Monthly Archives: September 2019

WONS

The Evil Ban Be Turned to the Just with Myō

The word “hell” can be defined “to dig the ground.” It is called “hell” because dead people are buried in the ground. In the same way, we can say that the wife, children, and relatives carrying the corpse to a crematory are jailors of hell; the grief-stricken cries of wife and children are the scolding voices of jailors; and the crematory flames are the flames of the Hell of Incessant Suffering. A two-and-a-half foot cane seems like a jailor’s iron stick; horses and cows look like horse-head demons and cow-head demons; the hole for burying the dead corresponds to the Hell of Incessant Suffering; eighty-four thousand desires are eighty-four thousand iron pots in Hell; to leave home is a journey of death; and the river by which filial children mourn equals the Styx, the river of death. It would be foolish for you to look for hell in places other than your own mind!

However, for those who uphold the Lotus Sutra, all this is reversed. Hell will be altered to the Pure Land of Eternally Tranquil Light; the flames in hell will be changed into the light of wisdom of the Buddha of the Reward-body; the dead will be changed into the Buddha of Dharma-body; the fiery hole of hell will be changed to the compassion of the Buddha of the Accommodative-body; the cane of the dead will become the cane of the true entity of all phenomena; the Styx will become the ocean of Nirvana; and the journey of death will become the doctrine of “earthly desires turned to enlightenment.”

Understand this, please. To understand this is “immediate attainment of Buddhahood with the present body” or “opening the treasury of Buddha-Wisdom.” This is exactly how Devadatta, the Evil changed the Hell of Incessant Suffering into the Pure Land of Tranquil Light, and a daughter of the Dragon King became a Buddha in an instant. According to the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, the evil can be turned to the just. This is solely attributable to the merit of one character “myō.”

Ueno-dono Goke-ama Go-henji, A Response to the Nun, Widow of Lord Ueno, Nyonin Gosho, Letters Addressed to Female Followers, Page 50-52

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Sept. 29, 2019

The Buddhas of my replicas
As innumerable
As there are sands in the River Ganges
Also came here
From their wonderful worlds,
Parting from their disciples,
And giving up the offerings made to them
By gods, men and dragons,
In order to hear the Dharma,
See Many-Treasures Tathāgata,
Who passed away [a long time ago],
And have the Dharma preserved forever.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Eleven of the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddhas of his replicas inhabit countless other worlds in the universe, and enjoy the status and benefit of being enlightened in those worlds. Despite the honor they receive in those worlds, they happily come to hear the Buddha teach the Wonderful Dharma. As our pleasures seem small compared to those of a Buddha, so a Buddha’s pleasures seem small compared to the Wonderful Dharma.

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

LS32

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.

Day 32 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month heard Śākyamuni Buddha praise Universal Sage’s efforts, we consider those who keep, read and recite the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma after the Buddha’s extinction.

“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 Aug. 24, 2019, 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

Saicho

Going to the Mountains to Practice in Peace

Quote

Saichō justified several of his proposals by referring to predictions of the decline of Buddhism. He argued that the changed circumstances of the current age required new forms of Buddhism. In proposing that Mañjuśrī should replace Piṇḍola as elder (jōza) in the dining halls, Saichō noted that:

At the end of the Period of the Imitated Dharma (zōmatsu), the four groups violate the Hinayāna and Mahāyāna precepts and turn against the Buddha’s teachings. The Hinayāna jōza (Piṇḍola) does not have enough power (to accomplish such feats as vanquishing the karmic consequences of wrongdoings). If you do not install Mañjuśrī as jōza in the dining halls, then you ignore the Dharma in India and go against the laws of China. To whom will you turn to escape the consequences of your violations of the precepts? How will you escape the fierce flames of Avici Hell?”

Elsewhere Saichō argued that serious monks should withdraw to the mountains to meditate. After quoting a passage from the Fa mieh chin Ching, which described the complete degradation of Buddhism,
Saichō asked, “If it is known that it is the time (of the decline of Buddhism), who would not go to the mountains (in order to practice in peace)?”
Saichō: The Establishment of the Japanese Tendai School, p173

Lotus Seeds

The Ten Worlds: Animals

Quote

The world of animals is the state of cunning, primitive aggression, and instinctive desires. It is a state of mind that does not look beyond immediate gratification and pays no heed to consequences or long-term benefit. Here, pleasure and pain reign supreme over reason. There is no sense of morality. Though not as inherently painful as the first two states, those who are in this state will inevitably meet with frustration and confusion, if not pain and suffering.

Lotus Seeds

d27b, WONS

The Light of One Character of the Lotus Sūtra

The Lotus Sūtra is like the moon. The rays of light emitted by stars reach the distance of half a mile, 1, 10, or 20 miles at the most whereas the rays of the moon light reach as far as 1,000 miles or so. Even if all stars in the four continents and all the worlds throughout the universe, 100, 1,000, 10,000, 1,000,000 in number, are put together, they are not comparable to the moon in brightness. It goes without saying that one star can never be compared to the moon in brightness. Likewise, all the sūtras such as the Flower Garland Sūtra, the Āgama sūtras, the Hōdō sūtras, the Wisdom Sūtra, the Nirvana Sūtra, the Great Sun Buddha Sūtra, and the Sūtra of Meditation on the Buddha of Infinite Life put together, do not amount to one character of the Lotus Sūtra.

Yakuō-bon Tokui-shō, The Essence of the “Medicine King Bodhisattva” Chapter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 30-31

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Sept. 28, 2019

We know the defects of the Lesser Vehicle.
But we do not know how to obtain
The unsurpassed wisdom of the Buddha.

The Buddha’s disciples Maudgalyāyana, Subhūti and Mahā-Kātyāyana sing these verses in Chapter Six of the Lotus Sūtra. They have heard the Buddha teach that the expedient teachings about Suffering are incomplete. However they still have not yet embraced the One Vehicle teaching of the Lotus Sūtra which leads all beings to enlightenment. Nichiren explained, in his Treatise on Opening the Eyes of Buddhist Images, how teachings that came before the Lotus Sūtra were based on the mind of the hearer, where the Wonderful Dharma is itself the mind of the Buddha. When we read, recite, copy and expound the Lotus Sūtra, we are becoming of one mind with the Buddha.

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

LS32

Day 31

Day 31 covers Chapter 27, King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva.

Day 31 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the preparations to see Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha, we witness King Wonderful-Adornment, Queen Pure-Virtue, and their two sons travel to the Buddha and hear Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha.

“Thereupon King Wonderful-Adornment, Queen Pure-Virtue, and their two sons came to that Buddha. The king was accompanied by his ministers and attendants; the queen, by her ladies and attendants; and their two sons, by forty-two thousand men. They worshiped the feet of that Buddha with their heads, walked around the Buddha three times, retired, and stood to one side.

“Thereupon the Buddha expounded the Dharma to the king, showed him the Way, taught him, benefited him, and caused him to rejoice. The king had great joy. 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 tala-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 garment 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 Daily Dharma from April 24, 2019, offers this:

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.

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

Saicho

Saichō and the Decline of the Buddha’s Teaching

Quote

Saichō believed that many of the descriptions of the decline of the Buddha’s teaching accurately depicted the corruption among Buddhist monks in Nara. The monks of Nara vied for fame and profit, rather than exerting themselves to attain enlightenment. They jealously criticized and persecuted any monk who seriously practiced Buddhist austerities. Saichō saw himself as the persecuted monk and the Nara monks as the corrupt Buddhists described in the sütras.

Although Saichō referred to the theories describing the decline of Buddhism in three periods, he did not attempt to reconcile the discrepancies between the various accounts of the decline. Nor did he discuss the chronology of the decline of Buddhism in his writings. Saichō’s disciple Kōjō, however, included a passage in the Denjutsu isshinkaimon that did give a chronology for the decline. The Period of the True Dharma (shōbō) lasted one-thousand years, and the Period of the Imitated Dharma (zōhō) would also last one-thousand years. Thus Kōjō noted that 806, the year Emperor Kanmu granted yearly ordinands to the Tendai School, was 1747 years after the Buddha’s death. Only two-hundred years remained before the final period of decline, that of mappō. Kōjō’s mention of a significant event in Saichō’s life, the bestowal of yearly ordinands, in his chronology suggests that Saichō also accepted this time table.

Saichō: The Establishment of the Japanese Tendai School, p172-173
WONS

The Ten Objects Ten Stage Meditation

QUESTION: Why is the Wonderful Dharma called the “three thousand existences contained in one thought”?

ANSWER: Grand Master T’ien-t’ai, after perceiving the “three thousand existences contained in one thought” doctrine, expounded many teachings such as the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra (consisting of ten fascicles); the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra (consisting of ten fascicles); the Samadhi of Bodhicitta; the Shōshi-kan (Introduction to Meditation); the Annotations on the Vimalakirti Sūtra; the Commentary on How to Eliminate Four Misconceptions of Body, Feeling, Mind, and Self; and the Annotations on the Doctrine of the Dhyānapāramitā; without explaining the “three thousand existences contained in one thought” doctrine. What he expounded were only the Ten Realms, the Hundred Realms, and the Thousand Aspects. However, there exists the Great Concentration and Insight, ten fascicles, which he expounded to a disciple, Grand Master Chang-an, in the summer of the fourth month when he was fifty-seven years old, at the Yü-ch’üan-ssŭ Temple in Ching-chou. What he wrote in the first four fascicles was only concerned with such doctrines as the Six Stages in the practice of the Lotus Sūtra and Buddhahood, the Four Kinds of Meditation, and not the “three thousand existences contained in one thought” doctrine. Beginning with the fifth fascicle, however, he discusses the Ten Objects Ten Stage Meditation, revealing the “three thousand existences contained in one thought” doctrine for the first time. Grand Master Miao-lê recommended this to people of the Latter Age of Degeneration, saying in his Annotations on the Great Concentration and Insight, “Grand Master T’ien-t’ai’s doctrine of spiritual contemplation is based on the ‘three thousand existences contained in one thought’ doctrine. … Those who seek his teaching must not think that there is an ultimate doctrine of T’ien-t’ai’s except this.” The numerous doctrines expounded in the 60 fascicles and 3,000 pages of writings on the Lotus Sūtra as interpreted by T’ien-t’ai (three major writings of T’ien-t’ai, 10 fascicles each, and Miao-lé’s annotations on them, also 10 fascicles each) are not enough to perceive the true intent of Grand Master T’ien-t’ai. Instead, we should master just the first several lines (on the “3 ,000 existences contained in one thought” doctrine) in the fifth fascicle of the Great Concentration and Insight.

Ichidai Shōgyō Tai-I, Outline of All the Holy Teachings of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 89-90