Buddhism for Today, p148The description of the Stupa springing from the earth has a very deep meaning. The earth symbolizes our bodies and minds as ordinary people. It also means this sahā-world, which consists of ordinary people. The enlightenment and salvation of the buddhas do not drop out of the clouds but spring from within ourselves. Enlightenment and salvation that spring from within ourselves are truly valuable and powerful, as the Buddha teaches us clearly here. His teaching is realistic and positive.
Monthly Archives: August 2020
Shaping Our Lives
Dhammapada, p97-98When we hear that our personality is no more real than a movie, we may feel dejected, abandoned in an alien universe. The Buddha replies gently, “You don’t understand.” If life were not a process, if thought were continuous, we would have no freedom of choice, no alternative to the human condition. It is because each thought is a moment of its own that we can change.
“Our life is shaped by our mind, for we become what we think.” That is the essence of the Buddha’s universe and the whole theme of the Dhammapada. If we can get hold of the thinking process, we can actually redo our personality, remake ourselves. Destructive ways of thinking can be rechanneled, constructive channels can be deepened, all through right effort and meditation. “As irrigators lead water to their fields, as archers make their arrows straight, as carpenters carve wood, the wise shape their lives.”
Attainment of Buddhahood by Women
[I]gnorant people today should believe in Śākyamuni Buddha as the Most Venerable One (honzon), and they will automatically be able to avoid being unfilial to the Buddha. If they, moreover, believe in the Lotus Sūtra, they will also be able to avoid unknowingly committing the sin of slandering the True Dharma. Besides, as it is said that women have the five hindrances and the three to obey (parents, husband, and children), women are disliked in the world and abandoned in the holy scriptures of the Buddha’s lifetime teachings. Only in the Lotus Sūtra does a female dragon attain Buddhahood and many nuns were guaranteed to be future Buddhas. If all the women in the world should abandon this sūtra, which other sūtra should they then embrace?
Zemmui-shō, Treatise on Śubhākarasiṃha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 54-55
Daily Dharma – Aug. 16, 2020
He should expound the Dharma to them,
Wishing only two things:
To attain the enlightenment of the Buddha
And also to cause them to do the same.
This is a peaceful offering to them.
This offering will bring them a great benefit.
The Buddha sings these verses to Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In our desire to benefit others, we often have expectations for how they should change in response to what we give them. The Buddha reminds us to abandon these expectations. People will make changes and progress towards enlightenment based on their own capacities rather than what we want for them. When we stay focused on the goal of awakening, both for ourselves and others, then we can keep the perspective of the Buddha and see things for what they are.
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 concluded today’s portion of Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma, we return to Chapter 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 the prediction for Ānanda.
Thereupon Ānanda and Rāhula thought, ‘We are always thinking: How glad we shall be if we are assured of our future Buddhahood!’ They rose from their seats, came to the Buddha, worshipped his feet with their heads, and said to him:
“World-Honored One! We think that we also are qualified to be assured [of our future Buddhahood]. Only you, the Tathāgata, are our refuge. We are known to all gods, men and asuras of the world. Ānanda always protects the store of the Dharma as your attendant. Rāhula is your son. If you assure us of our future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, the wishes not only of us but also of others will be fulfilled.”Thereupon the two thousand disciples [composed of the two kinds of Śrāvakas]: the Śrāvakas who had something more to learn and the Śrāvakas who had nothing more to learn, also rose from their seats, bared their right shoulders, came to the Buddha, joined their hands together with all their hearts, looked up at the WorldHonored One, begged him just as Ānanda and Rāhula did, and stood to one side of the place.
Thereupon the Buddha said to Ānanda:
“In your future life you will become a Buddha called Mountain-Sea-Wisdom-Supernatural-Power-King, the Tathāgata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. You will attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi [and become that Buddha] after you make offerings to sixty-two hundred million Buddhas and protect the store of their teachings. That Buddha will teach twenty thousand billion Bodhisattvas, that is, as many Bodhisattvas as there are sands in the River Ganges, and cause them to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. The world [of that Buddha] will be called Always-Raising-Banner-Of-Victory. His world will be pure, and the ground of it will be made of lapis lazuli. The kalpa [in which you will become that Buddha] will be called Wonderful-Voice-Resounding-Everywhere. The duration of the life of that Buddha will be many thousands of billions of asaṃkhyas of kalpas. No one will be able to count the number of the kalpas. His right teachings will be preserved for twice as long as his life, and the counterfeit of his right teachings will be preserved for twice as long as his right teachings.
“Ānanda! Mountain-Sea-Wisdom-Supernatural-Power-King Buddha will be praised for his merits by many thousands of billions of Buddhas or Tathāgatas of the worlds of the ten quarters, that is, by as many Buddhas or Tathāgatas as there are sands in the River Ganges.”
Thereupon Ānanda and Rāhula thought, ‘We are always thinking: How glad we shall be if we are assured of our future Buddhahood!’ They rose from their seats, came to the Buddha, worshipped his feet with their heads, and said to him:
“World-Honored One! We think that we also are qualified to be assured [of our future Buddhahood]. Only you, the Tathāgata, are our refuge. We are known to all gods, men and asuras of the world. Ānanda always protects the store of the Dharma as your attendant. Rāhula is your son. If you assure us of our future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, the wishes not only of us but also of others will be fulfilled.”Thereupon the two thousand disciples [composed of the two kinds of Śrāvakas]: the Śrāvakas who had something more to learn and the Śrāvakas who had nothing more to learn, also rose from their seats, bared their right shoulders, came to the Buddha, joined their hands together with all their hearts, looked up at the WorldHonored One, begged him just as Ānanda and Rāhula did, and stood to one side of the place.
Thereupon the Buddha said to Ānanda:
“In your future life you will become a Buddha called Mountain-Sea-Wisdom-Supernatural-Power-King, the Tathāgata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. You will attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi [and become that Buddha] after you make offerings to sixty-two hundred million Buddhas and protect the store of their teachings. That Buddha will teach twenty thousand billion Bodhisattvas, that is, as many Bodhisattvas as there are sands in the River Ganges, and cause them to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. The world [of that Buddha] will be called Always-Raising-Banner-Of-Victory. His world will be pure, and the ground of it will be made of lapis lazuli. The kalpa [in which you will become that Buddha] will be called Wonderful-Voice-Resounding-Everywhere. The duration of the life of that Buddha will be many thousands of billions of asaṃkhyas of kalpas. No one will be able to count the number of the kalpas. His right teachings will be preserved for twice as long as his life, and the counterfeit of his right teachings will be preserved for twice as long as his right teachings.
“Ānanda! Mountain-Sea-Wisdom-Supernatural-Power-King Buddha will be praised for his merits by many thousands of billions of Buddhas or Tathāgatas of the worlds of the ten quarters, that is, by as many Buddhas or Tathāgatas as there are sands in the River Ganges.”
Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
Now I announce to the Saṃgha:
Ānanda, the keeper of the Dharma,
Will make offerings to Buddhas,
And then attain perfect enlightenment.He will be called
Mountain-Sea-Wisdom-Supernatural-Power-King.
His world will be pure, and called
Always-Raising-Banner-Of-Victory.He will teach as many Bodhisattvas
As there are sands in the River Ganges.
He will be exceedingly powerful and virtuous.
His fame will extend over the worlds of the ten quarters.The duration of his life will be immeasurable
Because he has compassion towards all living beings.
His right teachings will be preserved for twice as long as his life;
The counterfeit of them, for twice as long as his right teachings.Under him, as many living beings
As there are sands in the River Ganges
Will obtain the seeds
Of the enlightenment of the Buddha.
The Dispeller of Gloom in the Darkness
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p113-115Buddhist sutras begin with the words, “This is what I heard.” We are to understand that this is Ananda who is speaking and that the sutra that follows is what he heard, and what he recited from memory at the First Buddhist Council shortly after the death of the Buddha. If this is true, or even close to being true, it is a truly remarkable accomplishment, as the Buddha taught for some forty-five years, during which he preached a great many sermons. Apparently there was no writing in India at that time, and it was not until some centuries after the Buddha’s death that Buddhist texts could be recorded in written form. Thus it may be that the vast bulk of Buddhist sutras were memorized by Ananda.
A cousin of Shakyamuni and a brother of the infamous Devadatta, Ananda joined the Sangha when he was about twenty, along with six other high-caste young men. At first, the request by Ananda and his brother to be allowed to join the Buddha’s following was refused. So they became disciples of another religious teacher. But later, when they approached Shakyamuni a second time, permission was granted for them to join the group and become Buddhist monks. Some twenty years later, Ananda was surprised by his selection to be Shakyamuni’s personal attendant – a position he kept for about twenty-five years.
According to legend, Ananda was not able to achieve nirvana, the awakening of an arhat, during the Buddha’s lifetime. Right up to the night before the Council at which he would recite the Buddha’s teachings, he was unable to reach that highly sought stage. But late that night, before the dawn, as he was in the process of lying down to sleep, he suddenly experienced nirvana, thus becoming eligible to participate in the Council along with all of the other arhats.
Like Shakyamuni, Ananda was a Shakya noble. There are many stories about his kindness, especially toward women, and about his attractiveness to women. It was he, more than any other, who persuaded Shakyamuni to admit women into the Sangha, in particular Shakyamuni’s aunt and stepmother Mahaprajapati, thus creating the first Buddhist community for nuns.
There are a great many stories of people going to Ananda for advice or counsel, often on matters of doctrine, not only monks and nuns but also a variety of brahmans and householders. In addition to accounts of Ananda preaching both to monks and to lay men and women, there are also stories of Ananda being appointed to speak for the Buddha, either in place of the Buddha or to complete a sermon the Buddha had started.
Though highly suspect, it is written that Ananda lived to be a hundred and twenty years old. At the beginning of the fifth century, the Chinese monk Fa-hsien traveled to India, reporting extensively on what he saw and heard. At Vaishali, where it is said that the Buddha gave his last sermon, Fa-hsien found two stupas on opposite sides of the river, each containing half of the remains of Ananda. This was said to be a consequence of Ananda’s body being cremated on a raft in the middle of the Ganges River. Nuns worshiped at the stupas of Ananda, since it was through his help that the community of nuns had been established.
One Pali text says that Ananda was “a dispeller of gloom in the darkness.” This could easily remind us an important verse from the end of Chapter 21 of the Lotus Sutra. About anyone who can teach the truth, it says:
Just as the light of the sun and the moon
Can dispel darkness,
Such a person, working in the world,
Can dispel the gloom of living beings.
The Island of Nirvana
Dhammapada, p97When the mind is stilled, the appearance of change and separateness vanishes and nirvana remains. It is shunyata, emptiness, only in that there is literally nothing there: “no-thing.” But emptiness of process means fullness of being. Nirvana is aroga, freedom from all illness; Shiva, happiness; kshema, security; abhaya, the absence of fear; shanta, peace of mind; anashrava, freedom from compulsions; ajara, untouched by age; amata, unaffected by death. It is, in sum, parama sukha, the highest joy.
Those who attain the island of nirvana can live thereafter in the sea of change without being swept away. They know what life is and know that there is something more. Lacking nothing, craving nothing, they stay in the world solely to help and serve. We cannot say they live without grief; it is their sensitiveness to the suffering of others that motivates their lives. But personal sorrow is gone. They live to give, and their capacity to go on giving is a source of joy so great that it cannot be measured against any sensation the world offers.
For the Sake of People After Śākyamuni’s Death
[I]t is said in the fifteenth chapter, “Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground,” that Bodhisattva Maitreya begged the Buddha to clear his doubts about His original disciples from the eternal past saying:
“We have never doubted the truthfulness of Your opportune sermons or the words uttered by You and we believe that You know all things thoroughly. We are afraid, however, that those who have just begun to walk the bodhisattva way, if they hear these words of Yours after Your death, might not accept them in faith, causing the sin of destroying the dharma. We beseech You, World Honored One, to explain this to remove our doubts. Good men in the future, too, will have no doubts when they hear it.”
This passage shows that the preaching of the chapter, “The Life Span of the Buddha,” was requested for the sake of the people after the death of Śākyamuni Buddha.
Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Verable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 155-156
Daily Dharma – Aug. 15, 2020
Thereupon Universal-Sage Bodhisattva said to the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! If anyone keeps this sūtra in the defiled world in the later five hundred years after [your extinction], I will protect him so that he may be free from any trouble, that he may be peaceful, and that no one may take advantage [of his weak points].”
Universal-Sage Bodhisattva (Fugen, Samantabhadra) makes this vow to the Buddha in Chapter Twenty-Eight of the Lotus Sutra. In this world of conflict, it can seem like very few people are practicing the Buddha Dharma with us. Nichiren compared those beings alive in this world of conflict to the amount of soil in the whole earth, while those who keep and practice the Lotus Sūtra are like the dirt under a fingernail. The vow of Universal-Sage reminds us that innumerable beings support our practice and that in turn, we support them with our practice.
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 concluded today’s portion of Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples, we return to the top and consider Pūrṇa’s reaction to the teaching.Thereupon Pūrṇa, the son of Maitrāyanī having heard from the Buddha the Dharma expounded with expedients by the wisdom [of the Buddha] according to the capacities of all living beings, and having heard that [the Buddha] had assured the great disciples of their future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, and also having heard of the previous life of the Buddha, and also having heard of the great, unhindered, supernatural powers of the Buddhas, had the greatest joy that he had ever had, became pure in heart, and felt like dancing [with joy]. He rose from his seat, came to the Buddha, and worshipped him at his feet with his head. Then he retired to one side of the place, looked up at the honorable face with unblenching eyes, and thought:
‘The World-Honored One is extraordinary. What he does is exceptional. He expounds the Dharma with expedients by his insight according to the various natures of all living beings of the world, and saves them from various attachments. The merits of the Buddha are beyond the expression of our words. Only the Buddha, only the World-Honored One, knows the wishes we have deep in our minds.’