No longer is there a fundamental difference between the enlightenment of people and the enlightenment of Buddhas. The Buddha is showing us the path to an enlightenment that is exactly like that of all Buddhas. This is really what I think is remarkable. There is a way for us as common mortals to become enlightened just as the Buddha was, though I think it is also important to realize that our own individual manifestation of that enlightenment will perhaps look different than the Buddha’s. In other words, my enlightenment will not be an enlightenment of sitting under a tree, it might be an enlightenment of working with sick people. Your enlightenment may be an enlightenment that manifests as any number of things such as a clerk, or a computer operator, or doctor, or lawyer, or a mother and father, or child. It can manifest in any number of ways, not dependent upon our occupation or unique skills, but on our innate capacity, on the truth of the condition of Buddhahood being always present in our lives.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraAll posts by John Hughes
Daily Dharma – Feb. 17, 2016
We will wear the armor of endurance
Because we respect and believe you.
We will endure all these difficulties
In order to expound this sūtra.
Medicine-King Bodhisattva and Great-Eloquence Bodhisattva, along with their attendants, declare these verses to the Buddha in Chapter Thirteen of the Lotus Sutra. The Buddha had asked previously who would teach the Lotus Sūtra after the Buddha’s death. These Bodhisattvas declare their aspirations to maintain their practice of the Buddha Dharma in the face of unimaginable difficulties. We may believe that this practice will lead to permanent comfort and pleasure. But knowing that we are in a world that is constantly changing, we realize that any difficulty is temporary, and that the way to a beneficial outcome may only go through difficulties. This knowledge and faith in the Buddha’s teachings increases our capacity to be a beneficial force in this world of conflict.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 28
Day 28 covers all of Chapter 24, Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva, and concludes the Seventh Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
A light from Sakyamuni shines on a world on the other side of “one hundred and eight billion nayuta Buddha-worlds” from this Saha world. Why there? And why does everyone just know stuff?
When [Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva] was illumined by the light of Sakyamuni Buddha, he said to the Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha:
“World-Honored One! I wish to visit the Saha-World, bow to Sakyamuni Buddha, attend on him, and make offerings to him. I also wish to see Manjusri Bodhisattva, who is the Son of the King of the Dharma. [I also wish to see] Medicine-King Bodhisattva, Brave-In-Giving Bodhisattva, Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva, Superior-Practice-Intent Bodhisattva, Adornment-King Bodhisattva, and Medicine-Superior Bodhisattva.”
The fun in the Lotus Sutra is the wonder I feel when I read it. I ought to be doubtful or critical in the same way that I was critical as a child when I heard stories of the Christian Bible. But I’m not. I love the stories of the Lotus Sutra unconditionally.
Picture this conversation between the Buddha in the All-Pure-Light-Adornment World and Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva:
Thereupon Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha said to Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva:
“Do not despise that world! Do not consider it to be inferior [to our world]! Good Man! The Saha-World is not even. It is full of mud, stones, mountains’ and impurities. The Buddha [of that world] is short in stature! So are the Bodhisattvas [of that world]. You are forty-two thousand yojanas tall. I am six million an eight hundred thousand yojanas tall. You are the most handsome. You have thousands of millions of marks of merits, and your light is wonderful. Do not despise that world when you go there! Do not consider that the Buddha and Bodhisattvas of that world are inferior [to us]! Do not consider that that world is inferior [to ours]!”
The Daily Dharma for March 29, 2015, discussed the meaning of this warning:
The instruction [Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva] receives from his Buddha reminds us that no matter what advantages we have gained from our practice of the Buddha Dharma, these do not make us any better or worse than those we are determined to benefit.
When Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva causes “82,000 lotus flowers of treasures” to appear near where Sakyamuni was preaching the Lotus Sutra, Manjusri asks what the omen means and when the Buddha explains, Manjusri asks:
“World-Honored One! What root of good did he plant and what kind of meritorious deed did he do in order to obtain this great supernatural power? What samadhi did he practice? Tell us the name of the samadhi! We also wish to practice it strenuously so that we may be able to see how tall he is and how he behaves himself. World-Honored One! Cause me to see him by your supernatural powers when he comes!”
Tonight it struck me that Manjusri, the Buddha in waiting, needs help “to see how tall he is and how he behaves himself.”
As a child I would often enjoy sitting quietly and listening in on conversations between adults. These were mostly about political campaigns and strategies. It is with the same childish wonder that I imagine listening in to the message from Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha for Sakyamuni:
World-Honored One! I bring you a message from Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha. [He wishes to say this.] Are you in good health? Are you happy and peaceful or not? Are the four elements of your body working in harmony or not? Are the worldly affairs bearable or not? Are the living beings easy to save or not? Do they not have much greed, anger, ignorance, jealousy, stinginess and arrogance, or do they? Are they not undutiful to their parents, or are they? Are they not disrespectful to sramanas, or are they? Do they not have wrong views, or do they? Are they not evil, or are they? Do they not fail to control their five desires, or do they? World-Honored One! Did they defeat the Maras, who are their enemies, or not. Is Many-Treasures Tathagata, who passed away a long time ago and has now come here riding in the stupa of the seven treasures, hearing the Dharma or not? [Pure-Flower-Star-King·Wisdom Buddha] also wishes to know whether Many-Treasures Tathagata is peaceful and healthy, and able to stay long or not.
One of the lessons of the Lotus Sutra that I have taken to heart is the Bodhisattva practice, the practice for others. Describing Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva, Sakyamuni says:
Flower-Virtue! Now you see Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva here and nowhere else. But formerly he transformed himself into various living beings and expounded this sutra to other in various places. He became King Brahman, King Sakra, Freedom God, Great-Freedom God, a great general in heaven, Vaisravana Heavenly-King, a wheel-turning-holy-king, the king of a small country, a rich man, a householder, a prime minister, a brahmana, a bhiksu, a bhiksuni, an upasaka, an upasika, the wife of a rich man, that of a householder, that of a prime minister, that of a brahmana, a boy, a girl, a god, a dragon, a yaksa, a gandharva, an asura, a garuda, a kimara, a mahoraga, a human being or a nonhuman being. [After he transformed himself into one or another of these living beings,] he expounded this sutra, and saved the hellish denizens, hungry spirits, animals, and all the other living beings in the places of difficulties. When he entered an imperial harem, he became a woman and expounded this sutra.
Flower-Virtue! This Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva protects all living beings in this Saha-World. He transforms himself into one or another of these various living beings in this Saha-World and expounds this sutra to all living beings without reducing his supernatural powers, [his power of] transformation, and his wisdom. He illumines this Saha World with the many [rays of light] of his wisdom, and causes all living beings to know what they should know.
Yes! To know what I should know. What a wonderful ambition.
The Great Way of Practice
The Buddha, in Chapter 2, tells his contemporary disciples that the teachings they had been taught were only a stepping stone to a great way of practice which he says is not a Sravaka practice, not a Pratyekabuddha practice, and not a Bodhisattva practice, but it is in a way a combination of all of those practices. Instead of there being three different ways of practicing according to a persons capacity, there is in fact only one way of practicing. That single way of practicing is on the one hand combining all the three different ways into one, and – now this is important – it is the awareness and realization that there is an even higher state than Nirvana as a goal. There is the fundamental truth that all Buddhas are awakened to and that is Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraDaily Dharma – Feb. 16, 2016
His precepts out of his loving-kindness brace us up as thunderbolts.
His wishes out of his compassion are as wonderful as large clouds.
He pours the rain of the Dharma as sweet as nectar,
And extinguishes the fire of illusions.
The Buddha gives this description of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva (Kannon, Kanzeon, Kuan Yin, Avalokitesvara) to Endless-Intent Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Five of the Lotus Sūtra. This Bodhisattva is the embodiment of compassion. As we cultivate our own nature as Bodhisattvas, we find that the only thing that separates us from the happiness of others is our attachment and delusion. When we allow our compassion to grow, we come to see the world as it is.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 27
Day 27 concludes Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.
I suppose one could argue that Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva isn’t the best example of how to make offerings. After all, he’s burning himself again in today’s lesson from the Lotus Sutra. But as an example of someone who doesn’t settle for ordinary, who seeks that expression of his faith that makes extraordinary seem lacking, Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva illumines what it means to be grateful for the merits of the Lotus Sutra.
The Buddha said to Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva:
What do you think of this? Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva was no one but Medicine-King Bodhisattva of today. He gave up hjs body in this way, offered it [to the Buddha], and repeated this offering many hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas of times [in his previous existence]. [He knows that he can practice any austerity in this Saha-World. Therefore, he does not mind walking about this world.]
Comparing the greatness of the Lotus Sutra:
Star-King-Flower! Just as the sea is larger than the rivers, this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is more profound than any of the other sutras expounded by the Tathagatas. Just as Mt. Sumeru is the largest of all the mountains including earth mountains, black mountains, the Small Surrounding Iron Mountains, the Great Surrounding Iron Mountains, and the Ten Treasure Mountains, this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is above all the other sutras. Just as the Moon God is brighter than the stars, this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma gives us more light than any of the other sutras numbering thousands of billions. Just as the Sun God dispels all darkness, this sutra drives away all the darkness of evils. … The person who keeps this sutra is superior to any other living being. Just as Bodhisattvas are superior to Sravakas or to Pratyekabuddhas, this sutra is superior to any other sotra. Just as the Buddha is the king of the Dharma, this sutra is the king of all the sutras.
Just-in-time salvation:
Star-King-Flower! This sutra saves all living beings. This sutra saves them from all sufferings, and gives them great benefits. All living beings will be able to fulfill their wishes by this sutra just as a man who reaches a pond of fresh water when he is thirsty, just as a man who gets fire when he suffers from cold, just as a man who is given a garment when he is naked, just as a party of merchants who find a leader, just as a child who meets its mother, just as a man who gets a ship when he wants to cross [a river], just as a patient who finds a physician, just as a man who is given a light in the darkness, just as a poor man who gets a treasure, just as the people of a nation who see a new king enthroned, just as a trader who reaches the seacoast. Just as a torch dispels darkness, this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma saves all living beings from all sufferings, from all diseases, and from all the bonds of birth and death. The merits to be given to the person who, after hearing this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, copies it, or causes others to copy it, cannot be measured even by the wisdom of the Buddha.
Replacing the Three Vehicle Practices
The three vehicle practices of Sravaka, Pratyekabuddha, and Bodhisattva are all being replaced as individual, unique, and different ways of attaining Buddhahood by a single way of attaining supreme enlightenment. This way is the practice of Bodhisattva, which includes all the practices of the three previous vehicles. No longer is it the wish of the Buddha for people to think of their own practice as something unique to themselves. Beginning with the Lotus Sutra the Buddha wants all practitioners of Buddhism to see their practice as part of a greater objective of saving other people, of teaching and spreading Buddhism, and of seeking the supreme enlightenment of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraDaily Dharma – Feb. 15, 2016
Anyone who does not keep our spells
But troubles the expounder of the Dharma
Shall have his head split into seven pieces
Just as the branches of the arjaka-tree [are split].
The ten rakṣasī demons and Mother-of-Devils sing these verses in Chapter Twenty-Six of the Lotus Sūtra. They are among the many gods and other supernatural beings who vow to protect all those who keep and practice the Buddha Dharma. These verses help us to understand the nature of those who create harm in the world and to develop a heart of compassion towards them. The nature of delusion is that it sets up a world separate from the world we all share. It puts a barrier between us and the world out of fear that this world will harm us. The Buddha’s teachings show us how to develop the courage to live in harmony with this world, rather than splitting ourselves from it, and splitting ourselves in it.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Setsubun 2016
Sunday was the annual Setsubun service, literally “season-division”, and traditionally the dividing line between winter and spring and bad and good. The service included a blessing and afterward the traditional tossing of candy into the audience to signify welcoming good fortune. The envelopes of the traditional beans signifying chasing away of bad spirits were handed out afterward.
Last year this was all new. I took the packet of beans home and placed it on my altar and two weeks later when I attended the next service at the church, I asked the priest what I was supposed to do with the beans. “Eat them, ” he said.
Today’s service included a short Dharma talk in which the priest described the Namu Myoho Renge Kyo as the detergent that removes the stains of our past karma. I was imagining a Tide commercial.
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.
We start with some supernatural powers found in the Lotus Sutra:
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!
Sakyamuni and his replicas from the ten directions gave credence to the sutra’s verity by extending their tongues to the Brahmā heaven.
The Buddhas joyfully display
Their immeasurable, supernattural powers
Because [the Bodhisattvas from underground]
[Vow to] keep this sutra after my extinction.
Seeing the Buddhas and causing them to rejoice:
Anyone who keeps this sutra
Will be able to see me. He also will be able to see
Many-Treasures Buddha,
[The Buddhas of] my replicas,
And the Bodhisattvas whom I have taught today.Anyone who keeps this sutra will be able to cause me to rejoice.
He also will be able to bring joy
To [the Buddhas of] my replicas
And also to Many-Treasures Buddha
who once passed away.
The light of understanding:
Anyone who understands why the Buddhas
expound [many] sutras,
Who knows the position [of this sutra
in the series of sutras],
And who expounds it after my extinction
According to its true meaning,
Will be able to eliminate the darkness
Of the living beings of the world where he walks about,
Just as the light of the sun and the moon
Eliminates all darkness.
He will be able to cause innumerable Bodhisattvas
To dwell finally in the One Vehicle.Therefore, the man of wisdom
Who hears the benefits of these merits
And who keeps this sutra after my extinction,
Will be able to attain
The enlightenment of the Buddha
Definitely and doubtlessly.
In the next chapter, Transmission, we begin with Sakyamuni putting his right hand simultaneously on the head of each the countless Bodhisattvas who emerged from underground, urging them to take up the sutra and expound it.
In the future, when you see good men or women who believe in the wisdom of the Tathagata, you should expound this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to them, and cause them to hear and know [this sutra] so that they may he able to obtain the wisdom of the Buddha. When you see anyone who does not receive [this sutra] by faith, you should show him some other profound teachings of mine, teach him, benefit him, and cause him to rejoice. When you do all this, you will be able to repay the favors given to you by the Buddhas.
In Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva, we learn of a Buddha named Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue in a world without calamity and a Bodhisattva named Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings who hears the Lotus Sutra from the Buddha and seeks “Buddhahood strenuously with all his heart for twelve thousand years until at last he obtained the samadhi by which he could transform himself into any other living being. Having obtained this samadhi, he had great joy.”
Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings made supernatural offerings but in the end concluded these offerings were “less valuable than the offering of my own body.”
While Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings’ flaming pyre that illumined “worlds numbering eight thousands of millions of times the number of the sands of the River Ganges” was certainly noteworthy, the all-consuming compassion shown by Nichiren is an example of “offering of my own body” more worthy of emulating.