Our struggles in life are golden opportunities. We look around and we see strife, and it is an opportunity for us to eliminate the causes of strife. We look around and we see homelessness and these are nothing but chances for us to practice as the Buddha did and work to end homelessness. When we see these things and we give up hope, then we see our world as a dreary dark place, a place of great fires. However, turning towards these things and not away allows us to see many ways in which we who practice the Lotus Sutra, we who have hope, can bring hope and joy to those who have no hope.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraAll posts by John Hughes
Quotes Redux
Today at noon I start reposting the quotes I’ve selected from the books above. I’ll begin with the book introduction and then follow with a quote from each book every 10 days. As of last count, I have 839 quotes.
The 9 am posting from Lecture on the Lotus Sutra will continue until Sept. 10, when the last quote from the book will be published.
Daily Dharma – Aug. 25, 2016
With Nichiren’s boundless compassion, “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo” will be heard forever even beyond the ten-thousand year period of Degeneration. It has the merit of curing the blindness of all people, blocking the way to hell. This merit is superior to those of Dengyō in Japan, T’ien-t’ai in China, Nāgārjuna in India or Kāśyapa who was the Buddha’s disciple. Practice for a hundred years in the Pure Land is not worth the merit of chanting the daimoku for one day in this defiled world. Propagation of the daimoku in a two-thousand year period following the death of the Buddha is not worth as much as spreading the daimoku for even a short while in the Latter Age of Degeneration. This is not from my wisdom; it is solely due to the time in which I live.
Nichiren wrote this passage in his Essay on Gratitude (Hōon-jō). In other writings, he explained that the superiority of the Lotus Sūtra is not in its power to change the world, but its power to lead all beings, without exception, to the same enlightenment the Buddha found. In this sūtra, the Buddha gives us a different idea of time, the world and our lives. All of these are truly boundless, and the Buddha is always here teaching us.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
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.
Starting over on this day’s content, I get to touch on what I find the most powerful statement of the Buddha about this sutra. He is addressing the Bodhisattvas who arose from underground headed by Superior-Practice:
To sum up, all the teachings of the Tathagata, all the unhindered, supernatural powers of the Tathagata, all the treasury of the hidden core of the Tathagata, and all the profound achievements of the Tathagata are revealed and expounded explicitly in this sutra. Therefore, keep, read, recite, expound and copy this sutra, and act according to the teachings of it with all your hearts after my extinction! In any world where anyone keeps, reads, recites, expounds or copies this sutra, or acts according to its teachings, or in any place where a copy of this sutra is put, be it in a garden, in a forest, under a tree, in a monastery, in the house of a person in white robes, in a hall, in a mountain, in a valley, or in the wilderness, there should a stupa be erected and offerings be made to it because, know this, the place [where the stupa is erected] is the place of enlightenment. Here the Buddhas attained Anuttarasamyak-sambodhi. Here the Buddhas turned the wheel of the Dharma. Here the Buddhas entered into Parinirvana.
The Daily Dharma addressed this on July 22, 2016:
To sum up, all the teachings of the Tathāgata, all the unhindered, supernatural powers of the Tathāgata, all the treasury of the hidden core of the Tathāgata, and all the profound achievements of the Tathāgata are revealed and expounded explicitly in this sūtra. Therefore, keep, read, recite, expound and copy this sūtra, and act according to the teachings of it with all your hearts after my extinction!
The Buddha makes this declaration to Superior-Practice Bodhisattva (Jōgyo, Viśiṣṭacārītra) in Chapter Twenty-One of the Lotus Sūtra. In Chapter Two, the Buddha told those gathered to hear him teach that his highest teaching could not be attained by reasoning alone. These two passages show us faith to look beyond the words in this book to find the Buddha Dharma in every aspect of our lives, and the ever-present Buddha leading us all to enlightenment.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Personally deep in faith.
The Faith Within
I do not believe it is appropriate nor a mature faith and practice that transfers responsibility for improving our lives to beings outside our selves. We may find encouragement and strength from their ideals, but fundamentally, as we learn in Buddhism, it is up to us to create and manifest the life we wish to live and we do this by following the teachings in the Lotus Sutra.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraDaily Dharma – Aug. 24, 2016
For many hundreds of thousands of billions of asaṃkhyas of kalpas, I studied and practiced the Dharma difficult to obtain, and [finally attained] Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Now I will transmit the Dharma to you. Propagate it with all your hearts, and make it known far and wide!
The Buddha entrusts his highest teaching to all those gathered to see him in Chapter Twenty-Two of the Lotus Sūtra. He had already explained how difficult it is to believe and practice this highest teaching, and all the trouble it took for him to reach it. He also realizes that this teaching is not something he can keep for himself, and is meaningful only when it was shared with others. This is yet another example of the Buddha showing us how to live with the beings we want to benefit. We realize that our treasure is not what we keep for ourselves, but what we have in common with others. We are diminished not by what we lose, but by attempting to hold on to our delusions.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 25
Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.
Bodhisattva Never-Despising’s practice has always intrigued me. I could imagine myself in another life being this guy:
There lived arrogant bhiksus in the age of the counterfeit of the right teachings of the first Powerful-Voice-King Tathagata, that is, after the end of the age of his right teachings which had come immediately after his extinction. [Those arrogant bhiksus] were powerful. At that time there lived a Bodhisattva called NeverDespising.’ He took the form of a bhiksus.
Great-Power-Obtainer! Why was this bhiksu called NeverDespising? It was because, every time he saw bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas or upasikas, 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.’
He did not read or recite sutras. He only bowed to the four kinds of devotees. When he saw them in the distance, he went to them on purpose, bowed to them, and praised them, saying, ‘I do not despise you because you can become Buddhas.’
And it is that universal quality of Bodhisattva Never-Despising’s practice that the Missionary Department of Nichiren Shu is tapping into as it seeks ways to honor the upcoming 800th anniversary of Nichiren Shonin’s birth in 2021. Here’s the text of an article that appeared in the Aug. 1, 2016, issue of Nichiren Shu News:
The idea for the campaign started from the “Gassho X 800” poster that was created for the 800th Anniversary of Nichiren Shonin’s Birth. The poster was distributed tlo Nichiren Shu temples in Japan in 2014. Members in Japan found the “800” mosaic design striking. and thought it made a great poster for Nichiren Shu, but the design did not work as well outside Japan. Japanese people know who Nichiren Shonin was and understand the history of the era he lived in. Outside Japan, however, few people have that background. Nichiren Shu campaigns in the past have often faced similar problems, as the Buddhist themes and Nichiren Shu content become lost in translation.
The challenge was clear: to create a campaign to convey the spirit of Tangyo Raihai and Nichiren Shonin’s 800th anniversary and capture the interest of people around the world, even if they had never heard of Nichiren Shonin or knew little about Buddhism. The end result is what you see here: a floating seated image of Shakyamuni Buddha created from a mosaic of Nichiren Shu followers from Japan and around the world. The message is simple. Anyone anywhere in the world can relate to it. You and everyone around you are joined together in the spirit of Tangyo Raihai to create the Buddha, here and now. You’re a Buddha.
Rev. Daiei Matsui, Director of the Missionary Department said, ” ‘You’re a Buddha, Bowing to the Buddha in You’ is the basis for a universal concept of values in human relations in all cultures. By spreading this concept, we can overcome religious hostility between cultures and work together for world peace.”
Rev. Kobun Sasaki, Manager of the International Section, said, “We want to promote the logan ‘You’re a Buddha, Bowing to the Buddha in You’ in many ways internationally, including international exchange visits, collaboration and religious dialog. By spreading “You’re a Buddha” through action, we will establish the teachings of Nichiren Shu all over the world.”
A record-setting 19 million overseas visitors came to Japan in 2015, and more are expected each year leading up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Then, in 2021, we will have the 800th Anniversary celebration. Nichiren Shu temples in Japan have a unique opportunity to reach out to visitors and expose them to Buddhism and Nichiren Shu. “You’re a Buddha” posters and English pamphlets will be distributed widely to temples in Japan. The International Section will also assist major temples with their own English-language guide literature to make sure no opportunity is missed.
“You’re a Buddha” can also work with events anywhere in the world. The artwork is freely available to all Nichiren Shu temples. The International Section will help create special versions of the poster or t-shirt artwork for special events or temple anniversaries. We sincerely hope you can use the materials the Missionary Department has created and welcome your requests.
As my contribution, I took artwork on the Nichiren Shu website in Japan and created this animation:
World-Voice-Perceiver’s Model
The real value I think we as modern practitioners can find in Chapter 25, the Universal Gate of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva, is as a model for our own behavior. Through our practice we naturally develop empathy and an ability to listen to and respond to the suffering of others. We each have our unique talents to lend to others but through our practice we can develop greater skill in using those talents in the most effective way to benefit and bring joy to those around us who are suffering.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraDaily Dharma – Aug. 23, 2016
To enter the room of the Tathāgata means to have great compassion towards all living beings. To wear the robe of the Tathāgata means to be gentle and patient. To sit on the seat of the Tathāgata means to see the voidness of all things. They should do these [three] things and then without indolence expound this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to Bodhisattvas and the four kinds of devotees.
The Buddha, the Tathāgata, gives this description to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. When we awaken to our nature as Bodhisattvas and resolve to benefit other beings, we often find we do not know how to accomplish this. In the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha gives instructions for reaching others and helping them let go of their delusions. By voidness the Buddha does not mean that nothing exists, rather that nothing has an inherent existence. Nobody is innately ignorant or innately wise. When we maintain our resolve to improve the world, maintain our patience and increase our capacities, and see the possibility of enlightenment for everyone, then are we truly living the Buddha’s teachings.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 24
Day 24 concludes Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma and closes the Sixth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Those good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this sutra, we are told in Chapter 19, will receive 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. And since I limit myself to a single topic each time through I can move on to the merits of the body after having covered the merits of the tongue and the merits of the nose.
The Buddha explains to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva:
The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this sutra, will be able to obtain eight hundred merits of the body. Their bodies will become as pure as lapis lazuli. All living beings will wish to see them. Some of the living beings in the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds are just born or have just died. All living beings are either noble or humble. They are either handsome or ugly. They are destined to be reborn either in a better region or in a worse region. All of them will be reflected on the pure bodies [of the good men or women]. The Surrounding Iron Mountains, the Great Surrounding Iron Mountains, Mt. Meru, Mt. Maha-Meru, and the other great mountains, and the living beings in those mountains also will be reflected on their bodies. [All the six regions] down to the Avrci Hell and up to the Highest Heaven and the living beings therein also will be reflected on their bodies. The Sravakas, Pratyekabuddhas, and Bodhisattvas as well as the Buddhas who are expounding the Dharma, also will show their reflections on their bodies.
The Daily Dharma of Dec. 12, 2015, covered this portion of Chapter 19 with this explanation:
All living beings are either noble or humble. They are either handsome or ugly. They are destined to be reborn either in a better region or in a worse region. All of them will be reflected on the pure bodies [of the good men or women].
The Buddha makes this declaration to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. Much of what we see in the world is a projection of our own biases and ignorance. We see things for what we want them to be rather than what they are. We classify the people in our lives as friends, enemies or strangers not because of their inherent qualities, but because of how they treat us. When we act for the benefit of others rather than our own gratification, we are showing them their true qualities. We let them see themselves for what they are.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com