All posts by John Hughes

LS32

Day 26

Day 26 concludes Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, includes Chapter 22, Transmission, and introduces Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Day 26 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva’s reaction to hearing the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, we consider

“Having made these offerings [to the Buddha], he emerged from the samadhi, and thought, ‘I have now made offerings to the Buddha by my supernatural powers. But these offerings are less valuable than the offering of my own body.’

“Then he ate various kinds of incense taken from candana, kunduruka, turṣka, pṛkkā, aloes and sumac, and drank perfumed oil taken from the flowers of campaka and other flowers[. He continued doing all this] for twelve hundred years. Then he applied perfumed oil to his skin, put on a heavenly garment of treasures in the presence of Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue Buddha, sprinkled various kinds of perfumed oil on the garment, and set fire to his body, making a vow by his supernatural powers. The light of the flame illumined the worlds numbering eight thousands of millions of times the number of the sands of the River Ganges.

“The Buddhas of those worlds praised him, saying simultaneously, ‘Excellent, excellent, good man! All you did was a true endeavor. You made an offering to us according to the true Dharma. This offering excels the offerings of flowers, incense, necklaces, incense to burn, powdered incense, incense applicable to the skin, streamers and canopies of heavenly cloth, and the incense of the candana grown on this shore of the sea. It also excels the offerings of countries, cities, wives and children. Good man! This is the most excellent and honorable offering because you made it to us according to the Dharma.’

“Having said this, they became silent.

The Daily Dharma offers this:

Having made these offerings [to the Buddha], he emerged from the samādhi, and thought, ‘I have now made offerings to the Buddha by my supernatural powers. But these offerings are less valuable than the offering of my own body.’

In Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha tells the story of Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva, the previous life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva. This Bodhisattva practiced under an ancient Buddha, and made exorbitant offerings to that Buddha through his supernatural powers. He then realized that all the riches of the universe that he could conjure up paled in comparison to the treasure of his own body and his own life. He then made an offering of his body to the Buddha, which illuminated innumerable worlds. Nichiren wrote often of the hardships he faced in his life and those of his followers. He wrote of “reading the Lotus Sūtra with our bodies,” meaning bringing the Buddha’s wisdom to life in our lives. When we act according to the Wonderful Dharma, no matter what hardships we face, then we too are living the Lotus Sūtra, and making a perfect offering from our gratitude to the Buddha.

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

Tamura-Intro

The Salvation of Society as a Whole

The birth of a new era always involves trouble. The hull of the old system cannot be removed all at once, and the new powers themselves constantly experience crises from internal division. The Hojo regime was exactly like this. Following a series of extraordinary natural disasters and cataclysms, it was faced with social instability. In addition, there twice occurred unprecedented attacks from outside of Japan: the Mongol raids of 1274 and 1281.

Yet these domestic and external troubles were different from the symptoms of a period of decline. They were the kind of troubles that occur as trials during times of constructive development. They were not the kind of troubles that cause one to despair or to give up on the world but the kind that produce the will to courageously confront and reform the world. Under these circumstances, Nichiren did not understand Buddhism to be limited to saving individual souls, but rather understood it to extend to the salvation of society as a whole. Thus his hope to reform this world colored his faith in and devotion to the Lotus Sutra.

It is not hard to find reasons for this. Observing the trends and the troubles of the new age in Kamakura, Nichiren wrote his Establishment of True Dharma for the Protection of the Country and presented it to the government. In this treatise he proclaims the unification of Buddhism based on the Lotus Sutra and gives full force to social salvation by calling for Buddhism to be united, emphasizing that the nation could only be made secure if governed by politics based on the idea of a unified Buddhism.

He focused his criticism in this work on Honen’s Pure Land chanting of Amida Buddha’s name. Honen’s concentration on retaining the nembutsu as his focus of devotion, and rejecting everything else, was contrary to the unification of Buddhism that Nichiren sought. Nichiren also objected to the Pure Land nembutsu as an escape from the actual world. But Nichiren invited oppression upon himself by making such criticisms of Pure Land Buddhism. In 1261, at the age of forty, he was exiled to Izu Island for about two years, and in 1271 he was exiled for about three years to Sado Island. During this time he was subjected to frequent persecution, beginning his career filled with suffering. …

Yoshiro Tamura, "Introduction to the Lotus Sutra", p123-124

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 8, 2024

Now I will tell you clearly. The merits of the person who gave all those pleasing things to the living beings of the six regions of four hundred billion asaṃkhya worlds, and caused them to attain Arhatship are less than the merits of the fiftieth person who rejoices at hearing even a gāthā of this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Maitreya (whom he calls Ajita – Invincible) in Chapter Eighteen of the Lotus Sūtra. He compares the benefit created by someone who teaches innumerable beings and makes exorbitant offerings through following the pre-Lotus sūtras to the benefits of finding joy in the Buddha’s Highest teaching. This joy is not the same as just getting what we want, or being relieved from what we do not want. It is the joy of seeing the world for what it is, and our place in it as Bodhisattvas who exist for the benefit of all beings.

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

LS32

Day 25

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Day 25 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered in gāthās the tale of Never-Despising Bodhisattva, we conclude Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva.

When he was about to pass away,
He heard this sūtra,
And had his six sense-organs purified.
He prolonged his life
By his supernatural powers,
And expounded this sūtra
To many people.

Those who were attached to views
Were led into the Way
To the enlightenment of the Buddha
By this Bodhisattva.

Never-Despising [Bodhisattva] met
Innumerable Buddhas after the end of his life.
He expounded this sūtra,
And obtained innumerable merits,
He quickly attained the enlightenment of the Buddha
By these accumulated merits.

Never-Despising [Bodhisattva] at that time
Was myself.
The four kinds of devotees,
Who were attached to views at that time,
Were able to meet innumerable Buddhas
After they heard
The words of Never-Despising [Bodhisattva]:
“You will become Buddhas.”
They are now present here
In this congregation.

They are the five hundred Bodhisattvas
And the four kinds of devotees
Including men and women of pure faith,
Who are now hearing the Dharma from me.

In my previous existence
I encouraged them
To hear this sūtra,
That is, the most excellent Dharma.
In all my previous existences
I taught them the Way to Nirvana.
But really this is the sūtra
I taught them to keep.

This Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Can be heard only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.

The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones,
Expound this sūtra only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.

Therefore, anyone who hears this sūtra
And practices the Way
After my extinction,
Should have no doubts about [this sūtra].

He should expound this sūtra with all his heart;
Then he will be able to meet Buddhas
Throughout all his existences,
And quickly attain the enlightenment of the Buddha.

See The Teaching Before Numerous Buddhas

Tamura-Intro

The Jokyu Turbulence Aftermath

As the Heian period came to a close, there was great social upheaval and strong symptoms of the evil and pollution of the end days. By the seventh year of Eisho (1052), even some ordinary people were announcing the coming of the final, degenerate period of the Dharma. The age and the society proved to be finite and relative, and people were forced to realize that human beings have an evil nature and are death-bound. Faced with this kind of reality, people could not remain steeped in the world of absolutistic monism. This is why Honen (1133-1212) who kept his eyes on the real world and sought its salvation, adopted the Pure Land theory of relativistic dualism and relied upon it rather than upon the absolutistic monism of the Tendai doctrine of original enlightenment. For him there was a polarization between Buddha and ordinary human beings and between the pure land and the sahā world. He encouraged people to reject life in the sahā world, in favor of being reborn in the pure land of the next life.

Shinran (1173—1262), Dogen (1200—1253), and Nichiren (1222-1282) also came into reality out of Mt. Hiei’s hall of truth. Yet their attitudes toward the actual world were quite different from Honen’s. While Honen was mostly devoted to giving up on this life and longed for the pure land of the next life, Shinran, Dogen, and Nichiren struggled positively within the actual world. Their activities and writings came right after the Jokyu turbulence of 1221 and were related to it.

The Jokyu turbulence was the last attempt by the former dynasty to regain political power, which ended in total failure. This was the decisive event that transferred political power from the former dynasty to the newly emerging samurai warrior class. It was a kind of preparation for a period wherein the samurai would build a new order. Shinran, Dogen, and Nichiren were active in the midst of this trend. This was especially true of Nichiren, who had his home base in Kamakura, the center for the newly emerging samurai regime, and felt the new winds directly.

Yoshiro Tamura, "Introduction to the Lotus Sutra", p122-123
Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 7, 2024

No matter what happens, abandoning the Lotus Sutra will cause us to be plunged into hell. I have made a vow. Even if someone says they will make me the ruler of Japan on the condition that I give up the Lotus Sutra and rely on the Sutra of Meditation on the Buddha of Infinite Life for my salvation in the next life, or even if someone threatens me saying he will execute my parents if I do not say “Namu Amida-butsu,” and no matter how many great difficulties fall upon me, I will not submit to them until a man of wisdom defeats me by reason. Other difficulties are like dust in the wind. I will never break my vow to become the pillar of Japan, to become the eyes of Japan, and become a great vessel for Japan.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on Opening the Eyes (Kaimoku-shō). For Nichiren living in the 13th Century, the country of Japan was his world. For us in the 21st Century, the entire Earth is our world. From Nichiren’s determination to save Japan we have an example of what we need to do to save our Earth. From his experience through terrible ordeals and persecutions we realize that despite the comforts of our modern lives, we too have the capacity to uphold our faith in the Lotus Sūtra in any situation. We show our gratitude to the Buddha for his teaching and to Nichiren for his guidance in the respect we give to other beings and the efforts in our practice.

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

LS32

Day 24

Day 24 concludes Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma, and closes the Sixth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 24 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered in gāthās the eight hundred merits of the nose, we consider in gāthās the remainder of the eight hundred merits of the nose.

He will be able to know by smell
What a man or a woman is thinking of,
Or whether he or she is greedy, ignorant or angry,
Or whether he or she is doing good.

He will be able to recognize by smell
The gold, silver, and other treasures
Deposited underground,
And the things enclosed in a copper box.

He will be able to know by smell
The values of various necklaces,
And the deposits of their materials,
And also to locate the necklaces [when they are lost].

He will be able to recognize by smell
The mandārava-flowers,
And the mañjūṣaka-flowers,
And the pārijātaka-trees in heaven.

He will be able to know by smell
Whether a heavenly palace
Adorned with jeweled flowers
Is superior, mean or inferior.

He will be able to recognize by smell
Gardens, forests, excellent palaces,
And the wonderful hall of the Dharma in heaven,
And other stately buildings where [the gods] enjoy themselves.

He will be able to know by smell
Whether the gods are hearing the Dharma
Or satisfying their five desires,
Or coming, going, walking, sitting or reclining.

He will be able to know by smell
Whether the goddesses, clad in the garments
Adorned with fragrant flowers,
Are playing as they are moving about.

He will be able to know by smell
Who has reached the Heaven of Brahman,
Who has entered into dhyāna,
And who has come out of it.

He will be able to know by smell
The person who has appeared for the first time in the Light-Sound Heaven
Or in the Universal-Pure Heaven or in the Highest Heaven,
And who has disappeared from there.

Anyone who keeps this sūtra
Will be able to locate by smell
The bhikṣus who are sitting or walking about
In seeking the Dharma strenuously,
And the bhikṣus who are reading or reciting [this] sūtra
Or devoting themselves
To sitting in dhyāna
Under the trees of forests.

He will be able to know by smell
The Bodhisattvas who are resolute in mind,
And who are sitting in dhyāna or reading [this] sūtra
Or reciting it or expounding it to others.

He will be able to locate by smell
The World-Honored One who is expounding the Dharma
Out of his compassion
Towards all living beings who respect him.

He will be able to know by smell
Those who rejoice at hearing [this] sūtra
From the Buddha,
And act according to the Dharma.

Anyone who keeps this sūtra
Will be able to have these merits of the nose
Although he has not yet obtained the nose
Of the Bodhisattva [who attained] the
Dharma without āsravas.

The Daily Dharma offers this:

He will be able to know by smell
What a man or a woman is thinking of,
Or whether he or she is greedy, ignorant or angry,
Or whether he or she is doing good.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. As Bodhisattvas we chose to come into this world, as frightening and dangerous as it is, to make things better for all beings. We do not lose any of the six senses we have, but learn to use them in ways that may seem impossible to others. Any of our senses can be deluded. When we remove our attachments and delusions, we see with the Buddha’s eye 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

Tamura-Intro

The Evil in the Buddha

[W]hereas in Christianity arguments concerning the problem of evil focus on the relation of God and evil, in Tiantai it is the relation of Buddha and evil that is discussed. There arose a theory that there is evil in the Buddha, which proved controversial in later years. The idea that there is evil in the Buddha developed from the idea of the mutual inclusion of the ten worlds. In the idea often worlds, the world of the Buddha, as the world of supreme good, is located at the highest level, and the world of supreme evil, hell, is located at the lowest level. Human beings are in a middle position, caught between good and evil. Humans are intermediate beings, as emphasized in Western philosophy. But Tiantai insists that each of the ten worlds includes all of the others. Thus the world of the Buddha includes the supreme evil of hell. From this came the idea that there is evil in the Buddha, called “the theory of inherent evil.”

We can see the theoretical development of this idea in Tiantai’s The Profound Meaning of the Guanyin Chapter, according to which the Buddha does not intentionally do evil (cultivated evil) but includes evil in his nature (inherent evil). Here is, accordingly, the possibility of redeeming evil. Those who do not know evil are not qualified to redeem it. If we turn this theory of inherent evil around, it becomes possible to say that there is good, inherent good, in hell. From the idea of the mutual inclusion of the ten worlds, it follows that hell includes the supreme good of the Buddha’s world. Thus Tiantai taught the idea that there is good naturally even in hell. In this way, Tiantai recognized that hell would someday be awakened to the good, thus being redeemed and brought up into the Buddha’s world.

Put succinctly, evil and good are not permanently fixed in extreme contrast with each other. In this sense, the theory is authentically nondual. Stated positively, good and evil have things in common. The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra says, “The nature and form of evil is really the nature and character of good. There is good because there is evil and there is no good apart from evil. … Evil is the origin of good. If there is no evil there can be no good. … Evil goes together with good. But this is neither evil nor good. … Good goes together with evil. But this is neither good nor evil.”

According to the ideas of nongood and nonevil and the nonduality of good and evil, the redemption of evil is possible. Based on this, moreover, the existence of evil comes to be positively affirmed as a source of good. The existence of evil enhances the quest for the good and elevates the good itself. In this sense, without evil there is no good. This prevents human beings who are caught between good and evil from having split personalities or falling into despair.

Tiantai’s theory that the Buddha includes evil in his nature or that the existence of evil is a source of good may give rise to an optimistic impression in which evil is treated lightly. There may be a danger of falling into decadence by affirming permission to do evil as one likes. In fact, later there were some who were severely criticized for understanding it in this way and putting this idea into practice. But the original intention was to try to find a possibility for salvation by looking directly at the reality of evil and hell, and grieving over it. This is neither to monistically affirm evil by seeing good and evil as having the same roots nor to deny the existence of evil.

To conclude, it is not the case that in this world there is only good and no evil. Rather, we can see the vitality of eternal life in the midst of the battle for good over evil. Through this theory of good and evil we can understand Tiantai’s general view of the world and human life. We can feel the vitality of life and find its meaning in a life woven of the warp and woof of happiness and sorrow, joy and suffering, good and evil. This is why Tiantai developed views of the absolute and of eternity.

Yoshiro Tamura, "Introduction to the Lotus Sutra", p119-120
Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 6, 2024

When you see any teacher of the Dharma
Who has obtained these merits,
You should strew heavenly flowers to him,
Dress him in a heavenly garment,
Worship his feet with your head,
And think that he will become a Buddha.

The Buddha makes this declaration to Maitreya Bodhisattva in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. This chapter tells the variety of merits enjoyed by anyone who understands, however briefly, the ever-present nature of the Buddha. This reminder is not just for the great Bodhisattvas such as Maitreya. It is also for all of us who are awakening our Bodhisattva nature through this teaching. It is important for us to treat all people, especially those who share this practice of the Buddha Dharma with us, with the same respect we would give to the Buddha himself.

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

LS32

Day 23

Day 23 covers all of Chapter 18, The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra, and opens Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma.

Day 23 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered Maitreya’s question about the merits of rejoicing at hearing the Lotus Sutra, we consider the merits of the fiftieth person who rejoices at hearing even a gāthā of this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

“Suppose the Jambudvipa was filled with wonderful treasures such as gold, silver, lapis lazuli, shell, agate, coral and amber; elephant-carts and horse-carts; and palaces and stately buildings made of the even treasures. Suppose a man who was seeking merits gave all those pleasing things [filling the Jambudvipa] to the living beings of four hundred billion asaṃkhya worlds according to their wishes. A world consists of the six regions. The living beings [of the six regions] are of one or another of the four kinds of births: oviparous, viviparous, from moisture, or without any medium. Some of them have form while others do not. Some have desire while others do not. Some have no feet while other have two feet or four or more. Having continued giving those alms to them for eighty years, this great almsgiver thought, ‘I gave those pleasing things to them according to their wishes. Now they are old and decrepit. They are more than eighty years old. Their hair is grey; and their face , wrinkled. They will die before long. I will lead them by the Dharma of the Buddha.’

“Then he collected them. He propagated the Dharma to them, led them by the Dharma, showed them the Dharma, taught them, benefited them, and caused them to rejoice. He caused them to attain in a moment the enlightenment of the Srota-āpanna, of the Sakrdāgāmin, of the Anāgāmin or of the Arhat, eliminate all āsravas, practice deep dhyāna-concentration without hindrance, and obtain the eight emancipations. What do you think of this? Do you think that the merits obtained by this great alms giver were many or not?”

Maitreya said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! I think that his merits were many, immeasurable and limitless. His merits were already immeasurable when he gave all those pleasing things to them. Needless to say, so were his merits when he caused them to attain Arhatship.”

The Buddha said to Maitreya:

“Now I will tell you clearly. The merits of the person who gave all those pleasing things to the living beings of the six regions of four hundred billion asaṃkhya worlds, and caused them to attain Arhatship are less than the merit of the fiftieth person who rejoices at hearing even a gāthā of this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. The merits of the former person are less than a hundredth or a thousandth of the merits of the latter person, or less than the merits of the latter person divided by a hundred thousand billion. [The superiority of the merits of the latter person to those of the former person] cannot be explained by any calculation, parable or simile.

The Daily Dharma offers this:

Now I will tell you clearly. The merits of the person who gave all those pleasing things to the living beings of the six regions of four hundred billion asaṃkhya worlds, and caused them to attain Arhatship are less than the merits of the fiftieth person who rejoices at hearing even a gāthā of this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Maitreya (whom he calls Ajita – Invincible) in Chapter Eighteen of the Lotus Sūtra. He compares the benefit created by someone who teaches innumerable beings and makes exorbitant offerings through following the pre-Lotus sūtras to the benefits of finding joy in the Buddha’s Highest teaching. This joy is not the same as just getting what we want, or being relieved from what we do not want. It is the joy of seeing the world for what it is, and our place in it as Bodhisattvas who exist for the benefit of all beings.

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