Prayer of Repentance and Purification

Shoda Kanai, Nichiren Buddhist Kannon Temple of Nevada, Las Vegas
Shoda Kanai performs Kaji Kito ceremony online from Nichiren Buddhist Kannon Temple of Nevada in Las Vegas

Very much enjoyed attending Rev. Shoda Kanai’s online Kaji Kito ceremony today. During this period of sheltering in place, I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to experience the Nichiren Buddhist Kannon Temple of Nevada in Las Vegas services.

Kaji Kito services are monthly events at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church and so I’m familiar with the ritual. Unlike Sacramento’s service, Rev. Shoda Kanai’s ceremony includes recitation by the congregation of a Prayer of Repentance. One of the values of such a prayer is its illustration of what is considered good and bad behavior. What should I be mindful of?

Prayer of Repentence

Repentance is the mysterious medicine which cures illness and the Secret Dharma to change one’s fate.

If we wish to cure terrible disease or transform evil karma, then we should repent our sins.

The law of cause and effect is strictly impartial and impossible to escape. Since even minute transgressions bring about dreadful effects, the great sins of being unfilial, unjust, unfair, unfaithful, unethical, turning one’s back on virtue and forgetting the debts of gratitude that we owe others who have shown us favor, will bring about even worse retribution. The accumulation of these sins becomes the cause for severe disease inviting misfortune and disaster.

Reflecting deeply upon this, I realize that I have perpetuated this behavior since the infinite past. I have become drunk with the wine of illusion which has consequently created unlimited and profoundly evil karma within my life.

For example:
I may have been a child who despised my parents,
A disciple who disgraced his master,
A subject who defied the sovereign,
A husband who oppressed his wife,
A wife who conquered her husband,
A mother-in-law who despised her daughter-in-law,
A daughter-in-law who opposed her mother-in-law,
Or a sibling who erected a wall of disharmony toward another.

I may have shown spite for those who treated me favorably, schemed to take advantage of another’s misfortune, broke a promise, spoke ill of others, lied, spoke recklessly or deceitfully,
Or acted immorally, behaved violently, killed, or stole.
Or my feelings were so strong that I refused to get along or compromise with others,
With feelings so cold that I could not love another,
Or so profoundly vindictive that I bore grudges against others.
Or I may have been unjust and caused others to suffer,
With desires so strong that I had uncontrollable attachment to things.

And I may have committed other various sins, offenses and transgressions which when accumulated, resulted in the manifestation of evil karma. This karma then became the very substance of my bones and flesh which beckoned miserable consequences. Not only did these evil actions give birth to terrible karma, but they set the stage for further commitment of other sins during this lifetime.

This phenomena is just like the person who wears black clothes and refuses to acknowledge the filthy grime around their own collar, or the person who wears white and is dreadfully terrified of even the slightest speck of dirt or impurity.

I must feel, however, profound joy for the one piece of great fortune that I possess. I have been able to encounter the Wonderful Dharma of Myoho-Renge-Kyo which is extremely difficult to encounter.

As I now kneel before the Eternal Buddha, sacred Lord of the Dharma Realm, I am grateful to have been endowed with the heart that is able to deeply repent in order to expiate my sins.

The Sutra states that the vast sea of evil karma is created from illusion to the truth. If I embrace the desire to repent my sins and sit erect in observance of the true aspects of life, I will see that the offenses of mankind are just as frost and dew which dissipate in the warm rays of the sun.

I sincerely repent my offenses, heartily praying that the ray of Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo that I chant and embrace, will shine its sacred light on the true aspects of my life.

I further pray that my evil karma which I myself have created since the infinite past be expiated, that I may quickly be saved from the suffering of illness, that my fixed evil karma be transformed and that I am granted the great benefit of peaceful existence throughout this lifetime.

This I sincerely pray, mindful of all that has been mentioned.

Now we agree to disagree on some of these. “A wife who conquered her husband?” If I raised this topic at home I’d get plenty of argument from my wife. And, of course, there are times, like the present, when it is every citizens’ duty to “defy the sovereign” and recognize institutionalized wrongs. Silence is complicity.

Keeping those anachronisms in mind, I’m going to include this prayer with my recitation of The Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva, which follows Day 32 in my 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra practice. Perhaps I’ll also include another Las Vegas innovation, the Reidan Daimoku Hand Gestures. I’m still unable to complete a full cycle without missteps.

Four Reliances

How can Nichiren insist that the Lotus Sūtra is the only sole sūtra that is difficult to receive and keep, read, recite, expound, and copy in the Latter Age after the Buddha’s passing?

In order to evaluate these claims, Nichiren refers to the first and last of the “four reliances” taught by the Buddha in the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra as a guide for discerning the meaning of Buddhist teachings. The four reliances are to: “Rely on the Dharma and not upon persons; rely on the meaning and not upon the words; rely on wisdom and not upon discriminative thinking; rely on sūtras that are final and definitive and not upon those which are not final and definitive.” (see Yamamoto, p. 153)

Nichiren takes the four reliances to mean that one should not trust the word of even great bodhisattvas like Samantabhadra or Mañjuśrī unless they are preaching with the sūtras in hand. Nichiren cites Nāgārjuna (late second to early third century), Zhiyi (538-597), Saichō (767-822; also known as Dengyō), and even Enchin (814-891; aka Chishō) who all state that one should only follow commentaries that accord with what is taught in the sūtras and furthermore that one should not believe in oral transmissions. All of these teachers are considered to be patriarchs of the Tiantai/Tendai school and therefore Nichiren is showing that the interpretations of the Tiantai school can be relied upon because they follow the principles of the four reliances. Nichiren’s contention is that the other schools of Buddhism were straying from these principles, because of sectarian pride in their own particular doctrines and methods. Though it might seem ironic to those who believe that Nichiren was himself a sectarian polemicist, he wrote, “Surely, those who aspire to enlightenment should not be biased, stay away from sectarian quarrels, and not despise other people.” (Hori 2002, p. 85) Nichiren did not see himself as trying to promote his own narrow view, or even the particular views of the Tiantai school. Rather, Nichiren was trying to find in the sūtras themselves the criteria for judging the relative merits of various Buddhist teachings. He believed that he had found such a criteria in the four reliances and in the statements of the Lotus Sūtra regarding its own supremacy. Nichiren’s conviction was that in China only the Tiantai school had upheld what the sūtras actually teach, and that in Japan, only Saichō and himself had properly passed on this teaching without distorting or compromising it.

Open Your Eyes, p490-491

Receiving Śākyamuni Buddha’s Merit of Practicing

I fear that I may debase these passages if I try to interpret them, but I dare do so in order to answer your question. The gist of these passages is that Śākyamuni Buddha’s merit of practicing the bodhisattva way leading to Buddhahood, as well as that of preaching and saving all living beings since His attainment of Buddhahood are altogether contained in the five words of myō, hō, ren, ge, and kyō and that consequently, when we uphold the five words, the merits which He accumulated before and after His attainment of Buddhahood are naturally transferred to us.

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 7, 2020

These men and women are great Bodhisattvas. They should be considered to have appeared in this world by their vow to expound the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma out of their compassion towards all living beings, although they already attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi [in their previous existence].

The Buddha declares these lines to Medicine-King Bodhisattva at the beginning of Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. In the teachings of Nirvāṇa, the goal is to remove suffering so that we can be reborn in a peaceful realm. In this Sūtra, the Buddha reminds us that we who keep this Sūtra have given up the privilege of higher realms so that we can benefit beings where we find ourselves now. We do not fear rebirth in lower realms since our compassion takes us even there so we can benefit beings in those realms.

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

Day 12

Day 12 concludes Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City, and completes the Third Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Having last month considered the request of the sixteen princes, we hear the Buddha expound the Great Vehicle called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.’

“Seeing the sixteen princes having renounced the world, eight billion followers of the wheel-turning-holy-king begged the king to allow them to do the same. He conceded to them immediately.

“The Buddha assented to the appeal of the śramaṇeras, but it was twenty thousand kalpas afterwards that he expounded to the four kinds of devotees the sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’

“When the Buddha completed the expounding of this sūtra, the sixteen śramaṇeras kept, recited and understood this sūtra in order to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. The sixteen śramaṇeras, [ who were] Bodhisattvas, received this sūtra by faith. Some Śrāvakas understood it by faith, but the other Śrāvakas and other living beings, thousands of billions in number, doubted it.

“It took the Buddha eight thousand kalpas to complete the expounding of this sūtra. During that time he did not take a rest. Having completed the expounding of this sūtra, the Buddha entered a quiet room and practiced dhyāna-concentration for eighty-four thousand kalpas. Seeing him practicing dhyāna-concentration quietly in the room, the sixteen Bodhisattva­-sramaneras each sat on a seat of the Dharma, expounded the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to the four kinds of devotees for eighty-four thousand kalpas, and saved six hundred billion nayutas of living beings, that is, as many living beings as there are sands in the River Ganges. They showed them the Way, taught them, benefited them, caused them to rejoice and to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

“Having practised dhyāna-concentration for eighty-four thousand kalpas, the Buddha emerged from his samadhi, came back to his seat of the Dharma, sat quietly, and said to the great multitude, ‘These sixteen Bodhisattva-śramaṇeras are rare. Their sense organs are keen; and their wisdom, bright. In their previous existence, they already made offerings to many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas, performed brahma practices under those Buddhas, kept the wisdom of those Buddhas, showed it to the living beings [of the worlds of those Buddhas], and caused them to enter into it. All of you! Approach these [Bodhisattva­-sramaneras] from time to time and make offerings to them! Why is that? It is because anyone, be he a Śrāvaka or a Pratyekabuddha or a Bodhisattva, who believes this sūtra expounded by these sixteen Bodhisattvas, keeps it, and does not slander it, will be able to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, that is, the wisdom of the Tathāgata.’”

See Even a Buddha Needs Help

Even a Buddha Needs Help

Toward the end of the story [of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata], the Buddha … enters deeply into meditation. Seeing this, the sixteen princes realize that the Buddha is no longer available and that someone else has to do the Buddha’s work, especially his work of teaching the Dharma so that all will be helped to become buddhas. And so these princes do the Buddha’s work, filling in for him as it were, and enabling countless living beings to enter the bodhisattva path in order to move closer to becoming a buddha. In other words, even a buddha needs help – especially the help of bodhisattvas.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p89

Five Proclamations

In considering whether or not to give public witness to the Lotus Sūtra, even though he knew he might face persecution, Nichiren found encouragement and confirmation of his chosen course of action in the simile of the “six difficult and nine easier actions” given by the Buddha in chapter eleven of the Lotus Sūtra.

Vacillating between whether I should speak out or whether I should not if I were to back down in the face of royal persecutions, I hit upon the ‘six difficult and nine easier actions’ mentioned in the eleventh chapter, “Appearance of the Stūpa of Treasures,” in the Lotus Sūtra. It says that even a man as powerless as I can throw Mr. Sumeru, even a man with as little superhuman power as I can carry a stack of hay on his back and survive the disastrous conflagration at the end of the world, and even a man as ignorant as I can memorize various sūtras as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River. Even more so, it is not easy to uphold even a word or phrase of the Lotus Sūtra in the Latter Age of Degeneration. This must be it! I have made a vow that this time I will have an unbending aspiration to buddhahood and never fall back! (Hori 2002, p. 53 adapted)

The passage that Nichiren is referring to can be found in the verses of chapter eleven. Further on in Kaimoku-shō, Nichiren cites what he calls the “five proclamations” of the Buddha in chapters eleven and twelve, of which the “six difficult and nine easy actions” are a part of the third proclamation. The five proclamations refer to the “three proclamations” of chapter eleven and two exhortations of buddhahood in chapter twelve — the prediction of buddhahood for Devadatta and the attainment of buddhahood by the dragon king’s daughter. The three proclamations are the three times in chapter eleven in which the Buddha exhorts those gathered to receive and keep, protect, read, and recite the Lotus Sūtra in the world after the passing of the Buddha.

Open Your Eyes, p487-488

A Lantern in Darkness, a Ship in the Sea, and Guardian in Dangerous Places

When I was exiled to Sado as a prisoner of the Kamakura shogunate, I hardly had any visitors. However, you proved to be an exceptional woman by not only sending many offerings but also personally visiting me over there. I thought that I was dreaming or seeing an illusion when you appeared; and this time you visited me here. I have no words to express my gratitude. I am certain that the gods will protect you and the ten female rākṣasa demons will have compassion on you. The Buddha promised that the Lotus Sūtra would serve woman as a lantern in the darkness, a ship in the sea, and a guardian in dangerous places.

Oto Gozen Go-shōsoku, A Letter to Lady Oto, Nyonin Gosho, Letters Addressed to Female Followers, Page 118-120

Daily Dharma – June 6, 2020

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

The Buddha sings these verses to Superior-Practice Bodhisattva (Jōgyo, Viśiṣṭacārītra) in Chapter Twenty-One of the Lotus Sūtra. Superior-Practice is the leader of the Bodhisattvas who came up from underground in Chapter Fifteen when the Buddha asked who would continue to keep and practice this sūtra after his physical extinction in this world. Nichiren saw himself as the embodiment of Superior-Practice, and all of us who are determined to lead all beings to enlightenment through this Wonderful Dharma as embodiments of the Bodhisattvas who came up from underground. The powers of the Buddhas only seem supernatural to those who are mired in delusion and ignorance. They are nothing more than turning the poison of anger into the medicine of energy; the poison of isolation into the medicine of compassion; the poison of attachment into the medicine of wisdom.

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

Day 11

Day 11 continues Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City

Having last month witnessed what occurred When Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, we consider the reaction of the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the southeast.

“Bhikṣus! The great Brahman-[heavenly-]kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the southeast, who saw their palaces illumined more brightly than ever, danced with joy. They also wondered why [their palaces were so illumined]. They visited each other and discussed the reason. There was a great Brahman-heavenly-king called Great-Compassion among them. He said to the other Brahmans in gāthās:

Why is it
That we see this light?
Our palaces are illumined
More brightly than ever.

Did a god of great virtue or a Buddha
Appear somewhere in the universe?
We have never seen this [light] before.
Let us do our best to find [the reason].

Let us go even to the end of one thousand billion worlds,
And find the place from where this light has come.
A Buddha may have appeared somewhere in the universe
In order to save the suffering beings.

“Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion [ worlds] went to the northwest, carrying flower-plates filled with heavenly flowers, in order to find [the place from where the light had come]. Their palaces also moved as they went. They [reached the Well-Composed World and] saw that Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata was sitting on the lion-like seat under the Bodhi tree of the place of enlightenment, surrounded respectfully by gods, dragon-kings, gandharvas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men, and nonhuman beings. They also saw that the sixteen princes were begging the Buddha to turn the wheel of the Dharma. Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings worshipped the Buddha with their heads, walked around him a hundred thousand times, and strewed heavenly flowers to him. The strewn flowers were heaped up to the height of Mt. Sumeru. The Brahman-heavenly-kings offered flowers also to the Bodhi-tree of the Buddha. Having offered flowers, they offered their palaces to the Buddha, saying, ‘We offer these palaces to you. Receive them and benefit us out of your compassion towards us!’ In the presence of the Buddha, they simultaneously praised him in gāthās with all their hearts:

Saintly Master, God of Gods!
Your voice is as sweet as a kalavinka’s.
You have compassion towards all living beings.
We now bow before you.
You, the World-Honored One, are exceptional.
You appear only once in a very long time.

No Buddha has appeared
For the past one hundred and eighty kalpas.
The three evil regions are crowded;
And the living beings in heaven, decreasing.

Now you have appeared in this world
And become the eye of all living beings.
As their refuge, you are saving them.
As their father, you are benefiting them
Out of your compassion towards them.
We are now able to see you
Because we accumulated merits
In our previous existence.

“Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings, having praised the Buddha with these gāthās, said, ‘World-Honored One! Turn the wheel of the Dharma and save all living beings out of your compassion towards them!’ Then they simultaneously said in gāthās with all their hearts:

Great Saint, turn the wheel of the Dharma
And reveal the reality of all things!
Save the suffering beings
And cause them to have great joy!

If they hear the Dharma, some will attain enlightenment;
Others will be reborn in heaven.
The living beings in the evil regions will decrease;
And those who do good patiently will increase.

“Thereupon Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata gave his tacit consent to their appeal.

See Heavenly Kings, Bodhisattvas and Buddhas