History and Teachings of Nichiren Buddhism, p 59-61The first issue addressed by the Lotus Sūtra can be summarized as follows:
Should śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas remain unable to attain buddhahood? Is it permissible to cut them off as a group with low aspirations? Isn’t that against the concept that Mahāyāna Buddhists should aspire for the attainment of buddhahood not only for themselves, but also for a wide range of others?
The Lotus Sūtra responds to this issue by teaching the “opening the three vehicles to reveal the One Vehicle” idea in Chapter 2, “Expedients,” and the “obtainment of buddhahood by the people of the two vehicles” based upon this idea. …
Here is the second issue addressed by the Lotus Sūtra:
In Mahāyāna Buddhism various buddhas appear. These include Śākyamuni Buddha, Bhaiśājyaguru or Medicine Master Buddha, and Amitābha or the Buddha of Infinite Light. This means many Buddhas exist. In the text of the Lotus Sūtra, many buddhas appear who existed in the past, exist now, and will exist in every direction. What is the relationship between these buddhas?
The Lotus Sūtra responds with the teaching of “opening the near to reveal the far” in Chapter 16, “The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata.” In this chapter, Śākyamuni Buddha explains that in a far distant time in the past, he achieved buddhahood. Since then and into the eternal future he continues to work towards the salvation of others as the so-called Eternal Buddha. He also states that the buddhas who existed in the past, exist now, and will exist in every direction are all parts of the Eternal Buddha. In other words, the Eternal Śākyamuni Buddha is fixed as the basic unifying Buddha for all the buddhas who existed in the past, exist now, and will exist in every direction.
Monthly Archives: November 2021
All Teachings of the Buddha Stem from the Daimoku
Grand Master T’ien-t’ai, who is said to have directly heard the Buddha preach on Mt. Sacred Eagle, says in the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “The word ‘thus’ is used to show the essence of the dharma they heard from the Buddha.” Grand Master Chang-an, listened to what Grand Master T’ien-t’ai preached on the Lotus Sūtra and recorded it as the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra. He states in it, “The first preface written by Grand Master T’ien-t’ai expresses the profound mind of the Lotus Sūtra and this profound mind is nothing but the profound spirit of this sūtra.” What is referred to as the spirit of this sūtra means that the title (daimoku) is the spirit of this one. Grand Master Miao-lê says in his Commentary on the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra, “All the teachings of the Buddha stemmed from the title (daimoku) which is the spirit of letters in the Lotus Sūtra.”
Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 52.
Daily Dharma – Nov. 11, 2021
All this time I have been living in this Sahā-World, and teaching [the living beings of this world] by expounding the Dharma to them. I also have been leading and benefiting the living beings of one hundred thousand billion nayuta asaṃkhya worlds outside this world.
The Buddha gives this explanation to all those gathered to hear him in Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In the parable of the physician and his children, the Buddha explains how if he were to reveal himself explicitly to those still focused on their own suffering, they would take him for granted and not believe the Wonderful Dharma he provides for him. It is by learning to recognize the Buddha living with us here today, who is helping us all awaken from our delusions, and taking on his work of benefiting all beings, that we lose our suffering and attachment, and realize the potential for enlightenment that is at the core of our true being.
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.
“Furthermore, Constant-Endeavor! The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this sūtra, will be able to obtain eight hundred merits of the nose. With their pure noses, they will be able to recognize all the various things above, below, within and without the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds.
“Those who keep this sūtra will be able to recognize, without moving about, the scents of the sumanas-flowers, jātika-flowers, mallikā-flowers, campaka-flowers, pāṭala-flowers, red lotus flowers, blue lotus flowers, white lotus flowers, flower-trees and fruit-trees. They also will be able to recognize the scents of candana, aloes, tamālapattra and tagara, and the scents of tens of millions of kinds of mixed incense which are either powdered or made in lumps or made applicable to the skin. They also will be able to recognize the living beings including elephants, horses, cows, sheep, men, women, boys and girls by smell. They also will be able to recognize without fallacy grasses, trees, thickets and forests by smell, be the nearby or at a distance.“Those who keep this sūtra also will be able to recognize the gods [and things] in heaven by smell while they are staying [in the world of men]. They will be able to recognize the scents of the pārijātaka-trees, kovidāra-trees, mandārava-flowers, mahā-mandārava-flowers, mañjūṣaka-flowers, mahā-mañjūṣaka-flowers [in heaven]; the powdered incense of candana and aloes, the scents of other flowers, and the mixture of these scents in heaven without fail. They will be able to recognize the gods by smell. They will be able to recognize from afar the scent that Śakra-Devānām-Indra gives forth when he satisfies his five desires and enjoys himself in his excellent palace, or when he expounds the Dharma to the Trāyastriṃs̒a Gods at the wonderful hall of the Dharma, or when he plays in the gardens. They also will be able to recognize by smell from afar the gods and goddesses of the other heavens, including the Heaven of Brahman and the Highest Heaven. They also will be able to recognize the incense burned by the gods in those heavens. They also will be able to locate the Śrāvakas, Pratyekabuddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas by smelling their bodies from afar. Even when they recognize all this by smell, their organ of smell will not be destroyed or put out of order. If they wish, they will be able to tell others of the differences [of those scents] because they remember them without fallacy.”
Working for the benefit of others
History and Teachings of Nichiren Buddhism, p 59Mahāyāna Buddhists criticized Nikāya Buddhism as follows: The two groups, śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, comprise a so-called Hinayāna or lesser vehicle. Their purpose is solely for their own benefit, not the benefit of others; the salvation that they seek is only theirs. On the other hand, bodhisattvas comprise the so-called Mahāyāna or greater vehicle. This is because their aim is to lead others to salvation through their practice of Buddhism, with the benefit of others as their top priority. From the position of the Mahāyāna, śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas can never become buddhas. This is because they avoid practices for the benefit of others which are necessary to become a buddha. Only the bodhisattvas, who work for the benefit of others, have the capacity to become buddhas.
As Rare as a Tiger Without a Leash in a Market Place
Regarding the observance of Buddhist precepts, we must consider the differences between the Age of the True Dharma, the Age of the Semblance Dharma and the Latter Age of Degeneration as well as between the persuasive and aggressive means of propagation. Grand Master Dengyō states in his Treatise on the Light for the Latter Age of Degeneration that one who keeps the precepts in the Latter Age of Degeneration is as rare as a tiger without a leash in a market place. We should take all these into account in practicing meditation while observing Buddhist precepts.
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 279
Daily Dharma – Nov. 10, 2021
Having heard from you
Of the duration of your life,
Living beings as many as the particles of earth
Of eight Sumeru-worlds
Aspired for unsurpassed [enlightenment].
The Bodhisattva Maitreya sings these verses in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sutra. He describes the effect on all beings of the Buddha’s revealing his existence as the Ever-Present Śākyamuni. If we believed that the Buddha was just a man who lived 2500 years ago, we might think that we had to wait until another being became enlightened before we could follow them on the path to our own awakening. But with this understanding that the Buddha is always helping us, here and now, then we awaken our capacity to see things as they are and work confidently for the benefit of all beings.
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.
“Furthermore, Ajita! Anyone who goes to a monastery in order to hear this sūtra and hears it even for a moment while he is sitting or standing, in his next life will be able to go up to the palace of heaven, riding in a beautiful and wonderful elephant-cart or horse-cart or in a palanquin of wonderful treasure by his merits. Anyone who, while sitting in the place of the expounding of the Dharma, persuades another per on to it down or shares his seat with him to hear [the Dharma] when he sees him coming to the place, in his next life by his merits, will be able to obtain the seal of King Sakra, of the Brahman Heavenly-King or of a wheel-turning-holy-king.
“Ajita! Anyone who[, while he is staying outside the place of the expounding of the Dharma,] says to another person, ‘Let us go and hear the sūtra called the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma which is being expounded [in that place],’ and cause him to hear it even for a moment, in his next life by his merit , will be able to live with the Bodhisattvas who obtain dharanis. He will be clever and wise. He will not be dumb throughout thousands of millions of his future existences. His breath will not be foul. He will have no disease of the tongue or the mouth. His teeth will not be defiled, black, yell w, few, fallen out, uneven or crooked. His lips will not be pendulous, shrunk, chapped, cracked, broken, distorted, thick, large, yellow-black or loathsome. His nose will not be flat or awry. His face will not be black, long, distorted or displeasing. His lips, tongue and teeth will be well-shaped; his nose, long, high and straight. His face will be full; his eyebrows, thick and long; and his forehead, broad and even. In a word, he will have all the good features of a man. He will be able to see the Buddhas, hear the Dharma from them, and receive their teachings by faith throughout his future existences.
“Ajita, look! The merits of the person who causes even a single man to go and hear the Dharma are so many. It is needless to speak of the merits of the person who hears [this sūtra] with all his heart, reads it, recites it, expounds it to the great multitude, and acts according to its teachings.
The Daily Dharma from Oct. 5, 2021, offers this:
Ajita, look! The merits of the person who causes even a single man to go and hear the Dharma are so many. It is needless to speak of the merits of the person who hears [this sūtra] with all his heart, reads it, recites it, expounds it to the great multitude, and acts according to its teachings.
The Buddha gives this explanation to Maitreya, whom he calls Ajita (Invincible) in Chapter Eighteen of the Lotus Sutra. While earlier parts of the Sūtra describe the possible reactions those who teach the Buddha Dharma may find, the Buddha here reminds us that we do not need to wait until we are strong enough, wise enough, or even practiced enough to use it to benefit others. This sūtra contains the Buddha’s enlightenment itself. When we hear it, we hear the Buddha. When we expound it, it is the Buddha speaking through us.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
The Mahāyāna Bodhisattva
History and Teachings of Nichiren Buddhism, p 58In Nikāya Buddhism, the bodhisattva image is restricted to Śākyamuni Buddha himself. In this system, a bodhisattva is not a general term describing an open concept. It is an image of an ideal follower of Buddhism, namely Śākyamuni. However, in Mahāyāna Buddhism, anyone who makes a vow to practice Buddhism for the benefit of others can become a bodhisattva and put such practices into action, hoping to become a buddha at some point. So for anyone practicing as a Mahāyāna Buddhism, the concept of the bodhisattva spread as an open image that all followers should try to achieve.
Upholding the Lotus Sūtra Is the Way to Attain Buddhahood
The Lotus Sūtra does not expound anything extraordinary. The sūtra preaches that Śākyamuni Buddha had attained Buddhahood already 500 (million) dust particle kalpa in the past and that even the Two Vehicles such as Śāriputra, who are considered incapable of becoming Buddhas, will inevitably attain Buddhahood in the future. Therefore, those who do not believe in these two doctrines will fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering. It is not I alone who say this. The Buddha of Many Treasures and numerous Buddhas in manifestation from all over the universe verified this. Numerous bodhisattvas emerged from the earth, direct disciples of the Original and True Buddha, as well as Mañjuśrī, Avalokiteśvara, King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, the sun and moon, the Four Heavenly Kings, ten female rākṣasa demons, and others promised to protect the Lotus Sūtra. As such there is no other way leading to Buddhahood. It is the Lotus Sūtra that explains the past and future with precision and upholding this sūtra is the way to attain Buddhahood.
Seichōji Daishū-chū, A Letter to the People of the Seichōji Temple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 177