The Sutra of Meditation on
the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue

As indicated by its title, this work, which takes its departure from the closing chapter of the Lotus Sutra, makes the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue its central figure. But because of its special emphasis on confession, it is sometimes referred to as the Sutra of Repentance.

By meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue is meant the practical way to perceive the excellence of the bodhisattva, to attune the mind to his spirit, to fix the mind on the Way of the Buddha, and to attain to the form of practice of this bodhisattva.

The sutra repeatedly explains how the body of the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue is actually to be seen, by which is meant nothing more or less than attunement of the mind to the spirit of the bodhisattva. Inability to reach this state calls for reflection upon conduct and confession of failings.

Then, even though the believer may indeed see the body of the bodhisattva, practice and effort must not stop, for only by going on to see the body of the Buddha may practice become perfect.

Thus full confession is explained as thinking on the true aspect of reality. The true aspect of reality, the real aspect of existence, is the ultimate void. Single-minded thought and full understanding of this truth bring the believer to a state of oneness with the mind of the Buddha, and all sins, like frost or dew in the sun, are dispersed by the light of wisdom.

To think in such philosophical terms, however, is hard for ordinary people, and so at the end of the chapter we are instructed in a more down-to-earth way of thinking. After an enumeration of the confessions appropriate to the citizen or lay believer, the final instruction is this: "to believe deeply the causes and results of things, to have faith in the way of one reality, and to know that the Buddha is never extinct. . . ." These words are a most fitting summing-up of Buddhist teaching.

The law of cause and effect, which is meant by "the causes and results of things," is not only the scientific principle that pervades the physical universe but also the truth that forms the core of the basic Buddhist teachings.

Then, whether we are conscious of it or not, it is the truth that every human being walks the one road toward becoming a buddha, and this is the way of one reality. There may seem to be many, many surface differences in the teachings of the Buddha, but the one reality, the one truth, binds all on the Way to buddhahood.

And finally to know that the Buddha is never extinct is to know that the Eternal Original Buddha is the great, imperishable life-force of the universe and that we are brought into being by this life-force and are part of it.

If this threefold faith stands unshakably in our minds and hearts, then every one of us can attain complete freedom and salvation. There could hardly be a more fitting conclusion to the Threefold Lotus Sutra than these golden words.

The end

Copyright (C) 2008 by Rissho Kosei-kai. All rights reserved.