Petzold, Buddhist Prophet Nichiren , p 40-41In accordance with the division of the Hoke-kyō into Shakumon and hommon, the Nichiren Sect distinguishes two lines of transmission of the teaching, external and internal. The external transmission is the line of teachers in India, China and Japan who expounded the doctrine of the Lotus Sūtra. These are:
- Śākyamuni Buddha and Yakuō Bosatsu (Medicine King) from India
- Tendai Daishi from China
- Dengyō Daishi and Nichiren Dai Bosatsu from Japan
The internal transmission is the line of those who understood the truth of the Original Doctrine or hommon. These are Śākyamuni Buddha, Jogyō Bosatsu, Nichiren Dai-Bosatsu. …
Jōgyō Bosatsu (Viśiṣṭacāritra Bodhisattva), with his innumerable followers issued from the gaps of the earth, appears prominently in Chapter XV and XXI and is ordered by Śākyamuni in preference to all other Bodhisattvas, to propagate after his decease the most perfect teaching. Therefore, Nichiren not only regards Jōgyō Bosatsu as the proper transmitter of the hommon of the Hoke-kyō, but considers himself as a reincarnation of the Bodhisattva. Nichiren found his life in perfect harmony with Śākyamuni’s prophecy that Jōgyō Bosatsu would reappear and propagate the hommon teaching in the Mappō time.
It is clear from this that though the outer form of the doctrine depends on the Tendai School, the internal transmission, considered more correct, is entirely independent of any other doctrine.
Monthly Archives: May 2023
Daily Dharma – May 13, 2023
I, Nichiren, sincerely keep the most profound Lotus Sutra among other sutras which have been preached, are being preached, and will be preached. I also chant Odaimoku, the heart of the sutra, by myself and teach others to chant it. Mugwort grass grows straight amidst the hemp field. Trees do not grow straight, but by cutting them straight, they become useful. If you chant the sutra as it instructs, your mind will be straightened. Be aware that is hard for us the chant even the title of the sutra unless the spirit of the Eternal Buddha enters into our bodies.
Nichiren wrote this passage in his Letter to Myomitsu Shonin (Myomitsu Shonin Gosho). This instruction ties together the practice of reciting devotion to the title of the Lotus Sūtra, Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, and the mind of the ever-present Buddha Shakyamuni. It is through unimaginable deeds of merit that we have met this Sūtra in our lives and have the opportunity to use it to find the Buddha’s wisdom and benefit all beings in this world of conflict and delusion. We are also fortunate to have Nichiren as an example of how to bring this teaching to life. May our gratitude for the merits we have received strengthen our determination to transform the obstacles we face into opportunities we welcome.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
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.
Having last month considered how Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva came to visit Śākyamuni Buddha, we consider Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva’s greeting of Śākyamuni and Many Treasures.
[Before he started,] he stepped on a platform of the seven treasures. The platform went up to the sky seven times as high as the tala[-tree, and moved through the sky, carrying him]. Together with the Bodhisattvas surrounding him respectfully, he came to Mt. Gṛdhrakūṭa of this Sahā-World, and descended from the platform of the seven treasures. He came to Śākyamuni Buddha, carrying with him a necklace worth hundreds of thousands. He worshipped the feet of the Buddha with his head, offered the necklace to the Buddha, and said to him:
“World-Honored One! I bring you a message from Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha. [He wishes to say this.] Are you in good health? Are you happy and peaceful or not? Are the four elements of your body working in harmony or not? Are the worldly affairs bearable or not? Are the living beings easy to save or not? Do they not have much greed, anger, ignorance, jealousy, stinginess and arrogance, or do they? Are they not undutiful to their parents, or are they? Are they not di respectful to śramaṇas, or are they? Do they not have wrong views, or do they? Are they not evil, or are they? Do they not fail to control their five desires, or do they? World-Honored One! Did they defeat the Maras, who are their enemies, or not. Is Many-Treasures Tathāgata, who passed away a long time ago and has now come here riding in the stupa of the seven treasures, hearing the Dharma or not? [Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha] also wishes to know whether Many-Treasures Tathāgata is peaceful and healthy, and able to stay long or not World-Honored One! Now I wish to see Many-Treasures Buddha World-Honored One! Show him to me!”
Thereupon Śākyamuni Buddha said to Many-Treasure Buddha, “This Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva wishes to see you.”
Thereupon Many-Treasures Buddha said to Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva:
Excellent, excellent! You have come here to make offerings to Śākyamuni Buddha, hear the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, and see Mañjuśrī and others.”
The Daily Dharma from April 1, 2023, offers this:
World-Honored One! I bring you a message from Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha. [He wishes to say this.] Are you in good health? Are you happy and peaceful or not? Are the four elements of your body working in harmony or not? Are the worldly affairs bearable or not? Are the living beings easy to save or not? Do they not have much greed, anger, ignorance, jealousy, stinginess and arrogance, or do they? Are they not undutiful to their parents, or are they? Are they not disrespectful to śramaṇas, or are they? Do they not have wrong views, or do they? Are they not evil, or are they? Do they not fail to control their five desires, or do they?
The passage above is how Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva greets Śākyamuni Buddha in Chapter Twenty-Four of the Lotus Sūtra. This Bodhisattva asks not only about the Buddha, but about those whom the Buddha benefits with his teaching. The Buddha answers that those he teaches have prepared through innumerable lives to receive his wisdom. The questions of Wonderful-Voice show how we obscure the teaching through our delusion and attachments.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
The Importance in the Recitation of the Title
Petzold, Buddhist Prophet Nichiren , p 37-38The style of writing the Sacred Title is also significant. On the Mandala, where it occupies the center, and wherever it is used by the Nichiren people, such as on tombstones, banners or books, always the characters forming the Title show curly and projecting strokes, symbolizing radiant rays emitted by it. Here once more we meet a similarity — although admittedly only a formal similarity — with the Nembutsu cult, where the portrait of Amida is usually shown with rays emitting from his body. Nichiren originated this style of writing the Sacred Title, it seems, to convey to the five characters the same divine holiness which Nembutsu worshippers conveyed to the likeness of Amida.
At the same time, obvious Tantric reminiscences are interwoven in the repetition of the Title. The utterance of the Title, similar to a Tantric incantation or mantra, releases the secret powers involved in word and name, and brings into effect the original connection existing between word and name and the creative energies of the universe. According to the Tantric view, there is a magic power in the formulas spoken by the priest during his performance of religious rites. This view, in fact, is not confined to the Tantric Sects, but in a lesser degree is shared by almost all sects of Mahāyāna, as the dhārāṇi used by them, show. The Hoke-kyō itself contains a whole “Dhārāṇi Chapter.” No wonder, then, that Nichiren attached such importance to the recitation of the Title!
Daily Dharma – May 12, 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
Day 27
Day 27 concludes Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.
Having last month considered Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva’s offering to the Buddha’s śarīras, we consider the revelation that Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva is Medicine-King Bodhisattva of today.
The Buddha said to Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva:
“What do you think of this? Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva was no one but Medicine-King Bodhisattva of today. He gave up his body in this way, offered it [to the Buddha], and repeated this offering many hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas of times [in his previous existence]. [He knows that he can practice any austerity in this Sahā-World. Therefore, he does not mind walking about this world.]
“Star-King-Flower! Anyone who aspires for, and wishes to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, should offer a light to the stupa of the Buddha by burning a finger or a toe. Then he will be given more merits than the person who offers not only countries, cities, wives and children, but also the mountains, forests, rivers and ponds of the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds, and various kinds of treasures. But the merits to be given to the person who fills the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds with the seven treasures and offers that amount of the seven treasures to the Buddhas, to the Great Bodhisattvas, to the Pratyekabuddhas, and to the Arhats, are less than the merits to be given to the person who keeps even a single gāthā of four lines of this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
See Acts of Devotion
A Union of the Power of the Buddha with the Power of Devotion
Petzold, Buddhist Prophet Nichiren , p 36-37In the proper ritual of the Nichiren Sect, as performed by the believer in his home or in the temple, the invocation of the Title and the contemplation of the Mandala are always combined. The two actions supplement each other. Their homogeneousness has been made perfectly clear by the Nichiren scholar Gyōkei Umada, in the words:
When a man gazes at the and recites the Sacred Title, heart and soul, subjectivity and objectivity become fused into one whole, and the worshipper realizes in himself the excellent qualities of the Supreme Being, and thereby his short life is made eternal and his limited virtue infinite. In short, Śākyamuni, the Scripture of the Lotus of the Perfect Truth, and the worshipper, become united, in perfect accord, and herein lies the consummation of the creed of the Nichiren Sect: the peace of mind of believers and religious life. The result of all this is the realization of the Buddha Land in the present state of existence.
To Nichiren, uttering the Title reverently and earnestly was tantamount to practicing austerities and doing good, in so far as salvation in the Nichiren-fold is reached by Self-Power (ji riki). However, according to Nichiren’s view, the devotee simultaneously “takes shelter under the wings of Śākyamuni’s compassion, which endeavors to redeem all beings in the Age of Decadence, when uniquity would abound and the love of many would wax cold.” This of course implies salvation by the Other Power (ta riki.) Therefore we find in the dogmatics of Nichiren and his School a union of the Power of the Buddha with the Power of Devotion.
Daily Dharma – May 11, 2023
Suppose bandits are surrounding you,
And attempting to kill you with swords.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
The bandits will become compassionate towards you.
The Buddha gives this description of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva (Kannon, Kanzeon, Kuan Yin, Avalokitesvara) to Endless-Intent Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Five of the Lotus Sūtra. When we allow this Bodhisattva, the embodiment of compassion, into our minds, we realize the value of the connections we have with all beings, even those who are so deluded that they want to harm us. When we ourselves embody compassion, we should not be surprised when it awakens the compassion that is at the core of our existence.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
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.
Having last month considered Chapter 22, Transmission, we consider Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.
Thereupon Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva said to the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! Why does Medicine-King Bodhisattva walk about this Sahā-World? World-Honored One! This Medicine-King Bodhisattva will have to practice hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas of austerities in this world. World-Honored One! Tell me why! Not only the gods, dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men and nonhuman beings but also the Bodhisattvas who have come from the other worlds’ and the Śrāvakas present here will be glad to hear the reason.”
Thereupon the Buddha said to Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva:
“Innumerable kalpas ago, that is, as many kalpas as there are sands in the River Ganges ago, there lived a Buddha called Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue, the Tathāgata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. He was accompanied by eight thousand million great Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas and also by great Śrāvakas numbering seventy-two times as many as there are sands in the River Ganges. The duration of his life was forty-two thousand kalpas. So were the durations of the lives of the Bodhisattvas. His world was devoid of women, hellish denizens, hungry spirits, animals and asuras. There was no calamity in his world. The ground of his world was as even as the palm of the hand. It was made of lapis lazuli, adorned with jeweled trees, and covered with a jeweled awning from which the streamers of jeweled flowers were hanging down. Jeweled vases and incense-burners were seen everywhere in that world. There was a platform of the seven treasures at the distance of a bowshot from each of the jeweled trees under which the Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas were sitting. On each of the platforms of treasures, myriads of millions of gods were making heavenly music, singing songs of praise of the Buddha, and offering the music and songs to the Buddha.
The Daily Dharma from July 21, 2022, offers this:
Thereupon Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva said to the Buddha: “World-Honored One! Why does Medicine-King Bodhisattva walk about this Sahā-World? World-Honored One! This Medicine-King Bodhisattva will have to practice hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas of austerities in this world.
This excerpt is from Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sutra. Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva is aware of the difficulties that Medicine-King or any other Bodhisattva will encounter while living in this world of conflict (Sahā) and asks the Buddha why this Bodhisattva would give up the pleasures of the higher realms to which he is entitled. The Buddha then tells the story of Medicine-King’s previous life, in which he gave up many attachments, including the attachment to his own body. These stories of Bodhisattvas are reminders of our own capacities, and that no matter what difficulties we face in our lives, our determination to benefit all beings, our certainty of enlightenment, and the help we receive from other beings will lead us to overcome any problems.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Salvation by Faith and Invocation
Petzold, Buddhist Prophet Nichiren , p 35-36In the Hokke daimoku-shō, Nichiren explains that the invocation of the Title saves the sinner from perdition. He maintains that “without knowledge of the meaning of the Lotus, without understanding of morality, a man can avoid sins, escape the Four Evil Destinations and attain perfection by the mere utterance once a day, once a month, once a year, or even once in a lifetime of the seven syllables Na-Mu-Myō-Hō-Ren-Ge-Kyō.” We see here psychologically, the nearest approach imaginable to Hōnen Shōnin’s standpoint, which Nichiren attacked so vehemently. Both cases deal with salvation by faith and invocation. Though both founders state that even a single invocation in a lifetime is sufficient, in practice the invocation in both the Nichiren and Jōdo sects continues for hours. In the Nichiren Sect a drum is beaten, in the Jōdo sect a conch-shaped wooden battling-block—both used to assure the proper rhythmical cadence of the invocation, and to concentrate the attention of the devotee and transport him into a state of ecstasy.
This psychological element is obvious from an observation of any Nichiren practice—devotees in their homes or temples, a procession or a ceremony. An example might be the grand memorial ceremony, oeshiki, celebrated at Ikegami near Tokyo on the twelfth and thirteenth of October. Day and night processions of believers chant the Sacred Title, beat drums, play fifes, ring bells and flourish their mandō (richly decorated paper lanterns typical of the Nichiren Sect). Further, while adherents of Hinayāna and ancient Mahāyāna Schools refute any association of hypnotism with their meditation, Nichiren scholars state openly that their meditation is impregnated with it. In his Japanese Civilization, [Kishio] Satomi determines five reasons for uttering the Sacred Title: self-intuition or reflection, expression of ecstasy, stimulation of continuous expression, autohypnotism for inspiration, and manifestation of one’s standard.