1. Introduction

The lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai International is based on the Buddhist doctrine, which is rooted in the tradition of Shakyamuni Buddha as passed down via Nagarjuna to Vasubandhu in India on the one hand, and the tradition of the Lotus Sutra (LS)(1) of T'ien-t'ai in China via Saicho (Dengyo) the founder of the Japanese Tendai School, to Nichiren in Japan on the other. It is the purpose of the SGI to spread the Mahayana spirit of the Lotus Sutra in modern society. Here I would like to talk predominantly about the issue of redemption in Mahayana Buddhism, especially in the Lotus Sutra, and, building on this, define its status in modern society.

2. Mahayana Buddhism and Shakyamuni's Enlightenment

The word Mahayana stems from the Sanskrit, meaning "big vehicle," and points to the changed point of view of the new, mainly lay Buddhist Mahayana movement, as opposed to the traditional forms of early Buddhism, pejoratively called "Hinayana" or "small vehicle."

The beginnings of Mahayana date back to a hundred years after the death of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, to the time of the Buddhist council of 383 BC. The issue here was an argument concerning whether it was more important to adhere to traditions or--due to changed, social conditions in monastic lives--to introduce a renewal. A group of monks from the trading center Vaishali insisted on loosening the rules of the order, for instance pertaining to food, drinks and means of payment, such as gold and silver. After extensive discussion the conservative point of view prevailed. To express this traditional point of view, this form of Buddhism became classified as the "Old Doctrine" (Pali. Theravada) and the believers were called "Followers of the Old Doctrine" (Pali. Theravadin) from then on.

The reformers, who had suggested a loosening of the rules of the order, would not accept the refusal of their suggestion. They proceeded to hold a counter council, and, claiming to be in the majority compared to the Theravin, they called themselves "Followers of the Great Community" (Mahasanghika). From that point on, the original Buddhist community was separated into two schools, Theravada and Mahasanghika, which eventually developed into two different doctrines.

It is characteristic for the Mahasanghika to show a liberal attitude towards the new interpretations of the traditional doctrine. Traditionally, redemption was offered through "knowledge" (vidya) in the face of "ignorance" (avidya) which is entangled in the "cycle of incarnation" (samsara); but the Mahasanghika substituted "wisdom" (prajna) for knowledge. Furthermore they replaced the old ideal of the redeemed saint (arhat) with the Boddhisattva, who delays his own redemption in order to primarily lead others to salvation. The new ideal soon became popular. In the centuries that followed additional schools emerged from both of these doctrines.

In the course of popularization among the people, new Mahayana movements started to develop--contrasting the orthodoxy of Thervada, which was predominantly concerned with speculative, philosophical questions about the teachings of Buddha. These Mahayana movements spawned many new Sutras in the period between the 1st century BC and the 3rd century AD. In spite of the differing characters of the individual schools, the general objective of Mahayana was the universal redemption of all men The Lotus Sutra or the "Sutra of the Lotus flower of the wonderful law" ("Saddharma-Pundrika-Sutra" in Sanskrit) is one of the oldest Sutras and as such it belongs to the early phase of the Mahayana movement.

The following factors characterized the new religious need, which found its expression in the Mahayana--movements and, which were in turn, also supported by them: 1) the hope for new Buddhas and Boddhisattvas, possessing great power of redemption, 2) the urge to care for all other people based on compassion, and 3) the desire to abolish the difference between monks and lay believers. Supported by these new trends, and also by the experiences of an inner vision of Buddha, the Mahayana Buddhists seem to have gained experiences that found their expression both in a new interpretation of traditional doctrine and in the form of new Sutras.

Based on this background, the central issue of the Lotus Sutra can be recognized, which is the core of Shakyamunis experience of enlightenment, and how the followers of his teaching can understand it themselves. In the introductory chapter of the Lotus Sutra it says for instance: "for those striving for Shravakahood, he preached according to the law of the four noble truths for the deliverance from birth, old age, sickness and death and for the achieving of Nirvana; for those striving for the Pratyeka-Buddhahood he preached according to the law of the twelve-fold causal chain, for all Boddhisattvas he preached according to the six Paramitas, to cause them to reach the 'highest, most perfect enlightenment' (Annut-tara-samyak-sambodhe) and eventually omniscience." (LS, p. 47).

A similar statement can be found repeatedly in the other chapters. such as the 3rd and the 20th. The goal of both Buddhist teaching and practice are described here is the attainment of perfect enlightenment, which naturally implies a critical attitude towards the existing doctrine, which only allows for the attainment of "preliminary stages of enlightenment." This is the perspective from which the Lotus Sutra teaches the theme of perfect redemption.

3. Redemption in Mahayana Buddhism

In the 3rd chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the illusion man usually lives in is compared to a burning house, while redemption is defined as deliverance from it. Born himself in the ruined, old burning house of the three worlds, he saves all living beings from the fire of birth, old age, sickness and death, from sorrow and suffering, from ignorance and darkness and from the three poisons (greed, wrath and ignorance)." (LS p.100)

The term three worlds here refers to our world, consisting of the three realms of greed, physical shape and spirit. In this world everybody is subjected to a great number of sufferings, which can be attributed to the four basic forms of suffering--birth, old age, sickness and death. The burning house represents the life condition of suffering, while the flames represent passion in a Buddhist sense meaning "clinging to life" or "holding fast to the transitory." The main purpose of the Buddha's teaching is to deliver people from suffering,, i.e., to lead them to Nirvana. The Lotus Sutra addresses this central subject of Buddhism by viewing redemption in the sense of freeing people from suffering. I would to explain this central subject of Buddhism on three levels. The first level is the redemption of mankind and as such pertains to peace and human rights. The second level is redemption n the form of an ecological rescue of the earth. The third level is spiritual redemption, touching on the subject of the ethics of life and as such on life and death of each individual.

On the first level, the redemption of mankind, we are dealing with the dignity of human life, in the Mahayana tradition expressed by the idea of a "Buddha nature" dwelling within all living beings. The Buddha nature is also called Buddhahood and refers to the ability to become a Buddha oneself or, as we usually say, "to attain Buddhahood." Due to the fact that the Buddha nature resides within everyone, each human being is considered equally worthy of reverence, and able to achieve perfect enlightenment. The doctrine that Buddhahood is immanent within all living beings stems from the traditional line of Thatagata-Garbha, defined as "seed of Buddha" which is identical to Buddhahood. For instance in the Nirvana-Sutra the teaching becomes even more universal, proclaiming that all living beings are equipped with Buddhahood. There it says: "I preached the doctrine in the Sutra of Talhagatagarha, that although all living beings are equipped with Buddhahood, they can only experience their own Buddhahood by their initiation in the Buddhist doctrine. By this, perfect enlightenment can be achieved."

In the Lotus Sutra, written before these Sutras, the possibility of the attainment of Buddhahood in connection with the relation of man to Shakyamuni Buddha is explained. The second chapter, for instance, explains why Buddha appears in this world. "All Buddhas, worshipped in the world, appear in this world only to work for the achievement of one single great cause." (LS, p. 66).

Thus, the main intention of Buddha is to open Buddha's wisdom in all people, to understand it and to let them enter into it Herewith, even women and criminals, who were damned as insufficient beings prior to the Lotus Sutra, are granted the chance to fulfill their Buddhahood--they are also accorded the universal dignity of life. For this reason, the Lotus Sutra can be understood as a declaration of the dignity and equality of all human beings without exception.

From a modern point of view, the declaration of the Lotus Sutra is that all human beings, irrespective of differences in race, nationality, culture, religion and sex, are equipped with Buddhahood and equally able to develop their Buddhahood, the highest potential for happiness. Herein lies the reason for the pacifist attitude of the Buddhist, which opposes all forms of war and the killing of people. We consider this declaration to offer a basis for fundamental human rights.

In discussing the second level of redemption, the ecological salvation of the earth, one principle mostly refined in Sino-Japanese tradition is particularly significant, namely that of allowing for the possibility of the attainment of Buddhahood even by plants, as well as by animals and human beings. In the Indian tradition, the potential for attaining Buddhahood was only granted living beings with cognitive abilities, thereby excluding plants. The scholar Chi-tsand, however, pointed out that plants are equipped with Buddhahood, since they are, like all human beings, "inextricably linked with their environment." Chih-i (538-597) from the Chinese T'ien-t'ai school, also thought that "each color and each smell meets the Middle Way," and he also insisted that there was a chance that plants have the ability to fulfill Buddhahood. This concept spread in Japan and became an important subject of the Japanese Tendai school. Nichiren (1222-1282), innovator of the Tendai school in the 13th century also argued that the concept of "the attainment of Buddhahood by all living beings" should include this possibility with plants, too.

What is important here is probably not whether plants are really equipped with Buddhahood and whether or not they fulfill it; the point is to understand that man and nature are inseparable. If people fulfill Buddhahood, if they become joyful and enlightened, then the environment can display its highest potential. This view of nature and the world assumes that man lives in harmony with his natural environment and therefore must protect the earth ecologically.

The third level on which I want to consider the essential subject of Buddhism--freedom from suffering--touches on the spiritual implications of redemption in Mahayana-Buddhism. Etymologically, the term Nirvana is related to a term that can be defined as "to extinguish." Thus Nirvana is a state in which all desire, understood as the cause of suffering, has been extinguished. In this state one is freed from the causal chain leading to rebirth and further suffering. The ideal of the Theravada tradition is to create the conditions for not being again born into this world.

Early Buddhism, however, was marked by two kinds of Nirvana. The "Nirvana with a remainder of limitation" (sopadhishesha-Nirvana) can be achieved even before death, being freed from all desires, yet retaining one's physical form. In contrast, "Nirvana without limitation" (Nirupadhishesha-Nirvana) refers to a state that can only be achieved after death and implies the perfect deliverance from worldly bonds, including the extinction of desire and physical form.

Yet in Mahayana-Buddhism with its emphasis on the Bodhisattva ideal, the concept of Nirvana undergoes a substantial change, becoming a state in which "the enlightened does not remain in the cycle of birth and death because of great wisdom, nor is he in Nirvana because of his great sympathy for other beings." As such the cycle of rebirth no longer refers to a life filled with afflictions, that has to be destroyed, but instead, freedom from suffering occurs in the midst of the cycle, so that one may become actively engaged as a Boddhisattva with wisdom and compassion for others. For this reason, the Lotus Sutra talks about the Bodhisattva's vow: "This man has fulfilled the highest, perfect enlightenment of the great Bodhisattvas, he feels sympathy with all living beings, he was born into this world because of his voluntary vow and in differentiation he clearly and widely expounds the Sutra of the Lotus flower of the wonderful law." (LS, II p. 211)

In Buddhism, compassion is synonymous with mercy and refers to an emotional, spiritual attitude. The Bodhisattva strives to see himself in the position of others and to comprehend their sorrows as well as their joys in his own life. As such, the Bodhisattva always makes himself available for others and out of a deep concern for their sorrows, he decided to be reborn in this world. Furthermore: "These people renounce the rewards of pure and unblemished karma of their own volition, and after I extinguished and passed over, they are born into this evil world again because of their compassion with the living and widely expound this Sutra." (LS, p. 211)

These comments explain that those practicing the Lotus Sutra have already reached the highest perfect enlightenment, and in spite of it--or even because of it--out of love and compassion for the suffering, have given up their unblemished karma in order to carry out their task. It is only because of their inner desire and their vow that the Mahayana-Bodhisattvas appear in the world of affliction. Here we can see clearly that Mahayana believers want to become people who deep in their hearts take the life task of a Bodhisattva seriously and strive to play an active role in fulfilling it.

Today we are confronted with very difficult moral questions concerning the significance, indeed, the boundaries of life and death, questions aroused quite directly by the issue of genetic manipulation. Here specifically the attitude of a Bodhisattva, as I have just described it, is able to supply a philosophical basis for a reasonable answer. Mahayana-Buddhism transforms a pessimistic understanding of life, which is only filled with affliction and so must be extinguished, into a positive attitude of life, calling everyone to action, on the basis of the inner vow of the Bodhisattva

4. The Way of the Bodhisattva and Modern Society

The four Bodhisattva vows, characteristic of all Mahayana traditions, are:

1. No matter how numerous all living beings may be, I vow to save all of them.

2. No matter how inexhaustible desire is, I vow to extinguish all of it.

3. No matter how immense the Dharmas are, I vow to master all of them.

4. No matter how incomparable the Buddha's truth is, I vow to achieve it.

The first vow--"no matter how numerous all living being may be, I vow to save them all" refers to the desire for the redemption of all people and the ecological preservation of the earth. Since there are countless living beings, each individual is asked to do his utmost for their salvation. So the practice of a Boddhisattva can not remain in Nirvana (in the early Buddhist sense of extinction), but always reappears in this afflicted world because of the power of compassion, in order to deliver all lives from suffering.

The second vow --"no matter how inexhaustible desire is, I vow to extinguish all of it" challenges the Boddhisattva to overcome hrs inexhaustible desire. Here we are not talking about the extinction of desire, but about its qualitative transformation. In concrete terms, this means that you use your desires and passions as a springboard for your personal development. This transformation, which occurs as a result of Buddhahood needing to be activated by practice, is expressed by two principles: the transformation of desires into enlightenment and the transformation of the suffering of birth and death into Nirvana. This way, the Boddhisattva deepens and strengthens his abilities, such as mercy, wisdom, endurance and faith.

The third vow--"no matter how immense the Dharmas are, I vow to master them all"--in modern terms, points to the endeavor to master all the existing mental treasures of mankind. Not only should one learn the teachings of Buddhism, but also the doctrines of other religions, cultures and sciences, to enable man to lead others to redemption. Only by such uninterrupted efforts can Buddhism be spared from formal paralysis and thus from the loss of the important ability, to face the real challenges of the time.

Out of the wish for the redemption of all of mankind, which is made possible through the confrontation with desires and through gaining important knowledge, the fourth challenge for the Boddhisattva emerges: to arouse the wisdom of the Buddha. This fourth vow points to the recognition of the highest truth, which can be gained in the midst of the way of the Bodhisattva.

At this juncture I would like to remind you of the spiritual and moral qualities of a great man of our time: Mahatma Gandhi seems to exemplify exactly this spirit of Buddha, by delivering even Shakyamuni from the dogmatic framework of Buddhism. I am even inclined to consider him a true successor of Buddha.

According to the teaching of the Lotus Sutra, the eternal Buddha always appears as a Bodhisattva. The course of Gandhi's life is similar to the inexhaustible practice of the Bodhisattva Sadaparibhûta in the 20th chapter of the Lotus Sutra. This Bodhisattva, understood to be one of the many early manifestations of Shakyamuni, greeted everyone he met with the reverential words: "I have profound reverence for you. I would never dare treat you with disparagement or arrogance. Why? Because you are all practicing the Boddhisattva way and are certain to attain Buddhahood." (LS, p. 267).

This Bodhisattva dedicated his practice exactly to the most crucial message of the Lotus Sutra: that Buddhahood is inherent in all people and therefore in the future all will tread the way of the Bodhisattva and I fulfill their Buddhahood. This is what Shakyamuni and Gandhi have in common: to confer the sacred dignity of life on everyone and to recognize that this dignity should and will unfold concretely. It is said that Gandhi called the Untouchables the Children of God and that he treated them as Brahmin.

The second thing both have in common is Ahimsa, or non-violence, in that they renounced the use of any kind of violence. The Bodhisattva Sadaparibhûta suffered abuse and insult and even beatings with rods and stones from many people,. In spite of this, he continued his practice of reverence. Indeed, this attitude corresponds to the spirit, with which Gandhi spread his non-violent resistance movement. For Gandhi the means--non-violence, and the goal--understanding truth (Satya-graha) were inseparable, just as for the Bodhisattva Sadaparibhûta, whose practice, i.e. revering everyone he met, and his dedication to the Buddhist Dharma were inseparable. Both rejected the use of any violence in the name of a sacred goal, encouraging everyone to take a courageous stance for non-violence.

Thirdly, both Shakyamuni's vow and also Gandhi's desire were directed towards the redemption of all beings. It is said of Bodhisattva Sadaparibhûta, that he listened to a paragraph of the Lotus Sutra on his deathbed and that he could prolong the duration of his life in order to keep preaching the Buddhist Dharma to others. Until the very last moment, his life was dedicated to the fulfillment of his vow, to lead all people to redemption. Gandhi considered India's struggle for liberation to be one for all mankind. India struggled for liberation, renouncing all violence, against Great Britain, which, at that time, had the largest military power in the world at its disposal. This set an example for all mankind in the future to wage and win a non-violent struggle against any military power, even against atomic weapons. Gandhi was not only concerned about the independence of his own people, but also about the well-being of all of mankind.

The spirit of Shakyamuni, illustrated in the Lotus Sutra in the form of Bodhisattva Sadaparibhûta, continued in the further development of Mahayana-Buddhism as the four Bodhisattva vows. Nichiren, following the Lotus Sutra tradition of T'ien-t'ai and Dengyo, tried to comprehend the doctrine of the Lotus Sutra via concrete experience. He also identified with the Boddhisattva Sadaparibhûta. In this sense and following the above-mentioned common grounds of Boddhisattva Sadaparibhûta and Gandhi, I would like to quote a few statements of Nichiren. Nichiren says for instance about the dignity that is immanent in all of human life without any difference: "One man can be considered exemplary for the equality of all men." (Jap. p. 568).

With "one man" he was referring to Shakyamuni Buddha, indicating that all people can manifest their immanent Buddhahood. In this sense, all are equal to him and just as worthy of honor. On the subject of mercy, renouncing any use of violence, Nichiren wrote: "As far as the comprehension of the Lotus Sutra is concerned, I have only got a fraction of what Tendai and Dengyo have. But concerning the ability to withstand persecution and in the greatness of mercy I do not need to be afraid of the others." (Jap. Gosho p. 202).

On account of his revolutionary teachings, with which he also confronted the established religious and political power, Nichiren suffered severe persecution, including violent attacks and banishment. Yet he withstood these by maintaining the Buddhist spirit of mercy and continuously. renouncing violence. His vow to contribute to the redemption of all of mankind is shown in the following: "The Nirvana-Sutra says: "All forms of suffering, experienced by people in different ways, and not excepting my own, are the Buddha's own afflictions. Even so, all afflictions of mankind are to be my, Nichiren's own afflictions." (Jap. p. 587).

This refers explicitly to the same vow that was fundamental for Shakyamuni Buddha as well: to deliver all mankind from suffering.

Since its foundation, the SGI has always endeavored to transform the fundamental spirit of Mahayana-Buddhism concretely into action in our modem society. In the course of the millennia, from Shakyamuni through T'ien-t'ai to Nichiren, the contents of what I called before the three levels of redemption have changed dramatically. Today we are confronted with the task of completely reassessing the role of Buddhism.

In today's world we are experiencing a process of globalization which requires us to understand the earth as a single entity Economic, political and cultural relations are so closely and intensely intertwined, that we are no longer just concerned with the continuance of individual nations or ethnic groups, but with all of mankind. In the face of diverse and far-reaching problems, such as atomic weapons or human rights, we are challenged to accept the great variety of nations, cultures and religions and to find ways for a peaceful, harmonious human society, now and in future. To address another issue: the ecological system of the earth is on the verge of breakdown on a global scale, constituting a completely new challenge for all religions. In addition, we are confronted by completely new problems emerging from the most recent developments in bio-, neuro- and genetic technology, also presenting a set of new challenges for religion. Not only Buddhism, but all religious traditions are confronted with the question of how to deal with these new tasks. It seems to me that this current global state of affairs calls the reason d'etre of religion itself into question.

Finally I would like to point out that my contribution has the characteristics of a draft or a general commentary on the Buddhist point of view concerning the issue of redemption. I hope that it will be a stimulus for further discussions and that it can contribute to deepening our mutual understanding.