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Chanting ‘Namu-Amida-Butsu’

I am not a member of Risshō Kōsei Kai, but I have long found the organization founded by Nikkyō Niwano to be a wealth of information on the Lotus Sutra. No other Buddhist organization of which I am aware places as much emphasis on the study of the Threefold Lotus Sutra. I have benefitted from reading a half-dozen books on the Lotus Sutra and Buddhism published by Kōsei Publishing.

Still, I’ve stumbled over aspects of Risshō Kōsei Kai philosophy. The most recent stumble came after reading Nikkyō Niwano’s The Lotus Sutra Life and Soul of Buddhism. Originally published in Japan in 1969 and released in English in 1970, the book is subtitled, A Modern Introduction to the Lotus Sutra Giving a Better Understanding of the Buddha’s Teachings.

Nikkyō Niwano, while writing on the topic Religion Purifies the Inmost Part of Man’s Mind, uses the example of Dr. Kiyoshi Oka, a mathematician.

His religious life, chanting “Namu-Amida-Butsu,” is a practice in which the exercise of the conscious mind is mostly suspended and the soul of man enters a spiritual state of perfect selflessness. It is not difficult to imagine that as he continued to do this practice everyday, his mind became so extremely serene that he attained a spiritual state of mind seen in the world of the store-consciousness. Thus we can understand how Dr. Oka perceived a mathematical truth through a kind of inspiration or revelation.

In all times and places, there have been numerous instances where scholars and artists have made a great discovery by inspiration when they attained a spiritual state of perfect selflessness. Such instances teach us that we must reconsider our present situation which has been too biased by a materialistic way of life.

Lotus Sutra Life and Soul of Buddhism, p25-26

Later, in discussing how to overcome obstacles that prevent us from following “the Buddhist Way left to us by Śākyamuni,” Nikkyō Niwano writes:

So long as our mind is filled with this egoistic attachment, there is no room to receive the “truth that gives life to all things.” However hard we may try to understand Buddhism, without such room in our minds, the truth runs idly around and does not permeate into the mind. Therefore, our salvation and happiness cannot be achieved by our egoistic attachment.

Unlike Buddhist priests or monks, however, we who lead ordinary lives have egoistic attachments which always appear or disappear. This is because man cannot escape his destiny when it is based on his illusion that he cannot overcome the struggle for existence without his egoistic attachment. If we leave our mind untreated, it never fails to be filled with the egoistic attachment. Accordingly, it is necessary for us to sit down quietly before a Buddhist altar for a fixed time in the morning and evening, and recite the sutras and repeat the Daimoku, the sacred title of the Lotus Sutra, or invoke the name of Amida Buddha.

We can extinguish our egoistic attachment while devoting ourselves to these practices. We can attain a spiritual state of so-called perfect selflessness. When we attain such a state of mind, the light of the truth streams spontaneously through our mind and permeates into its depth.

Lotus Sutra Life and Soul of Buddhism, p53-54

As a Nichiren Shu practitioner, I was startled by Nikkyō Niwano’s repeated suggestion that invoking the name of Amida Buddha was a recommended practice. I was immediately reminded of the quote from Nichiren’s letter “Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude”:

Chanting “Namu Myōhōrengekyō” swallows up the functions of “Namu Amidabutsu (Buddha of Infinite Life),” “Namu Dainichi shingon (Great Sun Buddha’s mantras),” and “Namu Kanzeon bosatsu (Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva)” as well as of all the Buddhas, sūtras, and bodhisattvas. All these will be of no use without the functions of the Lotus Sūtra. This can be seen by everyone, for it has been realized in front of everyone. I, Nichiren, recite “Namu Myōhōrengekyō,” the function of “Namu Amidabutsu (Buddha of Infinite Life)” disappears just as the moon wanes, the tide ebbs, grasses in autumn and winter wither and ice melts under the sun.

Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, p53.

I have been attending a 34-week Rissho Kosei-kai in North America (RKINA) advanced course on the Threefold Lotus Sutra, and I took the opportunity to ask Rev. Takashi Yoshizawa, the instructor, about this idea that Namu Amida Butsu was somehow equivalent to Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. In answer he invoked Rissho Kosei-kai’s interfaith doctrine. Essentially, the Truth is one. Imagine that truth as the summit of a mountain. The various religious practices – Buddhist and non-Buddhist alike – are simply different paths to that summit.

I’m not unfamiliar with the “Truth is one” concept and its value. For example, Shinjo Suguro’s Introduction to the Lotus Sutra offers this:

Although the ultimate Truth is one in essence, human beings have various conflicting ideas about it. Nevertheless, we are able to advance toward a higher truth, overcoming conceptual conflicts, since we all believe firmly that the Truth is only one. Indeed, human progress is possible only because we are confident of the existence of a Universal Truth. After all, it is our confidence in the ultimate Truth that leads to the formation of our attitudes toward faith.

Not all paths reach the summit of a mountain, and some paths will be more direct. While I embrace the idea that all religions can have beneficial effect, I’m not prepared to accept that all religious practices are essentially equal.

This is not my first foray into the interfaith question. In May 2020, I wrote four lengthy blog posts on the topic:

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800 Years: Your House Is On Fire

Your house is on fire. Even with smoke billowing out of the windows most people don’t pay attention to the warnings. Thich Nhat Hanh explains it this way in Peaceful Action, Open Heart:

“When we hear this story [of the burning house], we may think it’s just a children’s story and that it doesn’t really have anything to do with our lives. But if we look more deeply into our minds and the state of mind of those around us, we see that this parable expresses the truth about our situation. We’re full of craving, always running after things. We want to become the director or president of a company, we want to buy a beautiful car or a nice house, or go on an exotic vacation. We don’t see that the world we’re living in, driven by craving and delusion, is like a burning house.”

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p49

And this brings suffering, which is the first Truth taught by the Buddha. As the Introduction to the Lotus Sutra explains:

“From the Buddhist viewpoint, suffering is an inescapable fact of life, as illustrated in the dictum, ‘All existence is suffering.’ Many people think this view is too pessimistic, but that is not the case. The dictum is presented as a bare fact, neither good or bad. Biological suffering is a part of life. The question is, What can we do about it?”

Re-read that last question: What can we do about it? The old man in the Parable of the Burning House knows he’s strong enough to carry his children to safety, but he wouldn’t be able to save them all. As Nikkyō Niwano explains in Buddhism for Today, the Buddha purposely doesn’t use his divine powers but instead inspires us to act by luring us with the things we desire.

“To imagine attractive playthings to oneself means that one has already entered into the mental state of śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, or bodhisattva. To run out of the burning house means that one is already seeking after the Buddha’s teachings. When living beings remove illusions from their minds, they can immediately escape from the burning house of suffering in this world.

“However, they do not yet think of being saved from the burning house. Their minds are filled with the desire to obtain one of the attractive carts … . Then they ask the Buddha for these carts. This means that each asks for his own enlightenment. Then quite unexpectedly, beyond the enlightenment of the three vehicles, they see the supreme teaching, that is, the enlightenment of the One Buddha Vehicle (the great white-bullock cart), shining brilliantly.

“The Buddha really wishes to give this great cart to all living beings. So he gives the same thing unsparingly and equally to anyone who has advanced to the mental state of seeking supreme enlightenment.”

Buddhism for Today, p58-59

That mental state of seeking supreme enlightenment is called faith. It takes only a single moment of faith to start us on our way through the gate and to safety.

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800 Years: How Many Vehicles Do We Need?

Faith does not require understanding, but that doesn’t mean understanding shouldn’t be sought. That is the role of study in the Buddhist triad of faith, practice and study. As we study, we learn. As we learn, we deepen our understanding. All of this nourishes our faith and allows that faith to grow and flower and bear fruit. For me, this is illustrated in the prediction of future Buddhahood offered to Śāriputra in Chapter 3, A Parable:

“Śāriputra! Although the world in which he appears will not be an evil one, that Buddha will expound the teaching of the Three Vehicles according to his original vow.”

Why would Śāriputra need to teach the Three Vehicles when we learned in Chapter 2 that there is no vehicle other than the One Buddha-Vehicle? Many times when I cycled through my 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra I stumbled here. None of the other predictions of future Buddhahood of the śrāvakas includes this detail.

A year ago, after reading this chapter more than 60 times, I came to a realization. (The remainder of this essay summarizes what I wrote here.)

In Chapter 3, Śāriputra explains that he considered himself a śrāvaka and the teaching he had received before as somehow different from what Bodhisattvas were given. This misunderstanding – the thought that he was taught a lesser teaching – is Śāriputra’s. Thinking there are three separate vehicles mistakes what Śākyamuni did, what other Buddhas are doing and what Śāriputra will do when he becomes a Buddha.

Śākyamuni’s original vow is discussed toward the end of Chapter 2, Expedients.

“I thought:
‘If I extol only the Buddha-Vehicle,
The living beings [of the six regions] will not believe it
Because they are too much enmeshed in sufferings to think of it.
If they do not believe but violate the Dharma,
They will fall into the three evil regions.
I would rather enter into Nirvana quickly
Than expound the Dharma to them.’

“But, thinking of the past Buddhas who employed expedients,
I changed my mind and thought:
‘I will expound the Dharma which I attained
By dividing it into the Three Vehicles.’ ”

Chih-i offers this explanation in his Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra:

“Chu-i Yung-san (Abiding in the one and employing the three) is the function related to the Subtlety of Benefits. This is spoken of by Chih-i in terms of the Buddha’s original vow. The Buddha vowed to expound the Three Vehicles in the mundane world. This original vow of the Buddha denotes ‘abiding in the one,’ and expounding the Three Vehicles denotes ‘employing the three.’ ” (Vol. 2, p446)

Śāriputra, like all Buddhas, will abide in the one while he employs the three.

As we are told in Chapter 2:

“I showed to them
The teaching of the Three Vehicles as an expedient
In order to save them from various attachments.”

My misunderstanding, like Śāriputra’s, was in not appreciating the nature of the One Buddha Vehicle. There is no second or third vehicle outside the One Buddha Vehicle.

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800 Years: Parents and Children

The Parable of the Burning House in Chapter 3 offers an interesting vision of a life of ignorance:

“They were not frightened or afraid. They did not wish to come out. They did not know what a fire was, what a house was, and what they would lose. They ran about happily. They only glanced at their father occasionally.”

This begs the question: If they are not afraid and they are running about happily, why bother them? But any parent will recognize the answer.

“This triple world
Is my property.
All living beings therein
Are my children.
There are many sufferings
In this world.
Only I can save
[All living beings].

“I told this to all living beings.
But they did not believe me
Because they were too much attached
To desires and defilements.

“Therefore, I expediently expounded to them
The teaching of the Three Vehicles,
And caused them to know
The sufferings of the triple world.
I opened, showed, and expounded
The Way out of the world.”

Underscore “caused them to know the sufferings of the triple world,” and “opened, showed, and expounded the way out of the world.”

Where does faith come into this discussion? It is what the children are asked to provide. It is the initial willingness to believe.

“Śāriputra! Those who have intelligence, who receive the Dharma by faith after hearing it from the Buddha, from the World Honored One, and who seek Nirvāṇa with strenuous efforts in order to get out of the triple world, are called Śrāvakas. … Those who receive the Dharma by faith after hearing it from the Buddha, from the World-Honored One, who seek the self-originating wisdom with strenuous efforts, who wish to have good tranquility in seclusion, and who perfectly understand the causes of all things, are called Pratyekabuddhas. … Those who receive the Dharma by faith after hearing it from the Buddha, from the World-Honored One, who strenuously seek the knowledge of all things, the wisdom of the Buddha, the self-originating wisdom, the wisdom to be obtained without teachers, and the insight and powers and fearlessness of the Tathāgata, who give peace to innumerable living beings out of their compassion towards them, and who benefit gods and men, that is to say, who save all living beings, are called men of the Great Vehicle. Bodhisattvas are called Mahasattvas because they seek this vehicle.”

And this willingness to believe – this faith – makes it possible for the Buddha to reveal the One Vehicle that can carry all of his children.

“I expound only to people of profound wisdom
This Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Because men of little wisdom would doubt this sūtra,
And not understand it even if they heard it.
No Śrāvaka
Or Pratyekabuddha
Can understand
This sūtra.

“Even you, Śāriputra,
Have understood this sūtra
Only by faith.
Needless to say,
The other Śrāvakas cannot do otherwise.
They will be able to follow this sūtra
Only because they believe my words,
Not because they have wisdom.”

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800 Years: Doubts

In Chapter 3 we get an example of how arrogance can poison faith and weaken it when Śāriputra sings in gāthās:

“I walked about mountains and valleys,
Or sat under a tree in a forest, thinking this over.
I reproached myself with a deep sigh:
‘Why was I deceived?
We also are sons of the Buddha
[Just as the Bodhisattvas are].
We entered the same [world]
[Of the] Dharma-without-āsravas.
But we shall not be able to expound
Unsurpassed enlightenment in the future.
We are in the same [world of the] Dharma.
But we shall not be given
The golden body with the thirty-two marks,
The ten powers, and the emancipations [of the Buddha].
We are deprived of the hope
To have the eighty wonderful marks,
The eighteen unique properties
And the other merits [of the Buddha].’

“[Sitting] in the midst of the great multitude,
You benefited all living beings.
Your fame extended over the worlds of the ten quarters.
When I was walking alone,
I saw all this, and thought:
‘I am not given this benefit. I have been deceived.’
I thought this over day and night,
And wished to ask you,
‘Am I disqualified
[From having this benefit] or not?’”

When we find ourselves in this position we shouldn’t just sit and wonder. We need to ask why. That’s part of our practice. We need faith to ask and then listen.

“I hear your gentle voice.
Your voice is deep and wonderful.
You expound the Pure Dharma.
My heart is filled with great joy.
All my doubts are gone.
I have obtained true wisdom.

“I shall become a Buddha without fail.
I shall be respected by gods and men.
I will turn the wheel of the unsurpassed Dharma,
And teach Bodhisattvas.”

Persevering in faith we proceed along the path.

In Burton Watson’s introduction to his 1993 translation of the Lotus Sutra, he writes:

“Very early in the sutra the Buddha warns us that the wisdom of the Buddhas is extremely profound and difficult to comprehend, and this warning is repeated frequently in later chapters. …

“But of course in the view of religion there are other approaches to truth than merely through words and intellectual discourse. The sutra therefore exhorts the individual to approach the wisdom of the Buddhas through the avenue of faith and religious practice. The profound influence which the Lotus Sutra has exerted upon the cultural and religious life of the countries of eastern Asia is due as much to its function as a guide to devotional practice as to the actual ideas that it expounds. It calls upon us to act out the sutra with our bodies and minds rather than merely reading it, and in that way to enter into its meaning.” (page xx-xxi)

Through practice and study, we set aside our doubts and strengthen our faith. Moment to moment, we walk along the path leading to enlightenment.

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Praying for the dead

20220327_caleb_altar-275x457On my altar is a quote from Nichiren’s letter, Hōren-shō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Pages 56-57.

As you read and recite the ‘jiga-ge’ verse, you produce 510 golden characters. Each of these characters transforms itself to be the sun, which in turn changes to Śākyamuni Buddha, who emits the rays of bright light shining through the earth, the three evil realms (hell, realm of hungry spirits and that of beasts), the Hell of Incessant Suffering, and to all the directions in the north, south, east, and west. They shine upward to the ‘Heaven of neither Thought nor Non-Thought’ at the top of the realm of non-form looking everywhere for the souls of the departed.

This was originally created to honor the wife’s father. At my request, Rev. Igarashi decorated this with the Daimoku and characters for Fudo and Aizen. After the memorial service for my father-in-law, I made this an object of devotion for all of the dead.

When the wife and I heard a few weeks ago of the death of Caleb Bodine she wrote his name and date of death on a Post-It note and I attached it to the frame holding the Hōren-shō quote.

Morning and evening each day thereafter I concluded my Daimoku chanting with three Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo especially for his spirit.

What did I expect to happen? In his Hōren-shō letter, Nichiren explains the effect of chanting for the souls of the departed.

Upon finding the spirit of your father, they politely say, “Whom do you think we are? We are the characters of the ‘jiga-ge’ of the Lotus Sūtra chanted by your son Hōren every morning. We will be your eyes, ears, legs, and hands.” Then your father’s spirit will say, “My son, Hōren, is not my son but a ‘good friend’ who leads me to Buddhahood,” and worship you toward the Sahā World. This is indeed true filial piety.

In another letter, Nichiren tells what happens when a calligrapher writes the characters for the title of the eight fascicles of the Lotus Sutra.

Thus I-lung was forced to copy the titles of the sūtra, namely, from “The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, Fascicle One” to “The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, Fascicle Eight.” Returning home in the evening, I-lung lamented, “I was unable to disobey the Imperial order, and went against the will of my father by copying the Buddhist sūtra. Both the heavenly gods and terrestrial deities must be furious with me for being an unfilial son.” He then went to bed.

During the night he had a dream in which a great light appeared. While wondering whether or not it was the morning sunlight, a heavenly being accompanied by many attendants was standing in the garden, and there appeared 64 Buddhas in the sky above this heavenly being. Pressing the two palms of his hands together in gasshō, I-lung inquired, “What kind of heavenly being are you?” The heavenly being answered:

“I am your father Wu-lung. Due to my sin of slandering the Buddhist Dharma, my tongue split into eight pieces, my five sense organs bled, my head was broken into seven pieces, and I fell into the Hell of Incessant Suffering. I thought the torment at my death was unbearable indeed. Nevertheless, the pain in the Hell of Incessant Suffering was one hundred, one thousand, one hundred million times more severe. Even the pain a human being experiences when his nails are removed by a dull knife, his neck is sawed off, he is forced to walk on a charcoal fire, or crammed into thorns cannot compare to the torment in the Hell of Incessant Suffering. I tried in vain to inform my own son of this. One could not measure the regret I felt that I willed to you at my death not to copy the Buddhist sūtras. However, regret does not mend matters. It did not do any good no matter how much I regretted and blamed myself.

“Starting yesterday morning, however, the character myō at the beginning of the Lotus Sūtra came flying over the tripod kettle in the Hell of Incessant Suffering, transforming itself into the golden colored Śākyamuni Buddha equipped with the 32 marks of physical excellence and a peaceful face like the full moon. The Buddha preached in a resounding voice, ‘All the evil persons, as many as to fill the heaven and earth, will not fail to attain Buddhahood if only they hear the Lotus Sūtra once.’ Then heavy rain began to fall from those characters, extinguishing the blazes in the Hell of Incessant Suffering. As a result, King Yama, though strict as he is, bowed his head in respect, the guards of the hell stood still without their iron sticks, and the sinners all panicked wondering what was happening. Then came flying the character ‘hō,’ appearing just like the ‘myō.’ It was followed by the characters ‘ren,’ ‘ge,’ and ‘kyō.’ Altogether 64 characters thus came flying to become 64 bodies of the Buddha. The 64 Buddhas appearing in the Hell of Incessant Suffering seemed as though 64 suns and moons appeared in the heaven. Nectar rained from the heaven bathing the sinners in hell, who asked the Buddha the reason why this merry occurrence had taken place. The 64 Buddhas answered: “Our golden bodies did not come from the mountain of sandalwoods and treasures; they are the titles of the eight fascicles of the Lotus Sūtra, each consists of eight Chinese characters and therefore 64 in total, written by Ilung, son of Wu-lung, who is in the Hell of Incessant Suffering at present. The hand of I-lung is a part of the body begotten by Wu-lung, therefore, the characters written by I-lung are as though they were written by Wu-lung.’

“Upon hearing this the sinners in the Hell of Incessant Suffering lamented in vain: ‘We also have children, wives, followers in the Sahā World. Why do they not hold memorial services for us? Or, is it that even if they hold services, they don’t help us here because there is not enough merit of good acts?’ One or two days, one or two years, a half or one kalpa (aeon) have passed since we fell into this hell. I am now happy to encounter a ‘good friend,’ who will lead me out of hell while my fellow sinners are glad to follow me to go up to the Trāyastriṃsá Heaven led by you. Therefore, we came to worship you first of all.”

Upon listening to his late father’s account, I-lung was overjoyed to be able to see his father, whom he did not expect to meet again, and to worship the figures of Buddhas, though in a dream.

The 64 Buddhas then spoke to I-lung, “We do not serve any Buddha. As you are our patron, beginning today we will protect you as our parent, therefore please do not forget to help us. In the life hereafter, we will without fail come to lead you to the inner palace of the Tuṣita Heaven.” In response, I-lung respectfully vowed never to write the characters of non-Buddhist scriptures. It was similar to the vow made by Bodhisattva Vasubandhu who pledged not to read the Hinayāna sutras and Nichiren who vowed never to chant the nembutsu.

Today was the Higan service at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church. Before the service I gave Rev. Igarashi my list of relatives for whom I was requesting prayers and a separate paper I had prepared with a photo of Caleb and asked Rev. Igarashi to include Caleb in the prayers today.

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800 Years: Faith, Practice and Magic

In re-reading Nikkyō Niwano’s Buddhism for Today as part of a 34-week Rissho Kosei-Kai in North America (RKINA) advance course on the Threefold Lotus Sutra, I was struck by his description of Śāriputra’s realization at the start of Chapter 3, A Parable:

Śāriputra felt ecstatic with joy when he realized that there was an open gate for him to enter into the real enlightenment of the Buddha the instant he regarded the buddhas’ tactful ways themselves as valuable.

Buddhism for Today, p53

This is understanding by faith. We realize that a gate has been left open for us and we need only enter. Practice is then essential if we are to advance. Nikkyō Niwano stresses that this is not magic or superstition:

When a religion decays, it is likely to be rejected by thinking people because it teaches that one can be reborn in paradise by merely uttering a magic formula. If that were all, it would not be so bad; but sometimes it preaches that no matter what evil one does, one can be saved and go to paradise if only one buys a certain talisman. The real salvation of the Buddha is not such an easy matter. We cannot be saved until we not only learn the Buddha’s teachings but also practice them and elevate ourselves to the stage of making others happy by means of them. The Buddha’s teachings can be clearly understood by anyone and are consonant with reason and common sense; they are not a matter of magic or superstition.

Buddhism for Today, p54-55

Nikkyō Niwano goes on to make a strong argument for why being reborn in a heavenly realm is not a panacea. But the effect of that argument for me is to underscore the role of the protective heavenly deities and their “magical” intervention. Nikkyō Niwano writes:

The “heavenly beings” are beings who live in paradise. They seem to have no trouble or anxiety and so apparently have no need to listen to the teachings of the Buddha, but in fact that is not the case. As already mentioned, because the ideal way of human life is always to advance, not even heavenly beings can feel true joy unless they listen to the still higher teaching of the Buddha. They cannot truly feel joy unless they constantly practice good for the sake of the people who live in the Sahā-world. This is a distinctive and profound feature of Buddhism. To suppose that one can be free from care forever and lead an idle life once one has gone to paradise is a naïve and shallow belief.

Buddhism for Today, p55

I feel “thinking people” can leave open the possibility that one benefit of our Buddhist practice can be the unseen “magical” help from the deities who vowed to protect the keeper of the Lotus Sutra. (See Are the Gods Gone?)

British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke famously said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Perhaps the same can be said of any sufficiently advanced Buddhist practice.

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Caleb Michael Bodine

Last known photo of Caleb Michael Bodine, born 11-1-1992 and died 11-23-2021

During my celebration of Higan here this month, I used Nikkyō Niwano’s definitions of the Six Pāramitā from his Buddhism for Today. I was very unhappy with his discussion of wisdom.

We cannot save others without having wisdom. Let us suppose that there is an impoverished young man lying by the road. And suppose that we feel pity for him and give him some money without reflecting on the consequences. What if he is mildly addicted to some drug? He will grab the money given to him and use it to buy drugs. In this way he may become seriously, even hopelessly, addicted. If we had handed him over to the police instead of giving him money, he would have been sent to a hospital and could start life over again. This is the kind of error we may commit in performing donation without wisdom.

Perhaps in Japan and perhaps in 1976, when Buddhism for Today was first published in English, but not today, and not here in America.

Caleb Michael Bodine was born in 1992 on the first day of November, the third child of Candi and Chris Bodine. Caleb’s older brother, Colin, and my son, Richard, were friends throughout school. The wife and I met Candi and Chris when our children were in kindergarten and we cheered together from the football field stands as our sons graduated from high school.

All three of the Bodine children grew up in a loving and supportive family, but all the love and attention and support and law enforcement intervention could not prevent Caleb from falling into a downward spiral of drugs and petty crime. He died, homeless, on the streets of San Francisco on Nov. 23, 2021. He was only 29 years old.

Four months later, Candi emerged from her grief to publish this notice on Instagram and Facebook:

March 23, 2022. It’s been four months. Four months from today when our hearts broke. Our son Caleb lost his life to the disease of addiction 22 days after his 29th birthday. I am finally coming out of the fog and felt like it was time to talk about it. It was a long hard struggle for him and I missed him every day. The difference is now I will miss him forever. I hope and pray that he is at peace and now out of the pain that addiction causes. The photo I shared is the last picture I have of him. I’m not exactly sure where it was taken but it’s something he sent me about three years ago. I like to imagine that he is up on top of a mountain -healthy and happy and living his best life. Caleb was so smart and funny and interesting, a great athlete and someone that I called a friend. I hate that drugs took him from us but he will forever hold a place in my heart and now he is home with us albeit not in the way we would have wanted. He was a son and a brother and a nephew and a friend and an uncle to 2 amazing little twin nieces that he never got the opportunity to meet. Rest in peace my little buddy. I love you. Caleb Michael Bodine 11/01/92-11/23/21

While Nikkyō Niwano’s explanation of Wisdom is not helpful, his discussion of Buddha Nature in his book The Lotus Sutra Life and Soul of Buddhism suggests a view we should all approach:

The word, Buddha, originally means the Enlightened One, that is, a man who perfected himself spiritually. Accordingly, to take the case of a man in actuality, the buddha-nature means the possibility which makes a man become a person who perfects himself spiritually and frees himself from the bonds of illusion and suffering, although, in a strict sense, it indicates man’s true nature which is united with the universal life in a body.

Sakyamuni saw through the fact that such a possibility is sure to exist in all men. He pointed out and taught this fact by His strong words. It was indeed something to be thankful for.

But for this teaching in this world, those who regard themselves as worthless and sinful men will be prepossessed by the idea that such worthlessness and sinfulness are their own true nature and they will not be able to get rid of this prepossession.

But for this teaching, for example, when we see the evil of another person, we take him for a bad man and hate him. For example, when we see a spiritless man, we conclusively brand him as a useless dullard and shall take no notice of him.

Toward others as well as ourselves, as long as we have such a way of looking at people and adopt such an attitude, we cannot find salvation in this manner. Others as well as we ourselves are covered by dark shadows of agony, hopelessness, desperation, contempt, faithlessness or hatred. The world always treats us coldly and sharply, and unpleasant disputes do not come to an end here.

At that time, if we can awake to the fact that “we have the buddha-nature and we have the possibility of elevating ourselves infinitely,” we shall have the same feeling as if a window were suddenly broken open in a wall of a dark prison and the bright sunlight streamed through it. As soon as we see that light, how much we shall be encouraged by it! We shall certainly stand up in spite of ourselves and shall begin to endeavor to steal out of our prison.

If we can realize the fact that “all other people also have the buddha-nature and that they, too, have the possibility of becoming perfect men,” we completely change our way of looking at them. If we believe the good of another person as being his true nature, while we also admit his wrongs and his defects as they are, we shall have the feeling of respecting him and receiving him as a man without only hating him, excluding him, forsaking him and disregarding him. Such a feeling is called the spirit of tolerance.

Also see:

800years, d4b, Blog

800 Years: Promises

Each time as I cycle through the 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra (which, of course, is actually 34 days with the addition the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings and the Contemplation of Universal Sage) I am struck by the promises offered to everyone. This is especially true in Chapter 2.

“Any Śrāvaka or Bodhisattva
Who hears even a gāthā
Of this sūtra which I am to expound
Will undoubtedly become a Buddha.”

I believe it is these promises that have made the Lotus Sutra so important in Asia and why it translates so well as it is introduced to new readers. How can we not have faith?

Yet, some people won’t accept.

“Śāriputra, know this!
Men of dull capacity and of little wisdom cannot believe the Dharma.
Those who are attached to the appearances of things are arrogant.
They cannot believe it, either.”

But there is so much to believe that is made explicit in the Lotus Sutra. These promises don’t require a lifetime to accomplish or the endurance of painful ascetic practices.

“Anyone who rejoices at hearing the Dharma
And utters even a single word in praise of it
Should be considered to have already made offerings
To the past, present, and future Buddhas.
Such a person is rarely seen,
More rarely than the udumbara-flower.”

With enough faith to believe in the promise of the Lotus Sutra we can advance along the path.

“The boys who by playing drew
A picture of the Buddha
With a piece of grass or wood,
Or with a brush,
Or with the back of their fingernails,
Became able to accumulate merits one by one.
Having great compassion towards others,
They attained the enlightenment of the Buddha,
Taught only Bodhisattvas,
And saved many living beings.

“Those who, without concentrating their minds,
Offered nothing but a flower to the picture of the Buddha,
Became able to see
Innumerable Buddhas one after another.”

Faith is not magical. We must act just as the children who lost their right mind needed first to believe the medicine would taste good and then take the medicine. We are promised a reward and all we are asked to do is practice and study.

“Those who do not study the Dharma
Cannot understand it.
You have already realized
The fact that the Buddhas, the World-Teachers, employ expedients,
According to the capacities of all living beings.
Know that, when you remove your doubts,
And when you have great joy,
You will become Buddhas!”

This final promise of Chapter 2 is a fitting end. As Ryusho Jeffus wrote in his Lecture on the Lotus Sutra:

“Chapter II ends telling us that when we are able to overcome our hurdle of doubt and when joy wells up from within our lives, then we are able to become Buddhas. That is my wish for you as you read this writing on the Lotus Sutra. I wish for you to be able to experience the great joy of the Lotus Sutra.”

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Higan, 800years, Blog

800 Years: The Journey to the Other Shore

Today, March 20, 2022, is the Spring Equinox. Three days before today and three days after Nichiren Buddhist practitioners consider the Six Paramitas and assess how well they have approached each perfection. In the middle of this seven-day practice, Nichiren churches pay homage to ancestors and loved ones who have passed away.

This week is called Higan, which translates literally as arriving at the other shore. For purposes of my 800 Years of Faith project, I want to use this opportunity to consider how practice and study make it possible to advance once we have our initial moment of faith.

The essential nature of practice is well illustrated by Nikkyō Niwano’s discussion of Buddhist fundamentals in Buddhism for Today:

“[Śākyamuni taught three truths]: ‘All things are impermanent’ (Shogyō mujō), ‘Nothing has an ego’ (Shohō muga), and ‘Nirvana is quiescence’ (nehan jakujō). These three great truths are also called the Seal of the Three Laws (sambō-in). They are so important that they are said to be the three fundamental principles of Buddhism.

“However, an ordinary person cannot easily realize these three great truths. In order to do so, it is necessary for him to practice them and endeavor to achieve them in his daily life: he must practice the bodhisattva way with his mind, his body, and his actions. This means that he must devote himself to the practice of the doctrines of the Eightfold Path (hasshō-dō) and the Six Perfections (roku-haramitsu).

Buddhism for Today, p26-27

The need for study is underscored by the common misinterpretation of “Nirvana is quiescence.” As Nikkyō Niwano explains:

“[The law that nirvana is quiescence] has been misunderstood because of misconstruing the word “nirvana.” Many people think nirvana is synonymous with death. The words “Śākyamuni Buddha entered nirvana” are ordinarily used to refer to the death of the Buddha. For this reason the law “Nirvana is quiescence” has been understood to refer to a paradise like the Pure Land of Amitābha Buddha, which in Pure Land Buddhism is believed to be our ideal destination after death.

“The Sanskrit word nirvāṇa has the negative meaning of ‘extinction’ or ‘annihilation.’ Therefore this word also means the state in which one’s body dies or disappears. At the same time, nirvana means the state reached by extinguishing all illusions, and this is the sense in which it is used in the teachings of the Buddha. In the true sense of the word, nirvana means the state attained by completely destroying all illusions and of never being tempted by them in the future. Therefore the words ‘Śākyamuni Buddha entered nirvana’ mean not his death but the enlightenment attained by him.

“The law ‘Nirvana is quiescence’ teaches us that we can completely extinguish all the sufferings of human life and obtain peace and quietude when we destroy all illusions. How can we reach this state? The only way is to realize the two laws ‘All things are impermanent’ and ‘Nothing has an ego.’ ”

Buddhism for Today, p32

With practice and study, faith will surely grow.

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