All posts by John Hughes

LS32

Day 30

Day 30 covers all of Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs

Day 30 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the dhāraṇīs offered by Brave-In-Giving Bodhisattva, we consider the dhāraṇīs offered by Vaiśravaṇa Heavenly-King.

Thereupon Vaiśravaṇa Heavenly-King, the Protector of the World, said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One! I also will utter dhārānis in order to protect this teacher of the Dharma out of my compassion towards all living beings.”

Then he uttered spells, “Ari (1), nari (2), tonari (3), anaro (4), nabi (5), kunabi (6).”

[He said to the Buddha:]

“World-Honored One! I will protect this teacher of the Dharma with these divine spells. I also will protect the person who keeps this sūtra so that he may have no trouble within a hundred yojanas’ distance [from here].”

See ‘No Decline Nor Harm Within an Area of 100 Yojana’

800years, buddhaseed

800 Years: Transferred Naturally By One’s Faith of Namu

comparison chart
As Column B indicates, we merge with the Odaimoku. It is “Namu” or devotion. Then the Odaimoku merges with us. It is Jinen Jōyo, or transferring naturally. It is not awakening to Ichinen Sanzen with one’s own wisdom, but the Buddha’s Ichinen Sanzen is transferred naturally by one’s faith of Namu, devoting oneself to the Buddha’s teaching.

Nichiren Shōnin stated in Kanjin Honzon Shō,

… Śākyamuni Buddha’s merit of practicing the bodhisattva way leading to Buddhahood, as well as that of preaching and saving all living beings since His attainment of Buddhahood are altogether contained in the five words of Myo, Ho, Ren, Ge and Kyo and that consequently, when we uphold the five words, the merits which He accumulated before and after His attainment of Buddhahood are naturally transferred to us.”
(WNS2, p. 146)

He also stated in Kanjin Honzon Shō,

“For those who are incapable of understanding the truth of the ‘3,000 existences contained in one thought,’ Lord Śākyamuni Buddha, with his great compassion, wraps this jewel with the five characters of Myo, Ho, Ren, Ge, and Kyo and hangs it around the neck of the ignorant in the Latter Age of Degeneration.”
(WNS2, p. 164)

Buddha Seed: Understanding the Odaimoku

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – June 8, 2022

My body is pure and indestructible.
I will appear in any of many thousands of billions of worlds
During many hundreds of millions of kalpas,
And expound the Dharma to the living beings.

The Buddha sings these verses to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. We can hear these lines and assume that the body of the Buddha is somehow a permanent version of the man who lived in this world of conflict 2500 years ago. The body of the Buddha takes many forms. We can see it in his teachings: the Wonderful Dharma he left for us. We can see it in every raindrop, every mountain, every smile and snarling face that comes into our lives. We can see it in the capacity we and all beings have to shed our delusions and live peacefully. The Buddha is always leading us to our better selves, whether we realize it or not.

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

LS32

Day 29

Day 29 covers all of Chapter 25, The Universal Gate of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva.

Day 29 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered in gāthās why the son of the Buddha is called World-Voice-Perceiver, we conclude Chapter 25, The Universal Gate of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva.

World-Voice-Perceiver will save
All living beings from misfortunes
And from innumerable sufferings of the world
By the wonderful power of his wisdom.

He has these supernatural powers.
He employs various expedients with his wisdom.
In the ten quarters there is no ksetra
In which he does not appear at all.

Hell, the region of hungry spirits, and the region of animals,
That is the [three) evil regions will be eliminated.
The sufferings of birth, old age, disease and death
Will gradually be eliminated.

He sees the truth of all things and their purity.
He sees all things with his great wisdom.
He sees all things with loving-kindness and compassion.
Think of him constantly! Look up at him constantly!

All darkness is dispelled by the light of his wisdom
As spotless and as pure as the light of the sun.
The light destroys the dangers of wind and fire,
And illumines the whole world brightly.

His precepts out of his loving-kindness brace us up as thunderbolts.
His wishes out of his compassion are as wonderful as large clouds.
He pours the rain of the Dharma as sweet as nectar,
And extinguishes the fire of illusions.

Suppose you are in a law-court for a suit,
Or on a battlefield, and are seized with fear.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
All your enemies will flee away.

His wonderful voice [comes from] his perceiving the voice of the world.
It is like the voice of Brahman, like the sound of a tidal wave.
It excels all the other voices of the world.
Therefore, think of him constantly!

Do not doubt him even at a moment’s thought!
The Pure Saint World-Voice-Perceiver is reliable
When you suffer, and when you are confronted
With the calamity of death.

By all these merits, he sees
All living beings with his compassionate eyes.
The ocean of his accumulated merits is boundless.
Therefore, bow before him!

Thereupon Earth-Holding Bodhisattva rose from his seat, proceeded to the Buddha, and said to him:

“World-Honored One! Those who hear of his supernatural powers by which he opened the universal gate without hindrance, and which are expounded in this chapter of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva, know this, will be able to obtain not a few merits.”

When the Buddha expounded this chapter of the Universal Gate, the eighty-four thousand living beings in the congregation began to aspire for the unparalleled Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

The Daily Dharma from Jan. 8, 2022, offers this:

His wonderful voice [comes from] his perceiving the voice of the world.
It is like the voice of Brahman, like the sound of a tidal wave.
It excels all the other voices of the world.
Therefore, think of him constantly!

The Buddha gives this description of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva (Kannon, Kanzeon, Kuan Yin, Avalokitesvara) to Endless-Intent Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Five of the Lotus Sūtra. This Bodhisattva is the embodiment of compassion. When we allow ourselves to hear and be present for all of the suffering that happens in the world, then we are hearing compassion. When we have the courage not to run away from misery but to face it and live through it, we bring this Bodhisattva to life in our world and inspire compassion in all beings.

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

800years, Lotus Path

800 Years: Through the Power of Upholding the Odaimoku

With confidence that we can overcome all of our obstacles through the power of faith in the Lotus Sutra, through the power of our upholding the Odaimoku, we can purify our world and travel over clear paths lined with golden ropes and jeweled trees. All of these we create through our practice.

Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – June 7, 2022

Arouse your power of faith,
And do good patiently!
You will be able to hear the Dharma
That you have never heard before.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sūtra. These are another emphasis of the superiority of those who put the Buddha’s teachings into practice rather than those who merely hear and understand them. It is only when we are engaged in creating benefit in the world, in helping all beings to become enlightened, that we are able to hear the Buddha’s highest teaching, the teaching of his own enlightenment.

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

LS32

Day 28

Day 28 covers all of Chapter 24, Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva, and concludes the Seventh Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 28 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month concluded Chapter 24, Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva, we return to the top and consider the light given off by Śākyamuni Buddha and meet Wonderful Voice Bodhisattva.

Thereupon Śākyamuni Buddha [faced the east and] emitted rays of light from the fleshy tuft on his head, that is, from one of the marks of a great man, and also from the white curls between his eyebrows. The light illumined one hundred and eight billion nayuta Buddha-worlds, that is, as many worlds in the east as there are sands in the River Ganges. There was a world called [All-] Pure-Light-Adornment [in the east] beyond those worlds. In that world was a Buddha called Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom, 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. He expounded the Dharma to a great multitude of innumerable Bodhisattvas who were surrounding him respectfully. The ray of light, which was emitted from the white curls [between the eyebrows] of Śākyamuni Buddha, also illumined that world.

At that time there was a Bodhisattva called Wonderful-Voice in the All-Pure-Light-Adornment World. He had already planted roots of virtue a long time ago. He had already made offerings to many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas, and attended on them. He had already obtained profound wisdom. He had already obtained hundreds of thousands of billions of great samadhis, that is, as many great samadhis as there are sands in the River Ganges, such as the samadhi as wonderful as the banner of a general, the samadhi for the traveling of the king of the stars, the samadhi for freedom from causality, the samadhi for the seal of wisdom, the samadhi by which one could understand the words of all living beings, the samadhi by which one could collect all merits, the samadhi for purity, the samadhi for exhibiting supernatural powers, the samadhi for the torch of wisdom, the samadhi for the Adornment-King, the samadhi for pure light, the samadhi for pure store, the samadhi for special teachings, and the samadhi for the revolution of the sun.

See The Buddha of All Worlds

800years, WONS

800 Years: Have an Unwavering Faith

There are two ways of meditating on the doctrine of “3,000 existences contained in one thought.” One is the “theoretical” way, and the other is the “actual” way. Grand Masters T’ien-t’ai and Dengyō practiced the former. I, Nichiren, now practice the latter. As my method of practicing meditation is superior, difficulties befalling me are harder to bear. What T’ien-t’ai and Dengyō propagated was based on the doctrine of “3,000 existences contained in one thought” expounded in the theoretical section [of the Lotus Sūtra], while what I, Nichiren, propagate is based on the doctrine of “3,000 existences contained in one thought” in the essential section. The difference between the two is as great as the difference between heaven and earth. Remember this especially at the time of the last moment of life. Have an unwavering faith in the Lotus Sūtra and continue chanting the daimoku, which is the right way of meditation based on the “actual” doctrine of “3,000 existences contained in one thought. ”

Toki Nyūdō-dono Go-henji: Chibyō-shō, A Response to Lay Priest Lord Toki: Treatise on Healing Sickness, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 257

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – June 6, 2022

When they come to him
With good intent
In order to hear
About the enlightenment of the Buddha,
He should expound the Dharma to them
Without fear,
But should not wish to receive
Anything from them.

The Buddha makes this explanation to Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra in which he describes the peaceful practices of a Bodhisattva. In our zeal to practice this Wonderful Dharma we may come to expect that because this is such a wonderful teaching, we deserve to be rewarded for providing it to others. With this expectation, we then lose our focus on using the Dharma to benefit others and instead use it to benefit ourselves. When we show how to give freely, without expectations, we embody generosity, the same generosity the Buddha himself demonstrated when he provided the teaching to us.

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

LS32

Day 27

Day 27 concludes Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Day 27 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the reward promised to the woman who hears and keeps this chapter of the Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

“Anyone who rejoices at hearing this chapter of the Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva and praises [this chapter], saying, ‘Excellent,’ will be able to emit the fragrance of the blue lotus flower from his mouth and the fragrance of the candana of Mt. Ox-Head from his pores, and obtain these merits in his present life.

“Therefore, Star-King-Flower! I will transmit this chapter of the Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva to you. Propagate this chapter throughout the Jambudvipa in the later five hundred years after my extinction lest it should be lost, and lest Mara the Evil One, the followers of Mara, gods, dragons, yakṣas, and kumbha]das should take advantage [of the weak points of the people of the Jambudvipa].

“Star-King-Flower! Protect this sūtra by your supernatural powers! Why is that? It is because this sūtra is a good medicine for the diseases of the people of the Jambudvipa. The patient who hears this sūtra will be cured of his disease at once. He will not grow old or die.

“Star-King-Flower! Strew blue lotus flowers and a bowlful of powdered incense to the person who keep this sūtra when you see him! After strewing these things [to him], you should think, ‘Before long he will collect grass [for his seat], sit at the place of enlightenment, and defeat the army of Mara. He will blow the conch-shell horn of the Dharma, beat the drum of the great Dharma, and save all living beings from the ocean of old age, disease and death.’

“In this way, those who seek the enlightenment of the Buddha should respect the keeper of this sūtra whenever they see him.”

When the Buddha expounded this chapter of the Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva, eighty-four thousand Bodhisattvas obtained the dharanis by which they could understand the words of all living beings. Many-Treasures Tathāgata in the stupa of treasures praised Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva, saying:

“Excellent, excellent, Star-King-Flower! You obtained inconceivable merits. You asked this question to Śākyamuni Buddha, and benefited innumerable living beings.”

The Daily Dharma for May 29, 2022, offers this:

Therefore, Star-King-Flower! I will transmit this Chapter of the Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva to you. Propagate this chapter throughout the Jambudvīpa in the later five hundred years after my extinction lest it should be lost, and lest Māra the Evil One, the followers of Māra, gods, dragons, yakṣas, and kumbhāṇḍas should take advantage [of the weak points of the people of the Jambudvīpa].

The Buddha gives this explanation to Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sūtra. The Jambudvīpa is the name the Buddha gives to this world of conflict and attachment in which we live. Nichiren interprets “the later five hundred years” as the time in which we are living today. The story of Medicine-King Bodhisattva is one of a being who does not spare any part of his life to benefit others. This Bodhisattva is confident that he will become enlightened, and that whatever happens to his physical body, he will always be reborn in worlds where he has the chance to benefit others and lead them by the wisdom of the Buddha. This chapter, and all those towards the end of the Lotus Sūtra, give us examples of how to bring the teachings of the Buddha to life.

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