All living beings will be able to fulfill their wishes by Myōhō Renge Kyō just as a man who reaches a pond of fresh water when he is thirsty, just as a man who gets fire when he suffers from cold, just as a man who is given a garment when he is naked, just as a party of merchants who find a leader just as a child who meets its mother, just as a man who gets a ship when he wants to cross [a river], just as a patient who finds a physician, just as a man who is given a light in the darkness, just as a poor man who gets a treasure, just as the people of a nation who see a new king enthroned, just as a trader who reaches the seacoast.
Tao-sheng: Joy of Heart
Tao-sheng Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p204At that time the great multitude included bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās and upāsikās, that is, the four kinds of devotees; and gods, dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras and mahoragas. When they saw that Śāriputra was assured of his future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi by the Buddha, they danced with great joy.
This is the third segment. [Here, the Buddha] led those with [excessive] self-esteem to realize that they were [in fact] all endowed with [the capacity for enlightenment]; hence, joy of heart.
Higan: Seeing the Pāramitā of Giving
Today is the first day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:
For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.
The today we consider the Perfection of Generosity. For this Spring Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses Maitreya’s questions about what he sees in Chapter 1 after the Buddha illuminates 18,000 worlds in the east. (See this explanation.)
Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, pv2, p262-263Some practice giving, / Giving gifts of gold, silver, coral, / Pearls, maṇi jewels, / Giant clam shell, carnelian, / Diamonds, and other gems, / Servants and chariots, / Jeweled palanquins and carriages. There is a Dharma-door of giving. What did the Bodhisattvas give? They gave gifts of the seven treasures: gold, silver, coral, pearls, maṇi jewels, giant clam shell, and carnelian. maṇi is also called the wishfulfilling pearl. Giant white clam shell is considered a precious treasure. It appears to have tracks on it but is smooth to the touch. Carnelian is a stone that appears to be infused with streaks of blood. Jeweled palanquins are man-drawn carriages or sedan chairs studded with gems, such as those used to carry ancient emperors.
They offer them with joy. Unlike us, who think that to donate five, ten, or twenty dollars is a big deal, the Bodhisattvas happily gave away such priceless things as the seven treasures.
They dedicate the merit to Buddhahood, / And vow to attain that Vehicle, / Foremost in the three realms, / Praised by all the Buddhas. The Bodhisattvas dedicated their meritorious acts of giving to the realization of Buddhahood. Why did they give away their valuable things? They thought, “I happily give away these valuables, things that are difficult for me to part with, so that I may advance on the road to Buddhahood and become a Buddha. I wish to attain the Buddha Vehicle because it is foremost in the three realms: the realm of desire, the realm of form, and the realm of the formless. It is praised by all the Buddhas.” Those who realize Buddhahood are joyfully praised by all the Buddhas throughout the ten directions.
Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for March 17, 2025
“Medicine-King! An evil man who speaks ill of me in my presence with evil intent for as long as a kalpa is not as sinful as the person who reproaches laymen or monks with even a single word of abuse for their reading and reciting Myōhō Renge Kyō.”
Tao-sheng: Obtaining A Prophecy
Tao-sheng Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p204At the end of his life of twelve small kalpas, Flower-Light Tathāgata will assure Resolution-Fulfillment Bodhisattva of his future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.
The [Buddha’s] intention in presenting further a prophecy to Hard-Full is to prove to Body-son that obtaining a prophecy is not an empty [word].
Considering the Six Pāramitās
Twice each year at the Spring and Winter Equinox Nichiren Buddhists are asked to “strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds. Have our words hurt anyone around us? Are our actions serving ourselves more than others? How can we be productive for the sake of society? Are our decisions creating a world of strife rather than peace? Does our lifestyle encroach upon the liberty or happiness of others? Are we aware of how our actions may adversely affect our environment – the soil, air, plants, insects, fish, birds, and animals? In sum, the basic question from a Buddhist point of view is whether or not we are following the right path.” (Higan brochure)
Specifically, Nichiren Buddhists are asked to reflect on the six pāramitās of Bodhisattva practice for three days before the equinox and for three days after.
This year for Higan week, which begins tomorrow, I’m going to post content taken from Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s commentary on the Lotus Sutra and specifically from Chapter 1, Introductory.
The subject of Bodhisattva Practices and the Six Pāramitās comes up after the Buddha emitted a ray of light from the white curls between his eyebrows, and illumined all the corners of eighteen thousand worlds in the east and prompting Maitreya Bodhisattva to ask what this omen meant.
Hsuan Hua’s commentary includes on outline of the Lotus Sutra created by Ouyi Zhixu (1599-1655 CE).
Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, pv2, p260Asking About Cultivation Of Bodhisattva Practices In Other Lands
- Asking In General
- Asking About The Six Pāramitās In Sequence
- Jl. Question About Giving
- J2. Question About Upholding Precepts
- J3. Question About Patience
- J4. Question About Vigor
- J5. Question About Dhyāna
- J6. Question About Wisdom
- Asking About The Six Pāramitās Out Of Sequence
- Jl. Question About Dhyāna
- J2. Question About Vigor
- J3. Question About Upholding Precepts
- J4. Question About Patience
- J5. Question About Dhyāna
- J6. Question About Giving
- J7. Question About Wisdom
I’m going to post content from “Asking About The Six Pāramitās In Sequence” beginning tomorrow and “Asking About The Six Pāramitās Out Of Sequence” in September for the Fall Equinox.
Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for March 16, 2025
“Those who keep Myōhō Renge Kyō also will be able to recognize the gods [and things] in heaven by smell while they are staying [in the world of men]. They will be able to recognize the scents of the pārijātaka-trees, kovidāra-trees, mandārava-flowers, mahā-mandārava-flowers, mañjūṣaka-flowers, mahā-mañjūṣaka-flowers [in heaven]; the powdered incense of candana and aloes, the scents of other flowers, and the mixture of these scents in heaven without fail. They will be able to recognize the gods by smell. They will be able to recognize from afar the scent that Śakra-Devānām-Indra gives forth when he satisfies his five desires and enjoys himself in his excellent palace, or when he expounds the Dharma to the Trāyastriṃs̒a Gods at the wonderful hall of the Dharma, or when he plays in the gardens.
Tao-sheng: Three Identical With One
Tao-sheng Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p204Although the world in which he appears will not be an evil one, that Buddha will expound the teaching of the Three Vehicles according to his original vow.
The teaching of the three vehicles was designed originally for the impure ages. Now that the lands have been purified, there is no need for the three. But why does [the Buddha] speak of the three? He wants to show that the three are identical with the One; there is no separate “three” anymore. What he formerly understood as three is the One; hence, former vow. He did not really mean to preach the three kinds of transformative teaching as such.
Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for March 15, 2025
My body is pure and indestructible.
I will appear in any of many thousands of billions of worlds
During many hundreds of millions of kalpas,
And expound Myōhō Renge Kyō to the living beings.
Tao-sheng: No Lesser In ‘Li’
Tao-sheng Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p203Under two billion Buddhas in the past, I always taught you in order to cause you to attain unsurpassed enlightenment. You studied under me in the long night. I led you with expedients. Therefore, you have your present life under me.
“Śāriputra! I caused you to aspire for the enlightenment of the Buddha in your previous existence. You forgot all this, and thought that you had already attained extinction. In order to cause you to remember the Way you practiced under your original vow, I now expound to the Śrāvakas this sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’
Formerly [Śāriputra wrongly assumed] with delight that he was enlightened, but [the Buddha], contradicting him, admonished him to drive himself to achieve it. The fact that the Lesser Vehicle had no great hope in earlier times, but now [the Buddha] grants the group a prophecy, implies that there is no “lesser” in li. The [Buddha’s] motive fog reviewing the practices [of Śāriputra] in the remote past is to show that it was [Śāriputra’s own] merits that invited such prophecies, but he did not mention this, because he had his mind set on secretly directing the collective sentiment of the congregation at the time.