Q: Should we be concerned about future disciples and past Buddhas? It
seems so difficult to understand.
SR: Yes, it's difficult to understand. That was the point of my previous
lecture on the Lotus Sutra. If your understanding does not lead to the Sambhogakaya
Buddha or Dharmakaya Buddha, this kind of description doesn't make any sense.
It looks like a fable or tale. Do you understand? As you will see later in this
sutra, Buddha said to many of his eminent, direct disciples, “You should live
until Maitreya Buddha appears, many, many aeons in the future,” and they said,
“Yes.” You cannot understand this kind of thought without the idea of the
Sambhogakaya Buddha. And you may say the Sambhogakaya Buddha is just some idea,
but if you have some experience of zazen, you can accept it. That is why Zen
Buddhism arose. --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture - 68-10-00-C as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. - DC
