Buddhism for Today, p257-258The mental happiness, hope, and self-confidence of those who have attained true faith are not frothy and superficial but deep and firm-rooted in their minds. These people have calm, steadfast minds not agitated by anything – fire, water, or sword – because they maintain a mental attitude of great assurance, realizing, “I am always protected by the Buddha as an absolute existence; I am caused to live by the Buddha.”
It is natural that life should change dramatically as soon as we attain such a mental state. It is impossible for our life not to change when our attitude changes. Our mental state changes because of faith, and through the change in our mind, our life changes at the same time. These are the merits of religious practice. Therefore faith is naturally associated with merits.
The merits of religious practice appear not only in man’s mind but also in his body and his material life. Because his mind, his body, and the material things around him are composed of the same void (energy), it stands to reason that his body should change according to changes in his mind, and at the same time that the material things around him should change. It is irrational and unscientific to admit mental merits but deny physical and material ones.
Tag Archives: LS22
Day 22
Day 22 covers all of Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits.
Having last month heard Maitreya Bodhisattva repeat the merits received in gāthās, we hear Maitreya explain the reaction of the gods and the bodhisattvas to these merits.
[The gods] rained down mandārava-flower ,
And mahā-mandārava-flowers of heaven.
Sakras and Brahmans came from the [other] Buddha-worlds
As many as there are sands in the River Ganges.[The gods] rained down candana and aloes [powder],
And offered it to the Buddhas.
The powder came down fluttering
Just as birds fly down from the sky.Heavenly drums automatically sounded
Wonderful in the sky.
Thousands of billions of heavenly garments
Whirled down.[The gods] burned priceless incense which was put
In wonderful incense-burners of many treasures.
The incense-burners automatically went around,
And the odor was offered to the World-Honored Ones.The great Bodhisattvas lined up vertically one upon another
To the Heaven of Brahman, holding
Billions of lofty and wonderful canopies and streamers
Made of the seven treasures.[The great Bodhisattvas] hoisted before the Buddha
Jeweled banner adorned with excellent streamers.
They also praised the Tathāgatas
With tens of millions of gāthās.I have never seen these things before.
All living beings
Rejoice at hearing
That the duration of your life is immeasurable.Your fame is extended over the worlds of the ten quarters.
You benefit all living beings.
The root of good which they have planted
Will help them aspire for unsurpassed [enlightenment].
Faith Is the Cause for Wisdom
Two Buddhas, p196In its claims for the salvific powers of the Lotus Sūtra, the “Description of Merits” chapter says that the merit accruing to those who generate even a single thought of willing acceptance — that is, faith — in the Lotus Sūtra immeasurably surpasses that gained by men and women who cultivate the first five perfections of a bodhisattva for eighty myriads of kotis of nayutas of eons. The sixth perfection, wisdom, is not included. But Nichiren held that wisdom, too, is inherent in, and emerges from, faith in the Lotus Sūtra. Scholars of his day, he notes, all agree that those who would practice the Lotus Sūtra must devote themselves to the three disciplines of moral conduct, meditative concentration, and wisdom; lacking any of these, one cannot attain the way. Nichiren adds, “I too once thought the same.” But over time, he became convinced that this was not the case. Citing the “Description of Merits” chapter to support his argument, Nichiren asserts that the Buddha had restrained persons at the first, second, and third of the five stages of practice from focusing on the cultivation of moral conduct and meditative concentration and directed them solely to cultivate some degree of wisdom.” And because our wisdom is inadequate, he teaches us to substitute faith, making this single word ‘faith’ the basis. … Faith is the cause for wisdom and corresponds to the stage of verbal identity.”
Day 22
Day 22 covers all of Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits.
Having last month considered the reaction of the gods to the merits received by those who heard of the duration of the Buddha’s life, Maitreya Bodhisattva repeats the merits received in gāthās:
Thereupon Maitreya Bodhisattva rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, joined his hands together towards the Buddha, and sang in gāthās:
You expounded a rare teaching.
I have never heard it before.
You have great powers.
The duration of your life is immeasurable.Having heard from you that they were given
The various benefits of the Dharma,
The innumerable sons of yours
Were filled with joy.Some of them reached the stage of irrevocability.
Some obtained dharanis, or eloquence without hindrance,
Or the all-holding formulas
For memorizing billions of repetitions of teachings.Bodhisattvas as many as the particles of earth
Of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds obtained
The faculty of turning
The irrevocable wheel of the Dharma.Bodhisattvas as many as the particles of earth
Of one million Sumeru-worlds obtained
The faculty of turning
The wheel of the pure Dharma.Bodhisattvas as many as the particles of earth
Of one thousand Sumeru-worlds obtained
The faculty of attaining the enlightenment of the Buddha
After eight rebirths.Bodhisattvas numbering four times or three times or twice
The number of the particles of earth of the four continents
Obtained the faculty of becoming Buddhas
After four, three or two rebirths respectfully.Bodhisattvas as many as the particles of earth
Of the four continents obtained
The faculty of attaining the knowledge of all things
immediately after this life.Having heard of your longevity,
They obtained these effects and rewards,
Pure, immeasurable, and without āsravas.
Having heard from you
Of the duration of your life,
Living beings as many as the particles of earth
Of eight Sumeru-worlds
Aspired for unsurpassed [enlightenment].You expounded the teachings
Immeasurable and inconceivable,
And benefited living beings
As limitless as the sky.
Four Stages of Faith and Five Stages of Practice
Two Buddhas, p194-195Buddhist thinkers over the centuries have elaborated various models of the path as guidelines for practice. Early Buddhism set forth the “three disciplines” of moral conduct, meditative concentration, and wisdom as comprising the entirety of the path. Mahāyāna scriptures set forth a list of six perfections (pāramitās) … that bodhisattvas must master, which add to the original three disciplines the virtues of giving, perseverance, and effort. Specific texts enumerate ten stages, forty-one stages, or fifty-two stages of bodhisattva practice. Some models entail sequential stages; in others, elements of the path are cultivated simultaneously.
Based on the “Description of Merits” chapter (245-250), Zhiyi enumerated “four stages of faith” and “five stages of practice” of the Lotus Sūtra. The four stages of faith are (1) to arouse even a single thought of willing acceptance (also translated as “a single moment’s faith and understanding”); (2) to understand the intent of the sūtra’s words; (3) to place deep faith in the sūtra and expound it widely for others; and (4) to perfect one’s own faith and insight. The “five stages of practice” are (1) to rejoice on hearing the Lotus Sūtra; (2) to read and recite it; (3) to explain it to others; (4) to practice it while cultivating the six perfections; and (5) to master the six perfections. The “four stages of faith” apply to those living in Śākyamuni Buddha’s lifetime, while the “five stages of practice” are intended for persons living after his nirvāṇa, however, the spirit behind them is the same.
Within these two models of the path, Nichiren focused on the first stage of faith, arousing a single moment’s faith and understanding, and the first stage of practice, rejoicing on hearing the Lotus Sūtra. But to what level of practice did these stages correspond? Nichiren noted that the works of Zhiyi and Zhanran give three interpretations. Two of these equate these stages with advanced levels, either the third or fourth of the “six stages of identity” (J. rokusoku) into which Zhiyi had divided the practice of the perfect teaching. The third interpretation, however, identifies them with only the second of the six levels, “verbal identity” (J. myōji-soku), the stage of a beginning practitioner, at which one first encounters the words of the dharma and has faith in them. Nichiren thought that this third interpretation accorded most closely with the sūtra passage; for him, the stage of “verbal identity” meant embracing faith in the Lotus Sūtra and chanting its daimoku. In the Final Dharma age, he taught, advancing to later stages becomes irrelevant, because the merits of all stages are fully encompassed in the beginning stage.
Day 22
Day 22 covers all of Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits.
Having last month heard the merits received by those who heard of the duration of the Buddha’s life, consider the reaction of the gods to this announcement.
When the Buddha said that these Bodhisattva-mahāsattva had obtained the great benefits of the Dharma, [the gods) in heaven rained mandārava-flowers and mahā-mandārava-flowers on the many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas sitting on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees. They also rained those flowers on [the two Buddhas:] Many-Treasures Tathāgata, who had passed away a long time ago, and Śākyamuni Buddha, both of whom were sitting on the lion-like seat in the stupa of the seven treasures. They also rained those flowers on the great Bodhisattvas’ and the four kinds of devotees. They also rained the fine powder of the incense of candana and aloes [on them). Heavenly drums automatically sounded wonderful and deep in the sky. [The gods] also rained thousands of heavenly garments and hung many necklaces made of pearls, mani gems or free-at-will gems over the nine quarters. They also burned priceless incense which was put in incense-burners of many treasures. The incense-burners automatically went around the great congregation, and the odor of the incense was offered to all the members of the congregation. Above each of the Buddhas [sitting under the trees), Bodhisattvas lined up vertically one upon another to the Heaven of Brahman, holding canopies and streamers. They praised the Buddhas, singing innumerable verses with their wonderful voices.
The Practice Appropriate to the Final Dharma Age
Two Buddhas, p194The first part of Chapter Seventeen is counted as part of the “one chapter and two halves” that constitute the “main exposition” section of the origin teaching. The remainder of the chapter (from “At that time the Buddha addressed bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya … ,” (245) speaks of the merits to be gained after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa and thus begins the “dissemination” section of the origin teaching. Nichiren drew on this chapter and the next to support his fundamental assertion that chanting Namu Myōhō-renge-kyō is the practice appropriate to the Final Dharma age and contains all possible merit — indeed, the whole of the Buddhist path — within itself.
Day 22
Day 22 covers all of Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits.
Having last month concluded Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits, we begin again with the merits received by those who heard of the duration of the Buddha’s life.
Thereupon the innumerable, asaṃkhya living beings in the great congregation, who had heard from the Buddha that the duration of his life was so many kalpas as previously stated, obtained great benefits.
At that time the World-Honored One said to Maitreya Bodhisattva-mahāsattva:
“Ajita! When I said that the duration of my life was so long, six hundred and eighty billion nayuta living beings, that is, the living beings as many as there are sands in the River Ganges, obtained the truth of birthlessness. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas numbering one thousand times the number of these living beings obtained the dharanis by which they could memorize all that they had heard. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of earth of a Sumeru-world obtained eloquence without hindrance. Another group of Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of earth of a Sumeru world obtained the dharanis by which they could memorize many hundreds of thousands of billions of repetitions of teachings. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of earth of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds obtained the faculty of turning the irrevocable wheel of the Dharma. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of earth of one million Sumeru-worlds obtained the faculty of turning the wheel of the pure Dharma. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of earth of one thousand Sumeru-worlds obtained the faculty of attaining Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi after eight rebirths. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas four times the number of the particles of earth of the four continents obtained the faculty of attaining Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi after four rebirths. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas three times the number of the particles of earth of the four continents obtained the faculty of attaining Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi after three rebirths. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas twice the number of the particles of earth of the four continents obtained the faculty of attaining Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi after two rebirths. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of earth of the four continents obtained the faculty of attaining Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi immediately after this life. Living beings as many as the particles of earth of eight Sumeru-worlds aspired for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.”
One of the great messages here, for me, is not the benefits received but the variety of those benefits. We are all equal but different.
Day 22
Day 22 covers all of Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits.
Having last month repeated in gāthās the merits of anyone who keeps this sūtra, we conclude Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits.
Anyone who respects the stupa-mausoleum,
Who is modest before bhikṣus,
Who gives up self-conceit,
Who always thinks of wisdom,
Who does not get angry when asked questions,
And who expounds the Dharma
According to the capacities of the questioners,
Will be able to obtain innumerable merits.When you see any teacher of the Dharma
Who has obtained these merits,
You should strew heavenly flowers to him,
Dress him in a heavenly garment,
Worship his feet with your head,
And think that he will become a Buddha.You should think
“He will go to the place of enlightenment before long.
He will be free from āsravas and free from causality.
He will benefit all gods and men.”Erect a stupa in the place
Where he expounded even a gāthā of this sūtra
While he was standing,
Walking, sitting or reclining!
Adorn the stupa beautifully,
And make various offerings to it!He is my son.
I will accept his place as mine.
I will be there.
I will walk, sit or recline there.
The Daily Dharma from July 4, 2019, offers this:
Anyone who respects the stūpa-mausoleum,
Who is modest before bhikṣus,
Who gives up self-conceit,
Who always thinks of wisdom,
Who does not get angry when asked questions,
And who expounds the Dharma
According to the capacities of the questioners,
Will be able to obtain innumerable merits.
The Buddha sings these verses to Maitreya Bodhisattva in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. The merits of which he speaks are not an indication that we are better than other beings, that we deserve more respect than others, or that we are closer to enlightenment. Merits are a measure of clarity. When we lose attachment and delusion, we gain merit. When we see things for what they are, we gain the wisdom to truly benefit others.
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Day 22
Day 22 covers all of Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits.
Having last month considered the merits of those who keep or copy the Lotus Sūtra, we repeat in gāthās the merits of anyone who keeps this sūtra.
Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
Anyone who keeps this sūtra
After my extinction
Will be able to obtain
Innumerable merits a previously stated.He should be considered
To have already made various offerings.
He should be considered
To have already built a stupa
With a yasti soaring up to the Heaven of Brahman,
The upper part of it being the smaller,
A stupa which was adorned with the seven treasures,
And with thousands of billions of jeweled bells
Sounding wonderful when fanned by the wind.
He should be considered to have already enshrined
My śarīras in this stupa,
And offered flowers, incense, necklaces, heavenly garments,
And various kinds of music to it,
And lit lamps of perfumed oil around it for innumerable kalpas.Anyone who keeps this sūtra in the evil world
In the age of the decline of my teachings
Should be considered
To have already made these offerings.Anyone who keeps this sūtra should be considered
To have already built a monastery
Made of the cow-head candana,
installed with thirty-two beautiful hall ,
Eight times as tall as the tala-tree,
Provided with delicious food and drink,
With wonderful garments and bedding,
With accommodations for one hundred thousand people,
With gardens, forests, and pools for bathing,
And with promenades and caves for the practice of dhyāna.
He should be considered lo have already offered
That monastery to me in my presence.Anyone who not only understands
This sūtra by faith
But also keeps, reads and recites it,
And copies it, or causes others to copy it,
And strews flowers, incense,
And incense powder to a copy of it,
And lights lamps of the perfumed oil
Of sumanas, campaka, and atimuktaka
Around the copy of this sūtra
And offers the light thus produced to it,
Will be able to obtain innumerable merits.
His merits will be as limitless as the sky.Needless to say, so will be the merits of the person
Who keeps this sūtra, gives alms, observes the precepts,
Practices patience, prefers dhyāna-concentrations,
And does not get angry or speak ill of others.
On my 21-day retreat encouraged by Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, we consider Day 12 of 21