The Sutra of Queen Śrimālā of the Lion’s Roar, p55[The Buddha said,] “If my disciples comply with their [early stages of] faith and [subsequent] more fervent faith, then they will attain the ultimate after completing their subsequent wisdom of the Dharma that is based upon the illumination of faith. ‘The subsequent wisdom of the Dharma’ is the insight and fundamental investigation into the realms of sensation and consciousness; insight into karmic retribution; insight into the eye of the arhat; insight into the happiness of the autonomy of mind and into the happiness of meditation; and insight into the supernatural powers of the arhats, pratyekabuddhas, and powerful bodhisattvas. When these five kinds of insight have been completed, even after my final nirvana, in future generations, my disciples who have [the early stages of] faith, the [subsequent] more fervent faith, and the subsequent wisdom of the Dharma that is based upon the illumination of faith will attain the ultimate even though their inherently pure minds become contaminated by defilements. The ‘ultimate’ is the cause for entering the path of the Mahayana. Faith in the Tathāgata has great benefits. Do not slander my [Dharma’s] profound meaning.”
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Daily Dharma – Sept. 15, 2024
May the merits we have accumulated by this offering
Be distributed among all living beings,
And may we and all other living beings
Attain the enlightenment of the Buddha!
These verses are from Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sutra, where the Brahma Kings from the ten quarters of the universe come to celebrate the enlightenment of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha. We too can cultivate this wish that all the good results of our life’s work be for the benefit of all beings.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 9
Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.
Having last month considered in gāthās the Buddha’s impartiality, we consider in gāthās the Buddha’s expounding of the Dharma.
I always expound the Dharma.
I do nothing else.
I am not tired of expounding the Dharma
While I go or come or sit or stand.
I expound the Dharma to all living beings
Just as the rain waters all the earth.I am not tired of giving
The rain of the Dharma to all living beings.
I have no partiality for them,
Whether they are noble or mean,
Whether they observe or violate the precepts,
Whether they live a monastic life or not,
Whether they have right or wrong views,
Whether they are clever or dull.
The Daily Dharma offers this:
I always expound the Dharma.
I do nothing else.
I am not tired of expounding the Dharma
While I go or come or sit or stand.
I expound the Dharma to all living beings
Just as the rain waters all the earth.
The Buddha makes this declaration in Chapter Five of the Lotus Sūtra. It is normal for us humans to become worn out, frustrated or annoyed as we try to benefit others. Often, other people do not want our help, or when they take our help, they do not progress as fast as we want them to. Sometimes there are only a few people we want to help, and may actually wish harm on those we blame for our problems. The Buddha gives us a different example. He gets his energy from creating benefit. It does not drain him. He sees that all beings want to improve themselves, no matter how perversely they may go about it. He knows that all beings are worthy of receiving the Buddha Dharma.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
A Pure Mind Defiled
The Buddhist Feminine Ideal, p122If the mind is intrinsically pure, as maintained in the Śrimālādevi sūtra, the problem of defilement is a crucial one. To assert the purity of the mind yet also the impurity of the non—liberated state of mind, one must explain why the intrinsically pure nature of mind has been temporarily impeded by ignorance. The Śrimālādevi sūtra admits that the unaffected nature of mind which co—exists with defilement is difficult to comprehend. Momentariness is associated with activity, viz. a defiled or ignorant state and disassociated from the quiescent state of the intrinsically pure mind. The last impediment which stirs the mind from its original purity is referred to as the propensity of beginningless ignorance, which being non—momentary, is not active yet conditioned.
Daily Dharma – Sept. 14, 2024
Those who believe in the Lotus Sutra are like the winter season, for many hardships come incessantly. Winter is surely followed by spring. We have never heard nor seen that winter returned to fall. We have never heard that the believers in the Lotus Sutra go back to ordinary people. The Lotus Sutra says, “All people who listen to this sutra will attain Buddhahood.”
Nichren wrote this in a letter to one of the lay women who followed his teachings, Myoichi Ama. Knowing the hardships Nichiren faced in his life helps us understand his great fearlessness and determination to spread the Wonderful Dharma. One of the most difficult things about hardship is that it can seem like it will never end. Nichiren reminds us that hardships do end, and that we who practice the Lotus Sutra are assured of our future enlightenment. The example of Nichiren’s life also shows us that as Bodhisattvas, we can use our hardships to lead other beings to enlightenment.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 8
Day 8 concludes Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith, and closes the second volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month considered in gāthās why the father gave his treasures to his son, we consider in gāthās how the Buddha is like the father.
You are like the father.
Knowing that we wished
To hear the Lesser Vehicle,
You did not say to us, “You will become Buddhas.”
You said of us to others:
“Though they are my disciples, they are Śrāvakas.
They eliminated āsravas,
But attained only the Lesser Vehicle.”You said to us:
“Expound the most excellent Way [to Bodhisattvas]!
Those who practice the Way
Will be able to become Buddhas.”By this order of yours
We expounded the unsurpassed Way
To the great Bodhisattvas
With various stories of previous lives,
With various parables and similes
And with various discourses.•Hearing the [Way, that is, the] Dharma from us,
Those sons of yours
Thought it over day and night,
And practiced it strenuously.Thereupon the Buddha assured them
Of their future Buddhahood, saying to them:
“You will become Buddhas
In your future lives.”You expounded the real thing,
That is, the store
Of the hidden core of the Buddhas
Only to the Bodhisattvas.
You did not expound
This truth to us.The poor son came to his father,
And took custody
Of the things of his father,
But wished to take none of them.The same can be said of us.
We did not wish to have the treasure-store
Of the teachings of the Buddhas
Although we expounded it [to the Bodhisattvas].We were satisfied with the elimination
Of illusions within ourselves.
What we accomplished was that elimination.
We did nothing more.
The Daily Dharma offers this:
We were satisfied with the elimination
Of illusions within ourselves.
What we accomplished was that elimination.
We did nothing more.
These verses are sung by Subhūti, Mahā-Kātyāyana, Mahā-Kāśyapa, and Mahā-Maudgalyāyana in Chapter Four of the Lotus Sūtra. They use the parable of the wayward son in this chapter to describe their own realization that the Buddha had not held any teaching back from them. Instead, the Buddha earlier allowed them to remain in the satisfaction of ending their own suffering. But before they can continue their progress towards the Buddha’s own enlightenment, they must give up their preoccupation with suffering, as the boy in the parable had to give up his idea of himself as a lowly hired worker, rather than the heir to his father’s treasure.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Śrimālā: Defilement in a Mind Inherently Pure
The Sutra of Queen Śrimālā of the Lion’s Roar, p54When Queen Śrimālā had explained the difficulties in comprehending [the inherently pure mind’s defilement], she was questioned by the Buddha. The Buddha, with extreme joy, praised her, “Yes, it is so! It is so! The fact that there is defilement in a mind that is inherently pure is difficult to comprehend. There are two subjects that are difficult to completely comprehend. They are the mind that is inherently pure and the fact that this [same] mind has been contaminated by defilements. These two subjects can be heard by you and the bodhisattva mahāsattvas who have the great Dharma. The others, namely, the disciples, can only believe through the Buddha’s words. “
Daily Dharma – Sept. 13, 2024
The Buddhas seldom appear in the worlds.
It is difficult to meet them.
Even when they do appear in the worlds,
They seldom expound the Dharma.
The Buddha proclaims these verses in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra. Later in the Sūtra he explains that in reality he became enlightened far in the past and will continue to lead all beings to enlightenment far into the future. The reason the Buddhas appear so rarely is not because they conceal themselves. It is because we do not recognize them for what they are. We cannot see the air we breathe, but it is crucial for our lives. Because of this we often take it for granted, unless we are so afflicted, or the air is so poisoned that we cannot breathe. Then we are aware of it. Likewise, the Buddha Dharma is available to us all the time.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 7
Day 7 concludes Chapter 3, A Parable, and begins Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith.
Having last month considered to which people we should expound the sūtra, we consider more examples of people to whom we should expound the sūtra.
Expound it
To those who make efforts,
Who have compassion towards others,
And who do not spare their lives!
Expound it to those
Who respect others,
Who have no perfidy in them,
Who keep away from ignorant people,
And who live alone
In mountains or valleys!Śāriputra!
Expound it to those
Who keep away
From evil friends,
And who approach
Good friends!Expound it to the Buddha’s sons
Who keep the precepts
As cleanly and as purely
As they keep gems,
And who seek
The sūtra of the Great Vehicle!Expound it to those
Who are not angry
But upright, gentle,
Compassionate
Towards all others,
And respectful to the Buddhas!
The Daily Dharma offers this:
Expound it
To those who make efforts,
Who have compassion towards others,
And who do not spare their lives!
The Buddha sings these verses to all those gathered to hear him teach in Chapter Three of the Lotus Sūtra. These are instructions for us to know who will benefit from the Wonderful Dharma. It is difficult for those who are absorbed in their own suffering to realize the benefit of helping others. It is difficult for those who are distracted by their preoccupations, or who do not believe they can become enlightened, to maintain their efforts to lead all beings to enlightenment. These insights also help us keep our minds open to the Buddha’s teachings.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Śrimālā: Seeing Correctly
The Sutra of Queen Śrimālā of the Lion’s Roar, p52If there are living beings who believe in the Buddha’s words, they will have thoughts of permanence, of happiness, of self, and of purity. These are not contrary views but are correct views. Why? The Dharma body of the Tathāgata is the perfection of permanence, the perfection of happiness, the perfection of the substantial self, and the perfection of purity. Those who see the Dharma body of the Buddha in this way are said to see correctly. Those who see correctly are the true sons and daughters of the Buddha. They arise from the Buddha’s words, from the True Dharma, and from conversion to the Dharma, attaining the remaining benefits of the Dharma.