Chapters Three, Four, and Five each introduce a parable. The sutra was arranged in such a way that we can easily understand the theories, which were first introduced in Chapter 2, Expedients, by means of the parables in the next three chapters. By the end of [Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood], the five “hearers” (Śāriputra, Subhuti, Maha-Katyayana, Maha-Kasyapa, and Maha-Maudgalyayana) have been assured by Sakyamuni of their future Buddhahood. … [T]he sutra will gradually disclose how not just some, but all of the “hearers” are assured of becoming Buddhas in the future.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraMonthly Archives: April 2018
Jū-Nyoze
The Ten Suchnesses (Jū-Nyoze) appear in Chapter 2 (Expedient Means) of the Lotus Sutra (Murano, p. 24). This is the portion of the Lotus Sūtra we recite as part of our daily services and which is repeated three times during Hōben-pon. … The Ten Suchnesses are:
- Nyoze-sō, or appearance as such,
- Nyoze-Shō, or natures as such,
- Nyoze-tai, or entities as such,
- Nyoze-riki, or powers as such,
- Nyoze-sa, or activities as such,
- Nyoze-in, or primary causes as such,
- Nyoze-en, or environmental causes as such,
- Nyoze-ka, or effects as such,
- Nyoze-hō, or rewards and retributions as such,
- Nyoze-honmatsu-kukyō-tō, or equality as such despite these differences.
Day 34 of 100
Life is fleeting! No matter how many powerful enemies join forces against you, do not retreat and never be afraid. Even if your head is sawed off, your torso pierced through with a spear, and your feet shackled and drilled with a gimlet, you should continue chanting “Namu Myōhō-renge-kyō” as long as you have life. If you die chanting it, Śākyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of Many Treasures, and Buddhas in manifestation throughout the universe will immediately come flying, lead you by the hand or carry you on their shoulders to Mt. Sacred Eagle as they had promised at the assembly on Mt. Sacred Eagle. At that moment, two sages (Bodhisattvas Medicine King and Brave Donor), two heavenly kings (World Holding and Vaiśravaṇa), and ten female rākṣasa demons will protect you, upholders of the Lotus Sūtra, and various gods and deities will hold up a canopy over your head, wave banners, guard you, and certainly will send you to the Jeweled Land of Tranquil Light. Is not this the utmost happiness?
Nyosetsu Shugydō-shō, True Way of Practicing the Teaching of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Pages 87-88
These are the assurances that hold special meaning for me, promises of compassion on the other shore.
100 Days of StudyDaily Dharma – April 3, 2018
Thereupon a loud voice of praise was heard from within the stūpa of treasures: “Excellent, excellent! You, Śākyamuni, the World-Honored One, have expounded to this great multitude the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Teaching of Equality, the Great Wisdom, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas. So it is, so it is. What you, Śākyamuni, the World-Honored One, have expounded is all true.”
This declaration comes from Many-Treasures Buddha (Tahō, Prabhutaratna) at the beginning of Chapter Eleven of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, Many-Treasures came from a world far away from this world of conflict when he heard the Buddha giving his highest teaching and appeared in a tower (stūpa) of wonderful treasures to confirm the truth of this teaching. By the Teaching of Equality, he means that all beings can become enlightened through this teaching. By the Great Wisdom, he means that the teaching is the same as the Buddha’s own mind. By the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, he means that to receive this teaching we awaken to our natures to benefit all beings. And by the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas, he means that all Buddhas in all worlds encourage and help those who practice this sūtra.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 4
Day 4 finishes Chapter 2, Expedients, and completes the first volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month considered the need for the teaching of Nirvana, we learn the power of the Great Vehicle.
Some sons of mine are pure in heart, gentle and wise.
They have practiced the profound and wonderful teachings
Under innumerable Buddhas
[ln their previous existence].
I will expound this sūtra of the Great Vehicle to them,
And a sure them of their future Buddhahood, saying:
“You will attain the enlightenment of the Buddha
In your future lives.”Deep in their minds they are thinking of me,
And observing the pure precepts.
Therefore, they will be filled with joy
When they hear they will become Buddhas.
I know their minds.
Therefore, I will expound the Great Vehicle to them.Any Śrāvaka or Bodhisattva
Who hears even a gāthā
Of this sūtra which I am to expound
Will undoubtedly become a Buddha.
See Small Good Deeds
Small Good Deeds
Toward the end of [Chapter 2], the Buddha expounds a well-known teaching called, “A small good deed leads a person to become a Buddha.” This teaching states that whenever someone shows sincere faith in the Buddha by performing a good deed, no matter how tiny it may be, this act sets him on the path to Buddhahood, and he or she is sure to become a Buddha eventually. Even though such a person is not yet a Buddha, he or she is on the way, and deserves respect as a future Buddha.
For example, even a person who has never performed any special practice can become a Buddha simply by making an offering, such as incense, flowers, or the wonderful sounds of music, in front of a Stupa (a round dome-shaped shrine) or an image of the Buddha. The sutra repeatedly maintains that such people “have already attained the enlightenment of the Buddha.” Furthermore, just entering a shrine only once and reciting, “Namo Buddhaya” (Homage to the Buddha!), or offering a single flower, is enough to enable anyone to become a Buddha. What is more, even a child at play, who pretends to build a Stupa by heaping up a pile of sand or dirt, “has already become a Buddha.” In the same way, if a child draws a picture of the Buddha on a wall with a stick or the back of his fingernail, and makes a gesture of praying to it, he or she has already become a Buddha (or, as the sutra says again, “has already attained the enlightenment of the Buddha”), (The Buddha is pure good: any act of good on our part, no matter how small or insignificant it may appear to be, puts us in his embrace from which nothing can ever separate us.)
The sutra presents various instances, one by one in order, to show that any small act of good will on our part enables us to become a Buddha. From these concrete examples, we can see that the One Vehicle is the teaching of the Buddha himself—boundless in bounty, pouring forth perfect life in limitless supply, lending a hand to everyone, and leading all of us to his own enlightenment. Finally, the sutra adds, “Anyone who even hears the Dharma (law/truth) will not fail to become a Buddha!”
Introduction to the Lotus SutraMy Region Is Peace and Rest
Sakyamuni, explaining the real state of this world, says, “This my region is Peace and Rest.” And indeed the world, rightly understood, is the region of peace, joy, and purity, and is free from sadness, trouble, and pain. It is the duty of its inhabitants to welcome those who are born and come, and to mourn for those who die and depart. Thus their life-work is finished, and they will be exempt from disappointment. The Buddha says: “Peaceful and happy in this life, we shall pass into the Good Regions hereafter.”
Doctrines of Nichiren (1893)Equal to the Buddha
It is interesting that the Buddha didn’t say that everyone will be just like he was, or that our lives would be identical. They won’t; it isn’t possible. But we can actually attain an enlightenment that is equal to the Buddha’s, even as it manifests differently in our own unique circumstances.
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1Day 33 of 100
[T]he two Buddhas, Śākyamuni and Many Treasures, are functions of the substance, that is the five characters of myō, hō, renge, and kyō. In other words, the Lotus Sūtra is the Original Buddha. “The Life Span of the Buddha” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra mentions the Buddha’s “hidden core and divine powers.” The hidden core of the World Honored One refers to the substance of the Original Buddha possessing the threefold body (Dharma Body, Reward Body, and Accommodative Body). The divine powers mean the three bodies of manifested Buddhas as functions of the Original Buddha (substance). Also, we unenlightened people can fundamentally be the Original Buddha with three bodies of the substance, and the Buddha’s three bodies are functions and manifestations of the Original Buddha. If this is true, although we believed that Śākyamuni Buddha provided the three virtues of master, teacher and parent to us, instead it was we unenlightened people who provide three virtues to the Buddha. The reason why we say this is based on T’ien-t’ai’s interpretation in the ninth fascicle of the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra that, “The Tathagata (Thus-come One) is a common term for all Buddhas in ten directions in the past, present, and future, two Buddhas (True Body and Accommodative Body), three Buddhas (Dharma Body, Reward Body, and Accommodative Body), the Original Buddha and Buddhas in manifestation.” In this annotation, the Original Buddha refers to unenlightened people and Buddhas in manifestation mean Buddhas. However, there is a difference between unenlightened people and enlightened Buddhas, and those people are unaware that both people and Buddhas originally possess the same threefold bodies either as substance or function.
T’ien’tai, therefore, makes clear that all things and phenomena in the ten realms are manifestations of the ultimate reality. Since ultimate reality is another name of the Lotus Sūtra, what he states is that all things and phenomena are equal to the Lotus Sūtra. It is a reality of a hell showing hell’s appearance. If its appearance turns into that of the realm of hungry spirits, it is no longer a hell. “All phenomena as ultimate reality” means that Buddhas show Buddhas’ appearance, unenlightened people show their appearance, and the true appearance of all things is the truth of the Lotus Sūtra.
Shohō Jissō-shō, Treatise on All Phenomena as Ultimate Reality, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 76
Two things I consider of note here:
- [A]lthough we believed that Śākyamuni Buddha provided the three virtues of master, teacher and parent to us, instead it was we unenlightened people who provide three virtues to the Buddha.
- It is a reality of a hell showing hell’s appearance. If its appearance turns into that of the realm of hungry spirits, it is no longer a hell. “All phenomena as ultimate reality” means that Buddhas show Buddhas’ appearance, unenlightened people show their appearance, and the true appearance of all things is the truth of the Lotus Sūtra.
And in pondering this I chant Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.
100 Days of StudyDaily Dharma – April 2, 2018
Anyone who rejoices at hearing this sūtra,
And who receives it respectfully,
Know this, has already reached
The stage of not-returning.
The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Three of the Lotus Sūtra. The state of non-returning means having the certainty of reaching enlightenment. As Bodhisattvas, when we go into any realm, whether higher or lower, it is to benefit the beings there. It is easy to become discouraged by the difficulties we face in this world of conflict, and to forget that we are not alone in our efforts to help others. When we return to the joy of the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha reminds us of who we are, what we are doing, and where we are going, no matter what obstacles we may find.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com