I missed the third weekend, so I ended up reading chapter 3 on Friday, then I didn't have much to say about chapter 4, so I've been thinking for a while what, if anything, to say about my thoughts. But here's a shot.
Chapter 3 really, really bothered me, particularly when the Buddha started talking about the punishments for those who don't accept the Lotus Sutra. The heart of my discomfort is that that was an ableist, casteist, classist diatribe that advocated (or at least apologized for) slavery and animal abuse. The lack of compassion for those who reject the sutra — and by extension for anyone whose life matches the description of the punishment described — is in direct contravention of everything else about the concept of compassion. Like, yeah, yeah, all five skandas are empty; but fuck, dude, don't be a cock about it.
Chapter 3 also bothered me because it felt like it also has a carrot to go along with that stick. "Oh, don't you want a glorious eternal reward of riches and comfort?" No! I want a just fucking world, asshole!!
Chapter 4 at least felt more resonant because the Boddhisattvas were like, "Yeah, we don't give a shit about complete enlightenment; we just want to help others. It's neat we may get something more, though!" Because that's definitely where I'm at and where I come from as a person and practitioner. Except I'm annoyed and, honestly, a bit resentful of the assertion that I should enjoy riches and comfort.
Idk this is very much a "product of its time" section to me. Like the point of discussing riches isn't to lionize actual riches; it's to say shit'll be sweet. I get that. But the other side of the coin, the description of torments and what the authors think of as torments, is morally repugnant to me. I am thinking once again of Shakyamuni initially rejecting women monastics until a relative was like "what the fuck dude." He was just a guy. The people who wrote this were just guys. The teaching is not corrupted for the teacher's corruption.
Still, the two chapters together appealing to personal reward and comfort closely echoes what made me lose my drive to participate in the Zen community here. It felt far more focused on the self and the sangha than reaching out in compassion to others and fighting for a better world.
I vowed to free numberless beings. How can I do that by only sitting silently on a cushion? How can I do that by only focusing on myself and my path and maybe those who want to follow a similar path?
There may be times in history when that's viable and even useful. This is not one of those times.
