Monthly Archives: February 2019

LS32, WONS

Day 1

Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory

Day 1 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the offerings of the Bodhisattvas to stupa-mausoleums, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 1, Introductory.

The worlds [of the Buddha] naturally become
As wonderful and as beautiful
As the [flowers] of the kingly tree
In full bloom on the top of Mt. Sumeru.
The multitude of this congregation and I
Can see the various wonderful things
Of those worlds
By the ray of light of the Buddha [of this world].

The supernatural powers of the Buddha
And his wisdom are rare.
He is illumining innumerable worlds
By emitting a pure ray of light.
We were astonished
At seeing [those worlds].

Mañjuśrī, Son of the Buddha!
Remove our doubts!
The four kinds of devotees
Are looking up with joy at you and me,
Wishing to know why this ray of light is emitted
By the World-Honored One.

Son of the Buddha, answer me!
Remove our doubts and cause us to rejoice!
For what purpose is the Buddha
Emitting this ray of light?

Does he wish to expound the Wonderful Dharma
Which he attained when he was sitting
At the place of enlightenment?
Does he wish to assure us of our future Buddhahood?

He shows us the worlds of the Buddhas
Adorned with many treasures.
We can see the Buddhas of those worlds.
This cannot be for some insignificant reason.

Mañjuśrī, know this!
The four kinds of devotees and the dragons
Are looking at you, thinking:
“What is he going to say?”

Nichiren’s writes about the great omens in the Introductory chapter:

Among all the Buddhist scriptures preached by the Buddha there is no sūtra which does not mention the trembling of the earth in six different ways. However, the shaking of the earth in six ways when the Buddha was about to expound the Lotus Sūtra was so striking that the living beings who gathered to listen to Him were all startled and it moved Bodhisattva Maitreya to ask what was happening, prompting Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī to answer. This shows that the omen for the preaching of the Lotus Sūtra was much greater and longer than the omens of other sūtras that the question concerning it was more difficult to respond to. Therefore, Grand Master Miao-lê states in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 2, “Which Mahayana sūtra does not have the omens such as a crowd of living beings gathered together like a cloud, emitting of light from the forehead of the Buddha, the rain of flowers from the heaven, and trembling of the earth? However, they have never caused such a great concern as this.” This means that every sūtra has a preface before preaching the main discourse, but no preface is accompanied by such great omens like those that accompanied the preface of the Lotus Sūtra.

Zuisō Gosho, Writing on Omens, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 122

WONS

The Parable Of A Gold Stick

[T]he parable of a gold stick is often used to discuss the Three Vehicles (teachings for śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha and bodhisattvas). It is said that a gold stick was snapped into three, each of which was given to those with the capacity to understand the Three Vehicles, saying that as each of the three is gold, they do not have to try to find the differences or to discuss which is better among them. This parable sounds reasonable, but in fact the logic is wrong and misunderstood by those who have learned a wrong doctrine.

To further clarify matters, there is an instance when the Buddha took out of the Lotus Sūtra a gold stick used as an expedient teaching, and swung it three times for those with the capacity to know the Three Vehicles. Those who could not recognize this as an expedient teaching believed that the stick was made of genuine gold and thought that they were following the right teachings. If the gold stick were snapped into three in reality, the parable would not make sense. Although the Buddha just swung the gold stick three times instead of snapping it, ignorant people with the capacity to know the Three Vehicles thought that He did break the stick into three. To say it repeatedly, it is a blunder and an error to hold this view.

The Buddha swung the stick three times not to show the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sūtra, but to give the merits of an expedient teaching in the Lotus Sūtra to those who have the capacity to know the Three Vehicles. Therefore, the Three Vehicles, if put back into the expedient teaching of the Lotus Sūtra, are called an expedient teaching within the Lotus Sūtra; they will never become the “perfect teaching.” Remembering this, we should clearly see that there exists the expedient and the True teachings both inside and outside the Lotus Sūtra.

Shoshū Mondō-shō, Questions and Answers Regarding Other Schools, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 181-182

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Feb. 13, 2019

Needless to say, so will be the merits of the person
Who keeps this sūtra, gives alms, observes the precepts,
Practices patience, prefers dhyāna-concentrations,
And does not get angry or speak ill of others.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. In this chapter, he explains that anyone who understands his ever-present existence, even for a moment, will gain the merit of ridding themselves of innumerable delusions. In his previous teachings on the perfections of a Bodhisattva, he showed that our practices of generosity, discipline, patience, enthusiastic perseverance, concentration and wisdom, all these will help us to see the world as it is. Realizing that the Buddha is always here teaching us helps us to look for him. But this realization does not obscure the necessity of putting his teachings into practice so that we may benefit all beings.

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’ Soteric Modalities

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[I]t is the “outer” soteric modality of giving one’s life for the Lotus Sūtra that frames the story of Nichiren’s career. His refusal to compromise his exclusive devotion to the Lotus, his conviction in his unique mission, his intemperate attacks on influential clerics and deliberate provoking of authorities, and his fortitude in the face of danger and privation left for his followers a model of “not begrudging bodily life,” and the persisting charisma of his image as prophet, martyr, and emissary of the Buddha formed the pivot around which the later Nichiren tradition would define its identity. However, behind Nichiren’s mandate that one should be ready to give one’s life for the Lotus Sūtra lies the question of what exactly about the Lotus Sūtra he thought worth dying for. This brings us to Nichiren’s “inner” soteric modality, that of realizing Buddhahood in the moment of chanting the daimoku that lies at the heart of his mature teaching. (Page 264)

Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism


Profound

Aspects of Sūtra

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Chih-i illustrates that sūtra that is taken as the foundation for teaching (Chiao-pen) entails two aspects. On the one hand, it means that, based on single truth from the Word of the Buddha, there flow out countless speeches and teachings, such as the Common and Separate Teachings that can cause beings to attain the Path. On the other hand, based on the teaching of the Buddha, the bodhisattvas have made vast commentaries to explain the meanings in sūtras, which can also cause others to attain the Path. Sūtra that is taken as the foundation for practice (Hsin-pen) means that when one practices according to the teaching of the Buddha (whether it is Common or Separate Teaching), through these various Dharma-doors, one is able to attain the Ultimate Truth. Sūtra that is taken as the foundation for doctrine (I-pen) means that one doctrine can be derived from one sentence, and countless doctrines can be derived from countless sentences. It can also be the case that countless doctrines are derived from one sentence, and one doctrine is derived from countless sentences. Chih-i comments that summarizing these three aspects (teaching, practice and doctrine) in terms of the Dharma-door means that they are identical to the three ways to wisdom: hearing, thinking and cultivation (Wen Ssu Hsiu; Skt., śrutactābhāvanā), respectively. (Vol. 2, Page 391)

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


LS32

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 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month heard Śākyamuni Buddha’s praise for anyone who keeps, reads and recites the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, we conclude Chapter 28, The Encouragement of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva

When the Buddha expounded this chapter of the Encouragement of Universal-Sage, as many Bodhisattvas as there are sands in the River Ganges obtained the dhārāṇis by which they could memorize hundreds of thousands of billions of repetitions of teachings, and as many Bodhisattvas as the particles of dust of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds [understood how to] practice the Way of Universal-Sage.

When the Buddha expounded this sūtra, the great congregation including the Bodhisattvas headed by Universal-Sage, the Śrāvakas headed by Śāriputra, and the other living beings such as gods, dragons, men and nonhuman beings, had great joy, kept the words of the Buddha, bowed [to him], and retired.

[Here ends] the Eighth Volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

The Introduction to the Lotus Sutra offers this on The Merits of This Teaching:

[Chapter 28, The Encouragement of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva] is the last chapter of the Lotus Sutra. By the merits of this teaching, as many Bodhisattvas as there are sands in the River Ganges obtained the dharanis of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, and as many Bodhisattvas as the particles of dust filling the great universe grasped how to practice the Way of Universal-Sage.

When the Buddha finished expounding this Sutra, all the congregation, including Bodhisattvas, deities, and other living beings, rejoiced greatly, memorized the words of the Buddha, bowed before him, and departed from Mount Sacred Eagle.

Introduction to the Lotus Sutra

Summer Writings

Urabon-e

The formal name of O-Bon is “Urabon-e.” This name comes from the Sanskrit “Ullambana.” It means “Extreme suffering like hanging upside down.” There is a well-known story about one of the Buddha’s disciples, which explains how and why O-Bon originated.

“2500 years ago, when the Buddha was still alive, there was one disciple who had supernatural powers. He was the disciple who was said to be foremost in supernatural powers, and it was said that he could see the future and the past, even all spiritual worlds, including Hell. His name was Mokuren (Sanskrit: Maudgalyayana). Unfortunately his mother had died when he was young. After he obtained his supernatural powers under the Buddha’s training, as he was concerned about his mother, he tried to check where she had been reborn. First he searched the top level, the Enlightened-World, but he could not find her. Then he searched the middle level, and he still could not find her. Finally, he found his mother in a lower level, the Gaki Suffering World, just above Hell. He was so upset, because she was hanging upside-down and suffering. She looked miserable. Her stomach was swollen, her face was dark and the muscles and skin drooped. Her eyes were sunken because of starvation. Seeing the state of suffering she was in, he tried to feed her some food using his supernatural powers. He tried to give her some food, but when she brought the food to her mouth it turned into fire and she got burned. He was terribly upset and tried to give her cold water, but just as before, when she tried putting the water to her mouth it turned to fire, and she was burned more seriously. Mokuren rushed to the Buddha to consult Him about his mother’s situation, and the Buddha asked him, ‘Did you offer food or water to anyone else?’ Mokuren replied, ‘No, just my mother.’ The Buddha said, ‘Your mother dropped into the Gaki Suffering World because she was very stingy and did not share with others. If you want to save your mother, you should feed not only her, but all suffering spirits.’ The Buddha advised Mokuren to invite as many monks as he could to come, prepare as much food and water as he could, and then hold a service for all suffering spirits. Mokuren invited the monks when their summer training was completed on July 15, and they offered food and water, and chanted the Buddha’s teachings for the spirits. Once Mokuren followed the Buddha’s advice, his mother was able to receive water and food, and she also moved up to a better level of the spiritual world.”

Since that episode, July 15 has been an important day to save all suffering spirits, and became known as O-bon. In Buddhism we are able to save all suffering spirits – even spirits who have dropped into Hell.

Summer Writings

WONS

The Practice Of The Perfect Teaching

What we should chant all the time as the practice of the perfect teaching is “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō,” and what we should keep in mind is the way of meditation based on the truth of “3,000 existences contained in one thought.” Only wise men practice both chanting “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō” and meditating on the truth of “3,000 existences contained in one thought.” Lay followers of Japan today should recite only “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.” As the name has the virtue of reaching the body for which it stands, when one chants “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō” one will not fail to receive all the merit of the Lotus Sūtra.

Jisshō-shō, A Treatise on the Ten Chapters of the Great Concentration and Insight, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 4

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Feb. 12, 2019

Star-King-Flower! Strew blue lotus flowers and a bowlful of powdered incense to the person who keeps this sūtra when you see him! After strewing these things [to him], you should think, ‘Before long he will collect grass [for his seat], sit at the place of enlightenment, and defeat the army of Māra. He will blow the conch-shell horn of the Dharma, beat the drum of the great Dharma, Star-King-Flower! Strew blue lotus flowers and a bowlful of powdered incense to the person who keeps this sūtra when you see him! After strewing these things [to him], you should think, ‘Before long he will collect grass [for his seat], sit at the place of enlightenment, and defeat the army of Māra. He will blow the conch-shell horn of the Dharma, beat the drum of the great Dharma, and save all living beings from the ocean of old age, disease and death.’

The Buddha gives this explanation to Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sūtra. Māra is the deity who creates confusion and delusion in the world. His army consists of those who reinforce these delusions and reward those who share them. Such rewards do not benefit those who receive them. They only serve to produce fear and attachment which creates misery in the world. With our practice of this Lotus Sūtra, we learn to recognize delusion for what it is, and reject the superficial benefits that come with it.tar-King-Flower Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sūtra. Māra is the deity who creates confusion and delusion in the world. His army consists of those who reinforce these delusions and reward those who share them. Such rewards do not benefit those who receive them. They only serve to produce fear and attachment which creates misery in the world. With our practice of this Lotus Sūtra, we learn to recognize delusion for what it is, and reject the superficial benefits that come with it.

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 Innovative Teaching

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“The doctrine of three thousand realms in one thought-moment (ichinen sanzen) first established by Great Master T’ien-t’ai [Chih-i] is the father and mother of the Buddhas,” Nichiren wrote. Quoting Chan-jan, he praised it as “the ultimate truth of his [Chih’i’s] teachings.” “It is clear that only the T’ien-t’ai [doctrine] of three thousand realms in one thought-moment is the path of attaining Buddhahood.” For Nichiren, the single thought-moment possessing three thousand realms was the heart of the Lotus Sūtra and the core of the Tendai teachings he had inherited. As Kanno Hiroshi has pointed out, it was by means of this doctrine that Nichiren sought to legitimize his own position within the T’ien t’ai/Tendai Buddhist tradition originating with Chih-i, and at the same time, also expressed the innovative aspects of his own teaching. (Page 263)

Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism