Another reminder that the Nichiren Order of North America two-day retreat is coming up.
Monthly Archives: July 2022
800 Years: Taking Myoho Renge Kyo through Namu
Physician's Good MedicineNichiren teaches that as we take Myoho Renge Kyo by mouth as needed we need to manifest this through Namu, our devotion. Namu isn’t in name only. It also must be manifest in action and behavior. As we continue to take Myoho Renge Kyo through Namu, as needed, we begin to see results, the poisons of false teachings and unskillful previous causes begins to be cured. We see results in our lives. This ideally will motivate us to even deeper faith, even more devotion and actions based in devotion and the cycle continues.
Daily Dharma – July 19, 2022
World-Honored One, do not worry! We will keep, read, recite and expound this sūtra after your extinction. The living beings in the evil world after [your extinction] will have less roots of good, more arrogance, more greed for offerings of worldly things, and more roots of evil. It will be difficult to teach them because they will go away from emancipation. But we will patiently read, recite, keep, expound and copy this sūtra, and make various offerings to it. We will not spare even our lives [in doing all this].
Medicine-King Bodhisattva, his attendants and other Bodhisattvas make this vow to the Buddha in Chapter Thirteen of the Lotus Sūtra. Once we awaken to our Bodhisattva nature and resolve to benefit all beings, we may still hold on to the belief that those beings should gratefully receive the teaching and and keep progressing towards enlightenment. We may even become discouraged in our practice of the Wonderful Dharma when these beings do not live up to our expectations. The vow of these great Bodhisattvas reminds us of how difficult is is for us ordinary beings to keep the Lotus Sūtra, and of the determination it takes to create benefit in the world.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 2
Chapter 1, Introductory (Conclusion)
Having last month considered the ray of light illumined by Sun-Moon-Light Buddha and his preaching of the Lotus Sutra, we consider the extinction of Sun-Moon-Light Buddha and the reaction of the eight princes.
Having heard that the Buddha would enter into Nirvāṇa,
Those sons of the World-Honored One
Were filled with sorrow.
They said, “How quickly the Buddha is gone!”The Saintly Master, the King of the Dharma,
Consoled the countless living beings, saying:
“Although I shall pass away,
You must not worry.
This Virtue-Store Bodhisattva has already understood
The truth of the reality [of all things]
[To be attained by the wisdom] without asravas.
He will become a Buddha immediately after me.
He will be called Pure-Body.
He will save innumerable living beings.”The Buddha passed away that night
Just as fire dies out when wood is gone.
His śarīras were distributed.
Countless stupas were erected to enshrine them.As many bhikṣus and bhikṣunīs
As there are sands in the River Ganges
Redoubled their endeavors
In order to attain unsurpassed enlightenment.Wonderful-Light, the Teacher of the Dharma,
Kept the store of the Dharma of the Buddha, and expounded
The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
For eighty small kalpas.Led by Wonderful-Light, those eight princes resolved
To attain unsurpassed enlightenment.
[Wonderful-Light said to them:]
“You will be able to see countless Buddhas.”Having made offerings to [countless] Buddhas,
Those princes followed them, practiced the Great Way,
And became Buddhas in succession.
Each of them assured another of his future Buddhahood.The last God of Gods
Was called Burning-Light Buddha.
As the leader of seers,
He saved innumerable living beings.
Comparing H. Kern’s translation of the Lotus Sutra to Senchu Murano’s
As readers of this blog will no doubt recognize, I am a big fan of Senchu Murano’s translation of the Lotus Sutra. As of July 2022, I’ve now read it aloud as part of my daily practice more than 65 times. There are differences in style and phrasing when compared with the other English translations that I’ve used in my 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra practice – two Rissho Kosei-Kai translations, Soka Gakkai’s translation, Gene Reeves’ translation and the BDK English Tripiṭaka translation – but the substance is the same since all are based on Kumārajīva’s fifth-century Chinese translation of the original Sanskrit.
But that’s not what I find when I compare Senchu Murano’s translation to that of Jan Hendrik Kern, known simply as H. Kern, who published the first English-language translation of the Lotus Sutra in 1884. Kern’s translation is based upon a Nepalese Sanskrit manuscript written on palm leaves and dated C.E. 1039.
I’ve taken Kern’s translation and made the full text available here. As I did with Masaharu Anesaki’s Nichiren: The Buddhist Prophet, I’ve made some style changes – converting British English to American English – and made some other changes I felt helpful. For example, Kern spells words with the letter g that today would be spelled with the letter j. For example, raga for raja. He also uses Gina for Jina, a Sanskrit word that means “conqueror” or “victor,” one of the epithets of a buddha. These have been changed in the text here. I’m eventually going to substitute Murano’s names for Buddhas in place of the Sanskrit names Kern uses. Who wouldn’t prefer to read Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom rather than Jaladharagarjitaghoṣhasusvaranakṣhatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijña? In essence, I’ve made the text available here my version in order to make comparisons more accessible. For people who prefer the unaltered text, a full PDF copy of the book is available for download and also copies of individual chapters. I should also point out that I’ve somewhat abbreviated Kern’s introduction. Ellipses mark where material has been dropped. Again, the original is available for download.
The purpose here is to compare and contrast Kern’s and Murano’s translation and, more to the point, the Nepalese Sanskrit with Kumārajīva’s presentation of the Lotus Sutra. In a series of weekly blog posts I will explore some of the differences I’ve noticed. My ambition is to examine how my view of the sutra and its practice might have changed if I had relied on Kern’s English translation.
Kumārajīva vs. Kern Organization
Blog Topics
- What’s up, Doc?
- The Arhats Present at the Beginning
- Where is Upali?
- Ānanda’s Status when the Lotus Sutra Was Taught
- Rock and Roll in the Time of Śākyamuni
- The Sutra Taught Before the Lotus Sutra
- A Lotus Without 10 Suchnesses
- Kern’s Sanskrit and Hurvitz’s Sanskrit
- The Problem with Arhats and Pratyekabuddhas
- Kumārajīva’s Value
- Senchu Murano’s Insight
- Śāriputra’s Future
- Variations to Puzzle Over
- Comparing and Contrasting a Parable
- Disposition to Understanding
- Kern’s Simile of the Herbs Sucks
- The Plight of the Famished
- Different and Yet Consistent
- Offering Clarity and Avoiding Errors
- Imagining Buddha Lands
- The Buddha as Father and Procreator
- Ānanda’s Vow
- Shouldering the Buddha
- Digging Into A Story
- The Details of the Stūpa of Treasures
- Lessons of Devadatta and the Dragon King’s Daughter
- Encouragement
- The Plight of an Ordinary Bodhisattva
- The Message Beyond the Details
- Ether and the Sky
- The Color, Smell and Taste of the Dharma
- Piety and Merits
- A Very Complete Organ of Manhood
- The Uniform Scent of the Lotus Sutra
- Expiating Sins
- Differing Views of Supernatural Scenes
- Dedication to the Lotus Sutra
- The Advanced Transmission of the Lotus Sutra
- Differing Details of Previous Lives
- The Translator’s Touch
- The Odd Praise of Amitābha in Kern’s Lotus Sutra
- Talismanic Words for Guard, Defense, and Protection
- The Request of Pure-Store and Pure-Eyes
- A Patriarchal Worldview Shared by Women
- The Dedicated Work of a Buddhist Priest
800 Years: As Few as the Amount of Dirt Piled on a Fingernail
Look at the world around us. There are many who say they have deep faith, but there is not one person in 10,000,000 who is sincere. The Nirvana Sūtra says: “Those who do not have faith in the Buddha Dharma and fall into evil paths are as many as the dirt on the earth; those who have faith in the Buddha Dharma and become Buddhas are as few as the amount of dirt piled on a fingernail.”
Minobu-san Gosho, Mt. Minobu Letter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 129
Daily Dharma – July 18, 2022
Śāriputra! Some disciples of mine, who think that they are Arhats or Pratyekabuddhas, will not be my disciples or Arhats or Pratyekabuddhas if they do not hear or know that the Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, teach only Bodhisattvas.
The Buddha makes this declaration to his disciple Śāriputra in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sutra. When the Buddha says he only teaches Bodhisattvas, he does not mean that he excludes anyone from his teaching. It is only when we realize and develop our capacities as Bodhisattvas, beings who exist to benefit all beings, rather than being preoccupied with our own suffering, can we hear, practice and appreciate the Buddha Dharma.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 1
Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory
Having last month considered members of the congregation, we consider what happened after the Buddha expounded the sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the “Innumerable Teachings.”
Thereupon the four kinds of devotees, who were surrounding the World-Honored One, made offerings to him, respected him, honored him, and praised him. The World-Honored One expounded a sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the “Innumerable Teachings, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.” Having expounded this sūtra, the Buddha sat cross-legged [facing the east], and entered into the samadhi for the purport of the innumerable teachings. His body and mind became motionless.
Thereupon the gods rained mandārava-flowers, mahā-mandārava-flowers, mañjūṣaka-flowers, and mahā-mañjūṣaka-flowers upon the Buddha and the great multitude. The world of the Buddha quaked in the six ways. The great multitude of the congregation, which included bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās, upāsikās, gods, dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men, nonhuman beings, the kings of small countries, and the wheel-turning-holy-kings, were astonished. They rejoiced, joined their hands together [towards the Buddha], and looked up at him with one mind.
Thereupon the Buddha emitted a ray of light from the white curls between his eyebrows, and illumined all the corners of eighteen thousand worlds in the east, down to the Avchi Hell of each world, and up to the Akanistha Heaven of each world. The congregation saw from this world the living beings of the six regions of those worlds. They also saw the present Buddhas of those worlds. They also heard the Dharma expounded by those Buddhas. They also saw the bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās and upāsikās of those worlds who had already attained [the various fruits of] enlightenment by their various practices. They also saw the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas [of those worlds] who were practicing the Way of Bodhisattvas [in various ways] according to the variety of their karmas which they had done in their previous existence, and also according to the variety of their ways of understanding [the Dharma] by faith. They also saw the past Buddhas [of those worlds] who had already entered into Parinirvana. They also saw the stupas of the seven treasures which had been erected to enshrine the śarīras of those Buddhas after their Parinirvana.
800 Years: Peaceful Practices
Our faith is the initial key that opens the gate to the teachings of the Buddha. Our practice is the action that allows us to enter into the wisdom of the Buddha. Studying the Dharma illuminates the path. As we progress in our practice our faith naturally grows.
In Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices, we are offered four sets of practices – those of body, mouth, mind, and vows – that “an ordinary Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas” should use to expound the Dharma. Invariably, the student of Nichiren Buddhism stumbles here at the stark difference between these peaceful practices and the violence and conflict that enveloped Nichiren’s life.
Much of that difference can be explained by Nichiren’s goals in 13th Century Japan.
Two Buddhas, p31“For Nichiren, preaching the exclusive truth of the Lotus Sūtra was not only about leading individuals to enlightenment, but also about saving the country and establishing an ideal buddha land in this world, a task he came to see as his personal mission and responsibility. In declaring the supremacy of the Lotus Sūtra, he found it necessary to rebuke attachment to other, provisional teachings; in consequence, he encountered repeated antagonism.”
Nichiren felt the four peaceful practices were unsuited to his era. Do they apply today?
In Buddhism for Today, Nikkyō Niwano argues carrying the insistence on aggressive propagation into the modern world is ill-advised.
Buddhism for Today, p170“In practicing the teaching of the Lotus Sutra, so long as a person forces himself to endure persecution and the scorn of outsiders though filled with anger and resentment, he is a beginner in Buddhist disciplines. A person who has attained the Way can maintain a peaceful and calm mind even while suffering and can feel joy in the practice itself. Until a person attains such a state of mind, he must take scrupulous care not to be tempted or agitated by the various setbacks in his daily life. The chapter “A Happy Life” [the title of the Peaceful Practices chapter in the 1975 edition of the Threefold Lotus Sutra] teaches us this. The bodhisattvas declare with great ardor their resolution to withstand persecution from outside in the chapter “Exhortation to Hold Firm,” while the Buddha, like a father, gently admonishes the bodhisattvas not to yield to inward temptation in the chapter “A Happy Life.” In a sense, these two chapters state the contrast between a kindly father who knows the world and a son who is young and high-spirited.”
Rev. Ryusho Jeffus offers this warning in his Lecture on the Lotus Sutra:
Lecture on the Lotus Sutra“When there is no obstacle to practice it is entirely possible to create a false obstacle by our behavior of obstinacy and belligerence. The kinds of obstacles created in those situations are false. I can be a jerk and have people around me treat me poorly, but I can’t claim it is because of my practice when I am not actually following the peaceful practices in a peaceful environment. In an environment that is not hostile we should practice in a non-hostile way.”
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Daily Dharma – July 17, 2022
No matter what happens, abandoning the Lotus Sutra will cause us to be plunged into hell. I have made a vow. Even if someone says they will make me the ruler of Japan on the condition that I give up the Lotus Sutra and rely on the Sutra of Meditation on the Buddha of Infinite Life for my salvation in the next life, or even if someone threatens me saying he will execute my parents if I do not say “Namu Amida-butsu,” and no matter how many great difficulties fall upon me, I will not submit to them until a man of wisdom defeats me by reason. Other difficulties are like dust in the wind. I will never break my vow to become the pillar of Japan, to become the eyes of Japan, and become a great vessel for Japan.
Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on Opening the Eyes (Kaimoku-shō). For Nichiren living in the 13th Century, the country of Japan was his world. For us in the 21st Century, the entire Earth is our world. From Nichiren’s determination to save Japan we have an example of what we need to do to save our Earth. From his experience through terrible ordeals and persecutions we realize that despite the comforts of our modern lives, we too have the capacity to uphold our faith in the Lotus Sūtra in any situation. We show our gratitude to the Buddha for his teaching and to Nichiren for his guidance in the respect we give to other beings and the efforts in our practice.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com