Monthly Archives: January 2018

LS32

Day 14

Day 14 covers all of Chapter 9, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Śrāvakas Who Have Something More to Learn and the Śrāvakas Who Have Nothing More to Learn, and opens Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma.

Having last month heard in gāthās of the merits of making offerings to the keeper of the Sūtra, we hear the merits of anyone who keeps this sūtra in the future and conclude Day 14’s portion of Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma.

Anyone who keeps this sūtra in the future
Should be considered
To have been dispatched by me
To the world of men in order to do my work.

Whoever for as long as a kalpa,
With evil intent and flushed face,
Speaks ill of me,
Will incur immeasurable retributions.
Whoever for even a moment
Reproaches those who read, recite and keep
The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Will incur even more retributions.

Whoever for as long as a kalpa
Joins his hands together towards me
And praises me with innumerable gāthās
In order to attain the enlightenment of the Buddha,
Will obtain innumerable merits
Because he praises me.
Whoever praises the keeper of this sūtra
Will obtain even more merits.

For eight thousand million kalpas
Offer to the keeper of this sūtra
The most wonderful things to see,
Hear, smell, taste and touch!

If you make these offerings,
And hear [this sūtra] even for a moment,
You will rejoice and say,
“Now I have obtained great benefits.”

Medicine-King! I will tell you.
The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Is the most excellent sūtra
That I have ever expounded.

See The Messengers of the Buddha

LS32, d14b, LS Introduction

The Messengers of the Buddha

Sakyamuni’s prophetic statements on religious practices in the future, or after his extinction, are the major characteristics of the Lotus Sutra, and cannot be found in any other sutra. In a time when Sakyamuni no longer exists physically, Bodhisattvas are to play the leading role in his place. … Bodhisattvas have the heart of the Buddha, and their deeds manifest his will. This is why the Lotus Sutra entitles Bodhisattvas to be the teachers of the Dharma. In this sense, Bodhisattvas, or the teachers of the Dharma, can be considered as substitutes for the Buddha. What is more, their role can be considered even more important than that of the Buddha himself after his extinction. Sakyamuni stresses this in his … statement to Bodhisattva Medicine-King:

Medicine-King! If after my extinction, anyone expounds even a single verse or phrase of this Sutra to even one person, he or she should be considered to be my messenger, sent by me to do my work. Needless to say, those who expound the Sutra in public are also great Bodhisattvas. Even if an evil person speaks ill of me or slanders me in my presence, he is not as sinful as the person who reproaches laymen or monks for reading and reciting the Lotus Sutra (p. 172).

Introduction to the Lotus Sutra

Lotus Seeds

Cling-Free Emptiness

Quote

Awareness of Emptiness is awareness of the constantly changing nature of life. To understand Emptiness is to understand that there is nothing that we can hold on to forever, and to see that we must not cling to things like money, power, sexual pleasure, fame, the company of loved ones, or even our own lives. All of these things are temporary and do not possess a fixed or eternal nature. On the other hand, through Emptiness we can learn to appreciate things and people as the dynamic and changing things that they are. When we do not cling to the good things in life, we are finally free to appreciate them for what they are for as long as they do grace our lives, but without being burdened by the fear of their eventual dissolution.

Lotus Seeds

WONS, PhraseADay

Faith and Odaimoku

MYOICHI AMA GOZEN GOHENJI

Faith is nothing special. A wife loves her husband, the husband devotes his life to her, parents do not give away their children, and children do not desert their mother. Likewise, believe in the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha Sakyamuni, the Buddha Taho, all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and deities. Then chant “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.” This is faith.

(Background : May 18, 1280, 58 years old, at Minobu, Showa Teihon, p.] 749)

Explanatory note

This letter is impressive. Nichiren Daishonin always explained religious practice in daily life. Myoichi Arna must have imprinted on her subconcious to remember her master’s words in these simple daily matters. We do not know about her for certain, but it is said that she lived near Kamakura and lost her husband in her early married life. It is very hard for a wife to accept her husband’s death, because she still loves him even after he is gone. Nichiren Daishonin advised her to turn her love to faith in the Lotus Sutra.

It is easy to talk about faith but hard to understand it. An ordinary person is able to grasp the real meaning of faith through love.
In order to receive salvation, Buddhists must have a strong aspiration to Buddhas and deities in the Lotus Sutra with the same love found among husband, wife, and their children. When one is drowning, he must wish someone’s help very strongly. To have faith in the Lotus Sutra is just like that : having a strong aspiration.

Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and deities surely protect those who have faith in the Lotus Sutra and who chant “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.” That is Nichiren Daishonin’s teaching.

Rev. Kanai

Phrase A Day

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Jan. 6, 2018

Now I will tell you
About my previous existence
And also about yours.
All of you, listen attentively!

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Six of the Lotus Sūtra. When the Buddha taught in India 2500 years ago, people took for granted that their lives continued from previous lives and would continue on into future lives. Whatever comforts we enjoy or calamities we endure in this life were thought to be caused by what we did in our former lifetimes. Our actions today were thought to determine what happens in our future lives. To our modern understanding this can sound mystical and unlikely. But if we understand that everything, including our joy and suffering, has causes and conditions, whether or not we realize these results immediately, we know that the result of creating benefit is benefit, and the result of creating harm is harm. When we hold the happiness of all beings to be as precious as our own, we would no more mistreat others than we would want them to mistreat us.

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

LS32

Day 13

Day 13 covers all of Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples.

Having last month learned of Pūrṇa’s past practices in gāthās, we learn of his future as a Buddha named Dharma-Brightness.

In the future also he will make offerings
To innumerable Buddhas, protect their right teachings,
Help them propagate their teachings,
And purify their worlds.

He will always fearlessly expound the Dharma
With expedients.
He will save countless living beings
And cause them to have the knowledge of all things.

He will make offerings to many Tathāgatas
And protect the treasure-store of the Dharma.
After that he will be able to become a Buddha
Called Dharma-Brightness.

His world will be called Good-Purity.
It will be made of the seven treasures.
His kalpa will be called Treasure-Brightness.
There will be Bodhisattvas [in his world],
Many hundreds of millions in number.
They will have great supernatural powers.
They will be powerful and virtuous.
They will be seen throughout that world.

Innumerable Śrāvakas will organize the Saṃgha.
They will have the three major supernatural powers,
The eight emancipations,
And the four kinds of unhindered eloquence.

The living beings of that world will have no sexual desire.
They will be born without any medium.
They will be adorned with the marks [of the Buddha].
They will not think
Of any other food [than the two kinds of food]:
The delight in the Dharma, and the delight in dhyāna.
There will be neither women nor evil regions
In that world.

Pūrṇa Bhikṣu will be able to obtain
All these merits,
And have his pure world
Inhabited by many sages and saints.
I have innumerable things to say of him.
I have told you only a few of them.

See The Ideal Life

LS32, d13b, LS Introduction

The Ideal Life

Purna was assured of his future Buddhahood in a realm to be called Excellent-Purity. The sutra gives some details about this pure land, where the inhabitants will know only happiness. “They will feed on two things: delight in the Dharma and delight in dhyana (meditation)” (p. 155).

A good meal is one of life’s most delectable joys. A meal also supplies us with physical strength. In the Pure Land, receiving the Dharma (truth) and feeling peace of mind after entering dhyana will be the joy and sustenance of life. In short, the sutra teaches us that the ideal life consists of feeding our hearts just as we feed our bodies.

Introduction to the Lotus Sutra

Awakening to the Lotus

The Precept Platform

Quote

Nichiren Shonin’s teachings indicate that the precept platform can be anywhere one practices chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.

Awakening to the Lotus

WONS, PhraseADay

Learning and Practicing

SHOHO JlSSO SHO

Have faith in the Great Mandala Gohonzon, the most superlative in the world. Endeavor! Endeavor to strengthen your faith, so that you may be blessed with the protective powers of all Buddhas. Learn and practice to strengthen your faith. Without learning and practicing there is no Buddhism. To learn and to practice are a part of faith. Follow these yourself and influence others to do the same. Even if only a word or a phrase, spread it to others.

(Background : 1273, 51 years old, at Sado, Showa Teihon, p.728)

Explanatory note

It is most important for us who follow the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin to believe obediently in the Great Mandala Gohonzon. It is an object of faith and worship. It symbolizes the salvation revealed in the Lotus Sutra.

When the Buddha Sakyamuni preached the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha Taho proved its truth, and Sakyamuni’s funjin (manifestations), who had been preaching in all other worlds, praised Him. Furthermore, all deities who had been deeply impressed by listening to the teachings of the Lotus Sutra promised to protect the people who would believe in the sutra.

When we wish to receive this protection, we must do two things — to learn and to practice.

We often distinguish learning from practicing. But we must learn while we devote ourselves putting the teachings of the sutra into practice. Nichiren Daishonin teaches us that it is impossible to be a true and faithful follower without learning and practicing.

Rev. Ogawa

Phrase A Day

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Jan. 5, 2018

He should disregard the differences
Between the superior, mean, and inferior vehicles,
Between the things free from causality and those subject to it,
And between the real and the unreal.
He should not say:
“This is a man,” or “This is a woman.”
He should not obtain anything
Or know anything or see anything.
All these are the proper practices
That the Bodhisattva should perform.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Mañjuśrī in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra in which he describes the peaceful practices of a Bodhisattva. When we fully comprehend the idea of dependent origination, that no person has an ego, that each of us is the result of causes and conditions, and that the Buddha Dharma is a cause for good of which we may not be aware, it is no longer necessary to classify the beings with whom we share this world. Our inclinations towards dogma are replaced with curiosity. Our need to dominate is replaced with a need to understand.

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