After reading the second chapter of Lotus Sutra I had my first realisation that gave me an insight into my own life. The second chapter is known by various titles depending on the translation : Expedient means,Tactfulness, Skilful means and in Japanese ,The Hoben chapter. It is considered one of the most important chapters in the Lotus Sutra for many reasons.
While reading The Lotus Sutra for the first time you may be surprised by the different entities described. My first impulse was to push them to the back of my mind and reconcile my confusion by assuming the Buddha was not talking about real life forms but using analogies. Some people may insist that this is so, but I began to realise that when the Buddha was talking in analogies and metaphors he used parables and the distinction was clear in the Lotus Sutra. So I had to study elsewhere to find the answers. Of course there are storIes in mythology and fairy tales in the West but I needed to study Alchemy and ancient esoteric knowledge to find the answers.
I believe the Buddha was also talking of other planes of existence and vibrational levels where these forms exist. Again you may argue that is not so, but we can only see a certain amount of what is in the world, as certain kinds of matter are beyond our sight. Even a dog can hear sounds we are unable to. Science is always discovering new building blocks of what we call reality. We will have to take what the Buddha said on faith alone which he said we would have to adopt because our understanding is limited. He also said in this chapter that what he was about to teach can only be understood by another Buddha.
In Gene Reeves very good translation he tries to equate the life forms with those usually known in western mythology and fairy tales, giving them names we are more familiar with. Quite a few are used in heraldry, family crests and Coats Of Arms handed down over the ages. However when you delve into Alchemy these forms were described to explain the division and overlap of different stages in evolution both spiritually and physically. There are life forms that are half animal and half human. I believe it was a method the Buddha used to explain that the teachings of the Lotus Sutra permeates and describe forms of life in different stages of development both physically and spiritually. The Lotus Sutra is trying to explain how there are many life forms that are not only in this but in other dimensions who can also benefit from the teachings and are subject to the same laws and principles of life.
A small but very good point is the Buddha needs to be asked three times to reveal the true teachings and he is very reluctant to do so. He explains to Sariputra that the true teachings are very hard to understand and he feared people would not believe. No sooner had he explained his reluctance, 5,000 monks,arhats in different stages of understanding of his previous teachings stood up, bowed and walked away.
The buddha did not try and stop them but said to those who remained that the ones who walked out were very arrogant and it was best that they left so he could get on and teach those who were ready and willing to hear.
This had a profound effect on me. I had always attracted difficulties with people around me who found it hard to understand my beliefs and I felt upset and angry at times because their criticism and refusal to listen.
I was able to understand from that incident that the Buddha did not try and bring them back or force them to listen. This is a great lesson especially in this day and age when people are trying to force or manipulate people with their beliefs. The Buddha understood you can not force someone to understand or to listen. People come to information in their own way because of different experiences and levels of understanding. He knew it would be of no use to force them.
This is a great example of Buddha's teaching that we all have free will. But at the same time because of his enlightenment, he knew that there was an arrogance within them that needed to change before they could even listen to the Lotus Sutra. This is also a good indication on how our state of mind should be when we approach to read and understand it.
I am rather worried that there appears to be a trend with many religions to reach out and embrace other religions. This is happening in Christianity, Buddhism and Islam. All religions have certain common ground that they can talk with each other about but I am suspicious that the truth will be lost. I do not think the Buddha would have allowed a Muslim to put his beliefs in the teachings of the Lotus Sutra just to be cordial and for peace. He would not have argued with them allowing them to believe if they felt strongly in what they wanted. On the other hand he would have been very careful not mix these teachings with his own. Respecting and allowing people their beliefs is a way forward while also being strict that the Lotus Sutra's teachings are not tainted in anyway. In fact one of the chapters describes the Lotus Sutra as medicine to cure all suffering of mankind. If we start to mix even a little of other teachings that have a record in the past to cause suffering into the pure teachings then it would be like adding a bit of poison to medicine.
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