The 1,000 worlds resulting from the multiplication of the one hundred worlds with the ten factors are made universal by the Three Realms. The Three Realms consist of the individual, who is composed of the Five Aggregates (form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness); the community of all beings, who are transmigrating through the Ten Worlds; and the land in which they all live. These Three Realms show that the one thousand worlds are present in and manifest themselves through all things without exception. That is, the possibilities that they point to are possessed by individuals, societies, and even non-human and inanimate phenomena.
Lotus SeedsMonthly Archives: June 2020
Virtue of the Chinese Character Myō
“Myō” means revival. For example, when a mother crane calls out to her dead child, “Shian,” the dead crane will come back to life. When a poisonous bird called chinchō enters the water, fish and clam will die from the bird’s poison, but the touch of a rhinoceros horn will bring them back to life. Similarly, when the Two Vehicles of śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha, (who were nearly dead because their seeds of Buddhahood were roasted in various sūtras,) icchantika, women and others who uphold the character “myō,” their dead seeds will be revived and they will all be resuscitated.
Hokke Daimoku Shō, Treatise on the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 46
Daily Dharma – June 14, 2020
Evil people in the future will doubt the One Vehicle
When they hear it from a Buddha.
They will not believe or receive it.
They will violate the Dharma, and fall into the evil regions.
The Buddha declares these verses in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra. Nichiren wrote that while some people think hell is below the earth, it is really contained in our own bodies and minds. If we cannot believe or accept the Dharma the Buddha teaches us, then we are not seeing the world for what it is. We are creating worlds of our own separate from the Buddha’s world. We create worlds of greed, anger and ignorance, in which it is even more difficult to hear the Dharma. But even in these difficult worlds, the Buddha exists and works to benefit us. If we remember to look for him, he will show us the way out.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 19
Day 19 concludes Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices, and begins Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground.
Having last month considered Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices, and what a Bodhisattva should do when the teachings are about to be destroyed, we consider the Parable of the Priceless Gem in the Top-Knot.
“Mañjuśrī! I will tell you a parable. Suppose a powerful wheel-turning-holy-king demanded surrender of the kings of smaller countries by threat of force. They did not obey his demand. He led soldiers, and went and suppressed them. He was very glad to see that some soldiers distinguished themselves in war. According to their merits, he gave them paddy fields, houses, villages, cities, garments or ornaments; or various treasures such as gold, silver, lapis lazuli, shell, agate, coral or amber; or elephants, horses, vehicles, menservants, maidservants or subjects. But he did not give a brilliant gem which he was keeping in his top-knot to anyone because the gem on the head of the king was the only one [in the world]. If he had given it to anyone, the followers of the king would have been much surprised.
“Mañjuśrī! I am like the king. I obtained the world of the Dharma by my powers of dhyāna-concentration and of wisdom, and became the king of the triple world. But the kings of the Maras did not assent to my demand for surrender to me. Therefore, my army led by generals, that is, by sages and saints, fought with them. I was glad to see that some distinguished themselves [in war]. In order to cause them to rejoice, I expounded many sūtras to the four kinds of devotees. I gave them the treasures of the Dharma such as dhyāna-concentrations, emancipations, the roots without āsravas, and the powers without āsravas, and also the city of Nirvana, telling them that they had already attained extinction. Although I led them [by giving these things to them) and caused them to rejoice, [ did not expound to them the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
“Mañjuśrī! When he saw a soldier of extraordinary merit, the wheel-turning-holy-king joyfully gave that soldier the unbelievably precious gem, which he had kept in his top-knot for a long time and had not given to anyone. I am like the king. I am the great king of the Dharma in the triple world. I expound the Dharma and teach all living beings. Because I see that my soldiers led by generals, that is, by sages and saints, have already obtained extraordinary merits in their fight with the Mara of the five aggregates, with the Mara of illusions, and with the Mara of death, and that they have already eliminated the three poisons, left the triple world, and destroyed the nets of the Maras, I now expound this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma with great joy. This sūtra leads all living beings to the knowledge of all things. I did not expound it before because, if I had done so, many people in the world would have hated it and few would have believed it.
Worthy of the Jewel in His Topknot
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p180-181In [the Parable of the Priceless Gem in the Top-Knot], we are told, the jewel kept in the king’s topknot represents the Dharma Flower Sutra. Here the symbolic meaning of “jewel” is quite different from that in the story in Chapter 8 of the “hidden jewel,” where the jewel symbolizes the potential that lies dormant within all living beings to become awakened. The main point here, once more, is to describe symbolically the relationship between earlier forms of Buddhism and the Mahayana, or Great Vehicle, and to explain why the Dharma Flower Sutra was not taught earlier. Here, the Dharma Flower Sutra is seen as the crowning achievement of the Buddha and Buddhism. The Buddha has given many gifts and treasures, many sutras, many practices, and so on, but there is one that stands above all the others – the Wonderful Dharma Flower Sutra.
It is important, however, to see here that the earlier or “lesser” rewards really are, first and foremost, rewards. There is no suggestion that the earlier teachings of the shravaka way are wrong or bad or even misleading. Just as in the very first parable in the Lotus Sutra, the parable of the burning house, it is by pursuing the three small vehicles that the children are led to the great vehicle; here too there is no hint of going from bad to good, or from wrong to right, or from false to true. It is the case that the Dharma Flower Sutra proclaims itself to be better in some sense than other sutras, but this is a relative difference. The holy wheel-rolling king rewarded his soldiers with all sorts of good and valuable things before deciding that one was worthy of the jewel in his topknot.
Three Kinds of Enemies
In the Kaimoku-shō, Nichiren states that the twenty stanzas of verses from chapter thirteen, “Encouragement for Keeping this Sūtra,” of the Lotus Sūtra was being fulfilled by the actions of some of his contemporaries. In those verses, a host of bodhisattvas describe the persecutions and difficulties the practitioners of the sūtra will face in the evil world after the passing of the Buddha. The Tiantai patriarch Zhanran Miaole (711-782) interpreted these verses as referring to three kinds of enemies who would appear in the Latter Age of the Dharma. The three are: (1) the ignorant laity who are deceived by the false and hypocritical monks and elders and will abuse the true monks, (2) the false monks who are deceitful and claim to be enlightened when in fact they are not, and (3) the respected elder monks who are revered as arhats but who in fact are simply better at hiding their ulterior motives of greed and contempt. Nichiren equated these three formidable enemies with those people in Japan who were trying to suppress the teaching and practice of the Lotus Sūtra.
Open Your Eyes, p501Explaining the Term ‘Inherent evil’
It is stated in the first fascicle of the Annotations on the Great Concentration and Insight, “It is impossible to interpret the teaching in the verses of the Flower Garland Sūtra without knowing all the Perfect Teachings of the T’ien-t’ai School.” It preaches also in the fifth fascicle “Without understanding the Lotus Sūtra, how can we interpret the sentence of the Flower Garland Sūtra that there is no difference among the mind, the Buddha, and people since mind creates everything in the world like a skillful painter.” The seventh fascicle of the Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra states that the term “inherent evil” had never been heard anywhere except in the T’ien-t’ai School. According to these statements it is impossible to understand the meaning of the verses of the Flower Garland Sūtra without mastering the teaching of Grand Master T’ien-t’ai. Then it follows that among Chinese teachers no one but Grand Master T’ien-t’ai explained the term of “inherent evil” and it is impossible to discuss the teaching of “Three Thousand Existences Contained in One Thought” without the Lotus Sūtra.
Nijō Sabutsu Ji, Obtaining Buddhahood by the Two Vehicles, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 231-232
Daily Dharma – June 13, 2020
These ten rākṣasīs [and their attendants] came to the Buddha, together with Mother-Of-Devils and her children and attendants. They said to the Buddha simultaneously: “World-Honored One! We also will protect the person who reads, recites and keeps the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma so that he may have no trouble. No one shall take advantage of the weak points of this teacher of the Dharma.”
These fierce demons make this promise to the Buddha in Chapter Twenty-Six of the Lotus Sūtra. Mother-of-Devils, also known as Kishimojin, was once a demon who stole and ate human children, until the Buddha reminded her that humans loved their children in the same way she loved her own. The Buddha does not judge or condemn any being. Instead he uses his insight to transform our understanding to see the harm we create in the world through satisfying our selfish desires. When we work for the benefit of all beings, we find all beings working for our benefit also.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 18
Day 18 concludes Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra, and begins Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.
Having last month completed the gāthās detailing the first set of things that the Bodhisattva should do, we consider what Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who wishes to expound this sūtra in the age of the decline of the teachings should do.“Second, Mañjuśrī! A Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who wishes to expound this sūtra in the age of the decline of the teachings after my extinction should perform the following peaceful practices. When he expounds or reads this sūtra, he should not point out the faults of other persons or sūtras. He should not despise other teachers of the Dharma. He should not speak of the good points or bad points or the merits or demerits of others. He should not mention Śrāvakas by name when he blames them. Nor should he do so when he praises them. He should not have hostile feelings against them or dislike them. He should have this peace of mind so that he may not act against the wishes of the hearers. When he is asked questions, he should not answer by the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle, but expound the Dharma only by the teachings of the Great Vehicle so that the questioners may be able to obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things.”
Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
The Bodhisattva should wish
To make all living beings peaceful,
And then expound the Dharma to them.
He should make a seat in a pure place,
Apply ointment to his skin,
Wash dirt and dust off himself,
Wear a new and undefiled robe,
Clean himself within and without,
Sit on the seat of the Dharma peacefully,
And then expound the Dharma in answer to questions.He should expound with a smile
The wonderful meaning of the Dharma
To bhikṣus and bhikṣunīs,
To upāsakās and upāsikās,
To kings and princes,
To government officials,
And to common people.
When he is asked questions,
He should answer
According to the meaning of the Dharma.He should expound the Dharma to them
With stories of previous lives, parables and similes.
With these expedients he should cause them
To aspire for enlightenment,
To promote their understanding step by step,
And finally to enter into the Way to Buddhahood.He should give up indolence,
Negligence, grief and sorrow.
He should expound the Dharma to them
Out of his compassion towards them.He should expound to them
The teaching of unsurpassed enlightenment
With stories of previous lives
And with innumerable parables and similes
Day and night,
And cause them to rejoice.He should not wish to receive
Garments or bedding,
Food and drink, or medicine
From them.He should expound the Dharma to them,
Wishing only two things:
To attain the enlightenment of the Buddha
And also to cause them to do the same.
This is a peaceful offering to them.
This offering will bring them a great benefit.A Bhikṣu who expounds this Sūtra
Of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
With patience
After my extinction,
Will be emancipated
From jealousy, anger, and other illusions,
That is to say, from all obstacles.
He will have no sorrow.
He will not be spoken ill of.
He will not be in fear.
He will not be threatened with swords or sticks,
Or driven out [of his monastery].A man of wisdom
Who controls his mind
As previously stated
Will be peaceful.His merits will be innumerable.
You would not be able to tell the number of them
By any parable or simile even if you tried to do so
For thousands of billions of kalpas.
The Daily Dharma from June 4, 2020, offers this:
When he expounds or reads this sūtra, he should not point out the faults of other persons or sūtras. He should not despise other teachers of the Dharma. He should not speak of the good points or bad points or the merits or demerits of others. He should not mention Śrāvakas by name when he blames them. Nor should he do so when he praises them. He should not have hostile feelings against them or dislike them. He should have this peace of mind so that he may not act against the wishes of the hearers. When he is asked questions, he should not answer by the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle, but expound the Dharma only by the teachings of the Great Vehicle so that the questioners may be able to obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things.
The Buddha gives this explanation to Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra in which he describes the peaceful practices of a Bodhisattva. For us who aspire to be Bodhisattvas in this world of conflict, this passage reminds us not to create more conflict in our efforts to benefit others. Rather we should work to remind them of their good qualities and demonstrate the respect we want to receive.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Saints and Buddhism
Recently I picked up a copy of Buddhist Saints in India, A Study in Buddhist Values & Orientations. I had run across a footnote referencing Reginald A. Ray’s theory that Devadatta, rather than being evil was instead just a rival teacher who needed to be sidelined. Eventually I plan to explore this rival teacher theory as a possible reason why Devadatta is treated so nicely in the Lotus Sutra. For now, however, I want to discuss the conclusion from Ray’s preface:
Buddhist Saints in India, pviiiWe in the West – perhaps I should say in the modern, increasingly secularized world as a whole – live with what is, when taken in the context of world religions, a remarkably devalued idea of human nature. We seem no longer to believe that human nature is perfectible or that genuine saints are possible. Such a view has, obviously, profound impacts on the way people think about and engage in (or do not engage in) the spiritual life. In my view, prevailing interpretations of Buddhism which, as we shall see, reduce the saints to peripheral actors in the tradition represents another, if perhaps more sophisticated, expression of this same modern devaluation. Buddhism may be seen essentially as an ethical system, an elegant philosophy, a practical psychology, a technique for dealing with mental distress, a cultural tradition, or a force of civilization. Rarely, however, is it seen primarily as a tradition that produces and celebrates genuine saints. Yet, at least in my reading, this is finally what Buddhism essentially is, and as long as this fact is not recognized, the specific genius of Buddhism is missed, a genius with the potential to provide a healthy challenge to our increasingly scientific, materialistic, and consumeristic view of human nature.
Nichiren is often referred to as a saint, and justifiably so. But I believe that each of us who practice Nichiren Buddhism, who chant Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, are seeking the perfection of human nature, both ours and all sentient beings. Our Bodhisattva path leads the perfection of human nature. For me sainthood is what this practice is all about.