Saichō argued that Hinayāna and Hossō practices all required eons, but that the Japanese could not actually follow them because they were not suited to their faculties. In contrast, the Lotus Sūtra taught a direct path; instead of walking (hogyō) upon the path, the practitioner flew (higyō) directly to his goal. The path requiring eons was descriptive of Mahāyāna doctrines and practices ranging from those of the Sanron and Hossō Schools to those of the Kegon School. In the Hokke shūku, Saichō characterized the differences between Kegon and Tendai One-vehicle teachings in terms of their efficacy in leading to enlightenment. Kegon practice was described as leading to sudden enlightenment only after eons of training (ryakukō shugyō tongo). Kegon doctrines had not yet fully revealed the ultimate teaching of the Buddha, nor had they been purged of provisional teachings. The teachings of the Lotus Sūtra, however, led directly to sudden enlightenment (jikishi dōjō tongo). An adherent of the Lotus Sūtra had no need for eons of preparatory practice and provisional teachings.
Saichō: The Establishment of the Japanese Tendai School, p189Monthly Archives: October 2019
No Wasted Effort
It is difficult to reprogram your mind to respond to different messages from those currently playing. I won’t pretend to oversimplify the process. If however a person is able to change the outlook on failure and view it as an opportunity to explore possibilities I think it leads to greater happiness. I also firmly believe that, especially in Buddhism, there is no wasted effort. Anything we do, no matter how seemingly small and insignificant, and no matter if we completely succeed or not, is not a wasted effort.
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1Ordinary Yellow Rocks
Clouds cover the moon and slanderers hide wise men. When people slander, ordinary yellow rocks appear to be gold and slanderers seem to be wise. Scholars in this age of decay, blinded by slanderous words, do not see the value of the gold in the “Life Span of the Buddha” chapter. Even among men of the Tendai Sect some are fooled into taking a yellow rock for gold. They should know that if Śākyamuni had not been the Eternal Buddha, there could not have been so many who received guidance from Him.
Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 75
Daily Dharma – Oct. 14, 2019
Offer him heaps of the treasures of heaven! Why is that? It is because, while he is expounding the Dharma with joy, if you hear it even for a moment, you will immediately be able to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.
The Buddha gives this instruction to Medicine-King Bodhisattva at the beginning of Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. In Chapter Twenty-Three, the Buddha tells of all the hardships Medicine-King endured to practice the Wonderful Dharma. This Bodhisattva knows all the difficulties we face because he has experienced them himself. When anyone sees us practicing, living and sharing the Dharma with others, they will see the joy we have and want to experience it for themselves. The treasures of heaven we receive from Medicine-King are not like the pleasures and comforts we find in the world. They are the assurance we have of our enlightenment and that of all beings.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 13
Day 13 covers all of Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples.
Having last month heard from twelve hundred Arhats and the Buddha’s response, we hear the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sing in gāthās:
Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
Kauṇḍinya Bhikṣu will see
Innumerable Buddhas.
After asaṃkhya kalpas from now,
He will attain perfect enlightenment.He will emit great rays of light [from his body].
He will have all supernatural powers.
His fame will spread over the worlds of the ten quarters.
Respected by all living beings,
He will expound unsurpassed enlightenment to them.
Therefore, he will be called Universal-Brightness.His world will be pure.
The Bodhisattvas [of that world] will be brave.
They will go up to the tops of wonderful, tall buildings,
And then go out into the worlds of the ten quarters.
There they will make the best offerings
To the Buddhas of those worlds.After making offerings, they will have great joy.
They will return to their home world in a moment.
They will be able to do all this
By their supernatural powers.[Universal-Brightness] Buddha will live for sixty thousand kalpas.
His right teachings will be preserved twice as long as his life;
And the counterfeit of them, also twice as long as his right teachings.
When his teachings are eliminated, gods and men will be sad.The five hundred bhikṣus
Will become Buddhas one after another.
They also will be called Universal-Brightness.
One who has become a Buddha will say to another:
“You will become a Buddha after my extinction.
[The living beings of] the world
To be saved by that Buddha
Will be like those whom I am teaching today.”The beauty of the worlds [of those Buddhas],
And the supernatural powers [of those Buddhas],
And the number of the Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas [of those worlds],
And the number of kalpas of the lives [of those Buddhas],
Of their right teachings, and of the counterfeit of them,
Will be the same [as in the case of Kauṇḍinya].Kāśyapa! Now you have heard of the future
Of the five hundred Arhats
Who have freedom of mind.
All the other Śrāvakas also will [become Buddhas].
Tell this to the Śrāvakas
Who are not present here!
.
Buddhahood for All
Two Buddhas, p125The prophecies in these two chapters [Chapters 8 and 9], whether conferred on individuals or groups, each specify the name of the buddha whom the recipient will become, the name of his buddha land or field of activity, and the length of time that his teaching will endure. For the sūtra’s East Asian commentators, such concrete detail lent these predictions a level of credibility beyond any mere abstract assertion that “persons of the two other vehicles can become buddhas.” Because the Buddha knows the past, present, and future and never lies, it was certain that his śrāvaka disciples would in fact attain buddhahood just as he had predicted. For Nichiren, based on the premise that all ten realms are included in any one realm, the fact that śrāvakas can become buddhas meant that anyone else can as well. Thus, the Buddha’s prediction for any one of these figures could be read as a prediction of certain buddhahood for all who embrace the Lotus Sūtra, regardless of their status.
Classifying Five Bodhisattva Categories
In the Kenkairon Saichō classified the five bodhisattvas into two major categories, those who backslid and those who did not. In the Ketsugonjitsuron Saichō further developed the classification by matching the five types of bodhisattvas with the four categories (kehō shikyō) of Chih-i’s classification of the contents of Buddhist teachings. The five types can be summarized as follows:
- The bodhisattva who followed the practices of the sheep vehicle was equivalent to the Buddhist in the Abhidharmakośa who required over three great kalpas to attain Buddhahood.
- The bodhisattva who followed the practices of the elephant vehicle corresponded to the practitioner of Common teachings, represented in this case by the prajn͂āpāramitā (Perfection of Wisdom) teachings.
- The bodhisattva who followed the practices of the vehicle which endowed him with superhuman powers enabling him to reach the sun and moon corresponded to the practitioner of the fifty-two stages outlined in the Ying lo ching and thus was equivalent to one form of the Unique teaching (bekkyō).
- The bodhisattva who followed the practices of the vehicle which endowed him with the superhuman powers of a Śrāvaka corresponded to the practitioner of another form of the Unique teaching, the follower of the forty-one stages presented in the Hua yen Ching (Avatamsakasūtra).
- The bodhisattva who followed the practices of the vehicle which endowed him with the superhuman powers of the Buddha corresponded to the practitioner of the Perfect teaching (engyō n u). Saichō noted that this bodhisattva was like the eight-year old Nāga girl described in the Lotus Sūtra who turned into a man and immediately attained enlightenment.
Saichō died before he could further develop this classification and discuss such problems as how Esoteric Buddhism would fit into the system. However, the reasons for Saichō’s interest in this classification system are clear. It enabled him to discuss Buddhist practices in terms of the speed with which they would enable a practitioner to attain enlightenment without backsliding.
Saichō: The Establishment of the Japanese Tendai School, p185-186Changing Barley and Wheat to Characters of the Lotus Sūtra
It is said that a rabbit jumped on the back of the sage to whom Aniruddha offered a bowl of barnyard millet rice, and it became a dead person. The sage went home to unload it and found it had become a golden person. Whenever the sage pulled out a finger of the golden man to sell, a new finger appeared. When an evil king tried to plunder the golden man, it changed to an ordinary corpse. Thus, it is said, the sage continued to live a fabulously rich life for as long as 91 kalpa (aeons).
When a man named Mahānāma picked up a pebble, it changed to a piece of gold, and King Konzoku changed sand to gold. Now you have changed barley and wheat to characters of the Lotus Sūtra, which will become a mirror and accessories for a woman and an armor and helmet for a man. They will be your protective deities and help you to become a well-known warrior. Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō. Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.
Nanjō-dono Gohenji, Reply to Lord Nanjō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Pages 13
Daily Dharma – Oct. 13, 2019
Those who, without concentrating their minds,
Offered nothing but a flower to the picture of the Buddha,
Became able to see
Innumerable Buddhas one after another.
We can read these words of the Buddha from Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra as if we had to wait until another life to see Buddhas. But by making offerings to an image of the Buddha, by practicing respect towards a representation of the Buddha, we start to look for and recognize the Buddha in ourselves and in all of the beings who share the world with us. When we see this world of conflict and suffering as the Buddha’s Pure Land, then we see all beings as our enlightened teachers. We see innumerable Buddhas.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 12
Day 12 concludes Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City, and completes the Third Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month considered those who were taught by the śramaṇeras, we hear the Parable of the Magic City.
“Bhikṣus! I will collect Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas and expound this sūtra to them when I realize that the time of my Nirvāṇa is drawing near, that the living beings have become pure in heart, that they can understand the truth of the Void by firm faith, and that they have already entered deep into dhyāna-concentration. No one in the world can attain [true] extinction by the two vehicles. [True] extinction can be attained only by the One Buddha-Vehicle.
“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.
“I will tell you a parable. Once upon a time there was a dangerous, bad road five hundred yojanas long. It was so fearful that no men lived in the neighborhood. Now many people wished to pass through this road in order to reach a place of treasures. They were led by a man, clever, wise, and well informed of the conditions of the dangerous road. He took them along this dangerous road, but halfway the people got tired of walking. They said to him, ‘We are tired out. We are also afraid of the danger of this road. We cannot go a step farther. Our destination is still far off. We wish to go back.’
“The leader, who knew many expedients, thought, ‘What a pity!
They wish to go back without getting great treasures.’ Having thought this, he expediently made a city by magic at a distance of three hundred yojanas from the starting-point of this dangerous road. He said to them, ‘Do not be afraid! Do not go back! You can stay in that great city, and do anything you like. If you enter that city, you will be peaceful. If you go on afterwards and reach the place of treasures, then you can go home.’
“Thereupon the worn-out people had great joy. They said, ‘We have never had such joy as this before. Now we shall be able to get off this bad road and become peaceful.’
“Then they made their way forward and entered the magic city.
They felt peaceful, thinking that they had already passed [through the bad road]. Seeing that they had already had a rest and relieved their fatigue, the leader caused the city to disappear, and said to them, ‘Now the place of treasures is near. I made this city by magic in order to give you a rest.’