Monthly Archives: April 2020

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Vedic and Buddhist Worldviews

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There is also much in the Vedic worldview that carries over into Buddhism. The law of karma carries over, though the Buddha refined it and put the emphasis on the intentions behind purposeful action when determining whether a given act is wholesome or unwholesome. The various beings and worlds of the Vedic cosmology carried over and this eventually became the six paths of rebirth in Buddhism (the hell-dwellers, hungry ghosts, animals, fighting demons, humans, and heavenly beings), though the Buddha would propose a way to escape the round of rebirth among these six worlds. The Buddha certainly agreed with the Upanishadic sages that the benefits of the Vedic sacrifices, worldly wealth and rebirth in the heavens, were temporary at best and that a more transcendental goal was needed.

Not everything carried over, however. The Buddha did not agree with the system of the four classes (what became the basis of the caste system) and frequently argued with brahmins who believed that they were superior simply by virtue of being born as brahmins, whereas the Buddha pointed out that it is only by virtuous deeds that one could claim to be pure and worthy of honor. The Buddha also did away with the more extreme and harmful forms of asceticism like wearing no clothes, fasting to the point of starvation, or subjecting oneself to the five fires (sitting in the middle of four bonfires with the hot summer sun overhead as the fifth fire). Instead he proposed a set of dhūta (lit. “shaking off’), twelve relatively mild austerities such as keeping only three robes, or only eating once a day, or sleeping under the open sky. The dhūta were a voluntary practice for those monks and nuns who felt the need for such extra discipline to help shake off the habits of self-indulgence. Note that in the Lotus Sūtra it says that one who keeps the sūtra even for a moment “should be considered to have already observed the precepts and practiced the dhūta.” Finally, although the Buddha did teach the methods of yogic concentration that he had learned from Ārāda Kālāma and Rudraka Rāmaputra, he taught the yogic methods only to provide a means to concentrate the mind in preparation for the distinctive Buddhist practice of “insight” (Skt. vipa’yanā; Ch. kuan; J. kan) meditation and as a form of peaceful abiding for the arhats. By itself, the yogic discipline only leads to the meditative absorptions known as the four dhyānas (Ch. ch’an; J. zen) and other states of deep concentration. These states were only temporary respites as were the heavenly rebirths that corresponded to their cultivation. This has been discussed in regard to the wrong views relating to eternity in the Buddha’s Supreme Net Discourse.

Open Your Eyes, p112-113
WONS

Seeing Our Reflection in the Clear Mirror of the Lotus Sūtra

QUESTION: I have learned that the “3,000 existences contained in one thought” doctrine was first expounded in the fifth fascicle of the Great Concentration and Insight, one of the three major works of Grand Master T’ien-t’ai. Now I would like to know the meaning of spiritual contemplation (kanjin) of the “3,000 existences contained in one thought.”

ANSWER: Spiritual contemplation means for one to meditate on his own mind, observing through it ten realms, from the hells up to the realm of Buddhas, all of which are by nature contained in every mind. For instance, one can see the six sense-organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind) of other people, but one cannot see and know one’s own six sense organs unless one sees one’s reflection in a clear mirror. Despite the fact that various sūtras often preach six realms of illusion (realms of hells, hungry spirits, beasts, asura demons, men, and gods) and four realms of holy beings (Buddhas, bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddha and śrāvaka), we do not see how our mind contains ten realms, 100 realms, 1,000 aspects, and 3,000 modes of existence, unless we see our reflection in the clear mirror of the Lotus Sūtra and writings of Grand Master T’ien-t’ai such as Great Concentration and Insight.

Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Verable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 131-132

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – April 20, 2020

With Nichiren’s boundless compassion, “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo” will be heard forever even beyond the ten-thousand year period of Degeneration. It has the merit of curing the blindness of all people, blocking the way to hell. This merit is superior to those of Dengyō in Japan, T’ien-t’ai in China, Nāgārjuna in India or Kāśyapa who was the Buddha’s disciple. Practice for a hundred years in the Pure Land is not worth the merit of chanting the daimoku for one day in this defiled world. Propagation of the daimoku in a two-thousand year period following the death of the Buddha is not worth as much as spreading the daimoku for even a short while in the Latter Age of Degeneration. This is not from my wisdom; it is solely due to the time in which I live.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Essay on Gratitude (Hōon-jō). In other writings, he explained that the superiority of the Lotus Sūtra is not in its power to change the world, but its power to lead all beings, without exception, to the same enlightenment the Buddha found. In this sūtra, the Buddha gives us a different idea of time, the world and our lives. All of these are truly boundless, and the Buddha is always here teaching us.

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 learned that anyone who practices the Lotus Sūtra performs Universal-Sage practices, we hear Śākyamuni Buddha praise Universal-Sage Bodhisattva.

Thereupon Śākyamuni Buddha praised him, saying:

“Excellent, excellent, Universal-Sage! You will protect this sūtra so that many living beings may obtain peace and benefits. You have already obtained inconceivable merits and great compassion. You aspired for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi and vowed [to protect this sūtra] by your supernatural powers in the remotest past, and have been protecting this sūtra since then. By my supernatural powers, I will protect anyone who keeps your name.

“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!’ He should be considered to be caressed by me on the head. He should be considered to be covered with my robe. He will not be attached to worldly pleasures. He will not like to read heretical scriptures or any other writings of heretics. He will not be intimate with heretics, slaughterers, boar-breeders, sheep-breeders, fowl-breeders, dog­breeders, hunters, prostitutes, or any other evil people. He will be upright. He will have correct memory and the powers of merits and virtues. He will not be troubled by the three poisons. He will not be troubled by jealousy, arrogance from selfishness, arrogance from self-assumed attainment of enlightenment, or arrogance from self-assumed acquisition of virtues. He will want little, know contentment, and practice just as you do.

“Universal-Sage! If you see anyone who keeps, reads and recites the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in the later five hundred years after my extinction, you should think, ‘Before long be will go to the place of enlightenment, defeat Mara and his followers, attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, turn the wheel of the Dharma, beat the drum of the Dharma, blow the conch-shell horn of the Dharma, send the rain of the Dharma, and sit on the lion-like seat of the Dharma in the midst of the great multitude of gods and men.’

This chapter’s importance is underscored by Nichiren’s discussion of “good friends” in his Treatise on Protecting the Nation.

QUESTIONS: Commonly speaking, “good friend” refers to a person. Do you have any evidence for saying the dharma is a “good friend?”

ANSWER: Usually “good friends” are persons. However, true “good friends” do not exist in the Latter Age; so, there is much evidence of regarding dharmas as “good friends.” For instance it is stated in the Great Concentration and Insight, fascicle 1, “Following either ‘good friends’ or sūtras, we will be able to listen to Buddhahood of the One Vehicle truth (Lotus Sūtra) as preached above.” This passage regards sūtras as “good friends.”

It is stated in the Lotus Sūtra, chapter 28 on the “Encouragement of the Universal Sage Bodhisattva, if there is anyone who can practice and uphold the Lotus Sūtra in this world, he had better think that it is all due to the divine help of the Universal Sage Bodhisattva.” It means that it is with the help of the “good friend,” Universal Sage Bodhisattva, that the ignorant in the Latter Age can have faith in the Lotus Sūtra.

The sūtra in the same chapter claims also, “Anyone who keeps faith in, recites, memorizes correctly, practices and copies this Lotus Sūtra should know that he is like those who see Śākyamuni Buddha in person and listen to Him preach this sūtra. You should know that he is making offerings to Śākyamuni Buddha.” According to this passage, the Lotus Sūtra is identical to Śākyamuni Buddha, who would enter Nirvana and never appear in front of those who do not believe in the Lotus Sūtra but would always appear in front of those who believe in the Lotus Sūtra as if he were alive in this world even after death.

Shugo Kokka-ron, Treatise on Protecting the Nation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Pages 58-59

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What We Do Does Matter

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The Buddhist view is that what we do does matter. We are not fixed unchanging blocks. We are beings whose existence is a flow of causes and conditions connected to the causal flow of all other beings and the world we live in. When we make causes, the effects of those causes change our lives and the lives of everyone else for better or for worse. We are free to perpetuate the same old unwholesome patterns or to create new wholesome ones and these patterns of causes and their effects change the quality of the flow of life. Recognizing this, the Buddha taught that by making good causes it is possible to awaken to the dynamic interdependent nature of life and thereby let go of a narrow selfish view and instead live a life of selfless compassion that brings an end to suffering and is the basis of true happiness.

Open Your Eyes, p105
WONS

A Blue Agate Kalpa

Speaking of a kalpa, suppose there is a huge blue agate, an 80,000 ri cube, which does not erode even if it were filed for aeons. Suppose an angel descends once in three years to caress it with her extremely beautiful and light robe. The length of time required for the angel to wear out the blue agate is referred to as a kalpa.

Matsuno-dono Goshōsoku, Letter to Lord Matsuno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 66

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – April 19, 2020

I see the [perverted] people sinking
In an ocean of suffering.
Therefore, I disappear from their eyes
And cause them to admire me.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. With the story of the wise physician in this chapter, the Buddha explains how he disappears from our view even though he is always present to us. The children in the story would not accept the remedy their father prepared for them to counteract the poison they had taken. Some of them hoped for another remedy, some believed the remedy would be worse than the poison. It was not until the father left and told them he would not return that the children realized the value of what they already had. When we take the Buddha for granted, as the children in the story took their father for granted, and ignore the path he has laid out for us, we lose sight of the Buddha. It is only when we realize we are lost that we look for a guide. When we bring the Buddha’s teachings to life, we find him everywhere.

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 heard 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, we witness the wonders displayed by the sons and the father’s reaction.

“Thereupon the two sons went up to the sky seven times as high as the tala-tree, and displayed various wonders because they were thinking of their father. They walked, stood, sat, and reclined in the sky. Then they issued water from the upper parts of their bodies, and fire from the lower parts. Then they issued water from the lower parts of their bodies, and fire from the upper parts. Then they became giants large enough to fill the sky, became dwarfs, and became giant again. Then they disappeared from the sky and suddenly appeared on the earth. Then they dived into the earth just as into water, and stepped on the surface of water just as on the earth. [Then they went up to the sky and stayed there.] By displaying these various wonders, they purified the mind of their father, that is, of the king, and caused him to understand the Dharma by faith.

“Seeing [these wonders displayed by] the supernatural powers of his sons, the father had the greatest joy that he had ever had. He joined his hands together towards his sons [staying in the sky], and said, ‘Who is your teacher? Whose disciples are you?’

“The two sons said, ‘Great King! Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha, who is now sitting on the seat of the Dharma under the Bodhi-tree of the seven treasures, is expounding the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to all the gods and men of the world. He is our teacher. We are his disciples.

“The father said to them, ‘I also wish to see your teacher. I will go with you.’

See Living Evidence Is Necessary to Lead Others

LS32, d31b, Buddhism For Today

Living Evidence Is Necessary to Lead Others

The quickest and simplest way to lead others to the Buddha’s teachings is to justify the teachings by our own practice of them. Our first consideration is to show others living evidence: “I have changed in this way since believing in the Buddha’s teachings and practicing them.” There is no more powerful and direct a way of leading others. However, we cannot show such living evidence to those whom we seldom see during the limited time we have together unless we have decisive evidence, such as recovery from disease or a favorable change in our circumstances. On the other hand, members of a family living together can sense clearly even little changes in one’s everyday actions and attitudes. If sons or daughters change through believing in the Buddha’s teachings, their parents will notice a great change in their speech, their attitude toward their parents, brothers, and sisters, and their attitude those outside the family. Such evidence will certainly influence each member of the family.

Conversely, in leading members of one’s family to the teachings, however repeatedly we explain to them their content and however much our explanation may satisfy them intellectually, it will not lead to any practical result unless we change our attitudes in our daily lives. We can spout fine words to outsiders, but we betray our true selves in the family. When a member of our family sees us acting contrary to what we say, he stops listening to our words and criticizes us: “The teaching may be good, but I can’t possibly believe it so long as you as a believer act like that.”

Buddhism for Today, p401
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The Process and Changes Along With That Process

In his answer to Kāśyapa, the Buddha states that he teaches the “Dharma by the middle,” in other words the Middle Way, and then proceeds to expound the twelve-fold chain of dependent origination… . Dependent origination puts forth the view that one cannot abstract an unchanging person or even discontinuous persons from the process of cause and effect. The person is the process and changes along with it. There is no unchanging entity that suffers the effects of its own deeds, nor is there a disconnection between the one who acts and the one who experiences the result. In fact, there is no entity except in a provisional sense; there is simply the process wherein one thing leads to another. This is the Middle Way because it shows that there is change, as opposed to eternalism; and that within that change there is continuity, as opposed to annihilationism.

Open Your Eyes, p104