The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p224-225The long and broad tongue reaching to the Brahma heaven testifies to the truth of what had been taught. It is a way of affirming that what the Buddha teaches is true, especially true in the sense of being effective in relieving suffering. This tongue symbolizes the length and breadth the Dharma: it is both broad or inclusive and long in that it can reach everywhere. Though it takes many forms, the Dharma goes everywhere and is one; that is, it is neither divided nor fragmented.
Thus this image of the long and broad tongue reaching to the heavens is called a symbol of nimon-shin’itsu, “two gateways, one in faith.” That is, in faith the two halves of the Sutra are one, and Shakyamuni Buddha and the Original Buddha are one. …
This unity of Shakyamuni Buddha and the Original Buddha is related to the Dharma Flower Sutra’s repeated affirmation of the reality and importance of this concrete, actual world. The original, universal Buddha is always an embodied Buddha – for us, principally Shakyamuni Buddha, who is uniquely the Buddha of this world, the one declared in the Lotus Sutra to be the “father of this world.” The abstract universal and original Buddha has to be embodied in order to make a difference in this world. Without Shakyamuni Buddha, for us at least, there might be no buddha at all. Even the three Pure Land Sutras, which are the textual basis for devotion to Amida Buddha, like the Dharma Flower Sutra are said to have been preached on Eagle Peak by Shakyamuni Buddha. Regardless of what buddha is the main object of art or devotion, the whole Buddhist tradition has its historical origin in Shakyamuni Buddha.
Category Archives: d25b
Predictions in the Lotus Sutra
Vasubandhu's Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p 141-142Predictions occur on six occasions [in the Lotus Sutra]; on five occasions the prediction is given by the Buddha and in one occasion it is given by a bodhisattva. The predictions given by the tathāgatas include those for Śāriputra, Mahākāśyapa and the other well-known [disciples]. Since they will have different names [as buddhas], they receive their predictions separately. The five hundred disciples, including Pūrṇa and the others, and the twelve thousand disciples are given their predictions at the same time, since they will all have the same name [as buddhas]. Those who have more to learn and those who do not [have more to learn] all have the same name [as buddhas], and since they are not well known they are given their predictions together. That the Tathāgata gives Devadatta his prediction separately shows the Tathāgata has no enmity. That the nuns and maidens of the heavenly realm receive their predictions from the Buddha shows that women, either lay Buddhists or renunciants, who cultivate the bodhisattva practice will also realize the fruit of buddhahood.
It should be known that the prediction of enlightenment given by a bodhisattva is illustrated as follows in the chapter “Bodhisattva Sadāparibhūta” [where it says]:
[D]oing obeisance and praising them, he would make this proclamation, “I do not disrespect you. You will all certainly become buddhas.” This shows that all living beings have buddha-nature.
Regarding the disciples’ attainment of a prediction, [it should be known that] there are four types of disciples: 1) disciples who are fixed [in the path of the Small Vehicle], 2) arrogant disciples, 3) disciples who have retreated from the thought of enlightenment, and 4) transformation disciples.
The two types of disciples who receive a prediction from the tathāgatas are the transformation disciples and the disciples who have retreated from the thought of enlightenment. Since disciples who are fixed [in the path of the Small Vehicle] and arrogant disciples have faculties that are not yet mature, they are not given predictions of enlightenment.
Regarding a bodhisattva giving a prediction, it shows expedient means being used to cause [the disciples] to produce the thought of enlightenment.
The Power of Practice
Vasubandhu's Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p 148The power of practice is illustrated by five entrances: l) the power from teaching, 2) the power from the practice of undertaking hardships, 3) the power from protecting living beings from difficulties, 4) the power from the excellence of merits, and 5) the power from protecting the Dharma.
- The power from teaching has three entrances to the Dharma that are shown in the chapter “Supernatural Powers”: [the buddhas] extend their long, broad tongues in order to cause [those present] to remember; [they] coughed [before] speaking the verses in order to cause [those present to listen, and after having made them listen they caused them not to abandon the true practice; [they] snapped their fingers to enlighten living beings and to cause those who were practicing the path to attain enlightenment.
- The power from the practice of undertaking hardships is illustrated in the chapter “Bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyarāja” [Medicine King]. The chapter “Bodhisattva Gadgadasvara” [Wonderful Voice] also illustrates the power from the practice of undertaking hardships [in regard to] giving guidance to living beings.
- The power from protecting living beings from difficulties is shown in the chapter “Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara” and the chapter “Magical Spells.”
- The power from the excellence of merits is shown in the chapter “King Śubhavyūha.” The two boys have such power through the roots of good merit [they had planted] in past lives.
- The power from protecting the Dharma is shown in the chapter “Bodhisattva Samantabhadra” and in later chapters.
The Gist of Practicing the Lotus Sūtra
A wise man named Confucius of China is said to have thought over what he intended to say nine times before he uttered a word. It is also said that Tan, the Duke of Chou, interrupted washing his hair, or having a meal, three times in order to see visitors without keeping them waiting. How much more you who have faith in Buddhism should take these examples to heart! Otherwise you will regret it later. Please do not bear a grudge against me. This is the teaching of the Buddha. The essence of Buddhism is the Lotus Sūtra, and the gist of practicing the Lotus Sūtra is shown in the “Never-Despising Bodhisattva” chapter. Contemplate why the Never-Despising Bodhisattva stood on the street to bow to passersby. The true purpose of Śākyamuni Buddha appearing in this world was to teach us how to behave ourselves on a daily basis. Consider this well. The wise are called human beings while the foolish are beasts.
Sushun Tennō Gosho, The ‘Emperor Sushun’ Letter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 124
The Vow of Bodhisattvas Who Sprang Up from Underground
The twenty-first chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, the “Divine Powers of the Buddha,” says: “Thereupon those bodhisattvas who had sprung up from underground, as numerous as the dust-particles of 1,000 worlds, all heartfully pressed their hands together in reverence of the Buddha, looked up to the noble countenance of the Buddha and said to Him, ‘World Honored One! We will propagate this sūtra after Your death in the lands of Buddhas in manifestation (funjin Buddhas) and in this world from which You will pass away.’ ”
T’ien-t’ai offers an interpretation of this in his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra: “No bodhisattvas other than those who had sprung up from underground made this vow to the Buddha.” Tao-hsien declared in his Supplement to the Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra: “The propagation of this sūtra was entrusted only to those bodhisattvas who had sprung up from underground. Why was it so? Because it was the dharma preached by the Eternal Buddha in the eternal past, the task of preaching it was entrusted to those who received His guidance in the eternal past.”
After all, Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī (Monjushiri) is a disciple of the Immovable (Fudō) Buddha of the Golden World in the east; Avalokiteśvara (Kannon) is that of the Buddha of Infinite Life in the west; Bodhisattva Medicine King (Yakuō), of Sun Moon Pure Bright Virtue (Nichigatsu Jōmyō-toku) Buddha; and Bodhisattva Samantabhadra (Fugen), of Treasure Power Virtue (Hōitoku) Buddha. These bodhisattvas have come to this world solely to assist Śākyamuni Buddha in carrying out the work of His ministry. They merely represent bodhisattvas who appeared in sūtras preached before the Lotus Sūtra or in its theoretical section, and who did not possess the great dharma of the essential section. How can they qualify to propagate it in the Latter Age of Degeneration?
Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Verable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 157-158
The Phases of the Dharma
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p212-213Never Disrespectful Bodhisattva, we are told, lived in an era of merely formal Dharma. In Buddhism it is often taught that there are three or four phases of the Dharma, what we might think of as phases in the life of the Dharma. The first can be called the phase of true Dharma; the second, merely formal Dharma; and the third, the end of the Dharma. One common interpretation has it that in the first phase, the phase of true, real, correct, or right Dharma, following the life of a buddha in the world, the Buddha’s teachings are taught and practiced and awakening is sometimes achieved. We can think of this as a time of living Dharma, a time when the Dharma has a deep impact on people’s lives. In the second phase, the teachings are practiced but awakening is generally not possible because the teachings are only superficially held and practiced. In the third phase the teachings exist but they are not practiced at all, not embodied in the lives of people. Sometimes a fourth phase is added, a period in which the teachings themselves are no longer even present. Eventually, another Buddha emerges and the cycle begins again.
While this pattern of phases is quite common in Buddhism, we do not find it in the Dharma Flower Sutra. There we find the end of the Dharma mentioned directly only twice, and perhaps indirectly twice, but never in connection with the phases of true Dharma and merely formal Dharma. These first two phases, on the other hand, are often mentioned together, suggesting that there is a two-phase cycle in which a new phase of true Dharma follows a phase of merely formal Dharma. In Chapter 20, this two-phase cycle is clearly endorsed. Setting the scene for the appearance of Never Disrespectful Bodhisattva, we are told that “after the true Dharma and merely formal Dharma had entirely disappeared, another buddha appeared in that land.” (LS 338) And this event of a period of true Dharma not only preceding but also following a period of merely formal Dharma is said to have happened two trillion times in succession!
We can only speculate as to why this three-phase cosmology is not in the Dharma Flower Sutra. My sense of it is that in the context of the Dharma Flower Sutra it is not appropriate to believe that the end of the Dharma, the third phase, is inevitable. Virtually the whole thrust of the Sutra is to encourage keeping the Dharma alive by embodying it in everyday life. It simply would not make good sense to repeatedly urge people to keep the Dharma alive by receiving, embracing, reading, reciting, and copying it, and teaching and practicing it if a decline of the Dharma were inevitable. The Dharma Flower Sutra teaches that the bodhisattva path is difficult, even extremely difficult, but it cannot be impossible. Even the many assurances of becoming a buddha that we find in the first half of the Sutra should, I think, be taken as a kind of promise that supreme awakening is always possible.
Bodhisattva Practice Begins with Respecting Others
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p216-216Teachers of the Lotus Sutra often say that it teaches the bodhisattva way of helping others. Unfortunately, this is sometimes understood to mean intruding where one is not wanted, interfering with the lives of others, in order to “do good.” But the story of Never Disrespectful Bodhisattva may lead us to see that doing good for others begins with respecting them, seeing the buddha in them. If we sincerely look for the potential in someone else to be a buddha, rather than criticizing or complaining about negative factors, we will be encouraged by the positive things that we surely will find. And furthermore, by looking for the good in others, we can come to have a more positive attitude ourselves and thus move along our own bodhisattva path.
In earlier chapters of the Lotus Sutra, it is the Buddha who is able to see the potential to become a buddha in others. But here it becomes very clear that seeing the buddha or the buddha-potential in others is something we all should practice, both for the good of others and for our own good.
Subduing Evil by Never Despising
[T]he story of Never Despising Bodhisattva in chapter twenty of the Lotus Sūtra is cited by Nichiren as an example of the method of subduing evil. In the chapter the Buddha tells of a bodhisattva who lived during the age of the counterfeit Dharma of the Powerful-Voice-King Buddha. This bodhisattva’s sole practice was to bow to all he met and say to them, “l respect you deeply. I do not despise you. Why is that? It is because you will be able to practice the Way of bodhisattvas and become buddhas.” (Murano 2012, p. 292) Because of this he was called Never Despising Bodhisattva. The arrogant monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen at that time felt that he was speaking falsely and so abused him and even threw things at him. Though forced to run away, Never Despising Bodhisattva did not relent and continued to assure people “in a loud voice from afar” (Murano 2012, p. 293) that they would become buddhas. In time, those who abused him became his followers and took faith in the teaching that they would be able to attain buddhahood. The Buddha goes on to say that Never Despising Bodhisattva was himself in a past life and that because he was able to lead so many people into the way to perfect and complete awakening he was able to meet many hundreds of thousands of millions of buddhas and expound the Lotus Sūtra and ultimately become a buddha himself. Those who abused him had to expiate their sins in the Avici Hell but afterwards were able to become bodhisattvas themselves and meet many buddhas including Śākyamuni Buddha.
In the story of Never Despising Bodhisattva the method of subduing evil becomes clear. The bodhisattva does not berate or argue with others, nor does he resort to the coercive power of the state. Rather, he forthrightly proclaims the True Dharma that all beings can attain buddhahood in the face of disbelief, abuse, and even violence. Never Despising Bodhisattva is not only motivated by compassion, but his sole practice is a gesture of reverence and respect for the buddha-nature in all beings. When faced with abuse and violence he does not allow himself to be hurt but retreats to a safe distance. Instead of retaliating in kind he continues to voice his deepest conviction and reverence. The method of subduing therefore is about having the courage and compassion to stand up for what is right and to give voice to the True Dharma even though one may meet with derision or even persecution.
Open Your Eyes, p564-565The Challenge of Never Despising
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p211-212In the Dharma Flower Sutra, bodhisattvas, especially those appearing in the last eight chapters, including [Never-Despising] bodhisattva, are intended to be models for us, at least to some degree. I do not mean that we are supposed to behave exactly like any of these bodhisattvas, especially not like Medicine King Bodhisattva in Chapter 23, who burns himself. But these bodhisattva stories are clearly intended as examples having to do with the conduct of our own lives.
So what is being taught in this story? Most people, I believe, never, or at least nearly never, despise other people. We might occasionally meet someone we do not like, but we do not usually go arounddespising others. But all of us, all too often I believe, do in fact speak and act in ways that are disrespectful of others. Usually, I suppose, this is not deliberate or intentional; but arises from being careless or busy or self-absorbed or just ignorant of what may create feelings of being belittled in others. So never being disrespectful is a serious challenge for each of us. And that, I believe, is what this chapter intends to teach us – that we should always and everywhere respect other people, all other people. This means finding the good in others, even if, as in the case of Never Disrespectful Bodhisattva, they are throwing sticks and stones (or worse!) at us.
Sins and Rewards
What, then, of the promises of protection and ease in the Lotus Sūtra? Does the fact that no one, no matter how virtuous, can escape hardship mean that these statements are false? Nichiren finds the answer in the teaching of Tiantai Zhiyi (538-597): “Our troubles and sufferings in this world are all due to our sins in our past lives, and rewards for our meritorious acts in this life will be received in our future lives.” (Hori 2002, p. 104) He finds it in the teaching of the Contemplation of the Mind Ground Sūtra (J. Shinjikan-gyō): “If you want to know the cause in the past, see the effect in the present. If you want to know the effect in the future, see the cause in the present.” (Murano 2000, p. 112) He also finds it in the Lotus Sūtra’s statement, “Thus he expiated his sin.” (Murano 1991, p. 289)
These teachings indicate that the abuse undergone by Never Despising Bodhisattva was a result of past misdeeds. Nichiren understands all this to mean that the hardships faced in this life are not because of, or in spite of, the good deeds one is currently doing. Rather, it is because past misdeeds are coming into fruition. In addition, one must have confidence that the good one is doing now will come to fruition in the future. Conversely, those who commit evil deeds will inevitably face the fruition of their actions in a future life. Severe misdeeds in particular will take time to come to fruition. In the meantime, according to the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, those who slander the Dharma will have nightmares that may cause them to reflect upon their conduct. The idea is that calamity does not come immediately, and that people will be given a chance to repent of their misdeeds. The promises of the Lotus Sūtra apply to those who have no past offenses to expiate and is a guarantee that upholding the Lotus Sūtra will sow the seeds of great benefit both for the present life and for the future, though they may not come to fruition immediately.