Defining the Ultimate Dimension

(from Thich Nhat Hahn’s

Buddhahood in Three Dimensions)

We get in touch with the great faith and insight

that everyone is a buddha,

the insight that is the very marrow of the Lotus Sutra.

  So the miraculous events that were happening that day [when the Buddha began preaching the Lotus Sutra] were only a repetition of something that had already occurred in another dimension of reality—the ultimate dimension, which is unbounded by our ordinary perception of time and space.

  In the ultimate dimension, never for a moment has the Buddha ceased to deliver the Lotus Sutra.

  So, this opens two doors. The first door is that of history, the events we experience and what we can see and know in our own lifetime. The second door is that of ultimate reality, which goes beyond time and space. Everything—all phenomena—participates in these two dimensions.

  When we look at a wave on the surface of the ocean, we can see the form of the wave and we locate the wave in space and time. Looking at a wave from the perspective of the historical dimension, it seems to have a beginning and an end, a birth and a death. A wave can be high or low, long or short—many qualities can be ascribed to the wave. The notions of “birth” and “death,” “high” or “low,” “beginning” and “ending,” “coming” and going,” “being” or “nonbeing”—all of these can be applied to a wave in the historical dimension. . .

  At the same time, all beings and things also belong to the ultimate dimension, the dimension of reality that is not subject to notions of space and time, birth and death, coming and going.

  A wave is a wave, but at the same time it is water. The wave does not have to die in order to become water; it is already water right in the present moment. We don’t speak of water in terms of being or nonbeing, coming and going—water is always water. To talk about a wave, we need these notions: the wave arises and passes away; it comes from somewhere or has gone somewhere; the wave has a beginning and an end; it is high or low, more or less beautiful than other waves; the wave is subject to birth and death. But none of these distinctions can be applied to the wave in its ultimate dimension as water.

  In fact, you cannot separate the wave from its ultimate dimension.

  Even though we are used to seeing everything in terms of the historical dimension, we can touch the ultimate dimension. So our practice is to become like a wave—while living the life of a wave in the historical dimension, we realize that we are also water and live the life of water.

  That is the essence of the practice. Because if you know your true nature of no coming, no going, no being, no nonbeing, no birth, no death, then you will have no fear and can dwell in the ultimate dimension, nirvana, right here and now.

  You don’t have to die in order to reach nirvana. When you dwell in your true nature, you are already dwelling in nirvana. We have our historical dimension but we also have our ultimate dimension, just as the Buddha does.

  We also need to establish a third dimension of the Lotus Sutra to reveal its function, its action. How can we help people of the historical dimension get in touch with their ultimate nature so that they can live joyfully in peace and freedom? How can we help those who suffer to open the door of the ultimate dimension so that the suffering brought about by fear, despair and anxiety can be alleviated? I have gathered all of the chapters of the Lotus Sutra on the great bodhisattvas into this third, action dimension, the bodhisattva’s sphere of engaged practice.

  Practicing the path and liberating beings from suffering is the action of the bodhisattvas. The Lotus Sutra introduces us to a number of great bodhisattvas . . . The action taken up by these bodhisattvas is to help living beings in the historical dimension recognize that they are manifestations from the ground of the ultimate.

  Without this kind of revelation we cannot see our true nature. Following the bodhisattva path, we recognize the ground of our being, our essential nature, in the ultimate dimension of no birth and no death. This is the realm of nirvana—complete liberation, freedom, peace and joy.

This is exactly the message of the Lotus Sutra—
you are already a buddha in the ultimate dimension,
and you can become a buddha in the historical dimension.

. . . When the ground of our consciousness is prepared, when our sense consciousnesses and our mind consciousness have been purified through the practice of mindfulness and looking deeply into the ultimate nature of reality, we can hear in the sound of the wind in the trees, or in the singing of the birds, the truth of the Lotus Sutra. While lying on the grass or walking in meditation in the garden, we can get in touch with the truth of the dharma that is all around us all the time. We know that we are practicing the Lotus samadhi and our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind are automatically transformed and purified.

  We also have to practice so as not to add to others’ feelings of worthlessness. In our daily life, when we become impatient or irritated, we might say things that are harsh, judgmental and critical . . . all have to be very careful and practice mindfulness in order to avoid sowing negative seeds in the minds of our children, family members, friends and students.

  When our students or loved ones have feelings of low self-esteem, we have to find a way to help them transform those feelings so that they can live with greater freedom, peace and joy.

  We have to practice just like Never Despise Bodhisattva, who did not give up on people or lose patience with them, but always continued to hold up to others a mirror of their true Buddha nature.

  Never Despise represents the action of inclusiveness, or kshanti. One of the six paramitas, kshanti is also translated as “patience” . . .

  If we know how to practice inclusiveness, then we will also be the future life of this great bodhisattva. We know that Never Despise’s life span is infinite, and so we can be in touch with his action and aspiration at any moment. And when we follow the practice of inclusiveness of Never Despising Bodhisattva, he is reborn in us right in that very moment.

  We get in touch with the great faith and insight that everyone is a buddha, the insight that is the very marrow of the Lotus Sutra. Then we can take up the career of the bodhisattva, carrying within our heart the deep confidence we have gained from this insight and sharing that confidence and insight with others.