Monthly Archives: March 2017

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – March 3, 2017

Let us go even to the end of one thousand billion worlds,
And find the place from where this light has come.
A Buddha may have appeared somewhere in the universe
In order to save the suffering beings.

These verses are sung by the Brahma King Great Compassion in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. He invites his fellow Brahma Kings, creators of entire worlds, to leave the luxury of their palaces to find a Buddha who is leading all beings to enlightenment. They value the Buddha’s words more than anything that they have created for themselves, and know how rare it is to encounter an enlightened being. These kings give us an example of how we can learn to treasure the Buddha Dharma.

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

Blog

Merits

Screengrab from first service with Ryusho Shonin from Myosho-ji Temple since the move to Syracuse on Feb. 26, 2017.

Feb. 26, 2017, service at Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church

I don’t normally attend the Myosho-ji services when there is a local service, but being the first from Ryusho Shonin‘s new home in Syracuse, N.Y., I felt compelled. Why not.

This post is prompted by yesterday’s reading from The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra.

Suppose a man rejoices at hearing this sutra
Or at hearing even a gatha of it
In a congregation,
And expounds it to a second person.

The second person expounds it to a third person.
In this way it is heard by a fiftieth person.
Now I will tell you of the merits
Of the fiftieth person. …

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.

In all of the time I was a member of Nichiren Shoshu and, after the split, Soka Gakkai, I never was comfortable expounding my Buddhist beliefs. That all changed when I came to Nichiren Shu and began my study of the Lotus Sutra. I’m both the 50th person and the first.

Today I had an email exchange with a man who asked, “What is the eternal Buddha?”

I suggested reading Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata, but the guy said he had read that and needed it broken down in layman’s terms. So I offered this:

Are you familiar with the three bodies of the Buddha? In the Lotus Sutra Sakyamuni represents all three, not just the historical Buddha who lived 3000 or so years ago. All other Buddhas are emanations of the eternal Buddha (as explained in Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures). For Nichiren Buddhists the eternal Sakyamuni Buddha and the Bodhisattvas he has been teaching since the remotest past (see Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground) are the focus of devotion. Nichiren Buddhists believe that each person has an inherent Buddha nature (and all of the other 9 natures or worlds from hell to Bodhisattva) at any given moment. (See http://fraughtwithperil.com/ryuei/2010/06/18/chapter-10-ichinen-sanzen/)

All of this is gathered together and enclosed within the title of the sutra, Myoho-Renge-Kyo. Chanting devotion to the sutra – Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo – is the principle practice for this age and allows the individual to awaken this Buddha nature.

The question of how to describe Nichiren Buddhism is something I’ve been puzzling over recently. It was after I sent this email that I did evening gonyo and read today’s section from the Lotus Sutra, the conclusion of The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma.

He will be able to expound the Dharma
With tens of millions of skillful words
Because he keeps
The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Maybe not yet, but in time, yes.

LS32

Day 24

Day 24 concludes Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma and closes the Sixth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Having last month covered the merits of the mind in prose, we conclude this the chapter in gathas.

Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, ang in gathas:

Their minds will become pure, clear, keen and undefiled.
They will be able to recognize with their wonderful minds
The superior, mean and inferior teachings.
When they hear even a gatha [of this sutra],
They will be able to understand
The innumerable meanings of [this sutra].

When they expound [this sutra]
In good order according to the Dharma
For a month, four month or a year,
They will be able to understand at once
The thoughts of gods, dragons, men, yakisas, demigods,
And of all the other living beings
Inside and outside this world
Composed of the six regions
Because they keep
The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

They also will be able to hear and keep
The Dharma expounded to all living beings
By the innumerable Buddhas of the worlds
of the ten quarters
Who are adorned with the marks of one hundred merits.

When they think over the innumerable meanings [of this sutra],
And endlessly repeat the expounding of those meanings,
They will not forget or mistake the beginnings and ends of quotations
Because they keep the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

They will see the reality of all things.
Knowing the position [of this sutra in the series of sutras],
And the names and words [of this sutra],
according to the meanings of it,
They will expound [this sutra] as they understand it.

They will expound the Dharma
Already taught by the past Buddhas.
Therefore, they will be fearless
Before the multitude.

Anyone who keeps the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Will have his mind purified as previously stated.
Although he has not yet obtained the [wisdom-]without-asravas,
He will be able to obtain [these merits of the mind].

When he keeps this sutra,
He will be able to reach a rare stage.
He will be joyfully loved and respected
By all living beings.

He will be able to expound the Dharma
With tens of millions of skillful words
Because he keeps
The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

[Here ends] the Sixth Volume of the Sotra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

The Daily Dharma from Aug. 5, 2016, offers this:

They will see the reality of all things.
Knowing the position [of this sūtra in the series of sūtras],
And the names and words [of this sūtra], according to the meanings of it,
They will expound [this sūtra] as they understand it.

The Buddha sings these verses to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. In our practice of the Wonderful Dharma, we may be able to enjoy the circumstances of being able to spend lots of time studying the Lotus Sūtra and the guidance given by our leader in this age of degeneration, Nichiren Shonin. But even if we do not have that luxury of time, as long as we remember how the Lotus Sūtra uses expedients to lead all beings to enlightenment, that the goal of this sūtra is not just to end suffering, we can teach it using our own capacities, however limited those may be. Each word of the sūtra is an embodiment of the Buddha. When we share these words with others, we share the Buddha.

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

Lotus Seeds

Dependent Origination

Quote

Dependent Origination means that every thing is dependent on other things, or causes, for its existence. That is, all phenomena arise as the result of causes and conditions. Therefore, no phenomena have any existence intrinsic to themselves-they depend on other phenomena. In order to have one thing, you need to have other things working together to bring about and to support its existence. Everything depends upon everything else in this way.

Lotus Seeds

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – March 2, 2017

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

The 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

LS32

Day 23

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.

Having last month concluded the merits of the 50th person who rejoices at hearing the Lotus Sutra in prose, we now repeat what was said in gathas.

Suppose a man rejoices at hearing this sutra
Or at hearing even a gatha of it
In a congregation,
And expounds it to a second person.

The second person expounds it to a third person.
In this way it is heard by a fiftieth person.
Now I will tell you of the merits
Of the fiftieth person.

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.

The Daily Dharma from Nov. 25, 2016, offers this:

The Buddha sings these verses to Maitreya Bodhisattva in Chapter Eighteen of the Lotus Sutra. This chapter includes a story of a person who hears the Wonderful Dharma, then explains it to the best of their ability to someone else. In this way there is a chain of fifty people who hear versions of this teaching modified by the capacities of those transmitting it. The effectiveness of this teaching does not depend on who delivers it. No matter what our capacity, any of us can teach the Lotus Sutra and practice it in our lives.

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

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – March 1, 2017

I now expound this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma with great joy. This sūtra leads all living beings to the knowledge of all things. I did not expound it before because, if I had done so, many people in the world would have hated it and few would have believed it.

The Buddha makes this declaration to Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra. It can be difficult to imagine anyone hating the Buddha’s teachings. We sometimes notice that the true opposite of affection and devotion is not enmity and distrust. It is indifference. When we hear the Buddha’s teaching and do not make it part of our lives, it is because we are so attached to our peculiar ignorance and misery that we are afraid to live any other way. The Buddha shows us that it is possible to exist in harmony with the world rather than in conflict. It is only when we practice his teachings that we can believe them.

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