All posts by John Hughes

LS32

Day 13

Day 13 covers all of Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples.

Having last month heard the Pūrṇa’s desire, we consider Śākyamuni’s praise for Pūrṇa.

Thereupon the Buddha said to the bhikṣus:

“Do you see this Pūrṇa, the son of Maitrāyanī? I always praise him, saying that he is the most excellent expounder of the Dharma. I also praise him for his various merits. He strenuously protects my teachings, and helps me propagate them. He shows the Way to the four kinds of devotees, teaches them, benefits them and causes them to rejoice. He explains my right teachings perfectly, and gives great benefits to those who are performing brahma practices’ with him. No one except the Tathāgata excels him in eloquence. Do not say that he protects only my teachings and helps me propagate them! In his previous existence he also protected the right teachings of nine thousand million Buddhas and helped them propagate their teachings. Under those Buddhas also he was the most excellent expounder of the Dharma. He clearly understood the truth of the Void expounded by those Buddhas, and obtained the four kinds of unhindered eloquence. He always expounded the Dharma clearly and purely, with no doubtfulness. Although he had the supernatural powers of Bodhisattvas, he performed brahma practices throughout his previous existence. Therefore, the people of the world of the Buddha [under whom he performed brahma practices] thought that he was a Śrāvaka. He benefited many hundreds of thousands of living beings with this expedient, and also caused innumerable, asaṃkhya people to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. He did the work of the Buddha, that is, taught all living beings so that the world of the Buddha might be purified.

The Introduction to the Lotus Sūtra offers this about Pūrṇa:

Among the Buddha’s many followers, ten were outstanding. Each was famous for possessing a particular talent which excelled all others. For example, Sariputra was the wisest; Maha-Kasyapa was known for his good practices; Maha-Maudgalyayana was famed for his supernatural powers; Purna was the best preacher, distinguished for his eloquence. This meant that he was more than just a master of rhetoric and silvery words; he could preach with such clarity that through him people could understand the Buddha’s deep teachings, and free themselves from sufferings.

Introduction to the Lotus Sutra

Lotus World

Many Treasures Tathagata and the Stupa of Treasures

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Many Treasures Tathagata represents many things. On one level, he represents all the Buddhas of the past, and his testimony shows that Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings are in accord with the universal truth, valid in all ages and in all worlds. On another level, Shakyamuni Buddha personifies subjective wisdom while Many Treasures Tathagata personifies objective reality. When they share the seat within the Stupa of Treasures they are actually demonstrating the unity of wisdom and reality, subject and object. The emergence of the Stupa of Treasures itself and the testimony of the Many Treasures Tathagata from within it could also indicate the emergence of Buddhahood from within our lives and our own inner recognition of and response to the truth when we hear it.

Lotus World: An Illustrated Guide to the Gohonzon

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 17, 2018

World-Honored One! I have never seen anyone like you before. Your teachings have these inconceivable, wonderful merits. The practices performed according to your teachings and precepts are peaceful and pleasant. From today on, I will not act according to my own mind. I will not have wrong views, arrogance, anger or any other evil thought.

King Wonderful-Adornment makes this declaration to Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha in Chapter Twenty-Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. The king had been led to this Buddha by his sons, who showed him the wonders they learned from their practice of the Buddha Dharma. With his mind purified by hearing the Buddha’s teachings, he makes this aspiration to behave differently. Whether or not he can keep this aspiration, he shows his realization that hearing the teachings is not enough. Practicing them means changing our minds and how we live.

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

Profound

The Door of the Traces and the Door of the Origin

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Chih-i’s further analysis of the relationship between the door of the Traces and the door of the Origin is also his endeavor to demonstrate the polar concept of the substance and the function. In Chih-i’s interpretation of the Lotus Sūtra that is divided by him into two major part, the Traces and the Origin, the Traces highlights the recent event of the Buddha’s self-practice and transformation of others, and the Origin the original enlightenment of the Buddha: the former denotes the function and the latter the substance. In a sense that function is derived from substance, Chih-i confirms that it is due to the original enlightenment of the Buddha in the Origin from which the Buddha’s activities in the Traces are derived. While emphasizing the key role of the Origin as the substance contrary to the Traces as the function, Chih-i does not hesitate to clarify the fact that the function is already contained in the substance as the enlightenment of the Buddha simultaneously arouses the function of saving sentient beings. (Page 63)

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


LS32

Day 12

Day 12 concludes Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City, and completes the Third Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Having last month heard the explanation of the Parable of the Magic City from Śākyamuni, we repeat the tale of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha in gāthās.

Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās;

Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha sat
At the place of enlightenment for ten [small] kalpas.
He could not attain the enlightenment of the Buddha
Because the Dharma of the Buddhas had not yet come into his mind.

The gods, dragon-kings,
And asuras rained down
Heavenly flowers,
And offered them to him.

The gods beat heavenly drums,
And made many kinds of music.
Withered flowers were swept away by fragrant winds;
And fresh and beautiful flowers were rained down.

After the ten small kalpas elapsed,
He attained the enlightenment of the Buddha.
The gods and men of the world
Felt like dancing with joy.

Surrounded by their followers,
Thousands of billions in number,
The sixteen sons of that Buddha
Came to him.

Worshipping the feet of the Buddha with their heads,
They begged him to turn the wheel of the Dharma, saying:
“Lion-like Saint! Send the rain of the Dharma
On us and on all others also!”

It is difficult to meet a World-Honored One.
He appears only once in a very long time.
When he appears, he causes all the worlds to quake
In order to awaken all living beings.

My recent reading on the “Beginnings of Buddhism” focused on the man who gained enlightenment. Sounds so simple when you consider that Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha sat at the place of enlightenment for ten small kalpas. He could not attain the enlightenment of the Buddha because the Dharma of the Buddhas had not yet come into his mind.

beginning

The First Noble Truth

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The first Noble Truth sets forth three kinds of suffering: physically perceived suffering, psychological suffering resulting from the failure to fulfill desires or expectations, and the suffering of being bound to the series of transmigrations (samsara) in a world where total absence of pain and complete tranquility do not exist. (Page 47-48)

The Beginnings of Buddhism

Summer Writings

Like the Light of a Candle

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One thing which we must keep in our mind and be grateful for is that our life has been secured for us by our ancestors from a long time ago. We have parents, our parents have their parents, and their parents have their parents too. In this way, our family tree has been extended to us, just like the light of a candle which has been relayed from a long, long time ago.

Summer Writings

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 16, 2018

There is a daughter of Dragon-King Sāgara [among those whom I taught]. She is eight years old. She is clever. She knows the karmas of all living beings. She obtained dhāraṇīs. She keeps all the treasury of the profound and hidden core expounded by the Buddhas. She entered deep into dhyāna-concentration, and understood all teachings. She aspired for Bodhi in a kṣana, and reached the stage of irrevocability. She is eloquent without hindrance. She is compassionate towards all living beings just as a mother is towards her babe. She obtained all merits. Her thoughts and words are wonderful and great. She is compassionate, humble, gentle and graceful. She [has already been qualified to] attain Bodhi[, and to become a Buddha quickly].

The Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī gives this description in Chapter Twelve of the Lotus Sūtra. This is his response to the question of whether any of the beings in the sea whom he taught will become a Buddha quickly. Those hearing his answer did not expect that a woman, much less a girl, much less a nonhuman being such as a dragon could reach the same enlightenment as the Buddha. Mañjuśrī’s response shows that all beings have within us the capability of developing the qualities that allow us to see things as they are and benefit all beings.

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

Profound

The Three Tracks

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[T]he Three Tracks refer to the same aspects concerning objective reality, knowledge, and practice. These are the three major components in religious cultivation in Chih-i’s philosophy of Buddhism, equivalent to realization (Cheng), teaching (Chiao) and practice (Hsing) in traditional Buddhism respectively. Chih-i’s point is that, these three components are in fact imbedded in the nature of all sentient beings, by which Chih-i strongly argues that all beings are able to attain Buddhahood. The theory of the Three Tracks concludes the previous four categories of Subtlety that are concerned with religious cultivation and indicates that this religious cultivation can be accomplished by the power of self-practice. To further prove the significance of the Three Tracks in attaining Buddhahood, Chih-i correlates them with the ten categories of the triple dharma that are related to the attainment of Buddhahood, and by which the major concepts of Buddhahood are presented. With the fifth category of Subtlety, the process of attaining Buddhahood by the power of self-cultivation is completed. (Page 45)

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


beginning

The Eight Sufferings

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In the First Rolling of the Wheel of the Law it is said that birth is suffering, old age is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering, contact with those one hates is suffering, separation from those one loves is suffering, failure to satisfy one’s desires is suffering, and clinging to the five aggregates that compose the minds and bodies of all sentient beings is suffering. The above-mentioned sufferings of birth, old age, illness, and death are called the four sufferings, and when the other four (meeting those one hates, parting from those one loves, not being able to satisfy one’s desires, and clinging to the five aggregates) are added to these, the list is known as the eight sufferings. (Page 25)

The Beginnings of Buddhism