History and Teachings of Nichiren Buddhism, p 129The six degrees of identity consist of six degrees of practice, ranging from shallow to deep. However, in terms of the substance of reality that is manifested, there is no difference from one stage to another. Therefore, we call it “Identity.”
The stages of the six degrees of identity are:
- 1. Identity in principle
- All beings have buddha-nature. The presence of buddha-nature always remains. Every single form, every single fragrance, is nothing but the middle way.
- 2. Verbal identity
- Understanding the above teachings by listening to good friends and reading the sutras.
- 3. Identity in contemplative practice
- Cultivating practices according to the teachings.
- 4. Identity in outer appearances
- Manifesting harmony in outer appearances.
- 5. Identity of partial realization
- Partially destroying fundamental Ignorance and partially seeing reality.
- 6. Ultimate identity
- The complete fulfillment of wisdom, the elimination of all ignorance, and manifesting an original Dharma-body
Monthly Archives: September 2022
Daily Dharma – Sept. 22, 2022
Medicine-King Bodhisattva and Medicine-Superior Bodhisattva have already obtained those great merits. Because they planted the roots of virtue under many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas [in their previous existence], they obtained those inconceivable merits. All gods and men in the world should bow to those who know the names of these two Bodhisattvas.
The Buddha gives this explanation to the great multitude gathered to hear him in Chapter Twenty-Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. These two Bodhisattvas had been brothers under a great King in their previous life. They used wonders to lead their parents to a Buddha who was teaching the Wonderful Dharma in that world. By knowing the story of these two Bodhisattvas, we also know about the Wonderful Dharma and the Ever-Present Buddha who leads us through all our lives to his enlightenment. When we realize that through our practice we are worthy of respect from all beings, including ourselves, there is no need to demand respect from anyone. We are secure in our assurance of enlightenment.
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Between Day 32 and Day 1: The Specialized Focus of Mind
Having last month considered keeping the buddhas of the ten directions in mind, we consider how Universal Sage Bodhisattva will help the practitioner and the specialized focus of mind the practitioner will attain.
When purification from self-amendment has been gained, Universal Sage Bodhisattva will reveal himself again and constantly remain at the practitioner’s side, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down. He will continually expound the teachings for the practitioner’s benefit, even in the practitioner’s dreams; when the practitioner awakes, she or he will realize the joy and comfort of the Dharma. After such a process has continued night and day for three-times-seven days, the practitioner will then attain a Dharma-grasping empowerment (dhāraṇī) of interaction and exchange. With the attainment of this Dharma-grasping empowerment, he or she will remember, retain, and never forget all the explanations of the marvelous Dharma given by the buddhas and bodhisattvas. The practitioner will also regularly see in dreams the seven past buddhas of this world, and although Śākyamuni Buddha alone among them expounds the Dharma for the practitioner, every one of these World-honored Ones gives praise to the Great Vehicle sutras.
At this time the practitioner should once again undertake self-amendment and pay homage to the buddhas of the ten directions. After homage has been offered to the buddhas of the ten directions, Universal Sage Bodhisattva, abiding before the practitioner, will teach and instruct the practitioner regarding all karmic causes and conditions from his or her past lives and to avow all of his or her very grave faults and impure acts. The practitioner must then avow them in his or her own words while facing the World-honored Ones. When the practitioner’s avowal is completed, he or she will then immediately attain the specialized focus of mind in which buddhas reveal themselves.
While engaged in this specialized focus of mind, the practitioner will fully and clearly behold, in the eastern direction, the buddha Akṣobhya and the Land of Wonderful Joy. In this same manner he or she will clearly and completely behold buddhas and magnificent wonderful lands in each of the ten directions. After having seen buddhas in all of the ten directions, the practitioner will envision a person with a diamond cudgel on top of an elephant’s head who, with the cudgel, signifies each of the six sense faculties. After the six sense faculties have been so indicated, for the practitioner’s benefit Universal Sage Bodhisattva will expound the method of self-amendment to purify them. Over the course of one to seven days,16 the practitioner will do self-amendment as he or she is taught. Through the power of the engaged specialized focus of mind in which buddhas reveal themselves, and through Universal Sage Bodhisattva’s well-composed explanation of the method, the practitioner’s ears will gradually hear sounds without encumbrance, the practitioner’s eyes will gradually see things without encumbrance, and the practitioner’s nose will gradually smell scents without encumbrance, as is extensively expounded in the Dharma Flower Sutra.
Six Perfections: Resilience in the Face of Suffering
This is the third day of Paramita Week
Six Perfections: Buddhism & the Cultivation of Character, p 95-96Perhaps the most widely recognized Buddhist phrase is the first noble truth, the Buddha’s initial assertion that “life is suffering.” This claim has prompted a great deal of critical questioning, even rejection of Buddhism, on the grounds that its negative assessment of human life fails to emphasize human happiness and the joy of life. But this response is based on a misunderstanding, a misreading of the way suffering is positioned in Buddhist thinking. The mistake is understandable, though, given the stark form that this pronouncement takes: “Life is suffering.” Without working through the meanings of the Sanskrit suffering – the reasonable tack taken in introductory books on Buddhism – let us simply rephrase the first noble truth in order to get on with the point behind this first meaning of the perfection of tolerance. Suffering in human life is unavoidable; life always entails periods of suffering. All human beings, no matter how privileged their circumstances, will encounter hardship – we will all get sick, we will all injure ourselves, we will all encounter disappointment, we will all face obstacles, we will all feel the pain of depression, and at some point, we will all confront our own death.
Although every one of us knows that, we nevertheless hide from its truth; we wish otherwise, hope otherwise, and invariably become disillusioned when we encounter pain in spite of our best efforts at avoidance. The Buddhist first noble truth is a frank, startling call to awaken from this avoidance and to face the truth of suffering directly and wisely. As the Buddhist teachings unfold around the first truth, we recognize that, far from a passive rejection of happiness in preference for despair, the teachings demonstrate enormous insight into the human situation by outlining paths of action for overcoming the destructive impact of human suffering. Buddhist teachings begin with a stark warning: Life does entail suffering and, unless you face that fact thoughtfully and courageously, your own habits of response to it may deepen the impact or negative effects of suffering, pushing you toward diminished forms of life.
800 Years: Accepting in Faith
There is nothing we teach that is not the truth, and the value of what we teach is equivalent to that of the Dharma taught by all the Buddhas in the sutras. The far-reaching merit of the Lotus Sutra transforms all those who hear it, understand it, accept it in faith, and practice it into teachers of Dharma who share their insight and joy with others in order to help them realize the truth of the ultimate dimension and cross to the shore of freedom.
Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p126800 Years: Feeling This Teaching Vividly
Buddhism for Today, p267-268The merits preached in the first half of chapter 17 are those of faith. In the latter half of chapter 17 and the former half of chapter 18 the same merits are preached. However, beginning with the latter half of chapter 18, the merits preached are those that appear in our personal affairs or in our daily lives.
Some people may think, “We need not pay attention to such merits. If we thoroughly study the ‘one chapter and two halves’ as the core of the Lotus Sutra, understand them truly, and believe deeply in the eternity of the Buddha’s life, we can do without the rest.” That would be quite an acceptable attitude if indeed they could practice as perfectly as they think. If so, their faith would be perfect. However, is there such a person in ten thousand or even a hundred thousand? In actuality it is very hard to practice perfectly what we think.
For ordinary people, the ideal state of mind seems infinitely far from their present situation and quite alien to their actual lives when they first hear it taught. But when this ideal is expounded in a way that is based on familiar problems in their daily lives, they will feel the teaching vividly. Here lies the first important function of the concluding part of the Lotus Sutra.
Daily Dharma – Sept. 21, 2022
You, the World-Honored One, know
What all living beings have deep in their minds,
What teachings they are practicing,
And how much power of wisdom they have.
The children of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha proclaim this to their father in a story told by Śākyamuni Buddha in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. In our preoccupation with our pursuits in this world of conflict we are so focused on our schemes that we have forgotten the Buddha’s wisdom dormant in us all. With the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha leads us to an unfamiliar and even uncomfortable way of seeing the world. But it is only when we leave the false safety of our delusions that we can truly benefit ourselves and others.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
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.
Having last month considered the prediction for those who keep, read and recite the Sūtra, we conclude Chapter 28, The Encouragement of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva.
Therefore, Universal-Sage! When you see the keeper of this sūtra in the distance, you should rise from your seat, go to him, receive him, and respect him just as you respect me.
When the Buddha expounded this chapter of the Encouragement of Universal-Sage, as many Bodhisattvas as there are sands in the River Ganges obtained the dhārāṇis by which they could memorize hundreds of thousands of billions of repetitions of teachings, and as many Bodhisattvas as the particles of dust of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds [understood how to] practice the Way of Universal-Sage.
When the Buddha expounded this sūtra, the great congregation including the Bodhisattvas headed by Universal-Sage, the Śrāvakas headed by Śāriputra, and the other living beings such as gods, dragons, men and nonhuman beings, had great joy, kept the words of the Buddha, bowed [to him], and retired.
[Here ends] the Eighth Volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
The Daily Dharma from May 7, 2022, offers this:
Therefore, Universal-Sage! When you see the keeper of this sūtra in the distance, you should rise from your seat, go to him, receive him, and respect him just as you respect me.
The Buddha gives this instruction to Universal-Sage Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. When we open our eyes to the wonders of the world, and truly appreciate the innumerable beings who share it with us, we can feel alone and insignificant. The Buddha’s Wonderful Dharma shows us both the unimaginable expanse of this universe and the importance of our place in it. None of us can be replaced. Our purpose is neither the futile pursuit of pleasure, nor to make our isolated existence permanent. We are here to open the gate of the Buddha’s wisdom to all beings, to show all beings the joy of enlightenment, and to help them put themselves on the path to enlightenment. We do this by cultivating respect for all beings and, heeding the instructions in this verse, respecting all beings as much as we would the Buddha himself.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Six Perfections: The Morality of Compassion
This is the second day of Paramita Week
Six Perfections: Buddhism & the Cultivation of Character, p 60Buddhists have recognized that all of us begin the cultivation of morality from within whatever quality of self-understanding we happen to have. That means, of course, that our initial motives for moral action will be predominantly self-centered. But as moral practice matures and the accompanying mental transformation progresses, practitioners gradually recognize how the perfection of morality is grounded in compassion and sincere concern for others.
800 Years: Keeping the Six Perfections in Mind through Faith
Lotus SeedsThe Six Perfections – generosity, discipline, patience, energy, meditation, and wisdom – help us to be honest about our practice. If our life no longer reflects the awakened way of the Six Perfections, then it is possible that our faith in Namu Myoho Renge Kyo is fading; we may not be dedicating ourselves to its practice and keeping it in our hearts. If we find ourselves slipping into negative habits and qualities such as stinginess, lack of integrity, impatience, laziness, anxiety, and foolishness instead of manifesting the good qualities of the Six Perfections, we should examine our practice to ensure that we have not made it an empty routine or habit. By keeping the Six Perfections in mind, we will be able to honestly examine ourselves, recognize if we have turned from the world of Buddhahood to the lower worlds, and rededicate ourselves to Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. In this way, we do not depend upon the Six Perfections as the cause to attain Buddhahood; rather we take faith in Namu Myoho Renge Kyo as the primary cause that will enable us to attain Buddhahood and thereby manifest the Six Perfections naturally and joyfully.