Tag Archives: LS25

LS32

Day 25

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Day 25 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered the reaction when Bodhisattva Never-Despising told people they would become Buddhas, we learn that Never-Despising Bodhisattva was Śākyamuni in a past life.

“Great-Power-Obtainer! What do you think of this? The Never-Despising Bodhisattva at that time was no one but myself. If I had not kept, read or recited this sūtra or expounded it to others in my previous existence, I should not have been able to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi so quickly. Because I kept, read and recited this sūtra, and expounded it to others under those past Buddhas, I attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi quickly.

“Great-Power-Obtainer! The four kinds of devotees: the bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās, and upāsikās at that time failed to meet the Buddha, hear the Dharma, and see the Saṃgha for twenty thousand million kalpas because they abused me with anger. They suffered much in the Avici Hell for one thousand kalpas. Having expiated their sin in this way, they met [me, who was] Never-Despising Bodhisattva again, and were led into the Way to Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

“Great-Power-Obtainer! What do you think of this? The four kinds of devotees who always abused [me, who was] that Bodhisattva at that time are now present here in this congregation in the persons of the five hundred Bodhisattvas including Bhadrapala, the five hundred bhikṣunīs including Lion-Moon, and the five hundred upāsakās including Thinking-Of-Buddha. Now they do not falter in seeking Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

“Great-Power-Obtainer, know this! This Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma benefits Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, and causes them to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Therefore, they should keep, read, recite, expound and copy this sūtra after my extinction.”

See A Ladder By Which We Can Climb To The Buddha’s Abode Above The Clouds

LS32, d23b, d25b, b4today

A Ladder By Which We Can Climb To The Buddha’s Abode Above The Clouds

In [Chapter 19], the Buddha preached the five kinds of practices of preachers and referred to the vast and boundless merits that can be obtained from such practices. But the ordinary person will naturally be discouraged by the personal discipline required, thinking, “I cannot possibly fulfill the five kinds of practices of preachers.” Perhaps he will opportunistically think, “Well, I will try to do the five kinds of practices for form’s sake.” Unfortunately, ordinary people’s minds operate at this level.

Sakyamuni Buddha could completely perceive the minds of those who listened to his teachings. Therefore, we can guess why he completely changed his preaching method in chapter 20. While telling of his own past life, he wished to make people realize again three important teachings. The first is that to practice thoroughly even only a single kind of good deed is indeed sacred, and to do so is the first step toward salvation. The second is that however many formalities we may learn and practice, there is no essential worth in such learning or practice; the creation of a valid human life consists in our practice of even only a single kind of good deed with devotion and earnest perseverance. The third is that the bodhisattva practice originates with revering others, that is, with our recognizing the buddha-nature of all people. If we try to save others without recognizing their buddha-nature, we only perform empty and formal deeds. True salvation lies in our disclosing of and respect for the buddha-nature innate in others.

The Buddha illustrated these three important teachings in the story of the humanistic bhikṣu Never Despise. Moreover, he declared that Never Despise was the Buddha himself in a former existence. His declaration causes us to feel that the Buddha, who seemed far distant from us, has suddenly approached us. At the same time, we can sense that if we follow the path taken by the Bodhisattva Never Despise, we can surely attain the perfection of our own characters. The Buddha had seemed to exist somewhere above the clouds, far separated from us. However, when he shows us the Bodhisattva Never Despise as himself in a former life, a man who was friendly and humanistic, we feel as if we have found a ladder by which we can climb up to the Buddha’s abode above the clouds. Thus the Buddha gives us great encouragement. We are heartened and can say to ourselves, “There is nothing impossible about the bodhisattva practice. We just begin with following the example of the Bodhisattva Never Despise.” In this sense, chapter 20 has a special place in the concluding part of the Law of Origin — indeed, in the Lotus Sutra as a whole. Many important teachings are included in the story of the Bodhisattva Never Despise.

Buddhism for Today, p 309-310
stories, LS32, d26b

A Kind of Purification

What we see in the case of Medicine King Bodhisattva is a kind of purification that is a masking. This might mean, for example, that rather than trying to pretend to ourselves that we are purely selfless, we need to recognize that we are actually interested in what we are doing and even expect to gain from it in some way. If we can recognize our own interest in everything we do, we might be able to avoid the kind of purely self-serving activity, selfishness, and self-centeredness that gets in the way of actually being helpful to others. Similarly, if we can recognize our own anger and the reasons for it, we need not express it in ways that lead others to become angry. We can wear the perfume of a smile!

Such purification is, of course, itself both for our benefit and for the benefit of the Buddha. By being aware of our desires and anger and confusions, and, at the same time, purifying ourselves of them with perfume, we can improve both our own lives and the lives of others.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p249-250
LS32

Day 25

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Day 25 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month met a bhikṣu called Never-Despising, we consider the reaction when Bodhisattva Never-Despising told people they would become Buddhas.

“When he said this, people would strike him with a stick, a piece of wood, a piece of tile or a stone. He would run away to a distance, and say in a loud voice from afar, ‘I do not despise you. You will become Buddhas.’ Because he always said this, he was called Never-Despising by the arrogant bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās and upāsikās. When he was about to pass away, he heard [from a voice] in the sky the twenty thousand billion gāthās of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, which had been expounded by the Powerful-Voice-King Buddha. Having kept all these gāthās, he was able to have his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind purified as previously stated. Having his six sense-organs purified, he was able to prolong his life for two hundred billion nayuta more years. He expounded this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to many people [in his prolonged life]. The arrogant bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās and upāsikās, that is, the four kinds of devotees who had abused him and caused him to be called Never-Despising, saw that he had obtained great supernatural powers, the power of eloquence, and the great power of good tranquility. Having seen all this, and having heard the Dharma from him, they took faith in him, and followed him.

“This Bodhisattva also taught thousands of billions of living beings, and led them into the Way to Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. After the end of his prolonged life, he was able to meet two hundred thousand million Buddhas, all of them being called Sun-Moon-Light. He also expounded the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma under them. After that, he was able to meet two hundred thousand million Buddhas, all of them being called Cloud-Freedom-Light-King. He also kept, read and recited this sūtra, and expounded it to the four kinds of devotees under those Buddhas so that he was able to have his natural eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind purified and to become fearless in expounding the Dharma to the four kinds of devotees.

“Great-Power-Obtainer! This Never-Despising Bodhisattva-mahāsattva made offerings to those Buddhas, respected them, honored them, praised them, and planted the roots of good. After that, he was able to meet thousands of billions of Buddhas. He also expounded this sūtra under those Buddhas. By the merits he had accumulated in this way, he was able to become a Buddha.

See Respecting the Bodhisattva in Everyone We Meet

stories, LS32, d25b

Respecting the Bodhisattva in Everyone We Meet

It is significant that Never Disrespectful Bodhisattva tells everyone he meets, including those who are arrogant, angry, disrespectful, and mean-spirited, that they are bodhisattvas. Often in Buddhism, bodhisattvas are thought to be extremely high in rank, second only to buddhas. In typical Buddhist art this is expressed by showing bodhisattvas dressed in the fine clothes and wearing the jewelry of princes. But here we are to understand that everyone, including very ordinary people, is a bodhisattva. Though his appearance is not described, it is easy to imagine Never Disrespectful Bodhisattva himself as an ordinary monk. Of course we should respect great bodhisattvas and great people, but part of the message of this story is that there is a bodhisattva to be respected in everyone we meet.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p218-219
LS32

Day 25

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Day 25 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month met the Buddha Powerful-Voice-King, we meet a bhikṣu called Never-Despising.

“There lived arrogant bhikṣus in the age of the counterfeit of the right teachings of the first Powerful-Voice-King Tathāgata, that is, after the end of the age of his right teachings which had come immediately after his extinction. [Those arrogant bhikṣus] were powerful. At that time there lived a Bodhisattva called Never-Despising. He took the form of a bhikṣu.

“Great-Power-Obtainer! Why was this bhikṣu called Never-Despising? It was because, every time he saw bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās or upāsikās, he bowed to them and praised them, saying, ‘I respect you deeply. I do not despise you. Why is that? It is because you will be able to practice the Way of Bodhisattvas and become Buddhas.’

“He did not read or recite sūtras. He only bowed to the four kinds of devotees. When he saw them in the distance, he went to them on purpose, bowed to them, and praised them, saying, ‘I do not despise you because you can become Buddhas.’

“Some of the four kinds of devotees had impure minds. They got angry, spoke ill of him and abused him, saying, ‘Where did this ignorant bhikṣu come from? He says that he does not despise us and assures us that we will become Buddhas. We do not need such a false assurance of our future Buddhahood.’ Although he was abused like this for many years, he did not get angry. He always said to them, ‘You will become Buddhas.’

See The Importance of Embodying the Dharma

stories, LS32, d25b

The Importance of Embodying the Dharma

Over and over again in the Dharma Flower Sutra we are encouraged to “receive, embrace, read, recite, copy, teach, and practice” the Dharma Flower Sutra. Thus, the fact that Never Disrespectful Bodhisattva did not read or recite sutras is quite interesting. I think it is an expression of the general idea in the Dharma Flower Sutra that, while various practices are very important, what is even more important is how one lives one’s life in relation to others. The references to bodhisattvas who do not follow normal monastic practices, including reading and recitation of sutras, but still become fully awakened buddhas indicates that putting the Dharma into one’s daily life by respecting others, and in this way embodying the Dharma, is more important than formal practices such as reading and recitation.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p216-217
LS32

Day 25

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Day 25 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month concluded today’s portion of Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, we return to Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva and meet the Buddha Powerful-Voice-King.

Thereupon the Buddha said to Great-Power-Obtainer Bodhisattva-mahāsattva:
“Know this! Anyone who speaks ill of or abuses or slanders the bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās or upāsikās who keep the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, will incur the retributions previously stated. Anyone [who keeps this sūtra] will be able to have his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind purified, that is to say, to obtain the merits as stated in the previous chapter.

“Great-Power-Obtainer! Innumerable, limitless, inconceivable, asaṃkhya kalpas ago, there lived a Buddha called Powerful-Voice-King, 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 kalpa in which he lived was called Free-From-Decay; and his world, Great-Achievement. Powerful-Voice-King Buddha expounded the Dharma to the gods, men and asuras of his world. To those who were seeking Śrāvakahood, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the four truths, saved them from birth, old age, disease and death, and caused them to attain Nirvana. To those who were seeking Pratyekabuddhahood, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the twelve causes. To the Bodhisattvas who were seeking Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the six paramitas, and caused them to obtain the wisdom of the Buddha.

“Great-Power-Obtainer! The duration of the life of Powerful-Voice-King Buddha was forty billion nayuta kalpas, that is, as many kalpas as there are sands in the River Ganges. His right teachings were preserved for as many kalpas as the particles of dust of the Jambudvipa. The counterfeit of his right teachings was preserved for as many kalpas as the particles of dust of the four continents. The Buddha benefited all living being and then passed away. After [the two ages:] the age of his right teaching and the age of their counterfeit, there appeared in that world another Buddha also called Powerful-Voice-King, 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. After him, the Buddhas of the same name appeared one after another, two billion altogether.

See Taking Personally the Three Phases of the Dharma

stories, LS32, d5b, d9b, d10b, d13b, d14b, d18b, d19b, d25b

Taking Personally the Three Phases of the Dharma

We can, of course, understand the three phases [of the Dharma] not as an inevitable sequence of periods of time, but as existential phases of our own lives. There will be times when the Dharma can be said to be truly alive in us, times when our practice is more like putting on a show and has little depth, and times when the life of the Dharma in us is in serious decline. But there is no inevitable sequence here. There is no reason, for example, why a period of true Dharma cannot follow a period of merely formal Dharma. And there is no reason to assume that a period has to be completed once it has been entered. We might lapse into a period of decline, but with the proper influences and circumstances we could emerge from it into a more vital phase of true Dharma. A coming evil age is mentioned several times in the Dharma Flower Sutra, but while living in an evil age, or an evil period of our own lives, makes teaching the Dharma difficult, even extremely difficult, nowhere does the Dharma Flower Sutra suggest that it is impossible to teach or practice true Dharma.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p214
LS32

Day 25

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Day 25 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month heard the vow of the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of dust of one thousand worlds who sprang up from underground, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, with the reaction of the gods in the skies [of the worlds of the ten quarters.

At that time the gods in the skies [of the worlds of the ten quarters] said loudly:

“There is a world called Sahā beyond a distance of many hundreds of thousands of billions of asaṃkhyas of worlds. In that world lives a Buddha called Śākyamuni. He is now expounding to Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas a sūtra of the Great Vehicle, called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’ Rejoice from the bottom of your hearts! Bow and make offerings to Śākyamuni Buddha!”

Having heard their voice from the skies, the living beings of those worlds joined their hands together towards the Sahā World, and said, “Namah Sakyamunaye Buddhaya, namah Sakyamunaye Buddhaya.” Then they strewed various flowers, various kinds of incense, various necklaces, streamers, canopies, personal ornaments, treasures, and other wonderful things to the Sahā-World from afar.

The strewn things came from the worlds of the ten quarters like gathering clouds and changed into a jeweled awning over the Sahā-World. The awning extended over the Buddhas staying in this world. At that time the worlds of the ten quarters became passable through each other without hindrance as if they had been a single Buddha-world.

See 10 Divine Powers