Destinctions between priestly and lay, male and female, did not matter in the least to Nichiren Daishonin; he fixed his gaze solely on people's hearts, their spirit. Spirit means one's inner state of life, or heart. It decides what we devote our lives to. It is the fundamental prayer on which we base our existence. A person's spirit is invisible, but becomes manifest at a crucial moment. Not only that, it also controls everything about a person, each moment of every day -it is the fundamental determinant of one's life. The Kegon Sutra says, "The heart is like a skilled painter.” Like a great painter, the heart freely creates representations of all things. Your heart is the designer, the painter, the sculptor and the architect of your being.

The Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai cites this sutra passage in explaining the doctrine of a life-moment possessing 3,000 realms. He uses the image of a great painter to explain that the heart manifests in the 3,000 realms of all phenomena. It is your spirit, your life-moment, that counts. Your spirit is your hopes, your prayers. And it can also be identified with the subconscious.

"What kind of future do I envision?” you may ask yourself. "What kind of self am I trying to develop? What do I want to accomplish in my life?” Paint this vision of your life in your heart as specifically as possible. This "painting" becomes the design for your future. The power of the heart enables you to actually execute a wonderful masterpiece in accordance with that design. This is the doctrine of a life-moment possessing 3,000 realms.The more specific and detailed the blueprint we have in our hearts, the better. The point is to continue vividly painting the target we have and to advance toward that goal single-mindedly. Then, at each instant, the reality of our lives will gradually approach the painting that is our aspiration.Everything depends on what is in our hearts. Heartfelt prayers will definitely be answered. If we decide that something is impossible, then, consistent with our minds in thinking so, even things possible will become impossible.

In accordance with the principle of a life-moment possessing 3,000 realms, pessimistic thoughts or feelings take form, just as they are, in reality, producing negative results. People who have negative thoughts create effects for themselves that perfectly match their thinking.
So it is important to be optimistic. There is no such thing as pessimism in Buddhism. The Lotus Sutra gives us the key that enables us to possess great confidence and burn with hope even amid circumstances that appear despairing. Nichiren Daishonin proved this.
In a letter to his follower Sairen-bo, which he also wrote on Sado, the Daishonin calmly promises, "Although the lord of Kamakura may continue to refuse to pardon Nichiren, I will call upon the heavenly deities, and I will return to Kamakura" (MW-7, 27). True to his words, the Daishonin triumphantly returned to Kamakura. His victory over incredible odds is proof of the principle of a life moment possessing 3,000 realms.

Above all, I am confident that the Daishonin's resolve for world kosen-rufu in the 10,000 years and more of the Latter Day was the cause that resulted in the appearance of the SGI and called forth Bodhisattvas of the Earth throughout the world.

The power of your heart is great. Nichimyo Shonin's heart was directed toward the Daishonin. And from the Daishonin, she learned to share the Lotus Sutra's ideal of all people becoming happy. She was determined to travel to far-off Sado, even though it meant crossing mountains and treacherous waters. I hope that each of you will steadfastly advance one step at a time toward a great ideal, walking along roads, traveling over mountains and crossing seas, as need be, to reach it.

The Daishonin says, "Even common mortals can attain Buddhahood if they cherish one thing; earnest faith" (MW-7, 268).
We need to direct our spirit, our heart, toward kosen-rufu. Attaining Buddhahood depends on cherishing such resolve. When we have such a spirit, our lives sparkle with jewels of good fortune and happiness. We undertake a wonderful journey through life in which our dreams, one after another, are accomplished.

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This page was last modified on Sunday, August 20, 2006.