The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p144Abundant Treasures Buddha, we are told several times, is extinct, having died in the distant past and his body presumably having been cremated. Yet here he is in the present, speaking and acting very much alive. This seems to cast some doubt on the reality of death or the meaning of “extinction.” But it expresses an important truth – the past is not merely dead and gone; it is alive, or at least can be, in the present.
This is not to say that the Dharma Flower Sutra denies the pastness of the past or abolishes the reality of time. But it does affirm that in an important sense the past can be alive in the present. This is, of course, an anticipation of what the Sutra affirms about Shakyamuni Buddha. He too died and was cremated long ago, but is alive still.
Monthly Archives: September 2020
Shodai Zanmai
Journey of the Path to Righteousness, p 51-52[During the Shodaiqyo ceremony w]hether ten, one hundred, or one thousand people chant together, they should chant collectively with “one voice” during Shodaigyo. Our hearts should ride upon this voice of Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.
When you and Odaimoku become one, you may wonder, “Am I chanting? Or am I being chanted? Is the Odaimoku me? Or am I the Odaimoku?”
It becomes easy to fold and blend into the Odaimoku. Such is the condition of Shodai Zanmai “the Expanse of Shodai Boundlessness.”
At the stage of integration with our mind and the Odaimoku at that time our mind becomes Buddha mind. The state of chanting is the state of Buddha, the words of chanting are the words of Buddha, and the heart of chanting is the heart of Buddha. This state of becoming a Buddha is called Sokushin Jobutsu (becoming a Buddha in this very lifetime).
It is very difficult to remain in this state of Shodai Zanmai “the Expanse of Shodai Boundlessness.” In this state, one may perhaps only remain there for three to five minutes. During chanting, it is easy for the mind to stray. But rather than straying, we should eliminate straying and return to focusing on Shodaigyo. Doing so, we put ourselves again into Shodai Zanmai. If you are in Shodai Zanmai for just three or five minutes during a Shodaigyo session, the merits are huge.
The Merit of Donating for the Cause of the Lotus Sūtra
When the weather turns cold, water becomes ice. The snow piled on the ground will become crystallized with the passing of years. A human falls into hell when he heaps up evil deeds, while he becomes a Buddha when he accumulates the meritorious acts. Consumed with jealousy a woman becomes a poisonous snake. However, if she accumulates the merit of donating for the cause of the Lotus Sūtra, how can she not follow the same road of a dragon girl and attain Buddhahood as described in the “Devadatta” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra?
Nanjō-dono Nyōbō Gohenji, Reply to the Wife of Lord Nanjō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 89
Daily Dharma – Sept. 20, 2020
You should remember that the secret doctrine to save the evil, the stupid, women, and those without Buddha-nature is not revealed in sūtras other than the Lotus Sūtra. This is the very reason the Lotus Sūtra is superior to all other Buddhist scriptures.
Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on Chanting the Great Title of the Lotus Sūtra (Shō Hokke Daimoku-shō). With so many proclaiming that their teaching is superior, it can be difficult to hear what Nichiren is telling us in this passage. Other teachings maintain that only some people can be saved. As a result, people who hear those teachings live in fear and uncertainty about their fate. The Lotus Sūtra proclaims that all who hear it will become enlightened, and that all who teach the Lotus Sūtra will create the conditions for others to be enlightened. Nichiren’s relentless determination to spread the Wonderful Dharma was not based on arrogance: merely wanting people to do as he said. It was based on compassion: the certainty that the Lotus Sūtra embodies the enlightenment of the Buddha and saves all beings.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 15
Day 15 concludes Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma, and opens Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures.
Having last month witnessed the arrival of the Stupa of Treasures, we consider the Buddha’s explanation for the arrival of the Stupa of Treasures.
The Buddha said to him:
“The perfect body of a Tathāgata is in this stūpa of treasures. A long time ago there was a world called Treasure-Purity at the distance of many thousands of billions of asaṃkhyas of worlds to the east [of this world]. In that world lived a Buddha called Many-Treasures. When he was yet practicing the Way of Bodhisattvas, he made a great vow: ‘If anyone expounds a sūtra called the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in any of the worlds of the ten quarters after I become a Buddha and pass away, I will cause my stūpa-mausoleum to spring up before him so that I may be able to prove the truthfulness of the sūtra and say ‘excellent’ in praise of him because I wish to hear that sūtra [directly from him].”
“He attained enlightenment[, and became a Buddha]. When he was about to pass away, he said to the bhikṣus in the presence of the great multitude of gods and men, ‘If you wish to make offerings to my perfect body after my extinction, erect a great stūpa!’
“If anyone expounds the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in any of the worlds of the ten quarters, that Buddha, by his supernatural powers and by the power of his vow, will cause the stūpa of treasures enshrining his perfect body to spring up before the expounder of the sūtra. Then he will praise [the expounder of the sūtra], saying, ‘Excellent, excellent!’
“Great-Eloquence! Now Many-Treasures Tathāgata caused his stūpa to spring up from underground in order to hear the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma [directly from me]. Now he praised me, saying, ‘Excellent, excellent!’ ”
The Reason the Stupa Rises Out of the Earth
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p143-144Here it’s important to note that the Stupa does not come from some distant heaven, but springs up out of the earth. This means that this world and ourselves in it are affirmed, as this is where the truth about the nature of reality is to be found, and to be taught. In other words, this world has a kind of buddha-nature within it, here symbolized by the Stupa that comes up out of the earth with Abundant Treasures Buddha in it.
So, too, the fact that all of the buddhas throughout the entire universe come to this world, or at least to a purified version of this world, shows a powerful affirmation of our world. The Pure Land, this story implies, is to be found here. This is the land that Shakyamuni Buddha transforms into a Pure Land, even if only temporarily.
Such affirmations are not just sentiments; they are an indication of where our own energies should go – that is, into purifying this world and realizing the buddha-nature of things in this world, thus enabling us both to see this world as a Pure Land and to transform it into a Pure Land.
Jinshingyo
Journey of the Path to Righteousness, p 55-57Following Shoshogyo [in the Shodaigyo ceremony] is Jinshingyo.…
Now that we have steadfastly polished the mind with the Odaimoku, we continue to purify shin [mind/heart] and body further through Jinshingyo. Our shin becomes crystal clear. And so, we deeply feel the merits we have accumulated through the chanting of the Odaimoku; it flows as freely as a fountain through the entire body and wells up from the bottom of our hearts. Yes, we are now immersed in the “Expanse of Shodai Boundlessness” (Shodai Zanmai). Such an incredible feeling no one can describe. It can be said to be bright, and light, yet stable, and heavy. Such are the sensations of this expanse.
When we are immersed in the “Expanse of Shodai Boundlessness” a thing called Bussho (Buddha Nature), or the Buddha heart within our own heart, is enlightened. Outside of ourselves, we perceive the power of Honbutsu (the Original Buddha) who has great compassion for our salvation. Inside ourselves, Buddha Nature manifests and we achieve the realm of Kanno Dokyo (Buddhist Compassion for all Living Beings). We actualize Shodai Jobutsu (the Attainment of Buddhahood through Shodai). We perceive this “just as we are” through the great merit of practicing of Rokkon Shojo (the Purification of the Six Senses).
What this comes down to is Jiju Horaku (Perceiving the Joy of Dharma). As we enter the expanse of the One Great Equality (with no conflict between self and others), at that time, we feel we cannot keep this for ourselves alone. We must share the heart and the joy of the Dharma. We must share this with as many as we can. We aspire for Jita Guan (Peace for both ourselves and others) so we may achieve a true land of peace.
This is Jinshingyo, and this is the purpose of this practice.
When a Stream Gets Muddy at its Origin
When a stream gets muddy at its origin, the whole stream becomes muddy. When a body is crooked, its shadow cannot be straight.
Ichinosawa Nyūdō Gosho, A Letter to Lay Priest Ichinosawa, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 162
Daily Dharma – Sept. 19, 2020
When the sky is blue, the land is bright. In this way those who know the Lotus Sutra can see the reasons for occurrences in the world. For those who are incapable of understanding the truth of the “3000 existences contained in one thought,” Lord Śākyamuni Buddha with his great compassion, wraps this jewel with the five characters of myō, hō, ren, ge and kyō and hangs it around the neck of the ignorant in the Latter Age of Degeneration. The four great Bodhisattvas will protect such people, just as the Duke of Chou assisted the young ruler, King Chen, or the Four Elders attended the child Emperor Hui.
Nichiren wrote this in his treatise on Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Venerable (Kanjin Honzon-Shō). This reminds us that whether or not we are able to make sense of the Buddha’s most difficult teaching, what is important is to rely on his determination to help us become enlightened. It is in our practice of reciting the sacred title: “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,” that we express all the teachings of the Buddha and help all beings become enlightened.
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 considered the prediction for Ānanda, we consider the objection of the eight thousand Bodhisattvas who had just resolved to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.There were eight thousand Bodhisattvas who had just resolved to aspire [for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi] in this congregation. They thought, ‘As far as we have heard, even great Bodhisattvas have never been assured of their future Buddhahood. Why have these Śrāvakas been so assured?’
Thereupon the World-Honored One, seeing what the Bodhisattvas had in their minds, said to them:
“Good men! Ānanda and I resolved to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi under the Void-King Buddha at the same time [in our previous existence]. At that time Ānanda always wished to hear much while I always practiced strenuously. Therefore, I have already attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi[, but he has not yet]. Now he protects my teachings. He also will protect the store of the teachings of future Buddhas, teach Bodhisattvas, and cause them to attain [Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi], according to his original vow. Therefore, now he has been assured of his future Buddhahood.”
Having heard from the Buddha that he was assured of his future Buddhahood, and that his world would be adorned, Ānanda was able to fulfill his wish. He had the greatest joy that he had ever had. At that moment he recollected the store of the teachings of many thousands of billions of past Buddhas perfectly and without hindrance as if he had heard those teachings just now. He also recollected his original vow.
Thereupon Ānanda sang in gāthās:
You, the World-Honored One, are exceptional.
You reminded me of the teachings
Of innumerable Buddhas in the past
As if I had heard them today.Having no doubts, I now dwell peacefully
In the enlightenment of the Buddha.
I will expediently become the attendant
Of future Buddhas, and protect their teachings.