Monthly Archives: April 2023

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 entreaty from the Buddhas of the replicas of Śākyamuni Buddha and the opening of the Stupa of Treasures, we witness Many Treasures Buddha offer half of his seat to Śākyamuni Buddha.

Having seen that the Buddha, who had passed away many thousands of billions of kalpas before, had said this, the four kinds of devotees praised him, saying, “We have never seen [such a Buddha as] you before.” They strewed heaps of jeweled flowers of heaven to Many-Treasures Buddha and also to Śākyamuni Buddha.

Thereupon Many-Treasures Buddha in the stūpa of treasures offered a half of his seat to Śākyamuni Buddha, saying, “Śākyamuni Buddha, sit here!”

Śākyamuni Buddha entered the stūpa and sat on the half-seat with his legs crossed. The great multitude, having seen the two Tathāgatas sitting cross-legged on the lion-like seat in the stūpa of the seven treasures, thought, “The seat of the Buddhas is too high. Tathāgata! Raise us up by your supernatural powers so that we may be able to be with you in the sky!”

Thereupon Śākyamuni Buddha raised them up to the sky by his supernatural powers, and said to the four kinds of devotees with in a loud voice:

“Who will expound the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in this Saha-World? Now is the time to do this. I shall enter into Nirvana before long. I wish to transmit this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to someone so that this sūtra may be preserved.”

The Daily Dharma from Feb. 14, 2023, offers this:

The great multitude, having seen the two Tathāgatas sitting cross-legged on the lion-like seat in the stūpa of the seven treasures, thought, “The seat of the Buddhas is too high. Tathāgata! Raise us up by your supernatural powers so that we may be able to be with you in the sky!”

This description comes from Chapter Eleven of the Lotus Sūtra. Many-Treasures Buddha has arrived where the Buddha was teaching so that he could endorse this Wonderful Dharma. He invited the Buddha to join him in an enormous stūpa tower hanging in the sky. When the Buddha raises up those gathered to hear him teach, he puts them all on the same level as himself and all the other Buddhas. He shows them that they too have the capacity to hear his teachings and put them into practice. Nichiren depicted this “ceremony in the air” in the Omandala Gohonzon and advised us to use this as the focus of our practice. When we put ourselves into this great multitude we listen for the Buddha teaching and realize the benefit we create in this world.

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

Tendai Lotus, Petzold Nichiren, Blog

Viewing Nichiren Through a Tendai Lens

When I first started publishing quotes from The Collected Teachings of the Tendai Lotus School by Gishin back in February, I mentioned that I was unclear on where Nichiren’s teachings diverge. I asked Rev. Ryuei McCormick about the difference between Tendai and Nichiren on the 3,000 realms in a single thought moment, and I published his response yesterday. But I wanted a fuller explanation of the similarities and differences between Tendai and Nichiren.

As I was organizing the quotes from Gishin, I recalled that I had a copy of Bruno Petzold’s book, Buddhist Prophet Nichiren–A Lotus In The Sun. Petzold was a German journalist and educator who lived in Japan in the early 20th century. While in Japan he became fascinated with Buddhism and eventually became a Tendai monk. At the beginning of World War II, Petzold was decorated by the Emperor of Japan for his 25 years of service. Soon afterwards the Tendai Sect conferred upon him the rank of Sōjō, or archbishop. He died in 1949 and his ashes are buried at Hieizan, the home of the Tendai sect on Mount Hiei.

That Tendai background is evident in his treatment of Nichiren and his teachings. When I first picked up his book in 2021, I was unsure how to approach Petzold’s obvious Tendai-centered discussion. His was not a devout view of Nichiren. Now, however, Petzold’s view of Nichiren through the lens of Tendai teachings offers insight into how Nichiren, the one-time Tendai monk, used Tendai teachings as a foundation for his doctrine.

In the book, Petzold explains at one point:

Nichiren incorporates into his own system the whole Tendai philosophy. He adopts the classification of the Five Periods and the Eight Teachings; he acknowledges the doctrines of the Perfectly Amalgamated Three Truths (i.e. the Synthesis of vacuity and phenomenal reality in the Middle) and of the Identity of the One Mind and the Three Thousand (representing the totality of phenomena), and he upholds the practice of the Three Meditations in One Mind. He teaches the Oneness of the World. He proclaims that the whole universe in its essence is nothing but Buddha’s own body, so that even trees and grasses do not only attain Buddhahood, but are direct manifestations of Buddha. Similarly he maintains that the cosmos or the Tathāgata is our own body and soul; that the Buddha, Truth and Paradise are not outside of our own self; that Buddhahood can be attained in our present life and in our present body; that the Buddha, the mind and the living beings form One Unity. There is not one single important Tendai doctrine which is not a part of Nichiren’s system.

Petzold, Buddhist Prophet Nichiren , p 50-51

That’s not to suggest there is no difference. As Petzold explains:

[N]ichiren’s tenet for criticism of the Tendai Hokke Sect lies in its harmonizing tendencies. His objection to their meditation is based on their acceptance of Dharma Daishi’s zen meditation, which contradicts the teaching of Tendai Daishi; and the subsequent disassociation of the proper Tendai Teaching (shikan) from its original source, the Hoke-kyō.

Petzold, Buddhist Prophet Nichiren , p 109

Today, I’m publishing Senchu Murano’s Preface, which he wrote for Petzold’s book. As Murano explains, Petzold’s view of Nichiren was greatly colored by three books published in the early 20th century:

  • Nichiren, the Buddhist Prophet by Anesaki Masaharu, 1916
  • Japanese Civilization: Its Significance and Realization, Nichirenism and the Japanese National Principles by Satomi Kishio, 1923
  • Nichiren-shū kōyō (Manual of the Nichiren Sect), Shimizu Ryōzan, 1928

During the month of May I will publish select quotes from Petzold, many of which outline where Nichiren doctrine departs from Tendai teachings. I would prefer to read a book written from the Nichiren perspective, but Petzold meets my current needs.

Buddhist Prophet Nichiren–A Lotus In The Sun

Book Quotes

 
Book List

Petzold Nichiren, Books

Buddhist Prophet Nichiren–A Lotus In The Sun

Below is Senchu Murano’s Preface to Bruno Petzold’s book, Buddhist Prophet Nichiren–A Lotus In The Sun. This English translation was published in 1978. It is unclear when Petzold, a German author and Tendai priest, wrote the book. He died in 1949.

Petzold book cover

Nichiren founded a Japanese Buddhist school in which the most important practice was to chant “Namu-myōhō-renge-kyō.” This chanting formula literally means, “I devote myself to the Myōhō-renge-kyō.” The Myōhō-renge-kyō is the Japanese pronunciation of the title of the Chinese translation of the Saddharma-puṇḍarīka-sūtra by Kumārajīva, and is popularly known as the Lotus Sūtra. This formula is called Daimoku, which means “Title.” Nichiren Buddhists honor the Daimoku, and in most cases they prefix an honorific “O” to it, making it “O-daimoku,” and prefer “The Sacred Title” as the English translation of it. In formal rituals they sometimes call it Gendai, which means “The Title Having Profound Meaning.”

Nichiren Buddhism is, however, not so simple as it appears. Instead of “Myōhō-renge-kyō,” Nichiren sometimes used the expression “Myōhō-goji,” which means “The Five Words Beginning with Myōhō.” When he used this expression, he meant that the Myōhōrengekyō is something more than the title of a sūtra. Nichiren never clearly defined this “something.” He sometimes identified it with the Truth itself, and at other times used it as the expression of the Most Honorable One. It is no exaggeration to say that the development of the philosophy of Nichiren Buddhism was accelerated by the controversies about the definition of the Myōhō-goji as conceived by Nichiren.

In the earlier period of his ministerial life, Nichiren was an ardent follower of Tendai Daishi and Dengyō Daishi. It may be safely said that he attempted at first to revive the genuine form of Tendai Buddhism. He was basically a Tendai priest in his younger days. It was a natural consequence that Bruno Petzold, a student of Tendai Buddhism, would be interested in Nichiren’s religion in his later years.

Bruno Petzold (1873-1949) was one of the few foreigners who studied Japanese Buddhism early in the twentieth century. He came to Japan in 1910, and soon afterwards he was attracted by Japanese Buddhism. He visited various Buddhist temples and observed Buddhist rituals and festivals. He especially studied the Tendai Sect, which was the springhead of almost all the Buddhist sects of Japan. He contributed many articles on the tenets of the sect to English and German Buddhist periodicals published in Japan, Germany, and other countries.

The major works by Bruno Petzold have not yet been published. They consist of the following manuscripts: Dengyō Daishi; the Quintessence of Tendai Teaching; the Tendai Teaching; Shō Shikan, all written in German, and the Classification of Buddhism in English.

During the life of Bruno Petzold, two important English books of Japanese authorship were published to introduce Nichiren Buddhism: Nichiren, the Buddhist Prophet by Anesaki Masaharu, 1916, and Japanese Civilization: Its Significance and Realization, Nichirenism and the Japanese National Principles by Satomi Kishio, 1923. Bruno Petzold must have been much influenced by Satomi, judging from the fact that he used the edition of Nichiren’s works compiled by Satomi’s teacher, Tanaka Chigaku, under the title of Ruisan-kōso-ibunroku. As regards the doctrines of Nichiren Buddhism, Bruno Petzold used as his text Shimizu Ryozan’s Nichirenshū-kōyō to the extent that his understanding of Nichiren’s thought was flavored by the philosophy of Shimizu Ryozan. As far as his presentation of the life of Nichiren is concerned, some legendary traditions are given side by side with historically-proven facts. But the influences of Satomi Kishio and Shimizu Ryozan and the interpolation of legends into the life story of Nichiren do not adversely affect his outline of Nichiren Buddhism, which even today involves problems.

Nichiren Buddhism, which began seven centuries ago, and was about to be eliminated in the first few decades after its founding, obtained prosperity second to the Zen Sect in the capital Kyoto about a century after the death of Nichiren. It was suppressed by the government early in the Tokugawa Period, but was soon revived. The vitality of Nichiren Buddhism comes not only from the philosophy of Nichiren but also from his personality. Bruno Petzold was probably the best qualified person for an introduction of Nichiren Buddhism in which the Chinese Tendai Buddhist terms are abundantly employed. But he spent more time on the presentation of the personality of Nichiren, lest the characteristics of Nichiren Buddhism should be overshadowed by merely doctrinal argumentations.

Senchu Murano
Kamakura, Japan 1977

Book Quotes

 
Book List

Daily Dharma, d21b

Daily Dharma – April 30, 2023

In order to save the [perverted] people,
I expediently show my Nirvāṇa to them.
In reality I shall never pass away.
I always live here and expound the Dharma.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. This is part of the explanation that his existence in the physical form of Śākyamuni was only one way that he leads all beings to enlightenment. The Buddha described his ever-present nature as the most difficult of his teachings to believe and understand. Recognizing the presence of the Buddha in the world is the same as recognizing Buddha nature in ourselves and all beings. Knowing that the Buddha is always available to help us in this difficult practice of the Wonderful Dharma means we do not need to rely on our own limited abilities. The store of the Dharma is always available to us. We just need to find it and use it.

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 conclude Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma, we witness the arrival of the Stūpa of Treasures.

Thereupon a stupa of the seven treasures sprang up from underground and hung in the sky before the Buddha. The stupa was five hundred yojanas high and two hundred and fifty yojanas wide and deep. lt was adorned with various treasures. It was furnished with five thousand railings and ten million chambers. It was adorned with innumerable banners and streamers, from which jeweled necklaces and billions of jeweled bells were hanging down. The fragrance of tamalapattra and candana was sent forth from the four sides of the stupa to all the corners of the world. Many canopies, adorned with streamers, and made of the seven treasures-gold, silver, lapis lazuli, shell, agate, pearl and ruby were hanging in the sky [one upon another from the top of the stupa] up to the [heaven of the] palaces of the four heavenly-kings. The thirty-three gods offered a rain of heavenly mandārava-flowers to the stupa of treasures. Thousands of billions of living beings, including the other gods, dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men and nonhuman beings, also offered flowers, incense, necklaces, streamers, canopies and music to the stupa of treasures, venerated the stupa, honored it, and praised it.

Thereupon a loud voice of praise was heard from within the stupa of treasures:

“Excellent, excellent! You, Śākyamuni, the World-Honored One, have expounded to this great multitude the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Teaching of Equality, the Great Wisdom, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas. So it is, so it is. What you, Śākyamuni, the World-Honored One, have expounded is all true.”

The Daily Dharma from May 17, 2022, offers this:

Thereupon a loud voice of praise was heard from within the stūpa of treasures: “Excellent, excellent! You, Śākyamuni, the World-Honored One, have expounded to this great multitude the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Teaching of Equality, the Great Wisdom, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas. So it is, so it is. What you, Śākyamuni, the World-Honored One, have expounded is all true.”

This declaration comes from Many-Treasures Buddha (Tahō, Prabhutaratna) at the beginning of Chapter Eleven of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, Many-Treasures came from a world far away from this world of conflict when he heard the Buddha giving his highest teaching and appeared in a tower (stūpa) of wonderful treasures to confirm the truth of this teaching. By the Teaching of Equality, he means that all beings can become enlightened through this teaching. By the Great Wisdom, he means that the teaching is the same as the Buddha’s own mind. By the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, he means that to receive this teaching we awaken to our natures to benefit all beings. And by the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas, he means that all Buddhas in all worlds encourage and help those who practice this sūtra.

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

Tendai Lotus, Blog

Nichiren’s Departure from Tendai and Chih-i

Back in February, I started publishing quotes from “The Collected Teachings of the Tendai Lotus School,” which was written by Gishin in 830 CE. Those quotes offer a very readable explanation of the Japanese Tendai teachings that Nichiren was immersed in as a young monk. But he did not accept those teachings wholly, making modifications and adjustments based on his understanding.

At the time, I told Rev. Ryuei McCormick, “What I would love to find is a detailed discussion of where Nichiren diverged from Chih-i, especially a full explanation of the difference between Chih-i’s 3,000 realms in a single thought moment based on the 10 Suchnesses and Nichiren’s 3,000 realms in a single thought moment based on Chapter 16 and, in particular, the difference in application.”

Here’s his response:

Theoretically there is no discernible difference, though perhaps it could be argued that Miaole and later Nichiren made ichinen sanzen central, whereas in the Great Calming and Contemplation it is “merely” used to describe the contemplation of the truth of the provisional existence of the aggregates-entrances-elements, not even of the truth of emptiness or the truth of the Middle Way. It is, in effect, a contemplation that can lead one in to the deeper understanding of emptiness, the middle, and the threefold truth that embraces all three truths at once.

However, I think the real difference is found in this statement of Nichiren about how his approach differs from that of his Tiantai predecessors:

There are two ways of observing the three thousand worlds in a single thought-moment. One is in terms of principle, the second is in terms of the actual phenomena. At the time of T’ien-t’ai and Dengyō and so on, it was [observed in] principle. Now it is [observed in] actual phenomena. Since [the latter form of] contemplation is superior, the great difficulties [accompanying it] are also superior. The former is the three thousand worlds in a single thought-moment of the provisional teaching [of the Lotus Sūtra], and the latter is the three thousand worlds in a single thought-moment of the original teaching [of the Lotus Sūtra]. They are as different as Heaven and Earth, and at the time of death, you should keep this in mind. (Toki Nyūdō-dono Go-henji also known as Chibyō-shō, Shōwa Teihon p. 1522. Authenticated copy extant. Also see p. 257, WNS: D2)

What this means is that ichinen sanzen in principle is about contemplating that in principle the realm of buddhahood is always present in every thought-moment and therefore we can discern it in meditation or have faith that eventually we will be able to realize it. This is in line with the Trace Gate of the Lotus Sutra wherein all the voice-hearers and others have their future buddhahood predicted. Buddhahood is part of their lives but they won’t personally realize it until much later, for now they must take it on faith. On the other hand, ichinen sanzen in actuality (or in terms of phenomenal practice) is the active expression here and now of the realm of buddhahood that is present in every thought-moment. It is expressed via the practice of the Odaimoku (as well as contemplation of the Gohonzon). This is in line with the Original Gate wherein because buddhahood has no beginning and no end the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha (and therefore our own buddhahood) is constantly present and active in some manner in every situation. Put another way, if Shakyamuni Buddha’s buddhahood has no beginning or end then our own buddhahood also has no beginning or end, and if Shakyamuni Buddha has been spending all these past eons showing how to attain buddhahood then our own buddhahood is being spent showing how to attain buddhahood. All of this means that in chapter 16’s presentation of buddhahood as without a beginning or end, buddhahood is not just a principle or theoretical possibility but something that is always actual if concealed and obscured. How do we realize this? For Nichiren, faith as expressed in and by the Odaimoku is the gateway.

When I asked for permission to publish his response, Rev. Ryuei said:

Yes, as long as you say that the translation of that gosho passage was done by me. That is from Dharma Flower. You can find the original context here: https://www.nichirenbayarea.org/chapter-11-the-three-great-secret-dharmas

Tomorrow: Bruno Petzold’s Comparison of Tendai and Nichiren Doctrine

Daily Dharma, d25b

Daily Dharma – April 29, 2023

Great-Power-Obtainer, know this! This Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma benefits Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, and causes them to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Therefore, they should keep, read, recite, expound and copy this sūtra after my extinction.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Great-Power-Obtainer Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty of the Lotus Sūtra. In several places in the sūtra, the Buddha asked who would continue to teach this Wonderful Dharma after his extinction and lead all beings to Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi: perfect unsurpassed enlightenment. When he revealed his Ever-Present Existence in Chapter Sixteen, he assured all those receiving his words that his life is not limited to that of the physical body he inhabited. In truth he is leading all beings throughout all time and space to his wisdom, and this Lotus Sūtra he has given us is the embodiment of that wisdom.

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

LS32

Day 14

Day 14 covers all of Chapter 9, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Śrāvakas Who Have Something More to Learn and the Śrāvakas Who Have Nothing More to Learn, and opens Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma.

Day 14 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last week considered in gāthās the plight of those who disparage the keeper of the Lotus Sutra and those who encourage the keeper of the Lotus Sutra, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma.

For eight thousand million kalpas
Offer to the keeper of this sūtra
The most wonderful things to see,
Hear, smell, taste and touch!

If you make these offerings,
And hear [this sūtra] even for a moment,
You will rejoice and say,
“Now I have obtained great benefits.”

Medicine-King! I will tell you.
The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Is the most excellent sūtra
That I have ever expounded.

The Daily Dharma from Dec. 18, 2022, offers this:

Medicine-King! I will tell you.
The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Is the most excellent sūtra
That I have ever expounded.

The Buddha sings these verses to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. Our founder Nichiren explained that the superiority of the Lotus Sūtra lay not in its being more powerful than other Sūtras, but that it leads all beings, without exception, to the Buddha’s own enlightenment. Other teachings distinguish between those who can follow the Buddha Dharma and those who cannot. But this teaching assures everyone who hears it that they will become enlightened.

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

Tendai Lotus

The Severance of Delusions in Four Teachings

Q: What does it mean for the practitioners of the Four Teachings to sever delusions and [attain] the fruit of enlightenment?

A: Those of the two vehicles, of the Tripiṭaka Teaching, are basically involved in their own salvation and do not seek the fruit of Buddhahood. After a conversion of their mind they can attain mastery. Bodhisattvas, however, after three hundred incalculable aeons, fulfill the Buddhahood of the inferior vehicle by severing their bonds in a single moment through the thirty-four [correct] states of mind at the preparatory level. The lad of the Himalayas offered soft grass, and the Tathāgata accepted it and attained perfect awakening. Thus one [person] fulfilled the Buddha Path on a seat of grass under a tree. This is an inferior Buddha of transformation.

Next, those of the two vehicles in the Shared Teaching are the same as the Tripiṭaka Teaching. However, Bodhisattvas attain the enlightenment of Buddhahood sitting on an angel’s robe beneath a seven-jeweled tree by severing deluded views and attitudes and minute delusions and their habitual propensities, with the wisdom that comes when one’s final single thought corresponds [to reality as emptiness]. This is a superior Buddha of transformation.

Next, the practitioners of the Distinct Teaching cultivate practices over a period of time to attain the wisdom [gained] from gradual contemplation, and they fulfill the Buddhahood of Subtle Awakening under a seven-jeweled tree. This is a Buddha with a body accepted for the sake of saving others.

Next, the methods of the practitioners of the Perfect Teaching are different from [those of] the previous three. The reason is that with the threefold contemplation in a single thought [realizing that reality simultaneously has the threefold aspects of emptiness, conventional existence, and the Middle], one [realizes that] all is integrated and that there is not one color nor scent that is not the Buddha-nature. Without traversing the three aeons one immediately completes the practice of a [Bodhi]sattva, and without transcending one thought, one directly approaches the fruit of the ultimate Buddha Mahāvairocana. One fulfills perfect awakening on a seat of space. The triple body [of the Buddha] is perfectly complete, and there is no one [who is] superior. This result is truly the goal of this [Tendai] school.

Tendai Lotus School Teachings, p 135-136
Daily Dharma, WONS

Daily Dharma – April 28, 2023

The Buddha possesses 32 marks of physical excellence, all of which belong to the category of matter. The Brahma’s voice, pure and immaculate voice of the Buddha, however is invisible. Therefore it is impossible for us to depict it in pictures or statues.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on Opening the Eyes of Buddhist Images, Wooden Statues or Portraits (Mokue Nizō Kaigen no Koto). The statues, portraits and other images of the Buddha and other protective deities which we use in our practice are not meant to be idols. They are living examples of the perfections to which we aspire and from which we draw strength. The ceremony in which we “Open the Eyes” of an Omandala or anything else we use in our practice reminds us that everything around us has life. When we hear the Buddha’s voice from them, leading us to enlightenment, then we learn how to improve the world for ourselves and all beings.

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