Those who spread the five characters of Myō, Hō, Ren, Ge, and Kyō in the Latter Age of Degeneration should not make a distinction between males and females, for it would be difficult to chant the daimoku unless they were all bodhisattvas of the earth.
Shohō Jisso-shō, Treatise on All Phenomena as Ultimate Reality, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 78
Having sung this gāthā, Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva said to the Buddha, ‘World-Honored One! You do not change, do you?’
This description of the life of Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva comes from Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sūtra. In a previous existence, this Bodhisattva had given up his body and his life for the sake of teaching the Wonderful Dharma. He was then reborn into a world in which the Buddha he served previously was still alive and benefitting all beings. Recognizing this unchanging aspect of the Buddha despite his changing appearances helps us see into our own capacity for enlightenment.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 6 continues Chapter 3, A Parable
The Buddha said to Śāriputra:
“So it is, so it is. It is just as you say. Śāriputra! The same can be said of me. [I thought, ‘] I am the father of the world. I eliminated fear, despondency, grief, ignorance and darkness. I obtained immeasurable insight, powers and fearlessness. I have great supernatural powers, the power of wisdom, the paramita of expedients, the paramita of wisdom, great compassion, and great loving-kindness. I am not tired of seeking good things or of benefiting all living beings. I have appeared in the triple world, which can be likened to the rotten and burning house, in order to save all living beings from the fires of birth, old age, disease, death, grief, sorrow, suffering, lamentation, stupidity, darkness, and the three poisons, to teach all living beings, and to cause them to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. I see that all living beings are burned by the fires of birth, old age, disease, death, grief, sorrow, suffering and lamentation. They undergo various sufferings because they have the five desires and the desire for gain. Because they have attachments and pursuits, they have many sufferings in their present existence, and will suffer in hell or in the world of animals or in the world of hungry spirits in their future lives. Even when they are reborn in heaven or in the world of humans, they will still have many sufferings such as poverty or parting from their beloved ones or meeting with those whom they hate. Notwithstanding all this, however, they are playing joyfully. They are not conscious of the sufferings. They are not frightened at the sufferings or afraid of them. They do not dislike them or try to get rid of them. They are running about this burning house of the triple world, and do not mind even when they undergo great sufferings.[‘]
“Śāriputra! Seeing all this, I [also] thought, ‘I am the father of all living beings. I will eliminate their sufferings, give them the pleasure of the immeasurable wisdom of the Buddha, and cause them to enjoy it.’
“Śāriputra! I also thought, ‘If I extol my insight, powers, and fearlessness in the presence of those living beings only by my supernatural powers and by the power of my wisdom, that is to say, without any expedient, they will not be saved because they have not yet been saved from birth, old age, disease, death, grief, sorrow, suffering and lamentation, but are burning up in the burning house of the triple world. How can they understand the wisdom of the Buddha?’
“Śāriputra! The rich man did not save his children by his muscular power although he was strong enough. He saved them from the burning house with a skillful expedient and later gave them each a large cart of treasures.
Foundations of T'ien T'ai Philosophy, p 181[I]n classifying the tentative and real, Fa-yün classified the first five suchlikes as the tentative, which belongs to common ignorant people. The next four suchlikes were classified as the real, which belong to sages. The last suchlike is a general one that brings together the tentative and the real. This verse [from Chapter Four of the Lotus Sūtra] is quoted as proof: “the suchlike great results and retributions.” Because they are “great,” therefore one can know the real. Because of “various meanings of nature and appearance” one can know the tentative.
I think that this [interpretation by Fa-yün] is mistaken. There are three meanings to the word “great” – large, many, and superior. If one accepts “large” to be the meaning of the real, then one should also accept the meanings of “many” and “superior.” But is not the fact of having various names [which is the defining characteristic of conventional existence] the meaning of “many”?138 If one says that the tentative belongs to ordinary ignorant people, does that mean that ordinary people lack [participation in] the real?139 If the real belongs to the sages, then does that mean that sages lack [participation in] tentative existence?140 If one examines this position, one can see that it is unreliable.
Also, the northern Master[s] say that the first five are the tentative and the later five are the real. This [interpretation is based on] human emotions.141
The goals of the Buddha and of Nichiren Shu Buddhism are the same: bringing the freedom of awakening to all, no matter how deluded or bound by circumstances. In this book we have seen that the Lotus Sutra is the original teaching that guaranteed Buddhahood to all, including those seen as evil, such as Devadatta; those considered unable by nature to attain ultimate awakening, such as the monastic voice-hearers and the privately awakened ones; and those born with social impediments such as the dragon girl. Nichiren made the capacity for awakening truly universal through the teaching of the Three Great Secret Dharmas.
Lotus Seeds[S]uppose Śākyamuni Buddha alone changed His mind, after the Buddha of Many Treasures and Buddhas in manifestation throughout the universe returned to their respective worlds as preached in the twenty-second chapter on “Transmission,” and preached the Nirvana Sūtra declaring that the Lotus Sūtra is inferior to the Nirvana Sūtra. Who would believe this?
With this deeply in mind, I perused the ninth fascicle of the Nirvana Sūtra. It preaches amplification of the Lotus Sūtra, “Just as fruit will profit all living beings and bring about much comfort in life to them, the appearance of this Nirvana Sūtra will reveal the Buddha-nature inherent in people. Just as the guarantee of future Buddhahood granted to 8,000 śrāvaka in the Lotus Sūtra is like the bearing of huge fruit, after the harvest in autumn and stockpiling for winter the Nirvana Sūtra has nothing to do except gleaning.” According to this passage, if the Lotus Sūtra is a false teaching, is not the Nirvana Sūtra also false? It is clearly stated here that the Lotus Sūtra is like a great harvest while the Nirvana Sūtra is a gleaning. Thus, the Nirvana Sūtra declares itself to be inferior to the Lotus Sūtra. There is no mistake about the words of the Lotus Sūtra, chapter 10, “Teacher of the Dharma,” stating that it is superior even to the sūtras to be expounded, the Nirvana Sūtra .
Shugo Kokka-ron, Treatise on Protecting the Nation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 70-71
They will see the reality of all things.
Knowing the position [of this sūtra in the series of sūtras],
And the names and words [of this sūtra], according to the meanings of it,
They will expound [this sūtra] as they understand it.
The Buddha sings these verses to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. In our practice of the Wonderful Dharma, we may be able to enjoy the circumstances of being able to spend lots of time studying the Lotus Sūtra and the guidance given by our leader in this age of degeneration, Nichiren Shonin. But even if we do not have that luxury of time, as long as we remember how the Lotus Sūtra uses expedients to lead all beings to enlightenment, that the goal of this sūtra is not just to end suffering, we can teach it using our own capacities, however limited those may be. Each word of the sūtra is an embodiment of the Buddha. When we share these words with others, we share the Buddha.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 5 begins Chapter 3, A Parable
Thereupon Śāriputra said to the Buddha:
“World-Honored One! Now my doubts are gone. You assured me of my future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. These twelve hundred people now have freedom of mind. When they had something more to learn, [that is to say, when they had not yet completed their study for Arhatship,] you taught them, saying, ‘My teaching is for the purpose of causing you to emancipate yourselves from birth, old age, disease, and death, and to attain Nirvāṇa.’ The [two thousand] people, including those who have something more to learn and those who have nothing more to learn, also think that they attained Nirvāṇa because they emancipated themselves from such a view as ‘I exist,’ or ‘I shall exist forever,’ or ‘I shall cease to exist.’ But [both the twelve hundred people and the two thousand people] are now quite perplexed because they have heard from you [the Dharma] which they had never heard before. World-Honored One! In order to cause the four kinds of devotees to remove their doubts, explain why you said all this to them! ”
Thereupon the Buddha said to Śāriputra:
“Did I not tell you, ‘The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, expound the Dharma with expedients, that is, with various stories of previous lives, with various parables, with various similes, and with various discourses only for the purpose of causing all living beings to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi’? All these teachings of the Buddhas are for the purpose of teaching Bodhisattvas.
Foundations of T'ien T'ai Philosophy, p 180-181The Lotus Sūtra utilizes [the number of] ten dharmas to embrace all of reality [sarvadharma], i.e., all dharmas are of suchlike appearance, suchlike nature, suchlike essence, suchlike power, suchlike function, suchlike causes, suchlike conditions suchlike results, suchlike retributions, and suchlike beginning and end ultimately the same.132 When Master [Hui-ssu] of Nan-yüeh read this text, since they all say “such,” he [interpreted it as] emphasizing ten suchnesses.
Chih-i says that, depending on the meaning, there are three ways of reading these phrases. The first is [to emphasize their suchness]: “the suchness of this their appearance, the suchness of this their nature . . . the suchness of this their retribution.” Second is [to emphasize their characteristics]: “suchlike appearance, suchlike nature . . . suchlike retribution.” Third is [to emphasize their thusness]: “their appearance is like this, their nature is like this . . . their retribution is like this.”133
First, if all are referred to in their “suchness,” this “suchness” is non-differentiated and is identical to the meaning of emptiness. Second, if one speaks of suchlike appearance, suchlike nature, and so forth, one goes beyond the empty nature and characteristic [of dharmas], constructs names and words, and makes differentiations. This is the meaning of the “conventional.” Third, if one speaks of “their appearance is like this,” and so forth, this refers to the real aspect of the middle path, which is the meaning of the middle.134
Distinctions are made in order to facilitate understanding; therefore [the threefold truth of] emptiness, conventional existence, and the middle is clarified. If one understands the meaning and tries to put it into words, the result is [expressed as] “the identity of emptiness with conventional existence and the middle.” If one clarifies emptiness with regard to suchness, [one should say that] the emptiness of one [dharma] is the emptiness of all. If one clarifies appearances [and so forth] by going beyond suchness, [one should say that] one conventional existence is the conventional existence of all. Following this, if one discusses the middle, [one should say that] the middleness of one [dharma] is the middleness of all. It is not one, two, or three, yet it is one, two, and three. The true aspects of reality are neither horizontal nor vertical.135
Only a Buddha can completely understand this reality. All reality is included within these ten dharmas. If one were to discuss this according to the convenience of the meaning, the meaning can be discriminated into three parts.136 If one were to read further, the verses say, “The suchlike great results and retributions, and the various meanings of natures and appearances and so forth. 137
I have taken a close look at your letter. The Buddha in the Nirvana Sūtra says: “People who study Buddhism number as many as the particles of dust upon the earth; however, those that really go on to become Buddhas number as few as the particles of dust that can rest upon one’s fingernail.” After contemplating the difficulty of attaining Buddhahood, there is something I have observed with some conviction. It is possible for one not to be able to correctly learn Buddhism despite one’s study of Buddhism because of one’s stupidity; or, though one may be very intelligent, it is possible that one may go awry and not be able to correctly learn Buddhism as a result of studying under an incompetent teacher.
Misawa-shō, A Letter to Lord Misawa of Suruga, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 239
