Category: 100 Days of Study

According to Buddhist sūtras, the Buddha’s tongue is as grand as to cover His whole face, as expansive as to cover the triple thousand worlds, and as lengthy as to reach the Summit Heaven in the Region of Form. It is a mark of physical excellence showing that the Buddha has never uttered a false word ever since the eternal past. Therefore, it is preached in a certain sūtra, “There exists no falsehood in the words of the Buddha even if Mt. Sumeru crumbles or if the earth is overturned.” This means that there is never a mistake in the words of the Buddha even if the sun rises in the west or the ebb and flow of the tide in an ocean stop, does it not? Moreover, the superiority of the Lotus Sūtra over various other sūtras has been confirmed by the words of the Buddha of Many Treasures, and the long tongues of other Buddhas touching the Brahma Heaven. There must not be any mistake in the sūtra, not even one written character or one stroke of a character.

Ueno-dono Gohenji, Reply to Lord Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 4

Coming from a non-Buddhist upbringing, this concept that a long tongue signifies truthfulness fascinates me.

In ancient China a man called Hung-yen, a retainer of the Duke of Yee of Wei state, cut open his own stomach and inserted his slain lord’s liver inside him before he died. Similarly, a man called Yü-jang tried to repay his indebtedness to his Lord Chih-pai by swallowing a sword and killing himself. These were cases in the secular world of repaying a minor debt of kindness, to what lengths should one go to repay the debt to the Buddha?

The reason why we continue to transmigrate through the six lower realms without attaining Buddhahood from the eternal past of innumerable kalpa (aeons) till today is that we fail to give up our lives for the sake of the Lotus Sūtra. Gladly Seen Bodhisattva burned himself for 1,200 years as a votive light to the Sun Moon Pure Bright Virtue Buddha and burned his arms for 72,000 years to the Lotus Sūtra. He is Medicine King Bodhisattva today. Never Despising Bodhisattva was abused, disparaged, beaten with sticks and rubble was thrown at him for many kalpa (aeons) in order to disseminate the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra. Did he not become Śākyamuni Buddha in a future existence? Therefore, the way of practicing the sūtra leading to Buddhahood differs according to the times.

Inchinosawa Nyūdō Gosho, A Letter to Lay Priest Ichinosawa, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Pages 161-162

And if “the way of practicing the sūtra leading to Buddhahood differs according to the times,” does it differ today? Something to ponder, but I return to what I wrote on Day 22:

I hold as without question that the Lotus Sūtra is the highest teaching of the Buddha and it presents the Dharma best suited for this declining age. As Nichiren writes at the conclusion of Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Venerable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 168:

The differences between 13th Century Japan and a non-Buddhist land in the 21st Century changes nothing of that.

This concludes Volume 6 of the Writings of Nichiren Shōnin.

How can we identify the sage of the Lotus Sūtra in the Latter Age of Degeneration? The Lotus Sūtra states, “He who preaches this sūtra to others and can uphold it for himself is a messenger of the Buddha.” In other words, anyone who recites eight chapters of the Lotus Sūtra, or one fascicle, one chapter, or just a verse of it, or chants the daimoku is a messenger of the Buddha. He who carries through faith in the Lotus Sūtra to the end, enduring the great persecutions that arise, is the true messenger of the Buddha.

Shijō Kingo-dono Gohenji, A Reply to Lord Shijō Kingo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 153

Here’s to all of the True Messengers of the Buddha. May I be counted among them.

There are many people who put faith in the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra. Yet as I often experience great difficulties, both public and private, some change their faith after a year or two, even becoming my enemies who shoot arrows at me. Some only outwardly appear to be believers of the Lotus Sūtra, while others believe in the Lotus Sūtra in heart but not in practice.

Śākyamuni Buddha, was the legitimate son of King Suddhodana, a great king who governed the entire continent of Jambudvipa, and all of its 84,210 countries. The kings in Jambudvipa all submitted to King Suddhodana, and he had an innumerable number of domestic servants. Nevertheless, at the age of 19, Śākyamuni left the palace of King Suddhodana, and entered Mt. Dapdaloka, where he spent 12 years practicing asceticism. He was then accompanied by only five men: Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya, Aśvajit, Bhadrika, Dasābala-Kāśyapa and Mahānāman, two of whom left him in the sixth year and the remaining three also deserted him during the last six years. In the end he continued his training alone until he attained Buddhahood. The Lotus Sūtra is harder than this to have faith in. Therefore the sūtra itself preaches that it is “difficult to put faith in and difficult to understand.” It is also preached in the sutra (“The Teacher of the Dharma” chapter) that the great difficulties that abound today in the Latter Age of Degeneration surpass those that occurred during the lifetime of the Buddha. Therefore the practicer of this sūtra who perseveres through the adversities today acquires more merit than giving alms to the Buddha over the course of a kalpa (aeons).

Shijō Kingo-dono Gohenji, A Reply to Lord Shijō Kingo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 152

A little perspective helps appreciate the task of being a practicer of this sūtra.

Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, and Kāśyapa, who perceived the doctrine of “no birth and no death” of all phenomena and became bodhisattvas without “falling back,” declined to propagate the Lotus Sūtra in the Sahā World during the Latter Age of Degeneration because the difficulty was too much for them to endure. Even those who gained the three supernatural types of knowledge and six supernatural powers, and rose to the ranks of shoji and shojū (entered the rank of sagehood) and gained arhatship by practicing the Lotus Sūtra declined to do so. How then can ordinary people in the Latter Age of Degeneration, incapable of extinguishing the three delusions, become practicers of the Lotus Sūtra?

Shijō Kingo-dono Gohenji, A Reply to Lord Shijō Kingo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 142

This clearly states the challenge at hand. Thankfully, we have Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.

Moreover, the “3,000 existences contained in one thought” doctrine is based on the three realms of existence: the realm of living beings, the realm of five components, and the realm of environment. Putting aside the first two realms for now, the third realm of environment includes trees and plants. The five colors of paint are made of trees and plants and therefore a portrait painted with colors of paint is made of trees and plants. Also a wooden statue is made of wood. It is the power of the Lotus Sūtra that inspires a soul into these portraits and wooden statues. This is based on the “3,000 existences contained in one thought” doctrine perceived by Grand Master T’ien-t’ai. Applied to living beings, this doctrine means the “attainment of Buddhahood with one’s present body. ” Applied to the portraits and wooden statues, it means the “attainment of Buddhahood by trees and plants.”

Applauding the doctrine of T’ien-t’ai expounded in his Great Concentration and Insight, Grand Master Chang-an states, “The doctrine of ‘tranquility and contemplation’ has never been made as clear as this,” while Grand Master Miao-lê states in his Annotations on the Great Concentration and Insight, “Preaching that insentient beings such as trees and plants possess the Buddha-nature, T’ien-t’ai startled the people.” This doctrine of “3,000 existences contained in one thought” had never appeared before T’ien-t’ai nor was it to appear again. If it did appear later, it must have been plagiarized from his doctrine.

Shijō Kingo Shakabutsu Kuyō, Opening the Eyes Service of Shijō Kingo’s Satue of Śākyamuni Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Pages 132

This is a continuation of yesterday’s quote. I wanted to keep it separate to underscore the source of the idea that mandalas and statues, if properly treated, can be imbued with great powers.

Regarding the “opening the eyes” of Buddhist statues, it is preached in the Sūtra of Meditation on the Universal Sage Bodhisattva, “This Mahayana sūtra is the treasure-house of various Buddhas and the eyes of the numerous Buddhas in all the worlds throughout the universe in the past, present, and future lives.” The sūtra also states, “This Mahayana sūtra is the eyes of various Buddhas. They were able to have the five kinds of eyes by virtue of this sūtra.” The five kinds of eyes mentioned in this sutra are: (1) human-eyes, (2) divine-eye, (3) wisdom eye, (4) dharma-eye, and (5) Buddha-eye. These five kinds of eyes are naturally acquired by those who uphold the Lotus Sūtra. This is like the people in a country who naturally follow whomever becomes the king, and fish in an ocean naturally obey the lord of the ocean. The pre-Lotus sūtras such as the Flower Garland Sūtra, the Agama sūtras, the Wisdom Sūtra, and the Great Sun Buddha Sūtra may have the name of the “five kinds of eyes” but not in reality. On the contrary, the Lotus Sūtra has them both in name and reality. Even if there is no name it is necessarily included in reality.

Regarding the threefold body of a Buddha, the Sūtra of Meditation on the Universal Sage Bodhisattva preaches:

The three kinds of body which a Buddha possesses is expounded in Mahayana Buddhism. In particular, the Lotus Sūtra is equipped with all the teachings just as an ocean accepts all the waters. From this ocean (of the Lotus Sūtra) three pure bodies of a Buddha are born. These three bodies of a Buddha are the fields where human and heavenly beings can plant the merit of good deeds, and they are the most superior of accepting offerings from human and heavenly beings.

The three bodies of a Buddha are (1) Dharma Body, (2) Reward Body, and (3) Accommodative Body. Each Buddha inevitably is equipped with these three. If we compare them to the moon, the Dharma Body is the moon’s body, the Reward Body is the moonlight, and the Accommodative Body is the shadow of the moon. As one body of the moon has three sides, each Buddha has the virtue of three Buddhas.

This doctrine of “five kinds of eyes” and “three bodies of a Buddha” cannot be found anywhere except in the Lotus Sūtra. Therefore, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai states in his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 9, “A Buddha has been equipped with the ‘three bodies’ always throughout the past, present, and future existences, but the Buddha concealed it in various sūtras except the Lotus Sūtra.” In this interpretation, “various sūtras” refer to not only the Flower Garland Sūtra, the Hōdō sūtras, and the Wisdom Sūtra but also all the sūtras except the Lotus Sūtra. ”The Buddha concealed it” means Lord Śākyamuni Buddha did not expound it anywhere except in the “Lifespan of the Buddha” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra. Therefore, the opening the eyes service for a Buddhist portrait or statue must be performed with the Lotus Sūtra by the Tendai (T’ien-t’ai) School of Buddhism.

Shijō Kingo Shakabutsu Kuyō, Opening the Eyes Service of Shijō Kingo’s Satue of Śākyamuni Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Pages 131-132

The joy of this 100 days project is the opportunity to lay out the foundation of Nichiren Buddhism in some detail as opposed to quick quotations.

As for your wife’s prayers, although she does not doubt the sūtra, I am afraid her faith in the Lotus Sūtra has not been strong enough. I have often come across people who think their faith matches what is preached in the sūtra, though this is not the case in reality. You, too, must be aware of this.

The mind of a woman can be harder to grasp than the wind in the sky. The reason why your wife’s prayers have not been answered can be likened to a strong bow with a weak bowstring or a sharp sword drawn by a coward. It is not due to the lack of power on the part of the Lotus Sūtra.

Ōshajō-ji, Town of Rājagṛha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 128

Having abandoned a practice that turned the Lotus Sūtra into a cheap wish-fulfilling gem, I admit that I struggle when the three hindrances and four devils arise.

As a postscript I’ll add Nichiren’s suggestion of where Shijō Kingo’s wife falls short:

Though your wife believes in the Lotus Sūtra, I am sure she does not feel as strongly about the enemies of the sūtra as much as she would about as a prostitute who seduces her husband.

To begin with, the strange phenomena in the sky and the natural calamities on the earth startle the eyes and ears of the people and rattle their minds. Śākyamuni Buddha has caused the five or six kinds of omens to occur. Among the six omens, the trembling of the earth indicates that the earth trembled in six different ways. Interpreting the earth trembling in six ways, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai states in his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 3:

The east is blue in color, and it controls the liver, which in turn controls the eyes. The west is white in color, and it controls the lungs, which in turn control the nose. Therefore, saying that the east was raised and the west was lowered means the rise of the merit of the eyes and the decrease in the worldly passions of the nose. In contrast, saying that the west was raised and the east was lowered means that the merit of the nose appears while the evil passions of the eyes decrease. Likewise, the rise and fall of the south and north and those of the center and the four directions mean either the appearance of merit or the decrease of evil passions in the ears and the tongue and in the mind and body respectively.

Grand Master Miao-lé explains the above in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “As the eyes and nose represent the east and west, the ears and tongue logically represent the south and north. The center is the mind and the four directions represent the body. The body is equipped with the four sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, and tongue) and the mind reacts to them all. Therefore, it is said that the body and mind rise and fall alternately.”

Zuisō Gosho, Writing on Omens, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 121

Trembling in the six ways represents riding a teeter-totter on which the paired senses – eyes and nose, ears and tongue, mind and body – either gain merit or decrease evil passions. Another of the foundational lessons I find so intriguing.

Among the 32 marks of the Buddha, His “Brahma’s voice” is foremost. The king of a country, be it great or small, and such kings as the “Wheel-turning Noble King” partly possess this “Brahma’s voice.” Therefore, a word of the king can govern the country or ruin it. An imperial decree is also in part like “Brahma’s voice.” Ten thousand words of the whole country cannot equal to one word of the king. The books of the Three Emperors and Five Rulers in ancient China are words of minor rulers. It was due to the strength of this “Brahma’s voice” that lesser kings govern small countries, that the King of the Mahābrahman Heaven is attended to by all living beings of the triple world (the realms of desire, form, and non-form), and that the Buddha is attended to by the King of the Mahābrahman Heaven and Indra.

The teachings uttered by the “Brahma’s voice” are all the scriptures of Buddhism to save all living beings. Among the scriptures the Lotus Sūtra in particular is the design of Śākyamuni Buddha uttered through His “Brahma’s voice,” which was written down in Chinese characters. The true intent of the Buddha, therefore, exists in the characters of the Lotus Sūtra. Just as seeds, seedlings, grasses, and rice plants differ in shape though they remain the same in spirit, Śākyamuni Buddha and the characters of the Lotus Sūtra are not the same in shape but they are one in essence. Thus, when you read the letters of the Lotus Sūtra, you must consider yourself in the presence of the living Śākyamuni Buddha.

Shijō Kingo-dono Gohenji, Response to Lord Shijō Kingo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 119

Something to remember each and every day: when you read the letters of the Lotus Sūtra, you must consider yourself in the presence of the living Śākyamuni Buddha.