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

Introduction: The Unseen Force Shaping Our World

In an age of constant headlines about political division, economic instability, and social unrest, it’s easy to feel powerless. We are often led to believe that the solutions to our collective problems lie in external forces—a new political system, the right leaders, or a different distribution of wealth. The individual, it seems, is left to simply react to a world shaped by powers far beyond their control.

But what if the most fundamental force for change is not external, but internal? What if the foundation of our shared reality is not politics or economics, but the system of beliefs we collectively hold? This article explores an ancient perspective with profound modern implications: the idea that the world we experience is a direct reflection of what we choose to believe, both about ourselves and each other.

Our Collective Beliefs Are a Social Force.

The core argument is that our beliefs are far more powerful in shaping society than we typically realize. To understand this, consider two fundamentally different worlds, each built on a single, opposing belief. What kind of society emerges in a world where people believe their happiness is intrinsically intertwined with that of others? And what happens in a world where people believe their happiness must come at the expense of others? This distinction is not trivial; it is the foundational choice that dictates whether a society is built on a foundation of trust and mutual benefit, where progress is shared, or on a zero-sum game of conflict and exploitation, where one person’s gain is invariably another’s loss.

An Ancient Diagnosis for a World in Crisis.

Centuries ago, the Buddhist sage Nichiren offered a diagnosis for societal chaos that stands in stark contrast to our modern explanations. He described an era called the “Latter Age of Degeneration,” linking widespread turmoil not to material or political failures, but to a spiritual crisis where the “True Dharma is lost.” This loss of a foundational, life-affirming belief system, he argued, is the root cause of our calamities.

In his treatise, he wrote:

However, we now live in the Latter Age of Degeneration, when disputes and quarrels are rampant while the True Dharma is lost. There is nothing but evil lands where evil rulers, evil subjects and evil people reject the True Dharma, showing respect only to evil dharmas and evil teachers. Evil spirits take advantage of this, filling the lands with the so-called three calamities and seven disasters.

For a modern audience accustomed to seeking political or economic causes for social problems, this is a counter-intuitive idea. It suggests that the “three calamities and seven disasters”—the conflicts and crises we face—are not the disease, but symptoms of a deeper, spiritual ailment rooted in a collective loss of a guiding truth.

The World Changes When We Change Our Role In It.

This ancient diagnosis does not leave us without a cure. The antidote it offers is a profound internal shift in purpose: adopting the worldview of a Bodhisattva. In this context, this means seeing yourself as someone who has consciously “chosen to be here to benefit others.”

Adopting this belief as your personal mission has a profound consequence. When we place our faith in this worldview and our role within it, the text suggests that “the world changes before our eyes.” This is not a passive observation but an active transformation. By changing the core belief that governs our own purpose and actions, we change the very nature of the reality we inhabit. The ultimate catalyst for societal change, then, is an internal revolution of purpose.

Conclusion: The Foundation We Choose

The recurring theme is the underestimated power of belief in shaping our shared world. Instead of seeing ourselves as victims of circumstance, this perspective invites us to see ourselves as the architects of our reality, with our beliefs serving as the foundational blueprints. The most potent force for creating a better world may not be in protest or policy, but in the quiet, resolute choice of what we believe about our connection to one another.

This leaves us with a final, essential question: What would happen in a world where we believed our happiness was truly intertwined with that of others?