Two Buddhas, p125The prophecies in these two chapters [Chapters 8 and 9], whether conferred on individuals or groups, each specify the name of the buddha whom the recipient will become, the name of his buddha land or field of activity, and the length of time that his teaching will endure. For the sūtra’s East Asian commentators, such concrete detail lent these predictions a level of credibility beyond any mere abstract assertion that “persons of the two other vehicles can become buddhas.” Because the Buddha knows the past, present, and future and never lies, it was certain that his śrāvaka disciples would in fact attain buddhahood just as he had predicted. For Nichiren, based on the premise that all ten realms are included in any one realm, the fact that śrāvakas can become buddhas meant that anyone else can as well. Thus, the Buddha’s prediction for any one of these figures could be read as a prediction of certain buddhahood for all who embrace the Lotus Sūtra, regardless of their status.
Category Archives: d13b
Seed of Buddhahood in Donated Barley and Rice
Aniruddha, a disciple of Śākyamuni Buddha, was named Wish Fulfilling when he was a child. The reason why he was so named was due to his ability to send down treasures as he wished. Asked how he became such a person, Śākyamuni Buddha answered: “It was due to the merit of offering a bowl of barnyard millet rice to a sage named Pratyekabuddha at a time of famine in the past.”
Also, Venerable Mahā-Kāśyapa was the most honorable priest in the world Jambudvīpa), second only to the Buddha. As a layman he was a wealthy person with 60 warehouses, each of which contained 140 koku (about 500 metric tons) of gold. He owned other treasures, too numerous to count. Asked about the previous life of Mahā-Kāśyapa and how he became such a wealthy person, Śākyamuni Buddha answered, “With the merit of offering a bowl of rice mixed with barley to a pratyekabuddha during a famine in the past, Mahā-Kāśyapa was reborn in the Trāyastriṃsá Heaven 1,000 times. Then he encountered Śākyamuni in this life, becoming foremost among His disciples, and was guaranteed to be a Buddha named Light Buddha in the future.” Thus, it is stated by Grand Master T’ien-t’ai in his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra, fascicle one.
Contemplating the state of affairs today through the examples of Venerables Aniruddha and Mahā-Kāśyapa, isn’t it unreasonable to say that a bowl or rice cooked with barley offered by Venerable Mahā-Kāśyapa was so precious that the donor with its merit became the Light Buddha, but a bale of polished barley donated today does not have the same value and will not lead you to become a Buddha? This is impossible. The moon during the lifetime of the Buddha is the same as the moon today. The flower at the time of the Buddha is the same flower today. The merit of offering in the past remains the same today. Even more so, I am today a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra, despised by all the people in Japan, the ruler on top to his subjects below, and about to die of starvation. Feeling sorry for me, you kindly sent me articles of your goodwill all the way over the mountains and across rivers. They are not just barley and wheat but pieces of gold. They are not pieces of gold. They are the characters of the Lotus Sūtra. They look like barley and wheat to our human eyes, but the ten female rākṣasa demons will see the seed of Buddhahood in them.
Nanjō-dono Gohenji, Reply to Lord Nanjō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Pages 12-13
Offering a Bowl of Barnyard Millet Rice
A man named Aniruddha was a disciple of the Buddha. As he gained the supernatural power to see through things, he was renowned for his divine eyesight and counted as one of the ten great disciples of the Buddha together with Mahā-Kāśyapa, Śāripūtra, Maudgalyāyana, and Ānanda.
As we look at his origin, Aniruddha was a prince of King Doroṇodana, second son of King Shimuhahanu. Namely, he was a cousin of Śākyamuni Buddha. He is known by three names: Never in Poverty, Wish Fulfilling, and Never Hunting, each of which originates in a wonderful story.
There once was a noble pratyekabuddha named Venerable Rita who lived during a time of famine. He had nothing to eat for seven days until a hunter living in a mountain village gave him a bowl of barnyard millet rice. Due to this meritorious act, it is said this hunter became a rich man in this life, and upon death he enjoyed a happy life in the realm of human beings and that of heavenly beings for as long as 91 kalpa (aeons). Finally, he was reborn as the crown prince of King Doroṇodana. This is Aniruddha, whose golden rice bowl was always full of cooked rice. He reached the rank of arhat and his eyesight was equipped with the supernatural faculty of seeing through the whole universe. As a result, he was guaranteed by the Buddha to be the future Buddha of Universal Brightness in the Lotus Sūtra fascicle 4.
Grand Master Miao-lê interpreted the story in this way, “Although a bowl of barnyard millet rice is not much in value, offering it meant he gave up all that he had and the ‘field of merit’ was superior. As a result, an especially great reward was gained.” It means that “Although a bowl of barnyard millet rice is not precious, he offered all he had in this world to a hungry venerable Buddhist monk engaged in ascetic practices. With this great merit he gained such a wonderful reward to be reborn as a splendid person.”
Ueno-dono Gohenji, Reply to Lord Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Pages 9-10
Four Kinds of Unhindered Eloquence
The four kinds of unhindered eloquence are dharma, meaning, words, and joy. When one has these four they are able to teach the dharma without difficulty. You could say they will be confident in their ability to teach the Buddha’s teachings to others. Knowing the meaning and words of the Dharma goes beyond an intellectual understanding or accumulation of information and knowledge. It is about the ability to express the teachings contained in the Dharma in such a way that the listener will be able to understand, and relate to their own lives. … If we are able to relate our own joy as well as cause the listener joy in hearing and understanding then we have been able to accomplish unhindered eloquence. It isn’t about fancy words. It isn’t about sharing information. It is about a deep person-to-person life-to-life communication of the profound nature of the Dharma, which actually transcends words.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraWasting Our Lives In A Drunken Fog
[In Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples,] the poor man was bewildered. “Gem?” he asked. “What gem?” He felt along the lining of his garment, and was astonished to find a precious stone attached to it. He had been a wealthy man all this time without realizing it.
The real meaning of this story is spiritual, not financial. By nature, each one of us possesses a gem of priceless value. By simply being alive, we have the same heart and wisdom as the Buddha, but we are not aware of it. (To be enlightened means to wake up and realize who and what we really are.) This gem in everyone’s heart is nothing less than the Buddha nature, the potential to become a Buddha. Because of our ignorance, we are unaware of our Buddha-nature, and fail to make any effort or undertake any practice to develop it. The man in this story who loves to drink signifies ordinary people like us, wasting our lives as if in a drunken fog.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraPurna’s Exception
“Hearers” of the Lesser Vehicle usually sought as their goal the fulfillment of their own private training. They expected others to imitate the strict practices which they performed, and had little patience with ordinary people caught up in the problems of everyday life.
Purna was an exception. He looked like a sravaka, but he went about preaching the law to common people, and doing so with such eloquence that he was able to cause many of them to aspire to supreme-perfect-enlightenment. Therefore, in reality he was not a sravaka at all, but a Bodhisattva (one who devotes his life to helping others). Any Bodhisattva must also be a preacher (otherwise he cannot help anyone), and that is why a Bodhisattva is called a “teacher of the law.” From Chapter Ten on, the Lotus Sutra will clarify the mission of Bodhisattvas. (Here it is only suggested.)
Introduction to the Lotus SutraEarly Disciples
Kaundinya was one of Sakyamuni’s original disciples who followed him when he first gave up his princely throne and set forth on the quest for enlightenment. There had been five of them, and together with their master they had performed arduous ascetic practices (practices which Sakyamuni later said were useless). After the Buddha attained enlightenment, these five ascetics became his first disciples.
Others of the five hundred arhats included Uruvilva-Kasyapa, Gaya-Kasyapa, Nadi-Kasyapa, and Aniruddha. The first three arhats were three of the Kasyapa brothers, who had once been leaders of a group of fire-worshippers. It is said that originally these brothers had bitterly opposed Sakyamuni, and had used supernatural powers to discredit him. They were defeated, however, and they together with most of their followers became loyal disciples of the Buddha. Aniruddha, another of the arhats mentioned, was a cousin of Sakyamuni. He was famous for his clairvoyance, the alleged power of seeing beyond the natural range of the senses. It is said that during his early days of severe ascetic practices, he went blind. In place of his natural sight, he developed clairvoyance.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraKamon
The studies conducted over so many centuries made possible a deeper understanding of the Lotus Sutra, and methodological standards for its interpretation were established. One example is called Kamon. It is a classification of the twenty-eight chapters into several sets for a systematic explanation of their meaning.
The major Kamon is the “Three Parts of Each of the Two Divisions of the Lotus Sutra” which was established by Great Master Chih-i. Most commentators since his time have accepted his guidelines. …
[T]he “Three Parts of Each of the Two Divisions of the Lotus Sutra” refers to the division of the Sutra into two main sections: the first half, consisting of Chapters One through Fourteen, and the second half, consisting of Chapters Fifteen through Twenty-eight. Kamon gives a detailed explanation of the reason for this division. The first half is named Shakumon, literally “imprinted gate.” Its main purpose is to teach how “hearers” and Pratyekabuddhas can attain Buddhahood in the One Vehicle. The second half is called Hommon, which means “Primal Gate” or “Primal Mystery.” This part reveals Sakyamuni to be the infinite, absolute Buddha, the Buddha who attained enlightenment in the remotest past but still leads living beings in the present. These two points are considered the fundamental ideas of the Lotus Sutra.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraBodhisattva Way
The Lesser Vehicle of the “Sravaka” and “Pratyekabuddha” drew a sharp line between this world of sufferings and the pure world of spirit. Its followers renounced worldly concerns, devoted their lives to religious austerities, and made every effort to attain absolute tranquility. This made for a two-dimensional world view, esteeming the pure world of spirit and devaluating the everyday world in which we live.
Bodhisattvas, on the other hand, saw the two worlds as one. They saw this world as the center stage for their religious practice, and preached that spiritual enlightenment must be realized in our life in this world. In short, the Bodhisattva’s mission to deliver people from suffering is to be accomplished in this world of sufferings.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraThe Ideal Life
Purna was assured of his future Buddhahood in a realm to be called Excellent-Purity. The sutra gives some details about this pure land, where the inhabitants will know only happiness. “They will feed on two things: delight in the Dharma and delight in dhyana (meditation)” (p. 155).
A good meal is one of life’s most delectable joys. A meal also supplies us with physical strength. In the Pure Land, receiving the Dharma (truth) and feeling peace of mind after entering dhyana will be the joy and sustenance of life. In short, the sutra teaches us that the ideal life consists of feeding our hearts just as we feed our bodies.
Introduction to the Lotus Sutra