Monthly Archives: August 2022

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 4, 2022

I, Nichiren, sincerely keep the most profound Lotus Sutra among other sutras which have been preached, are being preached, and will be preached. I also chant Odaimoku, the heart of the sutra, by myself and teach others to chant it. Mugwort grass grows straight amidst the hemp field. Trees do not grow straight, but by cutting them straight, they become useful. If you chant the sutra as it instructs, your mind will be straightened. Be aware that is hard for us the chant even the title of the sutra unless the spirit of the Eternal Buddha enters into our bodies.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Letter to Myomitsu Shonin (Myomitsu Shonin Gosho). This instruction ties together the practice of reciting devotion to the title of the Lotus Sūtra, Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, and the mind of the ever-present Buddha Shakyamuni. It is through unimaginable deeds of merit that we have met this Sūtra in our lives and have the opportunity to use it to find the Buddha’s wisdom and benefit all beings in this world of conflict and delusion. We are also fortunate to have Nichiren as an example of how to bring this teaching to life. May our gratitude for the merits we have received strengthen our determination to transform the obstacles we face into opportunities we welcome.

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

LS32

Day 18

Day 18 concludes Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra, and begins Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.

Day 18 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month concluded today’s portion of Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices, we return to today’s portion of Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra, and consider the plight of the eighty billion nayuta Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas.

Thereupon the World-Honored One looked at the eighty billion nayuta Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas. These Bodhisattvas had already reached the stage of avaivartika, turned the irrevocable wheel of the Dharma, and obtained dhārāṇis. They rose from their seats, came to the Buddha, joined their hands together [towards him] with all their hearts, and thought, “If the World-Honored One commands us to keep and expound this sūtra, we will expound the Dharma just as the Buddha teaches.”

They also thought, “The Buddha keeps silence.’ He does not command us. What shall we do?”

In order to follow the wish of the Buddha respectfully, and also to fulfill their original vow, they vowed to the Buddha with a loud voice like the roar of a lion:

“World-Honored One! After your extinction, we will go to any place [not only of this Sahā-World but also] of the worlds of the ten quarters, as often as required, and cause all living beings to copy, keep, read and recite this sūtra, to expound the meanings of it, to act according to the Dharma, and to memorize this sūtra correctly. We shall be able to do all this only by your powers. World-Honored One! Protect us from afar even when you are in another world!”

See 800 Years: Upholding the Lotus Sutra

800years, History of Japanese Religion

800 Years: The Challenge of Faith

[Nichiren’s] disciples went into temples and monasteries where their adversaries were preaching or giving lectures and entered into hot debates with them, crying: “Be converted to the right faith, or convince me and I will surrender to your standpoint.” In this respect the Nichirenites revived the method of the Indian fighter Arya-deva, and like him offered even their own lives if defeated in the debate. This fierce side of the “repressive propaganda” was, however, supplemented by the “persuasive way” of meek admonition and kind counsel.

History of Japanese Religion

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 3, 2022

All of you, wise men!
Have no doubts about this!
Remove your doubts, have no more!
My words are true, not false.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. If we come to the Buddha, attached to our delusions and fearful of the potential for peace and joy we all have within us, it is easy to doubt what he says. We have been suffering a long time. Like the children playing in the burning house, we are so caught up in the drama and insanity of our world that we cannot imagine any other way to live. When the Buddha warns us of how dangerous it is to continue as we are, we are more certain of our familiar pain than of his enlightenment. When we trust the Buddha Dharma, and cultivate our potential to create unimaginable benefit in this world, then we realize the pettiness of the crises we create for ourselves. We awaken our curiosity and gratitude and learn to see this beautiful world for what it is.

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

Blog

Retreat!

Mini-Retreat-Agenda
Click to view

Looking forward to this weekend’s mini-retreat!

Retreat Speakers

Rev. Myokei Lindsa Caine-Barrett (Bishop @NONA)
Myokei Caine-Barrett is the first woman and the first Westerner to hold the position of bishop in the Nichiren Order of North America. She is the Chief Priest of the Myoken-ji Temple in Houston, Texas. Bishop Myokei is an active prison ministry chaplain and with the VA system as a hospice chaplain.
Rev. Ryuei Michael McCormick (Head Minister @Shingan-Ji Temple)
Ryuei Michael McCormick is a Buddhist priest of the Nichiren Shu, a Mahayana Buddhist lineage established in Japan by Nichiren Daishonin in 1253. Ryuei began practicing Nichiren Buddhism in 1986. In 1997 he became a disciple of Bishop Ryusho Matsuda of the Nichiren Order of North America. After a four year apprenticeship as a novice, Ryuei received full ordination at Kuonji Temple on Mt. Minobu in 2001. He is currently serving as head minister to the San Francisco Bay Area Nichiren Sangha Shingan-ji Temple. Ryuei is the author of Open Your Eyes: A Nichiren Buddhist View of Awakening, Lotus in a Sea of Flames, and co-author of Sacred Services of the Lotus Sutra: Nichiren Shu. He has also served as an assistant editor of the Nichiren Shu News.
Rev. Shoda Douglas Kanai (Head Minister @Kannon-Ji Temple)
Rev. Shoda Douglas Kanai is currently the Head Priest of Nichiren Buddhist Kannon Temple of Nevada, in Las Vegas. We are an overseas branch temple of Nichiren Shu, which is one of the main sects of Buddhism in Japan. Most recently, he spent three and a half years studying and practicing at a remote mountain-side temple in northern Osaka Prefecture. During this time, he completed two separate 100-day ascetic training sessions (Aryagyo) which involved chanting the sutras, ritual water purification with cold water, eating two meals and only sleeping two and a half hours per day. He is currently trying to make Buddhism easier to understand for the English-speaking audience.
Rev. Ryuoh Faulconer (Head Minister @Kosen-Ji Temple)
Rev. Ryuoh Faulconer is the head minister at the Nichiren Buddhist Sangha of Greater New England. started his journey with Nichiren Shu with the Portland Temple where he was a memeber for over eight years when he took vows (Tokudo) to become a minister in the future on January 26th, 1997 with his master Rev. Ryuken Akahoshi. He compleated Shingyo Dojo training and was ordained as a Nichiren Buddhist Minister on May 19th, 2001. He served as the 13th resident minister for the Portland Temple for a time before transfering to the Boston area in January of 2007. Faulconer Shonin is an iconographer, artist, book-maker, and is passionate about making service manner and other study materials avalible in English. He also has extensive experiance working in human services; he has most recently worked as a group faclitator in a drug and alchohol treatment center and is currently working as a hospice chaplain.
Rev. Shinkyo Will Warner (Head Minister @Kentucky Sangha)
Rev. Shinkyo Warner, along with Rev. Ryuei McCormick and Rev. Ryuoh Falconer, was one of the first three non-Japanese speaking Americans to be ordained as Nichiren Shu priests in 2001. For the next ten years or so, he edited the third edition of Bishop Senchu Murano’s translation of the Lotus Sutra, released in 2012. He was then asked by the Nichiren Shu Overseas Propagation Promotion Association (NOPPA) to edit the final seventh volume of Rev. Kyotsu Hori’s compilation of English translations of the Writings of Nichiren Shonin (WONS). He is currently on another project for NOPPA, editing revisions of the other six volumes of WONS, and plans to produce a single electronic version of all seven volumes.
Shami Ryoen Elizabeth Drewillo (Shami @Kosen-ji Temple)
Ryoen started attending the Nichiren Buddhist Sangha in Haverhill, MA in February 2012 and took Jukai with their master Rev. Ryuoh Faulconer in April of that same year. Shortly thereafter, they started working toward training as a lay leader with the sangha. After attending a study tour trip to Mt. Minobu, Ryoen decided to ask to take vows to become a minister in the future. They took Tokudo in July of 2015 and Docho in August of 2016; two steps toward full ordination. In addition to their duties at the temple; Ryoen works full time as a Licenced Independant Clinical social worker in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and operates a private practice. Their primary clinical focus is on working with trauma and/or addiction issues within the LGBTQ community. They live with their Master, his husband Neil, and the four family dogs and enjoys crochet and other crafting projects as a hobby.
Shami Ryumon Chad Grohman (Shami @Myoken-ji Temple)
Ryumon Grohman is a student of Bishop Myokei Caine Barrett, Myoken-Ji Temple, Houston, Texas. He has been a shami (novice priest) in the Nichren Shu tradition since 2014. Ryumon also studies mindfulness meditation with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach and attends herbal school at Heartstone Center for Earth Essentials. In addition to spiritual and plant studies, Ruymon is an illustration professor at Rochester Institute of Technology and continues to work as a freelancer. He currently lives in Lockport, New York with his wife and family.
Shami Ryugan Mark Herrick (Shami @Shingan-ji Temple)
Mark took refuge in Nichiren Buddhism in 1975. In February 2020 he was ordained as a novice priest in the Nichiren Shu Lineage of Buddhism by his master Rev. Ryuei McCormick. Rev. Ryuei McCormick bestowed upon him the Dharma name “Ryugan,” which means Dragon Vow. Ryugan chose a second Dharma English name of White Lotus to bridge the two cultures of East and West. Ryugan hosts weekly guiding chanting meditation classes at his local community center. He has been married for 40 years and has one son. He spent 38 years in high tech and 25 years as a volunteer police officer and search and rescue K9 handler before retiring in 2019 to concentrate on his priest training and helping Rev. McCormick found the Nichiren Shu Shingan-ji (True Vow) Temple based in Oakland, CA.

THERE’S STILL TIME TO REGISTER

LS32

Day 17

Day 17 covers all of Chapter 12, Devadatta, and opens Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra.

Day 17 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the vow of Medicine-King Bodhisattva-mahāsattva and Great-Eloquence Bodhisattva-mahāsattva, together with their twenty-thousand attendants who were also Bodhisattvas, we consider the promise of the Arhats and Śrāvakas to preach in other lands.

At that time there were five hundred Arhats in this congregation. They had already been assured of their future attainment [of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi]. They said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One! We also vow to expound this sūtra [but we will expound it] in some other worlds [rather than in this Sahā-World].”

There were also eight thousand Śrāvakas some of whom had something more to learn while others had nothing more to learn. They had already been assured of their future attainment [of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi]. They rose from their seats, joined their hands together towards the Buddha and vowed:

“World-Honored One! We also will expound this sūtra in some other worlds because the people of this Sahā-World have many evils. They are arrogant. They have few merits. They are angry, defiled, ready to flatter others, and insincere.”

Somewhere among the quotes I’ve set aside here is a discussion of the importance of the fact that the Arhats and Śrāvakas can’t be bothered to preach this sūtra in this Sahā-World. Only the Bodhisattvas are willing to deal with the evil people of this Sahā-World – the arrogant with few merits; they angry, defiled, ready to flatter others, and the insincere. I can’t find that quote now. But this unwillingness underscores importance of the Bodhisattvas’ Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra.

800years, d25b, Lecture on Lotus Sutra

800 Years: Within Self and Other

We see the actions of Bodhisattva Never Despise as being of respect for others, yet this respect is based upon the absolute conviction or faith that the other person is also a Buddha worthy of respect. The action is not based upon a theoretical doctrine, but on the realization that within self is Buddha and within the other is Buddha.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

Daily Dharma, d29b

Daily Dharma – Aug. 2, 2022

Thereupon the Buddha said to World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva:

“Receive it out of your compassion towards this Endless-Intent Bodhisattva, towards the four kinds of devotees, and towards the other living beings including gods, dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, human and nonhuman beings!”

In Chapter Twenty-Five of the Lotus Sūtra, Endless-Intent Bodhisattva offers a necklace of gems with inestimable value to World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva. At first World-Voice-Perceiver refuses to take it, and only accepts it when the Buddha asks him to receive it for the benefit of all beings. This reminds us that when we cultivate a mind of compassion, anything we receive is not meant to be held for our personal benefit. It is meant to be transformed into something beneficial for all beings.

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

d28b, Blog

Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva’s 16 Samādhis

In Chapter 24 of the Lotus Sutra we are introduced to a bodhisattva. Rissho Kosei-kai’s 1975 translation calls this bodhisattva Wonder Sound, Leon Hurvitz names him Fine Sound and Senchu Murano calls him Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva. We are told that this bodhisattva has accumulated more samādhis than there are sands in the River Ganges. Of all those samādhis, 16 are listed at the opening of the chapter in the Rissho Kosei-kai and Hurvitz translations, but only 14 are listed in Murano’s translation.

1975 Rissho Kosei-kai 2012 Murano Third Edition 2009 Hurvitz Revised Edition
the contemplation of the wonderful banner sign, the samadhi as wonderful as the banner of a general, the samādhi of the Fine Standard (dhvajāgrakeyūrasamādhilabdhaḥ),
the contemplation of the Law-Flower, the samādhi of the Dharma Blossom (saddharmapuṇḍarīka),
the contemplation of pure virtue, the samādhi of Pure Excellence (vimaladatta),
the contemplation of the Constellation King’s sport, the samadhi for the traveling of the king of the stars, the samādhi of the Sport of the King of Constellations (Nakṣhatrarājavikrīḍita),
the contemplation of causelessness, the samadhi for freedom from causality, the samādhi of No Objects (anilambha),
the contemplation of the knowledge seal, the samadhi for the seal of wisdom, the samādhi of the Seal of Knowledge (jñānamudrā),
the contemplation of interpreting the utterances of all beings, the samadhi by which one could understand the words of all living beings, the samādhi that Enables One to Understand the Speech of All Living Beings (sarvarutakaśalya),
the contemplation of collection of all merits, the samadhi by which one could collect all merits, the samādhi that Collects All Merits (sarvapuṇyasamuccaya),
the contemplation of purity, the samadhi for purity, the Pure samādhi (prasādavatī),
the contemplation of supernatural sport, the samadhi for exhibiting supernatural powers, the samādhi of the Play of Magical Powers (ṛddhivikrīḍita),
the contemplation of wisdom torch, the samadhi for the torch of wisdom, the samādhi of the Lamp of Knowledge (jñānolkā),
the contemplation of the king of adornment, the samadhi for the Adornment-King, the samādhi of the King of Adornments (vyūharāja),
the contemplation of pure luster, the samadhi for pure light, the samādhi of Pure Glow (vimalaprabhāsa),
the contemplation of the pure treasury, the samadhi for pure store, the samādhi of the Pure Womb (vimalagarbha),
the contemplation of the unique, the samadhi for special teachings, the Unshared samādhi (apkṛtsna),
the contemplation of sun revolution; the samadhi for the revolution of the sun. the samādhi that Turns to the Sun (sūryāvarta)

I discovered this discrepancy when I was reviewing Nikkyō Niwano’s discussion of Chapter 24 for the Rissho Kosei-kai in North America (RKINA) advanced course on the Threefold Lotus Sutra that I’ve been attending this year. You can see what prompted this in my essay on Lesson 28.

Since each of these translations is based on Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation, they should all agree. And when I checked my other English translations of Kumārajīva’s translation I found they all agreed. Only Murano’s Third Edition lacked the second and third samādhis. Even H. Kern’s 1884 translation from the 11th century Nepalese Sanskrit document lists 16 samādhis.

At the time, I did not possess a copy of the first or second editions of Murano’s translation, but I did know the email address for Rev. Shinkyo Warner, the editor of the Third Edition. I contacted Rev. Shinkyo Warner and he responded that apparently the two samādhis, which are present in the second edition, were inadvertently dropped during the editing for the third edition.

A few days later I was at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church meeting with workmen who were estimating the cost of repairs needed to Rev. Igarashi’s home, and I asked Rev. Igarashi if he had a copy of the second edition of Murano’s translation. Later, after the workmen had departed, Rev. Igarashi presented me with copies of both the second and the first editions of Murano’s translation. The second edition was autographed by Senchu Murano. Apparently, when the second edition came out in 1991, Murano signed a bunch of the books and shipped them to Rev. Igarashi, who at the time had been the head priest of the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church for just two years. He still has several of these autographed books.

First and Second Editions of Murano's Translation
Senchu Murano's autograph

Missing from the third edition are the samādhi for the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma and the samādhi for pure virtue. I’ve restored those to my online edition. Rev. Shinkyo Warner says the third edition is no longer pre-printed and therefore the text can be easily updated. I passed on to him a number of other small typos I’ve noticed during my 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra practice. I have no idea when the “print-on-demand” text will be updated to restore the missing samādhis. On July 1, 2023, Rev. Shinkyo Warner emailed me to announced he had released an update to the printed version of the third edition of Bishop Murano’s translation of the Lotus Sutra. “This includes the corrections you found along with several others,” he said. “I’m still working on the ePub version.”

LS32

Day 16

Day 16 concludes Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures, and completes the Fourth Volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 16 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the seating of Śākyamuni’s replicas, we consider the message from Śākyamuni’s replicas.

Thereupon one of the Buddhas on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees, wishing to inquire after Śākyamuni Buddha, gave a handful of jeweled flowers to his attendant, and said to him, [wishing to] dispatch him:

“Good man! Go to Śākyamuni Buddha who is now living on Mt. Gṛdhrakūṭa! Ask him on my behalf, ‘Are you in good health? Are you peaceful? Are the Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas peaceful or not?’ Strew these jeweled flowers to him, offer them to him, and say, ‘That Buddha sent me to tell you that he wishes to see the stūpa of treasures opened.”‘

All the other Buddhas also dispatched their attendants in the same way.

The Daily Dharma from Aug. 1, 2022, offers this:

“Good man! Go to Śākyamuni Buddha who is now living on Mt. Gṛdhrakūṭa! Ask him on my behalf, ‘Are you in good health? Are you peaceful? Are the Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas peaceful or not?’ Strew these jeweled flowers to him, offer them to him, and say, ‘That Buddha sent me to tell you that he wishes to see the stūpa of treasures opened.’”

In Chapter Eleven of the Lotus Sūtra, Buddhas and their devotees from innumerable worlds come to our world of conflict and delusion to see Śākyamuni Buddha open the tower inhabited by Many-Treasures Buddha. As our capability for enlightenment wells up from within us, the tower of treasures sprang up from underground when the Buddha asked who would teach the Wonderful Dharma after the Buddha’s extinction. The treasures in the tower are nothing more than Many-Treasures Buddha declaring the Lotus Sūtra to be the Teaching of Equality, the Great Wisdom, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas and the Dharma upheld by the Buddhas.

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