Now we come to the conclusion of the Kaimoku-shō. Over the course of this writing Nichiren has reviewed all the reasons why he believes that the Lotus Sūtra alone allows all people to sow the seed of buddhahood and why he believes that it is necessary to refute all those teachings that would cause people to neglect or reject it. He has also addressed the reasons why he and his followers have to face many hardships if they are to uphold the Lotus Sūtra in the Latter Age of the Dharma. Nichiren concludes by reminding the reader that in chapter eleven of the Lotus Sūtra Śākyamuni Buddha, Many Treasures Tathāgata, and the buddhas throughout the universe all came together “for the purpose of making sure that the Lotus Sūtra would spread forever.” (Hori 2002, p. 113) He says of them that “their compassion seems greater than that of parents who see their only child faced with great suffering.” (Ibid, p. 113). Nichiren compares his own efforts to uphold the sūtra and refute those who would negate it to this great parental compassion of the buddhas saying, “l, Nichiren, am like a compassionate parent of everyone in Japan…” (Ibid, p. 114) In a later letter, Nichiren even said of himself that for the people of Japan he was a parent, teacher, and lord because of his efforts as the Buddha’s messenger: “Though I am a fool, I have declared myself to be a messenger of the Buddha and a practitioner of the Lotus Sūtra so that peace and tranquility may be established in Japan. … I am the father and mother of the people in Japan, their lord and their eminent teacher.” (Hori 2010, p. 166) As the Buddha’s messenger, Nichiren felt that he was sharing in the virtues of the Buddha as parent, teacher, and sovereign to those he was trying to correct and lead to the right path. In Kaimoku-shō, we see the thought process that Nichiren went through to come to his conviction that he was doing the right thing for the sake of the people of Japan and ultimately all beings.
Open Your Eyes, p585Monthly Archives: July 2020
Relative and Absolute Subtleties in the Essential Lotus Sūtra
Two views of the relative and absolute subtleties in the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra are not stated in various pre-Lotus sūtras. Neither are they seen in the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra. Both the pre-Lotus sūtras and the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra, somewhat different, seem to suggest that the Two Vehicles eliminate delusions in view and thought, and that bodhisattvas eliminate fundamental ignorance; however, they do not allow for it in the end. From the viewpoint of the “Life Span of the Buddha” chapter in the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra, it should be understood that the Three Vehicles (śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, and bodhisattvas) have not yet eliminated the three delusions (delusions in view and thought, delusions preventing bodhisattvas from saving others, and delusions about the true nature of life).
Nijō Sabutsu Ji, Obtaining Buddhahood by the Two Vehicles, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 235
Daily Dharma – July 12, 2020
Śāriputra! The Tathāgatas divide [the Dharma] into various teachings, and expound those teachings to all living beings so skillfully and with such gentle voices that living beings are delighted.
The Buddha gives this explanation to his disciple Śāriputra in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra. The work towards enlightenment is a shared enterprise. The Buddha cannot make us enlightened, and we cannot become enlightened by ourselves. The Buddha does not bribe, coerce, threaten or manipulate us into reaching the wisdom he knows we can find. Instead he sees deeply into our minds and uses the delusions we already have to lead us away from the suffering we create for ourselves. In our work as Bodhisattvas, we do well to keep the Buddha’s example in mind.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 13
Day 13 covers all of Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples.
Having last month considered the response of the Arhats to the Buddha’s prediction, we repeat in gāthās and conclude today’s portion of Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples.
Thereupon Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya and the others, wishing to repeat what they had said, sang in gāthās:
Your assurance of our future Buddhahood
Gives us unsurpassed peace.
Hearing your voice, we have the greatest joy that we have ever had.
We bow to you, to the Buddha of Immeasurable Wisdom.Now in your presence,
We reproach ourselves for our faults.
The Nirvāṇa we attained was
Only part of the immeasurable treasures of yours.
We were like a foolish man with no wisdom.
We satisfied ourselves with what little we had attained.Suppose a poor man visited
His good friend, who was very rich.
The friend feasted him
With delicacies.He fastened a priceless gem
Inside the garment of the man as a gift to him,
And went out without leaving a word.
The sleeping man did not notice [the gift].The man woke up, and went to another country.
He worked to get food and clothing.
He had much difficulty
In earning his livelihood.He satisfied himself with what little he earned.
He did not wish to get anything more.
He did not notice the priceless gem
Fastened inside his garment.The good friend who gave the gem to the poor man
Happened to see him later.
He blamed him severely,
And showed him the gem fastened [inside the garment].Seeing the gem,
The poor man had great joy.
Now he satisfied his five desires
With many treasures.We are like the poor man.
In the long night you taught us
Out of your compassion towards us,
And caused us to aspire for unsurpassed [enlightenment].Because we had no wisdom, we did not notice that.
The Nirvāṇa we attained was only part [of your wisdom].
Satisfying ourselves with it,
We did not wish to attain anything more.Now you have awakened us, saying:
“What you attained was not true extinction.
When you have the unsurpassed wisdom of the Buddha,
You will attain true extinction.”Hearing from you that we are assured
Of becoming Buddhas one after another,
And that our worlds will be adorned,
We are joyful in body and mind.
The Gift of the Lotus Sutra
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p105In this story [of the jewel in the robe], using the treasure clearly means using it to enjoy life. Life is difficult, but we are much freer, more able to appreciate, more able to cope with whatever difficulties life presents us if we have an appropriate attitude toward life and toward ourselves. Having a good attitude toward life, for the Dharma Flower Sutra, means seeing everything that comes to us as a gift, more especially as an opportunity, as what we call a “learning experience.” Yes, life can be very difficult, but if we approach the troubles and difficulties that come our way as opportunities for learning, we will enjoy life more fully.
In Mahayana Buddhism, the importance of helping others is often stressed. But we should know that even helping others is never merely helping others – it always contributes to our own enjoyment of life as well. The Dharma Flower Sutra encourages us to look for and cultivate the good both in ourselves and in others.
Teaching Buddhism
[W]hen teaching I think it is very important to keep in mind what both Nichiren and the Buddha taught: to only speak of what is true and beneficial, and to speak at the appropriate time – when the listener will be the most receptive to the message or at least when a warning must be given even if it will be rejected. While the truth may be agreeable or disagreeable to the listener, it is important that we make sure we are speaking out of compassion and not arrogance, egoism, or some misguided sectarianism. Really, I think the application of the ways of embracing and subduing come down to our own good sense. In the end, it is about embracing what is wholesome in others and in ourselves whenever we can, but also subduing what is unwholesome in ourselves and others when that is called for. It is about encouraging the cultivation of Buddhism until the fulfillment of its highest aim, but also subduing any complacence or other negative attitudes or unwholesome attachments that would prevent the realization and actualization of Buddhism’s highest aim.
Open Your Eyes, p583The Innermost Intention of the Buddha
QUESTION: You have said that for 2,000 years during the Ages of the True Dharma and the Semblance Dharma, scholar-monks and the so-called four ranks of bodhisattvas who guided the people after the death of Śākyamuni Buddha built temples and pagodas for various Buddhas such as the Buddha of Infinite Life, the Great Sun Buddha, and the Medicine Master Buddha. Some of them built temples and pagodas dedicated to Śākyamuni Buddha preaching the Hinayāna, quasi-Mahāyāna, and pre-Lotus sūtras or the theoretical section (first half) of the Lotus Sūtra. None of them in the three lands of India, China, and Japan—neither a king nor his subjects, however, has ever revered the true Honzon revealed in “The Life Span of the Buddha” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, the Eternal Buddha with four bodhisattvas waiting on Him. It has startled me and I am just confused because it has never been said by anyone before. I ask you to explain it once more as I wish to hear it in detail.
ANSWER: The Lotus Sūtra consists of eight fascicles and twenty-eight chapters. Four steps of teaching (sūtras of the first four tastes) were preached before the Lotus Sūtra was, and the Nirvana Sūtra after it. These lifetime preachings of the Buddha can be bound in one sūtra. Those preached before the Lotus Sūtra, from the Flower Garland Sūtra, which was preached upon His attainment of Buddhahood at Buddhagayā, to the Great Wisdom Sūtra, comprise the preface. The Sūtra of Infinite Meaning (Muryōgi-kyō), the Lotus Sūtra, and the Sūtra of Meditation on the Universal Sage Bodhisattva (Kan Fugen Bosatsu Gyōbō-kyō), ten fascicles in all, serve as the main discourse while the Nirvana Sūtra constitutes the epilogue.
The ten fascicles of the main discourse can further be divided into three parts. The Sūtra of Infinite Meaning and the first “Introduction” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra constitute the preface. The fifteen and one-half chapters of the Lotus Sūtra from the second chapter on “Expedients” to the nineteen-line verse in the seventeenth chapter, the “Variety of Merits,” mark the main discourse. The eleven and one-half chapters of the Lotus Sūtra from the last half of the “Variety of Merits” chapter, where the four stages of faith during Śākyamuni’s lifetime are preached, to the twenty-eighth (last) chapter of the sūtra, plus the one-fascicle of the Sūtra of Meditation on the Universal Sage Bodhisattva make up the epilogue.
Furthermore, the ten fascicles of the threefold Lotus Sūtra (Sūtra of
Infinite Meaning, Lotus Sūtra, and Sūtra of Meditation on the Universal Sage Bodhisattva) can be divided into two sections, theoretical and essential, each of which contains a preface, main discourse, and epilogue. First, in the theoretical section, the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning and the first “Introduction” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra compose the preface; the eight chapters of the Lotus Sūtra from the second chapter on “Expedients” to the ninth chapter, “Assurance of Future Buddhahood” inclusive, represent the main discourse; and the five chapters from the tenth chapter, “The Teacher of the Dharma,” to the fourteenth chapter, “Peaceful Practices, comprise the epilogue.
The Lord who preached this teaching is Śākyamuni Buddha, who had attained Buddhahood for the first time in this world under the bodhi tree at Buddhagayā. He preached the truth of 1,000 aspects contained in 100 realms which had never been revealed before. It is the True Dharma which transcends all the sūtras which had been preached (pre-Lotus sūtras), are now being preached (Sūtra of Infinite Meaning), and are to be preached (such as Nirvana Sūtra). It is the innermost intention of the Buddha, which is difficult to have faith in and comprehend.
Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Verable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 149-151
Daily Dharma – July 11, 2020
Those who read the Lotus Sutra, therefore, should not regard it as consisting of merely written words. The words are the mind of the Buddha.
Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on Opening the Eyes of Buddhist Images, Wooden Statues or Portraits (Mokue Nizō Kaigen no Koto). Here he reminds us of how words affect each of us differently, and even the same person is affected differently in different parts of their life. If we become dogmatically fixed on a single meaning of the Buddha’s highest teaching, and do not continue to indulge our curiosity about the Buddha’s mind, we miss the point.
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 heard the Buddha expound the Great Vehicle called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma,’ we consider what became of the sixteen śramaṇeras.The Buddha said to the bhikṣus:
“These sixteen Bodhisattvas willingly expounded the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. Each of them taught six hundred billion nayutas of living beings, that is, as many living beings as there are sands in the River Ganges. Those living beings were always accompanied by the Bodhisattva[, by whom they were taught,] in their consecutive existences. [In each of their consecutive existences,] they heard the Dharma from him, and understood it by faith. By the merits [they had thus accumulated], they were given a privilege to see four billion Buddhas, that is, four billion WorldHonored Ones. They have not yet seen all of them.
“Bhikṣus! Now I will tell you. The sixteen śramaṇeras, who were the disciples of that Buddha, have already attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. They now expound the Dharma in the worlds of the ten quarters. They have many hundreds of thousands of billions of attendants consisting of Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas. Two of the śramaṇeras are now Buddhas in the east. One of them is called Akṣobha. He is in the World of Joy. The other is called Sumeru-Peak. Another couple of the śramaṇeras are now Buddhas in the southeast, called Lion-Voice and Lion-Form. Another couple of them are now Buddhas in the south, called Sky-Dwelling and Eternal-Extinction. Another couple of them are now Buddhas in the southwest, called Emperor-Form and Brahma-Form. Another couple of them are now Buddhas in the west, called Amitayus and Saving-All-Worlds-From-Suffering. Another couple of them are now Buddhas in the northwest, called TamalapattracandanaFragrance-Supernatural-Power and Sumeru-Form. Another couple of them are now Buddhas in the north, called Cloud-Freedom and Cloud-Freedom-King. One of the remaining two is now a Buddha in the northeast called Eliminating-Fear-Of-All-Worlds. The other one, that is, the sixteenth śramaṇera is I, Śākyamuni Buddha. I attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi in this Saha-World.
The Supremely Sacred Truth
Buddhism for Today, p117-118The Buddha then addressed all the bhikshus, saying: “These sixteen bodhisattvas take delight in preaching this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law. Numberless living beings whom each of these bodhisattvas converted, reborn generation after generation, all following these bodhisattvas, heard the Law from them, and all believed and discerned it. For this cause they succeeded in meeting four myriad koṭis of buddhas, world-honored ones, and at the present time have not ceased so to do.”
Some people consider that because this chapter is only the seventh sermon of the Buddha in the Lotus Sutra, and Sakyamuni Buddha has not yet finished preaching the sutra, it is odd that he should have said that the Buddha Universal Surpassing Wisdom and the sixteen bodhisattvas had preached the Lotus Sutra in the past. This mistaken idea comes from their thinking that the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law is just the title of this specific sutra, like the title of a book.
“The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law” actually indicates the following idea: the supremely sacred truth that dwells in the minds of ordinary men living in this corrupt world but untainted by their evils, just as the lotus is untainted by the mud in which it grows, and which leads them to buddhahood. Such a truth is always one; it cannot be divided into two or three. Therefore it is quite natural that Sakyamuni Buddha should have said that the Buddha Universal Surpassing Wisdom and the sixteen bodhisattvas had once preached the Lotus Sutra. The truth has obviously existed from the infinite past, before Sakyamuni Buddha appeared in this world, and the enlightenment realized by a truly enlightened person cannot exist except as the one truth. For this reason, it is no wonder that the Buddha said that some hundred thousand people preached the truth in their previous lives. From such words of the Buddha, we can clearly gather his intention to cause people to understand thoroughly the fact that the truth is one.