Monthly Archives: December 2020

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 12, 2020

The Buddha is the master of the human and heavenly realms, the parent of all living beings, and the teacher who opens the way and leads us all to enlightenment. Lowly parents lack the virtue of a master, and the master without the virtue of parents is frightening. People with the virtues of parents or master do not necessarily possess the virtue of the teacher.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on Prayers (Kitō-shō). This illustrates three aspects of the ever-present Buddha to which we can aspire as we practice his highest teachings. Parents care about their children, but they can lack the skill and knowledge necessary to benefit them. A skillful master can be wise about how to live in this world of conflict, but without a true concern for the well-being of those he leads, can degenerate into cruelty and selfishness. As a teacher, the Buddha has found us all within himself, and cares for us as he cares for himself. He has also found himself within all of us, and knows what it takes to lead us to his wisdom.

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

LS32

Day 30

Day 30 covers all of Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs

Day 30 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered the dhārāni spells offered by Brave-In-Giving Bodhisattva, we consider the dhārāni spells offered by Vaiśravaṇa Heavenly-King.

Thereupon Vaiśravaṇa Heavenly-King, the Protector of the World, said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One! I also will utter dhārānis in order to protect this teacher of the Dharma out of my compassion towards all living beings.”

Then he uttered spells, “Ari (1), nari (2), tonari (3), anaro (4), nabi (5), kunabi (6).”

[He said to the Buddha:]

“World-Honored One! I will protect this teacher of the Dharma with these divine spells. I also will protect the person who keeps this sūtra so that he may have no trouble within a hundred yojanas’ distance [from here].”

See Five Kinds of Untranslatable Words

d21b, d22b, Peaceful Action

The Ultimate Skillful Means

The appearance of the Buddha in the historical dimension, as a particular person born into a particular family, and having a normal human life span, is like a magic show designed to capture the attention of the living beings of that time and guide them to the path of transformation. In the chapters of the Lotus Sutra discussed in Part One, on the historical dimension, the Buddha used various skillful means in teaching the paths of the three vehicles, when in fact there is really only One Vehicle. We could say that of all the Buddha’s methods of teaching, his appearance in the form of various historical Buddhas throughout time and space is the ultimate skillful means. Through this method, the Tathagata has never stopped teaching and guiding beings to liberation.

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p115
Lotus Seeds

The True Nature of Our Lives

Quote

In Nichiren Buddhism, a Middle Way is chosen between the way of awakening through self-effort and the way of awakening through total reliance on the Buddha. This Middle Way is the practice of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, which is the seed of awakening. This seed eventually bears fruit as the realization that the true nature of our lives is none other than the true Focus of Devotion, the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha.

Lotus Seeds

WONS

The Conclusion of the Nirvana Sūtra

Of the Lotus-Nirvana period, the Nirvana Sūtra was expounded in one day and night while facing death. Śākyamuni Buddha passed away at the age of 80, but traditions also say that Śākyamuni was 79, 80, 81, 82, 105, or 120 years old when He died. The Sūtra of Clarification of the Age of Semblance Dharma, which foretells the decline of Buddhism during the Age of Semblance Dharma and advises the practice of almsgiving, was preached by the Hiraṇyavatī River just before the death of the Buddha. Thus, this sūtra is regarded to be the conclusion of the Nirvana Sūtra.

Ichidai Goji Keizu, Genealogical Chart of the Buddha’s Lifetime Teachings in Five Periods, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 244

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 11, 2020

The Buddha said to Endless-Intent Bodhisattva: “Good man! If many hundreds of thousands of billions of living beings hear [the name of] World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva and call his name with all their hearts when they are under various sufferings, World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva will immediately perceive their voices, and cause them to emancipate themselves [from the sufferings].”

The Buddha gives this description of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva (Kuan-Yin, Kannon, Kanzeon, Avalokitesvara) to Endless-Intent Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Five of the Lotus Sūtra. World-Voice-Perceiver is the embodiment of compassion, a living manifestation of the desire that all beings be happy and free from suffering. By calling the name of this Bodhisattva, we awaken the compassion within ourselves. We become this Bodhisattva and remove our fear of suffering. With this awakening we can be fully present for those in this world of conflict who are suffering and liberate ourselves from the delusion and isolation of our own suffering.

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

LS32

Day 29

Day 29 covers all of Chapter 25, The Universal Gate of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva.

Day 29 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month repeated in gāthās why the son of the Buddha is called World-Voice-Perceiver, we consider the many misfortunes for which World-Voice-Perceiver responds.

Suppose you are thrown into a large pit of fire
By someone who has an intention of killing you.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver
The pit of fire will change into a pond of water.

Suppose you are in a ship drifting on a great ocean
Where dragons, fish and devils are rampant.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
The ship will not b sunk by the waves.

Suppose you are pushed
Off the top of Mt. Sumeru by someone.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
You will be able to stay in the air like the sun.

Suppose you are chased by an evil man,
And pushed off [the top of] a mountain made of diamond.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
You will not lose even a hair.

Suppose bandits are surrounding you,
And attempting to kill you with swords.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
The bandits will become compassionate t wards you.

Suppose you are sentenced to death,
And the sword is drawn to behead you.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
The sword will suddenly break asunder.

Suppose you are bound up
In pillories, chains, manacles or fetters.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
You will be released from them.

Suppose someone curses you to death,
Or attempts to kill you by various poisons.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
Death will be brought to that person, instead.

Suppose you meet rākṣasas
Or poisonous dragons or other devils.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
They will not kill you.

Suppose you are surrounded by wild animals
Which have sharp, fearful tusks and claws.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver
They will flee away to distant places.

Suppose you meet lizards, snakes, vipers or scorpions
Emitting poisonous vapor like flames.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
They will go away as you call his name.

Suppose clouds arise, lightning flashes, thunder peals,
Hail falls, and a heavy rains comes down.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
The thunderstorm will stop at once.

See A Goddess of Mercy

LS32, d29b, stories

A Goddess of Mercy

The list of misfortunes from which one can be saved by calling upon Kwan-yin is interesting but not terribly important, as the meaning is quite clear – Kwan-yin can save anyone from any misfortune. The list simply provides concrete examples. This power to save is why early Jesuit missionaries to China invented the term Goddess of Mercy to refer to Kwan-yin and relate her to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Kwan-yin, in fact, has been and still is a goddess of mercy for a great many, answering their prayers and bringing them comfort.

Of course, those who would follow the bodhisattva way should see great bodhisattvas as models for us and not be looking to gods or goddesses for special favors.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p274
d21b, Peaceful Action

Our Misperception of the Buddha’s Lifespan

The Buddha says, “I have been living in this saha world for this great incalculable period of time, teaching the Dharma to innumerable living beings; and I have also been in an equally vast number of other world-spheres, teaching and helping beings.” The life span of the Buddha is not only spoken of in terms of time but also of space – immeasurable, infinite dimensions of time and space that are beyond the reach of intellectual conceptualization. So our idea of the Buddha as a purely historical person who lived 2,600 years ago, who passed into nirvana and is no longer able to be present with us here and now, is merely a misperception.

Other Mahayana sutras speak of the unborn and undying nature of the Buddha. For instance, the Vajracchedika Sutra says, “The Tathagata comes from nowhere and goes nowhere.” But in the Lotus Sutra, this truth is expressed in vivid images, like a beautiful painting, and for some it can be easier to understand and grasp through such visual imagery.

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p115
WONS

Exchanging Worthless Pieces of Tile for Pieces of Gold

Grand Master T’ien-t’ai had to engage in vigorous disputes against three Southern and seven Northern masters in establishing his new theology, and Grand Master Dengyō in Japan had to dispute against the six schools of Buddhism in Nara during the reign of Emperor Kammu. Whether or not Buddhist masters encountered hardships depended on whether their opinions were adopted by the wise king or rejected by the foolish king; it did not depend on whether or not their ways of propagation were in accordance with the intent of the Buddha. The situations were like this even during the Ages of the True and Semblance Dharmas, not to speak of the Latter Age of Degeneration! I, Nichiren, incurred the displeasure of the Kamakura Shogunate for the sake of the Lotus Sūtra. This is the greatest happiness that ever happened to me because it is like exchanging worthless pieces of tile and stones for pieces of gold and silver.

Hakii Saburō-dono Go-henji, A Response to Lord Hakii Saburō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 185-186