Now, the word “buddha” has another meaning; it literally means “an awakened one.” Anyone who realizes the fundamental principle, or truth, that permeates this world and opens their eyes to the true state, or ultimate reality, of everything that arises in this world is called an awakened one, a buddha. Becoming a buddha in the sense of being an awakened person is something that everyone has the potential to do.
Of course, fathoming the fundamental principle of this world is an extremely difficult task. However, we don’t have to awaken entirely through our own efforts. Shakyamuni Buddha has already expounded truth in its entirety, so we need only to unequivocally accept and follow his teachings.
For example, even the truth that all living beings have buddha nature would be impossible to realize with ordinary practice and diligence through our own efforts. However, if you accept Shakyamuni’s teaching of universal buddha nature with an open and sincere heart, thinking “Of course! Every human being inherently possesses the nature of a buddha! And if I fully actualize that buddha nature, I, too, can become a buddha,” then you’ve as good as realized it! Your decision to want to become a buddha by fully actualizing your buddha nature is the first step toward becoming an awakened one.
In our daily lives, the most important practice for becoming a buddha is to recite the Lotus Sutra every morning and evening. When we inscribe the teachings of the Buddha onto our hearts through reciting the sutra, we are naturally inspired to cherish and long for the Buddha and look up to him with thirsting hearts.
Then the wish to connect with all the people you encounter through a heart of compassion and mercy, just like the Buddha, will also well up from deep within your heart. Your journey on the Way of becoming a buddha consists of accumulating such bodhisattva practice.
Bodai no me o okosashimu [Germinating the Seeds of Awakening] (Kosei Publishing, 2018), pp. 26–27
Nikkyo Niwano, the founder of Rissho Kosei-kai, was born in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, in 1906. A longtime advocate of cooperation and dialogue between the world’s religious faiths, Rev. Niwano promoted interreligious understanding as honorary chairman of Shinshuren (Federation of New Religious Organizations of Japan), honorary president of Religions for Peace, and in various other capacities. He is the author of several books on Buddhism, the Lotus Sutra, and spirituality, such as Buddhism for Today, Lifetime Beginner, Buddhism for Everyday Life, and more. Rev. Niwano passed away in 1999 at the age of 92.
