Lecture on the Lotus SutraWhen we choose to live our lives with the firm belief that we are the most qualified to become Buddhas, that we don’t need anything else other than our faith in the Lotus Sutra to qualify us, and when we devout ourselves to practice with faith, and when we strive to save others, then we will actually manifest the characteristics of those Bodhisattvas who arose from beneath the ground. We cannot just call ourselves that and end the day. We actually have to do the things required to fulfill our vows as those Bodhisattvas.
Category Archives: 800years
800 Years: Indigo faith
Endeavor to strengthen your faith after listening to this important teaching. He who endeavors to strengthen his faith after listening to the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra is a true seeker of Buddhahood. Grand Master T’ien-t’ai says: “Indigo becomes deep blue even though it is created from indigo leaves.” This means that if dyed blue over and over, indigo blue will become deeper than its original color. Practicing the Lotus Sūtra is the same. By practicing the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra over and over, you will be a true follower. Practice is the best master.
Ueno-dono Goke-ama Go-henji, A Response to the Nun, Widow of Lord Ueno, Nyonin Gosho, Letters Addressed to Female Followers, Page 48-50
800 Years: The Progression Along the Path
In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that faith along with practice and study is an interdependent progression that moves us along the path to Buddhahood. The Ten Merits discussed in the final chapter of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings illustrates how this works.
The first merit is contained within the sutra independent of any action by the listener: “My good children, first of all, this sutra can make an unawakened bodhisattva aspire to awakening.” This is the entry level of faith.
For the second through the fourth merits we witness a progression of benefits for those “beings who hear this sutra, whether the whole of it, a verse of it, or a phrase of it.” With the second merit they gain mastery of infinite meanings. In the third, their “delusions, while still existing, will be as if nonexistent.” And in the fourth, “they will gain courage and be able to ferry others across, although they will not be able to ferry themselves.”
With the fifth and sixth merit, we witness the abilities gained when “whether during the Buddha’s lifetime or after his passing away, there are good sons and good daughters who receive, embrace, read, recite, and copy this extremely profound and supreme Great Vehicle Sutra of Innumerable Meanings.” In the fifth merit, “[a]lthough they are still bound by their delusions and cannot yet free themselves from all the faults of an ordinary person, they will be able to reveal the way of great bodhisattvas.” In the sixth merit, “they will be able to teach the Dharma for living beings and enable them to break free from the delusions of birth and death and overcome all sufferings.”
For the remainder of the merits, we consider the consequences of putting the sutra to work in our life.
In the seventh merit, we meet those who “rejoice, believe, and delight in” this sutra: “Although they will still be unable to practice the Six Paramitas, the Six Paramitas will be naturally present in them.”
In the eighth merit, we consider those who “look upon [this sutra] with reverence and trust, just as if it were the very body of the Buddha”: “They will teach others far and wide by expounding this supreme Great Vehicle Sutra of Innumerable Meanings, using this sutra to demonstrate to those who have never once believed in the rewards of good and evil they do indeed exist.”
In the ninth merit, we see what happens to those who “jump for joy at having attained something extraordinary”: “They will be able, in an instant, to completely eliminate the heavy hindrance of any bad karma remaining from their former lifetimes.”
Finally, in the tenth merit, “there are good sons and good daughters who greatly rejoice in attaining this sutra, appreciating so rare a thing”: “They will be able to encourage laypeople and monastics far and wide to receive, embrace, read, recite, copy, pay homage to, and expound this sutra, and practice it as taught.”
This is the progression made possible by faith.
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800 Years: Threefold Lotus Sutra Lessons
For the rest of the year, I will focus my discussion of faith on the lessons found in the Threefold Lotus Sutra. I am starting today with the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings, not just because it is the first of three sutras, but because it sets the stage for what follows in the Lotus Sutra.
In the third chapter of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings, the Buddha details ten inconceivable powers for beneficial effect that this sutra possesses. All of these include faith as a component, but the first beneficial effect of this sutra truly captures the potential when a person takes the first step of faith:
“The Buddha said: ‘O you of good intent! First, this sutra can enable a bodhisattva—whose mind has not yet produced it—to generate the aspiration for enlightenment; can awaken a mind of compassion in one who lacks kindness and sympathy; can awaken in one who is fond of killing a mind of expansive mercy; can awaken in one in whom envy arises a mind of sympathetic joy; can awaken in one who is in bondage to desires a mind that can rise above them; can awaken in a selfish one a mind of consideration for others; can awaken in the mind of an arrogant one the attitude of proper behavior; can awaken in one who is quick to anger a mind that is given to forbearance; can awaken in one who becomes lazy in discipline a mind of appropriate endeavor; can awaken in one who has unceasing thoughts a mind directed toward tranquility; can awaken an insightful mind in one who is deluded and confused; can awaken in one who is not yet able to ferry others a mind to convey them to freedom; can awaken in one who commits the ten harmful acts a mind of the ten virtues; can inspire in the mind of one drawn to conditioned phenomena the intent to transcend cause and condition; can create in one who tends to withdraw from commitment a mind that is resolute; can awaken in one whose conduct is unrestrained a mind to exert self-control; and can awaken in one who has delusive worldly passions a mind to purge and be rid of them. O you of good intent! This is known as the inconceivable power of the first beneficial effect of this sutra.’ “
Faith comes first. It is the good intent. There is no chicken or the egg conundrum. But faith alone is no more stable than a pogo stick. Instead, we practice and study and by practicing and studying we create a bulwark behind which we can battle the sanshō shima, the three hindrances and four devils, who inevitably attempt to obstruct the ordinary person who seeks to become a Buddha. As Nichiren says, “Although the wise will welcome them, those who are foolish fear them and retreat.” [Hyōesakan-dono Gohenji, Answer to Lord Ikegami Munenaga, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 93]
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800 Years: Willingness to Believe and Willingness to Understand
Spring Writings[T]he Nirvana Sutra says it is not enough to just have faith in Buddhism by believing the teachings on an emotional level, because emotional belief will bring confusion and doubt in the future. Right faith requires understanding as well as a willingness to believe. It is not enough to just have faith in Buddhism by understanding the teachings without a willingness to believe, because without it, your understanding will emphasize a self-seeking view. Therefore, both a willingness to believe and a willingness to understand combine and dissolve into one, which will be an essential foundation for the faith of Buddhism.
In order to understand Buddhism more deeply, please open your mind. If you wish to have faith, please try to both understand and believe the teachings willingly. These are good practices to help you understand Buddhism, and to promote your understanding of the Lotus Sutra, which is the highest teaching of Buddhism.
800 Years: The Battle Between Laziness and Faith
Spring Writings[P]racticing a teaching is not easy. It is hard work to struggle against your own ego and laziness. The human being’s mind can be tempted with laziness, and we lose faith easily when it should be firm. Laziness and ego are strong rivals against faith. In fact, it is harder to defeat our own mind than to defeat others. An example is a person who is determined to chant every morning. Somehow they manage to keep their determination for a couple of weeks. Then, one morning, they have a headache and think, “Today is special, I will rest.” Before long, the special days turn into regular days. Usually the battle between laziness and faith results in the laziness achieving “victory.” At that time we need to have firm faith to brush off the whisper of laziness, and should think: “This is a trial to test my weakness and my faith.”
800 Years: Expressing Our Faith
Lotus SeedsThe third of the Three Great Secret Dharmas is the Odaimoku, Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. In Sino-Japanese, the title of the Lotus Sutra is “Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo.” These five characters are themselves an expression of the essential core of the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha taught in the Lotus Sutra. Because the Odaimoku embodies the essence of the Lotus Sutra, the five characters “Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo” are the key to unlocking the Buddha-nature that resides within all life. When the word Namu, meaning “devotion,” is added to the title, it becomes Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, or “Devotion to the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.” According to Nichiren, by chanting “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo” we are expressing our faith in the Eternal Buddha and opening our lives to all the qualities and merits of Buddhahood.
800 Years: Capacity for Understanding
Lecture on the Lotus SutraAs people take faith in the Lotus Sutra initially there is limited capacity for understanding. As time goes on and our capacity for understanding and incorporating the teachings in our lives increases, then we are able to see even deeper into the Dharma.
800 Years: Even the Slightest Belief in the Lotus Sūtra
QUESTION: Suppose ordinary people, priests or lay persons, uphold, read and write or let others read and write the entire Lotus Sūtra without understanding its meaning. Or perhaps they focus on just one of its fascicles, or the four important chapters (chapters 2, 14, 16 and 25), or even just the verse at the end of the “Life Span of the Buddha” chapter without fully appreciating the depth of the sūtra. Suppose there are people who, though they do not read and write the sūtra themselves, show respect by pressing their palms together in the form of gasshō, bow in front of it, offer incense and flowers to it. Or suppose there are people who, though they do not practice these things themselves, are happy seeing others perform such practices, and rejoice that this sūtra is spreading all over the country. Can such people, due to their own merit of having practiced a little, avoid committing worldly sins and be reborn in the realms of human and heavenly beings just as Hinayana sages on the first stage of sainthood are always reborn in the realms of humans and gods without falling into the three evil realms (hell, realm of hungry souls and that of beasts and birds)? Can they in the end perceive the Lotus Sūtra or be reborn in the Pure Lands all over the universe or become Buddhas with their present bodies? I would like to hear about this in detail.
ANSWER: Though my understanding of the sūtra is not profound, as I contemplate the spirit of the Lotus Sūtra and the Nirvana Sūtra, as well as their interpretations by T’ien-t’ai and Miao-lê, it seems to me that those who possess even the slightest belief in the Lotus Sūtra without holding any enmity against its teaching will not fall into the evil realms even if they commit evil deeds.
Shō Hokke Daimoku-shō, Treastise on Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 1-2
800 Years: The Third Jewel
Autumn Writings is the third volume of essays by Kanto Tuskamoto Shonin, the founder of Enkyoji Buddhist Network. Rev. Kanjin Cederman Shonin writes in the Forward:
“The most powerful reason that I wish to share these lectures with everyone is because of their simplicity and the easy-to-grasp explanations that Tsukamoto Sensei uses to share many very profound teachings.”
I’ve previously published quotes from Spring Writings and Summer Writings, and I will be publishing several quotes from Autumn Writings that relate to faith in the coming weeks.
What I want to do now is consider Rev. Tsukamoto’s guidance on the third jewel, the Sangha.
“At a Conversion Ceremony we, as Buddhists, vow to devote ourselves to the Three Treasures. Are you still devoted to the Three Treasures now? People who consider themselves Buddhists may have no problem with two of the Treasures – Buddha and Dharma. How about the third one, the Sangha/Temple? Actually, Sangha is very difficult. While the first two Treasures are to assist you in prayer and understanding, the third one, Sangha, is not only for prayer and understanding, but you also have to show your faith through your practical behavior and your commitment to the Sangha voluntarily.” [page 44]
For Rev. Tsukamoto, faith can’t exist without the sangha.
“If you were to lose your Sangha/Temple, what would happen to your faith? Some say, ‘I will continue my faith by myself’ or ‘I am okay because I do Gongyō every day on my own.’ However, it is not easy to maintain the Faith by yourself without the Sangha, because a Nichiren Shū Sangha/Temple is the best place to develop and practice your faith. This influence will appear in your Gongyō or prayer. If you continue to perform Gongyō alone every day, naturally you will fall into a habit of doing everything your own way. This will materialize in your chanting pronunciation and service manner. What is worse is that there will be no specialist like a Minister to correct what is wrong. You will not notice the errors by yourself and therefore will continue to do everything improperly and think that your way is correct.” [page 45]
In today’s interconnected world, I would argue that there is no place outside the sangha of believers. For me, Sanghas are like Italian restaurants. Each has its own flavor and focus, dictated by the chef’s tastes. We have an opportunity to find our sangha anywhere or everywhere in the world. Our task is to find the one we enjoy the most.
I do, however, agree with Rev. Tsukamoto’s point about Gohonzons and sangha membership:
“I often wonder why there are so many people who want to have a ‘Gohonzon,’ but no one wants a Sangha/Temple. This is very strange. Sangha/Temple should be a ‘top priority’ over a private Gohonzon because the Temple is ‘Kaidan’ – the precept dais – it is the only place able to offer a Gohonzon. Therefore, if you don’t have a Temple, you cannot receive a private Gohonzon.” [page 47]
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