All posts by John Hughes

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – July 16, 2016

Śāriputra! Seeing that all his children had come out of the burning house safely and reached a carefree place, the rich man remembered that he had immeasurable wealth. So without partiality, he gave them each a large cart.

The Buddha tells the parable of the Burning House in Chapter Three of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, a man tries to warn his children who are playing in a dangerous house of the harm that will come to them if they do not set aside their preoccupations and come out. The children did not listen to him, so he told them about nonexistent toys outside the house. The Buddha then compares himself promising an end to suffering to the father promising nonexistent toys, and himself leading all beings to Enlightenment to the father giving his children toys more wonderful than they could imagine.

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

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The Teachings of Nichiren Through the Ages

The Doctrine of Nichiren bookcoverToday I started running extracts from The Doctrines of Nichiren with a Sketch of His Life, a book first published in 1893. Since the book is well out of copyright protection, I’ll be republishing almost all of the book in daily sections. You can download the Google scan of the book in PDF format here or get it on your e-reader from Google here.

As the introduction explains, the pamphlet went through an “Englishing” before publication. In some cases I’ve made changes, such as changing “Holy Book” into “Lotus Sutra.” I’ve placed square brackets – [Lotus Sutra] – around these changes.

I found some of the changes interesting. For instance, where Senchu Murano talks of “perverted” people who are deluded, this text speaks of the “vulgar.”

The difference in this “Englishing” offers a different perspective:

The Buddha of Original Enlightenment is universal and omnipresent. Earth, air, fire, water, colour, sound, smell, taste, touch, and all visible objects, form the Buddha’s Spiritual Body. Form, perception, conception, name and knowledge, as well as the functions of body, mouth, and will, are the Buddha’s Compensation Body. Head, trunk, hands and feet, eyes, nose, tongue and so forth, constitute his Transformation Body. Things and events are all interconvertible; they do not differ from each other in the smallest degree. When once the reason of this is understood, the three bodies of the Buddha of Original Enlightenment are displayed. Even the anger of infernal beings, the stupidity of beasts, the avarice of hungry devils, and all the base qualities inherent in other living beings, go to form the body of the Buddha of Original Enlighten ment in its entirety. And it is the Great Mandala which represents and shows forth this mysterious inter-relation of entities.

New for me was this explanation of the relationship between the 10 Worlds and the states of mind of ordinary people:

10 Worlds and 10 Stages of Enlightenment

LS32

Day 18

Day 18 concludes Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra, and begins Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.

Last month, I discussed the things to be approached by a bodhisattva. And, as promised last month, this time through it’s time for the proper things a Bodhisattva should know.

The Bodhisattva-mahasattva also should know the following truth. All things are insubstantial. They are as they are. Things are not perverted. They do not move. They do not go. They do not turn. They have nothing substantial just as the sky has not. They are inexplicable. They are not born. They do not appear. They do not rise. They are nameless. They are formless. They have no property. They are immeasurable and limitless. They have no obstacle or hindrance. He should see all this. Things can exist only by dependent origination. Only perverted people say, ‘Things are permanent and pleasant.’ This truth is the second thing he should approach.”

And in gathas:

He should disregard the differences
Between the superior, mean, and inferior vehicles,
Between the things free from causality and those subject to it,
And between the real and the unreal.

He should not say:
“This is a man,” or “This is a woman.”
He should not obtain anything
Or know anything or see anything.
All these are the proper practices
That the Bodhisattva should perform.

Things are insubstantial.
They have no property.
They are not permanent.
They do not rise or perish.
This is the Dharma to be approached
By a man of wisdom.

Only perverted people say:
“All things exist,” or “Nothing exists,”
Or “All things are real,” or “Nothing is real,”
Or “All things are born,” or “Nothing is born.”

Next month, the third set of peaceful practices.

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – July 15, 2016

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!

The Brahma-Heavenly-Kings of the East sing these verses in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sutra. In the story, they came to the world of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence-Buddha from their worlds of beauty and pleasure when that Buddha became enlightened. Their offering shows their understanding that while they can enjoy the results of the merits they have created, these results are meant to be shared with all beings. No matter how much or how little we have, being grateful for what we have, rather than being resentful for what we lack, is an expression of the Buddha’s wisdom.

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

LS32

Day 17

Day 17 covers all of Chapter 12, Devadatta, and opens Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra.

Chapter 12, Devadatta, has some problems. As Senchu Murano explains in the Introduction:

Chapter [12], which is an insertion, betrays discrepancies from Chapter [11] in the following points.

  1. Sakyamuni Buddha and Many-Treasures Buddha are on Mt. Sacred Eagle, not in the stupa handing in the sky.
  2. Many-Treasures buddha came from the nadir, not from the east.
  3. Many-Treasures buddha is accompanied by a Bodhisattva.
  4. At the beginning of this chapter, Manjusri Bodhisattva is at the palace of Dragon-King Sagara in the sea.
  5. There is no response to the wish of the Buddha to transmit this sutra to someone.

And yet . . .

[Sakyamuni] said to the bhiksus:

Good men or women in the future who hear this chapter of Devadatta of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma with faithful respect caused by their pure minds, and have no doubts [about this chapter], will not fall into hell or the region of hungry spirits or the region of animals. They will be reborn before the Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters. They will always hear this sutra at the places of their rebirth. Even when they are reborn among men or gods, they will be given wonderful pleasures. When they are reborn before the Buddhas, they will appear in lotus-flowers.

No doubts here despite the discrepancies.

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – July 14, 2014

Those who read the Lotus Sutra, therefore, should not regard it as consisting of merely written words. The words are the mind of the Buddha.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on Opening the Eyes of Buddhist Images, Wooden Statues or Portraits (Mokue Nizō Kaigen no Koto). Here he reminds us of how words affect each of us differently, and even the same person is affected differently in different parts of their life. If we become dogmatically fixed on a single meaning of the Buddha’s highest teaching, and do not continue to indulge our curiosity about the Buddha’s mind, we miss the point.

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

LS32

Day 16

Day 16 concludes Chapter 11, Beholding the Stupa of Treasures, and completes the Fourth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Last month, I went over the requirement that all of the billions and billions of Sakyamuni’s replicas preaching the Dharma in the universe had to be called home before Stupa of Treasures could be opened in order for the congregation to see Many Treasures Buddha.

This time through I want to focus on the shift that takes place at this point in the Lotus Sutra when Sakyamuni asks:

Who will expound the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in this Saha-World? Now is the time to do this. I shall enter into Nirvana before long. I wish to transmit this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to someone so that this sutra may be preserved.

Then again in gathas:

My sons!
Who will protect the Dharma?
Make a great vow
To preserve the Dharma forever!

And again:

This sutra is
The most excellent.
To keep this sutra
Is to keep me.

Good men!
Who will receive and keep this sutra, And read and recite it
After my extinction?
Make a vow before me
[To do all this]!

Rev. Ryusho Jeffus explains what is going on in his Lecture

In case there was any doubt remaining that the Buddha intended Buddhism to be taught and not be kept to oneself, there comes his request in Chapter 11 where he asks who will teach the Lotus Sutra in this world in which we live, the Saha World. Chapter 11 is where the Buddha begins to shift the focus of his teaching to thinking about the time in this world when he will no longer be alive. He is not thinking or planning for the spread of Buddhism in other parts of the universe. That is already being handled by his emanations and by the future lives of his contemporary disciples. Everything is taken care of except this world of ours. It is the Buddha Shakyamuni who is responsible for ensuring that the fundamental truth of the Lotus Sutra is secure for future generations.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – July 13, 2016

A bhikṣu who expounds this Sūtra
Of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
With patience
After my extinction,
Will be emancipated
From jealousy, anger, and other illusions,
That is to say, from all obstacles.

The Buddha sings these verses to Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra in which he describes the peaceful practices of a Bodhisattva. We may realize that jealousy and anger are not desirable states, but only because what these states do to our moods. No matter how justified we may feel in our jealousy or anger, these are not pleasant states to be in or even to be around. The Buddha reminds us that the real problem with these states is that they keep us from seeing things as they are. Jealousy exaggerates the importance of what we want but do not have. Anger exaggerates the bad qualities of the targets of our anger. When we focus on this wonderful teaching, develop our patience, and remain determined to benefit all beings, we see things for what they are, and are liberated from illusions.

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

LS32

Day 15

Day 15 concludes Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma, and opens Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures.

Having covered the arrival of the Stupa of Treasures last month, it is time to cycle back to the start of Day 15 and the significance of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Thereupon the Buddha said again to Medicine-King Bodhisattva-­mahasattva:

I have expounded many sutras. I am now expounding this sutra. I also will expound many sutras in the future. The total number of the sutras will amount to many thousands of billions. This Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand.

Medicine-King! This sutra is the store of the hidden core of all the Buddhas. Do not give it to others carelessly! It is protected by the Buddhas, by the World-Honored Ones. It has not been expounded explicitly. Many people hate it with jealousy even in my lifetime. Needless to say, more people will do so after my extinction.

Medicine-King, know this! Anyone who copies, keeps, reads and recites this sutra, makes offerings to it, and expounds it to others after my extinction, will be covered by my robe. He also will be protected by the present Buddhas of the other worlds. He will have the great power of faith, the power of vows, and the power of roots of good. Know this! He will live with me. I will pat him on the head.

Enjoying the great power of faith, vows and roots of good. Never alone.

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – July 12, 2016

Why was this bhikṣu called Never-Despising? It was because, every time he saw bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇis, upāsakas or upāsikās, he bowed to them and praised them, saying, ‘I respect you deeply. I do not despise you. Why is that? It is because you will be able to practice the Way of Bodhisattvas and become Buddhas.’

The Buddha gives this description of Never-Despising Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty of the Lotus Sūtra. The only practice of this Bodhisattva was to show his respect to all people, whether or not they respected him. This practice was so important, the Buddha used it as an example of what he practiced in a previous life to enable him to become enlightened.

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