Day 6 continues Chapter 3, A Parable

Parable of the Burning House

As mentioned last month, the Buddha is plenty strong enough to save a person but to what end? No, it is necessary for each of us to save ourselves. But first we need to realize we are in a burning house surrounded by predatory demons and the most horrendous dangers.

[I thought, ‘] I am the father of the world. I eliminated fear, despondency, grief, ignorance and darkness. I obtained immeasurable insight, powers and fearlessness. I have great supernatural powers, the power of wisdom, the paramita of expedients, the paramita of wisdom, great compassion, and great loving-kindness. I am not tired of seeking good things or of benefiting all living beings. I have appeared in the triple world, which can be likened to the rotten and burning house, in order to save all living beings from the fires of birth, old age, disease, death, grief, sorrow, suffering, lamentation, stupidity, darkness, and the three poisons, to teach all living beings, and to cause them to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. I see that all living beings are burned by the fires of birth, old age, disease, death, grief, sorrow, suffering and lamentation. They undergo various sufferings because they have the five desires and the desire for gain. Because they have attachments and pursuits, they have many sufferings in their present existence, and will suffer in hell or in the world of animals or in the world of hungry spirits in their future lives. Even when they are reborn in heaven or in the world of humans, they will still have many sufferings such as poverty or parting from their beloved ones or meeting with those whom they hate. Notwithstanding all this, however, they are playing joyfully. They are not conscious of the sufferings. They are not frightened at the sufferings or afraid of them. They do not dislike them or try to get rid of them. They are running about this burning house of the triple world, and do not mind even when they undergo great sufferings.[‘]

Day 5 begins Chapter 3, A Parable.

Last month I discussed the Buddha’s explanation to Sariputra that “I always taught you in order to cause you to attain unsurpassed enlightenment.” And, more important to today’s discussion, “In order to cause you to remember the Way you practiced under your original vow, I now expound to the Sravakas this sutra of the Great Vehicle called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’ ”

I will confess to a certain perplexity at the Buddha’s description of Sariputra in the far, far distant future as a Buddha called Flower-Light.

Sariputra! Although the world in which he appears will not be an evil one, that Buddha will expound the teaching of the Three Vehicles according to his original vow. The kalpa in which he appears will be called Great-Treasure-Adornment. Why will it be called Great-Treasure-Adornment? It is because in that world Bodhisattvas will be regarded as great treasures. The number of the Bodhisattvas [in that world] will be countless, inconceivable, beyond any mathematical calculation, beyond inference by any parable or simile. No one will know the number except the Buddha who has the power of wisdom. When those Bodhisattvas wish to go somewhere, jeweled flowers will receive their feet and carry them. Those Bodhisattvas will not have just begun to aspire for enlightenment. A long time before that they will have already planted the roots of virtue, performed the brahma practices under many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas, received the praises of the Buddhas, studied the wisdom of the Buddhas, obtained great supernatural powers, and understood all the teachings of the Buddhas. They will be upright, honest, and resolute in mind. The world of that Buddha will be filled with such Bodhisattvas.

Why does the Buddha say Flower-Light Buddha “will expound the teaching of the Three Vehicles according to his original vow”? Why would he not teach the Lotus Sutra? And why would the world of this Sravaka-turned-Buddha be set up as a world where Bodhisattvas will be regarded as great treasures? This appears to be a prediction unique to Sariputra. Why?

Day 4 finishes Chapter 2, Expedients, and completes the first volume of the Sutra of the Lotus flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Last month I focused on the Buddha’s vow to “cause all living beings to become exactly as I am.”

A mighty promise accompanies that vow:

Any Sravaka or Bodhisattva
Who hears even a gatha
Of this sutra which I am to expound
Will undoubtedly become a Buddha.

There is only one teaching, that is, the One Vehicle
In the Buddha-worlds of the ten quarters.
There is not a second or a third vehicle
Except when the Buddhas teach expediently.

The Buddhas lead all Living beings
By tentative names [of vehicles]
In order to expound their wisdom.
They appear in the worlds
Only for the One Vehicle.

The first volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma ends with this warning:

Those who do not study the Dharma
Cannot understand it.
You have already realized
The fact that the Buddhas, the World-Teachers,
employ expedients,
According to the capacities of all living beings.
Know that, when you remove your doubts,
And when you have great joy,
You will become Buddhas!

I have such great joy and no doubts. Namu Myoho Renge Kyo

Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients.

Last month, I focused on The One Great Purpose. But that purpose has been obscured. We start at the beginning:

Thereupon the World-Honored One emerged quietly from his samadhi, and said to Sariputra:

The wisdom of the [present] Buddhas is profound and immeasurable. The gate to it is difficult to understand and difficult to enter. [Their wisdom] cannot be understood by any Sravaka or Pratyekabuddha because the [present] Buddhas attended on many hundreds of thousands of billions of [past] Buddhas, and practiced the innumerable teachings of those Buddhas bravely and strenuously to their far-flung fame until they attained the profound Dharma which you have never heard before, [and became Buddhas,] and also because [since they became Buddhas] they have been expounding the Dharma according to the capacities of all living beings in such various ways that the true purpose of their [various] teachings is difficult to understand.

And…

“Sariputra! The Tathagatas divide [the Dharma] into various teachings, and expound those teachings to all living beings so skillfully and with such gentle voices that living beings are delighted. Sariputra! In short, the Buddhas attained the innumerable teachings which you have never heard before. No more, Sariputra, will I say because the Dharma attained by the Buddhas is the highest Truth, rare [to hear] and difficult to understand.

The bottom line for those who think they can intellectualize an appreciation of the Buddha’s truth:

The Dharma cannot be shown.
It is inexplicable by words.
No one can understand it
Except the Buddhas
And the Bodhisattvas
Who are strong in the power of faith.

And …

Sariputra and all of you present here! Understand the Dharma by faith with all your hearts! There is no vehicle other than the One Buddha-Vehicle.

By faith with faith. Namu Myoho Renge Kyo

Day 2 completes Chapter 1, Introductory

Yesterday’s consideration of the circle that is life brings my attention today to the circular relationship of the lives of the great disciples.

When we begin this second of the 32 days of the Lotus Sutra, Manjusri is answering Maitreya’s request to explain the meaning of the great omen seen by the multitude – the light emitted by Sakyamuni “from the white curls between his eyebrows, and illumined all the corners of eighteen thousand worlds in the east, down to the Avici Hell of each world, and up to the Akanistha Heaven of each world.” Manjusri tells about one of his long-ago lives and in doing so explains the story of a Bodhisattva called Wonderful-Light, who had 800 disciples.

One of the eight hundred disciples [of Wonderful-Light] was called Fame-­Seeking. He was attached to gain. He read and recited many sutras, but did not understand them. He forgot many parts of those sutras. Therefore, he was called Fame-Seeking. But he [later] planted the roots of good, and became able to see many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas. He made offerings to them, respected them, honored them, and praised them.

Maitreya, know this! Wonderful-Light Bodhisattva at that time was no one but myself; and Fame-Seeking Bodhisattva, no one but you. This good omen we see now is not different from what I saw at that time. Therefore, I think that the Tathagata of today also will expound the sutra of the Great Vehicle called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’

And in gathas:

There was a lazy man
Among the disciples
Of Wonderful-Light, the Teacher of the Dharma.
[The lazy man] was attached to fame and gain.

Always seeking fame and gain,
He often visited noble families.
He did not understand what he had recited,
Gave it up, and forgot it.
Because of this,
He was called Fame-Seeking.

But he [later] did many good karmas,
And became able to see innumerable Buddhas.
He made offerings to them,
Followed them, practiced the Great Way,
And performed the six paramitas.
Now he sees the Lion-Like One of the Sakyas.

He will become a Buddha
In his future life.
He will be called Maitreya.
He will save innumerable living beings.

The lazy man who Lived after the extinction
Of [Sun-Moon-] Light Buddha was
No one but you.
Wonderful-Light, the Teacher of the Dharma, was I.

The ray of light of [Sun-Moon-] Light Buddha,
That is, the good omen, was the same as what I see now. Judging from this, the present Buddha also will expound The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Back in the days of my youth, when all telephones were wired (and they even had dials to “dial” a phone number), the handsets were often attached to the phone with a coiled wire. When relaxed, the coils appeared to be individual loops with beginnings and ends, but as you pulled on the coil you realized the beginnings and ends were an illusion and when you stretched the coil to its limit it became a single line. That’s today’s image for the circle of life.

Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory

I find this circle of 32 days enjoyable, with a sense of completion and renewed anticipation as I move from one end through the beginning again. What if we could appreciate the circle of our lives in the same way?

And so it begins again with “Thus have I heard.”

Here I’d like to bring up an explanation offered by Ryusho Jeffus Shonin:

There are actually two ways of looking at the phrase “thus have I heard.” The difference is which way or which direction “thus have I heard” points. In one understanding, “thus have I heard” points to the text that follows. So in this interpretation Ananda is saying what he heard from the Buddha and it is titled Myoho Renge Kyo. The other interpretation is “thus have I heard” is pointing to Myoho Renge Kyo, and what follows is an explanation, or interpretation of Myoho Renge Kyo. In the first understanding the text of the sutra is primary, in the second the text is secondary to the title. As different sentence constructions it might look like this. ‘Myoho Renge Kyo is what I heard’ versus ‘This is what I heard. The Buddha one …’ The difference is slight but important. In the first Myoho Renge Kyo is the most important thing and all that follows is a way to understand Myoho Renge Kyo. The second understanding places the text of the sutra as key and the title is a summary of the contents.

Nichiren argues that “thus have I heard” is referring to Myoho Renge Kyo and this supports the conclusion that chanting the title as a single practice is very much appropriate and correct. Everything then recounted in the text of the sutra is similar to an exegesis of the most important thing, which is Myoho Renge Kyo.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

“Thus have I heard” at that point between the end and the beginning, containing both, encompassing everything. Namu Myoho Renge Kyo

Day 32 covers Chapter 28, The Encouragement of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, closing the Eighth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Today completes my first month of my self-imposed single-topic sharing of what I read each day. On this last day I’ll set aside for future months the ambivalent attitude about women shown by Universal Sage Bodhisattva and instead take this opportunity to focus on Sakyamuni’s promise:

Universal-Sage! Anyone who keeps, reads and recites this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, memorizes it correctly, studies it, practices it, and copies it, should be considered to see me, and hear this sutra from my mouth. He should be considered to be making offerings to me. He should be considered to be praised by me with the word ‘Excellent!’ He should be considered to be caressed by me on the head. He should be considered to be covered with my robe.

And…

Universal-Sage! If you see anyone who keeps, reads and recites the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in the later five hundred years after my extinction, you should think, ‘Before long be will go to the place of enlightenment, defeat Mara and his followers, attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, turn the wheel of the Dharma, beat the drum of the Dharma, blow the conch-shell horn of the Dharma, send the rain of the Dharma, and sit on the lion-like seat of the Dharma in the midst of the great multitude of gods and men.’

Day 31 covers Chapter 27, King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva.

This story of two sons who, at the invitation of their mother, seek to convince their father, a king, to hear the Buddha is always inspiring. And this time through I want to underline the effect of their efforts:

By displaying these various wonders, they purified the mind of their father, that is, of the king, and caused him to understand the Dharma by faith.

And…

Thereupon the two sons descended from the sky, came to their mother, joined their hands together, and said to her, ‘Our father, the king, has now understood the Dharma by faith. He is now able to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. We did the work of the Buddha for the sake of our father.

And…

The two sons led their father by these expedients and caused him to understand the teachings of the Buddha by faith and to wish [to act according to those teachings].

They did the work of the Buddha and caused the king, their father, to understand the Dharma by faith and to wish to act according to those teachings.

Day 30 covers all of Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs.

Before getting to the Dharanis and those who offer protective spells, I begin with the answer to Medicine-King Bodhisattva’s question, “How many merits will be given to the good men or women who keep, read, recite, understand or copy the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma?”

The Buddha said to him:

Suppose some good men or women make offerings to eight hundred billion nayuta Buddhas, that is, as many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges. What do you think of this? Are the merits given to them many or not?

“Very many, World-Honored One!”

The Buddha said:

More merits will b given to the good men or women who keep, read or recite· even a single gatha of four lines of this sutra, understand the meanings of it or act according to it.”

As a postscript, on my To-Do list is a compilation of all of the references to the number representing sands in the River Ganges, e.g. eight hundred billion nayuta.

Day 29 covers all of Chapter 25, The Universal Gate of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva.

For me, the specifics of what World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva offers to do for people in need are as problematic as the specifics of the Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma. Get out of jail free, guilty or not, or recognize by smell the gold, silver, and other treasures deposited underground. But that’s just me.

In this first time through, I’ll focus on the empowering aspect of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva:

Good man! If many hundreds of thousands of billions of living beings hear [the name of] World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva and call his name with all their hearts when they are under various sufferings, World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva will immediately perceive their voices, and cause them to emancipate themselves [from the sufferings].

And in gathas:

Listen! World-Voice-Perceiver practiced
According to the conditions of the places [of salvation].
His vow to save [people] is as deep a the sea.
You cannot fathom it even for kalpas.

On many hundreds of thousands of millions of Buddhas
He attended and made a great and pure vow.
I will tell you about his vow in brief.
If you hear his name, and see him,
And think of him constantly,
You will be able to eliminate all sufferings.