Category Archives: Books

Shodaigyo, Blog, Books

Perfecting Shodaigyo Practice

shodaigyo_bookcover
Available for purchase at NBIC

Yesterday I completed the third week of the Enkyoji Buddhist Network’s online classes. This week dealt with Shodaigyo, the Nichiren Shu alternative to the traditional sutra chanting service. Shodaigyo eschews shindoku and instead combines seated meditation and chanting Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō. The simplicity of this format makes it an excellent vehicle for introducing the Daimoku to people unfamiliar with Buddhism.

The practice was established by Japanese Nichiren Shu Bishop Nichijun Yukawa in 1947. The fundamentals of Shodaigyo practice are detailed in Journey of the Path to Righteousness, an English translation by Rev. Shogen Kumakura, head priest of New York Daiseion-ji, of the most critical section of Rev. Tairyu Gondo’s manual on the liturgy of the Shodai-gyo, Chapter One: The Heart of Shodaigyo – The Manners and Practice.

Download Enkyoji Shodaigyo practice guide
This book offers minutely detailed instructions on the proper way to practice shodaigyo. As the book explains: “In following the above procedures, the effects of Shodaigyo Ceremony practice are improved.”

The reason for the development of this form of practice is detailed in the brief Introduction:

It is not easy for the practitioner to maintain a seriousness of heart for the most assiduous practice of chanting the Odaimoku. This being so, a variety of earlier methodologies for the practitioner have been taken into consideration for quite some time. The current form of Shodaigyo was developed from a foundation of those earlier methodologies. Today, this evolved form of Shodaigyo is practiced in Nichiren temples throughout the country of Japan and now around the world. Archbishop Nichijun Yukawa, my Sensei (mentor) and the founder of Gudo Dougan-Kai (The Association of the Same Wish for Those Seeking the Way), was the developer of this modern form of Shodaigyo. He propagated this current Shodaigyo form throughout Japan until he was until he was 93 years old.

“Shodaigyo is to chant the Odaimoku intently, staring deeply into the heart of the Self, in identification of the purified mind.”

Journey of the Path to Righteousness, p 2-3

I was previously introduced to the practice of Shodaiqyo at the four-day Enkyoji Buddhist Network 2017 Summer Retreat at the Seattle Choeizan Enkyoji Nichiren Buddhist Temple.

The pamphlet developed by the Enkyoji Network is available here.

Shodaigyo is sometimes combined with Reidan Daimoku Hand Gestures. You can read about those here.

For the next 25 days I’m going to postpone my quotes from Vasubandhu’s Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, and instead post quotes from Journey of the Path to Righteousness.

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Japanese Culture, Blog, Books

The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture

Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture bookcoverContinuing with my Office Lens houscleaning, I will be offering  quotes from The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture for the next 10 days. Published by the University of Hawaii Press in 1989, this selection of  essays was edited by George J. Tanabe Jr. and Willa Jane Tanabe. The Tanabes are famous – perhaps infamous – for the editors’ Introduction, in which they describe the Lotus Sutra as a text “about a discourse that is never delivered, a lengthy preface without a book.”

Having been introduced to the book as a footnote for that quote I was not surprised to find this infamous Introduction stumbles in summarizing the sutra.

In the opening scene of the Lotus Sutra, great sages, deities, and kings gather by the tens of thousands to hear the Buddha speak. After the multitude showers him with reverent offerings, the Buddha offers some preliminary words and then enters a state of deep concentration. The heavens rain flowers and the earth trembles while the crowd waits for the sermon. Then the Buddha emits a glowing light from the tuft of white hair between his brows and illuminates the thousands of worlds in all directions of the universe. The bodhisattva Maitreya, wanting to know the meaning of this sign, asks Mañjuśrī, who searches back into his memory and recalls a similar display of light:

You good men, once before, in the presence of past Buddhas, I saw this portent: when the Buddhas had emitted this light, straightway they preached the great Dharma. Thus it should be understood that the present Buddha’s display of light is also of this sort. It is because he wishes all the living beings to be able to hear and know the Dharma, difficult of belief for all the worlds, that he displays this portent.

Everything that is happening now, recalls Maitreya, happened in that distant past when the Buddha preached the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings and entered samādhi as the universe trembled and rained flowers.

Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture, {author-numb}

Okay. It’s just a typo. It’s not like I haven’t made any typos here. I’m sure the editors know that it is Mañjuśrī who recalls his past life experience.

As for that infamous quote, here’s the context:

The status of the sutra is raised to that of an object of worship, for it is to be revered in and of itself because of the merits it asserts for itself. As praises for the Lotus Sutra mount with increasing elaboration, it is easy to fall in with the sutra’s protagonists and, like them, fail to notice that the preaching of the Lotus sermon promised in the first chapter never takes place. The text, so full of merit, is about a discourse which is never delivered; it is a lengthy preface without a book.

The Lotus Sutra is thus unique among texts. It is not merely subject to various interpretations, as all texts are, but is open or empty at its very center. It is a surrounding text, pure context, which invites not only interpretation of what is said but filling in of what is not said. It therefore lends itself more easily than do other scriptures to being shaped by users of the text.

The fact that the preaching remains an unfulfilled promise is never mentioned, mostly because that fact is hardly noticed, or because the paean about the sermon sounds like the sermon itself. The text is taken at face value: praise about the Lotus Sutra becomes the Lotus Sutra, and since the unpreached sermon leaves the text undefined in terms of a fixed doctrinal value (save, of course, the value of the paean) it can be exchanged at any number of rates. Exchange involves transformation, the turning of one thing into another, and the Lotus Sutra can thus be minted into other expressions of worth. That transformation process, beginning with the original text itself, did in fact take place, and the different ways in which the Lotus Sutra was transformed into aspects of Japanese culture are the subject of this collection of essays.

Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture, {author-numb}

I will offer quotes from two of the 10 essays. Some of the essays are not quotable and some I find objectionable. Here’s an example of the latter from the essay “The Meaning of the Formation and Structure of the Lotus Sutra” by Shioiri Ryōdō:

In the mid-Heian period the Pure Land belief centered on Amida became quite popular, and in Nihon ōjō gokuraku ki (An Account of Japanese Reborn in Paradise) by Yoshishige no Yasutane (934-997) there are many legends patterned after examples of the Chinese Buddhists considered to have been reborn in the Pure Land paradise. Eshin Sōzu (Genshin, 942-1017), a priest of Mt. Hiei, is famous for writing Ōjōyōshū (Essentials for Rebirth), in which he describes paradise and hell in detail and speaks of loathing the defilements of this world and desiring rebirth in paradise. In a certain sense it could be said that he perfected the Pure Land teaching on Mt. Hiei. Those who gathered around these two men heard lectures on the Lotus Sutra, wrote poems based on phrases from the sutra, and made the recitation of the nembutsu their central practice. Recitations of the Lotus Sutra and the name of Amida coexisted without the slightest contradiction. When I was asked by Professor Inoue Mitsusada to annotate the Ōjōden (Biographies of Rebirth) and the Hokke genki (Miraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra) for the Iwanami series on Japanese thought, I spent nearly a year at this task and was keenly aware of the compatibility of the two practices as I became intimate with the biographies of those reborn. The Ōjōden is a collection of biographies of forty-five Buddhists, beginning with Shōtoku Taishi; of the thirty-five who are said to have gained rebirth in paradise, seven are explicitly described as believers in the Lotus Sutra. The number can be extended to ten if we include those who I think were believers or practitioners of the Lotus Sutra even though there is no explicit reference to this. In a text where only three people are said to have practiced esoteric Buddhism apart from their Pure Land belief and only two were adherents of other sutras, we can see the extent to which the Lotus Sutra was preferred.

Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture, {author-numb}

Yes, in the Heian period the “recitations of the Lotus Sutra and the name of Amida coexisted without the slightest contradiction.” That’s exactly why Nichiren Shōnin was so adamant that things had gotten out of hand.

While I did not quote from Geroge Tanabe’s “Tanaka Chigaku: The Lotus Sutra and the Body Politic,” I recommend it as an introduction to Tanaka and his fervent nationalist Nichirenism.

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dhammapada, Books

The Dhammapada


From the publisher’s introduction

Dhammapada means “the path of dharma,” the path of harmony and righteousness that anyone can follow to reach the highest good. The Dhammapada is a collection of verses, gathered probably from direct disciples who wanted to preserve what they had heard from the Buddha himself. Easwaran’s best-selling translation of this classic Buddhist text is based on the original Pali.

Easwaran’s comprehensive introduction to the Dhammapada gives an overview of the Buddha’s teachings that is penetrating, and clear – accessible for readers new to Buddhism, but also with fresh insights and practical applications for readers familiar with this text. Chapter introductions, notes and a Sanskrit glossary place individual verses into the context of the broader Buddhist canon.

Easwaran is a master storyteller, and the introduction includes many stories that make moving, memorable reading, bringing young Siddhartha and his heroic spiritual quest vividly to life. This faithful interpretation brings us closer to the compassionate heart of the Buddha.

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stories, Books

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra

Stories of the Lotus Sutra book cover
Available for purchase on Amazon

From the Introduction to Gene Reeves’ 2010 book published by Rissho Kosei-kai:

Be forwarned! This book might transform you into the kind of Buddhist who loves the Lotus Sutra and therefore deeply cares about this world. It is a commentary on the stories of the Lotus Sutra, a sutra that more than any other has been both loved and reviled. Though intended to be a companion volume to my translation of the Lotus Sutra, this does not mean that it cannot be read without the translation at hand. I think everything in this book can be understood on its own. Still, one’s understanding of the Dharma Flower Sutra will be greatly enhanced by reading the translation – or better yet by reading a Chinese version! …

During most of my adult life I have been both a teacher and a preacher, roles which I understand to be different, though, of course, teaching can be included within preaching and sometimes a little preaching may show up in a teacher. And that is what this book does, at least that is what I hope it does. I hope it will inspire at least some readers not only to understand the Lotus Sutra better but also to embrace it, at least some part of its core teaching. I hope some will be moved by it to improve their lives in some significant way. But where it has seemed relevant to do so, I have included factual information both about the text and about the subjects of the stories in the text.

I hope it will shed some light on and even open up the profound meaning of that text – which is normally known in East Asia as the Dharma Flower Sutra. (In this book I will use “Lotus Sutra” and “Dharma Flower Sutra” interchangeably.) Though any text, including the Dharma Flower Sutra, can be interpreted and understood in various ways, I believe that this text is first of all a religious text, intended primarily not to settle some dispute among monks in ancient India, or to expound philosophical doctrines, but rather to influence the lives of its hearers or readers in highly significant ways. In an important way, we might say that the text wants to teach and transform you! For that purpose to be fulfilled or even appreciated widely, it is important that the meaning and thrust of the Sutra be readily available to ordinary English-language readers. This attempt to interpret the Lotus Sutra in plain words is an attempt to have its rich meanings and significance available to a wider and widening audience.
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p1-3

See this blog post: The Trouble with Interfaith Truth

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Eyes, Blog, Books

Open Your Eyes

A Nichiren Buddhist View of Awakening

Finally completed Rev. Ryuei McCormick’s Open Your Eyes: A Nichiren Buddhist View of Awakening. This is a compilation of a series of blog posts McCormick originally posted on his Fraught With Peril website.

I heartily endorse Mark Herrick’s assessment of this work:

This book is a thoroughly researched and well sourced reference combining a historical look at the spread of Buddhism and illuminating Nichiren’s thinking within its context of medieval Japanese culture. It carefully explains why Nichiren expressed criticism of other Buddhist schools and his overarching motivation to ease the suffering of people in this world by returning emphasis to Śākyamuni Buddha’s message that everyone regardless of gender, status, or circumstance can become a buddha in this very lifetime.

Open Your Eyes, p6

The physical book is huge. Literally. It measures 7 inches by 10 inches and 600 pages. (By comparison, Murano’s Lotus Sutra is 5 7/8 by 8 1/4 and 427 pages.) But it is not difficult to read. The text is broken up into 46 chapters, with an average length of 12 or so pages per chapter. I recommend a chapter-a-night regimen.

At the conclusion of the book, McCormick offers an excellent explanation of why you should bother reading his book. Given the length of the book, moving this message up front may encourage more people to pick it up and consider what it has to say:

Many people today, I think, are very casual about being either nominally religious, or vaguely spiritual, or openly disdainful of religious teachings and spiritual practice. Those who do investigate and take up Buddhism and Buddhist practice all too often are satisfied with the small rewards of worldly benefits like peace of mind gained through silent sitting practices, or perhaps good fortune in their relationships or careers because they believe Buddhism can give them some kind of metaphysical control over their lives through ritual practices. I would not deny that sitting meditation or chanting can bring about peace of mind or help people gain the insight to refrain from bad and instead make good causes to help them make the most of life in a worldly sense. Even Śākyamuni Buddha gave discourses to lay followers to help them live wisely and thereby enjoy relatively happy lives in a worldly sense. However, what Nichiren is inviting us to do in Kaimoku-shō is to reflect more deeply about religious teachings including Buddhism and what they mean in terms of how we view life and our own role. Are we content to simply accept that this is the only life and that after death there is nothing at all? Or do we believe there may be some heavenly realm to hope for and that a virtuous life can lead us to it? Or do we wish to seek buddhahood — a life of selfless compassion that transcends small-minded concerns about personal happiness in this or some other lifetime? If we are really willing to engage the deepest teachings of Buddhism and try to realize and actualize them, what are we willing to put on the line? How much of ourselves are we willing to give? Are we only looking for protection and benefits? Or do we have the compassion and courage to give more and more of ourselves for the sake of all beings according to whatever the situation may demand? I cannot imagine that everyone will come to the same conclusions as Nichiren did, but I do think that if the Kaimoku-shō can inspire us to at least reflect on these questions, then it will have been well worth taking the time to read and ponder its message.

Open Your Eyes, p586-587

I’m also publishing the Introduction and I will be setting aside additional quotes in the future.

Earlier I published a lengthy excerpt in a blog post Understanding the 12-Linked Chain of Causation.

 
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Kaleidoscope, Books

A Buddhist Kaleidoscope: Essays on the Lotus Sutra

kaleidoscope-cover
Available on Amazon
Publishers Introduction
A Buddhist Kaleidoscope: Essays on the Lotus Sutra examines what many consider to be the highest teaching of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni. Buddhist Kaleidoscope brings together essays on the Lotus Sutra by an international assembly of Buddhist scholars, taking into account historic and modern reflections on the Lotus Sutra. Discussions in the book range from “The Lotus Sutra and the Dimension of Time” to “The Lotus Sutra and Health Care Ethics.” One essay considers the Lotus Sutra in relation to social obligations, while others regard feminist and paternalist readings. In his introduction, editor Gene Reeves says he tried to include the broadest possible diversity of views, offering a complete vision of this important Buddhist scripture.

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2buddhas, Books

Two Buddhas Seated Side by Side

Available on Amazon
Amazon review


From the Publisher’s introduction:

An essential companion to a timeless spiritual classic

The Lotus Sūtra is among the most venerated scriptures of Buddhism. Composed in India some two millennia ago, it affirms the potential for all beings to attain supreme enlightenment. Donald Lopez and Jacqueline Stone provide an essential reading companion to this inspiring yet enigmatic masterpiece, explaining how it was understood by its compilers in India and, centuries later in medieval Japan, by one of its most influential proponents.

In this illuminating chapter-by-chapter guide, Lopez and Stone show how the sūtra’s anonymous authors skillfully reframed the mainstream Buddhist tradition in light of a new vision of the path and the person of the Buddha himself, and examine how the sūtra’s metaphors, parables, and other literary devices worked to legitimate that vision. They go on to explore how the Lotus was interpreted by the Japanese Buddhist master Nichiren (1222–1282), whose inspired reading of the book helped to redefine modern Buddhism. In doing so, Lopez and Stone demonstrate how readers of sacred works continually reinterpret them in light of their own unique circumstances.

An invaluable guide to an incomparable spiritual classic, this book unlocks the teachings of the Lotus for modern readers while providing insights into the central importance of commentary as the vehicle by which ancient writings are given contemporary meaning.

Also see this blog post: Two Authors Seated Side by Side and especially the conclusion of this post entitled Apocryphal Text.

My final book review, Two Stars for Two Buddhas Seated Side by Side.

Podcast Tricycle Talks to Two Authors (45 minutes)

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Saicho, Books

Saicho : The Establishment of the Japanese Tendai School

saicho-bookcover
Available on Amazon
From the Publisher

Saicho (767-822), the founder of the Tendai School, is one of the great masters of Japanese Buddhism. This edition, which includes a new preface by the author, makes available again a classic work on this important figure’s life and accomplishments. Groner’s study focuses on Saicho’s founding of the great monastic center on Mount Hiei, the leading religious institution of medieval Japan, and his radical move to adopt for purposes of ordination the Mahayana bodhisattva precepts–a decision that had far-reaching consequences for the future of Japanese Buddhist ethical thought, monastic training and organization, lay-clerical relations, philosophical developments, and Buddhism-state relations.

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Blog, Books, Practice Guide

35-Day Practice Guide for Beginners

A French translation of this book is available here.

I first published my links to Ryusho Jeffus’ Lotus Sutra Practice Guide: 35-Day Practice Outline back in November 2017. Ever since then I have wanted to update this page to include the required reading material. Now it is possible to read each day’s selection from the Lotus Sutra and then jump to Ryusho Jeffus’ website to read the day’s lesson.

Lotus Sutra Practice Guide bookcover
This book is available for purchase on Amazon

From Amazon:

35-Day Practice Outline; Introduction to the Lotus Sutra and beginning practice. This 35-Day guide presents an organized introduction to the study of the Lotus Sutra, the sutra revered by Nichiren Buddhists all over the world. Using this book along with a translation of the sutra the practitioner will gain an overview of the entire Lotus Sutra as well as a systematic approach to beginning to practice Nichiren Buddhism. This guide is not intended as an in depth study of the Lotus Sutra, but as a way to begin to establish a greater relationship with one of the most highly respected of the Buddha’s teachings. It is recommended that this serve as a companion book to your own Lotus Sutra translation book.

Each day has a reading assignment followed by a lesson from Rev. Ryusho Jeffus. Below I’ve gathered the reading material and provided a link to the lesson. The page numbers are for the Third Edition of Senchu Murano’s The Lotus Sutra.

Begin by reading the Introduction

 
Once you have finished this, you might find The Basic Nichiren Shu Service useful.

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Nihon, Books

Miraculous Stories from the Japanese Buddhist Tradition

Available on Amazon

From the publisher’s description:

This is the first collection of Buddhist legends in Japan, and these stories form the repertoire of miraculous events and moral examples that later Buddhist priests used for preaching to the people. As Kyokai describes his own intentions, “By editing these stories of miraculous events I want to pull the people forward by the ears, offer my hand to lead them to good, and show them how to cleanse their feet of evil” (p.222).

Nakamura’s book is actually two works in one: first an introduction to the Nihon ryōiki, and then an annotated translation. The introduction analyzes the life of the author and the influence of earlier writings, and provides a valuable synthesis of the world view reflected in the work.

The annotated translation renders the more than one hundred stories into English narrative, with copious notes. Difficult terms are identified in the text with the original Chinese characters, while historical matters and Buddhist technical terms are explained in the footnotes.

As I did with Miraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Ancient Japan, I have culled from this book a selection of material to set aside for future reference. I’ve collected stories of the Hokekyō reciters, the followers of the Lotus Sūtra, and I’ll publish those daily as part of my 32 Days of the Lotus Sūtra practice. Several of these stories appeared as Miraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Ancient Japan. Additional details are available in the Miraculous Stories from the Japanese Buddhist Tradition translation.

The translator and editor of this edition, Kyoko Motomochi Nakamura, offers this concept of “miracles” at the conclusion of his preface:

If miracles are narrowly defined as the intervention of the divine which is designed to suspend or change the law of nature, then wondrous occurrences in the Buddhist tradition are not miracles, but the work of karma (1.26). As a consequence of past karma, man becomes a sage, holy man, bodhisattva, or buddha, and attains self-mastery. To the popular imagination, however, wonders held such appeal that they served as signs to invite men through the gate along the path toward enlightenment. (Page 91)

The Nihon ryōiki is a collection of stories gathered by a monk named Kyōkai. The Nihon ryōiki, according to Nakamura, was compiled either in 782-805 or 810-824. Theories differ, but one important aspect is that at the time when this book was compiled Japanese Buddhism was in a transition away from nonsectarian “Buddhist institutes for the study of several different doctrines” toward a growing sectarian consciousness “in response to the challenge of the new Buddhist teachings introduced by Saichō (767-822) and Kūkai (744-835)” (Page 4).

Kyōkai’s Preface of Volume One offers this view of Good and Evil:

Good and evil deeds cause karmic retribution as a figure causes its shadow, and suffering and pleasure follow such deeds as an echo follows a sound in the valley. Those who witness such experiences marvel at them and forget they are real happenings in the world. The penitent withdraws to hide himself, for he burns with shame at once. Were the fact of karmic retribution not known, how could we rectify wickedness and establish righteousness? And how would it be possible to make men mend their wicked minds and practice the path of virtue without demonstrating the law of karmic causation? (Page 101)

And later in discussing his own limitations:

I am not gifted with either wisdom or lucidity. Learning acquired in a narrow well loses its way when out in the open. My work resembles that of a poor craftsman working on the carving of a master. I am afraid that I will cut my hand and suffer from the injury long afterward. My work is comparable to a rough pebble beside the K’un-lun Mountains. Its source in the oral tradition is so indistinct that I am afraid of omitting much. Only the desire to do good has moved me to try, in spite of the fear that this might turn out to be a presumptuous work by an incompetent author. I hope that learned men in future generations will not laugh at my efforts, and I pray that those who happen upon this collection of miraculous stories will put aside evil, live in righteousness, and, without causing evil, practice good. (Page 101-102)

From the Kyōkai’s Preface to Volume III, the three periods of Śākyamuni’s teachings:

The Inner Scriptures show how good and evil deeds are repaid, while the Outer Writings show how good and bad fortunes bring merit and demerit. If we study all the discourses Śākyamuni made during his lifetime, we learn that there are three periods: first, the period of the true dharma (shōbō), which lasts five hundred years; second, the period of the counterfeit dharma (zōbō), lasting a thousand years; and third, the period of the degenerate dharma (mappō), which continues for ten thousand years. By the fourth year of the hare, the sixth year of the Enryaku era [787], seventeen hundred and twenty-two years have passed since Buddha entered nirvana. Accordingly, we live in the age of the degenerate dharma following the first two periods. Now in Japan, by the sixth year of the Enryaku era, two hundred and thirty-six years have elapsed since the arrival of the Buddha, Dharma, and Samgha [538 or 553]. Flowers bloom without voice, and cocks cry without tears. In the present world those who practice good are as few as flowers on rocky hills, but those who do evil are as plentiful as weeds in the soil. Without knowing the law of karmic retribution, one offends as easily as a blind man loses his way. A tiger is known by its tail. Those devoted to fame, profit, and killing doubt the immediate repayment of good and evil which occurs as quickly as a mirror reflects. One who is possessed of an evil spirit is like one who holds a poisonous snake; the poison is always there ready to appear.

The great power of karmic retribution reaches us as quickly as sound echoes in a valley. If we call, the echo never fails to answer, and this is the way karmic retribution works in this life. How can we fail to be more careful? It is useless to repent after spending a lifetime in vain. Who can enjoy immortality since you are given a limited life? How can you depend on your transient life as being eternal? We are already in the age of the degenerate dharma. How can we live without doing good? My heart aches for all beings. How can we be saved from calamity in the age of the degenerate dharma? If we offer monks only a handful of food, the merit of our good deed will save us from the calamity of hunger. If we keep a precept of nonkilling for a day, we will be saved from the calamity of sword and battle. (Page 221-222)

He follows with an example of how karma works:

Once there was a full-fledged monk who lived on a mountain and practiced meditation. At every meal he shared his food with a crow which came to him every day. After a vegetarian meal, he chewed a toothpick, cleaned his mouth, washed his hands and played with a stone. The crow was behind the hedge when he threw the stone. He hit the crow without knowing that it was there. The crow died on the spot, its head crushed into pieces, and was reborn as a boar. The boar lived in the same mountain as the monk. It happened to go to the place above his hut, rooting about among the rocks for food, where upon one of the rocks rolled down and killed the monk. Although the boar had no intention of killing him, the rock rolled down by itself. A sin committed by an action which is neither good nor bad will in turn generate the same kind of action. In the case of intentional murder, how is it possible to escape the penalty? A deluded mind produces the seed and fruit of evil; an enlightened mind produces the seed of good to attain Buddhahood. (Page 222)

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