It is when we are mindful of death that we begin to earnestly seek 'something eternal' and resolve to make the most valuable use of each moment of life," writes SGI President Daisaku Ikeda. This seeking spirit, the willingness to strive, is the basic condition for awakening to the eternal Buddha nature that exists within one's own life. In the parable, this awakening is represented by the father's return after the children take the medicine.Coming to believe in our Buddhahood, however, does not magically elevate us above life's challenges or alter the fact of life's impermanence. Rather, with confidence in our Buddha nature—this vast, untapped internal reservoir of hope, courage, wisdom and compassion—we are able to squarely face up to the challenges of life and meaningfully transform them. What drives this dynamic process is the spirit of earnestly desiring to "see" the Buddha. In President Ikeda's words, "The mind of an ordinary person who seeks the Buddha becomes the mind of the Buddha itself."
https://lse.sg/the-lotus-sutra/7-parables/the-skilled-physician-and-his-sick-children/
