In later life, Nichiren’s conviction that all the people of Japan in his day were slanderers of the Lotus Sūtra would underscore his advocacy of shakubuku (to “break and subdue”), the “stern method” of teaching the Dharma by assertively rebuking “wrong views.” To the rhetoric of rebuking slander he assimilated both the Buddhist ideal of bodhisattva conduct and the Confucian virtues of loyalty and filial piety. One rebukes another’s slander to save that person from the hells and to provide the karmic connection to the Lotus that alone enables the realization of Buddhahood; thus Nichiren regarded shakubuku as an act of bodhisattva-like compassion and the highest form of service to that person. In addition, Nichiren argued that not to obey a sovereign or parent who opposed the Lotus Sūtra was the true form of loyalty and filial devotion, thus appropriating Confucian virtues in a way that could in some cases legitimize, or even mandate, defiance of worldly authority. (Page 255-256)
Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese BuddhismMonthly Archives: February 2019
Teaching and Practice
Respecting the teaching and practice, whereas the Origin refers to the teaching and the Traces refers to the practice, Chih-i states that the teaching functions as the foundation for practice to arise, but without practice, one cannot attain an encounter with the teaching (from which the principle can be manifested). Therefore, the indispensability of these two parties renders a single inconceivable reality. (Vol. 2, Page 320)
The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of BuddhismDay 24
Day 24 concludes Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma and closes the Sixth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month considered the eight hundred merits of the body, we consider the twelve hundred merits of the mind.
“Furthermore, Constant-Endeavor! The good men or women who keep, read, recite expound or copy this sūtra after my extinction, will be able to obtain twelve hundred merits of the mind. When they hear even a gāthā or a phrase [of this sūtra] with their pure minds, they will be able to understand the innumerable meanings [of this sūtra]. When they understand the meanings [of this sūtra] and expound even a phrase or a gāthā [of this sūtra] for a month, four months, or a year, their teachings will be consistent with the meanings [of this sūtra], and not against the reality of all things. When they expound the scriptures of non-Buddhist schools, or give advice to the government, or teach the way to earn a livelihood, they will be able to be in accord with the right teachings of the Buddha. They will be able to know all the thoughts, deeds, and words, however meaningless, of the living beings of the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds each of which is composed of the six regions. Although they have not yet obtained the wisdom-without-āsravas, they will be able to have their minds purified as previously stated. Whatever they think, measure or say will be all true, and consistent not only with my teachings but also with the teachings that the past Buddhas have already expounded in their sūtras.”
The Daily Dharma for Nov. 1, 2018, offers this:
They will be able to know all the thoughts, deeds, and words, however meaningless, of the living beings of the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds each of which is composed of the six regions. Although they have not yet obtained the wisdom-without-āsravas, they will be able to have their minds purified as previously stated. Whatever they think, measure or say will be all true, and consistent not only with my teachings but also with the teachings that the past Buddhas have already expounded in their sūtras.
The Buddha gives this explanation to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. Paradoxically, the process of clarifying our minds so that we can see things for what they are is not an intellectual exercise. The practice of the Wonderful Dharma is not based on learning complicated theories or arcane facts. It can be as simple as chanting Odaimoku sincerely, awakening our nature as Bodhisattvas, and working 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
The Idea Of Eternity In Mahāyāna Buddhism
Non-Buddhist religions in India claimed that this world was eternal, joyful, free and pure. On the contrary, the Buddha insisted that this world was impermanent, painful, empty and egoless in order to destroy their superficial views. The Two Vehicles (two kinds of Buddhist known as śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha) were stuck to the principle of emptiness preached by the Buddha and could not grasp the idea of eternity in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The Buddha, therefore, reproached them saying that even the five rebellious sins and evil passions could be a cause of enlightenment, but their inflexible belief in emptiness will never lead them to Buddhahood.
Jisshō-shō, A Treatise on the Ten Chapters of the Great Concentration and Insight, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 5
Daily Dharma – Feb. 4, 2019
When he sat on that seat, the Brahman-heavenly-kings rained heavenly flowers on the area extending a hundred yojanas in all directions from that seat. From time to time withered flowers were blown away by fragrant winds and new flowers were rained down. [The Brahman-heavenly-kings] continued this offering to him for fully ten small kalpas. [After he attained Buddhahood also,] they continued raining flowers until he passed away.
The Buddha describes the life of an ancient Buddha named Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, when that Buddha took the seat from which he would become enlightened, the gods who created his world recognized the immense benefit all beings were about to receive and showed their joy by filling the skies with these beautiful flowers. After that Buddha became enlightened, gods from innumerable other worlds came to his world to make offerings, giving up the pleasures of their own worlds. The enlightenment of any being extends beyond the personal contact we have with any that being. It changes the entire universe.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
The Need to Rebuke Enemies of the Lotus Sūtra
In keeping with Nichiren’s increased emphasis on the Lotus Sūtra as the exclusive vehicle of salvation in the Final Dharma age, his writings during the Izu period also show a growing concern with the evil of “slander of the Dharma” (hōbō), a sin elaborated in detail in a number of Mahāyāna sūtras but which Nichiren understood as willful disbelief in or rejection of the Lotus Sūtra. Believers in the Lotus Sūtra, in his thought, ordinarily need not fear rebirth in the hells, whatever their mis deeds: “Apart from discarding faith in the Lotus Sūtra to follow an advocate of provisional teachings, all other worldly evil acts cannot equal [in weight] the merit of the Lotus; thus those who have faith in the Lotus Sūtra will not fall into the three evil paths.” Slander of the Lotus Sūtra, however, “exceeds a thousand times” the five perverse offenses (gogyakuzai) of killing one’s mother, father, or an arhat; causing the body of the Buddha to bleed; or disrupting the harmony of the sangha; and is the cause for falling into the Avici Hell. Thus the practitioner of the Lotus has a duty to rebuke slander, whatever the personal consequences: “No matter what great good one may produce, even if one reads and transcribes the entire Lotus Sūtra a thousand or ten thousand times, or masters the way of contemplating the three thousand realms in one thought-moment, if one fails to rebuke enemies of the Lotus Sūtra, one cannot attain the Way.” (Page 255)
Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese BuddhismThe Inconceivable Reality
Chih-i’s illustration of the inconceivable reality of the Origin and the Traces in the context of six polar concepts reveals the significance of both entities: the Origin is what the Traces are based upon, and the Traces are what manifest the Origin. (Vol. 2, Page 320)
The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of BuddhismDay 23
Day 23 covers all of Chapter 18, The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra, and opens Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma.
Having last month completed Chapter 18, The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra, we begin Chapter 19: The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma.
Thereupon the Buddha said to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva:
“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. They will be able to adorn and purify their six sense-organs with these merits.
The Daily Dharma from Jan. 29, 2019, offers this:
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
Lotus Sūtra Or Nirvana Sūtra
QUESTION: Which is superior, the Lotus Sūtra or the Nirvana Sūtra?
ANSWER: The Lotus Sūtra is.
QUESTION: Why do you say that?
ANSWER: In the Nirvana Sūtra the Buddha Himself declared, “Eight thousand śrāvaka were guaranteed to be future Buddhas in the Lotus Sūtra. It is as though a great harvest was reaped in autumn and stored in the warehouse for winter, leaving nothing else to be done in the Nirvana Sūtra.” Again, it is said in the “Teacher of the Dharma” chapter in the Lotus Sūtra that the sūtras to be preached, like the Nirvana Sūtra, are not as difficult to believe and understand as the Lotus Sūtra is. This means that the Nirvana Sūtra is not as truthful as the Lotus Sūtra.
Shugo Kokka-ron, Treatise on Protecting the Nation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 11-12
Daily Dharma – Feb. 3, 2019
Bhikṣus! It is a very long time since that Buddha passed away. Suppose someone smashed all the earth-particles of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds into ink-powder. Then he went to the east[, carrying the ink-powder with him]. He inked a dot as large as a particle of dust [with that ink-powder] on the world at a distance of one thousand worlds from his world. Then he went again and repeated the inking of a dot on the world at every distance of one thousand worlds until the ink-powder was exhausted. What do you think of this? Do you think that any mathematician or any disciple of a mathematician could count the number of the worlds [he went through]?
The Buddha gives this explanation in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. Our concept of time can be limited to what happens in the brief existence we enjoy in this world. We often feel we have no time for what is necessary, much less what we enjoy. With this limited viewpoint, we can find it hard to believe that we have enough time to become enlightened. The Buddha reminds us that there is no shortage of time, and that in all of our existence, we will have opportunities to increase our capacity to benefit others.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com