All posts by John Hughes

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Feb. 19, 2023

You, the World-Honored One, are the light of wisdom.
Hearing from you
That we are assured of our future Buddhahood,
We are as joyful as if we were sprinkled with nectar.

These verses are sung by two thousand of the Buddha’s disciples in Chapter Nine of the Lotus Sūtra. When these followers of the Buddha were told that they would become as enlightened as he was, then many others like them realized that they too had this capacity. The superiority of the Lotus Sūtra lies not in having better explanations of what the Buddha taught, or in some supernatural ability it has to change the world. The superiority of the Lotus Sūtra is its completeness. It leads all beings to the joy of enlightenment.

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

LS32

Day 13

Day 13 covers all of Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples.

Day 13 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the prediction for Pūrṇa’s Buddha land, we consider the prediction for the twelve hundred Arhats.

Thereupon the twelve hundred Arhats, who had already obtained freedom of mind, thought:

“We have never been so joyful before. How glad we shall be if we are assured of our future Buddhahood by the World-Honored One just as the other great disciples were!”

Seeing what they had in their minds, the Buddha said to Maha-Kāśyapa:

“Now I will assure these twelve hundred Arhats, who are present before me, of their future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi one after another. My great disciple Kauṇḍinya Bhikṣu, who is among them, will make offerings to six billion and two hundred thousand million Buddhas, and then become a Buddha called Universal-Brightness, the Tathāgata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. The others of the five hundred Arhats, including Uruvilvā-Kāśyapa, Gaya­Kāśyapa, Nadī-Kāśyapa, Kālodāyin, Udāyin, Aniruddha, Revata, Kapphina, Bakkula, Cunda, and Svāgata, also will attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, and become Buddhas also called Universal-Brightness.”

Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:

Kauṇḍinya Bhikṣu will see
Innumerable Buddhas.
After asaṃkhya kalpas from now,
He will attain perfect enlightenment.

He will emit great rays of light [from his body].
He will have all supernatural powers.
His fame will spread over the worlds of the ten quarters.
Respected by all living beings,
He will expound unsurpassed enlightenment to them.
Therefore, he will be called Universal-Brightness.

His world will be pure.
The Bodhisattvas [of that world] will be brave.
They will go up to the tops of wonderful, tall buildings,
And then go out into the worlds of the ten quarters.
There they will make the best offerings
To the Buddhas of those worlds.

After making offerings, they will have great joy.
They will return to their home world in a moment.
They will be able to do all this
By their supernatural powers.

[Universal-Brightness] Buddha will live for sixty thousand kalpas.
His right teachings will be preserved twice as long as his life;
And the counterfeit of them, also twice as long as his right teachings.
When his teachings are eliminated, gods and men will be sad.

The five hundred bhikṣus
Will become Buddhas one after another.
They also will be called Universal-Brightness.
One who has become a Buddha will say to another:
“You will become a Buddha after my extinction.
[The living beings of] the world
To be saved by that Buddha
Will be like those whom I am teaching today.”

The beauty of the worlds [of those Buddhas],
And the supernatural powers [of those Buddhas],
And the number of the Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas [of those worlds],
And the number of kalpas of the lives [of those Buddhas],
Of their right teachings, and of the counterfeit of them,
Will be the same [as in the case of Kauṇḍinya].

Kāśyapa! Now you have heard of the future
Of the five hundred Arhats
Who have freedom of mind.
All the other Śrāvakas also will [become Buddhas].
Tell this to the Śrāvakas
Who are not present here!

See Kaundinya

Important Matters

Rules and Cautions for Daily Practice

When we recite the sutra we should keep in mind five rules for our recitation:

  1. Vocal clarity
  2. Phrase-by-phrase clarity
  3. Fluency
  4. Noble-mindedness
  5. Solemnity and propriety.

There are also three cautions:

  1. Mindful we are before the gods and Buddhas
  2. Pray to placate even the spirits of darkness
  3. Pray to move and delight the people.

When we are in community reciting the sutra, it is said we should do so by the ear. For anyone who has either sung in a choir or played a musical instrument in a band you understand the importance of listening to those around you so that your playing or singing is not just in time or in harmony, but it is also appropriately loud or soft. When we recite in community we are instructed to set aside our personal manner of recitation and concentrate on harmonizing with others. In that way we are all able to enjoy the flavor of the Dharma together.

Daily practice is important as this ensures you gain proficiency in correctly pronouncing the words, adjusting your pace of speaking and tonal quality. In all of this seek to find your own natural style when by yourself. You should not force yourself to be overly ostentatious in your manner of service. If you do not naturally have a deep voice, then do not try to force your voice deeper. I will say, however, that daily practice can help improve your range of voice, which will enable you to better harmonize when in a group setting.

Important Matters, p 86-87
Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Feb. 18, 2023

Anyone who reads this sūtra
Will be free from grief,
Sorrow, disease or pain.
His complexion will be fair.
He will not be poor,
Humble or ugly.
All living beings
Will wish to see him
Just as they wish to see sages and saints.
Celestial pages will serve him.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra. When we cultivate the mind of the Buddha, and bring his teachings to life, we help other beings find true happiness. This is different from our normal pattern of attempting to manipulate what others think about us through bribery, threats, and other forms of coercion. When we help others find their minds, they realize that they share our true mind of joy and peace.

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

LS32

Day 12

Day 12 concludes Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City, and completes the Third Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 12 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered in gāthās the enlightenment of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha, we consider the sixteen princes.

The sixteen princes renounced the world,
And became śramaṇeras.
They begged the Buddha to expound the teaching
Of the Great Vehicle, saying:
“We and our attendants wish to attain
The enlightenment of the Buddha.
May we have the purest eyes of wisdom
Just as yours!”

Knowing the wishes of the [princes who were] young boys
And the practices they performed in their previous existence,
The Buddha taught them the six paramitas
And many supernatural things
With innumerable stories of previous lives
And with various parables and similes.

The gāthās of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Were sung [by the Buddha] to expound the true teaching,
That is, [to expound] the Way which Bodhisattvas should practice.
The gāthās were as many as there are sands in the River Ganges.

Having expounded this sūtra, the Buddha entered a quiet room,
And practiced dhyāna-concentration.
Concentrating his mind, he sat at the same place
For eighty-four thousand kalpas.

Seeing him still in dhyāna,
The śramaṇeras wished to expound
The unsurpassed wisdom of the Buddha
To many hundreds of millions of living beings.

They each sat on a seat of the Dharma
And expounded this sūtra of the Great Vehicle.
Also after the peaceful extinction of that Buddha,
They proclaimed this sūtra, and helped propagate it.

They each saved
Six hundred billions of living beings,
That is, as many living beings
As there are sands in the River Ganges.

After the extinction of that Buddha,
Some heard the Dharma [from one of the śramaṇeras].
They were reborn in the world of a Buddha,
Accompanied by [the śramaṇera, that is,] their teacher.

Those sixteen śramaṇeras practiced the Way to Buddhahood.
They are now in the worlds of the ten quarters.
They have already attained
Perfect enlightenment [and become Buddhas].

Those who heard the Dharma from those śramaṇeras
Are now living under those Buddhas.
To those who are still in Śrāvakahood
[The Buddhas] teach the Way to Buddhahood.

I was one of the sixteen śramaṇeras.
You were among those to whom I expounded the Dharma.
Therefore, I now lead you with expedients
To the wisdom of the Buddha.

Because I taught you in my previous existence,
I expound the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
In order to lead you into the Way to Buddhahood.
Think it over! Do not be surprised! Do not be afraid!

See Even a Buddha Needs Help

Important Matters

Skillful Preparation

“The Raijitsu-giki states, ‘According to the Makashikan (C. Mohe-zhiguan) the 25 skillful [preparations for meditation] facilitate the realization of the true principle through concrete phenomena.”

Shutei Hoyo Shiki, page 204

Here we focus on actual activities or actions taken in preparation for and during our worship of the Lotus Sutra. Just as singers warm up before a performance or athletes stretch before a race, we too are advised to do certain things to prepare for our Dharma practice. …

Of the seven skillful means taught in Nichiren Shu, five are derived from the Raijitsu-giki.

From the Raijitsu-giki:

1. Displaying the object of worship or Honzon: Nichiren Shu authorizes five ways of representing the Honzon. …

2. Purifying the place of practice: The example for us is found in the Lotus Sutra when the Buddha purifies the land in preparation for the return of his emanations. Numerous times he purifies the land, joins more lands and purifies them and continues to do so until the space is large enough to accommodate the emanations and their retinues.

3. Ritual accoutrements: This would be your prayer beads (juzu) and your prayer book (kyobon). …

4. Cleanliness and vestments: For lay practitioners this would mean properly and neatly dressed. I realize that current fashion has ripped jeans as acceptable for many semi-formal public occasions. I would question the wearing of ripped jeans for service, but fundamentally it is your choice. The operating principle should be to dress as if you had an invitation to see the Buddha. …

5. Offering incense and flowers: These are self-explanatory, but there is something I would like to say. Living in modern cities may make flower offerings challenging. We offer flowers in the same way the gods and heavenly deities rain flowers on the Buddha and those who are attaining enlightenment. They beautify and create a pleasing place for us to attain our enlightenment. It isn’t always possible to have fresh flowers. While cut flowers are ideal, the overarching factor is your heart, your spirit. If you don’t have flowers, then you can’t offer them. On occasions when you desire to have flowers but have no money or access, consider handmaking a paper flower for the service and then cremating it afterward. Do not reuse. …

From Nichiren Shu:

6. Bells and percussion instruments: Lay practitioners may or may not have some of these items. They are not required, although it would be nice if you have a bell. The size of the bell is unimportant. … At home you may or may not have a mokusho or mokugyo. The mokusho is a round flat wooden drum that produces a loud, high-pitch sound, depending upon size. The pitch and loudness allow the sound to be heard above the taiko drums used in temples. …

7. Service Manner: There are many instructions given to priests that dictate virtually every movement, placement of hands and feet, walking, sitting, and rising. Nothing a priest does during a ceremony is without some instruction. … For the lay practitioner, having in your mind the solemn yet joyful activity of honoring the Buddha and his teachings will help you. Always try to sit as erect as possible, whether in a chair, on a cushion or mat, or on the floor. … Having the necessary items arranged in front of you before the service will help you maintain your focus during the service and will allow you to flow smoothly from one part of the ceremony to another. …

In closing this section, please keep in mind these are skillful means. They are not the object. The tools, guidelines, and procedures have been created to help you prepare your body, mind, spirit, and environment so that you may fully and deeply enter the great teaching of the True Dharma of the Lotus Sutra. Nothing bad happens if you get it wrong or if you are unable to do some of these things. The hope is that doing what you can, which may change over time through the causes you make with what you have, will bring you delight and joy.

Important Matters, p 75-80
Daily Dharma, d21b

Daily Dharma – Feb. 17, 2023

When I saw that some people of little virtue and of much defilement were seeking the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle, I told them, ‘I renounced my family when I was young, and attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi [forty and odd years ago].’ In reality I became the Buddha in the remotest past as I previously stated. I told them so as an expedient to teach them, to lead them into the Way to Buddhahood.

In Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha gives this explanation of a parable he tells in Chapter Three. In that story, the foolish children of a wise man were playing in a burning house. The man tried to warn his children of the dangers of the house, but the children were so preoccupied with their games they would not leave. Only when the man promised them better toys outside would the children leave the house. The words used by the wise man were meant to get the children out of the house, even though the toys did not exist. These words were necessary to motivate the children to set aside their delusions. They were not meant to be taken literally. We learn from this explanation how the Buddha uses words, and why we formerly needed his expedient teachings.

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

LS32

Day 11

Day 11 continues Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City

Day 11 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered what happened when Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, we consider the reaction of the great Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the southeast.

“Bhikṣus! The great Brahman-[heavenly-]kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the southeast, who saw their palaces illumined more brightly than ever, danced with joy. They also wondered why [their palaces were so illumined]. They visited each other and discussed the reason. There was a great Brahman-heavenly-king called Great-Compassion among them. He said to the other Brahmans in gāthās:

Why is it
That we see this light?
Our palaces are illumined
More brightly than ever.

Did a god of great virtue or a Buddha
Appear somewhere in the universe?
We have never seen this [light] before.
Let us do our best to find [the reason].

Let us go even to the end of one thousand billion worlds,
And find the place from where this light has come.
A Buddha may have appeared somewhere in the universe
In order to save the suffering beings.

“Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion [ worlds] went to the northwest, carrying flower-plates filled with heavenly flowers, in order to find [the place from where the light had come]. Their palaces also moved as they went. They [reached the Well-Composed World and] saw that Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata was sitting on the lion-like seat under the Bodhi tree of the place of enlightenment, surrounded respectfully by gods, dragon-kings, gandharvas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men, and nonhuman beings. They also saw that the sixteen princes were begging the Buddha to turn the wheel of the Dharma. Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings worshipped the Buddha with their heads, walked around him a hundred thousand times, and strewed heavenly flowers to him. The strewn flowers were heaped up to the height of Mt. Sumeru. The Brahman-heavenly-kings offered flowers also to the Bodhi-tree of the Buddha. Having offered flowers, they offered their palaces to the Buddha, saying, ‘We offer these palaces to you. Receive them and benefit us out of your compassion towards us!’ In the presence of the Buddha, they simultaneously praised him in gāthās with all their hearts:

Saintly Master, God of Gods!
Your voice is as sweet as a kalavinka’s.
You have compassion towards all living beings.
We now bow before you.
You, the World-Honored One, are exceptional.
You appear only once in a very long time.

No Buddha has appeared
For the past one hundred and eighty kalpas.
The three evil regions are crowded;
And the living beings in heaven, decreasing.

Now you have appeared in this world
And become the eye of all living beings.
As their refuge, you are saving them.
As their father, you are benefiting them
Out of your compassion towards them.
We are now able to see you
Because we accumulated merits
In our previous existence.

“Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings, having praised the Buddha with these gāthās, said, ‘World-Honored One! Turn the wheel of the Dharma and save all living beings out of your compassion towards them!’ Then they simultaneously said in gāthās with all their hearts:

Great Saint, turn the wheel of the Dharma
And reveal the reality of all things!
Save the suffering beings
And cause them to have great joy!

If they hear the Dharma, some will attain enlightenment;
Others will be reborn in heaven.
The living beings in the evil regions will decrease;
And those who do good patiently will increase.

“Thereupon Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata gave his tacit consent to their appeal.

The Daily Dharma from Jan. 19, 2023, offers this:

If they hear the Dharma, some will attain enlightenment;
Others will be reborn in heaven.
The living beings in the evil regions will decrease;
And those who do good patiently will increase.

The Brahma-Heavenly-Kings of the Southwest sing these verses to Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. They are imploring that Buddha to share his highest teaching with them, and demonstrating that they are ready to receive it. Those living in evil regions are in great difficulty, because they do not know how to keep from reinforcing their delusions and truly benefit themselves. When a Buddha appears to show all beings the world as it is, he helps us to shed our delusions. But we must still come to him and show through our respect for him that we are ready for his teaching.

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

Important Matters

Reverential and Joyful Practice

Being reverential in our practice means that we are aware we are performing a sacred ceremony that began when the Buddha revealed the Lotus Sutra for all being in this Sahā world. We are in essence sitting with the Buddha on Mount Sacred Eagle listening to him speak as we gaze upon the Buddhas Shakyamuni and Many Treasures, Taho Tathagata. Don’t you think they deserve to be treated with the greatest respect we are able to give?

The group I first began practicing Nichiren Buddhism with taught that for our services we should be fully dressed, not in pajamas, and freshly shaved or make-up applied. I would echo that instruction today. It would be inappropriate to do your service and eat your meal or sip your beverage. This is a time to give your utmost, to be fully present.

Finally, in all of these things it is possible to be solemn and reverential and still be joyful. These attitudes do not need to be so onerous as to crowd out the joy of performing the practice. Always be mindful of how you are engaging in your practice and examine where you might be able to improve. That is Buddhism, always striving but not grasping so tightly as to choke off your joy.

Important Matters, p 73-74
Daily Dharma, WONS

Daily Dharma – Feb. 16, 2023

As we look at each others’ faces, we notice our facial expression changes from time to time. It is full of delight, anger or calm sometimes; but other times it changes to greed, ignorance or flattery. Anger represents hells; greed – hungry spirits; ignorance – beasts; flattery – asura demons; delight – gods; and calm – men. Thus we can see in the countenance of people six realms of illusion, from hells to the realm of gods. We cannot see the four realms of holy ones (śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, bodhisattvas and Buddhas), which are hidden from our eyes. Nevertheless, we must be able to see them too, if we look for them carefully.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his treatise on Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Venerable (Kanjin Honzon-Shō). In other writings, he described Hell as not being in the earth and Heaven as not in the sky, but both within the two meter frame of our own bodies. In this work he shows us to look outside ourselves and recognize these realms in the beings with whom we share our world. The higher realms of devotion, perseverance, generosity and wisdom are more difficult to recognize, so difficult that we sometimes wonder whether they exist at all. With the Buddha’s teaching, we know they exist. We find what we look for.

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