Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism[The moment of “embracing” the Lotus Sūtra as conceived in Nichiren’s thought] is a moment of intersection between the present time and the timeless realm of enlightenment, in which the Buddha, the practitioner, and the practitioner’s outer world are all identified. It is described as the “three thousand realms in one thought-moment,” which is implicit in the practitioner as the ontological basis of enlightenment, embodied in the daimoku and the object of worship, accessed in the act of faith and chanting, and manifested outwardly in the transformation of the world. This reality is both inherent in and mediated by the five characters myōhō-renge-kyō conferred by the original Śākyamuni Buddha upon the people of the Final Dharma age and is accessible in no other way. This understanding of the Lotus Sūtra as the sole vehicle of realizing Buddhahood underlies Nichiren’s mandate to uphold it “without begrudging bodily life.” It also enabled him and his followers to challenge the authority of established religious institutions and to define themselves as the unique possessors of truth. (Page 294-295)
Monthly Archives: October 2022
Daily Dharma – Oct. 13, 2022
Of the people who put their faith in the Lotus Sutra today, some have faith like fire while others have it like water. Those who have faith like fire refer to those who become enthusiastic upon listening to the preaching, but their passion cools down as time goes by, and eventually forget the teaching. On the other hand, those whose faith is like water mean those whose faith is like a ceaselessly flowing water, namely those who retain their faith without retreating. You have constantly sent me donations and asked me questions about the way of faith. Your faith is like water, is it not? How precious you are!
Nichiren wrote this passage in his Reply to Lord Ueno (Ueno-dono Gohenji). To those who stayed with Nichiren and this teaching, despite all difficulties, his gratitude was boundless. We too are capable of this gratitude, not just towards the Buddha and Nichiren, but towards all those who practice the Buddha Dharma with us, and, most importantly, towards those still caught up in the mesh of suffering.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
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.
Having last month considered Maitreya Bodhisattva’s reaction to the arrival of the Bodhisattvas from Underground, we consider the question by the followers of the Buddhas from the 10 directions.
At that time the Buddhas, who had come from many thousands of billions of worlds outside [this world], were sitting cross-legged on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees in [this world and] the neighboring worlds of the eight quarters. Those Buddhas were the replicas of Śākyamuni Buddha. The attendant of each of those Buddhas saw that many Bodhisattvas had sprung up from under the four quarters of the [Sahā-World which was composed of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds and stayed in the sky. He said to the Buddha whom he was accompanying, “World-Honored One! Where did these innumerable, asaṃkhya Bodhisattvas come from?”
That Buddha said to his attendant:
“Good Man! Wait for a while! There is a Bodhisattva
mahāsattva called Maitreya [in this congregation]. Śākyamuni
Buddha assured him of his future attainment of Buddhahood,
saying, ‘You will become a Buddha immediately after me.’
Maitreya has already asked [Śākyamuni Buddha] about this
matter. [Śākyamuni] Buddha will answer him. You will be able
to hear his answer.”
The Daily Dharma from May 14, 2022 offers this:
Good Man! Wait for a while! There is a Bodhisattva-mahāsattva called Maitreya [in this congregation]. Śākyamuni Buddha assured him of his future attainment of Buddhahood, saying, ‘You will become a Buddha immediately after me.’ Maitreya has already asked [Śākyamuni Buddha] about this matter. [Śākyamuni] Buddha will answer him. You will be able to hear his answer.
This passage from Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sūtra is the answer one of the Buddhas of the replicas of Śākyamuni Buddha gives to his attendant. In the story, innumerable Bodhisattvas have come up through the ground of this world of conflict after the Buddha asked who would continue his teaching after his extinction. Neither the attendant, nor anyone gathered to hear the Buddha teach had seen those Bodhisattvas before and wanted to know where they came from. Our practice of the Wonderful Dharma does not mean merely accepting what we do not understand. We need to raise questions when they occur. These questions show that we are capable of greater understanding. They lead us even closer to the Buddha’s wisdom.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
800 Years: Faith Beyond Calculations of Ability
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p 234-235In ancient India placing one’s hand on the head of another apparently was a sign of trust. Clearly something like that is intended here – but perhaps something more is involved. Though not in this chapter, in various places in the Dharma Flower Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha has said that he is the father of this world. Further, bodhisattvas are regarded as children of the Buddha. There is, in other words, a kind of familial relation, a relation of affection between the Buddha and bodhisattvas. Here, the placing of his hand on the heads of bodhisattvas indicates that the relationship is not only one of trust in a formal sense but displays a religious faith which goes beyond calculations of ability and such. Just as in early chapters of the Sutra he has assured shravakas of becoming buddhas, here the Buddha assures bodhisattvas that they can do the job that needs to be done.
The bodhisattvas, in turn, assure the Buddha that they will indeed carry on his ministry of spreading the Dharma. In other words, the relationship of trust between the Buddha and the bodhisattvas is a mutual one, based on personal assurance. The Buddha assures the bodhisattvas that they can do what needs to be done and they assure him that they will do it.
Daily Dharma – Oct. 12, 2022
I am now joyful and fearless.
I have laid aside all expedient teachings.
I will expound only unsurpassed enlightenment
To Bodhisattvas.
The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra. When the Buddha says he only teaches Bodhisattvas, he does not mean that he holds his highest teaching back from anybody. For us to be able to hear what the Buddha teaches, we must awaken our image of ourselves as Bodhisattvas who chose to come into this world of conflict and delusion. If we try to use the Buddha’s teaching to gratify our own delusions, we will only create more suffering. It is only when we set aside our habits of fear and doubt that we can gain wisdom through practicing the Wonderful Dharma.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 19
Day 19 concludes Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices, and begins Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground.
Having last month considered the Parable of the Priceless in the Top-Knot, we repeat in gāthās the peaceful practices to be performed.
Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
Be patient, and compassionate
Towards all living beings,
And then expound this sūtra
Praised by the Buddhas!Anyone who keeps this sūtra
In the latter days after my extinction
Should have compassion towards laymen and monks
And towards those who are not Bodhisattvas.
He should think:
‘They do not hear this sūtra.
They do not believe it.
This is their great fault.
When I attain the enlightenment of the Buddha,
I will expound the Dharma to them
With expedients
And cause them to dwell in it.’I will tell you a parable.
A wheel-turning-holy-king was powerful.
Some of his soldiers
Distinguished themselves in war.
He was glad to honor them.
He gave them elephants or horses,
Vehicles or ornaments,
Paddy fields or houses,
Villages or cities,
Garments or various treasures,
Menservants or maidservants,
Or other valuables.He took a brilliant gem
Out of his top-knot
And gave it to the bravest man
Who had done the most difficult feats.I am like the king.
I am the King of the Dharma.
I have the great power of patience
And the treasury of wisdom.
I save all living beings in the world by the Dharma
Out of my great compassion towards them.The people were under the pressure
Of various sufferings.
They were fighting with the Maras
In order to emancipate themselves
From suffering.
Because I saw all this,
I expounded various teachings to them.
I expounded many sūtras with skillful expedients.Now I know that they can understand the Sutra
Of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Therefore, I expound it to them lastly
Just as the king took the brilliant gem
Out of his top-knot
And gave it [to the bravest man lastly].
The Daily Dharma from March 29, 2022, offers this:
Anyone who keeps this sūtra
In the latter days after my extinction
Should have compassion towards laymen and monks
And towards those who are not Bodhisattvas.
He should think:
‘They do not hear this sūtra.
They do not believe it.
This is their great fault.
When I attain the enlightenment of the Buddha,
I will expound the Dharma to them
With expedients
And cause them to dwell in it.’
The Buddha sings these verses to Mañjuśrī in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In our zeal to help other beings, we may create expectations of how they will receive our efforts, or how they will change themselves after hearing the Buddha Dharma. We may even blame them for not improving as quickly as we might want. These verses remind us that there is no shortage of time available for our efforts to benefit others.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
800 Years: Four Faiths and Five Categories
Buddhism for Today, p270Since ancient times, the essential points of [Chapter 17] have been considered to be the “four faiths” (shishin) and “five categories” (go-hon). This division was first made in China by Chih-i in order to make the chapter more easily understood. The concept of the four faiths to be followed during the Buddha’s lifetime came from the idea that the ideal way of faith while the Buddha lived was to be divided into the following four stages: (1) receiving but one thought of faith and discernment concerning the eternity of the Buddha’s life, (2) apprehending its meaning, (3) devotion to preaching the Lotus Sutra abroad to others, and (4) beholding and perfecting profound faith and discernment.
The five categories of faith to be pursued after the Buddha’s extinction are derived from the idea that the ideal way of faith in the age of degeneration is divided into the following five categories: (1) first rejoicing over the Lotus Sutra, (2) reading and reciting it, (3) preaching it to others, (4) concurrently practicing the six pāramitās, and (5) intensively practicing the six pāramitās.
The first of the four faiths is to receive but one thought of faith and discernment concerning the eternity of the Buddha’s life. This is the first stage of faith, but the merits obtained by this practice are beyond limit or measure.
Daily Dharma – Oct. 11, 2022
Medicine-King! An evil man who speaks ill of me in my presence with evil intent for as long as a kalpa is not as sinful as the person who reproaches laymen or monks with even a single word of abuse for their reading and reciting the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
The Buddha declares this sentence in Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. Since the Buddha is secure in the enlightenment he enjoys, anyone attacking him either questioning his enlightenment or disparaging his wisdom is only going to make themselves look bad. Attacking someone just starting on the path towards enlightenment could lead them to doubt the value of the Wonderful Dharma. It is beneficial to remember these words, not just for what they mean about how we treat others, but for how we treat ourselves.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 18
Day 18 concludes Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra, and begins Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.
Having last month considered the Bodhisattvas vow in gāthās, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra.
World-Honored One, know this!
Evil bhikṣus in the defiled world will not know
The teachings that you expounded with expedients
According to the capacities of all living beings.They will speak ill of us,
Or frown at us,
Or drive us out of our monasteries
From time to time.
But we will endure all these evils
Because we are thinking of your command.When we hear of a person who seeks the Dharma
In any village or city,
We will visit him and expound the Dharma [to him]
If you transmit it to us.Because we are your messengers,
We are fearless before multitudes.
We will expound the Dharma.
Buddha, do not worry.We vow all this to you
And also to the Buddhas who have come
From the worlds of the ten quarters.
Buddha, know what we have in our minds!
The Daily Dharma from May 19, 2021, offers this:
Because we are your messengers,
We are fearless before multitudes.
We will expound the Dharma.
Buddha, do not worry!
In Chapter Thirteen of the Lotus Sūtra, innumerable Bodhisattvas sing these verses before the Buddha from whom they had come to hear the Wonderful Dharma. The Buddha had asked who would continue to spread and practice his highest teaching after his extinction. These Bodhisattvas vowed to uphold this teaching through all obstacles, particularly those created by people who were so attached to their delusions that they would slander and persecute anyone who keeps this Lotus Sūtra. The fearlessness of these Bodhisattvas comes from their certainty that this Sūtra leads all beings to enlightenment, and their compassionate resolve to benefit everyone.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Senchu Murano’s Insight
This is another in a series of weekly blog posts comparing and contrasting the Sanskrit and Chinese Lotus Sutra translations.
Before leaving Chapter 2, I want to address some differences between Senchu Murano’s English translation of Kumārajīva’s Chinese Lotus Sutra and the English translations of others.
During my 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra practice I’ve used Leon Hurvitz’s translation and admired its academic thoroughness. I’ve puzzled over Gene Reeves’ decision to use Greek and Roman names for Indian mythological creatures. The BDK English Tripiṭaka translation’s use of Sanskrit names for Buddhas made it unusable for my purposes. And I found the “Modern” Rissho Kosei-Kai translation’s effort at gender neutrality distracting.
For me, the Third Edition of Murano’s translation has been my reference point. I started with Murano back in 2015 because it was the translation sold by Nichiren Shu’s Nichiren Buddhist International Center. As I’ve cycled through the Lotus Sutra more than 75 times I’ve become intimately familiar with Murano’s version of the teaching.
Now as I compare and contrast English translations of Kumārajīva’s Chinese Lotus Sutra with H. Kern’s English translation of an 11th century Nepalese Sanskrit document, I want to acknowledge the particular touch Murano applied.
The verses at the conclusion of Chapter 2 serve as a good example.
In Kern’s translation this is rendered:
139. Let this mystery be for thee, Śāriputra, for all disciples of mine, and for the eminent Bodhisattvas, who are to keep this mystery.
140. For the creatures, when at the period of the five depravities, are vile and bad; they are blinded by sensual desires, the fools, and never turn their minds to enlightenment.
141. (Some) beings, having heard this one and sole vehicle manifested by the Jina, will in days to come swerve from it, reject the Sūtra, and go down to hell.
142. But those beings who shall be modest and pure, striving after the supreme and the highest enlightenment, to them shall I unhesitatingly set forth the endless forms of this one and sole vehicle.
143. Such is the mastership of the leaders; that is, their skillfulness. They have spoken in many mysteries; hence it is difficult to understand (them).
144. Therefore try to understand the mystery of the Buddhas, the holy masters of the world; forsake all doubt and uncertainty: you shall become Buddhas; rejoice!
Hurvitz, who used both Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation and a Sanskrit compilation of the Lotus Sutra, offers:
Śāriputra, be it known that
The Buddhas’ dharma is like this:
By resort to myriads of millions of expedient devices
And in accord with what is appropriate for the situation, they preach the dharma;
But they who have not practiced it
Cannot understand this.
All of you, knowing now
That the buddhas, the teachers of the ages,
In accord with what is peculiarly appropriate have recourse to expedient devices,
Need have no more doubts or uncertainties.
Your hearts shall give rise to great joy,
Since you know that you yourselves shall become buddhas.
Reeves simplifies this:
It should be understood, Shariputra,
That the Dharma of the buddhas is like this.
With trillions of skillful means, in accord with what is good
They teach the Dharma.
Those who have not practiced and studied it
Cannot fully understand this.
But all of you,
Knowing that the buddhas,
The teachers of the worlds,
Use skillful means
According to what is appropriate,
Should have no more doubt.
Your hearts should be filled with great joy,
For you know that you too will become buddhas.
Senchu Murano’s translation clarifies and focuses this message:
Śāriputra [and others], know this!
As a rule, the Buddhas expound the Dharma
With billions of expedients as stated above,
According to the capacities of all living beings.Those who do not study the Dharma
Cannot understand it.
You have already realized
The fact that the Buddhas, the World-Teachers, employ expedients,
According to the capacities of all living beings.
Know that, when you remove your doubts,
And when you have great joy,
You will become Buddhas!
The twist here in Murano’s telling is the role of “joy.” Others suggest that the result of understanding will be joy – Your hearts shall give rise to great joy – but for Murano, joy is a prerequisite – “When you have great joy, You will become Buddhas!”
Title Understanding
Another example of Murano’s special touch comes in the choice of the title for Chapter 4.
Leon Hurvitz and Burton Watson offer “Belief and Understanding.” Gene Reeves and the modern Rissho Kosei-Kai translation offer “Faith and Understanding.”
Again, Murano offers an additional layer of meaning by marrying two separate aspects into a dynamic relationship with his choice of the title “Understanding by Faith.”
Interestingly, the only other Nichiren priest to translate Kumārajīva’s Chinese Lotus Sutra into English, Bunno Kato, chose a similar title for Chapter 4, “Faith-discernment.” (See the Introduction to W.E. Soothill’s 1930 “The Lotus of the Wonderful Law or The Lotus Gospel.”)
Next: Śāriputra’s Future