Quotes

beginning

The Law of Causation

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The Law of Causation, which is perfectly sound from the rational, ethical, and religious viewpoints and which has a universal validity enabling it to withstand any criticism, was formulated as a result of examination and criticism of all the other imperfect and irrational systems in India in Shakyamuni’s time. The Law of Causation teaches both the theoretical and practical application of the idea that there is no immortal, immutable self or soul.

The Law had never been taught in India before. It is the characteristic that sets Buddhism apart from other philosophies and religions. But though he discovered it, Shakyamuni did not create it.

This Law is an absolute truth—recognizable as true by all peoples, in all places, and at all times—existing eternally independent of the appearance in the world of a Tathagata (a term for a Buddha, Tathagata means one who has come the full Way, who has reached the truth and come to declare it). Shakyamuni merely discovered and taught the Law. (Page 29-30)

The Beginnings of Buddhism

History of Japanese Religion

The Middle Way

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Thus the philosophy of Tendai establishes a synthesis, called the Middle Way, between the two extremes of common-sense realism and transcendental idealism, in repudiating either the former position that a particular being is a reality in itself and by itself, and the latter conception of reality amounting to the denial of anything but the absolute and transcendental. The Middle Way is at the same time the all-embracing One Road (Eka-yāna), because it presupposes the basic unity of Buddha and all other beings, and emphasizes the possibility, nay necessity, of raising all beings to the dignity of Buddha himself. The historical Buddha was, according to this conception, a manifestation of the universal and primordial Buddha-nature for the sake of inducing all beings to the full realization of their own real nature or metaphysical entity identical with that of Buddha himself.

History of Japanese Religion

Profound

The Annotation for Chih-i ‘s Original Thought

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A tradition of expressing one’s thought by commenting on the Confucian or Taoist classics was prominent especially throughout this period. A whole different outlook was presented through various kinds of interpretations of Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu which was a typical form of the Hsüan-hsüeh [Neo-Taoism] discourse during the Wei and Chin as well as during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Apparently, Chih-i has followed this tradition as well, such as in the case of his two commentaries on the Lotus Sūtra. However, his work Hsüan-i (Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra) is more than just a commentary, rather, it is the expression of his own system of thought. Andō Toshio highly values Chih-i’s approach. He goes so far as to say:

“If the three great works of T’ien-t’ai are supposed to be the commentaries on the Lotus Sūtra, one may well consider the Lotus Sūtra as the annotation for Chih-i ‘s original thought.”

The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of Buddhism


beginning

The Trips Through the Four Gates

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The trips through the four gates symbolize the state of mind about which Shakyamuni later spoke in the following way:

“Though I was young and was living a life of luxury, I was often obsessed with the thought that many people pay no heed to the aging, illness, and death of others. They consider the affairs of outsiders none of their business and, failing to apply the experiences of others to themselves, refuse to realize that they too must grow old, fall ill, and die. But I did relate the aging, illness, and death of others to myself, and this caused me to suffer and be ashamed and to abandon pride in vigorous youth, health, and life.”

The Beginnings of Buddhism

Profound

Ultimate Truth

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It should be noted that the term Shih-hsiang (True Mark) was originally used by Kumārajiva in his translation of the Lotus Sūtra. This term is equivalent to the Dharma-nature, i.e., true nature of entities (Skt., dharmatā; Ch., Fa-hsing) or the Dharma-realm, i.e., the realm of the ultimate or true reality (Skt., dharmadhātu; Ch., Fa-chieh) and so forth. The term specifically stands for the truth of dependent origination (Skt., pratītyasamutpāda; Ch., Yüan-ch’i). What Shih-hsiang represents is the principle, and this principle denotes the true form of all things as they are, the true original nature, true reality, real aspect, and bears the characteristics of being unchanging, indestructible, immanent and permanent. Therefore, in Chih-i’s philosophy, the immanent nature of the Ultimate Truth is taken as the substance the underlying principle of all things, which embraces, diminishes all differences and affirms all existing things, and is the comprehensive and affirmative view of reality in terms of the Middle Way. The implementation of this feature of non-distinction and being all-embracing is the adherence to the One Buddha-vehicle as the single reality of the teaching of the Buddha. The unchanging, indestructible and permanent nature of the Ultimate Truth is viewed by Chih-i as the Buddha-nature inherent in all sentient beings. The Ultimate Truth as the realm of true reality is characterized by Chih-i in terms of the Ten Suchnesses and the Ten Dharma-realms. Due to the richness the term Shih-hsiang (Ultimate Truth) denotes, it features the core of Chih-i’s thought: everything can be concluded as the expression and revelation of the Ultimate Truth, and the Ultimate Truth is the substance and principle of all things.

The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of Buddhism


Lotus World

The Three Virtues of the Eternal Buddha

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The Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha also displays the three virtues of parent, teacher, and sovereign of all who live in this Saha world. Which is to say, the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha nourishes, teaches, and protects humanity through the power of the Wonderful Dharma. This is because faith in the Lotus Sutra enables our wisdom to mature, opens our eyes to the truth, and frees us of suffering.

Lotus World: An Illustrated Guide to the Gohonzon

Summer Writings

Understanding Gratitude Religiously

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All Buddhist events are based on the idea of gratitude, including the week of O-Higan held twice a year. There are two meanings: One is to express thanks to our ancestors and to understand how important life is; the other is to obtain a peaceful mind through Buddhist practices. Expressing thanks to one’s ancestors means to understand gratitude religiously. As a result, we hold a service to pray for our ancestors, but sometimes in today’s busy society, we become lazy and forget to pray for them.

Nichiren Shonin said in one of his letters, “Although parents raised ten children with their love, the grownup children would not take care of their mother. Though all wives want to sleep with a warm husband, there is no wife who wants to keep her mother’s cold feet warm. Even if a person takes care of his parents well when they are alive, and after the parents passing he faithfully holds Memorial Services properly for three years, after another ten years no one takes care of his parents anymore.” (Gyobu Saemon-no-jo Nyobo Gohenji)

Summer Writings

Profound

Arising and Abandoning

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Arising and abandoning are the two aspects of evaluating various levels of religious attainment as positions that belong to the Four Teachings respectively. According to Chih-i, the positions that belong to the three teachings (Tripiṭaka, Common, and Separate) are coarse, seeing that the doors of these teachings are expedient means or contain expediency. This proposes that truth expounded by the Buddha in these teachings is relative, which functions to guide beings to eventually reach the Ultimate Truth. The positions of the Perfect Teaching are considered to be subtle, for the door of the Perfect Teaching directly reveals the Ultimate Truth without having to employ expedient means as the Relative Truth. Therefore, “arising of positions” (Wei-hsing) is to confirm the legitimacy of various positions regardless of whether they are coarse or subtle, from the viewpoint that all of them are beneficial in terms of suiting different abilities of sentient beings. On the other hand, the abandonment of these tentative positions (Wei-fei) is necessary for the arising of new positions. Attainment arises according to conditions. Along with the arising of new conditions, new positions are produced, with which old positions must be abandoned. With regard to the Four Teachings, Chih-i argues that the positions of the Tripiṭaka, the Common, and the Separate Teachings must be abandoned. This is because, once they have fulfilled their roles as tentative positions, i.e., after one has progressed from these three teachings to the Perfect Teaching, and attained the ultimate position of the Perfect Teaching, these tentative positions are no longer needed. Moreover, at the moment when these tentative positions hinder one’s attainment of the ultimate position on the path of religious practice, they must be abolished too. (Volume 1, Page 60)
The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of Buddhism


beginning

The Starting Point of Buddhism

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Because he had proved that neither meditation nor ascetic austerities enabled one to attain the ideal, Śākyamuni saw that no other method that existed at the time could lead to his goal. In reflecting on this, the prince developed three comparisons: transferring light ignited with a fire stick to waterlogged fresh wood, transferring light ignited with a fire stick to ordinary fresh wood, and igniting fire with a fire stick on dry wood. Waterlogged and fresh wood symbolize the heart saturated with desires and worldly attachments. Dry wood symbolizes a heart in which there is no longer desire or attachment to worldly things. The act of igniting fire by means of a fire stick represents diligent effort. The most assiduous effort in ascetic austerities cannot bring enlightenment to a heart saturated with desires and attachments, just as fire struck by means of the fire stick at the cost of great effort cannot be transferred to waterlogged or fresh wood. But since fire can be struck readily by diligent effort with the fire stick on dry wood, so a heart that has already been drained of desires and attachments by equally diligent spiritual effort can attain the ideal goal.

When he understood this, Śākyamuni saw that both meditation practice and ascetic austerities were mistaken. After recovering his physical strength, he prepared a seat with soft grass under an assattha, or bo, tree not far from the town of Gaya and, making a vow not to rise until he attained enlightenment, even if it meant death, sat in meditation.

In the first hours of the night of his enlightenment (the hours from six till ten), he attained wisdom about all past things. In the middle hours (from ten until two in the morning), he attained wisdom about all future things. Then in the final hours (from two until six in the morning), he was freed of all bondage and attained wisdom without illusion. He became a Buddha. And this was the starting point of Buddhism. (Page 26-27)

The Beginnings of Buddhism

Lecture on Lotus Sutra

The Cycle of Judgment and Intolerance

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We can easily be trapped in a cycle of judgment and intolerance and even prejudice. One of the easiest symptoms that surfaces which we can use to check in with ourselves is how easy do we justify our own correctness, and our own goodness and even use that as a measure of comparison. It’s just a thought.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra