Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p134-136We should not think that it is only the Buddha who has so many manifestation bodies. If we look deeply we will also see that we have many emanation bodies as well. In the 1960s, I wrote a book called The Miracle of Mindfulness to help people learn the practice of mindfulness. In writing the book I drew upon the Satipatthana Sutta. But it is a simple book, very practical and easy to understand. I wrote it in the form of a letter to the workers of the School of Youth for Social Service, a community of young people we had established in Vietnam to help rebuild communities that were destroyed by the war. The book was intended to help our students practice mindfulness as they went about the difficult and sometimes dangerous work of relieving the suffering of the Vietnamese people. I saw that the practice of mindfulness would be very useful in this kind of situation. If our students were able to maintain mindfulness, to breathe and smile and keep a fresh outlook when bringing relief to others, their practice of mindfulness would at the same time nourish their hearts of loving kindness and compassion so that they could continue to do such difficult work. If they worked under too much stress and difficulty all the time and were not able to maintain mindfulness, if they became angry or resentful or began to feel sorry for themselves, they would not be able to achieve anything in their work. So I wrote The Miracle of Mindfulness to help these students.
At the time I wrote that small book, I could not have imagined the effect it would have in the world. It has been translated into twenty-five languages, reprinted many times, distributed in countries throughout the world, and I still receive letters from people who have experienced tremendous transformations in their lives and work from reading this simple book and learning the practice of mindfulness. This shows that we are not able to measure or anticipate the full effect over time of the work we do. Our works, our actions, our very way of being are our emanation bodies that travel through the world widely and continue to have an effect on others for a long time.
Every one of us has many emanation bodies in all parts of the world, but the result of these emanation bodies is not something we can easily measure. If we, like Buddha Shakyamuni, were to realize the miracle of gathering together all our manifestation bodies in an instant in one place, we would feel such great happiness, joy of a kind that we rarely experience. So we need to remember that our studies and practice are not only for our individual benefit but also benefit our family, community, nation, and the entire Earth. Our mistakes cause others to suffer, and our success in the practice can benefit many others. This is why it is so important to practice the art of mindfulness, so that our emanation bodies offer only love and compassion and bring benefit, not harm, to others.
The Buddha shows great faith in us by entrusting the wonderful Dharma to us. We can repay this trust and faith by becoming the arms and hands of the Buddha and continuing the Tathagata’s great work of leading all beings to the shore of liberation.
All posts by John Hughes
Do Not Be Afraid
The physician in the Parable of the Skillful Physician and His Sick Children encouraged his children, in their deluded state, to take the good medicine and not to be afraid they wouldn’t be cured. That statement takes on greater meaning when we consider again the Buddha’s statement at the beginning of this chapter, and his statement in the second chapter, that understanding by faith is the key. So we too should not be afraid to try the Lotus Sutra, and begin to understand by faith and by our actual experiences. This sutra is a good medicine that will cure each of us of the things that cause us suffering in our lives.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraEach Letter of This Sūtra Represents a Wish-Fulfilling Gem
When the Lotus Sūtra was preached on Mt. Sacred Eagle, King Ajātaśatru, the most unfilial man in the world, attended the meeting; even Devadatta, who had abused the True Dharma throughout his life, was guaranteed to be Tennō (Heavenly King) Buddha in the future. Furthermore, a dragon girl, though females were considered incapable of becoming a King of the Brahma Heaven, an Indra, a King of Devils, a Wheel-turning Noble King, or a Buddha, became a Buddha without changing her dragon-body. Attainment of Buddhahood by men of the Two Vehicles, and those with fixed natures who had been considered definitely incapable of becoming Buddhas, was as wondrous as a toasted seed germinating, flowering and bearing fruit. When Śākyamuni Buddha’s “attaining Enlightenment in the eternal past” was revealed, the audience was so astonished as to wonder how a hundred-year old man could be the son of a twenty-five year old man. The “3,000 existences contained in one thought” doctrine explained that unenlightened beings in the Nine Realms and enlightened ones in the Realm of the Buddha are one and inseparable, opening the way for the unenlightened to attain Buddhahood. Therefore, each letter of this sūtra represents a wish-fulfilling gem that pours out 10,000 treasures; each phrase of it is the seed of Buddhahood. The preaching of these most profound teachings was not done because of the capacity of the audience, their intelligence to understand or faith to uphold them. It was because the time was ripe. The Lotus Sūtra, chapter 2 on “Expedients,” therefore says: “Now is the time to expound the Mahāyāna teaching definitely.”
Senji-shō, Selecting the Right time: A Tract by Nichiren, the Buddha’s Disciple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 189
Daily Dharma – Dec. 22, 2020
They will see the reality of all things.
Knowing the position [of this sūtra in the series of sūtras],
And the names and words [of this sūtra], according to the meanings of it,
They will expound [this sūtra] as they understand it.
The Buddha sings these verses to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. In our practice of the Wonderful Dharma, we may be able to enjoy the circumstances of being able to spend lots of time studying the Lotus Sūtra and the guidance given by our leader in this age of degeneration, Nichiren Shonin. But even if we do not have that luxury of time, as long as we remember how the Lotus Sūtra uses expedients to lead all beings to enlightenment, that the goal of this sūtra is not just to end suffering, we can teach it using our own capacities, however limited those may be. Each word of the sūtra is an embodiment of the Buddha. When we share these words with others, we share the Buddha.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 6
Day 6 continues Chapter 3, A Parable
Having last month repeated in gāthās the description of the manor house, we consider the poisonings, killings and burnings that filled the house.
This old and rotten house
Was owned by a man.
Shortly after he went out
To a place in the neighborhood,
Fires broke out suddenly
In the house.Raging flames came out
Of all sides at the same time.
The ridges, rafters,
Beams and pillars
Burst, quaked, split, broke and fell.
The fences and walls also fell.All the demons yelled.
The eagles, crested eagles,
And other birds, and kumbhandas
Were frightened and perplexed.
They did not know
How to get out of the house.
The wild beasts and poisonous vermin
Hid themselves in holes.In that house also lived
Demons called pisacakas.
Because they had few merits and virtues,
They suffered from the fire.
They killed each other,
Drank blood, and ate flesh.The small foxes were
Already dead.
Large wild beasts
Rushed at them and ate them.
Ill-smelling smoke rose
And filled the house.The centipedes, millipedes,
And poisonous snakes
Were driven out of their holes
By the fire,
And eaten
By the kumbhanda demons.The hair of the hungry spirits caught fire.
With hunger, thirst and burning,
The spirits ran about
In agony and dismay.The house was so dreadful.
[In that house] there were
Poisonings, killings and burnings.
There were many dangers, not just one.
Finding the Appropriate Action
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p52An action that can be characterized as “skillful means” is selected or created to fit the situation and abilities of the recipients of the method, just as good teachers must consider the situation and abilities of their students. When this notion is extended, however, to practices that need to be developed by followers of the Buddha, then it is helpful to construe such means as needing or having a double appropriateness – appropriateness for the practitioner as well as for the recipient. That is, what makes something appropriate in our own practice is not only the abilities and situation of the person being guided but also the situation, and especially the abilities, of the one doing the guiding. Just as good teachers must consider their own abilities, we have to seriously ask ourselves not only “What needs to be done?” but “What can I do?” This is only to say that, insofar as possible, the whole situation, including oneself as part of the situation, needs to be taken into account in order for action to be as appropriate as possible.
Tea and Biscuits and the Dharma
Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p134When all these emanation bodies come together, it is a very joyful time. They drink tea together, eat biscuits, and have Dharma discussion. Then the Buddha entrusts the wonderful Dharma to the great bodhisattvas and asks them all to return to their worldspheres to continue the work of leading all beings to liberation. In this way, the Sutra says, they can repay the great kindness and compassion the Buddhas have shown by teaching the wonderful Lotus Dharma. This is the true meaning of entrusting. “This teaching is the highest of all teachings. I am now handing it on to you so that you may receive it and teach it widely to benefit all living beings.”
Aspiration for Awakening, Awakening and Sharing
In Nichiren Buddhism, our practice begins with our own finite efforts and aspirations. These seemingly limited qualities are actually expressions of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha’s real presence within our lives, and thus can effect our transformation into a more awakened state. Due to this transformation, our practice naturally becomes beneficial to all sentient beings. Odaimoku is the practice that carries us through these stages and is itself the manifestation of these stages. Namu Myoho Renge Kyo is the aspiration for awakening, the awakening itself, and the sharing of that awakening.
Lotus SeedsOrdinary People With Sins and Illusions
Contemplating on these, I am convinced that ordinary people in the Latter Age of Degeneration commit sins more or less. Whether or not such a man can reach Buddhahood depends on not how serious his sin is but whether or not he believes in the Lotus Sūtra. As a member of a warrior family you are always faced with killing people, which is firmly prohibited in Buddhism. It makes you an evil man. If you cannot leave your family and escape from society, how can you avoid falling into the three evil realms such as hell? You had better think about it carefully.
The Lotus Sūtra preaches that ordinary people with sins and illusions can attain Buddhahood. Therefore, you too, can attain Buddhahood without changing yourself as an ordinary and evil person. T’ien-t’ai says in his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “Sūtras preached before the Lotus Sūtra guarantee virtuous persons to obtain Buddhahood but not evil persons; however, both virtuous and evil persons are guaranteed to attain Buddhahood in the Lotus Sūtra.” Miao lê states in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “The perfect teaching of the Lotus Sūtra explains that the reverse can be the order as it is, but the other three teachings (piṭaka, common and distinct teachings) maintain that the reverse is the reverse, and the order is the order, clearly separating the virtuous from the evil.” You should think hard of their meaning.
Hakii Saburō-dono Go-henji, A Response to Lord Hakii Saburō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 188-189
Daily Dharma – Dec. 21, 2020
I am always thinking:
“How shall I cause all living beings
To enter into the unsurpassed Way
And quickly become Buddhas?”
The Buddha sings these verses at the end of Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In this chapter he revealed his existence as the Buddha who lives throughout time and space rather than in the limited human body in which we recognize him. When we realize that all the moments of our lives, all the joys and grief we face, all the people and other beings we encounter are in truth the Buddha leading us towards his own enlightenment, we see the Buddha in his true form, and we see the world for what it is.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com