Monthly Archives: May 2020

LS32, WONS

Day 30

Day 30 covers all of Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs

Day 30 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month received Vaiśravaṇa Heavenly-King’s dhārāni spells, we receive World-Holding Heavenly-King’s dhārāni spells.

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.”

Nichiren offers this on the Dhārāṇi chapter:

The Dhārāṇi chapter states that two bodhisattvas, two heavenly kings and ten female rākṣasa demons will protect the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra. The two bodhisattvas are the Bodhisattva Medicine King and the Bodhisattva Brave Donor. The two heavenly kings are Vaiśravaṇa and Dhṛtarāṣṭra. The ten female rākṣasa demons are ten great demons, mothers of all demons in the four quarters of the world. Their mother is Hāriti.

They eat men after the custom of demons. A man’s body is composed of thirty-six substances such as excrement, urine, spittle, flesh, blood, skin, bone, five viscera and six entrails, hair, breath, and spirit. Inferior demons feed on excrement and the like. Mediocre demons feed on bones and the like. Superior demons feed on spiritual essence. The ten female rākṣasa demons have supreme qualities and thus feed on man’s spiritual essence. They are the great demons of epidemic.

Nichinyo Gozen Gohenji, A Response to My Lady Nichinyo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 4, Faith and Practice,
Page 134

Eyes

Perfection of Meditation

Quote

The perfection of meditation (S. dhyāna) is a development of right concentration (S. samādhi) of the eightfold path. Meditation in a state of bliss without discriminating thought refers to the second through fourth of the four dhyānas (states of increasingly refined meditative absorption) wherein discursive thought has been transcended. One way of entering into the dhyānas would be through contemplating the four infinite virtues of lovingkindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity and extending those feelings in one’s regard to all beings in all directions. From the fourth dhyāna one might also cultivate the four attainments that are increasingly subtle formless objects of contemplation: space, consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception nor non-perception. It is taught in Buddhism that entering any of these states creates the karma to be reborn into a corresponding heaven. The bodhisattva, however, does not practice meditation for the purpose of attaining a heavenly rebirth or to selfishly abide in such pleasant states. Instead, meditation is used to overcome the hindrances of sensual desire, ill-will, drowsiness, agitation, and debilitating doubt. Meditation is also the optimum way of developing the aforementioned four infinite virtues and other wholesome qualities with which to help sentient beings. Finally, meditation provides the calmness and clarity of mind that allows for the insight into the true nature of reality. All of this is cultivated for the sake of all beings, but again without holding onto any of these states as an object of attachment or aversion.

Open Your Eyes, p200
d14b, d19b, d20b, WONS

Bodhisattvas With Close Relationships with Sahā World

During the first 500 years in the millennium of the Age of the True Dharma, men of śrāvaka all passed away, while in the last 500 years nearly all those bodhisattvas who had come from other worlds went back to their own lands. In the 1,000 years of the Age of the Semblance Dharma, Avalokiteśvara was reincarnated as Nan-yüeh; Medicine King Bodhisattva as T’ien-t’ai or Dengyō; Mañjuśrī as Gyōki, and Maitreya as Great Teacher Fu Hsi to help all the people.

Now in the Latter Age of Degeneration, these bodhisattvas, too, have all retired to their original dwellings. Other heavenly gods and terrestrial deities who are supposed to protect this world have either left it for other places or refused to protect the evil country while remaining in this world. They are also powerless in this world because they have not been fed with the taste of the True Dharma. For instance, nobody except great bodhisattvas with the Dharma Body can enter the three evil realms to save suffering beings because nobody except them are able to bear the great suffering there.

On the other hand, those great bodhisattvas emerged from the great earth in the first place have been in the Sahā World for incalculable aeons; in the second place they have been disciples of Śākyamuni Buddha ever since He was awakened by aspiration for enlightenment in the eternal past; and thirdly they were the first to receive the seed of Buddhahood in this Sahā World. More than any other great bodhisattvas, they have thus had close relationships with this Sahā World from their past lives.

Soya Nyūdō-dono-gari Gosho, A Letter to Lay Priest Lord Soya, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 160-161.

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – May 21, 2020

Thereupon Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha said to Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva: “Do not despise that world! Do not consider it to be inferior [to our world]! Good Man! The Sahā-World is not even. It is full of mud, stones, mountains and impurities. The Buddha [of that world] is short in stature. So are the Bodhisattvas [of that world]. You are forty-two thousand yojanas tall. I am six million and eight hundred thousand yojanas tall. You are the most handsome. You have thousands of millions of marks of merits, and your light is wonderful. Do not despise that world when you go there! Do not consider that the Buddha and Bodhisattvas of that world are inferior [to us]! Do not consider that that world is inferior [to ours]!”

In Chapter Twenty-Four of the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha sends a light from his forehead to the world in which Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva lives. When that Bodhisattva saw this light from Śākyamuni Buddha, he asked permission from the Buddha he was attending to visit our world of conflict. The instruction he receives from his Buddha reminds us that no matter what advantages we have gained from our practice of the Buddha Dharma, these do not make us any better or worse than those we are determined to benefit.

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