Monthly Archives: March 2023

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – March 6, 2023

I know the Way. I have opened the Way. I will expound the Way. Gods, men and asuras! Come and hear the Dharma!

The Buddha makes this declaration at the beginning of Chapter Five of the Lotus Sūtra. If anyone besides the Buddha had said this, we would accuse them of arrogance: pretending to know what they do not. The Buddha does not separate himself from us. Because he knows we can become as enlightened as he is, he does not place himself as superior. He also knows that unless we hear him, he cannot help us to become enlightened. To accept this help means taking responsibility for our progress on the path. We cannot continue alone but we must make our own effort.

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

Blog

Blessings from Afar


Enjoyed the opportunity today to attend Rev. Shoda Kanai’s Kito Blessing service from the Nichiren Buddhist Kannon Temple of Nevada. Following the blessing, Rev. Kanai bestowed a Gohonzon on a new church member.
20230305_gohonzon-bestowal_Zoom

LS32

Day 28

Day 28 covers all of Chapter 24, Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva, and concludes the Seventh Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 28 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered a Buddha called Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom and a Bodhisattva called Wonderful-Voice, we consider the advice Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha gave to Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva.

When he was illumined by the light of Śākyamuni Buddha, he said to the Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha:

“World-Honored One! I wish to visit the Sahā-World, bow to Śākyamuni Buddha, attend on him, and make offerings to him. I also wish to see Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, who is the Son of the King of the Dharma. [I also wish to see] Medicine-King Bodhisattva, Brave-In-Giving Bodhisattva, Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva, Superior-Practice-Intent Bodhisattva, Adornment-King Bodhisattva, and Medicine-Superior Bodhisattva.”

Thereupon Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha said to Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva:

“Do not despise that world! Do not consider it to be inferior [to our world]! Good Man! The Sahā-World is not even. It is full of mud, stones, mountains’ and impurities. The Buddha [of that world] is short in stature! So are the Bodhisattvas [of that world]. You are forty-two thousand yojanas tall. I am six million an eight hundred thousand yojanas tall. You are the most handsome. You have thousands of millions of marks of merits, and your light is wonderful. Do not despise that world when you go there! Do not consider that the Buddha and Bodhisattvas of that world are inferior [to us]! Do not consider that that world is inferior [to ours]!”

The Daily Dharma from May 5, 2022, offers this:

Thereupon Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha said to Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva: “Do not despise that world! Do not consider it to be inferior [to our world]! Good Man! The Sahā-World is not even. It is full of mud, stones, mountains and impurities. The Buddha [of that world] is short in stature. So are the Bodhisattvas [of that world]. You are forty-two thousand yojanas tall. I am six million and eight hundred thousand yojanas tall. You are the most handsome. You have thousands of millions of marks of merits, and your light is wonderful. Do not despise that world when you go there! Do not consider that the Buddha and Bodhisattvas of that world are inferior [to us]! Do not consider that that world is inferior [to ours]!”

In Chapter Twenty-Four of the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha sends a light from his forehead to the world in which Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva lives. When that Bodhisattva saw this light from Śākyamuni Buddha, he asked permission from the Buddha he was attending to visit our world of conflict. The instruction he receives from his Buddha reminds us that no matter what advantages we have gained from our practice of the Buddha Dharma, these do not make us any better or worse than those we are determined to benefit.

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

Tendai Lotus

Five Meditations and the Obstacles They Overcome

Q: What are the five meditations?

A: They are: (1) to put the mind at rest by means of compassion, (2) to put the mind at rest by counting one’s breaths, (3) to put the mind at rest by meditating on conditioned co-arising, (4) to put the mind at rest by meditating on impurities, and (5) to put the mind at rest by being mindful of the Buddha.

Q: How many obstacles are overcome by these five meditations?

A: Five obstacles are overcome. The meditation on compassion overcomes anger. The meditation of counting one’s breaths overcomes distraction. The meditation on conditioned co-arising overcomes ignorance. The meditation on impurities overcomes covetousness. Being mindful of the Buddha overcomes obstacles to the Path.

Tendai Lotus School Teachings, p 15
Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – March 5, 2023

A man of shallow faith pretends to have right faith and is contemptuous towards other followers, so as to harm the faith of others. Leave such people alone. By the intention of the King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra and other deities, I believe that such a time will certainly come when all the people of Japan will simultaneously believe in the Lotus Sutra. I am sure that many people will then say, “I have believed in this sutra all along.”

Nichiren wrote this passage in a Reply to Lord Ueno (Ueno-dono Gohenji). In Nichiren’s life, he tolerated the contempt of many who refused his call to set aside expedient teachings and take up the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sūtra. Despite repeated attempts to reach these people, and after enduring his home being burned down, attacks with swords, a mock execution and numerous exiles, he retired to a hermitage on Mt. Minobu to spend the last days of his life. As the Buddha showed no contempt towards his cousin Devadatta, Nichiren showed no contempt towards his persecutors. When we find others who despise us for our practice, we have the example of these two men. They both took the long view towards enlightenment, and did not let themselves be wounded by the follies of human nature.

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

LS32

Day 27

Day 27 concludes Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Day 27 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month concluded Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva, we return to the top and consider the unchanging aspects of the Buddha.

“Having sung this gāthā, Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva said to the Buddha, ‘World-Honored One! You do not change, do you?’

“Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue Buddha said to Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva, ‘Good man! The time of my Nirvana is near at hand. The time of my extinction is coming. Prepare me a comfortable couch! I shall enter into Parinirvana tonight.’ “Then he instructed Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva, saying, ‘Good man! I will transmit all my teachings to you. [I also will transmit] to you all the Bodhisattvas and all my great disciples. [I also will transmit] to you my teachings for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. I also will transmit to you the one thousand Sumeru worlds made of the seven treasures, the jeweled trees, the jeweled platforms, and the gods attending on me. I also will transmit to you the śarīras to be left after my extinction. Distribute my śarīras far and wide and make offerings to them! Erect thousands of stupas [to enshrine them]!’

“Having given these instructions to Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva, Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue Buddha entered into Nirvana in the last watch of that night.

The Daily Dharma from March 28, 2022, offers this:

Having sung this gāthā, Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva said to the Buddha, ‘World-Honored One! You do not change, do you?’

This description of the life of Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva comes from Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sūtra. In a previous existence, this Bodhisattva had given up his body and his life for the sake of teaching the Wonderful Dharma. He was then reborn into a world in which the Buddha he served previously was still alive and benefitting all beings. Recognizing this unchanging aspect of the Buddha despite his changing appearances helps us see into our own capacity for enlightenment.

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

Tendai Lotus

The Buddha’s Treatises

Q: An exposition by the Buddha is called a Sutra and an exposition by a Bodhisattva is called a treatise. There are no treatises attributed to the Buddha during his life. How can there be an Abhidharma [attributed to the Buddha]?

A: From the standpoint of the Mahāyāna there are no collections of treatises attributed to the Buddha during his life. But from the standpoint of the Hinayāna there are Abhidharma treatises [attributed to the Buddha].

Tendai Lotus School Teachings, p 15
Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – March 4, 2023

Provisional teachings today are enemies of the True Dharma. If provisional teachings stand in your way as you try to spread the One Vehicle teaching of the Lotus Sutra, you should thoroughly refute them. Of the two ways of propagation, this is the aggressive way of the Lotus Sutra.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on the True Way of Practicing the Teaching of the Buddha (Nyosetsu Shugyō-shō). We notice in this passage that his instruction is to refute the provisional teachings and not attack those who are attached to them. Even if those whose teachings we challenge become angry and violent, we can understand that we did not cause this reaction. This is one reason the Lotus Sūtra is so difficult. By keeping a mind of compassion we can maintain our respect for others even when we disagree with them. They too are going to become Buddhas, and we are benefiting them, even if they reject our help.

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

LS32

Day 26

Day 26 concludes Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, includes Chapter 22, Transmission, and introduces Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Day 26 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered supernatural powers of the Buddhas, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Anyone who keeps this sūtra
Will be able to expound
The meanings of the teachings,
And the names and words [of this sūtra].
Their eloquence will be as boundless
And as unhindered as the wind in the sky.

Anyone who understands why the Buddhas expound [many] sūtras,
Who knows the position [of this sūtra in the series of sūtras],
And who expounds it after my extinction
According to its true meaning,
Will be able to eliminate the darkness
Of the living beings of the world where he walks about,
Just as the light of the sun and the moon
Eliminates all darkness.
He will be able to cause innumerable Bodhisattvas
To dwell finally in the One Vehicle.

Therefore, the man of wisdom
Who hears the benefits of these merits
And who keeps this sūtra after my extinction,
Will be able to attain
The enlightenment of the Buddha
Definitely and doubtlessly.

The Daily Dharma from Feb. 27, 2023, offers this:

Anyone who keeps this sūtra
Will be able to expound
The meanings of the teachings,
And the names and words [of this sūtra].
Their eloquence will be as boundless
And as unhindered as the wind in the sky.

The Buddha sings these verses to Superior-Practice Bodhisattva (Jōgyo, Viśiṣṭacārītra) in Chapter Twenty-One of the Lotus Sūtra. This teaching transforms us from beings who exist for our own comfort and awakens our true nature as Bodhisattvas: beings who exist for the benefit of all beings. This transition requires that we engage with these other beings and break out of the isolation of our own attachments. The first step is simply to listen, to be present and accept whatever the world has to offer. But at some point we need to speak. It can be difficult to know what to say. But with this Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sūtra, we find that because it embodies the Buddha’s highest wisdom, so long as we transmit what it has taught us, we will always have ways to use it to benefit other beings and bring this teaching to life in our world.

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

Tendai Lotus

The Tripiṭaka Teaching

Question: What is the content of that called the Tripiṭaka Teaching?

Answer: This refers to the three stores [of the Buddha’s teachings]: first, the collection of the Sutras; second, the collection of the Vinaya; and third, the collection of the Abhidharma.

Q: Are these terms, “Sutra” and so forth, Sanskrit, or are they Chinese?

A: They are Sanskrit.

Q: What are they in Chinese?

A: Sutra is sometimes translated and sometimes not. When it is translated, various people translate it in different ways. However, many use the translation “Dharma source.” Vinaya is translated as “extinction.” Abhidharma is translated as “incomparable Dharma.”

Q: For what reason are the translations “Dharma source” and so forth used?

A: [A Sutra is] called a “Dharma source” because it is a source of verbal teachings concerning the world-transcending good Dharma. [In the Vinaya] the Buddha expounds on the intentional and spontaneous precepts and how to extinguish evil physical and verbal activity. Therefore it is translated as “extinction.” [In the Abhidharma] the meaning of the Dharma is analyzed by the Noble One’s wisdom, which is incomparable in this world. Therefore it is translated as “incomparable Dharma.”

Q: Which Sutras and treatises are the “Dharma source” [in the Tripiṭaka Teaching] ?

A: Here the fourfold Agama is the Dharma source, the Vinaya of eighty recitations is the text for extinction [of passionate attachments], and the Abhidharma treatises are the “incomparable Dharma.”

Tendai Lotus School Teachings, p 14-15