One thing which we must keep in our mind and be grateful for is that our life has been secured for us by our ancestors from a long time ago. We have parents, our parents have their parents, and their parents have their parents too. In this way, our family tree has been extended to us, just like the light of a candle which has been relayed from a long, long time ago.
Summer WritingsQuotes
The Three Tracks
[T]he Three Tracks refer to the same aspects concerning objective reality, knowledge, and practice. These are the three major components in religious cultivation in Chih-i’s philosophy of Buddhism, equivalent to realization (Cheng), teaching (Chiao) and practice (Hsing) in traditional Buddhism respectively. Chih-i’s point is that, these three components are in fact imbedded in the nature of all sentient beings, by which Chih-i strongly argues that all beings are able to attain Buddhahood. The theory of the Three Tracks concludes the previous four categories of Subtlety that are concerned with religious cultivation and indicates that this religious cultivation can be accomplished by the power of self-practice. To further prove the significance of the Three Tracks in attaining Buddhahood, Chih-i correlates them with the ten categories of the triple dharma that are related to the attainment of Buddhahood, and by which the major concepts of Buddhahood are presented. With the fifth category of Subtlety, the process of attaining Buddhahood by the power of self-cultivation is completed. (Page 45)
The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of BuddhismThe Eight Sufferings
In the First Rolling of the Wheel of the Law it is said that birth is suffering, old age is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering, contact with those one hates is suffering, separation from those one loves is suffering, failure to satisfy one’s desires is suffering, and clinging to the five aggregates that compose the minds and bodies of all sentient beings is suffering. The above-mentioned sufferings of birth, old age, illness, and death are called the four sufferings, and when the other four (meeting those one hates, parting from those one loves, not being able to satisfy one’s desires, and clinging to the five aggregates) are added to these, the list is known as the eight sufferings. (Page 25)
The Beginnings of BuddhismDancing with Joy Each Day
Chapter III opens with one of my favorite descriptions of how I think we should approach our practice and life in general. When we can face life with great joy, when we can feel like dancing, then I think we have completed most of the objective of our practice. Chapter II ends with the Buddha saying that when you have great joy this is when you will be a Buddha. Right away we are told Shariputra has this feeling of joy so much that he felt like dancing.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraPerceiving the Mundane World
The all-embracing nature reflects Chih-i’s positive view towards the empirical world in the sense that the Ultimate Truth is embedded in all entities, underlining its unlimited pervasiveness. In the context that the Ultimate Truth pervades everything in the world, an entirely positive and unique view of perceiving the mundane world is presented. The mundane world as a place of birth and death is identified with the eternal realm of enlightenment. With this view, a negative outlook of the mundane world is transformed into a positive affirmation. Instead of the traditional view of negating the mundane world as something harmful that hinders one’s path to liberation, Chih-i’s all-embracing approach towards the world is rather revolutionary, and is epistemological and soteriological. (Page 39)
The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of BuddhismFaith and Deliberate Intention.
The Eye of the Law is an intellectual understanding of the Truth arrived at through an intellectual process. But, by nature, some people are stronger in terms of emotions and willpower than they are intellectually. Such people are said to be able to attain enlightenment by means of emotion and will. In short, there are two ways to become enlightened: intellectually through the truth of the Law—and obviously the attainment of the Eye of the Law—and through faith and deliberate intention.
Enlightenment by means of faith involves complete trust in the Buddha, the Law, and the Order—the Three Treasures—and observation of the holy precepts. Of course, fundamentally, a person cannot be a Buddhist at all without this trust. But it is especially important that such trust be unshakable in persons who strive to attain enlightenment by faith alone. Those who came into direct contact with Shakyamuni were no doubt easily moved to unconditional faith by his greatness. Others, who had been instructed by members of the Order, had probably been moved to trust as a consequence of the greatness of the Buddha and the wonderful nature of the Law.
A person who has openly expressed his reverence for the Buddha, the Law, and the Order is bound to abide by the five precepts: not to take life, not to take what is not given, not to indulge in wrong sexual activity, not to tell lies, and not to drink intoxicants. When faith has been firmly established, observance of these precepts becomes absolute. Such faith is said to be as fixed and indestructible as adamant and to represent initial enlightenment on the way to the highest enlightenment by means of the path of faith. It is a state of nonretrogression comparable to that of the person who has attained the Eye of the Law.
The Beginnings of BuddhismVerses of Eternity
The core of the Essential Section is the sixteenth chapter, “The Lifespan of the Tathagata.” In this chapter, the Buddha finally reveals the birthless and deathless nature of Buddhahood. The verse portion of the sixteenth chapter is especially revered because it is a simple and powerful summary of this teaching. These verses are known as the “Verses of Eternity.” When these verse are recited we are reminded of the compassionate presence of the Buddha, whose only concern is to enable us to attain Buddhahood just as he did.
Lotus SeedsPerfect and Harmonizing
How can Chih-i’s philosophy assume “perfect and harmonizing” (Yüan-jung)? Based on our study of the work Hsüan-i (Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra), we would like to propose that it is due to several characteristics of the Ultimate Truth demonstrated by Chih-i that corresponds to his own philosophy that his philosophy as perfect harmonization is established.
First, Chih-i associates the Ultimate Truth with the One Buddha-vehicle (that is advocated in the Lotus Sūtra). This is because the One Buddha vehicle stands out to be supreme in position with which one can attain Buddhahood. Its superiority legitimatizes itself to be the unifying force that embraces all different doctrines in Buddhism and converges all the other Three Vehicles (śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, and bodhisattva). Apparently, speaking in terms of the Buddha-vehicle, the Ultimate Truth bears all-embracing nature, and functions to reconcile differences.
Second, the Ultimate Truth is linked to the state of subtlety, seeing that it consists of three aspects (substance, position, and function), and the relationship between one and three is inconceivable. Chih-i defines this subtle state of inconceivability as neither the same nor different, with which the nature of flexibility of the Ultimate Truth is emphasized: “The one aspect that is discussed contains the three aspects; the three aspects that are discussed are actually one aspect. These aspects are not different from each other, neither are they besides one another nor are they the same. Therefore, they are called ‘subtle’.”
Third, considering that the Ultimate Truth is represented by the Buddha-vehicle, Chih-i regards the realization of the Ultimate Truth as the state of Buddhahood. This ultimate state is vehemently emphasized by Chih-i to be quiescent and illuminating. For instance, in his definition of the Subtlety of the Original Empathy and Response, Chih-i states that the Buddha abides at the state of quiescence and is able to illuminate sentient beings by responding to them in order to activate their inherent wisdom. Chih-i’s focus on the aspect of illumination unravels dynamic and functional nature of the Ultimate Truth.
Fourth, the Ultimate Truth is spoken of by Chih-i in terms of the Buddha-nature that is originally possessed by all sentient beings. The Buddha-nature as the Ultimate Truth indicates that Buddhahood can be universally attained by all beings, and that Buddhahood is the ultimate goal for religious salvation, whereas it does not exclude any being. On the other hand, the concept of Buddha-nature draws a complete scheme of religious path to liberation, for it includes the cause and effect of Buddhahood. The Buddha-nature that is embedded in all beings denotes the potentiality of beings as the cause for attaining Buddhahood. The manifestation of the Buddha-nature indicates the attainment of Buddhahood as the effect. Thus, by revealing universal liberation of all beings, the Buddha-nature as the Ultimate Truth is designated the feature of non-exclusiveness (i.e., comprehensiveness). The Buddha-nature as the Ultimate Truth that includes the cause for Buddhahood in the beginning and the effect of Buddhahood at the end of religious path formulates a feature of completeness and perfection. (Page 36-37)
The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of BuddhismThe Eye of the Law
In the Buddhist scriptures, discussion of the Eye of the Law is invariably accompanied by mention of the doctrine that whatever is subject to the condition of origination is subject also to the condition of cessation. This is a simplified expression of the Law of Causation to the effect that suffering, for example, which must have a cause, can be eliminated by the removal of that cause. The Eye of the Law is the pure and spotless eye that perceives the veracity of the Law of Causation.
The Beginnings of BuddhismThe Six Perfections
The Six Perfections are considered the bodhisattva way of practice. They are generosity, the performance of service to others in both a spiritual and material sense; morality, living an ethical life by avoiding the taking of life, stealing, indulgence in harmful sexual activity, lying, or becoming intoxicated with alcohol or drugs; patience,showing patience in dealing with obstacles and opposition from others; endeavor, making the best effort one can; concentration, focusing the heart and mind on the task at hand; and wisdom, which is more than simple knowledge or understanding. The Buddha’s realization of the Truth was wisdom. With this wisdom, the Buddha’s person and the Truth are one: subjective character and objective truth merge and are unified.
Awakening to the Lotus