All posts by John Hughes

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

history

Working for the benefit of others

Mahāyāna Buddhists criticized Nikāya Buddhism as follows: The two groups, śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, comprise a so-called Hinayāna or lesser vehicle. Their purpose is solely for their own benefit, not the benefit of others; the salvation that they seek is only theirs. On the other hand, bodhisattvas comprise the so-called Mahāyāna or greater vehicle. This is because their aim is to lead others to salvation through their practice of Buddhism, with the benefit of others as their top priority. From the position of the Mahāyāna, śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas can never become buddhas. This is because they avoid practices for the benefit of others which are necessary to become a buddha. Only the bodhisattvas, who work for the benefit of others, have the capacity to become buddhas.

History and Teachings of Nichiren Buddhism, p 59
WONS

As Rare as a Tiger Without a Leash in a Market Place

Regarding the observance of Buddhist precepts, we must consider the differences between the Age of the True Dharma, the Age of the Semblance Dharma and the Latter Age of Degeneration as well as between the persuasive and aggressive means of propagation. Grand Master Dengyō states in his Treatise on the Light for the Latter Age of Degeneration that one who keeps the precepts in the Latter Age of Degeneration is as rare as a tiger without a leash in a market place. We should take all these into account in practicing meditation while observing Buddhist precepts.

Toki Nyūdō-dono Go-henji: Hongon Shukkai-shō, A response to Lay riest Lord Toki: Treatise on Overcoming Illusions of the Triple World by Provisional Teachins, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 279

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Nov. 10, 2021

Having heard from you
Of the duration of your life,
Living beings as many as the particles of earth
Of eight Sumeru-worlds
Aspired for unsurpassed [enlightenment].

The Bodhisattva Maitreya sings these verses in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sutra. He describes the effect on all beings of the Buddha’s revealing his existence as the Ever-Present Śākyamuni. If we believed that the Buddha was just a man who lived 2500 years ago, we might think that we had to wait until another being became enlightened before we could follow them on the path to our own awakening. But with this understanding that the Buddha is always helping us, here and now, then we awaken our capacity to see things as they are and work confidently for the benefit of all beings.

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

LS32

Day 23

Day 23 covers all of Chapter 18, The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra, and opens Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma.

Day 23 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered the merits of the 50th person who rejoices at hearing the Lotus Sutra, we consider other merits to be received by encouraging others to hear this sutra.

“Furthermore, Ajita! Anyone who goes to a monastery in order to hear this sūtra and hears it even for a moment while he is sitting or standing, in his next life will be able to go up to the palace of heaven, riding in a beautiful and wonderful elephant-cart or horse-cart or in a palanquin of wonderful treasure by his merits. Anyone who, while sitting in the place of the expounding of the Dharma, persuades another per on to it down or shares his seat with him to hear [the Dharma] when he sees him coming to the place, in his next life by his merits, will be able to obtain the seal of King Sakra, of the Brahman Heavenly-King or of a wheel-turning-holy-king.

“Ajita! Anyone who[, while he is staying outside the place of the expounding of the Dharma,] says to another person, ‘Let us go and hear the sūtra called the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma which is being expounded [in that place],’ and cause him to hear it even for a moment, in his next life by his merit , will be able to live with the Bodhisattvas who obtain dharanis. He will be clever and wise. He will not be dumb throughout thousands of millions of his future existences. His breath will not be foul. He will have no disease of the tongue or the mouth. His teeth will not be defiled, black, yell w, few, fallen out, uneven or crooked. His lips will not be pendulous, shrunk, chapped, cracked, broken, distorted, thick, large, yellow-black or loathsome. His nose will not be flat or awry. His face will not be black, long, distorted or displeasing. His lips, tongue and teeth will be well-shaped; his nose, long, high and straight. His face will be full; his eyebrows, thick and long; and his forehead, broad and even. In a word, he will have all the good features of a man. He will be able to see the Buddhas, hear the Dharma from them, and receive their teachings by faith throughout his future existences.

“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 Daily Dharma from Oct. 5, 2021, offers this:

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

history

The Mahāyāna Bodhisattva

In Nikāya Buddhism, the bodhisattva image is restricted to Śākyamuni Buddha himself. In this system, a bodhisattva is not a general term describing an open concept. It is an image of an ideal follower of Buddhism, namely Śākyamuni. However, in Mahāyāna Buddhism, anyone who makes a vow to practice Buddhism for the benefit of others can become a bodhisattva and put such practices into action, hoping to become a buddha at some point. So for anyone practicing as a Mahāyāna Buddhism, the concept of the bodhisattva spread as an open image that all followers should try to achieve.

History and Teachings of Nichiren Buddhism, p 58
WONS

Upholding the Lotus Sūtra Is the Way to Attain Buddhahood

The Lotus Sūtra does not expound anything extraordinary. The sūtra preaches that Śākyamuni Buddha had attained Buddhahood already 500 (million) dust particle kalpa in the past and that even the Two Vehicles such as Śāriputra, who are considered incapable of becoming Buddhas, will inevitably attain Buddhahood in the future. Therefore, those who do not believe in these two doctrines will fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering. It is not I alone who say this. The Buddha of Many Treasures and numerous Buddhas in manifestation from all over the universe verified this. Numerous bodhisattvas emerged from the earth, direct disciples of the Original and True Buddha, as well as Mañjuśrī, Avalokiteśvara, King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, the sun and moon, the Four Heavenly Kings, ten female rākṣasa demons, and others promised to protect the Lotus Sūtra. As such there is no other way leading to Buddhahood. It is the Lotus Sūtra that explains the past and future with precision and upholding this sūtra is the way to attain Buddhahood.

Seichōji Daishū-chū, A Letter to the People of the Seichōji Temple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 177

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Nov. 9, 2021

I know the Way. I have opened the Way. I will expound the Way. Gods, men and asuras! Come and hear the Dharma!

The Buddha makes this declaration at the beginning of Chapter Five of the Lotus Sūtra. If anyone besides the Buddha had said this, we would accuse them of arrogance: pretending to know what they do not. The Buddha does not separate himself from us. Because he knows we can become as enlightened as he is, he does not place himself as superior. He also knows that unless we hear him, he cannot help us to become enlightened. To accept this help means taking responsibility for our progress on the path. We cannot continue alone but we must make our own effort.

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

LS32

Day 22

Day 22 covers all of Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits.

Day 22 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month repeated in gāthās the merits of anyone who keeps this sutra, we conclude Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits.

When you see any teacher of the Dharma
Who has obtained these merits,
You should strew heavenly flowers to him,
Dress him in a heavenly garment,
Worship his feet with your head,
And think that he will become a Buddha.

You should think
“He will go to the place of enlightenment before long.
He will be free from āsravas and free from causality.
He will benefit all gods and men.”

Erect a stupa in the place
Where he expounded even a gāthā of this sūtra
While he was standing,
Walking, sitting or reclining!
Adorn the stupa beautifully,
And make various offerings to it!

He is my son.
I will accept his place as mine.
I will be there.
I will walk, sit or recline there.

The Daily Dharma from Aug. 21, 2021, offers this:

When you see any teacher of the Dharma
Who has obtained these merits,
You should strew heavenly flowers to him,
Dress him in a heavenly garment,
Worship his feet with your head,
And think that he will become a Buddha.

The Buddha makes this declaration to Maitreya Bodhisattva in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. This chapter tells the variety of merits enjoyed by anyone who understands, however briefly, the ever-present nature of the Buddha. This reminder is not just for the great Bodhisattvas such as Maitreya. It is also for all of us who are awakening our Bodhisattva nature through this teaching. It is important for us to treat all people, especially those who share this practice of the Buddha Dharma with us, with the same respect we would give to the Buddha himself.

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

history

Arhat vs. Buddha

[I]n Nikāya Buddhism, an arhat is not seen as equal to a buddha. An arhat only equals a buddha in the sense that they have both achieved nirvāṇa. Differing from a buddha, an arhat does not try to benefit others through teaching, and an arhat understands completely that his existence is far below the existence of a buddha. Therefore, the followers of Nikāya Buddhism do not believe that they can become buddhas and do not desire to become buddhas. In their belief system it would be extremely arrogant for them to presume that they can become buddhas.

History and Teachings of Nichiren Buddhism, p 58