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Kern, d1b, Innumerable, Blog

The Sutra Taught Before the Lotus Sutra

This is another in a series of weekly blog posts comparing and contrasting the Sanskrit and Chinese Lotus Sutra translations.

At the start of the Lotus Sutra after everyone in the audience has been introduced, the Buddha expounds a sutra and then enters into a samādhi. The name of that sutra and that samādhi are different depending on whether you are translating from Kumārajīva’s Chinese or the 11th century Nepalese Sanskrit.

When I was preparing to write about this I was surprised to discover Senchu Murano translates Kumārajīva’s title of the sutra differently than almost of the other English-language translations that I possess.

Murano states:

Thereupon the four kinds of devotees, who were surrounding the World-Honored One, made offerings to him, respected him, honored him, and praised him. The World-Honored One expounded a sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the “Innumerable Teachings, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.” Having expounded this sūtra, the Buddha sat cross-legged [facing the east], and entered into the samadhi for the purport of the innumerable teachings. His body and mind became motionless.

The 1975 Rissho Kosei-Kai translation names the sutra “Innumerable Meanings” and “the contemplation termed the station of innumerable meanings.”

The 2019 Rissho Kosei-Kai translation names the sutra “Innumerable Meanings” and “the Samadhi of the Domain of Innumerable Meanings.”

Gene Reeves’ translation names the sutra “Innumerable Meanings” and the “state of concentration called the place of innumerable meanings.”

Burton Watson’s translation names this sutra “Immeasurable Meanings” and the “samadhi of the place of immeasurable meanings.”

The BDK English Tripiṭaka translation names the sutra “Immeasurable Meanings” and “the samadhi called the abode of immeasurable meanings’.”

Having read the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings more than 30 times as part of my 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra practice, I’m surprised that Murano could have titled the sutra Innumerable Teachings. Clearly the lesson of the sutra is the infinite meanings the listeners of the one teaching create. But then Murano is translating Kumārajīva’s Chinese words, not the actual sutra that the Buddha is said to have taught.

Leon Hurvitz, whose translation is considered the gold standard, agrees with Murano:

At that time, the World-Honored One, surrounded by the fourfold multitude, showered with offerings, deferentially treated and revered, for the bodhisattvas’ sake preached a scripture of the great vehicle named the Immeasurable Doctrine (Ananta-nirdeséa), a dharma to be taught to bodhisattvas, a dharma which the buddha keeps ever in mind. When he had preached this scripture, cross-legged he entered into the samādhi [state of concentration] of the Abode of the Immeasurable Doctrine (Anantanirdeśapratiṣṭhänasamādhi), where his body and mind were motionless.

Getting back to Kern’s translation of the 11th century Sanskrit Lotus Sutra, he offers:

Now at that time it was that the Lord surrounded, attended, honored, revered, venerated, worshipped by the four classes of hearers, after expounding the Dharmaparyāya called ‘the Great Exposition,’ a text of great development, serving to instruct Bodhisattvas and proper to all Buddhas, sat cross-legged on the seat of the law and entered upon the meditation termed ‘the station of the exposition of Infinity;’ his body was motionless and his mind had reached perfect tranquility.

The Translators’ Introduction to  “The Infinite Meanings Sutra” from the BDK English Tripiṭaka offers this explanation of the difference between Kumārajīva’s translation and the extant Sanskrit texts:

The Infinite Meanings Sutra may be regarded as an introduction to the Lotus Sutra (Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra). In light of this, it is noteworthy that in English versions of the Lotus Sutra based on Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation (Taishō no. 260), in the beginning of the introductory chapter one can find a passage similar to the following:

[The Buddha] then taught the bodhisattvas the Mahayana sutra called Immeasurable Meanings. After having taught this sutra, the Buddha .… entered the samādhi called the “abode of immeasurable meanings.”

Extant Sanskrit manuscripts of the Lotus Sutra, however, give mahā-nirdeśa, “great exposition,” as the name of the sutra, and ābhujyūnanta-nirdeśa-pratiṣṭhāna, “foundation of infinite exposition,” as the name of the samādhi. Since ananta-nirdeśa, “infinite exposition,” is not found in reference to the name of the sutra that was taught, this gives rise to the speculation that if Kumārajīva translated from manuscripts similar to those that now remain, he must have used the same Chinese translation, wu liang yi, “infinite (immeasurable/innumerable) meanings,” in both instances.

While the Lotus Sutra is never mentioned by name in this text, the Infinite Meanings Sutra, like the Lotus, is a strong proponent of the concept of bodhisattva practice. In his discourse in the sutra, the Buddha emphasizes that leading others to the Way is a prime factor in attaining ultimate enlightenment, and that the teaching of the sutra itself is infinite in its meanings because it relates to the unlimited desires of living beings.

Next: A Lotus Without 10 Suchnesses

Kern, d1b, Innumerable, Blog

Rock and Roll in the Time of Śākyamuni

This is another in a series of weekly blog posts comparing and contrasting the Sanskrit and Chinese Lotus Sutra translations.

Having lived through the 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of the world quaking in six ways. We first hear of this phenomena  in Chapter 1 after the World-Honored One expounded a sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the “Innumerable Teachings, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.”

Senchu Murano’s translation puts the scene this way without explanation:

Thereupon the gods rained mandārava-flowers, mahā-mandārava-flowers, mañjūṣaka-flowers, and mahā-mañjūṣaka-flowers upon the Buddha and the great multitude. The world of the Buddha quaked in the six ways.

None of the other English translations of Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation of the Lotus Sutra offers an explanation of what is meant.

H. Kern, in his translation of an 11th century Nepalese Sanskrit Lotus Sutra, however, offers this:

And as soon as the Lord had entered upon his meditation, there fell a great rain of divine flowers, Mandāravas and great Mandāravas, Mañjūṣakas and great Mañjūṣakas, covering the Lord and the four classes of hearers, while the whole Buddha field shook in six ways: it moved, removed, trembled, trembled from one end to the other, tossed, tossed along.

That’s a fascinating image of what shaking the earth feels like.

At 6am on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 1971, I was awakened by what sounded like a freight train bearing down on my house. The sound grew louder and louder as the windows above my bed shook violently and then the train passed on. Fortunately nothing broke as that wave “moved, removed, trembled, trembled from one end to the other, tossed, tossed along.”

In Zuisō Gosho, Writing on Omens, Nichiren offers what’s meant by shaking the world in six ways from T’ien-t’ai’s perspective:

Among the six omens, the trembling of the earth indicates that the earth trembled in six different ways. Interpreting the earth trembling in six ways, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai states in his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 3:

“The east is blue in color, and it controls the liver, which in turn controls the eyes. The west is white in color, and it controls the lungs, which in turn control the nose. Therefore, saying that the east was raised and the west was lowered means the rise of the merit of the eyes and the decrease in the worldly passions of the nose. In contrast, saying that the west was raised and the east was lowered means that the merit of the nose appears while the evil passions of the eyes decrease. Likewise, the rise and fall of the south and north and those of the center and the four directions mean either the appearance of merit or the decrease of evil passions in the ears and the tongue and in the mind and body respectively.”

Grand Master Miao-lê explains the above in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “As the eyes and nose represent the east and west, the ears and tongue logically represent the south and north. The center is the mind and the four directions represent the body. The body is equipped with the four sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, and tongue) and the mind reacts to them all. Therefore, it is said that the body and mind rise and fall alternately.”

Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers I, Volume 6, Page 121

I’d like to think that during the 1971 earthquake the merit of my eyes rose and the worldly passions of my nose decreased. My body and mind certainly rose and fell. But at the time I knew nothing of Buddhism or the Lotus Sutra.

Next: The name of the sutra taught by the Buddha at the start of the Lotus Sutra

Kern, d1b, Blog

Ānanda’s Status when the Lotus Sutra Was Taught

This is another in a series of weekly blog posts comparing and contrasting the Sanskrit and Chinese Lotus Sutra translations.

In comparing and contrasting H. Kern’s translation of the 11th century Sanskrit Lotus Sutra with Senchu Murano’s translation of Kumārajīva’s fifth century Chinese translation, the differences can be significant if not particularly important.

For example, if you read only translations of Kumarajiva’s Chinese Lotus Sutra you could be forgiven for believing Ānanda was an arhat when he heard the sermon on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa.

The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism offers this explanation of Ānanda’s position among the followers of Śākyamuni:

Ānanda was known for his extraordinary powers of memory; he is said to have heard all 84,000 sermon topics (82,000 taught by the Buddha and 2,000 taught by other disciples) and was able to memorize 15,000 stanzas without omitting a syllable. He therefore played a key role in the recitation of the Buddha’s teachings at the first council held at Rājagṛha shortly after the Buddha’s death. However, Mahākāśyapa, who convened the council, specified that all five hundred monks in attendance must be arhats, and Ānanda was not. On the night before the opening of the council, Ānanda achieved the enlightenment of an arhat as he was lying down to sleep, as his head fell to the pillow and his feet rose from the ground. He is therefore famous for achieving enlightenment in none of the four traditional postures (īryāpatha): walking, standing, sitting, or lying down.

Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation of the Lotus Sutra lists 21 arhats as present when the Buddha preached the Lotus Sutra. Senchu Murano offers this list:

  1. Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya,
  2. Mahā-Kāśyapa,
  3. Uruvilvā-Kāśyapa,
  4. Gaya-Kāśyapa,
  5. Nadi- Kāśyapa,
  6. Śāriputra,
  7. Great Maudgalyāyana,
  8. Mahā-Kātyāyana,
  9. Aniruddha,
  10. Kapphina,
  11. Gavampati,
  12. Revata,
  13. Pilindavatsa,
  14. Bakkula,
  15. Maha-Kausthila,
  16. Nanda,
  17. Sundarananda,
  18. Pūrṇa who was the son of Maitrāyanī,
  19. Subhūti,
  20. Ānanda, and
  21. Rahula.

Murano adds, “They were great Arhats well known to the multitude. There were also two thousand [Śrāvakas], some of whom had something more to learn while others had nothing more to learn.”

It was surprising to read H. Kern’s translation of this same section.

As discussed earlier, Kern lists 26 arhats, but not Ānanda. Instead, Kern ends the list of arhats with this sentence:

with them yet other great disciples, as the venerable Ananda, still under training, and two thousand other monks, some of whom still under training, the others masters

Kumārajīva’s translation is famous for being written in a natural style that made it very popular. One can imagine Kumārajīva’s team of translators considering this detail of Ānanda’s status and deciding that it was too insignificant to disrupt the flow of the story. It’s certainly not of critical importance.

Next: Rock and Roll in the Time of Śākyamuni

Kern, d1b, Blog

Where is Upali?

This is another in a series of weekly blog posts comparing and contrasting the Sanskrit and Chinese Lotus Sutra translations.

Continuing last week’s discussion of the arhats present at the opening of the Lotus Sutra, I want to explore a puzzle that was mentioned to me by Rev. Ryuei Michael McCormick some time ago.

Where is Upali?

Śākyamuni had ten major disciples, each with specific strengths. Rev. Ryuei McCormick lists these in his “Lotus World“:

  • Shariputra, foremost in wisdom
  • Mahakashyapa, foremost in ascetic practices
  • Ananda, foremost in hearing the sutras
  • Subhuti, foremost in understanding emptiness
  • Purna, foremost in expounding the Dharma
  • Maudgalyayana, foremost in supernatural powers
  • Katyayana, foremost in explaining the Dharma
  • Aniruddha, foremost in clairvoyance (the divine eye)
  • Upali, foremost in observing the precepts
  • Rahula, foremost in inconspicuous practice

The exact arrangement varies by source. Revata Khadiravaniya replaces Subhuti in the Etadaggavagga (Aṅguttara-Nikāya), according to Source Elements of the Lotus Sutra. But Upali, who was foremost in observing the precepts, is always listed among the 10 major disciples.

Upali is not present among the arhats at the beginning of the Lotus Sutra in either H. Kern’s 11th century Nepalese Sanskrit Lotus Sutra or Kumārajīva’s 5th century Chinese translation. As a consequence, Upali is the only one of ten major disciples who does not receive a specific prediction of future buddhahood from Śākyamuni.

Rev. Ryuei Michael McCormick wondered aloud about this once to me and I offered that perhaps it had to do with Upali’s focus on the precepts. My theory: The writers of the Lotus Sutra didn’t have a high regard for precept mongers, and Upali was foremost among them.

In Kern’s translation my theory gets a boost with the addition of Upananda to the list of arhats present at the opening of the Lotus Sutra.

From the Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism:

Upananda: Sanskrit and Pāli proper name of a monk disciple of the Buddha, who was regularly chastised for his greed. There are numerous stories in the vinaya of his attempts to procure the best and most of all offerings made to monks, and especially of robes and food. The Buddha typically rebukes Upananda for his misconduct, and then goes on to promulgate a new rule of conduct in order to deter monks from committing such transgressions in the future.

So, not only is Upali missing from the Lotus Sutra, but the monk whose bad behavior caused the Buddha to craft many of the precepts is included.

In the Lotus Sutra, 22 individuals are given personal predictions of their future Buddhahood:

  1. Shariputra, Chapter 3
  2. Mahakashyapa, Chapter 6
  3. Ananda, Chapter 9
  4. Subhuti, Chapter 6
  5. Purna, Chapter 8
  6. Maudgalyayana, Chapter 6
  7. Katyayana, Chapter 6
  8. Aniruddha, Chapter 8
  9. Rahula, Chapter 9
  10. Uruvilvā-Kāśyapa, Chapter 8
  11. Gaya­Kāśyapa, Chapter 8
  12. Nadī-Kāśyapa, Chapter 8
  13. Kālodāyin, Chapter 8
  14. Udāyin, Chapter 8
  15. Aniruddha, Chapter 8
  16. Revata, Chapter 8
  17. Kapphina, Chapter 8
  18. Bakkula, Chapter 8
  19. Cunda, Chapter 8
  20. Svāgata, Chapter 8
  21. Maha-Prajapati, Chapter 13
  22. Yaśodharā, Chapter 13

One can assume Upali is included when the Buddha says in Chapter 8:

“All the other Śrāvakas also will [become Buddhas].
Tell this to the Śrāvakas
Who are not present here!”

But he is clearly excluded from the Lotus Sutra. This absence is underscored by the fact that Upali and Upananda are both listed as present to hear the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings, which is considered to have been the preface to the Lotus Sutra.

Next: Ānanda’s status.

Kern, d1b, Blog

The Arhats Present at the Beginning

This is another in a series of weekly blog posts comparing and contrasting the Sanskrit and Chinese Lotus Sutra translations.

H. Kern and Senchu Murano – and by extension the 11th century Nepalese Sanskrit Lotus Sutra and Kumārajīva’s fifth century Chinese Lotus Sutra – agree on the first arhat in the list of those present at the start of the Lotus Sutra – Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya. (See this table.) Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya was one of the five ascetics who heard the first sermon by the newly enlightened Śākyamuni. Unlike Murano, Kern’s list of arhats has all five ascetics at the top.

From the Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism:

Pañcavargika: In Sanskrit, the “group of five”; the five ascetics who practiced austerities with the bodhisattva prior to his enlightenment and to whom the Buddha preached his first sermon after his enlightenment, thus becoming the Buddha’s first disciples. They are Ājñātakauṇḍinya (or Kauṇḍinya), Aśvajit, Vāṣpa, Mahānāman, and Bhadrika. According to the Pāli account … , [Ājñātakauṇḍinya] had been present as one of the eight brāhmaṇas who attended the infant’s naming ceremony, during which the prophesy was made that the prince would one day become either a wheel-turning monarch … or a buddha. The other four ascetics were sons of four of the other brāhmaṇas in attendance at the naming ceremony. When the prince gave up his practice of austerities and accepted a meal, the five ascetics abandoned him in disgust. After his enlightenment, the Buddha surveyed the world with his divine eye … and surmised that, of all people then alive, these five ascetics were most likely to understand the profundity of his message. When he first approached them, they refused to recognize him, but the power of his charisma was such that they felt compelled to show him the honor due a teacher. He preached to them two important discourses, the Dhammacakkappavaitanasutta [The Setting in Motion of the Wheel of the Dharma Sutta], in which he explained the Four Noble Truths … , and the Anattalakkhaṇasutta … , in which he explained the doctrine of nonself… . Upon hearing and comprehending the first sermon, the five ascetics attained the dhammacakku … or the “dhamma eye,” an attainment equated in the Pali canon with that of the stream-enterer … . The five then requested to be accepted as the Buddha’s disciples and were ordained as the first Buddhist monks. … Upon hearing the second sermon, the five were completely freed of the contaminants … , becoming thereby arahants (arhat) freed from the prospect of any further rebirth. With this experience, there were then six arahants in the world, including the Buddha.

Another addition by Kern that’s not present in Murano or other English translations based on Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation is the venerable Bharadvaja. The name means “One Who Carries a Banner” or “Son of the One Who Carries a Banner.” He is counted among the “sixteen arhats,” or ṣoḍaśasthavira.

From the Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism:

In Sanskrit, “the sixteen elders” (most commonly known in the East Asian tradition as the “sixteen arhats”); a group of sixteen venerated arhat … disciples of the Buddha whom the Buddha orders to forgo nirvāṇa and to continue to dwell in this world in order to preserve the Buddhist teachings until the coming of the future buddha, Maitreya. Each of these arhats is assigned an (often mythical) residence and a retinue of disciples. With Maitreya’s advent, they will gather the relics of the current buddha Śākyamuni and erect one last stūpa to hold them, after which they will finally pass into parinirvāṇa. …

The standard roster of arhats now recognized in the East Asian tradition, in their typical order, are

  1. Piṇḍola Bhāradvāja;
  2. Kanakavatsa;
  3. Kanaka Bhāradvāja;
  4. Subinda [Alt. Suvinda];
  5. Bakkula [Alt. Bākula, Nakulal];
  6. Bhadra;
  7. Kālika [Alt. Karīkal;
  8. Vajraputra;
  9. Jīvaka;
  10. Panthaka;
  11. Rāhula,
  12. Nāgasena;
  13. Aṅgaja;
  14. Vanavāsin;
  15. Ajita;
  16. Cūḍapanthaka.

Next: Where is Upali?

Kern, d1b, Blog

What’s Up, Doc?

This is the first in a series of weekly blog posts comparing and contrasting the Sanskrit and Chinese Lotus Sutra translations.

Definition of Rabbit Hole

Last week I mentioned that I’ve decided to compare and contrast H. Kern’s 1884 English translation of the Lotus Sutra with Senchu Murano’s 1974 translation.

Today I find myself engrossed in exploring one rabbit hole after another. Take for an example what happened when I attempted to compare the Bodhisattvas named in the first chapter of the Lotus Sutra.

Murano names 18 of the eighty thousand Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas present in the congregation:

  1. Manjushri Bodhisattva
  2. Regarder of the Cries of the World Bodhisattva
  3. Great Strength Bodhisattva
  4. Constant Effort Bodhisattva
  5. Never Resting Bodhisattva
  6. Jeweled Palm Bodhisattva
  7. Medicine King Bodhisattva
  8. Bold Almsgiver Bodhisattva
  9. Jeweled Moon Bodhisattva
  10. Moon Light Bodhisattva
  11. Full Moon Bodhisattva
  12. Great Power Bodhisattva
  13. Immeasurable Power Bodhisattva
  14. Above the Threefold World Bodhisattva
  15. Bhadrapala Bodhisattva
  16. Maitreya Bodhisattva
  17. Accumulated Jewels Bodhisattva
  18. Guidance Bodhisattva

Kern names 23 Bodhisattvas and adds an additional sixteen virtuous men.

page from Kern's translationBodhisattvas:

  1. the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Mañjuśrī, as prince royal
  2. the Bodhisattva Mahāsattvas Avalokiteśvara
  3. Mahāsthāmaprāpta
  4. Sarvārthanāman
  5. Nityodyukta
  6. Anikśhiptadhura
  7. Ratnapāni
  8. Bhaiṣajyarāja
  9. Pradānaśūra
  10. Ratnacandra
  11. Ratnaprabha
  12. Pūrṇacandra
  13. Mahāvikrāmin
  14. Trailokavikrāmin
  15. Anantavikrāmin
  16. Mahāpratibhāna
  17. Satatasamitābhiyukta
  18. Dhārāṇidhara
  19. Akshayamati
  20. Padmasrī
  21. Nakshatrarāja
  22. the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Maitreya,
  23. the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Simha.

Virtuous men:

  1. Bhadrapāla
  2. Ratnākara
  3. Susārthavāha
  4. Naradatta
  5. Guhagupta
  6. Varunadatta
  7. Indradatta
  8. Uttaramati
  9. Viseshamati
  10. Vardhamānamati
  11. Amoghadarsin
  12. Susamsthita
  13. Suvikrāntavikrāmin
  14. Anupamamati
  15. Sūryagarbha
  16. Dhārāṇidhara

Now Mañjuśrī for Manjushri  is easy enough, and I already know that World Voice Perceiver’s Sanskrit name is Avalokiteśvara and Medicine King is Bhaiṣajyarāja. But what about the others?

In considering how to compare the two lists it occurred to me that in  Gene Reeves’ translation of the threefold Lotus Sutra he has a glossary of proper names. This lists the Name in English; the Category (Buddha, Bodhisattva, Buddha land, king, shravaka, etc.); Sutra (Lotus Sutra, Innumerable Meanings, Universal Sage); Sanskrit word; and the Chinese, Pinyin and Japanese characters.

Here are Reeves’ 18 names in English and Sanskrit:

  1. Manjushri Bodhisattva [Mañjuśrī],
  2. Regarder of the Cries of the World Bodhisattva [Avalokiteśvara],
  3. Great Strength Bodhisattva [Mahāsthāmaprāpta],
  4. Constant Effort Bodhisattva [Nityodyukta],
  5. Never Resting Bodhisattva [Anikśhiptadhura],
  6. Jeweled Palm Bodhisattva [Ratnacandra],
  7. Medicine King Bodhisattva [Bhaiṣajyarāja],
  8. Bold Almsgiver Bodhisattva [Pradānaśūra],
  9. Jeweled Moon Bodhisattva [Ratnatejobhyudgatarāja],
  10. Moon Light Bodhisattva [Ratnaprabha],
  11. Full Moon Bodhisattva [Pūrṇacandra],
  12. Great Power Bodhisattva [Mahāvikrāmin],
  13. Immeasurable Power Bodhisattva [Anantavikrāmin],
  14. Above the Threefold World Bodhisattva [Trailokavikrāmin],
  15. Bhadrapala Bodhisattva,
  16. Maitreya Bodhisattva,
  17. Accumulated Jewels Bodhisattva [Ratnākara],
  18. Guidance Bodhisattva [Susārthavāha].

But when I try comparing Reeves’ Sanskrit names to Kern’s I find I can’t match Jeweled Moon Bodhisattva, which Reeves lists as Ratnatejobhyudgatarāja.

Now I’m no Sanskrit scholar but even I know rāja is king. For example, Medicine King – Bhaiṣajyarāja.

When I Googled Ratnatejobhyudgatarāja I discovered that this is the Sanskrit name for Treasure-Power­-Virtue-Superior-King, the Buddha with whom Universal Sage is living when he hears the Lotus Sutra expounded in this Sahā World in Chapter 28.

At this point it occurred to be that the BDK Tripiṭaka translation of the Lotus Sutra uses only Sanskrit names in its translation of Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation.

The BDK Tripiṭaka names:

  1. Mañjuśrī
  2. Avalokiteśvara
  3. Mahāsthāmaprāpta
  4. Nityodyukta
  5. Anikṣiptadhura
  6. Ratnapāni
  7. Bhaiṣajyarāja
  8. Pradānaśūra
  9. Ratnacandra
  10. Candraprabha
  11. Pūrṇacandra
  12. Mahāvikramin
  13. Anantavikramin
  14. Trailokyavikrama
  15. Bhadrapāla
  16. Maitreya
  17. Ratnākara
  18. Susāthavāha

Now this compares well with Kern’s list with the exception of Candraprabha, who is Moon Light Bodhisattva.  Both Kern and Reeves use Ratnaprabha, but my limited Sanskrit tells me ratna means jewel. For example, Many Treasures Buddha is Prabhūtaratna. How could Kern and Reeves agree and also be  wrong?

So, sticking my head up from the rabbit hole, I look around and wonder just how this compare and contrast thing is going to work.

NEXT: The Arhats Present at the Beginning

800years, d1b, Blog

800 Years: Thus Have I Heard

Daimoku literally means “title” in Japanese. In the case of the Lotus Sutra, that title is Myoho Renge Kyo. The text of the sutra begins with the declaration, “Thus have I heard.” Since the principal practice for Nichiren Buddhists is recitation of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, it is useful to consider the “chicken or the egg” conundrum found in the relationship between the text of the sutra and its title.

In Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Nichiren writes:

“The five characters in Chinese “Myō, Hō, Ren, Ge, and Kyō” appearing above the sentence, “Thus have I heard” is the essence of the one-volume Lotus Sūtra in eight fascicles, the essence of all the sūtras, and the supreme and True Dharma for all Buddhas, bodhisattvas, men of the Two Vehicles (śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha), heavenly beings, human beings, asura demons, and dragon deities. [Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 50]

As Rev. Ryusho Jeffus explains in his Lecture on the Lotus Sutra:

“In understanding that ‘thus have I heard’ is referring to Myoho Renge Kyo we realize that Myoho Renge Kyo pre-exists the text of the sutra. In this understanding, Myoho Renge Kyo has always existed before the text explaining it. So, in this way Myoho Renge Kyo is the fundamental truth that exists outside of or independent of the actual text, which follows.”

The first chapter of the Lotus Sutra also reveals that this is not first time the sutra has been preached. As Shinjo Suguro points out in Introduction to the Lotus Sutra:

“Manjusri’s narrative on Sun-Moon-Light Buddha illustrates that the Lotus Sutra was expounded in the past just as it is in the present. It is the universal teaching transcending even the concept of time. It is not some recent invention. The subsequent appearance of twenty thousand Buddhas with the same name suggests that the personalities of all Buddhas originate in the spirit of the very first One. Here we get the first glimpse of the ‘infinite absolute Buddha,’ or Original Buddha, who will fully reveal himself in Chapter Sixteen, ‘The Duration of the Life of the Tathagata.’ “

Or as Gene Reeves puts it in Stories from the Lotus Sutra:

“Thus the books we have called ‘The Lotus Sutra’ and the like, whether in Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, French, or English, are at best representations or exhibits of the Sutra itself. Such pages of text, on wood or palm leaf or paper, are embodiments of the Sutra. This does not mean, however, that the Lotus Sutra itself is in any way more real than the concrete embodiments. Rather, it is only in such concrete embodiments – not only in printed texts, but also in recitation, in teaching, and in practicing it – that the Sutra lives.” [p42]

With our faith in the Lotus Sutra that we make concrete by reciting devotion to the title of the sutra, by sharing the teaching and by putting it into practice in our lives, we bring the Original Buddha Śākyamuni to life right here, right now.

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800 Years: The Middle Way

For a discussion of faith, it is necessary to consider what we are being asked to understand by faith. As Thich Nhat Hanh explains in Peaceful Action, Open Heart, the Introductory chapter prepares the audience to receive a very important teaching about ultimate reality.

“[T]his introductory chapter opens two doors. The first door is that of history, the events we experience and what we can see and know in our own lifetimes. The second door is that of ultimate reality, which goes beyond time and space. Everything, all phenomena, participate in these two dimensions. When we look at a wave on the surface of the ocean, we can see the form of the wave and we locate the wave in space and time. Looking at a wave from the perspective of the historical dimension, it seems to have a beginning and an end, a birth and a death. …

“At the same time, all beings and things also belong to the ultimate dimension, the dimension of reality that is not subject to notions of space and time, birth and death … . A wave is a wave, but at the same time it is water. … To talk about a wave, we need these notions: the wave arises and passes away … . None of these distinctions can be applied to the wave in its ultimate dimension as water. In fact, you cannot separate the wave from its ultimate dimension.

“Even though we are used to seeing everything in terms of the historical dimension, we can touch the ultimate dimension. So our practice is to become like a wave – while living the life of a wave in the historical dimension, we realize that we are also water and live the life of water.” [p31-33]

This is another way of understanding the Middle Way.

Consider the light emitted by Śākyamuni that illuminates all the corners of eighteen thousand worlds in the east. The congregation can see from this world the living beings of the six regions of those worlds, down to the Avchi Hell of each world, and up to the Akanistha Heaven of each world. Mañjuśrī recalls seeing the same good omen from a Buddha called Sun-Moon-Light.

In the historical dimension, we don’t see this simultaneous nature of the 10 worlds – the six regions plus the higher realms of śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas and buddhas. We see our provisional existence but not how each realm interpenetrates the other.

With the light of the Buddha’s wisdom, the simultaneous existence of the 10 worlds is revealed in the same way that the light of our Sun passing through a prism reveals the rainbow of colors inside.

The provisional reality and ultimate reality are not separate but one truth, the Middle Way. As explained in Lotus Seeds:

“The Truth of the Middle Way is the teaching that Emptiness and Provisionality are different ways of pointing out that the reality of anything, including our own lives, transcends the categories of existence and non-existence.”

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800 Years: Variations in Faith

In the first chapter of the Lotus Sutra proper, the Buddha emits a ray of light and illumines all the corners of eighteen thousand worlds in the east, down to the Avchi Hell of each world, and up to the Akanistha Heaven of each world, the congregation gasps in wonder at this omen. The word “faith” appears only once.

Maitreya Bodhisattva narrates what everyone in the congregation is able to see:

“They also saw the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas [of those worlds] who were practicing the Way of Bodhisattvas [in various ways] according to the variety of their karmas which they had done in their previous existence, and also according to the variety of their ways of understanding [the Dharma] by faith.”

Note the emphasis on the variation. We are not the same. The causes and conditions of each individual are as varied as there are people. And we each have our unique way of understanding the Dharma by faith.

This variation is a major theme of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings:

“Seeing that conditioned desires are innumerable, the bodhisattva expounds the teachings in infinite ways. Because there are infinite ways of exposition, there are infinite meanings as well. The infinite meanings stem from a single dharma.”

This concept of equality and difference is emphasized throughout the Lotus Sutra.

In the second half of Chapter 1, when Mañjuśrī responds to Maitreya’s question about the meaning of the great wonder of the Buddha’s illumination of 18,000 worlds, he recalls an event from his past life:

“Good men! Innumerable, inconceivable, asamkya kalpas ago, there lived a Buddha called Sun-Moon-Light, the Tathagata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. He expounded the right teachings. His expounding of the right teachings was good at the beginning, good in the middle, and good at the end. The meanings of those teachings were profound. The words were skillful, pure, unpolluted, perfect, clean, and suitable for the explanation of brahma practices. To those who were seeking Śrāvakahood, he expounded the teaching of the four truths, a teaching suitable for them, saved them from birth, old age, disease, and death, and caused them to attain Nirvāṇa. To those who were seeking Pratyekabuddhahood, he expounded the teaching of the twelve causes, a teaching suitable for them. To Bodhisattvas, he expounded the teaching of the six paramitas, a teaching suitable for them, and caused them to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, that is, to obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things.”

We are equal but different. Our faith is different but equal. In the end we seek one thing: “To obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things.”

“All of you, know this, join your hands together,
And wait with one mind!
The Buddha will send the rain of the Dharma
And satisfy those who seek enlightenment.”

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Following the Example of the Buddha

This chapter is called “Introductory” because it forms the introduction of the Lotus Sutra. The circumstances of its preaching are explained first: when Śākyamuni Buddha finished preaching the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa (Vulture Peak) for the sake of all the bodhisattvas, he sat cross-legged and entered contemplation, in which his body and mind were motionless.

This is a very important description. The Buddha always entered contemplation in this way before and after preaching. During his contemplation, he considered how he should preach in order to make his teaching sink deeply into the minds of his audience, and he also prayed that the teaching preached by him might be rightly received and spread by the hearers. It is said that Śākyamuni Buddha was lost in such contemplation for five hours a day. Following the example of the Buddha, it is desirable for us to close our eyes for a few minutes before and after listening to the Buddha’s teaching so as to keep it constantly in our minds, to purify our minds with it, and to pray to be united with the Buddha.

Buddhism for Today, p24