It is said that in the early part of the night of his enlightenment Shakyamuni attained the first of the three types of superior wisdom: remembrance of one’s former existences, as well as those of others. In the middle part of the night, he attained insight into the future and the eye capable of seeing everything. In the last part of the night he attained the most important wisdom: perfect freedom enabling him to overcome all passions and thus to reach supreme enlightenment. These three types of superior wisdom constitute the last of the six supernatural powers of saving sentient beings attributed to Shakyamuni and to those of his disciples who attained ultimate enlightenment in the same manner as he. Though Shakyamuni was unsurpassed in this respect, each of his disciples had his special ability. For instance, Maudgalyayana is said to have excelled in perfect freedom of activity, whereas Anuruddha was famous for eyes capable of seeing everything. (Page 164)
The Beginnings of BuddhismQuotes
Devadatta’s Example
Among the figures inscribed upon the Mandala there is that of Devadatta, of whom we have already spoken as the bitterest enemy of Sakyamuni. Now Devadatta is included in the Mandala as the representative of infernal beings. He fell into the infernal regions through having given rein to anger and fury. But even he was enabled to discard illusions and confusions, and attain to the reality which lay behind his anger and his fury – that is, the Truth. He now became Tenno Buddha without losing his infernal form. Anger and fury, in the first instance, produced the infernal world; but afterwards, as manifestations of the hidden reality behind, they produced the state of Buddhahood. And this resulted simply from the control exercised over them by Devadatta. And if it was thus with Devadatta, why should it be different with us?
Doctrines of Nichiren (1893)Dancing With Joy
The Lotus Sutra mentions dancing as both an expression of joy as well as something to be offered in appreciation for the Dharma. I was thinking about this, as I especially like the images that come to mind when it talks about people dancing with great joy.
When a person dances are they tying to get somewhere? There isn’t really a destination in mind for the purpose of dancing. The goal of dancing isn’t to get from this place to the next. When we dance it is the joy of the steps. It is the pleasure even possibly from not needing to go anywhere but to just enjoy the process.
Dancing as an expression of joy I think is more joyful if we just enjoy the process. And as an expression of joy it can also be an expression of appreciation for the joy in our lives and for the Dharma. An expression of appreciation then becomes gratitude arising from joy.
Our practice is much like dancing in many ways. Our practice while certainly directed towards enlightenment is most importantly about the steps along the way and the joy of those steps, which actually manifest in the dance of and not to enlightenment.
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1Confirming the Lotus Sūtra Contains the Correct Substance
Chih-i remarks that it is easy to understand the destruction of the four attachments, but not in the case of breaking through the realization of the three sages. Thus, he gives an explanation of how these three views should be refuted. To refute the first extreme view of “emptiness only,” the Buddha uses the doctrine “emptiness and existence,” indicating that emptiness does not mean nothingness. The second view “emptiness only and not emptiness only” recognizes that things are conventionally existent though they are fundamentally empty (which is obviously the perception that goes a step further than the former one). However, this second view should still be refuted since it differentiates emptiness from existence. For this purpose, the doctrine of “not two things” is employed to declare that the emptiness and the provisional existence are not two separate things. In order to obtain the Middle Way of making no distinction of these two aspects, this third view abandons these two aspects, since either of them is an extreme view. The phrase that represents this Middle Way is “not emptiness only.” Nevertheless, this Middle Way is questionable, as it is obtained through abandoning either the view of emptiness or the view of existence. In order to refute this third view, the doctrine of “not different” is introduced, revealing the Middle Way of the Perfect Teaching, which is not the transcendence to emptiness and existence. For Chih-i, going beyond things is still a deliberate act of differentiation, and is far from the Ultimate Truth. The alternative view that is offered by Chih-i is the Middle Way of the Perfect Teaching, which is not realized by negating the two sides, but by affirming the identity of the two sides. This Middle Way of the Perfect Teaching is what the substance of the Lotus Sūtra embodies, and this substance dissolves differences of the truths of the three sages. Through the principle of identification, this Middle Way encompasses all dharmas (entities), because “all mundane affairs are not a violation of the Ultimate Truth. Every color and fragrance is none but the Middle Way.” Therefore, these three truths are integrated in the Lotus Sūtra. This functional aspect of the substance that dissolves differences confirms that the Lotus Sūtra contains the correct substance. (Vol.2, Page 12-14)
The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of BuddhismBuddhist Ethical Practice
If the “Instruction of the Seven Buddhas” is interpreted not as a commandment but as a statement, then Buddhist ethical morality is seen to be one of joy and courage. Instead of following orders or unwillingly obeying dictates of conscience, the Buddhist must gradually grow to the point where perpetrating evil is impossible for him, even under conditions in which the evil act might seem seductive.
… The Japanese Buddhist sects of the Kamakura period imposed no commandments and orders because, by becoming a truly faithful member of one of them, the person—if he was sincere, of course—was thought to be manifesting the desire to do only good. It was thought unnecessary to command such people to avoid evil.
Primitive Buddhism, in the form of the Pali version of the “Instruction of the Seven Buddhas” taught the same thing—that is, one must purify one’s own mind. This instruction rests on the premise of doing no evil and perpetrating good.
Purification of the mind means total entrustment to the Three Treasures—the Buddha, the Law, and the Order. A person who has entrusted himself to them is free of all trace of egoistic opinion and desire. He is selfless in relation to the Buddha and, as he perseveres in faith, becomes selfless in relation to all other people, animals, and his entire environment. Freed of personal opinions and desires, he has no egocentric ideas and does not act in an egocentric way. This means that the walls and barriers between him and other creatures, who inevitably react favorably to his attitude, collapse. He is able to become one with all beings. This is one of the major goals of Buddhism. Since it promotes the attainment of this goal, the “Instruction of the Seven Buddhas” is not only a major Buddhist teaching but also the core of Buddhist ethical practice. (Page 161-162)
The Beginnings of BuddhismFaith and Morality
Thus, faith means the communion of our soul with the Buddha-soul in its triune nature, our participation in his dignity and work. In other words, communion in faith presupposes a basic unity existing between the worshipper and the worshipped. One who realizes this fundamental oneness of our being with that of Buddha cannot but proceed to save others by leading them along the same pathway of Buddhist enlightenment. This exertion is moral life, the life of the Bodhisattva, the Buddha-to-be. Faith is perfected by moral life, as morality is based on faith.
History of Japanese ReligionDestroying the Four Attachments
Chih-i believes that the Ultimate Truth is not static, but functions to
“horizontally destroy four attachments or four distortions (Ch., Ssu-tao; Skt., viparyāsacatuska) (i.e. mistaking empirical world as constancy, bliss, selfhood, and purity) of an ignorant man, and vertically refute the realization of the sages of the Tripiṭaka, Common, and Separate Teachings.” Since the four illusions of attachments of an ignorant man belong to the worldly phenomena, they are looked at from a wide-ranging view as being horizontal and profane. From this horizontal level of the profane, visually speaking, a vertical dimension arises, representing the transcendental level. Various truths that are realized by the three sages are three different levels of perception in an ascending order, rendering the dimension of height (i.e., vertical). The truth of the Two Vehicles (śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha) of the Tripiṭaka Teaching is “emptiness only” (Tan-k’ung), since these Two Vehicles can only view things as empty from the perspective of the illusory nature of things, and cannot see the provisional existence. The truth of the bodhisattva of the Common Teaching is “emptiness only and not emptiness only” (Tan-k’ung Pit-tan-k’ung), for they go one step further and see that although things are illusory and thus fundamentally empty, this illusion also indicates illusory existence. This illusory existence renders things conventionally not empty. The truth of the bodhisattva of the Separate Teaching is “not emptiness only” (Pu-tan-k’ung), and represents the view of the Middle Way. This Middle Way is free of the former two views that adhere to either emptiness or illusory existence (Ch’u-erh-pien Chung). (Vol.2, Page 12-13)
Free and Autonomously Chosen Ethical Morality
As I have said, the “Instruction of the Seven Buddhas” is a compendium of Buddhist teachings on practical faith. To understand it accurately, it is important to take into consideration the discrepancy between the Chinese translation, which is the version that passed into Japan, and the original Pali version. In Chinese, the stanza is couched in the imperative: Commit no evil; do all that is good; purify your mind; this is the teaching of all the Buddhas. The Pali version (Dhammapada 183), on the other hand, is not in the imperative mode: To do no evil, to do all good, and to purify one’s own mind are the teachings of all the Buddhas. In the Chinese reading, the teaching is no more than ordinary morality. In the Pali, however, it is a lofty teaching of free and autonomously chosen ethical morality. (Page 160-161)
The Beginnings of BuddhismChih-i’s Middle Way
Chih-i’s Middle Way is more concerned with the legacy of the doctrine of the Mean (Chung-yung) related to harmony. Harmony means that all things are integrated and interactively existent. Li Honglei states that the essence of harmony refers to various elements which exist simultaneously and complement each other. Harmony is what the Mean strives to reach: “holding the middle in order to reach harmony” (Chih-chung I-chih-ho). The concept of the Mean in Han Confucianism … is enriched with a new perspective, which concerns the oneness as the centralizing force of government. If we look at the concept of the Middle Way in Chih-i ‘s system, it signifies these two aspects as well. On the one hand, the Middle Way as the method of perceiving truth is to synthesize two extreme views of holding onto either emptiness or the provisional existence. This aspect in fact functions as the force of reconciling differences, whereby everything is acknowledged as valid in its relation to other things, and they can harmoniously exist complimenting each other. From this indication of the Middle Way, we discern that the way of looking at all existing things as a harmonious unity underlines Chinese episteme. On the other hand, the Middle Way as the principle represents the Ultimate Truth of Buddhahood. That is, all entities or dharmas are embraced by this One Truth. This is to advocate the oneness as the supremacy. Although all things are affirmed as valid, the superiority of the oneness cannot be denied, for not only the One Ultimate Truth (I-shih-ti) is the only reality that all things share, but also the ultimate goal of Buddhahood is to gain insight into this reality. (Page 162)
The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of BuddhismPractical Faith
Since ordinary people are often incapable of comprehending profound doctrines, it is desirable to establish a minimum of essential theory that anyone can understand and then to help that understanding develop gradually. In his own time, Shakyamuni adjusted his teachings to the personalities of his audiences and employed expedient faith and expedient teachings centered on actual practice. It is important to remember that all of the various Buddhist doctrines are in effect examinations of the same basic issues from different viewpoints and are intimately related to practical faith. (Page 160)
The Beginnings of Buddhism