Monthly Archives: August 2020

WONS

Reducing Karmic Retribution

[T]he people today in Japan are all guilty of slandering the True Dharma in previous existences, and they are committing the same grave sin in this life by harming the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra. As a result, they are all destined to fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering. However, the Nirvana Sūtra preaches the doctrine of “reducing the karmic retribution,” showing the way to atone for serious sins committed in the past in this life. The “Peaceful Practices” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra also preaches that Never Despising Bodhisattva extinguished the sin of slandering the True Dharma for himself and others by enduring persecutions in this life. Likewise, the numerous persecutions I have endured are to save all the people in Japan from falling into the Hell of Incessant Suffering. Successive natural calamities that confront the country of Japan and the threat of foreign invasion of Japan are the means through which the Japanese people may reduce the karmic retribution for their sin of slandering the True Dharma in the past existences.

Hōren-shō, Letter to Hōren, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 63

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 22, 2020

Although he was abused like this for many years, he did not get angry, He always said to them, ‘You will become Buddhas.’

The Buddha tells this story of Never-Despising Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty of the Lotus Sūtra. This Bodhisattva did not read or recite sutras. His practice was simply to tell all those whom he encountered, “I respect you deeply. I do not despise you.” Despite his pure intentions, the deluded minds of those who heard him caused them to be angry with him, beat him, and chase him away. While he did not stand fast and endure their abuse, he did not lose his respect for them. This is an example for us who aspire to practice the Wonderful Dharma to show us how we can learn to treat all beings.

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

LS32

Day 20

Day 20 completes Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground, and concludes the Fifth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 20 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered the concerns of Maitreya and the other Bodhisattvas, we consider the great qualities of the Bodhisattvas from Underground.

These Bodhisattvas have
Great powers, virtues and energy.
Who expounded the Dharma to them? Who taught them?
Who qualified them to attain [perfect enlightenment]?

Under whom did they begin to aspire for enlightenment?
What teaching of the Buddha did they extol?
What sūtra did they keep and practice?
What teaching of the Buddha did they study?

These Bodhisattvas have supernatural powers
And the great power of wisdom.
The ground of this world quaked and cracked.
They sprang up from under the four quarters of this world.

World-Honored One!
I have never seen them before.
I do not know
Any of them.

They appeared suddenly from underground.
Tell me why!
Many thousands of myriads
Of millions of Bodhisattvas
In this great congregation
Also want to know this.

There must be some reason.
Possessor of Immeasurable Virtues!
World-Honored One!
Remove our doubts!

At that time the Buddhas, who had come from many thousands of billions of worlds outside [this world], were sitting cross-legged on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees in [this world and] the neighboring worlds of the eight quarters. Those Buddhas were the replicas of Śākyamuni Buddha. The attendant of each of those Buddhas saw that many Bodhisattvas had sprung up from under the four quarters of the [Sahā-World which was composed of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds and stayed in the sky. He said to the Buddha whom he was accompanying, “World-Honored One! Where did these innumerable, asaṃkhya Bodhisattvas come from?”

That Buddha said to his attendant:

“Good Man! Wait for a while! There is a Bodhisattva
mahāsattva called Maitreya [in this congregation]. Śākyamuni
Buddha assured him of his future attainment of Buddhahood,
saying, ‘You will become a Buddha immediately after me.’
Maitreya has already asked [Śākyamuni Buddha] about this
matter. [Śākyamuni] Buddha will answer him. You will be able
to hear his answer.”

See Hiding in Plain Sight

stories, LS32, d19b, d20b

Hiding in Plain Sight

The bodhisattvas are said to spring up from the sky or empty space that is below the earth. Exactly what is meant by the empty space below the earth is unclear. Probably this was simply the most convenient way to have this huge number of bodhisattvas be hidden from view, yet not be in less-than-human regions, nor be among the heavenly beings, yet still be in this world. The dramatic effect of the story is dependent on the existence of these bodhisattvas being unknown to all but Shakyamuni, so they have to be hidden somewhere. But it is also important for the thrust of the story that they not be from some other world, or even from one of the heavens or purgatories associated with this world. In other words, both for the sake of the story and for the sake of the central message of the Dharma Flower Sutra, it is important that these bodhisattvas be both hidden and somehow of this world. Thus the Buddha says, “They are my children, living in this world… .”

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p189
Japanese Culture, d17b

Saichō and Sokushin Jōbutsu

Saichō’s discussions of the rapid realization of buddhahood are found in his polemical writings criticizing the Hossō school and defending Tendai teachings. He argued that Tendai teachings were superior because they led to buddhahood more rapidly than Hossō practices. Tendai practices could benefit everyone, but Hossō practices would not result in buddhahood for anybody in Japan because nobody could follow them. Saichō argued that the perfect religious faculties (enki) of the Japanese had already matured so that they need not bother with lesser teachings.

Saichō introduced and developed the term sokushin jōbutsu [attainment of buddhahood in this very body] in his last written work, Hokke shūku, as a part of his program to demonstrate the superiority of the Lotus Sutra and the Tendai interpretation of it. The power of the Lotus Sutra to lead the practitioner to realization with his current body is introduced as the eighth of ten reasons why the Lotus Sutra is superior to other texts. The following passage demonstrates how Saichō employed the description of the dragon king’s daughter to prove that the Lotus Sutra applied to all sentient beings and would quickly bring them salvation.

This passage (about the dragon king’s daughter) concerns those beings who can realize buddhahood only with difficulty and reveals the power of the Lotus Sutra to help them. She is an animal, (one of lower levels of the) six destinies [realms], obviously the result of bad karma. She is female and clearly has faculties which are not good. She is young and thus has not been practicing religious austerities for a long time. And yet, the wondrous power of the Lotus Sutra endows her with the two adornments of wisdom and merit. Thus we know that the power of the Lotus Sutra reveals it to be the jewel among the scriptures and a rarity in the world.

Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture, {author-numb}
d28b, d31b, WONS

Protecting All Women Who Uphold the Lotus Sūtra

It says in the “Bodhisattva Wonderful Voice” chapter that there was a bodhisattva named Myōon or Wonderful Voice, in the eastern world of the Buddha King Wisdom of the Pure Flower Constellation. This bodhisattva was once Lady Jōtoku, or Pure Virtue, the wife of King Wonderful Adornment in the age of the Buddha Cloud Thunder Roll King. She became Bodhisattva Wonderful Voice by virtue of venerating the Lotus Sūtra. When Śākyamuni Buddha expounded the Lotus Sūtra in the Sahā World, she came and promised that she would protect all women who upheld the Lotus Sūtra in the Latter Age of Degeneration.

Nichinyo Gozen Gohenji, Response to My Lady Nichinyo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 133

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 21, 2020

He will be able to recognize
All the sounds and voices
Inside and outside the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds,
[Each being composed of the six regions]
Down to the Avīci Hell and up to the Highest Heaven.
And yet his organ of hearing will not be destroyed.
He will be able to recognize everything by hearing
Because his ears are sharp.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra about those who practice the Buddha Dharma. We may believe that a spiritual practice leads us to “otherworldly” experiences that allow us to escape the problems we find in the world around us. These verses remind us that the teachers of the Dharma become more engaged with the world around us rather than becoming separate from it. It is through our right practice of the Lotus Sūtra that we become aware of the world as it is, and our place in making it better.

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

LS32

Day 19

Day 19 concludes Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices, and begins Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground.

Day 19 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered how this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is the most excellent and profound, we consider the Parable of the Jewel in the Top-Knot in gāthās.

I will tell you a parable.
A wheel-turning-holy-king was powerful.
Some of his soldiers
Distinguished themselves in war.
He was glad to honor them.
He gave them elephants or horses,
Vehicles or ornaments,
Paddy fields or houses,
Villages or cities,
Garments or various treasures,
Menservants or maidservants,
Or other valuables.

He took a brilliant gem
Out of his top-knot
And gave it to the bravest man
Who had done the most difficult feats.

I am like the king.
I am the King of the Dharma.
I have the great power of patience
And the treasury of wisdom.
I save all living beings in the world by the Dharma
Out of my great compassion towards them.

The people were under the pressure
Of various sufferings.
They were fighting with the Maras
In order to emancipate themselves
From suffering.
Because I saw all this,
I expounded various teachings to them.
I expounded many sūtras with skillful expedients.

Now I know that they can understand the Sutra
Of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Therefore, I expound it to them lastly
Just as the king took the brilliant gem
Out of his top-knot
And gave it [to the bravest man lastly].

This is the most honorable sūtra.
It is superior to all the other sūtras.
I kept it [in secret]
And refrained from expounding it.
Now is the time to do so.
Therefore, I expound it to you now.

Anyone who seeks
The enlightenment of the Buddha
And wishes to expound this sūtra
In peaceful ways after my extinction,
Should practice
These four sets of things.

See A Practice Leading to a Rewarding Life

stories, LS32, d19b

A Practice Leading to a Rewarding Life

The Sutra teaches that there have been many kinds of Buddhist teachings and sutras in the past. Now the supreme Dharma Flower Sutra is to be preached. Why now?

Indeed, this same question has to be faced by any religion that claims to have a special revelation, even just a special beginning. Usually, the answer is some kind of great evil, terrible pollution, or awful sin, something extremely negative that makes some kind of special intervention necessary. But not in the Dharma Flower Sutra. Here it is because of the goodness, that is, because of the merit, of many of his followers that the king at last gives the great jewel to one of them.

The king understands his responsibility to be one of rewarding people for, and according to, the merit of the good they have done. That is, he is looking for the good in people and for the good things they have done. What the Dharma Flower Sutra teaches is that we too should be about the business of seeking out the good in other people and rewarding it where possible. It is very easy to be critical of others, to find fault with them, especially perhaps when it comes to those to whom we are the closest, such as those in our families and those with whom we work every day. For those who would be followers of the Dharma Flower Sutra, while it is important to understand the teaching of buddha-nature, understanding or accepting the idea of universal buddha-nature is nowhere near as important as actually embodying that idea in everyday life by seeing and respecting the buddha-nature in those around us.

Such a practice is likely to lead to a happier and more rewarding life for all involved. Thus, it is not accidental that this parable, which might at first seem unrelated to the first part of the chapter, is actually quite closely related to the whole idea of practice that leads to a rewarding life. The theme of the parable is not just the withholding of the jewel, but rewarding others with all kinds of treasures, including, and especially, the greatest treasure one has to give. T1is is a practice that leads to a trouble-free life, that is, to a life that is relatively free of worries, in part because one has many friends and few if any enemies.

In the prose section of this chapter, it is said that the radiance of the wisdom of those who follow the Dharma Flower Sutra will shine like the sun. The point is that one can see nothing in darkness. All there is, is a lack of light. If we provide light, even a very little light, darkness will disappear. That is why the radiance of the wisdom of one who follows the Sutra is like the radiance of the sun – it lights up the world, bringing happiness both to others and to oneself.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p183-184
Japanese Culture, d17b

Buddhahood In This Very Body

The earliest use of the term sokushin jōbutsu [attainment of buddhahood in this very body] in a T’ien-t’ai text is found in the Fa-hua wen-chii chi (T34, no.1719), Chan-jan’s subcommentary on Chih-i’s line-by-line commentary on the Lotus Sutra, the Fa-hua wen-chii (T34, no.1718). Since the term appears in Chan-jan’s discussion of the dragon king’s daughter’s realization of buddhahood, the section of the Lotus which Saichō chose as the basis of his discussion of sokushin jōbutsu, Chan-jan’s use of the term undoubtedly played a vital role in shaping Saichō’s views on the subject. Both Chih-i and Chan-jan mentioned a text entitled [P’u-sa-ch’u] t’ai-ching (T12, no.384) in their discussions of the dragon king’s daughter. In the T’ai-ching, the transformation of women into men and their subsequent realization of buddhahood, a common theme in early Mahāyāna sutras, is described. Like many of the Mahāyāna texts in which buddhahood and women are mentioned, the T’ai-ching argues against clinging to discriminations between concepts such as male and female. According to Chih-i:

The T’ai-ching states that “the women in the realms of Mara, Sakra and Brahma all neither abandoned (their old) bodies nor received (new) bodies. They all realized buddhahood with their current bodies (genshin).” Thus these verses state that the dharma nature is like a great ocean. No right or wrong is preached (within it). Ordinary people and sages are equal, without superiority or inferiority.

Chan-jan, in commenting on this passage, used the term sokushin jōbutsu to describe the realization of both the dragon king’s daughter and the women in the T’ai-ching. Saichō’s use of the term clearly was derived from Chan-jan’s subcommentary, and his discussion of sokushin jōbutsu is primarily based on the story of the dragon king’s daughter in the “Devadatta” chapter of the Lotus.

Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture, {author-numb}