Chapter 1 - A House On Fire

Modern society is filled with things that serve to distract us from the true nature of life. From the time children are old enough to slightly comprehend they are placed in front of various "entertainment" devices that "keep them occupied" or "out of trouble" and serve to give overworked mothers or fathers a little reprieve from the complicated chore of raising them.

This behavior continues as the child matures. Western society will "entertain" you right up until the moment you die. If you allow this to happen to you then the important questions and issues that affect all human beings will never be addressed. If you don"t ask "why am I here" and "what is life all about" then you are like a sleepwalker going through the motions, while avoiding the actual experience of living.

It is a good idea to ask yourself why you are here on this particular world, after all it"s a huge universe which modern science tells us is filled with other stars and planets. The Buddha declared that our universe was filled with other worlds, teeming with life. The universe itself is alive and life will always be manifested when conditions exist to support it. Theoretically this implies that anyone could be born anywhere but you were born in this time and place because of causes you made in the past. When you make a cause you always get an effect, this is a universal law taught by all who possess wisdom.

This human life you now enjoy is an opportunity to bring benefit to all the other living beings around us. All life on this planet has a direct connection to you or this multitude of beings would not be here with you now. We owe these beings a great debt because they have all been our parents or benefactors at some time in the endless past.

Life has no beginning or end, one thought moment flows directly into another and that"s all there is. The last thought moment of this existence leads directly to the first thought moment of the next: this is the nature of reality. Since life is eternal the only meaningful way to repay debts of gratitude is to give a gift that will continue to bring benefit when this short lifetime is over.

Spiritual growth is the only gift that has genuine value because when a person grows spiritually the kind of causes they make change. Negative acts decrease and wholesome acts increase. Spiritual growth is the only "real wealth so this must be the coinage we use to repay longstanding debts of gratitude. Nothing else is meaningful.

It is not enough to master the Buddhist spiritual path to end your own suffering, you must reach out to help the people around you if you truly wish to become happy. Teaching others demonstrates that you have actually mastered your chosen tradition, at least to the point of realizing that there is a debt that must be repaid.

All three historical Buddhas identified the teachings of "The Lotus Sutra" as the path that leads to liberation. (See "Stop Suffering: A Buddhist Guide To Happiness")

This "Lotus Sutra" teaches that the world we live in is a burning house full of pain and suffering. If you are wrapped up in the quest for fame and fortune then you are grasping at the shadows produced by the light of these flames. All of the things our society values most are transitory by nature. This being the case money or social status will never bring you permanent satisfaction because you can"t take these things with you into your next life.

Shakyamuni"s goal as a teacher was to free us all from the major conflagration that rages every day on this planet. He was free so he understood the value of freedom, that"s why he wanted the same thing for all of us. This freedom, called enlightenment or Buddhahood is available to all people and it means that we live in this universal system and do not suffer from the things that trouble worldly people because we have trained our minds and have at least started the process of seeing things just the way they are.

The Buddha reveals in chapter Sixteen of "The Lotus Sutra" that he attained enlightenment sometime in the far distant past, that is why he was free from the dangers that fill the "house on fire". Yet, Shakyamuni was born on the same planet and lived in the same environment as the people he wanted to rescue, thus demonstrating that this world is not the problem, it is the garbage produced by our untrained minds that make our environment a place of great misery.

To free ourselves from this ubiquitous suffering we must stop filling our minds with unwholesome thoughts. This is an important first step for any student who wishes to attain tranquility and happiness. It is not enough to merely remove negative thoughts, however, we must also learn to generate positive, life affirming thinking. As followers of the great Mahayana Teacher Nichiren it is imperative that we study the Gosho, "The Lotus Sutra," and all of the other sacred teachings of Shakyamuni.

These writings teach the path that will inevitably guide sincere students to develop Anuttara samyak sambodhi, ultimately the goal of all practicing Buddhists. Daily exposure to Buddhist teaching, when combined with sincere practice inevitably elevates the quality of what passes through your mind until you reach the point where you perceive that everything that occurs in your environment is a dharma lesson. At this point you must begin to share these teachings with others or you are not a Mahayana practitioner.

Every student of the Buddha must become a teacher. Instructing others is merely another step along the path for any student and does not imply that teachers are "special" or different. You will learn more in a single year devoted to teaching others then you could in a dozen years of intensive study in any library. It is therefore appropriate to consider teaching as merely another form of study necessary for growth and development.

Dharma Teachers are simply human beings who are slightly more advanced on the path that you now wish to follow. It is critical to your development as a Buddhist student that you respect Teachers because they give freely of their time to help you achieve liberation. This same respect should be cheerfully rendered to every being you encounter in your daily life.

Esteem is the only coinage that Teachers should ever accept from you. Any Dharma Teacher who "requests" money from students is running a business (see "Stop Suffering: A Buddhist Guide To happiness"). It is true that you should think of your Teacher as a Buddha but this same attitude should be applied to all people.

Teaching the Dharma is not an honor it is a responsibility that every student who progresses to a certain point must undertake. The ethics of those who charge money to instruct others is questionable. Can you name any great spiritual Teacher who taught only people rich enough to pay the entrance fee?

Turning the Buddha"s wisdom into a business is pitiful, but Buddhist Teachers who prey on their students are truly reprehensible. You should never engage in sexual practices of any kind with a person who teaches Dharma. The debt you owe a Teacher can only be re paid by excelling at your practice and exceeding his accomplishments. If your Teacher has even suggested that you behave immorally then you need a new Teacher.

You are responsible for the things that happen to you, if you had not made the cause to meet a dishonest Teacher then it could not have occurred. The Teacher is not the problem, you should not hate this person merely because he hurt you, but neither should you seek his company.

If a man shoots you with a gun you do not become angry at the bullet, nor are you enraged at the gun. You blame the person who uses the gun and rightly feel that the weapon in question is merely a tool. However, this same reasoning applies to the being that attacks you. You created the cause to be attacked; it is your negative energy impelling this man to choose you as his target. Why blame the man any more then you do the gun or bullet, all three are merely tools.

The way to eliminate negative effects is to stop making harmful causes now. Begin the "clean up" process by daily practice and study, please remember that this is your own mess, you are responsible for it. You have been your own worst enemy for millennia, but you now have the opportunity to purify your life through the practice of the Dharma.

You should not falter! If you examine your situation in a rational manner you will realize that the only logical way to move is forward into the freedom of Nirvana. The pain and rejection you feel is ego based, let go of that nonsense! It is not realYour ego is as empty as the promises and spurious love offered by your former instructor. You are not here to be loved you are here to love.

You will never be appreciated by all of the inhabitants of this world. Even the Buddhas had people who hated and reviled them. If we follow the example given to us by these enlightened Teachers then we will not accept the hatred offered to us and we will respond to all living beings with compassion.

When someone offers us hatred or abuse we can best respond by remaining calm and centered. The Buddha taught that if we do not accept this anger and hatred, if we remain untouched by the fiery invective aimed at disturbing our minds then the person berating us has no choice but to keep this misguided energy.

Of course, it is a good idea to listen to what others say and consider their viewpoint. You can often gain insight into your own delusions and problems by taking note of personal criticism. Superficially these harsh comments seem to be intended to harm us but they are actually helpful if we view them properly. If unkind personal criticism is hurtful to you then more study of the Buddhas teachings on emptiness is indicated.

Daily practice will elevate us into the four noble worlds, which has the effect of allowing us to live untouched by the horrors found in the burning house. Nichiren"s students sometimes contract terribly debilitating diseases but they never experience painful deaths. Students, who follow the path taught by our compassionate Teacher, die surrounded by friends and family, calmly chanting, determined to return and continue the struggle for Kosen Rufu.

The moment of death will clearly reveal the true state of your life condition, any pretense will be stripped away, and the truth about your life will be revealed. Many religions teach that there is a judgment process people undergo after death but it is actually the final moments of this corporeal existence that determine what will happen to you next.

It is important to have mental clarity at the moment of death because how you die has a tremendous impact on your next rebirth. A person who dies in one of the six lower worlds will often be born in adverse conditions. Ultimately, the life condition revealed at the end of this current lifetime will be what you experience while waiting in Ku.

The amount of time that you spend awaiting re birth also depends on your life condition. If you live in the four noble worlds then you are open to the energy produced by the living universe. Constant exposure to this power keeps your life condition high and the amount of time spent in Ku correspondently shorter. Students who practice as Nichiren taught are bright and filled with this life energy right up until the moment of death.

Contrast this with people who live animal existences. They become run down and constantly tired, as they grow older. Perhaps their minds stop working altogether because the brain is a muscle and you must use it or it will atrophy, just like any other muscle in your body.

I remind you of these things because it is important to practice daily as well as study. As of August 3, 2001 the web site at Buddhist Information of North America (BIONA) receives hundreds of requests for documents every day so the study part of our program is doing very well.

However, the questions and comments I receive clearly demonstrate that we are not practicing sufficiently. Buddhism is not just a philosophy; we must practice daily if we expect to make the desired progress. If reading Buddhist material is simply a hobby for you then I apologize for wasting your time.

Those of us who are committed to the path of Buddhahood need to start now. Your life condition will never improve if you do not take action. The only time you have for certain is now so now is when you should begin.

We are dedicated to the creation of an ideal society where people focus on personal growth and spiritual development. This is a huge job but the goal is not unrealistic and it is the only work really worth doing. How can anyone look at the world"s society the way it is now and not perceive the flames of the burning house?

This is the same problem that faced the Buddha Shakyamuni when he was teaching. He saw a planet filled with people who were grasping after transient things like money, fame, or power because they consider these things to be worthwhile goals. Worldly people analyze the system we live in and conclude that the more material things they acquire the more successful they are. They equate material success with happiness.

In spite of the overwhelming historical and contemporary evidence to the contrary many people persist in this delusion. Material acquisitions are not the key to happiness. It is like being popular in High School, nice if you can get it but hardly necessary for worldly success. The moment you graduate from High School the trivial nature of that society becomes apparent. It does not matter if you were "popular" in school when you enter the real world. The words "jock," or "nerd" do not appear anywhere on your records and these things are not real because they vanish forever when you walk out of the school door for the last time.

Everything worldly people work to achieve has this very same nature. All of the power, wealth, or reputation you acquire is only good until the day this lifetime ends. It is incredibly foolish to spend the rest of this short existence piling up material objects and wealth when it should be obvious to every human that they will inevitably die.

I am not trying to tell you that material things are "evil" or unnecessary; we live in a material world and need many of the things we strive for to be happy as well as to survive. Ultimately, it does not matter what you have or don"t have, it"s the mental baggage connected to these temporary possessions that creates all the problems.

Improper attachment to material objects is the direct cause of all the suffering in this world. The fact that these objects are not in any way different from soap bubbles floating on the air seems to escape the notice of the average person. Live in the present moment and learn to see things the way they really are and you will begin to realize the trivial nature of temporary possessions.

To really change the world we must train our minds in the path of goodness taught by all three historical Buddhas. After we make some small amount of progress we must learn to place our focus on helping others who also seek mental peace and freedom from suffering.

It is not enough to merely generate an abstract love for all of humanity. To follow the path of our enlightened teachers we must help any sincere student exceed our own modest accomplishments.