Monthly Archives: December 2022

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 the question Universal-Sage Bodhisattva posed to the Buddha, we consider Universal-Sage Bodhisattva’s vow protect those who keep the Lotus Sutra.

Thereupon Universal-Sage Bodhisattva said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! If anyone keeps this sūtra in the defiled world in the later five hundred years after [your extinction], I will protect him so that he may be free from any trouble, that he may be peaceful, and that no one may take advantage [of his weak points]. Mara, his sons, his daughters, his subjects, his attendants, yakṣas, rākṣasas, kumbhāṇḍas, piśācakas, kṛtyas, pūtanas, vetādas or other living beings who trouble men shall not take advantage [of his weak points]. If anyone keeps, reads and recites this sūtra while he walks or stands, I will mount a kingly white elephant with six tusks, go to him together with great Bodhisattvas, show myself to him, make offerings to him, protect him, and comfort him, because I wish to make offerings to the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. If he sits and thinks over this sūtra, I also will mount a kingly white elephant and appear before him. If he forgets a phrase or a gāthā of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, I will remind him of it, and read and recite it with him so that he may be able to understand it. Anyone who keeps, reads and recites the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma [after your extinction], will be able to see me with such joy that he will make more efforts. Because he sees me, he will be able to obtain samadhis and a set of dhārāṇis. The set of dhārāṇis will be the dhārāṇis by which he can memorize repetitions of teachings, the dhārāṇis by which he can memorize hundreds of thousands of billions of repetitions of teachings, and the dhārāṇis by which he can understand the expediency of the voice of the Dharma.

See The Lion and the Elephant

LS32, d32b, b4today

The Lion and the Elephant

[In Chapter 28, Universal Sage] saysing, “I will at once mount the six-tusked white elephant king,” indicates that the Bodhisattva Universal [Sage] is contrasted with the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, who rides a lion. The lion is the symbol of realization of the truth. The lion, called the king of beasts, has control of the other animals and rouses awe in them. Therefore he can roam freely on the plain. Like the lion, the truth governs all things in the universe and is itself under the control of nothing. The truth is, so to speak, the king of the universe, and it appears freely in all phenomena.

On the other hand, the elephant represents great power of execution. Wherever this animal with his gigantic body forges ahead, nothing can check him. If there is a great tree in his path, he knocks it down. When he finds a rock in his way, he rolls it aside. When he fords a river or swamp, he walks steadily on the bottom. Therefore, the elephant is the symbol of thorough practice.

The six tusks of the white elephant king that the Bodhisattva Universal [Sage] rides symbolize the doctrine of the Six Perfections. This doctrine teaches us the practice of benefiting both oneself and others. The Bodhisattva Universal [Sage], who rides the six-tusked white elephant king as a messenger of the Buddha, and shows himself to all the living, is the symbol of the great man who removes all obstacles and unswervingly practices the Law.

Buddhism for Today, p410
Important Matters, Books

Important Matters: Lotus Sutra Faith and Practice

Important Matters bookcover
Available on Amazon

From the Introduction

Over several months in the Spring of 2017 I gave a series of lectures on some of the important material available to ministers in the Shutei Hoyo Shiki. Due to the importance of the material I felt it necessary to make it more widely available. Many ministers simply do not have the time to present this material especially given the ongoing nature of teaching basics to new Sangha members. Also, there is so much information that needs to be shared it would be a challenge to anyone even if their sole job was simply to teach. Ministers in the United States are not so blessed since in most instances all the administrative tasks, fund raising, conducting services, as well as provide counseling all usually come on top of holding a job to keep a roof over ones head and food on the table. As a mostly retired minister who mainly hosts an online sangha and who helps Kanjin Shonin with the training of his disciples I have a certain luxury of some freedom to focus on things which I feel are important and make them available to as wide an audience as possible.

Book Quotes

 

Book List

800years, Important Matters, Blog

800 Years: Important Matters of Faith

Project calendar
The calendar I used to track my 800 Years of Faith Project

I began this project on Jan. 1, 2022, with a quote from the opening verses of Śāntideva’s “A Guide to the Buddhist Path to Awakening,” The Bodhicaryāvatāra. I have decided to end the project today, Dec. 31, 2022, with a quote from the late Ryusho Jeffus Shonin.

The quote comes from Ryusho’s Important Matters: Lotus Sutra—Faith and Practice, his discussion of the Shutei Nichiren Shu Hoyo Shiki. The Hoyo Shiki is the formal book of standards for Nichiren Shu priests.

It cannot be said often enough that chanting the sutra yields immeasurable benefits. I think we all know that or at least we all say we know that. How deeply aware of that are we in the depths of our lives? Perhaps some say this is true and yet find a space in their lives that is unsure. I don’t think there is anything broken in you if you harbor those doubts. Nope, nothing wrong with you at all. In fact, it is perhaps more normal than not.

Too often in matters of faith it is supposed that true faith is a faith without the slightest doubt or questioning. Because of this people often fear revealing the truth of their lives. As a result everyone wanders around thinking they must be the only one who doubts. It is as if we don’t want to reveal the chink in our armor, fearing that the next person will use that to accuse us of not having a “pure, undoubting faith,” whatever that might look like.

I like to think of those moments of doubt and questions as exciting places. They are places of discovery and invite curiosity. When we can relish our doubts, we can humanize our beliefs and our practice. …

My doubts center around whether I am qualified to teach others about the Dharma. Who am I to think I have any claim to wisdom or knowledge beyond what everyone else has long ago sorted out? I also have doubts about whether I am offering anything of value with regard to understanding and practicing the Lotus Sutra. I’m not fishing for compliments or assurances. I’m instead letting you peek inside my mind.

Since I’ve been writing I’ve had numerous people say complimentary things about how what they read helped them understand and have a deeper relation to their practice of the Lotus Sutra. I am left speechless, often fearing that if I say anything it will ruin the illusion, Yet I am also aware that what they say is true, and they are being sincere. I am thankful that I can have such an ability, though I am doubtful that I can claim it as my own. I know that it only comes from my faith in and practice of the Lotus Sutra. Even if unskilled, it is still my wish to somehow share with and encourage others to find the joy I have found, not exactly like mine but their own version.”

This yearlong trip has been a journey of discovery. Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.

Table of Contents

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 31, 2022

This sūtra opens the gate of expedients and reveals the seal of the truth. The store of this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is sound and deep. No one can reach its core. Now I show it to the Bodhisattvas in order to teach them and cause them to attain [Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi].

The Buddha declares these lines to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. At the beginning of the sūtra, the Buddha declared that he was no longer preparing those who hear him to receive his highest wisdom. The purpose of his instruction was always to lead all beings to unsurpassed enlightenment, even though it seemed that he was ending their suffering. When later the Buddha revealed his true existence as constantly present in our world, he showed that this teaching is not just something he did 2500 years ago. He is teaching this Wonderful Dharma for the benefit of all beings right now, today.

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 what happened when King Wonderful-Adornment, Queen Pure-Virtue, and their two sons came to the Buddha, we consider how the king’s two sons were his teacher.

“Thereupon the king abdicated from the throne in favor of his younger brother, renounced the world, and with his wife, two sons, and attendants, practiced the Way under that Buddha. After he renounced the world, the king acted according to the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma constantly and strenuously for eighty-four thousand years. Then he practiced the samādhi for the adornment of all pure merits. Then he went up to the sky seven times as high as the tala-tree, and said to that Buddha, ‘World-Honored One! These two sons of mine did the work of the Buddha. They converted me from wrong views by displaying wonders. They caused me to dwell peacefully in your teachings. They caused me to see you. These two sons of mine are my teachers. They appeared in my family in order to benefit me. They inspired the roots of good which I had planted in my previous existence.’

“Thereupon Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha said to King Wonderful-Adornment, ‘So it is, so it is. It is just as you say. The good men or women who plant the roots of good will obtain teachers in their successive lives. The teachers will do the work of the Buddha, show the Way [to them], teach them, benefit them, cause them to rejoice, and cause them to enter into the Way to Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Great King, know this! A teacher is a great cause [of your enlightenment] because he leads you, and causes you to see a Buddha and aspire for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Great King! Do you see these two sons of yours, or not? They made offerings to six trillion and five hundred thousand billion Buddhas, that is, as many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges, in their previous existence. They attended on those Buddhas respectfully. They kept the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma under those Buddhas, and caused the people of wrong views to have right views out of their compassion towards them.

See We All Need Good Friends and Teachers

800years, PhraseADay

800 Years: Faith, Practice and Study

SHOHO JISSO SHO

Have faith in the Great Mandala Gohonzon, the most superlative in the world. Endeavor! Endeavor to strengthen your faith, so that you may be blessed with the protective powers of all Buddhas. Learn and practice to strengthen your faith. Without learning and practicing there is no Buddhism. To learn and to practice are a part of faith. Follow these yourself and influence others to do the same. Even if only a word or a phrase, spread it to others.

(Background : 1273, 51 years old, at Sado, Showa Teihon, p.728)

Explanatory note

It is most important for us who follow the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin to believe obediently in the Great Mandala Gohonzon. It is an object of faith and worship. It symbolizes the salvation revealed in the Lotus Sutra.

When the Buddha Sakyamuni preached the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha Taho proved its truth, and Sakyamuni’s funjin (manifestations), who had been preaching in all other worlds, praised Him. Furthermore, all deities who had been deeply impressed by listening to the teachings of the Lotus Sutra promised to protect the people who would believe in the sutra.

When we wish to receive this protection, we must do two things – to learn and to practice.

We often distinguish learning from practicing. But we must learn while we devote ourselves putting the teachings of the sutra into practice. Nichiren Daishonin teaches us that it is impossible to be a true and faithful follower without learning and practicing.

Rev. Ogawa

Phrase A Day

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 30, 2022

All that I say is true, not false, because I see the triple world as it is. I see that the triple world is the world in which the living beings have neither birth nor death, that is to say, do not appear or disappear, that it is the world in which I do not appear or from which I do not disappear, that it is not real or unreal, and that it is not as it seems or as it does not seem. I do not see the triple world in the same way as [the living beings of] the triple world do. I see all this clearly and infallibly.

The Buddha makes this revelation in Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, he has just explained that although beings see him as a man who became enlightened after growing up as a crown prince, in reality he has been enlightened since an unimaginable amount of time in the past, and will continue to lead all beings to enlightenment for twice that period of time into the future. As we learn to see the historical Śākyamuni Buddha as the ever-present Śākyamuni Buddha, our vision of the world changes too.

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 considered Medicine-King Bodhisattva’s question, we consider Medicine-King Bodhisattva’s Dhāraṇīs and the Buddha’s response.

Thereupon Medicine-King Bodhisattva said to the Buddha,

“World-Honored One! Now I will give dhārāni spells to the expounder of the Dharma’ in order to protect him.”

Then he uttered spells:

“Ani (1), mani (2), manei (3), mamanei (4), shirei (5), sharitei (6), shamya (7), shabi-tai (8), sentei (9), mokutei (10), mokutabi (11), shabi (12), aishabi (13), sōbi (14), shabi (15), shaei (16), ashaei (17), agini (18), sentei (19), shabi (20), darani (21 ), arokya-basai-ha habi-shani (22), neibitei (23), abentarancibitei (24), atantahareishudai(25), ukurei (26), mukurei (27), ararei (28), hararei (29), shukyashi (30), asammasambi (31), botsudabikirijittei (32), darumaharishitei (33), sōgyanekkushanei (34), bashabashashudai(35), mantara (36), manta ashayata (37), urntaurota (38), kyōsharya(39), ashara (40), ashay taya (41), abaro (42), amanyanataya (43).”

[He said to the Buddha:]

“World-Honored One! These dhārānis, these divine spells, have already been uttered by six thousand and two hundred million Buddhas, that is, as many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges. Those who attack and abuse this teacher of the Dharma should be considered to have attacked and abused those Buddhas.”

Thereupon Śākyamuni Buddha praised Medicine-King Bodhisattva, saying:

“Excellent, excellent, Medicine-King! You uttered these dhārānis in order to protect this teacher of the Dharma out of your compassion towards him. You will be able to give many benefits to all living beings.”

The Daily Dharma from Oct. 1, 2022, offers this:

Thereupon Śākyamuni Buddha praised Medicine-King Bodhisattva, saying: “Excellent, excellent, Medicine-King! You uttered these dhāraṇīs in order to protect this teacher of the Dharma out of your compassion towards him. You will be able to give many benefits to all living beings.”

The Buddha makes this declaration to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Six of the Lotus Sūtra. The dhāraṇīs are promises made in a language that only Medicine-King and other protective beings understand. When we recite these promises from the Lotus Sūtra, we remind those beings of their vows. We also awaken our natures to protect all beings, and create benefits both for those beings and ourselves.

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

800years, PhraseADay

800 Years: Faith and Love

MYOICHI AMA GOZEN GOHENJI

Faith is nothing special. A wife loves her husband, the husband devotes his life to her, parents do not give away their children, and children do not desert their mother. Likewise, believe in the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha Sakyamuni, the Buddha Taho, all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and deities. Then chant “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.” This is faith.

(Background : May 18, 1280, 58 years old, at Minobu, Showa Teihon, p.] 749)

Explanatory note

This letter is impressive. Nichiren Daishonin always explained religious practice in daily life. Myoichi Ama must have imprinted on her subconcious to remember her master’s words in these simple daily matters. We do not know about her for certain, but it is said that she lived near Kamakura and lost her husband in her early married life. It is very hard for a wife to accept her husband’s death, because she still loves him even after he is gone. Nichiren Daishonin advised her to turn her love to faith in the Lotus Sutra.

It is easy to talk about faith but hard to understand it. An ordinary person is able to grasp the real meaning of faith through love.

In order to receive salvation, Buddhists must have a strong aspiration to Buddhas and deities in the Lotus Sutra with the same love found among husband, wife, and their children. When one is drowning, he must wish someone’s help very strongly. To have faith in the Lotus Sutra is just like that : having a strong aspiration.

Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and deities surely protect those who have faith in the Lotus Sutra and who chant “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.” That is Nichiren Daishonin’s teaching.

Rev. Kanai

Phrase A Day