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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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Japanese Culture

Applying the Lotus Sutra to Actual Life

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In order for the Lotus Sutra to be applied to actual life, its ideas had to be derived from the parables and stories that made the sutra so popular. These ideas were articulated in the interpretations of Chinese and Japanese commentators, many of whom were drawn to the sutra by its own merits and not simply through sectarian affiliation. Enhanced by these interpretations, the sutra took on greater meaning, for without the understanding of a positive view of emptiness, a unifying truth that embraces all life, an eternal Buddha who reigns throughout time, and the bodhisattva practices that must be carried out in society, the Lotus Sutra could not have had the wide influence and applications that it did.

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Japanese Culture

The Lotus Machishū Culture

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The influence of Nichiren’s ideas on the general public during the Muromachi period (1334-1568) may be seen in the fact that many of Kyoto’s machishū, or townsfolk, became followers of the Nichiren sect. The machishū, who rose from Kyoto’s autonomous guilds, fostered what could be called the Lotus machishū culture. Some of the Nichiren adherents were upperclass townsmen who acquired great wealth and became leaders of the machishū. The Hon’ami family, famous in the fields of the fine and decorative arts, and the Chaya family, which was engaged in foreign trade, are representative of this class.

When Nichiren temples in Kyoto were attacked by the monks from Mt. Hiei during the seventh month of the fifth year of Temmon (1536), the machishū took the lead in defending the temples. This episode ended with the defeat of the followers of the Nichiren sect. Twenty-one Nichiren temples were destroyed by fire, and the priests took refuge at their subtemples or other temples in Sakai and Osaka with which they had connections. It was estimated that tens of thousands of Nichiren Buddhists lost their lives, and the Nichiren Lotus faith in Kyoto stood on the brink of ruin. However, when permission to rebuild the temples of those priests who had taken refuge in Sakai was granted in the eleventh year of Temmon (1542), the Lotus machishū played a central role in rebuilding Kyoto, and commerce, industry, the arts, and literature once again thrived under their aegis.

What, then, were the bonds between the machishū of Kyoto and the Nichiren sect? It could be that the spirit of positive accommodation with and vigorous cultivation of reality seen in Nichiren’s idea of the Lotus Sutra concurred with the interest of the machishū in working for profit.

Thus the culture of the Lotus machishū which originated in the Muromachi period quickly revived itself after a temporary interruption and was succeeded by the arts and literature of the Momoyama (1568-1615) and Edo (1615-1868) periods. …

One is intrigued by the large number of Nichiren Buddhists who were prominent leaders in the world of arts and letters down to the end of the Edo period. Of course, their works did not necessarily reflect their faith in Nichiren Buddhism, but some extant works do appear to be the fruits of that faith. The link between Nichiren Buddhism and the artistic culture of the Momoyama and Edo periods appears to be the townsman class (chōnin), which supported both. It is akin to the link between the machishū culture of the Muromachi period and the Nichiren Lotus faith, a relationship that was continued by the townsman class of the Momoyama and Edo periods. It should also be pointed out that most of the popular new sects in Japan down to the present day have been dominated by the Nichiren faith. Bearing this in mind, faith in the Nichiren sect and veneration of the Lotus Sutra should be regarded as important foundations of Japanese culture and religion.

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Japanese Culture

The Realm of Practice

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Although it is well known that Nichiren established the Nichiren sect based on the Lotus Sutra, it should be noted that he was the first to emphasize the third realm, which stresses the need to practice the true law and endure life’s trials. The repeated sufferings of Nichiren, such as his exile to Izu at age forty and his exile to Sado at age fifty, became turning points and helped him to understand the third realm of the Lotus Sutra. He compared himself to the bodhisattva martyrs mentioned in the sutra. In particular, he compared himself to the bodhisattva Eminent Conduct and other bodhisattvas who sprang up from the earth. Surviving writings from Nichiren’s days of exile in Izu show that he started to quote from the third realm of the Lotus Sutra at that time, and this led to the development of ideas that are unique to Nichiren.

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Japanese Culture

The Middle Path that Unifies Emptiness and Transience

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Chih-i’s understanding of the unifying truth of the Lotus Sutra as a synthesis of the microcosm (one mind) and the macrocosm (three thousand realms), good and evil, and ideals and reality is related to the general attitude in China that laid stress on the actual world. On this point, it differs in nuance from the reverence of the Lotus Sutra found in India, where the wonderful law as the one vehicle was viewed as the truth of an undifferentiated, universal equality. Chih-i’s thinking on emptiness is a clear manifestation of this difference. Chih-i’s logic of emptiness is based on the three concepts of emptiness, transience, and the middle. The first concept indicates the attainment of the state of emptiness by abandoning attachment to actuality (or transience, chia in Chinese). The second concept, which is the reverse of the first, means that one should not remain in the state of emptiness but should return once again to actuality and live correctly in the real world. In the first concept, transience is denied and emptiness is established, but in the second concept emptiness is denied and actuality is revived. The third concept concludes that emptiness must not be forgotten even after returning to actuality or transience; it is the middle path that unifies emptiness and transience. The second concept, returning from emptiness to actuality, reflects the Chinese stress on ordinary reality. These three concepts were expounded in the Sutra on the Bodhisattva’s Original Action (P’u-sa Ying-lo pen-yeh-ching), which was compiled in China in about the fifth century. Chih-i used ideas from the Lotus Sutra to add new flesh to and systematize these concepts.

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Japanese Culture

Truth, Life and Practice

On the basis of traditional analysis and an understanding of the historical evolution of the text, the central ideas of the Lotus Sutra can be said to encompass three elements: the law (dharma), the perfect being (buddha), and human beings (bodhisattvas); or truth, life, and practice. In other words, the unifying truth of the universe (the wonderful law as the one vehicle), eternal life (the eternal Śākyamuni), and human activities in the real world (bodhisattva practices) are the corresponding themes of the first realm of traces, the second realm of origin, and the third realm. These are the three great ideas of the Lotus Sutra. They also form the true essence of Mahāyāna Buddhism, and it is no exaggeration to say that the three treasures of Mahāyāna Buddhism were established by the Lotus Sutra, which is why since ancient times all Mahāyāna Buddhists have revered and extolled this sutra, regardless of sect.

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Japanese Culture, d15b, d16b

Lessons from the Jeweled Stupa

Chapter 11, “Apparition of the Jeweled Stupa,” relates that the Stupa in which the Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna (Abundant Treasures) sat rose into the sky and Śākyamuni moved from the earth to the precious Stupa in the sky, seating himself next to Prabhūtaratna. Almost simultaneously, buddhas who had emanated from Śākyamuni gathered from all directions, returning to Śākyamuni, and as they did so, all their worlds were united, becoming the world of the one Buddha. This has been interpreted to mean that the Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna was the past manifestation of Śākyamuni and that Sakyamuni’s taking his seat beside him symbolizes that Śākyamuni has been a buddha eternally. In other words, Śākyamuni is the eternal Buddha, and the return of the buddhas and the unification of their worlds in the world of the one Buddha are expressions of Śākyamuni as the “unifying Buddha.” Thus the “Apparition of the Jeweled Stupa” chapter has been interpreted as a preliminary statement of the theme of chapter 16, the eternal life of the Tathāgata. Both chapters, however, advocate bodhisattva practices and activities in this sahā world of the decay of the law, and expound entrusting the law to bodhisattvas. This being the case, the concepts of the precious Stupa rising up, the gathering of buddhas who are emanations of the eternal Buddha, and the united world of the one Buddha should be understood as expressions from the standpoint of advocacy of bodhisattva practices.

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Japanese Culture, d17b

Realizing Buddhahood Within Three Lifetimes

Saichō argued that the story of the dragon king’s daughter was significant for all sentient beings, not just for one individual. Her story revealed that the power of the Lotus Sutra could be effective for virtually any sentient being. Even if a person could not emulate the dragon king’s daughter’s rapid realization of buddhahood, merely recognizing and appreciating her achievement was sufficient to lead a person to a significant advance in practice as demonstrated by the achievements of those beings who witnessed the dragon king’s daughter’s realization. Since not all sentient beings possessed the same religious faculties, Saichō admitted that those with lesser abilities might require additional time to realize buddhahood, but they would still realize buddhahood much more rapidly than the Hossō practitioner who was said to require three incalculable eons. If those with superior faculties did not realize enlightenment in this life, they surely would realize buddhahood within three lifetimes.

The dragon king’s daughter who converted others (to the ultimate teaching) had not undergone a long period of religious austerities; nor had the sentient beings who were converted undergone a long period of austerities. Through the wondrous power of the sutra, they all realized buddhahood with their bodies just as they are (sokushin jōbutsu). Those with the highest grade of superior faculties realize buddhahood in one lifetime; those with the medium grade of superior faculties require two lifetimes to realize buddhahood. And those with the lowest grade of superior faculties will realize buddhahood within three lifetimes. They will meet the bodhisattva Samantabhadra, enter the ranks of the bodhisattvas, and acquire the dhārāṇi which will enable them to master nonsubstantiality.

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Japanese Culture, d17b

Saichō and Sokushin Jōbutsu

Saichō’s discussions of the rapid realization of buddhahood are found in his polemical writings criticizing the Hossō school and defending Tendai teachings. He argued that Tendai teachings were superior because they led to buddhahood more rapidly than Hossō practices. Tendai practices could benefit everyone, but Hossō practices would not result in buddhahood for anybody in Japan because nobody could follow them. Saichō argued that the perfect religious faculties (enki) of the Japanese had already matured so that they need not bother with lesser teachings.

Saichō introduced and developed the term sokushin jōbutsu [attainment of buddhahood in this very body] in his last written work, Hokke shūku, as a part of his program to demonstrate the superiority of the Lotus Sutra and the Tendai interpretation of it. The power of the Lotus Sutra to lead the practitioner to realization with his current body is introduced as the eighth of ten reasons why the Lotus Sutra is superior to other texts. The following passage demonstrates how Saichō employed the description of the dragon king’s daughter to prove that the Lotus Sutra applied to all sentient beings and would quickly bring them salvation.

This passage (about the dragon king’s daughter) concerns those beings who can realize buddhahood only with difficulty and reveals the power of the Lotus Sutra to help them. She is an animal, (one of lower levels of the) six destinies [realms], obviously the result of bad karma. She is female and clearly has faculties which are not good. She is young and thus has not been practicing religious austerities for a long time. And yet, the wondrous power of the Lotus Sutra endows her with the two adornments of wisdom and merit. Thus we know that the power of the Lotus Sutra reveals it to be the jewel among the scriptures and a rarity in the world.

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Japanese Culture, d17b

Buddhahood In This Very Body

The earliest use of the term sokushin jōbutsu [attainment of buddhahood in this very body] in a T’ien-t’ai text is found in the Fa-hua wen-chii chi (T34, no.1719), Chan-jan’s subcommentary on Chih-i’s line-by-line commentary on the Lotus Sutra, the Fa-hua wen-chii (T34, no.1718). Since the term appears in Chan-jan’s discussion of the dragon king’s daughter’s realization of buddhahood, the section of the Lotus which Saichō chose as the basis of his discussion of sokushin jōbutsu, Chan-jan’s use of the term undoubtedly played a vital role in shaping Saichō’s views on the subject. Both Chih-i and Chan-jan mentioned a text entitled [P’u-sa-ch’u] t’ai-ching (T12, no.384) in their discussions of the dragon king’s daughter. In the T’ai-ching, the transformation of women into men and their subsequent realization of buddhahood, a common theme in early Mahāyāna sutras, is described. Like many of the Mahāyāna texts in which buddhahood and women are mentioned, the T’ai-ching argues against clinging to discriminations between concepts such as male and female. According to Chih-i:

The T’ai-ching states that “the women in the realms of Mara, Sakra and Brahma all neither abandoned (their old) bodies nor received (new) bodies. They all realized buddhahood with their current bodies (genshin).” Thus these verses state that the dharma nature is like a great ocean. No right or wrong is preached (within it). Ordinary people and sages are equal, without superiority or inferiority.

Chan-jan, in commenting on this passage, used the term sokushin jōbutsu to describe the realization of both the dragon king’s daughter and the women in the T’ai-ching. Saichō’s use of the term clearly was derived from Chan-jan’s subcommentary, and his discussion of sokushin jōbutsu is primarily based on the story of the dragon king’s daughter in the “Devadatta” chapter of the Lotus.

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Japanese Culture

The Democratization of Buddhism

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The Hossō teaching that only a few people could attain buddhahood not only discouraged people from hoping for enlightenment; it also was in close agreement with the court’s policy that Buddhism was primarily for the protection of the state and its high officials and was not to be propagated among commoners.

By the end of the ninth century, this situation had radically changed due to the establishment of two new schools, Tendai and Shingon. Large numbers of monks and lay believers had come to accept the position that buddhahood could be attained during a person’s lifetime through intense practice. Moreover, monks from these traditions, especially the Tendai school, argued that buddhahood was a real possibility for everyone, including commoners, not just a chosen few in the nobility. In order to make the rapid realization of enlightenment possible, new religious practices were introduced, developed, and interpreted.

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