Monthly Archives: December 2018

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Śākyamuni and Vairocana

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Long before the emergence of Japanese Taimitsu, or even of esoteric Buddhism in East Asia, attempts had been made to identify Śākyamuni with the Buddha Vairocana, whose name is transliterated in Chinese versions of the sūtras as either Lu-che-na (Jpn. Rushana) or P’i-lu-che-na (Birushana). Such identifications begin in the sūtra literature. The sixty-fascicle Hua-yen ching says that the names “Śākyamuni ” and “Vairocana” refer to the same Buddha. The Fo-shuo kuan P’u-hsien P’u-sa hsing-fa Ching (Sutra of the Buddha’s preaching on the method of contemplating Bodhisattva Samantabhadra), the capping sūtra to the Lotus, reads, “At that time the voice in space will speak these words [to the meditator]: ‘Śākyamuni is called Vairocana Pervading All Places, and that Buddha’s dwelling place is called Ever-Tranquil Light. The Fan-wang ching presents Vairocana as manifesting individual Śākyamuni Buddhas as his emanations in billions of worlds. Because he is said to have attained these powers as the reward of long efforts in cultivation, Vairocana in this depiction may properly be regarded as a recompense body (saṃbhogakāya, hōjin)—the wisdom and supernatural attainments of a Buddha achieved through practice, imagined as a subtle body.]

Chinese commentators advanced various theories about the relationship of these Buddhas, often in connection with discussions about the various kinds of “bodies” that Buddhas were said to possess. Chih-i, for example, citing various sources, identified P’i-lu-che-na as the Dharma body, Lu-che-na as the recompense body, and Śākyamuni as the manifested body—noting, however, that the three bodies were inseparable. Elsewhere, in a dynamic synthesis, he interpreted Śākyamuni Buddha of the “Fathoming the Lifespan” chapter as embodying all three bodies in one. When the Buddha’s wisdom grasps the ultimate reality, that which is realized is the Dharma body; and the wisdom that realizes it is the recompense body. For the sake of living beings, this wisdom manifests itself in physical form as human Buddha who teaches in the world; this is the manifested body. Since the recompense body both realizes the truth that is the Dharma body and responds to aspirations of the beings in the form of the manifested body, Chih-i regarded it as central. However, he also rejected any notion of hierarchy among the three bodies, denying that one can be seen as prior to the others. (Page 25-26)

Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism


Profound

Practice and Knowledge

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Before elaborating increasing numbers of practice, Chih-i delineates practice in terms of knowledge, stressing the importance of practice that can lead to an accomplishment and knowledge that can guide practice. Without practice, there would not be the fruition of enlightenment; and without knowledge, practice cannot accomplish anything. Both practice and knowledge are indispensable, and together, they provide conditions to allow a person to gain religious accomplishment. Chih-i explains:

“Although there are many practices, they are all based on knowledge.
Knowledge is like a guide and a master, and practice is like a merchant. Knowledge is like a sharp needle, and practice is like a long thread. When a cart [i.e., practice] is driven by knowledge, an ox cart rides smooth and steady, and is capable of getting somewhere.” (Vol. 2, Page 170)

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


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Day 32

Day 32 covers Chapter 28, The Encouragement of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, closing the Eighth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 32 Full Text

Having last time heard Universal-Sage Bodhisattva’s promise to protect those who keeps the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, we hear Śākyamuni Buddha praise Universal-Sage Bodhisattva.

Thereupon Śākyamuni Buddha praised him, saying:

“Excellent, excellent, Universal-Sage! You will protect this sūtra so that many living beings may obtain peace and benefits. You have already obtained inconceivable merits and great compassion. You aspired for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi and vowed [to protect this sūtra] by your supernatural powers in the remotest past, and have been protecting this sūtra since then. By my supernatural powers, I will protect anyone who keeps your name.

“Universal-Sage! Anyone who keeps, reads and recites this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, memorizes it correctly, studies it, practices it, and copies it, should be considered to see me, and hear this sūtra from my mouth. He should be considered to be making offerings to me. He should be considered to be praised by me with the word ‘Excellent!’ He should be considered to be caressed by me on the head. He should be considered to be covered with my robe. He will not be attached to worldly pleasures. He will not like to read heretical scriptures or any other writings of heretics. He will not be intimate with heretics, slaughterers, boar-breeders, sheep-breeders, fowl-breeders, dog­breeders, hunters, prostitutes, or any other evil people. He will be upright. He will have correct memory and the powers of merits and virtues. He will not be troubled by the three poisons. He will not be troubled by jealousy, arrogance from selfishness, arrogance from self-assumed attainment of enlightenment, or arrogance from self-assumed acquisition of virtues. He will want little, know contentment, and practice just as you do.

The Daily Dharma from Oct. 28, 2017, offers this:

He will have correct memory and the powers of merits and virtues. He will not be troubled by the three poisons. He will not be troubled by jealousy, arrogance from selfishness, arrogance from self-assumed attainment of enlightenment, or arrogance from self-assumed acquisition of virtues. He will want little, know contentment, and practice just as you do.

The Buddha gives this description of the person who keeps and practices the Lotus Sūtra to Universal-Sage Bodhisattva (Fugen, Samantabhadra) in Chapter Twenty-Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. Powers of merits are what we have when we see things clearly. The three poisons are greed, anger and ignorance. The practice of Universal-Sage is to support and encourage everyone who takes on this difficult practice of the Wonderful Dharma. This is another Bodhisattva who gives us an example of how we can live in this world of conflict.

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

Basics

The Ultimate Goal of Buddhism

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Nirvana is not a concept to be pondered and understood intellectually but the actual realization of the ideal state in each thought and deed, accomplished with perfect freedom from all obstructions and impediments, without mental or physical effort, and in the natural, spontaneous activity of perfection. This is the ultimate goal of Buddhism.Basic Buddhist Concepts

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 10, 2018

They will expound the Dharma
Already taught by the past Buddhas.
Therefore, they will be fearless
Before the multitude.

The Buddha declares these lines to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. By understanding fear, and demonstrating our fearlessness in this world of conflict, we can inspire and bring courage to other beings. One form of fear arises when we believe that we are in a situation that we cannot handle. This is simply a form of arrogance: believing that something is true when in reality we do not know that it is true. When the Buddha assures us who practice this Wonderful Dharma of the certainty of our future enlightenment, we then know how things will turn out. No matter what difficulties we find ourselves in, there are always more choices available to us. Often outcomes that seem horrible at the time can bring us more wisdom and compassion.

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 Trace and the Original Buddhas

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The Buddha of the Lotus Sūtra appears in that text in two forms. First he is presented simply as the historical Buddha, Śākyamuni, who attained enlightenment at the age of thirty under the Bodhi tree. But the eleventh chapter suggests that he is more than this: all Buddhas in the worlds of the ten directions are shown to be his emanations. This foreshadows the dramatic revelation of the sixteenth chapter, called “Fathoming the Lifespan of the Tathāgata” (Nyorai juryō-hon), in which Śākyamuni declares that countless myriads of kalpas have passed since he attained Buddhahood, and that ever since then, he has been constantly in this world, preaching the Dharma in various guises and by various skillful means. Chih-i had divided the sūtra into two parts of fourteen chapters each, according to these two presentations of the Buddha. The first fourteen chapters, called the “trace teaching” (shakumon), present the Buddha as a “manifest trace” (suijaku) or historical appearance, while the latter fourteen chapters, called the “origin teaching” (honmon), present him in his original ground (honji) as the Buddha who first attained enlightenment in the inconceivably remote past. (Page 24)

Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism


Profound

Practice Must Be Guided by Knowledge

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Chih-i assures us that by undertaking various practices with the guidance of knowledge, truth can be realized. Therefore, … Chih-i begins to discuss the “Subtlety of Practice.” Before his elaboration of practice, Chih-i discusses an interactive relation among objects, knowledge, and practice by stating:

“Practice is called progress and tending that cannot be proceeded without knowledge. Knowledge [means] understanding that can guide practice, but [knowledge] will not be correct without [concerning] an object. With knowledge as the eye and practice as the foot, [one] reaches the pure and cool pond [of prajn͂āpāramitā, i.e., enlightenment]. Understanding is the essence of practice, and practice can lead to the formation of knowledge. Therefore, when practice is complete, knowledge is perfect.”

Chih-i’s point is that practice must be guided by knowledge, and the achievement of practice, in return, perfects knowledge. However, correct knowledge is derived from objects as truth. Only if knowledge is correct, can it guide practice in a right direction. With one’s perfection of knowledge and completion of practice, one gains enlightenment. (Vol. 2, Page 169)

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


LS32

Day 31

Day 31 covers Chapter 27, King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva.

Day 31 Full Text

Having last time heard the Buddha expound the Dharma to the king and predict the king’s future, we consider the role of the son’s in the king’s future attainment of enlightenment.

“Thereupon the king abdicated from the throne in favor of his younger brother, renounced the world, and with his wife, two sons, and attendants, practiced the Way under that Buddha. After he renounced the world, the king acted according to the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma constantly and strenuously for eighty-four thousand years. Then he practiced the samādhi for the adornment of all pure merits. Then he went up to the sky seven times as high as the tala-tree, and said to that Buddha, ‘World-Honored One! These two sons of mine did the work of the Buddha. They converted me from wrong views by displaying wonders. They caused me to dwell peacefully in your teachings. They caused me to see you. These two sons of mine are my teachers. They appeared in my family in order to benefit me. They inspired the roots of good which I had planted in my previous existence.’

“Thereupon Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha said to King Wonderful-Adornment, ‘So it is, so it is. It is just as you say. The good men or women who plant the roots of good will obtain teachers in their successive lives. The teachers will do the work of the Buddha, show the Way [to them], teach them, benefit them, cause them to rejoice, and cause them to enter into the Way to Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Great King, know this! A teacher is a great cause [of your enlightenment] because he leads you, and causes you to see a Buddha and aspire for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Great King! Do you see these two sons of yours, or not? They made offerings to six trillion and five hundred thousand billion Buddhas, that is, as many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges, in their previous existence. They attended on those Buddhas respectfully. They kept the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma under those Buddhas, and caused the people of wrong views to have right views out of their compassion towards them.

The Lecture on the Lotus Sutra offers this explanation of how we can do the work of the Buddha:

In the story of King Wonderful-Adornment in Chapter 27, the two sons who vow to practice Buddhism and then vow to convert their father do so because they are able to manifest the benefits of their Buddhist practice. The truth of the teaching enables them to change their lives, giving them the joy of life and the capacity to turn around and save their father. Their faith and seeking spirit led them to Buddhism and their benefit enables them to share it.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

buddhaseed

Ichinen Sanzen of Ri

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Fundamentally, Ichinen Sanzen can be explained as follows: every thought (ichinen) encompasses three thousand (san-zen) worlds which make up the entirety of existence and the universe, or more simply, “the three thousand realms are contained in one mind.” The number 3,000 derives from multiplying the conceptual categories of “the mutual possession of the ten realms,” “the ten aspects of existence” and “the three categories of realms.” These basic concepts describe the states of existence. While “3,000” theoretically represents the existing worlds in the universe, the number is meant to describe vastness, universality, or infinity. Ichinen Sanzen of Ri refers to the theoretical principles found in the theoretical or “shakumon” section of the Lotus Sutra.

Buddha Seed: Understanding the Odaimoku

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 9, 2018

When he said this, people would strike him with a stick, a piece of wood, a piece of tile or a stone. He would run away to a distance, and say in a loud voice from afar, ‘I do not despise you. You will become Buddhas.’

The Buddha tells this story of Never-Despising Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty of the Lotus Sūtra. This Bodhisattva did not read or recite sūtras. His sole practice was to tell everyone he met, “I respect you deeply. I do not despise you.” Despite this pure practice, many people became angry and abused him because of their own perverted minds. He did not stay where he could suffer their abuse, and he still maintained his respect for them, despite their behavior. This and the other examples in the Lotus Sūtra of Bodhisattvas are examples for us who aspire to practice this Wonderful Teaching.

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