The Buddhas seldom appear in the worlds.
It is difficult to meet them.
Even when they do appear in the worlds,
They seldom expound the Dharma.
The Buddha proclaims these verses in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra. Later in the Sūtra he explains that in reality he became enlightened far in the past and will continue to lead all beings to enlightenment far into the future. The reason the Buddhas appear so rarely is not because they conceal themselves. It is because we do not recognize them for what they are. We cannot see the air we breathe, but it is crucial for our lives. Because of this we often take it for granted, unless we are so afflicted, or the air is so poisoned that we cannot breathe. Then we are aware of it. Likewise, the Buddha Dharma is available to us all the time.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Having last month considered the rain cloud of the Dharma, we consider how the Buddha is like the large cloud.
I am like the cloud.
I appeared in this world
Just as the large cloud covered
Everything on the earth.
Since I appeared in this world,
I have been expounding
The reality of all things
To all living beings.
(The Great Saint,
The World-Honored One,
Said to the multitude
Of gods and men:)
I am the Tathāgata,
The Most Honorable Biped.
I have appeared in this world
Just as the large cloud rose.
All living beings are dying of thirst.
I will water them.
I will save them from suffering.
I will give them the pleasure of peace,
The pleasure of the world,
And the pleasure of Nirvana.
To the end of his life, Nichiren never ceased to express these convictions in the strongest terms; but his faith in the destiny of Japan was in no way shaken, nor his self-confidence. On the contrary, the dangers threatening the country and the consternation of the people only strengthened his belief in his great cause and in his own mission. In one of the writings from his years of retirement, he says:
“So far as, and so much as, my – Nichiren’s – compassion is vast and comprehensive, the Adoration of the Lotus of the Perfect Truth shall prevail beyond the coming ages of ten thousand years, nay, eternally in the future. This is the merit I have achieved, which is destined to open the blind eyes of all beings in Japan (the world), and to shut off the ways to the nethermost Avici hell. These merits surpass those of Dengyō and T’ien T’ai, and are far beyond those of Nāgārjuna and Kāśyapa. Is it not true that one hundred years’ training in a heavenly paradise does not compare with one day’s work in the earthly world, and that all service done to the Truth during the two thousand years of the ages of the Perfect Law and the Copied Law is inferior to that done in one span of time in the ages of the Latter Law? All these differences are due, not to Nichiren’s own wisdom, but to the virtues inherent in the times. Flowers bloom in spring, and fruits are ripe in autumn; it is hot in summer, and cold in winter. Is it not time that makes these differences? Buddha announced, “This Truth shall be proclaimed and perpetuated in the whole Jambudvīpa, in the fifth five hundred years after my death; and it will avail to save all kinds of devils and demons, celestial beings and serpent tribes,” etc. If this prediction should not be fulfilled, all other prophecies and assurances will prove false, the Lord Śākyamuni will fall to the Avici hell, the Buddha Prabhūtaratna will be burned in the infernal fires, while all other Buddhas in the ten quarters will transfer their abodes to the eight great hells, and all Bodhisattvas will suffer from pains, one hundred and thirty-six in kind. How should all this be possible? If it is not, the whole of Japan (the world) will surely be converted to the Adoration of the Lotus of the Perfect Truth.
“Flowers finally return to the root, and the essence abides in the earth. Let all these merits be dedicated to the soul of the deceased master Dōzen (who had once instructed Nichiren, and is the earth which had nourished Nichiren’s wisdom). Adoration be to the Lotus of the Perfect Truth!”
This letter illustrates Nichiren’s idea that his best attainment should be dedicated to all those to whom he was in any way indebted. But he regarded any such dedication as vain, unless associated with, and practised as a part of, the highest ideal of his religion, the establishment of the Three Great Mysteries. Thus, preceding this conclusion, he reaffirms his own mission to achieve that great task, and expresses his confidence in the approaching fulfilment of his ideal.
In our efforts to teach others of the truth of the Lotus Sutra, we will encounter some who accept easily. However, there will be some who may not accept or believe in what we teach them. We should not worry or be discouraged because the Buddha has said in those cases we only need to teach them some other of the Buddha’s great teachings, realizing that eventually they can obtain the merit to be able to take faith in the Lotus Sutra. For instance we might teach someone about cause and effect, or we may provide instruction in dependent origination or interconnectedness. We might give to them the message of the Four Noble Truths or even the Eightfold Path. All of these are commonsense teachings, which many people intuitively believe in already. Through gradually leading people, perhaps over many lifetimes, we can help them embrace the teachings in the Lotus Sutra.
The second of the eight major hells, the Hell of Black Ropes, is located beneath the Hell of Regeneration and is the same size as it is. In this hell, the hell guards seize sinners, push them down on the ground of hot iron, make a line on the sinners’ bodies with a hot iron rope, and cut and scrape the bodies with hot iron hatchets or saw off their limbs along the line. Moreover, there are huge iron mountains on both sides of the hell. They erect iron flags on the top of each mountain, stretch an iron rope between the two flags and force the sinners to walk on the rope carrying iron mountains. Falling off the rope, the sinners’ bodies are broken into pieces. Otherwise they are boiled in iron pots. The suffering of these tortures is 10 times more severe than the Hell of Regeneration.
One hundred years in the human world correspond to one day in the Heaven of the Thirty-three Gods, the second heaven in the realm of desire, where the life span of heavenly beings is 1,000 years. If 1,000 years in this Thirty-three Heaven are equal to one day in the Hell of Black Ropes, the life span of those sinners who fell into the Hell of Black Ropes is 1,000 years.
Ken Hōbō-shō, A Clarificaton of Slandering the True Dharma, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 107.
Star-King-Flower! Strew blue lotus flowers and a bowlful of powdered incense to the person who keeps 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 Māra. 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.’
The Buddha gives this explanation to Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sūtra. Māra is the deity who creates confusion and delusion in the world. His army consists of those who reinforce these delusions and reward those who share them. Such rewards do not benefit those who receive them. They only serve to produce fear and attachment which creates misery in the world. With our practice of this Lotus Sūtra, we learn to recognize delusion for what it is, and reject the superficial benefits that come with it.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Having last month considered the expedient the rich man used to persuade his son to come to him, we consider the poor son’s transformation into the rich man’s heir.
“World-Honored One! Now the rich man became ill. He knew that he would die soon. He said to the poor son, ‘I have a great deal of gold, silver, and other treasures. My storehouses are filled with them. You know the amounts of them. You know what to take, and what to give. This is what I have in mind. Know this! You are not different from me in all this. Be careful lest the treasures be lost!’
“Thereupon the poor son obeyed his order. He took custody of the storehouses of gold, silver, and other treasures, but did not wish to take anything worth even a meal from them. He still stayed in his old lodging. He could not yet give up the thought that he was base and mean.
“After a while the father noticed that his son had become more at ease and peaceful, that he wanted to improve himself, and that he felt ashamed of the thought that he was base and mean. The time of the death of the father drew near. The father told his son to call in his relatives, the king, ministers, kṣatriyas, and householders. When they all assembled, he said to them, ‘Gentlemen, know this! This is my son, my real son. He ran away from me when I lived in a certain city, and wandered with hardships for more than fifty years. His name is so-and-so; mine, so-and-so. When I was in that city, I anxiously looked for him. I happened to find him [years ago]. This is my son. I am his father. All my treasures are his. He knows what has been taken in and what has been paid out.’
“World-Honored One! At that time the poor son was very glad to hear these words of his father. He had the greatest joy that he had ever had. He thought, ‘I never dreamed of having this store of treasures myself. It has come to me unexpectedly.’
The curse and the sense of sinfulness, individual and national
Download Chapter 10
Although he saw in the coming Mongol invasion an agency working for his cause, the final burden of converting the nation was laid upon him. He thus inseparably linked the threatening danger with his idea of the future of Japan as well as with his own expiation – the remorseful expiation of his sin of not having thus far accomplished all that he was set to do for the Unique Truth.
The sense of sin lay heavy upon Nichiren’s mind, in view of the approaching danger. Japan would certainly suffer from the invaders, as the western islands had been devastated. Was not this because the nation still remained blind to the true Buddhism? Was not he himself chiefly or solely responsible for its blindness? Would not all these perils have been averted, if he had established the Holy See? “All the sufferings that befall my fellow-beings are, after all, my own sufferings.” This was his great remorse, caused by the sense of his own sinfulness as well as by concern for his countrymen. His curse was not a product of mere self-righteousness nor of mere hatred of others, but an expression of his deep regret for his country and of his own ideal. There was always, for him, a link between the present danger and the future destiny, between the nation’s curse and his own expiation; and this connection was a result of his view of the inseparable tie uniting the individual to the community in which he lives. We have already touched on this point, in discussing Nichiren’s ideas about the meaning of the community in human life and in religion. Now, in his grave concern about the threatening invasion, this thought found emphatic expression. A letter which he wrote to a warrior follower, in 1280, is particularly instructive. After dwelling much on the offence committed by the nation against the Lotus of Truth, he goes on to show how his sufferings were a part of his mission, while he himself cannot but be responsible for the people’s folly and their calamities. The individual is never apart from his family and nation; how much more then, must the leader of the nation, the spiritual father of the coming ages, regret and hate his people’s folly and suffering! Further, he says:
“While Japan is being threatened by the attacks of the Great Mongols, its people are having recourse to the mysteries which are doomed to perish (the Shingon rituals). Are not the ominous records (of their failures) plain in many previous cases? How can a man who knows this remain indifferent to the fact? How sad it is that we have to encounter great calamities, having been born in a country offending and degrading truth and righteousness! Even if we could be personally acquitted of the sin of degrading the truth, how could we be freed from the responsibility for the offense committed by our families and country? If you would be exempt from the offense committed by your family, endeavor to convert your parents and brothers and sisters! The issue will be either that you will be hated by them, or that you will finally convert them all. If you would be free from the offence committed by the country as a whole, make remonstrance to the rulers, and be yourself prepared for death or exile! Is it not said in the [Lotus Sutra], ‘Never shrink from sacrificing the body for the sake of the Incomparable Way’? This is explained (by a commentator) as follows: ‘Insignificant is the bodily life compared with the grave and important cause of the Truth; therefore strive to perpetuate the Truth even at the sacrifice of the body!’ That we have, from the remotest past down to the present, not attained Buddhahood, is simply due to our cowardice, in that we have always been afraid of these perils and have not dared to stand up publicly for the Truth. The future will never be otherwise, so long as we remain cowards. All this is deeply impressed upon me by my personal experience.
“Even among my followers there are those who dare not to proclaim the Truth, but are content with personal faith alone, and even some who desert the cause, all because they are afraid of the dangers, and care too much for the bodily life, which is, in fact, as evanescent as the dew. Indeed, as is said in the [Lotus Sutra], ‘difficult to believe and hard to grasp’ is the Truth, and I know by my own experience how difficult it is to live the life of the Truth. Traitors are as innumerable as the dust of the earth in all the world, while real believers are as rare as motes on the fingernails. The offenders are like the waters of the ocean, while the defenders are only but a few drops of water.
“Those who remain silent before the opponents of the Lotus of Truth … will surely sink to the nethermost hells. Men who, being cognizant of a treasonable plot, do not inform the rulers, are traitors, even if they themselves were not involved in the plot. … Remonstrances were made by me, Nichiren, because I knew this truth. A sentence of death, and repeated banishment, were the consequence. Seven years have now passed since I retired among these mountains, wishing to be redeemed from sins, and freed from offences.”
[Regarding the difference between the essential and theoretical sections of the Lotus Sūtra,] the Buddha had made a clear distinction between the two sections, but during more than 2,000 years since He passed away no one in India, China, Japan and the entire world (Jambudvīpa) has ever clearly differentiated them. Only T’ien-t’ai of China and Dengyō of Japan seemed to have almost made a difference between them, but they did not clarify the Lotus Tendai (T’ien-t’ai) law of precepts among important doctrines of the essential and theoretical sections. After all, although Grand Masters T’ien-t’ai and Dengyō knew it well in mind, they did not explain it clearly because: (1) the time was not right, (2) the people’s ability to understand was not ripe, and (3) they were not entrusted by the Buddha to propagate the doctrine.
Now, we have finally entered the Latter Age of Degeneration, when great bodhisattvas appearing from underground such as Bodhisattva Superior Practice should propagate the teaching of the essential section. As the Latter Age of Degeneration is the time for the essential section to spread, even if people with faith in Hinayāna Buddhism, quasi-Mahāyāna Buddhism, or the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra spread their respective teachings without committing any mistakes, they will serve no useful purpose. It is like a medicine for spring that is not useful in fall. Even if it is still useful in autumn, its effectiveness is not as good as in spring and summer. How much less useful they would be when they, Hinayāna and quasi-Mahāyāna Buddhists and believers of the theoretical section, become confused with the differences between Hinayāna and Mahāyāna Buddhism and provisional and true teachings. Moreover, as rulers in the past had put faith in their scriptures, built temples for them and donated pieces of farm land, it not only is inexcusable but also destroys the basis of their faiths for them to slight the teachings of their canons. Therefore, they are furious at the man who criticizes their canons, and they slander the True Dharma and persecute the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra.
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 253-254
The Buddha said to Endless-Intent Bodhisattva: “Good man! In a certain world, World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva takes the shape of a Buddha and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by a Buddha. He takes the shape of a Pratyekabuddha and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by a Pratyekabuddha. He takes the shape of a Śrāvaka and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by a Śrāvaka.
The Buddha gives this description of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva (Kannon, Kanzeon, Avalokitesvara) to Endless-Intent Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Five of the Lotus Sūtra. Like all Bodhisattvas, World-Voice-Perceiver can adapt his appearance to whatever we need to remove our delusions. In one way, this is a guide for us, reminding us that as Bodhisattvas ourselves, we can learn to adapt our approaches to others so that we can benefit them. In another way, it helps us to realize that more beings than we realize are helping us with our practice.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
