Journey of the Path to Righteousness, p 25-27Honor Be: To the Eternal Dharma that equally benefits all, The One Vehicle of Myōhō Renge Kyō
Let’s discuss the “Dharma Treasure”:
“By Odo Daie” is “The Great Wisdom”: it is the supreme truth of the universe which Shakyamuni Buddha became enlightened to from the results of all his spiritual practices.
Ending all (Kugyo) penance [austerity], he entered quietly into meditation under the Bodhi Tree and finally became enlightened to the truth and the reality of the universe. This realm is to be understood – from the macrocosm of the universe to the microcosm of the atom – to exist only through the workings of cause and effect [karma].
Perceiving our reality through the “Eye Of A Buddha” (or enlightenment) as Shoho Jisso (the ultimate reality of all things), we might say, “Ah. It is so very mystic! I cannot even describe this using words. Minds of sentient beings cannot even fathom it. I name this ” Myō.” I name being enlightened to the Law (Dharma) as “Myōhō.” Being so, the great truth of cause and effect is Myōhō.
“Renge” (the lotus flower) is a symbol for Myōhō (the great truth of cause and effect). The pure Lotus lives in the swamp but blooms pristine and beautiful flowers with no stains of mud. Myōhō is as pure as the lotus. The Buddha’s enlightenment is the ultimate reality of all things based on that great truth of cause and effect (from the viewpoint of the enormity of the universe, to large world problems, to the smaller problems of the individual, and also to the entirety of problems that exist in this world). The Buddha, after all, integrated all aspects into the Kyo (Sutra) of Myōhō Renge Kyō.
Monthly Archives: October 2020
The Most Efficacious Prayer
QUESTION: Suppose such Buddhist schools as the Kegon (Flower Garland), Hossō (Dharma Characteristics), Sanron (Three Discourses), three Hinayāna (Kusha, Jōjitsu and Ritsu Schools), Shingon (True Word) and Tendai (T’ien-t’ai) perform prayer services, which school will have the most miraculous efficacy?
ANSWER: Prayers of every Buddhist sect are based to some extent on the Buddha’s teaching. We can say, therefore, that in some sense they are all Buddhist prayers. Nevertheless, the prayer service conducted according to the Lotus Sūtra is nothing but the true prayer which will be most efficacious.
QUESTION: What is the reason for this?
ANSWER: First let us consider the case of the Two Vehicles (śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha). Even though they practiced the pre-Lotus sūtras of the first four flavors for an inconceivably long period of time (as many kalpa as the number of dust-particles of the great earth) they were regarded as incapable of attaining Buddhahood. In the Lotus Sūtra, however, they were granted the status of Buddhas in a short while. Therefore, beginning with men like Śāriputra and Kāśyapa, 1,200 or 12,000 in number, all those former Two Vehicles who attained Buddhahood should not fail to answer the prayers said by the practicers of the Lotus Sūtra.
Kitō Shō, Treatise on Prayers, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 57
Daily Dharma – Oct. 2, 2020
The Buddha said to Universal-Sage Bodhisattva: “The good men or women will be able to obtain this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma after my extinction if they do the following four things: (1) secure the protection of the Buddhas, (2) plant the roots of virtue, (3) reach the stage of steadiness [in proceeding to enlightenment], and (4) resolve to save all living beings. The good men or women will be able to obtain this sūtra after my extinction if they do these four things.”
For us who aspire to this difficult practice of the Wonderful Dharma, the Buddha gives this guide in Chapter Twenty-Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. For us to have even heard of this sūtra in this life we must have already done these four things. In order to maintain this practice, we need to use the Buddha’s protection for the benefit of all beings, not just for our benefit alone. We need to nourish the virtuous seeds we have already planted, remain steady and confident on the path to enlightenment, and sustain our determination to maintain our respect for everyone.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 27
Day 27 concludes Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.
Having last month considered Glady-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva’s further offering to the śarīras of Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue Buddha, we learn the identity of Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva today and the merits to be given to the person who keeps even a single gāthā of four lines of this Sūtra.
The Buddha said to Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva:
“What do you think of this? Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva was no one but Medicine-King Bodhisattva of today. He gave up his body in this way, offered it [to the Buddha], and repeated this offering many hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas of times [in his previous existence]. [He knows that he can practice any austerity in this Sahā-World. Therefore, he does not mind walking about this world.]
“Star-King-Flower! Anyone who aspires for, and wishes to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, should offer a light to the stupa of the Buddha by burning a finger or a toe. Then he will be given more merits than the person who offers not only countries, cities, wives and children, but also the mountains, forests, rivers and ponds of the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds, and various kinds of treasures. But the merits to be given to the person who fills the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds with the seven treasures and offers that amount of the seven treasures to the Buddhas, to the Great Bodhisattvas, to the Pratyekabuddhas, and to the Arhats, are less than the merits to be given to the person who keeps even a single gāthā of four lines of this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
The Most Important Meaning of ‘Burning Our bodies’
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p247[W]e should devote our whole selves to the Dharma, to the Truth. This is the most important meaning of “burning our bodies.” Does it mean abandoning the bodhisattva practice of service to others in order to serve the Dharma? Of course not. It is by serving the Dharma that we serve both others and ourselves. Serving the Dharma and serving others cannot be separated, just as serving others cannot be completely separated from serving ourselves. This integration of interests – in contrast with Western individualism and with certain Christian ideas of completely selfless devotion and sacrifice – is one of the great insights of Buddhism.
Let your practice be a light for others, helping them to dispel the darkness. This is a second symbolic meaning of “burning” our bodies or arms.
Our Primary Responsibility as Human Beings
Journey of the Path to Righteousness, p 27Shakyamuni Buddha passed way 3,000 years ago but his soul still lives on. He became one with the cosmos. From our view, the universe is vast. It is, however, but one, large lifeform when perceived through the eye of a Buddha. The life of this vast universe is the life of (Hon Butsu) the Original Buddha itself. The world where we live is the pure land of the Buddha, and this Buddha land, as such, is called (Jojyakkodo) The Eternal Pure Land. We, being ordinary people without this perception, choose to instead vandalize this world through our selfishness and become out-of-control. The world becomes a difficult place to live in with the killing of each other through war and the destruction of the environment as a result of satisfying selfish, human interest. As human beings, we should share the responsibility for the sufferings of each other and the difficult world in which we live. We must come to understand that as our primary responsibility as human beings.
Honzons of Buddhist Sects
Concisely speaking, the honzon (Most Venerable Ones) of Buddhist sects are as follows:
- The three Hinayāna sects of Kusha (Chü-she), Jōjitsu (Ch’êng-shih, Establishment of Truth) and Ritsu (Lü, Precept) regard Śākyamuni Buddha appearing in this world in the capacity of the Inferior Accommodative Body as the Most Venerable One.
- The honzon of the Flower Garland Sect is Vairocana Buddha in the Reward Body.
- The Hossō (Dharma Characteristics) Sect regards Śākyamuni Buddha in the Superior Accommodative Body as the honzon.
- The Sanron (Three Discourses) Sect also worships Śākyamuni in the Superior Accommodative Body.
- The Shingon (True Word) Sect’s honzon is the Great Sun Buddha, whose Dharma Body resides in the Matrix-store Realm Mandala and Reward Body in the Diamond Realm Mandala.
- Amitābha (the Buddha of Infinite Life), the Most Venerable One of the Jādo (Pure Land) Sect, is a Buddha in the Reward Body according to Shantao but in the Accommodative Body according to T’ien-t’ai. The Accommodative Body can be divided into two – inferior and superior.
Ichidai Goji Keizu, Genealogical Chart of the Buddha’s Lifetime Teachings in Five Periods, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 249
Daily Dharma – Oct. 1, 2020
Medicine-King! Erect a stūpa of the seven treasures in any place where this sūtra is expounded, read, recited or copied, or in any place where a copy of this sūtra exists! The stūpa should be tall, spacious and adorned. You need not enshrine my śarīras in the stūpa. Why not? It is because it will contain my perfect body.
The Buddha declares these lines to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. In ancient India, stūpas were tombs built as memorials to those who had enjoyed a superior position in their lives. After the Buddha died, small relics of his body were distributed so that many great stūpas could be built to his memory. Even today all over Asia, stūpas hold the physical remains of the Buddha. In this chapter, the Buddha reminds us that when we have the Lotus Sūtra with us, it is as good as having the Buddha himself.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com