Respect the buddha in others: the practice of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging
Meet each person, including difficult ones, with the words “I deeply respect you… you will become a buddha.”
Why it works
Chapter 20 of the Lotus Sūtra tells of a monk who did not specialise in reciting sūtras. Whenever he saw anyone, he said: “I deeply respect you. I dare not belittle you… because all of you practice the bodhisattva path, and will become buddhas.” When people reviled him and threw sticks and stones, he moved out of reach and called out the same words from a distance. The chapter makes concrete the sūtra’s central claim, set out in chapter 2, that there is only one vehicle and that all who hear even a verse will become buddhas. Groups in this tradition speak of it as buddha-nature. Risshō Kōsei-kai calls revering buddha nature in oneself and others the core of its practice. Seeing every person as a future buddha changes how one meets them before anything is said.
How to do it
- In the morning, read or recall the bodhisattva’s words from chapter 20.
- During the day, silently offer them to people you pass, and especially to someone you find difficult: “you will become a buddha.”
- Notice the moment contempt or dismissal arises toward someone, and let the words meet it.
- Where someone is hostile, follow the bodhisattva’s own example: keep your distance and keep your respect. Respect does not require staying within reach of harm.
- In the evening, recall one person you found it hard to respect, and chant for them by name.
Evidence
The account of Sadāparibhūta (Never Disparaging) is Lotus Sūtra chapter 20, and the one-vehicle teaching is chapter 2, both in the BDK translation. The sūtra also shows the daughter of the nāga king attaining buddhahood in chapter 12, although the text has her first take on a male body. Nichiren Shū describes cultivating “our Buddha nature, inherent in all beings,” and Risshō Kōsei-kai makes revering buddha nature the core of its practice. This is textual and practitioner support. (anecdotal)
The sūtra does not use the later technical term “buddha-nature”; that connection is drawn by the traditions that read it. The practice is not a rule to stay with people who harm you, and the bodhisattva in the story moves away from those who attack him. Not studied in research.
Sources
- Kubo, T., & Yuyama, A. (trans.). (2007). The Lotus Sutra (Taishō Volume 9, Number 262), translated from the Chinese of Kumārajīva. BDK English Tripiṭaka Series. Moraga, CA: BDK America (revised second edition; free PDF from the publisher).
- Rissho Kosei-kai International. Daily Practices (revering buddha nature).
- Nichiren Shu. What Is Nichiren Shu? Nichiren Shu Portal, English edition.
Common mistake
Using “they will become a buddha” to skip over what someone has actually done. The bodhisattva honours what the person can become while still stepping back from the sticks and stones.
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More practices for Nichiren Buddhism and the Daimoku: Chanting the Title of the Lotus Sūtra
- Chant the daimoku: Nam(u)-myōhō-renge-kyō
Chant the title of the Lotus Sūtra aloud, steadily, as an act of devotion to the teaching it names.
- Recite the sūtra (gongyō): chapters 2 and 16
Recite set passages of the Lotus Sūtra morning and evening, chiefly from the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span” chapters, alongside the daimoku.
- Practise before the object of devotion (gohonzon)
Chant and recite facing the gohonzon, understanding what it depicts and how your own school understands it.
- Chant with a specific prayer or determination
Bring a real concern, a person or a resolve into the chanting, and let it shape the day’s next step.
- Shōdaigyō: chanting held between silence (Nichiren Shū)
Chant the daimoku within a set sequence of bowing, silent sitting, chanting, silent reflection and dedication.
- Study Nichiren’s writings alongside practice
Read Nichiren’s letters and treatises slowly, as the second of the “two ways of practice and study.”
- Practise with others: dialogue, encouragement and sharing
Practise in a small community where people talk about their lives in the light of the teaching and encourage one another.
- Bring the practice into everyday challenges
Keep chanting through ordinary difficulties rather than waiting for them to pass, as Nichiren urged in his letters.
Related concepts
- The Six Pāramitās: How the Bodhisattva Trains
Six trainings, each aimed at one obstacle, and each made whole by wisdom
- The Heart Sutra: Its Lines, Its Structure and How It Is Practised
The shortest Perfection of Wisdom scripture, read line by line and practised the ways traditions practise it
- Bodhicitta: The Awakening Mind and How It Is Cultivated
The intention at the heart of Mahāyāna Buddhism, and the classical ways Tibetan teachers train it
- Zen Practice (Zazen and Beyond)
Zazen, shikantaza, koans, and beginner’s mind — mechanisms and honest evidence
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