Monthly Archives: April 2022

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – April 15, 2022

Kāśyapa, and all of you present here! It is an extraordinarily rare thing to see that you have understood, believed and received the Dharma which I expounded variously according to the capacities of all living beings because it is difficult to understand the Dharma which the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, expound according to the capacities of all living beings.

The Buddha makes this declaration to his disciple Kāśyapa and all those gathered to hear him teach in Chapter Five of the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddha knows how hard it is to set aside our delusions and understand what he is teaching us. When the Buddha teaches with expedients, he lets us stay in the comfort of our own minds. With the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sūtra, he takes us into the unfamiliar areas of his own mind. Only when we gain confidence in the Buddha as our guide can we stay with this teaching and not regress to the contentment of our attachments.

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

LifeAndSoulofBuddhism, Blog

Chanting ‘Namu-Amida-Butsu’

I am not a member of Risshō Kōsei Kai, but I have long found the organization founded by Nikkyō Niwano to be a wealth of information on the Lotus Sutra. No other Buddhist organization of which I am aware places as much emphasis on the study of the Threefold Lotus Sutra. I have benefitted from reading a half-dozen books on the Lotus Sutra and Buddhism published by Kōsei Publishing.

Still, I’ve stumbled over aspects of Risshō Kōsei Kai philosophy. The most recent stumble came after reading Nikkyō Niwano’s The Lotus Sutra Life and Soul of Buddhism. Originally published in Japan in 1969 and released in English in 1970, the book is subtitled, A Modern Introduction to the Lotus Sutra Giving a Better Understanding of the Buddha’s Teachings.

Nikkyō Niwano, while writing on the topic Religion Purifies the Inmost Part of Man’s Mind, uses the example of Dr. Kiyoshi Oka, a mathematician.

His religious life, chanting “Namu-Amida-Butsu,” is a practice in which the exercise of the conscious mind is mostly suspended and the soul of man enters a spiritual state of perfect selflessness. It is not difficult to imagine that as he continued to do this practice everyday, his mind became so extremely serene that he attained a spiritual state of mind seen in the world of the store-consciousness. Thus we can understand how Dr. Oka perceived a mathematical truth through a kind of inspiration or revelation.

In all times and places, there have been numerous instances where scholars and artists have made a great discovery by inspiration when they attained a spiritual state of perfect selflessness. Such instances teach us that we must reconsider our present situation which has been too biased by a materialistic way of life.

Lotus Sutra Life and Soul of Buddhism, p25-26

Later, in discussing how to overcome obstacles that prevent us from following “the Buddhist Way left to us by Śākyamuni,” Nikkyō Niwano writes:

So long as our mind is filled with this egoistic attachment, there is no room to receive the “truth that gives life to all things.” However hard we may try to understand Buddhism, without such room in our minds, the truth runs idly around and does not permeate into the mind. Therefore, our salvation and happiness cannot be achieved by our egoistic attachment.

Unlike Buddhist priests or monks, however, we who lead ordinary lives have egoistic attachments which always appear or disappear. This is because man cannot escape his destiny when it is based on his illusion that he cannot overcome the struggle for existence without his egoistic attachment. If we leave our mind untreated, it never fails to be filled with the egoistic attachment. Accordingly, it is necessary for us to sit down quietly before a Buddhist altar for a fixed time in the morning and evening, and recite the sutras and repeat the Daimoku, the sacred title of the Lotus Sutra, or invoke the name of Amida Buddha.

We can extinguish our egoistic attachment while devoting ourselves to these practices. We can attain a spiritual state of so-called perfect selflessness. When we attain such a state of mind, the light of the truth streams spontaneously through our mind and permeates into its depth.

Lotus Sutra Life and Soul of Buddhism, p53-54

As a Nichiren Shu practitioner, I was startled by Nikkyō Niwano’s repeated suggestion that invoking the name of Amida Buddha was a recommended practice. I was immediately reminded of the quote from Nichiren’s letter “Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude”:

Chanting “Namu Myōhōrengekyō” swallows up the functions of “Namu Amidabutsu (Buddha of Infinite Life),” “Namu Dainichi shingon (Great Sun Buddha’s mantras),” and “Namu Kanzeon bosatsu (Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva)” as well as of all the Buddhas, sūtras, and bodhisattvas. All these will be of no use without the functions of the Lotus Sūtra. This can be seen by everyone, for it has been realized in front of everyone. I, Nichiren, recite “Namu Myōhōrengekyō,” the function of “Namu Amidabutsu (Buddha of Infinite Life)” disappears just as the moon wanes, the tide ebbs, grasses in autumn and winter wither and ice melts under the sun.

Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, p53.

I have been attending a 34-week Rissho Kosei-kai in North America (RKINA) advanced course on the Threefold Lotus Sutra, and I took the opportunity to ask Rev. Takashi Yoshizawa, the instructor, about this idea that Namu Amida Butsu was somehow equivalent to Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. In answer he invoked Rissho Kosei-kai’s interfaith doctrine. Essentially, the Truth is one. Imagine that truth as the summit of a mountain. The various religious practices – Buddhist and non-Buddhist alike – are simply different paths to that summit.

I’m not unfamiliar with the “Truth is one” concept and its value. For example, Shinjo Suguro’s Introduction to the Lotus Sutra offers this:

Although the ultimate Truth is one in essence, human beings have various conflicting ideas about it. Nevertheless, we are able to advance toward a higher truth, overcoming conceptual conflicts, since we all believe firmly that the Truth is only one. Indeed, human progress is possible only because we are confident of the existence of a Universal Truth. After all, it is our confidence in the ultimate Truth that leads to the formation of our attitudes toward faith.

Not all paths reach the summit of a mountain, and some paths will be more direct. While I embrace the idea that all religions can have beneficial effect, I’m not prepared to accept that all religious practices are essentially equal.

This is not my first foray into the interfaith question. In May 2020, I wrote four lengthy blog posts on the topic:

LS32

Day 9

Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.

Day 9 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the Buddha’s explanation of his merits, we consider how the Buddha is like the cloud that nourished all of the plants.

“Kāśyapa, know this! I, the Tathāgata, am like the cloud. I appeared in this world just as the large cloud rose. I expounded the Dharma to gods, men and asuras of the world with a loud voice just as the large cloud covered all the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds. I said to the great multitude, ‘I am the Tathāgata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. I will cause all living beings to cross [the ocean of birth and death] if they have not yet done so. I will cause them to emancipate themselves [from suffering] if they have not yet done so. I will cause them to have peace of mind if they have not yet done so. I will cause them to attain Nirvana if they have not yet done so. I know their present lives as they are, and also their future lives as they will be. I know all. I see all. I know the Way. I have opened the Way. I will expound the Way. Gods, men and asuras! Come and hear the Dharma!’

“Thereupon many thousands of billions of people came to hear the Dharma from me. Having seen them, I knew which were clever, which were dull, which were diligent, and which were lazy. Therefore, I expounded to them an innumerable variety of teachings according to their capacities in order to cause them to rejoice and receive benefits with pleasure. Having heard these teachings, they became peaceful in their present lives. In their future lives, they will have rebirths in good places, enjoy pleasures by practicing the Way, and hear these teachings again. After hearing these teachings again, they will emancipate themselves from all hindrances, practice the teachings according to their capacities, and finally enter the Way, just as the grasses and trees in the thickets and forests, which were watered by the rain from the same large cloud, grew differently according to their species.

The Daily Dharma from Nov. 9, 2021, offers this:

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

800years, LS Introduction

800 Years: Confidence in the Ultimate Truth

The idea of unity of doctrine … should lead logically to the concept of unity of faith. Although the ultimate Truth is one in essence, human beings have various conflicting ideas about it. Nevertheless, we are able to advance toward a higher truth, overcoming conceptual conflicts, since we all believe firmly that the Truth is only one. Indeed, human progress is possible only because we are confident of the existence of a Universal Truth. After all, it is our confidence in the ultimate Truth that leads to the formation of our attitudes toward faith.

Introduction to the Lotus Sutra

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – April 14, 2022

Ajita! They need not build a stūpa or a monastery in my honor, or make the four kinds of offerings to the Saṃgha because those who keep, read and recite this sūtra should be considered to have already built a stūpa or a monastery or made offerings to the Saṃgha.

The Buddha sings these verses to Maitreya Bodhisattva, whom he calls Ajita – Invincible, in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. In our zeal to emulate the great deeds of the Buddha, or even of our founder Nichiren, we might believe that only by extraordinary accomplishments can we show our gratitude for this teaching. The Buddha reminds us in this chapter that because we are practicing his Dharma in this world of conflict, we have already made these extraordinary accomplishments. He also reminds us that others who practice with us should be treated with the same admiration we have for anyone who has done valuable work.

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

LS32

Day 8

Day 8 concludes Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith, and closes the second volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 8 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered how the son is like the śrāvakas, we consider how the Buddha taught according to the capacity of the śrāvakas.

The rich man knew
That his son was base and mean.
Therefore, he made him nobler
With expedients,
And then gave him
All his treasures.

In the same manner,
You knew that we wished
To hear the Lesser Vehicle.
Therefore, you did a rare thing.
You prepared us with expedients,
And then taught us the great wisdom.

Today we are not what we were then.
We have obtained
What we did not expect
To obtain
Just as the poor son obtained
The innumerable treasures.

World-Honored One!
We have attained enlightenment, perfect fruit.
We have secured pure eyes
With which we can see the Dharma-without-āsravas.

We observed the pure precepts of the Buddha
In the long night.
Today we have obtained the effects and rewards
[Of our observance of the precepts].
We performed the brahma practices for long
According to the teachings of the King of the Dharma.
Now we have obtained the great fruit
Of the unsurpassed Dharma-without-āsravas.

The Daily Dharma from May 14, 2021, offers this:

Today we are not what we were then.
We have obtained
What we did not expect
To obtain
Just as the poor son obtained
The innumerable treasures.

Subhūti, Mahā-Kātyāyana, Mahā-Kāśyapa, and Mahā-Maudgalyāyana, all disciples of the Buddha, speak these lines in Chapter Four of the Lotus Sūtra as they explain their story of the wayward son. They compare the father’s treasure house in the story to the Buddha’s enlightenment. Until they had been led by the Buddha’s expedient teachings, they could not even imagine themselves as enlightened, any more than the wayward son in the story could imagine the contents of his father’s treasure house.

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

800years, Lecture on Lotus Sutra

800 Years: Facing Difficulties with Joy

Because of the promise of the Buddha we can approach our difficulties with joy knowing that through our faith and our practice in the Lotus Sutra we are certain to accomplish the necessary changes to enable us to become Buddhas. With the joy of the certainty of becoming Buddhas we can live our lives free of fear and worry. With the burden of fear and worry lifted we can experience the true joy of Buddhas deep down in the core of our life.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

Daily Dharma, WONS

Daily Dharma – April 13, 2022

I, Nichiren, am the lone forerunner of the bodhisattvas who emerged from the earth. I may even be one of them. If I am counted as one of the bodhisattvas who emerged from the earth, my disciples and followers too are among the ranks of those bodhisattvas from the earth, are they not? The “Teacher of the Dharma” chapter states, “If someone expounds even a phrase of the Lotus Sūtra even to one person in secret, then you should know that such a person is my messenger, dispatched by Me and carries out My work.” This refers to none other than us.

Nichiren wrote this passage as part of his Treatise on All Phenomena as Ultimate Reality (Shohō Jissō-Shō), sent to the monk Sairen-Bō. He refers to Chapters Ten and Fifteen of the Lotus Sūtra. This passage reminds us of our position as followers of Nichiren, and fellow messengers of Śākyamuni Buddha.

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 the declaration of the great men living the life of wisdom, we consider the rich man and his poor son.

“World-Honored One! Allow us to explain our understanding by telling a parable. Suppose there lived a man [in a certain country]. When he was a little boy, he ran away from his father. [The boy] lived in another country for a long time, say, for ten, twenty or fifty years. As time passed by, he became poorer. He wandered about all directions, seeking food and clothing.

“While wandering here and there, he happened to walk towards his home country. At that time his father stayed in a city [of that country]. He had been vainly looking for his son ever since. He was now very rich. He had innumerable treasures. His storehouses were filled with gold, silver, lapis lazuli, coral, amber and crystal. He had many servants, clerks, and secretaries. He also had countless elephants, horses, carts, cows, and sheep. He invested his money in all the other countries, and earned interest. He dealt with many merchants and customers.

“The poor son, having wandered from town to town, from country to country, from village to village, came to the city where his father was living. The father had been thinking of him for more than fifty years since he had lost him, but never told others [that he had a missing son]. He was alone, pining for his son. He thought, ‘I am old and decrepit. I have many treasures. My storehouses are filled with gold, silver, and other treasures. But I have no son [other than the missing one]. When I die, my treasures will be scattered and lost. I have no one to transfer my treasures to. Therefore, I am always yearning for my son.’ The father thought again, ‘If I can find my son and give him my treasures, I shall be happy and peaceful, and have nothing more to worry about.’

See Being Led to the Buddha

800years, Lotus Seeds

800 Years: All People Have Same Capacity to Attain Buddhahood

The One Vehicle is the teaching that there are no permanent barriers to attaining Buddhahood. Even the worst evil-doers have the ability to awaken to the truth about themselves, repent of their wrong-doing, and begin to follow the way to Buddhahood if they take faith in the One Vehicle. Those who are looked down upon by others for any reason also have the ability to awaken to the incomparable dignity of Buddhahood if they take faith in the One Vehicle. There is no discrimination in the One Vehicle. People may be different based on race, class, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, intelligence, personal habits, interests, spiritual maturity, and many other factors, but in the end all people have the same capacity to attain Buddhahood.

Lotus Seeds