The son thought: “I was poor, base and mean.
Now I have obtained
The treasures, houses,
And all the other things
From my father.
Never before
Have I been so happy.”
These verses are part of the story of the Wayward Son told by Subhūti, Mahā-Kātyāyana, Mahā-Kāśyapa, and Mahā-Maudgalyāyana in Chapter Four of the Lotus Sūtra. The son in the story has come into his inheritance after years of training and preparation by his father. The story explains the disciples’ understanding of how the Buddha uses expedients over time to prepare us for enlightenment. When we are not ready for the Buddha’s wisdom, he teaches to the capacity of our own minds. Now that we are ready for his highest teaching, he reveals his own mind in the Lotus Sutra.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 13 covers all of Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples.
Having last month learned of Pūrṇa’s future as a Buddha, we repeat in gāthās.
Thereupon the Buddha, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
Bhikṣus, listen to me attentively!
The Way practiced by my sons
Is beyond your comprehension
Because they learned how to employ expedients.
Knowing that people wish to hear
The teachings of the Lesser Vehicle,
And that they are afraid of having the great wisdom,
[My sons, that is,] the Bodhisattvas transform themselves
Into Śrāvakas or cause-knowers,
And teach the people with innumerable expedients.
Saying to the innumerable living beings, [for instance,]
“We are Śrāvakas.
We are far from the enlightenment of the Buddha,”
They save them, and cause them to attain [Śrāvakahood]
Even the lazy people who wish to hear the Lesser Vehicle
Will become Buddhas with this expedient in the course of time.
My disciples are performing
The Bodhisattva practices secretly
Though they show themselves in the form of Śrāvakas.
They are purifying my world
Though they pretend to want little
And to shun birth-and-death.
In the presence of the people,
They pretend to have the three poisons and wrong views.
They save them with these expedients.
They change themselves into various forms.
If I speak of all their transformations,
The listeners will doubt me.
Sakyamuni repeated in verse what he had said in prose. One stanza reads:
My disciples are performing
The Bodhisattva practices secretly,
Though they show themselves in the forms of sravakas.
They are purifying my world,
Though they pretend to want little
And to shun birth and death.
The lines, “Though they pretend to want little and to shun birth and death,” represent sravaka-practices. The world of birth and death refers to this world, where we live with various desires and sufferings. “Hearers” of the Lesser Vehicle regarded such a world as unclean. They tried to rid themselves, not only of earthly desires, but even of the world itself, by entering some spiritual world, where they sought an ideal state of enlightenment. At first glance, this might seem admirable enough. But if they succeeded in cutting themselves off from the world, it would be impossible for them to save other creatures from suffering. Although Purna seemed to be performing these sravaka-practices, he was really practicing the Bodhisattva practice, helping to purify the world of the Buddha—that is, the world in which we live. Sakyamuni’s affirmation that Purna was secretly performing the Bodhisattva practice is attributed mainly to his efforts to expound the Dharma (teachings of the Buddha), in spite of his appearance of being a sravaka.
There is no perfect realm of only spiritual ideas or existence. It is in fact only an imaginary idea that leads to unhappiness in the end because it is not attainable.
It is better to realize that our everyday lives are the places where we are capable of attaining a tranquil existence. This accepts and cherishes the twists and turns, the ups and downs, the successes and failures of life. These are the true places in which to live our spirituality and reach enlightenment. The material world is the ground upon which we can build a beautiful, peaceful, and joyful life. It is also the place where we can show others how to live a similar life, which in turn will enable others to also reach enlightenment.
Montgomery (March 11, 1983)
In Nichiren-shu, what importance is given to the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings and the Sutra of Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal-Sage? Are they used at all for either doctrinal devotional purpose?
Murano (April 26, 1985)
The Muryogikyo (“The Sutra of Innumerable Meanings”) was translated into Chinese later than the Myoho-renge-kyo by another person than Kumarajiva. The original text was probably composed later than the Myoho-renge-kyo. This sutra has a famous sentence, which Nichiren frequently quoted: Shijuyonen miken shinjitsu, which means, “I have not yet revealed my true teaching for the past forty odd years.” But this saying can be read between the lines of Chapter XVI of the Lotus Sutra, as I inserted in my translation of the sutra. The Kan-fugen-bosatsu-gyobo-kyo (“The Sutra of Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal-Sage”) was also translated later than the Lotus Sutra and not by Kumarajiva. It was apparently intended to be a continuation of the last chapter of the Lotus Sutra. This sutra carries Jojakko or “Eternally Tranquil Light” as the name of the world of Sakyamuni Buddha. We say that the world of Sakyamuni Buddha is called Jakko-jodo (“the Pure World of Tranquil Light”). The word Jakko is given only in this sutra, and in no other sutras. The setup of this triple sutra: The Muryogikyo as the opening sutra, the Myoho-renge-kyo, and the Kan-fugen-gyo as the closing sutra, had been established long before the time of Nichiren. Nichiren sometimes called them Hokekyo Jikkan or the “Ten Volumes of the Lotus Sutra,” but he usually used the expression: Hokekyo Ichibu Hachikan Niju Happon, which means “The Lotus Sutra, One Book, Eight Volumes, Twenty-eight Chapters.” We usually put the eight volumes of the Lotus Sutra in front of the statue of Nichiren.
All of you, wise men!
Have no doubts about this!
Remove your doubts, have no more!
My words are true, not false.
The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. If we come to the Buddha, attached to our delusions and fearful of the potential for peace and joy we all have within us, it is easy to doubt what he says. We have been suffering a long time. Like the children playing in the burning house, we are so caught up in the drama and insanity of our world that we cannot imagine any other way to live. When the Buddha warns us of how dangerous it is to continue as we are, we are more certain of our familiar pain than of his enlightenment. When we trust the Buddha Dharma, and cultivate our potential to create unimaginable benefit in this world, then we realize the pettiness of the crises we create for ourselves. We awaken our curiosity and gratitude and learn to see this beautiful world for what it is.
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Day 12 concludes Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City, and completes the Third Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month paused along the road to the place of treasures, we conclude Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City.
I am like the leader.
I am the leader of all living beings.
I saw that halfway some got tired
With the seeking of enlightenment,
And that they could not pass through the dangerous road
Of birth-and-death and illusions.
Therefore, I expounded to them the teaching of Nirvāṇa
As an expedient to give them a rest, saying:
“You have already eliminated sufferings.
You have done everything you should do.”
Now I see that they have already attained Nirvāṇa
And that they have become Arhats.
Therefore, I now collect the great multitude,
And expound to them the true teaching.
The Buddhas expound the teaching of the Three Vehicles
Only as an expedient.
There is only the One Buddha-Vehicle.
The two [vehicles] were taught only as resting places.
Now I will tell you the truth.
What you attained is not [true] extinction.
Make great efforts in order to obtain
The Buddha’s knowledge of all things.
When you obtain the knowledge of all things
And the ten powers of the Buddha,
And the thirty-two physical marks,
You will be able to say that you attained true extinction.
The Buddhas, the Leaders, expound the teaching of Nirvāṇa
In order to give a rest [to all living beings].
When they see them having already had a rest,
They lead them to the wisdom of the Buddha.
[Here ends] the Third Volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
In the chapters which follow, the Lotus Sutra will affirm that: (1) faith in Sakyamuni Buddha of this our World of Endurance and (2) practices based on that faith should be the core of Buddhism, even though many subsidiary teachings may exist.
Meanwhile, the story of the sixteen princes is intended to teach that the Bodhisattvas (the princes) must do what Sakyamuni did – save all living beings by teaching the truth. Although the profound wisdom of the Buddha is beyond the reach of Bodhisattvas, they nevertheless share the heart of the Buddha. That heart is a commitment to universal salvation – the act of benefiting others.
In the chapters which follow, we shall see some examples of such acts performed by some of the Bodhisattvas, and the story of the sixteen princes here serves as an introduction to those practices.
Pieters (August 20, 1991)
What are the three bodies of the Buddha? These words are contained in the Kaikyoge
Murano (September 11, 1991)
We say that the Buddha has tri-kaya (three-bodies): Sambhoga-kaya, Dharma-kaya, and Nirmana-kaya. When we say that the Buddha is one who has attained Buddhahood after performing the Bodhisattva practices, we say of the Sambhoga-kaya of the Buddha. When we say that the Buddha is the Dharma itself, we say of the Dharma-kaya of the Buddha. When we say that the Buddha is one who saves us, we say of the Nirmana-kaya of the Buddha. The Sambhoga-kaya tells us of the career of the Buddha; the Dharma-kaya, the truthfulness of the Buddha; and the Nirmana-kaya, the compassion of the Buddha.
The Dharma was personified from the outset of Buddhism. When the Buddha was about to pass away, he said to Ananda, “If you think that there will be no teacher after I pass away, you are wrong. The Dharma will be your teacher.”
The Dharma was personified also in another way. The Buddha is one who knows the Dharma, not the creator of it. The Dharma exists first, and then the Buddha appears. Without the Dharma, the Buddha would not be able to attain enlightenment. Therefore, the Dharma is the teacher of the Buddha.
Shingon Buddhism separates the Dharma-kaya from the Sambhogakaya, and gives the name of Mahavairocana to the Dharma-kaya. According to Shingon Buddhism, Mahavairocana Buddha is the Highest Buddha, Sakyamuni being only one of the four Buddhas under him. Nichiren was against Shingon on this point.
Pureland Buddhism establishes Amitabha Buddha as the savior, treating Sakyamuni only as the teacher, not the savior. The parable of Niga-byakudo (Two-rivers-white-road), which was told by Zendo, tells us of all this clearly. There is a river with two large whirlpools of fire and water, severed by a narrow white bridge. There is only one bridge on the river. Sakyamuni stands on this side of the river with people to be saved. He tells them, “Go ahead. Cross the bridge. Don’t be afraid.” On the other side of the river is Western Paradise with Amitabha Buddha as the lord. Amitabha, from afar with a loud voice, calls the people on this side of the river, “Come, and you will be saved.”
Nichiren Buddhism is one of the most outstanding religions in Japan. It is a collective name for all the Daimoku-chanting denominations: Nichiren Shu, Nichiren Shoshu, Nichiren Honshu, Kempon Hokke Shu, Hokke Shu Jimmon Ryu, Hokke Shu Hommon Ryu, Hokke Shu Shimmon Ryu, Hommon Hokke Shu, Hommon Butsuryu Shu, Nichiren Shu Fujufuse Ha, Fujufuse Nichiren Komon Shu, and many new religions whose names end with “Kai”. Although all these organizations are independent of each other administratively, they are one in that they center around the personality of the founder Nichiren (1222-1282).
Born as son of a petty officer of a manor in the Province of Awa (Chiba-ken), Nichiren studied at the Hieizan Buddhist Institute under the patronage of the owner of the manor. He was a good writer. He had a vast knowledge of the history of Japan, China, and the neighboring countries including Western Turkistan. He contributed to the study of the history of Japan by recording several events which were not described in any documents other than Nichiren’s writings. He was persecuted oftentimes because he bitterly criticized the chanting of the Nembutsu. But he was loved and respected by commoners. Within a few years after the proclamation of his new faith, he collected votaries numerous enough to make the Government careful of his faithful followers, who were misconstrued as dissidents to the Government.
Nichiren attempted to restore the dignity of Sakyamuni Buddha, who was almost forgotten under the popularity of other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas such as Amida, Dainichi, Yakushi, Kannon, and so forth. According to the Lotus Sutra, Shakamuni is the Original Buddha, all the other Buddhas being his emanations. Shakamuni also is the Eternal Buddha, who is still now expounding the Dharma to save us.
I have had many chances to make contact with my friends overseas. They ask me many questions. Some of the questions are not asked in Japan because we take the matters just for granted. Thanks to the questioners abroad, I could re-study many things to prepare for my answers. The Lotus Sutra begins with the question asked by Maitreya Bodhisattva. There are many Maitreyas in the world. We must listen to them, understand what they want to know, and study the points in the light of the Lotus Sutra and the Gosho of Nichiren.
Here I have collected some questions and answers on Nichiren Buddhism from the letters exchanged between various persons abroad and myself. I shall be very glad if this collection will be able to conduce to the right understanding of Nichiren Buddhism.
Senchu Murano
Kamakura, Japan
1998
Questioners (Alphabetical order)
Simon Continente, Faithful Follower of Nichiren Shonin in England.
Stephanie Maltz, Faithful Follower of Nichiren Shonin in the U.S.
Daniel B. Montgomery, Author of Fire in the Lotus: The Dynamic Buddhism of Nichiren (London, 1991 ).
Senkei K. Pieters, Nichiren Buddhist Temple Hokkeji, Moorslede, Belgium.
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