Yesterday outlined stages associated with the Ten Blessings springing from the Sutra of Innumerable Blessings, beginning with the first blessing, which had no requirements (Reeves, p42):
“Good son, would you rather hear how this sutra has ten amazing powers of blessing or not?”
Magnificently Adorned Bodhisattva said: “We want to hear!”
The Buddha said: “Good sons, first, this sutra leads a not-yet-awakened bodhisattva to aspire to awakening, leads one without human kindness to aspire to kindness, leads one with a murderous heart to aspire to great compassion, leads one who is jealous to aspire to respond with joy, leads one with attachments to aspire to impartiality, leads one who is greedy to aspire to generosity, leads one who is full of arrogance to aspire to be moral, leads one who is angry to aspire to patience, leads one who is lazy to aspire to perseverance, leads one who is distracted to aspire to meditation, leads one who is ignorant to aspire to wisdom, leads one who lacks concern for saving others to aspire to saving others, leads one who commits the ten evils to aspire to do ten good things, leads one who is willful to aspire to let things be, leads one who is prone to backsliding to aspire to never retreat, leads one who commits faulty acts to aspire to being faultless, and leads one who suffers from afflictions to aspire to detachment. Good sons, this is called the first amazing power of blessing of this sutra.”
Before the aspirant hears this sutra even once, even only one verse or phrase, …
The Sutra of Innumerable Meanings has three chapters, the last of which is called variously Ten Beneficial Effects, Ten Merits or Ten Blessings. Over the next few days I’m going to focus on these Blessings (Reeves), but before I start I want to underscore the graduated scale and the focus of these blessings.
Blessing 1 comes with the sutra. It simply leads to certain outcomes. The rest require specific attitudes and actions.
Blessing 2 and 3: If living beings can hear this sutra even once, even only one verse or phrase …
Blessing 4 begins the same as 2 and 3 with “living beings” and then adds: If a bodhisattva can hear this sutra, even one phrase or verse, once, twice, ten times, a hundred times, a thousand or ten thousand times, a million or ten million times, or an unquantifiable, innumerable number of times, like the number of sands of the Ganges…
Blessing 5 and 6 continue the focus on Bodhisattva behavior: If good sons or good daughters, either during the Buddha’s lifetime or after his extinction, receive and embrace, read, recite, and copy this profound and unexcelled Great Vehicle Sutra of Innumerable Meanings …
Blessing 7 shifts focus beyond the Bodhisattva: If good sons or good daughters are able to hear this sutra either during the Buddha’s lifetime or after his extinction, and rejoice, have faith, and gain an unprecedented consciousness; if they receive and embrace, read, recite, copy, and explain the sutra, and practice it as it teaches; if they aspire to become awakened; if they cause all good roots to sprout, show great compassion, and want to relieve all living beings of suffering…
Blessing 8: If good sons or good daughters, either during the Buddha’s lifetime or after his extinction, find anyone who has received this sutra …
Blessing 9: If good sons or good daughters, receiving this sutra either during the Buddha’s lifetime or after his extinction, dance for joy, attain the unprecedented, receive and embrace, read and recite, copy and make offerings to this sutra, and everywhere explain its meaning through analysis for the sake of living beings…
Blessing 10: If good sons or good daughters, receiving this sutra either during the Buddha’s lifetime or after his extinction, greatly rejoice from experiencing such an unprecedented thing, receive and embrace, read and recite, copy, and make offerings to this sutra on their own accord, practice as it teaches, and also lead many monks and laypeople to receive and embrace, read and recite, copy, and make offerings to this sutra, explain it, and practice it in accord with the Dharma…
I’m inspired by this progression from no effort (1), to effort for oneself (2 and 3), to aspiring to be a Bodhisattva (4,5 and 6), to beginning the Bodhisattva practice (7 and 8), fulfilling the Bodhisattva practice (9) and finally “greatly rejoice from experiencing” practice for oneself and all living beings (10).
After seeing the buddhas in all directions, one will have a dream in which on an elephant’s head there is a man who handles diamond pounders who points a diamond pounder at the six sense organs. After the six organs have been pointed at, Universal Sage Bodhisattva will teach the Dharma for this follower, to purify the six organs through repentance. In this way the follower will repent for a day or for twenty-one days.
Then, by the power of the concentration by which the buddhas appear and by the beauty of the preaching of Universal Sage Bodhisattva, with their ears followers will gradually hear sounds without hindrance, their eyes will gradually see things without hindrance, and their noses will gradually smell odors without hindrance. This is as taught extensively in the Wonderful Dharma Flower Sutra.
The Sutra of Contemplation of the
Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva Reeves translation
A major portion of this sutra explores the specific evils that arise from the six sense organs. Rather than break them up and comment on them separately, I’m going to list the evils of each organ from the prose section and use the gāthās to wrap it all together. Again, all of this comes from the Reeves translation
Eyes
“In innumerable previous lives, because of your eyes you have been greedily attached to material forms. Because of your attachment to such forms, you greedily desire the dust of the passions. Because of your desire for the dust of the passions, you receive a woman’s body.* Living in age after age, you are deluded by and attached to forms. Forms harm your eyes and you become a slave to desire. This is why forms cause you to wander in the threefold world. This makes you so blind you can see nothing at all.”
Ears
“Because of your ears, you have sought external sounds for many eons. Hearing wonderful sounds gives rise to deluded attachment to them. Hearing evil sounds brings about the damage of a hundred and eight kinds of affliction. This kind of retribution from evil ears results in evil things. Incessantly hearing evil sounds gives rise to various entanglements. Due to your perverted hearing, you will fall into truly evil paths, remote places, or wrong views where the Dharma cannot be heard.”
Nose
“In the innumerable eons of your previous lives, because of your lust for odors, you developed sense discriminations and became constantly attached to them, and you fell into life after life. Now you should contemplate the cause of the Great Vehicle. This cause of the Great Vehicle is the true character of all things.”
Tongue
“You should speak about the bad and evil things done by your tongue, saying: ‘This tongue, moved by thoughts of evil actions, makes me praise deluded speech, idle talk, harsh words, divisive talk, slander, lies, and wrong views, and it also makes me speak useless words. With such a multitude and variety of evil actions, which provoke fights and dissension, I teach what is not Dharma as if it were Dharma. I now repent for all such sins. … The errors of this tongue are countless and without limit. Thorns of evil actions are rooted in the tongue. It is this tongue that stops the wheel of the true Dharma. Such an evil tongue cuts off the seeds of blessings. Meaningless things are frequently forced on others. Praising wrong views is like adding wood to a fire, bringing greater harm to beings already in raging flames. It is like someone who dies from drinking poison without getting any sores. Recompense for my sins, for the evil, wrong, and bad things I have done, should result in my falling into evil paths for hundreds or thousands of eons. Because of lying I will fall into a great purgatory. Now going to the buddhas of the southern direction, I confess my errors and sins.’ ”
Body and Mind
“Now you should repent of body and mind. The sins of the body are killing, stealing, and fornication, while thinking bad thoughts is the sin of the mind. Committing the ten evil actions and the five irredeemable sins is just like being a monkey, or like birdlime glue. Attachment to all sorts of things leads to the passions of the six sense faculties. The actions of these six sense faculties fill every threefold world. the twenty-five states of existence, and all places where there is life, filling them with heavy branches, small branches, flowers, and leaves. Such actions also increase ignorance, old age, death, and the twelve kinds of suffering, and inevitably involve the eight evils and the eight difficulties. You should now repent of such evil and bad deeds.”
And now in gāthās
If you have evil in your eyes,
Impure with hindrances from actions in the past,
You should recite the Great Vehicle
And reflect on its first principle.
This is called eye repentance.
It exhausts past bad actions.
When the ears hear noise,
The principle of harmony is upset.
This produces craziness,
Like that of a foolish monkey.
You should recite the Great Vehicle
And meditate on the emptiness and formlessness of things,
To exhaust all evils for a long time,
And hear sounds from all directions with heavenly ears.
The nose is attached to scents.
In accord with its contamination, contacts occur.
In this way the deluded nose, in accord with its contamination,
Gives birth to all kinds of entanglements.
If you recite the Great Vehicle sutras
And meditate on the reality of things,
You will long be free from evil actions done in the past
And not do them in future lives.
The tongue causes five kinds of bad consequences
From harsh words spoken in the past.
If you want to control it yourself,
You should make an effort to practice compassion,
Think of the meaning of the true quiescence of things,
And not conceive by making distinctions.
The mind is like a monkey,
Never resting for a moment.
If you want to subdue it,
You should make an effort to recite the
Great Vehicle,
Keeping in mind the Buddha’s great awakened body,
His power, and his freedom from fear.
The body, master of its organs,
Dances freely among these six harmful faculties
Without obstacle,
Like dust swirling in the wind.
If you want to be rid of these evils,
Long separated from dirt and trouble,
Ever in the comfort of nirvana,
And at ease with a calm heart,
You should recite the Great Vehicle sutras
And keep in mind the mother of bodhisattvas.
Innumerable excellent skillful means will be obtained
By reflecting on the true nature of things.
These so-called six methods
Purify the six sense organs.
The whole ocean of hindrances from past actions
Arises from illusion.
If you want to repent, you should sit upright
And reflect on the true nature of things.
And, most important, the gāthās conclude:
All sins are like frost and dew.
The sun of wisdom can dissipate them.
For this reason, with all your heart
You should repent of the six senses.
*While Reeves and The Threefold Lotus Sutra have “receive a woman’s body,” the BDK English Tripitaka Tiantai Lotus Texts says, “your body is derived from a woman.” A footnote explains: “In traditional interpretations of the Chinese shou nu ren shen, nu ren has been read in the genitive; and in a previous English translation of this sutra, this phrase is translated as “[you] receive the body of a woman.” In our translation we have read nu ren as ablative, and therefore render the phrase as “your body is derived from a woman.”
And assuming the “derived from a woman” is correct, does that then play into the Four Forms of Birth: (1) birth from the womb, as in mammals; (2) birth from eggs; (3) birth from dampness (the way worms were thought to be generated); and (4) birth by transformation, that is, spontaneous birth without the womb, eggs, or dampness, as in the cases of deities and beings in the hells. Are we “derived from woman” instead of having been born through transformation in the heavens?
When we open the Lotus Sūtra, we can see its teachings as clearly as looking at our face in a mirror. It is similar to recognizing the color of grasses and trees as the sun rises. It is stated in the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning, “The truth has not been revealed during the first forty years or so.”
Sennichi-ama Gozen Gohenji, A Reply to My Lady Nun Sennichi, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 145-146
The quote about truth not being revealed in the first 40 years of Śākyamuni’s teaching is used throughout Nichiren’s writings to support the revelation in Chapter 2, Expedients, of the Lotus Sutra:
“Śāriputra! I also expound various teachings to all living beings only for the purpose of revealing the One Buddha-Vehicle. There is no other vehicle, not a second or a third. Śāriputra! All the present Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters also do the same….”
With that I mind, I think it is useful to read the context in which the Buddha says, “[A]fter more than forty years the truth has not yet been revealed.”
At that time Magnificently Adorned Bodhisattva spoke once again to the Buddha: “World-Honored One, the Dharma preached by the World-Honored One is inconceivable. The ability and nature of living beings is also inconceivable. And the gateway to the Dharma of emancipation is also inconceivable. Though we no longer have doubts about any of the Dharma preached by the Buddha, out of fear that various living beings will be perplexed, we repeatedly ask the World-Honored One about it.
“For the more than forty years since the Tathagata attained the Way, for the sake of the living you have continued to preach—the meaning of the four modes of all things, the meaning of suffering, the meaning of emptiness, of impermanence, of no enduring self, the absence of greatness, the absence of pettiness, non-arising, non-extinction, one character, absence of character, Dharma nature, Dharma character, being originally empty and quiet, non-coming, non-going, non-appearing, and non-disappearing.
“Those who have heard it have obtained the warm Dharma, the highest Dharma, the best Dharma in the world. They have obtained fruits of a stream-enterer, fruits of being a once-returner, fruits of being a nonreturner, fruits of being an arhat, and the pratyekabuddha way. They have aspired to become awakened. They have ascended the first stage, the second stage, and the third stage, and reached the tenth stage.
“In what sense is what you preached in the past, the meaning of all the buddhas, different from what you preach today? One hears that if bodhisattvas practice only the profound and unexcelled Great Vehicle Sutra of Innumerable Meanings, without fail they will soon attain unexcelled awakening. Is that true? Please, World-Honored One, out of compassion and pity for all, analyze this for the sake of living beings everywhere, and leave no doubt in the minds of all those in the present and future who hear the Dharma.”
Then the Buddha said to Great Adornment Bodhisattva: “Good, good! Great and good son, you have raised good questions for the Tathagata about the subtle and wonderful meaning of the profound and unexcelled Great Vehicle. You should know that you will greatly enrich many, pleasing human and heavenly beings, and relieving living beings from suffering. This is the truth of great compassion, a truth that is not in vain. For this reason you will surely and quickly attain unexcelled awakening. You will also enable all living beings in the present and future to accomplish unexcelled awakening.
“Good sons, after sitting upright for six years under the bodhi tree at the place of the Way, I could attain supreme awakening. With the eyes of a buddha I could understand that not all the teachings could be proclaimed. Why was that? I knew that the natures and the desires of living beings were not the same. As their natures and their desires were not the same, I taught the Dharma in various ways. I used the power of skillful means to teach the Dharma in various ways. And after more than forty years the truth has not yet been revealed. This is why there are differences in the way living beings take the Way and why they do not attain unexcelled awakening quickly.
“Good sons, the Dharma is like water that washes away dirt. Just as the water in a well, a pond, a stream, a river, a valley, a ditch, or a great sea is equally effective in washing away all kinds of dirt, so Dharma water effectively washes away the filth that afflicts living beings.
“Good sons, the nature of water is the same, but a stream, a river, a well, a pond, a valley stream, a ditch, and a great sea are distinct and different from each other. The nature of the Dharma is like this. There is equal effectiveness and no differentiation in washing away the waste of afflictions, but the three teachings, the four fruits, and the two ways are not one and the same.
“Good sons, though the water washes equally well, a well is not a pond, a pond is not a stream or a river, and a valley stream or a ditch is not a sea. Just as the Tathagata, the world’s hero, is free in the Dharma, all of the teachings in his sermons are like this. Though early, middle, and late teachings equally wash away the delusions of living beings, the beginning is not the middle, and the middle is not the end. Teachings at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end are the same in expression but different in meaning.
As a bonus, I offer this quote from Ichidai Goji Keizu, Genealogical Chart of the Buddha’s Lifetime Teachings in Five Periods (Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 242):
The Sūtra of Infinite Meaning states: “The Buddha has been preaching various teachings through expedient means in order to lead all the people to the True Dharma. For forty years or so till today – (three weeks for preaching the Flower Garland Sūtra, 12 years for the Āgama sūtras, 30 years for the Hōdō sūtras and the Wisdom Sūtra, totaling 42 years; the Treatise on the Dharma World, too, states 42 years) – the truth has not been revealed” (in chapter 2, “Preaching”). The sūtra also preaches: “By means of the pre-Lotus sūtras, one will never attain supreme Buddhahood no matter how long one practices his training. Why? Because the great direct way to enlightenment is not preached in those sūtras, hence one encounters many difficulties in walking in steep and dangerous ways” (chapter 3, “Ten Merits”). It further preaches, “There is no suffering in practicing the great direct way” (chapter 3, “Ten Merits”).
I hope to touch on these topics in the final days of this 21-day stay-cation retreat.
The practice of the Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva, unlike the Sutra Innumerable Meanings, is not limited to Great Bodhisattvas or modeled after them. This practice is for “any monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen, the eight kinds of guardians, gods, dragons and others, or any other living beings.” Underscoring this universal nature is the choice of principals in this teaching – Ananda, Maha-Kashyapa and Maitreya Bodhisattva, speaking in once voice, with Ananda as the leader.
Then the three great leaders spoke to the Buddha in one voice: “World-Honored One, after the extinction of the Tathagata, how can living beings aspire to be bodhisattvas, follow the Great Vehicle sutras, the Expansive Teaching, and think about the world of one truth correctly? How can they keep from losing their aspiration for unexcelled awakening? Without cutting off their and renouncing the five desires, how can they purify their sense organs and completely rid themselves of their sins? With the natural pure eyes received at birth from their parents, and without leaving the world of the five desires, how can they see past their hindrances?”
The Buddha said to Ananda: “Listen carefully! Listen carefully! Consider what I am about to say and remember it well! Long ago, on Holy Eagle Peak and in other places, the Tathagata has already thoroughly explained the way of one truth. But now in this place, for all living beings and others in the future who want to practice the unsurpassable Dharma of the Great Vehicle, and for those who want to learn the practice of Universal Sage and to follow the practice of Universal Sage, I will now teach this method of contemplation. For all those who are able to see Universal Sage, as well as for those who do not see him, I will now explain in detail how to eliminate evils.
“Ananda, Universal Sage Bodhisattva was born in the east, in the Land of Pure Wonder. I have already described the nature of his land at length in the Flower Garland Sutra. Now I will briefly explain it again in this sutra.
“Ananda, if any monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen, the eight kinds of guardians, gods, dragons and others, or any other living beings, recite the Great Vehicle, study the Great Vehicle, aspire to the Great Vehicle, want to see the material body of Universal Sage Bodhisattva, want to see the Stupa of Abundant Treasures Buddha, want to see Shakyamuni Buddha and the buddhas who embody him, or want to gain purity of the six senses, they should learn this contemplation.
“The blessings of this contemplation will eliminate their hindrances and allow them to see the excellent and wonderful form of the Buddha. Even though they have not yet entered into concentration, just because they recite and embrace the Great Vehicle they will devote themselves to studying it and putting it into practice, and after keeping their attention continuously on the Great Vehicle for one day, or for three weeks, they will be able to see Universal Sage.
“Those who have heavy hindrances will see him after seven weeks. Those who have heavier hindrances will see him after one lifetime. Those who have still heavier hindrances will see him after two lifetimes. And those who have yet heavier hindrances will see him after three life times. Thus past actions have a variety of consequences. They are not always the same. This is why I teach in a variety of ways.”
Here’s hoping I see Universal Sage at the end of three weeks at the conclusion of this 21-day stay-cation retreat.
Trivia point: The first chapter of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings includes a lengthy verse section detailing the merits of Śākyamuni. Among these is his height.
The Threefold Lotus Sutra by Bunno Kato, Yoshiro Tamura, and Kojiro Miyasaka with revisions by W. E. Soothill, Wilhelm Schiffer, and Pier P. Del Campana says “He reveals his body, Ten feet six inches in height…”
The BDK English Tripitaka translation by David W. Chappell, Joseph M. Longan, Terry Yamada and Tsugunari Kubo says “Your manifestation is nearly sixteen feet tall…”
The Lotus Sutra by Gene Reeves says “He shows his body: Sixteen feet tall…”
Did Threefold Lotus Sutra translators separate the ten and the six and then translate that into feet and inches or did they see something the others missed? All of these translations are working from Kumārajīva’s Chinese.
In the end, I’m not happy with the Threefold Lotus Sutra translation. It is awkward – and perhaps error prone – and just generally not pleasing to read aloud. I have been using it in my 32 day practice this cycle but I will set it aside and pick up Reeves when I start the next cycle.
Programming note: Having completed a week of daily recitation of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings and the Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva, it’s time to start offering quotes each day from the portions of these sutras that stand out to me.
And back to our program….
The opening of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings begins with a long list of Bodhisattvas present at Rajagriha on Holy Eagle Peak (remember, this occurs just before the start of the Lotus Sutra) and then proceeds to explain just how great these guys are. To quote the Reeves translation:
Moreover, knowing well the abilities, natures, and desires of all, with incantations and unobstructed eloquence, [these Bodhisattvas] obediently and skillfully turn the Dharma wheel of the buddhas.
First, they have small drops of moisture fall to dampen the dust of desire, and by opening the gateway of nirvana, fanning the wind of liberation, and ridding themselves of the heat of worldly passions, they bring about the cooling quality of the Dharma.
Next, raining down the profound teaching of the twelve causes and conditions, pouring it on the ferocious, intense rays of suffering – ignorance, old age, illness, death, and so on – they pour out the unexcelled Great Vehicle, soak the good roots of all the living with it, scatter seeds of goodness over the field of blessings, and everywhere bring forth sprouts of awakening.
With wisdom as bright as the sun and the moon, and timely use of skillful means, they make the enterprise of the Great Vehicle prosper and grow, and lead many to attain supreme awakening quickly. Always living in the blessedness of a reality that is fine and wonderful, with immeasurable great compassion, they save the living from suffering.
They are truly good friends of living beings, an excellent field of blessings for the living. Without having to be asked, they teach living beings. They are a place of tranquil happiness for living beings, a place of salvation, a place of protection, and a place of great reliance.
I find this incredibly encouraging, thinking of these “good friends.”
It is worth noting that the only mention of the arhats in the audience is this list:
Those monks included Great Wisdom Shariputra, Divine Power Maudgalyayana, Wisdom Life Subhuti, Maha-Katyayana, Maitrayani’s son Purna, Ajnata-Kaundinya, Divine Eye Aniruddha, Precept-Keeping Upali, Attendant Ananda, Buddha’s son Rahula, Upananda, Revata, Kapphina, Vakkula, Acyuta, Svagata, Dhuta Maha-Kashyapa, UruvilvaKashyapa, Gaya-Kashyapa, and Nadi-Kashyapa. There were twelve thousand monks such as these. All were arhats, unconstrained by bondage or faults, free from attachments and truly liberated.
Unlike in the Lotus Sutra, these monks play no role in this teaching. This is, as the Lotus Sutra says, “the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.”
In Kangyō Hachiman-shō, Remonstration with Bodhisattva Hachiman (Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 257-258), Nichiren writes in part:
At the beginning of the Kalpa of Construction, when the world is being created, gods were born with excellent rewards of virtuous acts in previous lives, and men were not evil. Therefore, heavenly beings were shiny in body, pure in spirit, as bright as the sun and moon, and as brave as the lion and elephant. When the Kalpa of Construction was over and the world entered the Kalpa of Continuance, heavenly beings from the previous period grew old and declined like the waning moon, newly born gods were mostly equipped with inferior rewards of actions in their previous lives. As a result, the three calamities and seven disasters occurred all over the world and people everywhere began experiencing sufferings and joys.
Then the Buddha appeared in this world and prepared the panacea of life, that is Buddhism, for the gods and people. Like oil added to a lamp or a cane supporting an elderly person, heavenly beings regained the authority and power they possessed in the Kalpa of Construction.
I bring this up to illustrate my attitude toward and interaction with divine beings and protective deities. As I see it, the more I practice, the more I recite sutras, the more daimoku I chant, the more I feed these gods and protective deities and the more their influence grows. Fat and happy gods!
This is especially true with a recent addition to my altar: Shichi Fukujin, the Seven Happy Gods.
FukurokujuFukurokuju 福禄寿 Represents Longevity
From Japanese fuku, “happiness”; roku, “wealth”; and ju, “longevity.” Brought from China’s Taoist-Buddhist traditions, Fukurokuju is the God of Wealth, Happiness, and Longevity. He is usually represented with customary clothes of a Chinese scholar, holding a walking stick with a scroll tied to it. He is the only one from the seven who has the ability to revive the dead.
HoteiHotei 布袋 Represents Happiness
Said to be an incarnation of Miroku (Maitreya) Bodhisattva, Hotei (a.k.a Budai) is the God of Happiness and Abundance. He is supposedly based on an actual person, a Chinese hermit Budaishi (d. 917). He is represented as a Buddhist monk with a smiling face and a prominent belly, holding a sack and a wooden staff, usually seated or sleeping in his bag. Outside Japan, he is known as “Laughing Buddha.”
DaikokuDaikoku 大黒天 Represents Fortune
Originally a Hindu warrior deity named Mahākāla, once introduced in Japan he became the God of Wealth and Prosperity. Daikoku evolved from the Buddhist form of the Indian deity Shiva intertwined with the Shinto god Ōkuninushi. He is well known for his happy-looking smile and is often presented with a bag on this shoulder filled with money and a magic mallet standing on two bales of rice.
EbisuEbisu 恵比須 Represents Honesty
Also known as Yebisu or Kotoshiro-nushi-no-kami. The God of Fishing, Shipping and Commerce, he is the only one to have his origins in Japan. Ebisu is very popular among farmers and sailors. He is commonly presented wearing formal court clothes or hunting robes. He is often presented with a fishing rod in his right hand and a large red sea bream under his left arm.
JurojinJurōjin 寿老人 Represents Wisdom
The God of Wisdom, he originated from the Chinese Taoist god, the Old Man of the South Pole. He is commonly presented as an old man wearing a hat with a long white beard holding a knobbed walking staff with a scroll tied to it. He is often confused with Fukurokuju. A black deer always accompanies Jurōjin as a messenger and as symbol of longevity.
BenzaitenBenzaiten 弁財天 Represents Joy
Benzaiten (Benten) was originally the Hindu goddess of water Sarasvati. In her Japanese representation, she is the Goddess of Arts and Knowledge. Her common form is a beautiful woman dressed in a flowing Chinese-style dress and playing the biwa. She is frequently depicted riding on, or accompanied by, a sea dragon.
BishamonBishamon 毘沙門天 Represents Dignity
The Buddhist guardian of the north (Vaiśravaṇa), Bishamon is the God of Warriors (not war). He is also a God of Defense Against Evil. Almost always dressed in armor with a fierce look and standing over one or two demons symbolizing the defeat of evil. In one hand he has a weapon to fight against evil influences and suppress the enemies. On the other hand he holds a treasure pagoda or stupa, which is his main identifying attribute.
At this point I should digress and explain the difference between statues and what I have been told are “just decoration.”
He smiled and said, “No. This is just decoration.”
No problem. I have a side altar where I keep my “decorations,” which today in addition to Jizo Bodhisattva includes a traveling Tibetan prayer box stuffed with flags and a Buddha incense burner draped in a necklace. (These are all donations from my wife.)
Then last month, I noticed a box containing the Seven Happy Gods had been donated to the church rummage sale. The porcelain figurines were made in Japan and purchased in the 1987. Someone had labeled each of them (mislabeling Fukurokuju as Jurojin) and crafted a display stand.
The Seven Happy Gods sparked my interest because my step-mother, who lived in Japan during the Korean War (her father was an Army general), had a wooden set of these in her home in Florida. Her’s were certainly just decorations.
Could these statues be eye-opened and added to my altar? I went to Rev. Igarashi expecting to have to re-arrange my decorations. Instead I was surprised to find him receptive to the idea. He took the box and said he’d get back to me.
A day or so later he said that, Yes, he could eye-open the Seven Happy Gods. But, he cautioned, I would need to make them part of my practice. He said the figurines had been eye-opened before but the effect had withered. Basically they had starved to death.
After the next Sunday service I picked up the eye-opened Seven Happy Gods and took them home. I’ve learned their names and each day I devote a portion of my daimoku to each. I’m not expecting any “benefit” from having these gods on my altar. Instead, I’m enjoying the idea of nourishing divine spirits, helping them regain the authority and power they possessed.
KishimojinIn addition to the newly arrived Happy Gods, I also have Kishimojin 鬼子母神: Mother of Demon Children. In the “Dhāranī” (twenty-sixth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Kishimojin and 10 rākṣasas daughters pledge before Shakyamuni Buddha to safeguard the votaries of the sutra. Kishimojin is revered as a god of procreation and easy delivery.
The print and the amulet were purchased from Rev. Ryusho Jeffus several years ago. (The Kishimojin amulet and a amulet Gohonzon I purchased compose my traveling altar.)
The encouragement of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, for which this stay-cation retreat is named, is opening for me some ideas on how to expand my own practice.
Today, I recited the BDK English Tripitaka version of The Sutra Expounded by The Buddha On Practice of The Way Through Contemplation of The Bodhisattva All-Embracing Goodness as translated from the Chinese of Dharmamitra.
I am really tempted to turn this portion of the sutra into a personal practice that would go like this.
Repeat three times:
The buddhas, the World-honored Ones, are always present in this world. Yet even though I believe in the comprehensive sutras, I am unable to clearly discern the buddhas because of my karmic encumbrances. I now take refuge in the Buddha! May you, Śākyamuni, Fully Enlightened World-honored One, please become my mentor! O Mañjuśrī, possessor of great wisdom, with your wisdom and understanding, please initiate me in the pure bodhisattva ways! Thereby, out of compassion for me, Maitreya Bodhisattva, the sun of surpassing mercy, will permit me to take up the bodhisattva ways; the buddhas of the ten directions will appear to bear witness for me; and the eminent bodhisattvas—those supreme great leaders who safeguard living beings, who inspire and watch over those like me—will each make themselves known by name.
On this day I accept and embrace the comprehensive sutras! Even if I should fall into hells and suffer innumerable hardships upon reaching the end of this life, through it all I will never renounce the correct Dharma of the buddhas! By means and reason of these causes and the power of their beneficial effects, Śākyamuni Buddha now becomes my mentor and Mañjuśrī becomes my steward! O Maitreya who is to come—please impart the teachings to me! O buddhas of the ten directions—please bear witness for my assurance! O great virtuous bodhisattvas—please be my companions!
Trusting now in the wonderful and most profound principle of the Great Vehicle sutras, I take refuge in Buddha, I take refuge in Dharma, and I take refuge in Sangha!
Conclude by saying:
Here, this day, I have awakened the aspiration for enlightenment! Through the beneficial effects of this, may I universally ferry all living beings!
Of special note is the conclusion’s focus on saving all living beings. This is not a solitary practice, even when on a solitary stay-cation retreat.
Suddenly today I realized the difference between walking for an hour simply to exercise and walking for an hour meditating on Namu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo. They are not the same.
Namu
The left foot steps.
Myo
The right foot.
Ho
The left foot.
Ren
The right foot.
Ge
The left foot.
Kyo
The right foot.
Homage to the Dharma Flower
The left foot.
Wonderful Lotus Sutra
The right foot.
Homage to the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra, again and again and again.
And all the while the mind is quiet, allowing the senses to heighten.
The sounds.
Each step rhythmic, here a crunch of gravel, there the scrap of a leaf, step, step, step. Birds chirp and sing on the left, now the right, nearby, faraway. Cars pass close, the sound rushing closer and then racing away. Distant sounds fade in and out. Aircraft fly overhead.
The smells.
Suburban lawns freshly watered. Rose bushes and honeysuckle. The unscented cool morning air.
The sights.
Dawn’s light peaking over homes and between tree branches. In a yard up ahead, a flower is bathed in a single ray of sunlight while all around is still in shade. The flowers glow as if radiating the light themselves. As I approach I consider pulling out my phone and taking a photo. I don’t. I realize a snapshot of this moment would not be real. The causes and conditions that placed this plant here and the sun there with the trees so arranged just as I walked up mindful of Namu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo – what would a photo show?
That moment was perfect and then it was another moment.
The Lotus Sutra can be understood in many ways, or, to put it another way, the teachings of the Lotus Sutra are varied and multivalent. Actually, one of the most important of these many meanings of the Lotus Sutra is its very vagueness and that it presents itself as of “innumerable meanings.” This potential—latent in its self-proclaimed “innumerable meanings”—provides the possibility for the Lotus Sutra to have meaning, not just in the past, but also specifically for the modern age.
Allow me to illustrate. In the introductory chapter we find Śākyamuni entering “the samādhi of the abode of immeasurable meanings.” As if to put the electronic lasers and pyrotechnics of Disneyland to shame, flowers rain down from heaven and the Buddha emits a ray of light that illuminates uncountable universes. Then the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī announces that the Buddha is about to preach the Lotus Sutra. However, the Buddha never does get around to preaching it. In short, an extravagant show is made to prepare for a sermon whose content is never exactly delineated.
What is this “Lotus Sutra” that is never preached? The content of the Lotus Sutra from chapter 2 on consists not so much in the Lotus Sutra itself, as in various praises for and instructions concerning the Lotus Sutra. The reason is that, in a broad sense, all of the Buddha-dharma is the Lotus Sutra, preached by the Buddha from the beginningless past. And if, in the words of the Ta Chih tu lun (Treatise on the Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom), the Buddha-dharma is not limited to the words of the sutras, but all good and beautiful words are the Buddha-dharma, then the same can be said of the Lotus Sutra.
The Lotus Sutra is of immeasurable meanings because it is equivalent to the Buddha-dharma. …
This does not mean that the Lotus Sutra can mean anything we want it to, or that we can arbitrarily interpret it to our own liking. “Immeasurable” does not mean “anything” or “everything.” It is important to know what the “Lotus Sutra” (in the limited, textual sense) says (and does not say), what it has meant (or not meant) to people in the past, how it has inspired (or not inspired) people, and what kinds of religious or other experiences it has led to.
On that basis we can more accurately and critically conclude what meaning the Lotus Sutra can have for our modern world. This is the duty of all religionists, whether Buddhist, Christian, or Muslim—to discover the meaning of their faith in their own social, historical, and cultural situation. For the Lotus Sutra adherent, it means the obligation to seek the meaning of the Lotus Sutra that is alive and meaningful for today. And precisely because the Lotus Sutra is of immeasurable meanings, it has the potential for providing meaning in our day.
Paul L. Swanson
From an essay that appeared in A Buddhist Kaleidoscope: Essays on the Lotus Sutra; Gene Reeves editor; Kōsei Publishing; 2002
I want to add this quote early in my 21-day stay-cation retreat because it underscores an important point about why I am doing this:
For the Lotus Sutra adherent, it means the obligation to seek the meaning of the Lotus Sutra that is alive and meaningful for today.
