Monthly Archives: August 2022

LS32

Day 6

Day 6 continues Chapter 3, A Parable

Day 6 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the carts the father gave to his children, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 3, A Parable.

(The Buddha said to Śāriputra:)
I am like the father.
I am the Saint of Saints.
I am the father of the world.

All living beings are my children.
They are deeply attached
To the pleasures of the world.
They have no wisdom.

The triple world is not peaceful.
It is like the burning house.
It is full of sufferings.
It is dreadful.

There are always the sufferings
Of birth, old age, disease and death.
They are like flames
Raging endlessly.

I have already left
The burning house of the triple world.
I am tranquil and peaceful
In a bower in a forest.

See The Father of All

history, 800years

800 Years: Manifesting faith

Since faith is internal, it only becomes visible when expressed through some action or practice. In the case of the Lotus Sūtra, the practices that render faith in the sūtra visible are reflected in the five practices of bodhisattvas described in Chapter 10, “The Teacher of the Dharma.” These are receiving and keeping, reading aloud, reciting, expounding, and copying the Lotus Sūtra. Naturally these are not mere expressions of faith. If one believes from one’s heart the message of the Lotus Sūtra that anyone can achieve buddhahood, then one will always carry the Lotus Sūtra and memorize its words deeply in one’s heart. This is what it means “to receive and keep the sūtra” or sometimes “to memorize and keep the sūtra.”

The practices do not end there. One can help others to hear the teachings by reading aloud from the Lotus Sūtra, or by reciting what one has memorized from the sūtra. If someone who hears the words of the sūtra says he or she wants to know more about the contents, one can then expound it. Then the best way to spread the sūtra over a wide area is to produce many copies. Therefore, these five methods are practices for the benefit of others. They reflect a base of faith in the Lotus Sūtra and are the practices of a bodhisattva. Since they are the practices of a bodhisattva, they are also the actions which lead one to achieve buddhahood. That means that when one continues these practices through countless cycles, the goal of becoming a buddha awaits.

More importantly, the five practices of bodhisattvas lead others to buddhahood. By first teaching others the central theme of the Lotus Sūtra, that all can become buddhas, then implanting in them the realization that they themselves can also achieve buddhahood. Bodhisattvas embody the five practices, simultaneously working towards achieving both their own buddhahood and that of others. By extension, the five practices of bodhisattvas continuously widen the circle of these practices. In that point, we find the meaning of the practices.

History and Teachings of Nichiren Buddhism, p 74-75
Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 25, 2022

Join your hands together and bow
To the person who keeps this sūtra
In the evil world after my extinction,
Just as you do to me!

The Buddha sings these verses to Medicine-King Bodhisattva at the beginning of Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. By extension he is giving this instruction to all Bodhisattvas and great beings of the universe, and explaining to them that those who keep the Lotus Sūtra are as precious in this world of conflict at the Buddha himself. If we hear these verses with a mind of ego and attachment, we could conclude that we deserve respect and begin to demand it from others. Those who demand respect only generate fear. The Buddha gained respect by respecting all beings. When we treat others as Buddhas, we are certain to have that treatment reflected back towards us.

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

LS32

Day 5

Day 5 begins Chapter 3, A Parable

Day 5 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the reaction of Śāriputra to the news that he was eligible to become a Buddha, we consider in gāthās Śāriputra’s doubts.

Thereupon Śāriputra, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
Hearing this truthful voice,
I have the greatest joy
That I have ever had.
I have removed all the mesh of doubts.

You have taught us the Great Vehicle without a break from of old.
Your voice is rare to hear.
It dispels the sufferings of all living beings.
I once eliminated āsravas.
Hearing this voice of yours,
I have now removed all sorrows.

I walked about mountains and valleys,
Or sat under a tree in a forest, thinking this over.
I reproached myself with a deep sigh:
“Why was I deceived?
We also are sons of the Buddha
[Just as the Bodhisattvas are].
We entered the same [ world]
[Of the] Dharma-without-āsravas.
But we shall not be able to expound
Unsurpassed enlightenment in the future.
We are in the same [ world of the] Dharma.
But we shall not be given
The golden body with the thirty-two marks,
The ten powers, and the emancipations [of the Buddha].
We are deprived of the hope
To have the eighty wonderful marks,
The eighteen unique properties
And the other merits [of the Buddha].”

[Sitting] in the midst of the great multitude,
You benefited all living beings.
Your fame extended over the worlds of the ten quarters.
When I was walking alone,
I saw all this, and thought:
“I am not given this benefit. I have been deceived.”

I thought this over day and night,
And wished to ask you,
“Am I disqualified
[From having this benefit] or not?”

I always saw you praising the Bodhisattvas.
Therefore, I thought this over day and night.
Now hearing from you,
I understand that you expound the Dharma
According to the capacities of all living beings.
You lead all living beings
To the place of enlightenment
By the Dharma-without-āsravas, difficult to understand.

I once was attached to wrong views,
And became a teacher of the aspirants for the teaching of Brahman.
You expounded to me the teaching of Nirvāṇa,
And removed my wrong views because you understood me.
I gave up all those wrong views,
And attained the truth that nothing is substantial.

At that time I thought
That I had attained extinction.’
But now I know
That the extinction I attained is not the true one.
When I become a Buddha in the future,
I shall be adorned with the thirty-two marks,
And respected
By gods, men, yakṣas, and dragons.
Only then I shall be able to say
That I have eliminated all [illusions].

See 800 Years: Doubts

800years, History of Japanese Religion

800 Years: United in Faith in Buddha and His Teaching

Buddhism is usually known in the Occident as a religion of ascetic practice and atheistic ideas. Whatever the Western critics may say, the influence Buddhism exerted everywhere lay in its practice of love and equality, which was an outcome of its fundamental teaching of the unity of all beings, and of its ideal of supreme enlightenment (Bodhi) to be attained by all. This Bodhi amounts to realizing, in the spirit and in life, the basic unity of existence, the spiritual communion pervading the whole universe. This was exemplified by the person of Buddha, not only in his teaching of all-oneness but in his life of all-embracing charity. Those united in the faith in Buddha and his teaching form a close community of spiritual fellowship, in which the truth of oneness is embodied and the life of charity is practised. In short, the principle of the Buddhist religion amounts to faith and life in the Three Treasures (Rama-traya), which means oneness of the Perfect Person (Buddha), the Truth (Dharma), and the Community (Sangha).

History of Japanese Religion

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 24, 2022

Great-Power-Obtainer! What do you think of this? The Never-Despising Bodhisattva at that time was no one but myself. If I had not kept, read or recited this sūtra or expounded it to others in my previous existence, I should not have been able to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi so quickly. Because I kept, read and recited this sūtra, and expounded it to others under those past Buddhas, I attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi quickly.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Great-Power-Obtainer Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty of the Lotus Sūtra. The practice of Never-Despising Bodhisattva was to approach all beings and tell them, “I respect you deeply. I do not despise you. Why? Because you will be able to practice as a Bodhisattva and become a Buddha.” When the Buddha explains that Never-Despising Bodhisattva was one of his previous lives, he equates this respect for all beings with the practice of the Wonderful Dharma.

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

LS32

Day 4

Day 4 concludes Chapter 2, Expedients, and completes the first volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 4 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered why the Buddha laid aside all expedient teachings, we consider the difficulty in hearing the Dharma.

The Buddhas seldom appear in the worlds.
It is difficult to meet them.
Even when they do appear in the worlds,
They seldom expound the Dharma.

It is difficult to hear the Dharma
Even during innumerable kalpas.
It is also difficult to meet a person
Who listens to the Dharma attentively.
It is as difficult as seeing an udumbara-flower.
This flower, loved by all living beings,
And treasured by gods and men,
Blooms only once in a long time.

Anyone who rejoices at hearing the Dharma
And utters even a single word in praise of it
Should be considered to have already made offerings
To the past, present, and future Buddhas.
Such a person is rarely seen,
More rarely than the udumbara-flower.

[The Buddha said to the great multitude:]

All of you, do not doubt me!
I am the King of the Dharma.
I say to you:
“I will expound the teaching of the One Vehicle
Only to Bodhisattvas.
There is no Śrāvaka among my disciples.”

The Daily Dharma from July 3, 2022, offers this:

The Buddhas seldom appear in the worlds.
It is difficult to meet them.
Even when they do appear in the worlds,
They seldom expound the Dharma.

The Buddha proclaims these verses in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra. Later in the Sūtra he explains that in reality he became enlightened far in the past and will continue to lead all beings to enlightenment far into the future. The reason the Buddhas appear so rarely is not because they conceal themselves. It is because we do not recognize them for what they are. We cannot see the air we breathe, but it is crucial for our lives. Because of this we often take it for granted, unless we are so afflicted, or the air is so poisoned that we cannot breathe. Then we are aware of it. Likewise, the Buddha Dharma is available to us all the time.

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

800years, Lecture on Lotus Sutra

800 Years: The Spark of Hope

It says in the sutra, and Nichiren repeats it in his letters, it only takes one candle to instantly eliminate the darkness that has filled a cave for thousands of years. Chanting Odaimoku is like that candle. No matter how small or feeble, that one candle does begin to light up your life. That spark of hope can be the foundation of faith in your life that anything is possible to change if you follow the teachings of the Lotus Sutra.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 23, 2022

Faith is nothing special. A wife loves her husband, the husband devotes his life to her, parents do not give away their children, and children do not desert their mother. Likewise, believe in the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha Śākyamuni, the Buddha Tahō, all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and deities. Then chant “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.” This is faith.

Nichiren wrote this in his Letter to the Nun Myoichi (Myoichi Ama Gozen Gohenji). For many people, Buddhism can be a complicated practice requiring years of study, mastering difficult concepts, even learning new languages. In this letter, Nichiren emphasizes the simple, everyday aspects of our faith and practice. He describes how we can start from the simple love and concern we have for each other, chant “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo” to grow the seeds of faith in our Buddha nature and awaken compassion and wisdom in all beings, and find the joy of the Buddha Dharma in our everyday experience.

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

LS32

Day 3

Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients.

Day 3 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month witnessed the World-Honored One emerging quietly from his samādhi, we consider the the Ten Suchnesses.

“Śāriputra! The insight of the Tathāgatas is wide and deep. [The Tathāgatas] have all the [states of mind towards] innumerable [living beings,] unhindered [eloquence,] powers, fearlessness, dhyāna-concentrations, emancipations, and samādhis. They entered deep into boundlessness, and attained the Dharma which you have never heard before.

“Śāriputra! The Tathāgatas divide [the Dharma] into various teachings, and expound those teachings to all living beings so skillfully and with such gentle voices that living beings are delighted. Śāriputra! In short, the Buddhas attained the innumerable teachings which you have never heard before. No more, Śāriputra, will I say because the Dharma attained by the Buddhas is the highest Truth, rare [to hear] and difficult to understand. Only the Buddhas attained [the highest Truth, that is,] the reality of all things’ in regard to their appearances as such, their natures as such, their entities as such, their powers as such, their activities as such, their primary causes as such, their environmental causes as such, their effects as such, their rewards and retributions as such, and their equality as such [despite these differences].

The Daily Dharma from July 22, 2022, offers this:

Śāriputra! The Tathāgatas divide [the Dharma] into various teachings, and expound those teachings to all living beings so skillfully and with such gentle voices that living beings are delighted.

The Buddha gives this explanation to his disciple Śāriputra in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra. The work towards enlightenment is a shared enterprise. The Buddha cannot make us enlightened, and we cannot become enlightened by ourselves. The Buddha does not bribe, coerce, threaten or manipulate us into reaching the wisdom he knows we can find. Instead he sees deeply into our minds and uses the delusions we already have to lead us away from the suffering we create for ourselves. In our work as Bodhisattvas, we do well to keep the Buddha’s example in mind.

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