Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 17, 2024

Now you have awakened us, saying:
“What you attained was not true extinction.
When you have the unsurpassed wisdom of the Buddha,
You will attain true extinction.”

Five hundred of the Buddha’s monks give this explanation in Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. These monks believed that by extinguishing their desires and ending their suffering, they would reach the wisdom of the Buddha. They had not yet heard the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra in which the Buddha reveals his wisdom and the path to attain it. This is the path of the Bodhisattva: beings who resolve to work for the enlightenment of all beings and not just end their own suffering. We may start on the path towards enlightenment by wanting to be happy. Then as we progress, we find our happiness entwined with that of all beings.

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

LS32

Day 14

Day 14 covers all of 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, and opens Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma.

Day 14 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the reaction of the eight thousand Bodhisattvas who had just resolved to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, we consider Ānanda’s reaction to the Buddha’s prediction.

Having heard from the Buddha that he was assured of his future Buddhahood, and that his world would be adorned, Ānanda was able to fulfill his wish. He had the greatest joy that he had ever had. At that moment he recollected the store of the teachings of many thousands of billions of past Buddhas perfectly and without hindrance as if he had heard those teachings just now. He also recollected his original vow.

Thereupon Ānanda sang in gāthās:

You, the World-Honored One, are exceptional.
You reminded me of the teachings
Of innumerable Buddhas in the past
As if I had heard them today.

Having no doubts, I now dwell peacefully
In the enlightenment of the Buddha.
I will expediently become the attendant
Of future Buddhas, and protect their teachings.

The Daily Dharma offers this:

You, the World-Honored One, are exceptional.
You reminded me of the teachings
Of innumerable Buddhas in the past
As if I had heard them today.

Ānanda, the Buddha’s cousin and one of his leading disciples, sings these verses in Chapter Nine of the Lotus Sūtra. In the Story, Ānanda had just been personally assured by the Buddha that he would become a Buddha himself in a future life. All the teachings of the Buddha across all time are always available to us. What prevents us from hearing them and putting them into practice is nothing more than our own attachment to our suffering and our doubts about our capacity for wisdom and compassion. When we take to heart the assurance that we and all beings can become enlightened, it clears away our delusion and allows to see the Buddha teaching us in all aspects of our lives.

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

Dogen

Zhanran’s Diamond Scalpel

In his 782 treatise “The Diamond Scalpel” (“Jinbei Lun”), Zhanran expounds on the universality of buddha nature. He cites the story in chapters 15 and 16 of the Lotus Sutra to support the inclusiveness and truth of the One Vehicle, “that Śākyamuni treats all equally and without bias,” stating that the Buddha’s previous lives express this and “the eternity of his life-span simply proves this.” Echoing the sutra, Zhanran sees the duration of the inconceivable life span as providing the diversity of skillful means to lead all into the one great vehicle. He then also celebrates the bodhisattvas emerging from underground as giving “their lives to increase the path to enlightenment. First they develop the mind [of enlightenment] and, in the end, they will occupy a [vacant] place. How can there be another way by which we all inherit this?” Zhanran sees the underground bodhisattvas and the omnipresent Śākyamuni of the Lotus Sutra as supporting the single great cause in the One Vehicle, elaborated in chapter 2 of the sutra, to help lead all beings onto the path.

Zhanran especially champions the buddha nature of the land itself, serving as a precursor to Dōgen’s worldview. He maintains that the universal buddha nature “is complete within the bodies of all Buddhas, and one body [completely contains] all bodies. In like fashion, [it is complete within] the response-lands of all Buddhas; one land [completely contains] all lands. Bodies and lands being identical, what can be said about bodies can be said about lands. … [This] is another way of saying that you possess [buddha] nature.”

Dōgen and the Lotus Sutra, p47
Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 16, 2024

You have a grandson, Lord Jibu, who is a Buddhist priest. This priest is neither an upholder of precepts nor especially rich in wisdom. He neither observes even one of the 250 precepts nor maintains even one of the 3000 solemn rules of conduct. In wisdom he is like a horse or a cow while in dignity he is like a monkey. Nevertheless, what he reveres is Śākyamuni Buddha and what he believes in is the Lotus Sutra. This like a snake holding a gem or a dragon gratefully holding the relics of the Buddha in Dharma Body.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on the Ullambana Service (Urabon Gosho) written to the Grandmother of Lord Jibu. While it may seem to us that Nichiren is criticizing Lord Jibu, he is praising the young man in the highest terms. Our ability to use the Wonderful Dharma to benefit others does not depend on our skill, dedication or wisdom. It depends only on our devotion to the Ever-Present Buddha Śākyamuni, and our confidence and faith in the Lotus Sūtra.

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

LS32

Day 13

Day 13 covers all of Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples.

Day 13 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the Buddha’s prediction for Pūrṇa, we consider the reaction of the twelve hundred Arhats.

Thereupon the twelve hundred Arhats, who had already obtained freedom of mind, thought:

“We have never been so joyful before. How glad we shall be if we are assured of our future Buddhahood by the World-Honored One just as the other great disciples were!”

Seeing what they had in their minds, the Buddha said to Maha-Kāśyapa:

“Now I will assure these twelve hundred Arhats, who are present before me, of their future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi one after another. My great disciple Kauṇḍinya Bhikṣu, who is among them, will make offerings to six billion and two hundred thousand million Buddhas, and then become a Buddha called Universal-Brightness, the Tathāgata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. The others of the five hundred Arhats, including Uruvilvā-Kāśyapa, Gaya­Kāśyapa, Nadī-Kāśyapa, Kālodāyin, Udāyin, Aniruddha, Revata, Kapphina, Bakkula, Cunda, and Svāgata, also will attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, and become Buddhas also called Universal-Brightness.”

See The Previous Life of Venerable Kāśyapa

Dogen

Zhiyi and the Three Bodies of the Buddha

Just as the sutra clearly indicates that the long-lived Buddha has a finite, if inconceivably long life, Zhiyi did not see the Lotus Sutra Buddha as virtually eternal. He initiated analysis of this Buddha in terms of the teaching of the three bodies of buddha, even though the three bodies (trikāya) teaching is not mentioned in the sutra itself. These three bodies are the historically manifested transformation body (nirmāvakāya), the blissful recompense body (sambhogakāya), and the ultimate truth or reality body (dharmakāya). Zhiyi saw the three as integrated in the Lotus Sutra, as he “interpreted Śākyamuni Buddha of the ‘Fathoming the Lifespan’ chapter as embodying all three bodies in one.”

Whereas the historically manifested body is affected by causality and the conditions of the world, for Zhiyi the Dharma body is unchangeable, revealing of perfect suchness beyond distinctions. “Since the dharma body is in accord with the principle of suchness, both its nature and appearance are eternally as they are, whether it is manifested or not as a Buddha; therefore it is not relevant whether it is measurable or not, that is, whether it has duration or not.” From the perspective of the Dharma body at least, the Lotus Sutra Buddha both incorporates and transcends each of the three bodies. For Zhiyi, “the three bodies are both permanent and impermanent, and are all three inherent in the Buddha of the Lotus Sutra: ‘One body is three bodies; it is not one, it is not different.” [Lucia Dolce, Between Duration and Eternity] Zhiyi “interpreted these three bodies as the attributes of a single, original Buddha, the Śākyamuni of the sixteenth chapter of the Lotus Sutra, enlightened since countless dust-particle kalpas ago. For Chih-i [WadeGiles transliteration of Zhiyi], the unity of the three was mediated by the recompense body, which he saw as central.” [Jacqueline Stone, Original Englightenment]

Zhiyi did not dissolve these three bodies or aspects of Buddha into one, but uses the three to celebrate nuances of the Buddha revealed in chapter 16. His emphasis on the recompense body expresses the important role of actual practice, with “buddhahood as a process, which has by definition a location in time and place.” We can see this body as most accurately conveying the inconceivable long-lived Buddha described in the sutra itself. The recompense body “represents a Buddha who has a beginning, and thus is finite before attaining enlightenment, but who becomes immeasurable, infinite, after his awakening. It exemplifies a Buddha who encompasses in himself both historical existence and universal principle: not an absolute Tathāgata who assumes for some time a phenomenal form and then goes back to his true nature, but a Tathāgata who is, at the same time, his true nature and his temporal manifestation.”[Lucia Dolce, Between Duration and Eternity] But while Zhiyi stresses this recompense body, he does so to show how the Lotus Sutra Buddha incorporates all aspects of buddhas.

Dōgen and the Lotus Sutra, p45-46

For comparison of Nichiren’s view of the Three Bodies, see Nichiren Venerating the Eternal Śākyamuni

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 15, 2024

She said, “Look at me with your supernatural powers! I will become a Buddha more quickly.”

These are the words of the young daughter of Dragon-King Sāgara in Chapter Twelve of the Lotus Sūtra. Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva knew that she was capable of becoming a Buddha, but none of the other Bodhisattvas or anyone else gathered to hear the Buddha teach believed that she could attain enlightenment. Before making this statement, she offered a priceless gem to the Buddha. In less time than it took for the Buddha to accept her offering, she herself became a Buddha before the eyes of all who doubted her. This story shows that all beings can become enlightened, male and female, young and old, human and non-human. When we lose our doubts about others’ enlightenment, we also lose our doubts about our own.

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

LS32

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.

Day 12 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered what became of the followers of the sixteen Bodhisattva-śramaṇeras, we consider the Parable of the Magic City.

“Bhikṣus, know this! I can enter skillfully deep into the natures of all living beings. Because I saw that they wished to hear the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle and that they were deeply attached to the five desires, I expounded the teaching of Nirvāṇa to them. When they heard that teaching, they received it by faith.

“I will tell you a parable. Once upon a time there was a dangerous, bad road five hundred yojanas long. It was so fearful that no men lived in the neighborhood. Now many people wished to pass through this road in order to reach a place of treasures. They were led by a man, clever, wise, and well informed of the conditions of the dangerous road. He took them along this dangerous road, but halfway the people got tired of walking. They said to him, ‘We are tired out. We are also afraid of the danger of this road. We cannot go a step farther. Our destination is still far off. We wish to go back.’

“The leader, who knew many expedients, thought, ‘What a pity!

They wish to go back without getting great treasures.’ Having thought this, he expediently made a city by magic at a distance of three hundred yojanas from the starting-point of this dangerous road. He said to them, ‘Do not be afraid! Do not go back! You can stay in that great city, and do anything you like. If you enter that city, you will be peaceful. If you go on afterwards and reach the place of treasures, then you can go home.’

“Thereupon the worn-out people had great joy. They said, ‘We have never had such joy as this before. Now we shall be able to get off this bad road and become peaceful.’

“Then they made their way forward and entered the magic city.

They felt peaceful, thinking that they had already passed [through the bad road]. Seeing that they had already had a rest and relieved their fatigue, the leader caused the city to disappear, and said to them, ‘Now the place of treasures is near. I made this city by magic in order to give you a rest.’

The Daily Dharma offers this:

He said to them, ‘Do not be afraid! Do not go back! You can stay in that great city, and do anything you like. If you enter that city, you will be peaceful. If you go on afterwards and reach the place of treasures, then you can go home.

This is part of the Parable of the Magic City, told by the Buddha in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, a guide is leading a group of travelers through a dangerous road to a city of treasures. Halfway through the trip, the travelers, overcome by their fear and fatigue, consider giving up their journey and returning to their previous lives. The guide makes a resting place for them where they can relax before continuing. When the travelers mistake this resting place for their destination, the guide makes the city disappear so that they will keep moving towards the true treasures. The Buddha compares himself to the guide, us to the travelers, the magic city to that place we all want where even our unspoken desires are met, and his enlightenment to the city of treasures. To see the world as it is and find true happiness, we need to let go of our delusions and keep faith in our guide and his highest teaching.

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

Dogen

Nichiren’s One Practice

The one practice that was the “excellent medicine” for expressing the Lotus Sutra truth for Nichiren was recitation and veneration of the syllables “Namu Myōhōrengekyō,” the homage to the name of the Lotus Sutra that Nichiren saw as a symbolic embodiment of this enduring Śākyamuni and called “the essence of the chapter, ‘Duration of the Life of the Buddha.’ ” He declared that these five characters were transmitted only to the underground bodhisattvas, who would proclaim them in the future “evil age,” which had now arrived in Kamakura-period Japan. Nichiren says, “At this time, the bodhisattvas who sprang up from the earth will appear for the first time in the world to bestow upon the children the medicine of the five characters Myōhōrengekyō.”

For Nichiren, the leap of faith expressed in the Lotus Sutra is grounded in the mappō theory, a pressing reality for him that was completely rejected by Dōgen. Nichiren believed that the importance of Śākyamuni’s remaining presence, and even more, of the proclamation of it by the underground bodhisattvas, was that the teaching was still available, even in the present evil age of mappō. Thanks only to the underground bodhisattvas and the enduring Śākyamuni, the faithful still had the opportunity to hear the teaching and to express their faith through veneration and chanting of the name of the Lotus Sutra. But Nichiren went even further: “By defining the beginning of the Final Dharma age as the precise historical moment when the Buddha’s ultimate teaching, the Lotus Sutra, shall spread, Nichiren was able to reverse the conventional gloomy connotations of the last age and celebrate it as the best possible time to be alive.

Dōgen and the Lotus Sutra, p58-59
Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 14, 2024

Of the people who put their faith in the Lotus Sutra today, some have faith like fire while others have it like water. Those who have faith like fire refer to those who become enthusiastic upon listening to the preaching, but their passion cools down as time goes by, and eventually forget the teaching. On the other hand, those whose faith is like water mean those whose faith is like a ceaselessly flowing water, namely those who retain their faith without retreating. You have constantly sent me donations and asked me questions about the way of faith. Your faith is like water, is it not? How precious you are!

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Reply to Lord Ueno (Ueno-dono Gohenji). To those who stayed with Nichiren and this teaching, despite all difficulties, his gratitude was boundless. We too are capable of this gratitude, not just towards the Buddha and Nichiren, but towards all those who practice the Buddha Dharma with us, and, most importantly, towards those still caught up in the mesh of suffering.

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