Monthly Archives: August 2022

800years, WONS

800 Years: Faith and Comprehension of the Unenlightened

Compared to this Eternal Buddha and His teaching preached in the essential section, those preached in the theoretical section, the pre-Lotus sūtras, the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning, and the Nirvana Sūtra, namely, all the sūtras preached prior to, at the same time as, and after the Lotus Sūtra, are easy to believe in and understand. It is because they are provisional teachings adjusted to meet the faith and comprehension of the unenlightened while what is preached in the essential section transcends them all and is difficult to believe in and comprehend because it adheres to the true intent of Śākyamuni Buddha.

Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Verable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 152

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 19, 2022

I knew that you were mean and timid. In order to give you a rest halfway, I expounded expediently to you the teaching of Nirvāṇa by the two vehicles. To those who attained the two [vehicles], I say, ‘You have not yet done all that you should do. You are near the wisdom of the Buddha. Think it over and consider it! The Nirvāṇa you attained is not true. I divided the One Vehicle of the Buddha into three only expediently.

The Buddha gives this explanation in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra after he tells the parable of the magic city. In that parable he compares himself, leading all beings to enlightenment, to a guide leading a group of travelers through a dangerous wilderness. The Buddha knows how frightening this world of conflict can be, so he uses teachings about ending suffering to keep us moving on the path. But then as the guide in the parable made the magic city disappear so that the travelers would continue to the real city, the Buddha tells us to abandon preoccupations with our own suffering so that we can enjoy his enlightenment.

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

LS32, Universal Sage

Between Day 32 and Day 1: Keeping the Buddhas in Mind

Having last month considered the first stage of contemplating the bodhisattva Universal Sage, we consider keeping the buddhas of the ten directions in mind.

Universal Sage Bodhisattva will teach the practitioner to keep the buddhas of the ten directions in mind. Having proper disposition in mind and heart following Universal Sage Bodhisattva’s instruction, with his or her mind’s eye the practitioner will gradually perceive in the eastern direction a buddha whose body is golden-colored and majestic beyond expression. After discerning one buddha, the practitioner will then discern another. In this manner he or she will gradually perceive all of the buddhas everywhere in the eastern direction; and because of the clarity of this state of mind, he or she will perceive all of the buddhas everywhere in all of the ten directions. After perceiving the buddhas, joy will arise in the practitioner’s heart and mind, and he or she should say:

“By means of the Great Vehicle, I have been able to see a great being; and through that great being’s power, I have been able to perceive buddhas. Although I have perceived the buddhas, my perception of them is still incomplete – I discern them when my eyes are closed, but when I open my eyes I lose sight of them.”

Having said this, the practitioner should cast his or her whole body upon the ground and universally pay homage to the buddhas everywhere. After paying homage to the buddhas, the practitioner must kneel formally on one knee, place palms together, and say:

“The buddhas, the World-honored Ones, possess the ten capabilities, dauntlessness, the eighteen unique merits, great mercy, great compassion, and three kinds of constancy of mind. They are always present in the world, and among forms and embodiments theirs is supreme. What impurities do I have that prevent me from seeing them?”

After saying these words, the practitioner should undertake further self-amendment.

See Polishing Our Buddha Nature

LS32, Universal Sage, b4today

Polishing Our Buddha Nature

The words “east” and “eastward” have often appeared in preceding chapters of this book. East is the direction where the sun rises, thus implies the beginning of everything. On the other hand, west is the direction where the sun sets, and so implies the end of everything. The latter idea is associated with the belief within Buddhism that anyone who invokes the name of Amita Buddha with a sincere heart can achieve rebirth in the Pure Land in the west. In this chapter, the phrase “see the eastward buddhas” suggests the time when a person has just begun to practice a true faith.

The expression, “Having seen one buddha, he will again see another buddha,” means that though the truth is one, the believer will be able to see many manifestations of the truth in succession if he realizes one truth. If a person can see all the buddhas everywhere in the eastern quarter, he will become able to reflect on himself much more profitably and will thus become able to see all the buddhas in all directions. Attaining this state of mind, his spiritual joy will deepen. The Buddha teaches us in the next sentence, however, that even though the believer can reach such a mental stage, he should not be satisfied with it but should further repent his sins. Through this we understand that the practice of true repentance must not be limited only to the confession of our sins. Repentance is not limited to washing our buddha-nature but includes polishing it.

Buddhism for Today, p433
history, 800years

800 Years: Trusting What the Lotus Sūtra Asserts

In the Lotus Sūtra, the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas are taught that they should walk the path of the bodhisattva, by continuing the practices of bodhisattvas. If they continued to do so into the far distant future, in some future world they could realize their dreams to become a buddha.

What are the bodhisattvas’ practices? Their foundation demands a firm faith in the Lotus Sūtra. This means that bodhisattvas must trust what the Lotus Sūtra asserts most strongly. They must believe that every person possesses the innate possibility to achieve buddhahood.

This concept is difficult to believe and difficult to understand. Śākyamuni Buddha says this to Śāriputra, the wisest of his disciples.

“Even you, Śāriputra,
Have understood this sūtra
Only by faith.
Needless to say,
The other Śrāvakas cannot do otherwise.
They will be able to follow this sūtra
Only because they believe my words,
Not because they have wisdom.”

Even Śāriputra cannot understand this concept, that all people can achieve buddhahood, only by thinking. It therefore must be much more difficult for anyone else. This fact that there is not one person who cannot become a buddha is an unmistakable truth that Śākyamuni has understood through the wisdom of the buddhas. Therefore, the message is that you can fully receive this truth only by faith.

History and Teachings of Nichiren Buddhism, p 74
Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 18, 2022

The Buddha is great, but compared to the Lotus Sutra He is like the light of a firefly in front of the sun and moon. When compared in terms of height, the Buddha is like the earth while the Lotus Sutra reaches the heavens. If making offerings to the Buddha has such great merit, how much more so does one gain by making offerings to the Lotus Sutra?

Nichiren wrote this passage in a Reply to Lord Ueno (Ueno-dono Gohenji). When we encounter someone we consider great because of their fame, their wisdom, or anything else that leads them to be dear to us, our natural inclination is to show our gratitude to them by offering them gifts or services. When we learn about the Buddha, his life and what he taught us, even from a distance of 2500 years, we cannot help but be grateful for everything he has done to benefit us and all beings. But, as Nichiren instructs, when we realize the treasure of the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sūtra, and how it is the embodiment of the Ever-Present Buddha who continues to teach all beings through all worlds and all time, our gratitude to it is even greater. We make offerings to the Sūtra through our practice, our determination not to allow suffering to dictate what we do, but to cultivate the wisdom and compassion within us, and repay the Ever-Present Buddha with the enlightenment of all beings.

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

LS32

Day 32

Day 32 covers Chapter 28, The Encouragement of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, closing the Eighth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 32 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered Universal-Sage’s vow and the Buddha’s response, we consider the prediction for those who keep, read and recite the Sūtra.

“Universal-Sage! If you see anyone who keeps, reads and recites the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in the later five hundred years after my extinction, you should think, ‘Before long be will go to the place of enlightenment, defeat Mara and his followers, attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, turn the wheel of the Dharma, beat the drum of the Dharma, blow the conch-shell horn of the Dharma, send the rain of the Dharma, and sit on the lion-like seat of the Dharma in the midst of the great multitude of gods and men.’

“Universal-Sage! Anyone who keeps, reads and recites this sūtra [in the later five hundred years] after [my extinction], will not be attached to clothing, bedding, food or drink, or any other thing for living. What he wishes will not remain unfulfilled. He will be able to obtain the rewards of his merits in his present life. Those who abuse him, saying, ‘You are perverted. You are doing this for nothing,’ will be reborn blind in their successive lives in retribution for their sin. Those who make offerings to rum and praise him, will be able to obtain rewards in their present life. Those who, upon seeing the keeper of this sūtra, blame him justly or unjustly, will suffer from white leprosy in their present life. Those who laugh at him will have few teeth, ugly lips, flat noses, contorted limbs, squint eyes, and foul and filthy bodies, and suffer from bloody pus of scabs, abdominal dropsy, tuberculosis, and other serious diseases in their successive lives.

The Daily Dharma from Oct. 30, 2021, offers this:

Universal-Sage! If you see anyone who keeps, reads and recites the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in the later five hundred years after my extinction, you should think, ‘Before long he will go to the place of enlightenment, defeat Māra and his followers, attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, turn the wheel of the Dharma, beat the drum of the Dharma, blow the conch-shell horn of the Dharma, send the rain of the Dharma, and sit on the lion-like seat of the Dharma in the midst of the great multitude of gods and men.’

The Buddha gives this instruction to Universal-Sage Bodhisattva (Fugen, Samantabhadra) in Chapter Twenty-Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. Nichiren explained that the later five hundred years mentioned in this passage is the time in which we are living today. The Buddha is therefore talking about all of us who practice the Wonderful Dharma. When we can grow our capacity to respect each other as we respect the Buddha, it inspires the respect at the core of all beings, and transforms this world.

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

800years, History of Japanese Religion

800 Years: The Realization of Faith

According to the doctrine of the Tendai school, Buddha is really a man and yet the Truth itself. As a man of historical reality, he attained the full truth of existence and lived accordingly; he is the Tathāgata, the Truth-winner. This aspect of his being is, however, but a manifestation of the Dharmaui, the fundamental nature of the universe, which consists in the correlated unity of all the varieties and variations of existence. In other words, in Buddha we see, the one who has come down from the height of enlightenment to live among us in order to reveal the real nature of our being. He is the Tathāgata, the Truth-revealer, and he is the Way, the Truth and the Life. This is the aspect of his personality expressed by the term Dharma-kāya (Jap, Hosshin), the “Truth-body.” All and every one of us participate in this universal Buddha-soul; it is in fact inherent in us, although we may be quite unaware of it. Faith is nothing but a realization, a bringing to full consciousness, of the innermost identity of our own being with the Dharma-kāya.

History of Japanese Religion

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 17, 2022

I see all living beings equally.
I have no partiality for them.
There is not ‘this one’ or ‘that one’ to me.
I transcend love and hatred.

The Buddha makes this declaration in Chapter Five of the Lotus Sūtra. He compares himself to a rain shower that waters all plants equally. He uses this example to show us how we should approach all living beings. Our respect for them and wish that they become enlightened cannot depend on whatever personal feelings we have towards them.

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

LS32

Day 31

Day 31 covers Chapter 27, King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva.

Day 31 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the mother’s instruction to her two sons, we consider the wonders displayed by the two sons and the effect those wonders had on their father.

“Thereupon the two sons went up to the sky seven times as high as the tala-tree, and displayed various wonders because they were thinking of their father. They walked, stood, sat, and reclined in the sky. Then they issued water from the upper parts of their bodies, and fire from the lower parts. Then they issued water from the lower parts of their bodies, and fire from the upper parts. Then they became giants large enough to fill the sky, became dwarfs, and became giant again. Then they disappeared from the sky and suddenly appeared on the earth. Then they dived into the earth just as into water, and stepped on the surface of water just as on the earth. [Then they went up to the sky and stayed there.] By displaying these various wonders, they purified the mind of their father, that is, of the king, and caused him to understand the Dharma by faith.

“Seeing [these wonders displayed by] the supernatural powers of his sons, the father had the greatest joy that he had ever had. He joined his hands together towards his sons [staying in the sky], and said, ‘Who is your teacher? Whose disciples are you?’

“The two sons said, ‘Great King! Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha, who is now sitting on the seat of the Dharma under the Bodhi-tree of the seven treasures, is expounding the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to all the gods and men of the world. He is our teacher. We are his disciples.

“The father said to them, ‘I also wish to see your teacher. I will go with you.’

The Daily Dharma for March 23, 2021, offers this:

Seeing [these wonders displayed by] the supernatural powers of his sons, the father had the greatest joy that he had ever had. He joined his hands together towards his sons [staying in the sky], and said, ‘Who is your teacher? Whose disciples are you?’

King Wonderful-Adornment makes this declaration to his sons in Chapter Twenty-Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. His sons had been asked by their mother to display their supernatural powers to their father and awaken the desire in him to hear the Buddha Dharma. We all have abilities of which we are not aware, and can cultivate those abilities so that they may seem miraculous to those who do not understand them. But it is important for us not to fall in the trap of using these abilities to strengthen our ego delusion. Instead we should dedicate our talents towards awakening the joy of the Wonderful Dharma in all beings.

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