Monthly Archives: June 2021

LS32

Day 7

Day 7 concludes Chapter 3, A Parable, and begins Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith.

Day 7 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered the Parable of the Rich Man and His Poor Son, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith.

“Seeing the exceedingly powerful father, the poor son was frightened. He regretted that he had come there. He thought, ‘Is he a king or someone like a king? This is not the place where I can get something by labor. I had better go to a village of the poor, where I can work to get food and clothing easily. If I stay here any longer, I shall be forced to work.’

“Having thought this, the poor son ran away. The rich man, who was sitting on the lion-like seat, recognized him at first sight as his son. He was delighted. He thought, ‘Now I have found the person to whom I can transfer my treasures and storehouses. I have been thinking of my son all this time, but I have had no way to find him. Now he has come by himself all of a sudden. This is just what I wanted. I am old, but not too old to lose any attachment [to my treasures].’

“He immediately dispatched a man standing beside him to quickly bring back the poor son. The messenger ran up to the poor son and caught him. The poor son was frightened. He cried, ‘You Devil! I have done nothing wrong. Why do you catch me?’

“The messenger pulled him by force. The poor son thought, ‘I am caught though I am not guilty. I shall be killed.’ More and more frightened, the poor son fainted and fell to the ground. Seeing all this in the distance, the father said to the messenger, ‘I do not want him any more. Do not bring him forcibly! Pour cold water on his face and bring him to himself! Do not talk with him any more!’

“The father said this because he had realized that his son was too base and mean to meet a noble man [like his father]. He knew that the man was his son, but expediently refrained from telling to others that that was his son. [The messenger poured water on the son. The son was brought to himself.] The messenger said to him, ‘Now you are released. You can go anywhere you like.’

“The poor son had the greatest joy that he had ever had. He stood up and went to a village of the poor to get food and clothing.

See Our Unconditional Inheritance

Foundations

The Empty, the Provisional and the Middle of the Ten Dharma Realms

The ten suchnesses [are interpreted] in relation to the ten dharma realms, i.e., the six destinies [of hell to people] and the four noble ways [of śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, bodhisattva, and Buddha]. They are all called “dharma realms” for three reasons. First, all ten are based on the dharmadhātu [the Dharma or Absolute Reality], for there is no dharma outside the dharmadhātu. Therefore all of them taken together are referred to as the ten dharma realms.142 Second, these ten various dharma realms are classified distinctly and thus are not the same. Their causes and results are distinct and there are differences between ordinary ignorant men and sages. Therefore with this in mind they are called [distinct] realms.143 Third, these ten [dharma realms] are all identical with the dharmadhātu and include all of reality.144

All of reality is included in hell and does not transcend this destiny. Verily essence is identical to the principle [of reality], and since it does not depend on anything it is called the dharmadhātu.145 The same is true for all destinies up to and including the Buddha realm. The ten dharma realms are [all] based on the dharmadhātu; that which is based depends on the basis. [From this perspective] one understands the realm of emptiness.146 [The perspective of] each realm of the ten realms being distinct is the realm of conventional existence.147 To say that all ten realms are the dharmadhātu is the realm of the middle.148

I have made these distinctions to facilitate understanding, but to understand it correctly and put it into words [one must say that] “emptiness is identical to conventional existence and the middle” There is [ultimately] neither one nor two nor three, as discussed above.

Foundations of T'ien T'ai Philosophy, p 181-182
142
The fundamental equality of all dharmas as empty of substantial Being corresponds to the first aspect of the threefold truth. return
143
The distinctness of conventional existence corresponds to the second aspect of the threefold truth. return
144
The ultimate identity of all dharmas corresponds to the third aspect of the threefold truth, the middle. return
145
The dharmadhātu is not based on anything outside of itself since it is the basis and the entire whole of reality itself. return
146
Here begins an attempt, less successful than with the ten suchnesses, to give a “triple reading” to the three characters “ten dharma realms” . If one emphasizes the underlying and common “dharma realm” rather than its ten distinctive aspects, this emphasizes the common emptiness of all dharmas. return
147
If one emphasizes the ten distinct realms rather than their underlying unity, this emphasizes their conventional existence. return
148
To take all three together and emphasize their unity is to emphasize the meaning of the middle. return
Lecture on Lotus Sutra

Cherishing Each Moment Without Rushing

Quote

I am a firm believer in chanting slowly and deliberately, which invites the pronunciation of the whole collection of seven characters Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo. Namu is not an appended sound but a condition of our being. So with the mindfulness and deliberative intent of opening myself, emptying myself, and absorbing, I try to take care of how I pronounce and view not just Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo but also Na Mu. I do not believe we can genuinely and authentically say we “believe” in or “revere,” or “respect” something that we are going to rush through. If I think about being in the presence of someone I respect and admire and wish to learn from, I am not in a rush. I am not looking at my watch. I am not counting the words they say. Instead, I am cherishing each moment, wishing them to linger longer even.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

d19b, d20b, WONS

No Distinction Between Males and Females

Those who spread the five characters of Myō, Hō, Ren, Ge, and Kyō in the Latter Age of Degeneration should not make a distinction between males and females, for it would be difficult to chant the daimoku unless they were all bodhisattvas of the earth.

Shohō Jisso-shō, Treatise on All Phenomena as Ultimate Reality, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 78

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – June 10, 2021

Having sung this gāthā, Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva said to the Buddha, ‘World-Honored One! You do not change, do you?’

This description of the life of Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva comes from Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sūtra. In a previous existence, this Bodhisattva had given up his body and his life for the sake of teaching the Wonderful Dharma. He was then reborn into a world in which the Buddha he served previously was still alive and benefitting all beings. Recognizing this unchanging aspect of the Buddha despite his changing appearances helps us see into our own capacity for enlightenment.

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

LS32

Day 6

Day 6 continues Chapter 3, A Parable

Day 6 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month witnessed the children riding in the large carts, we consider why the Buddha needed to use an expedient to save his children.

The Buddha said to Śāriputra:

“So it is, so it is. It is just as you say. Śāriputra! The same can be said of me. [I thought, ‘] I am the father of the world. I eliminated fear, despondency, grief, ignorance and darkness. I obtained immeasurable insight, powers and fearlessness. I have great supernatural powers, the power of wisdom, the paramita of expedients, the paramita of wisdom, great compassion, and great loving-kindness. I am not tired of seeking good things or of benefiting all living beings. I have appeared in the triple world, which can be likened to the rotten and burning house, in order to save all living beings from the fires of birth, old age, disease, death, grief, sorrow, suffering, lamentation, stupidity, darkness, and the three poisons, to teach all living beings, and to cause them to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. I see that all living beings are burned by the fires of birth, old age, disease, death, grief, sorrow, suffering and lamentation. They undergo various sufferings because they have the five desires and the desire for gain. Because they have attachments and pursuits, they have many sufferings in their present existence, and will suffer in hell or in the world of animals or in the world of hungry spirits in their future lives. Even when they are reborn in heaven or in the world of humans, they will still have many sufferings such as poverty or parting from their beloved ones or meeting with those whom they hate. Notwithstanding all this, however, they are playing joyfully. They are not conscious of the sufferings. They are not frightened at the sufferings or afraid of them. They do not dislike them or try to get rid of them. They are running about this burning house of the triple world, and do not mind even when they undergo great sufferings.[‘]

“Śāriputra! Seeing all this, I [also] thought, ‘I am the father of all living beings. I will eliminate their sufferings, give them the pleasure of the immeasurable wisdom of the Buddha, and cause them to enjoy it.’

“Śāriputra! I also thought, ‘If I extol my insight, powers, and fearlessness in the presence of those living beings only by my supernatural powers and by the power of my wisdom, that is to say, without any expedient, they will not be saved because they have not yet been saved from birth, old age, disease, death, grief, sorrow, suffering and lamentation, but are burning up in the burning house of the triple world. How can they understand the wisdom of the Buddha?’

“Śāriputra! The rich man did not save his children by his muscular power although he was strong enough. He saved them from the burning house with a skillful expedient and later gave them each a large cart of treasures.

See Dividing One Buddha Vehicle Into Three

Foundations

Classifying Tentative and Real of 10 Suchlikes

[I]n classifying the tentative and real, Fa-yün classified the first five suchlikes as the tentative, which belongs to common ignorant people. The next four suchlikes were classified as the real, which belong to sages. The last suchlike is a general one that brings together the tentative and the real. This verse [from Chapter Four of the Lotus Sūtra] is quoted as proof: “the suchlike great results and retributions.” Because they are “great,” therefore one can know the real. Because of “various meanings of nature and appearance” one can know the tentative.

I think that this [interpretation by Fa-yün] is mistaken. There are three meanings to the word “great” – large, many, and superior. If one accepts “large” to be the meaning of the real, then one should also accept the meanings of “many” and “superior.” But is not the fact of having various names [which is the defining characteristic of conventional existence] the meaning of “many”?138 If one says that the tentative belongs to ordinary ignorant people, does that mean that ordinary people lack [participation in] the real?139 If the real belongs to the sages, then does that mean that sages lack [participation in] tentative existence?140 If one examines this position, one can see that it is unreliable.

Also, the northern Master[s] say that the first five are the tentative and the later five are the real. This [interpretation is based on] human emotions.141

Foundations of T'ien T'ai Philosophy, p 181
138
Therefore the term “great” can apply to both the tentative and real. return
139
But the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says that all people possess the Buddha nature. return
140
But, for example, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara manifests himself in this world in thirty-three ways. return
141
In contrast to wisdom, it has no basis in reason or reality. return
142
The fundamental equality of all dharmas as empty of substantial Being return
Lotus Seeds

Bringing the Freedom of Awakening to All

Quote

The goals of the Buddha and of Nichiren Shu Buddhism are the same: bringing the freedom of awakening to all, no matter how deluded or bound by circumstances. In this book we have seen that the Lotus Sutra is the original teaching that guaranteed Buddhahood to all, including those seen as evil, such as Devadatta; those considered unable by nature to attain ultimate awakening, such as the monastic voice-hearers and the privately awakened ones; and those born with social impediments such as the dragon girl. Nichiren made the capacity for awakening truly universal through the teaching of the Three Great Secret Dharmas.

Lotus Seeds

WONS

The Great Harvest of the Lotus Sūtra

[S]uppose Śākyamuni Buddha alone changed His mind, after the Buddha of Many Treasures and Buddhas in manifestation throughout the universe returned to their respective worlds as preached in the twenty-second chapter on “Transmission,” and preached the Nirvana Sūtra declaring that the Lotus Sūtra is inferior to the Nirvana Sūtra. Who would believe this?

With this deeply in mind, I perused the ninth fascicle of the Nirvana Sūtra. It preaches amplification of the Lotus Sūtra, “Just as fruit will profit all living beings and bring about much comfort in life to them, the appearance of this Nirvana Sūtra will reveal the Buddha-nature inherent in people. Just as the guarantee of future Buddhahood granted to 8,000 śrāvaka in the Lotus Sūtra is like the bearing of huge fruit, after the harvest in autumn and stockpiling for winter the Nirvana Sūtra has nothing to do except gleaning.” According to this passage, if the Lotus Sūtra is a false teaching, is not the Nirvana Sūtra also false? It is clearly stated here that the Lotus Sūtra is like a great harvest while the Nirvana Sūtra is a gleaning. Thus, the Nirvana Sūtra declares itself to be inferior to the Lotus Sūtra. There is no mistake about the words of the Lotus Sūtra, chapter 10, “Teacher of the Dharma,” stating that it is superior even to the sūtras to be expounded, the Nirvana Sūtra .

Shugo Kokka-ron, Treatise on Protecting the Nation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 70-71

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – June 9, 2021

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.

The Buddha sings these verses to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. In our practice of the Wonderful Dharma, we may be able to enjoy the circumstances of being able to spend lots of time studying the Lotus Sūtra and the guidance given by our leader in this age of degeneration, Nichiren Shonin. But even if we do not have that luxury of time, as long as we remember how the Lotus Sūtra uses expedients to lead all beings to enlightenment, that the goal of this sūtra is not just to end suffering, we can teach it using our own capacities, however limited those may be. Each word of the sūtra is an embodiment of the Buddha. When we share these words with others, we share the Buddha.

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