Highlights of the August 2025 Study Material

• The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, pp. 148 and 153
• “The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 358
• “Explaining the Causation of the Ten Worlds,” WND-2, 197

Chapter Overview

Rise Above the Six Paths With Faith

In this month’s ongoing study of the Ten Worlds, we focus on the worlds of heavenly beings (heaven) as well as voice-hearers and cause-awakened ones (learning and realization)—also called the two vehicles, the first two of the four noble worlds. 

Getting to heaven after death may be considered the end goal of certain religions. But in Nichiren Buddhism and in considering the Ten Worlds, heaven isn’t a specific destination but a state of life we can experience at any moment. Arriving at the state of heaven is not the aim of Buddhist practice; it ranks sixth among the Ten Worlds and is the highest among the six paths, or six lower worlds. The aim of Buddhism is establishing the 10th world of Buddhahood as our foundational state of life.

The following Lotus Sutra passage, referenced in The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 4 (see p. 148), describes life in the six paths:

He [the Buddha] sees living beings seared and consumed by birth, aging, sickness and death, care and suffering, sees them undergo many kinds of pain because of the five desires and the desire for wealth and profit. Again, because of their greed and attachment and striving they undergo numerous pains in their present existence, and later they undergo the pain of being reborn in hell or as beasts or hungry spirits. Even if they are reborn in the heavenly realm or the realm of human beings, they undergo the pain of poverty and want, the pain of parting from loved ones, the pain of encountering those they detest—all these many different kinds of pain.

Yet living beings, drowned in the midst of all this, delight and amuse themselves, unaware, unknowing, without alarm or fear. They feel no sense of loathing and make no attempt to escape. In this burning house that is the threefold world, they race about to east and west, and though they encounter great pain, they are not distressed by it. (The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, pp. 94–95)

In this passage, Shakyamuni Buddha compares today’s saha world to a burning house and describes how most people carry on in the lower six realms oblivious to the fire. 

As for the sixth world, Nichiren Daishonin says, “Joy is that of heaven” (“The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind,” WND-1, 358). It is mainly a state of rapturous joy experienced through fulfilling desires to survive, for social advancement or for material gain. But such desires are temporary. Ikeda Sensei explains:

A life spent in pursuit of a mirage is itself a mirage.

The purpose of Buddhist practice is to establish an eternally indestructible state of happiness; not a fleeting happiness that perishes like a flower but an internal palace of happiness that will last throughout all time. This diamond palace, this treasure tower soaring to magnificent heights, is built through faith. (The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 4, p. 146)

Those in the world of heaven and the other six paths are attached to the self and their possessions, and to desires for things like wealth, prestige and fame, viewing them as static or fixed. 

Through chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and practicing Buddhism, we come to understand the temporary nature of life and circumstances, and the importance of seeking to establish Buddhahood as the foundation of our eternal existence. It is in the two vehicles, the worlds of voice-hearers and cause-awakened ones, that we begin to understand this. Sensei said: 

In other words, it is our human revolution—changing from someone buffeted about by the environment to someone who can positively influence his or her surroundings—that enables us to construct an unshakable palace within. The seeking mind represented by the two vehicles could be said to constitute the foundation on which this eternal palace within is built. (WLS-4, 146)

—Prepared by the SGI-USA Study Department

Digging Deep

August Study Guide 

Please use these questions to guide your study of  The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 4, pp. 145–70.  

1) Match each world with its corresponding view toward phenomena. (WLS-4, 155–56) 

1. six worlds

2. voice-hearers and cause-awakened ones

3. bodhisattva

4. Buddhahood

==============================================================

A. Middle Way; nonsubstantiality and temporary existence

B. provisional; temporary existence

C. substantial

D. empty; nonsubstantiality

2) What perception of life expresses the “true enlightenment” of people of the two vehicles? Although they have carried out difficult practices, earnestly ascending step by step toward Buddhahood, in the end why do they fall back into the six paths? (WLS-4, 156–58)

3) What is problematic with the world of heaven in relation to the four sufferings? (WLS-4, 162)

4) Nichiren Daishonin states: “Everywhere other than the Capital of Tranquil Light is a realm of suffering. Once you leave the haven of inherent enlightenment, what is there to bring you joy? I pray that you will embrace the Mystic Law, which guarantees that people ‘will enjoy peace and security in their present existence and good circumstances in future existences.’ This is the only ___________________________, and is the action that will draw you toward Buddhahood in your next existence. Single mindedly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and urge others to do the same; that will remain _______” (“Questions and Answers about Embracing the Lotus Sutra,” WND-1, 64). (WLS-4, 168)

5) What kind of wealthy person does Sensei encourage us to become? (WLS-4, 168–69)

Looking Forward: September Syllabus

The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 4, pp. 171–96

Part Two: “The Life Span of the Thus Come One”: The Ten Worlds
7: “The Mutual Possession of the Ten Worlds”

From the August 2025 Living Buddhism