Monthly Archives: August 2021

d3b, WONS

Only Between Buddhas and Buddhas Alone

Pondering the Great Wisdom Discourse, we are reminded of the quotation in the second chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, “Expedients,” which reads: “Only between Buddhas and Buddhas alone can this be understood.” This quotation exists for the Two Vehicles (śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha) who, through pre-Lotus teachings, have overcome the delusions arising from incorrect views and thoughts, have undertaken extreme austerities, turning the body to ashes and annihilating consciousness, and are allowed to gain enlightenment by the grace of the Lotus Sūtra, which assures that the three ways of evil passions, karma, and suffering would immediately be transformed into the three merits of the Dharma Body, wisdom, and emancipation. Since what was believed to be beyond the reach of the Two Vehicles is attainable, it can be assumed that bodhisattvas and the untutored may also anticipate enlightenment. Grand Master T’ien-t’ai in his Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra claims: “Granted that the condition in which someone of the Two Vehicles reaches a state of extreme mental and physical exhaustion where desires, which were called ‘poison,’ are thoroughly extinguished, then with the advent of enlightenment as guaranteed by the Lotus Sūtra such a poison would be transformed into medicine. This summarizes Nāgārjuna’s position. Nāgārjuna’s Great Wisdom Discourse further claims, ‘The Lotus Sūtra is indeed truly representative of an esoteric teaching; other teachings cannot be referred to as being so defined.’ ”

Shimon Butsujō-gi, Listening to the Once Buddha Vehicle Teachings for the First Time, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 249

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 3, 2021

I remember the extinction of that Buddha
As vividly as if he had passed away just now,
By my unhindered wisdom; I also remember
The Śrāvakas and Bodhisattvas who lived [with him].

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. Because the Buddha sees this world for what it is, his conception of time is much different from ours. We believe that our existence is tied up with the existence of our bodies. Here he reminds us that while our lives are certainly precious, this is not the whole story. Our existence is linked with that of countless beings, and there is no good reason to fear our extinction. There is no shortage of time, and no shortage of lives. Our opportunities to benefit others are truly boundless. The only things that restrict us are our own delusion and attachment.

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

LS32

Day 26

Day 26 concludes Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, includes Chapter 22, Transmission, and introduces Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Day 26 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered in gāthās the great supernatural powers of the Buddhas, we conclude Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Anyone who keeps this sūtra will be able to cause me to rejoice.
He also will be able to bring joy
To [the Buddhas of] my replicas
And also to Many-Treasures Buddha who once passed away.

He also will be able to see
The present, past and future Buddhas
Of the worlds of the ten quarters,
Make offerings to them, and cause them to rejoice.

The Buddhas sat at the place of enlightenment,
And obtained the hidden core.
Anyone who keeps this sūtra will be able
To obtain the same before long.

Anyone who keeps this sūtra
Will be able to expound
The meanings of the teachings,
And the names and words [of this sūtra].
Their eloquence will be as boundless
And as unhindered as the wind in the sky.

Anyone who understands why the Buddhas expound [many] sūtras,
Who knows the position [of this sūtra in the series of sūtras],
And who expounds it after my extinction
According to its true meaning,
Will be able to eliminate the darkness
Of the living beings of the world where he walks about,
Just as the light of the sun and the moon
Eliminates all darkness.
He will be able to cause innumerable Bodhisattvas
To dwell finally in the One Vehicle.

Therefore, the man of wisdom
Who hears the benefits of these merits
And who keeps this sūtra after my extinction,
Will be able to attain
The enlightenment of the Buddha
Definitely and doubtlessly.

See The Specific Transmission of Myō Hō Ren Ge Kyō

elements, d26b

The Specific Transmission of Myō Hō Ren Ge Kyō

The final eight chapters [of the Lotus Sutra] speak of the transmission of the sutra to the bodhisattvas. In “The Divine Power of the Tathāgata” (chapter 21), the Buddha declares: “The divine powers of buddhas are so infinite and boundless that they are beyond thought and expression. Even if I, by these divine powers … were to declare the merits of this sutra, I should still be unable to reach the end of those [merits]. Essentially speaking, all the laws belonging to the Tathāgata, all the sovereign, divine powers of the Tathāgata, all the mysterious, essential treasuries of the Tathāgata, … all are proclaimed, displayed, revealed, and expounded in this sutra” (MFH, 52a; TLS, p. 298). Nichiren called this the “specific transmission” (beppuzoku) because it was made specifically to the bodhisattva Eminent Conduct and the other bodhisattvas who had sprung up from the earth. It was upon his understanding of this chapter that he selected the five syllables of the title of the Lotus Sutra (myō, hō, ren, ge, and kyō) and encouraged their chanting, because he thought of himself as a reincarnation of Eminent Conduct (Bodhisattva Viśiṣṭacāritra).

Source elements of the Lotus Sutra, p 201-202
Blog

One Year Memorial Service for Rev. Ryusho Jeffus

Ryusho JeffusThe One Year Memorial Service for Rev. Ryusho Jeffus will be held online on Sunday, Aug. 15 via Zoom at 10:30 AM Pacific Time – 1:30 PM Eastern Time, 6:30 PM GMT (London), 7:30 PM CET (Prague).

You must register in advance if you want to attend.

To register, click here.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join Rev. Ryusho Shonin’s Service. Check your spam folder if the email does not arrive. For questions about the service, contact Mark Herrick.

The Buddhist Prophet

Nichiren: The Buddhist Prophet – Chapter 7

Peace in exile; the object of religious worship

Nichiren_the_Buddhist_Prophet-Chapter7
Download Chapter 7

A peaceful summer had passed, the short days of autumn followed one another, and the dreary winter was nigh. The exile continued to ponder on his mission, now more deeply and calmly than ever before. His faith in his mission was firmly established, and his aggressive propaganda was bearing fruit, not only in winning many converts, but even in inspiring awe in his opponents. Toward the end of the year in which he was banished, the Mongols caused fresh alarm by sending a number of ships, which were followed in the next year by another embassy. Family strife broke out among the Hōjōs, and members of the clan killed one another. All these events were interpreted by Nichiren and his followers as the results of the injustice done the prophet, and also as a fulfilment of his warning predictions. This was a triumph for Nichiren, but what concerned him more was the future of the nation and of the religion. In the Sacred Title he had given his religion a standard and a form of worship suitable to every people in the Latter Days; he had also explained who Buddha is, and the relation between Buddha and ourselves. But the object of worship had not yet been clearly defined. What should it be? How should it be presented to men’s physical and spiritual vision? The next task, the consummation of his activities hitherto, was the solution of this problem, the revelation of the Supreme Being, and a preparation for the complete fulfilment of his great mission.

The thought had occupied him, as he tells us, since the autumn (eleventh month) of 1272. The way in which he solved the problem was quite characteristic of his philosophical cast of mind; as well as of his practical nature – philosophical, because Nichiren always emphasized the Truth, the metaphysical basis of existence, and was never content to worship a personal god, whether Buddha or any other deity, merely as a being existing beside ourselves; practical, because his special endeavor was to seize the very quintessence of Truth, and to present it in a way so simple and concrete that even the least intelligent might be inspired and moved by it.

Surely, the Lord Śākyamuni, when understood as the primeval Tathāgata, is the ultimate entity of the universe, and consequently the object of worship. Yet, when he is simply represented, as he is represented by other Buddhists, in an image, or in any other manner suggesting a particular person, the erroneous conception immediately arises, that the person is different from the Truth that he embodies. On the other hand, Nichiren’s religion was not the worship of an abstract truth, but a life to be lived by every being, human, or other. Thus, the thing to be done was to unite the Truth and the Person in a concrete representation, and to regard it as the embodiment of the Supreme Being. This had been partly accomplished in the formula of worship symbolized in the Sacred Title. But this latter means of religious worship, chiefly intended for oral utterance, was to be supplemented by providing the soul with a representation of the Supreme Being which symbolized a perfect union of the eternal Truth with the primeval person of Buddha. The result was set forth in the “Spiritual Introspection of the Supreme Being,” an essay finished on the twenty-fifth of the fourth month; and a tangible symbolic representation was made on the eighth day of the seventh month, 1273. Now let us see what the idea and representation were.


NICHIREN: THE BUDDHIST PROPHET

Table of Contents

WONS

Bodhisattva Fukyō Never Gave Up

The Lotus Sūtra says in effect that when the sūtra is propagated in the fifth 500-year period after the death of Śākyamuni Buddha, evil spirits will dwell in the people and try to stop it. If one believes the sutra, he is spoken ill of, beaten, chased away, and even killed. Under the circumstances, the first person to propagate the sūtra receives the same merit of serving all Buddhas in the universe throughout the lives in the past, present, and future. He also inherits the merit of Śākyamuni Buddha which He had accumulated as a bodhisattva in the past. Therefore, when Bodhisattva Fukyō was propagating the sūtra in the past, scholarly priests, nuns, and great priests who kept 250 precepts seduced men and women to speak ill of him and beat him, but he never gave up until he attained Buddhahood. Śākyamuni Buddha is the former Bodhisattva Fukyō.

Myōhō Bikuni Go-henji, A Reply to Nun Myōhō, Nyonin Gosho, Letters Addressed to Female Followers, Page 214

Daily Dharma, d3b

Daily Dharma – Aug. 2, 2021

No, no, I will not say any more.
My teaching is wonderful and inconceivable.
If arrogant people hear me,
They will not respect or believe me.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra. This was his response the first time Śāriputra asked to receive the Buddha’s highest teaching. The Buddha knew we must be prepared for his wisdom. We must discern clearly the difference between what we know and what we do not know. Because all things are impermanent, the truths we cling to may no longer apply. The ignorance and confusion at the root of our suffering will disappear as we set aside what is no longer true and gain wisdom.

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

LS32

Day 25

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Day 25 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month conclude Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, we begin Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas with the vow of the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of dust of one thousand worlds who had sprung up from underground.

Thereupon the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of dust of one thousand worlds, who had sprung up from underground, joined their hands together towards the Buddha with all their hearts, looked up at his honorable face, and said to him:

“World-Honored One! After your extinction, we will expound this sūtra in the worlds of the Buddhas of your replicas and also in the place from which you will pass away. Why is that? It is because we also wish to obtain this true, pure and great Dharma, to keep, read, recite, expound and copy [this sūtra], and to make offerings to it.”

Thereupon the World-Honored One displayed his great supernatural powers in the presence of the multitude, which included not only the many hundreds of thousands of billions of Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who had already lived in this Sahā-World [before the arrival of the Bodhisattvas from underground], headed by Mañjuśrī, but also bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās, upāsikās, gods, dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men and nonhuman beings. He stretched out his broad and long tongue upwards until the tip of it reached the World of Brahman. Then he emitted rays of light with an immeasurable variety of colors from his pores. The light illumined all the worlds of the ten quarters. The Buddhas who were sitting on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees also stretched out their broad and long tongue and emitted innumerable rays of light. Śākyamuni Buddha and the Buddhas under the jeweled trees displayed these supernatural powers of theirs for one hundred thousand years. Then they pulled back their tongues, coughed at the same time, and snapped their fingers. These two sounds [of coughing and snapping] reverberated over the Buddha-worlds of the ten quarters, and the ground of those worlds quaked in the six ways. By the supernatural powers of the Buddhas, the living beings of those worlds, including gods, dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, and mahoragas, men and nonhuman beings, saw the many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas sitting on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees in this Sahā-World. They also saw Śākyamuni Buddha sitting by the side of Many-Treasures Tathāgata on the lion-like seat in the stupa of treasures. They also saw that the many hundreds of thousands of billions of Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas and the four kind of devotees were surrounding Śākyamuni Buddha respectfully. Having seen all this, they had the greatest joy that they had ever had.

See Refuting Heretical Views

elements, d25b

Refuting Heretical Views

In chapter 20 the Buddha addresses the bodhisattva Great Power Obtained and relates to him the story of the bodhisattva Never Despise, thereby pointing out the retribution of those who slander practitioners of the Lotus Sutra and the reward of those who preserve the true Dharma. In the past, after the death of the Buddha of that age, in a time when the Law had deteriorated and was only an imitation of the Truth, monks of the utmost arrogance held authority. A bodhisattva, named Never Despise, appeared and saluted all he met, whether ordained or lay, with the words, “I deeply revere you. I dare not slight and contemn you. Wherefore? [Because] you all walk in the bodhisattva-way and are to become buddhas” (MFH, 50c; TLS, p. 290). Those who were not pure of mind became irritated at his behavior, and reviled and abused him, and beat him with clubs and sticks, and threw potsherds and stones at him. Even so, he still saluted them and said, “I dare not slight you.” When his death drew near, he heard in the sky the verses of the Lotus Sutra and was able to receive and keep it, gaining the merits of the purity of the sense-organs. As a result, he was able to prolong his life for two hundred myriad kotis of nayutas (each equal to ten thousand kotis) of years, preaching the Lotus Sutra to the people, and converting the arrogant monks.

The story illustrates the principle of reversing a person’s belief by refuting his heretical views. Even being abused and reviled by people is itself a forging of links with Buddhism, planting the seed of future enlightenment. Nichiren based his method of shakubuku (refuting heretical views) upon this chapter.

Source elements of the Lotus Sutra, p 201