Monthly Archives: April 2019

WONS

The King of All Sūtras

In Hinayāna sūtras, the principle of inactive nirvana (ultimate goal of Hinayāna Buddhism to attain emptiness and tranquility) is the king, and wisdom is the king compared to observance of Hinayāna precepts and practice of Hinayāna meditation. In Mahāyāna sūtras, the principle of the Middle Way (non-duality) is the king. Also the Flower Garland Sūtra is the king in preaching the principle of perfect harmony and identity of all phenomena; the Wisdom Sūtra is the king in preaching the principle of voidness of all things; the Sūtra of the Great Assembly is the king in preaching to uphold the True Dharma; the Medicine Master Sūtra is the king in preaching the special vows of Medicine Master Buddha; the Sūtra of the Buddha of Infinite Life is the king in preaching the 48 vows of the Buddha of Infinite Life; and the Great Sun Buddha Sūtra is the king in preaching the finger signs (mudrā) and mantras; but none is the king of all sūtras preached during the Buddha’s lifetime. On the other hand the Lotus Sūtra is the great king who puts all the doctrines expounded in all the sūtras together and supervises them—such doctrines as absolute and relative reality, triple truth (truth of voidness, truth of temporariness and truth of the middle), finger signs (mudrā) and mantras, inactivity, 12 great vows of Medicine Master Buddha, and 48 vows of the Buddha of Infinite Life. I should say that he who understands this correctly knows the teaching.

Ken Hōbō-shō, A Clarificaton of Slandering the True Dharma, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 131.

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – April 13, 2019

Now I will transmit [the Dharma] to you. Keep, read, recite and expound [this sūtra in which the Dharma is given], and cause all living beings to hear it and know it! Why is that? It is because I have great compassion. I do not begrudge anything. I am fearless. I wish to give the wisdom of the Buddha, the wisdom of the Tathāgata, the wisdom of the Self-Existing One, to all living beings.

The Buddha gives these instructions in Chapter Twenty-Two of the Lotus Sūtra. In this transmission, the Buddha bestows his highest teaching not just on those gathered 2500 years ago. He gives it to all of us who hear and keep his teaching today. When the Buddha revealed his true nature as existing through all time and space, he assured us that he is always teaching us, and that the Lotus Sūtra is the vehicle by which he comes to us. By giving us this teaching, he does not lose it. In the same way, when we benefit other beings, we should not be afraid of losing anything, other than our delusion and attachments.

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

Profound

Covering the Traces and Revealing the Origin

Quote

Fu-chi Hsien-pen (Covering the Traces and revealing the Origin) is the function related to the Subtlety of the Original Supra-mundane Powers. This is spoken of by Chih-i in terms of various expedient means employed by the Buddha in responding to the capabilities of beings. In order to get rid of disciples’ attachment to the Traces, the Buddha covers the Traces and reveals the Origin (for the sake of keeping the Traces for the later use of transforming others), should the necessity arise. (Vol. 2, Page 448)

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


LS32, WONS

Day 27

Day 27 concludes Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Day 27 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month witnessed Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva’s greeting to Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue Buddha, we witness Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue Buddha entering Nirvana and Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva’s reaction.

“Having given these instructions to Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva, Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue Buddha entered into Nirvana in the last watch of that night. Having seen the extinction of the Buddha, Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva was overcome with sorrow. He adored the Buddha all the more. He made a pyre of the candana grown on this shore of the sea, offered it to the body of the Buddha, and burned it. After it burned up, he collected the śarīras. He made eighty-four thousand stupas of treasures[, and put the śarīras therein]. He erected eighty-four thousand stupas[, and enshrined the urns therein]. The stupas were higher than the Third Dhyana-Heaven. They were adorned with yastis. Many streamers and canopies were hanging down [from the stupas]. Many jeweled bells also were fixed [on the stupas].

“Thereupon Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva thought again, ‘I have now made these offerings, yet I do not think that they are enough. I will make another offering to the śarīras.’

“He said to the Bodhisattvas, to the great disciples, and also to all the other living beings in the great multitude including gods, dragons and yakṣas, ‘Look with one mind! Now I will make another offering to the śarīras of Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue Buddha.’

“Having said this, he burned his arms adorned with the marks of one hundred merits, and offered the light of the flame to the eighty-four thousand stupas for seventy-two thousand years. [By doing so,] he caused innumerable seekers of Śrāvakahood and many other asaṃkhyas of people to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, and obtain the samadhi by which they could transform themselves into the other living beings.

“Having seen him deprived of his arms, the Bodhisattvas, gods, men, asuras and others were overcome with sorrow. They said, ‘This Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva is our teacher. He is leading us. Now he has burned off his arms. He is deformed.’

“Thereupon Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva vowed to the great multitude, saying, ‘I shall be able to obtain the golden body of the Buddha because I gave up my arms. If my words are true and not false, I shall be able to have my arms restored.’

“When he had made this vow, his arms were restored because his merits, virtues and wisdom were abundant. Thereupon the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds quaked in the six ways, and the gods rained down jeweled flowers. All the gods and men had the greatest joy that they had ever had.”

Nichiren writes about Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva’s offerings in his letter, Response to My Lady Nichinyo:

It is said in the “Medicine King Bodhisattva” chapter that a bodhisattva called Issaishujōkiken (Gladly Seen by All) learned the Lotus Sūtra from the Buddha Sun Moon Brilliance. With deep admiration for his master’s favor and the value of the Lotus Sūtra, he made offerings of thousands of invaluable treasures. Issaishujōkiken felt that this was not enough, however, and proceeded to anoint his own body with oil, set it aflame, and continued to burn it like a lamp wick to venerate the Buddha for twelve hundred years. Thereafter, he burned a light on his elbow for seventy-two thousand years to venerate the Lotus Sūtra. Thus, if a woman venerates the Lotus Sūtra in the fifth 500-year period after the demise of the Buddha, during the Latter Age of Degeneration, the Buddha will bestow upon her all merits of the Lotus Sūtra just as a rich man gives all his wealth to his son.

Nichinyo Gozen Gohenji, Response to My Lady Nichinyo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 132-133

d16b, Lecture on Lotus Sutra

The Buddha’s Promise

Following the arrival of the Stupa comes a very important point in this grand drama, one we can easily overlook as we are in awe and amazement of the events that have just happened. The Buddha inquires of the assembly who will teach the Lotus Sutra in this world, the Saha world after the he has died. The Buddha in these requests shows his shift from the present to the future. We have already seen that all of those who received predictions of future enlightenment will perform their practices in some other realm but not this world. None of the contemporaries of the Buddha will attain enlightenment by doing their activities in our world. The Buddha wants to know, however, who will ensure that the Lotus Sutra is taught to future practitioners.

The Buddha makes a promise and this is significant to those of us who practice and teach the Lotus Sutra in the world in this age some several thousand years after the Buddha. A promise is made that whoever protects the Lotus Sutra in the Saha world, our world, will be able to be in the presence of not just the Buddha Shakyamuni but also all of his replica Buddhas as well as Many Treasures Buddha.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

WONS

Seeing the Buddhist Dharma Declining

Having calmed down somewhat, the traveler stated:

Though I am unable to understand you completely, I think I understand what you mean roughly. However, from Kyoto, the seat of the imperial court, to Kamakura, the capital of the shogunate, none of the eminent priests and able leaders of the Buddhist world has yet presented a written statement on this matter or made an appeal to the emperor or the shogun. It is not for you, a mere low-ranking priest, to venture to do so with your spiteful words. I can see your intention, but if you submit your appeal, you will be violating proprieties.

In response, the master declared:

Although I am a man of little capability, fortunately I have studied Mahāyāna Buddhism. It is said that a blue fly which rides on the tail of a fine horse can travel even 10,000 miles, and a green ivy vine which clings to a tall pine tree can climb up to 1,000 yards high. Likewise, born to be a disciple of the Buddha, I put my faith in the Lotus Sūtra, the king of all the Buddhist sūtras. Seeing the Buddhist dharma declining, how can I not feel sorrow?

The sorrow is even more so [in view of what the Buddha preached in the Lotus Sūtra, the 10th chapter on “The Teacher of the Dharma”: “Medicine King Bodhisattva, listen carefully. Of the numerous sūtras I have preached, this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is the supreme;” and “The sūtras I have preached number immeasurable thousands, ten thousands, and hundred millions. Of the sūtras I have preached, am now preaching, and will preach, this Lotus Sūtra is the most difficult to believe and to understand.” In the 14th chapter on the “Peaceful Practices”: “Mañjuśrī, this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is treasured by all Buddhas and it is the supreme of all the sūtras.” In the 23rd chapter on the “Previous Life of the Medicine King Bodhisattva”: “As Mt. Sumeru is the highest of all mountains in the world, this Lotus Sūtra is the supreme of all sūtras. As the moon shines brighter than any other stars, this Lotus Sūtra shines the brightest of all the sūtras. As the sun eliminates all darkness, this Lotus Sūtra eliminates all kinds of darkness. As the Great King of the Brahma Heaven is the king of all the people, those who uphold this Lotus Sūtra are the prime of all the people.”]

The Buddha also warns us in the Nirvana Sūtra: “Suppose there is a monk, to all appearances ‘good’, who encounters a destroyer of the dharma but does not take any measures in accusing him, chasing him out or punishing him. You had better know that such a man is not a ‘good’ monk at all but an enemy of Buddhism. On the other hand, if he accuses the destroyer of the dharma, chases him out, or punishes him strictly, such a man is My disciple, one who truly hears Me.”

[Numerous bodhisattvas, 80 trillions in number, vow in the 13th chapter on the “Encouragement for Upholding This Sūtra” of the Lotus Sūtra: “We will not spare even our lives; we treasure only the unsurpassed way.”

The Nirvana Sūtra preaches: “Suppose an eloquent speaker was sent to a foreign country as a royal emissary. Even at the cost of his life, he must convey the words of his king without concealing anything. Likewise, without sparing even his own life, a wise man must widely spread among the ignorant people the true teaching of the Buddha, the existence of the Buddha-nature in all. “]

Although I am not a man worthy of being called a good monk, I do not want to be accused of being a foe of Buddhism. Therefore, I must tell them some principles showing just a portion of the Buddha’s teaching.

Risshō Ankoku-ron, Treatise on Spreading Peace Throughout the Country by Establishing the True Dharma, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Pages 127-128

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – April 12, 2019

They will not think
Of any other food [than the two kinds of food:]
The delight in the Dharma, and the delight in dhyāna.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sūtra, speaking of the future lives of those who practice the Wonderful Dharma. In the existence we occupy now, it is difficult to imagine any other ways we could live. When the Buddha shows us the world as it is, he is not just opening our eyes to what is in front of us now. He shows us innumerable possibilities far better than anything we could dream up ourselves. To reach these other worlds, we only need to shed our attachment to our delusions and have faith in the path the Buddha opens to his enlightenment.

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

Profound

The Manifestation of the Buddha’s Original Life-Span

Quote

Chu-chi Yung-pen (Abiding in the Traces and employing the Origin) is the function related to the Subtlety of the Original Life-span and the Subtlety of the Original Retinues. Chih-i illustrates that the Buddha not only reveals the Origin but uses it as well. Although he abides in the Traces, manifesting birth and death numerous times, this manifestation of life and death is actually the manifestation of the Original Life-span. Moreover, the Traces are represented by the disciples as the Three Vehicles that belong to the Original Retinues.

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 repeated the Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas in gāthās, we conclude the chapter with the vow of Śākyamuni that all will be able to attain enlightenment “definitely and doubtlessly.”

Anyone who keeps this sūtra
Will be able to see me. He also will be able to see
Many-Treasures Buddha,
[The Buddhas of] my replicas,
And the Bodhisattvas whom I have taught today.

Anyone who keeps this sūtra will be able to cause me to rejoice.
He also will be able to bring joy
To [the Buddhas of] my replicas
And also to Many-Treasures Buddha who once passed away.

He also will be able to see
The present, past and future Buddhas
Of the worlds of the ten quarters,
Make offerings to them, and cause them to rejoice.

The Buddhas sat at the place of enlightenment,
And obtained the hidden core.
Anyone who keeps this sūtra will be able
To obtain the same before long.

Anyone who keeps this sūtra
Will be able to expound
The meanings of the teachings,
And the names and words [of this sūtra].
Their eloquence will be as boundless
And as unhindered as the wind in the sky.

Anyone who understands why the Buddhas expound [many] sūtras,
Who knows the position [of this sūtra in the series of sūtras],
And who expounds it after my extinction
According to its true meaning,
Will be able to eliminate the darkness
Of the living beings of the world where he walks about,
Just as the light of the sun and the moon
Eliminates all darkness.
He will be able to cause innumerable Bodhisattvas
To dwell finally in the One Vehicle.

Therefore, the man of wisdom
Who hears the benefits of these merits
And who keeps this sūtra after my extinction,
Will be able to attain
The enlightenment of the Buddha
Definitely and doubtlessly.

Nichiren uses this section to underscore the importance of this teaching in the Latter Age:

In the Lotus Sūtra, after forty some years [wherein the other sūtras taught that women could not attain Buddhahood,] a woman at last attained Buddhahood; and even Devadatta, who was called an icchantika who broke the five rebellious sins, attained Buddhahood. Thus, there is no doubt that in this evil age those monks, laymen, nuns, and laywomen who are icchantika because they have broken the five rebellious sins and slandered the Dharma, will all attain Buddhahood through the Lotus Sūtra. Moreover, we must trust these words from fascicle seven of the Lotus Sūtra:

After my passing
He who upholds this sūtra
Will attain the Buddha Way
Definitely and without a doubt.

Minobu-san Gosho, Mt. Minobu Letter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 131

Lotus Seeds

Dealing With Our Defilements

Quote

The best approach to dealing with the defilements is simply to be aware of them in the light of the Buddha-nature. This is how the practice of chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo can help us change the poison of the defilements into the qualities of awakening, because chanting the Odaimoku is the practice of calling upon the Buddha-nature within. Through the Odaimoku, we are able to cultivate a sense of awareness and equilibrium that allows us to acknowledge and redirect our desires instead of getting caught up and swept away by them. The practice of chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo can help us to think and reflect before we act. It can even help us recognize negative thoughts and feelings for what they are, so that we do not identify with them and allow them to control our lives. On the other hand, the principle of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo does not condemn or negate these desires, but gives us the space and the strength to work with them and brings out their positive aspects.

Lotus Seeds