Material for Discussion Meetings

This connects to the story of the Jewel in the Robe, one of the Lotus Sutra’s seven parables:

Two friends, one rich and the other poor, reunite after a long time. They enjoy a delicious meal with fine wine. The poor man gets drunk from the wine and falls asleep. Soon, his wealthy friend has to attend to business far away. Before leaving, he kindly sews a priceless jewel into the inner lining of the poor man’s robe. 

Upon waking, unaware of the jewel in his robe, the poor man continues wandering, struggling to feed and clothe himself. 

When they reunite again after a long time, the wealthy friend says: “In the past, I wanted to make certain you would be able to live in ease … I took a priceless jewel and sewed it in the lining of your robe. It must still be there now.”^[1]

The poor man is overjoyed to discover this priceless jewel. 

What is the “priceless jewel” in this story? It symbolizes the desire to seek and reveal our inherent Buddhahood. The poor man’s drunken state equates to being influenced by our fundamental ignorance or being blind to our true, enlightened nature. The poor man’s contentment with his nomadic, impoverished life represents being satisfied with a life of minor good, of not desiring and taking action toward genuine happiness. Finding the jewel in his robe indicates waking from a drunken state of mind and realizing that the jewel of Buddhahood had been there all along. 

Ikeda Sensei commented on this story: 

While there are differences in degree of drunkenness, in either case the person fails to remember. That is what darkness [or ignorance] means. Because their hearts are shrouded in darkness, they cannot understand the wonder of their own lives. (The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 2, p. 173)

Like the poor man, we often search for meaning in our work, relationships or other external pursuits, unaware of the priceless jewel sewn into the fabric of our being that leads to lasting happiness. 

Awakening to the Priceless Jewel of Our Lives 

So, how do we awaken to the “wonder” of our lives?

Nichiren Daishonin named the priceless jewel of our Buddha nature and the Mystic Law Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. And he established the practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the Gohonzon, the object of fundamental respect and the clear mirror for perceiving this jewel in our lives. By chanting to the Gohonzon, we can manifest the power of the Buddha nature in our lives as well as in the environment and people around us. 

What does it look like to “discover the jewel in the robe”? 

It’s like dramatically shifting from being constantly overwhelmed by problems and defeated by weaknesses to chanting and joyfully taking on problems as opportunities to grow stronger, wiser and more understanding toward others. When we awaken to our vast potential, we can face challenges and develop inner strength and resilience.

Awakening to the wonder of our lives also means recalling our innate and compassionate desire to support others. Sensei says: 

From our standpoint, we have been born to fulfill the “great vow” we have cherished since the remote past. When we have this conviction, we realize that all our sufferings and illusions in this life are expedient means for us to help others become happy. … 

Since these are sufferings that we ourselves created in order to triumph over, our victory is certain. We cannot possibly be defeated. 

When we awaken to the great vow of kosen-rufu, that is, when we realize “from the very beginning I have been the Buddha,” then even harsh destiny changes into mission. (The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 2, pp. 176–77)

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Writings for Discussion Meetings

Our Hearts Shape the World Around Us

Passage

[The Vimalakirti Sutra] … states that, if the minds of living beings are impure, their land is also impure, but if their minds are pure, so is their land. There are not two lands, pure or impure in themselves. The difference lies solely in the good or evil of our minds.

—“On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime,”  The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 4

Background

At a recent intro-to-Buddhism meeting, a member shared how he first heard of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo from one of his customers while waiting tables. He didn’t start chanting right away. But a few years later, when he hit a wall, he remembered their conversation and sought out the SGI. 

As he chanted, he noticed real changes, like coming to work on time and being more aware of how his good and bad moods affected his coworkers. When he started thanking them, to his surprise, they began expressing their appreciation for one another. “The whole office turned into an environment of gratitude,” he said. Though seemingly small, these changes led to more significant shifts in his life and surroundings. 

Stories like his are powerful reminders of how chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo helps people transform their life state and resolve complex relationships and situations. They reflect the Buddhist concept of the “oneness of life and its environment,” which teaches that everything “out there” reflects what’s “in here.” There’s no separation between our lives and “the land”—our environment and the people around us. Thus, when our heart and mindset change, everything else changes.

In the above passage from “On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime,” Nichiren Daishonin summarizes points from the Vimalakirti Sutra, teaching that the key to transforming our lives lies in changing our hearts and minds—in elevating our state of life and revealing our Buddhahood. 

By chanting with the resolve to embody the change we wish to see and by sharing Buddhism with others, we can create joy and happiness wherever we are and spread it far and wide.

—Prepared by the SGI-USA Study Department

Ikeda Sensei’s Encouragement‘

Move Everything in the direction of Happiness’

Buddhism is a religion of inner transformation. The pure realm in which the Buddha resides and the impure realm where ordinary people dwell are not two separate realms. There is no fixed difference between them; all apparent differences are expressions of the good or evil of the minds of those who live there. Human beings can, therefore, transform their environment by transforming their inner state of being.

In other words, the key to social change is people fundamentally transforming their mindsets.

In this writing, the Daishonin also states: “It is the same with a Buddha and an ordinary being. When deluded, one is called an ordinary being, but when enlightened, one is called a Buddha” (“On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime,” WND-1, 4). The difference between a Buddha and an ordinary being is nothing more than the difference between a deluded and an enlightened life state.

How, then, can we transform delusion into enlightenment? Through the practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. By chanting daimoku, we conquer the fundamental ignorance that is the root cause of delusion and bring forth the life state of Buddhahood originally inherent within us. We overcome every suffering and hardship and move everything in the direction of happiness.

Prayers based on the Mystic Law are guaranteed to activate the heavenly deities—the positive functions of the universe.

The Daishonin writes, “The stronger one’s faith, the greater the protection of the gods” (“The Supremacy of the Law,” WND-1, 614). As this indicates, we must persevere resolutely in our Buddhist practice, no matter what happens. Doing so will strengthen the workings of the protective forces, which appear in our lives in such forms as support from our seniors in faith, fellow members and families. How fortunate we are to have fellow members who share our struggles and chant with us about them. We may also receive support and assistance from those who don’t practice Nichiren Buddhism. Our strong faith increases the protection of these positive functions. (Creating a Century of Humanism, pp. 44–45)

From the June 2025 Living Buddhism