Harvest moon Japanese Style, without the help of AI

My cancer saga continues. As soon as I had ended my last post and pushed "Publish," I got the call to schedule my biopsy procedure; of which, I know little today, but will be sure to give you the poop on when it arrives -- yes, I've been in Texas too long.

So today I consulted with AI, I asked AI, "Can they remove another lung lobe after I've already had one removed?" And AI said they could, so, maybe it's that again. Who knows? I wouldn't even attempt to ask AI about other cancer treatments, because I know there are way too many.

The funny thing about cancer, is it was one of two things I worried about as a youth after seeing my grandmother die of lung cancer. The other was nuclear war. And I'll be goddamned -- to quote from my grandfathers favorite curse lexicon -- if both aren't a threat to me at this moment -- sorry conservative brothers and sisters, but you've unleashed a Donald Trump Frankenstein monster we can only watch now as he grunts his way through the village.

Cancer is not my focus today, my focus today is on tonight's August New Moon, which begins at 12:36pm here in Dallas. And this is not any-old new moon, this is the August New Moon, more precisely, what we Japanese -- wait, I'm not Japanese, I'm Nichiren Buddhist, same thing -- call the Otsukimi or Harvest New Moon.

Japan is rich with legends surrounding the moon. The most famous of these is the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (竹取物語), one of Japan’s oldest folktales. In this story, a radiant princess named Kaguya-Hime is discovered in a bamboo stalk and eventually returns to her home on the moon. This tale speaks to the mysterious allure of the moon and has inspired countless adaptations in literature, art, and film.

The harvest moon in most cultures is an important moon, and many festivals such as the Japanese Otsukimi. (or Tsukimi), will be happening tonight. In some areas there will be Pagans dancing, calling forth the moons energy to dance in unison, others will be casting spells -- most benevalent, I hope. Me, I'll show gratitude for the harvest I have, such as my three regular viewers, where would I be without you.  Also, I'll chant for the happiness and protection of everyone under the moonlight, for years to come. And finally, I'll hedge my bets on this cancer, why not. 

Pagan Moon Fun

Seriously, and most importantly, in Nichiren Buddhism, the moon is a frequent metaphor for truth, enlightenment, and the reflection of the Buddha's compassionate life in the human heart.  This will be my main focus tonight.  See you there. Let's dance. 

~~ Eso Terry 

Feast of the Transfiguration: Celebrated on August 6th

August 6th marks the day Jesus displayed his divine, luminous body to his disciples on Mount Tabor.  Go ahead and look on the web for the Church's POV of this event, here on EsotericDaily.com we are interested in the esoteric event that took place that day.

Rudolf Steiner first discussed the Transfiguration in Christianity as a Mystical Fact and then expounded upon it in his lecture courses on the four Gospels. As the biblical event is recounted in the Gospels of Matthew 17 and Mark 9, Jesus led his most trusted and advanced disciples, Peter, James and John, up a high "mountain" and was transfigured before them. Jesus appeared to them, rising up into the heavens and holding counsel with Elijah and Moses. 

On the surface I have to ask, "who picked the mushrooms?"  Matthew 17 and Mark 9 seems to be a mushroom trip.  But this was no psychedelic high, this was a divine experience, and not only did Peter, James and John see this glorious vision, they heard what transpired! According to Steiner, "They attained both clairvoyance and clairaudience."

Rudolf Steiner discusses the significance of the presence of Moses and Elijah as two different spiritual streams flowing into the world. Moses had been initiated into the secrets of Judaism as well as other traditions. He carried the secrets of initiation of the whole surrounding world in the first stream. It is a path of what comes from outside of oneself, the old law, and the Old Testament. Elijah, on the other hand, represented a second stream accessed through direct revelation. He had previously incarnated as Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, and later as John the Baptist in the New Testament (who had been executed prior to the Transfiguration). Thus, Elijah carried the stream of revelation held by Hebrew priests and prophets, which at that time was fading from humanity.

So in the Transfiguration, in the Transformation on the mountain, we have before us a streaming together of the entire spirituality of earth evolution, the essence of which flowed through the Jewish blood into the Levitical line. Thus the soul of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron stands before us; Moses stands before us; and there stands before us also He who fulfilled the Mystery of Golgotha. And the three disciples who were to be initiated, Peter, James and John, were to perceive in imaginative knowledge how these forces, these spiritual streams, flowed together. [...] The disciples Peter, James, and John were to be initiated into what these three souls had to discuss together; one soul who belonged to the people of the Old Testament, one who carried within himself much of what we know about the Moses soul, while the third, as cosmic deity, is uniting Himself with the earth. This the disciples were to see [...]

But then our understanding is better able to adapt itself to what had previously been seen. We can feel how on the mountain there were the three cosmic powers, while down below were the three who were to be initiated into these great cosmic secrets. And from all these things the feeling can arise in our souls that the Gospel, if we understand it correctly, and especially if we allow the dramatic intensification and the artistic composition which is itself an expression everywhere of cosmic facts, does truly point to the great revolution that really happened at the time of the Mystery of Golgotha.

In a lecture to the Theosophical Society in 1906 on the Gospel of John, Rudolf Steiner notes that the Transfiguration is recounted in all of the Gospels except for the Gospel of John, the most esoteric of the four. He discusses the significance of this by clarifying the spiritual significance of what takes place in the biblical scene.

Jesus goes with three disciples — Peter, James and John — up a mountain: this means into the inner sanctuary where one is initiated into higher worlds and where one also speaks in occult language. The disciples were carried up into a higher state of consciousness. They saw then that which is not transitory but eternal. Moses and Elias appear and Jesus himself with them.

What does this mean? In occult science the word Elias means the same as El — the goal, the way. Moses is the spiritual scientific word for truth. By the fact that Elias, Moses and Jesus appear you have the fundamental Christian truth: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. Jesus himself says — this is a fundamental Christian mystical truth — “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” (John 14:6) 

A new process of direct initiation through Christ

The disciples did not understand that it was they themselves who, being closely around Him, were chosen to experience the tremendous power of the Christ principle which would enable them to penetrate directly into the spiritual world. [...] But it is evident that they are still novices, for they fall asleep immediately after being torn out of their physical and etheric bodies by the stupendous power of what was happening. Christ finds them asleep. This account was meant to indicate the third way of entering the spiritual world [...]. Anyone capable in those days of interpreting the signs of the times would have known that the Ego itself must develop, that it must now be directly inspired, that the Divine Powers must work directly into the Ego.

Christ Jesus was to initiate in a particular way those of His disciples who were specially fit for it, so that they would be able not only to see the spiritual worlds with Imaginative vision, as it were in astral pictures, but actually to hear what was taking place in those realms — this, as we know, indicates ascent into Devachan. Hence, having been transported into the higher worlds, these disciples would now be able to find in those worlds the personality known to them on the physical plane as Christ Jesus. They were to become clairvoyant in regions higher than the astral plane.

The whole power of the elements was renewed. The three disciples were "taken up the mountain" and called by their initiate names: Peter meaning earth, John representing air, James meaning water, and finally Jesus is “the one who governs the occult forces of fire.”

Think of these four together on the Mount of Transfiguration. There you have at the same time, the initiates who govern the four elements: fire, water, air and earth. What happened? It was made manifest spiritually that through the appearance of Jesus, the whole power of the elements was renewed in such a way that the life pulsing through the elements passed through a new, important phase of its development. This is the transfiguration seen occultly. If somebody goes through the transfiguration in this manner, if he has within himself the stages of water, earth and air, and even rises to the forces of fire, then he is a reawakened one, someone who has gone through the crucifixion.

In Christianity as Mystical Fact, Steiner recounts the sublime end of the Buddha’s life that parallels the Transfiguration of Jesus. While the Buddha's life ended with Transfiguration, the life of Christ Jesus continued strengthened.

[Buddha] lay down on a carpet spread for him by his favorite disciple, Ananda. His body began to shine from within. He died transfigured, a body of light, saying, “Nothing endures.” … The death of Buddha corresponds with the transfiguration of Jesus: “And it came to pass about eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistening.” At this point Buddha's earthly life ends, but the most important part of the life of Jesus begins here: Passion, Death and Resurrection. The difference between Buddha and Christ lies in what necessitated the continuation of the life of Christ Jesus beyond that of Buddha.

This peak experience is in sharp contrast to the world into which Jesus and His disciples descended. In the Gospels, Jesus' words foretell the suffering and death of the Son of Man as they immediately confront the sickness and suffering of humanity. Indeed, the transfiguration was a foreshadowing of the ascension, but the sacrifice of the Son of Man was necessary to make the path of redemption available to all. With the Transfiguration, Jesus began the most important part of his life.

Buddha's life ends with the transfiguration. The most significant part of the life of Jesus begins after the transfiguration. In the language of the initiates, Buddha reaches the point where divine light begins to shine in man. He stands before the death of the physical. He becomes the cosmic light. Jesus goes further. He does not die physically at the moment the cosmic light transfigures him. At that moment he is a Buddha. But at the same moment he enters upon a stage which finds expression in a higher degree of initiation. He suffers and dies. The physical part of him disappears. But the spiritual, the cosmic light does not vanish. His resurrection follows. He reveals himself to his community as Christ. At the moment of his transfiguration, Buddha dissolves into the hallowed life of the universal Spirit. Christ Jesus awakens this universal Spirit once more to present existence in a human form. Such an event had formerly taken place in a pictorial sense at the higher stages of initiation. Those initiated according to the Osiris myth attained to such a resurrection in their consciousness as a pictorial experience.

In the life of Jesus this "great" initiation was added to the Buddha initiation, not as a pictorial experience, but as reality. Buddha demonstrated by his life that man is the Logos and that he returns to this Logos, to the light, when his physical part dies. In Jesus the Logos itself became a person. In him the Word became flesh.

In the original calendar given in 1912-13, Verklärung Christi is noted on August 6th which in that year was verse 18. It approaches a "corner verse" warning of risks during the transition from summer to autumn. We move from the Luciferic influences of St. John's tide and summer's bounty to the battle of Michael against the forces of Ahriman during the fall into the dead of winter. We are challenged to release the lower aspects of the ego, which by itself would extinguish itself like a moth to the flame. To do this, we must expand the soul to fill our "spiritual depths" with the "World-widths" of the "Word of worlds." In verse 17, we were beckoned to resonate with cosmic forces to transform ourselves.

In verse 18, we attempt to shape the soul into a worthy sheath to form a garment for the soul. Like a caterpillar enclosing ourselves in a chrysalis, we weave light into a protective shield while we fashion our wings to rise above this material world into the realms of the Spirit. Rudolf Steiner tells us, "Earthly matter is spun in the pattern of light rays, and when you come across a chrysalis you are really seeing pure sunlight spun around this earthly matter in the pattern of the sunbeam."

Can I expand the soul,
That it may connect itself
Receiving the embryonic Words of Worlds?
I sense, I must find the power,
To worthily shape the soul,
To form
A spiritual raiment.

One might contemplate the ripe fruit of summer carrying the seed down into the earth through our actions. Transforming the gifts of summer that we have received, we prepare to become the catalysts of our own soul growth. We come to a deep understanding that our soul development must incorporate the love that was graced upon us. Can we extend ourselves to unite with the Light of the World to transform into the radiant beings we are intended to be?

Our task is to internalize and safeguard the gifts we have been given through our memories of summer's glory so we may radiate the Light of the World here on earth. In this way, we bring spiritual forces down into the dark depths of winter. We must transform, transfigure, clarify, and illuminate the ego to attain the "higher self" through the Christ. Indeed, we are called to align our ego with the very ego of the Christ, the Life that flows through the earth. Those who have adequately prepared themselves for the Divine to dwell within them, may carry the cosmic Word out into the world through their actions like Peter, John and James.

Like most Christian celebrations, the dates were not known and so the Roman Church attached the biblical events to pagan celebrations.  In this case, it has been argued that it took place during the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, explaining why Peter was so eager to build a "tent" or "tabernacle" to house Jesus, Moses and Eljiah.

If this is true, then it would have been during September or October that the transfiguration occurred, not August 6th.

~~ Dr TV Boogie

Nazca Lines Seen From Sky

I hate to be the bearer of bad news. I try to be upbeat, positive, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, but, well:

Plane carrying European tourists crashes in Peru, killing 13 people on Nazca
What does it all mean?
First, a quick refresher on the Nazca lines (according to https://www.britannica.com/place/Nazca-Lines):

"Nazca Lines, groups of geoglyphs, large line drawings that appear, from a distance, to be etched into Earth’s surface on the arid Pampa Colorada (“Coloured Plain” or “Red Plain”), northwest of the city of Nazca in southern Peru. They extend over an area of nearly 190 square miles (500 square km).

Most of the Nazca Lines were constructed more than 2,000 years ago by the people of the Nazca culture (c. 200 bce–600 ce), though some clearly predate the Nazca and are considered to be the work of the earlier Paracas culture. While the images dated to the Paracas are often humanlike and bear some resemblance to still earlier petroglyphs in the region, the subjects of the Nazca-made lines are generally plants and animals—such as a monkey (some 360 feet [110 metres] long), a killer whale (210 feet [65 metres]), a bird resembling a condor (443 feet [135 metres]), a hummingbird (165 feet [50 metres]), a pelican (935 feet [285 metres]), a spider (150 feet [46 metres]), and various flowers, trees, and other plants—as well as geometric shapes, including triangles, trapezoids, and spirals. Although the figures have been said to be virtually indecipherable from ground level, some claim that one cannot understand their meaning without walking what are now believed by some to be the sacred paths.

Since their discovery in the 1920s, the lines have been variously interpreted, but their significance remains largely shrouded in mystery. The American historian Paul Kosok observed the lines from an airplane in 1941 and hypothesized that they were drawn for astronomical purposes. María Reiche, a German translator who spent years studying the site and lobbying for its preservation, concluded that it was a huge astronomical calendar and that some of its animal sketches were modeled after groupings of stars in the night sky. In 1967, however, the American astrophysicist Gerald Hawkins found no correlation between changes in the celestial bodies and the design of the Nazca Lines."

And of course, there is the Ancient Aliens theories that the lines were a signal to the UFO's that came at the beginning of our civilizations. I won't go to deep into that here, but I believe the Aliens are from the future, but can manifest in the past through time travel. This explains why we don't see them now, they haven't arrived yet! -- my meds work, trust me.

Now, the importance of the tourist plane crash is just another of my omens that shit is about to hit the fan. This goes with my stock market crash prediction, Donald Trump's Omen, and of course my premonition that one of the big three leaders, Trump, Putin, Xi, will soon die., not to forget that a 2000 year old stature of Athena has been dug up, and that Homer's Odyssey is the top movie playing this summer, can there be any doubt something is happening with the gods -- or future Aliens -- telling us to stop what we're doing and pay attention to the climate change, poverty, depleted resources (to name a few)?

Now, don't be alarmed, this is all a part of the divine plan, so roll with it. I mean, to not do so is just outright delusional.

What is significant about the Nazca plane crash is signifiant because of a few things:

1. Thirteen people died, "Thirteen" means a few things, first, in the Major Arcana of the Tarot, the 13th card is Death. Contrary to popular fear, when upright this card signifies transformation, endings, and rebirth rather than literal death.

Then, the teachings of Jesus are framed around the formula 1 + 12 (Christ plus the apostles), producing thirteen. According to Pythagorean philosophy, one added to twelve creates an unlimited number, symbolising transcendence beyond completion. Through this principle, miracles—such as the multiplication of loaves and fishes—are said to occur.

Thirteen represents an all-or-nothing law of destiny:Death through failure and degeneration
Rebirth through regeneration and transformation

It is also the sacred number of the Great Goddess, reflected in the thirteen lunar cycles of the year.

2. As stated above, the Nazca Lines at the very least, are a message to the heavens, or possibly an answer, and I'll say a warning to us today that we need to obey the heavens or else.

3. The plane went down on August 2nd, 2026. Numerologically speaking, that's 8-2-2026 that's 20 = 2. "Two" is the coming together of feminine forces. Which I've have written about before with the Age of Aquarius. And what we are witnessing now in the world with all this Nationalism is the last grasp of the Masculine forces that have been ruling the world since the time of Jesus, or beginning of the Age of Pisces. This is the positive force that will happen after the negative troubles we will soon experience.

Finally, in the blogesphere, people are writing about how bad the aircraft was, some say they flew it and the warning lights kept flashing. Whatever the case may be, those flashing lights aren't only on that plane. They are all around us.

~~ Eso Terry

Japan’s Obon Festival

What day is it? It is Obon Festival Day. Yes, every year, Buddhists in Japan celebrate the custom of the Obon (or Bon) festival as a way to honor the spirits of beloved family members who have died. This Buddhist custom has influences from Confucianism as well. And how do we practice Obon Festival Day? That's up to you. This morning I placed some rice on my alter and chanted for an hour. I chanted for the souls of my deceased relatives. The otherday I had the breakthrough that I am the head of the family for all those who have past over, for I still can pray for them on this side of the realm.

The Japanese Buddhists honor the spirits of their beloved ancestors by cleaning their graves, they also know that the ancestors will visit their home alters, so I'll burn scented candles for them tonight. I see them walking around the house now, mom is very happy to see I'm no longer a slob and my sister is happy I'm out of her way in the kitchen, complaining about her undercooked hamburgers or sugar in our ice tea.

This Japanese festival dates back to when the official calendar for Japan switched from the lunar calendar to the Gregorian calendar. Eastern Japan, including Tokyo, celebrates “Shichigatsu Bon,” which means Obon is celebrated on July 15th. The most common time to celebrate Obon is on August 15th and is called “Hachigatsu Bon.” Lastly, people living in the northern part of Japan celebrate Obon as “Kyu Bon,” where the date is based on the lunar calendar and varies each year. Japan does not recognize Obon as a public holiday. It is standard, however, for people who celebrate to get approved time off from work obligations.

The meaning of Obon comes from the Sanskrit word of “Ullambana,” which means “hanging upside down”—supposedly symbolizing great suffering. Therefore, the festival serves as a form of release for grief as well as the suffering and anguish that many believe the spirits of their ancestors are experiencing. Similar to how people in New Orleans celebrate those who have died with a funeral filled with jazz music and dancing, the Japanese who participate in the Obon Festival celebrate the return of their beloved ancestors with their own dance called Bon Odori. The origin of this dance stems from the story of how one of Buddha’s disciples, upon seeing his dead mother suffering after having fallen into the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, asked Buddha what could be done to remedy the situation. After making offerings to Buddhist monks, as Buddha told him to, the disciple’s mother was released and he danced out of pure joy and gratitude, hence the tradition of dancing was born. The type of dancing used to be strictly folk dancing that would celebrate the arrival of the spirits of the beloved ancestors. Nowadays, every region has a dance unique to them and the music varies in everything from specific songs about the spiritual meanings of Obon to local folk songs.

So honor your ancestors today, if nothing else, look up and give them a nod. They'll thank you I'm certain.

~~ Eso Terry

Akhenaten Gave Us the 4th of July

Let's get down to it, the USA is a concept founded way before July 4, 1776.  Thousands of years before Columbus was aware of the existence of our Western Hemisphere, the vision of equality and justice for all was founded in ancient Egypt. 

In his book, "The Sceret Destiny of America," Manly P Hall tells us that as far back as in ancient Egyptian times, the Western Hemisphere we call America, was chosen as the sight of a World Wide Democracy headquarters. And the roots of this nation can be seen in Akhenaten, the first democratic, humanitarian, and the first internationalist. 

Akhenaten saw that the duty of the ruler is to protect for all the right to live well, to think, to dream, to hope, to aspire, and for these beliefs he cheerfully gave his life. 

Akhenaten, Pharaoh of Egypt, throned under the title Amen-Hotep IV, was the first ruler in recorded history to exemplify social consciousness in the administration of a great nation. He had been ruler only a few years before he challenged the  priesthood and proclaimed a new spiritual dispensation, and to escape his enemies he built a new capitol city one hundred and sixty miles up the Nile from Cairo.  His new faith was Atonism; and he named his city Khut-en-Aton -- the horizon of the Aton -- and dedicated the city with these words: "Ye behold the City of the Horizon of Aton, which the Aton has desired me to make as a monument to the great Majesty forever. For it was Aton, my Father, that brought me to this City of the Horizon."

As High Priest of his new religion, Amen-Hotep IVchanged his name to Akhnaton, becasue the older name included the word Amen, whose faith he had rejected. 

Charles F. Potter, in his History of Religion, says of Akhenaten that he was, "the first pacifist, the first realist, the first monotheist, the first democrat, the first humanitarian, the fist internationalist, and the first person to found a religion."

Akhenaten, seated in the garden of his palace, spent many hours watching the flight of birds and listening to the voices of little creatures.  He tells us that he found "the Aton" in all of them; and that his heart went out to them, and he gave thanks for the goodness in everything that lived. Although through the years, most have attributed "Aton" to a monolithic Man god, I believe it was more of the Universal Law Akhnton had tapped in, but as all good souls, attributed his blessing to his father and mother. 

Akhenaten was a Pharaoh who traveled alone through the countryside, meeting the peasants and slaves, and sharing the simple food of the poor. He could not accept the inequalities of birth, wealth, or physical estate as a justification for men persecuting each other or exploiting one another. He saw every living thing as devine. If I might add, he sounds like an earlier incarnation of the original Buddha, but I'll save that story for another time. 

As might be expected, the Amon-Ra priesthood didn't like this and after so took control of the Hittite nation's army to invade Akhnaton in the name of Amen, but Akhnaton wouldn't retaliate, the dreamer king saw his lands pillaged and his cities conquered, but he would not kill his enemies for they were children of the world. 

Akhenaten died in his thirty-sixth year, at the altar of the temple of the faith he created. When his mummy case was found, the following prayer to the Aton was discovered inscribed on the golden foil beneath his feet: "I breathe the sweet breath which comes forth from Thy mouth.  I behold Thy beauty every day...Give me Thy hands, holding Thy spirit, that I may receive it and may be lifted by it. Call Thou upon my name unto eternity, and it shall never fail."

So why am I writing about Akhenaten on this July 4th, 2026? Democracy.  For this is the backbone of the Republic our founders intrusted us with. So, enjoy your hotdogs, watermelon, and fireworks, but don't forget the reason for the season. Love Thy neighbor, peace, justice, and equality for all. It's as American as Apple Pie.

Why is the hotdog one of America's favorite foods?  

Besides being associated with the esoteric "Dog Days of Summer," the term dog has been used as a synonym for sausage since the 1800s, with one thought being that it came from accusations that sausage makers used dog meat, starting in at least 1845.  In the early 20th century, consumption of dog meat in Germany was common. The suspicion that sausages contained dog meat was "occasionally justified."  Enjoy your meat this summer you ferocious meat eaters.


The Reason You Will Drink Too Much Beer This Day, eat Dog Meat, and possibly blow off your index finger with a firecracker?

The Declaration of Independence.   Yes, that liberal doctrine that provided the ideological foundations for the democratic government of the United States, promoting the idea that the government exists to serve the people, who elect representatives to express their will.  A "social contract" between people and their rulers, which can be dissolved if rulers fails to promote the people's welfare for a group of white supremacist -- I added the last part.

Least you forget, please read the following section out loud today and take a deep breath, it really is okay to be liberal boys-and-girls, it is the basis for the founding of this great country:

 “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

— That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,

— That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

________________________________________________________________________________

Concordia

 In ancient times, the 4th of July was the date that Pax, the Roman goddess of peace and harmony, who was also identified with the Greek goddess Concordia, was honored with a considerable amount of feasting and revelry.

Happy 4th Everyone!

Cancer Again? Not With This Lifeforce!

So I'm waiting for the doctor's office to call me about getting a biopsi of this spot on my lung.  I am in the Veterans Affairs (VA) medical care, and so it's not a doctor's office I can call and say, "I'm Here Waiting!" Still, I fear not, for I remember what President Josei Todo once said: "When you go to a doctor...Medicine King is your own life, the doctor naturally cannot help but provide a cure (WLS-6, 21)."

In the letter to Ota Jomyo, Nichiren Daishonin writes, "The sutra known as the Lotus Sutra is good medicine for the various ills of body and mind (wnd-2, 747)." It is here the Daishonin teaches that the Mystic Law is the supreme "good medicine" for overcoming the sufferings caused by illness and other disturbances of body and mind (May 2020 World Tribune).

Conversely, being in a healthcare system (the VA) where the doctors, nurses, staff, etc. are worked very hard with too many patients for the system, I remember the wise guidance Ikeda Sensei once gave in his "bodhisattva Medicine King" lecture, where he states that when you chant, the protective life force functions so that even an ordinary doctor naturally provides the right cure (May 2021 LB). In this article, Sensei goes on to say, "In fact, illness is an important and integral part of our experience of being alive -- an indispensable part of our journey to becoming happy and attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime." 

In this same article, there is the story of when President Toda scolded the young Ikeda Sensei by saying, "Daisaku! You haven't got an ounce of life force! If your life force is weak, you'll be defeated." President Toda then sat Sensei in front of the Gohonzon and "chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with a force that literally seemed to batter the devil of illness into submission."

Finally, my favorite quote I read over and over, five-years ago when I defeated my first battle with cancer, is the one I'll end here with:

"When you go to a doctor, even if he is incompetent, because Medicine King is functioning in your own life, the doctor naturally cannot help but provide a cure (WLS-6, 21)."

Here is a video of when I came home after having the cancerous tumor successfully removed from an eight-hour surgery by a young surgeon who had never done this surgery before.  Yes, Medicine King was alive in my life then, and is still with my faith and chanting powerful daimoku with a lifeforce that will batter this "devil of illness into submission." My Bodhisattva mission is not over yet.  I'll be here January 2030 to celebrate the one-hundredth year of the Soka Gakkai.  This I am sure of. 

~~ Eso Terry  

Cancer, I've been here before.

So the docs found a new spot on my lungs. It is May 27th, 2026, I've been here before. I'm ready for this. Interesting, it was exactly four years ago on this day that I posted "My Cancer Cure" post on here. In that post I wrote: "We all come into this life with a mission, a reason, and when that reason is done so are we...this is why cancer doesn't matter to me, if I still have a reason to live, the cancer will wait. And as I told you before, the blue Buddha came to me in a dream and so I know I am healing and will stay alive as long as I continue my mission. I am chanting each morning that this body which can create a cancer cell, can heel a cancer cell. Therefore, I chant that the recent spots they found on my lungs are smaller than they were the day before, and that they are not cancerous. I then thank the heavenly deities for providing this. I also pray that the medicine king will bring me the knowledge, doctors, cures, etc., that I need...."

I go into how I eat raw bitter melon, broccoli, and carrots in the morning. I also go into my faith: "The faith I speak of is the Mystic Law which saved my life over a year ago by alarming me to have my lungs checked. I've told you about it before, how while chanting my chest began to hurt which caused me to go to the hospital where they found a cancer spot. It amazed the doctors that I brought it to their attention so early. I had part of my lung removed and have lived another year without cancer. Now, it looks like there are more spots which could be cancerous.  I am not sure what I have left, if it is to share with you how my faith has saved me again, or how I know by chanting I am protected and will be here as long as I am needed.  Maybe just to share my cure with you, kind reader. The faith I speak of is the Mystic Law. To obtain it all you have to do is chant: Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. Give it a try. 

Meditation Methods

Let's talk about meditation. It's something we all do in one way or another, for some it's looking up at the moon, for others sitting crossed-legged on the floor with no thoughts, and for me it's chanting out loud. The mantra I chant is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. It's a chant left to us by a 13th century Japanese reformist monk who unveiled the key to life by chanting the title of the Lotus Sutra. I've spoken on this before so you can learn more about my faith there, but today I'm sticking to meditation.

The google definition of meditation is "a practice of training awareness and cultivating a healthy sense of perspective, often involving focused attention on the breath, sounds, or sensations to reduce stress and enhance well-being."

There are nine popular types of meditation practice:

1. Mindfulness meditation

Mindfulness meditation originates from Buddhist teachings and is the most popular and researched form of meditation in the West.

In mindfulness meditation, you pay attention to your thoughts as they pass through your mind. You don’t judge the thoughts or become involved with them. You simply observe and take note of any patterns.

This practice combines concentration with awareness. You may find it helpful to focus on an object or your breath while you observe any bodily sensations, thoughts, or feelings.

This type of meditation is good for people who don’t have a teacher to guide them, as it can be easily practiced alone.

2. Spiritual meditation

Spiritual meditation is used in nearly all religions and spiritual traditions.

I told you about my faith meditation, or active meditation, by chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, other examples are found in Christian contemplative prayer, Sufi dhikr (remembrance of God), Jewish kabbalistic practices, etc..

Spiritual meditation can be practiced at home or in a place of worship. This practice is beneficial for those who seek spiritual growth and a deeper connection to a higher power or spiritual force, as well as a better quality of life from less stress. 


3. Focused meditation

Focused meditation involves concentration using any of the five senses. This too is what we practice in my faith where we use a Gohozon, or scroll Japanese scroll left to us by the Nichiren Daishonin with the Chinese characters which can be translated as “In honor of the Lotus Sutra,” and it works — see my cancer story if you haven’t already. 

Another example is focusing on something internal, like your breath. 

Other examples include: counting mala beads, listening to a gong, staring at a candle flame, counting your breaths, moon-gazing.

This practice may be simple in theory, but it can be difficult for beginners to hold their focus for longer than a few minutes at first.

If your mind does wander, simply come back to the practice and refocus.


4. Movement meditation

Although most people think of yoga when they hear movement meditation, this practice may include, walking,gardening,tai chi, kite flying, and other gentle forms of movement.

This is an active form of meditation where the movement guides you into a deeper connection with your body and the present moment.

Movement meditation is good for people who find peace in action and want to develop body awareness.

5. Mantra meditation

Sorry to go on about my faith, but we do chant the mantra Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo to call on the universal forces (Mystic Law), but it is prevalent in many of the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. This type of meditation uses a repetitive sound to clear the mind. It can be a word, phrase, or sound, one of the most common being “om.”

Your mantra can be spoken loudly or quietly. After chanting the mantra for some time, you’ll be more alert and in tune with your environment. This allows you to experience deeper levels of awareness.

Some of us enjoy mantra meditation because we find it easier to focus on a word than on our breath. Others enjoy feeling the vibration of the sound in their body.

This is also a good practice for people who don’t like silence and enjoy repetition.

6. Transcendental Meditation

Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a type of meditation that’s been the subject of numerous studies in the scientific community.

TM was founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and refers to a specific practice designed to quiet the mind and induce a state of calm and peace. It involves the use of mantra and is best taught by a certified TM practitioner.

This practice is for those who want an accessible approach to the depth that meditation offers.

7. Progressive relaxation

Also known as body scan meditation, progressive relaxation is a practice aimed at reducing tension in the body and promoting relaxation.

Oftentimes, this form of meditation involves slowly tightening and relaxing one muscle group at a time throughout the body.

In some cases, it may also encourage you to imagine a gentle wave flowing through your body to help release any tension.

This form of meditation is often used to relieve stress and unwind before bedtime.


8. Loving-kindness meditation

Loving-kindness meditation is used to strengthen feelings of compassion, kindness, and acceptance toward oneself and others.

It typically involves opening the mind to receive love from others and then sending well wishes to loved ones, friends, acquaintances, and all living beings.

Because this type of meditation is intended to promote compassion and kindness, it may be ideal for those holding feelings of anger or resentment.

9. Visualization meditation

Visualization meditation is a technique focused on enhancing feelings of relaxation, peace, and calmness by visualizing positive scenes, images, or figures.

This practice involves imagining a scene vividly and using all five senses to add as much detail as possible. It can also involve holding a beloved or honored figure in mind with the intention of embodying their qualities.

Another form of visualization meditation involves imagining yourself succeeding at specific goals, which is intended to increase focus and motivation.

Many people use visualization meditation to boost their mood, reduce stress levels, and promote inner peace.


So there you have the basic's of meditation.  Check out the following video on a man who uses kite-flying as a meditation. 

Emily Dickinson's Karma Connection With T.W. Higginson.

 

 This is a 70's 16mm film I've had for years and want to share It is the letters Emily wrote T.W. Higginson, and his thoughts on the matter. As a Buddhist, I see how they are connected. Their relationship was never physical - this lifetime - they only met briefly twice, but were bounded by karma. We all have these relationships, contacts, that we know once were more and will be again, but not this lifetime.

~~ Eso Terry

The Sacred Fire

In Taoism, Yang is fire and Yin is water. Is it any wonder that the two places we find ourselves most contemplated are either beside a fire with a marshmallow on a stick, or on a beach starring at the ocean with a beer in our hand (beer optional). It's primordial to say the least.

This being the Year of the Fire Horse (2026), I'll start my brief meditation on The Sacred Fire with the Chinese New Year, which uses fire to symbolize purification, protection, and prosperity, where fire is used to ward off evil spirits and welcome good fortune. Traditions include jumping through bonfires (tiao huo) in Guangdong, burning ritual gifts for ancestors, and setting off fireworks to scare away the mythical monster Nian

If you've ever been to a Chinese New Year, it is like being a flame in the fire. It's very special indeed.

The Sacred Fire holds immense significance in Hinduism, symbolizing purity, the divine presence, and connection between the earthly and spiritual realms. It serves as a critical element in various rituals, such as the Agnicayana and Vedic sacrifices, where it represents both the act of sacrifice and the deity Agni. Sacred fire is central to numerous ceremonies, including weddings, where it signifies commitment and divine blessings. This fire, regarded as holy, is essential for maintaining spiritual practices and connections in different aspects of Vedic traditions.

In Buddhism, "Sacred Fire" symbolizes spiritual practice, purification, and dedication, reflecting ascetic rituals, the rejection of empty traditions, and a quest for deeper spiritual truth, serving as a revered element in both ascetic and Brahminical traditions.

In the Shingon sector of Japanese Buddhsim, the Goma (fire) Ritual is performed with the purpose of destroying negative energies and detrimental thoughts and desires. In the ceremony, a priest burns wooden sticks in the scared fire. The fire symbolizes the wisdom of the Buddha and the wood sticks symbolize what is to be cleansed and released.

According to Geoffrey Hodson of the Theosophy Society, "Fire is one of the garments of God, Who, to the spirits of fire, appears clothed in flame." In other Christian faiths, the Sacred fire embodies the divine presence, purity, and righteousness, guiding individuals spiritually. It plays a crucial role in Zoroastrian worship, where it symbolizes passion for faith and the connection to Jesus Christ.

In Irish culture, fire is more than just a physical element; it’s a living, breathing presence that embodies the energy of life itself. Whether lighting the way during ancient festivals or offering protection against unseen forces, sacred fire has been a source of both comfort and awe for generations.

I could go on for fire is what originally gave us life separated us from the animal kingdom. It warmed us, cooked our foods, lighted the darkness, but also burned if we got too close.

The most sacred of all the fires I've studied, are The Sacred Fires of Delphi in Greece, and The Sacred Fire of Vesta in Rome.

The Sacred Fire of Delphi was an eternal flame kept within the hestia (hearth) of the Temple of Apollo, symbolizing the center of the world and the divine presence of Apollo. The Sacred Fire of Vesta was an eternal flame in ancient Rome dedicated to the goddess Vesta, protector of the hearth, home, and family. The fire was tended by the Vestal Virgins, who were chosen by lot from patrician families; the Vestals served for thirty years, during which they ensured the flame never went out and performed rituals linked to domestic life. These included the ceremonial sweeping of the temple on June 15 and the preparation of sacred food for major festivals. As Vesta embodied the hearth, the flame symbolized both the life of every Roman household and the vitality of the state. As with the Sacred Fire of Delphi, both were believed to guarantee the goddess’s protection and the enduring strength of the cities. Furtermore, both The Sacred Fire of Delphi and Rome were extinguished with the rise of Christianity around 390 AD; however, if you look closely in the original Christian Gothic Cathedrals, you will see somewhere in the stone, carved out with the gargoyles, a fire wheel, to which most esotericist agree, was the initiates way of keeping the Pagan fires alive, a reminder to seek the fire from within, not from a temple.


~~ Eso Terry

The Buddha Paradox We All Must Learn: Lotus Sutra by Way of the Dual Cosmos

That Buddhist Paradox is this: to attain Buddhahood, you must be a Buddha. 

Ouch, how that even possible? Here's the answer: 

Thousands of years ago, gifted sages had possessed extraordinary intuitive sensibilities with which they crossed the horizon of consciousness into unexplored territory. With their mind’s eye they saw beyond the boundaries of earthly forms and observable distances into exotic heavenly domains where deities and celestial spirits resided. The sages observed that gods governed the cosmology of Nature with a set of absolute laws. Accordingly, mortals who honored the universal precepts acquired beneficence and protection from spirit-world forces dedicated to the sustenance and perpetuation of existence. Conversely, those who disregarded the supreme sanctity of divine law were destined to suffer the chaotic consequences of their ignorance.

When the mystics returned from trance, they conveyed their findings to the residents of the mortal world in parables, metaphors and symbolism. Through richly poetic languages, they described a universe apportioned into two parallel worlds — one a mortal, physical existence and the other an immortal, spirit realm. They further concluded that two distinct entities fused to form the human being. One component was corporeal and the other metaphysical. The model of a twofold human — fusing body and soul — mirrored the duality ascribed to the large-scale cosmos.

The doctrine of duality preceded the establishment of human civilization and the institutionalization of religion. Tribal shamans already had linked the soul and creation to the will of gods. Accordingly, sentient beings lived in a god-created material world until their earthbound presence extinguished in death. Thereafter, their soul passed on to a higher spirit realm. The end of the mortal body coincided with the release of the spiritual entity into an eternal place — where deities and spirits ruled, and birth and death were unknown. Ancient sages had reasoned that before mortality began the spirit realm already existed. Therefore, they decreed that the place of beginnings and ends — was the lower world.

According to the doctrine of a dual cosmos, the initiative for the commencement of the mortal world came from the higher immortal realm where from a powerful god created the mortal world through a sudden, unprecedented, spontaneously generated event — a “first” cause — independent of any preexisting condition.

The doctrine of duality also provided early societies with the foundation for communal order. Human values came to be sanctified as divine laws envisioned as the wishes of the immortals. Moral codes and social rules were cloaked in divine significance and relevancy. The sacred laws governed the individual’s place in the family, clan, tribe and nation. Respect for the laws led to paradise in the afterlife, while their defilement conjured the specter of dire consequences. Judgment came when the soul of the dead crossed to the realm of the spirits. There, one’s eternal fate would be adjudicated from evidence gathered in a single mortal existence.

Upon a cosmic scale the mortal’s virtues would be weighed against any misdeeds. At length, an incongruity developed within the doctrine of dualism, perhaps in some measure because of the discrepancy in logic between the creation and the judgment scenarios. On the one hand, judgment in the afterlife rested solely upon the mortal defendant’s earthbound performance — accountable for his self-willed thoughts and actions. On the other hand, the doctrine of creation transcended cause and effect by relying solely on the absolute will of gods (heavenly deities). 

Ancient sages disagreed over the basis for final judgment. Those who saw deities as omnipresent imperial sovereigns deemed human will to be valid only as a confirmation of the immortal will. Conformity to the sanctified laws set the standard for judgment. Other sages preferred less imposing deities and a freer human will. Their gods judged the human soul on choices made in the mortal realm. The doctrinal deviation between the wills of gods and man eventually led to a theological divergence — characteristic of Western and Eastern religions.

The Occident preferred a creationist model founded upon the supremacy of an omnipotent, omnipresent God whose will and authority superseded natural law. By contrast the Eastern Practitioners made natural law supreme and assigned its management to a hierarchical pantheon of gods. Among them, one god had initiated the beginning of mortality by setting the great wheel of universal cause and effect into motion, while a pantheon of gods served in advancing the continuous forward rolling of existence. On a personal level each mortal being had to contend with a similar wheel. One’s fate was determined by how well the individual’s own cycle of cause and effect synchronized with the larger universal wheel of laws rolled by the gods.

Subsequently, Western and Eastern dualists crafted differing doctrines regarding the aftermath of death. The West believed in an afterlife, while the East proposed a next life. At length, two contrasting doctrines developed on the subject:

1 The Doctrine of Eternal Afterlife — Living beings experienced only a single mortal lifetime — one birth, one death. In the afterlife, the court of the immortal realm decreed judgment on their souls based upon the merits or demerits they accumulated during existence. Thereafter and forever more, their souls would reside in a dimension of the spirit realm, either damned to serve a sentence of eternal punishment in a hellish netherworld, or forever enjoying the heavenly realm in blissful peace.

2 The Doctrine of Rebirth — The spirit realm served as a between-lives court. Its justices decided the fate of mortals based on past performance. They determined where and under what circumstances a mortal would be born in the next life. The sentence could either return one to Earth as a human or animal, or cause the soul to incarnate as a tortured creature in a hellish netherworld. The destined place and circumstance of the next birth reflected the progressive stage of one’s spiritual evolution.

Bridging the two doctrines, sages of ancient India developed the concept of emancipation from the cycle of rebirth. Accordingly, mortal temptations caused one to be reborn. By severing oneself from earthly desire one could bring an end to this indeterminate recycling. They reasoned that attachment to gratification of the senses bound mortals to a fate of repeated physical forms. They resolved that rejection of earthly desire freed the spirit-self from the causal bond that drew it back to the mortal plane. A successful aspirant would in death ascend to the heavenly realms and enjoy the rest of eternity in a state of bliss. A spirit emancipated from the birth cycle joined the gods in eternal and immortal formlessness.

In the first millennium B.C.E. in India a sage of the Sakya clan (Skt Sakyamuni) succeeded in achieving a clear, unobstructed view of all existence. The Enlightened One (i.e., Buddha), a title chosen in honor of his supreme wisdom, introduced a new vision quite different from the traditional doctrine of dual dimensions and dual-natured beings. He proposed that fundamentally all states of existence were facets of one indivisible cosmology. In the Buddha’s world-system, a single identity encompassed everything — including humans, spirits, gods, universe, eternity. All existence was one Reality of Life. The purpose of his teachings was to define the scope and essence of this singularity.

 According to the Buddha, the Reality of Life was boundless, everlasting and absolute, and simultaneously finite, mortal and ever-changing. The Buddha explained that the infinitely multifaceted scope and essential singularity of Life transcended relativist thinking and comprehension. His view of Life was profoundly ironic. While it was not itself a substance, without it substance could not exist. Although it had no actual form of its own, it could not be described as nothingness.

Moreover, the singularity of Life could not be proved at all, although the existence of sentient mortal beings testified to it. Sakyamuni compared the boundless entirety of Life in the universe to an ocean, and likened individual mortal manifestations of Life to the drops that composed it.

Through this metaphor the Buddha illustrated that no actual distinction can exist between individual life and the universal life-singularity. Just as no distinction exists between the ocean and its component drops, there is no distinction between existence and death, spirit and form, person and environment, mortality and immortality. He proposed that the mortal mind creates the illusion of segmentation causing the eye of human perception to conjure a divided cognitive reality.

According to Sakyamuni’s metaphysical teachings, the physical senses caused one to discriminate. Sentient beings discerned their world through mental markers, such as substance, shape, size, color, age, origin, distance, destination, movement, speed, direction and so on. Thus, the senses triggered the perception that the external world was separate and distinct from the subjective self. As a result of this false sense of separation, Sakyamuni asserted, it would appear natural that a dual-self of body and soul co-existed. However, he declared, at the very core of both form and formlessness was one Reality.

The Buddha viewed apparent distinctions as nothing more than superficial designations — relative and temporary boundaries. By contrast he advanced a Doctrine of Non-differentiation wherein he proposed that all of existence was one indivisible singularity — a cosmic essence which all mortal entities arose from, eventually receded to and were composed of. He saw a transcendent, infinitely boundless field of Life conjuring countless objects and subjects all sharing a single inseparable quality. According to his Reality, there were no dual worlds of spirit and substance, no physical form could ever be immortal, no soul could exist as an independent entity separate from a body, and as all effects required a cause neither the universe nor any single phenomena could be born by spontaneous origination. 

The Buddha’s teaching regarding the boundless singularity of Life was the overarching theme of his Dharma — a Sanskrit word that simultaneously meant Cosmology, Reality, Truth and Law. The Buddha’s Dharma represented a single, integrated Theory of Everything. His Cosmology encompassed a view of the universe that encompassed phenomenal as well as spiritual facets. The reference of the Buddha’s Dharma to Truth meant that it revealed both the observable and hidden truths of existence. In reference to it as the “Reality of All Existence,” the Dharma included tangible, as well as intangible realities. Wherein the Dharma also meant Law, it referred to universal laws governing all natural functions affecting matter, energy, space, time, as well as the laws of life and death, and social/moral laws. Hence, the Buddha’s Law encompassed all the laws of existence, including natural, metaphysical and human laws. In all the Buddha’s Dharma interchangeably conveyed his views regarding the configuration of the universe, natural laws and forces, and the role of human beings within the grand cosmos of existence.

As the Buddha’s sutras provided the vehicle for unveiling his Dharma, the word Dharma also came to be synonymous with his teachings. In that context, Dharma referred to the Buddha’s sermons on the purpose and function of Life.

The sutras described a super-cosmos. It encompassed the present large-scale universe and all mortal subjects within it . The absolute singularity they recounted spanned an infinite and eternal field, yet these teachings deemed it to be actively ever-changing relative to mortal existence. Within the framework of the Buddha’s cosmology, everything that was mortal manifested in the mortal realm repeatedly.

This applied to universes as well as human beings. It was easy to see that birth ended in death, but to propose the reverse as viable required the configuration of a cosmic dynamic that tied together a string of mortal existences. From Sakyamuni’s vantage, the True Reality of All Existence was the cosmic ocean from which the waves of mortal transmigration repeatedly arose and to which they receded.

This doctrine was deemed to be of such profound scope, nature and essence that only a Perfectly Enlightened being could fathom it. Nevertheless, the Buddha declared that those who would choose to follow his teachings in due course would accomplish Perfect Enlightenment — a state-of-being equal to his own. Thus, he set forth to describe a new cosmology in carefully crafted stages guided by the capacity of his to absorb it. As they honed their abilities to learn it, Sakyamuni advanced his Dharma. As they grasped each progressive stage of his Cosmology, they awakened within themselves a greater capacity to fathom it.

Sakyamuni’s disciples embarked on the journey toward Perfect Enlightenment — some by learning through listening, others by using exceptional intuitive and meditation skills to realize the truth of his teachings. Yet, from the start of his discourse he presented them with a seemingly irreconcilable dilemma concerning this lofty state. Accordingly, Perfect Enlightenment was infinitely profound. Hence, Perfect Enlightenment was beyond the grasp of one’s mental processes, whether it be pursued by learning or realization. Therefore, it was impossible for any of his disciples to fathom the ultimate Dharma unless they were already Buddhas.

Nevertheless, if they are to fathom that which the Buddha teaches, they must never forsake their desire for Perfect Enlightenment. The paradox of attaining Perfect Enlightenment was defined as follows: Perfect Enlightenment cannot be attained, because only a Buddha can fathom Perfect Enlightenment. Yet, the teachings of the Enlightened One cannot be fathomed unless one desires to fathom Perfect Enlightenment. The caveat appears to say that one must pursue that which one cannot hope to gain.

To the many learned and spiritually skilled disciples who chose to follow the Buddha’s course, this Paradox of Attainment placed the achievement of Buddhahood beyond reach. Awestruck by the majesty of his supernaturally august appearance they deemed Perfect Enlightenment to be the crown worn by the king of all wisdom — the Enlightened One who has deciphered all the secrets of the universe.

When asked how he had achieved such a state, Sakyamuni replied that for countless eons of past lives he selflessly devoted himself to the salvation of others. He urged his followers to similarly turn their focus away from pursuing enlightenment for their own sake. Vowing to aid the Buddha in his effort to lead people toward the liberating teachings of the Buddha’s Law, many of his disciples chose to apply the practice of Selflessness (Skt bodhisattva) by devoting their lives to aiding the welfare of others.

While the practice of Selflessness equated the path of Perfect Enlightenment with action rather than reflection, Sakyamuni still impressed upon them another version of the Paradox of Attainment. In their case he had described a lengthy journey across many existences during which a devout bodhisattva would undergo 52 stages of advancement to be climbed one step at a time. After an incalculable span of time one would reach the threshold of the summit — the fifty second stage of enlightenment. Nevertheless, the Buddha advised, it did not necessarily follow that one who reaches the fifty-first (non-regression) will be able to find that it provides access to the fifty-second step (Buddhahood). On the contrary, he cautioned, even the most selfless being would not be able to ascend the top to the level of Buddhahood from a stage below. Once again, Sakyamuni declared that only a Buddha could ascend the fifty-second step (buddhahood), as only a Buddha can know the way to Perfect Enlightenment. For the practitioners of Selflessness, he provided the following Paradox of Attainment: one who climbs the stages of Selflessness cannot reach Perfect Enlightenment, because the final rung to Perfect Enlightenment can only be ascended by one who is already a Buddha. As only a Buddha can access Buddhahood, one who ascends Perfect Enlightenment must be a Buddha who is returning to that level. Thus, through the Paradox of Attainment Sakymuni placed those who practiced Selflessness in the same quandary as the practitioners of Learning and Realization. Ironically, from the start of his teachings, Sakyamuni harbored a Dharma which would allow his followers to know the secret of Perfect Enlightenment and in so doing overcome the Paradox of Attainment. Nevertheless, until they were ready to receive this gift, the Buddha forestalled his revelation of his ultimate Cosmology wherein he would reveal the “Truth of the Reality of All Existence” — for in their ignorance they might reject it.

To protect them from premature misunderstandings, the Buddha spent over 40 years imparting the depth of his Dharma in progressive stages before leading his followers to the portal of Buddhahood. Gradually, he taught them increasingly sophisticated principles probing the theoretical underpinnings of his Cosmology.

Eventually, he completed his provisional teachings and led them into the Dharma of the Lotus Sutra wherein he resolved the enigma that stood in the way of Perfect Enlightenment. And that enlightenment was further defined by Nichiren Daishionin, The Buddha of the Later Day of Law in the form of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.  

It's really simle.