All posts by John Hughes

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Nov. 1, 2020

Just as the Moon God is brighter than the stars, this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma gives us more light than any of the other sūtras numbering thousands of billions. Just as the Sun God dispels all darkness, this sūtra drives away all the darkness of evils.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddha uses comparisons from our common experience of the sun, moon and stars to illustrate how this teaching of the Wonderful Dharma is superior to all other teachings. This is not just hyperbole. This teaching illuminates not only the other teachings of the Buddha, but all teachings. It lets us see them for what they are, and use them to do the Buddha’s work of leading all beings to enlightenment.

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 twelve hundred merits of the ear in prose, we complete today’s portion of Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma.

Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he bad said, sang in gāthās:

Their ears given by their parents will be purified, not defiled.
With their natural ears,
They will be able to recognize the sounds of voices
Of the one thousand million sumeru-worlds.

They will be able to recognize
The voices of elephants, horses and cows;
Th sounds of carts, gongs, bells, conch-shell horns,
And of drums, lyres, harps, reed-pipes and flutes.
Although they recognize pure and sweet songs,
They will not be attached to them.
They also will be able to recognize
The countless kinds of voices of men.

They will be able to recognize
The voices of gods,
The wonderful songs [of gods],
And the voices of men, women, boy and girls.

They will be able to recognize
The songs of kalavinkas, of jivakajivakas,
And of the other birds in mountains,
And on rivers and ravines.

The expounder of the Dharma
Will be able to recognize from afar,
While he is staying in the world [of men],
The cryings and shriekings
Of the denizens in hell,
The shoutings of hungry and thirsty spirits
Who are seeking food and drink,
And the voices of asuras
Bellowing to each other
[As they pound] on the seacoasts.
Even when he recognizes all this by hearing,
His organ of hearing will not be destroyed.

The expounder of the Dharma will be able to recognize,
While he is staying [in this world],
The voices of birds and animals calling each other
In the worlds of the ten quarters.

The teacher of the Dharma will be able to recognize,
While he is staying [in the world of men],
The voices of the gods of the heavens
Above the Heaven of Brahman,
[That is,] of the Light-Sound Heaven,
Of the Universal-Pure Heaven, and of the Highest Heaven.

The teacher of the Dharma
Will be able to recognize,
Without moving about,
The voices of the bhikṣus and bhikṣunīs
Who read or recite sūtras
Or expound them to others.

He will be able to recognize
The voices of the Bodhisattvas
Who read or recite sūtras
Or expound the meanings
Of quotations from them
To others.

Anyone who keeps this Sūtra
Of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Will be able to recognize the voices of the Buddhas,
That is, the voices of the Great Honorable Saints
Who teach all living beings,
And who expound the Wonderful Dharma in great congregations.

He will be able to recognize
All the sounds and voices
Inside and outside the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds,
[Each being composed of the six regions]
Down to the Avici Hell and up to the Highest Heaven.
And yet his organ of hearing will not be destroyed.
He will be able to recognize everything by hearing
Because his ears are sharp.

Anyone who keeps
This Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Will be able to obtain these merits with his natural ears
Although he has not yet obtained heavenly ears.

See Merits of the Ear

Peaceful Action

Evolution of Buddhism

Quote

The concept of “emptiness” here is not a form of nihilism as some early Western scholars of Buddhism thought; it simply means that all things are empty of an inherent, unchanging, and permanent nature—no thing exists independently and remains fixed, but rather arises due to a set of constantly changing causes and conditions. This is the insight of interbeing.

We can see that this insight in the Prajn͂āpāramitā sūtra arose from such essential Buddhist teachings as dependent co-arising (pratityasamutpada). It’s important to remember that the Mahayana draws upon the same teachings that are the basis for the Theravada school. Rather than stopping there, however, Mahayana thinkers continued to expand upon these teachings, adding new insights and interpretations to respond to the changing conditions and spiritual needs of the people. So we should not think of the Mahayana as a rejection of the early Buddhist canon but rather as a continuation and a new way of presenting its insights to fit the times.

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p16
WONS

These Are Not Ordinary Omens, Good or Bad

Great events are foreshadowed by great omens. The birth of the Buddha, His first preaching, and His death were paralleled by omens, good or bad, as great as never seen before or after. It was because the Buddha was the greatest sage of all. When the Buddha was born, according to various sūtras, rays of light in five colors shone in four directions, so the night looked as bright as the day. When He passed away, it is said, twelve white rainbows spanned north and south and the sun stopped shining, so the day became as dark as the night. For 2,000 years afterward, during the Ages of the True Dharma and the Semblance Dharma, although many sages had been born and had died, such great omens as those which preceded the birth and death of the Buddha never occurred before.

Nevertheless, the great earthquake and strange phenomena in the sky which we have had since the Shōka Era (1257-59) till this year, the tenth year of the Bun’ei Era (1273), are comparable to those great omens at the time of Śākyamuni Buddha’s birth and death. You should know from these occurrences that a man as great as the Buddha is going to be born or is about to pass away. A great comet rose in the sky. Which great ruler or his subject does it foreshadow? An earthquake shook and tilted the great earth three times. Which sage or wise man does it foretell? You should know that these are not ordinary omens, good or bad, large in size. They solely foreshadow the rise or decline of this great dharma!

Kembutsu Mirai-ki, Testimony to the Prediction of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 177

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Oct. 31, 2020

Anyone who keeps this sūtra
Will be able to expound
The meanings of the teachings,
And the names and words [of this sūtra].
Their eloquence will be as boundless
And as unhindered as the wind in the sky.

The Buddha sings these verses to Superior-Practice Bodhisattva (Jōgyo, Viśiṣṭacārītra) in Chapter Twenty-One of the Lotus Sūtra. This teaching transforms us from beings who exist for our own comfort and awakens our true nature as Bodhisattvas: beings who exist for the benefit of all beings. This transition requires that we engage with these other beings and break out of the isolation of our own attachments. The first step is simply to listen, to be present and accept whatever the world has to offer. But at some point we need to speak. It can be difficult to know what to say. But with this Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sūtra, we find that because it embodies the Buddha’s highest wisdom, so long as we transmit what it has taught us, we will always have ways to use it to benefit other beings and bring this teaching to life in our world.

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 the merits received by the living beings in the great congregation heard from the Buddha that the duration of his life was so many kalpas, we consider the reaction of the gods to this news.

When the Buddha said that these Bodhisattva-mahāsattva had obtained the great benefits of the Dharma, [the gods) in heaven rained mandārava-flowers and mahā-mandārava-flowers on the many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas sitting on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees. They also rained those flowers on [the two Buddhas:] Many-Treasures Tathāgata, who had passed away a long time ago, and Śākyamuni Buddha, both of whom were sitting on the lion-like seat in the stupa of the seven treasures. They also rained those flowers on the great Bodhisattvas’ and the four kinds of devotees. They also rained the fine powder of the incense of candana and aloes [on them). Heavenly drums automatically sounded wonderful and deep in the sky. [The gods] also rained thousands of heavenly garments and hung many necklaces made of pearls, mani gems or free-at-will gems over the nine quarters. They also burned priceless incense which was put in incense-burners of many treasures. The incense-burners automatically went around the great congregation, and the odor of the incense was offered to all the members of the congregation. Above each of the Buddhas [sitting under the trees), Bodhisattvas lined up vertically one upon another to the Heaven of Brahman, holding canopies and streamers. They praised the Buddhas, singing innumerable verses with their wonderful voices.

See Approaching the Ideal Land of Eternal Tranquil Light

b4today, LS32, d22b

Approaching the Ideal Land of Eternal Tranquil Light

A true believer should strive not only for the goal of his own ascent to the world of the buddhas but also for the aim of making as many other people as possible his companions there. The more true believers increase in number, the more the whole of mankind develops and the nearer this world approaches the ideal Land of Eternal Tranquil Light. Taken all together, the various merits preached in the sutras boil down to this.

Buddhism for Today, p264
Peaceful Action

Three Dimensions of the Lotus Sutra

Quote

The Lotus Sutra affirms that we all have the capacity to become a Buddha. This is a very great gift. How can we best use this wonderful gift we have received? By becoming the arms of the Buddha through our practice in our daily life, in Sangha building, and in our work in the world. This is why I propose that we develop a third division of the Lotus Sutra, beyond the two of the historical and the ultimate: the dimension of action. Part Ill of this book shows us how the Lotus Sutra opens the gateway to enter the action dimension of the bodhisattvas.

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p12
WONS

The Merit of Opening the Eyes of a Blind Man

It is said in the Nirvana Sūtra that the dharma is more important than our lives, so we should propagate the dharma at the cost of our lives. My life is insignificant; I have been struck and hated by the people. Nevertheless, because the dharma is important, it will inevitably spread. With the Lotus Sūtra spreading I should be more revered after I die than when I am alive. If my remains should be revered, then they should be beneficial to the people. If my remains should be beneficial, I should be revered just as Great Bodhisattva Hachiman. You should know that all men and women who support me will then be respected just as Takenouchi-no-Sukune, who served Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, or his young prince.

The merit of opening the eyes of a blind man is beyond description. How much more does it take to open the eyes of all sentient beings in Japan? Moreover, what does it take to open the eyes of all blind people throughout the world?

Oto Gozen Go-shōsoku, A Letter to Lady Oto, Nyonin Gosho, Letters Addressed to Female Followers, Page 124-126

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Oct. 30, 2020

Have faith in the great Mandala Gohonzon, the most superlative in the world. Endeavor! Endeavor to strengthen your faith, so that you may be blessed with the protective powers of all Buddhas.

Nichiren wrote this as part of his letter to monk Sairen-bō in his Treatise on All Phenomena as Ultimate Reality (Shohō-Jissō Shō). One way of reading this passage is that as we develop our faith in the Omandala Gohonzon, the Buddhas will provide more protection for us. Another way to read it is that as our faith develops, so does the power we have to protect others, free them from suffering and help them to awaken their Buddha nature. Either way, Nichiren shows us the practical results of our faith.

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