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The One Vehicle

Review: Dancing In The Garden Of The Lotus Sutra

dancing-lotus-reviewbook cover

Finished reading “Dancing In The Garden Of The Lotus Sutra: A Buddhist Perspective On The Three Gates To Freedom From Alcohol Addiction” earlier this month. In reading, and subsequently reviewing this book, I arrive with an interest in seeing how Nichiren Shu’s teachings can be put to work in the real world, a world full of suffering. I have no actual experience in addiction recovery and therefore no way to judge the value of this work for recovering addicts beyond the declaration of author Margaret Cram-Howie of the benefits that blossomed in the garden of the Lotus Sutra.

For what it’s worth, I heartily recommend this book. I wrote the review pictured above, giving the book the first of what I hope will be many 5-star ratings.

Margaret Cram-Howie and Rev. Kanjin Cederman
Woven throughout the book are the lessons of the Parable of the Hidden Gem, the Parable of the Burning House, the Parable of the Poor Son and the Parable of the Magic City, the Five Precepts, the 10 Worlds, Mara’s challenge of Siddhartha and story of Kishimojin. Beyond the Lotus Sutra and teachings picked from her mentor, Kanjin Cederman Shonin of Seattle Choeizan Enkyoji Temple, Cram-Howie interweaves lessons from her studies with Marshall Rosenberg and Nonviolent Communication and her studies with Dr. Deepak Chopra, where she became a certified meditation teacher with The Chopra Center.

The book’s “Journey Out Of Addiction” passes through three gates, which are broken into nine chapters:

  • The First Gate: Awareness
    • Chapter One: Lifting the Veil of Delusion
    • Chapter Two: Discovering Your Buddha Nature
    • Chapter Three: Taking Refuge
  • The Second Gate: Introspection
    • Chapter Four: The Precepts
    • Chapter Five: Planting the Roots of Virtue
    • Chapter Six: Atonement
  • The Third Gate: The Dance of Life
    • Chapter Seven: Flow
    • Chapter Eight: Prayer and Meditation
    • Chapter Nine: Opening the Mind and Heart to Love

While reading I highlighted a number of quotes. I’ve taken those quotes and created what I consider to be a summary of the book’s teaching of the Lotus Sutra in the author’s words. This is not a summary of the book, since there is a great deal more in the book about addiction and recovery. However, I see this as a reasonable representation of the author’s effort to bring the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Shu to bear on the problems of addiction recovery.

In the words of Margaret Cram-Howie:

The steps along the path in this book are loosely based on the principles I extracted from The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. I started my recovery journey in the rooms of AA. The primary difference between the twelve steps as presented in this book and the official twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous is that there is no mention of a god of any understanding in the steps along the path presented in this book. I never believed in an external god of any description and this was problematic for me in making sense of the steps.

The discrepancy between what I was being told in twelve-step programs and what I was personally experiencing finally became reconciled when I began to study Nichiren Shu Buddhism. The concept is actually very simple. The “Power” is my “Buddha Nature.” This power is within each of us. There is a “Buddha Nature” within me. There is a “Buddha Nature” within you. It is our original nature. We are born with it. The reference to “myself” is pointing to ego-self. In recovery, we need to look for help beyond our ego-selves, that serves only our self-interest, and instead cultivate our “Buddha Nature,” that connects and aligns us with all other beings. The Lotus Sutra is the primary text that Nichiren Shu Buddhists study. There is a story in Chapter 8 of The Lotus Sutra that helps illustrate this idea of going beyond our ego-selves and polishing the gem of our “Buddha Nature.” When we polish the gem of our “Buddha Nature” we see it more clearly.

This story is called a parable because it is used to illustrate a spiritual lesson. The poor man is each of us before we realize our hidden gem, our “Buddha Nature” that exists within each of us. Without awareness it will remain hidden. The wealthy friend is the Buddha who has given each of us this precious gift that can remove suffering and provide ease in our world. As long as we wander around in a drunken state, a state of unawareness, nothing will change. We remain lost in the world of the Ego.

So, how do we polish this stone, this gem, and bring out our “Buddha Nature”? Nichiren Daishonin states in Showa Teihon, p.1433, “A singing bird in a cage attracts uncaged birds, and the sight of these uncaged birds will make the caged birds want to be free. Likewise, the chanting of Odaimoku will bring out the Buddha nature within ourselves.” Chanting the Odaimoku is the primary practice of Nichiren Shu Buddhism. “Odaimoku” translates as “great” (O), “title” (dai), and “chant” (moku). The chanting of the Odaimoku is made up of the characters, “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.” “Namu” is derived from a Sanskrit word meaning “I honor” or “I give reverence to.” Together it translates to “I give reverence to the Lotus Sutra.” The Lotus Sutra is the title of our primary text. Make it a practice to start each day by chanting the Odaimoku aloud a minimum of three times. “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.” This is the starting place for becoming aware of and growing the Buddha seed that exists within you. As you become more comfortable with your chanting, increase the number of repetitions.

This final step on the path of awareness is all about making a decision, a personal choice. Choose wellness! Make the decision to cultivate your “Buddha Nature.” Allow your essential nature to grow. Allow happiness to permeate your life. There are many different forms of Buddhism, but one common characteristic is that each “takes refuge” in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. To take refuge means both to seek protection from harm and danger and also to seek spiritual guidance and direction. A Buddhist is a person who seeks protection and guidance by turning to the Buddha (the Enlightened One), the Dharma (the teachings of the Buddha), and the Sangha (the community that learns and practices the Buddha’s teachings).

The Dharma includes all of the teachings of the Buddha. In Nichiren Shu Buddhism, the Lotus Sutra is considered to be the Buddha’s supreme teaching. In order to take refuge in the dharma, you will need to read and study the Lotus Sutra. … It is important to study the Lotus Sutra under the guidance of a Nichiren Shu minister. Look online to see where the nearest Nichiren Shu Temple is and then contact the minister attached to that temple.

Regardless of whether you participate in a Taking Refuge ceremony or not, it is important for you to create the habit of starting your day in front of your home altar. Up until this point, you have been starting your day by chanting “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.” Once you make this decision to leave your addictive life behind and embrace recovery with the assistance of Nichiren Shu Buddhism, you need to learn more about this spiritual path.

Each morning, Nichiren Shu Buddhists start the day in front of their home altar. A candle is lit to represent light or enlightenment. Incense is lit using the light from the candle. The burning of incense purifies the air and also represents purifying our senses. Thus the day begins by being reminded to keep one’s senses clear, to not lay interpretation or judgment upon them. Being restored to sanity, becoming addiction-free, begins with seeing (or hearing, etc.) clearly. Start each day by chanting the Odaimoku in front of your simple home altar.

By tapping into our “Buddha Nature” during chanting or other mantra-based silent meditation practices, we are able to grow our “Buddha Nature.” As you grow your “Buddha Nature,” there is less and less room for troublesome thoughts or feelings. You become less reactive to specific situations and people. You see the bigger picture. You no longer see yourself as a separate being.

Being able to rest and renew ourselves through meditation is an exceptional skill. However, the peaceful land of meditation is not our destination any more than the Magic City was the final destination of the travelers in the parable. Once rested, they returned to the road and traveled on to the land of treasures. On our road through life, we may need to stop and rest from time to time. But then we return to the road of life until we reach our treasure land, the world of the bodhisattva.

In the world of the bodhisattva, you will recognize and use your innate talents and creativity in order to add happiness to your own life and to the lives of others. In this way, your human life becomes meaningful. The mind opens to all kinds of possibilities and the heart opens to all those who suffer. This is the treasure land, the Garden of the Lotus Sutra. Our destination, as humans, is full and abundant living in harmony with all others.

Full and abundant living involves inclining the mind towards wholesome mind-states. It is there that we will find the principles that guide us in this human life. These principles, these wholesome mind-states include, but are not limited to, the following: honesty, truth, acceptance, hope, commitment, willingness, courage, integrity, humility, love, reflection, justice, forgiveness, perseverance, vigilance, service, wisdom, compassion, responsibility, freedom, respect, generosity, joy, delight, and happiness. It is my wish that in reading this book, you may be able to bring sobriety and the fullness of life into your world. May it be so.

Two Lotus Sutra Years Later

Lotus Sutra and altarbook cover
Today will begin the 25th time I’ve cycled through my 32-days of the Lotus Sutra and published a portion of that day’s reading. That’s 24 months of 32 days, or two Lotus Sutra years. I’ve taken this milestone as an opportunity to start using quotes from Introduction to the Lotus Sutra in conjunction with each day’s sutra offering.

The book, which covers the full Threefold Lotus Sutra, is more a general introduction than a study guide, offering summaries of each chapter and explanations of the meaning of what is happening. It’s the explanations that I’ll be publishing as quotes. Unfortunately, not all chapters include explanations. For example, the final two chapters are only summarized without explanation. To me that’s unfortunate since I find the message about teachers in King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva well worth exploration. Another complication is that chapters such as Expedients and The Duration of the Life of the Tathagata have much more worth quoting than other chapters. As a result the quotes published will not always be related to that day’s portion of the Sutra.

The Hōtōge Beat

Hotoge words with beats

Here’s an updated illustration of the Hōtōge with the beats now illustrated fully. (See earlier blog post.)

There are no beats for the first two words – Shi Kyō – and then a single beat for each word thereafter until the final Yō, which gets a double beat. There are four beats per line, except those lines that are highlighted, which get three beats. Quick beats are struck where the words are linked.

Each service when I play this recording and recite the words I’m reminded of the reason for the odd beat. The story is told in Rev. Ryuei Michael McCormick’s Lotus in the Sea of Flames. The event takes place as Nichiren is being taken away to Izu on his first exile.

“I am no magistrate,” said the official. “I am not interested in your arguments. I am only interested in getting you onto that ship, out of Kamakura, and on to Izu. Now keep quiet!”

Nichiren put his palms together and bowed. His disciples cried out to him, some in tears. The guards kept back all but one. Nichiro, now a strong young man of 16, would not be cowed. He slipped past the guards and ran down to the boat just as it was being pushed off into the surf.

“Get back!” screamed the official.

But Nichiro would not get back. Crying for his master as he reached out to him, he waded out into the bay after the boat. Nichiren exhorted him to be calm, but his disciple was too overwrought and would not listen. “Take me with you!” He shouted again and again. Exasperated, the official took an oar and struck the young monk with bone shattering force. Clutching at his broken right arm, Nichiro finally backed away, his face white with pain.

Tears fell from Nichiren’s eyes as he saw his faithful disciple so brutalized. “Nichiro! Calm yourself. Is this how a disciple of the Buddha should act? From now on, when you see the sun setting in the west behind Izu, think of me. When I see the sun rising from the sea, I shall think of you.”

Nichiro nodded. “Forgive me, master.” Becoming faint, he went down on his knees in the water, sweat and tears coursing down his face. One of the guards finally reached him and escorted him back to where Nissho and the other monks were gathered.

As the boat moved away Nichiren began to chant the final verses from the eleventh chapter of the Lotus Sutra, “It is difficult to keep this sutra. I shall be glad to see anyone keeping it even for a moment.” The rocking of the waves caused his voice to fade in and out, giving the recitation an odd rhythm. The passage ended with, “Anyone who expounds this sutra even for a moment in this dreadful world should be honored with offerings by all gods and men.” From that point on Nichlren knew that he and his disciples had truly become practitioners of the Lotus Sutra as its predictions of hardships that would be faced by the teachers of the True Dharma began to be fulfilled in their own lives.

Learning Hotoge

Hotoge from Nichiren-Shu Service Book published 2007
Hoto Ge from Page 23 of the Nichiren Buddhist Service Companion published in 1968 by Headquarters of Nichiren Buddhist Temple of North America, Chicago, Illinois.

In April I published this post. At the time I had been attending the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church since January 2015 and I was still unable to recite the version of Hotoge performed during the service immediately after chanting Daimoku.

I have recordings of the services but the mokusho and the drum overwhelm everything. So I made an appointment with Ven. Kenjo Igarashi and asked him to record the Hotoge so that I can play it during my home services.

But when I reviewed the recordings with the text in the service book used in Sacramento, the words didn’t line up. Two lines were short – three beats instead of four.

It was only this Sunday, Oct. 1, while attending the online service at Myoshoji that I finally found the reason. The highlighted lines above accurately reflect the beats in the recording.

Finally.


Hotoge with mokusho

Hotoge words

The source of the odd beat is explained in Lotus in a Sea of Flames.

Three Poisons and Six Pāramitās

Rev. Kenjo Igarashi discussing three poisons

Three poisons
Attended the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church‘s fall Ohigan service. This is the third of the regular memorial services held each year in Nichiren Shu – Spring and Fall Equinox and Obon in Summer. When you add in family memorial services to the mix it raised the question of why we have so many services honoring our ancestors. That was the subject of Ven. Kenjo Igarashi‘s lecture after the Ohigan service today.

Rev. Igarashi told the story of a woman who complained that Buddhists have too many memorial services. She decided she’d rather be a Christian – no memorial services.

Each memorial service has special meaning.

“Today I want to explain sandoku – three poisons,” he said. “These three poisons are why we suffer.”

What follows is my paraphrasing of the lecture.

The first of the poisons is greed. And greed is an essential component of living in this world. Everyone is competing with others all the time.

The second poison is anger. Everyone is fighting, fighting. Anger toward other people is easy.

The third poison is traditionallly translated as stupidity or ignorance. Rev. Igarashi suggested describing the third poison as “a lot of complaints. All the time complain. … All the time, I’m right and you’re wrong.”

Since these poisons cause our suffering that’s why Śākyamuni said we must eliminate these. If you don’t, you’ll never get happy in this life and after you pass away you won’t go to paradise or a good realm.

These three poisons are the reason we are born in this suffering world, but most people are ignorant of this fact.

People want to be happy. They want to be rich. They want to be famous. Everybody thinks like that. But we need to think about why we are born into this world.

The purpose of our Buddhist practice is to extinguish these three poisons. We can’t attain enlightenment or go to a good realm after we die without doing that.

It is hard to extinguish these three poisons. That’s why we had today’s pāramitā service.

The Nichiren Shu brochure on Higan offers this explaination of the pāramitās.

  1. fuse means to offer one’s self wholeheartedly and unconditionally, without any expectation of its return.
  2. jikai is to follow and maintain the general precepts of the Buddha.
  3. nin-niku suggests a resilience to persevere through hardship.
  4. syojin refers to the necessity of conscientious effort in accomplishing one’s goals.
  5. zenjo points to qualities existent in meditation, calling upon one’s concentration, adjoined by calmness and poise.
  6. chie is the Buddha’s wisdom, reinforced with its practical application.

How does this apply to memorial services for deceased ancestors?

“Maybe [those ancestors] are still in the suffering world,” Rev. Igarashi said.

Today’s service is called Higan, which means the other shore. The other shore is enlightenment.

“We are living on this shore, the suffering world, so maybe our ancestors are still in this suffering world. That’s why we practice in order to send them to the other shore with us.”

The six kinds of practices – the six pāramitās – are very important. With them we can extinguish the three poisons while at the same time helping our ancestors reach the other shore as well.

This is not a practice twice or three times a year. Every day is Higan or Obon.

Reflecting on Our Individual Buddhist Practice

This is the September 2017 lecture by Ven. Kenjo Igarashi

As Buddhists, we observe several religious customs throughout the year, many of which involve praying for our ancestors. Most recently, we had the Obon (お盆) service in August, followed by the upcoming Ohigan (お彼岸) service in the fall. While there may be many meanings and reasons behind observing these Buddhist traditions, there are two that I would like to focus on in this article. They include (1) acknowledging life’s impermanence and most importantly, (2) reflecting on the importance of our Buddhist practice.

(1) Recognizing Life’s Transience
There are certain Buddhist customs, including those mentioned above, that remind me of the notion of shogyo mujo (諸行無常), or in English, “the impermanence of worldly things”. I first learned this concept in college when training to become a priest. We are made aware of this impermanence in our daily lives, ranging from daily tasks that we do (e.g. watering plants to prevent them from wilting) to happenings that we hear about from others that are beyond our control (e.g. the unexpected deaths we hear about on the news). However, it is often funerals and memorial services that amplify this notion of impermanence. They evoke a stronger sentiment because of our direct connection to the deceased. It also forces us to face and acknowledge that life on this earth, including our own, is transient.

Throughout my approximate 50-year career as a minister, I have always reflected on this notion of impermanence as a way to help me understand death as a sad, but unavoidable end to the course of one’s life. However, no matter how many funerals I have attended or conducted, it remains one of the most difficult tasks that I must do as a priest.

(2) The Importance of One’s Buddhist Practice
As previously mentioned, many Buddhist customs focus on expressing gratitude and remembering those that have passed. However, some people tend to focus too much on this idea. In fact, many spend little or no time understanding the significance that these traditions play in furthering a person’s Buddhist practice and faith.

Many of Nichiren Shonin’s writings include letters he wrote to his followers who expressed their individual concerns about reaching Enlightenment. As many of you know, in Buddhism we believe that the deceased goes on a 49-day journey after their death, where they will reflect on their lifetime of memories. They will be reminded of the most joyous moments of their life, as well as some of the difficult times. Nichiren Shonin knew of the hardships that one might face throughout this journey, as explained in a letter to one of his followers:

“I, Nichiren, am the world’s utmost devotee of the Lotus Sutra. If you pass away after me, remember that there are many trials that you must undergo (throughout your 49-day journey). Pass each trial by declaring in front of the judge that you are the follower of Nichiren, the world’s utmost devotee of the Lotus Sutra. When you must cross the fast ripples of the deep river, the Lotus Sutra will become your boat. When you must climb the treacherous mountains, it will become your vehicle. And when you must travel along a dark road, it will become that glimmer of light in the darkness. I, Nichiren, will promise to wait for you at the entrance to the Northeast gate to Enlightenment, so that you do not lose your way.”

Nichiren Shonin provides positive reassurance in his letter thus far. Yet his tone changes in the subsequent lines, informing the individual of consequences that could result from lack of Buddhist practice and faith. He continues:

“However, I must warn you of the importance of having faith (in the Lotus Sutra). An individual lacking piety should not expect to receive help upon claiming to be Nichiren’s follower. They will enter into the suffering world as quickly as the large rock that tumbles down the cliff, and the raindrops that fall from the sky and hit the earth.”

Nichiren Shonin’s statement directly relates to the teachings in Chapter 6 of the Lotus Sutra. It states that while everyone has the potential to become the Buddha, whether or not the individual achieves enlightenment depends on his or her level of commitment to practicing Buddhism. The hope is that they do not just rely on praying during services at the temple, but also make an effort to individually practice Buddhism in their daily lives.

Since an individual’s life is transient, we have a limited time (i.e. our individual lifespan) in which we can practice our faith in this world. I am hoping that many of you will try to incorporate both of these ideas as you continue to practice and find ways to deepen your faith in Buddhism.

Ven. Kenjo Igarashi
September 2017

Don’t Waste Your Time

Sunday, September 3, 2017
Sunday, September 3, 2017

I attended the Sunday service at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church and picked up an omamori that I asked Rev. Igarashi to create for a friend who is pregnant. You can see the omamori in the center of the above picture.

One of the tangible benefits of being a member of a Nichiren Shū church with a priest who has survived five 100-day ascetic trials to gain special merits and knowledge is the chance to call upon all of the resources Buddhism offers. May my friend’s pregnancy be uncomplicated.

And on the topic of babies, Rev. Igarashi’s lecture dealt with just how rare it is that we are born as humans and even rarer that we are born as humans and encounter the Lotus Sūtra.

Nichiren described being born human as rare as the one-eyed turtle finding a suitable hollow in a floating log, or a thread lowered from the heavens passing through the eye of a needle on earth.

The reference to the turtle comes from the Miscellaneous Āgama Sutra. The story is told of a blind turtle, whose life span is immeasurable kalpas. The turtle lives at the bottom of the sea. Once every 100 years, it rises to the surface. There is only one log floating in the sea with a suitable hollow in it. Since the turtle is blind and the log is tossed about by the wind and waves, the likelihood of the turtle reaching the log is extremely remote. It is even rarer, says Śākyamuni, to be born a human being; having succeeded in doing so, one should use the opportunity to master the four noble truths and attain deliverance.

“That is why Nichiren Shonin said, ‘If you are born into this world if you waste your life then don’t regret after you pass away’, ” said Rev. Igarashi.

Unfortunately, many people don’t share their Buddhism for fear of what others might say. This, Rev. Igarashi said, is like the Aesop fable “The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey.”

A man and his son were once going with their Donkey to market. As they were walking along by its side a countryman passed them and said: “You fools, what is a Donkey for but to ride upon?”

So the Man put the Boy on the Donkey and they went on their way. But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said: “See that lazy youngster, he lets his father walk while he rides.”

So the Man ordered his Boy to get off, and got on himself. But they hadn’t gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other: “Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along.”

Well, the Man didn’t know what to do, but at last he took his Boy up before him on the Donkey. By this time they had come to the town, and the passers-by began to jeer and point at them. The Man stopped and asked what they were scoffing at. The men said: “Aren’t you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor Donkey of yours—you and your hulking son?”

The Man and Boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought and they thought, till at last they cut down a pole, tied the Donkey’s feet to it, and raised the pole and the Donkey to their shoulders. They went along amid the laughter of all who met them till they came to Market Bridge, when the Donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out and caused the Boy to drop his end of the pole. In the struggle the Donkey fell over the bridge, and his fore-feet being tied together he was drowned.

“That will teach you,” said an old man who had followed them: “PLEASE ALL, AND YOU WILL PLEASE NONE.”

Rev. Igarashi said, “You have to think about why you are born into this world. Not just enjoy your life or make money. We are born into this world to practice Buddhism and get enlightenment and then try to save other people. …

“Practice and study the Lotus Sūtra, then if you understand only just a little bit you have to talk to other people and try to save them. That’s why we are born into this world. Now we can chant Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo and chant the Lotus Sūtra so we don’t waste our time. We try to get enlightenment and don’t end up regretting after we pass away. …

“Please practice for yourself first, study, then if you understand just a little bit of Lotus Sūtra and Nichiren Buddhism maybe you become a very rookie Bodhisattvas. Then you try to save other people and move up the rungs of Bodhisattvas. …

“Try to practice and study and don’t waste your time.”

You and me and everyone else

Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, flowers

Attended the Kaji Kito service at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church on Aug. 27. The sermon from Ven. Kenjo Igarashi covered a range of Buddhist concepts but the one item that stuck with me was the inclusive nature of the Buddhist practice.

Today’s quote from Lotus Seeds summarizes this well:

The bodhisattvas are as concerned about relieving the suffering of others as they are about relieving their own. One might even say they know we are all in the same boat, the Great Vehicle of the Mahayana, which takes all people to the other shore of perfect and complete awakening. Thus, the advancement of the individual is impossible without the advancement of all.
Lotus Seeds

But beyond the Bodhisattva practice for oneself and others is the fundamental teaching of 3000 realms in a single moment.

In the time since 2015, when I joined Nichiren Shu, I’ve had to unlearn a good portion of what I thought Nichiren Buddhism taught. The Daimoku is not, for example, solely a wish-granting gem, the more you polish it the more you get.

More subtle, but no less profound, is the meaning of 3,000 realms in a single thought moment, one of the defining elements of Nichiren Buddhism.

The basics are simple enough. Here’s the summary from Lotus Seeds:

3000 realms explainedIchinen Sanzen, the Three Thousand Worlds Contained in One Thought, is the theoretical cornertone of Nichiren Buddhism. It is a universal vision of life as rich, dynamic, and meaningful. Ichinen Sanzen reveals thal all life contains all Ten Worlds, including Buddhahood, and that these worlds operate according to the causes and conditions that we all set in motion. In a praclical sense, this theory means that we are able to make the cause that will allow the world of Buddhahood to emerge in our lives when we chant Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.Lotus Seeds

This description works fine for self-inspection but, as the Bodhisattvas teach us, self-inspection is only part of the practice.

I recently finished “Buddha Seed: Understanding the Odaimoku Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,” a 53-page book adapted by the Nichiren Buddhist International Center from the lectures of Rev. Taiko Seno.

Buddha Seed introduced me to the full meaning of 3000 realms:

“What does this number three thousand represent? It represents everything not only of the earth, but also of the universe and includes everything in the past, present, and future. Everything of the universe from animals, plants, other beings, visible or invisible, and their activities, workings, and movements are included in the three thousand realms. Everything of the universe exists within each one of us. Everything influences us, works together as primary cause and environmental cause and brings effects, rewards and retributions. All of us exist in relationship with everything in the universe.”

Or as Rev. Igarashi put it Sunday: Ichinen sanzen holds that each moment contains all of the universe.

To paraphrase Rev. Igarashi:

“There are a lot of people living in this world, more than 5 billion. And each moment of Ichinen Sanzen contains all of these people. That’s why if somebody is fighting I’m not happy. If somebody is unhappy, I’m not happy. That’s why praying for world peace is very important. If the world is at peace, we are all happy. That’s why Shakyamuni warned against focusing on one’s own happiness. Everyone must be happy.

That’s why all of the time I give you purification. You have to extinguish your bad karma. You chant Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo and the Lotus Sutra and accumulate merit while trying to help other people like Bodhisattvas. Not just for you. Not just for me. All 5 billion people’s spirit living in my mind. That’s why your actions made in this world decide your next world to go. Your actions are very important. Your actions accumulate merit.

Shakyamuni said everyone is equal but your karmas, your actions, your cause and condition are different. That’s why we have to try to accumulate good karma and help other people and try to extinguish our bad karma which we made in our previous life. That’s why I give you purification so that your karma is different and therefore your life is different.”

Eclipse Protection

NASA graphic

Sacramento Eclipse Info
On most Mondays I take the wife to the train station to begin her commute to work and return home to do my morning practice followed by some yoga, reading at Starbucks and weekly grocery shopping. It helps to have a routine when you’re retired.

But Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, wasn’t a normal day. Everyone was hyped about the TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE. I wasn’t excited to see the eclipse – I watched what could be seen from Sacramento on the last eclipse, Monday, February 26, 1979 – but the hype put me in a mood to do something special to mark the occasion.

So I created my Eclipse Protection ceremony.

First I donned the samue I purchased for the Seattle Choeizan Enkyoji Buddhist Temple retreat last month. Might as well dress for the occasion.

A quick Google search gave the local parameters. The moon would start to cross in front of the sun at 9:02am and reach the maximum coverage at 10:17am. The eclipse would end locally at 11:39am.

For the ceremony I decided on 20 minutes of chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo at the start of the eclipse and again for the final 20 minutes. In the middle, I would do 30 minutes of chanting centered on the 10:17am maximum eclipse point, with 15 minutes before and after. Between the chanting, I would do my regular morning service along with today’s English text from the Lotus Sūtra.

I highly recommend the Insight Timer app for situations like this.

So to begin I set up my altar with water, lit the candles and started a stick of incense. I bowed three times and kneeled on my floor cushion and waited for 9:02am.

At the appointed time, I started the timer and began chanting at a measured pace of one Namu Myoho Renge Kyo per breath. While chanting I imagined the moon beginning to eat at the edge of the sun’s disk of light.

After 20 minutes of chanting I started my normal morning practice, reciting Dōjōge to purify my altar and Sanborai to honor the Three Treasures. This was followed by the Invocation (Kanjo) and Kaikyoge, the Verses for Opening the Sūtra. (I do Kaikyoge in Japanese and then English.)

After Kaikyoge I recited the title of the Lotus Sūtra– Myoho Renge Kyo – and then recited today’s portion of the Sūtra in shindoku, the traditional Japanese reading of the Chinese characters.

When I finished reciting the Sūtra I had a few minutes before the start of the middle portion of chanting. I used that time to stretch my legs in silent walking meditation.

By 10:02am I was seated again. I lit another stick of incense and started the timer. This time I accompanied my chanting with my Uchiwa Daiko, pausing on Namu and then striking the fan drum on Myo, Ho, Ren, Ge, Kyo. I chanted at the pace we normally chant during services at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church.

The timer rang a bell at exactly 10:17am. The 0.83 percent coverage of the sun above Sacramento made the sky outside look as if it were overcast. As I continued chanting and striking the drum I imagined watching the sliver of light grow in brightness as the sun’s disk was uncovered.

Once the 30 minutes of chanting was complete, I opened my English copy of The Lotus Sūtra to my bookmark and began reciting aloud the last half of Chapter 2, Expedients, which was today’s portion of my 32-day cycle.

I’m including the full text here. While you read, imagine the world around you getting brighter and brighter.

Day 4
Chapter 2: Expedients (Continued)

Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:

Some bhikṣus and bhikṣunīs
Were arrogant.
Some upāsakās were self-conceited.
Some upāsikās were unfaithful.
Those four kinds of devotees
Were five thousand in number.

They could not see their own faults.
They could not observe all the precepts.
They were reluctant to heal their own wounds.
Those people of little wisdom are gone.
They were the dregs of this congregation.
They were driven away by my powers and virtues.

They had too few merits and virtues
To receive the Dharma.
Now there are only sincere people here.
All twigs and leaves are gone.

Śāriputra, listen attentively!
The Buddhas, having attained the Dharma,
Expound it to all living beings
By their immeasurable power to employ expedients.

I caused all living beings to rejoice
By telling them stories of previous lives,
Parables, similes and discourses,
That is to say, by employing various expedients
Because I knew their thoughts,
The various teachings they were practicing,
Their desires, their natures,
And the good and evil karmas they have previously done.

The sūtras were composed of prose, gāthās, and geyas.
The contents of them were
Miracles, parables, similes, upadesas,
And stories of the previous lives
Of Buddhas and of their disciples.
The reasons why the sūtras were expounded were also given.

I expounded the teaching of Nirvana to the dull people
Who wished to hear the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle,
Who were attached to birth and death,
And who were troubled by many sufferings
Inflicted on them because they have not practiced
The profound and wonderful teachings under innumerable Buddhas.

l expounded this expedient teaching in order to cause them
To enter the Way to the wisdom of the Buddha.
I never said to them:
“You will be able to attain the enlightenment of the
Buddha.” I never said this
Because time was not yet ripe for it.
Now is the time to say it.
I will expound the Great Vehicle definitely.
I expounded various sūtras of the nine elements
According to the capacities of all living beings.
I expounded various sūtras
Because those sūtras were a basis for the Great Vehicle.

Some sons of mine are pure in heart, gentle and wise.
They have practiced the profound and wonderful teachings
Under innumerable Buddhas
[ln their previous existence].
I will expound this sūtra of the Great Vehicle to them,
And a sure them of their future Buddhahood, saying:
“You will attain the enlightenment of the Buddha
In your future lives.”

Deep in their minds they are thinking of me,
And observing the pure precepts.
Therefore, they will be filled with joy
When they hear they will become Buddhas.
I know their minds.
Therefore, I will expound the Great Vehicle to them.

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

There is only one teaching, that is, the One Vehicle
In the Buddha-worlds of the ten quarters.
There is not a second or a third vehicle
Except when the Buddhas teach expediently.

The Buddhas lead all Living beings
By tentative names [of vehicles]
In order to expound their wisdom.
They appear in the worlds
Only for the One Vehicle.

Only this is true; the other two are not.
The Buddhas do not save living beings by the Lesser Vehicle.
They dwell in the Great Vehicle.
The Dharma they attained is adorned
With the power of concentration of mind
And with the power of wisdom.
They save all living beings by the Dharma.

l attained unsurpassed enlightenment,
The Great Vehicle, the Truth of Equality.
If I lead even a single man
By the Lesser Vehicle,
I shall be accused of stinginess.
It is not good at all to do this.

l do not deceive
Those who believe me and rely on me.
I am not greedy or jealous
Because I have eliminated all evils.
Therefore, in the worlds of the ten quarters,
I am fearless.

I am adorned with the physical marks of a Buddha.
I am illumining the world with my light.
To the countless living beings who honor me, I will expound
The seal of the truth, that is, the reality of all things.

Know this, Śāriputra!
I once vowed that l would cause
All living beings to become
Exactly as I am.
That old vow of mine
Has now been fulfilled.

I lead all living beings
Into the Way to Buddhahood.
Seeing people of no wisdom, l thought:
“If I teach them only the Way to Buddhahood,
They will be distracted.
They will doubt my teaching, and not receive it.
I know that they did not plant
The roots of good in their previous existence.
They are deeply attached to the five desires.
They suffer because of stupidity and cravings.
Because they have many desires,
They will fall into the three evil regions,
Or go from one to another of the six regions
Only to undergo many sufferings.
Through their consecutive previous existences,
Their small embryos have continued to grow up
To become men of few virtues and merits.
They are now troubled by many sufferings.
They are in the thick forests of wrong views.
They say “Things exist,”
Or “Things do not exist.”
They are attached to sixty-two wrong views.
They are deeply attached to unreal things.
They hold them firmly, and do not give them up.
They are arrogant, self-conceited,
Liable to flatter others, and insincere.
They have never heard of the name of a Buddha
Or of his right teachings
For thousands of billions of kalpas.
It is difficult to save them.”

Therefore, Śāriputra!
I expounded an expedient teaching
In order to eliminate their sufferings.
That was the teaching of Nirvana.
The Nirvana which I expounded to them
Was not true extinction.

All things are from the outset
In the state of tranquil extinction.
The Buddhas’ sons who complete the practice of the Way
Will become Buddhas in their future lives.

l expounded the teaching of the Three Vehicles
Only as an expedient.
All the other World-Honored Ones also
Expound the teaching of the One Vehicle [with expedients].

The great multitude present here
Shall remove their doubts.
The Buddhas do not speak differently.
There is only one vehicle, not a second.

The number of the Buddhas who passed away
During the past innumerable kalpas was
Hundreds of thousands of billions,
Uncountable.

All those World-Honored Ones expounded
The truth of the reality of all things
With various stories of previous lives, parables and similes,
That is to say, with innumerable expedients.

All those World-Honored Ones expounded
The teaching of the One Vehicle,
And led innumerable living beings [with expedients]
Into the Way to Buddhahood.

All those Great Saintly Masters
Who knew the deep desires
Of the gods, men, and other living beings
Of all the worlds,
Revealed the Highest Truth
With various expedients.

Those who met a past Buddha,
Who heard the Dharma from him,
And who obtained various merits and virtues
By almsgiving or by observing the precepts
Or by patience or by making endeavors
Or by dhyāna or by wisdom,
Have already attained
The enlightenment of the Buddha.

Those who, after the extinction of a Buddha,
Were good and gentle,
Have already attained
The enlightenment of the Buddha.

Those who, after the extinction of a Buddha,
Erected billions of stupas,
And who purely and extensively adorned [those stupas]
With treasures
Such as gold, silver, crystal,
Shell, agate, ruby, and lapis lazuli,
And who offered those adornments to his śarīras;
Or those who made the mausoleum [of the Buddha]
With stone, bricks, or clay,
Or with many kinds of wood,
Such as candana, aloes, or agalloch;
Or those who made the mausoleum of the Buddha
With heaps of earth
In the wilderness;
Or the boys who made the stupa of the Buddha
With heaps of sand by playing,
Have already attained
The enlightenment of the Buddha.

Those who carved an image of the Buddha
With the [proper] physical marks in his honor
Have already attained
The enlightenment of the Buddha.

Those who made an image of the Buddha
With the seven treasures;
Or those who made it
Of copper, copper-gold alloy, nickel,
Pewter lead, tin, iron, wood, or clay;
Or those who made it in plaster work,
Have already attained
The enlightenment of the Buddha.

Those who drew or caused others to draw in color
A picture of the Buddha adorned with his physical marks,
Each mark representing one hundred merits,
Have already attained the enlightenment of the Buddha.

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 respectfully offered
Flowers, incense, streamers, and canopies
Enshrined in a stupa-mausoleum;
Or those who caused men to make music
By beating drums, by blowing horns and conches,
And by playing reed-pipes, flutes, lyres, harps,
Lutes, gongs, and copper cymbals,
And offered the wonderful sounds produced thereby
To the image or picture of the Buddha;
Or those who sang joyfully in praise of him for his virtues;
Or those who just murmured [in praise of him],
Have already attained
The enlightenment of the Buddha.

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.

Those who bowed to the image of the Buddha,
Or just joined their hands together towards it,
Or raised only one hand towards it,
Or bent their head a little towards it
And offered the bending to it,
Became able to see innumerable Buddhas one after another.
They attained unsurpassed enlightenment,
Saved countless living beings,
And entered into the Nirvana-without-remainder
Just as fire dies out when wood is gone.

Those who entered a stupa-mausoleum
And said only once “Namo Buddhaya,”
Without even concentrating their minds,
Have already attained the enlightenment of the Buddha.

Those who heard the Dharma
In the lifetime of a past Buddha
Or after his extinction
Have already attained the enlightenment of the Buddha.

The World-Honored Ones in the future
Will be countless in number.
Those Tathāgatas also
Will expound the Dharma with expedients.

The Tathāgatas save all living beings
With innumerable expedients.
They cause all living beings to enter the Way
To the wisdom-without-āsravas of the Buddha.
Anyone who hears the Dharma
Will not fail to become a Buddha.

Every Buddha vows at the outset:
“I will cause all living beings
To attain the same enlightenment
That I attained.”

The future Buddhas will expound many thousands
Of myriads of millions of teachings
For just one purpose,
That is, for the purpose of revealing the One Vehicle.

The Buddhas, the Most Honorable Bipeds,
Expound the One Vehicle because they know:
“All things are devoid of substantiality.
The seed of Buddhahood comes from dependent origination.”

The Leading Teachers expound the Dharma with expedients
After realizing at the place of enlightenment:
“This is the abode of the Dharma and the position of the Dharma.
The reality of the world is permanently as it is.”

Gods and men are making offerings
To the present Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters.
The Buddhas as many as there are sands in the River Ganges
Who appeared in these worlds,
Are expounding the Dharma
For the purpose of giving peace to all living beings.

They know the Highest Truth of Tranquil Extinction.
They have the power to employ expedients.
Although they expound various teachings,
Their purpose is to reveal the Buddha-Vehicle.

Knowing the deeds of all living beings,
And their thoughts deep in their minds,
And the karmas they have done in their previous existence,
And their desires, natures, and powers to make efforts,
And also knowing whether each of them is keen or dull,
The Buddhas expound the Dharma according to their capacities,
With various stories of previous lives, parables, similes and discourses,
That is to say, with various expedients.

I also do the same.
I show the enlightenment of the Buddha
With various teachings
In order to give peace to all living beings.

I know the natures and desires of all living beings
By the power of my wisdom.
Therefore, I expound various teachings expediently,
And cause all living beings to rejoice.

Śāriputra, know this!
Seeing with the eyes of the Buddha
The living beings of the six regions, I thought:
“They are poor, and devoid of merits and wisdom.
They incessantly suffer because they are taken
To the rough road of birth and death.
They cling to the five desires
Just as a yak loves its tail.
They are occupied with greed and cravings,
And blinded by them.
They do not seek the Buddha who has great power.
They do not seek the Way to eliminate sufferings.
They are deeply attached to wrong views.
They are trying to stop suffering by suffering.”

My great compassion was aroused towards them.
I for the first time sat at the place of enlightenment[,]
[And attained enlightenment].
For three weeks afterwards,
I gazed on the tree,
Or walked about, thinking:
“The wisdom I obtained is
The most wonderful and excellent.
The living beings [of the six regions]
Are dull, attached to pleasures,
And blinded by stupidity.
How shall I save them?”

On that occasion King Brahman,
Heavenly-King Śakra,
The four heavenly world-guardian kings,
Great-Freedom God, and other gods [of each world],
And thousands of millions of their attendants
Joined their hands together [towards me] respectfully,
Bowed to me,
And asked me to turn the wheel of the Dharma.

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 l attained
By dividing it into the Three Vehicles.”

The Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters
Appeared before me when I had thought this.
They consoled me with their brahma voices:
“Good, Śākyamuni, Highest Leading Teacher!
You attained the unsurpassed Dharma.
You have decided to expound it with expedients
After the examples of the past Buddha
We also expound the Three Vehicles
To the Living beings
Although we attained
The most wonderful and excellent Dharma.
Men of little wisdom wish to hear
The teachings of the Lesser Vehicle.
They do not believe that they will become Buddhas.
Therefore, we show them
Various fruits of enlightenment.
Although we expound the Three Vehicles,
Our purpose is to teach only Bodhisattvas.”

Śāriputra, know this!
Hearing the deep, pure, and wonderful voices
Of the Lion-Like Saints,
l joyfully called out, “Namo Buddhaya!”
I thought:
“I appeared in the defiled world.
Just like the other Buddhas,
I will expound the Dharma
According to the capacities of all living beings.”
Having thought this, I went to Varanasi,
And expounded the Dharma to the five bhikṣus
With expedients
Because the state of tranquil extinction of all things
ls inexplicable by words.
That was my first turning
Of the wheel of the Dharma.
Thus the words: Nirvana, Arhat, Dharma,
and Sangha
Came into existence.

I said to them:
“For the past innumerable kalpas
I have been extolling the teaching of Nirvana
In order to eliminate the sufferings of birth and death.”

Śāriputra, know this!
Then I saw many sons of mine,
Thousands of billions in number,
Seeking the enlightenment of the Buddha.
They came to me respectfully.
They had already heard
Expedient teachings
From the past Buddhas.

I thought:
“I appeared in this world
In order to expound my wisdom.
Now is the time to do this.”

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.

I am now joyful and fearless.
I have laid aside all expedient teachings.
l will expound only unsurpassed enlightenment
To Bodhisattvas.

The Bodhisattvas who hear the Dharma
Will be able to remove the mesh of doubts.
The twelve hundred Arhats also
Will become Buddhas.

All the Buddhas in the past, present, and future
Expounded, are expounding, and will expound
In the same manner the Dharma beyond comprehension.
I also will expound it in the same manner.

The Buddhas seldom appear in the worlds.
It is difficult to meet them.
Even when they do appear in the worlds,
They seldom expound the Dharma.

It is difficult to hear the Dharma
Even during innumerable kalpas.
It is also difficult to meet a person
Who listens to the Dharma attentively.
It is as difficult as seeing an udumbara-flower.
This flower, loved by all living beings,
And treasured by gods and men,
Blooms only once in a long time.

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.

[The Buddha said to the great multitude:]

All of you, do not doubt me!
I am the King of the Dharma.
I say to you:
“I will expound the teaching of the One Vehicle
Only to Bodhisattvas.
There is no Śrāvaka among my disciples.”

Śāriputra, other Śrāvakas, and Bodhisattvas!
Know this!
This Wonderful Dharma is
The hidden core of the Buddhas.

The living beings
In the evil world of the five defilements
Are attached to many desires.
They do not seek the enlightenment of the Buddha.

Evil people in the future will doubt the One Vehicle
When they hear it from a Buddha.
They will not believe or receive it.
They will violate the Dharma, and fall into the evil regions.

Extol the teaching of the One Vehicle
In the presence of those who are modest,
Who are pure in heart,
And who are seeking enlightenment of the Buddha!

Śāriputra [and others], know this!
As a rule, the Buddhas expound the Dharma
With billions of expedients as stated above,
According to the capacities of all living beings.

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!

[Here ends] the First Volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

End of Day 4

When I finished reciting the Sūtra I concluded my morning practice with Hotoge, in shindoku and English, and then Eko, the dedication prayer, followed by the Four Great Bodhisattva Vows and ending with Sanki (taking refuge in the Three Treasures) and Buso (sending home the spirits who watch over our practices).

I had time for another period of silent meditation before the final 20 minutes.

At 11:19am I lit a final stick of incense and began slowly chanting, one Namu Myoho Renge Kyo for each breath, while imagining the final sliver of the moon departing from the face of the sun.

At 11:39am, the timer bell rang and I bowed, got up and put out the candles.

I showered, changed clothes and went grocery shopping. It was still Monday, after all.