Day 6

Day 6 continues Chapter 3, A Parable

Having last month concluded today’s portion of Chapter 3, A Parable, we return to the top and witness the great joy the children had riding in the carts.

“The children rode in the large carts, and had the greatest joy that they had ever had because they had never expected to get them. Śāriputra! What do you think of this? Do you think that the rich man was guilty of falsehood when he gave his children the large carts of treasures?”
Śāriputra said:

“No, World-Honored One! He saved his children from the fire and caused them to survive. [Even if he had not given them anything,] he should not have been accused of falsehood because the children should be considered to have already been given the toys [they had wished to have] when they survived. He saved them from the burning house with the expedient. World-Honored One! Even if he had not given them the smallest cart, he should not have been accused of falsehood because he thought at first, ‘I will cause them to get out with an expedient.’ Because of this, he should not. Needless to say, he was not guilty of falsehood when he remembered his immeasurable wealth and gave them the large carts in order to benefit them.”

The Buddha said to Śāriputra:

“So it is, so it is. It is just as you say. Śāriputra! The same can be said of me. [I thought, ‘] I am the father of the world. I eliminated fear, despondency, grief, ignorance and darkness. I obtained immeasurable insight, powers and fearlessness. I have great supernatural powers, the power of wisdom, the paramita of expedients, the paramita of wisdom, great compassion, and great loving-kindness. I am not tired of seeking good things or of benefiting all living beings. I have appeared in the triple world, which can be likened to the rotten and burning house, in order to save all living beings from the fires of birth, old age, disease, death, grief, sorrow, suffering, lamentation, stupidity, darkness, and the three poisons, to teach all living beings, and to cause them to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. I see that all living beings are burned by the fires of birth, old age, disease, death, grief, sorrow, suffering and lamentation. They undergo various sufferings because they have the five desires and the desire for gain. Because they have attachments and pursuits, they have many sufferings in their present existence, and will suffer in hell or in the world of animals or in the world of hungry spirits in their future lives. Even when they are reborn in heaven or in the world of humans, they will still have many sufferings such as poverty or parting from their beloved ones or meeting with those whom they hate. Notwithstanding all this, however, they are playing joyfully. They are not conscious of the sufferings. They are not frightened at the sufferings or afraid of them. They do not dislike them or try to get rid of them. They are running about this burning house of the triple world, and do not mind even when they undergo great sufferings.[‘]

“Śāriputra! Seeing all this, I [also] thought, ‘I am the father of all living beings. I will eliminate their sufferings, give them the pleasure of the immeasurable wisdom of the Buddha, and cause them to enjoy it.’

“Śāriputra! I also thought, ‘If I extol my insight, powers, and fearlessness in the presence of those living beings only by my supernatural powers and by the power of my wisdom, that is to say, without any expedient, they will not be saved because they have not yet been saved from birth, old age, disease, death, grief, sorrow, suffering and lamentation, but are burning up in the burning house of the triple world. How can they understand the wisdom of the Buddha?’

See Riding in Smaller Vehicles

Riding in Smaller Vehicles

We should realize that in this story it is the lure of the three “lesser” vehicles that actually saves the children. In running out, the children are pursuing the shravaka, pratyekabuddha, and bodhisattva ways. And here, these three ways, including the bodhisattva way, are essentially equal, as they are equally effective, perhaps with one appealing to some of the children, another to others, and the other to still other children. These “smaller” vehicles, in other words, are sufficient for saving people, that is, for enabling them to enter the One Buddha Vehicle and become bodhisattvas, ones who are on the way to becoming buddhas themselves.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p51

Daily Practice Evolution

20200704_DailyDeitiesGoshoFor several days I’ve wanted to write about my new supplemental service booklet I created but I keep getting distracted. Sanshō-shima.

My first attempt was sidetracked into an illustrated tour of my altar’s evolution.

When I started today I got distracted updating the booklet text to include macrons that had been dropped from several words.

So here I am again.

In the past 2000 days, my daily service has not evolved as much as my altar, but it has changed. For example, back in September 2015, I was chanting Daimoku an average 10 minutes each service. Today, it’s more like 20 minutes. Then I used a timer; now I have a ritual that includes counting 40 to 50 Daimoku while focusing on the Mandala Gohonzon, then 40 to 50 Daimoku on Śākyamuni, and then 40 to 50 Daimoku on Many Treasures and then 40 to 50 Daimoku on the Buddhas in Manifestation Throughout the Universe. Then I focus 40 to 50 Daimoku on Nichiren and then move on to my traveling altar, first the mandala amulet and then the Kishimojin amulet. (I count using my fingers, with four or five Daimoku for each finger depending on how many I can chant with one breath.) Then I greet each of the Seven Happy Gods, identifying each of them – e.g. Bishamon, Vaiśravaṇa, Heavenly King of the North, who represents Dignity – followed by three Daimoku. After I’ve identified all seven I repeat their features – Dignity, Honesty, Joy, Wisdom, Longevity, Happiness and Fortune – and three more Daimoku. I then focus three Dailmoku each on my deceased parents and stepmother and my wife’s parents. I finished by chanting while reading silently a portion of the Letter to Hōren, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Pages 56-57.

Since last summer, when I added the Seven Happy Gods to my altar, I have given each god it’s own day. In November last year, I settled on my present order – Monday, Bishamon; Tuesday, Ebisu; Wednesday, Benten; Thursday, Jurojin; Friday, Fukurokuju; Saturday, Hotei; and Sunday, Daikoku – and in March, I assigned each a character from Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo.

These are not the only gods I’m including in my daily service. In January of last year I began offering a daily prayer for the 30 Guardian of he Lotus Sutra, Sanjubanshin. At the time there was a booklet you could buy with a page for each of the 30 deities, but that is no longer available.

Prayers for the daily Happy God and the daily guardian deity are said before my morning service.

What prompted the creation of my new supplemental service booklet was the desire to add a daily quote from Nichiren’s writing. I found the quotes in Raihai Seiten, a Nichiren Shu Service Book Companion compiled by the Los Angeles Nichiren Buddhist Temple’s Nichiren Shu Beikoku Sangha Association. This was compiled in 2001-2002 when Rev. Shokai Kanai was the head priest. I was able to purchase a copy of the booklet from Rev. Shokai Kanai’s son, Rev. Shoda Kanai, who is the head priest at the Nichiren Buddhist Kannon Temple of Nevada. The quotes are not the same as the A Phrase A Day booklet created in 1986.

I’ve created two PDF versions of the booklet. One is suitable for reading and the other is formatted to be printed on both sides of 8.5×11 paper.

PDF files updated April 2, 2021

20200704_DailyDeitiesGosho-small-reading
Download Readable PDF

20200704_DailyDeitiesGosho_Booklet-sm-printable
Download Printable Booklet

For anyone who donates $20 or more to the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church, I will print out the booklet on my laser printer, fold and staple the pages, and mail the booklet to you. Forward a copy of your donation receipt to me at [email protected] along with your mailing address.

Circumstances Determine Method

In Kaimoku-shō, Nichiren describes the circumstances that determine which method should be followed, making it clear that in the Latter Age of Degeneration both ways must be applied depending on the circumstances. His concern was which method to apply to Japan at that time.

“So, when the land is full of evil and ignorant people, the way of embracing should take precedence as preached in the ‘Peaceful Practices’ (fourteenth) chapter of the Lotus Sūtra. However, when there are many cunning slanderers of the True Dharma, the way of subduing should take precedence as preached in the ‘Never Despising Bodhisattva’ (twentieth) chapter.

“It is the same as using cold water when it is hot and fire when it is cold. Plants and trees are followers of the sun, so they dislike the cold moon. Bodies of water are followers of the moon, so they lose their true nature when it is hot. As there are lands of evil men as well as those of slanderers of the True Dharma in this Latter Age of Degeneration, there should be both embracing and subduing as means of spreading the True Dharma. Therefore, we have to know whether Japan today is a land of evil men or that of slanderers in order to decide which of the two ways we should use.” (Hori 2002, p.111 adapted)

Nichiren further clarifies that according to Zhiyi (538-597) and Guanding, one must be sure of the conditions of the time and choose which method to use accordingly. What is the difference between “evil and ignorant people” and “cunning slanderers of the True Dharma”? By “evil and ignorant people” Nichiren means those who are ignorant of Buddhism and who commit unwholesome bodily, verbal, and mental actions without reference to Buddhist teachings. In a letter attributed to Nichiren, the author wrote of these kinds of people: “Paradoxical as it may seem, evil people who have not the least understanding of the principle of cause and effect and who are not dedicated to any Buddha whatsoever would appear to be the ones free from error with respect to Buddhism.” (WNDI, p. 173) Slanderers, on the other hand, are those who have heard the Dharma and in fact have become Buddhists, but they choose provisional teachings over the
True Dharma taught in the Lotus Sūtra and even reject the latter.

Open Your Eyes, p569-570

Realizing the Truth of the Buddha’s Teaching

Nichiren Shonin taught that these three principles – Gohonzon, Odaimoku and Precept Platform – would enable all people to realize the truth of Ichinen Sanzen for themselves and become fully awakened. For this reason, Nichiren was convinced that he had surpassed previous forms of Buddhism by presenting a form of teaching and practice that was not only accessible but potent enough to enable all people to fully realize the truth of the Buddha’s teaching for themselves.

Lotus Seeds

Women Cannot Attain Buddhahood Without Lotus Sūtra

On Mt. Sacred Eagle, northeast of Rājagṛha in Magadha, India, Śākyamuni Buddha preached the Lotus Sūtra for eight years in front of the Buddha of Many Treasures and numerous Buddhas from all the worlds in the universe. Listening to Him directly, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai remembered Śākyamuni Buddha declaring that the Holy Teachings of the Buddha preached during His lifetime of 50 years were all for the benefit of the people; and that He has preached the impossibility of attaining Buddhahood by women in various sūtras preached in the first 42 years until He revealed in the Lotus Sūtra that women, too, would be able to become Buddhas. In a great country called China, located across mountains and seas, 108,000 Chinese li away to the northeast of Mt. Sacred Eagle, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai appeared as a messenger of the Buddha 1,500 years or so after the Buddha passed away, and declared conclusively that women cannot attain Buddhahood without the Lotus Sūtra.

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 4, 2020

The Buddha said to the rākṣasīs: “Excellent, excellent! Your merits will be immeasurable even when you protect the person who keeps only the name of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.”

The Buddha declares these lines in Chapter Twenty-Six of the Lotus Sūtra. The rākṣasīs are violent, bloodthirsty demons whose nature is to satisfy their own cravings at the expense of beings weaker than themselves. In the Lotus Sūtra, they learn of their capacity to use their strength to protect others and vow to the Buddha to defend anyone who keeps this sūtra. They understand that when they dedicate their strength to caring for other beings rather than destroying them, they gain the merit which will bring them closer to enlightenment. We learn from this example about our own natures, and that of the beings we share this world with.

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

Day 5

Day 5 begins Chapter 3, A Parable

Having last month heard Śāriputra’s prediction in gāthās, we hear the reaction of the great multitude.

At that time the great multitude included bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās and upāsikās, that is, the four kinds of devotees; and gods, dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras and mahoragas. When they saw that Śāriputra was assured of his future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi by the Buddha, they danced with great joy. They took off their garments and offered them to the Buddha. Śakra-Devanam-Indra, the Brahman Heavenly-King, and innumerable other gods also offered their wonderful heavenly garments and the heavenly flowers of mandāravas and mahā-mandāravas to the Buddha. The heavenly garments, which had been released from the hands of the gods, whirled in the sky. The gods simultaneously made many thousands of millions of kinds of music in the sky, and caused many heavenly flowers to rain down.

They said, “The Buddha turned the first wheel of the Dharma at Varanasi a long time ago. Now he turns the wheel of the unsurpassed and greatest Dharma.”

Thereupon the gods, wishing to repeat what they had said, sang in gāthās:

The Buddha turned the wheel of the teaching of the Four Truths
At Varanasi a long time ago.
He taught that all things are composed of the five aggregates
And that they are subject to rise and extinction.

Now he turns the wheel of the Dharma,
The most wonderful, unsurpassed, and greatest.
The Dharma is profound.
Few believe it.
So far we have heard
Many teachings of the World-Honored One.
But we have never heard
Such a profound, wonderful, and excellent teaching as this.
We are very glad to hear this
From the World-Honored One.

Śāriputra, a man of great wisdom,
Was assured of his future Buddhahood.
We also shall be able
To become Buddhas,
And to receive
The highest and unsurpassed honor in the world.

The Buddha expounds his enlightenment, difficult to understand,
With expedients according to the capacities of all living beings.
We obtained merits by the good karmas which we did
In this life of ours and in our previous existence.
We also obtained merits by seeing the Buddha.
May we attain the enlightenment of the Buddha by these merits!

See Shariputra Reborn

Shariputra Reborn

Throughout the Dharma Flower Sutra two things are affirmed: 1) that the Sutra is continuous with what was taught and done in the early years of the Buddha’s ministry, and 2) that something new is happening. This is generally true of Mahayana sutras. They both affirm a continuity with older Buddhist traditions and claim that in Mahayana something new has emerged.

Thus, it is significant that Shariputra becomes further enlightened here, “re-born” as he puts it. This can be contrasted with some other Mahayana sutras, in which he is treated as merely stupid, meaning that Hinayana Buddhists are quite stupid and unworthy of the Dharma. In some cases, shravakas were even said to be icchanti – hopeless, incorrigible, utterly devoid of buddha-nature.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p64

The Method of Subduing

The way of subduing is not about spreading the Dharma by way of the sword. Rather, it is about having the compassion and courage to correct those who are misrepresenting the Dharma, forthrightly giving public witness to the True Dharma, and if violent opposition is aroused to defend against it.

Open Your Eyes, p568