Monthly Archives: May 2018

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – May 13, 2018

Anyone who rejoices at hearing the Dharma
And utters even a single word in praise of it
Should be considered to have already made offerings
To the past, present, and future Buddhas.
Such a person is rarely seen,
More rarely than the udumbara-flower.

The Buddha sings these verses to his disciple Śāriputra and all those gathered to hear him teach in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra. It is natural to admire and respect those who make great sacrifices for the sake of improving the world, and who lead us to know what deserves those offerings. It is sometimes difficult to see the joy that comes from those efforts. In these verses the Buddha reminds us that even when our reaction to his Dharma is just a smile, or saying “Wonderful,” our admiration is a reminder of our own capacity for such great efforts.

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

LS32

Day 12

Day 12 concludes Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City, and completes the Third Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Having last month learned that the sixteen Bodhisattva­ sramaneras each became a Buddha, we learn what became of the many hundreds of thousands of billions of living beings taught by each of the sramaneras.

“Bhikṣus! When we were śramaṇeras, we each taught many hundreds of thousands of billions of living beings, that is, as many living beings as there are sands in the River Ganges. Those living beings who followed me, heard the Dharma from me in order to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Some of them are still in Śrāvakahood. I now teach them the Way to Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. They will be able to enter the Way to Buddhahood by my teaching, but not immediately because the wisdom of the Tathāgata is difficult to believe and difficult to understand. Those living beings as many as there are sands in the River Ganges, whom I taught [ when I was a śramaṇera], included you bhikṣus and those who will be reborn as my disciples in Śrāvakahood after my extinction. My disciples who do not hear this sūtra or know the practices of Bodhisattvas, after my extinction will make a conception of extinction by the merits they will have accumulated by themselves, and enter into Nirvāṇa as they conceive it. At that time I shall be a Buddha of another name in another world. Those who will enter into Nirvāṇa as they conceive it will be able [to be reborn] in the world I shall live in, seek the wisdom of the Buddha, and hear this sūtra. They will be able to attain [true] extinction only by the Vehicle of the Buddha in that world because there is no other vehicle except when the Tathāgatas expound the Dharma with expedients.

“Bhikṣus! I will collect Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas and expound this sūtra to them when I realize that the time of my Nirvāṇa is drawing near, that the living beings have become pure in heart, that they can understand the truth of the Void by firm faith, and that they have already entered deep into dhyāna-concentration. No one in the world can attain [true] extinction by the two vehicles. [True] extinction can be attained only by the One Buddha-Vehicle.

“Bhikṣus, know this! I can enter skillfully deep into the natures of all living beings. Because I saw that they wished to hear the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle and that they were deeply attached to the five desires, I expounded the teaching of Nirvāṇa to them. When they heard that teaching, they received it by faith.

The Introduction to the Lotus Sutra offers this:

[Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City,] has two distinct parts. The first is a story of the previous existence of a Buddha called Great-Universally-Excelling-Wisdom. The second consists of the parable for which this chapter is named, “The Magic City.” The concept of previous existences is a fundamental teaching in Buddhism. Its rationale is that there must be some prior meaning or conditions before something else can come into existence. (Nothing comes from nothing, and nothing takes place without a cause.) The story of a previous life here refers to a particular incident in the past which has led to the emergence of a present situation—that is, the origin of things. In the Lotus Sutra, Sakyamuni is said to employ three methods of expounding the law: logical explanations, parables, and stories of previous lives.

Introduction to the Lotus Sutra

Doctrines of Nichiren

The Ten Worlds and Ten Stages of Enlightenment

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The Ten Worlds of Living Beings are as follow:

  1. The World of Buddhas
  2. Wise Ones (or Bodhisattvas)
  3. Those converted by Buddha’s Voice.
  4. Those who perceive (the Twelve) Causes
  5. Devas
  6. Human Beings
  7. Evil Spirits, or Asuras
  8. Beasts
  9. Hungry Devils, or Pretas
  10. Infernal Beings

These worlds, considered with reference to their degrees of enlightenment, are thus described:

  1. The State of Mind where Virtue and Wisdom have been fully attained.
  2. The State of Mind where one can save both himself and others from evil of all kinds.
  3. The State of Mind where one saves himself only, and without effort.
  4. The State of Mind where one saves himself only, but at the cost of great effort.
  5. The State of Mind where one merely enjoys pleasure.
  6. The State of Mind where one acts well for the sake of acting well.
  7. The State of Mind where one acts well for the sake of one’s own fame and interest.
  8. The State of Mind where one is a fool, and is not ashamed of it.
  9. The State of Mind where one is covetous and sordid.
  10. The State of Mind where one is lawless and hard-hearted.

10 Worlds and 10 Stages of Enlightenment

Doctrines of Nichiren (1893)

Lotus Path

Being a Bodhisattva Who Arose From Beneath the Ground

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The Bodhisattvas who arose from beneath the ground are none other than ourselves, if we open ourselves up to realizing it. But the realization is not just a mental acceptance of such information. It is deeper. It occurs on a different plane from intellect. In order to be those Bodhisattvas we need to manifest that condition, draw it out of who and what we are in this life. There are not two separate entities, self and Bodhisattva from beneath the earth, however it is up to us to unify them in body and mind, in action and in word.

Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1

WONS, 100 Days of Study

Day 73 of 100

According to Buddhist sūtras, the Buddha’s tongue is as grand as to cover His whole face, as expansive as to cover the triple thousand worlds, and as lengthy as to reach the Summit Heaven in the Region of Form. It is a mark of physical excellence showing that the Buddha has never uttered a false word ever since the eternal past. Therefore, it is preached in a certain sūtra, “There exists no falsehood in the words of the Buddha even if Mt. Sumeru crumbles or if the earth is overturned.” This means that there is never a mistake in the words of the Buddha even if the sun rises in the west or the ebb and flow of the tide in an ocean stop, does it not? Moreover, the superiority of the Lotus Sūtra over various other sūtras has been confirmed by the words of the Buddha of Many Treasures, and the long tongues of other Buddhas touching the Brahma Heaven. There must not be any mistake in the sūtra, not even one written character or one stroke of a character.

Ueno-dono Gohenji, Reply to Lord Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 4

Coming from a non-Buddhist upbringing, this concept that a long tongue signifies truthfulness fascinates me.

100 Days of Study

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – May 12, 2018

World-Honored One! It is difficult for anyone in the world to believe this. It is as difficult as to believe a handsome, black-haired man twenty-five years old who points to men a hundred years old and says, ‘They are my sons,’ or as to believe men a hundred years old who point to a young man and say, ‘This is our father. He brought us up.’

Maitreya Bodhisattva explains his perplexity to the Buddha in Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddha had just revealed that he was who taught all the Bodhisattvas who have appeared from underground to continue teaching the Wonderful Dharma after the extinction of the Buddha. Maitreya realizes that his doubts are no different from those of those gathered to hear the Buddha teach and asks the Buddha to explain. When our experience does not match what the Buddha teaches, we should not keep silence and just accept what he tells us. It is only through sincere questioning that we find the Buddha’s mind and make it our own.

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

LS32

Day 11

Day 11 continues Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City

Having last month considered the reaction of the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the southeast, we consider the reaction of the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the south.

“Bhikṣus! The great Brahman-[heavenly-]kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the south, who saw their palaces illumined more brightly than ever, also danced with joy. They wondered why [their palaces were so illumined]. They visited each other and discussed the reason, saying, ‘Why are our palaces illumined so brightly?’ There was a great Brahman-heavenly­king called Wonderful-Dharma among them. He said to the other Brahmans in gāthās:

Our palaces are illumined so brightly.
There must be some reason.
Let us find [the place]
[From where the light has come].

We have never seen this [light]
For the past one hundred thousand kalpas.
Did a god of great virtue or a Buddha appear
Somewhere in the universe?

“Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion [worlds] went to the north, carrying flower-plates filled with heavenly flowers, in order to find [the place from where the light had come]. Their palaces also moved as they went. They [reached the Well-Composed World and] saw that Great­Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata was sitting on the lion­like seat under the Bodhi-tree of the place of enlightenment, surrounded respectfully by gods, dragon-kings, gandharvas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men and nonhuman beings. They also saw that the sixteen princes were begging the Buddha to turn the wheel of the Dharma. They worshipped the Buddha with their heads, walked around him a hundred thousand times, and strewed heavenly flowers to him. The strewn flowers were heaped up to the height of Mt. Sumeru. The Brahman-heavenly-king offered flowers also to the Bodhi-tree of the Buddha. Having offered flowers, they offered their palaces to the Buddha, saying, ‘We offer these palaces to you. Receive them and benefit us out of your compassion towards us!’ In the presence of the Buddha, they simultaneously praised him in gāthās with all their hearts:

It is difficult to see a World-Honored One.
You, the World-Honored One, eliminated all illusions.
We have not seen a World-Honored One
For the past one hundred and thirty kalpas.

Send the rain of the Dharma
On the hungry and thirsty beings!
Possessor of immeasurable wisdom,
We have never seen anyone wiser than you.
You are as rare as an udumbara-flower.
Now we have met you today.

Our palaces are beautifully adorned
With your light.
World-Honored One, receive them
Out of your great compassion towards us!

“Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings, having praised the Buddha with these gāthās, said, ‘World-Honored One! Turn the wheel of the Dharma so that Mara, Brahman, the other gods, śramaṇas, and brahmanas of the world may be peaceful, and that they may be saved!’ They simultaneously praised the Buddha in gāthās with all their hearts:

Most Honorable of Gods and Men!
Turn the wheel of the unsurpassed Dharma,
Beat the drum of the Great Dharma,
Blow the conch-shell horn of the Great Dharma,
Send the rain of the Great Dharma,
And save innumerable living beings!
Devoting ourselves to you, we beg you.
Resound your profound teaching!

“Thereupon Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata gave his tacit consent to their appeal.

See Place of Enlightenment

LS32, d14b, d26b, LS Introduction

Place of Enlightenment

One of the special concepts of the Lotus Sutra is that a place where the Lotus Sutra is expounded is itself the Place of Enlightenment. This means that anywhere we accept, believe, recite, and practice the Lotus Sutra is the Place of Enlightenment. It is not necessary for us to erect temples, fine buildings, or monuments in select holy places.

Introduction to the Lotus Sutra

History of Japanese Religion

The Union of Religious Ideals and National Life

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The union of religious ideals and national life thus proclaimed, expounded, and carried out by the prince, became once for all the aim of the greatest Buddhists and the aspiration of the best statesmen in Japan. Through the broad vision and high idealism of his leadership, Buddhism was able to influence the Japanese extensively and profoundly; it was largely due to Buddhist inspiration that the wise prince was able to handle successfully the difficult situations of his government and to lead his people to a high level of culture and spiritual edification.

History of Japanese Religion

WONS, 100 Days of Study

Day 72 of 100

In ancient China a man called Hung-yen, a retainer of the Duke of Yee of Wei state, cut open his own stomach and inserted his slain lord’s liver inside him before he died. Similarly, a man called Yü-jang tried to repay his indebtedness to his Lord Chih-pai by swallowing a sword and killing himself. These were cases in the secular world of repaying a minor debt of kindness, to what lengths should one go to repay the debt to the Buddha?

The reason why we continue to transmigrate through the six lower realms without attaining Buddhahood from the eternal past of innumerable kalpa (aeons) till today is that we fail to give up our lives for the sake of the Lotus Sūtra. Gladly Seen Bodhisattva burned himself for 1,200 years as a votive light to the Sun Moon Pure Bright Virtue Buddha and burned his arms for 72,000 years to the Lotus Sūtra. He is Medicine King Bodhisattva today. Never Despising Bodhisattva was abused, disparaged, beaten with sticks and rubble was thrown at him for many kalpa (aeons) in order to disseminate the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra. Did he not become Śākyamuni Buddha in a future existence? Therefore, the way of practicing the sūtra leading to Buddhahood differs according to the times.

Inchinosawa Nyūdō Gosho, A Letter to Lay Priest Ichinosawa, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Pages 161-162

And if “the way of practicing the sūtra leading to Buddhahood differs according to the times,” does it differ today? Something to ponder, but I return to what I wrote on Day 22:

I hold as without question that the Lotus Sūtra is the highest teaching of the Buddha and it presents the Dharma best suited for this declining age. As Nichiren writes at the conclusion of Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Venerable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 168:

For those who are incapable of understanding the truth of the “3,000 existences contained in one thought,” Lord Śākyamuni Buddha, with His great compassion, wraps this jewel with the five characters of myō, hō, ren, ge, and kyō and hangs it around the neck of the ignorant in the Latter Age of Degeneration.

The differences between 13th Century Japan and a non-Buddhist land in the 21st Century changes nothing of that.

This concludes Volume 6 of the Writings of Nichiren Shōnin.

100 Days of Study