Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p194-195I know a nun and a monk in Vietnam, former students of mine, who were arrested because of their work on behalf of human rights. … The nun … spent a long time in prison, and she continued her practice of walking and sitting meditation in her small cell. Thanks to the practice she remained relaxed, calm, and cheerful. Anger and despair were not able to take root in her, and she was able to help the other prisoners, many of whom were very hostile toward the prison guards. The guards treated her kindly—not because she is a nun but because she embodies mindfulness of compassion. She did not let herself become a victim of anger and craving, and so she was able to make very good use of her time in prison. It became a kind of retreat – she didn’t have to do anything, just enjoy the practice. Instead of experiencing prison as a pit of fire, she transformed it into a cool lotus pond through the practice of mindfulness, compassion, and understanding.
If we find ourselves in a situation like this, and if we know how to practice the universal gate, mindfulness of compassion, we won’t suffer and we can even help others who are in the same situation – not just fellow prisoners but those on the “other side,” the prison administrators, the guards, and so on.
Monthly Archives: January 2021
Karmic Connections
In the Devadatta chapter we learn that this person who caused the Buddha so much grief in the Buddha’s current lifetime was actually responsible for the Buddha being able to become the Buddha. In a previous lifetime Sakyamuni was a king who gave up his kingdom to his prince and sought the Dharma, going about the land beating a drum, seeking someone who could teach him. He came across a great seer who said that he would teach the Great Vehicle of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower on the condition the king would serve him without becoming disobedient.
With great joy the king began serving this seer. He performed all sorts of menial tasks but never begrudged his efforts because he was that sincere in seeking out the Great Dharma. We learn that not only was the king a previous life of the Buddha but the seer was Devadatta in one of his previous lifetimes. Because of this deep connection the Buddha was able to attain enlightenment and become the Buddha we know of today.
This is a wonderful example of how even the most evil person is at the same time not all bad, and also how we too may have a deep karmic connection with that person.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraThe Vow of the Female Dragon
Speaking of attainment of Buddhahood by this female dragon, therefore, Grand Master Miao-lê writes, “The great blessing despite little practice shows the power of the Lotus Sūtra.” As this female dragon is indebted to the Lotus Sūtra for attaining Buddhahood, how could she abandon practicers of the sūtra even without the Buddha’s command? So, she says in verse praising the Buddha,”I will widely disseminate Mahāyāna Buddhism to save the suffering people.” This vow of the female dragon is at the same time the vow of all the dragons who follow her, which is so deep that the mouth cannot express it and the mind cannot fathom it. The Sāgara Dragon King, father of the female dragon, was a beast in body but had a deep compassion for his children that he gave the greatest treasure in the ocean, a wish-fulfilling gem, to his daughter as a donation upon her attainment of Buddhahood with the present body. This gem was worth as much as all things in the whole world.
Kitō Shō, Treatise on Prayers, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 63-64
Daily Dharma – Jan. 6, 2021
Ajita! Any good man or woman who keeps, reads, or recites this sūtra after my extinction, also will be able to obtain these merits. Know this! He or she should be considered to have already reached the place of enlightenment, approached Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, and sat under the tree of enlightenment. Ajita! Erect a stūpa in the place where he or she sat, stood or walked! All gods and men should make offerings to that stūpa just as they do to the stūpa of a Buddha.
The Buddha gives this explanation to Maitreya (whom he calls Ajita – Invincible) in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. In this mysterious description, the Buddha seems to say that anyone who practices this Lotus Sūtra as it instructs is his equal, that this person deserves as much respect as the Buddha himself. In this world of conflict it is rare to even find this teaching, and even more rare to practice it. The Buddha encourages Bodhisattvas such as Maitreya and other protective deities to serve and care for those who bring the Buddha’s greatest wisdom to life. When we practice the Wonderful Dharma, it is as if the Buddha himself appears among us.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 21
Day 21 covers all of Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata.
Having last month considered whether the Buddha can be accused of lying when he says he’ll enter into nirvana, we repeat in gāthās the incredible length of the Buddha’s lifespan.
Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
It is many hundreds of thousands
Of billions of trillions
Of asaṃkhyas of kalpas
Since I became the Buddha.For the past innumerable kalpas
I have always been expounding the Dharma
To many hundreds of millions of living beings
In order to lead them into the Way to Buddhahood.In order to save the [perverted] people,
I expediently show my Nirvāṇa to them.
In reality I shall never pass away.
I always live here and expound the Dharma.Although I always live here
With the perverted people
I disappear from their eyes
By my supernatural powers.When they see me seemingly pass away,
And make offerings to my śarīras,
And adore me, admire me,
And become devout, upright and gentle,
And wish to see me
With all their hearts
At the cost of their lives,
I reappear on Mt. Sacred Eagle
With my Saṃgha,
And say to them:
“I always live here.
I shall never be extinct.
I show my extinction to you expediently
Although I never pass away.
I also expound the unsurpassed Dharma
To the living beings of the other worlds
If they respect me, believe me,
And wish to see me.
You have never heard this
Therefore, you thought that I pass away.”
Faculties of Faith
Buddhism for Today, p223-224[The Buddha] preaches his teachings according to the mental capacity of his listeners. This the tactful way of the Buddha’s compassion, coinciding with his words: “Whenever living beings come to me, I behold with a Buddha’s eyes all the faculties, keen or dull, of their faith.”
The words “faculties of their faith” refer to the five organs (pañcendriāni, go-kon) that lead man to good conduct — the sense of belief (śraddhendriya, shin-kon), sense of endeavor (vīryendriya, shōjin-kon), sense of memory (smrtīndriya, nen-kon), sense of meditation (samādhīndriya, jōkon), and sense of wisdom (prajñendriya, e-kon). All five are fundamental to our religious lives.
“Sense of belief” means the mind of faith. … [A] religion, unlike intellectual learning, does not enable a believer to have the power to save others as well as himself if he understands it only in theory. When he believes from the depths of his heart, his belief produces power. His faith cannot be said to be true until he attains such a mental state.
“Sense of endeavor” means the spirit of endeavoring purely and incessantly. Faith alone is not enough. Our religious lives cannot be true unless we maintain our faith purely and constantly endeavor so that our religious spirit does not weaken or lose its power.
“Sense of memory” indicates the mind that always focuses upon the Buddha. Practically speaking, of course, it is impossible for us to completely forget the Buddha for even a moment. When a student devotes himself to his studies or when an adult is entirely absorbed in his work, he must concentrate on one object. Doing so accords with the way to buddhahood. While devoting ourselves to a particular object, we reflect, “I am caused to live by the Buddha.” When we complete a difficult task and feel relieved, we thank the Buddha, saying, “How lucky I am! I am protected by the Buddha.” When an evil thought flashes across our mind or we suddenly feel angry, we instantly examine ourselves, thinking, “Is this the way to buddhahood?” The mind that thus keeps the Buddha in mind at all times is “sense of memory.”
“Sense of meditation” implies a determined mind. Once we have faith in a religion, we are never agitated by anything, whatever may happen. We bear patiently all persecution and temptation, and we continue to believe only in one religion. We must constantly maintain such firm determination, never becoming discouraged. We cannot be said to be real people of religion unless we have such a mental attitude.
“Sense of wisdom” means the wisdom that people of religion must maintain. As frequently mentioned in this book, this is not a self-centered wisdom but the true wisdom that we obtain when we perfectly free ourselves from ego and illusion. So long as we have this wisdom, we will not take the wrong way. We can say the same thing of our belief in religion itself, not to mention our daily lives. If we are attached to a selfish, small desire, we are apt to stray toward a mistaken religion. However earnestly we may believe in it, endeavoring to practice its teaching, keeping it in mind, and devoting ourselves to it, we cannot be saved because of its basically wrong teaching, and we sink farther and farther into the world of illusion. There are many instances around us of people following such a course. Although “sense of wisdom” is mentioned as the last of the five organs leading man to good conduct, it should be first in the order in which we enter a religious life.
The Four Skillful Means of a Bodhisattva
Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p178-179Buddhism speaks of the four skillful means of a bodhisattva. The first skillful means is making the three kinds of offerings: material gifts, the gift of the Dharma, and the gift of non-fear. When you offer good things to people, they have sympathy with you, they regard you favorably, and their hearts are open. Giving someone a book on the Dharma, or a CD of some beautiful music that can help them relax – this is the practice of giving, dana. But the offerings of a bodhisattva should not be only material things or Dharma teachings. The best, most precious gift we can give someone is the gift of non-fear, abhaya.
People live in fear of death; they are afraid of losing their selfhood, their identity, of disappearing and becoming nonexistent. So when you offer the kind of teaching, practice, and insight that helps someone touch their ultimate dimension and get free of the fear of being and nonbeing, that is the greatest gift you can offer them.
The second skillful means of the bodhisattva is to practice loving speech. You can be very firm and uncompromising, but you can still use loving speech. You don’t have to shout or become hostile to get your idea across. Loving speech can convey your feeling and idea to the other person in a way they are able to hear it and take it in more fully. The third skillful means is to always act to benefit others. You do whatever you can to help the other person in any situation. That is the action of the bodhisattva. The fourth skillful means is the practice of “doing the same thing.” This has to do with the bodhisattva’s ability to take on the appropriate form in order to be able to approach others and help them. You look like them, dress like them, do exactly what they do, you become one of them so that they will trust and accept you and have the opportunity to learn the path of understanding and love. These are the four skillful means by which the bodhisattva embraces and serves living beings.
Awakening Aspiration for Buddhahood
Grand Master Chang-an states in his Annotations on the Nirvana Sūtra, “The one body of the Buddha is equipped with the three virtues of the lord, master and parent.”
The Lotus Sūtra, chapter 3 on “A Parable” preaches:
“This triple world (realms of desires, form and non-form) entirely belongs to Me (the World Honored One, the most venerable in the triple world, whose domain consists of 25 regions in the triple world or the six lower realms of the dharma world—four continents, lower four realms, six heavens in the realm of desire, Great Brahma Heaven, four meditation heavens in the realm of form, four heavens in the realm of non-form, the non-thought heaven, and heaven of not returning). The people in them are all My children (children of Dharma-nature who established the bond with Śākyamuni Buddha in the eternal past; the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 5, explains this, “All people are equally equipped with the same Buddha nature, so they are equal children of the Buddha”). Nevertheless, this world is full of troubles and difficulties. I alone can save all living beings.” The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 6, explains this, “Properly speaking, all living beings will awaken aspiration for Buddhahood by following this Buddha, and proceed to Buddhahood following the Buddha without falling back to a lower spiritual stage.
Thus it is Śākyamuni Buddha alone who is equipped with the three virtues of the lord, master and parent.
Ichidai Goji Keizu, Genealogical Chart of the Buddha’s Lifetime Teachings in Five Periods, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 245-246
Daily Dharma – Jan. 5, 2021
If anyone speaks ill of you, or threatens you
With swords, sticks, tile-pieces or stones
While you are expounding this sūtra,
Think of me, and be patient!
The Buddha sings these verses to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. By patience, the Buddha does not mean to toughen ourselves and allow others to harm us. The patience he speaks of allows to increase our capacity to handle the mental suffering that comes when others abuse us. If we keep in mind that nothing anyone does can remove the seed of Buddha nature that is within them, and remember that this seed is within all beings, we can treat even those who mean us harm with respect and compassion, rather than contempt and derision.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 20
Day 20 completes Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground, and concludes the Fifth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month repeated in gāthās the Buddha’s explanation of this great multitude of Bodhisattvas who appeared from underground, we consider Maitreya Bodhisattva’s objection to this explanation.Thereupon Maitreya Bodhisattva-mahāsattva and the innumerable Bodhisattvas in the congregation doubted the Buddha’s words which they had never heard before. They thought:
‘How did the World-Honored One teach these great, innumerable, asaṃkhya Bodhisattvas, and qualify them to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi in such a short time?’
[Maitreya Bodhisattva] said to the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! When you, the Tathāgata, were a crown prince, you left the palace of the Śākyas, sat at the place of enlightenment not far from the City of Gaya, and attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. It is only forty and odd years since then.
“World-Honored One! How did you do these great deeds of the Buddha in such a short time? Did you teach these great, innumerable Bodhisattvas, and qualify them to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi by your powers or by your merits?
“World-Honored One! No one can count the number of these great Bodhisattvas even if he goes on counting them for thousands of billions of kalpas. They have already planted roots of good, practiced the way, and performed brahma practices under innumerable Buddhas from the remotest past.
“World-Honored One! It is difficult for anyone in the world to believe this. It is as difficult as to believe a handsome, black-haired man twenty-five years old who points to men a hundred years old and says, ‘They are my sons,’ or as to believe men a hundred years old who point to a young man and say, ‘This is our father. He brought us up.’ You are like the young man. It is not long since you attained enlightenment. But it is many thousands of billions of kalpas since the great multitude of these Bodhisattvas began to practice the Way strenuously in order to attain the enlightenment of the Buddha. During that time they entered into, stayed in, and came out of many hundreds of thousands of billions of samadhis, and obtained great supernatural powers. They performed brahma practices for a long time. They learned good teachings one by one, and obtained the ability to answer questions skillfully. They are regarded as the treasures of the world of men by all the people of the world because they are rare. Today you say that, after you attained the enlightenment of the Buddha, you caused them to aspire for enlightenment, taught them, and led them into the Way to Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.
“World-Honored One! You did these deeds of great merit although it is not long since you attained Buddhahood. We believe that your words given according to the capacities of all living beings are infallible, and that we understand all that you know. But the beginners in Bodhisattvahood after your extinction, if they hear these words of yours, will not receive them by faith but commit the sin of violating the Dharma. Therefore, World-Honored One! Explain all this so that we may be able to remove our doubts and that the good men in the future may have no doubts when they hear these words of yours!”