The [ten suchnesses in Chapter 2, Expedients,] seem logical and self-explanatory. Its logic, however, is not easy for ordinary people to understand. For example, “as such” implies “as it is,” and refers to an ultimate truth which has been grasped intuitively. It is understood by a religious intuition (called prajna in Sanskrit) entirely beyond our ordinary way of understanding things as this or that. “As such” also represents reality or the ultimate truth—the way something really is, not the way we think it is. These ten perspectives are called the “Ten Suchnesses.” Chih-i of China (538-97) and Nichiren of Japan (1222-82) used them in formulating their philosophical doctrines of “each of the ten realms of existence contains the other nine in itself,” and “one thought is the three thousand worlds.”
Introduction to the Lotus SutraMonthly Archives: May 2018
Everything in the Universe
[When speaking of 3,000 realms, w]hat does this number three thousand represent? It represents everything not only of the earth, but also of the universe and includes everything in the past, present, and future. Everything of the universe from animals, plants, other beings, visible or invisible, and their activities, workings, and movements are included in the three thousand realms. Everything of the universe exists within each one of us. Everything influences us, works together as primary cause and environmental cause and brings effects, rewards and retributions. All of us exist in relationship with everything in the universe.
Buddha Seed: Understanding the OdaimokuDay 64 of 100
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.
100 Days of StudyDaily Dharma – May 3, 2018
Suppose you are sentenced to death,
And the sword is drawn to behead you.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
The sword will suddenly break asunder.
The Buddha gives this description of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva (Kannon, Kanzeon, Kuan Yin, Avalokitesvara) to Endless-Intent Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Five of the Lotus Sūtra. World-Voice-Perceiver is the embodiment of compassion. When we think of this Bodhisattva, and the power that she holds in this world, we realize what we can accomplish through compassion. When we can be present for the suffering that exists in other beings, and see them without judgement for the flawed creatures that they are, then we allow them to make that same connection with us. The power of compassion is that it inspires others to face what lies at the core of their being: the wish that all beings be peaceful and free from suffering. To break the sword of violence in this world, we must first break it within ourselves.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 2
Day 2 completes Chapter 1, Introductory.
Having last month learned about Sun-Moon-Light Buddha and his eight sons in gāthās, we consider the ray of light illumining 18,000 Buddha worlds in the east.
This ray of light illumined
Eighteen thousand Buddha-worlds in the east.
It showed the region
To which each living being was to go by his karmas.The worlds of the Buddha were
Adorned with many treasures,
And given the colors of lapis lazuli and crystal.
I saw all this by the light of the Buddha.I also saw the gods, men, dragons, yakṣas,
Gandharvas, and kiṃnaras of those worlds.
Each of them made offerings
To the Buddha by whom he was taught.I also saw the Tathagatas of those worlds
Who had attained enlightenment by themselves.
The color of their bodies was as beautiful
And as wonderful as that of the golden mountains,
Or as that of a golden image
Put in a shrine of pure lapis lazuli.Those World-Honored Ones explained to the great multitudes
The meaning of the profound teaching.
There were innumerable Śrāvakas
In the worlds of those Buddhas.
All those great multitudes were seen
By the light of the Buddha.The bhikṣus were living in mountains and forests.
They made endeavors,
And observed the pure precepts
As carefully as one keeps brilliant gem·.As many Bodhisattvas
As there are sands in the River Ganges
Performed almsgiving, patience, and other practices.
I saw all this by the light of the Buddha.I also saw some Bodhisattvas
Who entered deep into dhyāna-concentrations,
And became tranquil and motionless in body and mind,
In order to attain unsurpassed enlightenment.I also saw some Bodhisattvas,
Who realized the tranquil extinction of all things,
And expounded the Dharma to [the people of] their worlds
In order to attain the enlightenment of the Buddha.
I offer Nichiren’s discussion of why Mañjuśrī could explain what happened in the past but could not explain what happens when countless Bodhisattvas arrive from under the ground.
[W]hen the Buddha preached the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra, He displayed omens far superior to the omens presented when the pre-Lotus sūtras and the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra were preached. The severe quakes of the earth when the Stupa of Treasures sprang out of the earth (in the “Beholding the Stupa of Treasures” chapter) and the numerous bodhisattva disciples of the Original Buddha that emerged from the earth simultaneously (“Emergence of Bodhisattvas from the Earth” chapter) created waves as high as mountains that tossed sailing boats around in a stormy ocean as if they were tiny reed leaves.
Therefore, while Bodhisattva Maitreya asked Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī to explain the omens shown in the “Introductory” chapter, he asked his question to the Buddha directly regarding the great omens shown in the “Emergence of the Bodhisattvas from the Earth” chapter. Grand Master Miao-lê explains this in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 3, “As for the theoretical section, Mañjuśrī could be trusted, but the essential section is too profound for anyone to conjecture. Therefore, Bodhisattva Maitreya had no one but the Buddha to direct his questions.” Thus Mañjuśrī had a general understanding regarding the teaching of the theoretical section though the Buddha did not preach it. However, even Mañjuśrī could not fathom the doctrine of the essential section. And yet great omens such as these occurred during the lifetime of the Buddha.
Zuisō Gosho, Writing on Omens, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Pages 122-123
The Three Secret Ordinances
The Three Secret Ordinances, which are peculiar to the Nichiren Sect, are as follow:
1. Honzon, or the Chief Object of Worship.
2. Daimoku, or the Title of the [Lotus Sutra].
3. Kaidan, or the Place for Learning Moral Precepts.
The Chief Object of Worship is a hanging chart, or scroll, called the Great Mandala. The Mandala is a symbolical representation of Sakyamuni and the Truth; it embodies them in visible form, and constitutes a focus and an epitome of the whole doctrine. In the middle of it are inscribed the characters [Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo]. This group of seven characters is called the Body-in-General of the Buddha, while on either side are arranged certain delineations of a pictorial nature, known as his Bodies-Separate, and representing the Ten Worlds of Living Beings.
Doctrines of Nichiren (1893)Human Being, Human Doing
Some view Buddhism as merely a self-help process, practicing mindfulness as if that was all there is. If we view our Buddhist practice in such a way then we are still residing in the realm of doing, even if the doing is more beneficial than other doings.
As a self-help model alone we would be merely replacing one method of doing with another method. Buddhism offers more, much more. Buddhism creates the conditions within our lives for a transcendent experience of our relationship not only to and with ourselves but also being transcendent with all else.
Finding our true identity is key, and we can’t do this if we ignore the being part of human. Daily we work hard and worry, yet the gem we truly seek is something we already posses.
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1Day 63 of 100
In my hermitage on Mt. Minobu there are at least 40 persons and as many as 60. No matter how I refuse them, they come in saying that they are the siblings of someone who lives here, making it difficult to turn them down face to face. In my heart, I wish to recite the sutras in a quiet hermitage with only a young priest. This situation is almost unbearable. I am even thinking of running away somewhere in the coming year. There is nothing as annoying as this.
Hyōesakan-dono Gohenji, Reply to Lord Ikegami Munenaga, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 102
One of the values of Nichiren’s writings is the opportunity imagine what life was like for him. This letter was written in 1278, four years after retiring to Minobu and four years before he died.
100 Days of StudyDaily Dharma – May 2, 2018
The “mutual possession of ten realms” doctrine is as difficult to maintain as it is to see fire in a rock or flowers in wood. However it is not totally impossible because rocks spark when struck together and a tree blooms in spring. It is most difficult to believe that the realm of Buddhas is contained in the realm of humans because it is like saying that fire is in water or water in fire.
Nichiren wrote this in his treatise on Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Venerable (Kanjin Honzon-Shō). “Mutual Expression of Ten Realms” is one of the more difficult ideas from the Chinese Master T’ien-t’ai. Nichiren uses it to illustrate what the Buddha teaches in the Lotus Sūtra: that Buddha nature is contained within all beings. Even though this idea is difficult, we can see it in the transformations of everyday objects we encounter: rocks, fire, flowers and trees. With his similes, Nichiren reminds us that with the Lotus Sūtra as our guide, we can see the Buddha Dharma in all aspects of our lives.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 1
Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory
Having last month witnessed the Buddha emitting a ray of light illumining all the corners of eighteen thousand worlds in the east, we consider what Maitreya Bodhisattva thought of all this.
Thereupon Maitreya Bodhisattva thought:
“The World-Honored One is now displaying a wonder [, that is, a good omen]. Why is he displaying this good omen? The Buddha, the World-Honored One, has entered into a samadhi. Whom shall I ask why he is displaying this inconceivable, rare thing? Who can answer my question?”
He thought again:
“This Mañjuśrī, the son of the King of the Dharma, has already met innumerable Buddhas and made offerings to them in his previous existence. He must have seen this rare thing before. Now I will ask him.”
At that time the bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās, upāsikās, gods, dragons, and other supernatural beings thought, “Whom shall we ask why the Buddha is emitting this ray of light, that is, why he is displaying this wonder?”
I offer this quote from the Writings of Nichiren Shōnin:
Among all the Buddhist scriptures preached by the Buddha there is no sutra which does not mention the trembling of the earth in six different ways. However, the shaking of the earth in six ways when the Buddha was about to expound the Lotus Sūtra was so striking that the living beings who gathered to listen to Him were all startled and it moved Bodhisattva Maitreya to ask what was happening, prompting Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī to answer. This shows that the omen for the preaching of the Lotus Sūtra was much greater and longer than the omens of other sūtras that the question concerning it was more difficult to respond to. Therefore, Grand Master Miao-lê states in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra, fascicle 2, “Which Mahayana sūtra does not have the omens such as a crowd of living beings gathered together like a cloud, emitting of light from the forehead of the Buddha, the rain of flowers from the heaven, and trembling of the earth? However, they have never caused such a great concern as this.” This means that every sūtra has a preface before preaching the main discourse, but no preface is accompanied by such great omens like those that accompanied the preface of the Lotus Sūtra.
Zuisō Gosho, Writing on Omens, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 122