Monthly Archives: December 2018

LS32

Day 11

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

Day 11 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the reaction of the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the south, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 7 with the reaction of the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the zenith.

“The great Brahman-[heavenly-]kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the southwest, west, northwest, north, northeast, and nadir also did the same. The great Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the zenith, 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 Brahman­heavenly-king called Sikhin among them. He said to the other Brahmans in gāthās:

Our palaces are adorned
More brightly than ever.
Why are they illumined
By this powerful light?

We have never seen nor heard
Of such a wonderful thing as this before.
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 down, 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 Great-Universal­Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata was sitting on the lion-like seat under the Bodhi-tree of the place of enlightenment, surrounded respectfully by gods, dragon-kings, gandharvas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men and non-human 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-kings 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:

How good it is to see a Buddha,
To see the Honorable Saint who saves the world!
He saves all living beings
From the prison of the triple world.

The All-Knower, the Most Honorable One of Gods and Men,
Opens the gate of the teachings as sweet as nectar,
And saves all living beings
Out of his compassion towards them.

There has been no Buddha
For the past innumerable kalpas.
Before you appeared,
The worlds of the ten quarters were dark.

The living beings in the three evil regions
And asuras are increasing.
The living beings in heaven are decreasing.
Many fall into the evil regions after their death.

They do not hear the Dharma from a Buddha
Because they did evils,
Their appearances are getting worse;
And their power and wisdom, decreasing.
Because they did sinful karmas,
They lose pleasures and the memory of pleasures.
They are attached to wrong views.
They do not know how to do good.
They are not taught by a Buddha;
Therefore, they fall into the evil regions.

Now you have appeared for the first time after a long time,
And become the eyes of the world.
You have appeared in this world
Out of your compassion towards all living beings,
And finally attained perfect enlightenment.
We are very glad.
All the others also rejoice at seeing you,
Whom they have never seen before.

Our palaces are beautifully adorned
With your light.
We offer them to you.
Receive them out of your compassion towards us!

May the merits we have accumulated by this offering
Be distributed among all living beings,
And may we and all other living beings
Attain the enlightenment of the Buddha!

The Daily Dharma from Sept. 9, 2018, offers this:

May the merits we have accumulated by this offering
Be distributed among all living beings,
And may we and all other living beings
Attain the enlightenment of the Buddha!

These verses are from Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sutra, where the Brahma Kings from the ten quarters of the universe come to celebrate the enlightenment of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha. We too can cultivate this wish that all the good results of our life’s work be for the benefit of all beings.

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

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 21, 2018

Ajita! The good men or women who hear of my longevity of which I told you, and understand it by firm faith, will be able to see that I am expounding the Dharma on Mt. Gṛdhrakūṭa, surrounded by great Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas. They also will be able to see that the ground of this Sahā-World is made of lapis lazuli, that the ground is even, that the eight roads are marked off by ropes of jāmbūnada gold, that the jeweled trees are standing in lines, and that the magnificent buildings are made of treasures.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Maitreya Bodhisattva, whom he calls Ajita – Invincible, in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. We can hear this explanation as a promise of some great otherworldly vision which will be revealed to us if our faith is strong enough. We can also hear it as a promise that we will learn to deny that all the terrible things in the world as as bad as we think. But when we remember the Buddha telling us, “I do not see the world as others do,” then we realize that our faith brings us to the Buddha’s own mind, where we can accept this frightening and dangerous world for what it is, and work to make it better for all beings.

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

original

Nichiren And Original Enlightenment Thought

Quote

Such studies were pioneered by the Nichiren Shū scholar Asai Yōrin (1883-1942), who aimed at recovering a “pure” Nichiren doctrine based on “scientific” investigation of the canon and the identification and elimination of apocryphal texts. Asai’s findings, which he began to publish in the 1930s, were startling and revisionist. He pointed out that, of the works traditionally attributed to Nichiren that deal with original enlightenment thought, most do not exist in Nichiren’s autograph or in transcriptions made by his immediate disciples, nor do they appear in the earliest indices of his writings. Moreover, they employ terminology and concepts that, while common to medieval Tendai oral transmission texts, appear only infrequently or not at all in those of Nichiren’s writings whose authenticity can be verified. Maeda, Shimaji, and Uesugi were in error, Asai declared, because they had assumed that the essence of Nichiren’s doctrine was expressed by writings in his corpus reflecting the influence of medieval Tendai hongaku thought. In fact, Asai argued, these writings were not Nichiren’s work at all but the forgeries of later disciples who, influenced by their study on Mt. Hiei or at Tendai seminaries in eastern Japan, had incorporated hongaku thought into their understanding of Nichiren’s teaching. Even if some of these texts should conceivably be Nichiren’s writings, they did not represent his “primary thought,” as expressed in his two major treatises, which Asai held should be normative: the Kaimoku shō (Opening of the eyes) and the Kanjin honzon shō (The contemplation of the mind and the object of worship). While presenting itself as objective and scientific, Asai’s argument proved a timely and effective weapon in defending Nichiren against the charge of being derivative of medieval Tendai. (Page 68-70)

Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism


Profound

Relative And Ultimate Teachings

Quote

Chih-i offers an explanation for his preference of the position of the Perfect Teaching over those of the other three teachings in terms of the Relative and the Ultimate. The relative teachings contain two characteristics. First, they are not upright rivers and are winding and roundabout, considering that the Buddha did not directly express his true intention of guiding beings to attain Buddhahood in relative teachings. Second, the relative teachings serve to suit the dispositions of sentient beings (Sui-ch’ing) like all forests that must have trees. By means of presenting the Three Vehicles (śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, and bodhisattva), the Buddha uses the relative teaching to mature sentient beings so that they will be able to eventually receive the Perfect Teaching, and enter the One Buddha-vehicle. Obviously, the relative positions, which are represented by three kinds of herbal grass and two kinds of tree, are not ultimate, and have to be abolished. The ultimate positions, which are represented by the Perfect Teaching, are analogous with “the great river [named] Golden Sand that flows straight into the Western Sea” and are analogous with “all golden and silver trees that are part of precious forest.” Since these positions are not winding (i.e., entailing no expedient purpose), but straightforward (i.e., direct attainment of the Ultimate Truth), they are not to be abolished. In addition, from the point of view of integrating the three relative teachings (i.e., Tripiṭaka, Common and Separate) with the one ultimate teaching (i.e., Perfect Teaching), positions of the former teachings should be abolished, and positions of the latter teaching should not be abolished. In other words, since the One Vehicle of Buddhahood is the result of an integration of the Three Vehicles, these three no longer need to exist, but this One Buddha-vehicle is necessary to remain. (Vol. 2, Page 228)

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


LS32

Day 10

Day 10 concludes Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood, and opens Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City.

Day 10 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month heard the princes praise World-­Honored One in gāthās, we conclude Day 10’s portion of Chapter 7 with the princes begging the Buddha to turn the wheel of the dharma.

“Thereupon the sixteen princes, having praised the Buddha with these gāthās, begged the World-Honored One to turn the wheel of the Dharma, saying, ‘World-Honored One! Expound the Dharma, and give peace and many benefits to gods and men out of your compassion towards them!’ They repeated this in gāthās:

You, the Hero of the World, are unequalled.
Adorned with the marks
Of one hundred merits,
You have obtained unsurpassed wisdom.
Expound the Dharma and save us
And other living beings of the world!

Expound the Dharma, reveal the Dharma,
And cause us to obtain that wisdom!
If we attain Buddhahood,
Others also will do the same.

You, the World-Honored One, know
What all living beings have deep in their minds,
What teachings they are practicing,
And how much power of wisdom they have.

You know their desires, the merits they obtained,
And the karmas they did
In their previous existence.
Turn the wheel of the unsurpassed Dharma!

The Daily Dharma from Nov. 30, 2018, offers this:

You, the World-Honored One, know
What all living beings have deep in their minds,
What teachings they are practicing,
And how much power of wisdom they have.

The children of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha proclaim this to their father in a story told by Śākyamuni Buddha in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. In our preoccupation with our pursuits in this world of conflict we are so focused on our schemes that we have forgotten the Buddha’s wisdom dormant in us all. With the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha leads us to an unfamiliar and even uncomfortable way of seeing the world. But it is only when we leave the false safety of our delusions that we can truly benefit ourselves and others.

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

Basics

Complete Tranquillity

Quote

If the existence of the ordinary mortal is one of suffering, the state of the enlightened sage, whose delusions have been eliminated, is the complete tranquility of nirvana. In his first sermon, the Buddha described nirvana as “the utter passionless cessation of, the giving up of, the forsaking of, the release from, the absence of longing for this craving.” Craving represents all the obstructions, including ignorance, that hinder the realization of the ideal state. Nirvana is the state in which all obstructions have been eliminated and one can function in accord with the ideal.
Basic Buddhist Concepts

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 20, 2018

“Who will expound the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in this Sahā-World? Now is the time to do this. I shall enter into Nirvāṇa before long. I wish to transmit this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to someone so that this sūtra may be preserved.”

The Buddha asks this of those gathered to hear him teach in Chapter Eleven of the Lotus Sūtra. If there had been no one among those listening who was able to expound the Sūtra, he would not have asked this question. Our ability to benefit others with the Buddha Dharma is not based on our eloquence, our intelligence or our position in life. It is based only on our faith in the Buddha’s teachings and our determination to benefit others. When we read, recite, and copy the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha is transmitting it to us. We preserve the Sūtra through our practice.

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

original

Tendai Vs. Nichirenist Hongaku Thought

Quote

Applied to the issue of distinguishing between medieval Tendai and Nichirenist versions of hongaku thought, however, the ri/ji distinction became not a contrasting of two modes of practice, as Nichiren had used the terms, but a distinction of theory and practice. An example concerned medieval Tendai versus Nichirenist readings of the “original Buddha” (honbutsu) of the sixteenth or “Fathoming the Lifespan of the Tathāgata” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, enlightened since the unimaginably remote past. For medieval Tendai thinkers, this Buddha was the “Tathāgata of original enlightenment” who is equated with the cosmos or dharma realm itself; the sūtra’s revelation of his “original attainment” of Buddhahood countless kalpas ago was no more than a revelation in principle (ri kenpon), a skillful means or metaphor to show that all beings are enlightened from the outset. Such an interpretation, the Nichiren scholars argued, reduced the eternal Buddha of the Lotus Sūtra to no more than an abstract Dharma body (Skt. dharmakāya, Jpn. hosshin) or truth as principle; in their reading, the “original attainment” was actual (ji kenpon) and emphasized the centrality, among the Buddha’s three bodies, of the “reward body” (sawbhogakāya, hōjin), the Buddha wisdom acquired through practice by which the Dharma is realized. Tendai original enlightenment thought was accordingly characterized as a mere theoretical, abstract statement that beings are inherently enlightened by nature (jinen hongaku), while Nichiren’s teaching was presented as the, actualization of inherent enlightenment through faith and practice (shikaku soku hon aku). (Page 58)

Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism


Profound

Abolishing The Tripiṭaka, Common and Separate Teaching

Quote

With regard to the abandonment of the position of the Tripiṭaka Teaching, Chih-i says that the Tripiṭaka Teaching is intended for the practitioner to get rid of evil and to aspire for wholesomeness. If his wholesomeness is established, the doctrine of this teaching should be abolished for the sake of motivating the practitioner to continue to pursue his practice. Along with the abandonment of the doctrine of the Tripiṭaka Teaching, its practice and position should be abandoned as well.

With regard to the abandonment of the position of the Common Teaching, Chih-i denotes that the Common Teaching is intended for the person not to remain satisfied with the perception of emptiness. As the truth of emptiness is only a partial truth, the practitioner should continue to perceive no-emptiness (e.g. provisional existence). From this point of view, the doctrine of the Common Teaching, along with its knowledge, practice and position, should be abolished.

With regard to the abandonment of the position of the Separate Teaching, Chih-i asserts that the Separate Teaching is intended for the bodhisattva to destroy delusions of lacking innumerable knowledge of saving beings. When this task is fulfilled, the teaching is complete, whereby the position of the Separate Teaching should be demolished. In addition, Chih-i states that another reason for the abandonment of the Separate Teaching is that the Separate Teaching still expresses the word of other’s mind to suit the inclination of beings. To be specific, Chih-i stresses that all practices and positions before the Ten Stages should be abolished. However, the position of the Ten Stages and the position of the Buddha should not be abandoned (if speaking in terms of attainment of the Buddhahood), and should be abandoned (if speaking in terms of different levels of attainment). Finally, for the sake of establishing the position of the Perfect Teaching, the position of the Separate Teaching should be abandoned.

With regard to the position of the Perfect Teaching, Chih-i affirms that as all eight positions of the Perfect Teaching are true positions which are not the result of the expedient teaching, but rather, derived directly from the ultimate teaching that expresses the word of the Buddha’s own mind, they do not have to be abolished.

LS32

Day 9

Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.

Day 9 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month heard the Simile of the Herbs, we hear the Buddha’s call to come hear the Dharma.

I said to the great multitude, ‘I am the Tathāgata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. I will cause all living beings to cross [the ocean of birth and death] if they have not yet done so. I will cause them to emancipate themselves [from suffering] if they have not yet done so. I will cause them to have peace of mind if they have not yet done so. I will cause them to attain Nirvana if they have not yet done so. I know their present lives as they are, and also their future lives as they will be. I know all. I see all. I know the Way. I have opened the Way. I will expound the Way. Gods, men and asuras! Come and hear the Dharma!’

“Thereupon many thousands of billions of people came to hear the Dharma from me. Having seen them, I knew which were clever, which were dull, which were diligent, and which were lazy. Therefore, I expounded to them an innumerable variety of teachings according to their capacities in order to cause them to rejoice and receive benefits with pleasure. Having heard these teachings, they became peaceful in their present lives. In their future lives, they will have rebirths in good places, enjoy pleasures by practicing the Way, and hear these teachings again. After hearing these teachings again, they will emancipate themselves from all hindrances, practice the teachings according to their capacities, and finally enter the Way, just as the grasses and trees in the thickets and forests, which were watered by the rain from the same large cloud, grew differently according to their species.

The Daily Dharma from Dec. 19, 2018, offers this:

I know the Way. I have opened the Way. I will expound the Way. Gods, men and asuras! Come and hear the Dharma!

The Buddha makes this declaration at the beginning of Chapter Five of the Lotus Sūtra. If anyone besides the Buddha had said this, we would accuse them of arrogance: pretending to know what they do not. The Buddha does not separate himself from us. Because he knows we can become as enlightened as he is, he does not place himself as superior. He also knows that unless we hear him, he cannot help us to become enlightened. To accept this help means taking responsibility for our progress on the path. We cannot continue alone but we must make our own effort.

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