The Lotus Sutra contains seven parables, three of which are best known. The first is the “Parable of the Burning House of the Triple World” in Chapter Three. The second is the “Parable of the Rich Man and His Poor Son” in Chapter Four. The “Parable of the Physician and His Children” is presented in Chapter Sixteen. These three parables allegorically show the relationship between the Buddha and living beings by presenting a parental relationship. That is, faith in the Buddha is similar to the faith of a child in his father; and the Buddha’s compassion toward living beings is like a father’s love for his children. In other words, natural feelings drawn from the norms of everyday life eventually lead us toward faith in the Buddha.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraAuthor: John Hughes
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Transformation of Paradise
[O]ur founder, in his work entitled Hanson Syo, or “The Object of Worship,” says: “The world of evils is now free from the three calamities of conflagration, wind, and deluge, and has got rid of the four epochs of creation, existence, destruction, and emptiness. Thus we find it transformed into Paradise. The Buddha did not die in past times, nor will he be born in the future. He is one and the same with those whom he enlightens. His mind contains all phenomena in time and space.”
Doctrines of Nichiren (1893)
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Long Continued Effort
Sometimes our practice is easy; sometimes it is much harder. Either way, our focus should remain on our objective. It seems this is pretty universal advice. Whether it be exercise, which I am sure you know requires constant effort to stay in shape, or now with this research self-control, or Buddhism, the long continued effort is what really yields the greatest results.
Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1
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Day 3 of 100
The Miao-fa lien-hua-ching is a Chinese designation for the Lotus Sutra, which is called the Saddharma-pundarīka-sūtra in India. Tripitaka Master Subhākarasimha’s mantras representing the gist of the Lotus Sutra are as follows: “I put my faith in the everywhere-penetrating Buddha, the three-bodied Buddha. When one attains Buddha Wisdom, which is opened and revealed to all the people, he will, like the crisp-clear sky, be able to get rid of all delusions and evil passions, accept the teaching of the Sutra of the Wonderful Dharma and live with joy, firmly upholding the teaching.”
These mantras representing the gist of the Lotus Sutra came from an iron Stupa in Southern India. The Satsuri-daruma among them means the True Dharma, while “satsu” means shō (true) or myō (wonderful). Therefore, the Lotus Sutra is called either the Sūtra of the Lotus Flowers of the True Dharma or the Sūtra of the Lotus Flowers of the Wonderful Dharma. Placing the two words of na and mu in front of the latter, we get Namu Myōhō Renge-kyō (I put my faith in the Sutra of the Lotus Flowers of the Wonderful Dharma).
Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 67
Working my way through Kaimoku-shō I am humbled. My goal of reading all of Nichiren’s letters in 100 days of study could just as easily have been 100 days of study of Kaimoku-shō. An idea for a future 100 days.
100 Days of Study
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Daily Dharma – March 3, 2018
The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, will be able to obtain eight hundred merits of the eye, twelve hundred merits of the ear, eight hundred merits of the nose, twelve hundred merits of the tongue, eight hundred merits of the body, and twelve hundred merits of the mind.
The Buddha gives this teaching in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra. This is another reminder that the practice of the Wonderful Dharma does not take us out of the world of conflict we live in. Instead, it helps us to use the senses we have, in ways we did not think were possible, to see the world for what it is. Merits in this sense are not status symbols. They are an indication of clarity, of our faculties not being impeded by anything that blocks their capacity.
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 5
Day 5 begins Chapter 3, A Parable
Having last month heard Śāriputra’s acceptance of the Buddha’s explanation of his expedient teaching, we hear the Buddha tell Śāriputra he has been teaching him under two billion Buddhas in the past.
Thereupon the Buddha said to Śāriputra:
“Now I will tell you in the presence of this great multitude including gods, men, śramaṇas, and brāhmanas. Under two billion Buddhas in the past, I always taught you in order to cause you to attain unsurpassed enlightenment. You studied under me in the long night. I led you with expedients. Therefore, you have your present life under me.
“Śāriputra! I caused you to aspire for the enlightenment of the Buddha in your previous existence. You forgot all this, and thought that you had already attained extinction. In order to cause you to remember the Way you practiced under your original vow, I now expound to the Śrāvakas this sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’
See Sravakas
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Sravakas
The term Sravaka originally applied to a direct “hearer” or disciple of Sakyamuni. Representatives of this group are superior elders such as Sariputra and Maha-Maudgalyayana. In a broader sense, however, students of other teachers besides Sakyamuni can be called “hearers.”
As a rule, they are celibate monks who live in groups apart from the rest of society and perform systematic practices and study. (Nichiren pointed out that we all are “hearers” when we become involved in a course of studies. The harder we study, the more we cut ourselves off from outside distractions.)
Introduction to the Lotus Sutra
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The Root, Stem and Branches, and Flowers and Fruits
A saying ascribed to Prince Shōtoku, the founder of Japanese civilization, compares the three religious and moral systems found in Japan to the root, the stem and branches, and the flowers and fruits of a tree. Shinto is the root embedded in the soil of the people’s character and national traditions; Confucianism is seen in the stem and branches of legal institutions, ethical codes, and educational systems; Buddhism made the flowers of religious sentiment bloom and gave the fruits of spiritual life.
History of Japanese Religion
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Day 2 of 100
But now, it has been over 200 years since the beginning of the Latter Age of Degeneration. I have not been allowed to meet opponents in debate; instead I have been banished with my life in jeopardy. It proves that the warning in the Lotus Sutra about much hatred and jealousy after the death of the Buddha is not an empty threat. It also proves that we are in the beginning of endless warfare and in a decadent world of corruption where unreasonableness takes precedence over reason.
Therefore, although my comprehension of the Lotus Sutra is not worthy even one ten millionth of that of T’ien-t’ai and Dengyō, I dare say that my endurance on its behalf and compassion for the people are beyond these masters. I am sure that I deserve to receive heavenly protection, but there is not even a shred of it. Instead I have been condemned to heavier and heavier penalties. Looking back in this light, I wonder whether or not I am a practicer of the Lotus Sutra and whether or not various gods and deities have left this land.
However, if only I, Nichiren, had not been born in this country, the twenty-line verse of the thirteenth chapter, “The Encouragement for Upholding This Sutra,” in the fifth fascicle of the Lotus Sutra would be empty words and the Buddha would almost be a great liar. Those uncountable number of bodhisattvas, who made the vow to uphold the Lotus Sutra, would be accused of committing the same sin of lying as Devadatta did. The verse says, “Ignorant people will speak ill of us, abuse us, and threaten us with swords or sticks.”
In the world today, is there any Buddhist priest other than me, Nichiren, who is spoken ill of, abused, and threatened with swords or sticks on account of the Lotus Sutra?
Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Pages 56-57
I want to underscore here Nichiren’s “compassion for the people.” There is no ulterior motive.
100 Days of Study
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Daily Dharma – March 2, 2018
You, the World-Honored One, are our leader.
You give peace to gods and men.
Hearing that you assured us of our future Buddhahood,
We are relieved and satisfied.These verses are sung by Maha-Prajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī, Yaśodharā Bhikṣuṇī, and their attendants in Chapter Thirteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In our lives we have many desires, some of which we may not recognize. We believe that when these desires are met, only then can we be happy and peaceful. At the foundation of these desires is the desire for liberation. These women recognize that with this desire we have to become enlightened, just knowing that it will be fulfilled is enough to bring joy.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com