As Nichiren Shonin stated in the Ho-on jo, the first of the Three Great Secret Dharmas is the Gohonzon, or Essential Focus of Devotion, which is the all-encompassing life of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha. In the Lotus Sutra, prior to Chapter 16, Shakyamuni Buddha is no more than a historical buddha whose birth, awakening, and imminent death all occur within the confines of northern India over the course of a normal human lifetime. In Chapter 16, however, Shakyamuni Buddha clearly demonstrates the unity of the Three Bodies: the historical, the ideal, and the universal aspects of Buddhahood. For this reason, the Shakyamuni Buddha of Chapter 16 is differentiated from the historical Shakyamuni Buddha of the prior teachings by adding the title “Eternal.”
Lotus SeedsMonthly Archives: July 2020
Dōgen’s Praise for the Lotus Sūtra
In the Taking Refuge in the Three Treasures (Kie-Sanbō), Dōgen particularly singled out the Lotus Sūtra for praise.
The Lotus Sūtra is the one great purpose of the buddha tathāgatas. Of all the sūtras preached by the Great Teacher Śākyamuni, the Lotus Sūtra is the great king and is the great teacher. Other sūtras and other Dharmas are all the subjects and the retinue of the Lotus Sūtra. What is preached in the Lotus Sūtra is just the truth; what is preached in other sūtras always includes skillful means, which are not the Buddha’s fundamental intention. If we evoked preaching contained in other sūtras in order to compare and appraise the Lotus Sūtra, that would be backwards. Without being covered by the influence of the merit of the Lotus Sūtra, other sūtras could not exist. Other sūtras are all waiting to devote themselves to the Lotus Sūtra. (Nishijima, Gudo and Cross, Chodo, trans. Master Dogen’s Shobogrnzo Books, Book 4, p. 178 modified)
Open Your Eyes, p404At the Start of the Latter Age: Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō
In the … thousand years of the Semblance Age, the teachings of the Buddha in India gradually were brought to China and Japan. Aeons ago, Śākyamuni Buddha, at the assembly of the Lotus Sūtra entrusted such great bodhisattvas of the theoretical teachings as Medicine King Bodhisattva and great bodhisattvas from other lands with propagating the first fourteen chapters (from the first to the fourteenth “Peaceful Practices” chapter), the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sūtra during the Age of the Semblance Dharma. This, however, was preparatory propagation for great bodhisattvas, disciples of the Original and Eternal Buddha, to spring up from underground in the beginning of the Latter Age of Degeneration in order to inspire all the people in the world to chant, “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō,” the gist of the “Life Span of the Buddha” chapter in the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra. The leading masters who propagated the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sūtra, were Nan-yüeh, T’ien-t’ai, and Miao-lê in China and Dengyō in Japan.
We are now at the start of the Latter Age, when disciples of the Original and Eternal Buddha such as Bodhisattva Superior Practice should appear to propagate the Lotus Sūtra as predicted by Śākyamuni Buddha.
Shimoyama Goshōsoku, The Shimoyama Letter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 70
Daily Dharma – July 14, 2020
Ignorant people will speak ill of us,
Abuse us, and threaten us
With swords or sticks.
But we will endure all this.
Medicine-King Bodhisattva and Great-Eloquence Bodhisattva, along with their attendants, declare these verses to the Buddha in Chapter Thirteen of the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddha had asked previously who would teach the Lotus Sūtra after the Buddha’s death. These Bodhisattvas realize the difficulty of teaching and keeping this sūtra. They know that some who come to hear the Buddha Dharma are strongly attached to their anger. These Bodhisattvas vow to look beyond the violence and suffering of these people and promise to lead even them to enlightenment.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 15
Day 15 concludes Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma, and opens Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures.
Having last month repeated in gāthās the lesson of a man on a plateau digging for water, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma.
In this profound sūtra
The teachings for the Śrāvakas are criticized.
Those who hear
That this sūtra is the king of all the sūtras,
And think over this sūtra clearly after hearing it,
Know this, will approach the wisdom of the Buddha.
If you wish to expound this sūtra,
Enter the room of the Tathāgata,
Wear the robe of the Tathāgata,
Sit on the seat of the Tathāgata,
[And after doing these three things,]
Expound it to people without fear!To enter the room of the Tathāgata means to have great compassion.
To wear his robe means to be gentle and patient.
To sit on his seat means to see the voidness of all things.
Expound the Dharma only after you do these [three] things!If anyone speaks ill of you, or threatens you
With swords, sticks, tile-pieces or stones
While you are expounding this sūtra,
Think of me, and be patient!My body is pure and indestructible.
I will appear in any of many thousands of billions of worlds
During many hundreds of millions of kalpas,
And expound the Dharma to the living beings.If a teacher of the Dharma expounds this sūtra
After my extinction,
I will manifest the four kinds of devotees:
Bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, and men and women of pure faith,
And dispatch them to him
So that they may make offerings to him,
And that they may lead many living beings,
Collecting them to hear the Dharma [from him].If he is hated and threatened
With swords, sticks, tile-pieces or stones,
I will manifest men and dispatch them to him
In order to protect him.If an expounder of the Dharma
Reads and recites this sūtra
In a retired and quiet place,
Where no human voice is heard,
I will show my pure and radiant body to him.
If he forgets a sentence or a phrase of this sūtra,
I will tell it to him
For his complete understanding.Anyone who expounds this sūtra to the four kinds of devotees,
Or reads or recites this sūtra in a retired place,
After doing these [three] virtuous things,
Will be able to see me.If he lives in a retired place,
I will dispatch gods, dragon-kings, yakṣas,
Demigods, and others to him,
And have them hear the Dharma [from him].He will expound the Dharma with joy.
He will expound it without hindrance.
He will cause a great multitude to rejoice
Because he is protected by all the Buddhas.Those who come to this teacher of the Dharma
Will be able to complete the Way of Bodhisattvas quickly.
Those who follow him and study will be able to see
As many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges.
A Somewhat Different Bodhisattva
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p126Up to this [Chapter 10] in the Sutra the term bodhisattva has been used in at least two distinctly different ways. On the one hand, it is used as a kind of title or rank for great, well-known, and basically mythical bodhisattvas such as Maitreya and Manjushri. Such great bodhisattvas, often called bodhisattva great ones, are very important in Buddhism, as they can symbolize great virtues such as compassion and wisdom, and serve as ideal models of what we can be.
We have seen in earlier chapters that shravakas, beginning with Shariputra, are actually bodhisattvas – they are on the way to becoming buddhas. But we never find such expressions as “Shariputra Bodhisattva.” A somewhat different use of “bodhisattva” is being made, one in which the term does not represent a rank and status but a kind of relational activity. Accordingly, anyone can be a bodhisattva for someone else. The primary meaning of this is, of course, that we ourselves, the hearers or readers of the Dharma Flower Sutra, can be bodhisattvas and indeed sometimes are.
Zhiyi’s 10 Guidelines for Teaching and Practicing Buddhism
Zhiyi, the Tiantai founder, sets out ten things that Buddhist monks should keep in mind when teaching and practicing Buddhism. Roughly these ten are to:
- Clarify that the principle of the path is the quiescent and inconceivable true nature of reality.
- Establish the structure and framework of the sūtras, particularly in terms of the eight kinds of teachings that include four types according to content and four according to method.
- Reconcile seeming contradictions with the four aims of teaching in order to meet people’s worldly desires, individual strengths, therapeutic needs, or to directly teach the ultimate truth.
- Eliminate wrong views and attitudes.
- Practice in a way that is appropriate to one’s ability and without pride.
- Deeply understand the meaning of the teachings both broadly and deeply.
- Unfold the meaning of the sūtras gradually with attention to context and in coordination with the meanings in other sūtras.
- Gradually settle the interpretation of the sūtras in agreement with what they actually say.
- Make sure to match meanings and connotations when translating sūtras.
- Fully assimilate the meaning of the sūtras through contemplation.
Zhiyi claims to maintain nine of these practices, with the exception of translation of Buddhist texts, and criticizes those monks who only study but do not practice meditative contemplation on the one hand, and on the other hand criticizes those who only meditate but do not study.
Except for translation, in nine out of ten ways I am vastly different from those monks in the world who study only the writings or those Zen monks who are concerned with formality. Some Zen monks concentrate on meditation, but their meditation is either shallow or false. They practice none of the remaining nine except for meditation. This is not idle talk. Wise men in the future who have eyes should consider this seriously. (Hori 2002, p. 100)
Zhiyi is making the point that the true practitioner maintains a balance between the study of the Buddha’s teachings to inform practice and the putting into practice of the teachings through meditation. In this he is not only saying that those who study the sūtras and those who meditate should have mutual respect, as the Venerable Mahācunda advised, but that a true practitioner will engage in both in order to have authentic practice and understanding.
Open Your Eyes, p409-410T’ien-t’ai and Attainment of Buddhahood by Women
Of all the sūtras preached by all Buddhas throughout the lifetime of the Buddha and the Ages of the True Dharma, the Semblance Dharma, and the Latter Age of Degeneration after His passing, women could not attain Buddhahood without the Lotus Sūtra. This has been pointed out by Grand Master T’ien-t’ai of China, who had been guided directly by the Buddha on Mt. Sacred Eagle in India and attained enlightenment. In the seventh fascicle of his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra T’ien-t’ai declares that the other sūtras mention the enlightenment of men only, not of women, while the Lotus Sūtra explains the enlightenment of everyone regardless of sex, whether or not one is evil.
Hokke Daimoku Shō, Treatise on the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 47
Daily Dharma – July 13, 2020
I know the Way. I have opened the Way. I will expound the Way. Gods, men and asuras! Come and hear the Dharma!
The Buddha makes this declaration at the beginning of Chapter Five of the Lotus Sūtra. If anyone besides the Buddha had said this, we would accuse them of arrogance: pretending to know what they do not. The Buddha does not separate himself from us. Because he knows we can become as enlightened as he is, he does not place himself as superior. He also knows that unless we hear him, he cannot help us to become enlightened. To accept this help means taking responsibility for our progress on the path. We cannot continue alone but we must make our own effort.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 14
Day 14 covers all of Chapter 9, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Śrāvakas Who Have Something More to Learn and the Śrāvakas Who Have Nothing More to Learn, and opens Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma.
Having last month repeated in gāthās the benefits of keeping the Lotus Sūtra, we conclude Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma.Whoever for as long as a kalpa,
With evil intent and flushed face,
Speaks ill of me,
Will incur immeasurable retributions.
Whoever for even a moment
Reproaches those who read, recite and keep
The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Will incur even more retributions.Whoever for as long as a kalpa
Joins his hands together towards me
And praises me with innumerable gāthās
In order to attain the enlightenment of the Buddha,
Will obtain innumerable merits
Because he praises me.
Whoever praises the keeper of this sūtra
Will obtain even more merits.For eight thousand million kalpas
Offer to the keeper of this sūtra
The most wonderful things to see,
Hear, smell, taste and touch!If you make these offerings,
And hear [this sūtra] even for a moment,
You will rejoice and say,
“Now I have obtained great benefits.”Medicine-King! I will tell you.
The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Is the most excellent sūtra
That I have ever expounded.
The Daily Dharma from Feb. 7, 2020, offers this:
Medicine-King! I will tell you.
The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Is the most excellent sūtra
That I have ever expounded.
The Buddha sings these verses to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. Our founder Nichiren explained that the superiority of the Lotus Sūtra lay not in its being more powerful than other Sūtras, but that it leads all beings, without exception, to the Buddha’s own enlightenment. Other teachings distinguish between those who can follow the Buddha Dharma and those who cannot. But this teaching assures everyone who hears it that they will become enlightened.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com