Search Results for: 3,000

LS32, WONS

Day 21

Day 21 covers all of Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata. Having last month concluded Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata, we begin again with Śākyamuni telling the congregation to pay attention. Thereupon the Buddha aid to the great multitude including Bodhisattvas and others, “Good men! Understand … Continue reading Day 21 →

LS32, WONS

Day 12

Day 12 concludes Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City, and completes the Third Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. Having last month considered what became of the 16 princes, we consider those who were taught by the śramaṇeras. “Bhikṣus! When we were śramaṇeras, we each taught many … Continue reading Day 12 →

WONS

Seriousness of a Sin Depends on Party Affected by the Crime

In the final analysis, it does not hurt when we strike the air with a fist, but it hurts when we strike a rock. Likewise, the sin of killing an evil man is light compared to that of killing a virtuous man; or killing an unrelated person is like striking dirt with our fist but … Continue reading Seriousness of a Sin Depends on Party Affected by the Crime →

buddhaseed

Devoting Oneself to Buddha’s Teaching

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As Column B indicates, we merge with the Odaimoku. It is “Namu” or devotion. Then the Odaimoku merges with us. It is Jinen Jōyo, or transferring naturally. It is not awakening to Ichinen Sanzen with one’s own wisdom, but the Buddha’s Ichinen Sanzen is transferred naturally by one’s faith of Namu, devoting oneself to the Buddha’s teaching.

Nichiren Shōnin stated in Kanjin Honzon Shō,

… Śākyamuni Buddha’s merit of practicing the bodhisattva way leading to Buddhahood, as well as that of preaching and saving all living beings since His attainment of Buddhahood are altogether contained in the five words of Myo, Ho, Ren, Ge and Kyo and that consequently, when we uphold the five words, the merits which He accumulated before and after His attainment of Buddhahood are naturally transferred to us.”
(WNS2, p. 146)

He also stated in Kanjin Honzon Shō,

“For those who are incapable of understanding the truth of the ‘3,000 existences contained in one thought,’ Lord Śākyamuni Buddha, with his great compassion, wraps this jewel with the five characters of Myo, Ho, Ren, Ge, and Kyo and hangs it around the neck of the ignorant in the Latter Age of Degeneration.”
(WNS2, p. 164)

Buddha Seed: Understanding the Odaimoku


comparison chart

d7b, WONS

Those Who Abandon the Lotus Sūtra

The śrāvaka disciples such as Śāriputra, Kāśyapa, Ānanda, and Rāhula, who were guaranteed to be future Buddhas in the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra through the three cycles of the Buddha’s preaching (dharma, parable, and past relationships) had learned the Lotus Sūtra far in the past, 3,000 dust-particle kalpa (aeons) ago, from a bodhisattva … Continue reading Those Who Abandon the Lotus Sūtra →

WONS

Revealing the Single Path to Enlightenment

In revealing the single path to enlightenment replacing the three kinds of teaching for bodhisattvas, śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha (kaisan kenitsu) in the second chapter on “Expedients” of the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha briefly expressed the “3,000 in one thought” doctrine held in His bosom. Since it was the first time for the Buddha to reveal … Continue reading Revealing the Single Path to Enlightenment →

Lotus Seeds

The Jewel of Ichinen Sanzen

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Before Nichiren Shonin, Ichinen Sanzen was a theory that Buddhist practitioners attempted to understand through meditation. Nichiren Shonin, however, taught that Ichinen Sanzen could be realized through faith in the Odaimoku. At the very end of the Kanjin Honzon-sho, he wrote:

For those who are incapable of understanding the truth of the “3,000 worlds contained in one thought,” Lord Shakyamuni Buddha, with his great compassion, wraps this jewel with the five characters of Myo, Ho, Ren, Ge, and Kyo and hangs it around the necks of the ignorant in the decadent Latter age of the dharma.

Lotus Seeds

buddhaseed

What Does the Lotus Sutra Teach?

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What does the Lotus Sutra teach? According to Nichiren Shōnin,

“Twenty important doctrines are in this Lotus Sūtra … The ‘3,000 existences in one thought’ doctrine is hidden between the lines of the sixteenth chapter on ‘The Life Span of the Buddha’ in the essential (honmon) section of the Lotus Sutra.” (Kaimoku Shö, WNS2, p. 34)

Among these doctrines, the most important one is Ichinen Sanzen. Nichiren Shōnin said,

“The doctrine of Ichinen-Sanzen, or the ‘Three Thousand Existences in One Thought,’ is the rarest and the most miraculous.” (Shōjō Daijō Funbetsu Shō, WNS2, p. 193)

In the Kaimoku-Shō, Nichiren Shōnin further stated,

“Considering these testimonies of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in various sutras with those in the Lotus Sutra, they are like yellow rocks against gold nuggets, white clouds against white mountains, white pieces of ice against mirrors of silver, and black color against blue color.” (Kaimoku shō, WNS2, p. 44)

Buddha Seed: Understanding the Odaimoku

WONS

The Single Moment of Understanding by Faith

In the Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, Miao-lê writes: “The single moment of understanding by faith is foremost of the practices in the essential section.” The first of the four depths of faith in the time when the sūtra was taught is the single moment of understanding by faith and … Continue reading The Single Moment of Understanding by Faith →

WONS

The Doctrine of the ‘True Cause and True Result’

In the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra, it was revealed that the Buddha had attained perfect enlightenment in the eternal past, making it untenable to assert that He attained Buddhahood for the first time in this world. Thus the Eternal Buddha doctrine destroyed the Buddhahood resulting from the Four Teachings (all Buddhist scriptures other … Continue reading The Doctrine of the ‘True Cause and True Result’ →