Monthly Archives: September 2019

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Sept. 27, 2019

All living beings are either noble or humble. They are either handsome or ugly. They are destined to be reborn either in a better region or in a worse region. All of them will be reflected on the pure bodies [of the good men or women].

The Buddha makes this declaration to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. Much of what we see in the world is a projection of our own biases and ignorance. We see things for what we want them to be rather than what they are. We classify the people in our lives as friends, enemies or strangers not because of their inherent qualities, but because of how they treat us. When we act for the benefit of others rather than our own gratification, we are showing them their true qualities. We let them see themselves for what they are.

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

LS32

Day 30

Day 30 covers all of Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs

Day 30 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered Vaiśravaṇa Heavenly-King’s offering, we consider World-Holding Heavenly-King’s offering.

Thereupon World-Holding Heavenly-King, accompanied by thousands of billions of nayutas of gandharvas who were surrounding him respectfully, came to the Buddha, joined his hands together, and said to him, “World-Honored One! I also will protect the keeper of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma with dhārānis, with divine spells.”

Then he uttered spells,” Akyanei (1), kyanei (2), kuri (3), kendari (4), sendari (5), matōgi (6), jōguri (7), furoshani (8), atchi (9).”

[He said to the Buddha:]

“World-Honored One! These dhārānis, these divine spells, have already been uttered by four thousand and two hundred million Buddhas. Those who attack and abuse this teacher of the Dharma should be considered to have attacked and abused those Buddhas.”

Vaiśravaṇa, last month, and World-Holding Heavenly-King are present at the top of the Mandala Gohonzon, Vaiśravaṇa on the top left and World-Holding Heavenly-King, top right.

Lotus World offers this about World-Holding Heavenly-King:

The Flammarion Iconographic Guide: Buddhism describes Dhritarashtra (Jikoku Tenno, Heavenly King of the East) as follows: “This guardian king governs in the east and presides over the spring. He is ‘He who maintains the kingdom (of the Law)’; ‘the maintainer of the state’ … He commands an army of celestial musicians (gandharvas) and vampire demons (pishachas). The gandharvas are one of the eight kinds of supernatural beings who are said to revere and protect the Dharma; the pishachas are a type of hungry ghost.

According to the Kumarajiva translation of the Lotus Sutra, it is Dhritarashtra who offers dharanis in chapter 26 for the benefit of those who keep the Lotus Sutra.

Lotus World: An Illustrated Guide to the Gohonzon

Basics

Giving

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At the outset, a person may engage in charitable works in the hope of the karmic reward of rebirth in paradise. But as the experience is repeated the person forgets about rewards and gives for the pleasure of giving, eventually advancing to the realization that even this pleasure is selfish. Warmed by the light and peace generated by giving, such a person finds life meaningless without giving selflessly and no longer even takes into consideration the pleasure to be derived from acts of giving.
Basic Buddhist Concepts

Saicho

Predictions of the Decline of the Buddhist Teaching

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Predictions of the decline of the Buddhist teaching had played an important role in Indian and Chinese Buddhism. In China these predictions had been crucial to the development of Pure Land Buddhism and the Sect of the Three Stages. Buddhists representing these movements had argued that a new age in Buddhist history required new teachings. Other Chinese monks, such as Daoxuan, had responded to the threat of a decline in Buddhism by calling upon monks to faithfully follow established Buddhist practices, especially those specified in the precepts.

In Japan the idea of a decline in Buddhist teachings and practices was familiar to Japanese monks as early as the Nara period. Particularly popular was a theory which classified the deterioration of Buddhism into three stages: the Period of the True Dharma (shōbō), the Period of the Imitated Dharma (zōhō) and the End of the Dharma (mappō).

Of the various theories concerning the length of these periods, two were particularly well-known in China and Japan. According to the first, the Period of the True Dharma lasted five-hundred years and the Period of the Imitated Dharma lasted one-thousand years. By the eighth century, the Chinese and Japanese usually dated the death of the Buddha as occurring in 949 BC,5 thus the Nara and Heian periods corresponded to mappō.

Note 5: During the Six Dynasties, Chinese Buddhists moved the date of the death of the Buddha back in time from the fifth century BC to 949 BC in order to counter Taoist charges that the arrival of Buddhism had caused Chinese dynasties to be short-lived and to prove that the Buddha had lived before Lao Tzu. Eventually the date of 949 BC was accepted as the date of the Buddha’s death by most Chinese. By claiming that Buddhism had arrived in China shortly after the Buddha’s death, Chinese monks could argue that Buddhism had been taught in China during the long Chou Dynasty and thus had not adversely affected the longevity of Chinese dynasties.

Saichō: The Establishment of the Japanese Tendai School, p171
Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Sept. 26, 2019

Why do you look at me so anxiously? You do not think that I assured you of your future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi because I did not mention you by name, do you? Gautamī! I have already said that I assured all the Śrāvakas of their future attainment [of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi]. Now you wish to know my assurance of your future attainment [of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi].

The Buddha has this discussion with his aunt, Mahā-Prajāpatī, also called Gautamī, in Chapter Thirteen of the Lotus Sutra. She raised the young Siddhartha after his mother Queen Māyā died when he was only six weeks old. Gautamī was also the first woman to be ordained into the Sangha. Since women then were thought by some to be not as capable as men, the Buddha specifically assures Gautamī, and thus all women, of the certainty of her enlightenment.

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

LS32

Day 29

Day 29 covers all of Chapter 25, The Universal Gate of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva.

Day 29 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered some of the many ways he helps those in trouble, we consider other ways he helps.

“Those who have much lust will be saved from lust if they constantly think of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva and respect him. Those who have much anger will be saved from anger if they constantly think of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva and respect him. Those who have much stupidity will be saved from stupidity if they constantly think of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva and respect him. Endless-Intent! World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva has these great supernatural powers. He gives many benefits to all living beings. Therefore, they should constantly think of him.

“A woman who, wishing to have a boy, bows and makes offerings to World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva, will be able to give birth to a boy endowed with merits, virtues and wisdom. [A woman] who, wishing to have a girl, [does the same,] will be able to give birth to a beautiful girl who will be loved and respected by many people because of the roots of virtue which the [newly-born] girl planted in her previous existence. Endless-Intent! Because World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva has these powers, the merits of those who respect him and bow to him will not be fruitless. Therefore, all living beings should keep the name of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva.

The Daily Dharma from Oct. 6, 2018, offers this:

Those who have much lust will be saved from lust if they constantly think of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva and respect him. Those who have much anger will be saved from anger if they constantly think of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva and respect him. Those who have much stupidity will be saved from stupidity if they constantly think of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva and respect him.

The Buddha gives this description of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva (Kannon, Kanzeon, Avalokitesvara) to Endless-Intent Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Five of the Lotus Sūtra. World-Voice-Perceiver is the embodiment of compassion for all beings, the wish that all beings be freed from suffering and realize the enlightenment of the Buddha. This compassion is the antidote to the three poisons of lust, anger and stupidity. By aspiring to the example of World-Voice-Perceiver and awakening our own compassion, we can overcome these poisons and bring benefits to all beings.

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

buddhaseed

Our True Reason for Living

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We realize that the Eternal and Original Buddha Śākyamuni has always had great compassion toward us. We feel the Buddha’s favor, respect Him, and adore Him and by upholding the Odaimoku verbally and faithfully, we connect our lives with the Original Buddha’s life. We should be aware that the Lotus Sūtra is the Buddha’s real intention and that the Lotus Sūtra and the Odaimoku are the paths to attain Buddhahood. We should endeavor to take the Buddha’s vow as our own. That vow is to save all people and have them attain Buddhahood with the Lotus Sūtra and the Odaimoku, and to help the Buddha through our compassionate activities. By doing so, we are able to participate in the Buddha’s eternal life. We are inspired with joy and we find our true reason for living.

Buddha Seed: Understanding the Odaimoku

Saicho

The Right Doctrine and Practice for the Japanese People

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Saichō believed that he was living at a time in history which required radical changes in Japanese Buddhism. His proposal to base monastic practice on the Fan wang Ching was only one part of a larger plan to reform Tendai Buddhism. Saichō envisioned Mount Hiei as an institution which would dispatch monks to the provinces to spread Tendai teachings as well as training them so that they could realize enlightenment during their current lifetime (sokushin jōbutsu).

In the Hokke shūku, Saichō argued that the Lotus Sūtra was the Buddha’s ultimate teaching and that it was appropriate for the Japanese people. In the following passage, Saichō mentioned some of the factors which he believed should be considered in determining the right doctrine and practice for the Japanese people.

If we speak of the age in which we live, it is the end of the Period of the Imitated Dharma and the beginning of the Period of the End of the Dharma. If we inquire about the land in which we live, it is to the east of China (in other words, Japan). … If we ask about the people to whom this teaching is to be preached, it is to those who are born in a time of strife during the period of the five defilements (gojoku).2

These same three factors, the age in which Saichō lived, the Japanese nation, and the capabilities of the Japanese people, decisively influenced Saichō’s understanding of the role which the precepts should play in Japanese Buddhism and led him to formulate a new interpretation of the precepts for Heian period Japan.

Note 2: The five defilements (gojoku) are described in the Lotus Sūtra (Hurvitz trans., p. 31). They consist of five characteristics of an age in decline. First, the age or kalpa itself was defiled. The time was such that the other four defilements tended to come into being. Second, passions (kleśa) such as covetousness, anger and ignorance arose in people. Third, all sentient beings who lived at such a time were defiled; because of past wrongdoings, people possessed inferior faculties and had weak bodies. Fourth, people maintained wrong religious views. They believed in heterodox teachings such as in the existence of an eternal soul. Fifth, the lifespan of people gradually shortened.

Saichō: The Establishment of the Japanese Tendai School, p170
WONS

Karmic Bonds Formed in the Past

When I was banished to Sado in the northern sea, people there, both priests and laity, hated me even more than did the men and women of Sagami Province. Abandoned in the wilderness and exposed to the snow, I survived by eating grass. I felt as though I were personally experiencing the sufferings of Su-wu, who survived by eating snow while living in captivity in the land of northern barbarians for nineteen years. Or of Li Ling, who was imprisoned in a rocky cave on the shore of the northern sea for six years. I suffered this ordeal not because of any fault of my own but solely because of my desire to save the country of Japan.

However, while I was exiled in Sado Province, you, my Lady Nun, and your husband, Lord Lay Priest, avoiding the watchful eyes of others, at times brought me food by night. At other times you were both ready to give your lives for my sake without fearing punishment from the provincial officials. Therefore, though life on Sado was harsh, I was loath to leave the island, feeling as if I was leaving my heart behind, and I seemed to be pulled back with each step I took.

I wonder what kind of karmic bond we had formed in the past. Just when I was thinking how mysterious it was, you sent your most precious husband as your messenger to this distant place. I thought it must have been a dream or an illusion. Even though I cannot see you, I am convinced that your heart remains here with me. Whenever you yearn for me, Nichiren, look toward the sun which rises in the morning and the moon which appears in the evening. I will inevitably be reflected in the sun and the moon. In the next life, let us meet in the Pure Land of Mt. Sacred Eagle. Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.

Kō no Ama Gozen Gosho, A Letter to My lady, the Nun Kō, the Nun Myōichi, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Pages 166-167

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Sept. 25, 2019

My disciples are performing
The Bodhisattva practices secretly
Though they show themselves in the form of Śrāvakas.
They are purifying my world.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. The Śrāvakas are those who hear the teachings of the Buddha and put it into practice only for themselves. They are concerned with ending their own suffering and do not believe they have the capacity to reach the Buddha’s enlightenment. But because they can serve as an example to those who are also unsure about receiving this great wisdom, they can be an inspiration to make progress on the path. With the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha declares that all beings have the capacity for enlightenment, and reveals that all of our pursuits are for the sake of benefiting others. It is when we realize this directly and openly that we perform the Bodhisattva practice, the selfless effort of awakening the world.

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