Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 17, 2024

Śāriputra! Seeing that all his children had come out of the burning house safely and reached a carefree place, the rich man remembered that he had immeasurable wealth. So without partiality, he gave them each a large cart.

The Buddha tells the parable of the Burning House in Chapter Three of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, a man tries to warn his children who are playing in a dangerous house of the harm that will come to them if they do not set aside their preoccupations and come out. The children did not listen to him, so he told them about nonexistent toys outside the house. The Buddha then compares himself promising an end to suffering to the father promising nonexistent toys, and himself leading all beings to Enlightenment to the father giving his children toys more wonderful than they could imagine.

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

LS45, Blog

Dividing the Threefold Lotus Sutra into 45 Days

45 day division tableI’ve created a table for my 45 Days of the Lotus Sutra cycle. The table contains links to the text for each of the daily morning and evening sessions.

Tao-Sheng Commentary, Blog

The Meaning of Li

Before exploring Tao-sheng and his commentary on the Lotus Sūtra it is necessary to define the meaning of the Chinese word li 理. In his commentary, Tao-sheng repeatedly references li, but what exactly is he pointing at?

The original doctoral thesis upon which Young-Ho Kim’s book, “A Study and Translation: Tao-sheng’s Commentary on the Lotus Sūtra” is based is available for download. (PDF). In addition, Walter Liebenthal published a biography of Tao-sheng in Monumenta Nipponica in October 1955. This too is available for download. (PDF)

I took both PDFs and uploaded them to Google’s NotebookLM. This service allows the user to have an AI assistant analyze specific texts and answer questions based on the content of those texts, which ensures that the answers are limited to the facts at hand and not based on wider and perhaps unreliable sources. I’ve tested this before. See Understanding Kaji Kito.

Tao-sheng’s commentary on Kumārajīva’s translation of the Lotus Sutra was completed in 432 CE, two years before he died. Kumārajīva completed his translation in 406 CE. Tao-sheng’s commentary is the earliest one to survive to this date.

How does Tao-sheng’s philosophy differ from the Chinese Taoist and New Taoist philosophy of his day?

The NotebookLM offered this bottom line:

Overall, Tao-sheng’s philosophy represents a unique synthesis of Buddhist thought with elements of Chinese philosophical language and concepts. While he borrows from the vocabulary of Taoism and Neo-Taoism, his system ultimately centers on the Buddhist goal of enlightenment and universal salvation, differentiating him from the dominant philosophical trends of his day.

On the question of li, NotebookLM summarizes Tao-sheng’s perspective saying:

Tao-sheng’s definition of li is not presented as a clear-cut definition but emerges from his application of the term in his commentary on the Lotus Sutra. He sees li as the underlying principle of Buddhist teachings, the object of enlightenment, and a reality that is both particular and universal. He associates li with profoundness, transcendence, and omnipresence. While advocating sudden enlightenment, he also acknowledges the possibility of a gradual process of realization. His use of li reflects a sophisticated attempt to synthesize Buddhist teachings with Chinese philosophical concepts.

When asked “What is li?”, NotebookLM responded:

Li in Tao-sheng’s Commentary on the Lotus Sutra
The term li 理 is central to Tao-sheng’s commentary on the Lotus Sutra, appearing 139 times throughout the text. It’s a complex concept with a range of meanings, reflecting both Buddhist teachings and Tao-sheng’s engagement with Chinese philosophy, particularly Neo-Taoism. The sources suggest that Tao-sheng does not offer a concise definition of li. Instead, its significance unfolds through how he employs the term to illuminate the Lotus Sutra.

Li as a Tool for Understanding

  • Li acts as a lens through which to understand the deeper meaning and intent behind the Buddha’s words in the Lotus Sutra.
  • Tao-sheng uses li to reveal the essential principles and truths embedded within the text, emphasizing that comprehending li is crucial for attaining enlightenment.

Li as the Underlying Reality

  • Tao-sheng portrays li as a profound, often elusive, reality that underlies the world of appearances.
  • He suggests li is both particular and universal, echoing the Neo-Taoist thinkers Wang Bi and Guo Xiang.
    • Just as Wang Bi recognized a universal li and Guo Xiang focused on the particular li of individual things, Tao-sheng seems to bridge these two perspectives.
  • In the context of the Lotus Sutra, li signifies the ultimate reality that encompasses and harmonizes the seemingly diverse teachings of the Buddha, representing the unity of the three vehicles and the One Vehicle.
  • Tao-sheng also connects li with the Buddhist concept of the Dharma-kāya, suggesting its omnipresent and formless nature.

Li and Language

  • Given the profound nature of li, Tao-sheng acknowledges the limitations of language in fully expressing it.
  • He compares words to “fishnets and traps,” useful for guiding people towards li but ultimately discarded once the goal is reached.
  • Despite their limitations, words and symbols remain essential, particularly for those who have yet to realize li.

Li as the Object of Enlightenment

  • Tao-sheng directly links the realization of li with enlightenment, distinguishing his view from Neo-Taoism, where li may be a philosophical principle but not necessarily the target of spiritual practice.
  • He uses terms like “perceive,” “trace to the end,” “know,” “penetrate,” and “comprehend” to describe the process of realizing li.
  • This suggests a noetic path to enlightenment, involving both understanding and direct experience.

Li and the Path to Enlightenment

  • While Tao-sheng is known for his advocacy of sudden enlightenment, his commentary on the Lotus Sutra reveals a more complex perspective.
  • He acknowledges that grasping li may involve a gradual process of refining one’s understanding and purifying the mind.
  • This apparent contradiction might reflect Tao-sheng’s attempt to harmonize the Lotus Sutra’s teachings on both gradual cultivation and sudden insight with the philosophical context of his time.

Key Characteristics of Li in Tao-sheng’s Commentary

  • Underlying Principle: Li represents the essence of the Buddha’s teachings in the Lotus Sutra.
  • Ultimate Reality: Li points to a profound reality that underlies the world of appearances.
  • Both Particular and Universal: Li encompasses both specific truths and a unifying principle.
  • Object of Enlightenment: Realizing li is equivalent to attaining enlightenment.
  • Beyond Language: Li cannot be fully captured by words, yet language serves as a provisional guide.
  • Path to Enlightenment: Grasping li can involve both sudden insight and gradual cultivation.

Tao-sheng’s use of li showcases his skill in weaving together Buddhist concepts with existing Chinese philosophical language to make the teachings of the Lotus Sutra accessible and meaningful for a Chinese audience.

As I incorporate Tao-sheng’s commentary into my annotations on the Lotus Sutra, I will link each occurrence of the word li back to the above explanation.

Next: Li and Sudden Enlightenment

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 16, 2024

Those who read the Lotus Sutra, therefore, should not regard it as consisting of merely written words. The words are the mind of the Buddha.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on Opening the Eyes of Buddhist Images, Wooden Statues or Portraits (Mokue Nizō Kaigen no Koto). Here he reminds us of how words affect each of us differently, and even the same person is affected differently in different parts of their life. If we become dogmatically fixed on a single meaning of the Buddha’s highest teaching, and do not continue to indulge our curiosity about the Buddha’s mind, we miss the point.

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

LS45, LS32, Blog

45 Days of the Lotus Sutra

I have now completed my 101st trip through the Lotus Sutra – my 57th journey through the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings and the Sutra of Contemplation of Universal Sage – and I’ve decided to change my daily practice.

Since March 2015, I’ve recited a portion of the Lotus Sutra in shindoku in the morning and then in the afternoon read aloud the same portion of Senchu Murano’s English translation of the Lotus Sutra.

Starting Dec. 16, I will be reading aloud portions of the Threefold Lotus Sutra in English, morning and evening. The cycle will take 45 days starting with the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings and concluding with the Sutra of Contemplation of Universal Sage.

I will use the Basic Nichiren Shu Service morning and evening, substituting my daily reading for the traditional quotes from the Lotus Sutra.

Going forward, my shindoku practice will be limited to the month of February. Each day in February I will recite a different chapter in shindoku in the morning. In the evening I will continue my English reading. The purpose of the February shindoku recitation is to allow me to recite an entire chapter at one time, following along with the shindoku recordings. The traditional 32-day division splits several chapters over multiple days.

At the start of this year I proposed dividing the Lotus Sutra into 365 roughly equal portions and providing annotations for each section. To that end I created  my annotated version of the Lotus Sutra, but I decided the small size created by dividing the sutra into 365 portions wasn’t practical.

The 45-day practice of reading aloud in English replaces that project. This brings the benefits of the smaller bites to both the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings and the Sutra of Contemplation of Universal Sage. I hope others who want to make the study of the Lotus Sutra a part of their daily practice will consider this method.

For now I will be stopping my daily 32-days of the Lotus Sutra posting.

I’ve added horizontal rules to the Threefold Lotus Sutra for those who want to follow along. Blue rules denote morning service and green rules evening.

Day 1 M Sutra of Innumerable Meanings
E
Day 2 M
E
Day 3 M
E
Day 4 M
E
Day 5 M Chapter 1, Introductory
E
Day 6 M
E
Day 7 M Chapter 2, Expedients
E
Day 8 M
E
Day 9 M
E Chapter 3, A Parable
Day 10 M
E
Day 11 M
E
Day 12 M
E
Day 13 M Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith.
E
Day 14 M
E
Day 15 M Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs
E
Day 16 M Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood
E
Day 17 M Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City
E
Day 18 M
E
Day 19 M
E
Day 20 M Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples
E
Day 21 M Chapter 9, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Śrāvakas Who Have Something More to Learn and the Śrāvakas Who Have Nothing More to Learn
E
Day 22 M Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma
E
Day 23 M Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures
E
Day 24 M
E Chapter 12, Devadatta
Day 25 M
E Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra
Day 26 M Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices
E
Day 27 M
E Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground.
Day 28 M
E
Day 29 M Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata
E
Day 30 M Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits
E
Day 31 M
E Chapter 18, The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra
Day 32 M
E Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma
Day 33 M
E
Day 34 M Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva
E
Day 35 M Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas
E Chapter 22, Transmission
Day 36 M Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva
E
Day 37 M
E Chapter 24, Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva
Day 38 M
E Chapter 25, The Universal Gate of World-Voice-Perceiver
Day 39 M
E Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs
Day 40 M Chapter 27, King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva
E
Day 41 M Chapter 28, The Encouragement of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva
E
Day 42 M Sutra of Contemplation of Universal Sage
E
Day 43 M
E
Day 44 M
E
Day 45 M
E
Tamura-Intro, Tao-Sheng Commentary, Blog, Books

Tao-sheng’s Commentary on the Lotus Sūtra

tao-sheng-commentary-bookcover
Available from SUNY Press

Young-ho Kim, a student of philosophy at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, published his doctoral thesis “Tao-sheng’s Commentary on the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra: A Study and Translation” in May 1985. The State University of New York Press published Kim’s work as “Tao-sheng’s Commentary on the Lotus Sūtra” in 1990 as part of a SUNY series in Buddhist Studies. At the time of SUNY’s publication, Kim was an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Inha University in Korea.

For my purposes, I’ll leave the spelling as Tao-sheng, which is the Wade-Giles spelling. The modern spelling is Daosheng.

SUNY’s teaser for the book says:

(Chu) Tao-sheng stands out in history as a unique and preeminent thinker whose paradigmatic, original ideas paved the way for the advent of Chinese Buddhism. The universality of Buddha-nature, which Tao-sheng championed at the cost of excommunication, was to become a cornerstone of the Chinese Buddhist ideology. This book presents a comprehensive study of the only complete document by Tao-sheng still in existence.

The importance of Tao-sheng’s work is underlined by Yoshiro Tamura in his Introduction to the Lotus Sutra. He writes:

When we look at the Lotus Sutra in light of its final form, we can see the merit of the traditional division of the sutra into two halves between chapters fourteen and fifteen. Daosheng, (355-434), a disciple of Kumarajiva who participated in the translation of sutras, made this division for the first time. Soon after the translation of the Lotus Sutra was finished, he wrote a commentary on it—the first in China, or at least the first that we still have.

Daosheng divided the Lotus Sutra into two parts, according to the teachings of cause and effect. That is, the section from chapters 1 through 14 he defined as that which “explicates the three causes and makes them one cause,” and the section from chapters 15 through 21 he defined as that which “speaks of three effects and makes them one effect.” In addition, the remaining chapters were interpreted as that which “makes three kinds of people equal and makes them one.” Here, “three” signifies the three vehicles and “one” signifies the one vehicle.

On the other hand, Daosheng established the idea of four kinds of Dharma wheel: the good and pure Dharma wheel (general religious thought), the Dharma wheel of skillful means (Buddhist upaya), the true Dharma wheel (true Buddhist thought), and the perfect Dharma wheel (ultimate Buddhist thought). The true Dharma wheel is what reveals the truth of the one vehicle, while the perfect Dharma wheel reveals the everlasting life (the Buddha). The teaching of cause, chapters 1-14, corresponds to the true Dharma wheel, while the teaching of effect, chapters 15-21, corresponds to the perfect wheel of Dharma. The remaining chapters are the dissemination or applied part of the sutra.

Yoshiro Tamura, "Introduction to the Lotus Sutra", p65-66

As Tamura points out, Tao-sheng’s commentary played an important role in Tiāntái Zhiyi’s understanding of the Lotus Sutra:

Zhiyi found material for his interpretation of the Lotus Sutra in Daosheng’s Commentary on the Lotus Sutra. While Kumarajiva and his disciples were translating sutras and commentaries they often discussed them with each other and even sought to write commentaries on them. It seems that they set out to write such commentaries on the Lotus Sutra, but of the commentaries written by Kumarajiva’s disciples only Daosheng’s has survived. In any case, of the extant Chinese commentaries on the Lotus Sutra, his is the earliest, making it especially important.

In it Daosheng ponders the title of the Lotus Sutra—Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. In particular, he interprets “Wonderful Dharma” as being the truth that is without shape or sound, and beyond all thought. He understands “Lotus Flower” as including both fruit and blossoms, symbolizing the idea that where there are causes there are effects. This leads him to comment that the pairing of “Lotus Flower” and “Wonderful Dharma” signifies that the Lotus Sutra is the Dharma of wonderful cause and wonderful effect. As mentioned earlier, the sutra has been divided into two halves on the basis of cause and effect.

The law of cause and effect is a law that refers to actual existence. The fact that it is picked out here has to do with the spirit of respect for the concrete and the practical that is generally found in China.

Yoshiro Tamura, "Introduction to the Lotus Sutra", p111

I will be publishing quotes from Kim’s discussion of Tao-sheng and his Commentary on the Lotus Sūtra and incorporating Tao-sheng’s commentary into my annotations of the Lotus Sūtra.

Next: The Meaning of Li

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 15, 2024

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

The Buddha gives this description of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva (Kannon, Kanzeon, Kuan Yin, Avalokitesvara) to Endless-Intent Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Five of the Lotus Sūtra. As the embodiment of Compassion, World-Voice perceiver demonstrates the boundlessness of our ability to benefit others. We can often feel overwhelmed by the problems in the world, and believe that we are not capable of doing everything that is necessary to lead beings out of their delusions. This chapter reminds us that we are not working alone, and that by depending on wisdom rather than power, we learn to see the wonders that surround us.

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 how those who keep the Lotus Sutra does the same practices as Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, we consider the merits to be received by those who keep, read and recite the Lotus Sutra.

Anyone who keeps, reads and recites this sūtra, and understands the meanings of it, will be given helping hands by one thousand Buddhas immediately after his present life. He will be fearless. He will not fall into any evil region. He will be reborn in the Tusiita Heaven. There he will go to Maitreya Bodhisattva who, adorned with the thirty-two marks, will be surrounded by great Bodhisattvas, and attended on by hundreds of thousands of billions of goddesses. He will be given the benefits of these merits. Therefore, anyone who has wisdom should copy this sūtra with all his heart, cause others to copy it, and also keep, read and recite it, memorize it correctly, and act according to it.

“World-Honored One! I will protect this sūtra with my supernatural powers so that it may be propagated and not be destroyed in the Jambudvipa after your extinction.”

The Daily Dharma offers this:

Therefore, anyone who has wisdom should copy this sūtra with all his heart, cause others to copy it, and also keep, read and recite it, memorize it correctly, and act according to it.

The Buddha declares this to Universal-Sage Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. It is important to remember that early in the sūtra, the Buddha explained that he teaches only Bodhisattvas, beings who exist for the benefit of all beings. Our practice of the Lotus Sūtra is not just for ourselves. When we use it to lead others to enlightenment, we create the cause for our own enlightenment.

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

Tamura-Intro

A Holistic, Eternal Vision of the World and Life

Mahayana bodhisattvas first tried to elucidate the principle of emptiness and then incorporated it in sutras, the first of which was the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. Beyond that, they tried to express emptiness positively, as an empty place where the unifying truth (the Wonderful Dharma of One Vehicle) can be seen, in other words, in the Lotus Sutra.

The establishment of this unifying truth also teaches us to see the world and life not from a narrow, partial, or temporally limited perspective but with a holistic, eternal vision. This truth can save modern people from being increasingly maddened and captivated by the fragmentation of whole systems. In a word, it creates an image of a holistic cosmos, an integrating and unifying view of the world and of life. … [T]his is the reason for the emergence of people who had acquired this kind of view of the world and human life: they had been touched by the unifying truth and integrating cosmic reality (the reality of all things) revealed in the heart of chapter 2. The Tiantai theory of “three thousand worlds in one moment of experience” was the harbinger of this way of thinking.

Yoshiro Tamura, "Introduction to the Lotus Sutra", p70
Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 14, 2024

Anyone who understands why the Buddhas expound [many] sūtras,
Who knows the position [of this sūtra in the series of sūtras],
And who expounds it after my extinction
According to its true meaning,
Will be able to eliminate the darkness
Of the living beings of the world where he walks about,
Just as the light of the sun and the moon
Eliminates all darkness.

The Buddha sings these verses to Superior-Practice Bodhisattva (Jōgyo, Viśiṣṭacārītra) in Chapter Twenty-One of the Lotus Sūtra. The superiority of the Lotus Sūtra does not disparage the Buddha’s expedient teachings. The Lotus Sūtra leads all beings to enlightenment. Other teachings could only reach a limited audience. When we as Bodhisattvas who are determined to benefit all beings expound this highest expression of the Buddha’s wisdom, and do not limit ourselves to saving only a few, then we become the light that limits the darkness of ignorance, fear and violence in this world of conflict.

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

On the Journey to a Place of Treasures