All posts by John Hughes

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 29, 2021

Even if I praise for innumerable kalpas
The keeper of this sūtra,
To whom it is to be transmitted,
I cannot praise him highly enough.

The Buddha sings these verses to Superior-Practice Bodhisattva (Jōgyo, Viśiṣṭacārītra) in Chapter Twenty-One of the Lotus Sūtra. When the Buddha praises us for keeping the Lotus Sūtra, he is praising our Buddha-Nature and encouraging us to develop it. When we praise the Buddha and show our gratitude for the practice he has given us, we are praising the Lotus Sūtra. When we praise and value the Lotus Sūtra, we are encouraging the Buddha-Nature in all beings, just as the Buddha has promised to do. Therefore when we keep and practice the Lotus Sūtra, we are fulfilling the Buddha’s promise of our enlightenment.

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

LS32

Day 18

Day 18 concludes Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra, and begins Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.

Day 18 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month concluded today’s portion of Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices, we return to today’s portion of Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra and the vow of the eighty billion nayuta Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas.

Thereupon the World-Honored One looked at the eighty billion nayuta Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas. These Bodhisattvas had already reached the stage of avaivartika, turned the irrevocable wheel of the Dharma, and obtained dhārāṇis. They rose from their seats, came to the Buddha, joined their hands together [towards him] with all their hearts, and thought, “If the World-Honored One commands us to keep and expound this sūtra, we will expound the Dharma just as the Buddha teaches.”

They also thought, “The Buddha keeps silence.’ He does not command us. What shall we do?”

In order to follow the wish of the Buddha respectfully, and also to fulfill their original vow, they vowed to the Buddha with a loud voice like the roar of a lion:

“World-Honored One! After your extinction, we will go to any place [not only of this Sahā-World but also] of the worlds of the ten quarters, as often as required, and cause all living beings to copy, keep, read and recite this sūtra, to expound the meanings of it, to act according to the Dharma, and to memorize this sūtra correctly. We shall be able to do all this only by your powers. World-Honored One! Protect us from afar even when you are in another world!”

See A Variable Transmission for the One Vehicle

b4today

The All-Permeating One Great Life-Energy

We can attain harmony with others spontaneously when we remember the truth that all things and all men are permeated by one great life-energy and that all things are invisibly interconnected, and when we make the best use of this interconnection by abandoning the idea of ego, that is, by enhancing this interconnection to benefit both ourselves and others. When in harmony with others, we can give up excess and deficiency, struggle and friction, and can maintain peaceful minds. This is the state expressed in the law “Nirvana is quiescence.” It is an ideal state that can be only attained by realizing the other two laws, “All things are impermanent” and “Nothing has an ego.”

The doctrines of the Eightfold Path and the Six Perfections teach us how to live in order to reach the state of “Nirvana is quiescence” and how we should practice the Buddha’s teachings in order to do so.

Buddhism for Today, p33
WONS

One Day in the Hell of Crushing

The third of the eight major hells is the Hell of Crushing, which is located beneath the Hell of Black Ropes but is the same size. Here many pairs of iron mountains face each other. Hell guards with cow heads and horse heads, and armed with sticks chase the sinners between the mountains. Then the pair of iron mountains draw closer, crushing sinners and flooding the earth with blood. Sinners are subject to many other types of suffering.

Suppose 200 years in the human world correspond to a day in the Heaven of Yama, the third heaven in the realm of desire, where heavenly beings live for 2,000 years. If 2,000 years in this Heaven of Yama are equal to one day in the Hell of Crushing, the life span of sinners in this hell is 2,000 years.

Ken Hōbō-shō, A Clarificaton of Slandering the True Dharma, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 107-108.

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 28, 2021

Annotations on the Great Concentration and Insight states: “The passage cited about the earlier teachings correctly distinguishes between the provisional and the true. This is because it explains the truer the teaching the lower the stage (of those enlightened by it); whereas the more provisional the teaching the higher the state must be (of those enlightened by it).”

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on The Four Depths of Faith and Five Stages of Practice (Shishin Gohon-Shō). The passage from T’ien-t’ai he quotes reminds us that we do not need to rely on our own talents or intelligence to become enlightened. The highest teaching of the Lotus Sūtra is meant for all beings, wise or simple, clever or stupid. The Buddha’s provisional teachings were intended to match the minds of those who heard them. But the Wonderful Dharma is the Buddha’s own mind, harmonizing with the seed of enlightenment within us all.

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

LS32

Day 17

Day 17 covers all of Chapter 12, Devadatta, and opens Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra.

Day 17 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month concluded today’s portion of Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra, we return to Chapter 12, Devadatta, and the tale of the time when the Buddha Bodhisattva in a previous existence and sought the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful.

Thereupon the Buddha said to the Bodhisattvas, gods, men and the four kinds of devotees:
“When I was a Bodhisattva] in my previous existence, I sought the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma for innumerable kalpas without indolence. I became a king [and continued to be so] for many kalpas. [Although I was a king,] I made a vow to attain unsurpassed Bodhi. I never faltered in seeking it. I practiced alms-giving in order to complete the six pāramitās. I never grudged elephants, horses, the seven treasures, countries, cities, wives, children, menservants, maidservants or attendants. I did not spare my head, eyes, marrow, brain, flesh, hands or feet. I did not spare even my life.

“In those days the lives of the people of the world were immeasurably long. [One day] I abdicated from the throne in order to seek the Dharma[, but retained the title of king]. I entrusted the crown prince with the administration of my country. l beat a drum and sought the Dharma in all directions, saying with a loud voice, ‘Who will expound the Great Vehicle to me? If there is anyone, I will make offerings to him, and run errands for him for the rest of my life.’

“Thereupon a seer came to [me, who was] the king. He said, ‘I have a sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. If you are not disobedient to me, I will expound this sūtra to you.’

“Having heard this, I danced with joy, and immediately became his servant. I offered him anything he wanted. I collected fruits, drew water, gathered firewood, and prepared meals for him. I even allowed my body to be his seat. I never felt tired in body and mind. I served him for a thousand years. In order to hear the Dharma from him, I served him so strenuously that I did not cause him to be short of anything.”

See ‘Jōzon Myōhōko, Shinjin Mukeken’

b4today

The Theoretical and the Practical Doctrine of The 3,000 Realms in One Mind

The question arises as to how we should consider the doctrine of the Three Thousand Realms in One Mind. When we understand this doctrine only theoretically, it cannot generate the power capable of saving others as well as ourselves. This is called the theoretical doctrine of the Three Thousand Realms in One Mind (ri no ichinen-sanzen). Far from saving others, we are unconsciously enslaved by the philosophical theory of the doctrine and eventually may become so obsessed with the thought of the myriad implications of our every act that we become mentally paralyzed, as it were. We must accept this doctrine with an open-hearted, optimistic, and positive attitude.

The doctrine of the Three Thousand Realms in One Mind teaches us that we have the infinite possibility of moving both upward and downward. If we resolve firmly to practice the Buddha’s teachings, we can go upward without fail. Secondly, this doctrine lets us realize clearly that in all the universe, there is no individual existing apart from the whole and that all things are interconnected like the meshes of a net. Individual salvation alone is not true salvation.

When we understand these two teachings not only theoretically but also in the depths of our hearts, we cannot help elevating ourselves and practicing in order to help others. This is called the practical doctrine of the Three Thousand Realms in One Mind (ji no ichinen-sanzen). Unless we thoroughly understand the doctrine of the Three Thousand Realms in One Mind in this way, it does not become a living doctrine.

Nichiren spoke in the highest terms of the doctrine of the Three Thousand Realms in One Mind. He derived his teachings from this doctrine, but ultimately he passed beyond a theoretical understanding and realized that for Buddhists the doctrine should result in faith and practice. Indeed, if we can thoroughly understand the theoretical doctrine, we should awaken to the fact that we must be concerned as long as there is a single person in the world who is suffering. Unlike the worries of an ordinary man, this is a great worry, the Buddha’s worry. This is the meaning of the expression, “When living beings are taken ill, the Buddha suffers pain.” It is also the significance of Nichiren’s words, “Although Nichiren does not weep in reality, tears of worry for others always flow from his eyes.”

If we must be worried about something, we should have the same worry as the Buddha and Nichiren. Such a worry gives us courage and makes us find life worth living. After all is said and done, there is no work that is more valuable in this world than to save people who are suffering. To elevate human beings is the loftiest work. Our own consciousness of having taken part in this work, small as we are — this consciousness alone should brighten our lives.

Buddhism for Today, p114-115
WONS

If Only One Has Faith

The five characters of the Wonderful Dharma, the gist of the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra, can deal with calamities and disasters if only one puts faith in it, but this is what the Buddha especially entrusted to the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra. In the final analysis, therefore, the calamities and disasters since the Shōka Period (1257-59) will not cease unless the truth and falsity of Buddhist dharmas are decided in public discussions.

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 256

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 27, 2021

The Śrāvakas will have already eliminated āsravas,
And reached the final stage of their physical existence.
They will become sons of the King of the Dharma.
Their number also will be beyond calculation.
Even those who have heavenly eyes
Will not be able to count them.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Six of the Lotus Sūtra. The Śrāvakas are those who want only to eliminate their delusions and end their suffering. They do not yet realize that the Buddha leads them to become Bodhisattvas and work for the benefit of all beings. They do not believe they can reach the Buddha’s own wisdom. The Buddha assures even these beings that in the course of time, as they realize their true nature, they too 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 16

Day 16 concludes Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures, and completes the Fourth Volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 16 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered the difficulty of expounding the Lotus Sūtra, we conclude Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures.

It is difficult to keep this sūtra.
I shall be glad to see
Anyone keeping it even for a moment.
So will all the other Buddhas.
He will be praised by all the Buddhas.
He will be a man of valor,
A man of endeavor.
He should be considered
To have already observed the precepts,
And practiced the dhuta.
He will quickly attain
The unsurpassed enlightenment of the Buddha.

Anyone who reads and recites this sūtra in the future
Is a true son of mine.
He shall be considered to live
On the stage of purity and good.

Anyone, after my extinction,
Who understands the meaning of this sūtra,
Will be the eye of the worlds
Of gods and men.

Anyone who expounds this sūtra
Even for a moment in this dreadful world,
Should be honored with offerings
By all gods and men.

[Here ends] the Fourth Volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

The Daily Dharma from Aug. 2, 2020, offers this:

It is difficult to keep this sūtra.
I shall be glad to see
Anyone keeping it even for a moment.
So will all the other Buddhas.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Eleven of the Lotus Sūtra. He is well aware of how hard it is to move from expedient teachings to the Wonderful Dharma. We have habits and attachments built up over many lifetimes, and live in a world that does not always support our practice. Still, one cannot underestimate the importance of trying, even for the briefest amount of time, to hold on to this teaching and bring it to life in this world.

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