“Thus have I heard,” literally means, “I have heard the Buddha’s teachings in this way.” But it also implies that others might have interpreted them in some other way. Sakyamuni employed an expedient method of preaching so that he could be understood by the individual listener in his or her particular situation. For this reason, the interpretations of his teachings varied among the believers. Thus a large number of sutras were created over the years, and they did not always agree in their details. The meaning of the Lotus Sutra, however, cannot be interpreted differently, because, unlike the others, it is not a mere expedient for some listeners only, but the final teaching for everyone. Therefore, this sutra expects us to read the opening words as, “I have heard THIS,” emphasizing that everyone surely hears and understands it the same way.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraMonthly Archives: December 2017
Mandala Gohonzon
The third Sunday of December is designated as the day to do a thorough cleaning of the temple. At the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church this is a rare opportunity to see the full Mandala Gohonzon. Normally, the statue of Nichiren obscures the bottom third.
Here’s a video that includes 125 Mandala Gohonzons inscribed by Nichiren Shonin.
Namu
Joy and gratitude are fundamental practices of Buddhism. We say Namu because we appreciate our lives, we appreciate our practice and relationship to the Lotus Sutra or Myoho Renge Kyo. Namu is an expression of our relationship to the Lotus Sutra. Namu is not a question, it is not a seeking for something outside our lives, Namu is an expression of what is already in our lives and our ever-deepening relationship to those truths. Namu is not ‘I want this’, it is instead saying ‘I am this’.
Practice Guide
Daily Dharma – Dec. 24, 2017
When the sky is blue, the land is bright. In this way those who know the Lotus Sutra can see the reasons for occurrences in the world. For those who are incapable of understanding the truth of the “3000 existences contained in one thought,” Lord Śākyamuni Buddha with his great compassion, wraps this jewel with the five characters of myō, hō, ren, ge and kyō and hangs it around the neck of the ignorant in the Latter Age of Degeneration. The four great Bodhisattvas will protect such people, just as the Duke of Chou assisted the young ruler, King Chen, or the Four Elders attended the child Emperor Hui.
Nichiren wrote this in his treatise on Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Venerable (Kanjin Honzon-Shō). This reminds us that whether or not we are able to make sense of the Buddha’s most difficult teaching, what is important is to rely on his determination to help us become enlightened. It is in our practice of reciting the sacred title: “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,” that we express all the teachings of the Buddha and help all beings become enlightened.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 32
Day 32 covers Chapter 28, The Encouragement of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, closing the Eighth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month heard Śākyamuni Buddha’s instructions to Universal Sage, we conclude the Chapter 28, The Encouragement of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva.
“Universal-Sage! Anyone who keeps, reads and recites this sūtra [in the later five hundred years] after [my extinction], will not be attached to clothing, bedding, food or drink, or any other thing for living. What he wishes will not remain unfulfilled. He will be able to obtain the rewards of his merits in his present life. Those who abuse him, saying, ‘You are perverted. You are doing this for nothing,’ will be reborn blind in their successive lives in retribution for their sin. Those who make offerings to rum and praise him, will be able to obtain rewards in their present life. Those who, upon seeing the keeper of this sūtra, blame him justly or unjustly, will suffer from white leprosy in their present life. Those who laugh at him will have few teeth, ugly lips, flat noses, contorted limbs, squint eyes, and foul and filthy bodies, and suffer from bloody pus of scabs, abdominal dropsy, tuberculosis, and other serious diseases in their successive lives. Therefore, Universal-Sage! When you see the keeper of this sūtra in the distance, you should rise from your seat, go to him, receive him, and respect him just as you respect me.
When the Buddha expounded this chapter of the Encouragement of Universal-Sage, as many Bodhisattvas as there are sands in the River Ganges obtained the dhārāṇis by which they could memorize hundreds of thousands of billions of repetitions of teachings, and as many Bodhisattvas as the particles of dust of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds [understood how to] practice the Way of Universal-Sage.
When the Buddha expounded this sūtra, the great congregation including the Bodhisattvas headed by Universal-Sage, the Śrāvakas headed by Śāriputra, and the other living beings such as gods, dragons, men and nonhuman beings, had great joy, kept the words of the Buddha, bowed [to him], and retired.
[Here ends] the Eighth Volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Universal Meaning
Most modern Buddhist scholars believe that the Lotus Sutra was compiled about 500 years after Sakyamuni’s death – that is, during the first century of our era. (It was not composed all at once. Some parts are considered older than others.) In the light of this historical assessment, we can deduce that the Lotus Sutra constituted an effort to unify the diverse Buddhist schools of thought and practice which had already developed. No matter when the sutra was actually written, however, its doctrine should be understood as conveying universal meaning – the truth which transcends any limits of time or place. The Lotus Sutra embodies thought meant to unify all the Buddhist sects, old and new, regardless of their origin.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraThe Identity Perceived by Buddhas
It is the identity perceived by Buddhas that is the real state of things – the very Truth itself. Sakyamuni, fearing that such reasoning was above the comprehension of the people generally, embodied the Truth in the concrete form of his own person, in order that they might there see it for themselves, and thus addressed them: “Now, the three worlds – the mortal, the material, and the spiritual – are all my own possession; and all the living beings they contain are my own children.”
Doctrines of Nichiren (1893)Praising the Lotus Sutra in All We Do
We are given the perfect instructions in the Lotus Sutra for our individual attainment of enlightenment. It really doesn’t matter who we are, or even who we think we are. We can achieve the same enlightenment as all the Buddhas, though it will be unique to our individual selves. The directions are pretty straightforward. They are not complex, though they are difficult to maintain. Keeping, or upholding the sutra, reading it, reciting it, copying it and teaching are all we have to do. Praising the Lotus Sutra in all we do is fundamentally at the heart of each of these things.
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1Daily Dharma – Dec. 23, 2017
My words are true.
Believe me with all your hearts!
I have been teaching them
Since the remotest past.
The Buddha sings these verses to Maitreya Bodhisattva and others gathered to hear him teach in Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sūtra. Maitreya had never seen any of the other Bodhisattvas who sprang up from underground in this chapter, despite his memory of previous lives and other worlds. The Buddha explains that the beings who had just appeared are also his disciples and have come to spread this Wonderful Dharma in our world. Nichiren teaches that when he realized that he was an incarnation of Superior-Practice, the leader of the Bodhisattvas from underground, then all of us who follow Nichiren and continue to keep the Lotus Sūtra are the followers of Superior-Practice. We do not need to wait for someone to come to our world and lead us. The world does not need anyone other than those already here to teach the Dharma. We are the Bodhisattvas from underground.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 31
Day 31 covers Chapter 27, King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva.
Having last month witnessed the king and queen and their two sons and retainers set off to visit the Buddha, we see Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha expound the Dharma and hear the prediction for the king.
“Thereupon the Buddha expounded the Dharma to the king, showed him the Way, taught him, benefited him, and caused him to rejoice. The king had great joy. The king and queen took off their necklaces of pearls worth hundreds of thousands, and strewed the necklaces to the Buddha. The necklaces flew up to the sky [seven times as high as the tala-tree], and changed into a jeweled platform equipped with four pillars. On the platform was a couch of great treasures, and thousands of millions of heavenly garment were spread [on the couch]. The Buddha [went up,] sat cross-legged [on the couch], and emitted great rays of light. King Wonderful-Adornment thought, ‘The Buddha is exceptional. He is exceedingly handsome. He has the most wonderful form.’
“Thereupon Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha said to the four kinds of devotees, ‘Do you see this King Wonderful-Adornment standing before me with his hands joined together, or not? This king will become a bhikṣu under me, strenuously study and practice the various ways to the enlightenment of the Buddha, and then become a Buddha called Sala-Tree-King in a world called Great-Light in a kalpa called Great-Height-King. Sala-Tree-King Buddha will be accompanied by innumerable Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas. The ground of his world will be even. [King Wonderful-Adornment) will have these merits.’