Monthly Archives: January 2019

d27b, WONS

The Only Dependable Teaching

[T]he only dependable teaching is a phrase in fascicle seven of the Lotus Sūtra saying: “Propagate this sūtra throughout Jambudvipa during the last 500-year period after My passing.” Grand Master Dengyō interprets this: “The Ages of the True Dharma and Semblance Dharma are approaching the end, and the Latter Age of Degeneration is around the corner. It is the time when the One Vehicle teaching of the Lotus Sūtra will be propagated.”

Mikoshi Buri Gosho, Intimidation with the Portable Shrine, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Biography and Desciples, Volume 5, Page 138

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Jan. 6, 2019

Do not doubt him even at a moment’s thought!
The Pure Saint World-Voice-Perceiver is reliable
When you suffer, and when you are confronted
With the calamity of death.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Twenty-Five of the Lotus Sūtra. The calamity of death is something we all will face eventually, whether it our own or that of those we love. The other calamities in our lives are relatively minor losses which can prepare us for this great calamity. The Bodhisattva World-Voice-Perceiver is the embodiment of Compassion: the desire to benefit all beings. When we learn to use all of the suffering in our lives, especially the calamity of death, as a way to remove our delusions and benefit others, then we can see the world with the eyes of the Buddha and know the joy he declares is at the core of our being.

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

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Ritual Mirrors

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Another ritual form employed in kai kanjō, as in other medieval Tendai kanjō, was mirrors, used to convey the perfect interfusion of the three truths. Kai kanjō specifically required a round mirror, representing the Lotus Sūtra, and an octagonal mirror, representing the Fan-wang Ching, regarded as the primary and secondary textual bases for the bodhisattva precepts. Other significations of the mirrors were also elaborated, for example: “The round mirror is the mirror of the Wonderful Dharma (myōhō). The octagonal mirror is the mirror of the lotus blossom (renge). Their fusion is the word ‘sūtra’ (kyō). The title [of the Lotus Sūtra, Myōhō Renge Kyō] is understood as the threefold contemplation in a single mind. This is also the threefold contemplation of the secret store of the precept lineage.” (Page 136-137)

Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism


Profound

The Existence of Evil Allows Good To Come Into Being

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The nature and appearance of evil karman are identical to the nature and appearance of the Track of Accomplishment. The religious activity of accumulating merits and virtues (which aid in the attainment of the Path) is obviously virtuous, and the course of karman (i.e., being in saṃsāra) is considered to be evil. The reason that the nature and appearance of evil karman are identical to that of good is that good and evil exist interdependently. The essential principle of this identification is about “overturning evil.” Evil is overcome by an act of transformation (i.e., overturning), but not by an act of elimination. This overturning is due to the realization that evil is not an obstacle in aspiring to wholesomeness; rather, it motivates one to carry out religious practice. When evil is treated as the motivation for religious practice, it becomes a positive element rather than a negative element. This emphasizes that evil is not an element to be negated, but a positive element to be affirmed (in a sense that it aids in one’s realization of wholesomeness). Without evil, the existence of wholesomeness is not possible. This identification of good and evil is not simply to display their interdependent relationship, but to reveal a methodological aspect in spiritual practice, i.e., while affirming the positive aspect of this negative element, one turns it over so that this positive aspect can be actualized in practice. The existence of evil allows the good to come into being. Chih-i compares the Track of Accomplishment to the potential for fire contained in bamboo. If the proper conditions are met, and this potential as fire is actualized, it can burn things, like fire can burn bamboo. This illustrates that good is contained in evil, and when good is actualized, it destroys evil. (Vol. 2, Page 254-255)

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


LS32, WONS

Day 26

Day 26 concludes Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, includes Chapter 22, Transmission, and introduces Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Day 26 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings’ ultimate gift to the Buddha, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

In his next life, he appeared again in the world of Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue Buddha. It was in the house of King Pure-Virtue [in that world] that he suddenly appeared with his legs crossed [in the person of the son of the king] . He said to his father in a gāthā:

Great King, know this, [in my previous existence]
I walked about this world, and at once obtained
The samadhi by which I can transform myself
Into any other living being. With a great endeavor,
I gave up my own dear body.

“Having sung this gāthā, he said to his father, ‘Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue Buddha is still alive. [In my previous existence] I made offerings to him, and obtained the dhārāṇis by which I can understand the words of all living beings. I also heard from him the eight hundred thousands of billions of nayuta of kankaras of bimbaras of asaṃkhyas of gāthās of this Sūtra o the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. Great King! Now I will make another offering to the Buddha.’

“Having said this, he sat on a platform of the seven treasures. The platform went up to the sky seven times as high as the tala-tree. He came to the Buddha [who was staying in the sky], worshipped the feet of the Buddha with his head, joined his ten fingers [and palms] together, and praised the Buddha in a gāthā:

Your face is most wonderful.
Your light illumines the worlds of the ten quarters.
I once made offerings to you.
Now I have come to see you again.

While not specific to this section, here’s something Nichiren wrote on the main meaning of the “Medicine King Bodhisattva” chapter:

As for the main meaning of the “Medicine King Bodhisattva” chapter, it is in the seventh fascicle of the sūtra and is the 23rd of the 28 chapters. The first fascicle of the Lotus Sūtra includes the “Introductory” and “Expedients” chapters, the former being the introduction to the 28 chapters. The eight chapters from the “Expedients” to the “Assurance of Future Buddhahood of Learners and Adepts” chapters chiefly clarifies the attainment of Buddhahood by the Two Vehicles of śrāvaka and Pratyekabuddha and secondly explains the attainment of Buddhahood by bodhisattvas and ordinary people.

The five chapters, “The Teacher of the Dharma,” “The Appearance of the Stupa of Treasures,” “Devadatta,” “Encouragement for Upholding This Sūtra,” and “Peaceful Practices” chapters, expound the way ordinary people in the Latter Age of Degeneration should practice the eight chapters following the second “Expedients” chapter. Also, the 15th “Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground” chapter is the introductory to the 16th “Life Span of the Buddha” chapter. The 12 chapters beginning with the 17th chapter, “Variety of Merits,” explain mainly how ordinary people in the Latter Age of Degeneration should practice the “Life Span of the Buddha” chapter, while in the second place they also preach how to practice the eight chapters beginning with the “Expedients” chapter. Accordingly, this “Medicine King Bodhisattva” chapter explains the way to practice the eight chapters following the “Expedients” chapter as well as the “Life Span of the Buddha” chapter.

Yakuō-bon Tokui-shō, The Essence of the “Medicine King Bodhisattva” Chapter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 27-28

WONS

Those Who Possess Even the Slightest Belief in the Lotus Sūtra

QUESTION: Suppose ordinary people, priests or lay persons, uphold, read and write or let others read and write the entire Lotus Sūtra without understanding its meaning. Or perhaps they focus on just one of its fascicles, or the four important chapters (chapters 2, 14, 16 and 25), or even just the verse at the end of the “Life Span of the Buddha” chapter without fully appreciating the depth of the sūtra. Suppose there are people who, though they do not read and write the sūtra themselves, show respect by pressing their palms together in the form of gasshō, bow in front of it, offer incense and flowers to it. Or suppose there are people who, though they do not practice these things themselves, are happy seeing others perform such practices, and rejoice that this sūtra is spreading all over the country. Can such people, due to their own merit of having practiced a little, avoid committing worldly sins and be reborn in the realms of human and heavenly beings just as Hinayana sages on the first stage of sainthood are always reborn in the realms of humans and gods without falling into the three evil realms (hell, realm of hungry souls and that of beasts and birds)? Can they in the end perceive the Lotus Sūtra or be reborn in the Pure Lands all over the universe or become Buddhas with their present bodies? I would like to hear about this in detail.

ANSWER: Though my understanding of the sūtra is not profound, as I contemplate the spirit of the Lotus Sūtra and the Nirvana Sūtra, as well as their interpretations by T’ien-t’ai and Miao-lê, it seems to me that those who possess even the slightest belief in the Lotus Sūtra without holding any enmity against its teaching will not fall into the evil realms even if they commit evil deeds.

However, suppose such people believe in the “evil friend,” the one who understands only the provisional teachings, pretending to be wise and saying in an amicable manner that the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra is unsuitable for them. If such people then abandon their faith in the Lotus Sūtra, convert themselves to other teachings, and never return to the Lotus Sūtra for the duration of their lives, they may end up falling into the evil realms.

Shō Hokke Daimoku-shō, Treastise on Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 1-2

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Jan. 5, 2019

I do not deceive
Those who believe me and rely on me.
I am not greedy or jealous
Because I have eliminated all evils.
Therefore, in the worlds of the ten quarters,
I am fearless.

The Buddha proclaims these verses to his disciple Śāriputra in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sutra. In this world of conflict, people believe that they must constantly strive to show that they are better than everyone else. Acquiring more material goods or a higher rank or position supposedly proves superiority. And if there is an encounter with someone who is better, that person must be brought down. What people do not realize that the source of greed and jealousy is fear. Like the Buddha, we too can eliminate our fears when we are satisfied with what we have and regard superior beings as a source of benefit.

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

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Practice and the Assumption of Original Enlightenment

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Original enlightenment thought, in short, was not limited to transmissions concerning doctrine but informed those concerning the temples, icons, deities, and practices of Mt. Hiei; the bodhisattva precepts; and Buddhist vocal music. Virtually all forms of medieval Tendai secret transmissions were grounded in the assumption of original enlightenment. It was this, in fact, that lent them their potency as secret transmissions: In each case, the ultimate “secret” is that a particular set of forms, actions, or whatever the specific content of the transmission, is in itself the expression of innate enlightenment. The clear presence of hongaku ideas in transmissions associated with kaihōgyō, rites directed toward the kami, precept observance, and the chanting of hymns also raises serious questions about the claim that original enlightenment thought represents a theory divorced from practice. (Page 130)

Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism


Profound

‘Wisdom Stems From Ignorance’

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Deducing from the statement that the Ten Dharma-realms are the manifestation of True Reality and each realm includes the other nine realms, it can be said that True Reality includes both good and evil. The evil aspect of True Reality can be, according to Chih-i’s point of view, categorized by the Threefold Course of Ignorance, referring to the nature and appearance of affliction, evil karman, and the course of suffering. Since evil and good exist simultaneously constituting the True Reality, the Threefold Track can be regarded as the representation of the good aspect. Since evil and good are one entity, the Threefold Course of Ignorance and the Threefold Track are different aspects of the same thing. If the concealment of evil indicates the manifestation of good, then the transformation of the three types of evil nature and appearance denotes the manifestation of the three types of good nature and appearance.

For this reason, Chih-i argues that the nature and appearance of affliction is identical to the nature and appearance of the Track of the Illumination of Wisdom. The cause for the rising of ignorance lies in lack of wisdom. Understanding ignorance as the cause of suffering gives rise to one’s wisdom. Apparently, wisdom stems from ignorance; without ignorance, there is no such thing as wisdom. As Chih-i states: “Wisdom is not a separate entity apart from ignorance, just as ice and water are identical to each other.” (Vol. 2, Page 254)

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


LS32

Day 25

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Day 25 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month met the four kinds of devotees had impure minds, we learn what happened when Never-Despising Bodhisattva heard the twenty thousand billion gāthās of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

When he was about to pass away, he heard [from a voice] in the sky the twenty thousand billion gāthās of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, which had been expounded by the Powerful-Voice-King Buddha. Having kept all these gāthās, he was able to have his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind purified as previously stated. Having his six sense-organs purified, he was able to prolong his life for two hundred billion nayuta more years. He expounded this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to many people [in his prolonged life]. The arrogant bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās and upāsikās, that is, the four kinds of devotees who had abused him and caused him to be called Never-Despising, saw that he had obtained great supernatural powers, the power of eloquence, and the great power of good tranquility. Having seen all this, and having heard the Dharma from him, they took faith in him, and followed him.

“This Bodhisattva also taught thousands of billions of living beings, and led them into the Way to Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. After the end of his prolonged life, he was able to meet two hundred thousand million Buddhas, all of them being called Sun-Moon-Light. He also expounded the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma under them. After that, he was able to meet two hundred thousand million Buddhas, all of them being called Cloud-Freedom-Light-King. He also kept, read and recited this sūtra, and expounded it to the four kinds of devotees under those Buddhas so that he was able to have his natural eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind purified and to become fearless in expounding the Dharma to the four kinds of devotees.

“Great-Power-Obtainer! This Never-Despising Bodhisattva-mahāsattva made offerings to those Buddhas, respected them, honored them, praised them, and planted the roots of good. After that, he was able to meet thousands of billions of Buddhas. He also expounded this sūtra under those Buddhas. By the merits he had accumulated in this way, he was able to become a Buddha.

The Purification of Never-Despising Bodhisattva is discussed in the Introduction to the Lotus Sūtra:

Purification of the six senses, which we discussed in the previous chapter, “Merits of the Teacher of the Law,” means purification of the bodily senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and mind. Once Never-Despising had purified his six senses, he was able to extend his lifetime for many years, and teach the Sutra to others. Thanks to his teaching, the same arrogant and conceited priests who had persecuted him before, now came to believe in the Lotus Sutra, themselves. In this way, he led many people to supreme enlightenment, and he himself became a Buddha.

Day 25 Text with annotationsPlay MP3