Category Archives: LS32

LS32

Day 1

Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory

Day 1 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month concluded today’s portion of Chapter 1, Introductory, we return to the top and consider the meaning of “Thus have I heard.”

Thus have I heard. The Buddha once lived on Mt. Gṛdhrakūṭa in the City of King-House. He was accompanied by twelve thousand great bhikṣus. They were Arhats. They had already eliminated āsravas, and had no illusions. They had already benefited themselves, broken off the bonds of existence [in the world of birth and death], and obtained liberty in their minds. They included Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya, Mahā-Kāśyapa, Uruvilvā-Kāśyapa, Gaya-Kāśyapa, Nadi- Kāśyapa, Śāriputra, Great Maudgalyāyana, Mahā-Kātyāyana, Aniruddha, Kapphina, Gavampati, Revata, Pilindavatsa, Bakkula, Maha-Kausthila, Nanda, Sundarananda, Pūrṇa who was the son of Maitrāyanī, Subhūti, Ananda, and Rahula. 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. Maha-Prajapati Bhikṣunī was present with her six thousand attendants. Yasodhara Bhikṣunī, the mother of Rahula, was also present with her attendants.

See They Began With ‘Myō, Hō, Ren, Ge, and Kyō’

Daily Dharma, d9b

Daily Dharma – Dec. 9, 2023

We know the defects of the Lesser Vehicle.
But we do not know how to obtain
The unsurpassed wisdom of the Buddha.

The Buddha’s disciples Maudgalyāyana, Subhūti and Mahā-Kātyāyana sing these verses in Chapter Six of the Lotus Sūtra. They have heard the Buddha teach that the expedient teachings about Suffering are incomplete. However they still have not yet embraced the One Vehicle teaching of the Lotus Sūtra which leads all beings to enlightenment. Nichiren explained, in his Treatise on Opening the Eyes of Buddhist Images, how teachings that came before the Lotus Sūtra were based on the mind of the hearer, where the Wonderful Dharma is itself the mind of the Buddha. When we read, recite, copy and expound the Lotus Sūtra, we are becoming of one mind with the Buddha.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

LS32, Innumerable

Another Innumerable Day Before Day 1

Having last month in the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings considered the sixth of the 10 beneficial effects of this sutra, we consider the seventh of the 10 beneficial effects of this sutra.

“O you of good intent! Seventh, this sutra’s unimaginable power for beneficial effect is this: During or after the lifetime of a buddha, if men and women of good intent can hear this sutra and joyfully and willingly embrace and trust in it, realize its rarity in their minds, accept and keep faith with it, internalize and recite it, make records of and speak of it, practice the way of its teaching, awaken the aspiration for enlightenment, put forth many roots of goodness, promote great compassion, and aspire to ferry all suffering living beings, then, even though they do not practice to perfect the six spiritual attitudes, perfection in the six spiritual attitudes will naturally come to them. Just as they are, they will come to the understanding that phenomena are without origination or cessation; they will instantly cast away and destroy delusive worldly passions and the cycle of births and deaths; and they will immediately rise to the seventh stage of development, joining the level of great bodhisattvas. Imagine that a powerful person settles a grudge on behalf of a king. After all hostility has been extinguished, the king is greatly pleased, and, as a reward, grants to that person full rights to all things in half of his realm. So it is also with the women and men of good intent who keep faith with this sutra. Being the strongest and most valiant of those who do practices, attainment of the Dharma treasure of the perfection of the six spiritual attitudes spontaneously comes to them without their pursuit of it, they naturally rout and remove the foes that are birth and death, and they come to the realization that phenomena are without origination or cessation. The treasure of half of a buddha realm with which they are rewarded is tranquility and joy. O you of good intent! This is known as the inconceivable power of the seventh beneficial effect of this sutra.

See The All-Encompassing Lotus Sutra

Daily Dharma, d26b

Daily Dharma – Dec. 8, 2023

When you see anyone who does not receive [this sūtra] by faith, you should show him some other profound teachings of mine, teach him, benefit him, and cause him to rejoice. When you do all this, you will be able to repay the favors given to you by the Buddhas.

The Buddha gives these instructions in Chapter Twenty-Two of the Lotus Sūtra. They remind us to be patient with those whom we work to benefit. Even though they may not be ready to hear the Wonderful Dharma, we can use the Expedient Teachings to prepare them for the Buddha’s highest teaching. When we are assured that countless beings are helping us all to become enlightened, we are less likely to be disappointed in the progress that we see.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

LS32, Universal Sage

Between Day 32 and Day 1: Vows of the Faithful

Having last month in the Sutra of Contemplation of Universal Sage considered the benefits of this wonderful and surpassing method of self-amendment, we consider the vow a practitioner expresses.

When a practitioner desires to fully conform to a bodhisattva’s behavioral principles, he or she must then seek out a quiet secluded location, place palms together, pay homage universally to the buddhas of the ten directions, admit to his or her faults, and amend him- or herself of impurities. And then, in a tranquil place, the practitioner must address the buddhas of the ten directions, saying these words:

“The buddhas, the World-honored Ones, are always present in this world. Yet even though I believe in the comprehensive sutras, I am unable to clearly discern the buddhas because of my karmic encumbrances. I now take refuge in the Buddha! May you, Śākyamuni, Fully Enlightened World-honored One, please become my mentor! O Mañjuśrī, possessor of great wisdom:31 With your wisdom and understanding, please initiate me in the pure bodhisattva ways! Thereby, out of compassion for me, Maitreya Bodhisattva, the sun of surpassing mercy, will permit me to take up the bodhisattva ways; the buddhas of the ten directions will appear to bear witness for me; and the eminent bodhisattvas – those supreme great leaders who safeguard living beings, who inspire and watch over those like me – will each make themselves known by name.

“On this day I accept and embrace the comprehensive sutras! Even if I should fall into hells and suffer innumerable hardships upon reaching the end of this life, through it all I will never renounce the correct Dharma of the buddhas! By means and reason of these causes and the power of their beneficial effects, Śākyamuni Buddha now becomes my mentor and Mañjuśrī becomes my steward! O Maitreya who is to come – please impart the teachings to me! O buddhas of the ten directions – please bear witness for my assurance! O great virtuous bodhisattvas – please be my companions!

“Trusting now in the wonderful and most profound principle of the Great Vehicle sutras, I take refuge in Buddha, I take refuge in Dharma, and I take refuge in Sangha!”

The practitioner must say this three times. Having taken refuge in the Three Treasures, the practitioner must personally vow to adopt the six appropriate behaviors. Having embraced the six appropriate behaviors, she or he must then diligently strive to cultivate unwavering pure conduct, awaken a mind to universally ferry others, and adopt the eight appropriate behaviors.32 Having made this commitment, the practitioner, in a quiet secluded location, must burn fine incense, scatter flowers, offer respects to all buddhas and bodhisattvas and to the comprehensive Great Vehicle as well, and say these words:

“Here, this day, I have awakened the aspiration for enlightenment! Through the beneficial effects of this, may I universally ferry all living beings!”

After saying this, the practitioner must again humbly pay homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas, and reflect on the comprehensive principle over the course of one to three-times-seven days. Whether renunciant or layperson, the practitioner will not need a mentor, will not need stewards, and will not need to take vows in a ceremony because of the power of accepting, keeping faith with, reciting, and internalizing the Great Vehicle sutras, and because of Universal Sage Bodhisattva’s encouragement to engage in this practice. This is the core of the true Way of the buddhas in the ten directions. By means and reason of this Way, the practitioner will naturally attain the five attributes of an enlightened one: perfection in behavioral principles, perfection in concentration, perfection in wisdom, perfection in emancipation, and perfection in the perspective that pertains to emancipation. Buddha tathāgatas become so by following this Way; the promise of their buddhahood is obtained in the Great Vehicle sutras.

See The Religious Nature of Faith in the Three Treasures

Daily Dharma, d15b

Daily Dharma – Dec. 7, 2023

Those who come to this teacher of the Dharma
Will be able to complete the Way of Bodhisattvas quickly.
Those who follow him and study will be able to see
As many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges.

The Buddha sings these verses to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. By teacher of the Dharma, the Buddha means anyone who keeps, reads, recites, copies and expounds this Sūtra. As we continue on this Way, we learn to recognize the Buddha’s presence in every aspect of our experience. We learn to appreciate everything the Buddha does for us, and to show that gratitude to all those in whom we recognize the Buddha. Then we realize there is no shortage of teachers, no shortage of joy and no shortage of opportunities to benefit others.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

LS32

Day 32

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.

Day 32 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the late arrival of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, we consider how the good men or women who live after your extinction will be able to obtain the Lotus Sutra.

“World-Honored One! I heard the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, which you expounded in this Sahā World, from a remote world in which lives Treasure-Power­-Virtue-Superior-King Buddha. I came here with many hundreds of thousands of billions of Bodhisattvas in order to hear and receive [this Sūtra]. World-Honored One! Tell me how the good men or women who live after your extinction will be able to obtain this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma!”

The Buddha said to Universal-Sage Bodhisattva:

“The good men or women will be able to obtain this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma after my extinction if they do the following four things: 1. secure the protection of the Buddhas, 2. plant the roots of virtue, 3. reach the stage of steadiness [in proceeding to enlightenment], and 4. resolve to save all living beings. The good men or women will be able to obtain this sūtra after my extinction if they do these four things.”

The Daily Dharma from Nov. 7, 2023, offers this:

The Buddha said to Universal-Sage Bodhisattva: “The good men or women will be able to obtain this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma after my extinction if they do the following four things: (1) secure the protection of the Buddhas, (2) plant the roots of virtue, (3) reach the stage of steadiness [in proceeding to enlightenment], and (4) resolve to save all living beings. The good men or women will be able to obtain this sūtra after my extinction if they do these four things.”

For us who aspire to this difficult practice of the Wonderful Dharma, the Buddha gives this guide in Chapter Twenty-Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. For us to have even heard of this sūtra in this life we must have already done these four things. In order to maintain this practice, we need to use the Buddha’s protection for the benefit of all beings, not just for our benefit alone. We need to nourish the virtuous seeds we have already planted, remain steady and confident on the path to enlightenment, and sustain our determination to maintain our respect for everyone.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Daily Dharma, d27b

Daily Dharma – Dec. 6, 2023

What do you think of this? Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva was no one but Medicine-King Bodhisattva of today. He gave up his body in this way, offered it [to the Buddha], and repeated this offering many hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas of times [in his previous existence]. [He knows that he can practice any austerity in this Sahā-World. Therefore, he does not mind walking about this world.]

The Buddha gives this explanation to Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sūtra. The story of the previous life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva shows us the capacities we have already developed and are not aware of. When we see ourselves as choosing to come into this world of conflict to benefit all beings, rather than stuck where we do not want to be and just making the best of it, then it is much easier to let go of our delusions.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

LS32

Day 31

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

Day 31 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered King Wonderful-Adornment’s two sons, Pure-Store and Pure-Eyes, we consider the two sons’ efforts to show some wonders to their father.

“Thereupon that Buddha expounded the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, wishing to lead King Wonderful-Adornment also out of his compassion towards all living beings. The two sons, Pure-Store and Pure-Eyes, came to their mother, joined their ten fingers and palms together, and said, ‘Mother! Go to Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha! We also will go to attend on him, approach him, make offerings to him, and bow to him because he is expounding the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to all gods and men. Hear and receive [the sūtra]!’

“The mother said to them, ‘[Yes, I will. But] your father believes in heresy. He is deeply attached to the teachings of brahmanas. Go and tell him to allow us to go [to that Buddha]! ‘

“Pure-Store and Pure-Eyes joined their ten fingers and palms together, and said to their mother, ‘We were born in this family attached to wrong views although we are sons of the King of the Dharma.’

“The mother said to them, ‘Show some wonders to your father out of your compassion towards him! If he sees [the wonders], he will have his mind purified and allow us to go to that Buddha.’

“Thereupon the two sons went up to the sky seven times as high as the tala-tree, and displayed various wonders because they were thinking of their father. They walked, stood, sat, and reclined in the sky. Then they issued water from the upper parts of their bodies, and fire from the lower parts. Then they issued water from the lower parts of their bodies, and fire from the upper parts. Then they became giants large enough to fill the sky, became dwarfs, and became giant again. Then they disappeared from the sky and suddenly appeared on the earth. Then they dived into the earth just as into water, and stepped on the surface of water just as on the earth. [Then they went up to the sky and stayed there.] 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.

The Daily Dharma from Aug. 23, 2023, offers this:

The mother said to them, ‘Show some wonders to your father out of your compassion towards him! If he sees [the wonders], he will have his mind purified and allow us to go to that Buddha.’

These lines are from a story told by the Buddha in Chapter Twenty-Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. The two sons of King Wonderful-Adornment have asked their mother for permission to leave home and follow the Buddha Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom. The wonders in the story are beyond the capacity of human beings, but they show the King that another way of living is possible, and induce him to seek the teaching of that Buddha. Even if we cannot develop supernatural powers, there are wonders we can develop in our practice. We can learn the value of respecting all beings. We can control our desires and not be devastated by life’s tragedies. We can share “even a word or phrase,” as Nichiren put it, of the teaching and bring great benefit to others. In our normal lives, changed by our practice, we too can purify the minds of others.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Daily Dharma, d10b

Daily Dharma – Dec. 5, 2023

Expound the Dharma, reveal the Dharma,
And cause us to obtain that wisdom!
If we attain Buddhahood,
Others also will do the same.

These verses are sung by the sixteen children of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha in a story told by the Buddha in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. When the children learned of their father becoming enlightened, they gave up their toys and preoccupations and begged that Buddha to teach them. With this declaration they showed their father that they were ready to receive his wisdom and set off on the path to their own enlightenment.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com