Some quotes from the Lotus Sutra of Mahayana Buddhism. I will comment on them.
The first quote is from the first paragraph of the Expedient Means (chapter 2)
"At that time the World-honored One, rising quietly and clearly from contemplation, addressed Shariputra: "The wisdom of buddhas is very profound and infinite. Their wisdom-school is difficult to understand and difficult to enter, so that the shravakas and pratyekabuddhas cannot apprehend it. "
Who are these “shravakas and
pratyekabuddhas?”
In the Ten Lifestates as detailed in Buddhism, the are called the 7th and 8th lifestate is usually explained as the 7th, the state of learning and the 8th is called people of self-realization, intelkectual, or absorption.
The ten lifestates are momentary lifestates of 1.Hell (misery and suffering) 2. Hunger 3.Animality 4.Anger. These are very common, like the lowest common denominator, lifestates, all beings pass through moment by moment.
These first 4 lifestates are called the Four Lower Worlds. These momentary life moments typify the suffering world.
The sixth lifestate is called Heaven or Rapture. Seventh is learning, the 8th is essentially a state of awakening, these last two states or mind-moments are called Nijo in Japanese–“the two vehicles,” Although these are much higher then the previous 6 lifestates, they are also a a trap and easily fall into lower ego and causal backsliding.
The 5th lifestate is known as the human state, tranquility lifestate. It differs greatly from the 4 lower lifestates. Lifestates are actually discreate and at the same time, interpenetrating all other lifestates.
First I need to explain the meaning of the Japanese Buddhist, term, “ICHINEN”
Literally the term means, One-mind-moment. In any given moment a person has a certain “Ichinen” based on what is called, “mutual possession” of Lifestates. A word the helps understand this is the word “interpenetration”.
“Interpenetration,” means that each Mind-moment lifestate, contains inherently, all possible factors of, the other causal lifestates, related to the natural Law of cause and effect. It was defined as Three thousand lifestates in a single moment, “Ichinen Sanzen.”
When Jesus or Buddha, talked about “faith the size of a mustard seed” He is essentially talking about this principle. Where does the more faith based lifestates actually reside? Where does the essence of hell, hunger, animality, anger, humanity, rapture, learning, self-realization, Bodhisattva (mercy), Buddha/Enlightenment reside.
It is important to realize that the idea of a independent “soul” self or identity
is actually a misnomer. This is why Buddhism corrects the term “reincarnation,” because it leads to people thinking they are an independent self or soul. The term is “dependent origination,” All things are dependent on all other things. People are said to be swimming in the “Sea of Samsara” otherwise known as the wheel of birth and death. Liberation or salvation is do-able according to faith, prayer and practice. Resisting this law of cause and effect or slandering this Supreme Law is a bad, futile cause. At the same time getting a bad effect can teach a person what not to do and what to do and practice makes perfect no matter how ignorant a person is otherwise.
The term “soul” used in Buddhism or Christianity should include the disclaimer that no thing is “independent,” with a separate self in actuality. In terms of words, using the word is an expedient means. Just as no one is separate from God, the differentiation should really be found in the middle way–“neither a self, nor non-self.” strictly speaking. The use of the term “soul,” is really using poetic license.
The 9th and 10th lifestate are called Bodhisattva and Buddhaood.
The key is to realize that the lowser 9 lifestates all “exist” in the 10th lifestate, Buddhahood.
All of this operates due to the Supreme Law of Cause and Effect.
The first quote from the Lotus Sutra above is essentially the warning to the people of the two-vehicles. No matter how hard the think, ponder, calculate and use logic, they can fall back into the lower lifestates and become arrogant and inadvertently slander the Supreme Law due to what they intellectually think and believe, is their superiority. This is why they are warned.
All ten lifestates exist in ALL beings, sentient and insentient and all exist in each moment due to cause and effect.
I will post additional short quotes from the Sutra later
