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

The question hangs in the air for a moment—”How are you?”—before the inevitable, weightless response arrives: “Fine, thanks.” This daily ritual of greeting is often a social script, a polite exchange that barely scratches the surface of our true state of being. But what if a simple hello could be a profound tool for self-reflection? What if it could function as a mirror, showing us not just our superficial state, but the deeper currents of our mind? An ancient greeting from the Lotus Sūtra, offered by Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva, does exactly that, transforming a simple inquiry into a powerful checklist for our inner world.

1. True Well-Being Is Interconnected

The greeting begins by establishing a surprisingly holistic model of individual well-being before expanding its focus outward. Instead of a simple “How are you?”, the inquiry unfolds in layers, asking about physical health (“Are you in good health?”), emotional peace (“Are you happy and peaceful or not?”), bodily harmony (“Are the four elements of your body working in harmony or not?”), and the ability to cope with external pressures (“Are the worldly affairs bearable or not?”). Only after establishing this comprehensive picture of an individual’s state does the greeting pivot to the well-being of the “living beings” the Buddha is there to teach.

This shift reveals a profound insight: one’s own peace is directly linked to the state of others. The inquiry moves from a multi-layered personal check-in to a question of relational capacity: “Are the living beings easy to save or not?”. In this worldview, genuine well-being isn’t a solitary pursuit. It is fundamentally tied to the challenges and struggles of those around us, suggesting that a true check-in must look both deeply inward and compassionately outward.

2. It’s an Unflinching List of Our Inner “Poisons”

Instead of polite pleasantries, the greeting continues with a startlingly direct inventory of the core obstacles to enlightenment. It is less of a friendly question and more of a diagnostic tool for the mind.

Do they not have much greed, anger, ignorance, jealousy, stinginess and arrogance, or do they? Are they not undutiful to their parents, or are they? Are they not disrespectful to śramaṇas, or are they? Do they not have wrong views, or are they? Are they not evil, or are they? Do they not fail to control their five desires, or do they?

This list is surprising in its frankness. It doesn’t ask “Are you having a good day?” but rather, “Are you and those around you caught in the grip of these specific delusions and attachments?” It frames these core human struggles not as personal failings to be hidden, but as fundamental conditions to be acknowledged. As the text’s commentary notes, these are precisely the ways “we obscure the teaching.” Greed closes our minds to anything beyond acquisition, arrogance makes us unable to listen and learn, and anger clouds the wisdom we seek.

3. It Provides a Timeless Checklist for Self-Reflection

This ancient list remains an incredibly relevant and practical tool for self-awareness because it functions as a comprehensive diagnostic of our condition. The greeting carefully separates our challenges into distinct categories: the external pressures of our lives (“worldly affairs”), our capacity to connect with and help others (“easy to save or not”), and the internal “poisons” that cloud our perception.

This multi-faceted approach offers a complete checklist for self-reflection. It invites us to ask: Are my struggles coming from outside circumstances, or from my internal state of greed, anger, and arrogance? Is my inability to connect with others a result of their own unreadiness, or a product of my own undutiful or disrespectful attitudes? By presenting these obstacles so plainly and separately, the greeting provides a timeless framework for examining the attachments and delusions that prevent us from being truly at peace.

This ancient exchange redefines a simple “hello” as an opportunity for profound self-inquiry. It challenges us to look beyond superficialities and honestly assess the inner and outer obstacles that stand between us and true well-being—not just for ourselves, but for everyone we interact with. It serves as a reminder that the deepest questions about our own state are inseparable from the state of the world around us.

What might change if our daily check-ins, with ourselves and others, carried this level of honesty and depth?