Chih-i’s system of classification conveys that the Tripitaka Teaching can be regarded as representing purely the Śrāvakayāna, and the Separate Teaching purely the Mahāyāna. The Common Teaching is the bridge connecting these two teachings, as it contains both elements of Śrāvakayāna and Mahāyāna. Its Śrāvakayāna element is reflected by its goal of reaching emptiness like that of Śrāvakayāna, and its Mahāyāna element is reflected by its way of perceiving emptiness. Different from the disciples of the Tripiṭaka Teaching who reach emptiness by extinguishing existence, i.e., analyzing and disintegrating dharmas until nothing is left, the disciples of the Common Teaching perceive emptiness by embodying dharmas, i.e., existence is illusory and thus empty.28 Finally, the Perfect Teaching transcends the difference of the former three teachings, and unifies Śrāvakayāna and Mahāyāna with its doctrine of the Ultimate Truth of Buddhahood. That is, all different types of the teaching are the necessary progressions leading to the final teaching of Buddhahood. (Vol. 2, Page 465)
The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of BuddhismMonthly Archives: April 2019
Day 8
Day 8 concludes Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith, and closes the second volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month consideredthe realization of the śrāvakas of how the Buddha prepared them with expedients, we conclude Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith.
World-Honored One!
We have attained enlightenment, perfect fruit.
We have secured pure eyes
With which we can see the Dharma-without-āsravas.We observed the pure precepts of the Buddha
In the long night.
Today we have obtained the effects and rewards
[Of our observance of the precepts].
We performed the brahma practices for long
According to the teachings of the King of the Dharma.
Now we have obtained the great fruit
Of the unsurpassed Dharma-without-āsravas.We are Śrāvakas in this sense of the word.
We will cause all living beings
To hear the voice telling
Of the enlightenment of the Buddha.We are Arhats
In the true sense of the word.
All gods and men,
All Maras and Brahmans
In the worlds
Should make offerings to us.You, the World-Honored One, are the great benefactor.
By doing this rare thing,
You taught and benefited us
Out of your compassion towards us.No one will be able to repay your favors
Even if he tries to do so
For many hundreds of millions of kalpas.
No one will be able to repay your favors
Even if he bows to you respectfully,
And offers you his hands, feet or anything else.No one will be able to repay your favors
Even if he carries you on his head or shoulders
And respects you from the bottom of his heart
For as many kalpas
As there are sands in the River Ganges,
Or even if he offers you
Delicious food, innumerable garments of treasures,
Many beddings, and various medicines,
Or even if he erects a stupa-mausoleum
Made of the cow-head candana,
And adorns it with treasures,
Or even if he covers the ground
With garments of treasures
And offers them to the Buddha
For as many kalpas
As there are sands in the River Ganges.The Buddhas have
Great supernatural powers.
Their powers are rare, immeasurable,
Limitless and inconceivable.The Buddhas are the Kings of the Dharma
They are free from āsravas, from cause and effect.
The Buddhas practice patience
In order to save inferior people.
They expound the Dharma according to the capacities
Of the ordinary people who are attached to forms.The Buddhas expound the Dharma
In perfect freedom.
Knowing the various desires and dispositions
Of all living beings,
They expound the Dharma
With innumerable parables
And with innumerable similes
According to their capacities.Some living beings planted the roots of good
In their previous existence.
Some of the roots have fully developed.
Seeing all this, the Buddhas understand
The capacities of all living beings,
And divide the teaching of the One Vehicle into three,
According to the capacities
Of all living beings.[Here ends] the Second Volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Continuing with the content from Miraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Ancient Japan, we learn of A Blind Woman of Tsukushi Province.
A Blind Woman of Tsukushi Province
The wife of a government official of Tsukushi Province, whose name is unknown, suddenly became blind in the prime of her life. Unable to see, she lamented tearfully. She thought, “My blindness must be due to a karmic result. I will surely be of no use to others in this life. Nothing will be better for me than praying for my future life.”
So the blind woman talked to a nun and learned how to recite the Hokekyō. The blind woman became very familiar with the sūtra and single-mindedly recited it during the day and night for three to four years.
At one time, the blind woman dreamed that a priest said, “You have lost your sight due to a karmic cause. But you have developed a good mind and recited the Hokekyō. Thanks to the power of the sūtra, your darkness will be lifted, and you will regain perfect vision.” As the priest finished speaking, he stroked the blind woman’s eyes with his hand and the woman’s eyes opened.
Waking up, the woman opened her eyes and could see everything clearly. Shedding tears, the joyful woman was greatly moved by the power of the Hokekyō. Her husband, children, relatives, friends, and other people in her country were all deeply impressed and said that the woman regained her sight owing to the power of the sūtra.
Afterwards, the woman put a firmer faith in the Hokekyō, copied, and recited it without any negligence, and was solely dedicated to the sūtra. (Page 138)
Miraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Ancient JapanDaily Dharma – April 25, 2019
Bhikṣus, know this! I can enter skillfully deep into the natures of all living beings. Because I saw that they wished to hear the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle and that they were deeply attached to the five desires, I expounded the teaching of Nirvāṇa to them. When they heard that teaching, they received it by faith.
The Buddha gives this explanation to the Bhikṣus (monks and nuns) gathered to hear him teach in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. As difficult as it is to hear the Buddha’s highest teaching, he would not give it to us unless we were ready to receive it. Still, we who would receive it must set aside his earlier teachings as a means to our personal happiness, and see them as preparations to learn how to benefit all beings. Our faith in the Buddha is the confidence that we will become as enlightened as he is, and that he is helping all of us on the path to that enlightenment.
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Cause and Effect of Buddhahood
What we can determine from Chih-i ‘s interpretation of the Lotus Sūtra in the Hsüan-i is that his interpretation is his approach to establish his system of understanding Buddhism, which reflects his perfect harmonization philosophy. Based on his perfect harmonization philosophy, Chih-i manages to comprehensively and coherently portray various theories of different Buddhist schools so that all divisions, aspects, learnings, and theories of Buddhism that appear to be incoherent come to terms with each other as a whole. This is reflected in Chih-i’s presentation of the Buddha’s teaching in which two divisions of Buddhism, the Śrāvakayāna and Mahāyāna, are complimentary to each other rather than contradictory to each other. According to Chih-i, the Buddha’s teaching centers on enlightenment for oneself and for others. Enlightenment for oneself can be generally considered as the goal of Śrāvakayāna Buddhism, and enlightening others as the goal of Mahāyāna Buddhism. As these two divisions appeared to be disconnected before Chih-i ‘s time, they have been unified as a whole in Chih-i’s theory.
The unification of Śrāvakayāna and Mahāyāna is based on Chih-i’s theory of the essential teaching of the Buddha, concerning the cause and effect of Buddhahood. The cause of Buddhahood refers to the Buddha’s practice to attain enlightenment for himself and is embodied by Śrāvakayāna Buddhism; and the effect of Buddhahood refers to the Buddha’s enlightenment that results in his teaching and transformation of sentient beings in order to enlighten them and is embodied by Mahāyāna Buddhism. With this theory of the cause and effect of Buddhahood, the differences between these two divisions of Buddhism are resolved, as each of them represents one aspect of Buddhahood. Since the cause and effect of Buddhahood is the vital force that unifies different aspects of Buddhism, this essential teaching is what underlies Chih-i’s system of understanding Buddhism, and is laid out in the Fa-hua Hsüan-i. (Vol. 2, Page 462)
The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of BuddhismDay 7
Day 7 concludes Chapter 3, A Parable, and begins Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith.
Having last month concluded the listing of punishments for slandering the Lotus Sūtra, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 3, A Parable.
(The Buddha said to Śāriputra:)
A kalpa will not be long enough to describe
The punishments to be inflicted
Upon those who slander this sūtra.Therefore,
I tell you.
Do not expound this sūtra
To people of no wisdom!Expound it to clever people
Who have profound wisdom,
Who hear much,
Who remember well,
And who seek
The enlightenment of the Buddha!Expound it to those who have seen
Many thousands of myriads
Of millions of Buddhas
And planted the roots of good
In their previous existence,
And who are now resolute in mind!Expound it
To those who make efforts,
Who have compassion towards others,
And who do not spare their lives!Expound it to those
Who respect others,
Who have no perfidy in them,
Who keep away from ignorant people,
And who live alone
In mountains or valleys!Śāriputra!
Expound it to those
Who keep away
From evil friends,
And who approach
Good friends!Expound it to the Buddha’s sons
Who keep the precepts
As cleanly and as purely
As they keep gems,
And who seek
The sūtra of the Great Vehicle!Expound it to those
Who are not angry
But upright, gentle,
Compassionate
Towards all others,
And respectful to the Buddhas!Expound it to the Buddha’s sons
Who expound the Dharma without hindrance
To the great multitude
With their pure minds
By telling them
Various stories of previous lives,
Parables and similes,
And also by giving them various discourses!Expound it to the bhikṣus
Who seek the Dharma in all directions
In order to obtain
The knowledge of all things,
Who join their hands together
Towards the sūtra of the Great Vehicle,
Who receive it respectfully,
Who keep it with joy,
And who do not receive
Even a gāthā of any other sūtra!Expound it to those
Who seek this sūtra
As eagerly as they seek
The śarīras of the Buddha![Expound it to those]
Who receive [this sūtra]
And put it on their heads,
And who do not seek
Any other sūtra
Or think of the books of heresy!(The Buddha said to Śāriputra:)
Those who seek the enlightenment of the Buddha
Are as various as previously stated.
A kalpa will not be long enough
To describe the variety of them.
They will be able to understand [this sūtra] by faith.
Expound to them
The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma!
Continuing with the content from Miraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Ancient Japan, we learn of The Rat and Snake of Shinano Province.
The Rat and Snake of Shinano Province
A governor of Shinano Province completed his tour of duty in the province and went to the capital. During the journey he noticed that he was accompanied by a three-foot-long snake. During the day the snake either preceded or followed him; at night it coiled under his clothes chest.
When they saw this, people felt very uneasy and spoke to the governor. One man told him, “The snake should be killed.” But the governor stopped him and would not allow him to kill the snake. The governor prayed silently, “Is this due to the deity of this province or to the evil inflicted by the spirit of someone living or dead? Possess me and reveal the truth in my dream.”
The night the governor dreamed that a man in speckled hunting clothes knelt before him and said, “I have been accompanying you to kill an old enemy of mine who has been hiding in your clothes chest. If I can have him, I will no longer follow you.” The governor awoke and realized that the snake had said this.
In the morning the governor looked inside the chest and found a frightened old rat crouching at the bottom. The people who saw this said, “You should let it go.” But the merciful governor thought, “If I drive the rat out now, he will surely be swallowed up by the snake, and so it is better not to let him go.”
For the sake of the snake and the rat, the governor made a copy of the Hokekyō and had a service of dedication performed on that same day. That night two handsome men, dressed in fine white clothes, appeared in his dream. They said to him respectfully:
“We have been old enemies during successive lives and have killed each other for many generations. However, thanks to the influence of your virtuous deed, we have now left our sinful state and are to be reborn in the Tōri Heaven. For generations we will not be able to repay you for your great virtue.”
After they had said this, they ascended into the sky, which was filled with soft music. In the morning, when the governor woke up, he found that the snake and the rat were both dead. (Page 140-141)
Miraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Ancient JapanDaily Dharma – April 24, 2019
The king and queen took off their necklaces of pearls worth hundreds of thousands, and strewed the necklaces to the Buddha. The necklaces flew up to the sky [seven times as high as the tāla-tree], and changed into a jeweled platform equipped with four pillars. On the platform was a couch of great treasures, and thousands of millions of heavenly garments were spread [on the couch]. The Buddha [went up,] sat cross-legged [on the couch], and emitted great rays of light. King Wonderful-Adornment thought, ‘The Buddha is exceptional. He is exceedingly handsome. He has the most wonderful form.’
The Buddha uses this description as part of the story of King Wonderful-Adornment in Chapter Twenty-Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. This King was led by the supernatural powers of his children to meet Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King Flower-Wisdom Buddha who was teaching the Wonderful Dharma in that world. The King and his wife the Queen were both so inspired by that Buddha that they allowed the symbols of their wealth and power to be transformed into a sacred platform from which the Buddha could lead all beings to enlightenment. When they found that Buddha, the beauty of his wisdom far outshone the beauty of their jewels.
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Lessons of the Rich Man and Poor Son
Chih-i quotes passages in the “Chapter On Faith and Understanding” in the Lotus Sūtra concerning the parable about the rich father and his poor son, in order to analogize the Buddha’s teaching in terms of five periods.
- The passage about the rich father dispatching an attendant to follow his poor son in order to bring him back, and the poor son being terrified, analogizes the Avataṃsaka teaching in the first period that belongs to the Sudden teaching. Chih-i asserts that this is as if from the cow, one extracts fresh milk.
- The passage about the rich father wishing to entice his son, putting his son to hard work, while disguising himself in dirty clothes as an expedient means in order to approach his son and to keep him at work clearing away dung for twenty years, analogizes the Tripitaka Teaching in the second period that caters to the śrāvakas. Chih-i articulates that this is like from fresh milk, one extracts cream, and from the twelve types of scripture, sūtras are produced.
- The passage about the poor son at the end of this time gaining confidence in himself, and coming and going without anxiety, though he was lodged in the same place as before, analogizes the Vaipulya teaching in the third period. Chih-i declares that this is like from cream, one extracts curdled milk, and from sūtras, the Vaipulya Sūtras are produced. In this period, the Buddha begins to expound the Greater Vehicle, though the śrāvakas still dwell in the teaching of the Lesser Vehicle.
- The passage about the rich father telling his son about his treasure houses and his son is conferred to be in charge of the multitude of things, and yet his son had no craving for so much as a single meal, and continued to live as before in the same place, analogizes the Prajn͂āpāramitā teaching in the fourth period. This is like from curdled milk, one extracts butter, and from the Vaipulya Sūtras, the Prajn͂āpāramitāsūtra is produced. Chih-i remarks that the Prajn͂āpāramitā teaching concerns wisdom, and wisdom is treasure.
- The passage about the rich father declaring the father and son relationship to the multitude, and the poor son being rejoiced and greatly bequeathing all riches of his father which he had never had before, analogizes the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-Mahāparinirvāṇa teaching in the fifth period. Chih-i articulates that this is like from butter, one extracts ghee, and from the Prajn͂āpāramitāsūtra, the Nirvāṇasūtra is produced. (Vol. 2, Page 456-457)
Day 6
Day 6 continues Chapter 3, A Parable
Having last month learned in gāthās about the owner and his concern for his children in the burning house, we consider in gāthās his expedient idea to get his children to leave the house.
The rich man
Thought:
“They are ignorant.
My anxiety deepens
There is nothing pleasant
In this house.
But they are engrossed
In playing.
They do not listen to me.
They will be burned to death.”At the time
He thought of an expedient.
He said to them:
“I have many kinds of toys.
They are beautiful carts
Made of wonderful treasures.
They are sheep-carts, deer-carts,
And large bullock-carts.
They are outside the gate.
Come out!
I made those carts
For you.
Play with them
As you like!”Hearing of the carts from him,
They ran out,
Striving to be first,
And reached an open place.
They were now free
From the sufferings.Seeing them come out
Of the burning house
To the safe crossroad,
He sat on the lion-like seat,
And said to others with joy:
“I am happy.
These children are difficult to bring up.
They are young and ignorant.
They entered the dangerous house.
In that house were
Many poisonous vermin
And many dangerous mountain spirits.
Raging flames of big fires rose
From the four sides of the house
At the same time.
But my children were
Engrossed in playing.
Now I saved them
From the dangers.
Therefore, I am happy.”
Continuing with the content from Miraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Ancient Japan, we learn of Priest Chōen.