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The Lotus Sutra – The Chapter on the Appearance of the Precious Stupa
A brief teaching on the Lotus Sutra, given during the autumn retreat, uses the image of an ant leaving a one-dimensional thread to step into the space of two and three dimensions, then moving toward even higher dimensions. From there, it explores the historical dimension and the ultimate dimension. Two essential insights are presented:
- Everyone can enter the ultimate dimension and become a Buddha.
- The lifespan of all beings is limitless—not only the Buddha, but also leaves and pebbles manifest birth and death, yet their true nature is no birth and no death.
The scene of Buddha Prabhutaratna appearing in the jeweled stupa, as Shakyamuni Buddha summons hundreds of thousands of transformation bodies, illustrates the skillful means and the nature of no birth and no death of the Lotus Sutra.
Expanding to the action dimension—the door of action—expressed through chapters 23–25 with three great Bodhisattvas:
- Bodhisattva Medicine King: representing faith and aspiration, self-immolating for 72,000 years as an offering, yet the ultimate dimension is indestructible.
- Bodhisattva Wonderful Voice: using wondrous language and music to transform all kinds of beings.
- Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara: symbolizing compassionate listening; invoking her name liberates us from craving, anger, and ignorance.
The Lotus Sutra invites us to combine insight and action through mindfulness—full presence in this very moment and this very place—not as thinking or memory, but as dwelling peacefully with the breath and the step. Thanks to this, each moment becomes an opportunity to penetrate both the historical and ultimate dimensions, let go of delusion, and live in freedom and ease.