Monthly Archives: October 2021

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Oct. 27, 2021

Ajita! They need not build a stūpa or a monastery in my honor, or make the four kinds of offerings to the Saṃgha because those who keep, read and recite this sūtra should be considered to have already built a stūpa or a monastery or made offerings to the Saṃgha.

The Buddha sings these verses to Maitreya Bodhisattva, whom he calls Ajita – Invincible, in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. In our zeal to emulate the great deeds of the Buddha, or even of our founder Nichiren, we might believe that only by extraordinary accomplishments can we show our gratitude for this teaching. The Buddha reminds us in this chapter that because we are practicing his Dharma in this world of conflict, we have already made these extraordinary accomplishments. He also reminds us that others who practice with us should be treated with the same admiration we have for anyone who has done valuable work.

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

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Day 9

Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.

Day 9 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month heard the Buddha calling us, we consider how various people correspond to various plants.

Those who live among gods and men,
Or those who live with a wheel-turning-holy-king,
Or with King Sakra or with King Brahman,
May be likened to the small herbs.

Those who know the Dharma-without-āsravas,
Who attained Nirvana,
And who obtained the six supernatural powers,
Including the three major supernatural powers,
May be likened to the middle herbs.
So may those who live alone in mountains or forests,
Who practice dhyāna-concentrations,
And who attained the enlightenment of cause-knowers.

Those who seek the stage of the World-Honored One,
Who practice endeavors and concentration of mind,
And who wish to become Buddhas,
May be likened to the large herbs.

My sons [, that is, the Bodhisattvas]
Who seek
The enlightenment of the Buddha exclusively,
Who believe that they will become Buddhas definitely,
And who have compassion towards others,
May be likened to the short trees.

The Bodhisattvas
Who turn the irrevocable wheel of the Dharma
By their supernatural powers,
And who save many thousands of myriads
Of millions of living beings,
May be likened to the tall trees.

Although my teachings are of the same content to anyone
Just as the rain is of the same taste,
The hearers receive my teachings differently
According to their capacities
Just as the plants receive
Different amounts of the rain water.

See The Rain of the Dharma

history

The Teaching of the Three Bodies

With the evolution of Mahāyāna Buddhism, various theories about Śākyamuni Buddha’s body developed. When Śākyamuni passed away, a theory of two bodies emerged which saw the Dharma he preached as his essence. This was called the dharmakāya or Dharma-body and was distinguished from his rūpakāya or material body. After Mahāyāna Buddhism emerged, various buddhas became objects of worship, and the teaching of the three bodies appeared: (1) Dharma-body, which means the body of truth, referring to the eternal and unchanging Dharma, (2) transformation-body, nirmāṇakāya in Sanskrit, yìngshēn in Chinese, which appears in accordance with various sentient beings in order to save them, and (3) reward body, saṃbhogakāya in Sanskrit, bàoshēn in Chinese, which is endowed with perfect merit as recompense for engaging in virtuous practices that are the cause of becoming a buddha. Views of buddhas’ bodies developed even further and subsequently gave rise to many interpretations, such as the Yogācāra Consciousness-only school’s three bodies teaching: (1) Self-nature-body or svabhāvakāya in Sanskrit, (2) Enjoyment-body or saṃbhogakāya in Sanskrit and shòuyòng shen in Chinese, and (3) Transformation-body or nirmāṇakāya in Sanskrit and biànhuà shen in Chinese.

History and Teachings of Nichiren Buddhism, p 39
WONS

Scaffolds for Building a Great Tower

Chapter two, “Expedients” of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 1, says: “The Buddha would preach the True Dharma in the end;” and “abandoning the teachings of temporary expediency, He honestly would preach only the supreme way.” It is stated in chapter fourteen (fascicle 5), “Peaceful Practices,” compares the sūtra to “a jade kept in the topknot of the Wheel-turning Noble King” and “a jade found only on the top of the Wheel-turning Noble King’s head.” It also says, “The jade which had been protected by this powerful king for ages is about to be given away.”

The meanings of these scriptural statements is that all the scriptures of Buddhism brought over to Japan totaling 7,399 scrolls, are all subordinate to the Lotus Sūtra. Just as the Japanese people totaling 4,900,094,828 persons are all retainers of one king, all scriptures of Buddhism (except the Lotus Sūtra) are a mere temporary repose for ignorant women. For example, in building a huge tower, a scaffold is assembled from many small pieces of wood set up ten or twenty-feet high. Then, using this scaffold, the huge tower is built with lumber. Once the tower is completed, the scaffold is dismantled. The scaffold here represents all Buddhist scriptures other than the Lotus Sūtra and the great tower is the Lotus Sūtra. … Scaffolds are needed for building a great tower, and after the completion of a tower scaffolds are demolished. This is what is meant by “discarding the expedient.” A pagoda is built by using a scaffold, but no one worships a scaffold without a pagoda.

Ueno-dono Haha-ama Gozen Gohenji, A Response to My Lady the Nun, Mother of Lord Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 178-179

WONS

Scaffolds for Building a great tower

Chapter two, “Expedients” of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 1, says: “The Buddha would preach the True Dharma in the end;” and “abandoning the teachings of temporary expediency, He honestly would preach only the supreme way.” It is stated in chapter fourteen (fascicle 5), “Peaceful Practices,” compares the sūtra to “a jade kept in the topknot of the Wheel-turning Noble King” and “a jade found only on the top of the Wheel-turning Noble King’s head.” It also says, “The jade which had been protected by this powerful king for ages is about to be given away.”

The meanings of these scriptural statements is that all the scriptures of Buddhism brought over to Japan totaling 7,399 scrolls, are all subordinate to the Lotus Sūtra. Just as the Japanese people totaling 4,900,094,828 persons are all retainers of one king, all scriptures of Buddhism (except the Lotus Sūtra) are a mere temporary repose for ignorant women. For example, in building a huge tower, a scaffold is assembled from many small pieces of wood set up ten or twenty-feet high. Then, using this scaffold, the huge tower is built with lumber. Once the tower is completed, the scaffold is dismantled. The scaffold here represents all Buddhist scriptures other than the Lotus Sūtra and the great tower is the Lotus Sūtra. … Scaffolds are needed for building a great tower, and after the completion of a tower scaffolds are demolished. This is what is meant by “discarding the expedient.” A pagoda is built by using a scaffold, but no one worships a scaffold without a pagoda.

Ueno-dono Haha-ama Gozen Gohenji, A Response to My Lady the Nun, Mother of Lord Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 178-179

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Oct. 26, 2021

He said to them, ‘Know this! Now I am old and decrepit. I shall die soon. I am leaving this good medicine here. Take it! Do not be afraid that you will not be cured!’

The Buddha gives this explanation in Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. It is part of the Parable of the Wise Physician in which a father finds his children have taken poison and gives them an antidote. The poison has caused some of the children to lose their right minds and not trust that the medicine will cure them. By faking his death, the father used an expedient to get the children to realize that there was no other medicine that would cure them, and summon the courage to take it. When we accept the Wonderful Dharma and put it into our lives, we are cured of our delusions and find the Buddha’s wisdom.

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

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Day 8

Day 8 concludes Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith, and closes the second volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 8 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered how the rich man is like Śākyamuni Buddha, we repeat in gāthās and begin the Parable of the Rich Man and His Poor Son.

Thereupon Mahā-Kāśyapa, wishing to repeat what they had said, sang in gāthās:

Hearing your teaching of today,
We are dancing with joy.
We have never had
Such joy before.

You say:
“The Śrāvakas will be able to become Buddhas.”
We have obtained unsurpassed treasures
Although we did not seek them.

Suppose there lived a boy.
He was young and ignorant.
He ran away from his father
And went to a remote country.
He wandered from country to country
For more than fifty years.

The father anxiously sought him
In all directions.
Finally tiring of looking for him,
He settled in a certain city.

He built a house,
And enjoyed satisfaction
Of the five desires.
He was very rich.
He had a great deal of gold, silver,
Shell, agate, pearl and lapis lazuli;
And many elephants, horses,
Cows, sheep,
Palanquins, carts,
Farmers and attendants.
He invested his money in all the other countries,
And earned interest.
Merchants and customers
Were seen everywhere [around him].

Thousands of billions of people
Surrounded him respectfully.
He was favored by the king,
And respected
By the ministers,
And by the powerful families.

Many people came to see him
For various purposes. Because he was rich,
He was very powerful.
As he became older,
He thought more of his son.
He thought from morning till night:
“I shall die before long.
It is more than fifty years
Since my ignorant son left me
What shall I do
With the things in the store-houses?”

See Departing from the Passivity of the Lesser Vehicle

history

Perfecting Wisdom

Prajñāpāramitā means “perfection of wisdom.” It is the last of the six perfections: generosity, morality, patience, energy, meditation, and wisdom. These are the virtues to be cultivated in religious training by bodhisattvas. The first five are seen as expedient means for perfecting wisdom, which is the final goal. Perfecting wisdom means understanding śūnyatā or “emptiness.” The word emptiness itself means “absence” or that “there is not (something).” In Buddhism the concept means having “no self-nature,” in other words, lacking an inherent essence. Emptiness was emphasized as an object of meditation in the “three gateways to liberation” meditation method along with nirābhāsa, “signlessness” and apraṇidhāna, “wishlessness.” The Vimalakīrti Sūtra, named for its main character, Vimalakīrti, also spoke to this concept of emptiness.

History and Teachings of Nichiren Buddhism, p 40
WONS

Like Flowers Without Fruits or Thunder Without Rain

There are seventy states in India, all of which are included in the name of India. Sixty-six provinces of Japan are included in the name of Japan. The name of India includes seventy states in India and all the things in them such as people, cattle, and treasures. The name of Japan includes sixty-six provinces, wings of eagles donated from Dewa Province, gold dug out in Mutsu Province and all the treasures, human beings, cattle as well as Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. Through heavenly eyes we can see in the two Chinese characters for Japan sixty-six provinces, treasures as well as human beings and cattle. Through dharma eyes we can even see human beings and cattle being born and dying here and there. Just as we can recognize the body of a man by hearing his voice, the size of an elephant by looking at its footprints, the size of a pond by seeing lotus flowers in it, the size of a dragon by seeing the rain it caused, a portion includes the whole in everything.

The title of the Āgama sūtras seem to contain everything in it, but it has only one Śākyamuni Buddha of Hinayāna Buddhism and not any other Buddha. Such sūtras as the Flower Garland Sūtra, the Sūtra of Meditation on the Buddha of Infinite Life, and the Great Sun Buddha Sūtra seem to contain everything, but they have no Eternal Śākyamuni Buddha who has attained Enlightenment in the eternal past and the doctrine of the Two Vehicles (śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha) attaining Buddhahood. These sūtras are like flowers without fruits, thunder without rain, drum without sound, eyes with out sight, women without children, and men without life or spirit.

Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 52-53.

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Oct. 25, 2021

When he said this, people would strike him with a stick, a piece of wood, a piece of tile or a stone. He would run away to a distance, and say in a loud voice from afar, ‘I do not despise you. You will become Buddhas.’

The Buddha tells this story of Never-Despising Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty of the Lotus Sūtra. This Bodhisattva did not read or recite sūtras. His sole practice was to tell everyone he met, “I respect you deeply. I do not despise you.” Despite this pure practice, many people became angry and abused him because of their own perverted minds. He did not stay where he could suffer their abuse, and he still maintained his respect for them, despite their behavior. This and the other examples in the Lotus Sūtra of Bodhisattvas are examples for us who aspire to practice this Wonderful Teaching.

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