Monthly Archives: January 2020

LS32

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 learned what is revealed and expounded explicitly in this sūtra, we conclude Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas in gāthās.

Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:

The Buddhas, the World-Saviors, have
Great supernatural powers.
They display their immeasurable, supernatural powers
In order to cause all living beings to rejoice.
The tips of their tongues reach the Heaven of Brahman.
Innumerable rays of light are emitted from their bodies.
For those who are seeking the enlightenment of the Buddha
The Buddhas do these things rarely to be seen.

The sound of coughing of the Buddhas
And the sound of their finger-snapping
Reverberate over the worlds of the ten quarters,
And the ground [of those worlds] quakes in the six ways.

The Buddhas joyfully display
Their immeasurable, supernatural powers
Because [the Bodhisattvas from underground]
[Vow to] keep this sūtra after my extinction.

Even if I praise for innumerable kalpas
The keeper of this sūtra,
To whom it is to be transmitted,
I cannot praise him highly enough.

His merits are as limitless,
As infinite, as boundless
As the skies of the worlds
Of the ten quarters.

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.

See Proof of the Unique Truth of the Lotus Sūtra

LS32, d26b, 2buddhas

Proof of the Unique Truth of the Lotus Sūtra

The first of the ten signs, the buddhas extending their tongues to the heavens of Brahmā, is culturally bound and may not resonate with modern readers. In the context of the sūtra’s compilation, a long and wide tongue was considered one of a buddha’s distinguishing physical marks, a sign that he never lies, and the buddhas’ act of extending their tongues was intended to verify the Lotus Sūtra’s truth. Nichiren often mentioned this act as underscoring the significance of the transmission that Śākyamuni was now about to make: “Having summoned these people [i.e., the four bodhisattvas who lead the bodhisattvas of the earth], Śākyamuni Buddha entrusted to them the five characters Myōhō-renge-kyō. This was no ordinary transmission, for the Buddha first manifested ten transcendent powers. When Śākyamuni extended his wide and long tongue to the upper limit of the world of form, all the other buddhas did likewise, their tongues reaching into the air above four million nayutas of worlds and filling the sky like billions of crimson rainbows arched together — an altogether awesome display.” Elsewhere, Nichiren would note that the Buddha sitting side by side with another buddha (in Chapter Eleven) and buddhas extending their tongues to the heavens of Brahmā appear in no other Buddhist sūtra, Hinayāna or Mahāyāna, further proof of the unique truth of the Lotus Sūtra.

215-216

Kaleidoscope

Appropriate Means

Quote

What we are told repeatedly in the sutra is not that these acts are skillful, though they may be, but that they are appropriate, appropriate to the condition of the hearers. It is because people are different and their situations are different that the buddhas, as the rain nourishes the great variety of plants according to their different needs, feed the Dharma according to what is needed. One could argue, of course, that knowing that an appropriate thing is needed and being able to perceive the situation well enough to figure out an appropriate action is itself skillful. And so it is. But it is nevertheless the case that what is emphasized is not so much the skill as it is the appropriateness. This is why I think “appropriate means” is the best translation for hōben in the Lotus Sutra.

What is it that makes something appropriate? At the end of the story of the burning house, the Buddha asks Śāriputra whether the father has lied or not, and Śāriputra responds that the father had not lied, and would not have lied had he given the children even very tiny carriages. Why? Simply because the device worked. The children got out of the house in time to save their lives.
A Buddhist Kaleidoscope; Gene Reeves, Appropriate Means as the Ethics of the Lotus Sutra, Page 382

WONS

Worrying About One’s Sickness

By the way your husband’s recent illness may have been at the Buddha’s discretion. This is because it is preached in the Vimalakirti Sūtra and the Nirvana Sūtra that a sick person will indeed attain Buddhahood. This means that the desire to attain Buddhahood begins to appear while one worries about one’s sickness, doesn’t it?

Myōshin-ama Gozen Gohenji, A Response to My Lady, the Nun Myōshin Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Pages 103

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Jan. 2, 2020

Universal-Sage! Anyone who keeps, reads and recites this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, memorizes it correctly, studies it, practices it, and copies it, should be considered to see me, and hear this sūtra from my mouth. He should be considered to be making offerings to me. He should be considered to be praised by me with the word ‘Excellent!’

The Buddha makes this declaration to Universal-Sage Bodhisattva (Fugen, Samantabhadra) in Chapter Twenty-Eight of the Lotus Sutra. He reminds us that when we study and practice the Lotus Sūtra, we see not only the Buddha, but all beings who have vowed to protect and encourage us in our practice. It is often difficult to see these beings and appreciate what they are doing for us, much more so to hear the encouragement they offer us in this world of conflict. This is why we must continue to dedicate our lives to offer benefit and encouragement to all beings, so that we can embody the spirit of these protective deities.

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

LS32

Day 25

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Day 25 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month learned who was Never-Despising Bodhisattva in the past, we repeat in gāthās and conclude Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva.

Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:

There was once a Buddha,
Called Powerful-Voice-King.
His supernatural powers and wisdom
Were immeasurable.
Leading all living beings, he is honored
By gods, men and dragons with offerings.

Some time after the extinction of that Buddha,
His teachings had almost died out.
At that time there lived a Bodhisattva
Called Never-Despising.
The four kinds of devotees at that time
Were attached to views.

Never-Despising Bodhisattva
Went to them,
And said,
“I do not despise you
Because you will practice the Way
And become Buddhas.”

When they heard this,
They spoke ill of him and abused him.
But Never-Despising Bodhisattva
Endured all this.

Thus he expiated his sin.
When he was about to pass away,
He heard this sūtra,
And had his six sense-organs purified.
He prolonged his life
By his supernatural powers,
And expounded this sūtra
To many people.

Those who were attached to views
Were led into the Way
To the enlightenment of the Buddha
By this Bodhisattva.

Never-Despising [Bodhisattva] met
Innumerable Buddhas after the end of his life.
He expounded this sūtra,
And obtained innumerable merits,
He quickly attained the enlightenment of the Buddha
By these accumulated merits.

Never-Despising [Bodhisattva] at that time
Was myself.
The four kinds of devotees,
Who were attached to views at that time,
Were able to meet innumerable Buddhas
After they heard
The words of Never-Despising [Bodhisattva]:
“You will become Buddhas.”
They are now present here
In this congregation.

They are the five hundred Bodhisattvas
And the four kinds of devotees
Including men and women of pure faith,
Who are now hearing the Dharma from me.

In my previous existence
I encouraged them
To hear this sūtra,
That is, the most excellent Dharma.
In all my previous existences
I taught them the Way to Nirvana.
But really this is the sūtra
I taught them to keep.

This Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Can be heard only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.

The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones,
Expound this sūtra only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.

Therefore, anyone who hears this sūtra
And practices the Way
After my extinction,
Should have no doubts about [this sūtra].

He should expound this sūtra with all his heart;
Then he will be able to meet Buddhas
Throughout all his existences,
And quickly attain the enlightenment of the Buddha.

See The Practice of Bowing to Others

LS32, d25b, 2buddhas

The Practice of Bowing to Others

Chinese commentators … stressed the bodhisattva Sadāparibhūta’s attitude as a model for practice. Huisi, Zhiyi’s teacher, commented on this sūtra chapter as follows: “Looking upon each and every being as though it were a buddha, you should join your palms and venerate it as though paying reverence to the Lord [Buddha himself]. You should also regard each and every being as a great bodhisattva and good spiritual friend.” Fragmentary evidence suggests that East Asian Buddhists sometimes literally attempted to imitate the bodhisattva Sadāparibhūta’s practice of bowing to all. One example can be found in the “Three Stages” movement, founded by the Chinese master Xinxing (540-594) as a form of Buddhism suited to the degenerate Final Dharma age. Xinxing incorporated Sadāparibhūta’s practice of bowing into a set of interrelated practices combining the attitudes of universally venerating others and recognizing one’s own shortcomings. The practice of bowing to others was also sometimes conducted in Japan. The monk Shōnyo (781-867), to repay his debt to his parents, is said to have carried out Sadāparibhūta’s practice by bowing at the homes of more than 167,600 people. In aristocratic circles, this practice was carried out on the fourteenth day of the seventh month. Entries for that date in the diary of the poet and courtier Fujiwara no Teika (1162-1241) record that he himself performed this practice in the streets or had others do it on his behalf.

Two Buddhas, p208
Blog

A New Year

My wife has a theory that whatever you do on New Year’s Day will be your focus for the coming year. For example, she studiously avoids housework on this day. Instead, today she is making cookies. I spent way too much time configuring my new Pixel 4 phone, so to avoid technical dilemmas as my New Year focus I’ve fired up the laptop and I’m working on my blog as I listen to a Spotify channel called “Coffee Table Jazz.”

As can be surmised from the video above, I attended the New Year services at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church. Those are illegal fireworks being launched by residents of the nextdoor apartments. Don’t particularly care for driving at night and especially not after midnight on New Year’s Day, but I enjoy the year end and New Year services. We even had a stranger show up who lives in Tokyo but is visiting family in Sacramento. He heard about the service on our website. He said he routinely attends the midnight service in Tokyo.

2020 New Year altar

Today I offered some mochi and a tangerine on my altar. I’ve done some reconfiguring since the last time I posted a photo. I now have water cups for Kishimojin (left) and Daikokuten (right) that I purchased from Gasshodo. (Didn’t realize they were different sizes when I ordered them.)

Gone is my side altar, which looked like this:

My Decorations
My Decorations

Instead I’ve moved all of those “decorations” to some new glass shelves that I installed in corner next to the altar.

corner arrangement

Back in July I explained my gods on the altar and my decorations. In addition to Jizo (who I misspelled Jizu in my original post), I have added a collection of Hotei Bodhisattva statues that my son collected as a child. The larger Hotei is a contribution from my wife. The gold plated pagoda next to the Ryusho Jeffus’ painting belonged to my wife’s parents. It is from Japan but I have no idea which Japanese pagoda it represents. And, as illustrated, I’ve made an altar for Ryusho Jeffus’ gohonzon that he and Rev. Kanjin Cederman created for Jeffus’ book designed for prison inmates. The cup is another Gasshodo purchase.

I should point out that the slab of lapis lazuli and the crystal represent the purified Buddha lands described in the Lotus Sutra.

Happy New Year!

Kaleidoscope

The Definition of Hōben

Quote

What is wrong with “expedient”? Briefly, it is deeply rooted in an ethical frame of reference which is about as diametrically opposed to the ethical perspective of the Lotus Sutra as one can get. The Random House Unabridged Dictionary has as its second definition of “expedient. conducive to advantage or interest, as opposed to right.” Moreover, “expediency” is defined as “a regard for what is polite or advantageous rather than what is right or just; a sense of self-interest.” Though one could argue that this term does not have to carry such freight, the fact of the matter is that it is deeply embedded in a biblical ethics which is essentially deontological because it is rooted in notions of divine commandment and human obedience. In John 11:49-50, for example, we find:

And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation perish.

And in several places, in the King James version at least, Saint Paul uses the term “expedient” to mean “profitable” to oneself. The Bible, of course, had a major impact on what terms mean in English.

Thus, a very basic meaning of “expedient” is an act which is done in spite of principle in order to benefit oneself. It is rooted in an ethics and in a vision of reality in which there is a radical, unbridgeable gap between principles and self-interest. Though they may be internalized, principles are given, by God or Nature, or the metaphysical structure of reality. Principles are lawlike, and thus their disobedience requires just punishment. To do the expedient thing is to ignore or go against what is right in order to gain some selfish benefit.

But this is exactly what, according to the Lotus Sutra, hōben cannot be. It is part of the very definition of hōben in the Lotus Sutra that it is always for the benefit of someone else. Not in this sutra, or in any other that I know of, is there even a single example of hōben in which the doer forsakes some principle for his or her own benefit.
A Buddhist Kaleidoscope; Gene Reeves, Appropriate Means as the Ethics of the Lotus Sutra, Page 380

d14b, WONS

The Sin of Slandering a Practicer of the Lotus Sūtra

Suppose a man as evil as Devadatta slandered, physically beat and envied Śākyamuni Buddha, committing all three kinds of acts—physical, verbal, and mental—against the Buddha for as long as one medium kalpa (20 times the length of a kalpa). How serious is the sin committed by this man? This earth is 168,000 yojana in depth, and it supports all the water of the four great oceans, earth, and rocks of nine mountains, numerous trees and plants, and all creatures on top without dropping, tilting or breaking them. On the contrary, Devadatta’s body being five feet tall or so fell into hell breaking through the earth because he committed the Three Rebellious Sins. The hole he fell through still exists today in India. Tripiṭaka Master Hsüan-chuang writes in his Record of the Western Regions that he saw the hole of Devadatta in India while making a pilgrimage from China to India.

However, it is preached in the “Teacher of the Dharma” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra that the sin of slandering a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra in the Latter Age of Degeneration on a mere whim, without any trace of animosity or envy, is more serious than the sin of Devadatta committing the three kinds of acts—verbal, physical, and mental—against the Buddha for as long as a medium kalpa. How much more so then is the sin of people today who, like Devadatta commit the three kinds of evil acts (verbal, physical, and mental) against a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra, by speaking ill of him, censuring him, envying and physically beating him, and trying to kill him for many years!

Hōren-shō, Letter to Hōren, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 44-45