Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p200Happiness is made of one substance – compassion. If you don’t have compassion in your heart you cannot be happy. Cultivating compassion for others, you create happiness for yourself and for the world. And because Avalokiteśvara is the embodiment of this practice, the Sutra says that we pay respect to him by bowing and touching our foreheads to the ground. This is an ancient Indian practice, a gesture of deep respect to one’s teacher.
Monthly Archives: January 2021
With Avalokiteśvara as Our Refuge and Protection
From moment to moment conceive no doubts,
For the pure saint Who Observes the Sounds of the World
In the discomforts of pain, agony, and death
Can be a point of reliance.
Dwell in mindfulness every moment, without any doubt about the power of compassion and understanding. With great confidence and faith in Avalokiteśvara, every moment is a moment of mindfulness with compassion and understanding as its object. The symbol of compassion becomes the object of your mindfulness, the object of your recollection. And even in a situation of danger, “of pain, agony, and death,” you maintain this awareness and recollection.
Avalokiteśvara is a holy person, but holiness is not something we find only in certain persons. Everywhere that there is mindfulness, concentration, and insight, there is the element of holiness. So when we take the qualities of Avalokiteśvara as the object of our mindfulness, then the element of holiness arises in us too. With Avalokiteśvara as our refuge and protection, we reach the shore of non-fear, no longer afraid of danger or suffering, no longer in fear of death.
Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p199
The Comparative Superiority of the Lotus Sūtra
The comparative superiority of all the sūtras preached during fifty years or so by Śākyamuni Buddha is declared in chapter 10 of the Lotus Sūtra, “The Teacher of the Dharma”: “I have expounded numerous sūtras. I am now expounding this sūtra. I also will expound many sūtras in the future. The total number of the sūtras will amount to many thousands, ten thousands and millions of them. This Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand.”
Even if this statement of the Lotus Sūtra were uttered by Śākyamuni Buddha alone, anybody from the highest ranking bodhisattvas down should respect and believe in it. The Buddha of Many Treasures, coming from the Eastern Hōjō World, attested to its truth. Besides, various Buddhas in manifestation from all the worlds in the universe gathered to verify its truth “with their long and wide tongues extended to the Brahma Heaven” just as Śākyamuni Buddha did, and returned to their respective lands.
The three phrases of “already preached, being now preached, and going to be preached” (i, kon, tō) include all the sūtras preached not only by Śākyamuni Buddha during fifty years or so of His preaching but also by all the Buddhas from all the worlds in the universe through the past, present, and future. These numerous sūtras are all compared with the Lotus Sūtra. Suppose that these Buddhas, from all the worlds in the universe, who presented themselves at the assembly of the Lotus Sūtra and added their seals of approval, should return to their respective homelands and say to their disciples that there is a sūtra superior to the Lotus Sūtra, would their disciples trust them at all?
Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 5.
Daily Dharma – Jan. 9, 2021
Tomorrow, I, Nichiren, will be exiled to Sado Island. In this cold evening I am thinking of you in the cold dungeon. My thought is that you have read and practiced the Lotus Sutra with your thought and action, which would save your parents, brothers, sisters, relatives, ancestors and everyone around you. Other people read the sutra vocally without feeling it in their hearts. Even though they might read it with their heart, they do not experience it as the sutra teaches. Compared with them you are very precious since you are practicing the sutra with your actions, voice and spirit.
Nichiren wrote this passage in a Letter to his Disciple Nichiro (Tsuchi-ro Gosho). At this point in Nichiren’s life, he had been placed on the execution mat at Tatsunokuchi Beach, only to have the execution stopped at the last minute. Instead of deterring him from teaching the Wonderful Dharma, this experience cemented his resolve to continue admonishing all those who were harming the people of Japan. He taught that rewarding delusions and leading people away from the Buddha’s wisdom only causes misery. Nichiren recognized that his life was the experience of the Lotus Sūtra, and showed his appreciation to everyone who, as he put it, “reads it with their bodies.”
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 24
Day 24 concludes Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma, and closes the Sixth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month considered the eight hundred merits of the body, we conclude Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma with the twelve hundred merits of the mind.
“Furthermore, Constant-Endeavor! The good men or women who keep, read, recite expound or copy this sūtra after my extinction, will be able to obtain twelve hundred merits of the mind. When they hear even a gāthā or a phrase [of this sūtra] with their pure minds, they will be able to understand the innumerable meanings [of this sūtra]. When they understand the meanings [of this sūtra] and expound even a phrase or a gāthā [of this sūtra] for a month, four months, or a year, their teachings will be consistent with the meanings [of this sūtra], and not against the reality of all things. When they expound the scriptures of non-Buddhist schools, or give advice to the government, or teach the way to earn a livelihood, they will be able to be in accord with the right teachings of the Buddha. They will be able to know all the thoughts, deeds, and words, however meaningless, of the living beings of the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds each of which is composed of the six regions. Although they have not yet obtained the wisdom-without-āsravas, they will be able to have their minds purified as previously stated. Whatever they think, measure or say will be all true, and consistent not only with my teachings but also with the teachings that the past Buddhas have already expounded in their sūtras.”
Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
Their minds will become pure, clear, keen and undefiled.
They will be able to recognize with their wonderful minds
The superior, mean and inferior teachings.
When they hear even a gāthā [of this sūtra],
They will be able to understand
The innumerable meanings of [this sūtra].When they expound [this sūtra]
In good order according to the Dharma
For a month, four month or a year,
They will be able to understand at once
The thoughts of gods, dragons, men, yakṣas, demigods,
And of all the other living beings
Inside and outside this world
Composed of the six regions
Because they keep
The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.They also will be able to hear and keep
The Dharma expounded to all living beings
By the innumerable Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters
Who are adorned with the marks of one hundred merits.When they think over the innumerable meanings [of this sūtra],
And endlessly repeat the expounding of those meanings,
They will not forget or mistake the beginnings and ends [of quotations]
Because they keep the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.They will see the reality of all things.
Knowing the position [of this sūtra in the series of sūtras],
And the names and words [of this sūtra], according to the meanings of it,
They will expound [this sūtra] as they understand it.They will expound the Dharma
Already taught by the past Buddhas.
Therefore, they will be fearless
Before the multitude.Anyone who keeps the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Will have his mind purified as previously stated.
Although he has not yet obtained the [wisdom-]without-āsravas,
He will be able to obtain [these merits of the mind].When he keeps this sūtra,
He will be able to reach a rare stage.
He will be joyfully loved and respected
By all living beings.He will be able to expound the Dharma
With tens of millions of skillful words
Because he keeps
The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.[Here ends] the Sixth Volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
The Daily Dharma for Oct. 11, 2020, offers this:
When they hear even a gāthā or a phrase [of this sūtra] with their pure minds, they will be able to understand the innumerable meanings [of this sūtra]. When they understand the meanings [of this sūtra] and expound even a phrase or a gāthā [of this sūtra] for a month, four months, or a year, their teachings will be consistent with the meanings [of this sūtra], and not against the reality of all things.
The Buddha declares these lines to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep and practice this Sūtra. The words of the Sūtra are not specific directions for how to live. We need to interpret them and apply them to our lives in the world today. There are many others whose experience and guidance can help us see what the Sūtra means, and who can benefit from our experience.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
The Five Gazes of Avalokiteśvara
Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p196-197O you of the true gaze, of the pure gaze,
Of the gaze of broad and great wisdom,
Of the compassionate gaze and the gaze of goodwill!This verse describes the five kinds of gazes of Avalokiteśvara. First is the contemplation of the true nature of things, satya. When you are calm, when you are lucid, you have the capacity to recognize the ultimate dimension. It’s followed by the contemplation on purification, visuddhi vimala. We need the practice of self-purification, just as the cloud in the sky has to become pure rain for the sake of the world. Third is the contemplation on great wisdom, mahaprajn͂ā. This is not mere knowledge but the realization of true wisdom, mahaprajn͂āpāramitā – the great wisdom that has the power to bring you to the other shore, the shore of safety, the shore of non-fear, the shore of liberation. Fourth is the contemplation on compassion, karuna. Fifth is the contemplation on loving kindness, maitri. Like Avalokiteśvara, we should practice mindfulness of and reverence for these five qualities.
Attaining Enlightenment by Persons of the Two Vehicles
Recent scholars of the Tendai Sect and many other schools hold that the Lotus Sūtra preaches only attaining enlightenment by persons of the Two Vehicles of śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha and the doctrine of the Eternal Buddha. I ask them in return:
If you concede that only the Lotus Sūtra expounds the dharma of attaining enlightenment by persons of the Two Vehicles and the concept of the Eternal Buddha, is not it the most wonderful of the Lotus Sūtra? If the dharma of attaining enlightenment by the Two Vehicles was not revealed in any sūtras, then how could the Buddha’s disciples attain Buddhahood, like the ten great disciples of the Buddha including Kāśyapa, who excelled in the dhuta (frugal living); Śāripūtra, who was the wisest of all the Buddha’s disciples; and Maudgalyāyana, who possessed supernatural powers; the other disciples, the twelve hundred arhats (saints who have freed themselves from all craving and the cycle of rebirth); the twelve thousand śrāvaka or hearers of the Buddha’s teachings and the countless people in the realms of the Two Vehicles (of śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha)? All these people, without encountering the Lotus Sūtra, would not have been able to attain Buddhahood from the eternal past, nor would they ever be able to. For a practicer of Buddhism, wouldn’t this be an enormous defect? What would happen to those who supported such disciples of Buddha as Kāśyapa—the King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, the four kinds of devotees, the eight kinds of beings who protect Buddhism besides monks and nuns—if the people of the Two Vehicles could not attain enlightenment?
Shōjō Daijō Fumbetsu-shō, The Differences between Hinayāna and Mahāyāna Teachings, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 193-194
Daily Dharma – Jan. 8, 2021
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!
The Brahma-Heavenly-Kings of the East sing these verses in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sutra. In the story, they came to the world of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence-Buddha from their worlds of beauty and pleasure when that Buddha became enlightened. Their offering shows their understanding that while they can enjoy the results of the merits they have created, these results are meant to be shared with all beings. No matter how much or how little we have, being grateful for what we have, rather than being resentful for what we lack, is an expression of the Buddha’s wisdom.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 23
Day 23 covers all of Chapter 18, The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra, and opens Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma.
Having last month considered the merits to be given to a good man or woman who rejoices at hearing this Sūtra, we consider the merit of the fiftieth person who rejoices at hearing even a gāthā of this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.“Suppose the Jambudvipa was filled with wonderful treasures such as gold, silver, lapis lazuli, shell, agate, coral and amber; elephant-carts and horse-carts; and palaces and stately buildings made of the even treasures. Suppose a man who was seeking merits gave all those pleasing things [filling the Jambudvipa] to the living beings of four hundred billion asaṃkhya worlds according to their wishes. A world consists of the six regions. The living beings [of the six regions] are of one or another of the four kinds of births: oviparous, viviparous, from moisture, or without any medium. Some of them have form while others do not. Some have desire while others do not. Some have no feet while other have two feet or four or more. Having continued giving those alms to them for eighty years, this great almsgiver thought, ‘I gave those pleasing things to them according to their wishes. Now they are old and decrepit. They are more than eighty years old. Their hair is grey; and their face , wrinkled. They will die before long. I will lead them by the Dharma of the Buddha.’
“Then he collected them. He propagated the Dharma to them, led them by the Dharma, showed them the Dharma, taught them, benefited them, and caused them to rejoice. He caused them to attain in a moment the enlightenment of the Srota-āpanna, of the Sakrdāgāmin, of the Anāgāmin or of the Arhat, eliminate all āsravas, practice deep dhyāna-concentration without hindrance, and obtain the eight emancipations. What do you think of this? Do you think that the merits obtained by this great alms giver were many or not?”
Maitreya said to the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! I think that his merits were many, immeasurable and limitless. His merits were already immeasurable when he gave all those pleasing things to them. Needless to say, so were his merits when he caused them to attain Arhatship.”
The Buddha said to Maitreya:
“Now I will tell you clearly. The merits of the person who gave all those pleasing things to the living beings of the six regions of four hundred billion asaṃkhya worlds, and caused them to attain Arhatship are less than the merit of the fiftieth person who rejoices at hearing even a gāthā of this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. The merits of the former person are less than a hundredth or a thousandth of the merits of the latter person, or less than the merits of the latter person divided by a hundred thousand billion. [The superiority of the merits of the latter person to those of the former person] cannot be explained by any calculation, parable or simile.
“Ajita! The merits of the fiftieth person who rejoices at hearing this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma are immeasurable, limitless, asaṃkhya. Needless to say, so are the merits of the first person who rejoices at hearing [this sūtra] in the congregation. His merits are immeasurable, limitless, asaṃkhya and incomparable.
Bringing About Transformation and Healing
Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p195-196The verses in Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra describe how Avalokiteśvara’s understanding and compassion bring about transformation and healing:
The beings suffer embarrassment and discomfort;
Incalculable woes press in upon them.
The Sound-Observer, by virtue of his unblemished knowledge,
Can rescue the world from its woes.There is so much suffering in the world. Through the understanding and knowledge gained by closely observing the sounds of the world, Avalokiteśvara helps not just in one way but many ways to alleviate suffering and bring living beings to the shore of liberation.
He is fully endowed with the power of supernatural Penetration
And broadly cultivates wisdom and expedient devices.
In the lands of all ten quarters
There is no ksetra where he does not display his body.Avalokiteśvara’s wisdom and his capacity to use skillful means are immense. Through his great wisdom, he invents various skillful means in order to help in as many ways and as many forms as needed. He manifests himself in innumerable emanation bodies in many places, many lands, everywhere. We too can also be present in many places at one time, through our transformation bodies. You can be practicing in a Sangha and at the same time be somewhere else, performing some action, in the form of a friend or a student, or in something you have written, created, or offered. Your hands can reach very far.