Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients.

Last month covered the true nature of reality and the 10 factors. And today I review in gathas:

The [wisdom of the] World-Heroes is immeasurable.
None of the living beings in the world,
Including gods and men,
Knows the [wisdom of the] Buddhas.

No one can measure the powers, fearlessness,
Emancipations, samadhis,
And other properties of the [present] Buddhas,
Because they, in their previous existence,
Followed innumerable Buddhas
And practiced the teachings of those Buddhas.

The profound and wonderful Dharma
Is difficult to see and difficult to understand.
I practiced the teachings of the [past] Buddhas
For many hundreds of millions of kalpas,
And became a Buddha at the place of enlightenment.
I have already attained the Dharma.

Before continuing, I want to offer a pair of quotes. First, from Nichiren, The Buddhist Prophet:

The Dhamma is the truth revealed by Buddha, the Lord of Truth; yet he is not the creator of it. We are enlightened by the truths taught by him, but we can be thus enlightened because our existence and nature are based on the same Dhammata that is found in Buddha himself.
Nichiren, The Buddhist Prophet

The other quote comes from Rev. Ryusho Jeffus’ Physician’s Good Medicine:

Oratio Divina is a type of prayer that is in response to the text. For example, after reading a portion of the Lotus Sutra, you might meditate on a personal response to what was read. Rather than merely absorbing the text or even trying to define or describe what has been read and its meaning, the focus becomes directed to how you shall respond in your life to what you read.

This type of study-response activity makes the sutra a tool or guide on which to base future actions. It can be a call to reinterpret your life and environment or your relationship to both. Rather than reading to understand, it is more of a reading to hear. Listen to the text you study and listen to what is going on internally as you listen. What are your first thoughts? Based upon what you heard, what are some actions you might take in your own life?
Physician's Good Medicine

Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients.

Last month I opened the Buddha’s explanation of the need for expedients. This month I continue with the Buddha’s description of the insight of the Buddhas.

Sariputra! The insight of the Tathagatas is wide and deep. [The Tathagatas] have all the [states of mind towards] innumerable [living beings,] unhindered [eloquence,] powers, fearlessness, dhyana-concentrations, emancipations, and samadhis. They entered deep into boundlessness, and attained the Dharma which you have never heard before.

Sariputra! The Tathagatas divide [the Dharma] into various teachings, and expound those teachings to all living beings so skillfully and with such gentle voices that living beings are delighted. Sariputra! In short, the Buddhas attained the innumerable teachings which you have never heard before. No more, Sariputra, will I say because the Dharma attained by the Buddhas is the highest Truth, rare [to hear] and difficult to understand. Only the Buddhas attained [the highest Truth, that is,] the reality of all things’ in regard to their appearances as such, their natures as such, their entities as such, their powers as such, their activities as such, their primary causes as such, their environmental causes as such, their effects as such, their rewards and retributions as such, and their equality as such [despite these differences].

This true nature of reality is discussed in Lotus Seeds:

Though the One Vehicle is expressed throughout the first half of the Lotus Sutra, the core passage, according to Nichiren Shonin, is in the very first prose passage of the second chapter, “Tactfulness.” In that passage, the Buddha first reveals to his wisest disciple, Śāriputra, that the teaching of the Buddha is beyond the ability of even his most advanced disciples to understand. He tells Śāriputra that the true nature of reality can only be understood by the buddhas, and that this true nature of reality consists of Ten Factors (or “suchnesses”). … These Ten Factors are integral parts of the law of cause and effect, and they are found in the lives of all beings. They are present in the lives of ordinary beings, and they are present in the lives of Buddhas. It is due to the common ground of the Ten Factors that ordinary people are capable of becoming buddhas, and buddhas are capable of appearing as ordinary people.
Lotus Seeds

Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients.

Last month I covered the Buddha’s explanation of the One Great Purpose of the Buddhas in preaching the Dharma. Now, it is time to return to the beginning.

Thereupon the World-Honored One emerged quietly from his samadhi, and said to Sariputra:

The wisdom of the [present] Buddhas is profound and immeasurable. The gate to it is difficult to understand and difficult to enter. [Their wisdom] cannot be understood by any Sravaka or Pratyekabuddha because the [present] Buddhas attended on many hundreds of thousands of billions of [past] Buddhas, and practiced the innumerable teachings of those Buddhas bravely and strenuously to their far-flung fame until they attained the profound Dharma which you have never heard before, [and became Buddhas,] and also because [since they became Buddhas] they have been expounding the Dharma according to the capacities of all living beings in such various ways that the true purpose of their [various] teachings is difficult to understand.

Sariputra! Since I became a Buddha, I [also] have been expounding various teachings with various stories of previous lives, with various parables, and with various similes. I have been leading all living beings with innumerable expedients in order to save them from various attachments, because I have the power to employ expedients and the power to perform the paramita of insight.

And pair that with the final declaration of Day 3’s reading:

Sariputra and all of you present here! Understand the Dharma by faith with all your hearts! There is no vehicle other than the One Buddha-Vehicle.

Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients.

Each morning I read the corresponding section of the Lotus Sutra in Shindoku using the Nichiren Buddhist Sangha of Greater New England’s Myoho Renge Kyo Romanized. Ryuoh Faulconer explains, “Shindoku reading is sometimes referred to as a faith reading. The practice of reading in Shindoku allows the reader to touch their innate Buddha Nature that we each posses.”

While “faith reading” this morning, I was taken aback by my inability to recall more than the first part of this day’s reading, the portion used in the daily practice that includes the 10 suchnesses.

So this afternoon I remind myself of the need for faith, Śāriputra and the others’ confusion upon hearing this and the One Great Purpose of the Buddhas:

“Śāriputra! What is the one great purpose for which the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the worlds? The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to open [the gate to] the insight of the Buddha, and to cause them to purify themselves. They appear in the worlds in order to show the insight of the Buddha to all living beings. They appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to obtain the insight of the Buddha. They appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to enter the Way to the insight of the Buddha. Śāriputra! This is the one great purpose for which the Buddhas appear in the worlds.”

Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients.

Having covered the Ten Suchnesses last month, I want to underline that you can’t just understand the dharma.

The Dharma cannot be shown.
It is inexplicable by words.
No one can understand it
Except the Buddhas
And the Bodhisattvas
Who are strong in the power of faith.

Even the Buddhas’ disciples who made offerings
To the [past] Buddhas in their previous existence,
[Even the disciples] who eliminated all asravas,
[Even the disciples] who are now at the final stage
Of their physical existence,
Cannot understand [the Dharma].

As many people as can fill the world,
Who are as wise as you, Sariputra, will not be able
To measure the wisdom of the Buddhas,
Even though they try to do so with their combined efforts.

As many people as can fill the worlds of the ten quarters,
Who are as wise as you, Sariputra,
Or as many other disciples of mine
As can fill the ksetras of the ten quarters,
Will not be able to know [the wisdom of the Buddhas]
Even though they try to do so with their combined efforts.

As many Pratyekabuddhas as can fill
The worlds of the ten quarters, or as many as bamboo groves,
Who are wise enough to reach
The final stage of their physical existence without asravas,
Will not be able to know
Even a bit of the true wisdom of the Buddhas
Even though they continue trying to do so with all their hearts
For many hundreds of millions of kalpas.

As many Bodhisattvas as rice-plants, hemps, bamboos or reeds,
Or as can fill the ksetras of the ten quarters,
Who have just begun to aspire for enlightenment,
Who made offerings to innumerable Buddhas in their previous existence,
Who understand the meanings of the Dharma [in their own ways],
And who are expounding the Dharma [as they understand it],
Will not be able to know the wisdom of the Buddhas
Even though they continue trying to do so with all their hearts
And with all their wonderful wisdom
For as many kalpas as there are sands in the River Ganges.

As many never-faltering Bodhisattvas
As there are sands in the River Ganges
Will not be able to know the wisdom of the Buddhas
Even though they try to do so with all their hearts.

(He said to Sariputra again:)
I have already attained
The profound and wonderful Dharma,
The Dharma without asravas, the inconceivable Dharma.
It is known only to me
And to the Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters.

Sariputra, know this!
The Buddhas do not speak differently.
Have great power of faith
In the Dharma expounded by the Buddhas!
As a rule, the Wo rld-Honored Ones expound the true teaching
Only after a long period [of expounding expedient teachings].

You can’t intellectualize, analyze or otherwise rationalize the dharma. The key is the great power of faith and practice and study and faith and practice and study and again and again.

Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients.

Each day followers of Nichiren recite this section of the Chapter 2, Expedients:

Śāriputra! The Tathagatas divide [the Dharma] into various teachings, and expound those teachings to all living beings so skillfully and with such gentle voices that living beings are delighted. Śāriputra! In short, the Buddhas attained the innumerable teachings which you have never heard before. No more, Śāriputra, will I say because the Dharma attained by the Buddhas is the highest Truth, rare [to hear] and difficult to understand. Only the Buddhas attained [the highest Truth, that is,] the reality of all things’ in regard to their appearances as such, their natures as such, their entities as such, their powers as such, their activities as such, their primary causes as such, their environmental causes as such, their effects as such, their rewards and retributions as such, and their equality as such [despite these differences].

As Rev. Ryuei McCormick says his book “Lotus Seeds“:

Though the One Vehicle is expressed throughout the first half of the Lotus Sutra, the core passage, according to Nichiren Shohnin, is in the very first prose passage of the second chapter, “Tactfulness.” In that passage, the Buddha first reveals to his wisest disciple, Śāriputra, that the teaching of the Buddha is beyond the ability of even his most advanced disciples to understand. He tells Śāriputra that the true nature of reality can only be understood by the buddhas, and that this true nature of reality consists of Ten Factors (or “suchnesses”). … These Ten Factors are integral parts of the law of cause and effect, and they are found in the lives of all beings. They are present in the lives of ordinary beings, and they are present in the lives of Buddhas. It is due to the common ground of the Ten Factors that ordinary people are capable of becoming buddhas, and buddhas are capable of appearing as ordinary people.

As Rev. Ryusho Jeffus explains his book “Lecture on the Lotus Sutra“:

When it comes to the Ten Suchnesses, which we recite daily as we conclude our recitation of Chapter II, the most important idea is that there is no disconnect from any aspect of our physical life or our spiritual life and that in all things there is equality. Buddhism and enlightenment are not something that manifests in only one aspect of our life.

Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients.

Last month, I covered the Buddha’s revelation that the “wisdom of the [present] Buddhas is profound and immeasurable.”

This is all very perplexing to the great sravakas and arhats and the others in the congregation:

All of them thought:

Why does the World-Honored One extol so enthusiastically the power of the Buddhas to employ expedients? Why does he say that the Dharma attained by him is profound and difficult to understand, and that the true purpose of his teachings is too difficult for Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas to know? He expounded to us the teaching of emancipation. We obtained this teaching and reached Nirvana. We do not know why he says all this.

Thereupon Sariputra, seeing the doubts of the four kinds of devotees, and also because he, himself, did not understand [why the Buddha had said this], said to the Buddha:

World-Honored One! Why do you extol so enthusiastically [what you call] the highest [Truth, and the power of the Buddhas to employ) expedients? [Why do you extol) the Dharma which [you say] is profound, wonderful, and difficult to understand? I have never heard you say all this before. The four kinds of devotees also have the same doubts. World-Honored One! Explain all this! Why do you extol so enthusiastically the Dharma which [you say] is profound, wonderful, and difficult to understand?

And in gathas:

Sun of Wisdom, Great Honorable Saint!
You expound the Dharma for the first time
after a long time.
You say that you obtained
The powers, fearlessness, samadhis,
Dhyana-concentrations, emancipations,
And other inconceivable properties [of a Buddha].

No one asks you about the Dharma you attained
At the place of enlightenment.
[The Dharma] is too difficult for me to measure.
[So it is for others; therefore,] no one asks you.

Although you are not asked, you extol the teachings
[Of the past Buddhas] which you practiced.
Your wisdom is wonderful.
It is the same wisdom that the other Buddhas obtained.

The Arhats-without-asravas
And those who are seeking Nirvana
Are now in the mesh of doubts, wondering:
“Why does the Buddha say all this?”

Those who are seeking the vehicle of cause-knowers,
And the bhiksus, bhiksunis, gods, dragons,
Gandharvas, and other supernatural beings,
Are exchanging glances of perplexity.

They are looking up at you, at the Honorable Biped
Thinking:
“What is this for?
Buddha! Explain all this!”

Underscore No one asks you about the Dharma you attained
At the place of enlightenment.
[The Dharma] is too difficult for me to measure.
[So it is for others; therefore,] no one asks you.

They do not understand the one great purpose of the Buddhas.

Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients.

Last month, I focused on The One Great Purpose. But that purpose has been obscured. We start at the beginning:

Thereupon the World-Honored One emerged quietly from his samadhi, and said to Sariputra:

The wisdom of the [present] Buddhas is profound and immeasurable. The gate to it is difficult to understand and difficult to enter. [Their wisdom] cannot be understood by any Sravaka or Pratyekabuddha because the [present] Buddhas attended on many hundreds of thousands of billions of [past] Buddhas, and practiced the innumerable teachings of those Buddhas bravely and strenuously to their far-flung fame until they attained the profound Dharma which you have never heard before, [and became Buddhas,] and also because [since they became Buddhas] they have been expounding the Dharma according to the capacities of all living beings in such various ways that the true purpose of their [various] teachings is difficult to understand.

And…

“Sariputra! The Tathagatas divide [the Dharma] into various teachings, and expound those teachings to all living beings so skillfully and with such gentle voices that living beings are delighted. Sariputra! In short, the Buddhas attained the innumerable teachings which you have never heard before. No more, Sariputra, will I say because the Dharma attained by the Buddhas is the highest Truth, rare [to hear] and difficult to understand.

The bottom line for those who think they can intellectualize an appreciation of the Buddha’s truth:

The Dharma cannot be shown.
It is inexplicable by words.
No one can understand it
Except the Buddhas
And the Bodhisattvas
Who are strong in the power of faith.

And …

Sariputra and all of you present here! Understand the Dharma by faith with all your hearts! There is no vehicle other than the One Buddha-Vehicle.

By faith with faith. Namu Myoho Renge Kyo

Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients.

If anything will challenge my effort this time through to limit my quotes to the single aspect that strikes me as most important or interesting today, it is Chapter 2, Expedients. There’s just too much good stuff.

The concept that “the wisdom of the Buddha” is too difficult to understand by pure intellect only raises the question, “Why does the World-Honored One extol so enthusiastically the power of the Buddhas to employ expedients?” And those two things bring us to what is, in my mind today, the most important aspect of this teaching: The One Great Purpose.

Sariputra! What is the one great purpose for which the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the worlds? The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to open [the gate to] the insight of the Buddha, and to cause them to purify themselves. They appear in the worlds in order to show the insight of the Buddha to all living beings. They appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to obtain the insight of the Buddha. They appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to enter the Way to the insight of the Buddha. Sariputra! This is the one great purpose for which the Buddhas appear in the worlds.

The Buddha said to Sariputra:

The Buddhas, the Tathagatas, teach only Bodhisattvas. All they do is for one purpose, that is, to show the insight of the Buddha to all living beings, to cause them to obtain the insight of the Buddha.

Today’s Daily Dharma had an interesting explanation for why we should not be embarrassed to ask questions:

When we allow ourselves to wonder, to question, to become aware of the mystery of existence, and resist being ashamed of not knowing, then we are coming to understand the Buddha’s own mind.