The story of the previous existence of Great-Universally-Excelling-Wisdom Buddha is followed by Sakyamuni’s disclosure that the various teachings expounded since he attained enlightenment were really only expedients designed to lead people to the Lotus Sutra. In this connection, the Buddha tells the parable of the magic city, or as it is often called, “A Treasure Palace in a Magic City.”
Introduction to the Lotus SutraAuthor: John Hughes
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Following the Universal Law
[N]o matter how quickly we progress in coming generations, or how many great advancements we make in science and technology, the teaching of the Lotus Sutra will never be contradicted as long as humans follow the universal law, and deliver universal peace and enlightenment for suffering people. “Universal law” refers to eternal truths that never change from the past to the future, such as the law of gravity on this earth…, the law that time is passing constantly and will never change, that all living things have to grow old, and that having been born, all things will die. This teaching extends not only to the laws on Earth, but also to the laws in the universe.
Spring Writings
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Day 9 of 100
For those who are incapable of understanding the truth of the “3,000 existences contained in one thought,” Lord Śākyamuni Buddha, with His great compassion, wraps this jewel with the five characters of myō, hō, ren, ge, and kyō and hangs it around the neck of the ignorant in the Latter Age of Degeneration. The four great bodhisattvas will protect such people, just as T’ai-kung-wang and the Duke of Chou assisted the young ruler, King Chen, of the Chou dynasty, or the Four Elders of the Shang-shan attended child Emperor Hui of the Han dynasty in ancient China.
Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Venerable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 164.
Having finished Kanjin Honzon-shō I want to add some of the notes for future reference.
- Five progressive stages in the practice of the Lotus Sūtra after the death of the Buddha, formulated by T’ien-t’ai in his Hokke mongu: (1) to rejoice on hearing the Lotus Sūtra, (2) to read and recite it, (3) to propagate it , (4) to uphold it and practice the six pāramitā, and (5) to perfect the six pāramitā.
- Six stages in the practice of the Lotus Sūtra formulated by T’ien-t’ai: (1) ri-soku, or the stage at which one had not heard the True Dharma and is ignorant of Buddhism; (2) myōji-soku, the stage at which one hears the name and reads the words of the Lotus Sūtra and begins believing in it; (3) kangyō-soku, the stage at which one begins practicing what he learns; (4) sōji-soku, the stage at which one eliminates the first two of the three categories of illusion; (5) bunshin-soku, the stage at which one attains partial enlightenment ; and (6) kukyō-soku, the highest stage of practice at which one eliminates all illusions and attains perfect enlightenment.
- Five kinds of eyes: (1) eyes of flesh (men); (2) divine eyes of gods; (3) eyes of wisdom of the Two Vehicles (Śrāvaka and Pratyekabuddha); (4) dharma eyes of bodhisattvas; and (5) eyes of Buddhas which can see through all things covering past, present, and future. The eyes of Buddhas also possess all the other four.
- Having a long, wide tongue is one of the Buddha’s physical excellences, considered a sign of words spoken truly.
- 3,000 dust-particle kalpa (sanzen-jindengō) is the immeasurably long period of time described in the seventh (Kejōyu) chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, indicating how much time has passed since Säkyamuni preached the Lotus Sūtra as the 16th son of Daitsūchishō Buddha: “Suppose someone smashed a major world system (consisting of 1,000 X 1,000 X 1,000 worlds) into ink powder. Then he traveled eastward making a dot as small as a particle of dust with that ink powder as he passed 1,000 worlds until the ink powder was exhausted. Then all the worlds he went through were smashed into dust. The number of kalpa which has elapsed since Daitsūchishō Buddha passed away is infinitely larger than the number of particles of the dust thus produced.”
- Gohyaku jindengō: literally the five hundred dust-particle kalpa. It means an inconceivably long period of time as described in the 16th chapter of the Lotus Sūtra indicating how much time has elapsed since Śākyamuni’s original enlightenment: “Suppose someone smashes five hundred billions nayuta, asamkhya worlds into dust, and then takes it all toward the east, dropping one particle each time he passes five hundred billions nayuta, asamkhya worlds. Suppose he continues traveling eastward in this way until he finishes dropping all the particles. Suppose all these worlds reduced to dust. Let one particle represent one kalpa. The time which has passed since I attained Buddhahood surpassed this by one hundred billion nayuta, asamkhya kalpa.”
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Daily Dharma – March 9, 2018
Only I know his secret practices.
He shows himself
To all living beings
In the form of my eldest son.The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Nine of the Lotus Sūtra, speaking of Rāhula, the son born to him and his wife Yaśodharā before he left his life as a crown prince to seek enlightenment. In his highest teaching, the Buddha reminds us of our vows as Bodhisattvas to come into this world of conflict to benefit all beings. In the preoccupations that come with this life, we can forget these vows; they become a secret even to us. When we hear this Sūtra, we are reminded that we are the dear children of the Dharma, and that enlightenment is our rightful inheritance.
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 11
Day 11 continues Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City
Having last month witnessed the light generated by Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha when he attained Buddhahood, we consider the reaction of the Brahman-heavenly[-kings] of the five hundred billion worlds in the east.
“The palaces of the Brahman-heavenly[-kings] of the five hundred billion worlds in the east were illumined twice as brightly as ever. The Brahman-heavenly-kings [of those worlds] each thought, ‘My palace has never been illumined so brightly before. Why is that?’ They visited each other and discussed the reason. There was a great Brahman-heavenly-king called All-Saving among them. He said to the other Brahmans in gāthās:
Why are our palaces illumined
More brightly than ever?
Let us find [the place]
[From where this light has come].
Did a god of great virtue or a Buddha
Appear somewhere in the universe?
This great light illumines
The worlds of the ten quarters.“Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds went to the west, carrying flower-plates filled with heavenly flowers, in order to find [the place from where the light had come]. Their palaces also moved as they went. They [reached the Well-Composed World and] saw that GreatUniversal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata was sitting on the lionlike seat under the Bodhi-tree at the place of enlightenment, surrounded respectfully by gods, dragon-kings, gandharvas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men and nonhuman beings. They also saw that the sixteen princes were begging the Buddha to turn the wheel of the Dharma. Thereupon the Brahman-heavenlykings worshipped the Buddha with their heads, walked around him a hundred thousand times, and strewed heavenly flowers to him. The strewn flowers were heaped up to the height of Mt. Sumeru. The Brahman-heavenly-kings offered flowers also to the ten-yojana-tall Bodhi-tree of the Buddha. Having offered flowers, they offered their palaces to the Buddha, saying, ‘We offer these palaces to you. Receive them and benefit us out of your compassion towards us!’ In the presence of the Buddha, they simultaneously praised him in gāthās with all their hearts:
You, the World-Honored One, are exceptional.
It is difficult to meet you.
You have innumerable merits.
You are saving all living beings.As the great teacher of gods and men,
You are benefiting all living beings
Of the worlds of the ten quarters
Out of your compassion towards them.We have come here from five hundred billion worlds.
We gave up the pleasure
Of deep dhyāna-concentration
Because we wished to make offerings to you.
Our palaces are beautifully adorned
Because we accumulated merits in our previous existence.
We offer [these palaces] to you.
Receive them out of your compassion towards us!“Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings, having praised the Buddha with these gāthās, said, ‘World-Honored One! Turn the wheel of the Dharma and save all living beings! Open the Way to Nirvāṇa!’ They simultaneously said in a gāthā with all their hearts:
Hero of the World,
Most Honorable Biped!
Expound the Dharma!
Save the suffering beings
By the power of your great compassion!“Thereupon Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata gave his tacit consent to their appeal.
See Representations of the Eternal Original Being of Sakyamuni
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Representations of the Eternal Original Being of Sakyamuni
In Buddhism, various Buddhas have been established as objects of devotion for different pious believers. Since each Buddha has a good reason for being venerated, Buddhism permits us to worship any or all of them. Nevertheless, the Most-Venerable-One should be One, just as the Truth is One. The second half of the Lotus Sutra (Hommon) emphasizes such a Buddhist position regarding unity of faith. As the object of faith is absolute, it must relate to the realm of eternity. Generally we think of Sakyamuni as a historical figure, bound by the limitations of time and space, and only a provisional manifestation of the infinite, eternal Buddha. According to the Lotus Sutra, however, every Buddha, including the historical Sakyamuni Buddha, is a representation of the eternal original being of Sakyamuni.
Introduction to the Lotus Sutra
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The Importance of the Teaching of Nirvana
It would be a mistake to think that Nirvana is unimportant. It would be easy to think the Magic City served little or no purpose since it was not the final objective and it was only temporary. However we should also consider that without the Magic City the travelers would not have continued on their journey and instead would have turned back. So too with Nirvana, it is integral to our complete practice. The Magic City may not have been the destination but it was an integral part of the journey.
Lecture on the Lotus Sutra
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Day 8 of 100
“The Life Span of the Buddha” chapter says: “Having taken poison, some had lost their senses while others had not. … Seeing this excellent medicine with color and scent both good, those who had not lost their senses took it and recovered from their illness.” This refers to those who received the seed of Buddhahood in the eternal past as preached in “The Life Span of the Buddha,” those who had the opportunity to establish a connection with Buddhist dharma at the time of Great Universal Wisdom Buddha as revealed in the seventh chapter on “The Parable of a Magic City,” and all those bodhisattvas, Two Vehicles (Śrāvakas and Pratyekabuddha), men and gods who received the teaching of the Buddha in the pre-Lotus sūtraas well as the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra attain Buddhahood in the preaching of the essential section. It is said in the same chapter:
‘The remainder who had lost their senses were happy to see their father come back and requested him to cure their illness, but they refused to take the medicine their father offered them. Why did they not take it? It was because they had been affected by poison, causing them to lose their senses and think this excellent medicine, in both color and scent, not good at all. …
“Now I have to devise an expedient means so that they may take this medicine,” thought the father. “Now I will leave this excellent medicine here with you. You should take it without worrying about its effectiveness,” instructed the father to his children and he again went abroad. Then he sent a messenger back to his children, telling them that their father had passed away.’
The seventeenth chapter, “Variety of the Merits,” in the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra states, “In the evil age of the latter dharma…,” indicating that the teaching was for the Latter Age of Degeneration.
Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Venerable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 156.
I’m both fascinated and chagrined by this revelation that as a member of the Latter Age of Degeneration I’m not among the three groups that did not lose their mind:
- those who received the seed of Buddhahood in the eternal past as preached in “The Life Span of the Buddha,”
- those who had the opportunity to establish a connection with Buddhist dharma at the time of Great Universal Wisdom Buddha as revealed in the seventh chapter on “The Parable of a Magic City,”
- and all those bodhisattvas, Two Vehicles (Śrāvakas and Pratyekabuddha), men and gods who received the teaching of the Buddha in the pre-Lotus sūtras as well as the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra attain Buddhahood in the preaching of the essential section.
But I suppose imagining myself as having been exposed to the Lotus Sūtra in life after life since the remotest past begs the question of why exactly it never took. How dumb or perverted would I need to be for it to take literally forever for me to realize Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo?
100 Days of Study
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Daily Dharma – March 8, 2017
I remember the extinction of that Buddha
As vividly as if he had passed away just now,
By my unhindered wisdom; I also remember
The Śrāvakas and Bodhisattvas who lived [with him].The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. Because the Buddha sees this world for what it is, his conception of time is much different from ours. We believe that our existence is tied up with the existence of our bodies. Here he reminds us that while our lives are certainly precious, this is not the whole story. Our existence is linked with that of countless beings, and there is no good reason to fear our extinction. There is no shortage of time, and no shortage of lives. Our opportunities to benefit others are truly boundless. The only things that restrict us are our own delusion and attachment.
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 10
Day 10 concludes Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood, and opens Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City.
Having last month conclude this portion of Chapter 7, we return to today’s portion of Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood and the prediction for Subhūti.
Thereupon the World-Honored One, having understood the wishes of the great disciples, said to the bhikṣus:
“In his future life, this Subhūti will see three hundred billion nayutas of Buddhas, make offerings to them, respect them, honor them, praise them, perform brahma practices, complete the Way of Bodhisattvas, and become a Buddha on the final stage of his physical existence. He will be called Beautiful-Form, the Tathāgata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. The kalpa in which he will become that Buddha will be called Having-Treasures; and his world, Treasure-Born. The ground [of his world] will be even, made of crystal, adorned with jeweled trees, and devoid of mounds, pits, rubble, thorns and dirt. Jeweled flowers will cover the ground to purify it. The people of that world will live in buildings of wonderful treasures. His disciples in Śrāvakahood will be numberless, beyond calculation or comparison. The Bodhisattvas will be many thousands of billions of nayutas in number. The duration of the life of that Buddha will be twelve small kalpas. His right teachings will be preserved for twenty small kalpas. The counterfeit of his right teachings will be preserved also for twenty small kalpas. That Buddha will always stay in the sky, expound the Dharma to the multitude, and save innumerable Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas.
Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
Bhikṣus!
Now I will tell you.
Listen to me
With one mind!Subhūti, a disciple of mine,
Will be able
To become a Buddha
Called Beautiful-Form.He will make offerings
To many billions of Buddhas, and practice
According to the practices of the Buddhas,
And finally attain great enlightenment.On the final stage of his physical existence,
He will obtain the thirty-two physical marks,
And become as beautiful and as wonderful
As a mountain of treasures.The world of that Buddha
Will be the purest.
Anyone will be happy to see it.
That Buddha will save
Innumerable living beings
Of that world.Many Bodhisattvas
In the world of that Buddha
Will be clever.
They will turn
The irrevocable wheel of the Dharma,
And adorn that world.The Śrāvakas in that world also
Will be countless.
They will have the six supernatural powers,
Including the three major supernatural powers.
They will have the eight emancipations.
They will be exceedingly powerful and virtuous.The supernatural powers
Employed by that Buddha
For the expounding of the Dharma
Will be inconceivable.As many gods and men
As there are sands in the River Ganges
Will join their hands together
And listen to the words of that Buddha.The duration of the life of that Buddha
Will be twelve small kalpas.
His right teachings will be preserved
For twenty small kalpas.
The counterfeit of his right teachings
Also will be preserved for twenty small kalpas.See The Arhats