Faith in the Three Treasures—the Buddha, the Law, and the Order—has been the religious characteristic of all Buddhism, Hinayana or Mahayana, throughout the twenty-five hundred years of its history. Some Western scholars have argued that because it has no deity Shakyamuni’s Buddhism is not a religion but a system of ethics, morality, and philosophy. But such scholars overlook the religious nature of faith in the Three Treasures.
Basic Buddhist ConceptsMonthly Archives: January 2018
Precious Life
Jl RI KUYO GOSHO
Water is essential for fish to live. Soil is essential for plants to grow. Food is essential for man to live. To live is most essential for all.
(Background : 1276, 54 years old, at Minobu, Showa Teihon, p.1261)
Explanatory note
Nichiren Daishonin emphasized the importance to respect our life as well as to seek eternal life. He said, “To maintain our life is more valuable than gaining a million pieces of gold.” However, these words will be in vain if we forget to have a prayer for eternal life.
According to Buddhism, one equals all. In other words, one would contain whole things and the whole things would be attributed to one. After all, one and all are identified without hindrance. Nichiren Daishonin goes a step further and finds the absolute unity between self and others in this reality. In other parts of his teaching, he says, “The true life will be found in matters in our society.” Therefore, in our daily lives, it is necessary to make efforts to maintain our physical life as well as to seek eternal life.
The dignity of man’s life is expressed as “Not-killing” in Buddhism. Fear of wars and nuclear weapons can not be erased from our minds. We are in danger all the time as Damocles who, looking up, found a sword suspended above his head by a single hair. At this age, we must listen with attention to the important message of the Buddha “Do not kill.” At the same time, we must always be thankful for the fact that we have life in this world.
It is a common ethic throughout the world to be grateful for living on this earth. Oriental people express their gratitude through veneration, especially of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. It is called “kuyo” and it is the most essential morality of their religious lives.
Thus, we show our gratitude for the teachings of the Buddha and favors of the land, by refraining from any negative act of human dignity.
Rev. Matsuda
Phrase A DayDaily Dharma – Jan. 24, 2018
I am saving all living beings from suffering.
Because they are perverted,
I say that I pass away even though I shall not.
If they always see me,
They will become arrogant and licentious,
And cling to the five desires
So much that they will fall into the evil regions.
The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. Sometimes we wonder why the Buddha’s presence in this world is not more obvious. We think if only we could find a living example of an enlightened being living among us then we would be happy and the world would be a better place to live. We forget that even during the Buddha’s lifetime, not everyone sought him out for his teaching, and some actively opposed him. In this explanation, the Buddha points out that our not seeing him is due to our limitations rather than his, and by not taking our lives and this world for granted, we open ourselves to his presence.
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 Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha expound the Dharma and hear the prediction for the king, we learn the value of teachers.
“Thereupon the king abdicated from the throne in favor of his younger brother, renounced the world, and with his wife, two sons, and attendants, practiced the Way under that Buddha. After he renounced the world, the king acted according to the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma constantly and strenuously for eighty-four thousand years. Then he practiced the samādhi for the adornment of all pure merits. Then he went up to the sky seven times as high as the tala-tree, and said to that Buddha, ‘World-Honored One! These two sons of mine did the work of the Buddha. They converted me from wrong views by displaying wonders. They caused me to dwell peacefully in your teachings. They caused me to see you. These two sons of mine are my teachers. They appeared in my family in order to benefit me. They inspired the roots of good which I had planted in my previous existence.’
“Thereupon Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha said to King Wonderful-Adornment, ‘So it is, so it is. It is just as you say. The good men or women who plant the roots of good will obtain teachers in their successive lives. The teachers will do the work of the Buddha, show the Way [to them], teach them, benefit them, cause them to rejoice, and cause them to enter into the Way to Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Great King, know this! A teacher is a great cause [of your enlightenment] because he leads you, and causes you to see a Buddha and aspire for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Great King! Do you see these two sons of yours, or not? They made offerings to six trillion and five hundred thousand billion Buddhas, that is, as many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges, in their previous existence. They attended on those Buddhas respectfully. They kept the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma under those Buddhas, and caused the people of wrong views to have right views out of their compassion towards them.
See Kamon
Kamon
The studies conducted over so many centuries made possible a deeper understanding of the Lotus Sutra, and methodological standards for its interpretation were established. One example is called Kamon. It is a classification of the twenty-eight chapters into several sets for a systematic explanation of their meaning.
The major Kamon is the “Three Parts of Each of the Two Divisions of the Lotus Sutra” which was established by Great Master Chih-i. Most commentators since his time have accepted his guidelines. …
[T]he “Three Parts of Each of the Two Divisions of the Lotus Sutra” refers to the division of the Sutra into two main sections: the first half, consisting of Chapters One through Fourteen, and the second half, consisting of Chapters Fifteen through Twenty-eight. Kamon gives a detailed explanation of the reason for this division. The first half is named Shakumon, literally “imprinted gate.” Its main purpose is to teach how “hearers” and Pratyekabuddhas can attain Buddhahood in the One Vehicle. The second half is called Hommon, which means “Primal Gate” or “Primal Mystery.” This part reveals Sakyamuni to be the infinite, absolute Buddha, the Buddha who attained enlightenment in the remotest past but still leads living beings in the present. These two points are considered the fundamental ideas of the Lotus Sutra.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraThree Kinds of Mind
When we can deny ego, we improve our three kinds of mind; We can be grateful for all; we can respect all; and we can be compassionate to all. At the same time, by improving the three kinds of mind, we overcome our selfish ego and improve ourselves through our greater ability to live with others. We want to be persons who realize the joy and suffering of our surroundings.
Buddha Seed: Understanding the Odaimoku
Women’s Power
KYODAI SHO
To be a woman is to be obedient, and consequently she will have her way.
(Background : April 16, 1275, 53 years old, at Minobu, Showa Teihon p.932)
TOKI AMA GOZEN GOSHO
An arrow is directed by the power of its bow. The clouds move with the power of wind. The works of man (husband) are seeded by woman (wife).
(Background : March 27, 1276, 54 years old, at Minobu, Showa Teihon p.1147)
Explanatory note
The above two letters are often quoted at wedding ceremonies addressed to the brides. They are not only beneficial for women but also for everyone. The quotation means not to push one’s desire or plan disregarding others, rather to see reality and to follow the reality, then one’s desire or plan will be materialized.
Nichiren Daishonin is telling us that husband and wife should demonstrate individual ability in their union and that any partnership is the same. It is the wife’s skill that helps the husband to be successful in his work and his faith.
Rev. Kanai
Phrase A DayDaily Dharma – Jan. 23, 2018
Those who come to this teacher of the Dharma
Will be able to complete the Way of Bodhisattvas quickly.
Those who follow him and study will be able to see
As many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges.
The Buddha sings these verses to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. By teacher of the Dharma, the Buddha means anyone who keeps, reads, recites, copies and expounds this Sūtra. As we continue on this Way, we learn to recognize the Buddha’s presence in every aspect of our experience. We learn to appreciate everything the Buddha does for us, and to show that gratitude to all those in whom we recognize the Buddha. Then we realize there is no shortage of teachers, no shortage of joy and no shortage of opportunities to benefit others.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 30
Day 30 covers all of Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs
Having last month received dhārāṇis from 10 rākṣasas daughters and Mother-Of-Devils and her children, we conclude the chapter with the Buddha’s response.
The Buddha said to the rākṣasas:
“Excellent, excellent! Your merits will be immeasurable even when you protect the person who keeps only the name of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. Needless to say, so will be your merits when you protect the person who keeps the sūtra itself, and makes to a copy of this sūtra hundreds of thousands of offerings such as flowers, incense, necklaces, powdered incense, incense applicable to the skin, incense to burn, streamers, canopies, music, and various lamps like lamps of butter oil, oil lamps, lamps of perfumed oil, lamps of sumanas-flower oil, lamps of campaka flower oil, lamps of vārṣika-flower oil, and lamps of utpala-flower oil. Kunti! You [rākṣasas] and your attendants should protect this teacher of the Dharma.”
When the Buddha expounded this chapter of Dhārānis, sixty-eight thousand people obtained the truth of birthlessness.
Keeping and Maintaining
We should say a little more about dharanis. Bodhisattvas, who are practitioners of the Great Vehicle, are expected to practice and obtain the power of dharanis. In Chapter One, “Introduction,” it says that there were eighty thousand Bodhisattvas in the congregation, and all of them “had obtained dharanis” (p. 1).
It is believed that the root of the word dharani in Sanskrit is the verb dhuti, which means “to keep or maintain.” Probably the original meaning of dharani was to keep or maintain something in the memory. It was necessary for people learning a sutra to be able to remember its words and recite them accurately.
Introduction to the Lotus Sutra