as our awareness of what the Buddha was and what he is capable of.

As to why the Buddha would feign death: As he himself said, there are two reasons:

• If the Buddha is too long in the world, people will become discouraged by seeing the Buddha while realizing how far they themselves have to go before becoming fully enlightened or...

• People will become lax, neglectful of their practice, and arrogant, thinking, "The Buddha is with us, so why should I worry about anything?"

There is much to ponder as we read scripture, whether we're Buddhists, Christians, Moslems, or...

To my friends of the various Abrahamic faiths:

As a Buddhist, I think I understand the sense of urgency and passion with which you deal with many contemporary affairs. You are living your lives as if you only get this one chance while you're here on earth to prove yourselves worthy of heaven for all eternity. That must be a heavy burden! However, since my faith decrees that we already have had prior existences since (well, "since" can't be an issue here, since Buddhists believe each of us has always existed and will continue to exist forever), I cannot feel the same sense of urgency and uneasiness (fear?) which must be a part of your daily lives.

Don't get me wrong, though. I also realize that possessing an infinitely long existence is no excuse for a lax attitude in the pursuit of perfection. One small stepping stone on the path toward Enlightenment is realizing we don't have time to waste. A wise man once wrote: "When you kill time, you injure eternity."

Steven Searle, just another member of the Virtual Samgha of the Lotus

Contact me at bpa_cinc@yahoo.com