Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p18This is the great insight of the Mahayana: everyone can become a Buddha. What Siddhartha achieved, all of us can also achieve, whether we are a man or a woman, no matter what social class or ethnic group we were born into, or whether we practice as a monastic or as a layperson. We all have the capacity to become a fully enlightened Buddha. And while on the path to becoming a fully enlightened Buddha, we are all bodhisattvas.
Monthly Archives: November 2020
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo Defined
For a clearer understanding of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, let us take a closer look at each of the words.
- Namu comes from the Sanskrit word Nnmas, which means “I devote myself to.” This affirms that when all other self-oriented methods of attaining happiness have failed, we come to recognize that true happiness is only found in the True Dharma.
- Myoho means “True Dharma” or “Wonderful Dharma.” It refers to the dynamic and interdependent true nature of life, in which everything exists through mutual support and transformation. In fact, the Buddha-nature is another name for life’s inherent potential to recognize its own true nature.
- Renge means “Lotus Flower.” This illustrates the workings of the Wonderful Dharma by symbolizing the unity of cause and effect–in this case aspiration and realization–because the lotus produces flowers and seeds simultaneously. It also symbolizes the blossoming of the puriry of Buddhahood from out of the muddy water of ordinary life, just as the pure white lotus flower blooms from th depths of a muddy swamp.
- Kyo mean “Sutra,” which is what the Buddhist scriptures are called. Sutra means “a thread of discourse.” In this context, it refers to all the teachings of the Buddha which culminate in the Lotus Sutra. In a larger sense, because all phenomena manifest the buddha’s teachings, all phenomena can be considred the Buddha’s teachings and actual manifestations of the truth of the Lotus Sutra. Likewise, the Buddha’s teaching reflects the true nature of all phenomena.
Choosing Right Time in Practicing Buddhism
To study Buddhism, first of all we must know the right time.
In the past, the Great Universal Wisdom Buddha appeared in the world, but he did not preach at all for as long as ten small kalpa. It is said in the Lotus Sūtra, chapter 7 on “The Parable of a Magic City”: “He sat in meditation for ten small kalpa;” and “Though begged to preach, the Buddha sat in silence because He knew the time was not yet ripe.” Our Lord Śākyamuni Buddha, did not expound the Lotus Sūtra for more than forty years. As said in the Sūtra, chapter 2 on “Expedients,” it was because “the time was not ripe.” Lao-tzu is said to have spent as long as eighty years in his mother’s womb before he was born. Bodhisattva Maitreya, future Lord Buddha of this Sahā World, is expected to stay in the inner chamber of the Tuṣita Heaven (Tōsotsu-ten) for as long as 5,670,000,000 years, waiting for the time to attain perfect enlightenment. As nightingales wait for summer to sing and roosters wait for dawn to crow, even beasts know the time. How much more should we choose the right time in practicing Buddhism?
Senji-shō, Selecting the Right time: A Tract by Nichiren, the Buddha’s Disciple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 188
Daily Dharma – Nov. 1, 2020
Just as the Moon God is brighter than the stars, this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma gives us more light than any of the other sūtras numbering thousands of billions. Just as the Sun God dispels all darkness, this sūtra drives away all the darkness of evils.
The Buddha gives this explanation to Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddha uses comparisons from our common experience of the sun, moon and stars to illustrate how this teaching of the Wonderful Dharma is superior to all other teachings. This is not just hyperbole. This teaching illuminates not only the other teachings of the Buddha, but all teachings. It lets us see them for what they are, and use them to do the Buddha’s work of leading all beings to enlightenment.
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