Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p149-150Sadaparibhuta [Never-Despising Bodhisattva]represents the action of inclusiveness, kshanti. Kshanti, one of the six paramitas… . Kshanti is also translated as “patience,” and we can see this great quality in Sadaparibhuta and in one of the Shakyamuni’s disciples, Purna, who is praised by the Buddha in the eighth chapter of the Lotus Sutra. While the Lotus Sutra only mentions Purna in passing, he is the subject of another sutra, the Teaching Given to Maitrayaniputra. In this sutra, after the Buddha had instructed Purna in the practice, he asked him, “Where will you go to share the Dharma and form a Sangha?” The monk said that he wanted to return to his native region, to the island of Sunaparanta in the Eastern Sea.
The Buddha said, “Bhikshu, that is a very difficult place. People there are very rough and violent. Do you think you have the capacity to go there to teach and help?”
“Yes, I think so, my Lord,” replied Purna.
“What if they shout at you and insult you?”
Purna said, “If they only shout at me and insult me I think they are kind enough, because at least they aren’t throwing rocks or rotten vegetables at me. But even if they did, my Lord, I would still think that they are kind enough, because at least they are not using sticks to hit me.”
The Buddha continued, “And if they beat you with sticks?”
“I think they are still kind enough, since they are not using knives and swords to kill me.”
“And if they want to take your life? It’s possible that they would want to destroy you because you will be bringing a new kind of teaching, and they won’t understand at first and may be very suspicious and hostile,” the Buddha warned.
Purna replied, “Well, in that case I am ready to die. Because my dying will also be a kind of teaching and because I know that this body is not the only manifestation I have. I can manifest myself in many kinds of bodies. I don’t mind if they kill me, I don’t mind becoming the victim of their violence, because I believe that I can help them.”
The Buddha said, “Very good, my friend. I think that you are ready to go and help there.”
So Purna went to that land and he was able to gather a lay Sangha of 500 people practicing the mindfulness trainings and to establish a monastic community of around 500 practitioners. He was successful in his attempt to teach and transform the violent ways of the people in that country. Purna exemplifies the practice of kshanti, inclusiveness.
All posts by John Hughes
The Three Virtues of a Lord, Master and Parent
Śākyamuni Buddha is equipped with the three virtues of a lord, master and parent. As a lord, He protects the people; as a master He guides the people; and as a parent, He loves the people. It is only He who is perfectly equipped with these three virtues.
Ichidai Goji Keizu, Genealogical Chart of the Buddha’s Lifetime Teachings in Five Periods, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 244
Daily Dharma – Dec. 27, 2020
You, the World-Honored One, are our leader.
You give peace to gods and men.
Hearing that you assured us of our future Buddhahood,
We are relieved and satisfied.
These verses are sung by Maha-Prajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī, Yaśodharā Bhikṣuṇī, and their attendants in Chapter Thirteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In our lives we have many desires, some of which we may not recognize. We believe that when these desires are met, only then can we be happy and peaceful. At the foundation of these desires is the desire for liberation. These women recognize that with this desire we have to become enlightened, just knowing that it will be fulfilled is enough to bring joy.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 11
Day 11 continues Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City
Having last month considered the reaction of the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the south, we consider the reaction of the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the the five hundred billion worlds in the zenith and conclude today’s portion of Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City.
“The great Brahman-[heavenly-]kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the southwest, west, northwest, north, northeast, and nadir also did the same. The great Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the zenith, who saw their palaces illumined more brightly than ever, also danced with joy. They wondered why [their palaces were so illumined]. They visited each other and discussed the reason, saying, ‘Why are our palaces illumined so brightly?’ There was a great Brahmanheavenly-king called Sikhin among them. He said to the other Brahmans in gāthās:
Our palaces are adorned
More brightly than ever.
Why are they illumined
By this powerful light?We have never seen nor heard
Of such a wonderful thing as this before.
Did a god of great virtue or a Buddha appear
Somewhere in the universe?“Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion [worlds] went down, carrying flower-plates filled with heavenly flowers, in order to find [the place from where the light had come]. Their palaces also moved as they went. They [reached the Well-Composed World and] saw that Great-UniversalWisdom-Excellence Tathāgata was sitting on the lion-like seat under the Bodhi-tree of the place of enlightenment, surrounded respectfully by gods, dragon-kings, gandharvas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men and non-human beings. They also saw that the sixteen princes were begging the Buddha to turn the wheel of the Dharma. They worshipped the Buddha with their heads, walked around him a hundred thousand times, and strewed heavenly flowers to him. The strewn flowers were heaped up to the height of Mt. Sumeru. The Brahman-heavenly-kings offered flowers also to the Bodhi-tree of the Buddha. Having offered flowers, they offered their palaces to the Buddha, saying, ‘We offer these palaces to you. Receive them and benefit us out of your compassion towards us!’ In the presence of the Buddha, they simultaneously praised him in gāthās with all their hearts:
How good it is to see a Buddha,
To see the Honorable Saint who saves the world!
He saves all living beings
From the prison of the triple world.The All-Knower, the Most Honorable One of Gods and Men,
Opens the gate of the teachings as sweet as nectar,
And saves all living beings
Out of his compassion towards them.There has been no Buddha
For the past innumerable kalpas.
Before you appeared,
The worlds of the ten quarters were dark.The living beings in the three evil regions
And asuras are increasing.
The living beings in heaven are decreasing.
Many fall into the evil regions after their death.They do not hear the Dharma from a Buddha
Because they did evils,
Their appearances are getting worse;
And their power and wisdom, decreasing.
Because they did sinful karmas,
They lose pleasures and the memory of pleasures.
They are attached to wrong views.
They do not know how to do good.
They are not taught by a Buddha;
Therefore, they fall into the evil regions.Now you have appeared for the first time after a long time,
And become the eyes of the world.
You have appeared in this world
Out of your compassion towards all living beings,
And finally attained perfect enlightenment.
We are very glad.
All the others also rejoice at seeing you,
Whom they have never seen before.Our palaces are beautifully adorned
With your light.
We offer them to you.
Receive them out of your compassion towards us!May the merits we have accumulated by this offering
Be distributed among all living beings,
And may we and all other living beings
Attain the enlightenment of the Buddha!
the Daily Dharma from June 8, 2020, offers this:
May the merits we have accumulated by this offering
Be distributed among all living beings,
And may we and all other living beings
Attain the enlightenment of the Buddha!
These verses are from Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sutra, where the Brahma Kings from the ten quarters of the universe come to celebrate the enlightenment of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha. We too can cultivate this wish that all the good results of our life’s work be 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
Following the Practice of Sadaparibhuta
Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p146This is the practice of this great bodhisattva – to regard others with a compassionate and wise gaze and hold up to them the insight of their ultimate nature, so that they can see themselves reflected there. Many people have the idea that they are not good at anything, they are not able to be as successful as other people. They cannot be happy; they envy the accomplishments and social standing of others while regarding themselves as failures if they do not have the same level of worldly success.
We have to try to help those who feel this way. Following the practice of Sadaparibhuta, we must come to them and say, “You should not have an inferiority complex. I see in you some very good seeds that can be developed and make you into a great being. If you look more deeply within and get in touch with those wholesome seeds in you, you will be able to overcome your feelings of unworthiness and manifest your true nature.”
Confronted by the Three Kinds of Enemies
In the fourth fascicle of the Lotus Sūtra, in the 10th chapter of the “Teacher of the Dharma,” it is preached, “Many people hate it (the Lotus Sūtra) with jealousy even in My lifetime. Needless to say, more people will do so after My extinction.” In the fifth fascicle of the same sūtra, the 14th chapter titled “Peaceful Practices” it is preached, “I did not expound the Lotus Sūtra before because, if I had done so, many people in the world would have hated it and few would have believed it.” It is also stated in the 13th chapter, “Encouragement for Upholding This Sūtra,” “We will not spare even our lives. We treasure only unsurpassed enlightenment.” The 16th chapter, “The Life Span of the Buddha,” preaches, “They wish to see Me (the Buddha) with all their hearts at the cost of their lives.”
In ninth fascicle of the Nirvana Sūtra, in “The Character of the Buddha” chapter, it is said, “For example, it is like a man, skillful in debate and eloquent in speaking, who is dispatched by the king to a foreign country and accomplishes his mission to convey the King’s message at the risk of his own life. Wise men in Buddhism are the same. Even if one is ordinary, one should not spare one’s own life but expound the Mahāyāna, great teachings of equality.” Grand Master Chang-an interpreted this passage, ” ‘Do not conceal the Buddha’s teachings even if you lose your life’ means that our life is inconsequential when compared to the profundity of the Dharma, hence we spread the Dharma at the risk of our life.”
Seeing these scriptural statements, we cannot say one is the true practicer of the Lotus Sūtra unless one is confronted by the three kinds of enemies while spreading the Dharma. He who spreads the Dharma in such a way as to cause the three kinds of enemies to appear is the true practicer of the Lotus Sūtra. If he does, however, he is bound to lose his life. He will be like Aryasimha, for example, who was beheaded by King Dammira, and Äryadeva, who was killed by a non-Buddhist.
Kyō Ki Ji Koku Shō, Treatise on the Teaching, Capacity, Time and Country, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 104
Daily Dharma – Dec. 26, 2020
Suppose bandits are surrounding you,
And attempting to kill you with swords.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
The bandits will become compassionate towards you.
The Buddha gives this description of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva (Kannon, Kanzeon, Kuan Yin, Avalokitesvara) to Endless-Intent Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Five of the Lotus Sūtra. When we allow this Bodhisattva, the embodiment of compassion, into our minds, we realize the value of the connections we have with all beings, even those who are so deluded that they want to harm us. When we ourselves embody compassion, we should not be surprised when it awakens the compassion that is at the core of our existence.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 10
Day 10 concludes Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood, and opens Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City.
Having last month considered why Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha could not attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi for 10 small kalpas, we meet the 16 sons of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha.Before he left home, he had sixteen sons. The first son was called Accumulated-Wisdom. Each of the sons had various playthings. When the sons heard that their father had attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, they gave up the playthings, left home, and came to that Buddha.
“[When they were leaving home,] their mothers saw them off, weeping. Not only the wheel-turning-holy-king, who was their grandfather, but also one hundred ministers and hundreds of thousands of billions of subjects surrounded and followed the princes, wishing to come to the place of enlightenment, to see GreatUniversal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata, to make offerings to that Buddha, respect him, honor him, and praise him.
“Having come [to that Buddha], the princes worshipped him at his feet with their heads, walked around him, joined their hands together towards him with all their hearts, looked up at the WorldHonored One, and praised him in gāthās:
In order to save all living beings,
You, the World-Honored One,
Who have great powers and virtues,
[Made efforts] for many hundreds of millions of years.
Now you have become a Buddha.
You have finally fulfilled your vows. Congratulations!You, the World-Honored One, are exceptional.
When you were sitting,
You were quiet and peaceful.
You did not move your body, hands or feet
For ten small kalpas.Your mind was tranquil, not distracted.
You have finally obtained tranquil extinction.
You now dwell peacefully in the Dharma-without-āsravas.Seeing that you have peacefully attained
The enlightenment of the Buddha,
We, too, have obtained benefits.
Congratulations! How glad we are!
All living beings are suffering.
Being blind, they have no leader.
They do not know how to stop suffering,
Or that they should seek emancipation.
In the long night fewer people go to heaven,
And more people go to the evil regions.
They go from darkness to darkness, and do not hear
Of the names of the Buddhas.You are the Most Honorable One.
You have obtained the peaceful
Dharma-without-āsravas.
Not only we but also all gods and men
Will be able to obtain the greatest benefit.
Therefore, we bow and devote ourselves to you,
The Most Honorable One.
The Action of the Bodhisattvas
Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p143Practicing the path and liberating beings from suffering is the action of the bodhisattvas. The Lotus Sutra introduces us to a number of great bodhisattvas, such as Sadaparibhuta (Never Disparaging), Bhaisajyaraja (Medicine King), Gadgadasvara (Wonderful Sound), Avalokiteshvara (Hearer of the Sounds of the World), and Samantabhadra (Universally Worthy). The action taken up by these bodhisattvas is to help living beings in the historical dimension recognize that they are manifestations from the ground of the ultimate. Without this kind of revelation we cannot see our true nature. Following the bodhisattva path, we recognize the ground of our being, our essential nature, in the ultimate dimension of no birth and no death. This is the realm of nirvana – complete liberation, freedom, peace, and joy.
Daily Dharma – Dec. 25, 2020
Expound it to clever people
Who have profound wisdom,
Who hear much,
Who remember well,
And who seek
The enlightenment of the Buddha!
The Buddha sings these verses to all those gathered to hear him teach in Chapter Three of the Lotus Sūtra. Much of this teaching is about how we see things as opposed to how certain we are of what we see. When we believe that those whom we wish to benefit are stupid, lazy and incompetent, then it surely will be difficult to help them. But when we realize the Buddha nature within all beings, then we can see them as wise and compassionate despite the obstacles they face.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com