Author: John Hughes

Day 4 finishes Chapter 2, Expedients, and completes the first volume of the Sutra of the Lotus flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Today’s reading begins with a fuller explanation of why the 5,000 walked out when the Buddha agreed to expound the Great Dharma:

Some bhiksus and bhiksunis
Were arrogant.
Some upasakas were self-conceited.
Some upasikas were unfaithful.
Those four kinds of devotees
Were five thousand in number.

They could not see their own faults.
They could not observe all the precepts.
They were reluctant to heal their own wounds.
Those people of little wisdom are gone.
They were the dregs of this congregation.
They were driven away by my powers and virtues.

They had too few merits and virtues
To receive the Dharma.
Now there are only sincere people here.
All twigs and leaves are gone.

Underline see their own faults and heal their own wounds.

Sit up now and pay attention:

Any Sravaka or Bodhisattva
Who hears even a gatha
Of this sutra which I am to expound
Will undoubtedly become a Buddha.

There is only one teaching, that is, the One Vehicle
In the Buddha-worlds of the ten quarters.
There is not a second or a third vehicle
Except when the Buddhas teach expediently.

And…

If I lead even a single man
By the Lesser Vehicle,
I shall be accused of stinginess.
It is not good at all to do this.

So why were the lesser teachings needed?

Seeing people of no wisdom, I thought:
“If I teach them only the Way to Buddhahood,
They will be distracted.
They will doubt my teaching, and not receive it.
I know that they did not plant
The roots of good in their previous existence.
They are deeply attached to the five desires.
They suffer because of stupidity and cravings.
Because they have many desires,
They will fall into the three evil regions,
Or go from one to another of the six regions
Only to undergo many sufferings.
Through their consecutive previous existences,
Their small embryos have continued to grow up
To become men of few virtues and merits.
They are now troubled by many sufferings.
They are in the thick forests of wrong views.
They say “Things exist,”
Or “Things do not exist.”
They are attached to sixty-two wrong views.
They are deeply attached to unreal things.
They hold them firmly, and do not give them up.
They are arrogant, self-conceited,
Liable to flatter others, and insincere.
They have never heard of the name of a Buddha
Or of his right teachings
For thousands of billions of kalpas.
It is difficult to save them.”

And…

Seeing with the eyes of the Buddha
The living beings of the six regions, I thought:
“They are poor, and devoid of merits and wisdom.
They incessantly suffer because they are taken
To the rough road of birth and death.
They cling to the five desires
Just as a yak loves its tail.
They are occupied with greed and cravings,
And blinded by them.
They do not seek the Buddha who has great power.
They do not seek the Way to eliminate sufferings.
They are deeply attached to wrong views.
They are trying to stop suffering by suffering.”

The Buddha retells how after his enlightenment he saw how hard it would be to lead all living beings and considered doing nothing, but the gods intervened to convince him to turn the wheel of the dharma. He remembered the Buddhas before him had used expedients and used them as well.

Then I saw many sons of mine,
Thousands of billions in number,
Seeking the enlightenment of the Buddha.
They came to me respectfully.
They had already heard
Expedient teachings
From the past Buddhas.
I thought:
“I appeared in this world
In order to expound my wisdom.
Now is the time to do this.”

Sariputra, know this!
Men of dull capacity and of little wisdom cannot believe the Dharma.
Those who are attached to the appearances of things are arrogant.
They cannot believe it, either.

I am now joyful and fearless.
I have laid aside all expedient teachings.
l will expound only unsurpassed enlightenment
To Bodhisattvas.

The Bodhisattvas who hear the Dharma
Will be able to remove the mesh of doubts.
The twelve hundred Arhats also
Will become Buddhas.

All the Buddhas in the past, present, and future
Expounded, are expounding, and will expound
In the same manner the Dharma beyond comprehension.
I also will expound it in the same manner.

This is the teaching for Bodhisattvas:

Anyone who rejoices at hearing the Dharma
And utters even a single word in praise of it
Should be considered to have already made offerings
To the past, present, and future Buddhas.
Such a person is rarely seen,
More rarely than the udumbara-flower.

[The Buddha said to the great multitude:]

All of you, do not doubt me!
I am the King of the Dharma.
I say to you:
“I will expound the teaching of the One Vehicle
Only to Bodhisattvas.
There is no Sravaka among my disciples.”

Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients.

And to the great surprise of everyone, the congregation learns:

“Sariputra! The Tathagatas divide [the Dharma] into various teachings, and expound those teachings to all living beings so skillfully and with such gentle voices that living beings are delighted. Sariputra! In short, the Buddhas attained the innumerable teachings which you have never heard before. No more, Sariputra, will I say because the Dharma attained by the Buddhas is the highest Truth, rare [to hear] and difficult to understand. Only the Buddhas attained [the highest Truth, that is,] the reality of all things’ in regard to their appearances as such, their natures as such, their entities as such, their powers as such, their activities as such, their primary causes as such, their environmental causes as such, their effects as such, their rewards and retributions as such, and their equality as such [despite these differences].

And in gathas:

The Dharma cannot be shown.
It is inexplicable by words.
No one can understand it
Except the Buddhas
And the Bodhisattvas
Who are strong in the power of faith.

Even the Buddhas’ disciples who made offerings
To the [past] Buddhas in their previous existence,
[Even the disciples] who eliminated all asravas,
[Even the disciples] who are now at the final stage
Of their physical existence,
Cannot understand [the Dharma].

This was all just puzzling:

No one asks you about the Dharma you attained
At the place of enlightenment.
[The Dharma] is too difficult for me to measure.
[So it is for others; therefore,] no one asks you.

Although you are not asked, you extol the teachings
[Of the past Buddhas] which you practiced.
Your wisdom is wonderful.
It is the same wisdom that the other Buddhas obtained.

The Arhats-without-asravas
And those who are seeking Nirvana
Are now in the mesh of doubts, wondering:
“Why does the Buddha say all this?”

The Buddha doesn’t want to explain himself:

No, no, I will not say any more.
My teaching is wonderful and inconceivable.
If arrogant people hear me,
They will not respect or believe me.

And when he does relent, this happens:

When he had said this, five thousand people among the bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, and upasikas of this congregation rose from their seats, bowed to the Buddha, and retired because they were so sinful and arrogant that they thought that they had already obtained what they had not yet, and that they had already understood what they had not yet. Because of these faults, they did not stay. The World-Honored One kept silence and did not check them.

Thereupon the World-Honored One said to Sariputra:

“Now this congregation has been cleared of twig and leaves, only sincere people being left. Sariputra! Those arrogant people may go. Now listen to me attentively! I will expound [the Dharma] to you.”

Now we get to what this is all about:

Sariputra! What is the one great purpose for which the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the worlds? The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to open [the gate to] the insight of the Buddha, and to cause them to purify themselves. They appear in the worlds in order to show the insight of the Buddha to all living beings. They appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to obtain the insight of the Buddha. They appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to enter the Way to the insjght of the Buddha. Sariputra! This is the one great purpose for which the Buddhas appear in the worlds.

The Buddha said to Sariputra:

The Buddhas, the Tathagatas, teach only Bodhisattvas. All they do is for one purpose, that is, to show the insight of the Buddha to all living beings, to cause them to obtain the insight of the Buddha.

And again:

Sariputra! I do all this for the purpose of causing them to
realize the teaching of the One Buddha-Vehicle, that is, to obtain the
knowledge of the equality and differences of all things. Sariputra!
There is not a second vehicle in the worlds of the ten quarters. How
can there be a third?

Underline equality.

Day 2 completes Chapter 1, Introductory

On Day 2 Manjusri responds to Maitreya’s question:

“Good men! I think that the Buddha, the World-Honored One, wishes to expound a great teaching, to send the rain of a great teaching, to blow the conch-shell horn of a great teaching, to beat the drum of a great teaching, and to explain the meaning of a great teaching.

“Good men! I met many Buddhas in my previous existence. At that time I saw the same good omen as this. Those Buddhas emitted the same ray of light as this, and then expounded a great teaching. Therefore, know this! I think that this Buddha also is emitting this ray of light, and showing this good omen, wishing to cause all living beings to hear and understand the most difficult teaching in the world to believe.

Underlining “the most difficult teaching in the world to believe.”

As Manjusri explains these previous Buddhas prepared their followers with skillful and pure teachings:

To those who were seeking Sravakahood, he expounded the teaching of the four truths, a teaching suitable for them, saved them from birth, old age, disease, and death, and caused them to attain Nirvana. To those who were seeking Pratyekabuddhahood, he expounded the teaching of the twelve causes, a teaching suitable for them. To Bodhisattvas, he expounded the teaching of the six paramitas, a teaching suitable for them, and caused them to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, that is, to obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things.

After 20,000 successive Buddhas name Sun-Moon-Light, the final Sun-Moon-Light Buddha went beyond the skillful and pure teachings:

Thereupon the last Sun-Moon-Light Buddha expounded a sutra of the Great Vehicle called the ‘Innumerable Teachings, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’ Having expounded this sutra, he sat cross-legged [facing the east] in the midst of the great multitude, and entered into the samadhi for the purport of the innumerable teachings. His body and mind became motionless.

A scene duplicating what we witnessed from Sakyamuni in the first half of this chapter. And Sun-Moon-Light of old did just as Sakyamuni of today and emitted a ray of light to illumining 18,000 Buddha worlds in the east.

This good omen we see now is not different from what I saw at that time. Therefore, I think that the Tathagata of today also will expound the sutra of the Great Vehicle called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’

And in gathas:

[Manjusri said to the multitude:]

All of you, know this, join your hands together,
And wait with one mind!
The Buddha will send the rain of the Dharma
And satisfy those who seek enlightemnent.
The Buddha will remove
Any doubt of those who seek
The teaching of the Three Vehicles.
No question will be left unresolved.

Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory

And as I start the cycle anew I’m struck by the skills of the Buddha’s followers before he began to preach the Lotus Sutra. For example:

He was accompanied by twelve thousand great bhiksus. They were Arhats. They had already eliminated asravas, and had no illusions. They had already benefited themselves, broken off the bonds of existence [in the world of birth and death], and obtained liberty in their minds. … They were great Arhats well known to the multitude.

There were also two thousand [Sravakas], some of whom had something more to learn while others had nothing more to learn. …

There were also eighty thousand Bodhisattva-mahasattvas. They never faltered in [seeking] Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. They had already obtained dharanis, turned the irrevocable wheel of the Dharma with eloquence according to the wishes [of all living beings], made offerings to many hundreds of thousands of Buddhas, and planted the roots of virtue under those Buddhas, by whom they had always been praised. They had already trained themselves out of their compassion towards others, entered the Way to the wisdom of the Buddha, obtained great wisdom, and reached the Other Shore so that their fame had already extended over innumerable worlds. They had already saved many hundreds of thousands of living beings.

There is a reason why these people are surprised when the Buddha eventually reveals that what they thought they knew was not the whole truth.

I’m always caught by the scope of the gathering with its gods, dragons, kimnara, asura and garuda kings and even a human king, Ajatasura.

The major point of this first half of the Introductory chapter is the illumination of 18,000 words in the east by the Buddha.

The congregation saw from this world the living beings of the six regions of those worlds. They also saw the present Buddhas of those worlds. They also heard the Dharma expounded by those Buddhas. They also saw the bhsus, bhiksunis, upasakas and upasikas of those worlds who had already attained [the various fruits of] enlightenment by their various practices. They also saw the Bodhisattva-mahasattvas [of those worlds] who were practicing the Way of Bodhisattvas [in various ways] according to the variety of their karmas which they had done in their previous existence, and also according to the variety of their ways of understanding [the Dharma] by faith. They also saw the past Buddhas [of those worlds] who had already entered into Parinirvana. They also saw the stupas of the seven treasures which had been erected to enshrine the sariras of those Buddhas after their Parinirvana.

Maitreya Bodhisattva sums up the concerns of the congregation, asking Manjusri Bodhisattva:

Manjusri, Son of the Buddha!
Remove our doubts!
The four kinds of devotees
Are looking up with joy at you and me,
Wishing to know why this ray of light is emitted
By the World-Honored One.

Son of the Buddha, answer me!
Remove our doubts and cause us to rejoice!
For what purpose is the Buddha
Emitting this ray of light?

Does he wish to expound the Wonderful Dharma
Which he attained when he was sitting
At the place of enlightenment?
Does he wish to assure us of our future Buddhahood?

He shows us the worlds of the Buddhas
Adorned with many treasures.
We can see the Buddhas of those worlds.
This cannot be for some insignificant reason.

Manjusri, know this!
The four kinds of devotees and the dragons
Are looking at you, thinking:
“What is he going to say?”