A member of our incarcerated sangha once mentioned that our presence "smelled like freedom." It brought to mind the following quote from Nichiren Shonin (1222–1282):
- A singing bird in a cage attracts uncaged birds, and the sight of these uncaged birds will make the caged bird want to be free. Likewise, the chanting of Odaimoku will bring out the Buddha-nature within ourselves.
His comment was an opening to further explore the concept of buddhanature: What was it really? I had learned that buddhanature meant that we all have the seed of buddha within, that we possess the wisdom that illuminates that seed, and that we engage in. the practice that manifests that wisdom. (Read more here)
