Monthly Archives: March 2018

LS32

Day 2

Day 2 completes Chapter 1, Introductory.

Having last month learned about a Bodhisattva called Fame Seeker, we repeat in gāthās.

Thereupon Mañjuśrī, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās in the midst of the great multitude:

According to my memory,
innumerable, countless kalpas ago,
There lived a Buddha, a Man of the Highest Honor,
Called Sun-Moon-Light.

That World-Honored One expounded the Dharma,
And caused innumerable living beings
And many hundreds of millions of Bodhisattvas
To enter the Way to the wisdom of the Buddha.

Seeing the Great Saint
Who had renounced the world,
The eight sons born to him when he was a king
Followed him, and performed brahma practices.

The Buddha expounded
To the great multitude
A sūtra of the Great Vehicle
Called the ‘Innumerable Teachings.’

Having expounded this sūtra, the Buddha sat cross-legged
On the seat of the Dharma [facing the east],
And entered into the samādhi
For the purport of the innumerable teachings.

The gods rained mandarava-flowers.
Heavenly drums sounded by themselves.
The gods, dragons, and other supernatural beings
Made offerings to the Man of the Highest Honor.

The worlds of the Buddhas quaked much.
The Buddha emitted a ray of light
From between his eyebrows,
And showed things rarely to be seen.

See The Buddha’s Nirvana

LS32, d21b, LS Introduction

The Buddha’s Nirvana

There are two meanings to nirvana. One is the state of enlightenment attained by Sakyamuni after he eliminated all earthly desires. The other is the extinction of a Buddha’s body upon the coming of physical death. The idea behind these definitions is that the Buddha attained eternal life with the extinction of his body.

Introduction to the Lotus Sutra

WONS, 100 Days of Study

Day 31 of 100

Although Śubh̄karasimha was such a splendid person, he once experienced a sudden death. Upon regaining consciousness, however, he is said to have declared:

Upon my death, a hell guard came to tie me with seven iron ropes, hit me hard with an iron stick, and dragged me to the palace of King Yama. Somehow I completely forgot all Buddhist scriptures said to be 80,000 in number, not remembering even one word or a phrase except the title of the Lotus Sūtra. When I recalled it, the iron ropes that tied me got loose somewhat. Breathing a sigh of relief, I recited a passage in the “Expedients” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra resoundingly: “This triple world is all My domain, in which all the living beings are my children without exception. Although there exist many sufferings and difficulties in this world, only I, the Buddha, alone can save and protect all living beings.” Then the seven iron ropes were broken into pieces and scattered all over. Seeing this scene, King Yama took off his crown, came down to the courtyard, and said to me, “This experience of death has not exhausted your entire life span.” Thus he sent me back to this world.

Zemmui-shō, Treatise on Śubh̄karasimha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 50

For me, what’s fascinating about this is not that reciting verses from the Lotus Sūtra can break the steel ropes of hell, but that this event occurred to one of the three patriarchs of the Chinese Chen-yen (Shingon) School.

As Nichiren writes later in this letter:

Shingon Buddhism claims that one ritual sign with the fingers and one mantra word uttered by the mouth will extinguish the immeasurable sins committed in the past and present. Nevertheless, for what sin was this master tortured by King Yama? This is indeed inexplicable. If Tripitaka Master Śubh̄karasimha with his mastery of Shingon Buddhism cannot escape the torture of King Yama, how can Shingon masters of India, China and Japan escape from the sufferings of hell?

Such are the perils of slandering the Lotus Sūtra.

100 Days of Study

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – March 31, 2018

You, the World-Honored One, saw that the aspiration for the knowledge of all things was still latent in our minds; therefore, you awakened us, saying, ‘Bhikṣus! What you had attained was not perfect extinction. I caused you to plant the good root of Buddhahood a long time ago.’

Five hundred of the Buddha’s monks give this explanation in Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, the Buddha has just assured them of reaching the same enlightenment he found. These monks had worked diligently for many years to rid themselves of suffering, and taught many other beings to become Bodhisattvas and reach the Buddha’s enlightenment, thinking they were not capable of reaching this wisdom. Not believing we are capable of something obscures the capability we have. When the Buddha proclaims that he leads all beings, he reminds us of this capacity and inspires us to make efforts to bring all beings, including ourselves, to his joy.

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

LS32

Day 1

Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory

Having last month heard the World-Honored One expound a sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the “Innumerable Teachings, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas,” we see the Buddha emit a ray of light illumining all the corners of eighteen thousand worlds in the east.

Thereupon the Buddha emitted a ray of light from the white curls between his eyebrows, and illumined all the corners of eighteen thousand worlds in the east, down to the Avchi Hell of each world, and up to the Akanistha Heaven of each world. The congregation saw from this world the living beings of the six regions of those worlds. They also saw the present Buddhas of those worlds. They also heard the Dharma expounded by those Buddhas. They also saw the bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās and upāsikās of those worlds who had already attained [the various fruits of] enlightenment by their various practices. They also saw the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas [of those worlds] who were practicing the Way of Bodhisattvas [in various ways] according to the variety of their karmas which they had done in their previous existence, and also according to the variety of their ways of understanding [the Dharma] by faith. They also saw the past Buddhas [of those worlds] who had already entered into Parinirvana. They also saw the stupas of the seven treasures which had been erected to enshrine the śarīras of those Buddhas after their Parinirvana.

See Six Omens Shown in This World

LS32, d1b, LS Introduction

Six Omens Shown in This World

In Chapter 1, Introduction, the congregation waited anxiously for this definitive sermon, the way to which had already been prepared by the Sutra of Innumerable Teachings. But Sakyamuni did not begin immediately. First, he preached the opening sutra … . Then he entered into its deep meditation. His body and mind became motionless. The assembled gods rained mandarava flowers upon him. The world quaked in six ways. The assembled beings looked on in astonishment and joined their hands together in supplication. Finally the Buddha emitted a ray of light from the white curl between his eyebrows (the so-called “third eye”) and illuminated all the eighteen thousand worlds to the east, from their lowest hells up to their highest heavens.

These are called the “Six Omens Shown in This World.” In order, they are “Preaching,” “Entering into Samadhi,” “Raining Flowers,” “Quaking,” “Delighting,” and “Emitting a Ray of Light.”

Introduction to the Lotus Sutra

Lotus World

The Life of a Buddha

Quote

The life of a Buddha cannot be discussed in terms of a beginning or an end, because the true reality of life has no beginning or end. Though it may seem contradictory, this is in keeping with the three truths of emptiness, provisional reality, and the Middle Way. The life of the Buddha has no birth or death because it is a selfless expression of the dynamic and interdependent nature of life. However, as a part of the dynamic interplay of all things, the Buddha’s enlightenment unfolds in terms of this world’s concepts of birth and death, striving and awakening. From the perspective of the Middle Way, the Buddha’s enlightened life is what it is and cannot be defined as either transcendent or mundane, though it displays both aspects.

Lotus World: An Illustrated Guide to the Gohonzon

WONS, 100 Days of Study

Day 30 of 100

[T]he Lotus Sūtra is likened to the sun. The moon appearing at night with twinkling stars cannot put out the starlight although the moonlight is stronger. During the day, on the contrary, sunlight extinguishes not only starlight but also moonlight. Likewise, pre-Lotus sūtras are like the stars and the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra is like the moon whereas the “Life Span of the Buddha” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra is like the sun. Seen from the standpoint of the “Life Span of the Buddha” chapter, even the theoretical section is like the moon, which is not comparable to the sun, not to speak of other sūtras. People cannot work at night with either starlight or moonlight. When day breaks and the sun rises, people begin to work. Likewise, in the pre-Lotus sūtras and in the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra, as at night, nobody can cut the chain of life and death to attain enlightenment no matter how hard one tries. On the contrary, in the “Life Span of the Buddha” chapter in the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra, like the sun rising at daybreak, everyone necessarily gets rid of the chain of life and death to attain enlightenment.

Yakuō-bon Tokui-shō, The Essence of the ‘Medicine King Bodhisattva’ Chapter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 32

Using the comparative luminosity of the stars and the moon and the sun works very well in this modern age to show the relationship between the “Life Span of the Buddha” chapter (the heart of the essential section) and both the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra and the pre-Lotus sūtras. But not all of Nichiren’s imagery and Japanese folk wisdom travels well from the 13 Century to the 21st.

In the letter Hokke Daimoku Shō, Treatise on the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Nichiren poses a question very much like what I’ve asked here and here:

QUESTION: You cannot burn anything by simply uttering the word, “fire” repeatedly. Indeed you have to use your hand in order to burn something. You cannot quench your thirst by just saying “water.” You need to use your mouth for drinking water. The same is true with the daimoku. I doubt it is possible to escape from the evil realms through the mere chanting of the daimoku, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō. Isn’t it necessary to understand what the daimoku means and what it entails?

(Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 36)

I actually do believe that “it is possible to escape from the evil realms through the mere chanting of the daimoku,” but Nichiren’s response simply doesn’t age well:

ANSWER: When the sinew of a lion is used as a string for a koto, the sound is so powerful that all the strings made from other threads will snap. And when hearing of the sourness of a pickled plum, saliva fills the mouth without eating it. Such mysterious things happen even in worldly affairs. How then can it be denied that something wonderful happens with the Lotus Sūtra? Even a parrot is said to have been reborn in the realm of heavenly beings just by repeating the name of the Four Noble Truths of the Hinayana teaching. Moreover, a man who dedicated himself to the Three Treasures—the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṃgha—was able to escape the attack of a monster fish in the ocean. Imagine the wonders that would occur with the daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, the essence of all the 80,000 teachings, and the eye of all the Buddhas. Do you still hold the belief that you cannot escape the four kinds of evil realms by just chanting the daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra?

Later in the same letter (Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 37-38), Nichiren writes:

When one enters the water carrying a rhinoceros horn, the water will be kept away by 5 feet. When a leaf of sandalwood opens, the bad odor of eraṇḍa will disappear as far as 40 yojana (distance covered by a traveling man in 40 days). The evil karma of ordinary people is like the water and the eraṇḍa and the daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra is like the rhinoceros horn and leaf of sandalwood. A diamond is so hard that nothing can break it except the horn of a sheep and the shell of a tortoise. Large birds cannot snap the branch of a large tree called nyagrodha though the wren, a small bird said to nest on the eyelashes of mosquitoes, can. The evil karma of ordinary people like us, is as hard as a diamond and as big as nyagrodha. The daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, on the contrary, can easily break and snap the karma of ordinary people, like the horn of a sheep and the beak of a wren. As an amber jewel removes dust and a magnet attracts iron, so are our dust and iron of evil karma removed by amber and the magnet of the daimoku. You should always think this way and continuously chant Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.

Using horns of endangered animals in order to wade through water is too far removed from modern sensibilities, but the amber jewel and magnet imagery fit nicely in my understanding of why I chant Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō

100 Days of Study

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – March 30, 2018

I knew that you were mean and timid. In order to give you a rest halfway, I expounded expediently to you the teaching of Nirvāṇa by the two vehicles. To those who attained the two [vehicles], I say, ‘You have not yet done all that you should do. You are near the wisdom of the Buddha. Think it over and consider it! The Nirvāṇa you attained is not true. I divided the One Vehicle of the Buddha into three only expediently.

The Buddha gives this explanation in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra after he tells the parable of the magic city. In that parable he compares himself, leading all beings to enlightenment, to a guide leading a group of travelers through a dangerous wilderness. The Buddha knows how frightening this world of conflict can be, so he uses teachings about ending suffering to keep us moving on the path. But then as the guide in the parable made the magic city disappear so that the travelers would continue to the real city, the Buddha tells us to abandon preoccupations with our own suffering so that we can enjoy his enlightenment.

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

LS32

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 Universal-Sage’s vow to protect anyone keeps this sūtra, we hear his dhārāṇis spells.

“World-Honored One! The bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās or upāsikās who seek, keep, read, recite and copy this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in the defiled world in the later five hundred years after [your extinction], if they wish to study and practice this sūtra, should concentrate their minds [on study and practice] strenuously for three weeks. When they complete [the study and practice of] three weeks, I will mount a white elephant with six tusks, and appear before them with my body which all living beings wish to see, together with innumerable Bodhisattvas surrounding me. I will expound the Dharma to them, show them the Way, teach them, benefit them, and cause them to rejoice. I also will give them dhārāṇi spells. u they obtain these dhārāṇis, they will not be killed by nonhuman beings or captivated by women. Also I myself will always protect them. World-Honored One! Allow me to utter these dhārāṇis spells!”

Thereupon he uttered spells before the Buddha:

“Atandai (1), tandahatai (2), tandahatei (3), tandakusharei (4), tandashudarei (5), shudarei (6), shudarahachi (7), botsudahasennei (8), sarubadarani-abatani (9), sarubabasha-abataru (10), hu­abatani (11), sōgyahabishani (12), sōgyaneku-kyadani (13), asogi (14), sōgyahagyadai. (15), teirei-ada-sōgyatorya-aratei-haratei (16), sarubasogya-sammaji-kyarandai (17), sarubadaruma­shuharisettei (18), saru-basatta-rodakyōsharya-atogyadai (19), shin-abikiridaitei (20).”

[He said to the Buddha:]

“World-Honored One! It is by my supernatural powers, know this, that a Bodhisattva can hear these dhārāṇis. Anyone who keeps the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma [while it is] propagated in the Jambudvipa, should think, ‘I can keep [this sūtra] only by the supernatural powers of Universal­Sage.’ Anyone who keeps, reads and recites this sūtra, memorizes it correctly, understands the meanings of it, and acts according to it, know this, does the same practices that I do. He should be considered to have already planted deeply the roots of good under innumerable Buddhas [in his previous existence]. He will be caressed on the head by the hands of the Tathāgatas. Anyone who copies this sūtra will be reborn in the Heaven of the Trāyastriṃs̒a Gods immediately after his present life. On that occasion, eighty-four thousand goddesses will come and receive him, making many kinds of music. A crown of the seven treasures will be put on his head, and he will enjoy himself among the ladies in waiting. Needless to say, [more merits will be given to] the person who [not only copies this sūtra but also] keeps, reads and recites it, memorizes it correctly, understands the meanings of it, and acts according to it. Anyone who keeps, reads and recites this sūtra, and understands the meanings of it, will be given helping hands by one thousand Buddhas immediately after his present life. He will be fearless. He will not fall into any evil region. He will be reborn in the Tusiita Heaven. There he will go to Maitreya Bodhisattva who, adorned with the thirty-two marks, will be surrounded by great Bodhisattvas, and attended on by hundreds of thousands of billions of goddesses. He will be given the benefits of these merits. Therefore, anyone who has wisdom should copy this sūtra with all his heart, cause others to copy it, and also keep, read and recite it, memorize it correctly, and act according to it.

“World-Honored One! I will protect this sūtra with my supernatural powers so that it may be propagated and not be destroyed in the Jambudvipa after your extinction.”

See Gratitude In Persecution