Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Sept. 5, 2024

Your face is most wonderful.
Your light illumines the worlds of the ten quarters.
I once made offerings to you.
Now I have come to see you again.

Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva sings these verses to Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue Buddha in a story told in Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sūtra. That Bodhisattva was the previous life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva who accepted all of the misfortunes of this world of delusion and ignorance so that he could benefit all beings living here. When we awaken our nature as Bodhisattvas, and resolve to use the Buddha’s teachings to purify this world, then we are assured we will never fail to meet Buddhas and repay the good they do for us.

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: keeping the Buddhas of the Ten Directions in Mind

Having last month considered the first stage of contemplating the bodhisattva Universal Sage, we consider keeping the Buddhas in mind.

Universal Sage Bodhisattva will teach the practitioner to keep the buddhas of the ten directions in mind. Having proper disposition in mind and heart following Universal Sage Bodhisattva’s instruction, with his or her mind’s eye the practitioner will gradually perceive in the eastern direction a buddha whose body is golden-colored and majestic beyond expression. After discerning one buddha, the practitioner will then discern another. In this manner he or she will gradually perceive all of the buddhas everywhere in the eastern direction; and because of the clarity of this state of mind, he or she will perceive all of the buddhas everywhere in all of the ten directions. After perceiving the buddhas, joy will arise in the practitioner’s heart and mind, and he or she should say:

“By means of the Great Vehicle, I have been able to see a great being; and through that great being’s power, I have been able to perceive buddhas. Although I have perceived the buddhas, my perception of them is still incomplete – I discern them when my eyes are closed, but when I open my eyes I lose sight of them.”

Having said this, the practitioner should cast his or her whole body upon the ground and universally pay homage to the buddhas everywhere. After paying homage to the buddhas, the practitioner must kneel formally on one knee, place palms together, and say:

“The buddhas, the World-honored Ones, possess the ten capabilities, dauntlessness, the eighteen unique merits, great mercy, great compassion, and three kinds of constancy of mind. They are always present in the world, and among forms and embodiments theirs is supreme. What impurities do I have that prevent me from seeing them?”

After saying these words, the practitioner should undertake further self-amendment. When purification from self-amendment has been gained, Universal Sage Bodhisattva will reveal himself again and constantly remain at the practitioner’s side, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down. He will continually expound the teachings for the practitioner’s benefit, even in the practitioner’s dreams; when the practitioner awakes, she or he will realize the joy and comfort of the Dharma. After such a process has continued night and day for three-times-seven days, the practitioner will then attain a Dharma-grasping empowerment (dhāraṇī)14 of interaction and exchange. With the attainment of this Dharma-grasping empowerment, he or she will remember, retain, and never forget all the explanations of the marvelous Dharma given by the buddhas and bodhisattvas. The practitioner will also regularly see in dreams the seven past buddhas of this world, and although Śākyamuni Buddha alone among them expounds the Dharma for the practitioner, every one of these World-honored Ones gives praise to the Great Vehicle sutras.

Śrimālā

Śrimālā: Acceptance of the True Dharma

At that time Queen Śrimālā said to the Buddha, “Having received the Buddha’s power, I will now explain the great vow which is controlled [by the principle of the True Dharma], being the truth without error.”

The Buddha said to Śrimālā, “I permit you to explain as you wish.”

Śrimālā said to the Buddha, “The bodhisattva vows, which are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River, are all contained in the one great vow that is called ‘acceptance of the True Dharma.’ Acceptance of the True Dharma truly is the great vow.”

The Buddha praised Śrimālā: “Excellent! Excellent! Your wisdom (prajña) and skillful means (upāya) are most profound and subtle! You have already, for a long time, increased in virtue. In the future, living beings who develop such virtue will be able to understand you. Your explanation of the acceptance of the True Dharma is that which the Buddhas of the past, present, and future have explained, now explain, and will explain. Having realized supreme, complete enlightenment (anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi), I also speak of this acceptance of the True Dharma. I explain that acceptance of the True Dharma has merits that cannot be limited. The Tathāgata’s wisdom and eloquence also are without limits. Why? Because in this acceptance of the True Dharma there are great merits and great benefits.”

The Sutra of Queen Śrimālā of the Lion’s Roar, p21
Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Sept. 4, 2024

The Buddha possesses 32 marks of physical excellence, all of which belong to the category of matter. The Brahma’s voice, pure and immaculate voice of the Buddha, however is invisible. Therefore it is impossible for us to depict it in pictures or statues.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on Opening the Eyes of Buddhist Images, Wooden Statues or Portraits (Mokue Nizō Kaigen no Koto). The statues, portraits and other images of the Buddha and other protective deities which we use in our practice are not meant to be idols. They are living examples of the perfections to which we aspire and from which we draw strength. The ceremony in which we “Open the Eyes” of an Omandala or anything else we use in our practice reminds us that everything around us has life. When we hear the Buddha’s voice from them, leading us to enlightenment, then we learn how to improve the world for ourselves and all beings.

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 Buddha’s reply to Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, we consider Universal-Sage Bodhisattva’s vow.

Thereupon Universal-Sage Bodhisattva said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! If anyone keeps this sūtra in the defiled world in the later five hundred years after [your extinction], I will protect him so that he may be free from any trouble, that he may be peaceful, and that no one may take advantage [of his weak points]. Mara, his sons, his daughters, his subjects, his attendants, yakṣas, rākṣasas, kumbhāṇḍas, piśācakas, kṛtyas, pūtanas, vetādas or other living beings who trouble men shall not take advantage [of his weak points]. If anyone keeps, reads and recites this sūtra while he walks or stands, I will mount a kingly white elephant with six tusks, go to him together with great Bodhisattvas, show myself to him, make offerings to him, protect him, and comfort him, because I wish to make offerings to the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. If he sits and thinks over this sūtra, I also will mount a kingly white elephant and appear before him. If he forgets a phrase or a gāthā of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, I will remind him of it, and read and recite it with him so that he may be able to understand it. Anyone who keeps, reads and recites the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma [after your extinction], will be able to see me with such joy that he will make more efforts. Because he sees me, he will be able to obtain samadhis and a set of dhārāṇis. The set of dhārāṇis will be the dhārāṇis by which he can memorize repetitions of teachings, the dhārāṇis by which he can memorize hundreds of thousands of billions of repetitions of teachings, and the dhārāṇis by which he can understand the expediency of the voice of the Dharma.

The Daily Dharma offers this:

Thereupon Universal-Sage Bodhisattva said to the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! If anyone keeps this sūtra in the defiled world in the later five hundred years after [your extinction], I will protect him so that he may be free from any trouble, that he may be peaceful, and that no one may take advantage [of his weak points].”

Universal-Sage Bodhisattva (Fugen, Samantabhadra) makes this vow to the Buddha in Chapter Twenty-Eight of the Lotus Sutra. In this world of conflict, it can seem like very few people are practicing the Buddha Dharma with us. Nichiren compared those beings alive in this world of conflict to the amount of soil in the whole earth, while those who keep and practice the Lotus Sūtra are like the dirt under a fingernail. The vow of Universal-Sage reminds us that innumerable beings support our practice and that in turn, we support them with our practice.

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

Śrimālā

Śrimālā: The Ten Ordination Vows and Three Great Vows

At that time Śrimālā, having received the [Buddha’s] prediction, respectfully arose to take the ten major ordination vows.

“O Lord, from now until I am enlightened:

1) “I will not transgress the discipline that I have received.

2) “I will have no disrespect toward the venerable elders.

3) “I will not hate living beings.

4) “I will not be jealous of others with regard to either their physical appearance or their possessions.

5) “I will not be stingy although I have little sustenance. “O Lord, from now until I am enlightened:

6) “I will not accumulate property for my own benefit. Whatever I receive will be used to assist living beings who are poor and suffering.

7) “I will practice the four all-embracing acts (giving, kind speech, benefiting others, and cooperation toward leading all beings to virtuous deeds) for all living beings, and not for myself. I accept all living beings without lust, without satiation, and without prejudice.

8) “When I see living beings who are lonely, imprisoned, ill, and afflicted by various misfortunes and hardships, I will never forsake them, even for a moment, for I must bring them peace. Through my good deeds I will bring them benefits and liberate them from their pain. Only then will I leave them.

9) “When I see those who hunt or domesticate animals, slaughter, or commit other such offenses against the precepts, I will never forsake them. When I obtain this power [to teach all beings], I will restrain those who should be restrained and assist those who should be assisted wherever I see such living beings. Why? Because by restraining and assisting them, one causes the eternal continuation of the Dharma. If the Dharma continues eternally, gods and humans shall flourish, and the evil destinies shall diminish in number. Then the wheel of the Dharma that is turned by the Tathāgata will again be turned. Because I see these benefits I will save, and never quit [teaching living beings].

“O Lord, from now until I am enlightened:

10) “I accept the True Dharma, never forgetting it. Why? Because those who forget the Dharma forget the Mahayana. Those who forget the Mahayana forget the perfections (pāramitās). Those who forget the perfections do not aspire toward the Mahayana. If the bodhisattvas are not committed to the Mahayana, they cannot have the aspiration to accept the True Dharma. Acting according to their pleasure, they will not be able to transcend the level of common people.

“Because I have seen, in this way, the immeasurably great errors [of humans] and have seen the immeasurable merits of the bodhisattvas, those great beings (mahāsattvas) who will accept the True Dharma, I will accept these great ordination vows.

“O Lord of the Dharma manifested before me, you are my witness. Even though the Lord Buddha presently witnessed [my testimony], living beings’ virtuous deeds are superficial. Some of them are skeptical and extremely difficult to save through these ten ordination vows. They engage in immoral activities for long periods of time and are unhappy. In order to bring peace to them, I now declare, in your presence, that my vows are sincere.

“If I receive these ten major ordination vows and practice them as I have stated them, by [the power of] these true words, heavenly flowers will rain down and divine music will ring out upon this assembly. ”

Just as Śrimālā said these words, a shower of heavenly flowers poured from the sky and divine music rang out: “It is so! It is so! What you have said is true, not false.” Having seen these wondrous flowers and having heard this music, the entire assembly no longer was skeptical, rejoicing immeasurably and exclaiming, “We wish to stay with Queen Śrimālā and together we would like to join in practice with her. ”

The Buddha predicted to all that their wish [to stay with Queen Śrimālā] would be fulfilled.

At that time Śrimālā again, in the presence of the Buddha, professed the three great vows:

“By the power of my earnest aspiration, may I bring peace to innumerable and unlimited living beings. By my virtuous deeds, throughout all rebirths may I attain the wisdom of the True Dharma.” This is called the first great vow.

“Having attained the wisdom of the True Dharma, for the sake of all living beings, may I explain [the Dharma] without wearying.” This is called the second great vow.

“In accepting the True Dharma, may I abandon body, life, and wealth and uphold the True Dharma.” This is called the third great vow.

At that time the Lord prophesied to Śrimālā, “With reference to the three great vows, just as all forms are contained in space, so likewise the bodhisattva vows, which are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River, are all contained in these three great vows. These three vows are the truth and are extensive.”

The Sutra of Queen Śrimālā of the Lion’s Roar, p15-19
Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Sept. 3, 2024

Good men! I think that the Buddha, the World-Honored One, wishes to expound a great teaching, to send the rain of a great teaching, to blow the conch-shell horn of a great teaching, to beat the drum of a great teaching, and to explain the meaning of a great teaching.

Mañjuśrī declares this to Maitreya and all others gathered to hear the Buddha teach in Chapter One of the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddha had just produced the light from between his eyebrows illuminating the worlds of the ten directions, a sight none but Mañjuśrī had experienced. The great teaching the Buddha was about to expound is the Lotus Sutra. This statement awakens our interest and shows us how to listen to this teaching, as if it were a great cooling rain or the loud call of a conch-shell or drum.

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; his wife, Pure-Virtue; and their two sons, we consider the sons’ request and their mother’s reply.

“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]!’

The Daily Dharma offers this:

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.

The Buddha tells the story of King Wonderful-Adornment in Chapter Twenty-Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. The two sons chose to be born at a time when Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha was alive and led their parents to follow that Buddha and learn the Wonderful Dharma from him. They overcame their father’s attachment to wrong views, not by arguing against those views, but by demonstrating the wonders that come from the Buddha’s great teaching. This shows how when we as Bodhisattvas live this difficult teaching we lead others to it.

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

Śrimālā, Feminine Ideal

An Outline of Śrimālādevi Sūtra

Four factors were developed in the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra and the Pu tseng pu chien ching related to living beings and the Tathāgatagarbha:

  1. The ignorance of living beings obfuscates the knowledge of Tathāgatagarbha.
  2. The nature of living beings is identical to that of the Buddha.
  3. The ordinary monk also cannot understand the Tathāgatagarbha because he misinterprets both the nature of Emptiness and of Nirvāṇa.
  4. The Bodhisattva is the essential means by which living beings are instructed in the profound teaching of the Tathāgatagarbha.

These four factors approximate the first half of the text of the Śrimālādevi Sūtra in which the Bodhisattva, in his relationship with the true Dharma, is able to assist and convert all suffering and ignorant beings. …

The five factors which are an analysis of the Tathāgatagarbha per se, developed in the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra and Pu tseng pu chien ching and expanded in the Śrimālādevi Sūtra are the following:

  1. The nature and wisdom of the Tathāgata are the Tathāgatagarbha.
  2. The Dharma Body extrinsically covered by defilement is the Tathāgatagarbha.
  3. The merits and qualities of the Buddha which are complete in the Tathāgatagarbha are not different from, severed from, nor separate from the nature of the Dharma.
  4. The Tathāgatagarbha is neither produced nor destroyed.
  5. The Tathāgatagarbha is permanent, eternal, pure, and immutable.

These five factors approximate the last half of the text in which the Tathāgatagarbha is described both from the dimension of the supreme and absolute knowledge of the Buddha and from the phenomenal and conventional level of living beings who must be guided by the Boddhisattva.

The Buddhist Feminine Ideal, p105-106
Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Sept. 2, 2024

The merits of the [fiftieth] person
[Who hears this sūtra] are immeasurable.
Needless to say, so are the merits of the first person
Who rejoices at hearing it in the congregation.

The Buddha sings these verses to Maitreya Bodhisattva in Chapter Eighteen of the Lotus Sutra. This chapter includes a story of a person who hears the Wonderful Dharma, then explains it to the best of their ability to someone else. In this way there is a chain of fifty people who hear versions of this teaching modified by the capacities of those transmitting it. The effectiveness of this teaching does not depend on who delivers it. No matter what our capacity, any of us can teach the Lotus Sutra and practice it in our lives.

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