Monthly Archives: November 2023

LS32

Day 18

Day 18 concludes Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra, and begins Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.

Day 18 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva-mahāsattva’s question, we consider the Buddha’s response to Mañjuśrī’s question.

The Buddha said to him:

“A Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who wishes to expound this sūtra in the evil world after [my extinction] should practice four sets of things.

“First, he should perform proper practices, approach proper things, and then expound this sūtra to all living beings.

“Mañjuśrī! What are the proper practices the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should perform? He should be patient, mild and meek. He should not be rash, timorous, or attached to anything. He should see things as they are. He should not be attached to his nonattachment to anything. Nor should he be attached to his seeing thing as they are. These are the proper practices the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should perform.

“What are the proper things the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should approach? He should not approach kings, princes, ministers or other government directors. He should not approach heretics, aspirants for the teaching of Brahman, Nirgraṇṭhas, writer of worldly literature, writers of non-Buddhist songs of praise, Lokāyatas or Anti-Lokāyatas. He should not approach players of dangerous sports such as boxers or wrestlers. He should not approach naṭas or other various amusement-makers. He should not approach caṇḍālas, boar-keepers, shepherds, poulterers, dog-keepers, hunters, fishermen, or other people who do evils for their livelihood. When they come to him, he should expound the Dharma to them, but should not wish [to receive anything from them]. He should not approach those who seek Śrāvakahood, be they bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās or upāsikās. He should not exchange greeting with them. He should not stay with them in the same monastery, promenade or lecture-hall. When they come to him, he should expound the Dharma to them according to their capacities, but should not wish [to receive anything from them]. Mañjuśrī! The Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should not expound the Dharma to a woman with a desire for her. He should not wish to look at her. When he enters the house of others, he should not talk with a little girl, an unmarried woman or a widow. He should not approach or make friend with anyone of the five kinds of eunuchs. He should not enter the house of others alone. If he must enter it alone for some rea on, he should think of the Buddha with all his heart. When he expounds the Dharma to a woman, he should not laugh with his teeth visible to her. He should not expose his breast to her. He should not be friendly with her even for the purpose of expounding the Dharma to her. Needless to say, he should not be so for other purposes. He should not wish to keep young disciples, śramaṇeras or children. He should not wish to have the same teacher with them.

“He should always make it a pleasure to sit in dhyāna. He should live in a retired place and concentrate his mind. Mañjuśrī! [A retired place] is the first thing he should approach.

The Daily Dharma from Sept. 23, 2023, offers this:

He should always make it a pleasure to sit in dhyāna. He should live in a retired place and concentrate his mind. Mañjuśrī! [A retired place] is the first thing he should approach.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra in which he describes the peaceful practices of a Bodhisattva. For those who are awakening their nature as Bodhisattvas to benefit all beings, and setting aside their attachment to their own suffering, this can be a difficult transition. Our habits of engaging with the drama and delusion in the world can be too strong to overcome. This is why the Buddha emphasizes the importance of quietly reflecting on what happens around us, and our reactions to them. Through dhyāna meditation, we learn not to believe everything we think, and that we can change our understanding of the world. We also learn that allowing our minds to change is the only way we can benefit other beings.

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

WONS

Shingyō Hikkei: Shuju On-furumai Gosho

A Letter to Kōnichi-ama

For more than 2,200 years after the death of the Buddha, even His disciples and later scholars such as Kashō, Anan, Memyō, Ryūju, Nangaku, Tendai, Myōraku, Dengyō, have not preached the five letters of “Myō Hō Ren Ge Kyō” which is the essence of the Lotus Sutra and the eyes of buddhas. Now at the beginning of the Latter Age of the Declining Law, Nichiren is the first to show the good omen that it will spread throughout the world. My followers should follow me in the second and third battalions and rank above Kashō, Anan, Tendai and Dengyō. If you are afraid of the master of a small island like Japan, what would you do when the king of hell blames you? As I have said, those who are cowards while claiming to be the Buddha’s messengers are the lowest class of people.

(Explanatory note)

During the period of 2,200 years from the death of Sakyamuni Buddha until the time of Nichiren Shonin, those who succeeded the tradition of Buddhism such as Kashō, Anan, Memyō and Ryūju, Nangaku, Tendai, as well as Myōraku and Dengyō, have not spread the Odaimoku of “Namu Myoho Renge-kyo,” which is the heart of the Lotus Sutra and the eyes of buddhas. Now at the beginning of the Latter Age of the Declining Law — it began in 1052 and Nichiren Shonin was born in 1222, the one hundred and seventy-first year of the Latter Age — Nichiren Shonin claimed to be the first good sign of spreading the Odaimoku throughout the world. So he urged his followers, ministers as well as laymen, men as well as women, to follow him in second and third battalions and excel themselves above great followers of the Buddha such as Kashō and Anan, or great scholars of Buddhism such as Tendai of China and Dengyō of Japan. He warned his followers that if they do not follow him because they are afraid of the ruler of Japan, Regent of the Kamakura shogunate, they will certainly be condemned by the king of hell. Nichiren Shonin said that he had told his followers all the time that they need to live up to their name of being the Buddha’s messenger, and to be courageous.

Reprinted from the Shingyō Hikkei

Daily Dharma, d21b

Daily Dharma – Nov. 22, 2023

They felt lonely and helpless because they thought that they were parentless and shelterless. Their constant sadness finally caused them to recover their right minds. They realized that the medicine had a good color, smell and taste. They took it and were completely cured of the poison.

The Buddha explains his parable of the wise physician in Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, the physician’s children take poison by mistake. Some refuse the antidote provided by their father until he leaves home and sends word back that he has died. The children realized that they had to accept what their father had left for them, rather than continuing to refuse his cure. In the Lotus Sūtra the Buddha stops adapting to our minds and brings us into his mind. It is only when we use our suffering to increase our determination to reach enlightenment, rather than as an indicator of our shortcomings, can we recover our right minds and realize what the Buddha teaches.

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

Kern, mappō, WONS, Blog

Returning to Kern’s translation of the Lotus Sutra

Recently I’ve been exploring the concept of Mappō, the Latter Age of Degeneration. To that end I’ve read the first part of Jan Nattier’s “Once Upon A Future Time: Studies in a Buddhist Prophecy of Decline,” which details the history and sources of the idea that the Buddha’s teaching decline after his Parinirvāṇa. That led me to re-read Nichiren’s Senji Shō, Selecting the Right Time: A Tract by Nichiren, the Buddha’s Disciple.”

It was while I was reading Nichiren’s letter that I noticed this:

Moreover, Tripitaka Master Pu-k’ung’s works have many mistakes. Calling the Buddha who was revealed in the 16th chapter of the Lotus Sutra, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata, the Buddha of Infinite Life, as he does in his Esoteric Rites Based on the Lotus Sutra, was apparently a blunder. It is not worthy of discussion that he mixed up the arrangement of the chapters in the Lotus Sutra by placing the 26th chapter, Dhārāṇis, next to the 21st chapter, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgata, and moving the 22nd chapter, Transmission, to the ends.

When I last read this letter in 2018, I missed the significance of Pu-k’ung’s variation in the order of the Lotus Sutra chapters. Nichiren, of course, considered Kumārajīva’s fifth-century Chinese translation of the original Sanskrit to be the most accurate translation. (See this story about Kumārajīva’s tongue.)

Pu-k’ung, however, is using the same order found by Jan Hendrik Kern, who published the first English-language translation of the Lotus Sutra in 1884. Kern’s translation was based upon a Nepalese Sanskrit manuscript written on palm leaves and dated 1039 CE. (See this chart on the organizational differences.)

The glossary in the back of Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, has this to say about Pu-k’ung:

Pu-k’ung, Tripitaka Master (Fukū)
Also known as Amoghavajra, 705-774 CE. The sixth patriarch of the Shingon sect. Born in northern India, Pu-k’ung came to China at the age of thirteen and entered the Buddhist order under the guidance of Vajrabodhi studying esoteric Buddhism. After Vajrabodhi’s death, he visited India and returned with twelve hundred fascicles of sutras and discourses. He was trusted by the three reigning Emperors: Hsüan-tsung of the T’ang dynasty and two successors, who established esoteric Buddhism as the state religion. He translated sutras such as Hannyarishu-kyō, Heart and Perfection of Naya Wisdom Sutra and Bodaishin-ron, Treatise on Bhodi-Mind. Pointing out his mistakes in the Bodaishin-ron and failure in praying for rain, Nichiren condemned him for slandering the True Dharma.

What this suggests is that the order of the sutra Kern found in a 1039 CE text was actually the order used in India centuries earlier.

The following three Chinese translations exist today.

  1. Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the True Dharma – 286 CE, translated by Dharmarakṣa, (born in the 230’s CE, died at age 78.), Ten volumes, 27 chapters.
  2. Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma – 406 CE, translated by Kumārajīva (344-413 CE or 350-409 CE), Seven volumes, 27 chapters. Later enlarged edition consists of eight volumes, 28 chapters.
  3. Appended Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma – 601 CE, translated by Jñānagupta, (523-605 CE) and Dharmagupta (d. 619 CE), Seven volumes, 27 chapters.

Interestingly, an English translator of the Tibetan translation of the Lotus Sutra, says:

The Tibetan version matches in content the version translated into Chinese by Jñānagupta and Dharmagupta in 601–02, and also matches the Nepalese Sanskrit manuscripts.

So the alternate order of the chapters was present as far back as 601 CE.

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 concluded today’s portion of Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra, we return Chapter 12, Devadatta, and consider the king who sought unsurpassed Bodhi.

Thereupon the Buddha said to the Bodhisattvas, gods, men and the four kinds of devotees:
“When I was a Bodhisattva] in my previous existence, I sought the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma for innumerable kalpas without indolence. I became a king [and continued to be so] for many kalpas. [Although I was a king,] I made a vow to attain unsurpassed Bodhi. I never faltered in seeking it. I practiced alms-giving in order to complete the six pāramitās. I never grudged elephants, horses, the seven treasures, countries, cities, wives, children, menservants, maidservants or attendants. I did not spare my head, eyes, marrow, brain, flesh, hands or feet. I did not spare even my life.

“In those days the lives of the people of the world were immeasurably long. [One day] I abdicated from the throne in order to seek the Dharma[, but retained the title of king]. I entrusted the crown prince with the administration of my country. l beat a drum and sought the Dharma in all directions, saying with a loud voice, ‘Who will expound the Great Vehicle to me? If there is anyone, I will make offerings to him, and run errands for him for the rest of my life.’

“Thereupon a seer came to [me, who was] the king. He said, ‘I have a sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. If you are not disobedient to me, I will expound this sūtra to you.’

“Having heard this, I danced with joy, and immediately became his servant. I offered him anything he wanted. I collected fruits, drew water, gathered firewood, and prepared meals for him. I even allowed my body to be his seat. I never felt tired in body and mind. I served him for a thousand years. In order to hear the Dharma from him, I served him so strenuously that I did not cause him to be short of anything.”

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 Sept. 15, 2023, offers this:

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.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Twelve of the Lotus Sūtra. He describes his previous life as a great king who abandoned his throne, his wealth, and all the advantages of his position in society for the sake of enlightenment. In that life he realized that having pleasure as a goal was not making him happy, and only through the vow of the Bodhisattva to benefit all beings could he learn to see the world as it is.

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

WONS

Shingyō Hikkei: Nyosetsu Shugyō-shō

An Instruction from Sado to Disciples and Followers

When all the people under the heaven and various schools of Buddhism are all converted to the one and real vehicle, and when only the Lotus Sutra flourishes and all the people recite “Namu Myoho Renge-kyo” in unison, the howling wind will not blow on the branches, falling rain will not erode the soil, and the world will become as good as during the reigns of the Chinese Emperors Fu-hsi and Shen-neng. You will see that such times will come when the calamities cease to exist, people live long, and men and their faith become eternal. There should be no doubt about the proof of the tranquility in life.

(Explanatory note)

If such a time comes when all the people in the entire world and all the teachings of the world are converted into one supreme teaching of the Buddha, and when only the Lotus Sutra is believed and all the people recite the Odaimoku in unison, there will be no doubt that blowing wind and falling rain will become gentle and the world will become as peaceful as it was during the reigns of the sage emperors of ancient China. When such time comes, various calamities disappear, all people live long, and people as well as their faith will never disappear. As a result, the so-called perennial youth and immortality will be realized. Then the “tranquility in life” predicted in the Lotus Sutra will be proved.

Reprinted from the Shingyō Hikkei

Daily Dharma, d20b

Daily Dharma – Nov. 21, 2023

Ajita, know this, these great Bodhisattvas
Have studied and practiced
The wisdom of the Buddha
For the past innumerable kalpas.

They are my sons because I taught them
And caused them to aspire for great enlightenment.

The Buddha sings these verses to his disciple Maitreya, also known as Invincible (Ajita) in Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sutra. In the story, great Bodhisattvas have just appeared from under the ground of this world of conflict after the Buddha asks who will continue to teach and practice this Lotus Sūtra after the extinction of the Buddha. None of those gathered to hear the Buddha teach, including other great Bodhisattvas such as Maitreya, had ever seen them before. Late in his life Nichiren realized that he was a reincarnation of Superior-Practice, the leader of the Bodhisattvas from underground, and that we who practice the Lotus Sūtra are his followers. Our lives are much greater than we realize, as are our capacities, our patience, our wisdom and our merit. It is through the Wonderful Dharma that we awaken to all these and clarify the Buddha Land we live in now.

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 Śākyamuni Buddha’s
effort to seat the Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters, we consider the arrival of the Buddhas of the replicas of Śākyamuni Buddha.

Thereupon the Buddhas of the replicas of Śākyamuni Buddha in the worlds of the east, who were expounding the Dharma in those worlds numbering hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas, that is, as many as there are sands in the River Ganges, came [to this expanded world]. So did the Buddhas of the worlds of the nine other quarters. They sat on the seats [under the jeweled trees]. [The Sahā-World and] the four hundred billion nayuta worlds of each of the eight quarters[, which were amalgamated into one Buddha world,] were filled with those Buddhas, with those Tathāgatas.

Thereupon one of the Buddhas on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees, wishing to inquire after Śākyamuni Buddha, gave a handful of jeweled flowers to his attendant, and said to him, [wishing to] dispatch him:

“Good man! Go to Śākyamuni Buddha who is now living on Mt. Gṛdhrakūṭa! Ask him on my behalf, ‘Are you in good health? Are you peaceful? Are the Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas peaceful or not?’ Strew these jeweled flowers to him, offer them to him, and say, ‘That Buddha sent me to tell you that he wishes to see the stūpa of treasures opened.”‘

All the other Buddhas also dispatched their attendants in the same way.

The Daily Dharma from April 22, 2023, offers this:

“Good man! Go to Śākyamuni Buddha who is now living on Mt. Gṛdhrakūṭa! Ask him on my behalf, ‘Are you in good health? Are you peaceful? Are the Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas peaceful or not?’ Strew these jeweled flowers to him, offer them to him, and say, ‘That Buddha sent me to tell you that he wishes to see the stūpa of treasures opened.’“

In Chapter Eleven of the Lotus Sūtra, Buddhas and their devotees from innumerable worlds come to our world of conflict and delusion to see Śākyamuni Buddha open the tower inhabited by Many-Treasures Buddha. As our capability for enlightenment wells up from within us, the tower of treasures sprang up from underground when the Buddha asked who would teach the Wonderful Dharma after the Buddha’s extinction. The treasures in the tower are nothing more than Many-Treasures Buddha declaring the Lotus Sūtra to be the Teaching of Equality, the Great Wisdom, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas and the Dharma upheld by the Buddhas.

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

WONS

Shingyō Hikkei: Shohō Jissō-shō

A Letter to Monk Sairenbō

Tears roll down when I think of the great hardship which I have to endure today, but I cannot stop tears of joy when I think of Obtaining Buddhahood in the future. Birds and insects cry without shedding tears. Nichiren does not cry but tears keep falling. These tears are shed not for worldly matters. They are solely for the sake of the Lotus Sutra. Therefore, they could be said to be tears of nectar.

(Explanatory note)

When Nichiren Shonin realized that all the difficulties he had to undergo in his life were for the sake of the Lotus Sutra, he was moved so deeply that tears rolled down; and when he thought of the possibility of obtaining Buddhahood in the near future by virtue of the merits he accumulated, he could not stop shedding tears of joy. Birds and insects cry without shedding tears. Nichiren Shonin did not cry but continuously shed tears. What were these tears for? They were not for the worldly happiness, anger, sadness or joy; they were all for the spreading of the Lotus Sutra and leading people in the right way. Therefore, these tears could be said to be tears of nectar.

Reprinted from the Shingyō Hikkei

Daily Dharma, d25b

Daily Dharma – Nov. 20, 2023

Although he was abused like this for many years, he did not get angry, He always said to them, ‘You will become Buddhas.’

The Buddha tells this story of Never-Despising Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty of the Lotus Sūtra. This Bodhisattva did not read or recite sutras. His practice was simply to tell all those whom he encountered, “I respect you deeply. I do not despise you.” Despite his pure intentions, the deluded minds of those who heard him caused them to be angry with him, beat him, and chase him away. While he did not stand fast and endure their abuse, he did not lose his respect for them. This is an example for us who aspire to practice the Wonderful Dharma to show us how we can learn to treat all beings.

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