This follows yesterday’s post, The Bodhisattva’s Illness.

The Vimalakirti Sutra contains a fascinating description of a world in which everything is composed of fragrances (Page 112-115).

At that time Shariputra thought to himself, “It is almost noon. What are all these bodhisattvas going to eat?”

Then Vimalakirti, knowing what was in his mind, said, “The Buddha preached the eight emancipations. You, sir, should undertake to practice them. Why be distracted by thoughts of eating when you are listening to the Law? If you want something to eat, wait a moment. I will see that you get the sort of food you have never had before! ”

Vimalakirti then entered samadhi and, employing his transcendental powers, showed the great assembly a country called Many Fragrances, situated in a region high above, beyond Buddha lands as numerous as the sands of forty-two Ganges. The Buddha named Fragrance Accumulated was at that time present there. The fragrance of his country was finer than the fragrance of all the human and heavenly realms of the Buddha lands of the ten directions. In this land there was not even the term voice-hearer or pratyekabuddha, but only great bodhisattvas, pure and clean, for whom the Buddha preached the Law. All the inhabitants of his world built their halls and towers out of fragrances, strolled the fragrant ground, and had gardens all made of fragrances. The fragrant aroma of their food wafted to immeasurable worlds in the ten directions. At this time the Buddha and the various bodhisattvas were just sitting down together to eat. Heavenly offspring, all named Fragrant Garland, all with their minds set on attaining anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, were serving the meal to the Buddha an the bodhisattvas.

Among the great assembly [gathered at Vimalakirti’s house,] there were none who could not see these things with their own eyes.

Then Vimalakirti addressed the bodhisattvas, saying, “Sirs, who among you can bring us some of that Buddha’s food ?”

Out of deference to Manjushri’s authority and supernatural powers, however, all of them remained silent.

[Addressing Manjushri,] Vimalakirti said, “Sir, a great assembly such as this – this is shameful, is it not?”

Manjushri replied, “As the Buddha has told us, never despise those who have yet to learn.”

Thereupon Vimalakirti, without rising from his seat but in the presence of the whole gathering, conjured up a phantom bodhisattva whose auspicious features, shining brightness, authority and virtue were so superior that they outshone the entire group. Then he announced to this bodhisattva, “You must go to the region high above, beyond Buddha lands numerous as the sands of forty-two Ganges, where there is a country called Many Fragrances. The Buddha, named Fragrance Accumulated, is just now sitting down with his bodhisattvas to a meal. When you arrive in his presence, speak as I instruct you, saying, ‘Vimalakirti bows his head before the feet of the World-Honored One with immeasurable reverence and begs to inquire if in your daily activities your illnesses are few, your worries are few. Does your strength suffice you? He desires to obtain the leftovers from this meal of the World-Honored One so he may carry out the Buddha’s work by dispensing them in the saha world, enabling those who delight in a lesser doctrine to be broadened by the great way, and also to cause the Thus Come One’s fame to be heard on all sides.’ ”

At that time this conjured bodhisattva in the presence of the gathering ascended to the region high above. Everyone in the entire assembly could see him as he departed, and as he arrived in the world called Many Fragrances and made his obeisance at the feet of the Buddha there. And they could hear him say, ‘Vimalakirti bows his head before the feet of the WorldHonored One with immeasurable reverence and begs to inquire if in your daily activities your illnesses are few, your worries are few. Does your strength suffice you? He desires to obtain the leftovers from this meal of the World-Honored One so he may carry out the Buddha’s work by dispensing them in the saha world, ensuring that those who delight in a lesser doctrine will be broadened by the great way, and also that the Thus Come One’s fame may be heard on all sides.”

When the great men [of the country Many Fragrances] saw this conjured bodhisattva, they sighed at seeing what they had never seen before, and said, “Where has this superior being come from? The saha world – where is that? What is this thing he calls a ‘lesser doctrine?’ ”

When they had put these questions to their Buddha, the
Buddha announced to them, “In the lower region, beyond Buddha lands as numerous as the sands of forty-two Ganges, there is a world called saha. The Buddha named Shakyamuni is at present manifesting himself in that evil world of the five impurities in order to expound the teachings of the Way to living beings who delight in a lesser doctrine. He has a bodhisattva named Vimalakirti who dwells in the emancipation Beyond Comprehension and preaches the Law for the other bodhisattvas. He has purposely dispatched this phantom being to come and extol my name and praise this land, so that thereby he may bring increased benefits to those bodhisattvas.”

The bodhisattvas said, “How can this man conjure up a phantom such as this? Does he possess such strength of virtue, such fearlessness, such transcendental powers?”

The Buddha replied, “His powers are great indeed! He dispatches phantoms in all the ten directions to carry out the Buddha’s work and bring enrichment to living beings.”

Then the Thus Come One Fragrance Accumulated took a bowl of many fragrances, filled it with fragrant rice, and gave it to the phantom bodhisattva.

The provisional nature of The Vimalakirti Sutra is underscored by this denigration of voice-hearers or pratyekabuddhas. As is explained in the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra:

For Chih-i, the … differentiation of the coarse and the subtle is for the purpose of reaching non-distinction, since the intention of the Buddha is for universal salvation. Ultimately speaking, the coarseness and the subtlety are all merged in the Lotus Sūtra, for the Buddha made decisive and clear that all of them are dissolved in the subtlety (Chüeh-liao Jumiao). Regardless of whether they are viewed as coarse or subtle, and or neither coarse nor subtle, they all contain the ultimate intention of the Buddha in leading beings to attain Buddhahood. (Vol. 2, Page 105)
The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of Buddhism

Or as Nichiren writes:

As all Mahāyāna sūtras except one do not preach on the basis of the “revealing the truth and merging all the provisional” doctrine, neither the doctrine of obtaining Buddhahood for the Two Vehicles nor that of attainment of Buddhahood by Śākyamuni Buddha in the eternal past is preached in them. The Lotus Sūtra on the other hand, is expounded on the basis of the “revealing the truth and merging all the provisional” doctrine, thus both doctrines of attaining Buddhahood by the Two Vehicles and the attainment of Buddhahood by Śākyamuni Buddha in the eternal past are revealed in it.

Ken Hōbō-shō, A Clarificaton of Slandering the True Dharma, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 133.

One other link between the Vimalakirti and Lotus sutras is this warning given following the above discussion of the saha world:

At that time the nine million bodhisattvas all spoke out in unison, saying, “We wish to visit that saha world and offer alms to Shakyamuni Buddha. And we also wish to see Vimalakirti and the many other bodhisattvas.”

“You may go,” said the Buddha. “But draw in your bodily fragrances so that you will not cause living beings to be deluded or beguiled by them. And you should put aside your real form so that the persons in that country who are striving to become bodhisattvas will not feel intimidated or ashamed. And you must not look on that land with disdain or contempt or rouse thoughts that obstruct progress. Why? Because all the lands in the ten directions are as empty as the sky. It is just that, since the Buddhas wish to convert those who delight in a lesser doctrine, they do not reveal the full purity of the land.”

Compare that with Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha’s admonition to Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva in Chapter 24:

“Do not despise that world! Do not consider it to be inferior [to our world]! Good Man! The Sahā-World is not even. It is full of mud, stones, mountains’ and impurities. The Buddha [of that world] is short in stature! So are the Bodhisattvas [of that world]. You are forty-two thousand yojanas tall. I am six million an eight hundred thousand yojanas tall. You are the most handsome. You have thousands of millions of marks of merits, and your light is wonderful. Do not despise that world when you go there! Do not consider that the Buddha and Bodhisattvas of that world are inferior [to us]! Do not consider that that world is inferior [to ours]!”

California recently prohibited all indoor religious services and so the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church set up outside in a grassy area between the Social Hall and the Temple.

Three 20 by 10 feet canopies were erected on Saturday. These canopies are normally used during the Summer Food Festival.

Rev. Igarashi stands at podium next to makeshift altar. The podium originally belonged to the San Francisco Nichiren Buddhist Church, where Rev. Igarashi worked before moving to Sacramento in 1989. The Mandala Gohonzon was presented to Rev. Igarashi after the completion of his third Aragyo session, the 100-day ascetic practice. Rev. Igarashi has completed five of the Aragyo sessions.

Rev. Igarashi at the altar.

Rev. Igarashi chats with masked, socially-distant parishioners under the canopies.

A group of masked-parishioners chat after the service.

Having the service outside was workable, but it was quite warm at times – could have used a litttle more breeze – and the traffic on the nearby street made Rev. Igarashi’s Dharma talk difficult to hear at times.

Recently I completed reading The Vimalakirti Sutra as translated by Burton Watson. I was reading this as part of Rev. Ryuei McCormick’s Buddhist Study Program. This also plays into reading I’ve been doing on T’ien-t’ai’s teaching and, in particular, how it constrasts with the Madhyamika.

As with all of my quotes here, the purpose is to file these away for future reference. I’ve never been famous for my retention of what I read, and at 68 years of age I’m not getting any better.

Today’s quote is about illness, from pages 64-66.

INQUIRING ABOUT THE ILLNESS

At that time the Buddha said to Manjushri, “You must go visit Vimalakirti and inquire about his illness.”

Manjushri replied to the Buddha, “World-Honored One, that eminent man is very difficult to confront. He is profoundly enlightened in the true nature of reality and skilled at preaching the essentials of the Law. His eloquence never falters, his wisdom is free of impediments. He understands all the rules of bodhisattva conduct, and nothing in the secret storehouse of the Buddhas is beyond his grasp. He has overcome the host of devils and disports himself with transcendental powers. In wisdom and expedient means he has mastered all there is to know. Nevertheless, in obedience to the Buddha’s august command, I will go visit him and inquire about his illness.” …

“Layman, this illness of yours – can you endure it? Is the treatment perhaps not making it worse rather than better? The World-Honored One countless times has made solicitous inquiries concerning you. Layman, what is the cause of this illness? Has it been with you long? And how can it be cured?”

Vimalakirti replied, “This illness of mine is born of ignorance and feelings of attachment. Because all living beings are sick, therefore I am sick. If all living beings are relieved of sickness, then my sickness will be mended. Why? Because the bodhisattva for the sake of living beings enters the realm of birth and death, and because he is in the realm of birth and death he suffers illness. If living beings can gain release from illness, then the bodhisattva will no longer be ill.

“It is like the case of a rich man who has only one child. If the child falls ill, then the father and mother too will be ill, but if the child’s illness is cured, the father and mother too will be cured. The bodhisattva is like this, for he loves living beings as though they were his children. If living beings are sick, the bodhisattva will be sick, but if living beings are cured, the bodhisattva too will be cured. You ask what cause this illness arises from – the illness of the bodhisattva arises from his great compassion.”

This certainly resonates with this day of COVID-19.