Monthly Archives: May 2018

WONS, 100 Days of Study

Day 81 of 100

To begin with, as we ask where do hell and the Buddha exist, some sūtras state that hell exists underground while others state that the Buddha exists to the west. Upon closer inspection, however, it is preached that both hell and the Buddha exist within our five-foot bodies. As proof of this, we sometimes disdain our fathers or neglect our mothers in our minds. This indicates that our minds contain the function of hell. It is like the seed of the lotus plant that contains both the flower and the fruit. The Buddha also stays in our minds. It is like the fire that exists within a flint and the fortune that can be found within a gem. We ordinary people cannot see our own eyelashes, which are too close, or the end of the sky, which is too far. Likewise, we are unaware of the Buddha residing in our own minds.

Omonsu-dono Nyōbō Gohenji, A Reply to the Wife of the Lord of Omonsu, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 109

Underscore “We are unaware of the Buddha residing in our own minds.”

100 Days of Study

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – May 20, 2018

I am now joyful and fearless.
I have laid aside all expedient teachings.
I will expound only unsurpassed enlightenment
To Bodhisattvas.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra. When the Buddha says he only teaches Bodhisattvas, he does not mean that he holds his highest teaching back from anybody. For us to be able to hear what the Buddha teaches, we must awaken our image of ourselves as Bodhisattvas who chose to come into this world of conflict and delusion. If we try to use the Buddha’s teaching to gratify our own delusions, we will only create more suffering. It is only when we set aside our habits of fear and doubt that we can gain wisdom through practicing the Wonderful Dharma.

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

LS32

Day 19

Day 19 concludes Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices, and begins Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground.

Having last month concluded today’s portion of Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground, we return to today’s portion of Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.

“Again, Mañjuśrī! A Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who keeps this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in the latter days after [my extinction) when the teachings are about to be destroyed, should have great loving-kindness towards laymen and monks, and great compassion towards those who are not Bodhisattvas. He should think: ‘They do not know that the Tathāgata expounded expedient teachings according to the capacities of all Jiving beings. They do not hear, know or notice it, or ask a question about it or believe or understand it. Although they do not ask a question about this sūtra, or believe or understand it, I will lead them and cause them, wherever they may be, to understand the Dharma by my supernatural powers and by the power of my wisdom when I attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.’

“Mañjuśrī! A Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who performs this fourth set of [peaceful] practices after my extinction, will be able to expound the Dharma flawlessly. Bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās, upāsikās, kings, princes, ministers, common people, brāhmanas and householders will make offerings to him, honor him, respect him, and praise him. The gods in the sky will always serve him in order to hear the Dharma from him. When someone comes to his abode located in a village, in a city, in a retired place or in a forest, and wishes to ask him a question, the gods will protect him day and night for the sake of the Dharma so that the hearer may rejoice because this sūtra was, is, and will be protected by the supernatural powers of the past, present and future Buddhas.

The Daily Dharma from Sept. 29, 2017, offers this:

Mañjuśrī! A Bodhisattva-mahāsattva who keeps this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in the latter days after [my extinction] when the teachings are about to be destroyed, should have great loving-kindness towards laymen and monks, and great compassion towards those who are not Bodhisattvas. He should think: ‘They do not know that the Tathāgata expounded expedient teachings according to the capacities of all living beings. They do not hear, know or notice it, or ask a question about it or believe or understand it. Although they do not ask a question about this sūtra, or believe or understand it, I will lead them and cause them, wherever they may be, to understand the Dharma by my supernatural powers and by the power of my wisdom when I attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra. Until we reach enlightenment, we may not be able to reach all beings. Rather than blaming them for not having the capacity to learn from us, or blaming ourselves for not being skillful enough to reach them, the Buddha reminds us to be patient and realize there is no hurry to being free from our delusions.

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

Lotus World

The Focus of Devotion Within

Quote

Nichiren constantly admonished his followers to never seek the focus of devotion outside themselves. The Great Mandala Nichiren inscribed shows all the so-called ten worlds of existence, from the hells, heavens, and other forms of existence all the way up to the world of buddhahood, illuminated by the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Flower Sutra. According to a letter traditionally attributed to Nichiren, this mandala-gohonzon is a depiction of the true nature of our lives. Through our faith in the Lotus Sutra we will be able to awaken to this reality and fully express the world of buddhahood residing deep within us all.

Lotus World: An Illustrated Guide to the Gohonzon

WONS, 100 Days of Study

Day 80 of 100

Your late husband resting beneath the shade of clumps of grass, where nobody visits him, must be anxious to know how his young children whom he left behind in the Sahā World are doing. In ancient China a man named Su-wu was detained in a northern barbarian country for 19 years. He is said to have fastened a letter to the leg of a wild goose addressed to his beloved wife and children at home. A Japanese man, Abe no Nakamaro, went to T’ang China to study. When he lost his way back to Japan, he looked at the moon rising in the east and composed a poem saying “It must be the moon over Mt. Mikasa in Kasuga (Nara).” Your late husband must be thinking of these things as if they were his own.

Nevertheless, because you faithfully chant the daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, the character Myō of the Lotus Sūtra transforms itself into the messenger of the Buddha or such bodhisattvas as Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra, Superior Practice, or Never Despising. And these messengers of the Buddha will report the things in the Sahā World to your late husband in the other world just as the mirror pieces of Ch’ên-tzu in ancient China became birds to keep him informed, and the sound of Su-wu’s wife beating her husband’s clothes with a fulling block every autumn reached the ears of her husband detained by the northern barbarians.

Moreover, just as a flower becomes a fruit or a half moon becomes a full, the Chinese character Myō is transformed into the Buddha. Therefore, it is preached in the Lotus Sūtra, “Beholding the Stupa of Treasures” chapter, “He who is able to uphold this sūtra is upholding the Buddha’s body.” Grand Master T’ien-t’ai declares, “Every character is the true Buddha.”

Thus, the character Myō is none other than Śākyamuni Buddha who is perfectly equipped with the 32 marks of physical excellence and 80 minor marks of physical excellence of a Buddha. However, as we cannot see deeply enough, we see it merely as a character. For instance, an aged person with poor eyesight cannot see the new shoot of a lotus flower that sprouts in a pond. Though there may be a shadow, we cannot see it in the darkness of night. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that this character Myō is the Buddha’s body.

Moreover, the character Myō is the moon, sun, stars, mirrors, clothes, food, flowers, earth, and ocean. The merits of all of these are combined in the character Myō. And regarding treasures, it is the wish-fulfilling gem. Please understand this.

Myōshin-ama Gozen Gohenji, A Response to My Lady, the Nun Myōshin, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Pages 106-107

The references to “mirror pieces of Ch’ên-tzu” and “the sound of Su-wu’s wife beating her husband’s clothes” relate to these tales from Jimyō-ama Gozen Gohenji, A Response to My Lady, the Nun Jimyō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 93:

In ancient China, a man of courage named Su-wu was sent to a northern barbarian country of Hsiung Nu representing Emperor Wu of the Former Han and was detained there for 19 long years. His wife continued to think of him while Su-wu himself never forgot about his wife.

Longing to see her husband, the wife beat her husband’s clothes upon a block for beating clothes every autumn. It is said that the sound of her beating her husband’s clothes reached the ears of Su-wu. Is it possible that her ardent love reached him despite the distance?

When a man named Ch’én-tzu was separated from his wife, they broke a mirror taking one piece each, promising not to forget each other. Whenever they failed to think of each other, it is said, the mirror appeared as a bird to warn them.

100 Days of Study

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – May 19, 2018

Listen! World-Voice-Perceiver practiced
According to the conditions of the places [of salvation].
His vow to save [people] is as deep as the sea.
You cannot fathom it even for kalpas.

The Buddha gives this description of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva (Kannon, Kanzeon, Kuan Yin, Avalokitesvara) to Endless-Intent Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Five of the Lotus Sūtra. As the embodiment of Compassion, World-Voice perceiver demonstrates the boundlessness of our ability to benefit others. We can often feel overwhelmed by the problems in the world, and believe that we are not capable of doing everything that is necessary to lead beings out of their delusions. This chapter reminds us that we are not working alone, and that by depending on wisdom rather than power, we learn to see the wonders that surround us.

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

LS32

Day 18

Day 18 concludes Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra, and begins Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.

Having last month considered the peaceful practices a Bodhisattva should perform, we repeat in gāthās.

Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:

The Bodhisattva should wish
To make all living beings peaceful,
And then expound the Dharma to them.
He should make a seat in a pure place,
Apply ointment to his skin,
Wash dirt and dust off himself,
Wear a new and undefiled robe,
Clean himself within and without,
Sit on the seat of the Dharma peacefully,
And then expound the Dharma in answer to questions.

He should expound with a smile
The wonderful meaning of the Dharma
To bhikṣus and bhikṣunīs,
To upāsakās and upāsikās,
To kings and princes,
To government officials,
And to common people.
When he is asked questions,
He should answer
According to the meaning of the Dharma.

He should expound the Dharma to them
With stories of previous lives, parables and similes.
With these expedients he should cause them
To aspire for enlightenment,
To promote their understanding step by step,
And finally to enter into the Way to Buddhahood.

He should give up indolence,
Negligence, grief and sorrow.
He should expound the Dharma to them
Out of his compassion towards them.

He should expound to them
The teaching of unsurpassed enlightenment
With stories of previous lives
And with innumerable parables and similes
Day and night,
And cause them to rejoice.

He should not wish to receive
Garments or bedding,
Food and drink, or medicine
From them.

He should expound the Dharma to them,
Wishing only two things:
To attain the enlightenment of the Buddha
And also to cause them to do the same.
This is a peaceful offering to them.
This offering will bring them a great benefit.

A Bhikṣu who expounds this Sūtra
Of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
With patience
After my extinction,
Will be emancipated
From jealousy, anger, and other illusions,
That is to say, from all obstacles.
He will have no sorrow.
He will not be spoken ill of.
He will not be in fear.
He will not be threatened with swords or sticks,
Or driven out [of his monastery].

A man of wisdom
Who controls his mind
As previously stated
Will be peaceful.

His merits will be innumerable.
You would not be able to tell the number of them
By any parable or simile even if you tried to do so
For thousands of billions of kalpas.

The Daily Dharma from March 21, 2018, offers this:

He should expound the Dharma to them,
Wishing only two things:
To attain the enlightenment of the Buddha
And also to cause them to do the same.
This is a peaceful offering to them.
This offering will bring them a great benefit.

The Buddha sings these verses to Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In our desire to benefit others, we often have expectations for how they should change in response to what we give them. The Buddha reminds us to abandon these expectations. People will make changes and progress towards enlightenment based on their own capacities rather than what we want for them. When we stay focused on the goal of awakening, both for ourselves and others, then we can keep the perspective of the Buddha and see things for what they are.

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

Spring Writings

King of All Sutras

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“Kyo” comes from the Sanskrit “Sutra,” which means “teaching” and “scripture.” However, in the Lotus Sutra the word “Sutra” has another meaning, which is, “Concentrated essence of all teachings into one.” This adds up to, “The King of all Sutras.”

Spring Writings

WONS, 100 Days of Study

Day 79 of 100

The first fascicle of the Lotus Sūtra, “Expedients” chapter, discusses the ultimate reality of all phenomena, stating that each phenomenon is equipped with the nine factors — form, nature, substance, function, action, cause, condition, effect, and reward, all of which from the beginning (form) to the end (reward) are in perfect harmony — and that this ultimate reality of all phenomena is understood only by Buddhas. These words of the Buddha confirm the inseparability of the Buddhist teachings from the reality of the world. In this phrase “all of which from the beginning to the end are in perfect harmony,” the beginning indicates the root of evil and virtue, while the end indicates the conclusion of such evil and virtue. He who is thoroughly awakened with the principle of causality from the root of the evil and virtue to their branches and leaves is the Buddha.

Citing other documentary records on this subject, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai states, “A mind is equipped with ten dharma-realms.” Grand Master Chang-an declares, “The Buddha regarded this as the ultimate reason for appearing in this world. How can it easily be understood?” Miao-lê states, “This is the ultimate and supreme theory.” The Lotus Sūtra, in the “Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma” chapter preaches, “What is said by the Buddha does not contradict ultimate reality.” Grand Master T’ien-t’ai, interprets it in this way: “None of the family businesses and occupations in the world contradict the ultimate reality”

A sage does not practice Buddhism without regards to the actual affairs in the world, and a Buddhist who is thoroughly aware of the principle of governing the world is called a sage.

Chie Bōkoku Gosho, Evil Wisdom Destroying the Country, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 86

What would a sage look like today?

100 Days of Study

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – May 18, 2018

Those who believe in the Lotus Sutra are like the winter season, for many hardships come incessantly. Winter is surely followed by spring. We have never heard or seen that winter returns to fall. We have never heard that the believers in the Lotus Sutra go back to become ordinary men. The Lotus Sutra says, “All people who listen to this Sutra will attain Buddhahood.”

Nichiren wrote this in his Letter to the Nun Myoichi (Myoichi Ama Gozen Gohenji). Nichiren suffered through many hardships in his life, including exile, banishment from his family and home province, being placed on the execution mat, and having his home at Matsubagayatsu burned by members of the Pure Land sect. Through all these difficulties, Nichiren kept his faith in the Buddha’s wisdom and fulfilled his mission to benefit all beings in this world of conflict by leading them with the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sūtra. Nichiren’s faith and practice inspire our faith and practice. Whatever obstacles we may face, we progress towards enlightenment under the guidance of the Ever-Present Buddha.

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