Category Archives: LS32

LS32

Day 7

Day 7 concludes Chapter 3, A Parable, and begins Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith.

Day 7 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered more examples of people to whom we should expound the sūtra, we conclude Chapter 3, A Parable.

Expound it to the Buddha’s sons
Who expound the Dharma without hindrance
To the great multitude
With their pure minds
By telling them
Various stories of previous lives,
Parables and similes,
And also by giving them various discourses!

Expound it to the bhikṣus
Who seek the Dharma in all directions
In order to obtain
The knowledge of all things,
Who join their hands together
Towards the sūtra of the Great Vehicle,
Who receive it respectfully,
Who keep it with joy,
And who do not receive
Even a gāthā of any other sūtra!

Expound it to those
Who seek this sūtra
As eagerly as they seek
The śarīras of the Buddha!

[Expound it to those]
Who receive [this sūtra]
And put it on their heads,
And who do not seek
Any other sūtra
Or think of the books of heresy!

(The Buddha said to Śāriputra:)
Those who seek the enlightenment of the Buddha
Are as various as previously stated.
A kalpa will not be long enough
To describe the variety of them.
They will be able to understand [this sūtra] by faith.
Expound to them
The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma!

The Daily Dharma offers this:

Those who seek the enlightenment of the Buddha
Are as various as previously stated.
A kalpa will not be long enough
To describe the variety of them.

The Buddha speaks these verses in Chapter Three of the Lotus Sūtra. We may believe that only some kinds of people will hear the teaching of the Buddha. In this passage the Buddha reminds us that we cannot predict who will be able to join us in our practice and who will not. This is why it is so important to maintain our vow as Bodhisattvas to benefit all beings.

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

LS32

Day 6

Day 6 continues Chapter 3, A Parable

Day 6 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered in gāthās the expedient the rich man used to get his children out of the burning house, we consider the gift of the large cart.

The children saw their father
Sitting in peace.
They came to him,
And said:
“Give us
The three kinds of jeweled carts
That you promised us!
You said:
“Come out, and I will give you
The three kinds of carts as you like.”
Now is the time for that.
Give them to us now!”

He was a very rich man.
He had many storehouses.
He made many large carts
Adorned with treasures,
Such as gold, silver,
Lapis lazuli, shell and agate.

[The carts] were beautifully adorned.
Railings were put around them.
Bells were hanging on the four sides
With ropes of gold.

[The carts] were roofed
With nets of pearls.
Garlands of golden flowers
Were hanging on all sides.

Other ornaments of fabrics
Of divers colors
Encircled the bodies of the carts.
Bedding was made of soft cloth.
[The bedding] was covered
With the most wonderful woolen fabrics.
They were bright, white, pure and clean,
Worth hundreds of thousands of millions.

Large white bullocks,
Fat, stout, powerful,
And beautiful in their build,
Were yoked to the jeweled carts.
The carts were also guarded
By many attendants.

[The rich man] gave to each of his children
One of these wonderful carts.
The children
Danced with joy.

They drove these jeweled carts
In all directions.
They were happy and delighted.
Nothing could stop their joy.

See The Great White Bull Cart Analogy

LS32

Day 5

Day 5 begins Chapter 3, A Parable

Day 5 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the reaction of the great multitude to Śāriputra’s future Buddhahood, we consider Śāriputra’s concern about persistent doubts in the congregation.

Thereupon Śāriputra said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! Now my doubts are gone. You assured me of my future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. These twelve hundred people now have freedom of mind. When they had something more to learn, [that is to say, when they had not yet completed their study for Arhatship,] you taught them, saying, ‘My teaching is for the purpose of causing you to emancipate yourselves from birth, old age, disease, and death, and to attain Nirvāṇa.’ The [two thousand] people, including those who have something more to learn and those who have nothing more to learn, also think that they attained Nirvāṇa because they emancipated themselves from such a view as ‘I exist,’ or ‘I shall exist forever,’ or ‘I shall cease to exist.’ But [both the twelve hundred people and the two thousand people] are now quite perplexed because they have heard from you [the Dharma] which they had never heard before. World-Honored One! In order to cause the four kinds of devotees to remove their doubts, explain why you said all this to them! ”

Thereupon the Buddha said to Śāriputra:
“Did I not tell you, ‘The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, expound the Dharma with expedients, that is, with various stories of previous lives, with various parables, with various similes, and with various discourses only for the purpose of causing all living beings to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi’? All these teachings of the Buddhas are for the purpose of teaching Bodhisattvas. Śāriputra! Now I will explain this with a parable. Those who have wisdom will be able to understand the reason if they hear the following parable.

See Awakening

LS32

Day 4

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

Day 4 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered why the Buddha laid aside all expedient teachings, we consider the difficulty in hearing the Dharma.

All the Buddhas in the past, present, and future
Expounded, are expounding, and will expound
In the same manner the Dharma beyond comprehension.
I also will expound it in the same manner.

The Buddhas seldom appear in the worlds.
It is difficult to meet them.
Even when they do appear in the worlds,
They seldom expound the Dharma.

It is difficult to hear the Dharma
Even during innumerable kalpas.
It is also difficult to meet a person
Who listens to the Dharma attentively.
It is as difficult as seeing an udumbara-flower.
This flower, loved by all living beings,
And treasured by gods and men,
Blooms only once in a long time.

The Daily Dharma offers this:

The Buddhas seldom appear in the worlds.
It is difficult to meet them.
Even when they do appear in the worlds,
They seldom expound the Dharma.

The Buddha proclaims these verses in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra. Later in the Sūtra he explains that in reality he became enlightened far in the past and will continue to lead all beings to enlightenment far into the future. The reason the Buddhas appear so rarely is not because they conceal themselves. It is because we do not recognize them for what they are. We cannot see the air we breathe, but it is crucial for our lives. Because of this we often take it for granted, unless we are so afflicted, or the air is so poisoned that we cannot breathe. Then we are aware of it. Likewise, the Buddha Dharma is available to us all the time.

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

LS32

Day 3

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

Day 3 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered in gāthās the wisdom of the Buddha, we consider how all Buddhas employ expedients.

(He said to Śāriputra again:)
I have already attained
The profound and wonderful Dharma,
The Dharma without āsravas, the inconceivable Dharma.
It is known only to me
And to the Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters.

Śāriputra, know this!
The Buddhas do not speak differently.
Have great power of faith
In the Dharma expounded by the Buddhas!
As a rule, the World-Honored Ones expound the true teaching
Only after a long period [of expounding expedient teachings].

(He said to the Śrāvakas
And to those who were seeking the vehicle of cause-knowers:)
I saved all living beings
From the bonds of suffering,
And caused them to attain Nirvāṇa.
I showed to them
The teaching of the Three Vehicles as an expedient
In order to save them from various attachments.

See The Opening of the Three Vehicles to Reveal the One Vehicle

LS32

Day 2

Chapter 1, Introductory (Conclusion)

Day 2 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered that Sun-Moon-Light Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra, we consider how Wonderful-Light Bodhisattva kept the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma after the extinction of Sun­-Moon-Light Buddha.

“At that time there was a Bodhisattva called Virtue-Store. Sun­-Moon-Light Buddha assured him of his future Buddhahood. The Buddha said to the bhikṣus, ‘This Virtue-Store Bodhisattva will become a Buddha immediately after me. He will be called Pure-Body, the Tathagata, the Arhat, the Samyak-sambuddha.’

“Having assured him of his future Buddhahood, the Buddha then entered into the Nirvāṇa-without-remainder at midnight. After his extinction, Wonderful-Light Bodhisattva kept the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, and expounded it to men for eighty small kalpas. The eight sons of Sun-Moon-Light Buddha became his disciples. He taught them and caused them to resolve to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. They made offerings to many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas, and then attained the enlightenment of the Buddha [one after another]. The son who became a Buddha last was called Burning-Light.

See Shaking Up Conventional Hierarchies

LS32, Blog

A Century of the Lotus Sutra in a Decade


I began using the Nichiren Buddhist Sangha of Greater New England’s Myoho Renge Kyo Romanized as my morning service in March of 2015. Each morning I would recite that day’s portion of the Lotus Sutra in Shindoku. After 32 days, the cycle starts again.

On Sept. 14, 2015, I added to my evening practice reading aloud in English the same portion of the Lotus Sutra that I had recited in Shindoku in the morning. I would then post a short comment on the day’s reading. That was day-1-1. The next day was day-2-1 and then day-3-1 until reaching day-32-1. When the cycle restarted on Oct. 16, 2015, that was day-1-2.

Today I have reached day-1-100.

This is my 10th year of practicing Nichiren Shu Buddhism in this manner. I believe I have received a great benefit from having read the Lotus Sutra daily, but the familiarity has bred a laziness. I find my mind wandering as I recite the words. I can go minutes and suddenly realize I don’t recall what I just read.

I am planning on changing my practice next year. I’ll have more details on my plans as the New Year approaches.

LS32

Day 1

Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory

Day 1 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the activities of Bodhisattvas observed by Maitreya, we consider more of what Maitreya sees.

I also see some Bodhisattvas
Offering delicious food and drink
And hundreds of kinds of medicines
To the Buddha and the Sangha.

Some offer garments and beautiful robes
Worth tens of millions
Or beyond monetary value
To the Buddha and the Sangha.

Some offer thousands of billions
Of jeweled houses made of candana
And wonderful bedding
To the Buddha and the Sangha.

Some offer pure gardens and forests
Abounding in flowers and fruits,
And furnished with rivers, springs,
and pools for bathing,
To the Buddha and the Saṃgha.

I see those Bodhisattvas
Making offerings of those wonderful things
Joyfully and untiringly
In order to attain unsurpassed enlightenment.

Some Bodhisattvas expound
The truth of tranquil extinction,
And with various expedients,
Teach innumerable living beings.

I also see some Bodhisattvas
Who attained the following truth:
“The nature of things is not dual.
It is [formless] like the sky.”

I also see some sons of the Buddha
Having no attachment in their minds.
They seek unsurpassed enlightenment
With this wonderful wisdom.

See Higan: The Art of Giving

LS32, Innumerable

Another Innumerable Day Before Day 1

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

“O you of good intent! Third, this sutra’s unimaginable power for beneficial effect is this: If there are living beings who can hear this sutra— whether a section of it, whether a verse of it, or whether a phrase—they will gain awareness of hundreds of millions of myriads of meanings. Then, even though they have delusive worldly passions, it will be as if their delusive passions do not exist. They will not feel that taking birth or experiencing death are things that need to be feared; they will give rise to a mind of compassion for all living beings; and they will come to have a dauntless attitude with regard to all things.

A person with great strength can bear and carry all manner of heavy things. So it is also with people who keep faith with this sutra: they can shoulder the great responsibilities of ultimate enlightenment, and they can carry living beings away from the path of recurring births and deaths. They are capable of ferrying others even though they still cannot ferry themselves. Suppose a ship’s captain is rendered immobile by a serious affliction and must therefore remain on shore. But he has a fine, reliable vessel that is always equipped with everything needed to ferry others, which he makes available and on which they embark. So it is also with those who keep faith with this sutra: while enduring the circumstances of living in the five conditions of existence—the whole of their being constantly beset by one hundred and eight serious afflictions, one after another— they remain on this shore of ignorance, aging, and death. But they have this fine, reliable, all-ferrying sutra, equipped with infinite meanings, that is able to rescue living beings: those who practice it22 as expounded will attain deliverance from the cycle of births and deaths. O you of good intent! This is known as the inconceivable power of the third beneficial effect of this sutra.

Underscore: Even though they have delusive worldly passions, it will be as if their delusive passions do not exist. They will not feel that taking birth or experiencing death are things that need to be feared; they will give rise to a mind of compassion for all living beings; and they will come to have a dauntless attitude with regard to all things.

LS32, Universal Sage

Between Day 32 and Day 1: Beholding Buddhas In Each of the Ten Directions

Having last month considered keeping the Buddhas in mind, we consider beholding Buddhas in each of the 10 directions.

At this time the practitioner should once again undertake self-amendment and pay homage to the buddhas of the ten directions. After homage has been offered to the buddhas of the ten directions, Universal Sage Bodhisattva, abiding before the practitioner, will teach and instruct the practitioner regarding all karmic causes and conditions from his or her past lives and to avow all of his or her very grave faults and impure acts. The practitioner must then avow them in his or her own words while facing the World-honored Ones. When the practitioner’s avowal is completed, he or she will then immediately attain the specialized focus of mind in which buddhas reveal themselves.

While engaged in this specialized focus of mind, the practitioner will fully and clearly behold, in the eastern direction, the buddha Akṣobhya and the Land of Wonderful Joy. In this same manner he or she will clearly and completely behold buddhas and magnificent wonderful lands in each of the ten directions. After having seen buddhas in all of the ten directions, the practitioner will envision a person with a diamond cudgel on top of an elephant’s head who, with the cudgel, signifies each of the six sense faculties. After the six sense faculties have been so indicated, for the practitioner’s benefit Universal Sage Bodhisattva will expound the method of self-amendment to purify them. Over the course of one to seven days,16 the practitioner will do self-amendment as he or she is taught. Through the power of the engaged specialized focus of mind in which buddhas reveal themselves, and through Universal Sage Bodhisattva’s well-composed explanation of the method, the practitioner’s ears will gradually hear sounds without encumbrance, the practitioner’s eyes will gradually see things without encumbrance, and the practitioner’s nose will gradually smell scents without encumbrance, as is extensively expounded in the Dharma Flower Sutra.