Monthly Archives: June 2020

Eyes, d16b, d18b, d19b, WONS

Five Proclamations

In considering whether or not to give public witness to the Lotus Sūtra, even though he knew he might face persecution, Nichiren found encouragement and confirmation of his chosen course of action in the simile of the “six difficult and nine easier actions” given by the Buddha in chapter eleven of the Lotus Sūtra.

Vacillating between whether I should speak out or whether I should not if I were to back down in the face of royal persecutions, I hit upon the ‘six difficult and nine easier actions’ mentioned in the eleventh chapter, “Appearance of the Stūpa of Treasures,” in the Lotus Sūtra. It says that even a man as powerless as I can throw Mr. Sumeru, even a man with as little superhuman power as I can carry a stack of hay on his back and survive the disastrous conflagration at the end of the world, and even a man as ignorant as I can memorize various sūtras as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River. Even more so, it is not easy to uphold even a word or phrase of the Lotus Sūtra in the Latter Age of Degeneration. This must be it! I have made a vow that this time I will have an unbending aspiration to buddhahood and never fall back! (Hori 2002, p. 53 adapted)

The passage that Nichiren is referring to can be found in the verses of chapter eleven. Further on in Kaimoku-shō, Nichiren cites what he calls the “five proclamations” of the Buddha in chapters eleven and twelve, of which the “six difficult and nine easy actions” are a part of the third proclamation. The five proclamations refer to the “three proclamations” of chapter eleven and two exhortations of buddhahood in chapter twelve — the prediction of buddhahood for Devadatta and the attainment of buddhahood by the dragon king’s daughter. The three proclamations are the three times in chapter eleven in which the Buddha exhorts those gathered to receive and keep, protect, read, and recite the Lotus Sūtra in the world after the passing of the Buddha.

Open Your Eyes, p487-488
WONS

A Lantern in Darkness, a Ship in the Sea, and Guardian in Dangerous Places

When I was exiled to Sado as a prisoner of the Kamakura shogunate, I hardly had any visitors. However, you proved to be an exceptional woman by not only sending many offerings but also personally visiting me over there. I thought that I was dreaming or seeing an illusion when you appeared; and this time you visited me here. I have no words to express my gratitude. I am certain that the gods will protect you and the ten female rākṣasa demons will have compassion on you. The Buddha promised that the Lotus Sūtra would serve woman as a lantern in the darkness, a ship in the sea, and a guardian in dangerous places.

Oto Gozen Go-shōsoku, A Letter to Lady Oto, Nyonin Gosho, Letters Addressed to Female Followers, Page 118-120

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – June 6, 2020

The Buddhas joyfully display
Their immeasurable, supernatural powers
Because [the Bodhisattvas from underground]
[Vow to] keep this sūtra after my extinction.

The Buddha sings these verses to Superior-Practice Bodhisattva (Jōgyo, Viśiṣṭacārītra) in Chapter Twenty-One of the Lotus Sūtra. Superior-Practice is the leader of the Bodhisattvas who came up from underground in Chapter Fifteen when the Buddha asked who would continue to keep and practice this sūtra after his physical extinction in this world. Nichiren saw himself as the embodiment of Superior-Practice, and all of us who are determined to lead all beings to enlightenment through this Wonderful Dharma as embodiments of the Bodhisattvas who came up from underground. The powers of the Buddhas only seem supernatural to those who are mired in delusion and ignorance. They are nothing more than turning the poison of anger into the medicine of energy; the poison of isolation into the medicine of compassion; the poison of attachment into the medicine of wisdom.

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

LS32

Day 11

Day 11 continues Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City

Day 11 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month witnessed what occurred When Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, we consider the reaction of the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the southeast.

“Bhikṣus! The great Brahman-[heavenly-]kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the southeast, who saw their palaces illumined more brightly than ever, danced with joy. They also wondered why [their palaces were so illumined]. They visited each other and discussed the reason. There was a great Brahman-heavenly-king called Great-Compassion among them. He said to the other Brahmans in gāthās:

Why is it
That we see this light?
Our palaces are illumined
More brightly than ever.

Did a god of great virtue or a Buddha
Appear somewhere in the universe?
We have never seen this [light] before.
Let us do our best to find [the reason].

Let us go even to the end of one thousand billion worlds,
And find the place from where this light has come.
A Buddha may have appeared somewhere in the universe
In order to save the suffering beings.

“Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion [ worlds] went to the northwest, carrying flower-plates filled with heavenly flowers, in order to find [the place from where the light had come]. Their palaces also moved as they went. They [reached the Well-Composed World and] saw that Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata was sitting on the lion-like seat under the Bodhi tree of the place of enlightenment, surrounded respectfully by gods, dragon-kings, gandharvas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men, and nonhuman beings. They also saw that the sixteen princes were begging the Buddha to turn the wheel of the Dharma. Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings worshipped the Buddha with their heads, walked around him a hundred thousand times, and strewed heavenly flowers to him. The strewn flowers were heaped up to the height of Mt. Sumeru. The Brahman-heavenly-kings offered flowers also to the Bodhi-tree of the Buddha. Having offered flowers, they offered their palaces to the Buddha, saying, ‘We offer these palaces to you. Receive them and benefit us out of your compassion towards us!’ In the presence of the Buddha, they simultaneously praised him in gāthās with all their hearts:

Saintly Master, God of Gods!
Your voice is as sweet as a kalavinka’s.
You have compassion towards all living beings.
We now bow before you.
You, the World-Honored One, are exceptional.
You appear only once in a very long time.

No Buddha has appeared
For the past one hundred and eighty kalpas.
The three evil regions are crowded;
And the living beings in heaven, decreasing.

Now you have appeared in this world
And become the eye of all living beings.
As their refuge, you are saving them.
As their father, you are benefiting them
Out of your compassion towards them.
We are now able to see you
Because we accumulated merits
In our previous existence.

“Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings, having praised the Buddha with these gāthās, said, ‘World-Honored One! Turn the wheel of the Dharma and save all living beings out of your compassion towards them!’ Then they simultaneously said in gāthās with all their hearts:

Great Saint, turn the wheel of the Dharma
And reveal the reality of all things!
Save the suffering beings
And cause them to have great joy!

If they hear the Dharma, some will attain enlightenment;
Others will be reborn in heaven.
The living beings in the evil regions will decrease;
And those who do good patiently will increase.

“Thereupon Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata gave his tacit consent to their appeal.

See Heavenly Kings, Bodhisattvas and Buddhas

LS32, d11b, stories

Heavenly Kings, Bodhisattvas and Buddhas

The kings of the Brahma heavens give up the pleasures of meditation to come down to earth and offer their flowers and palaces to the Buddha. This means that even a king of heaven, a god, cannot become a buddha without working in this world of human beings to benefit others. It does not mean that meditation is to be avoided. In this story it is through meditation that the prince became the Buddha Excellent in Great Penetrating Wisdom. But the story does suggest that meditation alone is not sufficient Buddhist practice.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p88
Eyes, WONS

Nichiren’s Resolve

Quote

Over the course of Kaimoku-shō, Nichiren provides the reader with several possible answers as to why he has seemingly not received the divine protection from hardship and persecution that he and his followers may have expected. It could be because the guardian deities have abandoned the country. It could be because they are testing his compassion, patience, and resolve. It could be because his practice has aroused the three obstacles and four devils. It could be because the predictions of the Lotus Sūtra and other Mahāyāna sūtras need to be fulfilled, or because it is inevitable that the practitioner of the Lotus Sūtra must meet hardship, or because the practitioner must expiate his or her past transgressions, and even the buddhas, bodhisattvas, gods, and other beings cannot make the task any easier because of these factors. Curiously, Nichiren never does give a definitive single answer to this question in Kaimoku-shō. In fact, he seems to dismiss the question as not so important after all. He says, “In the final analysis, no matter how I am abandoned by gods and how much difficulty I encounter, I will uphold the Lotus Sūtra at the cost of my own life.” (Hori 2002, p. 105) For Nichiren, what matters is his mission, not whether he will receive divine blessings and protection. A bodhisattva is not daunted by difficulty or hardship but strives to realize the Wonderful Dharma and to help other beings realize it as well, no matter what the cost.

Open Your Eyes, p484-485
Lecture on Lotus Sutra, d4b

The Great Joy of the Lotus Sutra

Chapter II ends telling us that when we are able to overcome our hurdle of doubt and when joy wells up from within our lives, then we are able to become Buddhas. That is my wish for you as you read this writing on the Lotus Sutra. I wish for you to be able to experience the great joy of the Lotus Sutra.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

WONS

What to Rely On

Concerning the judgment of the comparative superiority of the Buddhist sūtras in the future, the Buddha preached in the Nirvana Sūtra, “Rely upon reason, not upon men.” Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna stated in his Commentary on the Ten Stages, “It is right to depend on the sūtra; it is not right not to depend on the sūtra.” T’ien-t’ai said in the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra, “Accept what is in accordance with the sūtra; not to believe in what is not said in the sūtra in letter or in spirit.” Grand Master Dengyō in his Outstanding Principles of the Lotus Sūtra said, “Rely upon what the Buddha preached; never believe in what is transmitted orally.”

Senji-shō, Selecting the Right time: A Tract by Nichiren, the Buddha’s Disciple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 234

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – June 5, 2020

World-Honored One! I have never seen anyone like you before. Your teachings have these inconceivable, wonderful merits. The practices performed according to your teachings and precepts are peaceful and pleasant. From today on, I will not act according to my own mind. I will not have wrong views, arrogance, anger or any other evil thought.

King Wonderful-Adornment makes this declaration to Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha in Chapter Twenty-Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. The king had been led to this Buddha by his sons, who showed him the wonders they learned from their practice of the Buddha Dharma. With his mind purified by hearing the Buddha’s teachings, he makes this aspiration to behave differently. Whether or not he can keep this aspiration, he shows his realization that hearing the teachings is not enough. Practicing them means changing our minds and how we live.

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

LS32

Day 10

Day 10 concludes Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood, and opens Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City.

Day 10 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month met the sixteens sons of the Buddha, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City.

“Thereupon the sixteen princes, having praised the Buddha with these gāthās, begged the World-Honored One to turn the wheel of the Dharma, saying, ‘World-Honored One! Expound the Dharma, and give peace and many benefits to gods and men out of your compassion towards them!’ They repeated this in gāthās:

You, the Hero of the World, are unequalled.
Adorned with the marks
Of one hundred merits,
You have obtained unsurpassed wisdom.
Expound the Dharma and save us
And other living beings of the world!

Expound the Dharma, reveal the Dharma,
And cause us to obtain that wisdom!
If we attain Buddhahood,
Others also will do the same.

You, the World-Honored One, know
What all living beings have deep in their minds,
What teachings they are practicing,
And how much power of wisdom they have.

You know their desires, the merits they obtained,
And the karmas they did
In their previous existence.
Turn the wheel of the unsurpassed Dharma!

See The Necessity of Resting Places