Chih-i emphasizes that the cause and effect of the Buddha’s practice in the Traces (that is stated in other sūtras) is the Relative Truth. This is because the initial enlightenment of the Buddha in the Origin is not explained in other scriptures. Chih-i views the gist of the Lotus Sūtra as the Ultimate Truth or the essential teaching of the Buddha, because this gist displays the original cause and effect of the Buddha’s practice of the Origin in an incalculable past. The Buddha made clear that the Origin is ultimate, and the Traces are relative, since the Traces are derived from the Origin.
The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of BuddhismMonthly Archives: October 2018
To Be a Lamp Unto Oneself
During this period, Shakyamuni fell gravely ill but, thinking it wrong for him to die without giving his followers final instructions, resolved to overcome the sickness by strong effort and by being mindful and thoughtful. He did so and thus prolonged his life for a while.
When Shakyamuni had recovered, Ananda said to him, “World-honored One, I have seen you in good health and fine condition. But when you were sick, I did not know what to do. Everything before my eyes went dark; my faculties were upset. But I took some small comfort from the idea that you would not leave the world without parting from the monks.”
Shakyamuni replied, “Ananda, what can the monks expect of me? I have taught them everything, both the esoteric and the exoteric, for the Tathagata is not the kind of teacher who conceals things from his followers. If I felt that I should lead the Order or that the Order was dependent on me, I would have something to say. But I do not feel that way. Why then should I make pronouncements?
“Moreover, Ananda, I am old and frail. I am eighty. Like an old cart that can only be kept in operation by the help of leather thongs, the body of the Tathagata can only be kept going with much help. Only when I am in the deep state of meditation where I am free of all suffering and entertain no thoughts about anything is my body at rest. Therefore, Ananda, you must all be lamps unto yourselves. You must rely on yourselves and on no one else. You must make the Law your light and your support and rely on nothing else.”
This was Shakyamuni’s way of saying that the most important things for Buddhists are these: (1) To meditate mindfully and thoughtfully on the four insights that the body is impure, perception leads to suffering, the mind is impermanent, and the world is transient and in this way to eliminate the suffering and craving arising from these four things. This teaching is known as the four insights. (2) To be a lamp unto oneself by first raising one’s spiritual level through relying on the lamp of the Law in the form of these basic teachings (that the body is impure, that perception leads to suffering, that the mind is impermanent, and that the world is transient) and then relying on oneself in further deepening and elevating one’s level of understanding and religious practice.
Shakyamuni concluded his teaching on this point in this way: “Ananda, now or after my death, of all those who are willing to study, the people who are a lamp and support to themselves, who rely on no one else, who employ the Law as a lamp and a support and call on nothing else shall reach the ultimate height.” (Page 179-181)
The Beginnings of BuddhismDay 28
Day 28 covers all of Chapter 24, Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva, and concludes the Seventh Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month learned of Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva’s previous life under a Buddha called Cloud-Thunder-Sound-King, we learn of his powers of transformation.
“Flower-Virtue! Now you see Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva here and nowhere else. But formerly he transformed himself into various living beings and expounded this sūtra to others in various places. He became King Brahman, King Sakra, Freedom God, Great-Freedom God, a great general in heaven, Vaisravana Heavenly-King, a wheel-turning-holy-king, the king of a small country, a rich man, a householder, a prime minister, a brahmana, a bhikṣu, a bhikṣunī, an upāsakā, an upāsikā, the wife of a rich man, that of a householder, that of a prime minister, that of a brahmana, a boy, a girl, a god, a dragon, a yakṣa, a gandharva, an asura, a garuda, a kiṃnara, a mahoraga, a human being or a nonhuman being. [After he transformed himself into one or another of these living beings,] he expounded this sūtra, and saved the hellish denizens, hungry spirits, animals, and all the other living beings in the places of difficulties. When he entered an imperial harem, he became a woman and expounded this sūtra.
The Daily Dharma from Sept. 30, 2018, offers this:
Flower-Virtue! Now you see Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva here and nowhere else. But formerly he transformed himself into various living beings and expounded this sūtra to others in various places.
The Buddha makes this declaration to Flower-Virtue Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Four of the Lotus Sūtra. In their efforts to benefit all beings, Bodhisattvas develop the capacity to adapt themselves to their circumstances. They know they cannot use the same methods to teach everyone. Instead of seeing the beings in our world of conflict as obstacles to getting what we want, we can learn to see them as great teachers who have transformed themselves into what we need to become enlightened. This can also help them to realize their nature as Bodhisattvas, rather than beings stuck in the world of conflict, absorbed in their own gratification.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
April 28, 1253
At the age of 31, Nichiren Shonin returned to Seichoji Temple. On the morning of April 28, 1253, he faced the rising sun at the top of Mount Kiyosumi and chanted Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, thus initiating his mission to spread the Wonderful Dharma. He also gave himself the name he is known by today, Nichiren. The name means “Sun Lotus,” and refers to the light of the sun, which dispels darkness, and the purity of the lotus flower, which blooms in swamps, untouched by the dirty water around it.
Lotus SeedsDaily Dharma – Oct. 3, 2018
You skillfully expound the Dharma with various parables and similes,
And with various stories of previous lives.
Now my mind is as peaceful as the sea.
Hearing you, I have removed the mesh of doubts.
Śāriputra, the wisest of the Buddha’s disciples, sings these verses in Chapter Three of the Lotus Sūtra. After the Buddha announced in Chapter Two that he had not revealed his highest wisdom, that everything he had taught before then was preparation, Śāriputra was the first to understand what the Buddha meant. The parables, similes and other parts of the Lotus Sūtra help us to understand how to read them, and how to make them real in our lives. When we find the true purpose of what the Buddha is teaching us, our mind and the world become peaceful together.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Cause and Effect of the Buddha’s Self-cultivation
Chih-i stresses that the essential teaching of the Buddha is expressed in the Lotus Sūtra, and that it refers to the “Cause and Effect of the Buddha’s Self-cultivation” (Fo Tzu-hsing Yin-kuo) in an incalculable past of the Origin (Pen) when the Buddha initially attained Buddhahood. The initial practice of the Buddha is the cause of Buddhahood, and the initial enlightenment of the Buddha is the effect of Buddhahood. This teaching is essential because it concerns the Buddha’s initial practice for attaining Buddhahood and his initial attainment of Buddhahood. This is the foundation of all the activities of the historical Buddha in the Traces (Chi). The difference between the substance as the Ultimate Truth and the gist as the cause and effect of the Buddha’s Self-cultivation is that the substance is the foundation upon which the gist can be realized. (Vol. 2, Page 15-16)
The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of BuddhismMirror of the Law
Shakyamuni taught what is called the Mirror of the Law, by means of which an elect disciple can say for certain whether for him the worlds of hell, animals, hungry spirits, suffering, and evil are destroyed and whether he has entered the stream leading unfailingly to final salvation. The Mirror of the Law consists of four elements: faith in the Buddha, faith in the Law, faith in the Order, and faith in the sacred precepts. Possessed of these four faiths, the disciple knows that he will never backslide. Faith in the Three Treasures leads to the state where violations of the sacred precepts or other evil acts are impossible. Since the disciple is unable to do ill, such evil states as hell, animals, hungry spirits, and others, which are the effects of evil causes, cease to exist for him. Living only in the good, he is liable only to good karma, and this means that he has joined the company of the elect who are assured of ultimate salvation. (Page 178)
The Beginnings of BuddhismDay 27
Day 27 concludes Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.
Having last month compared the Lotus Sūtra to all other sūtras, we learn of the saving power of the Lotus Sūtra.
“Star-King-Flower! This sūtra saves all living beings. This sūtra saves them from all sufferings, and gives them great benefits. All living beings will be able to fulfill their wishes by this sūtra just as a man who reaches a pond of fresh water when he is thirsty, just as a man who gets fire when he suffers from cold, just as a man who is given a garment when he is naked, just as a party of merchants who find a leader just as a child who meets its mother, just as a man who gets a ship when he wants to cross [a river], just as a patient who finds a physician, just as a man who is given a light in the darkness, just as a poor man who gets a treasure, just as the people of a nation who see a new king enthroned, just as a trader who reaches the seacoast. Just as a torch dispels darkness, this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma saves all living beings from all sufferings, from all diseases, and from all the bonds of birth and death. The merits to be given to the person who, after hearing this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, copies it, or causes others to copy it, cannot be measured even by the wisdom of the Buddha. Neither can the merits to be given to the person who copies this sūtra and offers flowers, incense, necklaces, incense to burn, powdered incense, incense applicable to the skin, streamers, canopies, garments, and various kinds of lamps such as lamps of butter oil, oil lamps, lamps of perfumed oil, lamps of campaka oil, lamps of sumanas oil, lamps of pāṭala oil, lamps of vārṣika oil, and lamps of navamālikā oil [to the copy of this sūtra].
Nichiren writes about this chapter:
The “Medicine King Bodhisattva” chapter also preaches, “Likewise, those who uphold the Lotus Sūtra are the foremost among all sentient beings.” This means: “One who believes in the Lotus Sūtra, if one is a male regardless of his social status, he is superior to the King of the Mahabrahman Heaven, the lord of the triple world (whole world), Indra, Four Heavenly Kings, the Wheelturning Noble King, and the rulers of China and Japan, not to speak of the ministers, court nobles, warriors of the Minamoto and Taira clans, as well as all the people of Japan. If one is a female, she is superior to all women such as Lady Kauéika (wife of Indra), Kisshōtennyo, Lady Li of Han China, and Yang Kuei-fei (of T’ang China).”
Matsuno-dono Goshōsoku, Letter to Lord Matsuno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 66
Universal Salvation
This Buddha had sixteen sons, who upon hearing of their father’s enlightenment, renounced their positions and joined him as disciples. They along with all of the heavenly kings asked that Buddha to expound the Dharma and bring peace to all suffering beings. They said, “May the merits we have accumulated by this offering be distributed among all living beings, may we and all living beings together attain the enlightenment of the Buddha.” This teaches the core of the Great Vehicle, that enlightenment is not individual but universal salvation.
Awakening to the LotusDaily Dharma – Oct. 2, 2018
As I contemplate my own life, I, Nichiren, have studied Buddhism ever since I was a child. Our life is uncertain, as exhaling one’s breath one moment does not guarantee drawing it the next; it is as transient as the dew before the wind and its end occurs suddenly to everyone, the wise and the ignorant, the aged and the young. I thought I should study the matter of the last moment of life first of all, before studying anything else.
Nichiren wrote this passage in his Reply to My Lady, the Nun Myōgō (Myōhō-ama Gozen Gohenji). The Buddha taught that everything that comes together falls apart. Everything that is born must die. Then in the Lotus Sūtra he taught that he sees the world differently. For him living beings have neither birth nor death, they do not appear nor disappear. For each of us, the death of our bodies is certain. As Nichiren instructs, it is beneficial to meditate on this fact and not live in denial of our mortality. At the same time, when we see with the Buddha’s mind, we realize that our lives are not the end of the story. Time and life are abundant, but it it still important to waste neither.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com