Buddhism for Today, p449An ethereal voice will again fill the air, intoning thus:
“You must now amend both body and mind! The body, by killing, stealing, and behaving licentiously, and the mind, by conceiving various unwholesome things, produce the ten harmful karmic actions as well as the five grievous acts. Moreover, their monkey-like and glue-like attachments to things everywhere thoroughly permeate all of the six sense faculties. All of the karmic actions of these six faculties – their branches, twigs, flowers, and leaves – extend fully throughout the three realms, the twenty-five states of existence, and all places where beings take birth, and they function to facilitate ignorance, aging, death, and others of the twelve factors that cause suffering. You cannot but be immersed in the eight improper practices and the eight conditions in which it is difficult to see a buddha. You must now amend yourself of unwholesome and harmful karmic acts such as these!”
The five deadly sins are killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, killing an arhat, injuring the body of a buddha, and causing disunity in the community of monks. Those who commit these five sins will fall into the Avici hell. The twenty-five abodes of living beings are the four evil worlds (the hells, animals, hungry spirits, and asuras), the four continents of the world of men, the six heavens of the world of desire, the seven heavens of the world of form, and the four heavens of the formless world. The eight circumstances indicate the eight conditions in which one is unable to see the Buddha or hear the Law. These are hell, animals, hungry spirits, the heaven of long life, remote places, the state of being blind or deaf, secular prejudice, and the period of the Buddha’s absence.
All posts by John Hughes
800 Years: Roots of Faith
Buddhism for Today, p74[In the Simile of the Herbs,] roots, stalks, twigs, and leaves indicate faith, precepts, meditation, and wisdom. Roots are the most important part of plants. Without roots, they cannot grow stalks, twigs, or leaves. Therefore “roots” means faith. One cannot keep the precepts without faith. Because of keeping the precepts, one can enter into the mental state of meditation and can also obtain wisdom.
Conversely, however strong the roots may be, they will eventually die if the twigs and leaves wither or if the stalks are cut. In the same way, if man does not have wisdom, his faith will become corrupt. In short, in believing in a religion, man begins with faith and attains wisdom through the precepts and meditation. However, these four steps of his religious practice are always interrelated and exist together. When any one of the four steps is lacking, his religious practice cannot be perfect, and it will not progress to the next stage. Just as a tree may be big or little, superior, middle, or low, so different people are large- or smallminded, wise or ignorant.
Daily Dharma – Sept. 7, 2022
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
Day 18
Day 18 concludes Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra, and begins Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.
Having last month considered the plight of the eighty billion nayuta Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, we consider the Bodhisattvas vow in gāthās.
Thereupon the Bodhisattvas sang in gāthās with one voice:
Do not worry!
We will expound this sūtra
In the dreadful, evil world
After your extinction.Ignorant people will speak ill of us,
Abuse us, and threaten us
With swords or sticks.
But we will endure all this.Some bhikṣus in the evil world will be cunning.
They will be ready to flatter others.
Thinking that they have obtained what they have not,
Their minds will be filled with arrogance.Some bhikṣus will live in aranyas or retired places,
And wear patched pieces of cloth.
Thinking that they are practicing the true Way,
They will despise others.Being attached to worldly profits,
They will expound the Dharma to men in white robes.
They will be respected by the people of the world
As the Arhats who have the six supernatural powers.They will have evil thoughts.
They will always think of worldly things.
Even when they live in aranyas,
They will take pleasure in saying that we have faults.They will say of us,
“Those bhikṣus are greedy for worldly profits.
Therefore, they are expounding
The teachings of heretics.
They made that sūtra by themselves
In order to deceive the people of the world.
They are expounding that sūtra
Because they wish to make a name for themselves.”In order to speak ill of us, in order to slander us
In the midst of the great multitude,
In order to say that we are evil,
They will say to kings, ministers and brahmanas,
And also to householders and other bhikṣus,
“They have wrong views.
They are expounding
The teachings of heretics.”
But we will endure all this
Because we respect you.They will despise us,
Saying to us [ironically],
“You are Buddhas.”
But we will endure all these despising words.There will be many dreadful things
In the evil world of the kalpa of defilements.
Devils will enter the bodies [of those bhikṣus]
And cause them to abuse and insult us.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.We will not spare even our lives.
We treasure only unsurpassed enlightenment.
We will protect and keep the Dharma in the future
If you transmit it to us.
The Daily Dharma from Aug. 22, 2022, offers this:
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
Joy and Compassion
Buddhism for Today, p448-449“At this time the buddhas will send forth rays of bright light that illuminate the practitioner’s body, causing the practitioner to become spontaneously joyful in body and mind and to bring forth great mercy and compassion pervasively in thoughts of all things. The buddhas will then extensively expound ways of great compassion and benevolence for the practitioner’s benefit. Furthermore, they will teach the practitioner to use kind words and to follow the six ways of harmony and respect. Hearing these teachings and commands, the practitioner’s heart will overflow with joy, and he or she will then fully internalize and master them without laziness or pause.”
Joy and indifference are two of the four infinite virtues. The infinite virtue of joy means enjoying the sight of those who have obtained happiness. That of indifference signifies abandoning attachment to the benefits one gives to others and even to the harm he receives from his enemies. Taken together, the words “joy and indifference” indicate a mental attitude in which one abandons attachment to himself and thinks only of the benefit of others.
The expression “kind words” means affectionate words, one of the four virtues of the bodhisattva. The six ways of harmony and reverence are the six kinds of practices through which believers harmonize with and respect each other in the course of seeking enlightenment.
800 Years: Understood Through Faith
Buddha Seed: Understanding the OdaimokuWith the Odaimoku of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo the Buddha’s virtue of Ichinen Sanzen is transferred to us naturally. It is the Buddha’s way to save living beings in Mappō. Nichiren Shōnin understood this through his faith. It is the virtue of the Odaimoku left by the Buddha for those who are in Mappō. It is the Buddha’s ultimate compassion.
Daily Dharma – Sept. 6, 2022
How did you teach these innumerable Bodhisattvas
In such a short time,
And cause them to aspire for enlightenment
And not falter in seeking enlightenment?
Maitreya Bodhisattva sings these verses to the Buddha in Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sūtra. Despite the Buddha’s explanation that he personally taught all of the Bodhisattvas who appear in Chapter Fifteen, Maitreya and others are still confused by what the Buddha has told them. Since they have faith that whatever the Buddha teaches is for their benefit, they persist with their sincere questioning, assured that the Buddha is leading them to enlightenment. While faith is an important part of our practice, recognizing our own confusion, and using questions to resolve that confusion are equally important. The Buddha does not ask for blind obedience. He knows we cannot find peace until we bring our whole being to his practice.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 17
Day 17 covers all of Chapter 12, Devadatta, and opens Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra.
Having last month considered the promise of the Arhats and Śrāvakas to preach in other lands, we consider the request of Maha-Prajapati Bhikṣunī.
There were Maha-Prajapati Bhikṣunī, the sister of the mother of the Buddha, and six thousand bhikṣunīs, some of whom had something more to learn while others had nothing more to learn. They rose from their seats, joined their hands together with all their hearts, and looked up at the honorable face with unblenching eyes.
Thereupon the World-Honored One said to Gautamī:
“Why do you look at me so anxiously? You do not think that I assured you of your future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi because I did not mention you by name, do you? Gautamī! I have already said that I assured all the Śrāvakas of their future attainment [of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi]. Now you wish to know my assurance of your future attainment [of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi]. You will become a great teacher of the Dharma under six billion and eight hundred thousand million Buddhas in the future. The six thousand bhikṣunīs, some of whom have something more to learn while others have nothing more to learn, also will become teachers of the Dharma. [By becoming a great teacher of the Dharma,] you will complete the Way of Bodhisattvas in the course of time, and become a Buddha called Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings, 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. Gautamī! That Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Buddha will assure the six thousand [bhikṣunīs, that is,] Bodhisattvas of their future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi one after another.”
The Daily Dharma from Dec. 11, 2021, offers this:
Why do you look at me so anxiously? You do not think that I assured you of your future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi because I did not mention you by name, do you? Gautamī! I have already said that I assured all the Śrāvakas of their future attainment [of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi]. Now you wish to know my assurance of your future attainment [of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi].
The Buddha has this discussion with his aunt, Mahā-Prajāpatī, also called Gautamī, in Chapter Thirteen of the Lotus Sutra. She raised the young Siddhartha after his mother Queen Māyā died when he was only six weeks old. Gautamī was also the first woman to be ordained into the Sangha. Since women then were thought by some to be not as capable as men, the Buddha specifically assures Gautamī, and thus all women, of the certainty of her enlightenment.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Our Merciful Fathers
Buddhism for Today, p447“You must now face the buddhas of the ten directions and praise and give voice to the Great Vehicle! Before the buddhas, relate your faults yourself! The buddha tathāgatas are your compassionate fathers.
The words “the buddhas, the tathāgatas, are your merciful fathers” are very important. Because the follower has repeatedly practiced repentance to the point of being extremely severe with himself, some people, taking a superficial view of such repentance, may feel oppressed. Other people may regard the repenting follower as a pitiable person who trembles with fear and prostrates himself before a ruler sternly scrutinizing his sins, confesses them, and begs the ruler’s pardon. However, such an idea is greatly mistaken. The buddhas are our merciful fathers, who think only of the salvation of all living beings. Therefore the buddhas praise us because through our repentance we remove defilements from our mind little by little. We do not practice repentance because we fear the buddhas but rather with the hope of being extolled by the buddhas, for whom we cherish a longing desire and a thirsting heart. The expression “the buddhas, the tathāgatas, are your merciful fathers” has this profound significance.
The Sutra Taught Before the Lotus Sutra
This is another in a series of weekly blog posts comparing and contrasting the Sanskrit and Chinese Lotus Sutra translations.
At the start of the Lotus Sutra after everyone in the audience has been introduced, the Buddha expounds a sutra and then enters into a samādhi. The name of that sutra and that samādhi are different depending on whether you are translating from Kumārajīva’s Chinese or the 11th century Nepalese Sanskrit.
When I was preparing to write about this I was surprised to discover Senchu Murano translates Kumārajīva’s title of the sutra differently than almost of the other English-language translations that I possess.
Murano states:
Thereupon the four kinds of devotees, who were surrounding the World-Honored One, made offerings to him, respected him, honored him, and praised him. The World-Honored One expounded a sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the “Innumerable Teachings, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.” Having expounded this sūtra, the Buddha sat cross-legged [facing the east], and entered into the samadhi for the purport of the innumerable teachings. His body and mind became motionless.
The 1975 Rissho Kosei-Kai translation names the sutra “Innumerable Meanings” and “the contemplation termed the station of innumerable meanings.”
The 2019 Rissho Kosei-Kai translation names the sutra “Innumerable Meanings” and “the Samadhi of the Domain of Innumerable Meanings.”
Gene Reeves’ translation names the sutra “Innumerable Meanings” and the “state of concentration called the place of innumerable meanings.”
Burton Watson’s translation names this sutra “Immeasurable Meanings” and the “samadhi of the place of immeasurable meanings.”
The BDK English Tripiṭaka translation names the sutra “Immeasurable Meanings” and “the samadhi called the abode of immeasurable meanings’.”
Having read the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings more than 30 times as part of my 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra practice, I’m surprised that Murano could have titled the sutra Innumerable Teachings. Clearly the lesson of the sutra is the infinite meanings the listeners of the one teaching create. But then Murano is translating Kumārajīva’s Chinese words, not the actual sutra that the Buddha is said to have taught.
Leon Hurvitz, whose translation is considered the gold standard, agrees with Murano:
At that time, the World-Honored One, surrounded by the fourfold multitude, showered with offerings, deferentially treated and revered, for the bodhisattvas’ sake preached a scripture of the great vehicle named the Immeasurable Doctrine (Ananta-nirdeséa), a dharma to be taught to bodhisattvas, a dharma which the buddha keeps ever in mind. When he had preached this scripture, cross-legged he entered into the samādhi [state of concentration] of the Abode of the Immeasurable Doctrine (Anantanirdeśapratiṣṭhänasamādhi), where his body and mind were motionless.
Getting back to Kern’s translation of the 11th century Sanskrit Lotus Sutra, he offers:
Now at that time it was that the Lord surrounded, attended, honored, revered, venerated, worshipped by the four classes of hearers, after expounding the Dharmaparyāya called ‘the Great Exposition,’ a text of great development, serving to instruct Bodhisattvas and proper to all Buddhas, sat cross-legged on the seat of the law and entered upon the meditation termed ‘the station of the exposition of Infinity;’ his body was motionless and his mind had reached perfect tranquility.
The Translators’ Introduction to “The Infinite Meanings Sutra” from the BDK English Tripiṭaka offers this explanation of the difference between Kumārajīva’s translation and the extant Sanskrit texts:
The Infinite Meanings Sutra may be regarded as an introduction to the Lotus Sutra (Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra). In light of this, it is noteworthy that in English versions of the Lotus Sutra based on Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation (Taishō no. 260), in the beginning of the introductory chapter one can find a passage similar to the following:
[The Buddha] then taught the bodhisattvas the Mahayana sutra called Immeasurable Meanings. After having taught this sutra, the Buddha .… entered the samādhi called the “abode of immeasurable meanings.”
Extant Sanskrit manuscripts of the Lotus Sutra, however, give mahā-nirdeśa, “great exposition,” as the name of the sutra, and ābhujyūnanta-nirdeśa-pratiṣṭhāna, “foundation of infinite exposition,” as the name of the samādhi. Since ananta-nirdeśa, “infinite exposition,” is not found in reference to the name of the sutra that was taught, this gives rise to the speculation that if Kumārajīva translated from manuscripts similar to those that now remain, he must have used the same Chinese translation, wu liang yi, “infinite (immeasurable/innumerable) meanings,” in both instances.
While the Lotus Sutra is never mentioned by name in this text, the Infinite Meanings Sutra, like the Lotus, is a strong proponent of the concept of bodhisattva practice. In his discourse in the sutra, the Buddha emphasizes that leading others to the Way is a prime factor in attaining ultimate enlightenment, and that the teaching of the sutra itself is infinite in its meanings because it relates to the unlimited desires of living beings.