Roshi opened his talk this week by reflecting on the importance of building solid foundations in the new year. He noted that parents, in particular, are often concerned with providing strong foundations for their children—whether in academics, culture, or values. But this raised a deeper question: what about Buddhist teachings? What constitutes a solid foundation in the Dharma?

Roshi observed that some forms of art are timeless, while others are rooted firmly in the era in which they were created. Certain novels, for example, do not age well because they were written specifically for the sensibilities of a particular time. The Dharma, however, is universal. Its insights are meant for all sentient beings, in any place and in any era.

This brought Roshi back to the question of foundations. Many schools of Buddhism regard the Lotus Sutra as a foundational text. Roshi paused here to share that he himself has struggled with this sutra over the years. Unlike many Zen teaching tools—such as koans—the Lotus Sutra lacks the simple, spare aesthetic that Zen practitioners are accustomed to. Yet we must also remember that Dōgen, one of our most accomplished ancestors, regarded the Lotus Sutra as foundational to practice. Perhaps, Roshi suggested, this is another invitation to set aside our discriminating ego and our preconceptions about what Zen “should” look like.

Roshi then began reading from the opening section of the sutra, known as The Sutra of Innumerable Meanings (Link to text). This section consists of lengthy, ornate descriptions of the many bodhisattvas, mahasattvas, gods, dragons, and realized teachers gathered in the Buddha’s presence. The elaborate imagery continues for pages, and notably, the Buddha does not speak until the second chapter. Why all this preamble? Roshi asked. What purpose does it serve? He reminded us once again that Dōgen considered this text essential to practice.

At last, in Chapter Two, the Buddha speaks:

This one doctrine is called the doctrine of Innumerable Meanings. A Bodhisattva, if he wants to learn and master the doctrine of Innumerable Meanings, should observe that all laws were originally, will be, and are in themselves void in nature and form. They are neither great nor small, neither appearing nor disappearing, neither fixed nor movable, neither advancing nor retreating; they are non-dualistic—just emptiness. All living beings, however, discriminate falsely: ‘It is this’ or ‘it is that,’ ‘it is advantageous’ or ‘it is disadvantageous.’ They entertain evil thoughts, create various karmas, and thus transmigrate within the six realms of existence, suffering all manner of miseries, unable to escape for innumerable kalpas.

At this point, Roshi acknowledged that the teaching now feels more familiar. Still, one might wonder whether a concise koan or parable would be a more skillful means. Here, Roshi stopped – in judging the teaching, he said, we are already closing ourselves off to a possible skillful means of encountering reality. The Buddha did not limit himself in this way. All paths to truth were left open. Some students respond to koans; others respond to rich, poetic language. The vehicle matters far less than the destination toward which it carries us.

Roshi wrapped up by emphasizing that there is profound wisdom embedded in the Lotus Sutra, and that over the coming weeks we will continue to explore and uncover its depth together.