Monthly Archives: November 2021

WONS

Evaluating the Merits of Spreading the Lotus Sūtra

It is preached in the Lotus Sūtra that we must uphold it and propagate it in the seventeenth and eleventh chapters respectively. What does propagating this sūtra mean? As it is said in the fourteenth chapter that the Lotus Sūtra is supreme of all sūtras, only those who insist that the Lotus Sūtra is superior to such sūtras as the Great Sun Buddha, Flower Garland, Nirvana, and Wisdom, are true practicers of the Lotus Sūtra. If this is so, practicers of the Lotus Sūtra except for Grand Master Dengyō and I, Nichiren, have not existed for more than 700 years since Buddhism was introduced to Japan. I have been wondering then why those who abuse and speak ill of me, a true practicer of the Lotus Sūtra, are left unpunished. I now know, however, why their “heads have not been split into seven pieces” or their “mouths have not been sealed” as predicted in the twenty-sixth and fourteenth chapters of the sūtra. Such punishments are relatively light and concern only a few people.

Nichiren is the prime practicer of the Lotus Sūtra in the whole world. Those who abuse me, hate me, and others who side with such people, should suffer from the severest calamities in the world. The great earthquake of the Shōka Era that shook entire Japan and the great comet of the Bun’ei Era that ran across the sky were such punishments. Think on this carefully! Many have harmed practicers of Buddhism after the death of Śākyamuni Buddha, but calamities as severe as the ones we have now never occurred before. This means that never before has there been a person admonishing all the people to recite “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.” Is there anyone in the whole world who can see eye to eye, and stand shoulder to shoulder with me, to evaluate the merits of spreading the Lotus Sūtra?

Senji-shō, Selecting the Right time: A Tract by Nichiren, the Buddha’s Disciple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 206-207

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Nov. 28, 2021

I am grateful to have been born a human with this precious body due to accumulated causes and conditions in my past existences. According to the sutra, I must have encountered and given offerings to ten trillion Buddhas in the past. Even though I did not place my faith exclusively in the Lotus Sutra, thus slandering the Dharma and being born poor and lowly in this life as a result, my merit of giving offerings to the Buddhas was so great that I was born as a believer of the Lotus Sutra.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on the Testimony of the Lotus Sutra (Hokke Shōmyō-shō) addressed to Nanjō Tokimitsu. Unlike most of those who practiced the Buddha Dharma in his time, Nichiren did not belong to the higher classes of royalty or warriors. He saw clearly the suffering of common people and vowed to end it. He realized that the superiority of the Lotus Sūtra does not lie in its power to bring rain or change history. The power of this sūtra lies in its determination to save all beings, rich or poor, noble or common, deluded or wise. Nichiren’s offering to the Buddha was to spread this Wonderful Dharma. To benefit the Buddha is to benefit all beings.

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

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 why lesser teachings are inadequate, we consider the prohibition against expounding the sutra.

I expound only to people of profound wisdom
This Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Because men of little wisdom would doubt this sūtra,
And not understand it even if they heard it.
No Śrāvaka
Or Pratyekabuddha
Can understand
This sūtra.

Even you, Śāriputra,
Have understood this sūtra
Only by faith.
Needless to say,
The other Śrāvakas cannot do otherwise.
They will be able to follow this sūtra
Only because they believe my words,
Not because they have wisdom.

Śāriputra
Do not expound this sūtra
To those who are arrogant and idle,
And who think that the self exists!

Do not expound it to men of little wisdom!
They would not be able to understand it
Even if they heard it
Because they are deeply attached to the five desires.

Those who do not believe this sūtra
But slander it,
Will destroy the seeds of Buddhahood
Of all living beings of the world.

See Believe These Words and Revere Them

history, d15b, d16b, d21b

Six Occasions of Showing the Deeds and Figures of Buddhas

Śākyamuni Buddha does not abandon us perverted people.

“I am always thinking:
‘How shall I cause all living beings
To enter into the unsurpassed Way
And quickly become Buddhas?”‘

With this vow, Śākyamuni Buddha, as the Eternal Buddha, is constantly lending a helping hand to us perverted people.

How do the activities of the Buddha toward the salvation of others over eternity develop? In “The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata,” these activities are revealed in the form of the six occasions of showing the deeds and figures of buddhas.

I told the stories of my previous lives in some sūtras, and the stories of previous lives of other Buddhas in other sutras. I showed my replicas in some sūtras, and my transformations in other sūtras. I described my deeds in some sūtras, and the deeds of others in other sūtras.

Śākyamuni Buddha is always leading us into salvation, showing himself in many guises and using many different methods. Right before the Assembly in Space begins, many buddhas were invited. These were actually manifestations of the Eternal Buddha. This reveals why they are called manifestations. Many buddhas besides Śākyamuni Buddha appear in Buddhism, for example, Amitābha Buddha and Medicine Master Buddha. Each of these buddhas is viewed as a part of the Eternal Buddha. Even the historical Śākyamuni Buddha, whose lifespan was limited, is viewed as one aspect of the Eternal Buddha. In this way, all the buddhas working toward the salvation of living beings are merely different manifestations of the eternal Buddha, who uses the six occasions of revealing the deeds and figures of buddhas to show himself appropriately in each situation.

It may seem that so long as we remember that the Eternal Buddha is at the base of the individual Buddhas, we can put our faith in any Buddha. Nichiren Shōnin severely criticized such a theory, saying that it makes light of the base and emphasizes trivial details.

History and Teachings of Nichiren Buddhism, p 91-92
Lecture on Lotus Sutra

Arrogance of the Intellectual

Quote

Shariputra chimes in with his doubts about the dragon girl, almost scoffing, saying in effect, Who do you think you are so presumptuous to come here and claim to be able to become a Buddha so rapidly? The arrogance of the intellectual can be most harmful when we let our brain control our heart. Shariputra offers up the traditionally held objections to a woman becoming a king, which also transferred to beliefs about women becoming Buddhas. Those five objections are called the five impossibilities and are: a woman cannot become a Brahman-Heavenly-King, a King Sakra, a King Mara, a wheel-turning-holy-king, or a Buddha.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

WONS

The Same Lotus Sūtra Is Preached for All

Many sūtras other than the Lotus preach variously according to the caliber of listeners. For instance the “five precepts” are preached for those in the human realm, the “ten good acts” for those in the realm of heaven, compassion and charity for the King of the Brahma Heaven, equal alms-giving among priests for the king of devils, 250 precepts for monks, 500 precepts for nuns, the four noble truths for men of śrāvaka, the 12 links of cause and effect for men of pratyekabuddha, and the six pāramitā for bodhisattvas. It is like water taking its shape according to the container or an elephant exerting its strength according to the enemy.

This is not the case with the Lotus Sūtra, in which the same Lotus Sūtra is preached for all the eight kinds of protectors of the Lotus Sūtra and four kinds of devotees. It is as if a ruler straightening a curved line or a lion exerting his full power regardless of the strength of its prey.

Shokyō to Hokekyō to Nan’I no Koto, The Difficulty and Easiness in Understanding the Lotus Sūtra and Other Sūtras, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 284

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Nov. 27, 2021

I attained perfect enlightenment and now save all living beings because Devadatta was my teacher.

The Buddha makes this declaration in Chapter Twelve of the Lotus Sūtra. Devadatta was a cousin of the Buddha who became jealous of the Buddha’s enlightenment. Several times he tried to kill the Buddha. He also caused a split in the Buddha’s Sangha, and convinced a young prince to kill his father and usurp the throne. Devadatta was so evil that he fell into Hell alive. Despite all this, the Buddha credits Devadatta with helping him become enlightened, and assures Devadatta personally that he will become enlightened. This shows us that even those beings who create great harm have Buddha nature. They may not deserve our admiration, but they at least deserve our respect.

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 considered in gāthās what happened when the fire broke out in the rich man’s house, we consider the expedient used by the rich man to save his children.

At that time the house-owner
Was standing outside the gate.
He heard a man say to him:
“Some time ago
Your children entered this house to play.
They are young and ignorant.
They are engrossed in playing.”
Hearing this,
The rich man was frightened.
He rushed into the burning house.

In order to save them
From burning to death,
He told them
Of the dangers of the house:
“There are demons and poisonous vermin here.
Flames have already spread all over.
Many sufferings are coming
One after another endlessly.
There are poisonous snakes,
Lizards, vipers,
Yakṣas, kumbhanda demons,
Small foxes, foxes, dogs,
Crested eagles, eagles,
Kites, owls and centipedes here.
They are unbearably hungry and thirsty.
They are dreadful.
These sufferings are difficult to avoid.
Worse still, there is a big fire.”

Though the children heard his warning,
They were still engrossed in playing.
They did not stop playing
Because they were ignorant.

The rich man
Thought:
“They are ignorant.
My anxiety deepens
There is nothing pleasant
In this house.
But they are engrossed
In playing.
They do not listen to me.
They will be burned to death.”

At the time
He thought of an expedient.
He said to them:
“I have many kinds of toys.
They are beautiful carts
Made of wonderful treasures.
They are sheep-carts, deer-carts,
And large bullock-carts.
They are outside the gate.
Come out!
I made those carts
For you.
Play with them
As you like!”

Hearing of the carts from him,
They ran out,
Striving to be first,
And reached an open place.
They were now free
From the sufferings.

See Finding Appropriate Action

history, d21b

Revealing the True Nature of This Sahā World

“The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata” reveals the true nature of this Sahā world. Śākyamuni Buddha became a buddha in our Sahā world. Since he is the Eternal Buddha, the Sahā world is the world in which he resides. This describes our world as an eternal pure land.

“In reality this world of mine is peaceful.
It is filled with gods and men.
The gardens, forests, and stately buildings
Are adorned with various treasures;
The jeweled trees have many flowers and fruits;
The living beings are enjoying themselves.”

If this is the reality of the Sahā world, then we are all residents of the eternal pure land. Why don’t we experience the Sahā world as an eternal pure land? According to the text, we are perverted people. This means that we cannot see straight but look at things from the wrong side. Thus it is revealed:

“This pure world of mine is indestructible.
But the perverted people think:
‘It is full of sorrow, fear and other sufferings.
It will soon burn away.”‘

Although in the eyes of the Buddha the Sahā world is unmistakably a pure land, we perverted people experience is a world filled with sorrow, fear and sadness. We “sinful people” cannot escape our “evil karmas.”

History and Teachings of Nichiren Buddhism, p 90-91
WONS

‘Today the Fate of Another, Tomorrow Mine’

How pathetic it is that all the people in Japan today are delighted to see me, Nichiren, and my disciples and lay followers confronted by three types of powerful enemies and suffering from severe persecution. However, as it is said, “Today the fate of another, tomorrow mine,” their lives are as fragile as those of Nichiren and his disciples and lay followers. It is just like frost and dew lasting only until the sun rises. When, I, Nichiren, and my disciples and lay followers attain Buddhahood enjoying supreme happiness in the Pure Land of Tranquil Light, they will suffer in the bottom of the Hell of Incessant Suffering. Then what pity we shall feel for them, and how envious they shall be of us!

Nyosetsu Shugyō-shō, True Way of Practicing the Teaching of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 87