Monthly Archives: October 2020

LS32

Day 13

Day 13 covers all of Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples.

Day 13 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month learned of Pūrṇa’s qualities, we hear the prediction for Pūrṇa’s future buddhahood.

“Bhikṣus! Pūrṇa was the most excellent expounder of the Dharma under the seven Buddhas. He is the same under me. He will be the same under the future Buddhas of this Kalpa of Sages. He will protect the teachings of those Buddhas and help them propagate their teachings. After the end of this kalpa also he will protect the teachings of innumerable Buddhas, help them propagate their teachings, teach and benefit innumerable living beings, and cause them to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. He will always make efforts to teach all living beings strenuously so that the worlds of those Buddhas may be purified. He will perform the Way of Bodhisattvas step by step for innumerable, asaṃkhya kalpas, and then attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi in this world. He will be called Dharma-Brightness, 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 world of that Buddha will be composed of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds, that is, as many Sumeru-worlds as there are sands in the River Ganges. The ground [of that world] will be made of the seven treasures. It will be as even as the palm of a hand. There will be no mountains nor ravines nor ditches. Tall buildings adorned with the seven treasures will be seen everywhere in that world, and the palaces of gods of that world will hang so low in the sky that gods and men will be able to see each other. There will be no evil regions nor women. The living beings of that world will be born without any medium. They will have no sexual desire. They will have great supernatural powers, emit light from their bodies, and fly about at will. They will be resolute in mind, strenuous, and wise. They will be golden in color, and adorned with the thirty-two marks. They will feed on two things: the delight in the Dharma, and the delight in dhyāna. There will be innumerable, asaṃkhya Bodhisattvas, that is, thousands of billions of nayutas of Bodhisattvas. They will have great supernatural powers and the four kinds of unhindered eloquence. They will teach the living beings of that world. There will also be uncountable Śrāvakas there. They will have the six supernatural powers including the three major supernatural powers, and the eight emancipations. The world of that Buddha will be adorned with those innumerable merits. The kalpa [in which Pūrṇa will become that Buddha] will be called Treasure­Brightness; and his world, Good-Purity. The duration of the life of that Buddha will be innumerable, asaṃkhya kalpas, and his teachings will be preserved for a long time. After his extinction, stupas of the seven treasures will be erected [in his honor] throughout that world.”

See Sexuality and Gender and Buddhism

stories, LS32, d13b

Sexuality and Gender and Buddhism

In [Chapter 8: The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples], as in others, when the Buddha describes the future buddha land of Purna after he has become the buddha named Dharma Radiance, he says that his land will be without women, that men will have no sexual desire, and that they will be born without having mothers. Historically, such a misanthropic attitude toward women probably reflects the experience of celibate monks living in India twenty centuries ago. Sexuality and gender has been an ongoing problem for Buddhism. This is in large part because sexual desire in men can be seen as the prime embodiment of desire and greed – everything that Buddhism, especially traditional Indian Buddhism, opposed and sought to abolish. Women were seen as the cause of men’s sexual desires, and thus as embodiments of evil.

With respect to attitudes toward women, Buddhism was something of an improvement over Hinduism. Women were, for example, admitted into the community as ordained nuns, as was true in Jainism. But nuns were radically subordinated to monks and it was believed that only through rebirth as a man could a woman have any possibility of awakening fully.

The Dharma Flower Sutra often reflects such attitudes, as appears to be the case in this chapter. But, as we will see later, it sometimes takes a more generous view of women and of their potential to be Dharma teachers and become buddhas in the future. Thus the Sutra is consistent in teaching that every living being has the potential to become a buddha in this world. In doing this, in maintaining the consistent teaching of universal buddha-nature, the Sutra takes an important step toward teaching the equality of men and women.

Yet while the Dharma Flower Sutra does take a step forward with respect to equality, going beyond Hinduism, beyond traditional Buddhism, and even beyond many Mahayana sutras, it only takes a step, and not a very large one at that, falling far short of today’s standards. We can, I believe, love the Dharma Flower Sutra and seek to follow its important teachings while still recognizing that, like everything else, it has limitations. We should not forget that the Sutra itself teaches that all Buddhist teachings are skillful means, relative to their time and circumstance, including the details of the Dharma Flower Sutra. In this sense, though ahead of its time in most ways, in some other ways the Lotus Sutra reflects the limitations of the culture and time in which it arose.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p108-109
Foundations, Blog

Experiencing The Interpenetrating Ten Worlds

I am currently processing quotes I have saved from “Foundations of T’ien-T’ai Philosophy: The Flowering of the Two Truths Theory In Chinese Buddhism” by Paul L. Swanson. I won’t be posting these until late January, 2021, after I finishing posting quotes from Peaceful Action, Open Heart: Lessons from the Lotus Sutra by Thich Nhat Hanh, which I’ll start tomorrow. Since one of the T’ien-T’ai Philosophy quotes pertains a recent blog post, I figured I should get it in now while it is still relevant.

So, back on Oct. 6 I discussed by idea of how to envision the “four realms of holy ones” – Śrāvaka, Pratyekabuddha, Bodhisattva and Buddha – that Nichiren said “are hidden from our eyes.”

Here’s my summary:

  • Śrāvakas: When we hear the Dharma and study Buddhisms we are in the realm of Śrāvakas.
  • Pratyekabuddhas: When we put into practice for ourselves what we have learned we enter the realm of Pratyekabuddhas.
  • Bodhisattvas: When we seek to help all others to gain what we have gained from learning about Buddhism and putting it into practice, then we enter the realm of Bodhisattvas.
  • Buddhas: This is the realm we enter when we chant Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, merging what we have learned and what we practice while seeking to have all others join this path.

Since I was discouraged from putting too much emphasis on this idea, I found this quote from Swanson’s book very interesting:

Chih-i divided the realms of existence into ten interpenetrating realms or destinies: hell, preta, beast, asura, man, gods, śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, bodhisattva, and buddha. These are not ten separate distinct worlds, but rather experiences or states of existence in one reality.

It may be more accurate to refer to these ten “destinies” as ten states of experience: hellish, to be full of insatiable appetite, brutish, combative, human, divine, ‘śrāvaka-like, pratyekabuddha-like, bodhisattva-like, and buddha-like. When one suffers the inevitable results of his or her misdeeds, one experiences the realm of hell. When one blindly follows sensual desires in a futile attempt to satisfy fleshly appetites, one experiences the realm of the preta. When one blindly follows one’s passions, one experiences the realm of beasts. When one fights with one’s fellow human being, one experiences the combative realm of the asura. When one joyfully listens to the music of Bach, one can experience the delightful realm of the gods. When one hears the teaching of the Buddha, one experiences the realm of the śrāvaka. When one performs an altruistic deed, one experiences the realm of the bodhisattva. When one has an insight into the true nature of reality, one experiences the realm of the Buddha. Chih-i’s claim that these realms are “interpenetrating” or “mutually inclusive” means that each sentient being experiences them all in accordance with its actions.

Foundations of T'ien T'ai Philosophy, p 6
Vasubandhu, d3b

Repudiating the Small Vehicle

Quote

In regard to “repudiating [the Small Vehicle],” it says in the Lotus Sutra, “O Śāriputra! In all the worlds of the ten directions there are no two vehicles, let alone three.” “There are no two vehicles” means there is no nirvana attained through the two vehicles. There is only the great enlightenment realized by the tathāgatas. To completely perfect all wisdom is called the great nirvana. It is not the case that the disciples and self-enlightened buddhas [are able to attain] nirvana since there is only the single buddha vehicle.

Vasubandhu's Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p 134
WONS

A Great Cart Pulled by a White Ox

Compared with the Lotus Sūtra, the Amitābha Sūtra is a star after the sun rose and dew in heavy rain.

Therefore, Grand Master Dengyō asserted in his Clarification of the Precepts: “It is nonsense to give a cart pulled by sheep, deer or cows, after giving a great cart pulled by a white ox. It is needless for a wealthy man to clean the toilet after succeeding to the family business. Therefore, it is said in the Lotus Sūtra, ‘Honestly discarding the expedient teachings, the Buddha explains only the unsurpassed way.’ ” The Grand Master also said, “When the sun appears, stars disappear, and when one understands the proficiency of the Lotus Sūtra, he is able to see the deficiencies in the other sūtras.”

Shimoyama Goshōsoku, The Shimoyama Letter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 90

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Oct. 21, 2020

There are thousands of fish eggs, but few become fish. Hundreds of mango blossoms bloom, but few become fruit. It is the same with human beings, because most people are turned aside by evil distractions. There is an army of warriors wearing armor, but few are able to fight bravely. Many people search for truth, but few attain Buddhahood.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Letter to Lord Matsuno. In Nichiren’s lifetime he saw many of his followers charmed by his teaching, but lacking the resolve to practice. This letter was one of many Nichiren used to encourage us not to waste our precious human life with frivolous pursuits, destructive actions, and selfish desires. It reminds us that we all carry the seed of Buddha nature, and to look for ways to nourish that seed.

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

LS32

Day 12

Day 12 concludes Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City, and completes the Third Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 12 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered the Parable of the Magic City, we consider the meaning of the Magic City.

“Bhikṣus! I, the Tathāgata, am like the leader. I am your great leader. I know that the bad road, which is made of birth-and-death and illusions, is dangerous and long, and that we should pass through it and get off it. If you had heard only of the One Vehicle of the Buddha, you would not have wished to see or approach the Buddha, but would have thought, ‘The Way to Buddhahood is too long for us to pass through unless we make painstaking efforts for a long time.’

“I knew that you were mean and timid. In order to give you a rest halfway, I expounded expediently to you the teaching of Nirvāṇa by the two vehicles. To those who attained the two [ vehicles], I say, ‘You have not yet done all that you should do. You are near the wisdom of the Buddha. Think it over and consider it! The Nirvāṇa you attained is not true. I divided the One Vehicle of the Buddha into three only expediently.’

“I say this just as the leader, who saw that his party had had a rest in the great city which he had made by magic in order to give them a rest, said to them, ‘The place of treasures is near. This city was not true. I made it by magic.”‘

See Helping People Along Difficult Roads

stories, LS32, d21b

Helping People Along Difficult Roads

While there are several important things one might learn from this story [of the Magic City], its central message is quite clear: while we may think that nirvana, a condition of complete rest and quiet, is our final goal, it is not. While we may think that nirvana is salvation, that is only a useful illusion from which we will eventually need to move on. According to the Dharma Flower Sutra, it is always an illusion to think that we have arrived and have no more to do, to think that if we reach some kind of experience of happiness or comfort, we have reached the end of the path.

Similarly, while we may think that the Buddha entered final nirvana, becoming “extinct” and thus no longer active, that too is only a useful illusion, as the Buddha is working still, enabling us to live and work with him to save all the living. In Chapter 16 of the Sutra we can find these words:

In order to liberate the living,
As a skillful means I appear to enter nirvana.
Yet truly I am not extinct.
I am always here teaching the Dharma. (LS 296)

The Buddha has used teachings, including the teaching of his own final nirvana, to help people along difficult roads.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p94-95
Vasubandhu, d4b

Even A Child In Play

“[E]ven a child in play who has built a Stupa for the Buddha out of a heap of sand – all are people who have attained the path of the buddhas.” This means that those who have produced the thought of enlightenment and who are carrying out bodhisattva practice will plant good roots of merit and be able to realize enlightenment. It is not the case that those who have not originally produced the thought of enlightenment, such as ordinary people and the disciples who are fixed [in the Small Vehicle], are able to attain it. The same applies to those such as the ones [who have honored the Buddha] “by nodding their head.”

Vasubandhu's Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p 135
Lotus Seeds

Odaimoku: The Sacred Title

Quote

The third of the Three Great Secret Dharmas is the Odaimoku, Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. In Sino-Japanese, the title of the Lotus Sutra is “Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo.” These five characters are themselves an expression of the essential core of the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha taught in the Lotus Sutra. Because the Odaimoku embodies the essence of the Lotus Sutra, the five characters “Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo” are the key to unlocking the Buddha-nature that resides within all life. When the word Namu, meaning “devotion,” is added to the title, it becomes Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, or “Devotion to the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.” According to Nichiren, by chanting “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo” we are expressing our faith in the Eternal Buddha and opening our lives to all the qualities and merits of Buddhahood.

Lotus Seeds