With regard to sūtra that means foundation for the dharma (Han Fa-pen), Chih-i explains that the dharma is inexpressible, but for the sake of teaching sentient beings, the Buddha expounds the dharma by means of the Four Siddhāntas. To be associated with the three perspectives, the Worldly Siddhānta is taken as the foundation for teaching; the Siddhānta for Each Person and the Siddhānta of Counteraction are taken as the foundation for practice; the Siddhānta of Supreme Truth is taken as the foundation for doctrine. (Vol. 2, Page 390)
The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of BuddhismMonthly Archives: February 2019
Day 31
Day 31 covers Chapter 27, King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva.
Having last month heard King Wonderful-Adornment’s explanation of the merits of the Buddha, we conclude Chapter 27, King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva.
The Buddha said to the great multitude:
“What do you think of this? King Wonderful-Adornment was no one but Flower-Virtue Bodhisattva of today. Queen Pure-Virtue was no one but the Light-Adornment-Appearance Bodhisattva who is now before me. She appeared in that world out of her compassion towards King Wonderful-Adornment and his attendants. The two sons were Medicine-King Bodhisattva and Medicine-Superior Bodhisattva of today. Medicine-King Bodhisattva and Medicine-Superior Bodhisattva have already obtained those great merits. Because they planted the roots of virtue under many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas [in their previous existence], they obtained those inconceivable merits. All gods and men in the world should bow to those who know the names of these two Bodhisattvas.”
When the Buddha expounded this chapter of King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva, eighty-four thousand people released themselves from the dust and dirt of illusions, and had their eyes purified enough to see all teachings.
Ryusho Shonin‘s Lecture on the Lotus Sutra offers this on Chapter 27.
I like this story of the two boys, Pure-Store and Pure-Eyes, who end up converting their parents to the Lotus Sutra not so much because of the phenomena the two sons performed but for the example that our actions speak more powerfully than our words. We can convince more people of the truth of the Lotus Sutra through the way we act in society than by merely talking theoretically about Buddhism. Getting through life and the day-to-day concerns we all face may seem ordinary, even hum-drum. However, the manner in which we face and ultimately overcome our problems can look supernatural to others around us who struggle and suffer so much. We don’t need to spout water or fire from our bodies; we merely need to show the joy of our practice in the face of life as human.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraThe Manifold Lotus Sutra
In understanding that “thus have I heard” is referring to Myoho Renge Kyo we realize that Myoho Renge Kyo pre-exists the text of the sutra. In this understanding, Myoho Renge Kyo has always existed before the text explaining it. So, in this way Myoho Renge Kyo is the fundamental truth that exists outside of or independent of the actual text, which follows. The other way around views the text as being the fundamental truth, which is then summarized by the title.
In the text of the Lotus Sutra we are told of several versions of the Lotus Sutra practiced by others in other worlds. One example of this is the Lotus Sutra practiced by Never-Despise Bodhisattva, which was the phrase “I respect you deeply, I do not despise you. Why is that? It is because you will be able to practice the Way of Bodhisattvas and become Buddhas” or simply “I do not despise you because you can become Buddhas.” In the world and the time in which Never-Despise Bodhisattva lived this was the Lotus Sutra that was most appropriate. So the text of the Lotus Sutra may be different depending upon the people, the place, and the time. But regardless of the text of the Lotus Sutra, the Myoho Renge Kyo, or Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Flower Sutra, never changes. This is the manifold Lotus Sutra.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraComparative Superiority Of Lotus Sūtra
QUESTION: According to the Nirvana Sūtra, the sūtras preached before it all contain false views. What do you think of that?
ANSWER: The Buddha’s purpose of appearing in the world was to preach the Lotus Sūtra, in which He preaches in the second chapter on the “Expedients”, “My old wish has already been fulfilled; it is indeed the time now to expound the Mahāyāna teaching definitively;” and in the 16th chapter on “The Life Span of the Buddha, actually, however, Good Men, I have been the Buddha since eternal past.” Nevertheless, regarding the comparative superiority in doctrine, the Buddha Himself declares in the 10th chapter on the “Teacher of the Dharma,” that although He has expounded numerous, thousands, tens of thousands and hundred millions of sūtras, the Lotus Sūtra is superior to all the sūtras which have already been preached, are being preached, and will be preached. Then, in the 11th chapter on the “Appearance of the Stupa of Treasures,” the Buddha of Many Treasures appeared from underground testifying: “What has been said by Śākyamuni Buddha is all true,” while various Buddhas, the manifestations of Śākyamuni Buddha in the worlds all over the universe, stretched out their tongues to reach the Brahma Heaven attesting the words of Śākyamuni to be true.
Thus, the comparative superiority between the Lotus Sūtra and all other sūtras has been resolved by Śākyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of Many Treasures, and Buddhas manifested in worlds all over the universe. No further comparison between the Lotus Sūtra and sūtras preached before and after it is necessary because they are all preached by the one Śākyamuni Buddha.
Therefore, when the Nirvana Sūtra rejects sūtras preached before it, the Lotus Sūtra is not included, because the Nirvana Sūtra, too, is trying to say that the Lotus Sūtra is superior to others.
Shugo Kokka-ron, Treatise on Protecting the Nation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 12-13
Daily Dharma – Feb. 11, 2019
Those who, without concentrating their minds,
Offered nothing but a flower to the picture of the Buddha,
Became able to see
Innumerable Buddhas one after another.
We can read these words of the Buddha from Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra as if we had to wait until another life to see Buddhas. But by making offerings to an image of the Buddha, by practicing respect towards a representation of the Buddha, we start to look for and recognize the Buddha in ourselves and in all of the beings who share the world with us. When we see this world of conflict and suffering as the Buddha’s Pure Land, then we see all beings as our enlightened teachers. We see innumerable Buddhas.
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‘Nichiren Is Not the Founder of Any School’
“Nichiren is not the founder of any school,” he wrote, “nor is he a leaf at the tip [i.e., of the branch of some existing school].” The Lotus Sūtra as he understood it was Buddhism, the ocean in which the teachings and practices of the various schools would be absorbed. In later life, he distanced himself from the esoteric Tendai of his own day and denounced earlier Tendai prelates such as Enchin, Ennin, and Annen for adulterating the Lotus-based Tendai teaching with esoteric teachings. On the one hand, he clearly considered himself heir to the earlier tradition of Chih-i and Saichō: “Nichiren of Awa Province has reverently received the transmission from the three teachers [Śākyamuni, Chih-i, and Saichō] and assists the spread of the Hokke lineage in the Final Dharma age,” he wrote. “Together we are the four teachers in three countries.” Such passages have led some to see Nichiren as attempting to revive a “pure” Tendai independent of esoteric accretions. There is no doubt that Nichiren saw himself as standing within the Tendai tradition. Nevertheless, in claiming possession of a Dharma teaching that (1) was received directly from Śākyamuni; (2) was intended specifically for the Final Dharma age; and (3) was to assume a concrete form—as the daimoku, the object of worship, and the ordination platform—that had never before been revealed and transmitted, it appears that Nichiren was in effect establishing a new religion. This distinctive doctrinal basis, along with Nichiren’s fierce emphasis on devotion to the Lotus alone; the charisma of his image, which survived his death, as prophet, martyr, and messenger of the Buddha to the Final Dharma age; the establishment of ordination rites for his clerical followers independent of those of Mt. Hiei; and the formation among his followers of lay patronage networks independent of older religious institutions enabled the emergence and survival of a new sect. (Page 261-262)
Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese BuddhismAll Possess Buddha-Nature,
The general analogy with the lotus indicates that regardless of whether it is the beginning stage of an ignorant being or the final stage of the Buddha, all of them possess the Buddha-nature, and are all characterized by the Ten Suchnesses. Therefore, the subtle dharma is always there, embedded within living beings. Through such a general analogy, Chih-i emphasizes that the beginning and final stages of Buddhahood are the same reality. Chih-i argues that the initial stage of Buddhahood (that is analogous with the lotus root) all the way up to the final stage of Buddhahood (that is analogous with the formation of the seed) serves as a metaphor for the subtle dharma. The beginning and final stages of Buddhahood do not differ (which are analogous with the beginning and end of the lotus) and are replete with the meanings of the Ten Suchnesses. This analogizes that although living beings in the Buddha-realm start from ignorance, they will eventually reach Buddhahood, the stage of perfection. (Vol. 2, Page 387)
The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of BuddhismDay 30
Day 30 covers all of Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs
Having last month received Vaiśravaṇa Heavenly-King’s dhārāni spells, we receive the dhārāni spells of World-Holding Heavenly-King.
Thereupon World-Holding Heavenly-King, accompanied by thousands of billions of nayutas of gandharvas who were surrounding him respectfully, came to the Buddha, joined his hands together, and said to him, “World-Honored One! I also will protect the keeper of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma with dhārānis, with divine spells.”
Then he uttered spells,” Akyanei (1), kyanei (2), kuri (3), kendari (4), sendari (5), matōgi (6), jōguri (7), furoshani (8), atchi (9).”
[He said to the Buddha:]
“World-Honored One! These dhārānis, these divine spells, have already been uttered by four thousand and two hundred million Buddhas. Those who attack and abuse this teacher of the Dharma should be considered to have attacked and abused those Buddhas.”
Ryuei Michael McCormick‘s Lotus World offers this about World-Holding Heavenly-King:
The Flammarion Iconographic Guide: Buddhism describes Dhritarashtra (Jikoku Tenno, Heavenly King of the East) as follows: “This guardian king governs in the east and presides over the spring. He is ‘He who maintains the kingdom (of the Law)’; ‘the maintainer of the state’ … He commands an army of celestial musicians (gandharvas) and vampire demons (pishachas). The gandharvas are one of the eight kinds of supernatural beings who are said to revere and protect the Dharma; the pishachas are a type of hungry ghost.
According to the Kumarajiva translation of the Lotus Sutra, it is Dhritarashtra who offers dharanis in chapter 26 for the benefit of those who keep the Lotus Sutra.
Lotus World: An Illustrated Guide to the GohonzonThe Non-Duality of Life and Its Environment
Buddhist non-duality does not end with the body and mind. The teaching of Dependent origination also implies the non-duality of life and its environment. Buddhism recognizes that body, mind, and environment are not separate entities, but are all interconnected parts of the dynamic flow of causes and conditions. This interdependence of life and its supporting environment has been a basic principle of Buddhism from the very beginning. Just as Shakyamuni Buddha taught that one should be mindful of the body, he also taught that one should reflect on the elements that make up the body. As in most of the ancient world, the Buddha taught that these elements consist of earth, air, fire, and water. In fact, it is fairly easy to recognize our dependence upon these four elements, which are usually thought of as nonliving matter. For instance, could we live without food, which is derived from the soil? Could we live without air to breath, water to drink, or the warmth of the sun? Even a simple reflection upon the way our body is composed of these four basic elements should be enough to make us realize that we are nothing without the environment of which we are a part.
Lotus SeedsThe Difference Between Great And Lesser Vehicles
Generally speaking, all sūtras of Śākyamuni Buddha do not contain any lies because they all were preached to save all the people. When I restudy Buddhism however, it is clear that there is a difference between Great and Lesser Vehicles, expedient and true teachings, and exoteric and esoteric teachings although they are all words of Śākyamuni Buddha. This is clearly indicated in those sūtras and has been discussed by Buddhist scholars.
In essence, there are some doubts about the truth of the teachings preached by Śākyamuni Buddha during the first forty years of His fifty years of preaching. In the Muryō-gi-kyō (Sūtra of Infinite Meaning) Śākyamuni Buddha Himself declares: “I never preached the true teaching during the first forty years.” This means that all those sūtras preached before the Lotus Sūtra are expedient. He also says in the second chapter on “Expedients” in the Lotus Sūtra: “I, Śākyamuni Buddha, have simply discarded expedient teachings, and now preach only the unsurpassed way,” concluding definitely that the sūtras preached during the first forty some years are expedient.
Moreover, it is stated in the “Appearance of a Stupa of Treasure” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra that the Buddha of Many Treasures of the Treasure-Purity World appeared from underground attesting that the Lotus Sūtra preached by Śākyamuni Buddha is nothing but the truth, while various Buddhas in manifestation, gathered from all over the universe to attend the preaching of the Lotus Sūtra, sticking out their tongues to testify that not even one character of the Lotus Sūtra is a lie.
Gassui Gasho, A Letter on Menstruation, Nyonin Gosho, Letters Addressed to Female Followers, Page 28-30