The Search for Meaning: Creative Responses to Depression
October 2007
Banner photo: Davis McCardle/Getty Images
Transforming an Age Bereft of Philosophy
Humanity is now directing its gaze beyond the present in search of a powerful new philosophy. People are looking for something that will satisfy the spiritual emptiness they feel, something that will revive their weary, battered lives and fill them once again with hope and vigor. They recognize that something is wrong with the present world, which ranks economic performance above all else.
We are all aware that things cannot continue as they are. Yet decisions about political, economic and environmental issues all seem to be made somewhere beyond our reach. What can the individual accomplish in the face of the huge institutions that run our world? This feeling of powerlessness fuels a vicious cycle that only worsens the situation and people's sense of futility.
The polar opposite of this sense of powerlessness is the Lotus Sutra's philosophy--the idea that a single life-moment encompasses three thousand realms (ichinen sanzen) and the application of this teaching to our daily lives. The principle of one life-moment containing three thousand realms teaches us that the inner determination (ichinen) of one individual can transform everything. It is a teaching that gives ultimate expression to the infinite potential and dignity inherent in the life of each human being.
We are living in an era in which there is an absence of any guiding philosophy. A philosophical and ideological vacuum drives people to seek their identity exclusively in ethnic or national affiliation, which can give rise to nationalism and racism. That, of course, is one of the reasons why religion is important, but the reality is that in many cases religion is contributing to divisiveness.
Depending on the use it is put to, religion can be a demonic force. Religion should bind us together, but it is exploited by some to create greater schisms between us. Nothing could be more unfortunate. Religion must always be for the people. People do not exist for the sake of religion. This must be the fundamental rule of religion in this new century.
Peace must be a central premise in any discussion of the 21st century. Nothing is of any use without peace. That is one reason why religion in the 21st century must be a force for the creation of peace.
The age in which the Lotus Sutra was first taught seems to have been similar to our current age of uncertainty and upheaval. It was a time of great intellectual confusion, with people teaching everything from pure materialism to hedonism to asceticism. Against that background, Shakyamuni taught new principles of integration to unify humanity in this period of great change. And the Lotus Sutra is the living essence of that teaching.
The Lotus Sutra is the monarch among sutras. A true monarch does not negate the existence of others, but works to bring out the full potential of all. The Lotus Sutra teaches of the great "hidden treasure of the heart," as vast as the universe itself, which dispels any feelings of powerlessness. It teaches a vigorous way of living, in which we breathe the immense life of the universe itself. It teaches the true great adventure of self-reformation.
The Lotus Sutra has the breadth and scope to embrace all people on the way to peace. It has the fragrance of magnificent culture and art. It leads us to an unsurpassed state of life imbued with the qualities of eternity, happiness, true self and purity.
The Lotus Sutra has the drama of fighting for justice against evil. It has a warmth that comforts the weary. It has a vibrant, pulsing courage that drives away fear. It awakens us to the universal truth that a change in our heart, or attitude, can transform everything. It is neither the parched desert of individualism nor the prison of totalitarianism; it has the power to manifest a pure land of compassion, in which people complement and encourage each other.
Both communism and capitalism have used people as means for their own ends. But in the Lotus Sutra we find a fundamental humanism in which people are the goal and purpose, in which they are both protagonist and sovereign. We could perhaps call this teaching of the Lotus Sutra a "cosmic humanism."
