Lesson 2 covers the “Expounding the Dharma” chapter of the Innumerable meanings Sutra. This turned out to be an excellent place to discuss the meaning of Dharma.
On page 9 of Buddhism for Today, in the discussion of Chapter 2, Preaching, of the Innumerable Meanings Sutra, Nikkyō Niwano offers a summary of the Buddha’s instructions to the great bodhisattvas:
“First, you must penetrate deeply into all the laws. If you understand them deeply, you can realize naturally what may emerge from them in the future. You can also realize that they remain settled, without changing, for a time. You can also realize that they change. Moreover, you can realize that they eventually vanish. Thus you can observe and know the reasons that good and evil laws emerge.”
At this point I stumbled, tripped up by the suggestion that laws can be evil. Gravity kills the person who falls from a great height. Inertia kills passengers when automobiles collide at high speed. Laws are neither good nor evil.
Of course, the principal problem is that Buddhism for Today is referencing the 1975 edition of the Threefold Lotus Sutra published by Kosei Publishing. The editors of that translation chose to render the Sanskrit term dharma as law in all cases even though dharma has three distinct meanings.
The Oxford Dictionary of Buddhism explains these three meanings:
“First, it refers to the natural order or universal law that underpins the operation of the universe in both the physical and moral spheres. Secondly, it denotes the totality of Buddhist teachings, since these are thought to accurately describe and explain the underlying universal law so that individuals may live in harmony with it. It is in this sense that it occurs as one of the ‘three jewels’ (triratna) and the ‘three refuges’ (triśaraṇa), along with the Buddha and the Saṃgha. Thirdly, it is used in the Abhidharma system of taxonomy to refer to the individual elements that collectively constitute the empirical world. Some of these elements (dharmas) are external to the perceiver and others are internal psychological processes and traits of character. It is in this context that the Madhyamaka school denied the substantial reality of dharmas, claiming that all phenomena were ’empty’ (śūnya) of any substantial reality.”
On page 12 of the 1975 edition of the Threefold Lotus Sutra, the Buddha explains to the bodhisattvas:
“According to the nature of a law, such a law emerges. According to the nature of a law, such a law settles. According to the nature of a law, such a law changes. According to the nature of a law, such a law vanishes. According to the nature of a law, such an evil law emerges. According to the nature of a law, such a good law emerges.”
In the “Modern Translation” published by Kosei Publishing in 2019, the same lesson is rendered on page 13:
“They observe how attributes of things such as these give rise to things such as those, how attributes of things such as these stabilize things such as those, how attributes of things such as these change things such as those, and how attributes of things such as these extinguish things such as those. They also observe how attributes of things such as these can give rise to unwholesome things and how attributes of things such as these can give rise to wholesome things.”
For me, the BDK English Tripiṭaka translation that I regularly use, offers the clearest lesson:
“He or she must then more completely fathom all phenomena: aspects of phenomena being as such, as such will phenomena come forth; aspects of phenomena being as such, as such will phenomena settle; aspects of phenomena being as such, as such will phenomena change; aspects of phenomena being as such, as such will phenomena become void. Aspects of phenomena being as such, an unwholesome phenomenon is able to come forth. Aspects of phenomena being as such, a wholesome phenomenon is able to come forth.”
For something to be evil, intent must be present. Wholesome and unwholesome phenomenon arise and perish. There is no intent, just causes and conditions.