Monthly Archives: December 2022

LS32

Day 17

Day 17 covers all of Chapter 12, Devadatta, and opens Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra.

Day 17 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered when the Buddha was a King seeking the Dharma in his previous existence, we repeat in gāthās when the Buddha was a King seeking the Dharma in his previous existence

Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:

I remember that I became a king in a kalpa of the past.
Although I was a king,
I did not indulge in the pleasures of the five desires
Because I was seeking the Great Dharma.

I tolled a bell, and said loudly in all directions;
“Who knows the Great Dharma?
If anyone expounds the Dharma to me,
I will become his servant.”

There was a seer called Asita.
He came to [me, who was] the great king, and said:
“I know the Wonderful Dharma.
It is rare in the world.
If you serve me well,
I will expound the Dharma to you.”

Hearing this, I had great joy.
I became his servant at once.
I offered him
Anything he wanted.

I collected firewood and the fruits of trees and grasses,
And offered these things to him respectfully from time to time.
I never felt tired in body and mind
Because I was thinking of the Wonderful Dharma.

I sought the Great Dharma strenuously
Because I wished to save all living beings.
I did not wish to benefit myself
Or to have the pleasures of the five desires.

Although I was the king of a great country,
I sought the Dharma strenuously.
I finally obtained the Dharma and became a Buddha.
Therefore, I now expound it to you.

The Daily Dharma from Dec. 16, 2022, offers this:

I collected firewood and the fruits of trees and grasses,
And offered these things to him respectfully from time to time.
I never felt tired in body and mind
Because I was thinking of the Wonderful Dharma.

The Buddha teaches these verses in Chapter Twelve of the Lotus Sūtra. They are part of a story of one of his previous lives. He was a king who gave up his throne to search for someone to teach him. When he found a seer who knew the Wonderful Dharma, he became the servant of the seer and served him with enthusiasm. These verses remind us of the enthusiasm that comes from hearing the Buddha’s teachings.

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

800years, PhraseADay

800 Years: Adhering to ‘Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo’

KANJIN HONZON SHO

All the good deeds and virtues of the Buddha Sakyamuni are manifested in the title of the Lotus Sutra, that is, in the five letters: “Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo.” However sinful we may be, we shall be naturally endowed with all the deeds and virtues of the Buddha if we adhere to these five letters.

(Background : April 25, 1273, 51 years old, at Sado, Showa Teihcn, p.711)

Explanatory note

Upon a meritorious accomplishment, we often fail to appreciate other people’s helping hands and are apt to think that it was due solely to our own abilities and efforts. We may say, “I accomplished this because I chanted Odaimoku so many times,” or “My job is successful because I have chanted Buddhist scriptures with a sincere mind.” If these words represent your beliefs, you have yet to attain the stage of awareness.

Let us think on the word “given.” Our bodies and minds are given to us. Even our wills to accomplish something are inherited from our ancestors.

Our achievements do not come to us by our own abilities and efforts alone. We must be aware of important environmental influences in our daily lives. This awareness will affect many changes in our lives.

After studying the teaching of the Buddha for many years, Nichiren Daishonin reached the conclusion that salvation in the Latter Age of the Declining Law was only possible through upholding Odaimoku with firm conviction. Because of his methodical and careful study of Buddhism, he realized a profound comprehension and conviction of Buddhism. Nevertheless, he taught us not to be overly concerned with theory alone, but to have faith and to practice the chanting of Odaimoku.

Nichiren revealed that the five characters of Odaimoku, “Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo,” embody the following: All virtues of the Buddha Sakyamuni’s practices, of His enlightenment, and of His salvation.

The Buddha Sakyamuni attained enlightenment in the remote past, but before His Enlightenment, He had practiced the Bodhisattva austerities for countless times in His previous lives. His experiences of these practices are detailed in the Jataka Tales.

His practices and enlightenment are all embodied within Odaimoku. However, salvation by Odaimoku is promised in the Lotus Sutra which declares that it will be performed by Bodhisattva Jogyo in the Latter Age of the Declining Law. As a matter of fact, Nichiren Daishonin appeared in the Latter Age to prove this promise and taught us the importance of the chanting of Odaimoku.

When we uphold Odaimoku, we will be given all the virtues of the Buddha Sakyamuni and will be embraced in his realm of enlightenment. This is Buddha’s salvation.

Rev. Matsuda

Phrase A Day

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 16, 2022

I collected firewood and the fruits of trees and grasses,
And offered these things to him respectfully from time to time.
I never felt tired in body and mind
Because I was thinking of the Wonderful Dharma.

The Buddha teaches these verses in Chapter Twelve of the Lotus Sūtra. They are part of a story of one of his previous lives. He was a king who gave up his throne to search for someone to teach him. When he found a seer who knew the Wonderful Dharma, he became the servant of the seer and served him with enthusiasm. These verses remind us of the enthusiasm that comes from hearing the Buddha’s teachings.

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

LS32

Day 16

Day 16 concludes Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures, and completes the Fourth Volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 16 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the question of who will protect this sutra, we consider the difficulty in teaching this sutra.

Good men! Think this over clearly!
It is difficult
[To expound this sūtra].
Make a great vow to do this!

It is not difficult
To expound all the other sūtras
As many as there are sands
In the River Ganges.

It is not difficult
To grasp Mt. Sumeru
And hurl it to a distance
Of countless Buddha-worlds.

It is not difficult to move [a world]
[Composed of] one thousand million Sumeru-worlds
With the tip of a toe
And hurl it to another world.

It is not difficult
To stand in the Highest Heaven
And expound innumerable other sūtras
To all living beings.

It is difficult
To expound this sūtra
In the evil world
After my extinction.

It is not difficult
To grasp the sky,
And wander about with it
From place to place.

It is difficult
To copy and keep this sūtra
Or cause others to copy it
After my extinction.

It is not difficult
To put the great earth
On the nail of a toe
And go up to the Heaven of Brahman.

It is difficult
To read this sūtra
Even for a while in the evil world
After my extinction.

It is not difficult
To shoulder a load of hay
And stay unburned in the fire
At the end of the kalpa [of destruction].

It is difficult
To keep this sūtra
And expound it to even one person
After my extinction.

It is not difficult
To keep the store
Of eighty-four thousand teachings
Expounded in the sūtras
Composed of the twelve elements,
And expound it to people,
And cause the hearers to obtain
The six supernatural powers.

It is difficult
To hear and receive this sūtra,
And ask the meanings of it
After my extinction.

It is not difficult
To expound the Dharma
To many thousands of billions of living beings
As many as there are sands
In the River Ganges
So that they may be able
To obtain the benefits:
Arhatship and the six supernatural powers.

It is difficult
To keep
This sūtra
After my extinction.

Since I attained
The enlightenment of the Buddha,
I have expounded many sūtras
In innumerable worlds.

This sūtra is
The most excellent.
To keep this sūtra
Is to keep me.

The Daily Dharma from Oct. 27, 2021, offers this:

It is not difficult
To grasp the sky,
And wander about with it
From place to place.
It is difficult
To copy and keep this sūtra
Or cause others to copy it
After my extinction.

The Buddha sang these verses in Chapter Eleven of the Lotus Sūtra for all those who had come to hear him teach. When we start on the path of enlightenment by finding joy in the Buddha Dharma, we might believe that the world will change around us to meet our expectations, and that we will have no more difficulties. Then when we do find hard times, we may even abandon this wonderful practice and go back to our habits of gratifying ourselves. Our founder Nichiren lived through unimaginable hardships so that we who follow him would not lose this precious teaching. The Buddha in these verses reminds us that difficulties are part of our practice, and that we can find a way to use any situation in life to benefit others.

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

d30b, Blog

What’s in a Dharani?

I encourage anyone with an interest in the Lotus Sutra and, in particular, Chapter 26, Dhārāṇis, to watch this video of the Dec. 4, 2022, Rissho Kosei-Kai of North America Bodhi Day talk by Dr. Dominick Scarangello. As the screenshot above explains, Dr. Scarangello’s hour-long lecture covers a wealth of material.

If you want to know more about the Mother of Demons, Hariti, start the lecture here.

See also How Hārītī Came to Defend the Dharma

Other Dharani resources

800years, The Buddhist Prophet

800 Years: The Faith of Shijō Kingo

The close union of religion and ethics was a characteristic feature in Nichiren’s thought and life, and it appears in a harmonious combination of his human sentiments with his religious aspirations. An episode in these years of retirement may serve as an illustration of this union. As has been mentioned in connection with Nichiren’s execution, one of his warrior disciples, Shijō Kingo, was always a great favorite of Nichiren. In the sixth month of 1277, Kingo was slandered to his lord by religious opponents. Nichiren wrote to his disciple, admonishing him never to waver in his faith on account of the accusation, and composed for him a defense to be presented to his lord. The lord remained inflexible, and Kingo was finally deprived of his position and emoluments; yet the faithful warrior not only remained steadfast in his religion but continued to show admirable fidelity to the lord who had done him injustice. This fidelity made such an impression on his lord that in the following year he restored Kingo to his former position.

All Nichiren’s letters about this affair, especially the last ones, expressing his great joy at hearing of Kingo’s restoration, exhibit his affection for his disciples, as well as the way in which he counselled and encouraged them.

See Chapter 10, Part 5
Nichiren, The Buddhist Prophet

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 15, 2022

Only I see clearly and without hindrance that they are at various stages [of enlightenment]. I know this, but they do not know just as the trees and grasses including herbs in the thickets and forests do not know whether they are superior or middle or inferior.

The Buddha makes this declaration in Chapter Five of the Lotus Sūtra, as he explains the simile of herbs. This is a good reminder for us on the Bodhisattva path of how important it is to have respect for all beings. We can believe we know whether someone else is less enlightened than we are, or even more enlightened than we are. But for Bodhisattvas, this belief is irrelevant. Only the Buddha knows who is where on the path. We do not need to know. We just need to find ways to benefit others, no matter how close they may be to enlightenment.

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

LS32

Day 15

Day 15 concludes Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma, and opens Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures.

Day 15 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the thirsty man on a plateau, we consider the requirements for expounding the Lotus Sutra.

“Medicine-King! How should the good men or women who live after my extinction expound this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to the four kinds of devotees when they wish to? They should enter the room of the Tathāgata, wear the robe of the Tathāgata, sit on the seat of the Tathāgata, and then expound this sūtra to the four kinds of devotees. To enter the room of the Tathāgata means to have great compassion towards all living beings. To wear the robe of the Tathāgata means to be gentle and patient. To sit on the seat of the Tathāgata means to see the voidness of all things. They should do these [three] things and then without indolence expound this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to Bodhisattvas and the four kinds of devotees.

See The Greatest Doctrine of the Buddha

Peaceful Action, 800years

800 Years: The Fruit of Great Merit

The teaching of the Lotus Sutra on the ultimate dimension is a very great, joyful truth. From our limited perspective of reality we have etched in our minds the idea of birth and death, of coming and going, existence and nonexistence. We have gotten used to this view of reality. And now someone comes along and opens up the treasure of the ultimate for us, the priceless truth of no birth, no death, of infinite life span, essential Buddha nature, and imminent Buddhahood. Are we able to bear such a profound truth or not? When we hear the Buddha teach this truth – and we are able to practice it, bear it, accept it, and hold it in our hearts, smile and have faith in it – then we will enjoy the fruit of great merit.

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p123
Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 14, 2022

We do not see a shadow in the dark. Man does not see the flight path of a bird in the air. We do not see the path of a fish in the sea. We do not see everyone in the world reflected on the moon. However a person with “heavenly eyes” sees all these. The scene of the chapter “Appearance of a Stupa of Treasures” exists in the mind of Lady Nichinyo. Though ordinary people do not see it, Śākyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of Many Treasures and Buddhas throughout the universe recognize it. I, Nichiren, also can see it. How blessed are you!

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Response to My Lady Nichinyo (Nichinyo Gozen Gohenji). The Chapter Nichiren mentions describes the assembly of the Buddha, Many-Treasures Buddha, and innumerable Buddhas from other worlds gathered to hear the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sūtra. Nichiren used a representation of this scene for the Omandala Gohonzon, his representation of the Buddha’s highest teaching. In this response, Nichiren recognizes that Lady Nichinyo sees this assembly in the reality of her everyday life. The Buddha taught that this is the most difficult of his teachings to believe and understand. Nichiren and Lady Nichinyo are examples for us that, despite this difficulty, we too can learn to see this world of delusion and ignorance as the Buddha’s pure land.

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