In the Kaimoku-shō, Nichiren states that the twenty stanzas of verses from chapter thirteen, “Encouragement for Keeping this Sūtra,” of the Lotus Sūtra was being fulfilled by the actions of some of his contemporaries. In those verses, a host of bodhisattvas describe the persecutions and difficulties the practitioners of the sūtra will face in the evil world after the passing of the Buddha. The Tiantai patriarch Zhanran Miaole (711-782) interpreted these verses as referring to three kinds of enemies who would appear in the Latter Age of the Dharma. The three are: (1) the ignorant laity who are deceived by the false and hypocritical monks and elders and will abuse the true monks, (2) the false monks who are deceitful and claim to be enlightened when in fact they are not, and (3) the respected elder monks who are revered as arhats but who in fact are simply better at hiding their ulterior motives of greed and contempt. Nichiren equated these three formidable enemies with those people in Japan who were trying to suppress the teaching and practice of the Lotus Sūtra.
Open Your Eyes, p501Monthly Archives: June 2020
Explaining the Term ‘Inherent evil’
It is stated in the first fascicle of the Annotations on the Great Concentration and Insight, “It is impossible to interpret the teaching in the verses of the Flower Garland Sūtra without knowing all the Perfect Teachings of the T’ien-t’ai School.” It preaches also in the fifth fascicle “Without understanding the Lotus Sūtra, how can we interpret the sentence of the Flower Garland Sūtra that there is no difference among the mind, the Buddha, and people since mind creates everything in the world like a skillful painter.” The seventh fascicle of the Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra states that the term “inherent evil” had never been heard anywhere except in the T’ien-t’ai School. According to these statements it is impossible to understand the meaning of the verses of the Flower Garland Sūtra without mastering the teaching of Grand Master T’ien-t’ai. Then it follows that among Chinese teachers no one but Grand Master T’ien-t’ai explained the term of “inherent evil” and it is impossible to discuss the teaching of “Three Thousand Existences Contained in One Thought” without the Lotus Sūtra.
Nijō Sabutsu Ji, Obtaining Buddhahood by the Two Vehicles, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 231-232
Daily Dharma – June 13, 2020
These ten rākṣasīs [and their attendants] came to the Buddha, together with Mother-Of-Devils and her children and attendants. They said to the Buddha simultaneously: “World-Honored One! We also will protect the person who reads, recites and keeps the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma so that he may have no trouble. No one shall take advantage of the weak points of this teacher of the Dharma.”
These fierce demons make this promise to the Buddha in Chapter Twenty-Six of the Lotus Sūtra. Mother-of-Devils, also known as Kishimojin, was once a demon who stole and ate human children, until the Buddha reminded her that humans loved their children in the same way she loved her own. The Buddha does not judge or condemn any being. Instead he uses his insight to transform our understanding to see the harm we create in the world through satisfying our selfish desires. When we work for the benefit of all beings, we find all beings working for our benefit also.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 18
Day 18 concludes Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra, and begins Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.
Having last month completed the gāthās detailing the first set of things that the Bodhisattva should do, we consider what Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who wishes to expound this sūtra in the age of the decline of the teachings should do.
“Second, Mañjuśrī! A Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who wishes to expound this sūtra in the age of the decline of the teachings after my extinction should perform the following peaceful practices. When he expounds or reads this sūtra, he should not point out the faults of other persons or sūtras. He should not despise other teachers of the Dharma. He should not speak of the good points or bad points or the merits or demerits of others. He should not mention Śrāvakas by name when he blames them. Nor should he do so when he praises them. He should not have hostile feelings against them or dislike them. He should have this peace of mind so that he may not act against the wishes of the hearers. When he is asked questions, he should not answer by the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle, but expound the Dharma only by the teachings of the Great Vehicle so that the questioners may be able to obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things.”
Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
The Bodhisattva should wish
To make all living beings peaceful,
And then expound the Dharma to them.
He should make a seat in a pure place,
Apply ointment to his skin,
Wash dirt and dust off himself,
Wear a new and undefiled robe,
Clean himself within and without,
Sit on the seat of the Dharma peacefully,
And then expound the Dharma in answer to questions.He should expound with a smile
The wonderful meaning of the Dharma
To bhikṣus and bhikṣunīs,
To upāsakās and upāsikās,
To kings and princes,
To government officials,
And to common people.
When he is asked questions,
He should answer
According to the meaning of the Dharma.He should expound the Dharma to them
With stories of previous lives, parables and similes.
With these expedients he should cause them
To aspire for enlightenment,
To promote their understanding step by step,
And finally to enter into the Way to Buddhahood.He should give up indolence,
Negligence, grief and sorrow.
He should expound the Dharma to them
Out of his compassion towards them.He should expound to them
The teaching of unsurpassed enlightenment
With stories of previous lives
And with innumerable parables and similes
Day and night,
And cause them to rejoice.He should not wish to receive
Garments or bedding,
Food and drink, or medicine
From them.He should expound the Dharma to them,
Wishing only two things:
To attain the enlightenment of the Buddha
And also to cause them to do the same.
This is a peaceful offering to them.
This offering will bring them a great benefit.A Bhikṣu who expounds this Sūtra
Of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
With patience
After my extinction,
Will be emancipated
From jealousy, anger, and other illusions,
That is to say, from all obstacles.
He will have no sorrow.
He will not be spoken ill of.
He will not be in fear.
He will not be threatened with swords or sticks,
Or driven out [of his monastery].A man of wisdom
Who controls his mind
As previously stated
Will be peaceful.His merits will be innumerable.
You would not be able to tell the number of them
By any parable or simile even if you tried to do so
For thousands of billions of kalpas.
The Daily Dharma from June 4, 2020, offers this:
When he expounds or reads this sūtra, he should not point out the faults of other persons or sūtras. He should not despise other teachers of the Dharma. He should not speak of the good points or bad points or the merits or demerits of others. He should not mention Śrāvakas by name when he blames them. Nor should he do so when he praises them. He should not have hostile feelings against them or dislike them. He should have this peace of mind so that he may not act against the wishes of the hearers. When he is asked questions, he should not answer by the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle, but expound the Dharma only by the teachings of the Great Vehicle so that the questioners may be able to obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things.
The Buddha gives this explanation to Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra in which he describes the peaceful practices of a Bodhisattva. For us who aspire to be Bodhisattvas in this world of conflict, this passage reminds us not to create more conflict in our efforts to benefit others. Rather we should work to remind them of their good qualities and demonstrate the respect we want to receive.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Saints and Buddhism
Recently I picked up a copy of Buddhist Saints in India, A Study in Buddhist Values & Orientations. I had run across a footnote referencing Reginald A. Ray’s theory that Devadatta, rather than being evil was instead just a rival teacher who needed to be sidelined. Eventually I plan to explore this rival teacher theory as a possible reason why Devadatta is treated so nicely in the Lotus Sutra. For now, however, I want to discuss the conclusion from Ray’s preface:
Buddhist Saints in India, pviiiWe in the West – perhaps I should say in the modern, increasingly secularized world as a whole – live with what is, when taken in the context of world religions, a remarkably devalued idea of human nature. We seem no longer to believe that human nature is perfectible or that genuine saints are possible. Such a view has, obviously, profound impacts on the way people think about and engage in (or do not engage in) the spiritual life. In my view, prevailing interpretations of Buddhism which, as we shall see, reduce the saints to peripheral actors in the tradition represents another, if perhaps more sophisticated, expression of this same modern devaluation. Buddhism may be seen essentially as an ethical system, an elegant philosophy, a practical psychology, a technique for dealing with mental distress, a cultural tradition, or a force of civilization. Rarely, however, is it seen primarily as a tradition that produces and celebrates genuine saints. Yet, at least in my reading, this is finally what Buddhism essentially is, and as long as this fact is not recognized, the specific genius of Buddhism is missed, a genius with the potential to provide a healthy challenge to our increasingly scientific, materialistic, and consumeristic view of human nature.
Nichiren is often referred to as a saint, and justifiably so. But I believe that each of us who practice Nichiren Buddhism, who chant Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, are seeking the perfection of human nature, both ours and all sentient beings. Our Bodhisattva path leads the perfection of human nature. For me sainthood is what this practice is all about.
An Inspired Teaching
The Mahāyāna response … to the question as to when a teaching can be considered to have been taught by the Buddha is that it does not matter whether or not it was taught by the historical Buddha, but whether it conforms to the truth, to those teachings we know the historical Buddha did teach, to the renunciation of defilement, and to revealing the praiseworthy qualities of nirvāṇa, the unconditioned. Of course, this criteria comes down to the subjective judgment of those who are evaluating a given teaching, but this is certainly in line with the Buddha’s advice to the Kālāmas when he told them that they should not depend upon external authorities, traditions, or even their own speculations, but rather to depend upon what they come to know for themselves directly is wholesome and praiseworthy and to be put into practice. Mahāyānists may consider the Śākyamuni Buddha who speaks in the Mahāyāna sūtras as the personification of a wisdom tradition whose initial inspiration is found, but not limited to, the life and teachings of the historical Gautama Buddha.
In the case of Nichiren and those who follow him, there is certainly the conviction that the Lotus Sūtra is an inspired teaching, and furthermore that it expresses the ultimate intent of the Buddhist tradition as a whole — the buddhahood or perfect and complete awakening of all people without exception. To bring this point home, Nichiren adds to the three proclamations two additional proclamations from chapter twelve of the Lotus Sūtra: the prediction of buddhahood given to Devadatta and the transformation of the dragon king’s daughter into a buddha. Based on these two exhortations or additional proclamations, Nichiren asserts that the Lotus Sūtra guarantees that all men and women can attain buddhahood. This universal guarantee of buddhahood is where Nichiren, basing himself on the Lotus Sūtra, believes that all the teachings of all the other sūtras, Mahāyāna and pre-Mahāyāna, are leading. It is, therefore, up to us to accept this with trust and joy, put it into practice, and find out for outselves.
Open Your Eyes, p498-499Not Only the Śrāvaka But Also Śākyamuni Buddha Is Within Us
[I]t is stated in the Lotus Sūtra (chapter four, “Understanding by Faith”) that four great Śrāvakas such as Kāśyapa rejoiced in their understanding of the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra enabling śrāvakas to attain Buddhahood, and reported to the Buddha that they had been given invaluable jewels without asking for them. This represents the attainment of Buddhahood by the śrāvaka realm contained in our minds.
Not only the śrāvaka but also Śākyamuni Buddha is within us. For, we encounter such a statement like this in the second chapter of the Lotus Sūtra: “It was My (Śākyamuni’s) original vow to let all beings become like Myself. My vow has now been fulfilled. I have helped them all enter the way of the Buddha.” Does this not mean, that Śākyamuni Buddha, who has attained Perfect Enlightenment, is our flesh and blood, and all the merits He has accumulated before and after attaining Buddhahood are our bones?
Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Verable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 146
Daily Dharma – June 12, 2020
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].
Universal-Sage (Fugen, Samantabhadra) Bodhisattva makes this declaration to the Buddha in Chapter Twenty-Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. In our mundane practice of the Wonderful Dharma, it is easy to overlook our place in the world and the benefits we bring to all beings. The magnificent character of Universal-Sage reminds us that despite our feelings of insignificance, we are the result of countless lives of practice and equal in our merits to this great Bodhisattva.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 17
Day 17 covers all of Chapter 12, Devadatta, and opens Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra.
Having last month heard the Buddha’s prediction for his aunt, Maha-Prajapati Bhikṣunī, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra.Thereupon Yaśodharā Bhikṣunī, the mother of Rāhula, thought, “I am not among the persons whom the World-Honored One mentioned by name and assured of their future attainment of [Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi].”
The Buddha said to Yaśodharā:
“You will perform the Bodhisattva practices under hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas in the future. You will become a great teacher of the Dharma under those Buddhas. You will walk the Way to Buddhahood step by step, and finally become a Buddha in a good world. The name of that Buddha will be Emitting-Ten-Million-Rays-Of-Light, the Tathāgata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. The duration of the life of that Buddha will be many asaṃkhyas of kalpas.”
Thereupon Mahā-Prajāpatī Bhikṣunī, Yaśodharā Bhikṣunī, and their attendants had the greatest joy that they had ever had. They sang in a gāthā before the Buddha:
You, the World-Honored One, are our leader.
You give peace to gods and men.
Hearing that you assured us of our future Buddhahood,
We are relieved and satisfied.Having sung this gāthā, the bhikṣunīs said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One! We also will expound this sūtra in other worlds.”
Mahā-Prajāpatī, Yaśodharā and Universal Salvation
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p171-172[A] central point of the story of Mahaprajapati and Yashodhara is related to the main doctrinal theme of the whole Sutra – universal salvation or the potential of all living beings to become a buddha. If, as many scholars believe, Chapter 12 with its story of the dragon princess was added to the Dharma Flower Sutra relatively late, this chapter would have been needed to make it quite clear that becoming a bodhisattva and eventually achieving full awakening is not something limited to men.
Not only Mahaprajapati and Yashodhara but Mahaprajapati’s six thousand nun followers as well, who are to become great Dharma teachers, gradually fulfilling the bodhisattva way, are assured of reaching supreme awakening as buddhas. In contrast with the story of the dragon princess, there is no mention of these nuns having to become male. Clearly, as Dharma teachers and bodhisattvas at least, they are female.