The perfection of Buddhahood is the ultimate pursuit in Buddhism. According to Chih-i’s explanation, what the great nirvāṇa (adorned with the Three Virtuous Qualities) demonstrates concerns the constant abiding of the luminous dharma-nature characterized by constancy, bliss, self, and purity. The Track of Real Nature is identical to the Virtuous Quality of the Dharmakāya (Fa-shen-te), symbolizing the Buddha’s spiritual body, which is fully endowed with the principal nature of True Reality. The Track of the Illumination of Wisdom is identical to the Virtuous Quality of prajn͂ā (Po-jo-te), which is derived from the Buddha’s perfect wisdom. The Track of Accomplishment is identical to the Virtuous Quality of Liberation (Ch’ieh-t’uo-te) that is derived from the Buddha’s enlightenment, signifying neither contamination nor attachment of all Dharmas. (Vol. 2, Page 264)
The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of BuddhismMonthly Archives: January 2019
Day 32
Day 32 covers Chapter 28, The Encouragement of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, closing the Eighth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month heard Śākyamuni Buddha praise Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, Śākyamuni Buddha’s praise for anyone who keeps, reads and recites the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
“Universal-Sage! If you see anyone who keeps, reads and recites the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in the later five hundred years after my extinction, you should think, ‘Before long be will go to the place of enlightenment, defeat Mara and his followers, attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, turn the wheel of the Dharma, beat the drum of the Dharma, blow the conch-shell horn of the Dharma, send the rain of the Dharma, and sit on the lion-like seat of the Dharma in the midst of the great multitude of gods and men.’
“Universal-Sage! Anyone who keeps, reads and recites this sūtra [in the later five hundred years] after [my extinction], will not be attached to clothing, bedding, food or drink, or any other thing for living. What he wishes will not remain unfulfilled. He will be able to obtain the rewards of his merits in his present life. Those who abuse him, saying, ‘You are perverted. You are doing this for nothing,’ will be reborn blind in their successive lives in retribution for their sin. Those who make offerings to rum and praise him, will be able to obtain rewards in their present life. Those who, upon seeing the keeper of this sūtra, blame him justly or unjustly, will suffer from white leprosy in their present life. Those who laugh at him will have few teeth, ugly lips, flat noses, contorted limbs, squint eyes, and foul and filthy bodies, and suffer from bloody pus of scabs, abdominal dropsy, tuberculosis, and other serious diseases in their successive lives. Therefore, Universal-Sage! When you see the keeper of this sūtra in the distance, you should rise from your seat, go to him, receive him, and respect him just as you respect me.
The Daily Dharma from Oct. 30, 2018, offers this:
Universal-Sage! If you see anyone who keeps, reads and recites the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in the later five hundred years after my extinction, you should think, ‘Before long he will go to the place of enlightenment, defeat Māra and his followers, attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, turn the wheel of the Dharma, beat the drum of the Dharma, blow the conch-shell horn of the Dharma, send the rain of the Dharma, and sit on the lion-like seat of the Dharma in the midst of the great multitude of gods and men.’
The Buddha gives this instruction to Universal-Sage Bodhisattva (Fugen, Samantabhadra) in Chapter Twenty-Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. Nichiren explained that the later five hundred years mentioned in this passage is the time in which we are living today. The Buddha is therefore talking about all of us who practice the Wonderful Dharma. When we can grow our capacity to respect each other as we respect the Buddha, it inspires the respect at the core of all beings, and transforms this world.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
The True Nature of Reality
Ultimately, the Three Truths – Emptiness, Provisional Reality, and the Middle Way – are united in one vision of the true nature of reality. All three are different ways of explaining the insight of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha as taught in the Lotus Sutra. It is a vision of the dynamic and interdependent nature of all things. Living in harmony with the vision of the Three Truths means freedom from clinging, freedom to act compassionately in the world, and freedom from extremes. In past ages, this vision was only available to those with the ability to comprehend the many complex teachings of the sutras, or those with the ability to meditate for long hours – even for many lifetimes – in order to see for themselves the truth of the teachings. Nichiren Shonin, however, taught the simple practice of chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo as the correct way to focus our minds upon the ultimate truth of the Buddha’s teachings with faith and joy. By following Nichiren Shonin’s instructions, our hearts and minds will receive an intuitive understanding of the Three Truths, and we will be able to live in harmony with them ourselves.
Lotus SeedsDaily Dharma – Jan. 11, 2019
Expound it to clever people
Who have profound wisdom,
Who hear much,
Who remember well,
And who seek
The enlightenment of the Buddha!
The Buddha sings these verses to all those gathered to hear him teach in Chapter Three of the Lotus Sūtra. Much of this teaching is about how we see things as opposed to how certain we are of what we see. When we believe that those whom we wish to benefit are stupid, lazy and incompetent, then it surely will be difficult to help them. But when we realize the Buddha nature within all beings, then we can see them as wise and compassionate despite the obstacles they face.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Northeast
It is in connection with sacred geography that the political and ideological character of certain kanjin-style readings becomes most obvious. In a commentary on Chih-i’s Fa-hua wen chü (Words and phrases of the Lotus), Sonshun (1451-1514), a Tendai scholar-monk of the Kantō Eshin tradition, writes concerning Gṛdhrakūṭa (Eagle or Vulture Peak), the mountain where the Lotus Sūtra was said to have been preached:
[As for the tradition that] all Buddhas of the three time periods invariably dwell on this mountain when they expound the Lotus Sūtra: This mountain lies to the northeast of Rājagṛha [the capital of Magadha]. Because the Lotus Sūtra expounds the essential [teaching] that the worldly truth constantly abides, the Lotus is expounded in the direction of the demon gate, and prayers are offered [there] for the well-being of the Son of Heaven, so that the country may be at peace and the people happy. For this reason, [the temples on] Mt. T’ient’ai in the land of the T’ang and on Mt. Hiei in Japan were erected to the northeast of the ruler’s palace and revered as places of practice for the protection of the nation. … Those monks who dwell on Mt. Hiei even for a time should be understood as the assembly who hears the Dharma on Sacred [Eagle] Peak.
Here Sacred Eagle Peak, Mt. T’ien-t’ai, and Mt. Hiei are identified by virtue of all lying in a common direction, namely, northeast of the capital, and in a position to block the malevolent influences thought to originate from that direction. The equation of Mt. Hiei with the site of the Lotus Sūtra’s preaching is used to legitimize its authority as the major cultic center for rituals of nation protection. (Page 163)
Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese BuddhismThe Threefold Track and the Triple Buddha-Nature
Third, the Threefold Track corresponds with the Triple Buddha-nature.
The Track of Real Nature is identical to the Buddha-nature as the Fundamental Cause of Buddhahood, which refers to the fact that all beings are endowed with the True Reality, for it is the inherent nature that determines one’s possibility to attain Buddhahood. The Track of the Illumination of Wisdom is identical to the Buddha-nature as the Understanding Cause of Buddhahood, which refers to the inherent potential for wisdom in all living beings, for it is wisdom that illuminates the inherent nature. The Track of Accomplishment is identical to the Buddha-nature as the Conditional Cause of Buddhahood, which refers to the inherent potential and disposition of living beings for Buddhahood that inspire them to carry out religious practices in order to increase their merits and virtues, and these merits and virtues are the conditions to give rise to the Buddha-nature as the Fundamental Cause of Buddhahood, since it is one’s potential that enables one to do wholesome deeds and to generate one’s wisdom. Chih-i claims that the identification of the Threefold Track and the Triple Buddha-nature is based on the principal nature of sentient beings, since they inherently possess such a nature. Nevertheless, this principle of nature is not manifested before practice, and one has to undertake practice to actualize this nature of Buddhahood. Recognizing that everyone possesses the Triple Buddha-nature secures one’s goal of striving for Buddhahood. (Vol. 2, Page 261-262)
Day 31
Day 31 covers Chapter 27, King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva.
Having last month considered the role of the son’s in the king’s future attainment of enlightenment, we hear King Wonderful-Adornment’s explanation of the merits of the Buddha.
“King Wonderful-Adornment came down from the sky and said to that Buddha [staying in the sky], ‘World-Honored One! You are exceedingly exceptional. You have merits and wisdom. Therefore, the fleshy tuft on your head shines bright. Your eyes are long, wide, and deep blue in color. The curls between your eyebrows are as white as a bright moon. Your teeth are white, regular and bright. Your lips are as red and as beautiful as the fruits of a bimba-tree.’
“Thereupon King Wonderful-Adornment, having praised the Buddha for his many hundreds of thousands of billions of merits including those previously stated, joined his hands together towards the Tathāgata, and with all his heart, said to that Buddha again, ‘World-Honored One! I have never seen anyone like you before. Your teachings have these inconceivable, wonderful merits. The practices performed according to your teachings and precepts are peaceful and pleasant. From today on, I will not act according to my own mind. I will not have wrong views, arrogance, anger or any other evil thought.’ Having aid this, he bowed to that Buddha and retired.”
The Daily Dharma from Aug. 17, 2018, offers this:
World-Honored One! I have never seen anyone like you before. Your teachings have these inconceivable, wonderful merits. The practices performed according to your teachings and precepts are peaceful and pleasant. From today on, I will not act according to my own mind. I will not have wrong views, arrogance, anger or any other evil thought.
King Wonderful-Adornment makes this declaration to Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha in Chapter Twenty-Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. The king had been led to this Buddha by his sons, who showed him the wonders they learned from their practice of the Buddha Dharma. With his mind purified by hearing the Buddha’s teachings, he makes this aspiration to behave differently. Whether or not he can keep this aspiration, he shows his realization that hearing the teachings is not enough. Practicing them means changing our minds and how we live.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Daily Dharma – Jan. 10, 2019
Medicine-King! Erect a stūpa of the seven treasures in any place where this sūtra is expounded, read, recited or copied, or in any place where a copy of this sūtra exists! The stūpa should be tall, spacious and adorned. You need not enshrine my śarīras in the stūpa. Why not? It is because it will contain my perfect body.
The Buddha declares these lines to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. In ancient India, stūpas were tombs built as memorials to those who had enjoyed a superior position in their lives. After the Buddha died, small relics of his body were distributed so that many great stūpas could be built to his memory. Even today all over Asia, stūpas hold the physical remains of the Buddha. In this chapter, the Buddha reminds us that when we have the Lotus Sūtra with us, it is as good as having the Buddha himself.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
The Pentads
A widespread instance of numerical correspondence, rooted in Chinese thought and developed in esoteric Buddhism, involves correlations of fives: the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water) are equated with the five directions (east, south, center, west, and north); the five planets; the five virtues (benevolence, propriety, good faith, righteousness, and wisdom); the five colors; the major five organs of the human body; and so forth. In esoteric Buddhism, these pentads are further equated with the five great elements (earth, water, fire, wind, and space) and the five Buddhas, and in medieval Tendai, they are assimilated to the five tones used in shōmyō chanting or to the five characters myō, hō, ren, ge, and kyō that comprise the tide of the Lotus Sūtra. Such associations reflect underlying assumptions about the oneness of microcosm and macrocosm, and—when assimilated to the episteme informed by esoteric Buddhism—about all phenomena as nondual manifestations of the cosmic Buddha, Mahāvairocana or Dainichi. Such an understanding of the world, assuming an inner unity endlessly refracted in each of its elements, was by no means limited to medieval Japan. A number of scholars have written on the episteme of medieval Europe, in which the world was seen in totalistic fashion as a system of hidden correspondences, upon whose proper recognition and identification rested the practice of such arts as astrology, divination, and magic. (Page 160-161)
Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese BuddhismThe All-Embracing True Reality
By identifying the Threefold Track with the Triple Course of Ignorance, what Chih-i endeavors to express is that True Reality is all-embracing and is typically embodied in the pattern of identifying opposite parties. Thus, he concludes, for example: “Affliction is identical to Bodhi-wisdom,” or “By treading on the heretic path, one arrives at the Buddha-path.” This is evidenced by Chih-i’s direct statement of identifying the Triple Course of Ignorance with the Three Virtues of Buddhahood:
“What is called the course of suffering refers to the consciousness, name-and-form, contact, and sensation. Naming this coursing of suffering as the Buddha-nature is the indication of naming life-death as dharmakāya, which is like referring ice to water. What is called the course of affliction refers to ignorance, desire, and attachment. Naming this course of affliction asprajiā is like referring firewood to fire. What is called the course of karman implies that the volitional activity, existence, and even the five kinds of grave offence that result in falling in uninterrupted hell are nothing else but the indication of liberation. This is to view binding in terms of unbinding.” (Vol. 2, Page
The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of Buddhism