T’ien’tai, therefore, makes clear that all things and phenomena in the ten realms are manifestations of the ultimate reality. Since ultimate reality is another name of the Lotus Sutra, what he states is that all things and phenomena are equal to the Lotus Sutra.
Nichiren wrote this as part of his letter to monk Sairen-bō in his Treatise on All Phenomena as Ultimate Reality (Shohō-Jissō Shō). This was another way of Nichiren expressing his understanding that the Buddha’s highest wisdom is not something that takes us out of this world, but is found within the everyday experiences of our lives. Even the realms of anger, greed, fear, hostility, calm and pleasure are part of the Buddha’s pure land. The practice of the Wonderful Dharma is not to escape from these difficult places, but to use them to benefit all beings. To be caught up in them is to be deluded about their evanescent nature. To see them for what they are is to know the joy of enlightenment.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 23 covers all of Chapter 18, The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra, and opens Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma.
Last month, I focused on the illustration of how the Lotus Sutra might be spread using the example of the 50th person to hear of the sutra. But, as Maitreya asks, “How many merits will be given to a good man or woman who rejoices at hearing this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma?”
Suppose the Jambudvipa was filled with wonderful treasures such as gold, silver, lapis lazuli, shell, agate, coral and amber; elephant-carts and horse-carts; and palaces and stately buildings made of the even treasures. Suppose a man who was seeking merits gave all those pleasing things [filling the Jambudvipa] to the living beings of four hundred billion asamkhya worlds according to their wishes. A world consists of the six regions. The living beings [of the six regions] are of one or another of the four kinds of births: oviparous, viviparous, from moisture, or without any medium: Some of them have form while others do not. Some have desire while others do not. Some have no feet while other have two feet or four or more. Having continued giving those alms to them for eighty years, this great almsgiver thought, ‘I gave those pleasing things to them according to their wishes. Now they are old and decrepit. They are more than eighty years old. Their hair is grey; and their faces, wrinkled. They will die before long. I will lead them by the Dharma of the Buddha.’
Then he collected them. He propagated the Dharma to them, led them by the Dharma, showed them the Dharma, taught them, benefited them, and caused them to rejoice. He caused them to attain in a moment the enlightenment of the Srota-apanna, of the Sakrdagamin, of the Anagamin or of the Arhat, eliminate all asravas, practice deep dhyana-concentration without hindrance, and obtain the eight emancipations. What do you think of this? Do you think that the merits obtained by this great almsgiver were many or not?”
Maitreya said to the Buddha:
World-Honored One! I think that his merits were many, immeasurable and limitless. His merits were already immeasurable when he gave all those pleasing things to them. Needless to say, so were his merits when he caused them to attain Arhatship.
The Buddha said to Maitreya:
Now I will tell you clearly. The merits of the person who gave all those pleasing things to the living beings of the six regions of four hundred billion asamkhya worlds, and caused them to attain Arhatship are less than the merit of the fiftieth person who rejoices at hearing even a gatha of this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
And in gathas:
Suppose there was a great almsgiver.
He continued giving alms
To innumerable living beings
For eighty years according to their wishes.
Those living beings became old and decrepit.
Their hair became grey; their faces, wrinkled;
And their teeth, fewer and deformed.
Seeing this, he thought:
“I will teach them because they will die before long.
I will cause them to obtain the fruit of enlightenment.”
Then he expounded the truth of Nirvana to them
As an expedient, saying:
“This world is as unstable
As a spray of water,
Or as a foam, or as a filament of air.
Hate it, and leave it quickly!”
Hearing this teaching, they attained Arhatship,
And obtained the six supernatural powers,
Including the three major supernatural powers,
And the eight emancipations.
The superiority of the merits of the fiftieth person
Who rejoices at hearing even a gatha [of this sutra]
To the merits of this [great almsgiver]
Cannot be explained by any parable or simile.
The merits of the [fiftieth] person
[Who hears this sutra] are immeasurable.
Needless to say, so are the merits of the first person
Who rejoices at hearing it in the congregation.
I rejoice at hearing the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Only I know his secret practices.
He shows himself
To all living beings
In the form of my eldest son.
The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Nine of the Lotus Sūtra, speaking of Rāhula, the son born to him and his wife Yaśodharā before he left his life as a crown prince to seek enlightenment. In his highest teaching, the Buddha reminds us of our vows as Bodhisattvas to come into this world of conflict to benefit all beings. In the preoccupations that come with this life, we can forget these vows; they become a secret even to us. When we hear this Sūtra, we are reminded that we are the dear children of the Dharma, and that enlightenment is our rightful inheritance.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 22 covers all of Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits.
Last month covered the merits that accrue from understanding by faith.
In the opening of this chapter, the Buddha itemizes the many benefits accrued by those present who heard of the length of his life was so long and the gods celebrated, raining flowers and incense. Maitreya Bodhisattva reiterates these in gathas.
As Maitreya explains:
Having heard of your longevity,
They obtained these effects and rewards,
Pure, immeasurable, and without asravas.
Having heard from you
Of the duration of your life,
Living beings as many as the particles of earth
Of eight Sumeru-worlds
Aspired for unsurpassed [enlightenmenLJ.
You expounded the teachings
Immeasurable and inconceivable,
And benefited living beings
As limitless as the sky.
Sakyamuni underscores the outcome certain for those who understand by faith:
It cannot be that the good man who obtained merits [by understanding my longevity by failh even at a moment’s thought] falters in walking the Way to Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.
What does the doctrine of spiritual contemplation mean? It means the way of practicing the teaching of the Buddha according to the intent of the Buddha, not necessarily according to what is literally said in the sutra. Suppose there is a man during the time of a famine who offers to the Buddha the only food he has to stay alive for a day. This is the same as offering his life to the Buddha.
Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on Phenomenal and Noumenal Offering (Jiri Kuyō Gosho). The Lotus Sūtra is the highest teaching because it encompasses all beings in all worlds, assuring everyone that they can rid themselves of delusion and reach the Buddha’s enlightenment. The Buddha showed that the universe is constantly changing, even from one moment to the next. When we read the Lotus Sūtra, and allow our minds to become more like the Buddha mind, we learn the meaning behind the words and put that into practice. We do not merely go through the motions mechanically. We understand that calamities are opportunities for us to bring the Buddha’s teaching to life, and that whatever prosperity we gain does not belong to us alone. Whatever we have is for the benefit of all beings.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Today I attended the online Sunday service broadcast from Myosho-ji, Wonderful Voice Buddhist Temple, in Charlotte, North Carolina. This is my altar arrangement at home for away services.Lyrics to Forever Sensei, the Soka Gakkai song worshipping SGI International President Daisaku Ikeda.
On Jan. 1, 2015, I walked to my car after a Soka Gakkai New Year’s Gonyo at the the Sacramento SGI Community Center. The angrily folded lyrics of Forever Sensei were clenched in my hand. Concluding what was supposed to be a Nichiren Buddhist service with the worship of a man who leads the Soka Gakkai International organization was just too much.
I vowed in that parking lot on that day that I would defeat the inertia that had kept me in Soka Gakkai and correct my course.
Yesterday, May 14, 2016, was the 500th day since that particular part of my journey began. I truly feel I have joined the path to a Place of Treasures in my journey with the Nichiren Shu community.
Overcoming that inertia was a real challenge. I joined Nichiren Shoshu of America (before the SGI and temple split) in 1989. I was married in a service at the Nichiren Shoshu Temple in Pinole in 1990. When the SGI-Temple divorce came at the end of 1991, I stayed with Soka Gakkai. I never felt a lay organization could ever properly stand alone but I couldn’t see joining a temple that would excommunicate those who wouldn’t toe the line.
In December 2014, I knew my attachment to Soka Gakkai was held by a thin thread. In anticipation of the end, I sent an email to the Nichiren Buddhist International Center asking, “Is there an active program for helping Nichiren followers to transition from Soka Gakkai to Nichiren Shu? And, in particular, is this available in Sacramento?”
No one responded, and when I called I was told that, No, there is no such program. Nor is there one at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church.
In the past year, I’ve watched as visitors were genuinely welcomed to services at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church. I was certainly welcomed, and today feel a full member.
In particular, I single out this advice Rev. Tarabini offers the person who asked the question:
What is most important is to practice our faith and study as the Buddha Sakyamuni and Nichiren Daishonin taught us, so that we can grow, truly understand Buddhism, practice and live it just like the Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin did; and so that we and all those around us can be freed from suffering, become satisfied with life, become happy, and attain perfect enlightenment just as the Buddha.
It is not necessary to harbor ill feelings towards the Soka Gakkai, nor towards anyone else for that matter. Maybe everything they taught you was not entirely correct, but their help has nourished you up until today. Maybe they have strayed from the main path of Buddhism. But they did introduce you to Nichiren Daishonin’s teachings and the Lotus Sutra. They opened a door for you. They have also created some doubts questions in your life about Buddhism. For all of this, you should be grateful.
Several people attending today’s online service broadcast from Myosho-ji, Wonderful Voice Buddhist Temple, in Charlotte, North Carolina, are former SGI members, including Rev. Ryusho Jeffus.
At the conclusion of the service a woman who is new to Buddhism expressed her appreciation for the introduction provided by Ryosho Shonin. It’s a sentiment I second.
Day 21 covers all of Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata.
Last month focused on the need for “faith” in order to understand the Buddha’s infallible words.
And what is it that is so difficult to believe?
Listen to me attentively! I will tell you about my hidden core and supernatural powers. The gods, men and asuras in, the world think that I, Sakyarnuni Buddha, left the palace of the Sakyas, sat at the place of enlightenment not far from the City of Gaya, and attained Anuttara-amyak-sambodhi [forty and odd years ago]. To tell the truth, good men, it is many hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas of kalpas since I became the Buddha.
And during this time…
All this time I have been living in this Saha-World, and teaching [the living beings of this world] by expounding the Dharma to them. I also have been leading and benefiting the living beings of one hundred thousand billion nayuta asamkhya worlds outside this world.
And the purpose …
“Good men! All the sutras that I expounded [hitherto] were for the purpose of saving all living beings. I told the stories of my previous lives [in some sutras,] and the stories of the previous lives of other Buddhas [in other sutrasl. I showed my replicas [in some sutras,] and my transformations [in other sutras]. I described my deeds [in some sutras,] and the deeds of others [in other sutras]. All that I say is true, not false, because I see the triple world as it is. I see that the triple world is the world in which the living beings have neither birth nor death, that is to say, do not appear or disappear, that it is the world in which I do not appear or from which I do not disappear, that it is not real or unreal, and that it is not as it seems or as it does not seem. I do not see the triple world in the same way as [the living beings of] the triple world do. I see all this clearly and infallibly. The living beings are various in their natures, desires, deeds, thoughts and opinions. Therefore, I expounded the dharma with various stories of previous lives, with various parables, similes and discourses, in order to cause all living beings to plant the roots of good. I have never stopped doing what I should do. As I said before, it is very long since I became the Buddha. The duration of my life is innumerable, asamkhya kalpas. I am always here. I shall never pass away.
Anyone who keeps
The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Should be considered to have given up his pure world and come here
Out of his compassion towards all living beings.
The Buddha declares these verses to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. He reminds us that as Bodhisattvas, we are no longer concerned with getting into a paradise where all our desires are met. This also means that we were not sent into this world of conflict (Sahā) so that we could be tested to see whether we are worthy of getting into that paradise. Instead, we are Bodhisattvas, beings who through our great resolve to benefit all beings, have with great courage chosen to immerse ourselves in the misery of this world, because we know there is no other way to create benefit and lead all beings to the Buddha’s enlightenment.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 20 completes Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground, and concludes the Fifth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Last month I focused on the Buddha’s response to the great Bodhisattvas, who asked if the living beings “are ready to receive your teaching” and the fact that he “already taught them in their consecutive previous existences.”
This time through I’ll focus on these great Bodhisattvas.
The great bodhisattvas who have emerged from the ground go up to the sky and bow before the great stupa with the two Buddhas seated side by side. Then they return to the ground, go around and greet each of the emanation Buddhas one by one, after which the Bodhisattvas return to the sky. This activity takes a great deal of time, fifty kalpas we are told, and yet the time only seemed to be no more than half a day to those who witnessed it due to the great power of the Buddha. Notice here that these Bodhisattvas had complete freedom of movement, they could go up to the sky, they could return to the ground and travel about, and they could then again return to the sky. This is in sharp contrast to the members of the original assembly who had to be raised up by the power of the Buddha.
These Bodhisattvas from beneath the ground not only have the marks and characteristics of the Buddha, they also have the powers of the Buddha.
This is not lost on the Bodhisattvas who were already in the congregation. Maitreya, who will become the next Buddha in the Saha World, sings in gathas:
We have never seen
These many thousands of billions
Of Bodhisattvas.
Tell me, Most Honorable Biped!
Where did they come from?
They have gigantic bodies,
Great supernatural powers, and inconceivable wisdom.
They are resolute in mind.
They have a great power of patience.
All living beings are glad to see them.
Where did they come from?
And …
No one will be able to count
All [these great Bodhisattvas] even if he uses
A counting wand for more kalpas
Than the number of the sands of the River Ganges.
These Bodhisattvas have
Great powers, virtues and energy.
Who expounded the Dharma to them? Who taught them?
Who qualified them to attain [perfect enlightenment]?
Under whom did they begin to aspire for enlightenment?
What teaching of the Buddha did they extol?
What sutra did they keep and practice?
What teaching of the Buddha did they study?
These Bodhisattvas have supernatural powers
And the great power of wisdom.
The ground of this world quaked and cracked.
They sprang up from under the four quarters of this world.
World-Honored One!
I have never seen them before.
I do not know
Any of them.
They appeared suddenly from underground.
Tell me why!
Many thousands of myriads
Of millions of Bodhisattvas
In this great congregation
Also want to know this.
There must be some reason.
Possesor of Immeasurable Virtues!
World-Honored One!
Remove our doubts!
Medicine-King Bodhisattva and Medicine-Superior Bodhisattva have already obtained those great merits. Because they planted the roots of virtue under many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas [in their previous existence], they obtained those inconceivable merits. All gods and men in the world should bow to those who know the names of these two Bodhisattvas.
The Buddha gives this explanation to the great multitude gathered to hear him in Chapter Twenty-Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. These two Bodhisattvas had been brothers under a great King in their previous life. They used wonders to lead their parents to a Buddha who was teaching the Wonderful Dharma in that world. By knowing the story of these two Bodhisattvas, we also know about the Wonderful Dharma and the Ever-Present Buddha who leads us through all our lives to his enlightenment. When we realize that through our practice we are worthy of respect from all beings, including ourselves, there is no need to demand respect from anyone. We are secure in our assurance of enlightenment.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
