Day 26 concludes Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, includes Chapter 22, Transmission, and introduces Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva. Having last month considered the description of the realm of a Buddha called Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue, we hear Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue expound the Lotus Sūtra and Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva make a flower and incense offering … Continue reading Day 26
Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas. Having last month conclude today’s portion of Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, we begin again with the Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva and learn about the Buddha Powerful-Voice-King. Thereupon the Buddha said to Great-Power-Obtainer … Continue reading Day 25
During my recent hour-long walking meditations, I’ve been pondering how to describe the role of the Daimoku in Buddhist practice. Similes – comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid – seem the best bet. Consider The Simile of the Magnifying Glass Let’s … Continue reading Daimoku Similes
Ichinen Sanzen, the Three Thousand Worlds Contained in One Thought, is the theoretical cornertone of Nichiren Buddhism. It is a universal vision of life as rich, dynamic, and meaningful. Ichinen Sanzen reveals thal all life contains all Ten Worlds, including Buddhahood, and that these worlds operate according to the causes and conditions that we all … Continue reading Ichinen Sanzen
Day 4 concludes Chapter 2, Expedients, and completes the first volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus flower of the Wonderful Dharma. DAY 4 FULL TEXT Having last month concluded Chapter 2, Expedients, we begin again with the gāthās explaining why the 5,000 listeners left as Śākyamuni was about to talk. Thereupon the World-Honored One, … Continue reading Day 4
Having yesterday provided a detailed look at the white king elephant in The Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva , I feel a need to offer the description of the Buddha provided by the 80,000 Bodhisattvas in The Sutra of Innumerable Meanings : Born of precepts, concentration, Wisdom, liberation, and … Continue reading 21 Days: The Body of the Buddha
Preaching the sin of abusing upholders of the Lotus Sūtra, “The Teacher of the Dharma” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra states, “Suppose a person with evil intent keeps speaking ill of the Buddha in His presence for as long as a kalpa (aeons), his sin is rather light. Suppose a person utters a word to … Continue reading The Sin of Abusing Upholders of the Lotus Sūtra
In Kangyō Hachiman-shō, Remonstration with Bodhisattva Hachiman (Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 257-258), Nichiren writes in part: At the beginning of the Kalpa of Construction, when the world is being created, gods were born with excellent rewards of virtuous acts in previous lives, and men were not evil. Therefore, heavenly beings were shiny … Continue reading Day 7 of 21
Today I got out of bed and 5:30am, dressed in my samue, did my morning service and then struck out for my one-hour walking meditation. The video of the start was captured by my Skybell doorbell. Wearing the samue, which I purchased for a July 2017 Seattle Choeizan Enkyoji retreat, is one way in which … Continue reading Day 1 of 21
The Buddha preaches in such sūtras as the Lotus and the Nirvana sūtras that after the 2,000-year period of the True Dharma and Semblance Dharma since the death of the Buddha, in the beginning of the Latter Age of Degeneration, a dharma-master will appear to spread the five-character sacred title (daimoku) of the Lotus Sūtra … Continue reading The Prediction of the Lotus and the Nirvana Sūtras