Monthly Archives: February 2021

LS32

Day 21

Day 21 covers all of Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata.

Day 21 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered in gāthās the incredible length of the Buddha’s lifespan, we consider what the perverted people think.

I see the [perverted] people sinking
In an ocean of suffering.
Therefore, I disappear from their eyes
And cause them to admire me.
When they adore me,
I appear and expound the Dharma to them.

I can do all this by my supernatural powers.
I live on Mt. Sacred Eagle
And also in the other abodes
For asaṃkhya kalpas.

The [perverted] people think:
“This world is in a great fire.
The end of the kalpa [of destruction] is coming.”
In reality this world of mine is peaceful.
It is filled with gods and men.
The gardens, forests and stately buildings
Are adorned with various treasures;
The jeweled trees have many flowers and fruits;
The living beings are enjoying themselves;
And the gods are beating heavenly drums,
Making various kinds of music,
And raining mandārava-flowers on the great multitude and me.

[This] pure world of mine is indestructible.
But the [perverted] people think:
“It is full of sorrow, fear, and other sufferings.
It will soon burn away.”

Because of their evil karmas,
These sinful people will not be able
To hear even the names of the Three Treasures
During asaṃkhya kalpas.

See An Action-Oriented Sutra

LS32, d21b, stories

An Action-Oriented Sutra

The Dharma Flower Sutra … is action-oriented. At the end of Chapter 16 we are invited to perfect our buddha bodies. The Sutra, in other words, is as much concerned, perhaps even more concerned, about what we do with our hands and feet as it is with what happens in our minds. This is not to say that what happens in our minds is unimportant. It is exceedingly difficult to imagine a peaceful world without there being peaceful minds. But I think it would be a great mistake to assume that, at least for the Dharma Flower Sutra, the end or goal of Buddhism is some kind of experience of being enlightened or awakened. For the Lotus Sutra, the goal is the way itself, the way of awakened action – the practice and the way of the bodhisattva, one who is becoming a buddha through taking on whatever forms are needed to help others.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p260-261
Foundations

The Threefold Cessation

“Threefold contemplation” actually refers to both “threefold cessation” (śamatha) and “threefold insight/contemplation” (vipaśanā). Chih-i’s mature development of this concept is succinctly presented in an early section of the [Great Concentration and Insight], where he discusses the meaning of chih-kuan. Chih-i first discusses three kinds of “skillful cessation”: cessation as true insight into the essence of reality as empty of substantial Being; cessation as insight into reality as expedient conventional existence, which arises through conditions; and cessation as putting an end to both extremes of discriminatory conceptual categories. These are described in more detail as follows:

Cessation as Insight into the True Essence of Reality

This cessation is the step of advancing beyond “naïve realism,” wherein one accepts the substantial existence of objective reality, to realizing the emptiness of all things and the lack of any substantive Being. As Chih-i says:

All dharmas arise through conditions. [Things which arise through] conditioned co-arising are empty and without self- Being. … Since one knows the conditioned co-arising, conventional confluence, illusory transformation, and empty nature [of all things], this is called their essence. Conceptualized delusions come to an end upon realizing emptiness; therefore emptiness is [the nature of] true [reality]. Therefore this is called “cessation as insight into the essence of true reality.” [T 46, 24a3-6]

Cessation as Insight into Expedient Conditions

This refers to the contemplation of and insight into reality as the conventional existence of all things which arise through conditioned co-arising, which Chih-i calls “the non-emptiness of emptiness.” The emptiness of all things does not mean nothingness. Their conventional existence as interdependent entities is real. As Chih-i says:

Those of the two vehicles [accept only emptiness as] the essence of true [reality], so they do not consider as necessary the “cessation of expediency” [insight into reality as conventional existence]. Bodhisattvas understand conventional existence and should put it into practice. They know that emptiness is not empty [i.e., not nothingness], therefore this is called an “expedient means”. One discriminates and chooses medicine in accordance with the disease, therefore it is called “in accordance with conditions” . The mind is at rest with regard to the mundane truth, therefore it is called “cessation.” [T. 46, 24a9-11]

Cessation as an End to both Discriminatory Extremes

This refers to the contemplation of and insight into the synonymous nature of both “extremes” of emptiness and conventional existence. A discriminatory and one-sided attachment to either concept of emptiness or conventional existence is mistaken. One must realize that both “emptiness” and “conventional existence,” if correctly understood, refer to the same thing, and that reality is simultaneously empty of substantial Being and conventionally existent. As Chih-i says:

[To think that] saṃsāra flows and moves and that nirvāṇa is a [constant and inactive] maintenance of an awakened state is a one-sided view of practice and activity, and does not correspond to the Middle Path. Now, if one knows that the mundane is not mundane, then the extreme [view] of the mundane is put to rest, and if one realizes the non-mundane [nature of conventional existence], then the extreme [view] of emptiness is put to rest. This is called “cessation as an end to both extremes.” [T. 46, 24a13-15]

Chih-i admits that “the names of these three cessations are not to be seen in the Sūtras and Sāstras, but they have been given names according to their meaning with reference to threefold contemplation.”

Foundations of T'ien T'ai Philosophy, p 117-118
WONS

The Parting of a Married Couple

From the ancient times till today, the pain of parting either between parents and children, or lord and his subordinates remains the same. The most painful, however, is the parting of a married couple. I can only surmise your sadness being separated from your husband by death. You may have been reborn as a woman numerous times since time immemorial, but this last husband of yours was the last “good friend” of yours in this Sahā World.

The 31-syllable Japanese poems offer these sentiments: “In the natural world flowers scatter and fruits fall, but they never fail to come back in time. Why can’t a departed person ever return?” and “Thinking of the deceased day after day, my days are listless and painful year after year.” Please chant the daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra for your late husband.

Jimyō-ama Gozen Gohenji, A Response to My Lady, the Nun Jimyō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 94

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Feb. 8, 2021

As I contemplate my own life, I, Nichiren, have studied Buddhism ever since I was a child. Our life is uncertain, as exhaling one’s breath one moment does not guarantee drawing it the next; it is as transient as the dew before the wind and its end occurs suddenly to everyone, the wise and the ignorant, the aged and the young. I thought I should study the matter of the last moment of life first of all, before studying anything else.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Reply to My Lady, the Nun Myōgō (Myōhō-ama Gozen Gohenji). The Buddha taught that everything that comes together falls apart. Everything that is born must die. Then in the Lotus Sūtra he taught that he sees the world differently. For him living beings have neither birth nor death, they do not appear nor disappear. For each of us, the death of our bodies is certain. As Nichiren instructs, it is beneficial to meditate on this fact and not live in denial of our mortality. At the same time, when we see with the Buddha’s mind, we realize that our lives are not the end of the story. Time and life are abundant, but it it still important to waste neither.

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

LS32

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.

Day 20 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered Maitreya Bodhisattva’s objection to the Buddha’s explanation of who these Bodhisattvas are, we conclude Chapter 15 in gāthās.

Thereupon Maitreya Bodhisattva, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:

It is not long
Since you renounced the family of the Śākyas
And sat under the Bodhi-tree
Near Gaya.

These sons of yours are innumerable.
They have practiced
The way to Buddhahood for a long time.
They have supernatural powers and the power of wisdom.

They have studied the Way of Bodhisattvas well.
They are not defiled by worldliness
Just as the lotus-flower
Is not defiled by water.

They sprang up from underground,
And are now standing before you respectfully.
This is difficult to understand.
How can we believe this?

You attained enlightenment quite recently.
But you have done so many things.
Remove our doubts!
Explain all this as it is!

Suppose a man twenty-five years old
Points to grey-haired and wrinkle-faced men
A hundred years old,
And says, “They are my sons.”
Suppose old men point to a young man
And say, “He is our father.”
No one in the world will believe
That a father is younger than his sons.

You are like the father.
You attained enlightenment quite recently.
These Bodhisattvas are resolute in mind.
They are not timid.
They have practiced the Way of Bodhisattva
For the past innumerable kalpas.

They are good at answering difficult questions.
They are fearless and patient.
They are handsome, powerful and virtuous.
They are praised by the Buddhas
Of the worlds of the ten quarter .
They expound [the Dharma] clearly.

They did not wish to live among men.
They preferred dwelling in dhyana-concentration.
They lived in the sky below
In order to attain the enlightenment of the Buddha.

We do not doubt your words
Because we heard them direct from you.
Explain all this so that the living beings in the future
May be able to understand your words, Buddha!

Those who doubt this sūtra
And do not believe it
Will fall into the evil regions.
Explain all this to us now!

How did you teach these innumerable Bodhisattvas
In such a short time,
And cause them to aspire for enlightenment
And not falter in seeking enlightenment?

[Here ends] the Fifth Volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

See The Ideal Way of Life

Foundations

Threefold Contemplation

The practical side to the threefold truth is Chih-i’s concept of the threefold contemplation of emptiness, conventional existence, and the Middle. The threefold truth refers, inadequately but with validity, to the reality of the objective realm. Threefold contemplation refers to a general pattern of practice that allows one to attain insight into the true nature of reality. As Chih-i writes in his commentary to the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Sūtra, “Reality as the two truths and threefold truth is the objective realm which is illumined through threefold contemplation.”

The threefold truth is a major theme of the doctrinal [ Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra ], and this threefold contemplation is a major theme of the practice oriented [Great Concentration and Insight].

Foundations of T'ien T'ai Philosophy, p 116
WONS

Retribution for Persecuting a Practicer of the Lotus Sūtra

A bird called cormorant can eat a piece of iron, which it digests in its stomach, but even so its unborn baby in its belly does not melt away. Also, there exists a fish that eats pieces of stone, which it digests in its stomach, yet the unborn babies in its belly remain alive. Sandalwood cannot be set on fire, and water does not extinguish the fire in the Heaven of Pure Inhabitants (where sages reside who have reached the stage of not having to be reborn in the six realms of transmigration). The body of the Buddha could not be burned although 32 sumo wrestlers tried to set it on fire, while the fire produced from the Buddha’s body could not be extinguished by the dragon god of the triple world who tried to put it out by pouring rain on it. As you helped me practice the Lotus Sūtra, no evil person can harm you. If anything should happen, it is a retribution in this life for persecuting a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra in a previous life. This cannot be avoided no matter whether you fled into the mountains or to the ocean. Both Never Despising Bodhisattva who was beaten with sticks and pieces of wood, and Venerable Maudgalyāyana, who was killed by non-Buddhists with bamboo sticks, are examples of such retribution. This is nothing to grieve over.

Shijō Kingo Shakabutsu Kuyō, Opening the Eyes Service of Shijō Kingo’s Statue of Śākyamuni Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Pages 135

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Feb. 7, 2021

I, Nichiren, sincerely keep the most profound Lotus Sutra among other sutras which have been preached, are being preached, and will be preached. I also chant Odaimoku, the heart of the sutra, by myself and teach others to chant it. Mugwort grass grows straight amidst the hemp field. Trees do not grow straight, but by cutting them straight, they become useful. If you chant the sutra as it instructs, your mind will be straightened. Be aware that is hard for us to chant even the title of the sutra unless the spirit of the Eternal Buddha enters into our bodies.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Letter to Myomitsu Shonin (Myomitsu Shonin Gosho). This instruction ties together the practice of reciting devotion to the title of the Lotus Sūtra, Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, and the mind of the ever-present Buddha Shakyamuni. It is through unimaginable deeds of merit that we have met this Sūtra in our lives and have the opportunity to use it to find the Buddha’s wisdom and benefit all beings in this world of conflict and delusion. We are also fortunate to have Nichiren as an example of how to bring this teaching to life. May our gratitude for the merits we have received strengthen our determination to transform the obstacles we face into opportunities we welcome.

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

LS32

Day 19

Day 19 concludes Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices, and begins Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground.

Day 19 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month concluded today’s portion of Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground, we return to today’s portion of Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices and consider the Bodhisattva’s need for great loving-kindness towards laymen and monks, and great compassion towards those who are not Bodhisattvas.

“Again, Mañjuśrī! A Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who keeps this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in the latter days after [my extinction] when the teachings are about to be destroyed, should have great loving-kindness towards laymen and monks, and great compassion towards those who are not Bodhisattvas. He should think: ‘They do not know that the Tathāgata expounded expedient teachings according to the capacities of all Jiving beings. They do not hear, know or notice it, or ask a question about it or believe or understand it. Although they do not ask a question about this sūtra, or believe or understand it, I will lead them and cause them, wherever they may be, to understand the Dharma by my supernatural powers and by the power of my wisdom when I attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.’

“Mañjuśrī! A Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who performs this fourth set of [peaceful] practices after my extinction, will be able to expound the Dharma flawlessly. Bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās, upāsikās, kings, princes, ministers, common people, brāhmanas and householders will make offerings to him, honor him, respect him, and praise him. The gods in the sky will always serve him in order to hear the Dharma from him. When someone comes to his abode located in a village, in a city, in a retired place or in a forest, and wishes to ask him a question, the gods will protect him day and night for the sake of the Dharma so that the hearer may rejoice because this sūtra was, is, and will be protected by the supernatural powers of the past, present and future Buddhas.

The Daily Dharma from Feb. 2, 2021, offers this:

Mañjuśrī! A Bodhisattva-mahāsattva who performs this fourth set of [peaceful] practices after my extinction, will be able to expound the Dharma flawlessly. Bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, upāsikās, kings, princes, ministers, common people, brāhmaṇas and householders will make offerings to him, honor him, respect him, and praise him. The gods in the sky will always serve him in order to hear the Dharma from him. When someone comes to his abode located in a village, in a city, in a retired place or in a forest, and wishes to ask him a question, the gods will protect him day and night for the sake of the Dharma so that the hearer may rejoice because this sūtra was, is, and will be protected by the supernatural powers of the past, present and future Buddhas.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra. The fourth set of peaceful practices is not blaming those who do not hear the Lotus Sūtra and resolving to save them when one becomes perfectly enlightened. Rather than becoming upset with those who do not accept this teaching, it is useful to know that we are not alone in wanting to save them, and that by reducing our own delusions we increase our capacity to benefit others.

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