I began Higan Week with quotes from a Tibetan stream outside the ocean of the Lotus Sutra. Standing on the stream bank I wondered why Nichiren’s teaching on the Lotus Sutra doesn’t include the deep Bodhisattva practices that appear so beneficial.
In the Nichiren Shu brochure about Higan, the seven-day period that occurs twice a year at the Equinox, it states plainly that Buddhism is About Practice, a sentiment that fit nicely with my question.
But does the Lotus Sutra really teach that individual practice is the path to enlightenment?
On the same day that I bemoaned a lack of focus on the Six Perfections in Nichiren Buddhism, my daily reading of the Lotus Sutra covered Chapter 17, which discusses the merits one receives from understanding that the Buddha’s lifetime is beyond measure and that any discussion of his death is just an expedient used to bring listeners to the wisdom of the Buddha.
Consider these gāthās from Chapter 17:
Suppose someone practiced
The five paramitas
For eighty billion nayuta kalpas
In order to attain the wisdom of the Buddha.Throughout these kalpas he offered
Wonderful food and drink,
Excellent garments and bedding,
And monasteries made of candana
And adorned with gardens and forests
To the Buddhas,
To the cause-knowers, to the disciples,
And to the Bodhisattvas.Throughout these kalpas he made
These various and wonderful offerings
In order to attain
The enlightenment of the Buddha.He also observed the precepts,
Kept purity and faultlessness,
And sought the unsurpassed enlightenment
Extolled by the Buddhas.He was patient, gentle,
And friendly with others.
Even when many evils troubled him,
His mind was not moved.He endured all insults and disturbances
Inflicted upon him by arrogant people who thought
That they had already obtained the Dharma.He was strenuous and resolute in mind.
He concentrated his mind,
And refrained from indolence
For many hundreds of millions of kalpas.He Lived in a retired place
For innumerable kalpas.
He sat or walked to avoid drowsiness
And to concentrate his mind.By doing so, he became able to practice
Many dhyāna-concentrations.
His mind was peaceful, not distracted
For eighty billion kalpas.With these merits of concentration of his mind,
He sought unsurpassed enlightenment, saying:
“I will complete all these dhyāna-concentrations,
And obtain the knowledge of all things.”He performed
The meritorious practices
As previously stated
For hundreds of thousands of billions of kalpas.The good men or women who believe my longevity,
Of which I told you,
Even at a moment’s thought
Will be able to obtain more merits than he.Those who firmly believe [my longevity],
And have no doubts about it
Even for a moment,
Will be able to obtain more merits [than he].
On the second day of Higan week, my daily reading covered Chapter 18: The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sūtra, which begins with a discussion of the merits to be received by the 50th person who rejoices at hearing even a phrase of the sutra. Here, again, we find actual deeds superseded by simple faith.
Suppose there was a great almsgiver.
He continued giving alms
To innumerable living beings
For eighty years according to their wishes.Those living beings became old and decrepit.
Their hair became grey; their faces, wrinkled;
And their teeth, fewer and deformed.
Seeing this, he thought:
“I will teach them because they will die before long.
I will cause them to obtain the fruit of enlightenment.”Then he expounded the truth of Nirvana to them
As an expedient, saying:
“This world is as unstable
As a spray of water,
Or as a foam, or as a filament of air.
Hate it, and leave it quickly!”Hearing this teaching, they attained Arhatship,
And obtained the six supernatural powers,
Including the three major supernatural powers,
And the eight emancipations.The superiority of the merits of the fiftieth person
Who rejoices at hearing even a gāthā [of this sūtra]
To the merits of this [great almsgiver]
Cannot be explained by any parable or simile.
At this point it seemed fair to suggests that other sutras may focus on the practice of Buddhism, but faith, not practice, is key in the Lotus Sutra. This observation was tempered slightly by the Daily Dharma from Sept. 24:
Needless to say, anyone who not only keeps this sūtra but also gives alms, observes the precepts, practices patience, makes endeavors, concentrates his mind, and seeks wisdom, will be able to obtain the most excellent and innumerable merits. His merits will be as limitless as the sky is in the east, west, south, north, the four intermediate quarters, the zenith, and the nadir. These innumerable merits of his will help him obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things.
The Buddha makes this declaration to Maitreya Bodhisattva in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. We often think of merits as bonus points we get for good deeds. Good karma we create to offset the bad karma that came from our less skillful actions. Another way of looking at merits is as a measure of clarity. The more merit we gain, the more we see things for what they are. When we offer our merits for the benefit of all beings, we resolve to use this clarity to enhance the lives of others.
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But any suggestion that practice is remotely comparable to faith in Nichiren Buddhism, was put to rest by the Quote of the Day on Sept. 20:
It is said that the merit of all the Buddhist scriptures (except the Lotus Sutra) is that men can become Buddhas after they have done good deeds, which means that attainment of Buddhahood remains uncertain. In the case of the Lotus Sutra, when one touches it, one’s hands immediately become Buddhas, and when one chants it, one’s mouth instantaneously becomes a Buddha.
This daily quote comes from the Raihai Seiten, a Nichiren Shu Service Book Companion compiled by the Los Angeles Nichiren Buddhist Temple’s Nichiren Shu Beikoku Sangha Association. This was compiled in 2001-2002 when Rev. Shokai Kanai was the head priest.
This particular letter appears among the Writings of Nichiren Shonin in Volume 7, Followers II. This idea that faith, not practice, is essential is underscored in the letter. Following the above quote it says on page 59:
For example, when the moon rises above the eastern mountain, its reflection immediately shows on the water. Sound and resonance also occur simultaneously. It is written [in the Lotus Sutra] that one who listens to the Lotus Sutra will never fail to attain Buddhahood. The meaning of this passage is that whether there be 100, or even 1,000 people, all those who believe in this sutra [the Lotus Sutra] attain Buddhahood.
This Higan week has been a cautionary tale. Books from other streams of Buddhism – waters that lack the salty taste of the ocean of the Lotus Sutra – need to be viewed through the lens of the Buddha’s ultimate teaching.