All posts by John Hughes

Higan: The Patience of Bodhisattvas

Today is the third day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:

For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.

The today we consider the Perfection of Patience. For this Spring Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses Maitreya’s questions about what he sees in Chapter 1 after the Buddha illuminates 18,000 worlds in the east. (See this explanation.)

The following four lines of verse talk about the practice of patience. Sometimes I see Bodhisattvas / Becoming bhikṣus, / Living alone in quietude / And delighting in reciting sūtras. These monastics live alone in forests, valleys, or caves, where they may encounter malicious people or ferocious beasts. What does this have to do with patience? If spiteful people insult them or physically abuse them, the Bodhisattvas must endure it; if ferocious beasts bite them, they must also endure it and not be scared. They delight in reciting sūtras. According to the Vajra Sūtra, the merit gained from reciting the Vajra Sūtra is inconceivable.

Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, pv2, p270

Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for March 19, 2025

We did not know that we were your sons. Now we know that you do not grudge your wisdom to anyone. Although we were your sons then as we are now, we wished to hear only the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle. If we had aspired for the teaching of the Great Vehicle, you would have already expounded it to us. Now you expound only the One Vehicle in Myōhō Renge Kyō.

Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4

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Tao-sheng: Responding to Doubts

Thereupon Śāriputra said to the Buddha: “World-Honored One! Now my doubts are gone.

Insofar as one’s virtue is great, one’s concern [for others] is deep; when the Tao [one has achieved] is great, it extends to kingliness as well. Body-son, having already been inducted into the path of enlightenment, wants others with the same intention [to receive a prophecy] to share his profound understanding. Therefore. on behalf of twelve thousand people, he raises the question and addresses the Buddha. These voice hearers had no doubts before, but they harbor some now. They should be opened up and put forward first, and then explanations [responding to their doubts] can follow.

Tao-sheng Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p204

Higan: The Acts of Kings

Today is the second day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:

For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.

Today we consider the Perfection of Discipline. For this Spring Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses Maitreya’s questions about what he sees in Chapter 1 after the Buddha illuminates 18,000 worlds in the east. (See this explanation.)

Maitreya continued, “Mañjuśrī, Bodhisattva Wonderful Virtue, I also see kings, not just one but many of them, traveling to Buddhalands.” Why did they go there? They wanted to visit the Buddhas for the sake of asking about the unsurpassed Path. Upon their request, the Buddhas taught them that everything in this world is unsatisfactory, empty, impermanent, and without intrinsic essence.

The poem “Moon over West River” says,

Wealth and honor are like a dream before dawn;
Success and fame are like a floating cloud;
Blood relations too are unreal,
For affection can turn into hatred.

Wealth and honor are as insubstantial as a dream at daybreak. Success and fame are like clouds drifting across the sky; they do not last. The current family relationships—the ties that bind father and son, elder and younger brothers, husband and wife—are also transitory. You may love someone and be very close to them, but as time goes by, love can turn into animosity.

Maitreya Bodhisattva continued, “They forsake their lands of pleasure, / Their palaces, ministers, and concubines, / Then shave their beards and hair / And clothe themselves in Dharma robes.” Having heard this teaching from the Buddhas, the kings, without further thought, gave away their lands and belongings, including their palaces made of treasures, their towers and pavilions made of agarwood and sandalwood, and their ministers and concubines. Why did they give them away? They gave them away so that they could become novices. As novices, they put on monastic robes. Their five-piece robes were called Dharma robes. …

Earlier verses talked about giving. The previous section describing kings entering monastic life represents the quest for the precepts. The kings arriving at the Buddhalands and requesting the precepts has to do with the pāramitā of precepts.

Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, pv2, p268-270

Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for March 18, 2025

All living beings will be able to fulfill their wishes by Myōhō Renge Kyō just as a man who reaches a pond of fresh water when he is thirsty, just as a man who gets fire when he suffers from cold, just as a man who is given a garment when he is naked, just as a party of merchants who find a leader just as a child who meets its mother, just as a man who gets a ship when he wants to cross [a river], just as a patient who finds a physician, just as a man who is given a light in the darkness, just as a poor man who gets a treasure, just as the people of a nation who see a new king enthroned, just as a trader who reaches the seacoast.

Lotus Sutra, Chapter 23

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Tao-sheng: Joy of Heart

At that time the great multitude included bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās and upāsikās, that is, the four kinds of devotees; and gods, dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras and mahoragas. When they saw that Śāriputra was assured of his future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi by the Buddha, they danced with great joy.

This is the third segment. [Here, the Buddha] led those with [excessive] self-esteem to realize that they were [in fact] all endowed with [the capacity for enlightenment]; hence, joy of heart.

Tao-sheng Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p204

Higan: Seeing the Pāramitā of Giving

Today is the first day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:

For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.

The today we consider the Perfection of Generosity. For this Spring Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses Maitreya’s questions about what he sees in Chapter 1 after the Buddha illuminates 18,000 worlds in the east. (See this explanation.)

Some practice giving, / Giving gifts of gold, silver, coral, / Pearls, maṇi jewels, / Giant clam shell, carnelian, / Diamonds, and other gems, / Servants and chariots, / Jeweled palanquins and carriages. There is a Dharma-door of giving. What did the Bodhisattvas give? They gave gifts of the seven treasures: gold, silver, coral, pearls, maṇi jewels, giant clam shell, and carnelian. maṇi is also called the wishfulfilling pearl. Giant white clam shell is considered a precious treasure. It appears to have tracks on it but is smooth to the touch. Carnelian is a stone that appears to be infused with streaks of blood. Jeweled palanquins are man-drawn carriages or sedan chairs studded with gems, such as those used to carry ancient emperors.

They offer them with joy. Unlike us, who think that to donate five, ten, or twenty dollars is a big deal, the Bodhisattvas happily gave away such priceless things as the seven treasures.

They dedicate the merit to Buddhahood, / And vow to attain that Vehicle, / Foremost in the three realms, / Praised by all the Buddhas. The Bodhisattvas dedicated their meritorious acts of giving to the realization of Buddhahood. Why did they give away their valuable things? They thought, “I happily give away these valuables, things that are difficult for me to part with, so that I may advance on the road to Buddhahood and become a Buddha. I wish to attain the Buddha Vehicle because it is foremost in the three realms: the realm of desire, the realm of form, and the realm of the formless. It is praised by all the Buddhas.” Those who realize Buddhahood are joyfully praised by all the Buddhas throughout the ten directions.

Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, pv2, p262-263

Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for March 17, 2025

“Medicine-King! An evil man who speaks ill of me in my presence with evil intent for as long as a kalpa is not as sinful as the person who reproaches laymen or monks with even a single word of abuse for their reading and reciting Myōhō Renge Kyō.”

Lotus Sutra, Chapter 10

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Tao-sheng: Obtaining A Prophecy

At the end of his life of twelve small kalpas, Flower-Light Tathāgata will assure Resolution-Fulfillment Bodhisattva of his future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

The [Buddha’s] intention in presenting further a prophecy to Hard-Full is to prove to Body-son that obtaining a prophecy is not an empty [word].

Tao-sheng Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p204

Considering the Six Pāramitās

Twice each year at the Spring and Winter Equinox Nichiren Buddhists are asked to “strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds. Have our words hurt anyone around us? Are our actions serving ourselves more than others? How can we be productive for the sake of society? Are our decisions creating a world of strife rather than peace? Does our lifestyle encroach upon the liberty or happiness of others? Are we aware of how our actions may adversely affect our environment – the soil, air, plants, insects, fish, birds, and animals? In sum, the basic question from a Buddhist point of view is whether or not we are following the right path.” (Higan brochure)

Specifically, Nichiren Buddhists are asked to reflect on the six pāramitās of Bodhisattva practice for three days before the equinox and for three days after.

This year for Higan week, which begins tomorrow,  I’m going to post content taken from Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s commentary on the Lotus Sutra and specifically from Chapter 1, Introductory.

The subject of Bodhisattva Practices and the Six Pāramitās comes up after the Buddha emitted a ray of light from the white curls between his eyebrows, and illumined all the corners of eighteen thousand worlds in the east and prompting Maitreya Bodhisattva to ask what this omen meant.

Hsuan Hua’s commentary includes on outline of the Lotus Sutra created by Ouyi Zhixu (1599-1655 CE).

Asking About Cultivation Of Bodhisattva Practices In Other Lands

    1. Asking In General
    2. Asking About The Six Pāramitās In Sequence
      • Jl. Question About Giving
      • J2. Question About Upholding Precepts
      • J3. Question About Patience
      • J4. Question About Vigor
      • J5. Question About Dhyāna
      • J6. Question About Wisdom
    3. Asking About The Six Pāramitās Out Of Sequence
      • Jl. Question About Dhyāna
      • J2. Question About Vigor
      • J3. Question About Upholding Precepts
      • J4. Question About Patience
      • J5. Question About Dhyāna
      • J6. Question About Giving
      • J7. Question About Wisdom
Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, pv2, p260

I’m going to post content from “Asking About The Six Pāramitās In Sequence” beginning tomorrow and “Asking About The Six Pāramitās Out Of Sequence” in September for the Fall Equinox.