Monthly Archives: January 2019

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Jan. 30, 2019

The Buddhas expound the teaching of the Three Vehicles
Only as an expedient.
There is only the One Buddha-Vehicle.
The two [vehicles] were taught only as resting places.

The Buddha declares these verses in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra after telling the parable of the Magic City. The parable is his explanation of why expedient teachings are necessary, and why we must eventually set them aside to attain the enlightenment that is our true nature.

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

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Gyōja and Jikyōsha

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In his Izu writings, Nichiren began to refer to himself as the gyōja— practitioner or votary—of the Lotus Sūtra. In contrast to the more conventional term jikyōsha, one who “holds” the sūtra and recites it as his or her personal practice, gyōja for Nichiren meant one who lived the sūtra through one’s actions, experiencing in one’s own person the great trials that it predicts. His later writings would call this “reading with the body” (shikidoku). Having been exiled, as he saw it, for the sūtra’s sake, Nichiren rejoiced that even when not specifically reciting it, he was in effect now practicing the sūtra continuously, walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, throughout all the hours of the day and night. (Page 252)

Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism


Profound

Universal Salvation

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Chih-i’s category, Subtlety of Retinues, is meant to reveal the result of the teaching of the Buddha. Only if living beings are retinues of the Buddha, can they receive benefits as the result of the Buddha’s teaching. Chih-i’s enumeration of various types of retinues intends to confirm that all beings are destined to attain Buddhahood, since universal salvation is the ultimate goal of the Buddha’s teaching. What should be pointed out is, in Chih-i ‘s enumeration of retinues that are related to mind contemplation, two types of retinues that are formed by the mind that contains defilement of wrong attitudes and defilement of false views indicate devious and heretical paths practitioners may encounter. By stating these two types of retinues, Chih-i not only warns us of errors that may occur in terms of contemplating mind due to one’s own false views and wrong attitudes, but also confirms that even these two types of retinues are included as retinues of the Buddha, since the ultimate goal of the Buddha’s teaching is universal salvation. (Vol. 2, Page 300)

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


LS32

Day 18

Day 18 concludes Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra, and begins Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.

Day 18 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month heard Mañjuśrī’s question on how an ordinary Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should expound this sūtra in the evil world after the Buddha’s extinction, we consider the first set of peaceful practices.

“First, he should perform proper practices, approach proper things, and then e pound this sūtra to all living beings.

“Mañjuśrī! What are the proper practices the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should perform? He should be patient, mild and meek. He should not be rash, timorous, or attached t anything. He should see things as they are. He should not be attached to his nonattachment to anything. Nor should he be attached to his seeing thing as they are. These are the proper practices the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should perform.

“What are the proper things the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should approach? He should not approach kings, princes, ministers or other government directors. He should not approach heretics, aspirants for the teaching of Brahman, Nirgraṇṭhas, writer of worldly literature, writers of non-Buddhist songs of praise, Lokāyatas or Anti-Lokāyatas. He should not approach players of dangerous sports such as boxers or wrestlers. He should not approach naṭas or other various amusement-makers. He should not approach caṇḍālas, boar-keepers, shepherds, poulterers, dog-keepers, hunters, fishermen, or other people who do evils for their livelihood. When they come to him, he should expound the Dharma to them, but should not wish [to receive anything from them]. He should not approach those who seek Śrāvakahood, be they bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās or upāsikās. He should not exchange greeting with them. He should not stay with them in the same monastery, promenade or lecture-hall. When they come to him, he should expound the Dharma to them according to their capacities, but should not wish [to receive anything from them]. Mañjuśrī! The Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should not expound the Dharma to a woman with a desire for her. He should not wish to look at her. When he enters the house of others, he should not talk with a little girl, an unmarried woman or a widow. He should not approach or make friend with anyone of the five kinds of eunuchs. He should not enter the house of others alone. lf he must enter it alone for some rea on, he should think of the Buddha with all his heart. When he expounds the Dharma to a woman, he should not laugh with his teeth visible to her. He should not expose his breast to her. He should not be friendly with her even for the purpose of expounding the Dharma to her. Needless to say, he should not be so for other purposes. He should not wish to keep young disciples, śramaṇeras or children. He should not wish to have the same teacher with them.

“He should always make it a pleasure to sit in dhyāna. He should live in a retired place and concentrate his mind. Mañjuśrī! [A retired place] is the first thing he should approach.

The Daily Dharma from June 20, 2018, offers this:

Mañjuśrī! What are the proper practices the Bodhisattva-mahāsattva should perform? He should be patient, mild and meek. He should not be rash, timorous, or attached to anything. He should see things as they are. He should not be attached to his non-attachment to anything. Nor should he be attached to his seeing things as they are. These are the proper practices the Bodhisattva-mahāsattva should perform.

The Buddha makes this explanation to Mañjuśrī in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra in which he describes the peaceful practices of a Bodhisattva. When we learn to see things differently, we act differently. Conversely, when we act in ways that are not beneficial, either to ourselves or to others, it is an indication that we are not seeing things as they are. At the same time, not being attached to non-attachment helps us realize that becoming enlightened is a process, and that becoming proud of our achievements is another indication of being stuck and not seeing things as they are.

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

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Tsuito-e and New Year Party

Richard, Alexis and Mary enjoying their luncheon bento boxes.

Turned this year’s Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church’s Tsuito-e service and New Year Party into a family affair. The Tsuito-e service is a memorial service for deceased members marking an everlasting membership in a community of believers. This is followed with the New Year Party put on by the Fujinkai (women’s group). The luncheon acts as a Fujinkai fund-raiser and as an opportunity to thank those who helped out in the various church activities during the previous year.

This was apparently the first time my wife attended the luncheon and certainly the first time my son and his girlfriend attended. Perhaps we can make this into a family tradition.

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi accompanied his sermon with a chart illustrating the 10 worlds possessing the 10 worlds.

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi used the opportunity of the large crowd at the service to offer a quick overview of Ichinen Sanzen, a shorter version of the lecture he gave last year on The Logic of 3000 Realms.

Basics

Lay Buddhist Precepts

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The … 5 precepts for lay Buddhists: not to take life, not to steal, not to indulge in improper sexual activity, not to lie, and not to drink intoxicants. Stated positively, these precepts exhort us to love and protect living creatures (including both human and nonhuman beings), to be generous and munificent, to lead lives of sexual morality, to tell the truth always, and to lead sober lives free of dissipation.
Basic Buddhist Concepts

WONS

Those Who Merely Listen To Lotus Sūtra

T’ien-t’ai’s interpretation makes it clear that even great bodhisattvas who have thoroughly studied Mahāyāna sūtras such as the Flower Garland Sūtra, Hōdō sūtras and the Wisdom Sūtra and reached the rank next only to the Buddha is incomparably inferior to those who merely listened to the Lotus Sūtra and had a connection with it, namely ordinary people in the Latter Age of Degeneration who were unable to eliminate the evil passions and master even one supernatural power.

Shō Hokke Daimoku-shō, Treastise on Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 8

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Jan. 29, 2019

The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, will be able to obtain eight hundred merits of the eye, twelve hundred merits of the ear, eight hundred merits of the nose, twelve hundred merits of the tongue, eight hundred merits of the body, and twelve hundred merits of the mind.

The Buddha gives this teaching in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra. This is another reminder that the practice of the Wonderful Dharma does not take us out of the world of conflict we live in. Instead, it helps us to use the senses we have, in ways we did not think were possible, to see the world for what it is. Merits in this sense are not status symbols. They are an indication of clarity, of our faculties not being impeded by anything that blocks their capacity.

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 Izu Period

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Nichiren’s writings during the Izu exile show the emergence of several new elements in his thought. One is a deepened sense of personal connection between himself and the Lotus Sūtra. The sūtra speaks of trials and difficulties that will attend its practice and propagation in the evil age after the Buddha’s nirvāṇa. “Hatred and jealousy toward this sūtra abound even during the Buddha’s lifetime; how much more so after his nirvāṇa!” Such passages, cast in the form of predictions uttered by the Buddha or great bodhisattvas, probably served to give meaning to the opposition from established Buddhist schools encountered by the Mahāyāna community that had compiled the sūtra. In exile, Nichiren began to read them as speaking specifically to his own circumstances and expressed delight that he was able to live in his own person the persecutions predicted in the sūtra. “The devotees (jikyōsha) of the Lotus Sūtra in Japan have not yet experienced these scriptural passages. I alone have read them. This is the meaning [of the statement]: ‘We do not value bodily life but cherish only the unexcelled way.’ ” (Page 251-252)

Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism


Profound

The Practice of the Perfect Teaching

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The practice of the Perfect Teaching concerns embracing all practices in a single mind. This is to say that one practice can embrace all practices, and all practices can be represented by one practice. This is because the Middle Way of the Perfect Teaching is taken by Chih-i as the Ultimate Truth that can view the fundamental identity of all things, whereby the whole reality can be instantaneously grasped through one practice. Realizing that the part is identical to the whole, one does not need to go through immeasurable practices. One’s mind that contains the whole universe enables one to embrace all practices.* (Vol. 2, Page 297)

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


*See Nichiren’s warning.