Journey of the Path to Righteousness, p 60-61[In the Shodaigyo ceremoney we offer] Kigangyo (Prayer)
With reverence, we offer up the merits we have accumulated through the chanting of the Odaimoku so that, in doing so, we may receive the greatest of compassion through the transcendental powers of the Original Buddha.
For all people we uphold this universal Dharma-teaching of equality that benefits all. We deeply vow to diligently strive for the improvement of both our societies and ourselves, as well as to diligently strive for the achievement of world peace. We pray that all people throughout the four corners of the world may return their lives to the Eternal Buddha’s Pure Land through the Wonderful Dharma of Myōhō Renge Kyō.
Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō
We pray that each and every family member, as well as our benefactors and our friends, all live in accordance with the True Dharma. We pray they all enjoy good health in both body and mind. May they increase their understanding of the Buddha’s wisdom, expiate their past transgressions, do good deeds, and lead a virtuous life. May they learn to respect each other. We pray that they embrace the correct practice of Buddhism, perform virtuous work, assiduously improve themselves, and achieve family happiness. May they all obtain the eternal peace and happiness. We pray that all beings, as well as myself, will awaken to the true nature of reality, which is the Buddha nature, and that we all will attain the enlightenment of the Buddha.
Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō
We pray for all of the deceased: for the spirits of our ancestors, for all those who have formed a relationship with the Buddha, and for all those who have not. May you all follow the benevolent life of the Tathagata. May you cross the ocean of suffering, reach the further shore and attain Buddhahood.
May the merits we have accumulated through this deep offering of prayer be distributed equally among all living beings. May we all attain the enlightenment of the Buddha. May all the Dharma Realms equally benefit all.
Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō
Monthly Archives: September 2020
The Grave Sin of Chanting Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō
As for myself, who has committed no sin whatsoever, I, Nichiren, was blamed of committing the grave sin of chanting Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō at the discretion of the ruler of Japan and was exiled to Izu Province in the first year of Kōchō (1261). Again, on the 12th of the ninth month in the eighth year of Bun’ei (1271), I was paraded around on horseback as a prisoner in front of the Great Bodhisattva Hachiman and was made a laughing stock by all the slanderers of the True Dharma in Japan. Was this not a mistake of the Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, who did not stop it from happening? It was not that Hachiman did not remonstrate at all with slanderers of the True Dharma, but the only remonstrance of Hachiman seems to have caused domestic quarrel among members of the Hōjō clan.
The Great Bodhisattva Hachiman was once the wise emperor of Japan, Emperor Ōjin. In addition, he is one of the greatest gods in Japan, competing with Goddess Amaterasu of the Ise Shine for supremacy. I do not believe that there is any god superior to Hachiman and that he can ever be unfair. Nevertheless, according to the rules of all the Buddhist scriptures and the Lotus Sūtra, Hachiman committed a great sin by protecting the slanderers of the True Dharma and refusing to help the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra.
Kangyō Hachiman-shō, Remonstration with Bodhisattva Hachiman, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 268
Daily Dharma – Sept. 18, 2020
We do not see a shadow in the dark. Man does not see the flight path of a bird in the air. We do not see the path of a fish in the sea. We do not see everyone in the world reflected on the moon. However a person with “heavenly eyes” sees all these. The scene of the chapter “Appearance of a Stupa of Treasures” exists in the mind of Lady Nichinyo. Though ordinary people do not see it, Śākyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of Many Treasures and Buddhas throughout the universe recognize it. I, Nichiren, also can see it. How blessed are you!
Nichiren wrote this passage in his Response to My Lady Nichinyo (Nichinyo Gozen Gohenji). The Chapter Nichiren mentions describes the assembly of the Buddha, Many-Treasures Buddha, and innumerable Buddhas from other worlds gathered to hear the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sūtra. Nichiren used a representation of this scene for the Omandala Gohonzon, his representation of the Buddha’s highest teaching. In this response, Nichiren recognizes that Lady Nichinyo sees this assembly in the reality of her everyday life. The Buddha taught that this is the most difficult of his teachings to believe and understand. Nichiren and Lady Nichinyo are examples for us that, despite this difficulty, we too can learn to see this world of delusion and ignorance as the Buddha’s pure land.
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 considered Pūrṇa’s reaction to the teaching, we learn of Pūrṇa’s qualities.
Thereupon the Buddha said to the bhikṣus:
“Do you see this Pūrṇa, the son of Maitrāyanī? I always praise him, saying that he is the most excellent expounder of the Dharma. I also praise him for his various merits. He strenuously protects my teachings, and helps me propagate them. He shows the Way to the four kinds of devotees, teaches them, benefits them and causes them to rejoice. He explains my right teachings perfectly, and gives great benefits to those who are performing brahma practices’ with him. No one except the Tathāgata excels him in eloquence. Do not say that he protects only my teachings and helps me propagate them! In his previous existence he also protected the right teachings of nine thousand million Buddhas and helped them propagate their teachings. Under those Buddhas also he was the most excellent expounder of the Dharma. He clearly understood the truth of the Void expounded by those Buddhas, and obtained the four kinds of unhindered eloquence. He always expounded the Dharma clearly and purely, with no doubtfulness. Although he had the supernatural powers of Bodhisattvas, he performed brahma practices throughout his previous existence. Therefore, the people of the world of the Buddha [under whom he performed brahma practices] thought that he was a Śrāvaka. He benefited many hundreds of thousands of living beings with this expedient, and also caused innumerable, asaṃkhya people to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. He did the work of the Buddha, that is, taught all living beings so that the world of the Buddha might be purified.
Bodhisattva Activity
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p105Purna, we are told in the first section of this chapter, while seeming to be a shravaka, is actually a bodhisattva in disguise. The Dharma Flower Sutra both retains the classical meaning of bodhisattva as one who is very high in status, on the way to becoming a buddha, and it gives new meaning to the term by proposing that all are, to some degree, bodhisattvas. This means that the title “bodhisattva” should be seen, not so much as a mark of status, but rather as a term used to name a kind of activity. Just as a teacher who does not teach is not really a teacher, a bodhisattva who does not do the work of the Buddha is not truly a bodhisattva. On the other hand, anyone who does do the work of the Buddha, regardless of title or status, is – to that degree – a bodhisattva. I sometimes like to say that we should regard the word “bodhisattva” not so much as a noun, but as a verb. Unfortunately, this is much easier to do in Chinese than it is in English!
Kigan Eko
Journey of the Path to Righteousness, p 62-63Our Kigan (Aspiration) Eko (Prayer) [in the Shodaigyo ceremony] is comprised of three components:
First is So (All) Gan (Wish): Prayer for All People. What is Sogan? It is the prayer of common interest: a general prayer for anybody, anywhere, anytime. In a phrase: “Pray for World Peace.” Kenji Miyazawa, acclaimed Japanese poet and author (and adherent of the Lotus Sutra), once said, “Until we achieve world peace, individual happiness will never be present.” This is our spirit of Sogan.
Betsu (Specific) Gan (Wish) is individual prayer. It is so because we each aspire to live in a world of peace. We must all strongly assume our individual roles in manifesting this aspiration. For example, if you aspire to create a connection with Sogan, then pray for a healthy body for helping others if you are not healthy enough to help others, or pray to be accepted into a better school for obtaining more knowledge or skills to help others. Doing so allows you to achieve your own personal aspirations through the prayers of others.
As example, in practicing Shodaigyo with many people, there will be both healthy and unhealthy individuals participating. Pray for all those in attendance. This is indicative of how our prayers should be.
Virtuous Acts in Past Existences
To begin with, what virtuous acts did you commit in the past existences to cause you to visit me, Nichiren, in this life? Contemplate your past lives, when you accumulated merits to encounter the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra. By all means you should endeavor to get rid of the delusion of life and death in this existence. Cūḍapanthaka, who was unable to memorize even 14 characters in three years, was able to attain Buddhahood. Devadatta, who was able to memorize as many as 60,000 Buddhist teachings, fell into the Hell of Incessant Suffering. This solely represents the world today in the Latter Age of Degeneration. Do not think that it is not a matter of your concern.
San Sanzō Kiu no Koto, Concerning the Prayer Services for Rain by Three Tripiṭaka Masters, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 209.
Daily Dharma – Sept. 17, 2020
Truly, truly good men! I am peaceful. I am in good health. The living beings are ready to be saved. They do not fatigue me because I already taught them in their consecutive previous existences, and also because they have already honored the past Buddhas respectfully and planted the roots of good.
The Buddha makes this proclamation to the leaders of the Bodhisattvas from Underground in Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sūtra. These Bodhisattvas appeared when the Buddha asked who would teach the Lotus Sūtra after the Buddha’s death, and asked about the Buddha’s health and whether those he was teaching could keep what he provided for them. The Buddha assures us not only of the certainty of our future enlightenment, but that for us to receive his teaching, there was an earlier time, which we may have forgotten, when we met him. This awareness of our future and our past helps us to see our place in the world and maintain our determination to benefit all beings.
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 the relationship between the 16 śramaṇeras and the living beings who life after life followed them, we consider the Parable of the Magic City.“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.’
The Message of the Magic City Story
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p95-96In part, the message of [the Magic City] story is the same message as that of previous parables – it’s about the importance of skillful means used appropriately. But here the focus is not as much on skillful means in general, as it is in the parable of the burning house and the three vehicles or the parable of the poor son and rich father. Here the focus is on one particular teaching – that of nirvana, one of the most important concepts of classical Buddhism – and seeing even that teaching as yet another example of skillful means.
Literally, “nirvana” means “extinction.” It was often thought to be the state of awakening achieved by Shakyamuni Buddha, a state in which all illusions and all karma that leads to rebirth are extinguished. While it has been interpreted in various ways by various Buddhist philosophers and schools, nirvana is often said to be the goal of Buddhists or of the Buddhist path. In this story, however, we are to see that nirvana, or at least one understanding of nirvana, is not to be taken as a final goal at all. Quite the opposite – to take the magically created castle-city as the goal would be to remain in a permanent state of delusion, thinking one had arrived at one’s destination when one had not. Yet this does not mean that the teaching of nirvana is unimportant, a “mere” skillful means. To the contrary, here we are to understand that if the guide had not been able to conjure up a castle in which the travelers could rest, they would not have been able to continue toward their goal. The magical castle-city was vitally useful. In other words, it was not merely useful in the sense that it happened to be convenient but not really necessary; it was essential in order for the travelers to be able to move ahead.