The Buddha appeared during a period of great ferment, approximately six hundred years before the birth of Christ. In China, Confucius was teaching about the individual in relation to society, and Lao Tzu about the individual in relation to nature. In Persia, Zoroaster struggled with the forces of light and darkness. Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Daniel proclaimed one true God. In Greece poet and statesman Solon, mathematicians Thales and Pythagoras, and philosophers Zeno and Heraclitis taught about a rational universe. In India the Buddha preached the Middle Way, which eventually spread to other Asian countries, such as Greece, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Israel, which had become "hellenized."
Most authorities believe Shakyamuni lived from 563-483 BC. He was born right over the border in Nepal among the non-Aryan peoples. By caste he was a warrior, by clan a Shakya (Shakyamuni; sage of the Shakyas). His mother, Maya, died two weeks after his birth. His father Suddhodana was a king, who named him Siddhartha. He was raised by his mother's sister Prajapati and became beloved by all.
He was reputed to have been born wise and compassionate, as is illustrated by the following story. The child Siddhartha played in the garden, a white swan fluttered to his feet, an arrow piercing its wing. Calming the frightened bird, the child gently removed the arrow, and sat there quietly with the swan on his lap. Siddhartha's cousin Devadatta entered the garden and demanded the swan: This is my bird, give it to me, it was I who shot it. Siddhartha replied, No, if it was dead you might have a claim to it, but it is alive and a free creature. Devadatta said, Alive or dead, what is the difference, it is mine for I brought it down. Siddhartha contradicted him: No, it is mine, the first of many beings, which shall be mine by right of mercy, and I shall teach compassion to all and speak for those who have no speech. Devadatta eventually brought his cousin to court, but was humiliated when the court decided in Siddhartha's favor. Devadatta grew jealous and hostile, becoming the Buddha's implacable enemy.
Shakyamuni always displayed great feeling for animals and spoke out against the cruel practice of sacrificing them to appease the Gods. If man expects mercy from the Gods, should he not be merciful to those that look upon him as a God.
At age 19, Siddhartha
fell in love with Yashodhara, married her and had a son. 
Although happy, he yearned secretly to discover what lay outside the palace gardens.
One day the prince asked the charioteer to show him the countryside. He saw a
man tottering down the road, dragging his body. Do not mind him prince,
said the driver, he is just old. Siddhartha then observed a man lying by
the side of the road, his body covered with sores. Look away, said the
driver. Look away where? said Siddhartha. Finally Siddhartha observed a
funeral procession. Take me home, he said, I don't want to see anymore.
On the way back to the palace they passed a wandering mendicant in a tattered
robe with a beggar's bowl. Ah, Siddhartha cried, he is the only one
who knows the world as it really is, a dance of death.
From that day forward Siddhartha became restless and the beauty around him seemed shallow and illusionary. He finally realized he had to leave home and find his own way. At age 29, Siddhartha wrenched himself from his family, cut his long hair, and he exchanged robes with a beggar. Tell my people I will soon return as the conqueror of age and death or will perish.
For the next six years Siddhartha drove himself mercilessly, punishing his body, depriving it of nourishment, shelter, and any comfort. He went from teacher to teacher; each taught that the soul was a prisoner of the body and must be subjugated. One day he found himself too weak to move. He lay there at the point of extinction. A passing shepherd girl took pity and offered him some goat's milk.
Revived by the nourishment, Siddhartha clothed himself and resolved to no longer follow the ascetics. Approaching the village of Gaya, he sat under a large Bodhi (fig) tree and began to meditate. He was soon assaulted by three temptations: desire, fear, and obligation. Struggling with them through a seemingly endless night, he emerged triumphant. Overcoming these obstacles Shakyamui arose with insight, understanding, compassion, and wisdom which penetrated all things. He took on the title Tathagata, a pre-Aryan, non-Indic word which later beame sanscriptized to mean thus gone or thus come. In my opinion, these same temptations afflict all of us at each moment, as we struggle toward emancipation.
For the next 45 years the Buddha preached various doctrines or dharma. He lived until the age of eighty. In the Nirvana Sutra it says; my end is approaching, our parting is near but do not lament, life is constant change, none can escape the dissolution of the body. A body dies but the wisdom of enlightenment exists forever in the truth of the way. Only one who accepts this teaching can truly see me. After my death, the dharma is your teacher. Follow doctrine and you will be true to me, for I have withheld nothing, there is no secret teaching, no hidden meaning; everything is in the open.
The teaching Shakyamuni refers to is the Lotus Sutra and the dharma is in the sutra. As good authors know, the most difficult mysteries to solve are ones that are not concealed. In the preface to the sutra the Buddha says, I have yet to reveal the truth. Nichiren, following the Buddha's intent, served the Lotus Sutra faithfully, explaining its meaning to his followers and inscribing its essence onto a mandala.
Nichiren said; Chang-an states; ...the preface conveys the profound meaning of the sutra as a whole, and the profound meaning embodies the heart of the work. According to this interpretation, Myoho Renge Kyo is neither the scriptural text nor its meaning but the heart of the entire sutra. Those who seek the heart of the sutra apart from its title are as foolish as the turtle who sought the monkey's liver outside the monkey, or the monkey who left the forest and sought fruit on rocks at the seashore.
Namu-myoho-renge-kyo is the heart of the Lotus Sutra. It is like the soul of a person. To revere another teaching as its equal is to be like a queen who marries two kings, or secretly commits adultery with a person of lower rank, which can only cause disaster.
This teaching was not propagated in the Former or Middle Day of the Law because the other sutras had not yet lost the power of benefit. Now in the Latter Day of the Law, neither the Lotus Sutra nor the other sutras lead to enlightenment. Only Namu-myho-renge-kyo can do so. This is not merely my own opinion; Shakyamuni, Taho, and all the other Buddhas of the ten directions as well as the innumerable Bodhisattvas of the Earth have so determined. To mix other practices with Namu-myoho-renge-kyo is a grave error. A lamp is useless after the sun rises, how can dewdrops be beneficial once the rain falls? Should a newborn baby be fed with anything other than its mother's milk? Good medicine works; there is no need to add other medicine.
In the next posting, more about the Lotus Sutra, and the history of Buddhism. If you have any questions or comments email me at lotusinsun@aol.com. Till then.........
With Deep Respect,
Nancy
The Buddhist Temple is managed by Nancy Colin Fontanella, who has been practicing this Buddhism for over 26 years.