Category Archives: Higan

Higan: Morality With Wisdom

Today is the second day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:

For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.

The today we consider the Perfection of Generosity.


Morality is to the benefit of the selfish and selfless alike. Very often, though, the texts skillfully shift the orientation away from what you will receive if you behave morally toward more encompassing spheres of justification and less self-centered motivation. The self-centered motives that might have attracted someone to the practices of morality in the first place will gradually be replaced by others if the practice advances to any degree of depth. Undermined by the transformative effects inherent in moral action, old mental habituation begins to fade, replaced by new thoughts and new motives that have altered the mental landscape behind the practice. The bodhisattva encourages the practice of morality by skillfully articulating the rewards that follow from the practice on whatever level that they can be meaningfully understood and motivationally active.

To the extent possible, bodhisattvas are encouraged to eschew those rewards in their own practice and to raise their minds to a more profound grasp of what is at stake in moral life. This is the crucial point in “perfecting” moral practice. Perfection, in all six dimensions of human character, consists in the application of wisdom.

Six Perfections: Buddhism & the Cultivation of Character, p 61

Higan: Generosity Outside the Family

Today is the first day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:

For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.

The today we consider the Perfection of Generosity.


To alleviate suffering among one’s own family and friends while leaving untouched the larger world of suffering is to have fallen short in one’s quest for authentic generosity. The “perfection of generosity” demands that we give our attention and our labor toward the creation of a human world in which compassion and kindness are the human norm, a world in which the diminishment of suffering and the extension of opportunities to everyone are among our foremost goals. Practices of generosity, therefore, include efforts to enhance human equality, efforts toward guaranteeing through social and political action that all children begin their lives with an equal chance for happiness and well-being and end it with some share of peace and dignity. Those who give of themselves through personal and political means toward these ends are in this respect admirable exemplars of the perfection of generosity. Although traditional Buddhists were content to recommend that we avoid doing injustice ourselves, a contemporary perfection of generosity would need to go beyond this. It would suggest that we give our time and energy in a thoughtful effort to minimize the society’s collective injustice in as many forms as it can be found.

Six Perfections: Buddhism & the Cultivation of Character, p 47-48

A Higher Practice

Recently I was browsing my library and noticed the Dalai Lama’s book, “Transcendent Wisdom,” his commentary on the Wisdom section of Santideva’s “The Bodhicaryavatara: A Guide to the Buddhist Path to Awakening.”  I picked up the Dalai Lama’s book and read it. In the book, the Dalai Lama makes reference to “The Precious Garland, An Epistle to a King” by Ācārya Nāgārjuna. I purchased it and read it. That’s how my system works. Random journeys along various streams, imagining these flowing into the great ocean of the Lotus Sutra.

Sometimes in this randomness I forget that I’ve been on this path before. Back in November 26, 2018, I published a blog post entitled, “The Purpose of a Buddhist Practice,” in which I bemoaned my early Buddhist focus on “my wishes” to the exclusion of all else.

Then in 2021 I read “The Six Perfections: Buddhism and the Cultivation of Character,” Dale Wright’s detailed discussion of Buddhist teachings about six dimensions of human character that require “perfecting” – generosity, morality, tolerance, energy, meditation, and wisdom. I was immediately struck by how much I admired the concept of setting the goal of your practice to perfect these characteristics.

On March 1, 2021, I wrote “On the Way to the Other Shore,” in which I pointed out that twice a year during the spring and fall Equinox, Nichiren Shu officially observes a week of focus on self-improvement guided by the six perfections. The only problem was that at that time in 2021, none of the American sanghas I was familiar with offered such a practice. Only Rev. Igarashi at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church made reference to Paramita Week.

Today is the first day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. And as I mark the occasion I want to offer some quotes from Chapter 5 of “The Precious Garland, An Epistle to a King” by Ācārya Nāgārjuna.

In short, the good qualities that a bodhisattva should develop are generosity, morality, tolerance, heroic effort, concentration, wisdom, loving kindness, and so on. 35

To be generous is to give up one’s wealth; to be moral is to endeavor to help others; tolerance is the abandonment of anger; heroic effort is enthusiasm for virtue. 36

Concentration is unafflicted one-pointedness; wisdom is definitively determining the truths’ meaning. Loving kindness is a state of mind that savors only compassion for all sentient beings. 37

From generosity comes wealth, happiness from morality. From tolerance comes beauty, splendor from heroic effort. Through meditation, one is peaceful, through understanding comes liberation. Compassion is what accomplishes all aims. 38

Through the simultaneous perfection of all these seven, one attains the object of inconceivable wisdom – lordship over the world. 39

The Precious Garland, An Epistle to a King, p78-79

For me, Nichiren Buddhism does not do enough to encourage striving to perfect oneself and benefit others. It shouldn’t just be two weeks out of the year.

Where is the vow encouraged by Nāgārjuna?

As long as there is even some single sentient being somewhere who is not yet free, may I remain (in the world) for that being’s sake, even if I have attained unexcelled awakening. 85

The Precious Garland, An Epistle to a King, p86

The Practice of Wisdom

Today is the final day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:

For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.

Each of the days before and after the equinox are devoted to one of the Six Paramitas, the practice of perfection taught to Bodhisattvas. Today we consider the sixth perfection, Wisdom.


[T]he Buddha raises the question: If you were given a choice between many sacred relics of the Buddha or a copy of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, which one should you choose? The author of this sutra has the respondent say: “The perfection of wisdom. And why? It is not that I lack respect for the relics of the Buddha, and it is not that I am unwilling to honor, revere, and worship them. But I am fully aware that the relics of the Buddha have come forth from the perfection of wisdom and that for that reason they are honored, revered, and worshipped; I am aware that they are saturated with the perfection of wisdom, and for that reason they become an object of worship. ”

The logic generating these passages appears to be this: Yes, the Buddha is enlightened and worthy of great respect, even worship. But how did he become so exalted a being? Through practice of the perfection of wisdom, not, primarily, through acts of worship. Therefore, in asking yourself what practice you should undertake, follow the example of the Buddha. The practice of wisdom is wiser than the worship of those who engage in this practice. It is better to be one of them than to worship them.

Six Perfections: Buddhism & the Cultivation of Character, p 231

The Meditative Life

Today is the sixth day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:

For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.

Each of the days before and after the equinox are devoted to one of the Six Paramitas, the practice of perfection taught to Bodhisattvas. Today we consider the fifth perfection, Meditation.


The ideal of this fifth perfection is to live in a meditative frame of mind regardless of whether we happen to be meditating. The goal, therefore, is not always to be meditating, always to be practicing a preparatory activity, but rather to live in the spirit of composure and insight that the practice has produced.

Six Perfections: Buddhism & the Cultivation of Character, p 214

The Same Thing Done Energetically

Today is the fifth day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:

For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.

Each of the days before and after the equinox are devoted to one of the Six Paramitas, the practice of perfection taught to Bodhisattvas. Today we consider the fourth perfection, Energy.


It is easy to see how the capacity for energy of spirit might be important to the conception of the bodhisattva. Imagine a truly good person – thoughtful and compassionate in living – who in spite of that goodness lacks the vitality that significant accomplishments require. This person acts selflessly for the benefit of the community, but lacks energy.

Although meaningful contributions are made, they are insubstantial and limited – local in character. By contrast, imagine the same sort of person, thoughtful, compassionate and overflowing with energy and the capacity for focused work. The enlightening effect of the second far overshadows the first, even though their compassion and selflessness are equal. The difference between anything done meekly and that same thing done energetically is enormous, and justifies our attention.

Six Perfections: Buddhism & the Cultivation of Character, p 146

The Practice of Higan

Today is the Spring Equinox, the middle of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:

For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.

Below is a 2016 newsletter article on Higan by Ven. Kenjo Igarashi of the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church.


Higan is the practice of leaving our deep attachments in order to reach the world of enlightenment. Specifically, Higan is a practice comprised by six components. They are: charity, observing precepts, perseverance, energy, meditation, and wisdom. There is a story I would like to share with you concerning this practice. In the 9th century, a monk named Kyoukai wrote a series of books called Nippon Reiiki. Spanning three volumes long, these books contained stories concerning his experiences that seemed to transcend the logic and understanding of this world. This particular story I would like to share with you comes from this book, in the second volume of the series in the 38th chapter.

During the era in which Emperor Shomu ruled, there was a monk who lived in a temple in the mountains of Maniwa, located in the city of Nara. That monk had told his disciples upon his deathbed, “After my death, you must not open the entrance to my room for three years.” Saying this, he passed away. Forty-nine days after his death, a venomous snake had appeared before the deceased monk’s door, coiled in place, refusing to move. The disciples quickly realized that this snake was the reincarnation of their master. By chanting towards the snake, the disciples were able to move it, and enter the monk’s room. In the room, the disciples discovered thirty kan (currency used at the time, equaling approximately $30,000 today) saved up and hidden away. Realizing that their master had reincarnated as a venomous snake to protect this money, the disciples used the money to invite many ministers and hold a memorial service for him.

Kyoukai realizes that this particular monk was so desperate to protect his money, that he reincarnated into a snake in order to protect it. Kyoukai says, “No matter how high the mountain, we are able to see its peak. The mountain residing in humans called greed however is so great, that we cannot see its peak.” In other words, the greed and desire residing in humans is so vast and ever-growing, that it has no limit. Higan is a very important practice which aims to rid this greed and desire within us.

Ven. Kenjo lgarashi
March 2016

Getting Past Anger and Hatred

Today is the third day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:

For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.

Each of the days before and after the equinox are devoted to one of the Six Paramitas, the practice of perfection taught to Bodhisattvas. Today we consider the third perfection, Tolerance.


A variety of techniques is offered in the sutras and other texts for getting past anger and hatred. Calming meditation is considered the most effective because its focus is on state of mind, especially on bringing passions such as anger to a still point. But there is also a variety of techniques related to insight meditation, techniques that encourage the practitioner to transform his or her understanding of the situation in a way that dissipates passionate antipathy. The three most common are (l) meditative reflection on the thought that every negative thing that is done to us is a direct karmic result of our own past actions; (2) contemplative reflection on the idea that those who treat us unjustly and with malice are, unbeknownst to them, serving us as our teachers in the perfection of tolerance; and (3) reflection on the basic Buddhist concepts of “dependent arising” and “no-self” in order to depersonalize interpersonal relations.

Six Perfections: Buddhism & the Cultivation of Character, p 101-102

Where the Path to Morality Begins

Today is the second day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:

For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.

Each of the days before and after the equinox are devoted to one of the Six Paramitas, the practice of perfection taught to Bodhisattvas. Today we consider the second perfection, Morality.


The fact that the ideal motivation for moral action is selfless compassion toward others does not mean that other more worldly motives do not play a significant role. Indeed, Mahayana sutras and other writings sometimes appear to feature what might seem to be selfish motivations for a moral life. It is true that moral life tends to bring many mundane and worldly benefits—the respect, trust, and goodwill of other people, worldly success and plentitude, enlightenment for oneself, to name just a few – and these are not insignificant. The fact that these are just the beginning of the “wealth” that morality confers on its practitioners does not invalidate them. This is where the path begins and, given the fact that the sutras are written to inspire initiating the journey, this is where they often focus their attention. Thus the texts frequently point to the reward of a good rebirth or the respect and fame that truly moral people receive.

Six Perfections: Buddhism & the Cultivation of Character, p 61

Seeking Authentic Generosity

Today is the first day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:

For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.

Each of the days before and after the equinox are devoted to one of the Six Paramitas, the practice of perfection taught to Bodhisattvas. Today we consider the first perfection, Generosity.


The … three dangers inherent in the practices of giving – servility, contempt, and poor judgment about the effects of giving – show us something important: they make clear that, although vital, “selflessness” is not all there is to the perfection of generosity. Being unselfish is certainly the most important condition for admirable forms of generosity; we should not underestimate its centrality. But beyond selflessness, there are other essential conditions that are not generally recognized in traditional Buddhist texts. Perhaps this is understandable. Self-centeredness is so pervasive and so powerful an illusion that most energy and ethical strategy has gone into overcoming it. But if it is not the only illusion, then the possibility remains that, in the effort to overcome the pervasive illusions of selfishness, we fail to recognize other imperfections that stand in the way of authentic generosity.

Six Perfections: Buddhism & the Cultivation of Character, p 37