All posts by John Hughes

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Jan. 8, 2021

Our palaces are beautifully adorned
Because we accumulated merits in our previous existence.
We offer [these palaces] to you.
Receive them out of your compassion towards us!

The Brahma-Heavenly-Kings of the East sing these verses in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sutra. In the story, they came to the world of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence-Buddha from their worlds of beauty and pleasure when that Buddha became enlightened. Their offering shows their understanding that while they can enjoy the results of the merits they have created, these results are meant to be shared with all beings. No matter how much or how little we have, being grateful for what we have, rather than being resentful for what we lack, is an expression of the Buddha’s wisdom.

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 to be given to a good man or woman who rejoices at hearing this Sūtra, we consider the merit of the fiftieth person who rejoices at hearing even a gāthā of this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

“Suppose the Jambudvipa was filled with wonderful treasures such as gold, silver, lapis lazuli, shell, agate, coral and amber; elephant-carts and horse-carts; and palaces and stately buildings made of the even treasures. Suppose a man who was seeking merits gave all those pleasing things [filling the Jambudvipa] to the living beings of four hundred billion asaṃkhya worlds according to their wishes. A world consists of the six regions. The living beings [of the six regions] are of one or another of the four kinds of births: oviparous, viviparous, from moisture, or without any medium. Some of them have form while others do not. Some have desire while others do not. Some have no feet while other have two feet or four or more. Having continued giving those alms to them for eighty years, this great almsgiver thought, ‘I gave those pleasing things to them according to their wishes. Now they are old and decrepit. They are more than eighty years old. Their hair is grey; and their face , wrinkled. They will die before long. I will lead them by the Dharma of the Buddha.’

“Then he collected them. He propagated the Dharma to them, led them by the Dharma, showed them the Dharma, taught them, benefited them, and caused them to rejoice. He caused them to attain in a moment the enlightenment of the Srota-āpanna, of the Sakrdāgāmin, of the Anāgāmin or of the Arhat, eliminate all āsravas, practice deep dhyāna-concentration without hindrance, and obtain the eight emancipations. What do you think of this? Do you think that the merits obtained by this great alms giver were many or not?”

Maitreya said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! I think that his merits were many, immeasurable and limitless. His merits were already immeasurable when he gave all those pleasing things to them. Needless to say, so were his merits when he caused them to attain Arhatship.”

The Buddha said to Maitreya:

“Now I will tell you clearly. The merits of the person who gave all those pleasing things to the living beings of the six regions of four hundred billion asaṃkhya worlds, and caused them to attain Arhatship are less than the merit of the fiftieth person who rejoices at hearing even a gāthā of this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. The merits of the former person are less than a hundredth or a thousandth of the merits of the latter person, or less than the merits of the latter person divided by a hundred thousand billion. [The superiority of the merits of the latter person to those of the former person] cannot be explained by any calculation, parable or simile.

“Ajita! The merits of the fiftieth person who rejoices at hearing this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma are immeasurable, limitless, asaṃkhya. Needless to say, so are the merits of the first person who rejoices at hearing [this sūtra] in the congregation. His merits are immeasurable, limitless, asaṃkhya and incomparable.

See Merits of an Ignorant Person Who Rejoices

d29b, Peaceful Action

Bringing About Transformation and Healing

The verses in Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra describe how Avalokiteśvara’s understanding and compassion bring about transformation and healing:

The beings suffer embarrassment and discomfort;
Incalculable woes press in upon them.
The Sound-Observer, by virtue of his unblemished knowledge,
Can rescue the world from its woes.

There is so much suffering in the world. Through the understanding and knowledge gained by closely observing the sounds of the world, Avalokiteśvara helps not just in one way but many ways to alleviate suffering and bring living beings to the shore of liberation.

He is fully endowed with the power of supernatural Penetration
And broadly cultivates wisdom and expedient devices.
In the lands of all ten quarters
There is no ksetra where he does not display his body.

Avalokiteśvara’s wisdom and his capacity to use skillful means are immense. Through his great wisdom, he invents various skillful means in order to help in as many ways and as many forms as needed. He manifests himself in innumerable emanation bodies in many places, many lands, everywhere. We too can also be present in many places at one time, through our transformation bodies. You can be practicing in a Sangha and at the same time be somewhere else, performing some action, in the form of a friend or a student, or in something you have written, created, or offered. Your hands can reach very far.

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p195-196
WONS

In Order To Make Sure Which Is the Right Teaching

[A letter of explanation written by Nichiren Shōnin on behalf of Shijō Yorimoto on the 25th of the sixth month in the third year of the Kenji Period (1277) and submitted to the lord of the Ema Family.]

In order to make sure which is the right teaching for attaining Buddhahood, I have listened to the words and sermons of various priests. As a result, I have come to believe in the Lotus Sūtra, in which it is expounded that Nichiren Shōnin is the Bodhisattva Superior Practice commanded by Śākyamuni Buddha, Lord of the Sahā World and parent of all living beings, to appear in the Latter Age of Degeneration as a messenger of the Buddha with the duty of propagating the Lotus Sūtra.

Yorimoto Chinjō, Yorimoto’s Letter of Explanation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 110

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Jan. 7, 2021

Many priests in the Latter Age of Degeneration do not discern the capacity of people. When it is impossible to discern the capacity of people, the true teaching should be preached vigorously.

Nichiren wrote this passage in his Treatise on Chanting the Great Title of the Lotus Sūtra (Shō Hokke Daimoku-shō). When the Buddha taught using expedient means, he could see the delusions and attachments of those whom he taught, and adjust his teachings to them for their benefit. For us who live in this time where most people are not aware of the ever-present Buddha Śākyamuni, all we need to know about those whom we wish to benefit is that they are convinced that this age is headed towards ruin. We cannot know who is ready to receive the Buddha’s highest teaching. Therefore our generosity compels us to provide the teaching that leads towards enlightenment, not merely the teaching that leads away from suffering.

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 considered Maitreya Bodhisattva’s summary of the merits in gāthās, we consider the heavenly response to the description of the merits.

You expounded the teachings
Immeasurable and inconceivable,
And benefited living beings
As limitless as the sky.

[The gods] rained down mandārava-flower ,
And mahā-mandārava-flowers of heaven.
Sakras and Brahmans came from the [other] Buddha-worlds
As many as there are sands in the River Ganges.

[The gods] rained down candana and aloes [powder],
And offered it to the Buddhas.
The powder came down fluttering
Just as birds fly down from the sky.

Heavenly drums automatically sounded
Wonderful in the sky.
Thousands of billions of heavenly garments
Whirled down.

[The gods] burned priceless incense which was put
In wonderful incense-burners of many treasures.
The incense-burners automatically went around,
And the odor was offered to the World-Honored Ones.

The great Bodhisattvas lined up vertically one upon another
To the Heaven of Brahman, holding
Billions of lofty and wonderful canopies and streamers
Made of the seven treasures.

[The great Bodhisattvas] hoisted before the Buddha
Jeweled banner adorned with excellent streamers.
They also praised the Tathāgatas
With tens of millions of gāthās.

I have never seen these things before.
All living beings
Rejoice at hearing
That the duration of your life is immeasurable.

Your fame is extended over the worlds of the ten quarters.
You benefit all living beings.
The root of good which they have planted
Will help them aspire for unsurpassed [enlightenment].

See Faith Is the Cause for Wisdom

d29b, Peaceful Action

Transforming a Pit of Fire into a Cool Lotus Pond

I know a nun and a monk in Vietnam, former students of mine, who were arrested because of their work on behalf of human rights. … The nun … spent a long time in prison, and she continued her practice of walking and sitting meditation in her small cell. Thanks to the practice she remained relaxed, calm, and cheerful. Anger and despair were not able to take root in her, and she was able to help the other prisoners, many of whom were very hostile toward the prison guards. The guards treated her kindly—not because she is a nun but because she embodies mindfulness of compassion. She did not let herself become a victim of anger and craving, and so she was able to make very good use of her time in prison. It became a kind of retreat – she didn’t have to do anything, just enjoy the practice. Instead of experiencing prison as a pit of fire, she transformed it into a cool lotus pond through the practice of mindfulness, compassion, and understanding.

If we find ourselves in a situation like this, and if we know how to practice the universal gate, mindfulness of compassion, we won’t suffer and we can even help others who are in the same situation – not just fellow prisoners but those on the “other side,” the prison administrators, the guards, and so on.

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p194-195
Lecture on Lotus Sutra

Karmic Connections

Quote

In the Devadatta chapter we learn that this person who caused the Buddha so much grief in the Buddha’s current lifetime was actually responsible for the Buddha being able to become the Buddha. In a previous lifetime Sakyamuni was a king who gave up his kingdom to his prince and sought the Dharma, going about the land beating a drum, seeking someone who could teach him. He came across a great seer who said that he would teach the Great Vehicle of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower on the condition the king would serve him without becoming disobedient.

With great joy the king began serving this seer. He performed all sorts of menial tasks but never begrudged his efforts because he was that sincere in seeking out the Great Dharma. We learn that not only was the king a previous life of the Buddha but the seer was Devadatta in one of his previous lifetimes. Because of this deep connection the Buddha was able to attain enlightenment and become the Buddha we know of today.

This is a wonderful example of how even the most evil person is at the same time not all bad, and also how we too may have a deep karmic connection with that person.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

d17b, WONS

The Vow of the Female Dragon

Speaking of attainment of Buddhahood by this female dragon, therefore, Grand Master Miao-lê writes, “The great blessing despite little practice shows the power of the Lotus Sūtra.” As this female dragon is indebted to the Lotus Sūtra for attaining Buddhahood, how could she abandon practicers of the sūtra even without the Buddha’s command? So, she says in verse praising the Buddha,”I will widely disseminate Mahāyāna Buddhism to save the suffering people.” This vow of the female dragon is at the same time the vow of all the dragons who follow her, which is so deep that the mouth cannot express it and the mind cannot fathom it. The Sāgara Dragon King, father of the female dragon, was a beast in body but had a deep compassion for his children that he gave the greatest treasure in the ocean, a wish-fulfilling gem, to his daughter as a donation upon her attainment of Buddhahood with the present body. This gem was worth as much as all things in the whole world.

Kitō Shō, Treatise on Prayers, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 63-64

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Jan. 6, 2021

Ajita! Any good man or woman who keeps, reads, or recites this sūtra after my extinction, also will be able to obtain these merits. Know this! He or she should be considered to have already reached the place of enlightenment, approached Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, and sat under the tree of enlightenment. Ajita! Erect a stūpa in the place where he or she sat, stood or walked! All gods and men should make offerings to that stūpa just as they do to the stūpa of a Buddha.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Maitreya (whom he calls Ajita – Invincible) in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. In this mysterious description, the Buddha seems to say that anyone who practices this Lotus Sūtra as it instructs is his equal, that this person deserves as much respect as the Buddha himself. In this world of conflict it is rare to even find this teaching, and even more rare to practice it. The Buddha encourages Bodhisattvas such as Maitreya and other protective deities to serve and care for those who bring the Buddha’s greatest wisdom to life. When we practice the Wonderful Dharma, it is as if the Buddha himself appears among us.

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