All posts by John Hughes

800years, Blog, d26b, d32b

800 Years: The Place of Enlightenment

As we take faith and practice before our altar and our faith grows, we should keep in mind that we are practicing at the Place of Enlightenment. This is the place where we are taken when we study the Lotus Sutra.

In Chapter 3, Śāriputra sings:

“You lead all living beings
To the place of enlightenment
By the Dharma-without-āsravas, difficult to understand.”

And the Buddha points out that with the One Vehicle of his teaching in the Lotus Sutra:

“The Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas
Will be able to go immediately
To the place of enlightenment
If they ride in this jeweled vehicle.”

Where is this place of enlightenment? As the Buddha reveals in Chapter 21, any place “where anyone keeps, reads, recites, expounds or copies this sūtra, or acts according to its teachings, or in any place where a copy of this sūtra 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 Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Here the Buddhas turned the wheel of the Dharma. Here the Buddhas entered into Parinirvana.”

As Rev. Ryusho Jeffus says in this Lecture on the Lotus Sutra:

“In the special transmission [Chapter 21] we have the revelation once again that this place, the very place where the Lotus Sutra is practiced, is the place of enlightenment. In other words, there is no greater place to be, there is no greater place to practice than the very place where you are. Through this practice in your life you erect a great treasure tower containing the two Buddhas and you purify your environment revealing the pure land that it already is. We may not be able to perceive the reality of the Buddha’s pure land in our environment, through our practice we begin to manifest our own Buddha life and with the eyes of the Buddha we become, we have the ability to see our world with a new perspective. As the Buddha says further on, when we practice exactly as the buddha instructs us in the Lotus Sutra we will be able to eliminate darkness in our lives.”

Our acceptance of the teaching of the Lotus Sutra and belief in the truth of that teaching is the measure of our faith. This is the practice of great Bodhisattvas. As Universal Sage says in Chapter 28:

“Anyone who keeps, reads and recites this sūtra, memorizes it correctly, understands the meanings of it, and acts according to it, know this, does the same practices that I do. He should be considered to have already planted deeply the roots of good under innumerable Buddhas in his previous existence. He will be caressed on the head by the hands of the Tathāgatas.”

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Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Oct. 8, 2022

World-Honored One! Explain all this so that we may be able to remove our doubts and that the good men in the future may have no doubts when they hear these words of yours!

The Bodhisattva Maitreya makes this request to the Buddha in Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sūtra. There are several ways that the Buddha leads us to his enlightenment. One is by making us aware of the mysteries that abound in this world of conflict. The Lotus Sūtra promises in Chapter One that no question will be left unresolved. But unless we are aware of these questions, and these mysteries, then they cannot be explained. When we allow ourselves to wonder, to question, to become aware of the mystery of existence, and resist being ashamed of not knowing. then we are coming to understand the Buddha’s own mind.

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

LS32

Day 15

Day 15 concludes Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma, and opens Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures.

Day 15 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the position of the Lotus Sūtra, we consider the stupa erected where this sutra exists.

“Medicine-King! Erect a stupa of the seven treasures in any place where this sūtra is expounded, read, recited or copied, or in any place where a copy of this sūtra exists! The stupa should be tall, spacious and adorned. You need not enshrine my śarīras in the stupa. Why not? It is because it will contain my perfect body. Offer flowers, incense, necklaces, canopies, banners, streamers, music and songs of praise to the stupa! Respect the stupa, honor it, and praise it! Anyone who, after seeing the stupa, bows to it, and makes offerings to it, know this, will approach Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

“Medicine-King! Although many laymen or monks will practice the Way of Bodhisattvas, they will not be able to practice it satisfactorily, know this, unless they see, hear, read, recite, copy or keep this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma or make offerings to it. If they hear this sūtra, they will. Anyone who, while seeking the enlightenment of the Buddha, sees or hears this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, and after hearing it, understands it by faith and keeps it, know this, will approach Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

The Daily Dharma from Sept. 7, 2022, offers this:

Medicine-King! Erect a stūpa of the seven treasures in any place where this sūtra is expounded, read, recited or copied, or in any place where a copy of this sūtra exists! The stūpa should be tall, spacious and adorned. You need not enshrine my śarīras in the stūpa. Why not? It is because it will contain my perfect body.

The Buddha declares these lines to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. In ancient India, stūpas were tombs built as memorials to those who had enjoyed a superior position in their lives. After the Buddha died, small relics of his body were distributed so that many great stūpas could be built to his memory. Even today all over Asia, stūpas hold the physical remains of the Buddha. In this chapter, the Buddha reminds us that when we have the Lotus Sūtra with us, it is as good as having the Buddha himself.

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

800years, PhraseADay

800 Years: Faith and Gratitude

SADO GOKANKI SHO

I, Nichiren, vowed to learn and to master Buddhism and to attain Buddhahood so that I would be able to save the people from whom I had received favors. To attain Buddhahood, one must not think selfishly even at the cost of his life.

(Background : October 10, 1271, 49 years old, at Echi, Showa Teihon, p.510)

Explanatory note

With the protection of guardian deities of the Lotus Sutra, Nichiren Daishonin narrowly escaped the execution at Tatsu-no-kuchi on September 12, 1271. But a month later, he was exiled to Sado Island in the Japan Sea. The above quotation was a part of a letter written by Daishonin before leaving for exile.

Most people see Nichiren’s vigorous actions which have appeared externally, but they do not try to see his religious point which has come from within his inner self.

For Nichiren Daishonin, “Ho-on” or gratitude was the nucleus of his religion. “Ho-on” means to show appreciation that you are living because of others. Any society is formed with each individual depending on others, so that we must show appreciation of all people. But if the appreciation is referred to only in our daily living, it is not real gratitude, or “Ho-on”.

According to Nichiren Daishonin, the real gratitude is to lead all people to the faith in the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, which was revealed by the Buddha Sakyamuni.

Nichiren might have received all sorts of earthly kindness from many people. But he never tried to return their kindness with worldly matters. Rather, in order to have real salvation for them, Daishonin preached Buddha’s teachings by sacrificing his own life. He cast away all attachments, even his own life. Daishonin’s four major persecutions and many other minor persecutions proved his willingness to sacrifice his own life. We, as his followers, should not be afraid of any obstacles to living in truth; then, we will be given power to overcome such obstacles.

Rev. Kanai

Phrase A Day

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Oct. 7, 2022

Anyone who expounds the Dharma, if he wishes,
Will be able to cause the living beings
Of the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds
To hear his wonderful voice.

The Buddha sings these verses to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. When we learn to hear the voice of the Wonderful Dharma, we recognize it in everything that surrounds us. When we speak with the voice of the Wonderful Dharma, we are in accord with the reality of all things. There is no need to distinguish between our voice and the voice of the Ever-Present Buddha who is always thinking of how to lead all beings to enlightenment. The only thing that blocks this voice is the comfort of our own attachment and delusion.

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

LS32

Day 14

Day 14 covers all of Chapter 9, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Śrāvakas Who Have Something More to Learn and the Śrāvakas Who Have Nothing More to Learn, and opens Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma.

Day 14 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the prediction for Rāhula, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 9, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Śrāvakas Who Have Something More to Learn and the Śrāvakas Who Have Nothing More to Learn.

Thereupon the World-Honored One saw the two thousand Śrāvakas, of whom some had something more to learn while others had nothing more to learn. They were gentle, quiet and pure. They looked up at the Buddha with all their hearts.

The Buddha said to Ānanda, “Do you see these two thousand Śrāvakas, of whom some have something more to learn while others have nothing more to learn?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Ānanda! These people will make offerings to as many Buddhas, as many Tathāgatas, as the particles of dust of fifty worlds. They will respect those Buddhas, honor them, and protect the store of their teachings. They will finally go to the worlds of the ten quarters and become Buddhas at the same time. They will be equally called Treasure-Form, 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. They will live for a kalpa. They will be the same in regard to the adornments of their worlds, the number of the Śrāvakas and Bodhisattvas of their worlds, the duration of the preservation of their right teachings, and the duration of the preservation of the counterfeit of their right teachings.”

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

I assure the future Buddhahood
Of these two thousand Śrāvakas
Who are now present before me.
They will become Buddhas in their future lives.

They will make offerings to as many Buddhas
As the particles of dust as previously stated.
They will protect the store of the teachings of those Buddhas,
And attain perfect enlightenment.

They will go to the worlds of the ten quarters.
Their [Buddha-]names will be the same.
They will sit at the place of enlightenment
And obtain unsurpassed wisdom at the same time.

Their [Buddha-]names will be Treasure-Form.
[The adornment of] their worlds, [the number of] their disciples,
[The duration of the period of] their right teachings,
[And that of] the counterfeit of them will be the same.

By their supernatural powers, they will save
The living beings of the worlds of the ten quarters.
Their fame will extend far and wide.
They will enter into Nirvana in the course of time.

Thereupon the two thousand Śrāvakas, of whom some had something more to learn while others had nothing more to learn, having heard the Buddha assure them of their future Buddhahood, danced with joy, and sang in a gāthā:

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.

See Buddhahood for All

800years, original

800 Years: The One Requirement

[I]n Nichiren’s thought, enlightenment, or salvation, depends not on multiple factors but on one condition only—faith in the Lotus Sūtra, which is inseparable from the chanting of the daimoku. Anyone who chants the daimoku, man or woman, cleric or lay person, foolish or wise, realizes enlightenment. Correspondingly, there is but one single error or evil that can obstruct this enlightenment: “slander of the Dharma,” or willful disbelief in the sūtra. To discard the Lotus Sūtra, Nichiren writes, “exceeds even the sin of killing one’s parents a thousand or ten thousand times, or of shedding the blood of the Buddhas in the ten directions.” The modality of Nichiren’s doctrine on this point appears at first absolutely either/or: “Disbelief is the cause of the icchantika and of slander of the Dharma, while faith is the cause of wisdom (prajn͂ā) and corresponds to the stage of verbal identity.” So powerful is faith in the Lotus that no worldly evil can ever counteract it and pull the practitioner down into the evil paths. Conversely, slander of the Lotus Sūtra is so great an evil that no accumulation of worldly good deeds can ever offset it or save one who commits it from the Avīci Hell. On a deeper level, however, the dichotomy is dissolved, for even to slander the Lotus Sūtra is to form a connection with it. Thus in Nichiren’s view, even if one’s practice of shakubuku should arouse the enmity of others and cause them to slander the Lotus Sūtra, because it nonetheless allows them to form a “reverse connection” with the sūtra, that is far preferable to their having no connection at all. Once the retribution of their slander is expiated, they will, by virtue of that connection, encounter the sūtra again and attain Buddhahood. (Page 295-296)

Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism


Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Oct. 6, 2022

My disciples are performing
The Bodhisattva practices secretly
Though they show themselves in the form of Śrāvakas.
They are purifying my world.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. The Śrāvakas are those who hear the teachings of the Buddha and put it into practice only for themselves. They are concerned with ending their own suffering and do not believe they have the capacity to reach the Buddha’s enlightenment. But because they can serve as an example to those who are also unsure about receiving this great wisdom, they can be an inspiration to make progress on the path. With the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha declares that all beings have the capacity for enlightenment, and reveals that all of our pursuits are for the sake of benefiting others. It is when we realize this directly and openly that we perform the Bodhisattva practice, the selfless effort of awakening the world.

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 concluded Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples, we return to the top and consider Pūrṇa’s plea to the Buddha.

Thereupon Pūrṇa, the son of Maitrāyanī having heard from the Buddha the Dharma expounded with expedients by the wisdom [of the Buddha] according to the capacities of all living beings, and having heard that [the Buddha] had assured the great disciples of their future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, and also having heard of the previous life of the Buddha, and also having heard of the great, unhindered, supernatural powers of the Buddhas, had the greatest joy that he had ever had, became pure in heart, and felt like dancing [with joy]. He rose from his seat, came to the Buddha, and worshipped him at his feet with his head. Then he retired to one side of the place, looked up at the honorable face with unblenching eyes, and thought:

‘The World-Honored One is extraordinary. What he does is exceptional. He expounds the Dharma with expedients by his insight according to the various natures of all living beings of the world, and saves them from various attachments. The merits of the Buddha are beyond the expression of our words. Only the Buddha, only the World-Honored One, knows the wishes we have deep in our minds.’

The Daily Dharma from April 23, 2022, offers this:

The merits of the Buddha are beyond the expression of our words. Only the Buddha, only the World-Honored One, knows the wishes we have deep in our minds.

In Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sutra, Pūrṇa has these words in mind while looking at the face of the Buddha. The thoughts we have are mostly words, and the words are about the things we want. Words can help us make sense of the world around us, especially the words the Buddha uses to teach us. But words can also confuse us when we mistake our expectations for the reality of the world. When the Buddha calls us to become Bodhisattvas, to realize that our happiness is linked to that of all beings, his words open a part of our mind with which we are not familiar. He asks us to set aside the habits we have learned from this world of conflict and see his world in a new way.

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

800years, stories

800 Years: Living Faith

Faith is not faith if it is only believed, or only felt; it must be lived. One must strive to become a buddha by being a bodhisattva for others, which means nothing more and nothing less than embodying Buddha Dharma by helping others in whatever ways are appropriate and in whatever ways one can.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p309