The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p 217-218The relation between sincere respect and its expressions in gestures and words is something like the relation between true Dharma and merely formal Dharma. And yet expressions of respect even when respect is not sincerely felt can still be good. What we can think of as ritual politeness – saying “Thank you” when receiving something, even if we do not feel grateful; asking “How are you?” when greeting someone and not even waiting for a response; saying “I’m sorry” when we do not really feel sorry – can all contribute to smoother social relations. Just as true Dharma is greater than merely formal Dharma, being truly grateful is greater than expressing gratitude in a merely formal way, and heartfelt sincerity is greater than merely conventional politeness, but even social conventions and polite expressions can be an important ingredient in relations between people and can contribute to mutual harmony and respect.
When we bow in respect before a buddha image, is it an expression of deep respect or merely a habit? When the object of our sutra recitation is to get to the end as quickly as possible or to demonstrate skill in reading rapidly, is our recitation anything more than a formality?
When we take a moment to pray with others for world peace, are we expressing a profound aspiration for world peace, an aspiration that is bound to lead to appropriate actions, or are we simply conforming to social expectations? Probably in most cases, the truth lies somewhere in the middle, where our gestures and expressions are neither deeply felt nor completely superficial and empty. It is possible, after all, to be a little sincere or a little grateful. We should, of course, try to become more and more genuinely grateful and sincere, but we should not disparage those important social conventions, often different in different cultures, found in one way or another in virtually all cultures.
All posts by John Hughes
Namu Byodo Daie Ichijo Myōhō Renge Kyō
Journey of the Path to Righteousness, p 28-29[In the phrase Namu Byodo Daie Ichijo Myōhō Renge Kyō,] Ichijo translates as the one vehicle (the one mode of transportation). In this case, the Buddha teaching is compared to a vehicle. Why is it compared as such? It is because the power of the Buddha’s teaching can transport us human beings, with all our defilements (Bonno) suffering in this Saha World [the realm where one must endure], across the ocean of suffering to the further shore of enlightenment and the realm of the Buddha. So the character Jo (vehicle) is used. In appearance, the vehicle of the Buddha teaching may seem to be more than one, but there exists only one absolute truth after all, not two, not three. … [T]his world is the life of the Buddha and we humans are receiving a part of that life, so, we are, in effect, all siblings as children of the Buddha. We must realize this and that the only real choice for all people, in the end, is to become Buddhas. This world is originally the pure land of the Buddha; we must build a peaceful world as soon as possible. This is the only viable solution to save us all. This is the meaning of Ichijo (The One Vehicle). It is expressed completely as Byodo Daie Ichijo Myōhō Renge Kyō and encompasses all religious, philosophical and ethical ground.
Deeply Rooted Faith
Just as high winds sway the grass and thunderbolts frighten the people, false creeds grow rampant to disturb human feelings in the world today. Nevertheless, you have steadfastly kept your faith in me all these years. I wonder what causes and conditions in the past brought about our relationship today.
It is said that deep-rooted plants will not lose their leaves and that a spring with a drop of water will never dry up. Likewise, your faith is deeply rooted and you embrace a drop of purity in your heart. It is noble, indeed.
Kubo-ama Gozen Gohenji, Response to My Lady, the Nun of Kubo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 90
Daily Dharma – Sept. 29, 2020
The children who had not lost their right minds saw that this good medicine had a good color and smell, took it at once, and were cured completely. But the children who had already lost their right minds did not consent to take the medicine given to them, although they rejoiced at seeing their father come home and asked him to cure them, because they were so perverted that they did not believe that this medicine having a good color and smell had a good taste.
In Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha tells a parable of a wise physician who prepares medicine for his children who have accidentally poisoned themselves. He compares the children to us whose minds are poisoned by the delusions of greed, anger and ignorance. He also compares himself to the wise father and the medicine to the Lotus Sūtra that he has left for us. Until the children took the medicine and tasted it for themselves, they could not be cured of the poison. Until we make this practice of the Wonderful Dharma an active part of our lives, we cannot be cured of our delusions.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 24
Day 24 concludes Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma, and closes the Sixth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month completed the merits of the nose in gāthās, we consider the twelve hundred merit of the tongue.
“Furthermore, Constant-Endeavor! The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this sūtra, will be able to obtain twelve hundred merit of the tongue. Anything which tastes good, bad, delicious, distasteful, bitter or astringent, will become as delicious as the nectar of heaven and not distasteful when it is put on their tongues. When they expound the Dharma to the great multitude with their tongues, they will be able to raise deep and wonderful voices, to cause their voices to reach the hearts of the great multitude so that the great multitude may be joyful and cheerful. Hearing their speeches given in good order by their deep and wonderful voices, Śakra, Brahman, and the other gods and goddesses will come and listen to them. In order to hear the Dharma, dragons, dragons’ daughters, gandharvas, gandharvas’ daughters, asuras, asuras’ daughters, garuḍas, garuḍas’ daughters, kiṃnaras, kiṃnaras’ daughters, mahoragas, and mahoragas’ daughters also will come to them, respect them, and make offerings to them. Bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās, and upāsikās; and kings, princes, ministers, and their attendants [also will come and hear the Dharma]. The wheel-turning[holy-]kings of small [countries], and the wheel-turning-[holy-]kings of great [countries, each of whom has the] seven treasures and one thousand children, also will come with their [treasures, children and] internal and external retinues, riding in their [movable] palaces, and hear the Dharma. These [good men or women, that is,] Bodhisattvas will expound the Dharma so well that the brahmanas, householders, and people of their country will, throughout their lives, attend on them, and make offering to them. The Śrāvakas, Pratyekabuddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas also will wish to them. [These good men or women] will expound the Dharma in the places which the Buddhas will face. They will keep all the teaching of the Buddhas and raise deep and wonderful voices of the Dharma.”
The Daily Dharma from Feb. 9, 2020, offers this:
Anything which tastes good, bad, delicious, distasteful, bitter or astringent, will become as delicious as the nectar of heaven and not distasteful when it is put on their tongues.
The Buddha gives this explanation to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. In our habitual pursuit of pleasure, we often forget that what is pleasant to some people is irritating to others. This is most obvious with food. Flavors that some find delicious others find disgusting. When we understand that the things in the world are not the cause of our happiness or misery, and that our minds affect how we perceive the world, we find more joy and wonder than we thought possible, and no longer depend on this capricious existence for our happiness.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Namu Honnge Jogyo Koso Nichiren Daibosatsu
Journey of the Path to Righteousness, p 29-31Honor Be To Our Founder, Representing Jogyo, Nichiren, the Great Bodhisattva
Let me explain this “Sangha Treasure”:
The Eternal, Original Buddha Shakyamuni instructed us through the Lotus Sutra on becoming Buddhas and the attainment of world peace. Nichiren Daishonin appeared in Japan more than seven hundred years ago, vowing to propagate the Odaimoku (Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō) which is the soul of the Lotus Sutra.
Honnge means “originating from.” Honnge Jogyo is a disciple of the Eternal and Original Buddha Shakyamuni, a disciple who received the teaching that was fostered by this Buddha since time without beginning. There are four great Bodhisattvas that are disciples: First is Bodhisattva Jogyo, second is Bodhisattva Muhengyo, third is Bodhisattva Jyogyo, and fourth is Anryugyo. Each of the Four Great Bodhisattvas has many tens of thousands of disciples.
The Lotus Sutra states there are Jiyu Rokuman Gogasha No Bosatsu (Bodhisattvas sixty thousand times as many as the sands of the River Ganges from the underground) which include the four great Bodhisattvas. These Four Great Bodhisattvas are known as Joshu Shodo No Shi (Masters of the Highest Leaders).
Shakyamuni Buddha preached the Lotus Sutra at Eagle Peak, directing these (Bodhisattvas from the Underground led by the Four Great Bodhisattvas) to propagate the Lotus Sutra, and the Odaimoku (Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō) as the essence of Lotus Sutra, in the Mappō era (the age of degeneration) two thousand years after the Buddha’s death. Nichiren Daishonin was born in Japan at the inception of Mappō and propagated the Lotus Sutra – in other words, the Odaimoku – at the risk of his life throughout four major calamities and uncounted, smaller ones. As a result, Nichiren Daishonin became aware that he was the reappearance of Bodhisattva Jogyo (Superior Practices Bodhisattva) as referenced in the Lotus Sutra. Being so, we refer to him as and recite:
Namu Honnge Jogyo Koso Nichiren Daibosatsu (Honor Be: To Our Founder, Representing Jogyo, Nichiren, The Great Bodhisattva.)
The Territory of Śākyamuni Buddha
From the eternal past, 500 (million) dust particle kalpa ago, this Sahā World has been the territory of Śākyamuni Buddha, Lord Preacher of the Lotus Sūtra. The earth, sky, mountains, and oceans, even trees and plants do not belong to other Buddhas. Moreover, all living beings are the children of Śākyamuni Buddha. At the beginning of the (period) of creation, one of the Brahma kings descended from the heavens and gave birth to the living beings of the six lower realms thus becoming the parent of all living beings. In the same way Śākyamuni Buddha is also the parent of all living beings. Lord Preacher Śākyamuni Buddha is the excellent teacher who shows all living beings in this country the right way. He teaches us justice such as our debt of gratitude to our parents and judgment of good and evil.
Ichinosawa Nyūdō Gosho, A Letter to Lay Priest Ichinosawa, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 163
Daily Dharma – Sept. 28, 2020
I attained perfect enlightenment and now save all living beings because Devadatta was my teacher.
The Buddha makes this declaration in Chapter Twelve of the Lotus Sūtra. Devadatta was a cousin of the Buddha who became jealous of the Buddha’s enlightenment. Several times he tried to kill the Buddha. He also caused a split in the Buddha’s Sangha, and convinced a young prince to kill his father and usurp the throne. Devadatta was so evil that he fell into Hell alive. Despite all this, the Buddha credits Devadatta with helping him become enlightened, and assures Devadatta personally that he will become enlightened. This shows us that even those beings who create great harm have Buddha nature. They may not deserve our admiration, but they at least deserve our respect.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
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.
Having last month considered The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma and the merits of the eye, we consider the twelve hundred merits of the ear in prose.“Furthermore, Constant-Endeavor! The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this sūtra, will be able to obtain twelve hundred merits of the ear. With their pure ears, they will be able to recognize all the various sounds and voices inside and outside the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds, [each of which is composed of the six regions] down to the Avici Hell and up to the Highest Heaven. They will be able to recognize the voices of elephants, horses and cows; the sounds of carts; cryings and sighings; the sounds of conch-shell horns, drums, gongs and bells; laughter and speech; the voices of men, women, boy and girls; meaningful voices, meaningless voices; painful voices, delightful voices; the voices of the unenlightened ones, the voices of the enlightened ones; joyful voices, joyless voices; the voices of gods, dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras and mahoragas; the sounds of fire, water and wind; the voices of hellish denizens, animals and hungry spirits; and the voices of bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, Śrāvakas, Pratyekabuddhas, Bodhisattvas and Buddhas. In a word, with their pure and natural ears given by their parents, they will be able to recognize all the sounds and voices inside and outside the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds, although they have not yet obtained heavenly ears. Even when they recognize all these various sounds and voices, their organ of hearing will not be destroyed.”
The Daily Dharma from Sept. 7, 2019, offers this:
They will be able to recognize all the sounds and voices inside and outside the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds, although they have not yet obtained heavenly ears. Even when they recognize all these various sounds and voices, their organ of hearing will not be destroyed.
The Buddha gives this explanation to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. As we shed our delusions and see the world more for what it is, we begin to see and understand things not visible or comprehensible to those still mired in their suffering and attachment. Knowing the suffering we have left behind, we may be lured into abandoning this world and those in it. In this chapter, the Buddha shows that all of the sense organs we have in this life, sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch and thought, all of these can be used either to increase our delusion or bring us towards awakening. The Buddha reached enlightenment in this world, and so do we.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Joshingyo
Journey of the Path to Righteousness, p 34-35[During the Shodaigyo ceremony, the silent meditation of] Joshingyo may be more accurately expressed as Jo (purification) Shin (mind/heart) Shin (physical body) Gyo (practice) or “the purification of the mind/heart and body”. The practice of Joshingyo is the best practice for harmonizing and purifying the mind/heart and the body; it is also a superior practice for health even if separated from the practice of Shodaigyo (chanting the Odaimoku).