All posts by John Hughes

Tao-sheng: The External Mark of the Dharma Laid Bare

At that time the poor son, who had worked at various places as a day worker, happened to come to the house of his father. Standing by the gate of the house, he saw his father in the distance.

He practiced good [deeds] in his past stations of life in order to obtain worldly pleasures; he “hired himself out as a laborer.” But in reality what he received was not good. Therefore he followed his past conditions: he “reached his father’s house.” The discourse of the Greater Vehicle is “the father’s house.” The place where he is made to appear is the “gate.” His original conditions would have made him enter [the gate], but his emotion led him not to do so. Therefore he hesitated at the side of it.

His father was sitting on a lion-like seat, putting his feet on a jeweled footstool.

Their past conditions enabled them to see the intent of what was said of the Greater Vehicle: they “saw in the distance [their] father.” li as the Dharma-body (-kāya) [can] place itself [anywhere] fearlessly (or securely) [abhaya]: [it isl “seated on a lion throne.” He had his feet resting always in the unconditioned (wu-wei); he had his “feet resting on a jeweled footstool.”

Brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, and householders surrounded him respectfully.

All these gods (devas) hold in themselves pride and arrogance, but they all serve [the Buddha] as their master, because [his] li has subjugated them.

He was adorned with a necklace of pearls worth ten million.

There is not any form [of him] that is not Dharma; hence, his bodies are adorned with the Dharma-treasures.

The secretaries and servants were standing on either side of him, holding insect-sweepers [in their hands] made of white hairs.

Like the “hands” of faith holding the teaching, they held the dusters of wisdom free from depravities, which are meant to “attend on their left and right” and brush off dust and stupidity.

He was exhibiting treasures and engaging in trade.

[The Buddha] had the external mark of the Dharma laid bare, making sure that they obtained it. They obtained it, and so the doctrine became their property: it was “given and received.”

Tao-sheng Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p229

Vajra Sutra: Countering Greed, Anger and Stupidity

“How does one conquer greed, anger, and stupidity?” One counters them with morality, concentration and wisdom.

Greed, anger and stupidity are morality, concentration and wisdom, and vice versa. It is a matter of how one uses them. For example, one can use money to buy marijuana and get high, or he can use the money to help someone else. Relieving someone else’s suffering is a far better use of money than selfishly smoking marijuana. It is the same money; only the use differs.

So it is with greed, anger and stupidity; morality, concentration and wisdom. When one understands how to use them, they are morality, concentration and wisdom; when one is so deluded that one cannot make them function, they are greed, anger and stupidity. Ice does not differ from water, and water does not differ from ice. Just as water is ice and ice is water, so too afflictions are Bodhi and Bodhi is afflictions. Bodhi and afflictions are not two. If one cannot use it, Bodhi changes to afflictions; if one can, afflictions become Bodhi. However,

What is spoken is dharma.
What is practiced is the Way;
Even if you speak extremely well,
With no real practice, there is no real Way.

One must actually go and do it. One must honestly, truly, rely on the Buddhadharma and cultivate.

Relentlessly cultivating morality, concentration and wisdom, and putting to rest greed, anger and stupidity, are the means to subdue the mind. When one subdues the false mind, the true mind eternally dwells as a matter of course. The “eternally dwelling true mind, clear nature, bright substance” results from putting to rest the false mind, which allows the true mind to manifest.

The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, p38-39

Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for April 25, 2025

I expound only to people of profound wisdom
Myōhō Renge Kyō
Because men of little wisdom would doubt Myōhō Renge Kyō,
And not understand Myōhō Renge Kyō even if they heard Myōhō Renge Kyō.
No Śrāvaka
Or Pratyekabuddha
Can understand
Myōhō Renge Kyō.

Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3

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Tao-sheng: Bequeathing the Treasure of the Unexcelled Dharma

“The poor son, having wandered from town to town, from country to country, from village to village, came to the city where his father was living.

Past conditions led [him] toward the city where “his father” was staying: li is [what is to be] “reached. ”

The father had been thinking of him for more than fifty years since he had lost him, but never told others [that he had a missing son]. He was alone, pining for his son.

Compassion [arose in the Buddha], thinking they might go astray from li. Yet the “sons,” after receiving the teaching, were lost and immersed in the five forms of existence: this is [the meaning of] “fifty years. ”

[never told others] This means that [the Buddha] never mentioned to others that the two vehicles would achieve Buddhahood. The Buddha’s Great Benevolence was originally aimed at uprooting the suffering [of others], but as they enjoyed birth and death, the true transformative teaching was then turned backward. Here arose the necessity for the exigency of the three. The three [were presented] in accord with the subtle state of their (beings’) minds, and thereafter he would be able to produce the One for them.

[The Buddha] regretted that the earlier transformative teaching was not intensive, with the result that they (beings) returned to delusion and transmigration (saṃsāra). Entirely out of compassion he devised all-round, [provisionary] expressions.

He thought, ‘I am old and decrepit. I have many treasures. My storehouses are filled with gold, silver, and other treasures. But I have no son [other than the missing one]. When I die, my treasures will be scattered and lost. I have no one to transfer my treasures to. Therefore, I am always yearning for my son.’ The father thought again, ‘If I can find my son and give him my treasures, I shall be happy and peaceful, and have nothing more to worry about.’

[The words] old and decrepit refer to [the Buddha’s] last stage of incarnation. [The statement] we have no son means that [the Buddha] has not yet said that the two vehicles will attain to the Buddhahood. [The Buddha] worries that there is nobody to whom to bequeath the treasure of the unexcelled Dharma.

Tao-sheng Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p228

Vajra Sutra: The Meaning of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi

Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi is a Sanskrit word which means “unsurpassed, proper and equal, right enlightenment.” The term is not translated because it is an honorific designation for the ultimate fruit, that of Buddhahood. Anuttara means “unsurpassed.” Samyak is translated as “proper and equal,” and saṃbodhi means “right enlightenment.” Right enlightenment is testified to by those of the two vehicles, and it is what differentiates them from common unenlightened people. The proper and equal enlightenment of the Bodhisattvas differs from the right enlightenment of the two vehicles in that those who have it have testified to an enlightenment equal to the Buddha’s. It is, however, still not the unsurpassed enlightenment. Once they have testified to proper and equal enlightenment, Bodhisattvas are called “surpassed lords.” The Buddha is known as the “unsurpassed lord,” because there is nothing above him. The Dharma Masters of great virtue who translated sutras in the past retained the original Sanskrit name of the Buddha’s position, and Dharma Masters who followed them honored the decision in their own translations.

The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, p38

Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for April 24, 2025

“Mañjuśrī! Myōhō Renge Kyō is the treasury of the hidden core of the Buddhas, of the Tathāgatas. Myōhō Renge Kyō is superior to all the other sūtras. I kept Myōhō Renge Kyō [in secret] and refrained from expounding Myōhō Renge Kyō for the long night. Now I expound Myōhō Renge Kyō to you today for the first time.”

Lotus Sutra, Chapter 14

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Tao-sheng: The Father and His Son

Suppose there lived a man [in a certain country]. When he was a little boy, he ran away from his father.

The first paragraph, which explains what father and son stand for. Formerly when they as bodhisattvas received the transformative teaching, the li of teaching was the One. The One came from the Buddha; it was the “son,” and the Buddha is identical with the “father.” The process of teaching began like that: it was “young in years.”

The process of the transformative teaching began very early, not yet bearing fruit. He returned to the depth of worldly delusion, and delusion rode [over] the right path. All [the achievements of] the transformative teaching also were gone. This is the implication of “forsaking his father and running off.”

[The boy] lived in another country for a long time, say, for ten, twenty or fifty years.

The self-soness (tzu-jan) of the transformation of sphere is “native land.” The perversion of the [cycle of] birth and death (saṃsāra) is “another country.” It was a long period of departure from the transformative teaching and he stayed there as a human [in saṃsāra]”: he “dwelt” [there].

[The word] five [of fifty or five tens] refers to the five forms of existence. [The word] ten means “dwelling long.” It is not definite; hence, or.

As time passed by, he became poorer [reduced to destitution]. He wandered about all [four] directions, seeking food and clothing.

It is a long time since he abandoned the transformative teaching; he “grew old.” He stumbled in [the cycle of] birth and death”; he was “reduced to destitution.”

He wandered through all the five forms of existence; no place was left unvisited: he “ran about in all four directions.” Growing old, he sought after the joy of the Greater [Vehicle] and that of [the] parables; being in the state of destitution, he sought after the joy of the Lesser [Vehicle].

“While wandering here and there, he happened [gradually] to walk towards his home country.

One does not suddenly receive the retribution of delusion: it is “gradual.” He was advancing gradually toward a nonoriginal place: he was [in the state of] “wandering.” Responding to the force of the transformative teaching, he went back toward enlightenment; he “[happened” to head gradually toward his native land.” He was led by unseen conditions to come [back], but it was not what he intended; hence, happened.

At that time his father stayed [midway] in a city [of that country]. He had been vainly looking for his son ever since.

The second paragraph demonstrates that he (the father) was incarnated as the Buddha in order to preach the doctrine of the three vehicles. The Buddha, having transformed himself and accumulated [meritorious] deeds, had always wanted to seek his sons who might have fallen into [the cycle of] birth and death. This ended badly, as [the Buddha was left] “without finding” them. His sons, having yielded to past conditions (pratyaya) [which were] bound to reach them [soon], had become attached to the pleasure of birth and death and had developed emotional inclinations of a direction different from those they had originally had. Their “father,” in responding to them, condescended to become a Buddha. The trace stopped short of reaching the real: it “stopped midway.” The li of the One Vehicle can ward off what is wrong; it is the “city.” [All beings from] the ten directions have converged on the transformative teaching: [in that sense] they are “one.”

He was now very rich. He had innumerable treasures. His storehouses [treasure houses] were filled [to overflowing] with gold, silver, lapis lazuli, coral, amber and crystal.

Even though he is the Buddha in human form, li encompasses all dharmas. This means that it is rich with the treasure of the dharmas, which is inexhaustible.

The seven sacred treasures cannot be spied on [for stealing]: they are “[in] treasure houses.” li surpasses words: it is “filled to overflowing.”

He had many servants, clerks, and secretaries. He also had countless elephants, horses, carts [carriages], cows, and sheep.

The heretics (tīrthikas) are “attendants”‘ the devils (māras) are “servants.” They are destined to return and follow the transformative teaching: this is what attendants and servants imply. The bodhisattvas are “assistants,” helping spread the right transformative teaching. The voice hearers are “officers,” warding off and restricting the false and wrong. The multitudinous beings in the three spheres are “vassals”; the Buddha is the king who controls them. Elephants and horses, oxen and sheep refer to the meritorious virtues of the three vehicles and “five supernatural powers.” As for carriage, it means that li penetrates everywhere.

He invested his money [profits that flowed in and out] in all the other countries, and earned interest. He dealt with many merchants [and traders] and customers.

The transformative teaching is what “out” refers to. Out of the transformative teaching they went: hence, “the profits that flowed.” “The profits,” belonging to the transformed throughout the five forms of existence, “filled other countries.”

The bodhisattvas received the Dharma to transform [all beings in] the ten directions: they are “merchants and traders.”

Tao-sheng Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p225-228

Vajra Sutra: Symbolizing the Purity of the Three Karmas

At that time the Elder Subhuti arose from his seat in the assembly, uncovered his right shoulder,  placed his right knee on the ground, put his palms together with respect and said to the Buddha…

The ritual performed in requesting dharma symbolizes the purity of the Three Karmas:

  1. Uncovering the right shoulder and placing the right knee on the ground represents the purity of body karma.
  2. Placing the palms together respectfully represents pure mind karma.
  3. Verbalizing the request indicates the karma of the mouth is pure
The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, p36

Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for April 23, 2025

“Medicine-King! Suppose a man on a plateau felt thirsty and sought water. He dug a hole in order to get water. As long as he saw the dug-out lumps of earth were dry, he knew that water was still far off. He went on digging, and then found the dug-out lumps of earth wet. When he finally found mud, he was convinced that water was near. In the same manner, know this, the Bodhisattvas who have not yet heard, understood or practised Myōhō Renge Kyō, are still far from Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.”

Lotus Sutra, Chapter 10

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Tao-sheng: Faults Caused by Self-Esteem

They felt like dancing with joy, rose from their seats…

The next three [statements] describe why they are pleased. [In the paragraph] from [the clause] “[we], who were at the head of the saṃgha” to [the phrase] “made no effort to seek Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi (unsurpassed, complete enlightenment),” they told [themselves] that they “had already attained” realization, and felt that they did not hope for anything further. [This is] the first [statement].

You have been expounding the Dharma for a long time.

[This is] the second [statement]. In the past they heard the Buddha preaching the Prajn͂āpāramitā Sūtras. Hearing them preached, they became “tired and idle,” thinking solely of “emptiness” (śūnyatā) and “signlessness” (animitta), and giving up forever the will to transform the minds of living beings through the purity of the Buddha-land.

We elders of the Saṃgha were already old and decrepit [when we heard of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi].

[This is] the third [statement]. They are already approaching the last stage of life, advanced in age. Being advanced in years, [“when the Buddha instructed bodhisattvas”] in the unexcelled path, [in their words], “this did not arouse in us the least thought of desire.”

But now we are very glad to hear that you have assured a Śrāvakas of his future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. We have the greatest joy that we have ever had. We have never expected to hear such a rare teaching all of a sudden. How glad we are! We have obtained great benefits. We have obtained innumerable treasures although we did not seek them.

The aforementioned three [statements] refer to the faults caused by self-esteem. Now, as they suddenly hear the voice hearers receive the prophecy, their hearts are filled with joy but with no self-esteem. Thus, “the immeasurable amount of precious treasures, unsought by us, of themselves” have reached [them]. The meaning of their joyfulness is shown here.

“World-Honored One! Allow us to explain our understanding by telling a parable.

The men of the Lesser Vehicle from the beginning had no great hope; they had hope only in the two vehicles. Again for the sake of them a parable is devised. This part, divided into three paragraphs, illustrates what “the immeasurable amount of precious treasures, unsought by us, of themselves have come into our possession” means. The first [paragraph] shows that formerly when they were in the place where twenty thousand Buddhas were, they were ignorant of the path of Śākyamuni. This formed the relationship of father and son. The second [paragraph] explains that their spiritual triggering force grew so profound and manifest that Śākyamuni deigned to respond to them, preaching the doctrine of the three vehicles. The third [paragraph] discusses the purport of the One ultimate of the Dharma Blossom. This allows, as a secondary effect, the Buddha’s idea to be manifested and helps them, as an immediate effect, to verify what they have heard.

Tao-sheng Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p224-225