Monthly Archives: December 2018

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Beyond Two-Dimensional Cardboard Backdrop Of Hongaku Critics

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The influence of hongaku thought has been detected in virtually every medieval departure from the monastic ideal, from the sexual license of ranking clerics to the predations of warrior monks. How, one begins to wonder, did so decadent an intellectual tradition manage to survive and flourish for nearly six hundred years?

In fact, the characterization outlined above is a two-dimensional picture of the incredibly rich tradition of medieval Tendai, in effect reducing it to a cardboard backdrop against which to depict the more fully embodied personae of the new Buddhist founders. The doctrine of original enlightenment may indeed have served at times to rationalize misconduct or have been used ideologically to support the authority of ruling elites. Charges that this discourse undermined traditional scholarship, denied the necessity of practice, and contributed to moral corruption are not altogether groundless. But they need to be reexamined and seriously qualified in the light of both primary documents and the historical context. This will be the task of subsequent chapters. (Page 93)

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

Profound

Opening The Coarse To Reveal The Subtle

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The purpose of Chih-i’s judging the coarseness and subtlety of the Three Tracks in the Four Teachings is, on one hand, to stress the superiority of the Perfect Teaching by affirming the subtlety of the Threefold Track in the Perfect Teaching, and on the other hand, to foreshadow his argumentation in terms of “opening the coarseness and revealing the subtlety” (K’ai-ts’u Hsien-miao). In Chih-i ‘s view, distinguishing either coarse or subtle teachings is not the real intention of the Buddha. Whereas all entities of the universe are a manifestation of the True Reality, so called coarse dharmas (as relative teaching) actually contain the subtle dharmas (as ultimate teaching). The ultimate teaching reflects the real intention of the Buddha expounding various dharmas whether coarse or subtle, which aim at leading beings to pursue the One Vehicle of Buddhahood. Hence, before the revelation of the real intention of the Buddha, the three teachings (Tripiṭaka, Common, and Separate) were relative and coarse dharma. Only when the coarse dharma is displayed as containing the ultimate teaching of the Buddha, does it become subtle dharma, since it can also guide beings to attain Buddhahood. For this reason, Chih-i argues that the distinction of coarse or subtle only lies in one’s capabilities to conceive of it as such. The subtlety of the Threefold Track as the One Buddha-vehicle is explicated with reference to the Buddha-nature that all sentient beings possess. In view of all beings possessing the Buddha-nature, every being is capable of conceiving the subtle Threefold Track as the One Buddha-vehicle. The reason the vehicle of the Perfect Teaching is subtle is because the practitioner of the Perfect Teaching realizes that that there are no other vehicles to seek except for this One Buddha-vehicle, which can reveal the ultimate Buddha-nature. (Vol. 2, Page 250-251)

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


LS32

Day 21

Day 21 covers all of Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata.

Day 21 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered Śākyamuni’s 500-dust-atom lifetime, we consider Śākyamuni’s various activities during his lifetime.

“Good men! During this time I gave various names to myself, for instance, the Burning-Light Buddha. I also said, ‘That Buddha entered into Nirvāṇa.’ I did all these things only as expedients.

“Good men! When some people came to me, I saw the strength of the power of their faith and of the other faculties of theirs with the eyes of the Buddha. Then I named myself differently, and told them of the duration of my life differently, according to their capacities. l also said to them, ‘I shall enter into Nirvāṇa.’ I expounded the Wonderful Dharma with these various expedients, and caused the living beings to rejoice.

“Good men! When I saw that some people of little virtue and of much defilement were seeking the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle, I told them, ‘I renounced my family when I was young, and attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi [forty and odd years ago].’ In reality I became the Buddha in the remotest past as I previously stated. I told them this as an expedient to teach them, to lead them into the Way to Buddhahood.

This is an advantageous point to bring up Nichiren’s view that this entire chapter is specifically intended for today, this Latter Day of the Law.

QUESTION: For whom was the chapter on “The Life Span of the Buddha” expounded, revealing the Buddha’s enlightenment in the remotest past broadly and in detail?

ANSWER: “The Life Span of the Buddha” chapter together with a half chapter each preceding and following it were expounded specially for the people living after the Buddha’s extinction from beginning to end. It was expounded especially for those in this Latter Age of Degeneration such as Nichiren.

Hokke Shuyō Shō, Treatise on the Essence of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 211-212

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 31, 2018

Śāriputra! Some disciples of mine, who think that they are Arhats or Pratyekabuddhas, will not be my disciples or Arhats or Pratyekabuddhas if they do not hear or know that the Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, teach only Bodhisattvas.

The Buddha makes this declaration to his disciple Śāriputra in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sutra. When the Buddha says he only teaches Bodhisattvas, he does not mean that he excludes anyone from his teaching. It is only when we realize and develop our capacities as Bodhisattvas, beings who exist to benefit all beings, rather than being preoccupied with our own suffering, can we hear, practice and appreciate the Buddha Dharma.

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

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Nichiren’s Emphasis on Practice

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The major critic of Tamura [Yoshirō]’s presentation of Nichiren is Hanano Michiaki, a scholar of both Nichiren and medieval Tendai. Hanano opposes the move of Asai, Shigyō, Tamura, and others to exclude from the consideration of Nichiren’s thought those texts attributed to him that deal with hongaku ideas. In contrast to Tamura and the Nichiren Shū scholars, Hanano positions Nichiren firmly within the intellectual tradition of Tendai original enlightenment thought. Like them, however, Hanano sees Nichiren as emphasizing practice, in contrast to a purely theoretical and abstract Tendai hongaku doctrine, thus “elevating it [original enlightenment thought] to the realm of religion.” (Page 91-92)

Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism


Profound

The Characteristic of the True Reality

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How is this characteristic of the True Reality, which cannot be conceptualized either vertically or horizontally, reflected? Such a characteristic can be revealed through the synonymous terms of the True Reality such as the “Supreme Meaning of Emptiness” and “tathāgatagarbha.” Chih-i reiterates that the True Reality is specified in the Perfect Teaching as the “Supreme Meaning of Emptiness,” which indicates “constant quiescence and luminosity” embodied by the Track of the Illumination of Wisdom. “Constant quiescence and luminosity” are the meaning expressed in the passage of the Lotus Sūtra:

“Adorned with the power of concentration and wisdom, the Buddha dwells at the Greater Vehicle, and liberates sentient beings according to the dharma he attains.”

This passage implies that upon the attainment of Buddhahood, the Buddha-vehicle does not cease to be executed (i.e., illuminated) in order to liberate others, even in the state of quiescence. In fact, the Buddha continues his endless career of saving beings, but his action is non-action, which is spontaneous and natural according to conditions. As a result, the Buddha-vehicle is still executed. Such a state of quiescence and luminosity designates the depth of the execution of the Buddha-vehicle incalculable. (Vol. 2, Page 249-250)

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


LS32

Day 20

Day 20 completes Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground, and concludes the Fifth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 20 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month heard Maitreya Bodhisattva and others puzzle over who are these Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who sprang up from underground, we hear both Maitreya and the attendants of the replicas of Śākyamuni plea for an explanation.

No one will be able to count
All [these great Bodhisattvas] even if he uses
A counting wand for more kalpas
Than the number of the sands of the River Ganges.

These Bodhisattvas have
Great powers, virtues and energy.
Who expounded the Dharma to them? Who taught them?
Who qualified them to attain [perfect enlightenment]?

Under whom did they begin to aspire for enlightenment?
What teaching of the Buddha did they extol?
What sūtra did they keep and practice?
What teaching of the Buddha did they study?

These Bodhisattvas have supernatural powers
And the great power of wisdom.
The ground of this world quaked and cracked.
They sprang up from under the four quarters of this world.

World-Honored One!
I have never seen them before.
I do not know
Any of them.

They appeared suddenly from underground.
Tell me why!
Many thousands of myriads
Of millions of Bodhisattvas
In this great congregation
Also want to know this.

There must be some reason.
Possessor of Immeasurable Virtues!
World-Honored One!
Remove our doubts!

At that time the Buddhas, who had come from many thousands of billions of worlds outside [this world], were sitting cross-legged on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees in [this world and] the neighboring worlds of the eight quarters. Those Buddhas were the replicas of Śākyamuni Buddha. The attendant of each of those Buddhas saw that many Bodhisattvas had sprung up from under the four quarters of the [Sahā-World which was composed of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds and stayed in the sky. He said to the Buddha whom he was accompanying, “World-Honored One! Where did these innumerable, asaṃkhya Bodhisattvas come from?”

That Buddha said to his attendant:

“Good Man! Wait for a while! There is a Bodhisattva
mahāsattva called Maitreya [in this congregation]. Śākyamuni
Buddha assured him of his future attainment of Buddhahood,
saying, ‘You will become a Buddha immediately after me.’
Maitreya has already asked [Śākyamuni Buddha] about this
matter. [Śākyamuni] Buddha will answer him. You will be able
to hear his answer.”

The Daily Dharma from March 15, 2018, offers this:

Good Man! Wait for a while! There is a Bodhisattva-mahāsattva called Maitreya [in this congregation]. Śākyamuni Buddha assured him of his future attainment of Buddhahood, saying, ‘You will become a Buddha immediately after me.’ Maitreya has already asked [Śākyamuni Buddha] about this matter. [Śākyamuni] Buddha will answer him. You will be able to hear his answer.

This passage from Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sūtra is the answer one of the Buddhas of the replicas of Śākyamuni Buddha gives to his attendant. In the story, innumerable Bodhisattvas have come up through the ground of this world of conflict after the Buddha asked who would continue his teaching after his extinction. Neither the attendant, nor anyone gathered to hear the Buddha teach had seen those Bodhisattvas before and wanted to know where they came from. Our practice of the Wonderful Dharma does not mean merely accepting what we do not understand. We need to raise questions when they occur. These questions show that we are capable of greater understanding. They lead us even closer to the Buddha’s wisdom.

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

Basics

Understand the Nature of Human Suffering

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Like a great physician of the mind, Shakyamuni taught the four truths that life is suffering, that ignorance is the cause of suffering, that suffering can be eliminated, and that the Eightfold Path is the way to eliminate suffering. A medical doctor must accurately diagnose the cause of a patient’s illness and must know the nature of the illness when it is recognized. Shakyamuni taught that we must accurately understand the nature of human suffering. This is the significance of the first of the four truths.
Basic Buddhist Concepts

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 30, 2018

Kāśyapa, and all of you present here! It is an extraordinarily rare thing to see that you have understood, believed and received the Dharma which I expounded variously according to the capacities of all living beings because it is difficult to understand the Dharma which the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, expound according to the capacities of all living beings.

The Buddha makes this declaration to his disciple Kāśyapa and all those gathered to hear him teach in Chapter Five of the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddha knows how hard it is to set aside our delusions and understand what he is teaching us. When the Buddha teaches with expedients, he lets us stay in the comfort of our own minds. With the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sūtra, he takes us into the unfamiliar areas of his own mind. Only when we gain confidence in the Buddha as our guide can we stay with this teaching and not regress to the contentment of our attachments.

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

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The Dialectic Theory of Original Enlightenment Thought

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It will now be clear why “dialectic” is an appropriate term to describe Tamura [Yoshirō]’s theory. First Tendai original enlightenment thought establishes the “thesis” of absolute nonduality: ordinary worldlings, just as they are, are the originally enlightened Buddha. Then in a counterreaction, out of soteriological concern and as a sort of “skillful means,” Hōnen asserts the “antithesis” of duality: the Buddha is “Other,” and salvation is both temporally and spatially removed from the present world. Shinran, Dōgen, and Nichiren represent “synthesis.” They are the ones shown as uniting the best in both “nondualistic” and “dualistic” systems, retaining the philosophical subtleties of Tendai hongaku thought while obviating its moral ambiguities and tendency uncritically to affirm the world by a renewed emphasis on practice and an acute existential awareness of human limitations. Tamura’s theory unites elements of both the “matrix” and “radical break” positions, arguing that the thought of Shinran, Dōgen, and Nichiren was neither simply an extended development of original enlightenment thought nor merely a reaction against it, but contained elements of both. Using as its organizing principle the question of the relationship between the absolute and the relative, the nondual and the dual, and the Buddha and the ordinary worldling, Tamura’s scheme provides a useful framework for considering both similarities and differences in the thought of these three figures and their common basis in Tendai hongaku doctrine. It represents the most comprehensive treatment thus far of the relationship of original enlightenment thought to the new Kamakura Buddhism, and subsequent studies, this one included, must inevitably be indebted to it. Nevertheless, as do earlier theories, it presents certain problems, to which we shall now turn. (Page 92)

Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism