Introduction to the Lotus SutraToward the end of [Chapter 2], the Buddha expounds a well-known teaching called, “A small good deed leads a person to become a Buddha.” This teaching states that whenever someone shows sincere faith in the Buddha by performing a good deed, no matter how tiny it may be, this act sets him on the path to Buddhahood, and he or she is sure to become a Buddha eventually. Even though such a person is not yet a Buddha, he or she is on the way, and deserves respect as a future Buddha.
For example, even a person who has never performed any special practice can become a Buddha simply by making an offering, such as incense, flowers, or the wonderful sounds of music, in front of a Stupa (a round dome-shaped shrine) or an image of the Buddha. The sutra repeatedly maintains that such people “have already attained the enlightenment of the Buddha.” Furthermore, just entering a shrine only once and reciting, “Namo Buddhaya” (Homage to the Buddha!), or offering a single flower, is enough to enable anyone to become a Buddha. What is more, even a child at play, who pretends to build a Stupa by heaping up a pile of sand or dirt, “has already become a Buddha.” In the same way, if a child draws a picture of the Buddha on a wall with a stick or the back of his fingernail, and makes a gesture of praying to it, he or she has already become a Buddha (or, as the sutra says again, “has already attained the enlightenment of the Buddha”), (The Buddha is pure good: any act of good on our part, no matter how small or insignificant it may appear to be, puts us in his embrace from which nothing can ever separate us.)
The sutra presents various instances, one by one in order, to show that any small act of good will on our part enables us to become a Buddha. From these concrete examples, we can see that the One Vehicle is the teaching of the Buddha himself—boundless in bounty, pouring forth perfect life in limitless supply, lending a hand to everyone, and leading all of us to his own enlightenment. Finally, the sutra adds, “Anyone who even hears the Dharma (law/truth) will not fail to become a Buddha!”
All posts by John Hughes
Daily Dharma – April 7, 2022
The Nirvāṇa we attained was
Only part of the immeasurable treasures of yours.
We were like a foolish man with no wisdom.
We satisfied ourselves with what little we had attained.
Five hundred of the Buddha’s monks give this explanation in Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. They had spent all of their time with the Buddha working to rid themselves of suffering. While this is a remarkable achievement, it does not compare to the true purpose of the Buddha’s teaching. When these monks heard the Buddha teach the Lotus Sutra, and understood that their true purpose was to benefit others, they realized that their earlier practice was preparation. By remaining preoccupied with suffering, they had lost sight of the treasure of enlightenment.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 1
Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory
Having last month considered the practices of those seeking the enlightenment of the Buddha, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 1, Introductory.
Mañjuśrī!
Some Bodhisattvas make offerings
To the śarīras of a Buddha
After his extinction.I also see some sons of the Buddha
Adorning the world of the Buddha
With as many stupa-mausoleums
As there are sands in the River Ganges.Those stupas of treasures are
Lofty and wonderful.
They are five thousand yojanas high,
And two thousand yojanas wide and deep.Each of the stupa-mausoleums has
One thousand pairs of banners and streamers.
It also has curtains adorned with gems.
It also has jeweled bells ringing.Gods, dragons, men, and nonhuman beings
Constantly offer incense, flowers, and music
[To the stupa-mausoleums].Mañjuśrī!
Those sons of the Buddha
Adorn the stupa-mausoleums
And offer the adornments
To the śarīras [of the Buddha].The worlds [of the Buddha] naturally become
As wonderful and as beautiful
As the [flowers] of the kingly tree
In full bloom on the top of Mt. Sumeru.
The multitude of this congregation and I
Can see the various wonderful things
Of those worlds
By the ray of light of the Buddha [of this world].The supernatural powers of the Buddha
And his wisdom are rare.
He is illumining innumerable worlds
By emitting a pure ray of light.
We were astonished
At seeing [those worlds].Mañjuśrī, Son of the Buddha!
Remove our doubts!
The four kinds of devotees
Are looking up with joy at you and me,
Wishing to know why this ray of light is emitted
By the World-Honored One.Son of the Buddha, answer me!
Remove our doubts and cause us to rejoice!
For what purpose is the Buddha
Emitting this ray of light?Does he wish to expound the Wonderful Dharma
Which he attained when he was sitting
At the place of enlightenment?
Does he wish to assure us of our future Buddhahood?He shows us the worlds of the Buddhas
Adorned with many treasures.
We can see the Buddhas of those worlds.
This cannot be for some insignificant reason.Mañjuśrī, know this!
The four kinds of devotees and the dragons
Are looking at you, thinking:
“What is he going to say?”
800 Years: The Ordinary Day-to-Day Practice
Lecture on the Lotus SutraIt is the ordinary day-to-day practice that each of us performs that is actually the great secret practice of Rahula. It isn’t fame or acquiring a big name that is required to attain enlightenment. It isn’t being famous that will lead others to practice the Lotus Sutra. It is our practice of the Lotus Sutra in our everyday lives that will enable countless others just like us to ultimately take faith in the Lotus Sutra. We should not be discouraged, instead we can look at Rahula who will become Walking-On-Flowers-Of-Seven-Treasures Buddha and we too can walk on the flowers of the seven treasures of Myoho-Renge-Kyo.
Daily Dharma – April 6, 2022
Ajita, look! The merits of the person who causes even a single man to go and hear the Dharma are so many. It is needless to speak of the merits of the person who hears [this sūtra] with all his heart, reads it, recites it, expounds it to the great multitude, and acts according to its teachings.
The Buddha gives this explanation to Maitreya, whom he calls Ajita (Invincible) in Chapter Eighteen of the Lotus Sutra. While earlier parts of the Sūtra describe the possible reactions those who teach the Buddha Dharma may find, the Buddha here reminds us that we do not need to wait until we are strong enough, wise enough, or even practiced enough to use it to benefit others. This sūtra contains the Buddha’s enlightenment itself. When we hear it, we hear the Buddha. When we expound it, it is the Buddha speaking through us.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Another Innumerable Day Before Day 1
Having last month considered the attributes of the Buddha, we consider the Buddha’s manifestation in this saha world.
Your manifestation is nearly sixteen feet tall, aglow in purple-gold, Well proportioned, greatly radiant, and lustrous.
The tuft between your eyebrows curves like the crescent moon; the nape of your neck glows like the sun.
Your hair is dark blue and curly; there is a wen on the top of your head.
Pure eyes shine brightly as they blink up and down.
Eyebrows and eyelashes are deep blue and long; mouth and cheeks have fine definition:
Your lips and tongue are beautifully red, like vermilion fruits; White teeth, forty in number, are like snowy agates.
Your forehead is wide, your nose is full, and you have a welcoming face.
Your chest is like that of a lion, and it is marked with a svastika, the sign of virtue.
Hands and feet are flexible and have the mark of one thousand spokes.
Your armpits and palms are rounded; nothing escapes your grasp.
Your arms are long from shoulder to elbow to wrist; fingers are slender and straight.
Your skin is soft and delicate, and the hair on it curls to the right. Ankles and knees are not prominent; genitals, in equine manner,
are concealed.
You have slender muscles and ligaments, and your calves are
curved like a deer’s.10
Unblemished purity reflects on the outside and pervades within: You are pure water, never muddied or stained.
There are thirty-two aspects like these,
And eighty special features can similarly be seen.
But, in truth, you are without a form that has or does not have aspects.
All aspects of all things are beyond the scope of the eye.
The characteristic of your aspect-embodiment is that of having
no aspects;
The characteristic of the aspect-bodies of all living beings is the same.
You are able to inspire living beings to joyfully pay homage,
To deeply, sincerely, and devotedly show respect,
And, by such cause, to cast off arrogance and pride of self
And achieve a consummate embodiment such as this.
We, the assembled eighty thousand,
Collectively bow in homage to, and together take refuge in,
The Great Sage who is without attachment, the tamer of elephants and horses
Who has superseded emotion, conception, mind, volition, and discrimination;
We bow to and confide in the Dharma embodied—The synthesis of perfection in behavioral principles, concentration, discernment, emancipation, and perspective that pertains to emancipation;
And we bow to and take refuge in the wonderfully symbolic robe.
We bow to, and take refuge in, that which is hard to give form to in thought or in word!
This being the week of Hanamatsuri, see this post about the svastika, the sign of virtue, on the chest the Buddha.
800 Years: Opening Ourselves to the Buddha’s Merits and Virtues
Lotus SeedsThe awakened life of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha is the awakened life of all beings throughout time and space. It is also actively present in our lives, a presence that enables us to live as buddhas when we open ourselves to the Buddha’s merits and virtues through our faith in the Lotus Sutra.
Daily Dharma – April 5, 2022
He satisfied himself with what little he earned.
He did not wish to get anything more.
He did not notice the priceless gem
Fastened inside his garment.
These verses are part of a story told by Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya and other disciples in Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. It is about a man whose friend gives him a jewel while he is asleep. Not realizing he has this treasure, the man returns to his ordinary life, desperate to make a living and satisfy his ordinary desires. The story shows how we live when we forget about the jewel of Buddha nature we carry with us.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Between Day 1 and Day 32: Learning the Practice of Universal Sage
Having last month concluded The Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva, we begin again with Ānanda’s question of the Buddha.
Thus have I heard:
On one occasion the Buddha was at the double-storied assembly hall of the Great Forest Monastery in the land of Vaiśālī. He announced to all the monks: “My state shall be that of parinirvāṇa after the passage of three months’ time.”
Thereupon the esteemed Ānanda rose from where he sat, straightened his clothing, and folded his hands. Then, in homage, he placed his hands together palm-to-palm and walked around the Buddha three times. He then knelt formally on one knee, placed his palms together, and fixed his eyes intently and steadfastly upon the Tathāgata. The venerable Mahākāśyapa and the great-being (mahāsattva) bodhisattva Maitreya also rose from where they sat, brought the palms of their hands together in homage, and gazed up at the honored face. These three men of great distinction then addressed the Buddha in one voice, saying:
“World-honored One! After you have passed away, O Tathāgata, how do living beings produce the bodhisattva mind, practice in accordance with the comprehensive sutras of the Great Vehicle (Mahayana), and, with right mindfulness, bring their thoughts into the realm of one reality? How do they avoid losing sight of the aspiration for ultimate enlightenment (bodhicitta)? Moreover, without cutting off worldly passions and without abandoning the five desires, how do they achieve purity of the sense faculties and eliminate accumulated impurities? Without giving up the five desires, how can they still become capable of seeing events and things free from encumbrance with the pure natural eyes received from their parents at birth?”
The Buddha addressed Ānanda:
“Hear me clearly! Hear me clearly, and consider this well! In the past, on Mount Vulture Peak and at other places, the Tathāgata has already expounded the one genuine path from many perspectives. And now, at this place, for the benefit of all living beings in the future who wish to follow the Supreme Way that is the Great Vehicle—and who wish to learn and follow the practice of Universal Sage, I will now expound the method for that, which I have kept in mind. Impurities, in any number, should be eliminated whether one perceives Universal Sage or not. This I will now explain to you, accordingly, in great detail.”
See Teaching How To Apply the Lotus Sutra in Our Daily Lives
800 Years: The Merit of the Reverse Relationship
Those who had neither a chance to hear the Lotus teaching in the past nor the intention of putting faith in the Lotus Sūtra in this life will fall into evil realms anyway. Therefore, they should be forced to hear the Lotus Sūtra, causing them to slander the sūtra, which eventually enables them to attain Buddhahood in the future through the merit of reverse relationship.
Shō Hokke Daimoku-shō, Treastise on Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 22