Category Archives: Blog

800 Years: The Sky Below This Sahā-World

In considering the lessons of Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground, we normally start with something like this from Rev. Ryusho JeffusLecture on the Lotus Sutra:

“We each may think we are rather ordinary people, not capable of great things. Yet our ordinariness is in fact a disguise for our true self, Bodhisattvas from beneath the ground, the disciples of the Buddha from the infinite past, and beings perfectly endowed with Buddhahood.”

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

For those new in faith, that may be challenging. Still more difficult is the idea of a place in the sky below this world. I’ve facetiously suggested the sky above Melbourne, Australia, but the question is worth serious consideration. In Stories of the Lotus Sutra, Gene Reeves addresses the ambiguity of the hiding place:

“Exactly what is meant by the empty space below the earth is unclear. … The dramatic effect of the story is dependent on the existence of these bodhisattvas being unknown to all but Shakyamuni, so they have to be hidden somewhere. But it is also important for the thrust of the story that they not be from some other world, or even from one of the heavens or purgatories associated with this world. In other words, both for the sake of the story and for the sake of the central message of the Dharma Flower Sutra, it is important that these bodhisattvas be both hidden and somehow of this world. Thus the Buddha says, ‘They are my children, living in this world…’ .”

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p189

Nikkyō Niwano has an interesting alternative take in Buddhism for Today:

“That these bodhisattvas [from Underground] did not originally dwell in the earth but that they, who were in the infinite space below the sahā-world, came out of the earth and rose into the sky has a deep meaning. These bodhisattvas were people who had been freed from illusion in their previous lives by means of the Buddha’s teachings. For this reason, they had been dwelling in infinite space. But hearing the Buddha declare that he would entrust the instruction of the sahā-world to them, they entered into the earth, namely, this sahā-world, experiencing suffering there, and practiced religious disciplines so zealously as to attain the mental state of bodhisattvas. Therefore, they rose into the sky again after coming out of the earth. Though the bodhisattvas had been free from illusion in their previous lives, they voluntarily passed through various sufferings and worries in sahā-world for the purpose of saving the people here, endeavored earnestly to become enlightened, and preached the teaching to others. As mentioned before, this is a very important process; without completing such an endeavor, they could not truly acquire the divine power to save the people in the sahā-world.”

Buddhism for Today, p179

Ordinary people or extraordinary beings, we have a job. As Ryusho Jeffus says in his Lecture on the Lotus Sutra:

“At the heart of Buddhism is making great effort at practicing and changing our lives, something that does not happen without concerted continued effort.”

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra


Table of Contents Next Essay

Retreat!

Mini-Retreat-Agenda
Click to view

Looking forward to this weekend’s mini-retreat!

Retreat Speakers

Rev. Myokei Lindsa Caine-Barrett (Bishop @NONA)
Myokei Caine-Barrett is the first woman and the first Westerner to hold the position of bishop in the Nichiren Order of North America. She is the Chief Priest of the Myoken-ji Temple in Houston, Texas. Bishop Myokei is an active prison ministry chaplain and with the VA system as a hospice chaplain.
Rev. Ryuei Michael McCormick (Head Minister @Shingan-Ji Temple)
Ryuei Michael McCormick is a Buddhist priest of the Nichiren Shu, a Mahayana Buddhist lineage established in Japan by Nichiren Daishonin in 1253. Ryuei began practicing Nichiren Buddhism in 1986. In 1997 he became a disciple of Bishop Ryusho Matsuda of the Nichiren Order of North America. After a four year apprenticeship as a novice, Ryuei received full ordination at Kuonji Temple on Mt. Minobu in 2001. He is currently serving as head minister to the San Francisco Bay Area Nichiren Sangha Shingan-ji Temple. Ryuei is the author of Open Your Eyes: A Nichiren Buddhist View of Awakening, Lotus in a Sea of Flames, and co-author of Sacred Services of the Lotus Sutra: Nichiren Shu. He has also served as an assistant editor of the Nichiren Shu News.
Rev. Shoda Douglas Kanai (Head Minister @Kannon-Ji Temple)
Rev. Shoda Douglas Kanai is currently the Head Priest of Nichiren Buddhist Kannon Temple of Nevada, in Las Vegas. We are an overseas branch temple of Nichiren Shu, which is one of the main sects of Buddhism in Japan. Most recently, he spent three and a half years studying and practicing at a remote mountain-side temple in northern Osaka Prefecture. During this time, he completed two separate 100-day ascetic training sessions (Aryagyo) which involved chanting the sutras, ritual water purification with cold water, eating two meals and only sleeping two and a half hours per day. He is currently trying to make Buddhism easier to understand for the English-speaking audience.
Rev. Ryuoh Faulconer (Head Minister @Kosen-Ji Temple)
Rev. Ryuoh Faulconer is the head minister at the Nichiren Buddhist Sangha of Greater New England. started his journey with Nichiren Shu with the Portland Temple where he was a memeber for over eight years when he took vows (Tokudo) to become a minister in the future on January 26th, 1997 with his master Rev. Ryuken Akahoshi. He compleated Shingyo Dojo training and was ordained as a Nichiren Buddhist Minister on May 19th, 2001. He served as the 13th resident minister for the Portland Temple for a time before transfering to the Boston area in January of 2007. Faulconer Shonin is an iconographer, artist, book-maker, and is passionate about making service manner and other study materials avalible in English. He also has extensive experiance working in human services; he has most recently worked as a group faclitator in a drug and alchohol treatment center and is currently working as a hospice chaplain.
Rev. Shinkyo Will Warner (Head Minister @Kentucky Sangha)
Rev. Shinkyo Warner, along with Rev. Ryuei McCormick and Rev. Ryuoh Falconer, was one of the first three non-Japanese speaking Americans to be ordained as Nichiren Shu priests in 2001. For the next ten years or so, he edited the third edition of Bishop Senchu Murano’s translation of the Lotus Sutra, released in 2012. He was then asked by the Nichiren Shu Overseas Propagation Promotion Association (NOPPA) to edit the final seventh volume of Rev. Kyotsu Hori’s compilation of English translations of the Writings of Nichiren Shonin (WONS). He is currently on another project for NOPPA, editing revisions of the other six volumes of WONS, and plans to produce a single electronic version of all seven volumes.
Shami Ryoen Elizabeth Drewillo (Shami @Kosen-ji Temple)
Ryoen started attending the Nichiren Buddhist Sangha in Haverhill, MA in February 2012 and took Jukai with their master Rev. Ryuoh Faulconer in April of that same year. Shortly thereafter, they started working toward training as a lay leader with the sangha. After attending a study tour trip to Mt. Minobu, Ryoen decided to ask to take vows to become a minister in the future. They took Tokudo in July of 2015 and Docho in August of 2016; two steps toward full ordination. In addition to their duties at the temple; Ryoen works full time as a Licenced Independant Clinical social worker in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and operates a private practice. Their primary clinical focus is on working with trauma and/or addiction issues within the LGBTQ community. They live with their Master, his husband Neil, and the four family dogs and enjoys crochet and other crafting projects as a hobby.
Shami Ryumon Chad Grohman (Shami @Myoken-ji Temple)
Ryumon Grohman is a student of Bishop Myokei Caine Barrett, Myoken-Ji Temple, Houston, Texas. He has been a shami (novice priest) in the Nichren Shu tradition since 2014. Ryumon also studies mindfulness meditation with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach and attends herbal school at Heartstone Center for Earth Essentials. In addition to spiritual and plant studies, Ruymon is an illustration professor at Rochester Institute of Technology and continues to work as a freelancer. He currently lives in Lockport, New York with his wife and family.
Shami Ryugan Mark Herrick (Shami @Shingan-ji Temple)
Mark took refuge in Nichiren Buddhism in 1975. In February 2020 he was ordained as a novice priest in the Nichiren Shu Lineage of Buddhism by his master Rev. Ryuei McCormick. Rev. Ryuei McCormick bestowed upon him the Dharma name “Ryugan,” which means Dragon Vow. Ryugan chose a second Dharma English name of White Lotus to bridge the two cultures of East and West. Ryugan hosts weekly guiding chanting meditation classes at his local community center. He has been married for 40 years and has one son. He spent 38 years in high tech and 25 years as a volunteer police officer and search and rescue K9 handler before retiring in 2019 to concentrate on his priest training and helping Rev. McCormick found the Nichiren Shu Shingan-ji (True Vow) Temple based in Oakland, CA.

THERE’S STILL TIME TO REGISTER

Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva’s 16 Samādhis

In Chapter 24 of the Lotus Sutra we are introduced to a bodhisattva. Rissho Kosei-kai’s 1975 translation calls this bodhisattva Wonder Sound, Leon Hurvitz names him Fine Sound and Senchu Murano calls him Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva. We are told that this bodhisattva has accumulated more samādhis than there are sands in the River Ganges. Of all those samādhis, 16 are listed at the opening of the chapter in the Rissho Kosei-kai and Hurvitz translations, but only 14 are listed in Murano’s translation.

1975 Rissho Kosei-kai 2012 Murano Third Edition 2009 Hurvitz Revised Edition
the contemplation of the wonderful banner sign, the samadhi as wonderful as the banner of a general, the samādhi of the Fine Standard (dhvajāgrakeyūrasamādhilabdhaḥ),
the contemplation of the Law-Flower, the samādhi of the Dharma Blossom (saddharmapuṇḍarīka),
the contemplation of pure virtue, the samādhi of Pure Excellence (vimaladatta),
the contemplation of the Constellation King’s sport, the samadhi for the traveling of the king of the stars, the samādhi of the Sport of the King of Constellations (Nakṣhatrarājavikrīḍita),
the contemplation of causelessness, the samadhi for freedom from causality, the samādhi of No Objects (anilambha),
the contemplation of the knowledge seal, the samadhi for the seal of wisdom, the samādhi of the Seal of Knowledge (jñānamudrā),
the contemplation of interpreting the utterances of all beings, the samadhi by which one could understand the words of all living beings, the samādhi that Enables One to Understand the Speech of All Living Beings (sarvarutakaśalya),
the contemplation of collection of all merits, the samadhi by which one could collect all merits, the samādhi that Collects All Merits (sarvapuṇyasamuccaya),
the contemplation of purity, the samadhi for purity, the Pure samādhi (prasādavatī),
the contemplation of supernatural sport, the samadhi for exhibiting supernatural powers, the samādhi of the Play of Magical Powers (ṛddhivikrīḍita),
the contemplation of wisdom torch, the samadhi for the torch of wisdom, the samādhi of the Lamp of Knowledge (jñānolkā),
the contemplation of the king of adornment, the samadhi for the Adornment-King, the samādhi of the King of Adornments (vyūharāja),
the contemplation of pure luster, the samadhi for pure light, the samādhi of Pure Glow (vimalaprabhāsa),
the contemplation of the pure treasury, the samadhi for pure store, the samādhi of the Pure Womb (vimalagarbha),
the contemplation of the unique, the samadhi for special teachings, the Unshared samādhi (apkṛtsna),
the contemplation of sun revolution; the samadhi for the revolution of the sun. the samādhi that Turns to the Sun (sūryāvarta)

I discovered this discrepancy when I was reviewing Nikkyō Niwano’s discussion of Chapter 24 for the Rissho Kosei-kai in North America (RKINA) advanced course on the Threefold Lotus Sutra that I’ve been attending this year. You can see what prompted this in my essay on Lesson 28.

Since each of these translations is based on Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation, they should all agree. And when I checked my other English translations of Kumārajīva’s translation I found they all agreed. Only Murano’s Third Edition lacked the second and third samādhis. Even H. Kern’s 1884 translation from the 11th century Nepalese Sanskrit document lists 16 samādhis.

At the time, I did not possess a copy of the first or second editions of Murano’s translation, but I did know the email address for Rev. Shinkyo Warner, the editor of the Third Edition. I contacted Rev. Shinkyo Warner and he responded that apparently the two samādhis, which are present in the second edition, were inadvertently dropped during the editing for the third edition.

A few days later I was at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church meeting with workmen who were estimating the cost of repairs needed to Rev. Igarashi’s home, and I asked Rev. Igarashi if he had a copy of the second edition of Murano’s translation. Later, after the workmen had departed, Rev. Igarashi presented me with copies of both the second and the first editions of Murano’s translation. The second edition was autographed by Senchu Murano. Apparently, when the second edition came out in 1991, Murano signed a bunch of the books and shipped them to Rev. Igarashi, who at the time had been the head priest of the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church for just two years. He still has several of these autographed books.

First and Second Editions of Murano's Translation
Senchu Murano's autograph

Missing from the third edition are the samādhi for the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma and the samādhi for pure virtue. I’ve restored those to my online edition. Rev. Shinkyo Warner says the third edition is no longer pre-printed and therefore the text can be easily updated. I passed on to him a number of other small typos I’ve noticed during my 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra practice. I have no idea when the “print-on-demand” text will be updated to restore the missing samādhis. On July 1, 2023, Rev. Shinkyo Warner emailed me to announced he had released an update to the printed version of the third edition of Bishop Murano’s translation of the Lotus Sutra. “This includes the corrections you found along with several others,” he said. “I’m still working on the ePub version.”

800 Years: The Historical and the Ultimate

Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground, is the pivot point from which the Lotus Sutra turns from lessons of the historical Buddha, to the revelation of the eternal nature of Śākyamuni and the lessons we are to take into our daily lives.

Thich Nhat Hanh offers a wonderful description of this in Peaceful Action, Open Heart:

“In the Upper Hamlet of Plum Village where I live there is an area where wild daffodils manifest in late February. When we first arrived on the land to begin building Plum Village, we were not aware that there were so many beautiful daffodils, hundreds of thousands of them, waiting there to manifest in early spring. We had only a historical perception of the land; we had not yet seen its ultimate dimension. … You can’t see the Dharma realm (dharmadhatu), until it manifests to you. If you’re too attached to your perception of the historical dimension of reality, you may not be able to see the ultimate dimension manifest. When you know how to look deeply into the historical dimension, you touch the ultimate dimension.”

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p108

Both the historical and the ultimate dimension exist simultaneously. Nikkyō Niwano illustrates the historical aspect in Buddhism for Today:

“Buddhism differs distinctively from other religions. Though all have fine teachings, there is no clear evidence of another case in which the founder of a religion attained his own supreme enlightenment and established his own religion. …

“Unlike these religions, the teaching of Buddhism is the truth that Lord Sakyamuni, who was born as a human being like all of us and experienced human suffering and worry, aspired to enlightenment, practiced ascetic disciplines, and attained enlightenment after six years of spiritual effort. The process through which he attained his enlightenment can be clearly seen. … [B]ecause this teaching is one that sprang up out of the earth (actual life), we who actually live in this world can follow it. Chapter 15 makes this point emphatically.”

Buddhism for Today, p177-178

Ryusho Jeffus offers the ultimate dimension in his Lecture on the Lotus Sutra:

“As we gather our thoughts and purify our altar then we sit down to celebrate the teaching of the Lotus Sutra, to hear once again the beautiful teaching of the Buddha telling us of the ever-existing nature of Buddhahood and of the enlightenment of our own lives, we are engaging in a celebration. It is as if we are going before the Eternal Buddha and asking him not so much what we can get for ourselves but knowing our own lives are secure because of our practice we can focus on the beauty and truth of the message contained in the Lotus Sutra. We are not supplicants going before some great dispenser of benefit. No, we are the golden-hued erect Bodhisattvas who emerge from the ground and bow to the Buddha and fulfill our vow of teaching and practicing the Lotus Sutra in this age in which we live.”


Table of Contents Next Essay

800 Years: Rising from the Dirty Pond

When we are considering the lessons of Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground, it is best to begin by taking to heart the advice offered by the Buddha. We should “concentrate your minds, wear the armor of endeavors, and be resolute” but most important:

“Arouse your power of faith,
And do good patiently!
You will be able to hear the Dharma
That you have never heard before.”

When Maitreya Bodhisattva looked upon the vast cloud of many thousands of billions of Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who sprang up from underground simultaneously, he didn’t recognize any of them. However, he was able to observe the qualities of these bodhisattvas clearly:

“They have studied the Way of Bodhisattvas well.
They are not defiled by worldliness
Just as the lotus-flower
Is not defiled by water.”

We, too, can live in the mundane world without being defiled by it. In fact, it is essential that followers of the Lotus Sutra do just that. As the Introduction to the Lotus Sutra says:

“The lovely lotus flower grows out of muddy water and is not defiled by it. In the same way, Bodhisattvas, persons who put the Buddha’s teachings into practice, can live in the midst of a world defiled by vice and corruption, and yet not be contaminated by it. They can teach and awaken other people while keeping their own minds pure. They can save others, however, only when they live with them here in this evil world.”

Or as Nikkyō Niwano suggests in Buddhism for Today:

“These words represent the ideal way of life that the Buddha teaches us in the Lotus Sutra. We should not withdraw from society but should lead beautiful and pure lives within society. The ideal of the Lotus Sutra consists in making all society pure and beautiful. The title Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law expresses this ideal.”

Buddhism for Today, p183

This is the great task that followers of the Lotus Sutra are expected to take up. Our goal is not a private benefit confined to ourselves and our immediate family. To be true followers of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma we must act the part. We do not wish to escape from this world. Instead, we seek to purify it, to do the work of the Eternal Śākyamuni. In his Lecture on the Lotus Sutra, Ryusho Jeffus offers this clear explanation of what such a life entails:

“When we choose to live our lives with the firm belief that we are the most qualified to become Buddhas, that we don’t need anything else other than our faith in the Lotus Sutra to qualify us, and when we devout ourselves to practice with faith, and when we strive to save others, then we will actually manifest the characteristics of those Bodhisattvas who arose from beneath the ground. We cannot just call ourselves that and end the day. We actually have to do the things required to fulfill our vows as those Bodhisattvas.”

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra


Table of Contents Next Essay

Retreating with Nichiren’s Writings

Nichiren Writings Session

Looking forward to Rev. Shinkyo Warner’s session on Nichiren’s writings at the Nichiren Order of North America Mini-Retreat Aug. 6-7, 2022.

REGISTER HERE

What’s Up, Doc?

This is the first in a series of weekly blog posts comparing and contrasting the Sanskrit and Chinese Lotus Sutra translations.


Definition of Rabbit Hole

Last week I mentioned that I’ve decided to compare and contrast H. Kern’s 1884 English translation of the Lotus Sutra with Senchu Murano’s 1974 translation.

Today I find myself engrossed in exploring one rabbit hole after another. Take for an example what happened when I attempted to compare the Bodhisattvas named in the first chapter of the Lotus Sutra.

Murano names 18 of the eighty thousand Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas present in the congregation:

  1. Manjushri Bodhisattva
  2. Regarder of the Cries of the World Bodhisattva
  3. Great Strength Bodhisattva
  4. Constant Effort Bodhisattva
  5. Never Resting Bodhisattva
  6. Jeweled Palm Bodhisattva
  7. Medicine King Bodhisattva
  8. Bold Almsgiver Bodhisattva
  9. Jeweled Moon Bodhisattva
  10. Moon Light Bodhisattva
  11. Full Moon Bodhisattva
  12. Great Power Bodhisattva
  13. Immeasurable Power Bodhisattva
  14. Above the Threefold World Bodhisattva
  15. Bhadrapala Bodhisattva
  16. Maitreya Bodhisattva
  17. Accumulated Jewels Bodhisattva
  18. Guidance Bodhisattva

Kern names 23 Bodhisattvas and adds an additional sixteen virtuous men.

page from Kern's translationBodhisattvas:

  1. the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Mañjuśrī, as prince royal
  2. the Bodhisattva Mahāsattvas Avalokiteśvara
  3. Mahāsthāmaprāpta
  4. Sarvārthanāman
  5. Nityodyukta
  6. Anikśhiptadhura
  7. Ratnapāni
  8. Bhaiṣajyarāja
  9. Pradānaśūra
  10. Ratnacandra
  11. Ratnaprabha
  12. Pūrṇacandra
  13. Mahāvikrāmin
  14. Trailokavikrāmin
  15. Anantavikrāmin
  16. Mahāpratibhāna
  17. Satatasamitābhiyukta
  18. Dhārāṇidhara
  19. Akshayamati
  20. Padmasrī
  21. Nakshatrarāja
  22. the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Maitreya,
  23. the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Simha.

Virtuous men:

  1. Bhadrapāla
  2. Ratnākara
  3. Susārthavāha
  4. Naradatta
  5. Guhagupta
  6. Varunadatta
  7. Indradatta
  8. Uttaramati
  9. Viseshamati
  10. Vardhamānamati
  11. Amoghadarsin
  12. Susamsthita
  13. Suvikrāntavikrāmin
  14. Anupamamati
  15. Sūryagarbha
  16. Dhārāṇidhara

Now Mañjuśrī for Manjushri  is easy enough, and I already know that World Voice Perceiver’s Sanskrit name is Avalokiteśvara and Medicine King is Bhaiṣajyarāja. But what about the others?

In considering how to compare the two lists it occurred to me that in  Gene Reeves’ translation of the threefold Lotus Sutra he has a glossary of proper names. This lists the Name in English; the Category (Buddha, Bodhisattva, Buddha land, king, shravaka, etc.); Sutra (Lotus Sutra, Innumerable Meanings, Universal Sage); Sanskrit word; and the Chinese, Pinyin and Japanese characters.

Here are Reeves’ 18 names in English and Sanskrit:

  1. Manjushri Bodhisattva [Mañjuśrī],
  2. Regarder of the Cries of the World Bodhisattva [Avalokiteśvara],
  3. Great Strength Bodhisattva [Mahāsthāmaprāpta],
  4. Constant Effort Bodhisattva [Nityodyukta],
  5. Never Resting Bodhisattva [Anikśhiptadhura],
  6. Jeweled Palm Bodhisattva [Ratnacandra],
  7. Medicine King Bodhisattva [Bhaiṣajyarāja],
  8. Bold Almsgiver Bodhisattva [Pradānaśūra],
  9. Jeweled Moon Bodhisattva [Ratnatejobhyudgatarāja],
  10. Moon Light Bodhisattva [Ratnaprabha],
  11. Full Moon Bodhisattva [Pūrṇacandra],
  12. Great Power Bodhisattva [Mahāvikrāmin],
  13. Immeasurable Power Bodhisattva [Anantavikrāmin],
  14. Above the Threefold World Bodhisattva [Trailokavikrāmin],
  15. Bhadrapala Bodhisattva,
  16. Maitreya Bodhisattva,
  17. Accumulated Jewels Bodhisattva [Ratnākara],
  18. Guidance Bodhisattva [Susārthavāha].

But when I try comparing Reeves’ Sanskrit names to Kern’s I find I can’t match Jeweled Moon Bodhisattva, which Reeves lists as Ratnatejobhyudgatarāja.

Now I’m no Sanskrit scholar but even I know rāja is king. For example, Medicine King – Bhaiṣajyarāja.

When I Googled Ratnatejobhyudgatarāja I discovered that this is the Sanskrit name for Treasure-Power­-Virtue-Superior-King, the Buddha with whom Universal Sage is living when he hears the Lotus Sutra expounded in this Sahā World in Chapter 28.

At this point it occurred to be that the BDK Tripiṭaka translation of the Lotus Sutra uses only Sanskrit names in its translation of Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation.

The BDK Tripiṭaka names:

  1. Mañjuśrī
  2. Avalokiteśvara
  3. Mahāsthāmaprāpta
  4. Nityodyukta
  5. Anikṣiptadhura
  6. Ratnapāni
  7. Bhaiṣajyarāja
  8. Pradānaśūra
  9. Ratnacandra
  10. Candraprabha
  11. Pūrṇacandra
  12. Mahāvikramin
  13. Anantavikramin
  14. Trailokyavikrama
  15. Bhadrapāla
  16. Maitreya
  17. Ratnākara
  18. Susāthavāha

Now this compares well with Kern’s list with the exception of Candraprabha, who is Moon Light Bodhisattva.  Both Kern and Reeves use Ratnaprabha, but my limited Sanskrit tells me ratna means jewel. For example, Many Treasures Buddha is Prabhūtaratna. How could Kern and Reeves agree and also be  wrong?

So, sticking my head up from the rabbit hole, I look around and wonder just how this compare and contrast thing is going to work.

NEXT: The Arhats Present at the Beginning

800 Years: Bodhisattvas from Underground

In Rev. Ryusho JeffusLecture on the Lotus Sutra he sets the stage for discussing Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground, with this observation:

“We each may think we are rather ordinary people, not capable of great things. Yet our ordinariness is in fact a disguise for our true self, Bodhisattvas from beneath the ground, the disciples of the Buddha from the infinite past, and beings perfectly endowed with Buddhahood.”

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra


As the Buddha explains to the four great leaders of those Bodhisattvas:

“The living beings are ready to be saved. They do not fatigue me because I already taught them in their consecutive previous existences, and also because they have already honored the past Buddhas respectfully and planted the roots of good. As soon as they saw me and heard my teachings, they received my teachings by faith and entered into the wisdom of the Tathāgata.”

We are those Bodhisattvas who have been studying and practicing with the Eternal Śākyamuni since the remotest past. Since we have forgotten we are asked today to have faith:

“Arouse your power of faith,
And do good patiently!
You will be able to hear the Dharma
That you have never heard before.

“Now I will relieve you.
Do not doubt me! Do not be afraid!
I do not tell a lie.
My wisdom is immeasurable.
The highest Dharma that I attained
Is profound and difficult to understand.
Now I will expound it.
Listen to me with all your hearts!”

And here we need faith to understand and to act. As Rev. Ryusho Jeffus argues:

“This is our relationship with the Eternal Buddha, not with the historical Buddha. As Bodhisattvas from underground we read the Lotus Sutra from the perspective of an infinite bond with the Buddha, as lifelong practitioners of the Eternal Buddha who have in this lifetime manifested as the beings we currently are but who underneath it all are in fact golden-hued Bodhisattvas. We have received training and are eminently qualified to carry out the lives we have and attain enlightenment in our present form. Everything we need is within us, and the Lotus Sutra is our activation code to actualize our true identities.”

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

As we faithfully chant the daimoku we join our brethren.

“At first only I, Nichiren, started chanting the daimoku, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, but then two, three, then one hundred people, gradually began chanting it. This will continue in the future. Isn’t this what emerging from the earth means? When an innumerable number of people emerge from the earth and this Wonderful Dharma spreads extensively, there will be no mistake, just as a shooting arrow never misses the earth, Japan will be filled with people chanting Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō. You should therefore establish your fame as the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra and devote your life to it.”

Shohō Jisso-shō, Treatise on All Phenomena as Ultimate Reality, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 78


Table of Contents Next Essay

800 Years: Winning the Jewel in the King’s Top-Knot

In last week’s discussion of Chapter 14, I made a big deal about the Peaceful Practices without discussing the other side of that coin – the war we are asked to fight.

“Mañjuśrī! I will tell you a parable. Suppose a powerful wheel-turning-holy-king demanded surrender of the kings of smaller countries by threat of force. They did not obey his demand. He led soldiers, and went and suppressed them. He was very glad to see that some soldiers distinguished themselves in war. According to their merits, he gave them paddy fields, houses, villages, cities, garments or ornaments; or various treasures such as gold, silver, lapis lazuli, shell, agate, coral or amber; or elephants, horses, vehicles, menservants, maidservants or subjects. But he did not give a brilliant gem which he was keeping in his top-knot to anyone because the gem on the head of the king was the only one [in the world]. If he had given it to anyone, the followers of the king would have been much surprised.”

We can make light of Nichiren’s ardor in his battle to save Japan and establish an ideal buddha land in this world, suggesting he was just the high-spirited son, but we shouldn’t ignore the task we are asked to accomplish.

“Mañjuśrī! I am like the king. I obtained the world of the Dharma by my powers of dhyāna-concentration and of wisdom, and became the king of the triple world. But the kings of the Maras did not assent to my demand for surrender to me. Therefore, my army led by generals, that is, by sages and saints, fought with them.”

We are asked to be soldiers. We fight not just for our own benefit but for the defeat of the Maras, the victory that brings everyone peace. Can we do that without the ardor of Nichiren?

Yes, this is not Medieval Japan and we are not challenging the authority of a state religion, at least not hear in the United States. But we have the highest goal before us. “Sentient beings are innumerable; we vow to save them all.”

As with everything, we must seek a middle path. This is just as true with our faith. As Nichiren wrote in Ueno-dono Gohenji, A Reply to Lord Ueno:

“Of the people who put faith in the Lotus Sūtra today, some have faith like fire while others have it like water. Those who have faith like fire refer to those who become enthusiastic upon listening to the preaching but their passion cools down as times goes by, and eventually forget the teaching. On the other hand, those whose faith is like water mean those whose faith is like a ceaselessly flowing water, namely those who retain their faith without retreating.

Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 126

We are asked to fight a war. We will win some battles and we will suffer setbacks, but with faith that is like ceaselessly flowing water we can carve a path to our goal.


Table of Contents Next Essay

Ambivalence Defined

Ambivalence defined

When it comes to Nikkyō Niwano and Rissho Kosei-kai, the organization he founded in 1938 with Mrs. Myoko Naganuma and some 30 members, I am ambivalence defined.

I am not a member of Rissho Kosei-kai. I consider myself a member of the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church and, by extension, a member of Nichiren Shu. There may be some members of Nichiren Shu who are unhappy with my unorthodox practice and my willingness to explore sources outside those published by the Nichiren Buddhist International Center, but all of the Nichiren Shu priests I’ve met and with whom I have practiced have been encouraging and supportive. That was certainly not my experience when I was a member of Soka Gakkai, and I don’t expect questioning the teachings of  Nikkyō Niwano would be welcomed in Rissho Kosei-kai.

Since starting this website in 2015 I’ve immersed myself in books about the Lotus Sutra, Nichiren and Buddhism in general. I have 46 books listed on my Books page here and more on the bookcase in my study waiting to be read.

The wealth of material I’ve read published by Rissho Kosei-kai has proved embarrassing. In 2019, while introducing Nikkyō Niwano’s Buddhism for Today I felt compelled to rationalize why I was publishing daily quotes taken from A Buddhist Kaleidoscope: Essays On The Lotus Sutra, a Rissho Kosei-kai anthology edited by Gene Reeves, while I was using the Rissho Kosei-kai’s new translation of the Threefold Lotus Sutra in my 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra practice.

This ambivalence has been even more pronounced since attending a 34-week Rissho Kosei-kai in North America (RKINA) advanced course on the Threefold Lotus Sutra.

On several occasions during the course of the class I’ve railed at what I considered Nikkyō Niwano’s questionable interpretation of the Lotus Sutra, only to find myself at other times thankful for his insight.

Take for example this promise in Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva:

“Anyone who rejoices at hearing this chapter of the Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva and praises [this chapter], saying, ‘Excellent,’ will be able to emit the fragrance of the blue lotus flower from his mouth and the fragrance of the candana of Mt. Ox-Head from his pores, and obtain these merits in his present life.”

Back in 2016, during my sixth time through my cycle of 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra, I was exploring “What if…” while reviewing the promises of the Lotus Sutra. Emitting the fragrance of blue lotus flowers and candana of Mt. Ox-Head was a distinct blow to my literalist fantasy.

By the time I first read Buddhism for Today I had read the promise of Chapter 27 more than 45 times and still hadn’t figured out why anyone would want to “emit the fragrance of the blue lotus flower from his mouth and the fragrance of the candana of Mt. Ox-Head from his pores.” I completely missed Nikkyō Niwano’s explanation in my first reading of Buddhism for Today. It was only after reading it as part of the RKINA-201 class that I finally noticed the answer:

These words mean that a person who hears the chapter of the former deeds of Medicine King Bodhisattva and joyfully receives and applauds it will exert a good influence upon those around him. His fragrance not only will remain on his clothes but will be transmitted to those who touch his garments. The phrase “breathe out the fragrance of the blue lotus flower” means that the words spoken by one who joyfully receives and applauds the Lotus Sutra will spontaneously make the minds of those around him beautiful. The phrase “emit the fragrance of ox-head sandalwood from the pores of his body” indicates that those around him will naturally be influenced by his good acts. This is an ideal state of mind, which those practicing the Buddha’s teachings must attain for themselves.

Buddhism for Today, p364-365

Back in April I wrote about “The Difficulty of Studying the Lotus Sutra” in response to Nikkyō Niwano’s interpretation of Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures.

Now I want to celebrate his interpretation of Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Ambivalence, plain and simple.