The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p95-96In part, the message of [the Magic City] story is the same message as that of previous parables – it’s about the importance of skillful means used appropriately. But here the focus is not as much on skillful means in general, as it is in the parable of the burning house and the three vehicles or the parable of the poor son and rich father. Here the focus is on one particular teaching – that of nirvana, one of the most important concepts of classical Buddhism – and seeing even that teaching as yet another example of skillful means.
Literally, “nirvana” means “extinction.” It was often thought to be the state of awakening achieved by Shakyamuni Buddha, a state in which all illusions and all karma that leads to rebirth are extinguished. While it has been interpreted in various ways by various Buddhist philosophers and schools, nirvana is often said to be the goal of Buddhists or of the Buddhist path. In this story, however, we are to see that nirvana, or at least one understanding of nirvana, is not to be taken as a final goal at all. Quite the opposite – to take the magically created castle-city as the goal would be to remain in a permanent state of delusion, thinking one had arrived at one’s destination when one had not. Yet this does not mean that the teaching of nirvana is unimportant, a “mere” skillful means. To the contrary, here we are to understand that if the guide had not been able to conjure up a castle in which the travelers could rest, they would not have been able to continue toward their goal. The magical castle-city was vitally useful. In other words, it was not merely useful in the sense that it happened to be convenient but not really necessary; it was essential in order for the travelers to be able to move ahead.
Monthly Archives: September 2020
Zenkon Kudoku
Journey of the Path to Righteousness, p 63-64Tsuizen (Memorial Service) Eko (Prayer) “We pray for the spirits of our ancestors, for those who have formed a relationship with Buddha, and for all those who have not: May they all follow the benevolent life of the Tathagata.” The meaning of this is Zenkon (Good Roots) Kudoku (Virtues). Practicing Shodaigyo, we have accumulated much merit that we now send to the spirits of our ancestors and to all of the deceased. We say, “May you all follow the benevolent life of the Tathagata.” In daily life you may say, “I have some extra money at the moment. You are in need. Let me please help you.” In the same context, we send our bountiful merits garnered from our practice to the deceased. This is what is meant by Zenkon Kudoku.
The Vow of the Bodhisattvas Who Sprang Up from Underground
My disciples, think deeply! The countless bodhisattvas who had sprung up from underground were disciples of Lord Śākyamuni Buddha ever since the time He had first resolved to seek Buddhahood. Nevertheless, they neither came to see Him when He attained Buddhahood under the bodhi tree, nor visited Him when He passed away under the twin śāla trees. Thus, they may very well be accused of not being filial.
Moreover, they did not attend the preaching of the fourteen-chapter theoretical section, and they were absent when the last six chapters of the essential section were preached. They came and left while the first eight chapters of the essential section were being preached. But these great high-ranking bodhisattvas made a vow in the presence of Śākyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of Many Treasures and numerous Buddhas in manifestation that they would propagate the Five Characters transmitted to them at the beginning of the Latter Age of Degeneration. How can they not appear right now?
Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Verable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 162
Daily Dharma – Sept. 16, 2020
If you see what we have deep in our minds,
And assure us of our future Buddhahood,
We shall feel as cool and as refreshed
As if we were sprinkled with nectar.
Maudgalyāyana, Subhūti and Mahā-Kātyāyana sing these verses to the Buddha in Chapter Six of the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddha knows that our habits of thought and behavior have developed over many lifetimes. We cannot clear them away by ourselves. In the Lotus Sūtra, he assures many of his disciples personally of the certainty of their enlightenment. He shows that this universe has innumerable Buddhas, and tells all of us who hear this teaching that we too should be certain of our enlightenment. When we take the Buddha’s voice to heart, and release the grip we have on our fears, and open ourselves to the joy within ourselves and the world.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 11
Day 11 continues Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City
Having last month concluded today’s portion of Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City, we return to the top and consider what happened when Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi and the reaction of the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the east.
The Buddha said to the bhikṣus:
“When Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, five hundred billion Buddha-worlds in each of the ten quarters quaked in the six ways, and all those worlds, including those intercepted from the brilliant rays of light of the sun and the moon by the neighboring worlds, were illumined [by great rays of light], and the living beings of those worlds were able to see each other for the first time. They said to each other, ‘How did you appear so suddenly?’ The palaces of the gods of those worlds, including the palace of Brahmans, also quaked in the six ways. The great rays of light which illumined all those worlds were brighter than the rays of light emitted by those gods.“The palaces of the Brahman-heavenly[-kings] of the five hundred billion worlds in the east were illumined twice as brightly as ever. The Brahman-heavenly-kings [of those worlds] each thought, ‘My palace has never been illumined so brightly before. Why is that?’ They visited each other and discussed the reason. There was a great Brahman-heavenly-king called All-Saving among them. He said to the other Brahmans in gāthās:
Why are our palaces illumined
More brightly than ever?
Let us find [the place]
[From where this light has come].
Did a god of great virtue or a Buddha
Appear somewhere in the universe?
This great light illumines
The worlds of the ten quarters.“Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds went to the west, carrying flower-plates filled with heavenly flowers, in order to find [the place from where the light had come]. Their palaces also moved as they went. They [reached the Well-Composed World and] saw that GreatUniversal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata was sitting on the lionlike seat under the Bodhi-tree at the place of enlightenment, surrounded respectfully by gods, dragon-kings, gandharvas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men and nonhuman beings. They also saw that the sixteen princes were begging the Buddha to turn the wheel of the Dharma. Thereupon the Brahman-heavenlykings worshipped the Buddha with their heads, walked around him a hundred thousand times, and strewed heavenly flowers to him. The strewn flowers were heaped up to the height of Mt. Sumeru. The Brahman-heavenly-kings offered flowers also to the ten-yojana-tall Bodhi-tree of the Buddha. Having offered flowers, they offered their palaces to the Buddha, saying, ‘We offer these palaces to you. Receive them and benefit us out of your compassion towards us!’ In the presence of the Buddha, they simultaneously praised him in gāthās with all their hearts:
You, the World-Honored One, are exceptional.
It is difficult to meet you.
You have innumerable merits.
You are saving all living beings.As the great teacher of gods and men,
You are benefiting all living beings
Of the worlds of the ten quarters
Out of your compassion towards them.We have come here from five hundred billion worlds.
We gave up the pleasure
Of deep dhyāna-concentration
Because we wished to make offerings to you.
Our palaces are beautifully adorned
Because we accumulated merits in our previous existence.
We offer [these palaces] to you.
Receive them out of your compassion towards us!“Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings, having praised the Buddha with these gāthās, said, ‘World-Honored One! Turn the wheel of the Dharma and save all living beings! Open the Way to Nirvāṇa!’ They simultaneously said in a gāthā with all their hearts:
Hero of the World,
Most Honorable Biped!
Expound the Dharma!
Save the suffering beings
By the power of your great compassion!“Thereupon Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata gave his tacit consent to their appeal.
Embracing the Buddha’s Teaching Without Clinging
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p98-99All Buddhist teachings are for the purpose of helping us, but if we cling to them as though they themselves are the goal, they can become more of a hindrance than a help to continuing on the path. We should welcome the Buddha’s teachings with joy and make use of them in our lives, but we should not cling to them as though the teachings themselves are the goal.
The Dharma Flower Sutra provides assurance that everyone has buddha-nature, that everyone is endowed from birth with a potential to be a buddha. It teaches that all will follow the bodhisattva way to some degree, however minimal. But it does not say that this way will be easy, or that it will make our lives easy. It promises a happy life, but not a life of comfort and ease. Especially when compared with remaining in a fantastic castle-city, continuing on the long, steep, and arduous road is difficult, and even fraught with danger.
Both patient endurance of hardship and perseverance are required, two of the six transcendental practices of bodhisattvas. In Buddhism this world is known as the “saha world,” that is, the world in which suffering both has to be and can be endured. Nichiren, the thirteenth-century Japanese Buddhist monk and patriarch of many groups devoted to the Lotus Sutra, understood this all too well. And because the Lotus Sutra taught him to anticipate persecution and suffering, he was able to endure much suffering and cope with the problems that confronted him.
Leaving a resting place or giving up some comfort does not, of course, mean that we should feel miserable all the time. The point is that by resting you gain both strength and joy for pursuing a path that is both arduous and joyful.
Interpreting the Four Great Vows
Journey of the Path to Righteousness, p 66-67After the Eko (Prayer) [in the Shodaigyo ceremony], the Four Great Vows are recited. Regarding the Four Great Vows, most members of Buddhist communities recite these Four Great Vows as a Buddhist maxim (code of truth and conduct). A simple explanation of The Four Great Vows is the following:
“There are innumerable people in this world, yet, if but only one person is suffering, let me save them from that suffering.” And as I save them from that suffering, so must we relinquish the defilements that are the foundation of that suffering.
“There are inexhaustible defilements, let us relinquish them all.” To relinquish the defilements, so must we understand the teachings of Buddha nature and all things of this world.
“There are immeasurable teachings, let us know them all.” In doing so, all people throughout the world will, also then, recite this same declaration before the Three Treasures.
“The way of the Buddha is preciously unexcelled, let us therefore advance on the way of the Buddha and become a Buddha ourselves. And let us build a world of goodness.”
Rejected Three Times
[In the sixth month of the 3rd year of the Kenji era (1277), Nichiren Shōnin wrote a letter of explanation in place of Inaba-bō Nichiei, a disciple of Nichiren, and submitted it to Nichiei’s father, Shimoyama Hyōgo Gorō Mitsumoto.]
Nichiren Shōnin had long been thinking that in order to repay the favors given by his country he should remonstrate with its rulers three times, and if they would still not heed his advice, he would seclude himself in the woods of a mountain. Following an old saying that it’s best to retreat if one’s remonstrations with a master is rejected three times, Nichiren Shōnin entered Mt. Minobu. Besides, when the rulers of a country will not listen to him, what is the use of preaching to the people below? It does not seem likely that the country will be saved or the people will be helped to attain Buddhahood.
Shimoyama Goshōsoku, The Shimoyama Letter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 87
Daily Dharma – Sept. 15, 2020
The Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, teach only Bodhisattvas. All they do is for one purpose, that is, to show the insight of the Buddha to all living beings, to cause them to obtain the insight of the Buddha.
The Buddha speaks these words in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sutra. Here he emphasizes the importance of practice for reaching enlightenment. We may think that just hearing what the Buddha teaches is enough to reach his insight of seeing things for what they are. We also need to be actively engaged with the world, doing our best, making mistakes, and confident that we can continue to learn how to make things better. This is no different from the mistaken belief that one can learn how to cook by merely reading recipes. Only by going in the kitchen and making something can one gain the insight of whoever came up with the recipe.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 10
Day 10 concludes Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood, and opens Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City.
Having last month heard the prediction for Great Kātyāyana, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood with the prediction for Great Maudgalyāyana.Thereupon the World-Honored One said again to the great multitude:
“Now I will tell you. This Great Maudgalyāyana will make various offerings to eight thousand Buddhas, respect them, and honor them. After the extinction of each of those Buddhas, he will erect a stūpa-mausoleum a thousand yojanas high, and five hundred yojanas wide and deep. He will make it of the seven treasures: gold, silver, lapis lazuli, shell, agate, pearl and ruby. He will offer flowers, necklaces, incense applicable to the skin, incense powder, incense to burn, canopies, banners and streamers to the stūpa-mausoleum. After that he will make the same offerings to two hundred billions of Buddhas. Then he will become a Buddha called Tamālapattra-candana-Fragrance, 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. The kalpa in which he will become that Buddha will be called Joyfulness; and his world, MindHappiness. The ground [of his world] will be even, made of crystal, adorned with jeweled trees, and purified with strewn flowers of pearls. Anyone will rejoice at seeing it. Innumerable gods, men, Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas will live there. The duration of the life of that Buddha will be twenty-four small kalpas. His right teachings will be preserved for forty small kalpas, and the counterfeit of his right teachings also will be preserved for forty small kalpas.”
Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
After he gives up his present existence,
This Great Maudgalyāyana, a disciple of mine,
Will see many Buddhas,
Many World-Honored Ones.
He will see eight thousand of them,
And then two hundred billions of them.In order to attain
The enlightenment of the Buddha,
He will make offerings to them, and respect them.
He will perform brahma practices under those Buddhas,
And keep the teachings of those Buddhas
For innumerable kalpas.After the extinction of each of those Buddhas,
He will erect a stūpa of the seven treasures.
There will be a long golden yasti
On the top of the stūpa.
He will offer flowers, incense and music
To the stūpa-mausoleum of the Buddha.He will finally complete
The Way of Bodhisattvas,
And become a Buddha
Called Tamala [pattral-candana-Fragrance
In a world called
Mind-Happiness.The duration of the life of that Buddha
Will be twenty-four [small] kalpas.
He will expound to gods and men
The enlightenment of the Buddha.As many Śrāvakas as there are sands in the River Ganges
Will have the six supernatural powers,
Including the three major supernatural powers.
They will be exceedingly powerful and virtuous.Innumerable Bodhisattvas also will live there.
They will be resolute in mind, and strenuous.
They will never falter
In seeking the wisdom of the Buddha.After the extinction of that Buddha,
His right teachings
Will be preserved for forty small kalpas.
So will the counterfeit of them.The five hundred disciples of mine
Are powerful and virtuous.
They also shall be assured
Of their future Buddhahood.
They will become Buddhas
In their future lives.Now I will tell you
About my previous existence
And also about yours.
All of you, listen attentively!
The Daily Dharma from May 16, 2020, offers this:
Now I will tell you
About my previous existence
And also about yours.
All of you, listen attentively!
The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Six of the Lotus Sūtra. When the Buddha taught in India 2500 years ago, people took for granted that their lives continued from previous lives and would continue on into future lives. Whatever comforts we enjoy or calamities we endure in this life were thought to be caused by what we did in our former lifetimes. Our actions today were thought to determine what happens in our future lives. To our modern understanding this can sound mystical and unlikely. But if we understand that everything, including our joy and suffering, has causes and conditions, whether or not we realize these results immediately, we know that the result of creating benefit is benefit, and the result of creating harm is harm. When we hold the happiness of all beings to be as precious as our own, we would no more mistreat others than we would want them to mistreat us.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com