Two Buddhas, p155[T]he “Devadatta” chapter underscores the Lotus Sūtra’s inclusivity by extending the possibility of buddhahood to categories of persons thought to labor under particularly heavy karmic burdens: evil men and all women. Nichiren took the Devadatta story as illustrating the unique power of the Lotus Sūtra to save even the most wicked and depraved.
Monthly Archives: February 2020
Nichiren’s Prediction
My prediction in my written opinion (“Risshō ankoku-ron”) has proven to be true. Contemplating the future on the basis of this, I should say that my prediction in it will also not fail to be true in the future. Though this writing of mine has been attested to be true, it is not due to my own power; but rather it is a divine response to the true words of the Lotus Sūtra.
Ankoku-ron Okugaki, Postscript to the “Risshō Ankoku-ron,” Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 155
Daily Dharma – Feb. 22, 2020
Therefore, Star-King-Flower! I will transmit this Chapter of the Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva to you. Propagate this chapter throughout the Jambudvīpa in the later five hundred years after my extinction lest it should be lost, and lest Māra the Evil One, the followers of Māra, gods, dragons, yakṣas, and kumbhāṇḍas should take advantage [of the weak points of the people of the Jambudvīpa].
The Buddha gives this explanation to Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sūtra. The Jambudvīpa is the name the Buddha gives to this world of conflict and attachment in which we live. Nichiren interprets “the later five hundred years” as the time in which we are living today. The story of Medicine-King Bodhisattva is one of a being who does not spare any part of his life to benefit others. This Bodhisattva is confident that he will become enlightened, and that whatever happens to his physical body, he will always be reborn in worlds where he has the chance to benefit others and lead them by the wisdom of the Buddha. This chapter, and all those towards the end of the Lotus Sūtra, give us examples of how to bring the teachings of the Buddha to life.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 8
Day 8 concludes Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith, and closes the second volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month witnessed the father reveal the son’s true place, we learn how the Buddha is like the father.
You are like the father.
Knowing that we wished
To hear the Lesser Vehicle,
You did not say to us, “You will become Buddhas.”
You said of us to others:
“Though they are my disciples, they are Śrāvakas.
They eliminated āsravas,
But attained only the Lesser Vehicle.”You said to us:
“Expound the most excellent Way [to Bodhisattvas]!
Those who practice the Way
Will be able to become Buddhas.”By this order of yours
We expounded the unsurpassed Way
To the great Bodhisattvas
With various stories of previous lives,
With various parables and similes
And with various discourses.•Hearing the [Way, that is, the] Dharma from us,
Those sons of yours
Thought it over day and night,
And practiced it strenuously.Thereupon the Buddha assured them
Of their future Buddhahood, saying to them:
“You will become Buddhas
In your future lives.”You expounded the real thing,
That is, the store
Of the hidden core of the Buddhas
Only to the Bodhisattvas.
You did not expound
This truth to us.The poor son came to his father,
And took custody
Of the things of his father,
But wished to take none of them.The same can be said of us.
We did not wish to have the treasure-store
Of the teachings of the Buddhas
Although we expounded it [to the Bodhisattvas].We were satisfied with the elimination
Of illusions within ourselves.
What we accomplished was that elimination.
We did nothing more.You told us
To purify the world of the Buddha
And teach all living beings.
We heard this, but did not wish to do so
Because we had already attained the truth:
“All things are void and tranquil.
Nothing appears or disappears.
Nothing is larger or smaller.
Nothing has āsravas.
Nothing is subject to cause and effect.”
Having thought this, we did not wish
To do [the Bodhisattva practices].In the long night
We did not care
For the wisdom of the Buddha.
We did not wish to have it.
We thought:
“The Dharma we attained is perfect.”Having studied the truth of the Void in the long night,
We emancipated ourselves
From the sufferings of the triple world,
Attained the Nirvāṇa-with-remainder,
And reached the final stage
Of our physical existence.You said [to us]:
“When you attain enlightenment infallibly,
You will have already repaid
The favors I gave you.”
The Meaning of Faith and Discernment
Buddhism for Today, p63Faith (shin) is the working of one’s emotions, and discernment (ge) that of one’s reason. Though people often say that a religion or faith ought to be believed in instead of argued about, it is very dangerous to believe blindly in a religion without having any knowledge of it. If this religion is a worthless or wrong teaching, blind belief will result in not only ruining ourselves but also exerting an extremely harmful influence on our families and on society in general.
Even if a religion is a good teaching, as long as we believe in it blindly our faith is liable to be easily shaken by circumstances. Let us suppose that one believes that he will recover from a disease or that his circumstances will improve if only he has faith in a particular religion, without understanding its teachings. He does recover from his illness, believing that his cure is due to his religion, but he suffers a relapse and then begins to doubt. Suppose that then his son fails his university-entrance examination; the father forsakes the faith to which he has so firmly adhered regardless of others’ opinions. This kind of thing is a common occurrence.
This kind of faith is not a firm faith in the true sense of the term but merely a narrow faith. A true religion can always be understood through reason; this kind of understanding is called discernment.
The All Encompassing Wonderful Precept
Two Buddhas, p148Toward the end of the [Hotoge] verse passage, the Buddha declares that those who can uphold the Lotus Sūtra in a troubled age following his parinirvāṇa will be praised by all buddhas: they are courageous, persevering, and “are known as those who follow the rules of good conduct.” “The rules of good conduct” here refers to the precepts, the rules of moral discipline to be upheld by Buddhists. In Nichiren’s time, the significance of the precepts was hotly disputed. Hōnen had taught that birth in the Pure Land depends solely upon entrusting oneself to the power of Amitābha Buddha’s vow; whether one keeps or breaks the precepts has no bearing on one’s salvation. Others, such as the monk Eison (1201-1290), held that, precisely because the times were degenerate and adverse, strict observance of the precepts was more essential than ever. Nichiren, following this sūtra passage, maintained that upholding the Lotus Sūtra is itself keeping the precepts. The five characters of the daimoku, the heart of the Lotus Sūtra, he said, form the “all-encompassing wonderful precept” by which all buddhas realize their enlightenment. Nichiren generally endorsed the traditional Buddhist ethic of compassion and generosity, along with its moral principles that discourage such evils as killing, lying, theft, and sexual misconduct. However, he did not see following rules of conduct as a prerequisite to liberation in the age of the Final Dharma. Because the daimoku contains within itself all the countless practices and good acts of all past, present, and future buddhas, he taught, simply to chant it is to uphold the precepts. Nichiren also seems to have believed that this practice would foster upright conduct, for he claimed that “one who chants [the daimoku] as the Lotus Sūtra teaches will not have a crooked mind.
Spreading Buddhism in the way Best Suited to the Situation
Śākyamuni Buddha gave up his land of eternal tranquility for this Sahā World; Venerable Kumārajīva traveled all the way from India to China; Grand Master Dengyō risked his life in going to China to study Buddhism; Bodhisattva Deva was killed by non-Buddhist heretics; Venerable Siṃha was beheaded by the king; Bodhisattva Medicine King burned his elbow to offer it as a light in gratitude for the preaching of the Lotus in the past lives; Prince Shōtoku peeled off the skin on his finger to write in blood the title of the Brahma-net Sūtra, which he copied; when Śākyamuni was a Bodhisattva in the past life, he sold his own flesh in order to make an offering to a Buddha; Gyōbō Bonji (Aspiration for the Dharma) used one of his own bones to write down the true teaching. These are examples of those who spread Buddhism “in the way best suited to the situation,” as Grand Master T’ien-t’ai put it. Keep in mind that Buddhism must be spread according to the times. My exile is merely a trifle in this present life, which is not lamentable at all. Instead, I feel it is a great joy as I am sure I will be rewarded with great happiness in my future lives.
Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 114-115
Daily Dharma – Feb. 21, 2020
No, no, I will not say any more.
My teaching is wonderful and inconceivable.
If arrogant people hear me,
They will not respect or believe me.
The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra. This was his response the first time Śāriputra asked to receive the Buddha’s highest teaching. The Buddha knew we must be prepared for his wisdom. We must discern clearly the difference between what we know and what we do not know. Because all things are impermanent, the truths we cling to may no longer apply. The ignorance and confusion at the root of our suffering will disappear as we set aside what is no longer true and gain wisdom.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 7
Day 7 concludes Chapter 3, A Parable, and begins Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith.
Having last month considered the benefits of rejoicing at hearing the sutra, we consider the penalty for slandering the sutra.
Śāriputra
Do not expound this sūtra
To those who are arrogant and idle,
And who think that the self exists!Do not expound it to men of little wisdom!
They would not be able to understand it
Even if they heard it
Because they are deeply attached to the five desires.Those who do not believe this sūtra
But slander it,
Will destroy the seeds of Buddhahood
Of all living beings of the world.Some will scowl at this sūtra
And doubt it.
Listen! I will tell you
How they will be punished.In my lifetime or after my extinction
Some will slander this sūtra,
And despise the person
Who reads or recites
Or copies or keeps this sūtra.
They will hate him,
Look at him with jealousy,
And harbor enmity against him.
Listen! I will tell you
How they will be punished.When their present lives end,
They will fall into the Avici Hell.
They will live there for a kalpa,
And have their rebirth in the same hell.
This rebirth of theirs will be repeated
For innumerable kalpas.After that they will be reborn
In the world of animals.
Some of them will become dogs or small foxes.
They will be bald, thin and black.
They will suffer from mange and leprosy
Men will treat them mercilessly,
And hate and despise them.
They will always suffer from hunger and thirst.
Their bones will project; their flesh sag.
They will always suffer in their present existence.
After their death, they will be put
Under pieces of tile or stones.
Those who destroy the seeds of Buddhahood
Will be punished like this.Some of them will become
Camels or asses.
They will always be heavily loaded,
And beaten with sticks or whips.
They will think of nothing
But water and hay.
Those who slander this sūtra
Will be punished like this.Some of them will become small foxes.
They will suffer
From mange and leprosy.
They will have only one eye
When they come to a town,
They will be struck by boys.
Some of them
Will be beaten to death.
After they die
They will become boas.
Their bodies will be large,
Five hundred yojanas long.
They will be deaf and stupid.They will wriggle along without legs.
They will be bitten
By many small vermin.
They will suffer day and night.
They will have no time to take a rest.
Those who slander this sūtra
Will be punished like this.Some of them will become men again.
They will be foolish, short, ugly,
Crooked, crippled, blind, deaf,
And hunchbacked.
No one will believe their words.
They will always have fetid breath.
They will be possessed by demons.
Poverty-stricken and mean,
They will be employed by others.
Worn-out, thin,
And subject to many diseases,
They will have no one to rely on.
Anyone who employs them
Will not take care of them.
They will lose before long
What little they may have earned.
When they study medicine,
And treat a patient with a proper remedy,
The patient will have another disease
Or die.
When they are ill in health,
No one will cure them.
Even when they take a good medicine,
They will suffer all the more.
They will be attacked by others,
Or robbed or stolen from.
Their sins will incur these misfortunes.
These sinful people will never be able to see
The Buddha, the King of the Saints,
Who expounds the Dharma
And teaches all living beings.
They will always be reborn
In the places of difficulty
[In seeing the Buddha].
They will be mad, deaf or distracted.
They will never be able to hear the Dharma.
For as many kalpas
As there are sands in the River Ganges,
They will be deaf and dumb.
They will not have all the sense organs.
Accustomed to living in hell,
They will take it for their playground.
Accustomed to living in other evil regions,
They will take them for their homes. They will live
Among camels, asses, wild boars, and dogs.
Those who slander this sūtra
Will be punished like this.When they are reborn in the world of men,
Deafness, blindness, dumbness,
Poverty, and many other defects
Will be their ornaments;
Dropsy, diabetes, mange,
Leprosy, carbuncles, and many other diseases
Will be their garments.
They will always smell bad.
They will be filthy and defiled.
Deeply attached to the view
That the self exists,
They will aggravate their anger.
Their lust will not discriminate
Between [humans,] birds or beasts.
Those who slander this sūtra
Will be punished like this.(The Buddha said to Śāriputra:)
A kalpa will not be long enough to describe
The punishments to be inflicted
Upon those who slander this sūtra.Therefore,
I tell you.
Do not expound this sūtra
To people of no wisdom!
See The Recompense of the Various Sins of Slandering the Law
The Recompense of the Various Sins of Slandering the Law
Buddhism for Today, p62Next the recompense of the various sins of slandering the Law are mentioned. What we must pay special attention to here is that such recompense is not meted out by the Buddha as a punishment. The Buddha does not have this kind of relationship with man. Because he is the truth that gives life to all things in the universe, it is hardly possible that he would perform an action running counter to man’s life, such as letting him fall into hell or letting him become an animal or a deformed person. Who brings such punishment on man? Needless to say, man brings it upon himself. His own illusion brings it upon him. Illusion is like a dark cloud that covers our intrinsic buddha-nature. When the light of our buddha-nature is covered with illusions, darkness arises in our minds and various unpleasant things happen to us. This state is the punishment that we have meted to ourselves. If we blow away the dark clouds of our own illusions, our buddha-nature will immediately begin to shine forth. Therefore we have nothing to fear in the Buddha. We must keep firmly in mind and truly believe that the Buddha is that which enlivens all beings at all times.