Monthly Archives: November 2022

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Nov. 28, 2022

Some children of mine are pure in heart, gentle and wise.
They have practiced the profound and wonderful teachings
Under innumerable Buddhas
[In their previous existence].
I will expound this sūtra of the Great Vehicle to them,
And assure them of their future Buddhahood, saying:
“You will attain the enlightenment of the Buddha
In your future lives.”

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra. In the difficulties we face in this world of conflict and attachment, we can lose sight of our purpose to benefit all beings and try to avoid whatever is uncomfortable. When we hear the Buddha assure us of our inherent wisdom, and that our capacity to benefit others will continue to grow despite any obstacles we find, we learn to persevere through misfortunes, and increase our determination to lead all beings to enlightenment.

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 witnessed the arrival of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, we consider the question Universal-Sage Bodhisattva posed to the Buddha.

[Universal-Sage Bodhisattva] worshiped [the feet of] Śākyamuni Buddha with his head, walked around the Buddha [from left] to right seven times and said to the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! I heard the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, which you expounded in this Sahā World, from a remote world in which lives Treasure-Power­Virtue-Superior-King Buddha. I came here with many hundreds of thousands of billions of Bodhisattvas in order to hear and receive [this Sūtra]. World-Honored One! Tell me how the good men or women who live after your extinction will be able to obtain this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma!”

The Buddha said to Universal-Sage Bodhisattva:

“The good men or women will be able to obtain this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma after my extinction if they do the following four things: 1. secure the protection of the Buddhas, 2. plant the roots of virtue, 3. reach the stage of steadiness [in proceeding to enlightenment], and 4. resolve to save all living beings. The good men or women will be able to obtain this sūtra after my extinction if they do these four things.”

The Daily Dharma from July 16, 2022, offers this:

The Buddha said to Universal-Sage Bodhisattva: “The good men or women will be able to obtain this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma after my extinction if they do the following four things: (1) secure the protection of the Buddhas, (2) plant the roots of virtue, (3) reach the stage of steadiness [in proceeding to enlightenment], and (4) resolve to save all living beings. The good men or women will be able to obtain this sūtra after my extinction if they do these four things.”

For us who aspire to this difficult practice of the Wonderful Dharma, the Buddha gives this guide in Chapter Twenty-Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. For us to have even heard of this sūtra in this life we must have already done these four things. In order to maintain this practice, we need to use the Buddha’s protection for the benefit of all beings, not just for our benefit alone. We need to nourish the virtuous seeds we have already planted, remain steady and confident on the path to enlightenment, and sustain our determination to maintain our respect for everyone.

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

800years, d32b, Blog

800 Years: Faith Is Nothing Without Practice

In the concluding chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Universal Sage Bodhisattva promises to appear before, protect, and encourage anyone who keeps and practices the Lotus Sutra, and he will have that person aspire to the Way to Buddhahood, as described in the The Introduction to the Lotus Sutra.

The emphasis in this chapter, as well as in the following Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva, is on the need to put the Lotus Sutra into practice. As Gene Reeves explains in The Stories of the Lotus Sutra:

“It is not enough to study and gain wisdom, not enough to feel compassion. One must also embrace the Sutra by embodying it in one’s life. Faith is not faith if it is only believed, or only felt; it must be lived. One must strive to become a buddha by being a bodhisattva for others, which means nothing more and nothing less than embodying Buddha Dharma by helping others in whatever ways are appropriate and in whatever ways one can. Among those ways is giving encouragement and strength to others, being Universal Sage Bodhisattva for them.”

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p309

But before we can be a Bodhisattva for others we must be one for ourselves. Thich Nhat Hanh explains in Peaceful Action, Open Heart that this starts when we bow before the Buddha.

“We often show our respect to the Buddha and bodhisattvas by bowing, but it is important to understand that this action is not a kind of propitiation, in which a devotee pays respect to a powerful divine being in order to gain favor. The Buddha does not need us to pay respect to him; it is we who benefit from this practice. When you pay respect to the Buddha, you begin to see the path. You start to walk in the direction of goodness. You know that you are a Buddha-to-be – you have the capacity to become enlightened, awakened. You recognize that you have the capacity to love, to accept, to feel joy and to bring joy to others.

“When you bow to the Buddha you are really acknowledging your own capacity for Buddhahood. In acknowledging the Buddha, you acknowledge the Buddha nature inherent within you. … When understood and practiced in this way, paying respect to the Buddha is not merely a devotional ritual but is also a wisdom practice.”

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p227-228

We need to manifest faith in ourselves and faith in others with our practice and when we accomplish that we can realize the Buddha’s promise:

“Anyone who keeps, reads and recites this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, memorizes it correctly, studies it, practices it, and copies it, should be considered to see me, and hear this sūtra from my mouth. He should be considered to be making offerings to me. He should be considered to be praised by me with the word ‘Excellent!’ He should be considered to be caressed by me on the head. He should be considered to be covered with my robe.”

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Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Nov. 27, 2022

He said to them, ‘Know this! Now I am old and decrepit. I shall die soon. I am leaving this good medicine here. Take it! Do not be afraid that you will not be cured!’

The Buddha gives this explanation in Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. It is part of the Parable of the Wise Physician in which a father finds his children have taken poison and gives them an antidote. The poison has caused some of the children to lose their right minds and not trust that the medicine will cure them. By faking his death, the father used an expedient to get the children to realize that there was no other medicine that would cure them, and summon the courage to take it. When we accept the Wonderful Dharma and put it into our lives, we are cured of our delusions and find the Buddha’s wisdom.

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 family’s decision to see the Buddha, we consider what happened when King Wonderful-Adornment, Queen Pure-Virtue, and their two sons came to that Buddha.

“Thereupon King Wonderful-Adornment, Queen Pure-Virtue, and their two sons came to that Buddha. The king was accompanied by his ministers and attendants; the queen, by her ladies and attendants; and their two sons, by forty-two thousand men. They worshiped the feet of that Buddha with their heads, walked around the Buddha three times, retired, and stood to one side.

“Thereupon the Buddha expounded the Dharma to the king, showed him the Way, taught him, benefited him, and caused him to rejoice. The king had great joy. The king and queen took off their necklaces of pearls worth hundreds of thousands, and strewed the necklaces to the Buddha. The necklaces flew up to the sky [seven times as high as the tala-tree], and changed into a jeweled platform equipped with four pillars. On the platform was a couch of great treasures, and thousands of millions of heavenly garment were spread [on the couch]. The Buddha [went up,] sat cross-legged [on the couch], and emitted great rays of light. King Wonderful-Adornment thought, ‘The Buddha is exceptional. He is exceedingly handsome. He has the most wonderful form.’

“Thereupon Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha said to the four kinds of devotees, ‘Do you see this King Wonderful-Adornment standing before me with his hands joined together, or not? This king will become a bhikṣu under me, strenuously study and practice the various ways to the enlightenment of the Buddha, and then become a Buddha called Sala-Tree-King in a world called Great-Light in a kalpa called Great-Height-King. Sala-Tree-King Buddha will be accompanied by innumerable Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas. The ground of his world will be even. [King Wonderful-Adornment) will have these merits.’

The Daily Dharma from March 30, 2021, offers this:

The king and queen took off their necklaces of pearls worth hundreds of thousands, and strewed the necklaces to the Buddha. The necklaces flew up to the sky [seven times as high as the tāla-tree], and changed into a jeweled platform equipped with four pillars. On the platform was a couch of great treasures, and thousands of millions of heavenly garments were spread [on the couch]. The Buddha [went up,] sat cross-legged [on the couch], and emitted great rays of light. King Wonderful-Adornment thought, ‘The Buddha is exceptional. He is exceedingly handsome. He has the most wonderful form.’

The Buddha uses this description as part of the story of King Wonderful-Adornment in Chapter Twenty-Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. This King was led by the supernatural powers of his children to meet Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star- King Flower-Wisdom Buddha who was teaching the Wonderful Dharma in that world. The King and his wife the Queen were both so inspired by that Buddha that they allowed the symbols of their wealth and power to be transformed into a sacred platform from which the Buddha could lead all beings to enlightenment. When they found that Buddha, the beauty of his wisdom far outshone the beauty of their jewels.

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

800years, d31b, Blog

800 Years: Family Dharma Drama

In the Lotus Sutra we are offered a number of stories of fathers and sons, but until we get to Chapter 27, no mothers. In fact, it’s only in the story of King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva that we have a family setting. Thich Nhat Hanh suggests in Peaceful Action, Open Heart that there was specific purpose in adding this chapter to the Lotus Sutra.

“In order to better understand [Chapter 27], we have to understand how Mahayana Buddhism became established as a viable religion in China. Chinese society was strongly influenced by the teachings of Confucianism, which especially upheld the importance of filial duty – the duty and reverence of children toward their parents and ancestors. This ideal has been one of the underpinnings of Chinese society and culture from the time of Confucius in the fifth century B.C.E. to the present day. … When followers of Confucianism condemned Buddhism as failing to practice filial piety, the practitioners had to prove the opposite, that in following the path of the Buddha they were also following the path of humanity and filial piety.”

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p225

And yet for Nichiren that filiality to parents could never override filiality to the teachings of the Lotus Sutra. As explained by Donald Lopez and Jacqueline Stone in Two Buddhas Seated Side by Side:

“Nichiren often cited [Chapter 27] to stress that, when faced with the choice between following one’s parents’ wishes or being faithful to the Lotus Sūtra, the Lotus Sūtra must take precedence. Such a stance flew in the face of common understandings of filial piety, an important cultural value of Nichiren’s time. A writing attributed to him, possibly authored by a close disciple with his approval, states:

‘King Śubhavyūha, the father of Vimalagarbha and Vimalanetra, adhered to heretical teachings and turned his back on the buddha-dharma. The two princes disobeyed their father’s orders and became disciples of the buddha Jaladharagaritaghoṣasusvaranakṣatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijn͂a, but in the end they were able to guide their father so that he became a buddha called Sālendrarāja. Are they to be called unfilial? A sūtra passage explains: “To renounce one’s obligations and enter the unconditioned is truly to repay those obligations.” Thus, we see that those who cast aside the bonds of love and indebtedness in this life and enter the true path of the buddha-dharma are persons who truly understand their obligations.’

“The logic here is that abandoning the Lotus Sūtra to satisfy one’s parents might please them in the short run, but by so doing, one severs both them and oneself from the sole path of liberation in the present age. Because such an act constitutes ‘slander of the dharma,’ it can only lead to suffering for all concerned in this and future lifetimes. By upholding faith in the Lotus Sūtra, however, one can realize buddhahood oneself and eventually lead one’s parents to do the same.

Two Buddhas, p252-253

Our faith in the Lotus Sutra and our practice of its teachings prompts our desire to save all sentient beings, starting with our parents.

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Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Nov. 26, 2022

His precepts out of his loving-kindness brace us up as thunderbolts.
His wishes out of his compassion are as wonderful as large clouds.
He pours the rain of the Dharma as sweet as nectar,
And extinguishes the fire of illusions.

The Buddha gives this description of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva (Kannon, Kanzeon, Kuan Yin, Avalokitesvara) to Endless-Intent Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Five of the Lotus Sūtra. This Bodhisattva is the embodiment of compassion. As we cultivate our own nature as Bodhisattvas, we find that the only thing that separates us from the happiness of others is our attachment and delusion. When we allow our compassion to grow, we come to see the world as it is.

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

LS32

Day 30

Day 30 covers all of Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs

Day 30 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month concluded Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs, we begin again with Medicine-King Bodhisattva’s question.

Thereupon Medicine-King Bodhisattva rose front his seat, bared his right shoulder, joined his hands together towards the Buddha, and said to him:

“World-Honored One! How many merits will be given to the good men or women who keep, read, recite, understand or copy the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma?”

The Buddha said to him:

“Suppose some good men or women make offerings to eight hundred billion nayuta Buddhas, that is, as many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges. What do you think of this? Are the merits given to them many or not?”

“Very many, World-Honored One!”

The Buddha said: “More merits will be given to the good men or women who keep, read or recite· even a single gāthā of four lines of this sūtra, understand the meanings of it or act according to it.”

See Dharani Spells

800years, PhraseADay

800 Years: Realizing the Buddha Land Where We Live

NYOSETSU SHUGYO SHO

When all the people under the heaven and various schools of Buddhism are all converted to the one and true vehicle, and when only the Lotus Sutra flourishes and all the people recite “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo” in unison, the howling wind will not blow on the branches, falling rain will not erode the soil, and the world will become as good as during the reigns of the Chinese Emperors Fu-hsi and Shen-nung. You will see that such times will come when the calamities cease to exist, people live long, and men and their faith become eternal, there should be no doubt about the proof of tranquility in life.

(Background : May 1273, 51 years old, at Sado, Showa Teihon, p.733)

Explanatory note

Nichiren Daishonin said that people read the Lotus Sutra with their eyes and voice, but no one read it with his body except him. People generally do not try to apply the teachings of the Lotus Sutra in daily life.

Nichiren clearly mentioned that each individual’s faith and real society are closely related. It is a foolish idea if one thinks that religion is only for comfort in his or her life. Once we are born, we are a part of a society whether we like it or not. We try to keep peace and happiness under the set rules in the society.

The aim of our faith in Nichiren Buddhism is to realize the Buddha Land where we live. It is our vow to be Nichiren’s followers. The Buddha Land will not be created in a few years nor in ten years but it surely will be realized with our firm faith in the Lotus Sutra.

Rev. Kanai

Phrase A Day

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Nov. 25, 2022

You, the World-Honored One, are our leader.
You give peace to gods and men.
Hearing that you assured us of our future Buddhahood,
We are relieved and satisfied.

These verses are sung by Maha-Prajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī, Yaśodharā Bhikṣuṇī, and their attendants in Chapter Thirteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In our lives we have many desires, some of which we may not recognize. We believe that when these desires are met, only then can we be happy and peaceful. At the foundation of these desires is the desire for liberation. These women recognize that with this desire we have to become enlightened, just knowing that it will be fulfilled is enough to bring joy.

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