Monthly Archives: September 2022

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Sept. 9, 2022

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

Universal Sage, b4today

The Five Kinds of Buddha Eyes

The Buddha said to Ānanda:

“When followers of Buddha undertake to amend themselves of unwholesome and harmful karmic acts after the Buddha has passed away, they must resolutely internalize and recite the Great Vehicle sutras. This comprehensive teaching is the buddha eye of the buddhas, it is the means by which buddhas perfect the five kinds of vision, and, from it, the Buddha’s three manifestations arise.

The five kinds of eyes are (1) the eye of those who have a material body; (2) the divine eye of celestial beings in the realm of form; (3) the eye of wisdom, by which the followers of the two vehicles perceive the nonsubstantiality of things; (4) the eye of the Law, by which the bodhisattvas perceive all teachings in order to lead human beings to enlightenment; and (5) the Buddha’s eye, the four kinds of eyes enumerated above existing in the Buddha’s body.

Buddhism for Today, p451
LS32

Day 20

Day 20 completes Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground, and concludes the Fifth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 20 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the Buddha’s response to the leaders of the Bodhisattvas from Underground, we consider Maitreya Bodhisattva’s reaction to the arrival of the Bodhisattvas from Underground.

Thereupon Maitreya Bodhisattva and the [other] Bodhisattvas [who had already been present in the congregation before the arrival of the Bodhisattvas from underground], eight thousand times as many as the sands of the River Ganges in number, thought:

‘We have never before seen these great Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who sprang up from underground, stood before [Śākyamuni,] the World-Honored One, joined their hands together towards him, and made offerings to him. [Now we see that their leaders] inquire after him.’

Thereupon Maitreya Bodhisattva-mahāsattva, seeing what the Bodhisattvas numbering eight thousand times as many as the sands of the River Ganges had in their minds, and also wishing to remove his own doubts, joined his hands together towards the Buddha, and asked him in gāthās:

We have never seen
These many thousands of billions
Of Bodhisattvas.
Tell me, Most Honorable Biped!
Where did they come from?
They have gigantic bodies,
Great supernatural powers, and inconceivable wisdom.
They are resolute in mind.
They have a great power of patience.
All living beings are glad to see them.
Where did they come from?

They are each accompanied
By as many attendants
As there are sands
In the River Ganges.

Some great Bodhisattvas are each accompanied by attendants
Sixty thousand times as many as the sands of the River Ganges.
They are seeking the enlightenment of the Buddha
With all their hearts.

The number of these great teachers is sixty thousand times
The number of the sands of the River Ganges.
They came together and made offerings to you.
Now they protect and keep this sūtra.
The attendants or disciples accompanying
Each [of the other great Bodhisattvas] number
Fifty thousand times or forty thousand times
Or thirty thousand times or twenty thousand times
Or ten thousand times or a thousand times
Or a hundred times as many as the sands of the River Ganges,
Or a half, a third, or a quarter
Of the number of the sands of the River Ganges,
Or as many as the sands of the River Ganges Divided by a billion;
Or ten million nayuta, a billion or fifty million,
Or a million, ten thousand, a thousand or a hundred,
Or fifty, ten, three, two or one.
[The great Bodhisattvas] who are accompanied
By less attendants are even more numerous.
Some [great Bodhisattvas] have no attendants
Because they prefer a solitary life.
They are the most numerous.
They came together to you.

No one will be able to count
All [these great Bodhisattvas] even if he uses
A counting wand for more kalpas
Than the number of the sands of the River Ganges.

These Bodhisattvas have
Great powers, virtues and energy.
Who expounded the Dharma to them? Who taught them?
Who qualified them to attain [perfect enlightenment]?

Under whom did they begin to aspire for enlightenment?
What teaching of the Buddha did they extol?
What sūtra did they keep and practice?
What teaching of the Buddha did they study?

These Bodhisattvas have supernatural powers
And the great power of wisdom.
The ground of this world quaked and cracked.
They sprang up from under the four quarters of this world.

World-Honored One!
I have never seen them before.
I do not know
Any of them.

They appeared suddenly from underground.
Tell me why!
Many thousands of myriads
Of millions of Bodhisattvas
In this great congregation
Also want to know this.

There must be some reason.
Possessor of Immeasurable Virtues!
World-Honored One!
Remove our doubts!

The Daily Dharma from Dec. 20, 2021, offers this:

We have never seen
These many thousands of billions
Of Bodhisattvas.
Tell me, Most Honorable Biped!
Where did they come from?

Maitreya Bodhisattva sings these verses to the Buddha in Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, the Buddha has asked who among those gathered to hear him teach will continue teaching this Wonderful Dharma in our world of suffering after the Buddha passes into his final extinction. Some Bodhisattvas say they will teach in other worlds, since the beings of this world are too defiled to hear the Buddha’s teaching. Other Bodhisattvas vow to remain in our world, but the Buddha tells them not to bother. At that moment, the ground cracks open, and innumerable Bodhisattvas spring up and vow to carry on the work of the Buddha. Maitreya and others had never seen these Bodhisattvas before. His asking the Buddha respectfully to explain what they do not understand. This example emphasizes that we must continue to question how the Buddha’s teaching applies to our lives rather than dogmatically accepting whatever happens.

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

800years, WONS, original

800 Years: The Mandala Gohonzon and Faith

Nichiren’s writings say very little about the place of his mandala (or of Buddha images) in actual practice. There is one personal letter, the “Nichinyo gozen gohenji,” which does touch on this issue, and though some modern scholars dispute its authenticity, it has historically been highly valued in the Nichiren tradition for its easily accessible description of the mandala and its relation to the practitioner’s faith:

Never seek this gohonzon elsewhere, [for] it abides only in the fleshly heart within the breast of persons like ourselves who embrace the Lotus Sūtra and chant Namu-myōhō-renge-kyō. This is called the capital city of suchness, the ninth consciousness that is the mind-ruler (kushiki shinnō shinnyo no miyako). Being endowed with the ten realms means that [all] ten realms, not excepting a single one, are contained within a single realm, [that of Buddhahood]. That is the reason why this is called a mandala. “Mandala” is a word from India. Here [in Japan] it is called “perfect endowment” (Tinnen gusoku) or “cluster of merits” (kudokuju). This gohonzon is contained solely within the word “faith.” That is the meaning of “gaining entrance by faith.” By believing undividedly in [the Lotus Sūtra, in accordance with its words,]” honestly discarding skillful means” and “not accept[ing] even a single verse from other sūtras, ” Nichiren’s disciples and lay followers shall enter the jeweled stūpa of this gohonzon. How reassuring, how reassuring!

If one judges by this passage, it appears that the logic of Nichiren’s mandala is quite similar to that of esoteric practice, wherein the practitioner visualizes the union of self and Buddha, known as “the Buddha entering the self and the self entering the Buddha” (nyūga ganyū). For Nichiren, however, the nonduality of the practitioner and the Buddha is realized neither by esoteric visualization techniques nor by introspective contemplation involving the application of mental categories, such as the threefold contemplation. Rather, it is by faith in the Lotus Sūtra that one enters the realm of the Buddha’s enlightenment–the three thousand realms in a single thought-moment as actuality–and manifests its identity with oneself. (Page 280-288)

Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism


Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Sept. 8, 2022

The “mutual possession of ten realms” doctrine is as difficult to maintain as it is to see fire in a rock or flowers in wood. However it is not totally impossible because rocks spark when struck together and a tree blooms in spring. It is most difficult to believe that the realm of Buddhas is contained in the realm of humans because it is like saying that fire is in water or water in fire.

Nichiren wrote this in his treatise on Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Venerable (Kanjin Honzon-Shō). “Mutual Expression of Ten Realms” is one of the more difficult ideas from the Chinese Master T’ien-t’ai. Nichiren uses it to illustrate what the Buddha teaches in the Lotus Sūtra: that Buddha nature is contained within all beings. Even though this idea is difficult, we can see it in the transformations of everyday objects we encounter: rocks, fire, flowers and trees. With his similes, Nichiren reminds us that with the Lotus Sūtra as our guide, we can see the Buddha Dharma in all aspects of our lives.

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

LS32

Day 19

Day 19 concludes Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices, and begins Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground.

Day 19 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the practices to be performed in the latter days, we consider the Parable of the Priceless in the Top-Knot.

“Mañjuśrī! It is difficult to hear even the title of this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma [even if you try to do so, walking about] innumerable worlds. Needless to say, it is more difficult to see, keep, read and recite this sūtra.

“Mañjuśrī! I will tell you a parable. Suppose a powerful wheel-turning-holy-king demanded surrender of the kings of smaller countries by threat of force. They did not obey his demand. He led soldiers, and went and suppressed them. He was very glad to see that some soldiers distinguished themselves in war. According to their merits, he gave them paddy fields, houses, villages, cities, garments or ornaments; or various treasures such as gold, silver, lapis lazuli, shell, agate, coral or amber; or elephants, horses, vehicles, menservants, maidservants or subjects. But he did not give a brilliant gem which he was keeping in his top-knot to anyone because the gem on the head of the king was the only one [in the world]. If he had given it to anyone, the followers of the king would have been much surprised.

“Mañjuśrī! I am like the king. I obtained the world of the Dharma by my powers of dhyāna-concentration and of wisdom, and became the king of the triple world. But the kings of the Maras did not assent to my demand for surrender to me. Therefore, my army led by generals, that is, by sages and saints, fought with them. I was glad to see that some distinguished themselves [in war]. In order to cause them to rejoice, I expounded many sūtras to the four kinds of devotees. I gave them the treasures of the Dharma such as dhyāna-concentrations, emancipations, the roots without āsravas, and the powers without āsravas, and also the city of Nirvana, telling them that they had already attained extinction. Although I led them [by giving these things to them] and caused them to rejoice, I did not expound to them the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

“Mañjuśrī! When he saw a soldier of extraordinary merit, the wheel-turning-holy-king joyfully gave that soldier the unbelievably precious gem, which he had kept in his top-knot for a long time and had not given to anyone. I am like the king. I am the great king of the Dharma in the triple world. I expound the Dharma and teach all living beings. Because I see that my soldiers led by generals, that is, by sages and saints, have already obtained extraordinary merits in their fight with the Mara of the five aggregates, with the Mara of illusions, and with the Mara of death, and that they have already eliminated the three poisons, left the triple world, and destroyed the nets of the Maras, I now expound this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma with great joy. This sūtra leads all living beings to the knowledge of all things. I did not expound it before because, if I had done so, many people in the world would have hated it and few would have believed it.

“Mañjuśrī! This Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is the most excellent and profound teaching of all the Tathāgatas. Therefore, I expound it lastly just as the powerful king gave the brilliant gem lastly, the one which he had kept [in his topknot) for a long time.

“Mañjuśrī! This Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is the treasury of the hidden core of the Buddhas, of the Tathāgatas. It is superior to all the other sūtras. I kept it [in secret] and refrained from expounding it for the long night. Now I expound it to you today for the first time.”

See Worthy of the Jewel in His Topknot

Universal Sage, b4today

Amending Both Body and Mind

An ethereal voice will again fill the air, intoning thus:

“You must now amend both body and mind! The body, by killing, stealing, and behaving licentiously, and the mind, by conceiving various unwholesome things, produce the ten harmful karmic actions as well as the five grievous acts. Moreover, their monkey-like and glue-like attachments to things everywhere thoroughly permeate all of the six sense faculties. All of the karmic actions of these six faculties – their branches, twigs, flowers, and leaves – extend fully throughout the three realms, the twenty-five states of existence, and all places where beings take birth, and they function to facilitate ignorance, aging, death, and others of the twelve factors that cause suffering. You cannot but be immersed in the eight improper practices and the eight conditions in which it is difficult to see a buddha. You must now amend yourself of unwholesome and harmful karmic acts such as these!”

The five deadly sins are killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, killing an arhat, injuring the body of a buddha, and causing disunity in the community of monks. Those who commit these five sins will fall into the Avici hell. The twenty-five abodes of living beings are the four evil worlds (the hells, animals, hungry spirits, and asuras), the four continents of the world of men, the six heavens of the world of desire, the seven heavens of the world of form, and the four heavens of the formless world. The eight circumstances indicate the eight conditions in which one is unable to see the Buddha or hear the Law. These are hell, animals, hungry spirits, the heaven of long life, remote places, the state of being blind or deaf, secular prejudice, and the period of the Buddha’s absence.

Buddhism for Today, p449
800years, b4today

800 Years: Roots of Faith

[In the Simile of the Herbs,] roots, stalks, twigs, and leaves indicate faith, precepts, meditation, and wisdom. Roots are the most important part of plants. Without roots, they cannot grow stalks, twigs, or leaves. Therefore “roots” means faith. One cannot keep the precepts without faith. Because of keeping the precepts, one can enter into the mental state of meditation and can also obtain wisdom.

Conversely, however strong the roots may be, they will eventually die if the twigs and leaves wither or if the stalks are cut. In the same way, if man does not have wisdom, his faith will become corrupt. In short, in believing in a religion, man begins with faith and attains wisdom through the precepts and meditation. However, these four steps of his religious practice are always interrelated and exist together. When any one of the four steps is lacking, his religious practice cannot be perfect, and it will not progress to the next stage. Just as a tree may be big or little, superior, middle, or low, so different people are large- or smallminded, wise or ignorant.

Buddhism for Today, p74
Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Sept. 7, 2022

Medicine-King! Erect a stūpa of the seven treasures in any place where this sūtra is expounded, read, recited or copied, or in any place where a copy of this sūtra exists! The stūpa should be tall, spacious and adorned. You need not enshrine my śarīras in the stūpa. Why not? It is because it will contain my perfect body.

The Buddha declares these lines to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. In ancient India, stūpas were tombs built as memorials to those who had enjoyed a superior position in their lives. After the Buddha died, small relics of his body were distributed so that many great stūpas could be built to his memory. Even today all over Asia, stūpas hold the physical remains of the Buddha. In this chapter, the Buddha reminds us that when we have the Lotus Sūtra with us, it is as good as having the Buddha himself.

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 considered the plight of the eighty billion nayuta Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, we consider the Bodhisattvas vow in gāthās.

Thereupon the Bodhisattvas sang in gāthās with one voice:

Do not worry!
We will expound this sūtra
In the dreadful, evil world
After your extinction.

Ignorant people will speak ill of us,
Abuse us, and threaten us
With swords or sticks.
But we will endure all this.

Some bhikṣus in the evil world will be cunning.
They will be ready to flatter others.
Thinking that they have obtained what they have not,
Their minds will be filled with arrogance.

Some bhikṣus will live in aranyas or retired places,
And wear patched pieces of cloth.
Thinking that they are practicing the true Way,
They will despise others.

Being attached to worldly profits,
They will expound the Dharma to men in white robes.
They will be respected by the people of the world
As the Arhats who have the six supernatural powers.

They will have evil thoughts.
They will always think of worldly things.
Even when they live in aranyas,
They will take pleasure in saying that we have faults.

They will say of us,
“Those bhikṣus are greedy for worldly profits.
Therefore, they are expounding
The teachings of heretics.
They made that sūtra by themselves
In order to deceive the people of the world.
They are expounding that sūtra
Because they wish to make a name for themselves.”

In order to speak ill of us, in order to slander us
In the midst of the great multitude,
In order to say that we are evil,
They will say to kings, ministers and brahmanas,
And also to householders and other bhikṣus,
“They have wrong views.
They are expounding
The teachings of heretics.”
But we will endure all this
Because we respect you.

They will despise us,
Saying to us [ironically],
“You are Buddhas.”
But we will endure all these despising words.

There will be many dreadful things
In the evil world of the kalpa of defilements.
Devils will enter the bodies [of those bhikṣus]
And cause them to abuse and insult us.

We will wear the armor of endurance
Because we respect and believe you.
We will endure all these difficulties
In order to expound this sūtra.

We will not spare even our lives.
We treasure only unsurpassed enlightenment.
We will protect and keep the Dharma in the future
If you transmit it to us.

The Daily Dharma from Aug. 22, 2022, offers this:

We will wear the armor of endurance
Because we respect and believe you.
We will endure all these difficulties
In order to expound this sūtra.

Medicine-King Bodhisattva and Great-Eloquence Bodhisattva, along with their attendants, declare these verses to the Buddha in Chapter Thirteen of the Lotus Sutra. The Buddha had asked previously who would teach the Lotus Sūtra after the Buddha’s death. These Bodhisattvas declare their aspirations to maintain their practice of the Buddha Dharma in the face of unimaginable difficulties. We may believe that this practice will lead to permanent comfort and pleasure. But knowing that we are in a world that is constantly changing, we realize that any difficulty is temporary, and that the way to a beneficial outcome may only go through difficulties. This knowledge and faith in the Buddha’s teachings increases our capacity to be a beneficial force in this world of conflict.

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