Monthly Archives: February 2023

LS32

Day 4

Day 4 concludes Chapter 2, Expedients, and completes the first volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 4 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the One Vehicle, we consider why the Buddha chose to use expedient teachings.

Seeing people of no wisdom, I thought:
“If I teach them only the Way to Buddhahood,
They will be distracted.
They will doubt my teaching, and not receive it.
I know that they did not plant
The roots of good in their previous existence.
They are deeply attached to the five desires.
They suffer because of stupidity and cravings.
Because they have many desires,
They will fall into the three evil regions,
Or go from one to another of the six regions
Only to undergo many sufferings.
Through their consecutive previous existences,
Their small embryos have continued to grow up
To become men of few virtues and merits.
They are now troubled by many sufferings.
They are in the thick forests of wrong views.
They say “Things exist,”
Or “Things do not exist.”
They are attached to sixty-two wrong views.
They are deeply attached to unreal things.
They hold them firmly, and do not give them up.
They are arrogant, self-conceited,
Liable to flatter others, and insincere.
They have never heard of the name of a Buddha
Or of his right teachings
For thousands of billions of kalpas.
It is difficult to save them.”

Therefore, Śāriputra!
I expounded an expedient teaching
In order to eliminate their sufferings.
That was the teaching of Nirvana.
The Nirvana which I expounded to them
Was not true extinction.

All things are from the outset
In the state of tranquil extinction.
The Buddhas’ sons who complete the practice of the Way
Will become Buddhas in their future lives.

I expounded the teaching of the Three Vehicles
Only as an expedient.
All the other World-Honored Ones also
Expound the teaching of the One Vehicle [with expedients].

The great multitude present here
Shall remove their doubts.
The Buddhas do not speak differently.
There is only one vehicle, not a second.

The number of the Buddhas who passed away
During the past innumerable kalpas was
Hundreds of thousands of billions,
Uncountable.

All those World-Honored Ones expounded
The truth of the reality of all things
With various stories of previous lives, parables and similes,
That is to say, with innumerable expedients.

All those World-Honored Ones expounded
The teaching of the One Vehicle,
And led innumerable living beings [with expedients]
Into the Way to Buddhahood.

All those Great Saintly Masters
Who knew the deep desires
Of the gods, men, and other living beings
Of all the worlds,
Revealed the Highest Truth
With various expedients.

The Daily Dharma from Oct. 17, 2022, offers this:

Therefore, Śāriputra!
I expounded an expedient teaching
In order to eliminate their sufferings.
That was the teaching of Nirvāṇa.
The Nirvāṇa which I expounded to them
Was not true extinction.
All things are from the outset
In the state of tranquil extinction.

The Buddha provides this explanation to his disciple Śāriputra in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra. In this part of the story, the Buddha has announced that everything he had taught up until then, including the teachings of suffering and Nirvāṇa, were merely preparation for his highest teaching: the realization of the same enlightenment he reached. With the teaching of Nirvāṇa, the Buddha helps us take responsibility for our own situation rather than relying on an external force to make us happy. One problem with Nirvāṇa is that we can believe that it is something we do not have now. When we extinguish the fires of our delusion, we see the world with the Buddha’s eyes. We see the world for what it is, right here and right now.

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

Important Matters

Oneness of Namu and Myoho Renge Kyo

Our devotion and the devotional phrase are a two-part deal. One part is Myoho Renge Kyo, which we all know is the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Flower Sutra. Picture this as a book. The book, Myoho Renge Kyo, is sitting on the coffee table or perhaps on a bookshelf. You are on the sofa, all nice and comfy. You are Namu.

At this point you can see there is a separation between you, the subject, and the book, the object. But if you go over to the bookshelf and pick up the book and hold it and begin to read it, you and the book are connecting. Now Namu is appended to Myoho Renge Kyo. Mind you, this is only an illustration.

At this point you are more connected holding the book or holding it and reading than when you were in one place and it was in another. Suppose as you read it you become emotionally involved in some part of the sutra. Say you’re reading about this huge assembly of people watching the Buddha sit in meditation, and you are curious about this scene you’re reading. Now you are even more connected. You, Namu, have come closer to the Myoho Renge Kyo. You are nearing an experience of oneness of subject and object.

Now let’s say you’re reading the sutra and you come to the guy whose children are playing inside a dilapidated house that has burst into flame. You might be a parent yourself, and you imagine what you might feel if they were your children. At this point, you have entered the Lotus Sutra even more deeply and your Namu is even more at one with the Myoho Renge Kyo. You are closer to the unification of subject and object. You are not simply becoming the Lotus Sutra, you are beginning to feel the Lotus Sutra that is fundamentally at the core of your life.

Further along you read about some folks who pop up out of the ground and have wondrous bodies. Out of the ground they come, and they keep coming in what appears to be an impossible number. And you may realize that you too came from the earth, and you too have a desire to go to and praise the Buddha just as they did. You also realize that you have been trying to tell people about the Lotus Sutra just as they promised they would. And you begin to think you are acting as they did and fulfilling the promise they made.

You, the Namu, are now even more deeply connected to the Myoho Renge Kyo, but now it is not the book you’re holding but something deeper inside you. Perhaps it makes you feel warm, or even giddy at times. Or perhaps you simply feel at home. You may feel it’s just right; it fits. Now you begin to experience the connection of you and your Myoho Renge Kyo, which has been activated by your Namu.

Namu is you. It is your action. Namu is from the word Namaste. Namaste means devotion, reverence, respect. Namu and Namaste are action words. Being passive is not Namu. The more your devotion, your honoring, your behaviors, your thoughts, your every sense is directed to Myoho Renge Kyo, the more the Myoho Renge Kyo of your life is activated and the more of your environment becomes Myoho Renge Kyo. But you are the key. Myoho Renge Kyo is there, it always has been, it takes you to activate it. Buddhism is not a passive religion.

Important Matters, p 61-63
WONS

Reverse Relationship to the Lotus Sūtra

I am grateful to have been born a human with this precious body due accumulated causes and conditions in my past existences. According to the sūtra, I must have encountered and given offerings to ten trillion Buddhas in the past. Even though I did not place my faith exclusively in the Lotus Sūtra, thus slandering the True Dharma and being born poor and lowly in this life as a result, my merit of giving offerings to the Buddhas was so great that I was born as a believer of the Lotus Sūtra.

Interpreting this, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai (sic) states, “It is like a person who falls to the ground but does not stay there and rises from the ground instead.” Those who fall to the ground get up from the ground instead. Likewise, the grand master states, slanderers of the Lotus Sūtra fall on the ground of the three evil realms and the realms of human and heavenly beings; however, due to their reverse relationship to the Lotus Sūtra they will be led by the hand of the sūtra into the realm of Buddhas.

Hokke Shōmyō-shō, Treatise on the Testimony of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 185

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Feb. 9, 2023

He should respect the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones,
As his unsurpassed fathers.
He should give up arrogance
So that he may expound the Dharma without hindrance.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra in which he describes the peaceful practices of a Bodhisattva. By arrogance, the Buddha means not only acting as if we know what we do not, but any fixed understanding of the world and the beings in it. This opening of our minds allows us to be receptive to the innumerable ways the Buddhas are teaching us, and to learn to see the world for what it is. This receptivity also allows us to see the Buddha nature in all beings, no matter how deluded they are and how much harm they create. Respect is what allows us to fully hear and be present for what the world has to offer us.

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

LS32

Day 3

Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients.

Day 3 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered Śāriputra’s request for the Buddha to teach the Dharma, we consider the Buddha’s hesitance to preach the Dharma.

Thereupon the Buddha said to him,
“No, no, I will not. If I do, all the gods and men in the world will be frightened and perplexed.”

Śāriputra said to him again:

“World-Honored One! Explain it, explain it! The many hundreds of thousands of billions of asaṃkhyas of living beings in this congregation have active functions of mind and clear wisdom because they have seen the [past] Buddhas in their previous existence. If they hear you, they will respect and believe you.”

Thereupon Śāriputra, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in a gāthā:

King of the Dharma, Most Honorable One!
Explain it! Do not worry!
The innumerable living beings in this congregation
Will respect and believe you.

The Buddha checked him again, saying, “No. If I do, all the gods, men and asuras in the world will be frightened and perplexed, and arrogant bhikṣus will fall into a great pit.”

Thereupon the Buddha repeated this in a gāthā:

No, no, I will not say any more.
My teaching is wonderful and inconceivable.
If arrogant people hear me,
They will not respect or believe me.

Thereupon Śāriputra said to him again:

“World-Honored One! Expound the Dharma, expound the Dharma! The hundreds of thousands of billions of living beings in this congregation like me followed the [past] Buddhas and received their teachings in their consecutive previous existences. They will respect and believe you. They will be able to have peace after the long night and obtain many benefits.”

Thereupon Śāriputra, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:

Most Honorable Biped!
Expound the Highest Truth!
I am your eldest son.
Expound the Dharma!

The innumerable living beings in this congregation
Will respect and believe the Dharma.
They have been taught by the [past] Buddhas
In their consecutive previous existences.
They are joining their hands together [towards you],
Wishing with all their hearts to hear and receive your words.

Expound the Dharma
To us twelve hundred men,
And also to the other people
Who are seeking Buddhahood!
We shall be very glad to hear the Dharma.
The other people will also.

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

No, no, I will not say any more.
My teaching is wonderful and inconceivable.
If arrogant people hear me,
They will not respect or believe me.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra. This was his response the first time Śāriputra asked to receive the Buddha’s highest teaching. The Buddha knew we must be prepared for his wisdom. We must discern clearly the difference between what we know and what we do not know. Because all things are impermanent, the truths we cling to may no longer apply. The ignorance and confusion at the root of our suffering will disappear as we set aside what is no longer true and gain wisdom.

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

Important Matters

The Sound of Your Voice Chanting the Odaimoku

The Odaimoku we chant contains all the Dharmas of all the Buddhas from all the realms of the universe and manifests all the pure Buddha Worlds of Tranquil Light. They are all manifest in your life through the sound of your voice chanting the Odaimoku.

“…When we contemplate the Original Buddha with every thought and chant the wondrous name with every utterance, the inconceivable power of the wondrous name and the wondrous entity manifest itself. All delusions will be eliminated, and all merits will be achieved. Dedicate this merit so it will spread to the entire Dharma-realm and benefit all sentient beings in the depths of their minds so that they will attain the merit of the Buddha of inherent existence.”

Shutei Hoyo Shiki, Udana-in Nichiki, page 398

Important Matters, p 60
d27b, WONS

The True Taste of Fruits Remains in the Earth

In the Lotus Sūtra, chapter 23, it is said: “Propagate this sūtra throughout the world in the fifth five-hundred year period after My extinction lest it should be lost, and lest Devils and their followers, various heavenly beings, dragons, yakṣa and kumbhāṇḍa devils should take advantage of it.”

Flowers will return to their roots. The true taste of fruits remains in the earth. To my late Master Dōzen I have now dedicated all the merits I have accumulated in spreading the True Dharma.

Namu Myōhōrengekyō, Namu Myōhōrengekyō.

Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 59.

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Feb. 8, 2023

You should promptly discard your false faith and take up the true and sole teaching of the Lotus Sutra at once. Then this triple world of the unenlightened will all become Buddha Lands. Will Buddha lands ever decay? All the worlds in the universe will become pure lands. Will Pure Lands ever be destroyed? When our country does not decay and the world is not destroyed, our bodies will be safe and our hearts tranquil. Believe these words and revere them!

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on Spreading Peace through Right Practice (Risshō Ankoku-ron). We may believe that we can practice correctly only when the world becomes peaceful. As if so long as we are in this world of conflict, we would need to use force and aggression to create peace. Nichiren turns this idea upside down. He shows that only by our practicing respect towards all beings, and working for their benefit, can we create peace in this world.

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

Daily Dharma

Day 2

Chapter 1, Introductory (Conclusion)

Day 2 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the Bodhisattva called Wonderful-Light, we consider what happened after Sun-­Moon-Light Buddha entered Nirvāṇa-without-remainder.

“At that time there was a Bodhisattva called Virtue-Store. Sun-­Moon-Light Buddha assured him of his future Buddhahood. The Buddha said to the bhikṣus, ‘This Virtue-Store Bodhisattva will become a Buddha immediately after me. He will be called Pure-Body, the Tathagata, the Arhat, the Samyak-sambuddha.’

“Having assured him of his future Buddhahood, the Buddha then entered into the Nirvāṇa-without-remainder at midnight. After his extinction, Wonderful-Light Bodhisattva kept the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, and expounded it to men for eighty small kalpas. The eight sons of Sun-Moon-Light Buddha became his disciples. He taught them and caused them to resolve to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. They made offerings to many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas, and then attained the enlightenment of the Buddha [one after another]. The son who became a Buddha last was called Burning-Light. One of the eight hundred disciples [of Wonderful-Light] was called Fame­Seeking. He was attached to gain. He read and recited many sūtras, but did not understand them. He forgot many parts of those sūtras. Therefore, he was called Fame-Seeking. But he [later] planted the roots of good, and became able to see many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas. He made offerings to them, respected them, honored them, and praised them.

“Maitreya, know this! Wonderful-Light Bodhisattva at that time was no one but myself; and Fame-Seeking Bodhisattva, no one but you. This good omen we see now is not different from what I saw at that time. Therefore, I think that the Tathagata of today also will expound the sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’

See The Prelude

Important Matters

Our Joyful Practice

Our practice should be a joyful expression of our fortune to have been introduced to the Lotus Sutra. At first I know it is hard to find that joy, your legs ache, your running out of time, and you can’t seem to get the words correct. Try though to do your best, and let perfection go.

Important Matters, p 69