Death makes no distinctions; it comes to everyone. There may be no such thing as a death that one can accept gladly with complete peace of mind. That is precisely why “liberation from birth, aging, illness, and death” becomes one of life’s major themes. Furthermore, because everyone must eventually face death, the greatest happiness is found in savoring the joy of being alive right now and living in the present moment in harmony with others.

Death makes no distinctions; it comes to everyone. There may be no such thing as a death that one can accept gladly with complete peace of mind. That is precisely why “liberation from birth, aging, illness, and death” becomes one of life’s major themes. Furthermore, because everyone must eventually face death, the greatest happiness comes from savoring the joy of being alive right now and living in the present moment in harmony with others.

"General Siha, do you have something you wish to say to me, or some question you wish to ask?" General Siha looked intently at the Buddha and said, "I have been told by teachers of other religions that the holy man Shakyamuni is one who preaches inaction, saying that people are pawns of fate and are incapable of free, self-determined action. Or that you are an annihilationist, who teaches that nothing remains after death; or that you are one who teaches hatred of this world.

But the Lotus Sutra was not so difficult for people to understand when the sutra first appeared. The person we call the Buddha, or Awakened One, was born Siddhartha Gautama, whom history knows as the Sage of the Shakya clan, or Shakyamuni. During his lifetime in the fifth to fourth centuries BCE, he was not a mysterious figure who spoke in riddles like an entranced medium; nor did he force dogmatic ideas on others. Shakyamuni was a conscientious person who thought long and ha

Ambapali trembled as she heard Shakyamuni explain the necessity of making offerings to gain release from the desire to grasp things that are by nature impermanent. Imbued with new hope, she wished she could be with Shakyamuni forever. Reverently, she approached him and asked, "World-honored One, I am Ambapali, the courtesan. Will you deign to grant the request of a lowly woman like me? I would be honored if you would visit my home tomorrow morning and allow me to present offe