The first step on the Eightfold Path is right views, or the correct Buddhist interpretation of the world and humankind. People of learning and wisdom in the ways of Buddhism who apply the Eightfold Path as a system of self-improvement may safely be assumed to have already a correct Buddhist view of humankind and the world. People who come to Buddhism through faith instead of learning can be expected to have entrusted themselves to the Buddha, the Law, and the Order and to have faith in the precepts. In other words, they too already view the world and humankind in the Buddhist way.
Basic Buddhist Concepts
Monthly Archives: April 2019
The Order in which the Buddha Preached
The teachings expounded for forty-two years in the pre-Lotus sūtras were all expedients designed to lead people to the Lotus Sūtra. We know this because the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning says: “I sat under the bodhi tree for six years to attain enlightenment! Though I expounded various expedient teachings to guide people, I did not reveal the True Dharma for forty years or so. The expedient teachings expounded for forty years or so are the Agama sūtras, which I expounded first to teach the doctrine of the Four Noble Truths of suffering, and the way to Nirvana. I then expounded the twelve types of scriptures of the Hōdō period, the Great Wisdom Sūtra, and the Flower Garland Sūtra while in the ocean-imprint meditation.”
Personally, I think that the order in which the Buddha preached was the Flower Garland Sūtra followed by the Agama sūtras, the Hōdō sūtras, the Wisdom Sūtra, the Lotus Sūtra, and finally the Nirvana Sūtra. To rank them in the order of profundity in doctrine from superficial to profound, it should be the Agama sūtras, the Hōdō sūtras, the Wisdom Sūtra, the Flower Garland Sūtra, and the Lotus-Nirvana Sūtras. So it is stated in the Lotus Sūtra and the Nirvana Sūtra.
Ichidai Shōgyō Tai-I, Outline of All the Holy Teachings of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 79-80
Daily Dharma – April 19, 2019
You should promptly discard your false faith and take up the true and sole teaching of the Lotus Sutra at once. Then this triple world of the unenlightened will all become Buddha Lands. Will Buddha lands ever decay? All the worlds in the universe will become pure lands. Will Pure Lands ever be destroyed? When our country does not decay and the world is not destroyed, our bodies will be safe and our hearts tranquil. Believe these words and revere them!
Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on Spreading Peace through Right Practice (Risshō Ankoku-ron). We may believe that we can practice correctly only when the world becomes peaceful. As if so long as we are in this world of conflict, we would need to use force and aggression to create peace. Nichiren turns this idea upside down. He shows that only by our practicing respect towards all beings, and working for their benefit, can we create peace in this world.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Mile Markers on the Journey to a Place of Treasures
In March 2015 I began my practice of reciting a portion of the Lotus Sutra in shindoku in the morning and the same portion in English in the evening.
As I work my way through Myoho Renge Kyo Romanized, I mark my place with a colored Post-It marker. At the end of each 32-day cycle, I add the marker to the inside cover and get out a new marker.
Each of row of markers in the photo above represents 16 times through the full Lotus Sutra, or a journey of 512 days.
Today I report from Mile Marker 1536 on my Journey to the Place of Treasures.
I count my recitation of the English translation with my daily 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra posts.
Today I began Day 1 with “Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma,” the translation of the Lotus Sutra made by Leon Hurvitz from the Chinese of Kumārajīva. This translation is the one commonly cited by those doing scholarly reports on the sutra.
After a few cycles through this version I hope to offer some insights into my experience.
Day 1
Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory
Having last month begun Chapter 1, Introductory, with “Thus have I heard,” we continue the introduction of the gathering on Mt. Gṛdhrakūṭa in the City of King-House.
Thus have I heard. The Buddha once lived on Mt. Gṛdhrakūṭa in the City of King-House. He was accompanied by twelve thousand great bhikṣus. They were Arhats. They had already eliminated āsravas, and had no illusions. They had already benefited themselves, broken off the bonds of existence [in the world of birth and death], and obtained liberty in their minds. They included Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya, Mahā-Kāśyapa, Uruvilvā-Kāśyapa, Gaya-Kāśyapa, Nadi- Kāśyapa, Śāriputra, Great Maudgalyāyana, Mahā-Kātyāyana, Aniruddha, Kapphina, Gavampati, Revata, Pilindavatsa, Bakkula, Maha-Kausthila, Nanda, Sundarananda, Pūrṇa who was the son of Maitrāyanī, Subhūti, Ananda, and Rahula. They were great Arhats well known to the multitude.
There were also two thousand [Śrāvakas], some of whom had something more to learn while others had nothing more to learn. Maha-Prajapati Bhikṣunī was present with her six thousand attendants. Yasodhara Bhikṣunī, the mother of Rahula, was also present with her attendants.There were also eighty thousand Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas. They never faltered in [seeking] Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. They had already obtained dharanis, turned the irrevocable wheel of the Dharma with eloquence according to the wishes [of all living beings], made offerings to many hundreds of thousands of Buddhas, and planted the roots of virtue under those Buddhas, by whom they had always been praised. They had already trained themselves out of their compassion towards others, entered the Way to the wisdom of the Buddha, obtained great wisdom, and reached the Other Shore so that their fame had already extended over innumerable worlds. They had already saved many hundreds of thousands of living beings. They included Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva, Great-Power-Obtainer Bodhisattva, Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva, Never-Resting Bodhisattva, Treasure-Palm Bodhisattva, Medicine-King Bodhisattva, Brave-In-Giving Bodhisattva, Treasure-Moon Bodhisattva, Moon-Light Bodhisattva, Full-Moon Bodhisattva, Great-Power Bodhisattva, Immeasurable-Power Bodhisattva, Transcending-Triple-World Bodhisattva, Bhadrapala Bodhisattva, Maitreya Bodhisattva, Accumulated-Treasure Bodhisattva, and Leading-Teacher Bodhisattva. Eighty thousand Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas such as these were present.
Beginning today and continuing throughout this month and into at least Day 20 of next month, I will be publishing content from Miraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Ancient Japan.
Today we begin with the The First Daughter of Ason Kanetaka, the Ex-Governor of Kaga
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The First Daughter of Ason Kanetaka, the Ex-Governor of Kaga
Lady Disciple Fujiwara, the first daughter of Kanetaka, the Ex-Governor of Kaga, was bright and neither ignorant nor deluded. She fervently recited the Hokekyō and was never negligent in this practice. Thanks to her virtuous behavior, the copies of the sūtra recited by her were piled high.
She once became ill suddenly and suffered from pains for days. Finally, she became cold and passed away. However, after a night, she revived and told about the Land After Death:
“Four or five strong men drove me from my house. After passing through distant fields and mountains, we arrived at a large temple. I entered through the gateway into the temple compound; I saw the exquisitely ornate lecture hall, the main hall, the storehouse for sūtras, the belfry, the jeweled banners, the priests’ quarters and the many-storied edifice for the gateway. Many bodhisattvas, holy and wise men, and virtuous priests, who were properly dressed and adorned with celestial crowns, robes, and necklaces, walked back and forth among these buildings. I wondered if I had arrived in paradise or if I might have come to the Tosotsu Heaven.
“An old priest spoke to me, ‘Good Woman, why did you come to this temple? This is the place for you to live in your future life. You have not yet recited enough copies of the Hokekyō. How is it that you are reborn in this land? You should have many more months and years before you come here. You should quickly return to your land.’
“When I saw several thousand piled copies of the sūtra in a hall, a priest said to me, ‘Those are the copies of the Hokekyō which you have been reciting for these years. Due to these good deeds, you will be reborn here and enjoy peace and comfort in your future life.’ Hearing this, I was immensely pleased.
“When I looked inside a lecture hall, I saw a great illuminated gold-colored Buddha who was hiding his face with his sleeves and spoke to me with the beautiful voice of a Karyōbin Bird, saying, ‘Good Woman, on account of your merit in reciting the Hokekyō, I reveal myself to you and let you hear my voice. Return to your land, maintain well the teachings of the sūtra, and add the Muryōgikyō and the Fugenkyō to your recitation. After you have done this, I will show my complete self to you without hiding my face. I am Śākyamuni Buddha!’ Two Heavenly Boys accompanied me on my way home and thus I have come into my house.”
After she had explained this, her pain left her, and she regained her health. Since then, she increased her faith and piety in the Way, and fervently recited the Hokekyō. In addition to those she had already recited, she added two more sūtras, the beginning and the closing ones. Thus, after her revival, Lady Disciple Fujiwara completed the recitation of the great Mahāyāna sūtra, the Hokekyō, with the additional two sūtras. Her accumulated merits were incomparable and her reward in her future life would be in her enlightenment. (Page 135-136)
Miraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Ancient JapanMiraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Ancient Japan
The Dainihonkoku Hokekyō of Priest Chingen
Translated and annotated by Yoshiko Kurata Dykstra
From the flyleaf:
This is the first Western language translation of Hokkegenki, a Buddhist tale collection of eleventh century Japan.
The Lotus Sūtra (Hokekyō) is one of the most influential and popular sūtras among Mahāyāna Buddhists in East Asia. The sūtra propagates veneration and faith among believers not only in the compassionate bodhisattvas but also in the sūtra itself. In China popular devotion to the Lotus Sūtra appears to date back to the T’ang dynasty.
Belief in the Hokekyō, the Japanese name of the scripture, has been widespread in Japan since the time of Prince Shōtoku who desired to establish a united nation for all sentient beings as taught in the sūtra. In 741, Emperor Shōmu ordered that each province was to build a seven-storied pagoda in which ten copies of the Hokekyō were to be preserved.
Devotion to the Hokekyō was often mentioned in various writings of the Nara and the Heian Periods. The Hokkegenki written by Chingen tersely depicts the faith and dedication of the contemporary Hokekyō devotees.
The 129 short-biographical and legendary tales of the Hokkegenki are all thematically unified in homage to the Hokekyō but are abundant in motifs and fantastic elements including celestial beings, demons, hungry ghosts, animals and supernatural creatures such as dragons. The Hokkegenki tales provide students of intellectual history with most precious primary sources about the spiritual life of the time, and those of literature with fine examples of the avadāna Buddhist narratives.
For my purposes, further elaboration is required.
The book was written between 1040 and 1044 by a monk named Chingen of Yokawa on Mount Hiei. He was, in other words, a Tendai monk, and the stories reflect the Tendai religion of those days, with its Pure Land and Shingon influences that Nichiren would, 200 years later, rail against.
As example of the Pure Land influence, here’s a quote from the story about the death of Jikaku, who followed Dengyō on Mount Hiei:
As his last days approached, Jikaku concluded his instructions to his disciples, washed his hands and mouth, and donned a clean robe. With a stately demeanor, he said to Priest Reiyū, “Scores of great priests have come and have formed a line. Quickly burn incense and scatter flowers!”
“But we have no guests now,” replied Reiyū.
However, Jikaku, with increased respect and fervent faith, sat facing the west with clasped hands, and told Priest Enjun to recite and pay his respects to the Hokekyō which preaches the great and fair knowledge of Amida. (Page 34)
The same story by Chingen explains, “In the fourteenth year of Shōwa [848], Jikaku returned to Japan [from China]. It is said that Jikaku’s efforts were responsible for half of the transmission of the Law to Japan. He introduced the Invocation of Amida’s Name, the Hokke Repentance Rites, the Kanjō Consecration Rites, and the Shari Relics Meeting.”
Here’s an example of Lotus-Shingon influence:
Genkai, a resident priest of the Komatsudera Temple of Shinden District of Mutsu Province, had a wife and children, but was later separated from them. He recited a copy of the Hokekyō during the day, and repeated the Daibucchō-Incantations seven times at night.
One night, Genkai dreamed that wings had sprouted from his sides and that he was flying towards the west. After crossing thousands of countries, he finally arrived at the place named the Seven Jewels. As he examined himself, he found that the Daibucchō-lncantations formed his left wing while the eight rolls of the Hokekyō constituted his right wing. As he looked around, he saw jeweled trees and edifices which were shining with a delicate radiance. A holy priest approached and said to Genkai, “You have come to the outskirts of the paradise where you should be welcome three years later.” Genkai listened to the priest respectfully and flew back home, just as before.
At his place, his disciples who thought Genkai had already died were grieving deeply. As Genkai regained consciousness, he recited the Hokekyō and the Shingon incantations more fervently. Three years later, Genkai learned the time of his death and finally passed away. (Page 42)
While Nichiren’s later letters criticized Shingon, his early letters included supportive references to the “Lotus-Shingon temples” and his Mandalas include Fudo Myo-o and Aizen Myo-o, two deities of Shingon esoteric Buddhism. Fudo Myo-o features in some of these stories.
In choosing what to include here, I have ignored the Pure Land and Shingon stories and the two stories that advocate self-immolation as a practice.
I have included a couple of stories with indirect reference to life in a Pure Land. When reading those, keep in mind Nichiren’s explanation:
The Pure Lands preached in the pre-Lotus expedient sūtras are mere substitutes tentatively shown by replicas of Śākyamuni Buddha, the Eternal True Buddha. In fact, they all are lands of impurity. Therefore, when the true Pure Land was decided in “The Life Span of the Buddha” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, the essence of which consists of chapters on the “Expedients” and “The Life Span of the Buddha,” it was declared that this Sahā World is the true Pure Land of the Tranquil Light.
As for the question why, the Lotus Sūtra also recommends the Tuṣita Heaven, the Realm of Peace and Sustenance (Pure Land of the Buddha of Infinite Life), and Pure Lands all over the universe, it is merely that designations of the Pure Lands, such as Tuṣita Heaven and Realm of Peace and Sustenance, preached in the pre-Lotus sūtras are used without modification to name the Pure Lands to be established in this world. It is like names of the three vehicles (śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, and bodhisattva) mentioned in the Lotus Sūtra, which does not actually preach three different teachings; it preaches the sole teaching leading to Buddhahood. It is stated in the Lotus Sūtra, chapter 23, that those who practice this sūtra “will immediately be reborn in the World of Happiness.” In the Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 10, Grand Master Miao-lê interprets: “This does not mean the Pure Land of the Buddha of Infinite Life preached in the Sūtra of Meditation on the Buddha of Infinite Life.” His interpretation is the same as stated above.
Source
Finally, these stories speak of monks who chant hundreds of thousands of repetitions of the Lotus Sūtra. When considering these feats, keep in mind Nichiren’s advice:
You should know that the merit of the Lotus Sūtra is the same whether you chant the whole eight scrolls or just one scroll, one chapter, one stanza, one phrase, one character, or the daimoku.
Source
Nichiren wrote often about how Japan was a land of the Lotus Sūtra. These stories offer a glimpse into that history.
A Life Embracing the Whole Universe
Siddhartha realized that he was the Buddha, Awakened One, and that his life embraced the whole of the Universe. Out of this realization came the understanding of his life and its purpose. He understood the concept of oneness—that the life of the Buddha is one with all other lives to the extent that there is nothing to separate or to distinguish them. He came to embrace all lives with compassion, experiencing all joys and all sadness as if they were his own.
That the Buddha’s enlightenment allowed him to see the death and rebirth of all living beings according to their karma was further indication of the oneness of his life with that of others. The Buddha embraced all lives with his compassion and became one with them. He was able to recognize others’ joy as his joy and others’ sadness as his own sadness. In the Nirvana Sutra, the Buddha said that all living beings received different sufferings and that those sufferings were actually his own sufferings.
Both Strictness and Love
Grand Master Dengyō, the primogenitor of exoteric and esoteric Buddhism in Japan has said in his Hokke Shūku (Outstanding Principles of the Lotus Sūtra): “The canons of other sects, too, preach some ultimate reality, which is the mother of Buddhahood. However, those scriptures have motherly love but no strictness of the father. Only the Tendai Lotus Sect, with both its strictness and love, is the parent of all sages, wise men, those who have much to learn and nothing to learn, as well as of those who aspire for enlightenment.”
Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 77
Daily Dharma – April 18, 2019
They felt lonely and helpless because they thought that they were parentless and shelterless. Their constant sadness finally caused them to recover their right minds. They realized that the medicine had a good color, smell and taste. They took it and were completely cured of the poison.
The Buddha explains his parable of the wise physician in Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, the physician’s children take poison by mistake. Some refuse the antidote provided by their father until he leaves home and sends word back that he has died. The children realized that they had to accept what their father had left for them, rather than continuing to refuse his cure. In the Lotus Sūtra the Buddha stops adapting to our minds and brings us into his mind. It is only when we use our suffering to increase our determination to reach enlightenment, rather than as an indicator of our shortcomings, can we recover our right minds and realize what the Buddha teaches.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com