Monthly Archives: May 2022

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – May 16, 2022

The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, will be able to obtain eight hundred merits of the eye, twelve hundred merits of the ear, eight hundred merits of the nose, twelve hundred merits of the tongue, eight hundred merits of the body, and twelve hundred merits of the mind.

The Buddha gives this teaching in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra. This is another reminder that the practice of the Wonderful Dharma does not take us out of the world of conflict we live in. Instead, it helps us to use the senses we have, in ways we did not think were possible, to see the world for what it is. Merits in this sense are not status symbols. They are an indication of clarity, of our faculties not being impeded by anything that blocks their capacity.

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 why the rich man gave his children the largest and most comfortable carts, we repeat in gāthās the Parable of the Burning House.

Thereupon the Buddha, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:

I will tell you a parable.
A rich man had a manor house.
It was old, rotten,
Broken and ruined.
The house was about to collapse.
The lower parts of the pillars were rotten;
The beams and ridge-poles, tilting and slanted;
The foundation and steps, broken;
The fences and walls, corrupt;
The plaster of the walls, peeling;
The rush thatched on the roof, falling;
The rafters and eaves, slipping out of each other;
The hedges around the house, bent;
And refuse and debris, scattered all over.

In this house lived
Five hundred people.
Kites, owls, crested eagles,
Eagles, crows,
Magpies, doves, pigeons,
Lizards, snakes, vipers, scorpions,
Millipedes, wall lizards, centipedes,
Weasels, badgers, mice, rats,
And poisonous vermin
Were moving about.

Maggots and other vermin
Assembled on the excretions
Scattered all over
In the house.

Foxes, wolves, and small foxes
Were crawling on corpses,
Biting them, chewing them,
And dismembering them.

Many dogs were scrambling for their prey.
Weak and nervous from hunger,
They were seeking food here and there.
They were fighting with each other,
Snapping at each other,
And barking at each other.
The house was
So dreadful, so extraordinary.

Mountain spirits, water spirits,
Yakṣas and other demons
Lived here and there.
They fed on people and poisonous vermin.

Wild birds and beasts
Hatched their eggs,
Suckled or bred.
They protected their offspring.
Yakṣas scrambled for their young,
Took them, and ate them.
Having eaten to their hearts’ content,
They became more violent.
They fought with each other.
Their shrieks were dreadful.

The demons called kumbhandas
Crouched on the ground
Or jumped a foot or two above the ground.
They walked to and fro
And played at their will.
They seized dogs by the legs,
Or hit them
Until they lost their voices,
And held their feet against their necks.
They enjoyed seeing them frightened.

Some demons,
Tall, large,
Naked, black, and thin,
Lived in the house.
They were crying for food
With loud and evil voices.

The necks of some demons
Were as slender as needles.
The heads of some demons
Were like that of a cow.
They ate people or dogs.
Their hair was disheveled
Like mugworts.
They were cruel and dangerous.
Always hungry and thirsty,
They were running about, shrieking.

Yakṣas, hungry spirits,
And wild birds and beasts
Were unbearably hungry.
They were looking out of the windows
In all directions for food.
The house was so dangerous, so dreadful.

See Leaving Our Burning House

800years, d9b, d10b, d13b, d14b, Blog

800 Years: Admission to the University of Buddhahood

In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha does not say, “You are a Buddha.” Instead, we are invited to open a gate and enter a wonderous path. Faith is the requisite of the Assurance of Future Buddhahood in Chapter 6 and elsewhere in the Lotus Sutra. Faith is the minimum qualification to unlock the gate.

In Buddhism for Today, Nikkyō Niwano explains it this way:

“ ‘Prediction’ means that the Buddha gives us the assurance, “You will surely become buddhas.” The term ‘prediction’ (juki) includes three meanings of great importance and subtlety, which it is essential that we understand. The first important point is that Sakyamuni Buddha says not ‘You are buddhas’ but ‘You will become buddhas.’ In the sight of the Buddha, all living beings have the buddha-nature, and any one of them can definitely become a buddha. But if the Buddha says merely, “You are buddhas,” this statement will be greatly misunderstood by ordinary people. They will be liable to take these words to mean that they are already perfected as buddhas while in a state of illusion and will have the idea that they can become buddhas without any effort, like riding an escalator.

“The prediction given by the Buddha is often compared to an admission permit to a school, and this comparison is quite just. It is not a diploma but only an admission permit. This assurance signifies, ‘You have passed the entrance examination of the highest university, which leads to the degree of buddhahood. If you study here for some years, you will surely graduate and will become buddhas.’ Having this assurance, ordinary people must hereafter practice all the more, and must make ever greater efforts to realize this goal.

“What a joyful thing it is for ordinary people to have obtained admission to the Buddha’s university — to have received the Buddha’s prediction, ‘You will become buddhas.’ ”

Buddhism for Today, p83

Just as we are certain to face obstacles to graduating from a university, as we practice and study the path to buddhahood we face many obstacles. In Misawa-shō, A Letter to Lord Misawa of Suruga, Nichiren warns of the three hindrances and four devils, the last of which is the King of Devils in the Sixth Heaven.

“Upon the sight of one within the reach of Buddhahood, the King of Devils in the Sixth Heaven would be stirred to say: ‘If one is an entity of this world, he (one) not only strives to depart from the illusion of life and death and become Buddha but also tries to lead as many as possible into Buddhism, controls this world, and transforms this defiled world into a paradise. What ought to be done?’”

Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 239-240

We are fortunate to be attending the great university of the Lotus Sutra in this Latter Age for we have Namu-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō to drive back the henchmen of the King of Devils. With the Daimoku we can overcome their efforts to distract us from our goal.

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Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – May 15, 2022

Good men or women in the future who hear this Chapter of Devadatta of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma with faithful respect caused by their pure minds, and have no doubts [about this chapter], will not fall into hell or the region of hungry spirits or the region of animals. They will be reborn before the Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters.

The Buddha makes this prediction in Chapter Twelve of the Lotus Sūtra. In this Chapter, he assures Devadatta, an evil man who creates great harm, that he too will eventually reach the enlightenment of the Buddha. This prediction is for the rest of us too. It shows that when we nourish our capacity for respect for all beings, no matter how much harm they create, then we uproot the causes of our own greed and fear, and we will always find ourselves in a realm where the Buddha teaches the Wonderful Dharma.

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

LS32

Day 5

Day 5 begins Chapter 3, A Parable

Day 5 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the reaction of the great multitude to Śāriputra’s future Buddhahood, we consider the Parable of the Burning House

Thereupon Śāriputra said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! Now my doubts are gone. You assured me of my future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. These twelve hundred people now have freedom of mind. When they had something more to learn, [that is to say, when they had not yet completed their study for Arhatship,] you taught them, saying, ‘My teaching is for the purpose of causing you to emancipate yourselves from birth, old age, disease, and death, and to attain Nirvāṇa.’ The [two thousand] people, including those who have something more to learn and those who have nothing more to learn, also think that they attained Nirvāṇa because they emancipated themselves from such a view as ‘I exist,’ or ‘I shall exist forever,’ or ‘I shall cease to exist.’ But [both the twelve hundred people and the two thousand people] are now quite perplexed because they have heard from you [the Dharma] which they had never heard before. World-Honored One! In order to cause the four kinds of devotees to remove their doubts, explain why you said all this to them! ”

Thereupon the Buddha said to Śāriputra:
“Did I not tell you, ‘The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, expound the Dharma with expedients, that is, with various stories of previous lives, with various parables, with various similes, and with various discourses only for the purpose of causing all living beings to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi’? All these teachings of the Buddhas are for the purpose of teaching Bodhisattvas. Śāriputra! Now I will explain this with a parable. Those who have wisdom will be able to understand the reason if they hear the following parable.

“Śāriputra! Suppose there lived a very rich man in a certain country, in a certain village, in a certain town. He was old. His wealth was immeasurable. He had many paddy fields, houses, and servants. His manor house was large, but had only one gate. In that house lived many people, numbering a hundred or two hundred or five hundred. The buildings were in decay, the fences and walls corrupt, the bases of the pillars rotten, and the beams and ridgepoles tilting and slanted.

“All of a sudden fires broke out at the same time from all sides of the house, and it began to burn. In this house lived children of the rich man, numbering ten or twenty or thirty. The rich man was very frightened at the great fires breaking out from the four sides of the house. He thought, ‘I am able to get out of the gate of the burning house safely, but my children are still inside. They are engrossed in playing. They do not know that the fires are coming towards them. They are not frightened or afraid. They are about to suffer, but do not mind. They do not wish to get out.’ Śāriputra! He also thought, ‘I am strong-muscled. I will put them in a flower-plate or on a table and bring them out.’

“But he thought again, ‘This house has only one gate. Worse still, the gate is narrow and small. My children are too young to know this. They are attached to the place where they are playing. They may fall [out of the plate or table] and get burned. I had better tell them of the danger. This house is already burning. They must come out quickly so as not to be burned to death.’

“Having thought this, he said to his children as he had thought, ‘Come out quickly!’ He warned them with these good words out of his compassion towards them, but they were too much engrossed in playing to hear the words of their father. They were not frightened or afraid. They did not wish to come out. They did not know what a fire was, what a house was, and what they would lose. They ran about happily. They only glanced at their father occasionally.

The Daily Dharma from Dec. 7, 2021, offers this:

Having thought this, he said to his children as he had thought, ‘Come out quickly!’ He warned them with these good words out of his compassion towards them, but they were too much engrossed in playing to hear the words of their father. They were not frightened or afraid. They did not wish to come out. They did not know what a fire was, what a house was, and what they would lose. They ran about happily. They only glanced at their father occasionally.

This passage is part of the Parable of the Burning House, told by the Buddha in Chapter Three of the Lotus Sūtra. In this story, he compares us living in this world of conflict to children playing in a dangerous house. As the children in the story were too distracted by their games to hear their father’s warnings, we are often too distracted by the attachments of our world to hear the voice of the Buddha.

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

800years, d9b, Blog

800 Years: The Assurance

The word faith does not appear in Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood. In fact, when I first began my cycle of reading the Lotus Sutra, this chapter seemed to illustrate a lack of faith.

I was dismissive of the śrāvakas pleading to be given a prediction of future buddhahood. After all, these people were in this only for themselves. Influencing my interpretation were simplified definitions of śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha such as this one from the Introduction to the Lotus Sutra:

“Although ‘hearers’ and ‘private Buddhas’ are earnest seekers, they have one critical shortcoming. In pursuing their aim for individual emancipation, they tend to become self-absorbed and neglect the needs of other people. This weakness is the main reason why their teachings are called the ‘Lesser Vehicle’: They carry the driver but no passengers. Some Mahayana sutras are extremely critical of them, saying that followers of the Lesser Vehicle cannot possibly attain Buddhahood; they are too self-centered.”

Even though I realized the whole point of their prediction was to open the door to buddhahood for everyone, this constant pleading on their part just came across as self-serving. With each request for a prediction, I was reminded of the children in the Parable of the Burning House:

“Give us
The three kinds of jeweled carts
That you promised us!
You said:
‘Come out, and I will give you
The three kinds of carts as you like.’
Now is the time for that.
Give them to us now!”

In Buddhism for Today, Nikkyō Niwano makes the case for a different interpretation.

“At the end of the second verse portion of chapter 6, Maudgalyāyana, Subhūti, Kātyāyana, and others spoke in unison as follows:

“ ‘Great Hero, World-honored One!
Thou dost ever desire to pacify the world;
Be pleased to bestow our prediction.’

“What they are saying is: ‘The Buddha always desires to make all the people of the world feel at ease. We also desire to become buddhas and to make them live in peace. Please give us your assurance of becoming buddhas.’

“They do not mean that they alone be saved and become buddhas, or that they alone become buddhas and attain peace of mind. Their final purpose is to make all the people of the world happy. This is a most important point. We must understand that the real intention of these disciples in earnestly requesting that the Buddha give them his assurance of becoming buddhas lies in the fact that they wanted to obtain such freedom and power as to be capable of making others happy. If we do not realize this, we are likely to receive the mistaken impression that they asked the Buddha for only their own personal enlightenment and mental peace.”

Buddhism for Today, p35

I don’t necessarily agree with Nikkyō Niwano, but I admit that my interpretation is unhelpful. These predictions are necessary. They allow everyone to develop the faith needed to defeat doubt and fear – to walk the path to buddhahood, the Bodhisattva path that puts the interests of others before self.

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Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – May 14, 2022

Good Man! Wait for a while! There is a Bodhisattva-mahāsattva called Maitreya [in this congregation]. Śākyamuni Buddha assured him of his future attainment of Buddhahood, saying, ‘You will become a Buddha immediately after me.’ Maitreya has already asked [Śākyamuni Buddha] about this matter. [Śākyamuni] Buddha will answer him. You will be able to hear his answer.

This passage from Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sūtra is the answer one of the Buddhas of the replicas of Śākyamuni Buddha gives to his attendant. In the story, innumerable Bodhisattvas have come up through the ground of this world of conflict after the Buddha asked who would continue his teaching after his extinction. Neither the attendant, nor anyone gathered to hear the Buddha teach had seen those Bodhisattvas before and wanted to know where they came from. Our practice of the Wonderful Dharma does not mean merely accepting what we do not understand. We need to raise questions when they occur. These questions show that we are capable of greater understanding. They lead us even closer to the Buddha’s wisdom.

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

LS32

Day 4

Day 4 concludes Chapter 2, Expedients, and completes the first volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 4 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the one purpose why the Buddhas employ expedient teachings, we consider why the Buddhas expound the Dharma with expedients.

The Buddhas, the Most Honorable Bipeds,
Expound the One Vehicle because they know:
“All things are devoid of substantiality.
The seed of Buddhahood comes from dependent origination.”

The Leading Teachers expound the Dharma with expedients
After realizing at the place of enlightenment:
“This is the abode of the Dharma and the position of the Dharma.
The reality of the world is permanently as it is.”

Gods and men are making offerings
To the present Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters.
The Buddhas as many as there are sands in the River Ganges
Who appeared in these worlds,
Are expounding the Dharma
For the purpose of giving peace to all living beings.

They know the Highest Truth of Tranquil Extinction.
They have the power to employ expedients.
Although they expound various teachings,
Their purpose is to reveal the Buddha-Vehicle.

Knowing the deeds of all living beings,
And their thoughts deep in their minds,
And the karmas they have done in their previous existence,
And their desires, natures, and powers to make efforts,
And also knowing whether each of them is keen or dull,
The Buddhas expound the Dharma according to their capacities,
With various stories of previous lives, parables, similes and discourses,
That is to say, with various expedients.

I also do the same.
I show the enlightenment of the Buddha
With various teachings
In order to give peace to all living beings.

I know the natures and desires of all living beings
By the power of my wisdom.
Therefore, I expound various teachings expediently,
And cause all living beings to rejoice.

See Leading People to the One Buddha Vehicle

800years, Autumn Writings

800 Years: Faith in the Three Great Hidden Treasures

In regard to upholding Odaimoku, Nichiren Shōnin expounded three elements based on the essential section of the Lotus Sutra: “Honzon”, object of worship; “Odaimoku,” sacred title of Odaimoku; and “Kaidan,” sanctuary for worshippers. They are called the “Three Great Hidden Treasures” because they were hoarded in the essential section of the Lotus Sutra. When we uphold these three great hidden treasures, we will attain the highest state of mind and obtain Anjin (the supreme relief).

Honzon means having faith in the Eternal Buddha which is expounded in the second half of the Lotus Sūtra and upholding the Mandara of the Eternal Buddha as an object of worship. The historical Buddha reveals His origin as the Eternal Buddha by Himself in the second half of the Lotus Sutra (Chapter 16). He always lives in this world in order to save us eternally and lead us to enlightenment. The Mandara represents the Buddha world on a rectangular cloth or paper with a brush pen: placed in the center are the seven characters of the Odaimoku as a symbol of the Buddha’s enlightenment, and Bodhisattvas, deities, gods, goddesses and great masters are placed around the Odaimoku. This represents the world and that all is united based on “Myōhō: The wonderful law”, preached by the Eternal Buddha.

Odaimoku is the sacred title “Namu-Myo-Ho-Ren-Ge-Kyō,” which integrates all the enlightenment of the Buddha, especially the theory of Ichinen Sanzen. When we uphold the Odaimoku, we will obtain ultimate relief. There are three precepts to uphold: Chanting Odaimoku by body, chanting Odaimoku by mouth, and chanting Odaimoku in the mind. When these three actions unite into one, Juji becomes the true upholding Odaimoku.

Kaidan means sanctuary or place to uphold the Honzon and Odaimoku. Originally Kaidan meant sanctuary to give precepts, rules, and manners to new priests, but Nichiren Shōnin said that any place to uphold the Odaimoku becomes the Kaidan. Therefore, any place where we uphold the Honzon and Odaimoku will become the Kaidan, even if it is on a mountain, in a forest or under a tree. When all people in the world chant Odaimoku together, Kaidan will be constructed naturally on the earth, which is called the Buddha Land.

Autumn Writings, p 65-67
Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – May 13, 2022

The supernatural powers
Employed by that Buddha
For the expounding of the Dharma
Will be inconceivable.

The Buddha sings this verse in Chapter Six of the Lotus Sūtra after predicting the future Buddhahood of his disciple Subhūti. Anything we do not understand can seem supernatural. Things we find common in our modern world would seem magical to those who lived in the Buddha’s time. It is only through our greater understanding that we can create our modern wonders. It should not then surprise us that with the Buddha’s mind, which he reminds us that we too can reach, the things we can accomplish will seem magical to those mired in delusion.

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