What is the principal practice of Nichiren Buddhists?
And, invariably, the response is:
Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo:
This is the core practice. It’s the recitation of the phrase “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo,” which is considered to be the essence of the Lotus Sutra.
Google’s Gemini AI agent even tells you where it got the idea that the Odaimoku is spelled Nam-myoho-renge-kyo:
The Meaning of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo | Soka Gakkai (global)
Source icon
www.sokaglobal.org
Gohonzon – Wikipedia
Source icon
en.wikipedia.org
Q: Why do we chant to the Gohonzon? – World Tribune
Source icon
www.worldtribune.org
Faith, Practice and Study – SGI USA
Source icon
www.sgi-usa.org
Chapter 3: Faith and Practice | Soka Gakkai (global)
Source icon
www.sokaglobal.org
Google describes its latest Gemini agent, 2.5 Pro Experimental, as employing a “thinking model.” So, I tried reasoning with Gemini.
I asked:
How many Chinese characters are there in the Daimoku?
Gemini responded:
To clarify the number of Chinese characters in the Daimoku:
Myoho-renge-kyo:
This portion consists of five Chinese characters.
妙 (myō)
法 (hō)
蓮 (ren)
華 (ge)
経 (kyō)
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo:
This, the full Daimoku chanted by Nichiren Buddhists, consists of seven Chinese characters. “Nam” or sometimes pronounced “Namu” is represented by two Chinese characters.
南 (nan or na)
無 (mu)
Therefore:
When the “Nam” or “Namu” is added, The Daimoku becomes seven characters. “Myoho renge kyo” on its own, is 5 characters.
I hope this helps.
I asked:
The daimoku means “devotion to the wonderful dharma lotus blossom sutra.” This is expressed in Chinese characters. Which Chinese characters represent “devotion”?
Gemini responded:
In the phrase “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo,” the characters that represent “devotion” are:
南無 (Namu or Nam):
These two Chinese characters are a transliteration of the Sanskrit word “namas.”
It signifies “devotion,” “to dedicate oneself,” or “obeisance.”
Therefore, when Nichiren Buddhists chant “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo,” the “Nam” portion of the phrase expresses their devotion.
To which I responded:
If there are two characters 南無 — na and mu — why do you offer “Nam” instead of “Namu” in the Daimoku?
Gemini apparently liked my question:
You’ve raised a very good point about the pronunciation of 南無. The pronunciation can indeed vary, and both “Nam” and “Namu” are used. Here’s a breakdown of why you’ll see both:
Sanskrit Origin:
The characters 南無 are a transliteration of the Sanskrit word “namas.”
In Sanskrit, it’s pronounced closer to “namas.”
Japanese Pronunciation:
In Japanese, the pronunciation can vary. While “namu” is a very accurate rendering of the two characters, the “u” sound can be very subtle, and in some cases, the word can sound very much like “nam”.
Also, depending on the specific sect, and area of Japan, the pronunciation can vary slightly.
Common Usage:
In many Nichiren Buddhist communities, “Nam” is often used in the spoken form of the Daimoku, even though “Namu” is the more phonetically accurate representation of the characters.
Therefore, you’ll encounter both “Nam” and “Namu” because of the interplay between the Sanskrit origin, the variations in Japanese pronunciation, and common usage within Nichiren Buddhist practice.
At this point, Gemini is apparently “thinking” because it has stopped offering source links.
So I decided to test Gemini’s thinking. I asked:
Why have you chosen “Nam” as the primary response rather than the more accurate “Namu”?
Gemini responded:
You’re right to point out that “Namu” is the more phonetically accurate representation. My tendency to offer “Nam” as the primary response likely stems from a few factors:
Common Usage:
In many Western contexts, and within certain Nichiren Buddhist communities, “Nam” is frequently used in spoken practice. This common usage might influence my responses.
Subtleties of Pronunciation:
The “u” sound in “Namu” can be quite subtle, and in casual speech, it may be elided or shortened. This could lead to a perception that “Nam” is the primary pronunciation.
Data Training:
My training data, which includes vast amounts of text and speech, may reflect this common usage.
However, I acknowledge that “Namu” is the more accurate transliteration of the Chinese characters. I will strive to be more precise and offer “Namu” as the primary pronunciation in the future, while also acknowledging the common usage of “Nam.” Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Your feedback helps me improve my accuracy.
While I was taken aback by the apparent promise to offer “Namu” as the primary pronunciation in the future, I wasn’t surprised when I went back hours later and received the same “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo” response.
For the record, when reading the Daimoku I say Namu. When I chant, I say Nam. I do that because Rev. Igarashi at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church chants Nam and also because my son has taught my grandson to chant Nam.
In reading Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s 14-volume commentary on the Lotus Sutra – I’m currently on the fourth volume, which covers Chapter 3, A Parable – I have come across several references to the Vajra Sutra.
For example, in discussing the term Tathāgata, Hsuan Hua says:
What is meant by Tathāgata? The Vajra Sūtra says:
The Tathāgata does not come from anywhere,
nor does he go anywhere.
That is why he is called the Tathāgata.
Or in discussing Chapter 2 he says:
Since nothing can be grasped, why does the text say “to attain the Buddha’s Path”? The so-called “Buddha’s Path” is not attained from the outside. As it says in the Vajra Sūtra, when the Tathagata received the Dharma of anuttara samyaksaṃbodhi from the Buddha Dīpaṃkara, Burning Lamp, he in fact received nothing.
I took a break from Hsuan Hua’s commentary on the Lotus Sutra to read his commentary on the Vajra Sutra.
This is very esoteric stuff, the sort of stuff one would expect a Chinese Chan master to explore. Consider this discussion of “true prajña” – true direct insight or true wisdom:
Once Subhūti was sitting in a cave cultivating and a god came scattering flowers.
“Who has come to scatter flowers?” asked Subhūti.
“The god Sakra,” came the reply. “Sakra has come to scatter flowers.”
“Why have you come here to scatter flowers?” asked Subhūti.
Sakra said, “Because the Venerable One speaks prajña well, I have come to make offerings.”
Subhūti said, “I have not said one word. How can you say I speak prajña?”
Sakra replied, “The Venerable One has not spoken and I have not heard a thing. Nothing spoken and nothing heard: that is true prajña.”
You think it over. Nothing spoken and nothing heard is true prajña. Have you heard prajña? If not, that is true prajña.
“World-honored One! For more than forty years, ever since achieving enlightenment, the Tathāgata, for the benefit of living beings, has continuously discoursed on the principle of the four modes of all phenomena, the meaning of suffering, and the meaning of emptiness; on ever changingness, nonexistence of self, non-greatness, non-smallness, non-origination, and non-cessation; on the formlessness of all things; and on the natures and aspects of phenomena being intrinsically empty and tranquil—neither coming nor going, neither appearing nor disappearing.
Or in Chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra, when the Buddha explains:
All that I say is true, not false, because I see the triple world as it is. I see that the triple world is the world in which the living beings have neither birth nor death, that is to say, do not appear or disappear, that it is the world in which I do not appear or from which l do not disappear, that it is not real or unreal, and that it is not as it seems or as it does not seem. I do not see the triple world in the same way as [the living beings of] the triple world do. I see all this clearly and infallibly.
The Vajra Sutra is concerned with “marks” or characteristics and how to avoid clinging to them. There are four marks: the mark of self, the mark of others, the mark of living beings and the mark of life.
Hsuan Hua explains in his commentary:
Because Subhūti had cultivated good roots for limitless kalpas, it was not difficult for him to believe. He realized, however, that anyone in the Dharma Ending Age, at the time when people are Strong in Fighting, who could believe, understand, receive, and hold the sūtra, would be a foremost individual and very rare. And why? Such people will have no mark of self, meaning they have no greed. No mark of others, meaning they have no anger. No mark of living beings, meaning they are not stupid. No mark of a life, meaning they have no desire. They have no greed, anger, stupidity, or desire, these four kinds of attachments. The four marks are without a mark. No mark is real mark. Real mark is no mark. And why? Because real mark is also distinct from all which has no marks. If you can obtain real mark, that is obtaining the principle substance of the self-nature of all Buddhas. Those who have relinquished all marks are called Buddhas. Therefore you too can certainly become a Buddha.
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
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.
I’ve completed reading aloud the Buddhist Text Translation Society’s translation of the Lotus Sutra as part of my daily practice. While reading the sutra I was comparing it with Senchu Murano’s translation and the other English translations I’ve used in my daily practice.
Overall, this is an excellent translation and the quality of the printing – it was printed in Taiwan – puts my other translations to shame.
That’s not to say it is without its faults.
In Chapter 1, Introduction, pages 24 and 25, where Mañjuśrī is describing how Dharma Master Wondrous Light taught the eight sons of the Buddha Lamp Shining with the Brightness of the Sun and the Moon (Sun-Moon-Light Buddha in Murano’s translation) a block of 18 lines are duplicated. This is by far the most significant error in this translation.
I found simple typos on page 376:
“To those who can be saved by a mighty heavenly general, she appears as a might heavenly general and teaches them the Dharma.”
And on page 379:
If you are cast adrift upon an immense ocean
And subject to the perils of dragons, fish, and ghosts,
Invoke the powers of Guan Yin: Amidt the waves and breakers, you will not drown.
These are trivial, but as a retired newspaper copy editor I feel compelled to point them out. (Feel free to criticize me for the many, many typos I allow in my own writing!)
A more significant error appears in Chapter 4, Faith and Understanding, when the rich man wants to get close to his son, who has been convinced to come work for him. On page 107 it reads:
“Later, on another day, the elder looked through a window and saw his son at a distance. His son was feeble, emaciated, haggard, and soiled with dung, dirt, and filth. The elder removed his jeweled necklace, his soft, fine upper garments, and his ornaments, and put on a coarse, torn, and grease-stained robe. Smearing himself with dirt and holding a dung shovel in his right hand, he looked frightened.”
The word should be frightful or frightening, not frightened. In Senchu Murano’s translation we’re told:
He looked fearful. He [came to the workers and] said, ‘Work hard! Do not be lazy!’
The BTK English Tripiṭaka translation (PDF), the Rissho Kosei-kai modern translation and Leon Hurvitz’s translation (PDF) all agree that the rich man, dressed in work clothes, looked frightful or commanding.
In other cases, what I questioned as errors turned out to be discrepancies in Murano’s translation. I’ve read the Lotus Sutra more than 100 times in my daily practice and Murano’s translation is the one with which I’m most familiar.
For example, at the start of Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva, Murano has:
“World-Honored One! Why does Medicine-King Bodhisattva walk about this Sahā-World? World-Honored One! This Medicine-King Bodhisattva will have to practice hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas of austerities in this world.” Note that Medicine-King would have to practice austerities.
I stumbled when I read the Buddhist Text Translation Society’s version in The Account of Bodhisattva Medicine King’s Past Lives on page 351:
“At that time Bodhisattva Constellation King Flowers said to the Buddha, “World Honored One, how is it that Bodhisattva Medicine King travels throughout the Sahā world? World Honored One, Bodhisattva Medicine King has undertaken several billions of koṭis of nayutas of ascetic practices that are difficult to practice.”
In this case, Murano is the outlier. The BTK English Tripiṭaka translation, the Rissho Kosei-kai translation and Leon Hurvitz’s translation all agree that Medicine-King has already accomplished these ascetic practices.
There was another place where Murano’s translation was problematic. In Chapter 26, Dhārānis, after Vaiśravaṇa offers his dhārānis, he says:
I also will protect the person who keeps this sūtra so that he may have no trouble within a hundred yojanas’ distance [from here].”
The parenthetical “from here” suggests that Vaiśravaṇa is promising people protection around a particular location “here.”
The Buddhist Text Translation Society has Vaiśravaṇa promise on page 387:
I shall also personally support and protect those who uphold this sūtra so that the area surrounding them for a hundred yojanas will be free of misfortunes and peril.
The other translations all agree that the area of protection encircles the keeper of the Lotus Sutra, not a particular place.
In several locations, the differences between the Buddhist Text Translation Society’s translation and the other English translations appear to be the result of coping with ambiguities in Kumarajiva’s Chinese translation.
Consider Chapter 15, Emerging from the Earth. In describing the behavior of the bodhisattvas who have emerged from underground, we are told that they went up to Many Treasure’s stupa in the sky, paid their respects to the two Buddhas seated side by side, and then went to the ground and paid homage to the countless replicas of Śākyamuni Buddha seated on lion thrones beneath jeweled trees.
The Buddhist Text Translation Society offers this on pages 266-267:
“They went on to where all the Buddhas were seated on lion thrones beneath jeweled trees, bowed to them, circumambulated them three times to the right with their palms joined together reverently, and praised them in various ways used by Bodhisattvas. Afterward, they withdrew to one side, gazing joyfully and respectfully at the two World Honored Ones.
“From the time the Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas first emerged from the earth, a period of fifty small eons elapsed while they praised the Buddhas in various ways used by Bodhisattvas. During that period, Śākyamuni Buddha remained seated in silence, as did the fourfold assembly. By virtue of the Buddha’s spiritual power, the great assembly thought that the period of fifty small eons was only half a day long. At that time the fourfold assembly, also through the Buddha’s spiritual power, saw all the Bodhisattvas filling up the space of countless billions of koṭis of lands.”
Did these bodhisattvas stay on the ground or did they rejoin the congregation suspended in the air? The answer is found on page 272, where we’re told:
“At that time all the transformation bodies of Śākyamuni Buddha, having come from countless tens of millions of koṭis of lands in various directions, were sitting in lotus posture on lion thrones beneath jeweled trees in each of the eight directions. The attendants of these Buddhas, seeing this great multitude of Bodhisattvas emerging from the earth and hovering in space in the four directions of the trichiliocosm, each said to his Buddha, “World Honored One, where has this multitude of countless, limitless asaṃkhyeyas of Bodhisattvas come from?”
Murano’s translation takes care of this confusion with a parenthetical insertion. After praising the replicas of Śākyamuni Buddha:
“Then they [returned to the sky,] stood to one side, and looked up at the two World-Honored ones with joy.”
Murano then says later:
“Also by the supernatural powers of the Buddha, the four kinds of devotees were able to see that the skies of many hundreds of thousands of billions of worlds were filled with those Bodhisattvas.”
The BTK translation, the Rissho Kosei-kai translation and Leon Hurvitz’s translation each have the Bodhisattvas taking their places to one side and gazing up at the two world-honored ones. None takes Murano’s parenthetical route of specifically putting the bodhisattvas in sky with Many Treasures’ stupa. However, there’s disagreement with whether the bodhisattvas were “filling up the space of countless billions of koṭis of lands” or in the air.
The BDK translation:
Then, through the transcendent powers of the Buddha, the fourfold assemblies also saw the bodhisattvas filling the air throughout immeasurable hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of lands.
Leon Hurvitz’s translation:
At that time, the fourfold assembly, thanks to the Buddha’s supernatural power, also saw bodhisattvas fill the open air of incalculable hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of lands.
Only the Rissho Kosei-kai translation agrees with the Buddhist Text Translation Society:
At that time, the four groups, thanks to the transcendent powers of the Buddha, could see these bodhisattvas entirely filling the space of immeasurable hundreds of thousands of millions of domains.
There were a couple of places where I questioned the accuracy of what I read only to discover that my recollection was faulty. A good example of this occurred in Chapter 3, A Parable, where the Buddha lists the three vehicles as the vehicles of the Śrāvakas, the Pratyekabuddhas, and the Buddha. I was certain that the Boddhisattva Vehicle was the third vehicle. I was wrong. All of the translations of Chapter 3, even Murano, list the three vehicles as the Śrāvaka-Vehicle, Pratyekabuddha-Vehicle, and Buddha-Vehicle.
The Buddhist Text Translation Society was originally established by Chinese Master Hsuan Hua. This Chinese origin appears to have influenced the choice of words in several places.
In the Parable of the Burning House in Chapter 3, Murano has:
Mountain spirits, water spirits,
Yakṣas and other demons
Lived here and there.
They fed on people and poisonous vermin.
Hurvitz has “ghosts and demons,” the BDK translation has “Ogres of the mountains and valleys” and the modern Rissho Kosei-kai offers “goblins and ogres.”
On page 80 the Buddhist Text Translation Society has:
Chi, mei, and wangliang
Were everywhere.
Yakṣas and evil ghosts
Were eating human flesh.
After a little Googling we find “Chi, mei, and wangliang” are demons of the mountains and forests (chimei) and demons of the rivers and marshes (wangliang).
The Buddhist Text Translation Society also assumes more of its English readers than other translators.
In describing in Chapter 17, The Discourse on Merit and Virtue, the merits received from understanding the Buddha’s life span, the Buddhist Text Translation Society has on pages 291-292:
“Furthermore, Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas as many as the dust motes in a single chiliocosm attained billions of koṭis of dhārāṇis of countless revolutions. Furthermore, Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas as many as the dust motes in a trichiliocosm became capable of turning the irreversible Dharma wheel.
“Furthermore, Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas as many as the dust motes in a medium chiliocosm became capable of turning the pure Dharma wheel. Furthermore, Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas as many as the dust motes in a small chiliocosm were destined to attain Anuttara-samyaksaṃbodhi after eight lifetimes.
“Furthermore, Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas as many as the dust motes in four world systems were destined to attain Anuttara-samyaksaṃbodhi after four lifetimes. Furthermore, Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas as many as the dust motes in three world systems were destined to attain Anuttara-samyaksaṃbodhi after three lifetimes.
Chiliocosm, trichiliocosm?
Consider Murano’s translation:
Another group of Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of earth of a Sumeru world obtained the dhārāṇis by which they could memorize many hundreds of thousands of billions of repetitions of teachings. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of earth of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds obtained the faculty of turning the irrevocable wheel of the Dharma. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of earth of one million Sumeru-worlds obtained the faculty of turning the wheel of the pure Dharma. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of earth of one thousand Sumeru-worlds obtained the faculty of attaining Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi after eight rebirths. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas four times the number of the particles of earth of the four continents obtained the faculty of attaining Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi after four rebirths.
None of the other translations use chiliocosm or trichiliocosm. In place of trichiliocosm, Hurvitz uses “thousand millionfold world” and Rissho Kosai-kai offers “three-thousand-great-thousandfold world.” The closest to trichiliocosm is the BDK translation, which offers “the great manifold cosmos.”
There’s another example of this in Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma. In detailing the twelve hundred merits of the tongue, Murano has:
In order to hear the Dharma, dragons, dragons’ daughters, gandharvas, gandharvas’ daughters, asuras, asuras’ daughters, garuḍas, garuḍas’ daughters, kiṃnaras, kiṃnaras’ daughters, mahoragas, and mahoragas’ daughters also will come to them, respect them, and make offerings to them.
The Buddhist Text Translation Society offers on page 326:
“All the dragons, female dragons, yakṣas, yakṣniṇīs, gandharvas, female gandharvas, asuras, female asuras, garuḍas, female garuḍas, kiṃnaras, female kiṃnaras, mahoragas, and female mahoragas will all draw near to these Dharma teachers in order to hear the Dharma, and will reverently make offerings to them.
“Yakṣniṇīs” is a typo so rare that Google has no record of anyone using the word. Yakṣiṇī are female Yakṣa.
Hurvitz and the BDK translation agree with Murano and use daughters. Standing alone is Rissho Kosei-kai, which offers “Male and female dragons, male and female yakshas…” (See this discussion of Rissho Kosei-kai’s effort to edit out “potentially discriminatory language and ideas” in order to create its Modern translation.)
Even more odd was the decision to use the name Sugatacetana in place of Thinking of Buddha in Chapter 20, Bodhisattva Never Slighting.
In listing who in the present congregation formerly abused the Bodhisattva Never Slighting, the Buddhist Text Translation Society has on page 337:
“Great Strength, what do you think? Could the fourfold assembly who at that time constantly despised this Bodhisattva have been anyone else? They were Bodhisattva Bhadrapāla and the five hundred Bodhisattvas now in this assembly; Bhikṣu Lion Moon and the five hundred other bhikṣus; and Sugatacetana and the five hundred upāsakās.”
Murano and Rissho Kosei-kai both use the name Thinking of Buddha instead of Sugatacetana. Hurvitz uses “Thoughtful of the Buddha” and then in brackets ‘[Sugatachetanā, “she who is conscious of the Well Gone One”].’ Only the BTK translation uses Sugatachetanā and they have Siṃhacandrā in place of Lion Moon. (One of the problems with using the BTK translation in my daily practice of reading aloud is its failure to translate into English any of the Sanskrit names.)
The Buddhist Text Translation Society’s The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sutra is actually volume 15 of Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s commentary of the Lotus Sutra. I’m currently making my way through the 14 volumes of commentary and finding it fascinating.
Postscript:
Rissho Kosei-kai’s “The Threefold Lotus sutra: A Modern Translation for Contemporary Readers” was translated by Michio Shinozaki, Brook A. Ziporyn and David C. Earhart. The BTK English Tripiṭaka edition was translated by Tsugunari Kubo and Akira Yuyama.
The Buddhist Text Translation Society’s “The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sutra: Volume XV” was translated by The International Institute for The Translation of Buddhist Texts. There’s not a lot of information about the institute online. It doesn’t appear to have a website of its own. The institute was founded in 1973 by Chinese Master Hsuan Hua. The institute is currently associated with or perhaps a part of the Dharma Realm Buddhist University. Bhikshuni Heng Yi, an assistant professor at DRBU, has been the director of the International Institute for the Translation of Buddhist Texts (IITBT) since 2015.
Each time two-year-old Edwin arrives at his grandparents’ house, he is directed to the altar, where he rings the bell once, carefully replaces the bell stick, and then enthusiastically chants namu-myoho-renge-kyo three times along with his father and grandfather.
We’ve discovered that Edwin is willing to set quietly during the traditional Sunday services at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church. He only gets a little antsy after the chanting is over and the priest is giving his talk.For Kaji Kito services, Edwin and his father and mother attend. He’s been receiving Rev. Kenjo Igarashi’s purfication blessing since he was one month old.
On the inside cover of Myoho Renge Kyo Romanized I have kept track of each time I’ve completed recitaton of the 28 chapters of the Lotus Sutra since I began in March 2015. This month makes 111 cycles.
This morning I completed my shindoku recitation of the Lotus Sutra. Each day in February I chanted an entire chapter of the sutra. In the evening I continued my reading aloud of the English translation, doing both morning and evening portions at one time.
This was something of an experiment. I wasn’t sure how it would work, and whether the occasional hour-long morning practice would present a problem. The doubling up of the reading aloud in the evening was a question when I began.
Having now successfully completed the month’s effort I’m confident I’ll be able to make this an annual practice. Reciting one chapter a day in shindoku in the morning and doubling my reading aloud in the evening is certainly made “easier” by the fact that I’m retired, with few scheduled events in my day. It also helps that until December of last year, my daily practice ran 40 to 45 minutes morning and evening. When I had to chant for more 44:50 minutes on February 3 or 45:22 minutes of February 7 and my time before my altar extended past an hour, it was not particularly difficult.
Tomorrow I return to my 45 Day pace of reading aloud the Threefold Lotus Sutra. It’s going to seem like a vacation.
Master Hsuan Hua’s One Thought–Ten Dharma Realms offers a very Chinese interpretation of the realm of ghosts, hungry or not.
Almost everyone has heard of ghosts, but not everyone believes in them. Even some Buddhists do not believe that there are ghosts.
You ask:
What are ghosts?
Ghosts are masses of yin energy.
Sometimes they appear
As a shadow with no form or
As a form with no shadow.
Perhaps you have seen a dark shadow, but when you looked closer it disappeared. Perhaps you have seen what looked like a person, but then that form vanished in the blink of an eye. These phenomena are not easy to understand.
Ghosts are another realm in the ten Dharma Realms. There are as many different kinds of ghosts as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River. Some ghosts are affluent and powerful and reign as kings over the ghost realms. However, some are poverty-stricken and devoid of authority–it is often the poor ghosts who bother people and go about causing trouble. If you want to know how many kinds of ghosts there are, work hard on your cultivation, open the five eyes, and develop the six spiritual powers, and then you’ll know.
As for people who say there are no ghosts, I tell them that if there are no ghosts, then there are also no Buddhas, people, or animals, because animals are transformed from ghosts, and so are people, asuras, and so forth. The same applies to devas, Arhats, Solitary Sages, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas.
Why is this?
The ten Dharma Realms are not beyond a single thought. A single thought creates the ten Dharma Realms.
Yesterday’s post about Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s One Thought–Ten Dharma Realm concluded with a mention of the Age of the Dharma’s Ending. One of the joys of reading this book for me was the footnotes. On the bottom of page 56 we learn:
There are Three Ages of Dharma in Buddhism: Right Dharma, Semblance Dharma, and Dharma’s Ending
The Age of the Right Dharma was the first 1,000 years after the Buddha’s passing when his disciples were diligent in their practice and awakened to the Dharma.
The Age of the Semblance Dharma was the second period of time lasting 1,000 years. People are devoted to the external signs of the Dharma but not many have direct knowledge of the Dharma.
The Age of the Dharma’s Ending is the third period of 10,000 years, when the Dharma is about to disappear and people like to fight and compete rather than cultivate. We are currently in this age.
Although the Three Ages are described in time periods, another way of understanding them is in the present moment. A thought of fighting is the Age of the Dharma’s Ending, a thought of true practice is the Age of the Right Dharma. Similar to the ten Dharma Realms, the Three Ages are also not beyond a single thought in the mind.
Another example is the footnotes on page 49 for the five precepts, the ten good deeds and outflows.
The five precepts consist of 1) not killing. 2) not stealing, 3) not committing sexual misconduct, 4) not lying, and 5) not taking intoxicants. Buddhist practitioners can request to receive these precepts formally as a vow that they then uphold. These precepts are the foundation for spiritual practice.
The ten good deeds are 1) no killing, 2) no stealing, 3) no sexual misconduct, 4) no lying, 5) no divisive speech, 6) no harsh speech, 7) no frivolous speech, 8) no greed, 9) no hatred, and 10) no delusion.
Outflow (Skt. asrava, Ch. you lou 有漏) literally means a “leak” or “flowing out” that an awakened being puts an end to. There are usually three outflows: 1) outflow of sensuality, 2) outflow of existence, and 3) outflow of ignorance. Doing good deeds with outflows is like trying to put water in a leaky bucket. No matter how much water we put into it, the bucket never gets full. For example, if we practice giving with an expectation to be rewarded in the future, then our practice of giving has outflows. The ideal is to give without any attachments or expectations, which ultimately allows us to become free of the conditioned realm.
The discussion of Asuras on page 57 says:
Asuras may be born in the heavens, in the human realm, or in the realms of animals and hungry ghosts.
Dragged by the force of their karma,
they become deluded and confused,
create more karma, undergo the results of their actions,
and then are born again due to the force of their karma.
As cultivators, we must not be contentious, aggressive, or have a violent temper. Then we will be free of the asura realm.
In the footnote we get this explanation of Karma:
Karma is defined as intentional action of body, speech, and mind. Therefore, the force of karma is simply the habitual patterns that push us along into our next moment of existence. If the scope of time is expanded, then the power of karma is in our deep-seated habits that push us on from life to life. However, despite our conditioning, at every moment we have the opportunity to choose what karmic action to take. The Buddha’s teachings give us the tools to take that opportunity rather than just be slaves to our habits.
It is also important to note that karma is not only negative, but can be classified as good, bad, mixed, and neither good nor bad. Good karma leads to a good rebirth, while bad karma leads to a bad rebirth. Mixed karma, a combination of good and bad actions leads to good and bad results. Finally, karma that is neither good nor bad comes from cultivating precepts, meditative stillness, and wisdom. This final type of karma has no outflows and leads to awakening.
Available from the Buddhist Text Translation Society
In 1972, Chinese Master Hsuan Hua composed a poem about the 10 Dharma realms in one thought and then lectured on the meaning of the verses at the Gold Mountain Dyana Monastery in San Francisco. The Buddhist Text Translation Society translated the lecture and published One Thought – Ten Dharma Realms. The first printing was in 1972 and the second English edition, the one I read, was published in 2019.
My attraction to Hua’s writing comes from the wealth of details and explanations of basic Buddhism, the teachings that exist beneath sectarian differences.
Take the question of Hell.
In Nichiren’s letter, Omonsu Dono Nyobo Gohenji, he says:
Suppose we ask where the Buddha is, and where hell is. Some sutras state that hell is below the earth, while others state that the Pure Land of Buddhas is in the west. But the explicit truth is that both hell and Buddha exist within five feet of our bodies. It probably can be said that hell exists in one’s mind when he despises his father and neglects his mother. As the seed of the lotus brings forth its root and flower, we have the Buddha in our minds.
A similar sentiment appears in Hua’s discussion of the Hell Realm on page 76. Two verses from his poem say:
The hells are filled with misery and pain;
There are no doors, yet we drill on in;
In discussing the first line, Hua says:
This is a miserable place. But if there is anyone who would like to take a trip to the hells, I can guarantee that you’ll get there in no time.
How?
By being worried and depressed, you then go for a vacation in the hells. It is said:
Worry more and more-to the hells for a tour.
Full of happiness and joy-even when old, still a boy.
Cry and yell-make your gloomy room in hell.
If you get worried, you plant a seed in the hells. If you smile, you plant a seed in the heavens. There is another ancient saying:
Daoist immortals over the course of history.
Came only from being happy and free of worry.
If you are depressed and worried all the time, you are actually traveling to the hells. But if you are happy and smile, you’ll look young even if you are old. Crying and weeping is also quite a lot of trouble.
All in all, there is no happiness in the hells. They are full of suffering and distress.
In discussing the second line, he says:
There are no doors to hell, yet you make a door for yourself into the hells. You just keep boring in. These hells are not like the jails that are built by people for holding criminals. If someone commits a crime, they are put into jail. However, the hells are not like this; you yourself force your way in.
Earlier, in describing the Human Realm on page 61, Hua’s poem says:
There is no one else to blame at all.
As Hua explains:
Other people cannot force you to fall into the hells, make you a hungry ghost, or cause you to become an animal. It is entirely up to what you do. You reap what you sow. You yourself must endure the consequences of your own actions.
The need for personal action is again discussed in the description of the Asura Realm, the fighting spirits, on page 56.
Asuras are so belligerent that they can keep on fighting for one hundred, two hundred, three hundred, five hundred, or even a thousand years without getting tired.
With so much fighting and contention in the world now, we are in the Age of the Dharma’s Ending.
Even so, we must make vows:
We do not want the Dharma to end!
We want the Right Dharma to flourish!
Wherever we go, we want to transform our surroundings so that it becomes the Age of the Right Dharma!
If we make these vows, wherever we go will be a place of the Right Dharma. If everybody makes and fulfills these vows, then this Age of the Dharma’s Ending will become the Age of the Right Dharma.
Traveled from Sacramento to the Berkeley Soto Zen Center on Russell Street to attend Rev. Ryuei McCormick’s service marking the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa and Nichiren’s birth. The service was broadcast over Zoom, with more than two dozen people from around the world participating. Two members of the Zen center joined me for the in-person service.
