Mr. Altig’s Overview of the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sutra

Beyond the boundaries of thought,
where words collapse like waves,
the Buddha rises from his samādhi—
eyes opening on what cannot be said.

Infinite, immeasurable, bottomless—
the wisdom that defeats all measure.
The śrāvakas stand at the transformed city,
satisfied with their small escape,
calling provisional shelter “home.”

But the depths call deeper still.

What skill could bridge this gulf?
What expedient means could ferry
those who cling to understanding
across the river of no-understanding?

The answer arrives as sound—
pure sound, stripped of sense.
Medicine-King offers syllables
older than translation,
a protection woven from acoustic thread.

Aṇi maṇi mamani cine…

The mouth shapes mysteries,
the body holds the posture,
the mind lets go of grasping—
and in this threefold union,
the inexpressible flows through.

Not magic, but mechanism.
Not nonsense, but transcendence of sense.

The Daimoku condenses everything: Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō— six syllables holding infinite kalpas, the sound-body of the Buddha himself.

This is the teaching beyond teaching:
that liberation speaks in resonance,
that wisdom hums beneath meaning,
that the path dissolves into vibration—

and the practitioner, chanting,
becomes the bridge they sought,
the sound itself becoming
the shore.