Monthly Archives: October 2020

LS32

Day 11

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

Day 11 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered what happened when Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi and the reaction of the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the east, 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 Creation Is Joy in Human Life

d5b, Vasubandhu

The Meaning of Venerable Śāriputra’s Self-Reproach

[In Chapter 3, A Parable,] Venerable Śāriputra spoke these verses:

The golden color, thirty-two [special marks], powers, and emancipations are all together in a single Dharma, yet I have gained none of these. The eighty excellent [marks], the eighteen special attributes, and other qualities such as these, I have also missed.

The Commentary says: What is the meaning of these verses? Venerable Śāriputra has reproached himself, saying: “I have not seen the buddhas; I have not gone to the buddhas; I have not heard the buddhas teach the Dharma. I have neither worshiped nor venerated the buddhas. I have done nothing to benefit living beings, and I have retreated from a Dharma that I have not yet obtained.” Venerable Śāriputra has reproached himself in this way.

“I have not seen the buddhas” shows that he has not seen the marks of the great being of all the buddhas, the tathāgatas, because he has not produced the thought of veneration or worship. “To go to the buddhas” means to be shown their power of giving guidance to living beings. “To see them emit a ray of golden light” means to be shown the one body and different bodies of the buddhas and to obtain countless merits. “To hear the buddhas teach the Dharma” means to be shown how they are able to benefit all living beings. “Powers” means that [tathāgatas] utilize their ten powers to eliminate the doubts of skeptics.

To revere [the buddhas] means [to venerate] the power they have in giving guidance to living beings. “Eighteen special attributes” means that [the tathāgatas] are completely rid of all the obstructions. “To venerate [the buddhas]” means to venerate the countless virtues they have produced because emancipation is obtained through the tathāgatas’ teaching. Since there is insubstantiality of the individual and insubstantiality of phenomena, everything is equal. Therefore, Venerable Śāriputra reproached himself, saying, “I have not yet obtained such a Dharma as this, and have retreated even before obtaining it.”

Vasubandhu's Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p 137-138
Blog, Innumerable

Levels of Understanding and Meaning

Back on Oct. 8, 2020, I started enumerating the 10 Merits listed in the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings. I confess that I began this sequence to make my monthly posts regarding the opening sutra easier. Now I know the topic of my posts for the next nine months. But the inadequacy of this was underscored for me during the dharma talk on these merits following the Nichiren Buddhist Sangha of San Francisco Bay Area service Oct. 18.

Shami Mark Ryugan Herrick leads the ongoing lectures under the close supervision of Michael Ryuei McCormick. At the point in the lecture where the first merit was discussed, Ryugan mentioned my blog post and asked me to comment.

“This really sounds to me like a definition of what buddhism is supposed to do in your life,” I said, echoing the line I added to my post, “I can think of no better summary of the goals of becoming a Buddhist.”

The superficial nature of my response – of my basic understanding – was quickly underscored by Ryuei’s comment on this first merit.

Those aren’t a bunch of random nice things. The first category are the four Brahmaviharas or divine abodes also called the infinite states of mind — loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity. Then that’s followed by the six perfections.

As that quote that you wrote earlier where Nichiren says when you take up the sutra your hands become a buddha, I think in other forms of buddhism you practice all of these difficult virtues and ideals so that you can attain buddhahood but with Nichiren Buddhism … we practice the daimoku, we practice the Lotus Sutra, so that all of these qualities become the benefits we receive through the practice. We’re not trying to be perfect so we can become buddhas. We’re trying to become buddhas so that we have all these wonderful qualities as the benefits to that.

The video below starts at the reading of the first merit. The entire lecture is nearly an hour and forty minutes. This is an excellent example of the firehose of information that the thirsty are offered whenever Ryuei McCormick lectures. It is well worth the time.

This is the third in the series of lectures on the Threefold Lotus Sutra. The first lecture can be found here and the second here.

There are additional videos at the Nichiren Bay Area YouTube Channel.

WONS

Meritorious Acts in Previous Lives

QUESTION: How can anyone escape the three evil realms just by hearing the daimoku, the title of the Lotus Sūtra, without understanding its meaning?

ANSWER: It is due to the meritorious acts of past lives that anyone happens to be born in a land where the Lotus Sūtra is known, hears the title of the sūtra and has faith in it. Even though he is ignorant and wicked in this life, because of the meritorious acts in previous lives, he can believe in this sūtra upon hearing its name. As a result he will not fall into evil realms.

Shugo Kokka-ron, Treatise on Protecting the Nation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 65

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Oct. 19, 2020

Today we are not what we were then.
We have obtained
What we did not expect
To obtain
Just as the poor son obtained
The innumerable treasures.

Subhūti, Mahā-Kātyāyana, Mahā-Kāśyapa, and Mahā-Maudgalyāyana, all disciples of the Buddha, speak these lines in Chapter Four of the Lotus Sūtra as they explain their story of the wayward son. They compare the father’s treasure house in the story to the Buddha’s enlightenment. Until they had been led by the Buddha’s expedient teachings, they could not even imagine themselves as enlightened, any more than the wayward son in the story could imagine the contents of his father’s treasure house.

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 concluded today’s portion of Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood with the prediction for Great Maudgalyāyana, we open Chapter 7: The Parable of a Magic City with a story that begins countless, limitless, inconceivable, asaṃkhya number of kalpas ago.

The Buddha said to the Bhikṣus:

“A countless, limitless, inconceivable, asaṃkhya number of kalpas ago, there lived a Buddha called Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence, the Tathāgata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. His world was called Well-Composed; and the kalpa in which he became that Buddha, Great-Form.

“Bhikṣus! It is a very long time since that Buddha passed away. Suppose someone smashed all the earth-particles of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds into ink-powder. Then he went to the east[, carrying the ink-powder with him]. He inked a dot as large as a particle of dust [with that ink-powder] on the world at a distance of one thousand worlds from his world. Then he went again and repeated the inking of a dot on the world at every distance of one thousand worlds until the ink-powder was exhausted. What do you think of this? Do you think that any mathematician or any disciple of a mathematician could count the number of the worlds [he went through]?”

“No, we do not, World-Honored One!”

“Bhikṣus! Now all the worlds he went through, whether they were inked or not, were smashed into dust. The number of the kalpas which have elapsed since that Buddha passed away is many hundreds of thousands of billions of asaṃkhyas larger than the number of the particles of the dust thus produced. Yet I remember [the extinction of] that Buddha by my power of insight as vividly as if he had passed away today.”

Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:

According to my remembrance,
There lived a Buddha, an Honorable Biped,
Called Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence,
Countless kalpas ago.

Suppose someone smashed
All the earth-particles
Of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds
Into ink-powder.

He went, [carrying the ink-powder with him,]
And inked a dot as large as a particle of dust
On the world at a distance of one thousand worlds.
He repeated the inking until the ink-powder was exhausted.

Suppose the worlds
Through which he went,
Whether they were inked or not,
Were smashed into dust.

It is innumerable• kalpas,
More than the number
Of the particles of dust thus produced,
Since that Buddha passed away.

I remember the extinction of that Buddha
As vividly as if he had passed away just now,
By my unhindered wisdom; I also remember
The Śrāvakas and Bodhisattvas who lived [with him].

Bhikṣus, know this!
My wisdom is pure, wonderful,
Free from āsravas and from hindrance.
I know those who lived innumerable kalpas ago.

See The Meaning of Today

Vasubandhu

Seven Types of Arrogance

Quote

What are the seven types of arrogance and what are the seven parables that act as their antidotes?

  1. The arrogance [of the type of person who] perversely seeks merit [for a prominent position]. That is to say, although [the kind of merit this type of person seeks] is only the highest type of worldly defilements and impurities, he [still wishes to accumulate it because he] seeks the result with outflows of the sublime realm of the heavenly beings. It should be known that “The Parable of the Burning House” is given as the antidote to this.
  2. The arrogance of the disciples who believe they have the highest attainment. They say to themselves, “There is no difference between our vehicle and the vehicle of the tathāgatas.” It should be known that “The Parable of the Prodigal Son” is given as the antidote to this misconception.
  3. The arrogance of the determination of [those affiliated with] the Great Vehicle who give rise to this thought: “[Our vehicle] and the vehicles of the disciples and of the self-enlightened buddhas are not separate.” It should be known that “The Parable of the Cloud and Rain” is given as the antidote to this misconception.
  4. The arrogance [of those who] refer to what is actually nothing as something. Having [attained] mundane meditative trances and meditational attainments, they form the notion [that what they have attained is] nirvana, [though] [what they have] actually [attained] is not nirvana. It should be known that “The Parable of the Phantom City” is given as the antidote to this misconception.
  5. The arrogance [of those who] are distracted and have no firm establishment in reality. Although in the past they planted the roots of good merit in the Great Vehicle, they do not realize it. Since they do not realize it, they do not seek the Great Vehicle. From their irresoluteness they produce a false comprehension, and refer to [their way as] the “ultimate vehicle.” It should be known that “The Parable of the Concealed Jewel” is given as the antidote to this misconception.
  6. The arrogance of [those who think that which has no merit] actually has merit. When such people hear the teaching of the Great Vehicle, [although it has merit] they take up that which does not pertain to the Great Vehicle. It should be known that “The Parable of the Crest Jewel” is given as the antidote to this misconception.
  7. The arrogance of [those who think that which has merit] actually has no merit. Such people do not cultivate the roots of good merit in the ultimate vehicle, and when they hear about it they do not consider it the ultimate one. It should be known that “The Parable of the Excellent Physician” is given as the antidote to this misconception.
Vasubandhu's Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p 138-139
WONS

Showing the Infallibility of the Buddha’s Prediction

QUESTION CLOSELY: You are more self-conceited than Mahādeva of ancient India, who caused the first great schism in the community of Buddhist monks and nuns, or Shizen Biku, a disciple of the Buddha who believed himself to be an arhat and ended up in the Hell of Incessant Suffering. What do you say about this?

ANSWER: The grave sin you have committed in accusing me, Nichiren, is more serious than what was committed by Devadatta, who fell in hell alive, or by Vimalamitra, the Hinayāna master who died a mad man for slandering Mahāyāna Buddhism.

My words may sound self-conceited, but they were solely to show the infallibility of the Buddha’s prediction. Suppose they were self-conceited, then whom can you name among all the people in Japan, except me, Nichiren, to be the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra? In order to slander me, Nichiren, you are saying that the Buddha’s prediction is false. Is it not you who are very wicked?

Kembutsu Mirai-ki, Testimony to the Prediction of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 175

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Oct. 18, 2020

Thereupon Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha said to King Wonderful-Adornment, ‘So it is, so it is. It is just as you say. The good men or women who plant the roots of good will obtain teachers in their successive lives. The teachers will do the work of the Buddha, show the Way [to them], teach them, benefit them, cause them to rejoice, and cause them to enter into the Way to Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi (Perfect Enlightenment). Great King, know this! A teacher is a great cause [of your enlightenment] because he leads you, and causes you to see a Buddha and aspire for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

These lines are part of a story told by the Buddha in Chapter Twenty-Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddha uses this story to remind us of how much benefit we get from our teachers. When we see the world with the eyes of the Buddha, and know that he is always thinking of how to lead us, we can find innumerable teachers, and know to show our gratitude to them.

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

LS32

Day 9

Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.

Day 9 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered how the Buddha preaches the Dharma untiringly and without partiality, we consider the comparison of plants to those who follow the Buddha’s teaching.

Those who live among gods and men,
Or those who live with a wheel-turning-holy-king,
Or with King Sakra or with King Brahman,
May be likened to the small herbs.

Those who know the Dharma-without-āsravas,
Who attained Nirvana,
And who obtained the six supernatural powers,
Including the three major supernatural powers,
May be likened to the middle herbs.
So may those who live alone in mountains or forests,
Who practice dhyāna-concentrations,
And who attained the enlightenment of cause-knowers.

Those who seek the stage of the World-Honored One,
Who practice endeavors and concentration of mind,
And who wish to become Buddhas,
May be likened to the large herbs.

My sons [, that is, the Bodhisattvas]
Who seek
The enlightenment of the Buddha exclusively,
Who believe that they will become Buddhas definitely,
And who have compassion towards others,
May be likened to the short trees.

The Bodhisattvas
Who turn the irrevocable wheel of the Dharma
By their supernatural powers,
And who save many thousands of myriads
Of millions of living beings,
May be likened to the tall trees.

Although my teachings are of the same content to anyone
Just as the rain is of the same taste,
The hearers receive my teachings differently
According to their capacities
Just as the plants receive
Different amounts of the rain water.

The Introduction to the Lotus Sutra offers this:

Traditionally, the small herbs are interpreted as humans and deities, the middle-sized herbs as “hearers” and “private Buddhas,” and the large herbs, stems, and branches as Bodhisattvas. The latter can be divided into three levels of accomplishment. The vast compassion of Sakyamuni is distributed equally to all living beings in order to lead them all to the enlightenment of the Buddha.
Introduction to the Lotus Sutra