Monthly Archives: September 2018

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Sept. 29, 2018

I collected firewood and the fruits of trees and grasses,
And offered these things to him respectfully from time to time.
I never felt tired in body and mind
Because I was thinking of the Wonderful Dharma.

The Buddha teaches these verses in Chapter Twelve of the Lotus Sūtra. They are part of a story of one of his previous lives. He was a king who gave up his throne to search for someone to teach him. When he found a seer who knew the Wonderful Dharma, he became the servant of the seer and served him with enthusiasm. These verses remind us of the enthusiasm that comes from hearing the Buddha’s teachings.

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

Profound

Confirming the Lotus Sūtra Contains the Correct Substance

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Chih-i remarks that it is easy to understand the destruction of the four attachments, but not in the case of breaking through the realization of the three sages. Thus, he gives an explanation of how these three views should be refuted. To refute the first extreme view of “emptiness only,” the Buddha uses the doctrine “emptiness and existence,” indicating that emptiness does not mean nothingness. The second view “emptiness only and not emptiness only” recognizes that things are conventionally existent though they are fundamentally empty (which is obviously the perception that goes a step further than the former one). However, this second view should still be refuted since it differentiates emptiness from existence. For this purpose, the doctrine of “not two things” is employed to declare that the emptiness and the provisional existence are not two separate things. In order to obtain the Middle Way of making no distinction of these two aspects, this third view abandons these two aspects, since either of them is an extreme view. The phrase that represents this Middle Way is “not emptiness only.” Nevertheless, this Middle Way is questionable, as it is obtained through abandoning either the view of emptiness or the view of existence. In order to refute this third view, the doctrine of “not different” is introduced, revealing the Middle Way of the Perfect Teaching, which is not the transcendence to emptiness and existence. For Chih-i, going beyond things is still a deliberate act of differentiation, and is far from the Ultimate Truth. The alternative view that is offered by Chih-i is the Middle Way of the Perfect Teaching, which is not realized by negating the two sides, but by affirming the identity of the two sides. This Middle Way of the Perfect Teaching is what the substance of the Lotus Sūtra embodies, and this substance dissolves differences of the truths of the three sages. Through the principle of identification, this Middle Way encompasses all dharmas (entities), because “all mundane affairs are not a violation of the Ultimate Truth. Every color and fragrance is none but the Middle Way.” Therefore, these three truths are integrated in the Lotus Sūtra. This functional aspect of the substance that dissolves differences confirms that the Lotus Sūtra contains the correct substance. (Vol.2, Page 12-14)

The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of Buddhism


beginning

Buddhist Ethical Practice

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If the “Instruction of the Seven Buddhas” is interpreted not as a commandment but as a statement, then Buddhist ethical morality is seen to be one of joy and courage. Instead of following orders or unwillingly obeying dictates of conscience, the Buddhist must gradually grow to the point where perpetrating evil is impossible for him, even under conditions in which the evil act might seem seductive.

… The Japanese Buddhist sects of the Kamakura period imposed no commandments and orders because, by becoming a truly faithful member of one of them, the person—if he was sincere, of course—was thought to be manifesting the desire to do only good. It was thought unnecessary to command such people to avoid evil.

Primitive Buddhism, in the form of the Pali version of the “Instruction of the Seven Buddhas” taught the same thing—that is, one must purify one’s own mind. This instruction rests on the premise of doing no evil and perpetrating good.

Purification of the mind means total entrustment to the Three Treasures—the Buddha, the Law, and the Order. A person who has entrusted himself to them is free of all trace of egoistic opinion and desire. He is selfless in relation to the Buddha and, as he perseveres in faith, becomes selfless in relation to all other people, animals, and his entire environment. Freed of personal opinions and desires, he has no egocentric ideas and does not act in an egocentric way. This means that the walls and barriers between him and other creatures, who inevitably react favorably to his attitude, collapse. He is able to become one with all beings. This is one of the major goals of Buddhism. Since it promotes the attainment of this goal, the “Instruction of the Seven Buddhas” is not only a major Buddhist teaching but also the core of Buddhist ethical practice. (Page 161-162)

The Beginnings of Buddhism

LS32

Day 23

Day 23 covers all of Chapter 18, The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra, and opens Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma.

Having last month learned the merits of the fiftieth person who rejoices at hearing even a gāthā of the Lotus Sūtra, we consider the additional merits to be earned by inviting others to learn about the Lotus Sūtra.

“Furthermore, Ajita! Anyone who goes to a monastery in order to hear this sūtra and hears it even for a moment while he is sitting or standing, in his next life will be able to go up to the palace of heaven, riding in a beautiful and wonderful elephant-cart or horse-cart or in a palanquin of wonderful treasure by his merits. Anyone who, while sitting in the place of the expounding of the Dharma, persuades another per on to it down or shares his seat with him to hear [the Dharma] when he sees him coming to the place, in his next life by his merits, will be able to obtain the seal of King Sakra, of the Brahman Heavenly-King or of a wheel-turning-holy-king.

“Ajita! Anyone who[, while he is staying outside the place of the expounding of the Dharma,] says to another person, ‘Let us go and hear the sūtra called the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma which is being expounded [in that place],’ and cause him to hear it even for a moment, in his next life by his merit , will be able to live with the Bodhisattvas who obtain dharanis. He will be clever and wise. He will not be dumb throughout thousands of millions of his future existences. His breath will not be foul. He will have no disease of the tongue or the mouth. His teeth will not be defiled, black, yell w, few, fallen out, uneven or crooked. His lips will not be pendulous, shrunk, chapped, cracked, broken, distorted, thick, large, yellow-black or loathsome. His nose will not be flat or awry. His face will not be black, long, distorted or displeasing. His lips, tongue and teeth will be well-shaped; his nose, long, high and straight. His face will be full; his eyebrows, thick and long; and his forehead, broad and even. In a word, he will have all the good features of a man. He will be able to see the Buddhas, hear the Dharma from them, and receive their teachings by faith throughout his future existences.

“Ajita, look! The merits of the person who causes even a single man to go and hear the Dharma are so many. It is needless to speak of the merits of the person who hears [this sūtra] with all his heart, reads it, recites it, expounds it to the great multitude, and acts according to its teachings.

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

Ajita, look! The merits of the person who causes even a single man to go and hear the Dharma are so many. It is needless to speak of the merits of the person who hears [this sūtra] with all his heart, reads it, recites it, expounds it to the great multitude, and acts according to its teachings.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Maitreya, whom he calls Ajita (Invincible) in Chapter Eighteen of the Lotus Sutra. While earlier parts of the Sūtra describe the possible reactions those who teach the Buddha Dharma may find, the Buddha here reminds us that we do not need to wait until we are strong enough, wise enough, or even practiced enough to use it to benefit others. This sūtra contains the Buddha’s enlightenment itself. When we hear it, we hear the Buddha. When we expound it, it is the Buddha speaking through us.

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

History of Japanese Religion

Faith and Morality

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Thus, faith means the communion of our soul with the Buddha-soul in its triune nature, our participation in his dignity and work. In other words, communion in faith presupposes a basic unity existing between the worshipper and the worshipped. One who realizes this fundamental oneness of our being with that of Buddha cannot but proceed to save others by leading them along the same pathway of Buddhist enlightenment. This exertion is moral life, the life of the Bodhisattva, the Buddha-to-be. Faith is perfected by moral life, as morality is based on faith.

History of Japanese Religion

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Sept. 28, 2018

The two sons, Pure-Store and Pure-Eyes, came to their mother, joined their ten fingers and palms together, and said, ‘Mother! Go to Cloud Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha! We also will go to attend on him, approach him, make offerings to him, and bow to him because he is expounding the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to all gods and men.

The Buddha tells the story of King Wonderful-Adornment in Chapter Twenty-Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. The two sons chose to be born at a time when Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha was alive and led their parents to follow that Buddha and learn the Wonderful Dharma from him. They overcame their father’s attachment to wrong views, not by arguing against those views, but by demonstrating the wonders that come from the Buddha’s great teaching. This shows how when we as Bodhisattvas live this difficult teaching we lead others to it.

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

Profound

Destroying the Four Attachments

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Chih-i believes that the Ultimate Truth is not static, but functions to
“horizontally destroy four attachments or four distortions (Ch., Ssu-tao; Skt., viparyāsacatuska) (i.e. mistaking empirical world as constancy, bliss, selfhood, and purity) of an ignorant man, and vertically refute the realization of the sages of the Tripiṭaka, Common, and Separate Teachings.” Since the four illusions of attachments of an ignorant man belong to the worldly phenomena, they are looked at from a wide-ranging view as being horizontal and profane. From this horizontal level of the profane, visually speaking, a vertical dimension arises, representing the transcendental level. Various truths that are realized by the three sages are three different levels of perception in an ascending order, rendering the dimension of height (i.e., vertical). The truth of the Two Vehicles (śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha) of the Tripiṭaka Teaching is “emptiness only” (Tan-k’ung), since these Two Vehicles can only view things as empty from the perspective of the illusory nature of things, and cannot see the provisional existence. The truth of the bodhisattva of the Common Teaching is “emptiness only and not emptiness only” (Tan-k’ung Pit-tan-k’ung), for they go one step further and see that although things are illusory and thus fundamentally empty, this illusion also indicates illusory existence. This illusory existence renders things conventionally not empty. The truth of the bodhisattva of the Separate Teaching is “not emptiness only” (Pu-tan-k’ung), and represents the view of the Middle Way. This Middle Way is free of the former two views that adhere to either emptiness or illusory existence (Ch’u-erh-pien Chung). (Vol.2, Page 12-13)

The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of Buddhism


beginning

Free and Autonomously Chosen Ethical Morality

Quote

As I have said, the “Instruction of the Seven Buddhas” is a compendium of Buddhist teachings on practical faith. To understand it accurately, it is important to take into consideration the discrepancy between the Chinese translation, which is the version that passed into Japan, and the original Pali version. In Chinese, the stanza is couched in the imperative: Commit no evil; do all that is good; purify your mind; this is the teaching of all the Buddhas. The Pali version (Dhammapada 183), on the other hand, is not in the imperative mode: To do no evil, to do all good, and to purify one’s own mind are the teachings of all the Buddhas. In the Chinese reading, the teaching is no more than ordinary morality. In the Pali, however, it is a lofty teaching of free and autonomously chosen ethical morality. (Page 160-161)

The Beginnings of Buddhism

LS32

Day 22

Day 22 covers all of Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits.

Having last month considered the innumerable merits of a moment’s faith in gāthās, we consider the merits of those who firmly believe in the Buddha’s longevity.

Those who firmly believe [my longevity ],
And have no doubts about it
Even for a moment,
Will be able to obtain more merits [than he].

The Bodhisattvas who have practiced the Way
For the past innumerable kalpas,
Will believe my longevity
When they hear of it.

They will receive this sūtra on their heads,
And wish:
“May we live long and save all living beings
Just as the World-Honored One of today,
Who is the King of the Śākyas, [saves them]
By expounding the Dharma without fear
At the place of enlightenment
With [a voice like] a lion’s roar!
When we sit at the place of enlightenment,
Respected by all living beings,
May we preach that we also shall live
As long [as the World-Honored One of today]!”

Those who have firm faith,
And who are pure and upright,
And who hear much and memorize all teachings,
And who understand my words
According to their meaning,
Will have no doubts [about my longevity].

With faith firm, I have no doubts.

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Sept. 27, 2018

Ajita! They need not build a stūpa or a monastery in my honor, or make the four kinds of offerings to the Saṃgha because those who keep, read and recite this sūtra should be considered to have already built a stūpa or a monastery or made offerings to the Saṃgha.

The Buddha sings these verses to Maitreya Bodhisattva, whom he calls Ajita – Invincible, in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. In our zeal to emulate the great deeds of the Buddha, or even of our founder Nichiren, we might believe that only by extraordinary accomplishments can we show our gratitude for this teaching. The Buddha reminds us in this chapter that because we are practicing his Dharma in this world of conflict, we have already made these extraordinary accomplishments. He also reminds us that others who practice with us should be treated with the same admiration we have for anyone who has done valuable work.

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