All posts by John Hughes

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Nov. 13, 2021

If after my extinction anyone rejoices, even on a moment’s thought, at hearing even a gāthā or a phrase of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, I also will assure him of his future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

The Buddha declares these lines to Medicine-King Bodhisattva at the beginning of Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. Other teachings had described beings becoming enlightened after making exorbitant offerings or strenuous practices over many lifetimes. In the teaching of the Wonderful Dharma, a single moment of joy at hearing the Dharma is enough to assure us that we will become enlightened.

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

LS32

Day 26

Day 26 concludes Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, includes Chapter 22, Transmission, and introduces Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Day 26 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month concluded Chapter 22, Transmission, we open Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva and consider Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva’s question.

Thereupon Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! Why does Medicine-King Bodhisattva walk about this Sahā-World? World-Honored One! This Medicine-King Bodhisattva will have to practice hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas of austerities in this world. World-Honored One! Tell me why! Not only the gods, dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men and nonhuman beings but also the Bodhisattvas who have come from the other worlds’ and the Śrāvakas present here will be glad to hear the reason.”

The Daily Dharma from June 8, 2021, offers this:

Thereupon Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva said to the Buddha: “World-Honored One! Why does Medicine-King Bodhisattva walk about this Sahā-World? World-Honored One! This Medicine-King Bodhisattva will have to practice hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas of austerities in this world.

This excerpt is from Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sutra. Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva is aware of the difficulties that Medicine-King or any other Bodhisattva will encounter while living in this world of conflict (Sahā) and asks the Buddha why this Bodhisattva would give up the pleasures of the higher realms to which he is entitled. The Buddha then tells the story of Medicine-King’s previous life, in which he gave up many attachments, including the attachment to his own body. These stories of Bodhisattvas are reminders of our own capacities, and that no matter what difficulties we face in our lives, our determination to benefit all beings, our certainty of enlightenment, and the help we receive from other beings will lead us to overcome any problems.

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

history

The Creation of the Lotus Sūtra

There is a belief that the Lotus Sūtra was taught over eight years at the end of the life of Śākyamuni Buddha. From the standpoint of the believer, this position is fine. However, from an academic standpoint, we cannot assert such a thing. A Buddhist historian would assert that there is no evidence that the historical Śākyamuni Buddha taught the Lotus Sūtra. In other words, the Lotus Sūtra is not a direct record of the historical Śākyamuni Buddha’s teaching. In that case, when, where and by whom was the Lotus Sūtra produced?

[W]e can present the standard answer that the Lotus Sūtra was one of the Early Mahāyāna sūtras, created in India around 100-200 CE. Was it created in a relatively short period of time, or was it gradually compiled and revised over a longer period of time? Who or what group compiled the Lotus Sūtra into one work? Regarding such issues, many academic theories have been presented, and opinions are certainly not in accord. But as this issue is beside the point of this chapter, we will skip over the many theories.

Nevertheless we would like to pose a rather mean question. What if the Lotus Sūtra was not directly taught by the historical Śākyamuni Buddha, but was created in the form of Śākyamuni Buddha’s direct teachings? In other words, the Lotus Sūtra is written in the form of lectures by Buddha, but from an academic standpoint, we cannot easily accept the contents as the words of the Buddha. In this case, if we are asked, “Should we only consider sūtras that we can affirm were taught by the historical Śākyamuni Buddha as legitimate Buddhist sūtras?” What shall we answer? It is a difficult question to answer in a nutshell. But it is a question related to the root of faith.

History and Teachings of Nichiren Buddhism, p 61-62
d19b, WONS

Manifestations of Śākyamuni Buddha

Now, the Great Bodhisattva Hachiman’s original substance, Śākyamuni Buddha, expounded the sole, true Lotus Sūtra in India. As He manifested Himself in Japan, He summarized the sūtra in two Chinese characters for honesty and vowed to live in the head of a wise man. If so, even if Hachiman burned his palace and ascended to heaven, whenever he finds a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra in Japan, he will not fail to come down to reside where this practicer is and protect him.

Therefore, it is preached in the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 5, chapter 14 on the “Peaceful Practices”: “Various gods always protect the practicer for the sake of the dharma day and night.” This means that the great King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, the sun and moon, the Four Heavenly Kings and others will never fail to protect those who say “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.”

This sūtra also preaches in the sixth fascicle, chapter 16 on “The Life Span of the Buddha”: “Sometimes I speak of Myself, sometimes of others; sometimes I show Myself, sometimes others; and sometimes I show My deeds, sometimes those of others.” Even Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara manifests himself in 33 traces, and Wonderful Voice Bodhisattva in 34 traces. How can Lord Śākyamuni Buddha not appear as the Great Bodhisattva Hachiman? Grand Master T’ien-t’ai declares in his Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra, “The Buddha manifests Himself variously in the ten realms of living beings.”

Kangyō Hachiman-shō, Remonstration with Bodhisattva Hachiman, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 279

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Nov. 12, 2021

Anyone who does not keep our spells
But troubles the expounder of the Dharma
Shall have his head split into seven pieces
Just as the branches of the arjaka-tree [are split].

The ten rakṣasī demons and Mother-of-Devils sing these verses in Chapter Twenty-Six of the Lotus Sūtra. They are among the many gods and other supernatural beings who vow to protect all those who keep and practice the Buddha Dharma. These verses help us to understand the nature of those who create harm in the world and to develop a heart of compassion towards them. The nature of delusion is that it sets up a world separate from the world we all share. It puts a barrier between us and the world out of fear that this world will harm us. The Buddha’s teachings show us how to develop the courage to live in harmony with this world, rather than splitting ourselves from it, and splitting ourselves in it.

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

LS32

Day 25

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Day 25 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered a Buddha called Powerful-Voice-King, we meet a bodhisattva called Never Despising.

“There lived arrogant bhikṣus in the age of the counterfeit of the right teachings of the first Powerful-Voice-King Tathāgata, that is, after the end of the age of his right teachings which had come immediately after his extinction. [Those arrogant bhikṣus] were powerful. At that time there lived a Bodhisattva called Never-Despising. He took the form of a bhikṣu.

“Great-Power-Obtainer! Why was this bhikṣu called Never-Despising? It was because, every time he saw bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās or upāsikās, he bowed to them and praised them, saying, ‘I respect you deeply. I do not despise you. Why is that? It is because you will be able to practice the Way of Bodhisattvas and become Buddhas.’

“He did not read or recite sūtras. He only bowed to the four kinds of devotees. When he saw them in the distance, he went to them on purpose, bowed to them, and praised them, saying, ‘I do not despise you because you can become Buddhas.’

The Daily Dharma from April 7, 2020, offers this:

Why was this bhikṣu called Never-Despising? It was because, every time he saw bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇis, upāsakas or upāsikās, he bowed to them and praised them, saying, ‘I respect you deeply. I do not despise you. Why is that? It is because you will be able to practice the Way of Bodhisattvas and become Buddhas.’

The Buddha gives this description of Never-Despising Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty of the Lotus Sūtra. The only practice of this Bodhisattva was to show his respect to all people, whether or not they respected him. This practice was so important, the Buddha used it as an example of what he practiced in a previous life to enable him to become enlightened.

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

history

Problems Addressed by the Lotus Sūtra

The first issue addressed by the Lotus Sūtra can be summarized as follows:

Should śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas remain unable to attain buddhahood? Is it permissible to cut them off as a group with low aspirations? Isn’t that against the concept that Mahāyāna Buddhists should aspire for the attainment of buddhahood not only for themselves, but also for a wide range of others?

The Lotus Sūtra responds to this issue by teaching the “opening the three vehicles to reveal the One Vehicle” idea in Chapter 2, “Expedients,” and the “obtainment of buddhahood by the people of the two vehicles” based upon this idea. …

Here is the second issue addressed by the Lotus Sūtra:

In Mahāyāna Buddhism various buddhas appear. These include Śākyamuni Buddha, Bhaiśājyaguru or Medicine Master Buddha, and Amitābha or the Buddha of Infinite Light. This means many Buddhas exist. In the text of the Lotus Sūtra, many buddhas appear who existed in the past, exist now, and will exist in every direction. What is the relationship between these buddhas?

The Lotus Sūtra responds with the teaching of “opening the near to reveal the far” in Chapter 16, “The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata.” In this chapter, Śākyamuni Buddha explains that in a far distant time in the past, he achieved buddhahood. Since then and into the eternal future he continues to work towards the salvation of others as the so-called Eternal Buddha. He also states that the buddhas who existed in the past, exist now, and will exist in every direction are all parts of the Eternal Buddha. In other words, the Eternal Śākyamuni Buddha is fixed as the basic unifying Buddha for all the buddhas who existed in the past, exist now, and will exist in every direction.

History and Teachings of Nichiren Buddhism, p 59-61
d1b, WONS

All Teachings of the Buddha Stem from the Daimoku

Grand Master T’ien-t’ai, who is said to have directly heard the Buddha preach on Mt. Sacred Eagle, says in the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “The word ‘thus’ is used to show the essence of the dharma they heard from the Buddha.” Grand Master Chang-an, listened to what Grand Master T’ien-t’ai preached on the Lotus Sūtra and recorded it as the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra. He states in it, “The first preface written by Grand Master T’ien-t’ai expresses the profound mind of the Lotus Sūtra and this profound mind is nothing but the profound spirit of this sūtra.” What is referred to as the spirit of this sūtra means that the title (daimoku) is the spirit of this one. Grand Master Miao-lê says in his Commentary on the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra, “All the teachings of the Buddha stemmed from the title (daimoku) which is the spirit of letters in the Lotus Sūtra.”

Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 52.

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Nov. 11, 2021

All this time I have been living in this Sahā-World, and teaching [the living beings of this world] by expounding the Dharma to them. I also have been leading and benefiting the living beings of one hundred thousand billion nayuta asaṃkhya worlds outside this world.

The Buddha gives this explanation to all those gathered to hear him in Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In the parable of the physician and his children, the Buddha explains how if he were to reveal himself explicitly to those still focused on their own suffering, they would take him for granted and not believe the Wonderful Dharma he provides for him. It is by learning to recognize the Buddha living with us here today, who is helping us all awaken from our delusions, and taking on his work of benefiting all beings, that we lose our suffering and attachment, and realize the potential for enlightenment that is at the core of our true being.

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

LS32

Day 24

Day 24 concludes Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma, and closes the Sixth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 24 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month concluded today’s portion of Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma, we return to the top and consider the eight hundred merits of the nose.

“Furthermore, Constant-Endeavor! The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this sūtra, will be able to obtain eight hundred merits of the nose. With their pure noses, they will be able to recognize all the various things above, below, within and without the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds.
“Those who keep this sūtra will be able to recognize, without moving about, the scents of the sumanas-flowers, jātika-flowers, mallikā-flowers, campaka-flowers, pāṭala-flowers, red lotus flowers, blue lotus flowers, white lotus flowers, flower-trees and fruit-trees. They also will be able to recognize the scents of candana, aloes, tamālapattra and tagara, and the scents of tens of millions of kinds of mixed incense which are either powdered or made in lumps or made applicable to the skin. They also will be able to recognize the living beings including elephants, horses, cows, sheep, men, women, boys and girls by smell. They also will be able to recognize without fallacy grasses, trees, thickets and forests by smell, be the nearby or at a distance.

“Those who keep this sūtra also will be able to recognize the gods [and things] in heaven by smell while they are staying [in the world of men]. They will be able to recognize the scents of the pārijātaka-trees, kovidāra-trees, mandārava-flowers, mahā-mandārava-flowers, mañjūṣaka-flowers, mahā-mañjūṣaka-flowers [in heaven]; the powdered incense of candana and aloes, the scents of other flowers, and the mixture of these scents in heaven without fail. They will be able to recognize the gods by smell. They will be able to recognize from afar the scent that Śakra-Devānām-Indra gives forth when he satisfies his five desires and enjoys himself in his excellent palace, or when he expounds the Dharma to the Trāyastriṃs̒a Gods at the wonderful hall of the Dharma, or when he plays in the gardens. They also will be able to recognize by smell from afar the gods and goddesses of the other heavens, including the Heaven of Brahman and the Highest Heaven. They also will be able to recognize the incense burned by the gods in those heavens. They also will be able to locate the Śrāvakas, Pratyekabuddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas by smelling their bodies from afar. Even when they recognize all this by smell, their organ of smell will not be destroyed or put out of order. If they wish, they will be able to tell others of the differences [of those scents] because they remember them without fallacy.”

See The Merit of This Teaching