Monthly Archives: November 2021

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Nov. 9, 2021

I know the Way. I have opened the Way. I will expound the Way. Gods, men and asuras! Come and hear the Dharma!

The Buddha makes this declaration at the beginning of Chapter Five of the Lotus Sūtra. If anyone besides the Buddha had said this, we would accuse them of arrogance: pretending to know what they do not. The Buddha does not separate himself from us. Because he knows we can become as enlightened as he is, he does not place himself as superior. He also knows that unless we hear him, he cannot help us to become enlightened. To accept this help means taking responsibility for our progress on the path. We cannot continue alone but we must make our own effort.

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

LS32

Day 22

Day 22 covers all of Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits.

Day 22 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month repeated in gāthās the merits of anyone who keeps this sutra, we conclude Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits.

When you see any teacher of the Dharma
Who has obtained these merits,
You should strew heavenly flowers to him,
Dress him in a heavenly garment,
Worship his feet with your head,
And think that he will become a Buddha.

You should think
“He will go to the place of enlightenment before long.
He will be free from āsravas and free from causality.
He will benefit all gods and men.”

Erect a stupa in the place
Where he expounded even a gāthā of this sūtra
While he was standing,
Walking, sitting or reclining!
Adorn the stupa beautifully,
And make various offerings to it!

He is my son.
I will accept his place as mine.
I will be there.
I will walk, sit or recline there.

The Daily Dharma from Aug. 21, 2021, offers this:

When you see any teacher of the Dharma
Who has obtained these merits,
You should strew heavenly flowers to him,
Dress him in a heavenly garment,
Worship his feet with your head,
And think that he will become a Buddha.

The Buddha makes this declaration to Maitreya Bodhisattva in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. This chapter tells the variety of merits enjoyed by anyone who understands, however briefly, the ever-present nature of the Buddha. This reminder is not just for the great Bodhisattvas such as Maitreya. It is also for all of us who are awakening our Bodhisattva nature through this teaching. It is important for us to treat all people, especially those who share this practice of the Buddha Dharma with us, with the same respect we would give to the Buddha himself.

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

history

Arhat vs. Buddha

[I]n Nikāya Buddhism, an arhat is not seen as equal to a buddha. An arhat only equals a buddha in the sense that they have both achieved nirvāṇa. Differing from a buddha, an arhat does not try to benefit others through teaching, and an arhat understands completely that his existence is far below the existence of a buddha. Therefore, the followers of Nikāya Buddhism do not believe that they can become buddhas and do not desire to become buddhas. In their belief system it would be extremely arrogant for them to presume that they can become buddhas.

History and Teachings of Nichiren Buddhism, p 58
WONS

The Time Exclusively for the Pure, Perfect Teaching of the Lotus Sūtra

QUESTION: Is not it in accordance with the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra that preaches the “opening the provisional and merging with the true teaching” that we have faith in various provisional sūtras and Buddhas? And what about putting our faith exclusively in the Lotus Sūtra, performing the five ways of practicing it – upholding, reading, reciting, expounding, and copying – in an inoffensive way as preached in the “Peaceful Practice,” fourteenth chapter of the Lotus Sūtra? Can we call such a person a true practicer of Buddhism?

ANSWER: All those who want to practice Buddhism should know that there are two ways of propagation, the persuasive (shōju) and aggressive (shakubuku). All Buddhist scriptures, sūtras and commentaries, must be propagated through these two ways. However, scholars in Japan today, though they seem to have learned Buddhism in general, do not know how to meet the needs of the time. The four seasons differ from one another. It is warm in summer and cold in winter; flowers bloom in spring and trees bear fruits and nuts in autumn. We sow seeds in spring and harvest crops in autumn. How can we harvest crops in spring by planting seeds in the fall? Heavy clothes are for the cold winter, not the hot summer. A cool breeze is needed in the summer not in the winter.

The same could be said of Buddhism. There are times when Hinayāna teachings can be spread effectively, and times when provisional Mahāyāna teachings might be more effective. Still other times might call for the True Dharma to be disseminated for the attainment of Buddhahood. The 2,000-year period following the death of Śākyamuni Buddha, namely the Ages of the True Dharma and Semblance Dharma, is the time for the Hinayāna and provisional Mahāyāna teachings to be spread. The 500-year period at the beginning of the Latter Age of Degeneration is the time exclusively for the pure, perfect, only real teaching of the Lotus Sūtra to be disseminated.

Nyosetsu Shugyō-shō, True Way of Practicing the Teaching of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 85

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Nov. 8, 2021

Now you have awakened us, saying:
“What you attained was not true extinction.
When you have the unsurpassed wisdom of the Buddha,
You will attain true extinction.”

Five hundred of the Buddha’s monks give this explanation in Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. These monks believed that by extinguishing their desires and ending their suffering, they would reach the wisdom of the Buddha. They had not yet heard the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra in which the Buddha reveals his wisdom and the path to attain it. This is the path of the Bodhisattva: beings who resolve to work for the enlightenment of all beings and not just end their own suffering. We may start on the path towards enlightenment by wanting to be happy. Then as we progress, we find our happiness entwined with that of all beings.

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

LS32

Day 21

Day 21 covers all of Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata.

Day 21 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered the Parable of the Skillful Physician and His Sick Children, we consider the implications of the parable.

“Good men! What do you think of this? Do you think that anyone can accuse this excellent physician of falsehood?”

“No, World-Honored One!”

The Buddha said:

“I am like the father. It is many hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas of asaṃkhyas of kalpas since I became the Buddha. In order to save the [perverted] people, I say expediently, ‘I shall pass away.’ No one will accuse me of falsehood by the [common] law.”

The Daily Dharma from May 8, 2021, offers this:

I am like the father. It is many hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas of asaṃkhyas of kalpas since I became the Buddha. In order to save the [perverted] people, I say expediently, ‘I shall pass away.’ No one will accuse me of falsehood by the [common] law.

The Buddha gives this explanation in Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story of the Physician and his children, the father leaves and sends word that he has died when his children refuse to take the antidote he has prepared for them. He gave his children no choice but to accept what they already had and make the effort to improve themselves and set aside their deluded minds. In the same way, when we take the Buddha for granted, and close our eyes to the Wonderful Dharma he has given us, he disappears. It is only when we open our eyes and see clearly this world and ourselves in it that we can recognize the Buddha and how he is always leading us.

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

history

Pratyekabuddha

A pratyekabuddha is the other type of follower in Nikāya Buddhism. The Japanese word for this is engaku. The characters used are: “en,” condition, and “gaku,” awaken. “Condition” refers to the twelve-fold chain of dependent origination. Pratyekabuddhas achieved awakening by becoming truly aware of the meaning of the twelve-fold chain. Because these followers preferred to practice Buddhism alone rather than to reside in temples, roaming fields without a teacher or a dwelling, they are also called dokukaku, or the self-awakened. The character “doku,” means “alone,” and “kaku,” is the same character as “gaku.” Another term for them that copies the pronunciation of part of the original word is byakushibutsu but in this chapter we will use the term pratyekabuddha.

As explained above, many of these pratyekabuddhas practiced Buddhism without a teacher. Such a practice would have been unthinkable during the lifetime of the Buddha, the great teacher. It is therefore clear that this type of follower began to appear after the Buddha’s death. Please keep in mind that the existence of pratyekabuddhas clearly implies that the Buddha’s life had ended and so there was no obvious teacher.

History and Teachings of Nichiren Buddhism, p 57
Lecture on Lotus Sutra

Slandering by Comparison

Quote

When introduced to the eight-year-old daughter of the dragon king, Accumulated­-Wisdom makes the comparison between her and Shakyamuni saying that it is hard to believe that someone so young and a female could accomplish all that the Buddha had done in his entire lifetime. I believe this shows us the danger of making comparisons between others and ourselves or between other people. It is wrong and potentially misleading to look at people and say they are not qualified to be a Buddha based upon outward appearances. Everyone – let me say it again, all beings – are equally endowed with the potential to manifest the Buddha that is inherent within their lives. From the poorest, or the most heinous criminal, or the least educated, to the richest, most pure, or smartest it does not matter whatever distinction we may apply they are all irrelevant when it comes to attaining Buddhahood. When we personally engage in such practices as judging people we are in fact sowing the seeds to our own misery because we are in effect slandering the very teachings of the Buddha we claim to uphold.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

WONS

The Delusion of Devils Among the Ten Objects of Meditation

[T]he king of devils in the Sixth Heaven is bound to interfere with the practicers of the Lotus Sūtra. This is explained as the delusion of devils among the ten objects of meditation listed by Grand Master T’ien-t’ai in his Great Concentration and Insight. Devils delight in obstructing the virtuous and helping spread evil. Unable to force virtuous people to do evil, however, devils cannot help but let them do meritorious deeds. Or, they will encourage those who practice the teachings for “Two Vehicles” (men of śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha), such as doctrines of the “four noble truths” and the “twelve links of cause and effect,” to switch to less meritorious practices like the “five precepts” and “ten good acts.” Bodhisattvas practicing the “six pāramitā ways leading to Buddhahood” may be encouraged to downgrade to Two Vehicle teachings. Finally, those who single-heartedly practice the purely perfect teachings of the Lotus Sūtra are induced to downgrade the practice to such as the “distinctive teaching.” This is explained in detail in the Great Concentration and Insight, fascicle 8, so you had better consult it.

Toki Nyūdō-dono Go-henji: Hongon Shukkai-shō, A response to Lay riest Lord Toki: Treatise on Overcoming Illusions of the Triple World by Provisional Teachins, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 278-279

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Nov. 7, 2021

I do not deceive
Those who believe me and rely on me.
I am not greedy or jealous
Because I have eliminated all evils.
Therefore, in the worlds of the ten quarters,
I am fearless.

The Buddha proclaims these verses to his disciple Śāriputra in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sutra. In this world of conflict, people believe that they must constantly strive to show that they are better than everyone else. Acquiring more material goods or a higher rank or position supposedly proves superiority. And if there is an encounter with someone who is better, that person must be brought down. What people do not realize that the source of greed and jealousy is fear. Like the Buddha, we too can eliminate our fears when we are satisfied with what we have and regard superior beings as a source of benefit.

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