Monthly Archives: March 2020

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – March 17, 2020

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.

The Buddha sings these verses to Superior-Practice Bodhisattva (Jōgyo, Viśiṣṭacārītra) in Chapter Twenty-One of the Lotus Sūtra. This teaching transforms us from beings who exist for our own comfort and awakens our true nature as Bodhisattvas: beings who exist for the benefit of all beings. This transition requires that we engage with these other beings and break out of the isolation of our own attachments. The first step is simply to listen, to be present and accept whatever the world has to offer. But at some point we need to speak. It can be difficult to know what to say. But with this Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sūtra, we find that because it embodies the Buddha’s highest wisdom, so long as we transmit what it has taught us, we will always have ways to use it to benefit other beings and bring this teaching to life in our world.

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

LS32

Day 32

Day 32 covers Chapter 28, The Encouragement of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, closing the Eighth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 32 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered Universal-Sage Bodhisattva’s vow to protect those who practice the Lotus Sūtra, we learn that anyone who practices the Lotus Sūtra performs Universal-Sage practices.

[He said to the Buddha:]

“World-Honored One! It is by my supernatural powers, know this, that a Bodhisattva can hear these dhārāṇis. Anyone who keeps the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma [while it is] propagated in the Jambudvipa, should think, ‘I can keep [this sūtra] only by the supernatural powers of Universal-­Sage.’ Anyone who keeps, reads and recites this sūtra, memorizes it correctly, understands the meanings of it, and acts according to it, know this, does the same practices that I do. He should be considered to have already planted deeply the roots of good under innumerable Buddhas [in his previous existence]. He will be caressed on the head by the hands of the Tathāgatas. Anyone who copies this sūtra will be reborn in the Heaven of the Trāyastriṃs̒a Gods immediately after his present life. On that occasion, eighty-four thousand goddesses will come and receive him, making many kinds of music. A crown of the seven treasures will be put on his head, and he will enjoy himself among the ladies in waiting. Needless to say, [more merits will be given to] the person who [not only copies this sūtra but also] keeps, reads and recites it, memorizes it correctly, understands the meanings of it, and acts according to it. Anyone who keeps, reads and recites this sūtra, and understands the meanings of it, will be given helping hands by one thousand Buddhas immediately after his present life. He will be fearless. He will not fall into any evil region. He will be reborn in the Tusiita Heaven. There he will go to Maitreya Bodhisattva who, adorned with the thirty-two marks, will be surrounded by great Bodhisattvas, and attended on by hundreds of thousands of billions of goddesses. He will be given the benefits of these merits. Therefore, anyone who has wisdom should copy this sūtra with all his heart, cause others to copy it, and also keep, read and recite it, memorize it correctly, and act according to it.

“World-Honored One! I will protect this sūtra with my supernatural powers so that it may be propagated and not be destroyed in the Jambudvipa after your extinction.”

See Four Practices of The Bodhisattva Universal Sage

LS32, d32b, Universal Sage, b4today

Four Practices of The Bodhisattva Universal Sage

As shown in this chapter and in the Sutra of Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal [Sage], the so-called closing sutra of the Lotus Sutra, the Bodhisattva Universal [Sage] is perfect in the following four practices:

  1. He himself practices the teachings of the Lotus Sutra.
  2. He protects the teachings from all persecutions.
  3. He bears witness to the merits obtained by one who practices the teachings and to the punishments suffered by one who slanders the teachings or persecutes its followers.
  4. He proves that even those who violate the teachings can be delivered from their sins if they are sincerely penitent.

The Bodhisattva Universal [Sage] encourages those who have finished hearing the Lotus Sutra and are beginning a new life with these words: “I vow to do these four practices as a conclusion of the practices of the Lotus Sutra. Try to be assiduous in your practices, without anxiety.”

His encouragement may be likened to the commencement address that the principal of a school delivers to the graduating students. They are now leaving school, carrying with them the truth that they have studied there. When they go out into the world, they are often puzzled as to how best to use what they have studied at school. Sometimes they have the unfortunate experience of having the truth they have studied denied by others, or even of being persecuted for it. “Whenever you have trouble, you can visit your old school. We will try to prove that the truth is not wrong. Moreover, we will teach you how you should apply the truth to each practical problem. If you fail in anything, we will show you how to overcome your failure.” In this way, the principal’s commencement speech guarantees the graduates the protection of their activities even after leaving school. No farewell speech of encouragement could be more inspiring than this.

Buddhism for Today, p405-406
d22b, WONS, 2buddhas

The Merits of the First Stage of Practice

[The] logic of total inclusivity underlies Nichiren’s explanation of the merits of the first stage of practice: rejoicing on hearing the Lotus Sūtra. “Since life does not extend beyond the moment,” he wrote, “the Buddha expounded the merits of a single moment of rejoicing [on hearing the Lotus Sūtra]. If two or three moments were required, this could no longer be called the original vow expressing his impartial great wisdom, the single vehicle of the sudden teaching that enables all beings to realize buddhahood.” In Nichiren’s reading, both the “first stage of faith” and the “first stage of practice” enumerated by Zhiyi on the basis of the “Description of Merits” chapter comprise “the treasure chest of the three thousand realms in a single thought-moment” and the gate from which all buddhas throughout time and space emerge.

Two Buddhas, p197-198
Lotus Seeds

The Ten Factors: Power

Quote

Of the Ten Factors, Power is the ability of phenomena to effect and undergo change. Whereas the first appearance, nature and entity analyze phenomena from the perspective of external and internal relations, this factor and activity point out that all things are involved in a constant process of mutual influence and transformation. In other words, things do not merely bring each other into being and support each other’s existence, they are actually mutually transformative.

Lotus Seeds

d17b, WONS

Devadatta’s Three Rebellious Sins

[R]egarding the three rebellious sins committed by Devadatta, although he caused the Buddha to bleed, this Buddha was the Buddha before the Lotus Sūtra was preached and not the Original and True Buddha who attained Enlightenment in the eternal past. He also killed an arhat, but this arhat was the one before the Lotus Sūtra was preached, not the practicer of this sūtra. He disrupted the harmony in a Buddhist order, but it was not the order based on the great sudden and perfect Lotus precepts, but on the Hinayāna precepts before the Lotus Sūtra was preached. As a result, although the earth split open and Devadatta fell into the Hell of Incessant Suffering, because he had not actually committed the three rebellious sins against the Lotus Sūtra, he could therefore still become the Heavenly King Buddha in the Lotus Sūtra.

Ha Ryōkan-tō Gosho, A Letter Refuting Ryōkan-bō and Others, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 55

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – March 16, 2020

Needless to say, boundless will be the merits
Of the person who hears this sūtra with all his heart,
And expounds its meanings,
And acts according to its teachings.

The Buddha sings these verses to Maitreya (whom he calls Ajita – Invincible) in Chapter Eighteen of the Lotus Sutra. The merits we gain through our study and practice of the Lotus Sūtra do not make us better than any of the other beings with whom we share this world. Merits accumulate when we strip away our delusions and see the world for what it is. We sometimes focus on what we can do to change the world, thinking that merely changing how we look at the world will have little effect. It is only when we see things for what they are that we can act effectively. Otherwise we are merely reinforcing the delusions of ourselves and others.

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

LS32

Day 31

Day 31 covers Chapter 27, King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva.

Day 31 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month met Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha and King Wonderful-Adornment and his wife and two sons, we hear the sons request to go to become followers of Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha and the mother’s instruction to show their father some wonders.

“Thereupon that Buddha expounded the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, wishing to lead King Wonderful-Adornment also out of his compassion towards all living beings. The two sons, Pure-Store and Pure-Eyes, came to their mother, joined their ten fingers and palms together, and said, ‘Mother! Go to Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha! We also will go to attend on him, approach him, make offerings to him, and bow to him because he is expounding the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to all gods and men. Hear and receive [the sūtra]!’

“The mother said to them, ‘[Yes, I will. But] your father believes in heresy. He is deeply attached to the teachings of brahmanas. Go and tell him to allow us to go [to that Buddha]! ‘

“Pure-Store and Pure-Eyes joined their ten fingers and palms together, and said to their mother, ‘We were born in this family attached to wrong views although we are sons of the King of the Dharma.’

“The mother said to them, ‘Show some wonders to your father out of your compassion towards him! If he sees [the wonders], he will have his mind purified and allow us to go to that Buddha.’

See Leading Others to the Teachings of the Buddha

LS32, d31b, b4today

Leading Others to the Teachings of the Buddha

Let us now consider the important points of this story. First, we must think of the true meaning of the two sons’ showing their father many kinds of supernatural deeds. This does not mean that they became able to display supernatural deeds by means of the Buddha’s teachings, nor that they stimulated their father’s curiosity by showing him such deeds. Their performing various supernatural deeds means that they completely changed their character and their daily lives by studying and believing the Buddha’s teachings. Their showing their father supernatural deeds thus means nothing but the fact that before their father they proved the true value of the Buddha’s teachings by their deeds and led him to be aroused to the aspiration for Perfect Enlightenment.

When we lead others to the teachings of the Buddha, none will follow us only through hearing us praise the teachings. We must clearly show them the reason that the Buddha’s teachings are worshipful. It is important for us to explain the content of the teachings. We must elucidate the teachings to others’ satisfaction according to their level of understanding, sometimes simply, sometimes theoretically, sometimes by using parables, and sometimes in the light of modern science.

Buddhism for Today, p400-401
Blog

Social Distancing

Zoom capture of service

The COVID-19 precautions are keeping me home and canceling the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church services but that doesn’t impede my virtual sangha. Today I joined Rev. Ryusho Jeffus’ Myoshoji service. Ryusho Shonin is in Syracuse, New York, and the other two attendees joined from different parts of North Carolina, where Ryusho once had a physical temple. The Myoshoji services often include Nichiren Shu practitioners from several European countries.