July-Sept. 2010 Vol. 37 DHARMA WORLD for Living Buddhism and Interfaith Dialogue CONTENTS Tackling the Question "What Is the Lotus Sutra?" The International Lotus Sutra Seminar by Gene Reeves 2 Cover image: Abinitio Design. Groping Through the Maze of the Lotus Sutra by Miriam Levering 5 The International Lotus Sutra Seminar 2 A Phenomenological Answer to the Question "What Is the Lotus Sutra?" by Donald W. Mitchell 9 DHARMA WORLD presents Buddhism as The Materiality of the Lotus Sutra: Scripture, Relic, a practical living religion and promotes and Buried Treasure by D. Max Moerman 15 interreligious dialogue for world peace. It espouses views that emphasize the dignity oflife, seeks to rediscover our inner nature The Lotus Sutra Eludes Easy Definition: A Report and bring our lives more in accord with it, on the Fourteenth International Lotus Sutra Seminar and investigates causes of human suffering. by Joseph M. Logan 23 It tries to show how religious principles help solve problems in daily life and how Groping Through the Maze of the least application of such principles has the Lotus Sutra 5 wholesome effects on the world around us. Reflections It seeks to demonstrate truths that are fun­ Like the Lotus Blossom by Nichiko Niwano 31 damental to all religions, truths on which all people can act. The Buddha's Teachings Affect All of Humankind by Nikkyo Niwano 47 Niwano Peace Prize Women, Work, and Peace by Ela Ramesh Bhatt 32 Publisher: Moriyasu Okabe The Materiality of Executive Director: Jun'ichi Nakazawa the Lotus Sutra 15 Director: Kazumasa Murase Interview Editor: Kazumasa Osaka True to Self and Open to Others Editorial Advisors: An interview with Rev. Fergus Capie, Gene Reeves, Yoshiaki Sanada, director of the London Inter Faith Centre 34 Michio T. Shinozaki, Miriam Levering Copy Editors: William Feuillan, Gary Hoiby, DeAnna Satre, Stephen Comee The Threefold Lotus Sutra: A Modern Commentary (102) Editorial Staff: Toshihiko Nishino, Katsuyuki Kikuchi, The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law Ryuichi Kaneko Chapter 16: Revelation of the [Eternal] Life of the Tathagata ( 3) True to Self and Subscription Staff: Kazuyo Okazaki Open to Others 34 by Nikkyo Niwano 38 DHARMA WORLD is published quarterly by Kosei Publishing Company, 2-7-1 Wada, Suginam;-ku, Tokyo 166-8535. E-mail: [email protected]. Copyright© 2010 by Kosei Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Printed in Japan by Komiyama Printing Company. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please provide both old and new addresses. Six weeks' advance notice is requested. Requests for permission to reprint all or part of any article in this issue must be made in writing to the editor of DHARMA WORLD. The International Lotus Sutra Setninar by Gene Reeves What began as a single planned "final" meeting between Japanese Buddhist scholars and American Christian theologians, whose purpose was to explore aspects of the Mahayana scripture that is one of the world's great religious classics, has become an ongoing series of sessions that are increasingly both intellectually and spiritually rewarding. he International Conference on the Lotus Sutra has Mount Bandai, overlooking Lake Inawashiro. Initially there turned out to be a fairly long series of conferences. was no expectation that this would be more than a single TThe papers in this issue of DHARMA WORLD are from conference. Thus, this final meeting of the Cobb-Abe Group the fourteenth. became the first of the international conferences on the Lotus But it did not start out to be a series. Beginning with Sutra. the World Congress of the International Association for Later, under the leadership of Don Mitchell of Purdue Uni­ Religious Freedom (IARF) at the headquarters of Rissho versity, the Cobb-Abe Group was able to secure additional Kosei-kai in 1984, I have been active in a variety ofBuddhist­ funding from the Lilly Endowment and continue for sev­ Christian activities. Among the most prominent of dialogue eral more years. And international conferences on the Lotus groups was the North American Theological Encounter Sutra also continued for several more years at Bandaiso. Group, founded by the famous Buddhist thinker Masao Abe, That first conference included, in addition to Dr. Shino­ and the equally famous Christian theologian John Cobb. zaki and myself, some eighteen very prominent Buddhist Sometime in 1993 I learned that this "Cobb-Abe Group" had scholars and Christian theologians, including Masao Abe; run out of funds and was about to be discontinued. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, who would later become the first So I approached Dr. Michio T. Shinozaki with the idea of fully ordained Thai Buddhist nun; Rita Gross, the leading inviting the group to Japan for its final meeting. Various peo­ advocate for Buddhist feminism; David Chappell, the founder ple were enthusiastic about the idea, and so the "final" ses­ of the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies and first editor sion of the Cobb-Abe Group was held in northeastern Japan of its journal of the same name; Sulak Sivaraksa, then and at a Rissho Kosei-kai facility known as Bandaiso, located on now the leader of the International Network of Engaged Bud­ dhists; Seiichi Yagi, the most prominent Japanese Christian theologian; Schubert Ogden, along with Cobb the leading Christian process theologian; and John Borelli, then repre­ senting the U.S. National Conference of Catholic Bishops. The conference was very rich, both intellectually and spir­ itually. And Bandaiso was an extraordinarily rich setting for it. The natural landscape overlooking the lake provided gor­ geous views. In autumn the ski slopes became places for con­ templative walks. The outdoor hot spring provided a superb place for after-hours conviviality. And the meals prepared by Yoshio Abe not only nourished our bodies but also delighted our sense of taste. Gene Reeves has done research and lectured on the Lotus Sutra world­ wide for a quarter century. He is a consultant and teacher at Riss ho Bandaiso was so pleasant and appropriate for this purpose Kosei-kai and is retired from the University of Tsukuba. Before com­ that we continued to hold the conferences there for seven ing to Japan in 1989, he was head of Meadville Lombard Theological years, before it was closed. At Bandaiso the trees and lake and School and a lecturer at the University of Chicago Divinity School. His general landscape became my good friends, and I learned The Lotus Sutra: A Contemporary Translation of a Buddhist Classic what it means for nature to have the buddha-nature. After its was published in 2008. closing had been announced, but before it actually closed, it 2 DHARMA WORLD TACKLING THE QUESTION "WHAT IS THE LOTUS SUTRA?" Participants at the first International Conference on the Lotus Sutra, held in Bandaiso in 1994, pose for a commemorative photo with people who assisted at the meeting. was necessary for me to drive up from Tokyo just to bid fare­ One of the most impressive of the modern movements well to Bandaiso, a place that has meant much to me spiritu­ based on the Lotus Sutra is Rissho Kosei-kai. It was an over­ ally. whelmingly Japanese organization. Even its centers in the Following the success of the first conference, organized United States consisted mainly of people who were origi­ by the leadership of the Cobb-Abe Group itself and hosted nally Japanese. Its way of interacting with people rooted in by us, we thought of holding a series of such conferences on other religious traditions was through active participation in the Lotus Sutra. Our purposes were basically two: to increase international, interfaith organizations, especially the IARF interest in the Lotus Sutra and to increase awareness of Ris­ and the World Conference of Religions for Peace, of which it sho Kosei-kai. was a founder. To this day very little has been written about Buddhism was already beginning to flourish in the West, Rissho Kosei-kai in languages other than Japanese. And especially in the United States. Buddhist temples of many with the membership of its few, small centers in the United kinds as well as meditation centers were beginning to spring States being almost wholly Japanese-speaking people, Rissho up all over the country. The number of college and univer­ Kosei-kai was virtually unknown in America, even among sity courses on Buddhism was increasing dramatically along Buddhist scholars. We sought to change that, not by convert­ with scholarly interest. And scholarly interest was not lim­ ing people to being members ofRissho Kosei-kai, but by hav­ ited to Buddhist scholars; many Christian theologians were ing many more become aware of its existence. also showing increasing interest in Buddhist teachings. This is the reason why we have not attempted to develop or I felt, however, that too little of that interest was directed sustain a community of people who participate year after year toward the Lotus Sutra and Lotus Sutra traditions. Soka Gak­ kai was growing rapidly, but in sections of society to which religion scholars paid little attention. Interest in Buddhism among upper-middle-class Americans was usually in Zen Buddhism. And, despite the fact that the most revered Zen leader, Eihei Dogen, loved the Lotus Sutra and was a devo­ tee of it, American Zen Buddhists largely ignored the Lotus Sutra. Our purpose was not to convert people, especially Ameri­ can and European scholars, to the Lotus Sutra, but rather to have the sutra be a part of their frame of reference when they talked about Buddhism. We wanted those who talked about Buddhism in classrooms and in public places to be aware of the Lotus Sutra and its traditions, including Tiantai/Tendai and Nichiren traditions and modern movements based on the Lotus Sutra.