Monthly Archives: August 2019

LS32

Day 28

Day 28 covers all of Chapter 24, Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva, and concludes the Seventh Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 28 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month heard Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva greet Śākyamuni, we consider Flower Virtue Bodhisattva’s questions about Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva.

Thereupon Śākyamuni Buddha said to Many-Treasure Buddha, “This Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva wishes to see you.”

Thereupon Many-Treasures Buddha said to Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva:

Excellent, excellent! You have come here to make offerings to Śākyamuni Buddha, hear the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, and see Mañjuśrī and others.”

Thereupon Flower-Virtue Bodhisattva said to Śākyamuni Buddha:

“World-Honored One! What root of good did this Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva plant and what kind of meritorious deeds did he do in order to obtain this supernatural power?”

Śākyamuni Buddha said to Flower-Virtue Bodhisattva:

“There was once a Buddha called Cloud-Thunder-Sound-King, the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the Samyak-sambuddha. His world was called Appearance-Of-All-Worlds; and the kalpa in which he lived, Gladly-Seen. [There lived] a Bodhisattva called Wonderful-Voice [under that Buddha. The Bodhisattva] offered hundreds of thousands of kinds of music and eighty-four thousand patras of the seven treasures to Cloud-Thunder-Sound-King Buddha for twelve thousand years. Because of this, he was able to appear in the world of Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha, and obtain supernatural power such as this.

“Flower-Virtue! What do you think of this? Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva who had offered the music and the jeweled bowls to Cloud-Thunder-Sound-King Buddha [at that time] was no one but this Wonderful-Virtue Bodhisattva-mahāsattva [whom you see here now].

It takes about a year before I stop at the same place in my cycle through the Lotus Sūtra. So, back on Sept. 1, 2018, I commented:

This is the 34th time I’ve posted a portion of Chapter 24, Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva. As far as I can tell this is only the second time I’ve paused at this point in the chapter. That strikes me as unlikely. Perhaps I unintentionally skipped over this portion on a previous occasion.

I’m only having this discussion because I went looking to see if I had commented in the past on the large typo in this portion.

“Flower-Virtue! What do you think of this? Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva who had offered the music and the jeweled bowls to Cloud-Thunder-Sound-King Buddha [at that time] was no one but this Wonderful-Virtue Bodhisattva-mahāsattva [whom you see here now].

“Flower-Virtue! This Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva already made offerings to innumerable Buddhas, attended on them, and planted the roots of virtue a long time ago. …

Once an editor, always an editor.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered today, in my 44th cycle through the Lotus Sūtra, that I had not corrected my copy of the sūtra to change Wonderful-Virtue Bodhisattva-mahāsattva to Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva.

Now I’m wondering what I’ll write on my 54th cycle.

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 21, 2019

To see a Buddha is as difficult
As to see an udumbara[-flower].
To avert a misfortune is also difficult.

These verses are sung by two sons of a king in a story told by the Buddha in Chapter Twenty-Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, the boys have heard the Dharma from a previous Buddha and are asking permission from their parents to leave home and follow that Buddha. The legend of the udumbara flower is that it only blooms every 3000 years. Meeting a Buddha is not to be taken for granted. However, it is still important to remember the ties of our families. Rather than leaving in secret from their home, the sons’ asking permission from their parents creates more benefits. The King and Queen accompany their sons and learn the Wonderful Dharma. As Bodhisattvas it is important to use our relationships wisely as we lead all beings to enlightenment.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

LS32, WONS

Day 27

Day 27 concludes Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Day 27 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered how this sūtra saves all living beings, we consider the merits given to a woman who hears and keeps this chapter of the Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

“Star-King-Flower! Anyone who hears [especially] this chapter of the Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva also will be able to obtain innumerable merits. The woman who hears and keeps this chapter of the Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva will not be a woman in her next life. The woman who hears this sūtra and acts according to the teachings of it in the later’ five hundred years after my extinction, will be able to be reborn, after her life in this world, [as a man sitting] on the jeweled seat in the lotus flower blooming in the World of Happiness where Amitayus Buddha lives surrounded by great Bodhisattvas. He [no more she] will not be troubled by greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, jealousy, or any other impurity. He will be able to obtain the supernatural powers of a Bodhisattva and the truth of birthlessness. When he obtains this truth, his eyes will be purified. With his purified eyes, he will be able to see seven billion and two hundred thousand million nayuta Buddhas or Tathāgatas, that is, as many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges. At that time those Buddhas will praise him, saying simultaneously from afar, ‘Excellent, excellent, good man! You kept, read and recited this sūtra, thought it over, and expounded it to others under Śākyamuni Buddha. Now you have obtained innumerable merits and virtues, which cannot be burned by fire or washed away by water. Your merits cannot be described even by the combined efforts of one thousand Buddhas. Now you have defeated the army of Mara, beaten the forces of birth and death, and annihilated all your enemies. Good man! Hundreds of thousands of Buddhas are now protecting you by their supernatural powers. None of the gods or men in the world surpasses you. None but the Tathāgatas, none of the Śrāvakas or Pratyekabuddhas or Bodhisattvas surpasses you in wisdom and dhyāna-concentration.’ Star-King-Flower! [He is a Bodhisattva.] This Bodhisattva will obtain these merits and the power of wisdom.

Nichiren writes about this prediction in his People in the World Letter:

QUESTION: In the 23rd chapter on the “Previous Life of Medicine King Bodhisattva” in the epilogue section of the Lotus Sūtra, women are encouraged to practice the sūtra wholeheartedly so that they may be reborn in the Pure Land of the Buddha of Infinite Life upon death. How about this?

ANSWER: The Buddha of Infinite Life in the “Previous Life of the Medicine King Bodhisattva” chapter is not the same as the Buddha of Infinite Life in the pre-Lotus sūtras and in the first half of the Lotus Sūtra. They merely have the same name. The Sūtra of Infinite Meaning (Muryōgi-kyō) says, “Even though they have the same name, their meanings are different.” Miao-lê says in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “Even though you find the name of the Buddha of Infinite Life in the hommon section of the Lotus Sūtra, it does not at all mean the Buddha of Infinite Life mentioned in the Sūtra of Meditation on the Buddha of Infinite Life.” These should dispel all your doubts. After all, Bodhisattvas who are advanced in practice may easily come to this Sahā World from Pure Lands in the universe and can also easily go back there.

Gochū Shujō Gosho, People in the World Letter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 203

Lecture on Lotus Sutra

Interdependence and Connection

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Our lives, on a very fundamental level, a microscopic level, contain billions of cells. Each cell is a living breathing, reproducing entity, and none of this is separated by anything from any other thing. We are all interdependent and connected both internally and externally. When we can see beyond me and mine, and them and us and all the divisions that we so conveniently hide behind we can see the grandeur of the entire grand drama play out in our lives and in our experiences.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 20, 2019

Since time immemorial all the people on the earth have been the Buddha Śākyamuni’s beloved children. We had not realized the relationship because we had been undutiful children. It is a unique relationship. As the moon reflects on calm water, the Buddha appears in our calm mind.

Nichiren wrote this in his Treatise on the Essence of the Lotus Sutra (Hokke Shuyō Shō). The ancient Chinese believed that society became civilized only when people recognized the debt they owe to their ancestors. As children we must grow to become independent, but that does not mean we should forget how dear we are to our parents and show gratitude for their bringing us into this world. Nichiren uses this example to remind us how dear we are to the Buddha. When we forget who we are and where we came from, our minds become disturbed and conflicted. It is through gratitude that we find peace.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

LS32, WONS

Day 26

Day 26 concludes Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, includes Chapter 22, Transmission, and introduces Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Day 26 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the description of the realm of a Buddha called Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue, we hear Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue expound the Lotus Sūtra and Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva make a flower and incense offering to the Buddha.

“Thereupon [Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue] Buddha expounded the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva, to the other Bodhisattvas, and also to the Śrāvakas. Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva willingly practiced austerities under Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue Buddha. He walked about the world, seeking Buddhahood strenuously with all his heart for twelve thousand years until at last he obtained the samadhi by which he could transform himself into any other living being: Having obtained this samadhi, he had great joy.

“He thought, ‘I have obtained the samadhi by which I can transform myself into any other living being because I heard the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. Now I will make offerings to Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue Buddha and also to the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.’

“He entered into this samadhi at once. He filled the sky with the clouds of mandārava-flowers, mahā-mandārava-flowers and the powdered incense of hard and black candana, and rained down those flowers and incense. He also rained down the powdered incense of the candana grown on this shore of the sea [between Mt. Sumeru and the Jambudvipa]. Six shu of this incense was worth the Sahā-World. He offered all these things to the Buddha.

Continuing the discussion of the Age of True Dharma, Age of Semblance Dharma and finally the Latter Age of the Dharma and how these affect the Lotus Sūtra, I offer this from Nichiren’s letter, The Essence of the “Medicine King Bodhisattva” Chapter:

The three delusions (delusions arising from incorrect views and thoughts, delusions which hinder knowledge of salvation methods, and delusions which hinder knowledge of the ultimate reality) that exist in the mind of all people as well as the karma of committing the ten evil acts, and the five rebellious sins are like the darkness of night. All the Buddhist scriptures such as the Flower Garland Sūtra are like stars in the dark night whereas the Lotus Sūtra is comparable to the moon that brightens the darkness of night. Those who believe in the Lotus Sūtra only half-heartedly are like the half-moon shining in the dark night. Those who deeply believe in the sūtra are likened to the full moon brightening the darkness of night. In the night with only stars twinkling in the sky without the moon, aged persons, women and children are unable to go out, though strong and healthy persons may. When the full moon brightens the night, even older persons and women and children are free to go out to play, attend parties, or meet friends and acquaintances. Likewise, in sūtras other than the Lotus Sūtra, though bodhisattvas and ordinary people with superior nature may be able to attain Buddhahood, the Two Vehicles, ordinary people, evil persons, women, or aged people, idlers and those without precepts in the Latter Age will never be able to be reborn in the Pure Land or attain Buddhahood. That is not the case with the Lotus Sūtra. The Two Vehicles, evil persons and women all attain Buddhahood in the Lotus Sūtra, not to speak of bodhisattvas and ordinary people with superior nature. Again, the moon shines brighter at dawn than in the early evening and in autumn and winter than in spring and summer. Likewise, the Lotus Sūtra has more divine help in the Latter Age of Degeneration than during the 2,000 years of the Ages of the True Dharma and the Semblance Dharma.

Yakuō-bon Tokui-shō, The Essence of the “Medicine King Bodhisattva” Chapter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 31

Lotus Seeds

The Jewel of Ichinen Sanzen

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Before Nichiren Shonin, Ichinen Sanzen was a theory that Buddhist practitioners attempted to understand through meditation. Nichiren Shonin, however, taught that Ichinen Sanzen could be realized through faith in the Odaimoku. At the very end of the Kanjin Honzon-sho, he wrote:

For those who are incapable of understanding the truth of the “3,000 worlds contained in one thought,” Lord Shakyamuni Buddha, with his great compassion, wraps this jewel with the five characters of Myo, Ho, Ren, Ge, and Kyo and hangs it around the necks of the ignorant in the decadent Latter age of the dharma.

Lotus Seeds

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 19, 2019

Accordingly, the prayer said by the practicer of the Lotus Sutra will inevitably be fulfilled just as a sound is echoed, just as a shadow follows the body, the moon reflects upon the clear water, a water nymph invites the water, a magnet attracts iron, amber eliminates dust, and a clear mirror reflects the color of everything.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on Prayers (Kitō-shō). When we are truly practicing this Wonderful Dharma, our desires and prayers are for the benefit of all beings, rather than expressions of our self-absorbed attachment and delusion. When we see things for what they are, then we are in harmony with all beings, and will find them helping us and themselves to reach what we all truly desire.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

LS32

Day 25

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Day 25 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month conclude today’s portion of Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, we begin again with the Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva and learn about the Buddha Powerful-Voice-King.

Thereupon the Buddha said to Great-Power-Obtainer Bodhisattva-mahāsattva:
“Know this! Anyone who speaks ill of or abuses or slanders the bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās or upāsikās who keep the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, will incur the retributions previously stated. Anyone [who keeps this sūtra] will be able to have his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind purified, that is to say, to obtain the merits as stated in the previous chapter.

“Great-Power-Obtainer! Innumerable, limitless, inconceivable, asaṃkhya kalpas ago, there lived a Buddha called Powerful-Voice-King, the Tathāgata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. The kalpa in which he lived was called Free-From-Decay; and his world, Great-Achievement. Powerful-Voice-King Buddha expounded the Dharma to the gods, men and asuras of his world. To those who were seeking Śrāvakahood, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the four truths, saved them from birth, old age, disease and death, and caused them to attain Nirvana. To those who were seeking Pratyekabuddhahood, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the twelve causes. To the Bodhisattvas who were seeking Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the six paramitas, and caused them to obtain the wisdom of the Buddha.

“Great-Power-Obtainer! The duration of the life of Powerful-Voice-King Buddha was forty billion nayuta kalpas, that is, as many kalpas as there are sands in the River Ganges. His right teachings were preserved for as many kalpas as the particles of dust of the Jambudvipa. The counterfeit of his right teachings was preserved for as many kalpas as the particles of dust of the four continents. The Buddha benefited all living being and then passed away. After [the two ages:] the age of his right teaching and the age of their counterfeit, there appeared in that world another Buddha also called Powerful-Voice-King, the Tathāgata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. After him, the Buddhas of the same name appeared one after another, two billion altogether.

The Introduction to the Lotus Sutra offers this explanation of the Age of True Dharma – Age of Right Teachings; Age of Semblance Dharma – Age of Counterfeit Teachings; and finally the Latter Age of the Dharma – Age of Degeneration:

The terms, “Age of Right Teachings” and “Age of Counterfeit Teachings,” express the Buddhist view of history. It is believed that for a while after a Buddha has entered Nirvana, people will remember his teachings correctly, put them into practice, and attain enlightenment. However, as time passes, those teachings will become mere academic formalities. People will know about them and be able to discuss them, but they will no longer practice them diligently and attain enlightenment. This second period is called the Age of Counterfeit Teachings. Finally, the teachings will decay altogether. People will neither practice them, understand them, nor attain enlightenment. This is the Age of Degeneration, when Buddhism declines and finally fades away. It is believed by most scholars that the first and second periods last for a thousand years each. The Age of Degeneration can drag on for as long as 10,000 years. In any case, Never-Despising Bodhisattva lived during the second of these three periods, an Age of Counterfeit Teachings.
Introduction to the Lotus Sutra

Yesterday I wrote my personal question about whether these ages apply to the Eternal Śākyamuni Buddha’s teachings. After all, he only “pretends” to enter into Nirvāṇa: “I did all these things only as expedients.”

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 18, 2019

The supernatural powers
Employed by that Buddha
For the expounding of the Dharma
Will be inconceivable.

The Buddha sings this verse in Chapter Six of the Lotus Sūtra after predicting the future Buddhahood of his disciple Subhūti. Anything we do not understand can seem supernatural. Things we find common in our modern world would seem magical to those who lived in the Buddha’s time. It is only through our greater understanding that we can create our modern wonders. It should not then surprise us that with the Buddha’s mind, which he reminds us that we too can reach, the things we can accomplish will seem magical to those mired in delusion.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com