All posts by John Hughes

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Oct. 3, 2018

You skillfully expound the Dharma with various parables and similes,
And with various stories of previous lives.
Now my mind is as peaceful as the sea.
Hearing you, I have removed the mesh of doubts.

Śāriputra, the wisest of the Buddha’s disciples, sings these verses in Chapter Three of the Lotus Sūtra. After the Buddha announced in Chapter Two that he had not revealed his highest wisdom, that everything he had taught before then was preparation, Śāriputra was the first to understand what the Buddha meant. The parables, similes and other parts of the Lotus Sūtra help us to understand how to read them, and how to make them real in our lives. When we find the true purpose of what the Buddha is teaching us, our mind and the world become peaceful together.

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

Profound

Cause and Effect of the Buddha’s Self-cultivation

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Chih-i stresses that the essential teaching of the Buddha is expressed in the Lotus Sūtra, and that it refers to the “Cause and Effect of the Buddha’s Self-cultivation” (Fo Tzu-hsing Yin-kuo) in an incalculable past of the Origin (Pen) when the Buddha initially attained Buddhahood. The initial practice of the Buddha is the cause of Buddhahood, and the initial enlightenment of the Buddha is the effect of Buddhahood. This teaching is essential because it concerns the Buddha’s initial practice for attaining Buddhahood and his initial attainment of Buddhahood. This is the foundation of all the activities of the historical Buddha in the Traces (Chi). The difference between the substance as the Ultimate Truth and the gist as the cause and effect of the Buddha’s Self-cultivation is that the substance is the foundation upon which the gist can be realized. (Vol. 2, Page 15-16)

The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of Buddhism


beginning

Mirror of the Law

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Shakyamuni taught what is called the Mirror of the Law, by means of which an elect disciple can say for certain whether for him the worlds of hell, animals, hungry spirits, suffering, and evil are destroyed and whether he has entered the stream leading unfailingly to final salvation. The Mirror of the Law consists of four elements: faith in the Buddha, faith in the Law, faith in the Order, and faith in the sacred precepts. Possessed of these four faiths, the disciple knows that he will never backslide. Faith in the Three Treasures leads to the state where violations of the sacred precepts or other evil acts are impossible. Since the disciple is unable to do ill, such evil states as hell, animals, hungry spirits, and others, which are the effects of evil causes, cease to exist for him. Living only in the good, he is liable only to good karma, and this means that he has joined the company of the elect who are assured of ultimate salvation. (Page 178)

The Beginnings of Buddhism

LS32

Day 27

Day 27 concludes Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Having last month compared the Lotus Sūtra to all other sūtras, we learn of the saving power of the Lotus Sūtra.

“Star-King-Flower! This sūtra saves all living beings. This sūtra saves them from all sufferings, and gives them great benefits. All living beings will be able to fulfill their wishes by this sūtra just as a man who reaches a pond of fresh water when he is thirsty, just as a man who gets fire when he suffers from cold, just as a man who is given a garment when he is naked, just as a party of merchants who find a leader just as a child who meets its mother, just as a man who gets a ship when he wants to cross [a river], just as a patient who finds a physician, just as a man who is given a light in the darkness, just as a poor man who gets a treasure, just as the people of a nation who see a new king enthroned, just as a trader who reaches the seacoast. Just as a torch dispels darkness, this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma saves all living beings from all sufferings, from all diseases, and from all the bonds of birth and death. The merits to be given to the person who, after hearing this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, copies it, or causes others to copy it, cannot be measured even by the wisdom of the Buddha. Neither can the merits to be given to the person who copies this sūtra and offers flowers, incense, necklaces, incense to burn, powdered incense, incense applicable to the skin, streamers, canopies, garments, and various kinds of lamps such as lamps of butter oil, oil lamps, lamps of perfumed oil, lamps of campaka oil, lamps of sumanas oil, lamps of pāṭala oil, lamps of vārṣika oil, and lamps of navamālikā oil [to the copy of this sūtra].

Nichiren writes about this chapter:

The “Medicine King Bodhisattva” chapter also preaches, “Likewise, those who uphold the Lotus Sūtra are the foremost among all sentient beings.” This means: “One who believes in the Lotus Sūtra, if one is a male regardless of his social status, he is superior to the King of the Mahabrahman Heaven, the lord of the triple world (whole world), Indra, Four Heavenly Kings, the Wheelturning Noble King, and the rulers of China and Japan, not to speak of the ministers, court nobles, warriors of the Minamoto and Taira clans, as well as all the people of Japan. If one is a female, she is superior to all women such as Lady Kauéika (wife of Indra), Kisshōtennyo, Lady Li of Han China, and Yang Kuei-fei (of T’ang China).”

Matsuno-dono Goshōsoku, Letter to Lord Matsuno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 66

Awakening to the Lotus

Universal Salvation

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This Buddha had sixteen sons, who upon hearing of their father’s enlightenment, renounced their positions and joined him as disciples. They along with all of the heavenly kings asked that Buddha to expound the Dharma and bring peace to all suffering beings. They said, “May the merits we have accumulated by this offering be distributed among all living beings, may we and all living beings together attain the enlightenment of the Buddha.” This teaches the core of the Great Vehicle, that enlightenment is not individual but universal salvation.

Awakening to the Lotus

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Oct. 2, 2018

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

Profound

The Gist of the Ultimate Truth

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Having understood that the first section, “name,” aims at conveying the subtle dharma that is expressed in the teaching of the Buddha, and that the second section, “substance,” aims at presenting the Ultimate Truth as the foundation for the teaching of the Buddha, the following third of the Five Sections, “gist” (Tsung), begins to address what constitutes the teaching of the Buddha. According to Chih-i, the cause and effect of Buddhahood is essential in the teaching of the Buddha, because one’s practice of striving to attain Buddhahood as the cause entails penetrating the Ultimate Truth, and one’s attainment of Buddhahood as the effect is the realization of the Ultimate Truth. Therefore, the significance of clarifying the gist as the cause and effect of Buddhahood lies in the fact that the gist manifests the substance as the Ultimate Truth. (Vol. 2, Page 15)

The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of Buddhism


beginning

Devadatta’s Misuse of Supernatural Powers

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The most outstanding example of the misuse of supernatural powers in all Buddhist history is the case of Shakyamuni’s cousin Devadatta. When Shakyamuni first visited his home country after his enlightenment, a group of young men from the Shakya clan abandoned secular life to become his followers. Among them were Ananda, who heard the Buddha’s teachings so many times that he became a learned sage; Anuruddha and Bhaddiya, who attained the enlightenment of arhats; and Bhagu, Kimbila, and Devadatta, who did not become arhats but who attained the five supernatural powers. (Though the sixth and most important power is attained only by the enlightened, ordinary Buddhist believers, the faithful of other religions, and even such sly animals as foxes and badgers are thought to be able to manifest the other five.)

Attempting to devise more effective uses for his powers, Devadatta hit upon the idea of employing them to ingratiate himself with and win the confidence of the young prince Ajatasattu, who had a brilliant future. In this way, Devadatta hoped to increase his own honor and profit.

Assuming the form of a boy girdled with serpents, Devadatta appeared before Ajatasattu, who, horrified, demanded to know the identity of this alarming creature. When he received an affirmative reply to his question as to whether the prince found him frightening, Devadatta identified himself. But the prince was unconvinced. If this serpent-girdled boy was indeed the person he claimed to be, he should appear in the form that Devadatta customarily took. Devadatta then appeared before the prince in his usual monk’s robes, begging bowl in hand.

The delighted prince came to trust and respect Devadatta and sent him many rich meals each day. Flattering treatment only poisoned Devadatta’s mind and inspired evil desires in his heart. He vowed that he would gain control of the Buddhist Order. But because of his wicked ambitions he lost his supernatural powers. And this was the start of the series of crimes and wicked acts against Shakyamuni and the Order that finally resulted in Devadatta’s destruction. (Page 170-171)

The Beginnings of Buddhism

LS32, WONS

Day 26

Day 26 concludes Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, includes Chapter 22, Transmission, and introduces Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Having last month been introduced to a Buddha called Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue, we meet Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva and witness his reaction to hearing the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

“Thereupon [Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue] Buddha expounded the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva, to the other Bodhisattvas, and also to the Śrāvakas. Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva willingly practiced austerities under Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue Buddha. He walked about the world, seeking Buddhahood strenuously with all his heart for twelve thousand years until at last he obtained the samadhi by which he could transform himself into any other living being: Having obtained this samadhi, he had great joy.

“He thought, ‘I have obtained the samadhi by which I can transform myself into any other living being because I heard the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. Now I will make offerings to Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue Buddha and also to the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.’

“He entered into this samadhi at once. He filled the sky with the clouds of mandārava-flowers, mahā-mandārava-flowers and the powdered incense of hard and black candana, and rained down those flowers and incense. He also rained down the powdered incense of the candana grown on this shore of the sea [between Mt. Sumeru and the Jambudvipa]. Six shu of this incense was worth the Sahā-World. He offered all these things to the Buddha.

Nichiren writes concerning this chapter in his letter “A Response to My Lady Nichinyo”:

It is said in the “Medicine King Bodhisattva” chapter that a bodhisattva called Issaishujōkiken (Gladly Seen by All) learned the Lotus Sūtra from the Buddha Sun Moon Brilliance. With deep admiration for his master’s favor and the value of the Lotus Sūtra, he made offerings of thousands of invaluable treasures. Issaishujōkiken felt that this was not enough, however, and proceeded to anoint his own body with oil, set it aflame, and continued to burn it like a lamp wick to venerate the Buddha for twelve hundred years. Thereafter, he burned a light on his elbow for seventy-two thousand years to venerate the Lotus Sūtra. Thus, if a woman venerates the Lotus Sūtra in the fifth 500-year period after the demise of the Buddha, during the Latter Age of Degeneration, the Buddha will bestow upon her all merits of the Lotus Sūtra just as a rich man gives all his wealth to his son.

Nichinyo Gozen Gohenji, A Response to My Lady Nichinyo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 4, Faith and Practice, Page 133

Basics

Giving: The Bodhisattva Practice

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Giving is the most fundamental of the bodhisattva practices, for bodhisattvas give themselves to save others. It is giving that makes a bodhisattva. While the Eightfold Path is prescribed for self-cultivation, the Six Perfections (especially giving and patience) are directed to others, clearly indicating the shift toward an altruistic, social focus in Mahayana Buddhism that set it apart from the Hinayana tradition.
Basic Buddhist Concepts