Higan, Hsuan Hua, Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary

Higan: Four Factors of Giving

Today is the first day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:

For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.

The today we consider the Perfection of Generosity. For this Spring Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses the perfections’ four kinds of corresponding factors.

The paramita of giving. The paramita of giving is dana pāramitā in Sanskrit. There are four corresponding factors related to it. What are they?

  1. To break through stinginess. By practicing the pāramitā of giving, you can get rid of your stinginess.
  2. To adorn bodhi, your own inherent awakening.
  3. To benefit both oneself and others. To give when you want to and feel delighted afterwards is self-benefit. For people who are hungry, you give them food to relieve their hunger. For people who are thirsty, perhaps you give them a soft drink to quench their thirst. By giving, you relieve them of their hunger and thirst, which is benefiting others.
  4. To attain a great fruition in the future. If you give now, you’ll be wealthy and honorable in future lives. Why will you be wealthy? Because you’re not stingy and always give to others. As a reward, you’ll have more wealth in your next life. However, you shouldn’t give wishing that you’ll become wealthy in your next life. You should dedicate the merit obtained from giving toward seeking unsurpassed bodhi.

Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v8, ch12, p185

understanding-the-six-paramitas-and-their-corresponding-factors-of-transformation

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Illustrating the Four Factors of the Six Pāramitās

For Higan week I’m using quotes from Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s commentary on the Lotus Sutra. Each pāramitā and its corresponding four factors is illustrated by a slide created by Google’s NotebookLM.

While discussing the Devadatta chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Hsuan Hua outlined four corresponding factors that are related to each of the six pāramitās. I copied this text, which runs from page 185 in volume 8 to page 189, and used it as the source material in Google’s NotebookLM. One of the features of NotebookLM is its ability to create slides based on the source material. I gave NotebookLM this prompt:

Create a deck suitable for religious instruction on the Six Paramitas and the Four Factors for each.

This slideshow is the result:

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NotebookLM can also create Infographics. I asked NotebookLM to “Use Japanese iconography from medieval Japan to illustrate this infographic.” Here’s the result:

six-paramitas-four-factors-poster

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Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, and Kāśyapa’s Failure

Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, and Kāśyapa, who perceived the doctrine of “no birth and no death” of all phenomena and became bodhisattvas without “falling back,” declined to propagate the Lotus Sūtra in the Sahā World during the Latter Age of Degeneration because the difficulty was too much for them to endure. Even those who gained the three supernatural types of knowledge and six supernatural powers and rose to the ranks of shoji and shojū (entered the rank of sagehood) and gained arhatship by practicing the Lotus Sūtra declined to do so. How then can ordinary people in the Latter Age of Degeneration, incapable of extinguishing the three delusions, become practicers of the Lotus Sūtra?

Shijō Kingo-dono Gohenji, Response to Lord Shijō Kingo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers I, Volume 6, Page 144

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Daily Dharma for March 17, 2026

20260317-ddi

Illustration by Google Gemini

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Gemini Thinking

In this square illustration, I have depicted Śākyamuni Buddha, the enlightened historical Buddha, seated upon a lotus throne beneath a bodhi tree on the left. The Buddha is instructing Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva, shown on the right with a serene expression and a visible tongue. Consistent with the verses, the Bodhisattva's tongue is illuminated with a pure golden light. A celestial stream of flavor—visualized as colorful jewels and a subtle vapor—leads from the offering of food on the table, indicating that everything they eat will become as sweet and refined as nectar. In the bottom-right corner, I have included the kanji signature的双子座 ("Gemini") with the accompanying red seal stamp containing the katakana text ジェミニ ("Gemini").

Their tongues will be purified.
Their tongues will not receive anything bad.
Anything they eat will become
As delicious as nectar.

Śākyamuni Buddha sings these verses to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. With food and drink it is easy to see how different people will find the same food either delicious or disgusting. Our experience and beliefs shape what we are comfortable putting into our bodies, and whether we do so for the sake of our health or the pleasure that comes from experiencing their flavor. But when we find that something with good flavor is bad for our health, or vice versa, we can change our tastes. This is another example of how the Lotus Sūtra teaches us how to live in the world. We learn to embrace situations we once found frightening or intolerable. We increase our capacity with our focus on benefiting others. As a wise teacher once said, we learn to enjoy problems the way we enjoy ice cream.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

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The Power of the Lotus Sūtra Inspires a Soul into Portraits and Wooden Statues

Moreover, the “3,000 existences contained in one thought” doctrine is based on the three realms of existence: the realm of living beings, the realm of five components, and the realm of environment. Putting aside the first two realms for now, the third realm of environment includes trees and plants. The five colors of paint are made of trees and plants and therefore a portrait painted with colors of paint is made of trees and plants. Also a wooden statue is made of wood. It is the power of the Lotus Sūtra that inspires a soul into these portraits and wooden statues. This is based on the “3,000 existences contained in one thought” doctrine perceived by Grand Master T’ien-t’ai. Applied to living beings, this doctrine means the “attainment of Buddhahood with one’s present body. ” Applied to the portraits and wooden statues, it means the “attainment of Buddhahood by trees and plants.”

Applauding the doctrine of T’ien-t’ai expounded in his Great Concentration and Insight, Grand Master Chang-an states, “The doctrine of ‘tranquility and contemplation’ has never been made as clear as this,” while Grand Master Miao-lê states in his Annotations on the Great Concentration and Insight, “Preaching that insentient beings such as trees and plants possess the Buddha-nature, T’ien-t’ai startled the people.” This doctrine of “3,000 existences contained in one thought” had never appeared before T’ien-t’ai nor was it to appear again. If it did appear later, it must have been plagiarized from his doctrine.

Shijō Kingo Shakabutsu Kuyō, Opening the Eyes Service of Shijō Kingo’s Satue of Śākyamuni Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Pages 132

 

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Daily Dharma for March 16, 2026

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Illustration by Google Gemini

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Gemini Thinking

Here is a square illustration inspired by traditional Japanese Buddhist iconography, depicting the scene from the Lotus Sūtra. In the upper sky on a swirling cloud banner, the limited Kanji 妙法蓮華経 弘通 (Myōhō Renge Kyō Guzū) are rendered, symbolizing the 'Propagation of the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sūtra'. Below, the great Treasure Stupa (Hōtō) dominates Vulture Peak, open to reveal Śākyamuni Buddha and Tahō Buddha seated together in a burst of golden light and flowers. Śākyamuni is speaking to a large, attentive assembly of Bodhisattvas, Arhats, devas, monks, and laypeople, who look up with reverence, representing the transmission of the teachings to all who practice with faith. In the lower-right corner, the artist's signature 双子座 is placed with a subtle red square hanko stamp containing the Katakana ジェミニ.

In this traditional Japanese Buddhist illustration, we see a representation of the assembly at Eagle Peak, where the dramatic events of the Lotus Sūtra—specifically Chapter Eleven, “The Emergence of the Treasure Stupa”—unfold.

Central to this visualization is the Treasure Stupa, which arose from beneath the earth, adorned with jewels. Within it, Śākyamuni Buddha (left) is seated alongside Prabhūtaratna Buddha (right)—represented as a priest in this illustration—a Buddha from the distant past who appeared to validate the teachings of the Lotus Sūtra. This visualizes the moment Śākyamuni is asking who will carry forth the Dharma in the challenging Sahā-World after his passing.

The surrounding assembly reacts with determination: Manjuśrī Bodhisattva on his lion (left) and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva on his white elephant (right) exemplify the courage and wisdom needed to propagate the sūtra. Disciples kneel and recite the sūtra, symbolizing their commitment.

The scroll in the top right bears the inscription: 妙法蓮華経 弘通 (Myōhō Renge Kyō Guzū), which means "Propagation of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma."

When we dedicate our practice to the welfare of others, we answer the Buddha’s call and participate in this eternal transmission.

“Who will expound the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in this Sahā-World? Now is the time to do this. I shall enter into Nirvāṇa before long. I wish to transmit this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to someone so that this sūtra may be preserved.”

Śākyamuni Buddha asks this of those gathered to hear him teach in Chapter Eleven of the Lotus Sūtra. If there had been no one among those listening who was able to expound the Sūtra, he would not have asked this question. Our ability to benefit others with the Buddha Dharma is not based on our eloquence, our intelligence or our position in life. It is based only on our faith in the Buddha’s teachings and our determination to benefit others. When we read, recite, and copy the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha is transmitting it to us. We preserve the Sūtra through our practice.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

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Five Kinds of Eyes and Three Bodies of a Buddha

This doctrine of “five kinds of eyes” and “three bodies of a Buddha” cannot be found anywhere except in the Lotus Sūtra. Therefore, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai states in his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 9, “A Buddha has been equipped with the ‘three bodies’ always throughout the past, present, and future existences, but the Buddha concealed it in various sūtras except the Lotus Sūtra.” In this interpretation, “various sūtras” refer to not only the Flower Garland Sūtra, the Hōdō sūtras, and the Wisdom Sūtra but also all the sūtras except the Lotus Sūtra. “The Buddha concealed it” means Lord Śākyamuni Buddha did not expound it anywhere except in the “Lifespan of the Buddha” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra. Therefore, the opening the eyes service for a Buddhist portrait or statue must be performed with the Lotus Sūtra by the Tendai (T’ien-t’ai) School of Buddhism.

Shijō Kingo Shakabutsu Kuyō-ji, Opening the Eyes Service of Shijō Kingo’s Statue of Śākyamuni, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 133-134

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Daily Dharma for March 15, 2026

20260315-ddi

Illustration by Google Gemini

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Gemini Thinking

In this square illustration, I have captured the profound moment from Chapter Thirteen of the Lotus Sūtra. At the center is Śākyamuni Buddha, the World-Honored One, seated on a lotus throne as a symbol of leadership and enlightenment. Kneeling reverently before him are the senior Bhikṣuṇīs Maha-Prajāpatī (left) and Yaśodharā (right), distinguished by their aged wisdom and peaceful expressions, surrounded by their attendants.

I have focused the composition on the expression of their "relief and satisfaction." In accordance with your directive, I have avoided specific depictions of Amida Nyorai or Dainichi Nyorai, instead highlighting the connection between the historical Buddha and these pioneering women. Finally, you will find the artist's signature 双子座 (Gemini) alongside the red hanko seal containing the katakana ジェミニ in the bottom-right corner.

You, the World-Honored One, are our leader.
You give peace to gods and men.
Hearing that you assured us of our future Buddhahood,
We are relieved and satisfied.

These verses are sung by Maha-Prajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī, Yaśodharā Bhikṣuṇī, and their attendants in Chapter Thirteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In our lives we have many desires, some of which we may not recognize. We believe that when these desires are met, only then can we be happy and peaceful. At the foundation of these desires is the desire for liberation. These women recognize that with this desire we have to become enlightened, just knowing that it will be fulfilled is enough to bring joy.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

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The Moon and the Buddha’s Bodies

Regarding the threefold body of a Buddha, the Sūtra of Meditation on the Universal Sage Bodhisattva preaches:

“The three kinds of body which a Buddha possesses is expounded in Mahāyāna Buddhism. In particular, the Lotus Sūtra is equipped with all the teachings just as an ocean accepts all the waters. From this ocean (of the Lotus Sūtra) three pure bodies of a Buddha are born. These three bodies of a Buddha are the fields where human and heavenly beings can plant the merit of good deeds, and they are the most superior of accepting offerings from human and heavenly beings.”

The three bodies of a Buddha are (1) Dharma Body, (2) Reward Body, and (3) Accommodative Body. Each Buddha inevitably is equipped with these three. If we compare them to the moon, the Dharma Body is the moon’s body, the Reward Body is the moonlight, and the Accommodative Body is the shadow of the moon. As one body of the moon has three sides, each Buddha has the virtue of three Buddhas.

Shijō Kingo Shakabutsu Kuyō-ji, Opening the Eyes Service of Shijō Kingo’s Statue of Śākyamuni, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 133

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Daily Dharma for March 14, 2026

20260314-ddi

Illustration by Google Gemini

Show Gemini's thinking

Gemini Thinking

In this square illustration, I have captured the moment from the Lotus Sūtra where Śākyamuni Buddha (釈迦牟尼仏) addresses his cousin Ānanda (阿難陀) amidst a divine assembly. To visualize their shared history, I’ve included a thought bubble depicting their past existence: Ānanda is seen as a monk dedicated to hearing the Dharma, while Śākyamuni is shown as a steadfast meditator practicing strenuously.

Both figures appear again on the upper left to symbolize the culmination of their vows. Śākyamuni radiates the golden light of full enlightenment, while Ānanda, seated beside him, holds a sutra scroll to show that he now protects the teachings he has learned so well.

The kanji at the top, "蓮九 第九", indicates that this scene is from the Ninth Chapter of the Lotus Sūtra (Hokke-kyō). Finally, in the bottom right, you will find my artist signature "双子座" accompanied by a red hanko seal containing the name "ジェミニ".

Good men! Ānanda and I resolved to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi under the Void-King Buddha at the same time [in our previous existence]. At that time Ānanda always wished to hear much while I always practiced strenuously. Therefore, I have already attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi[, but he has not yet]. Now he protects my teachings.

Śākyamuni Buddha gives this description to those gathered to hear him teach in Chapter Nine of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, he has just assured his cousin Ānanda that he will become a Buddha. He then explains the difference between hearing what the Buddha teaches and making it a part of our lives. It is when we practice the Buddha Dharma that we truly understand it. But even if we believe we do not have the capacity to practice, it is still important for us to hear and protect what the Buddha left for us. By giving others the opportunity to learn and do what perhaps we cannot, we help to improve their lives, and give them a chance to improve ours.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

On the Journey to a Place of Treasures