All posts by John Hughes

WONS

The Practicer Who Expounds the Lotus Sūtra in the Latter Age

It is said that the water of the Yellow River becomes clear only once in a thousand years; a saint appears once in a thousand years, but a Buddha appears once in innumerable kalpa (aeons). Even though we may see the Buddha, it is difficult to meet with the Lotus Sūtra. Even though we may meet with the Lotus Sūtra, it is more difficult for an ordinary person in the Latter Age of Degeneration to meet a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra. For the practicer who expounds the Lotus Sūtra in the Latter Age of Degeneration is superior to more than twelve hundred Buddhas in the Flower Garland Sūtra, the Āgama sūtras, the Hōdō sūtras, the Wisdom Sūtra and the Great Sun Buddha Sūtra who do not preach the Lotus Sūtra. Grand Master Miao-lê explains in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra: “The happiness and prosperity of the person who makes offerings to the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra exceed those of Buddhas, while a person who harasses the practicer will have his head broken into seven pieces.”

Nichinyo Gozen Gohenji, Response to My Lady Nichinyo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 135-136

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Sept. 27, 2020

Ajita, look! The merits of the person who causes even a single man to go and hear the Dharma are so many. It is needless to speak of the merits of the person who hears [this sūtra] with all his heart, reads it, recites it, expounds it to the great multitude, and acts according to its teachings.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Maitreya, whom he calls Ajita (Invincible) in Chapter Eighteen of the Lotus Sutra. While earlier parts of the Sūtra describe the possible reactions those who teach the Buddha Dharma may find, the Buddha here reminds us that we do not need to wait until we are strong enough, wise enough, or even practiced enough to use it to benefit others. This sūtra contains the Buddha’s enlightenment itself. When we hear it, we hear the Buddha. When we expound it, it is the Buddha speaking through us.

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 concluded Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits, we consider again 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.

Thereupon the innumerable, asaṃkhya living beings in the great congregation, who had heard from the Buddha that the duration of his life was so many kalpas as previously stated, obtained great benefits.
At that time the World-Honored One said to Maitreya Bodhisattva-mahāsattva:

“Ajita! When I said that the duration of my life was so long, six hundred and eighty billion nayuta living beings, that is, the living beings as many as there are sands in the River Ganges, obtained the truth of birthlessness. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas numbering one thousand times the number of these living beings obtained the dharanis by which they could memorize all that they had heard. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of earth of a Sumeru-world obtained eloquence without hindrance. Another group of Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of earth of a Sumeru world obtained the dharanis by which they could memorize many hundreds of thousands of billions of repetitions of teachings. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of earth of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds obtained the faculty of turning the irrevocable wheel of the Dharma. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of earth of one million Sumeru-worlds obtained the faculty of turning the wheel of the pure Dharma. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of earth of one thousand Sumeru-worlds obtained the faculty of attaining Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi after eight rebirths. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas four times the number of the particles of earth of the four continents obtained the faculty of attaining Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi after four rebirths. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas three times the number of the particles of earth of the four continents obtained the faculty of attaining Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi after three rebirths. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas twice the number of the particles of earth of the four continents obtained the faculty of attaining Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi after two rebirths. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of earth of the four continents obtained the faculty of attaining Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi immediately after this life. Living beings as many as the particles of earth of eight Sumeru-worlds aspired for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.”

See Faith and Merits from Buddhism for Today.

Shodaigyo

Fukushiki Tanden Kokyu Ho

Quote

[During the silent meditation portions of the Shodaigyo ceremony] there are two ways of breathing: Fukushiki Kokyu Ho (abdominal breathing) and Fukushiki Tanden Kokyu Ho (abdominal tanden breathing).

With regular abdominal breathing, when we inhale deeply, the belly will swell. When we exhale fully, the belly collapses. But with abdominal tanden breathing [deep abdominal breathing], there is no such thing as swelling or collapsing during breathing. We are inhaling and exhaling by putting strength to the tanden [and breathing deeply from the diaphragm]. Tanden Kokyu is more difficult than regular fukushiki kokyu, but anyone can breathe in this way after some training. This kind of breathing is superior for promoting health and calming the mind.

Journey of the Path to Righteousness, p 40-41
d1b, WONS

The Vow of the Gods To Protect the Lotus Sūtra

Thereupon I, Nichiren, loudly declare facing heaven:

As we look at the first chapter on the “Introductory” of the Lotus Sūtra, we see that the King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, the sun and moon, the Four Heavenly Kings, the Dragon King, asura, various gods of the realms of desire and of form (nikai hachiban) and heavenly beings from numerous worlds gathered in the assembly. When they heard that the Lotus Sūtra was supreme of all the sūtras preached in the past, being preached at present and will be preached in the future, they felt enthusiastic about protecting this sūtra just as Young Ascetic in the Snow Mountains sacrificed his own body for the dharma and Medicine King Bodhisattva burnt his elbow to offer light to the Buddha. Then Lord Śākyamuni Buddha remonstrated them in front of the Buddha of Many Treasures and various Buddhas from the worlds throughout the universe: “You should now swear to protect the Lotus Sūtra.” Encouraged by the Buddha’s advice like sailing in the wind, listeners in the three meetings at two places all swore in unison: “We will protect the practicers of the Lotus Sūtra according to the words of the Buddha,” did they not? What happened to this vow?

Having heard of this oath at their presence, the Buddha of Many Treasures and numerous Buddhas from the worlds throughout the universe felt assured and returned to their respective worlds. It has been many years since Śākyamuni Buddha passed away. Therefore, it could be that although a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra exists today in the Latter Age of Degeneration in a remote land of Japan, such gods as the King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, the sun and moon have forgotten their oath before the Buddha and do not protect him. To me, a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra in the Latter Age of Degeneration, it is merely a temporary grief. In my numerous lives since the remote past, I have often been a pheasant in front of a hawk, a frog before a snake, a rat before a cat, a monkey before a dog. As this world is as transient as a dream, I can reconcile myself to have been fooled by Buddhas, bodhisattvas and gods.

The saddest thing to me, however, is for such heavenly beings as the King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, the sun and moon and the Four Heavenly Kings to use up the good fortune of heaven and fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering for their sin of not having protected a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra who chants “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō” and encounters persecution. As flowers are blown away by a storm, as it rains from the sky to the ground, and as it is stated in the sutra: “He will go to the Hell of Incessant Suffering upon death,” they will all go to hell. It is indeed a pity.

Even if they, supported by numerous Buddhas in all the worlds throughout the universe in the past, present and future, insist that they have no knowledge of such an oath made before the Buddha, I, Nichiren, will be a strong enemy of them. Unless the Buddha is impartial, I am sure that I will send the King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, the sun and moon and the Four Heavenly Kings to the Hell of Incessant Suffering. If they are afraid of my eye and mouth, they had better carry out the oath before the Buddha immediately.

Shinkoku-ō Gosho, Sovereigns of Our Divine Land, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 184-185

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Sept. 26, 2020

When you see any teacher of the Dharma
Who has obtained these merits,
You should strew heavenly flowers to him,
Dress him in a heavenly garment,
Worship his feet with your head,
And think that he will become a Buddha.

The Buddha makes this declaration to Maitreya Bodhisattva in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. This chapter tells the variety of merits enjoyed by anyone who understands, however briefly, the ever-present nature of the Buddha. This reminder is not just for the great Bodhisattvas such as Maitreya. It is also for all of us who are awakening our Bodhisattva nature through this teaching. It is important for us to treat all people, especially those who share this practice of the Buddha Dharma with us, with the same respect we would give to the Buddha himself.

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

LS32

Day 21

Day 21 covers all of Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata.

Day 21 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month learned about the Buddha’s hidden core and supernatural powers, we learn of the Buddha’s expedient efforts over the duration of his life.

“Good men! During this time I gave various names to myself, for instance, the Burning-Light Buddha. I also said, ‘That Buddha entered into Nirvāṇa.’ I did all these things only as expedients.

“Good men! When some people came to me, I saw the strength of the power of their faith and of the other faculties of theirs with the eyes of the Buddha. Then I named myself differently, and told them of the duration of my life differently, according to their capacities. l also said to them, ‘I shall enter into Nirvāṇa.’ I expounded the Wonderful Dharma with these various expedients, and caused the living beings to rejoice.

“Good men! When I saw that some people of little virtue and of much defilement were seeking the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle, I told them, ‘I renounced my family when I was young, and attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi [forty and odd years ago].’ In reality I became the Buddha in the remotest past as I previously stated. I told them this as an expedient to teach them, to lead them into the Way to Buddhahood.

“Good men! All the sūtras that I expounded [hitherto] were for the purpose of saving all living beings. I told the stories of my previous lives [in some sūtras,] and the stories of the previous lives of other Buddhas [in other sūtras]. I showed my replicas [in some sūtras,] and my transformations [in other sūtras]. I described my deeds [in some sūtras,] and the deeds of others [in other sūtras]. All that I say is true, not false, because I see the triple world as it is. I see that the triple world is the world in which the living beings have neither birth nor death, that is to say, do not appear or disappear, that it is the world in which I do not appear or from which l do not disappear, that it is not real or unreal, and that it is not as it seems or as it does not seem. I do not see the triple world in the same way as [the living beings of] the triple world do. I see all this clearly and infallibly. The living beings are various in their natures, desires, deeds, thoughts and opinions. Therefore, I expounded the dharma with various stories of previous lives, with various parables, similes and discourses, in order to cause all living beings to plant the roots of good. I have never stopped doing what I should do. As I said before, it is very long since I became the Buddha. The duration of my life is innumerable, asaṃkhya kalpas. I am always here. I shall never pass away.

“Good men! The duration of my life, which I obtained by the practice of the way of Bodhisattvas, has not yet expired. It is twice as long as the length of time as previously stated. Although I shall never enter into Nirvāṇa, I say to men of little virtue, ‘I shall pass away.’ I teach them with this expedient. Why is that? It is because, if they see me for a long time, they will not plant the roots of good, but become poor and base, and cling to the five desires so much that they will be caught in the nets of wrong views. If they think that I am always here, and do not think that I will pass away, they will become too arrogant and lazy to realize the difficulty of seeing me, and they will not respect me. Therefore I say [to them] expediently, ‘Bhikṣus, know this! It is difficult to see a Buddha who appears in [this] world.’ Why is that? It is because some men of little virtue cannot see me even during many hundreds of thousands of billions of kalpas while the others can. Therefore, I say [to them], ‘Bhikṣus! It is difficult to see a Tathāgata.’ Those who hear this and know that it is difficult to see me, will adore me, admire me, and plant the roots of good. Therefore l say [to them], ‘I shall pass away,’ although I shall not.

See Living the Bodhisattva Way

LS32, d21b, stories

Living the Bodhisattva Way

Various reasons are given in the Sutra as to why the Buddha has announced his entry into final nirvana when actually he is still alive in this world. For example: “If the Buddha lives for a long time in this world, people of little virtue will not plant roots of goodness, and those who are poor and of humble origins will become attached to the five desires and be caught in a net of assumptions and false views. If they see that the Tathagata is always alive and never extinct, they will become arrogant and selfish or discouraged and neglectful. Unable to realize how difficult it is to meet him, they will not have a respectful attitude toward him.” (LS 293)

It is useful to understand these terms through the vehicle of the parables. The children in the parable of the burning house are too absorbed in their play to notice what is going on around them, including their father’s attempts to warn them of the dangers. The son in the parable of the rich father and poor son is simply lacking in self-confidence and self-respect. The children in this parable are stricken by poison. All are in need of help and guidance, but what they need guidance for is to accept greater responsibility for the direction and quality of their own lives. In this way, they can, perhaps only very gradually, become bodhisattvas, and take responsibility for doing the Buddha’s work in this world.

And yet, even though stories have been told about the death of the Buddha, even now the Buddha is not really dead. He is still with us, alive in this world, living the bodhisattva way, doing the bodhisattva work of transforming people into bodhisattvas and purifying buddha lands. “From the beginning,” he says, “I have practiced the bodhisattva way, and that life is not yet finished. . . .” (LS 293)

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p206
Shodaigyo

Zuisoku Choshin

Quote

[During the silent meditation portions of the Shodaigyo ceremony] Zuisoku Choshin means to focus on the inhalation and exhalation of breath to center and calm the shin (mind/heart). Breathe gently, deep, and long into the tanden [deep abdomen]. Inhale, hold the breath briefly, and then exhale the breath slowly. Perceive the breath through the eyes of the mind. When you exhale, focus this exhalation as reaching the top of Mount Fuji, with the eyes of your mind following this fleeting breath. When you inhale, perceive this abdominal inhalation filling with air from even beyond the Pacific Ocean. Now, focus on the breath briefly sustained in the abdomen. In this state, the shin (mind/heart) is centered and calmed through the breath. In conclusion, establish correct breathing: deep, long and strong; focus on the inhaling and exhaling of the breath, and attempt to integrate body/breath/shin into one.

If the body is in a state of imbalance or instability, the breath will not become deeper. If breath is not deep, the shin cannot become calm. Or to say, as the shin is not calm, so established breathing will not be correct. Breathing is uncomfortable and body form fails. The three components of body, breath, and shin cannot be separated. It is a relationship of one that carries three (Ichi Soku San), and three that are in one (San Soku Ichi).

Journey of the Path to Righteousness, p 41-42
WONS

A Time When Heaven and Earth Are Upside Down

Now we are at the beginning of the Latter Age of Degeneration, when Hinayāna teachings strike down Mahāyāna teachings, provisional teachings destroy true teachings, east is taken for west and west for east, and heaven and earth are upside down. Under these circumstances the four ranks of bodhisattva-teachers who preach the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra remain in hiding. Gods desert the land which they are supposed to protect. Then for the first time those bodhisattvas from underground appear in this world attempting to encourage ignorant people to take the five characters of myō, hō, ren, ge, and kyō, the excellent medicine of the Latter Age. Many ignorant people would fall into hell by slandering the five characters, but they would be saved eventually. This is what is meant by Miao-lê in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra: “Slanderers of the True Dharma will fall into hell but they will inevitably be saved by virtue of having heard the True Dharma.”

Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Verable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 162