All posts by John Hughes

WONS

Adhering to the True Intent of Śākyamuni Buddha

Compared to this Eternal Buddha and His teaching preached in the essential section, those preached in the theoretical section, the pre-Lotus sūtras, the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning, and the Nirvana Sūtra, namely, all the sūtras preached prior to, at the same time as, and after the Lotus Sūtra, are easy to believe in and understand. It is because they are provisional teachings adjusted to meet the faith and comprehension of the unenlightened while what is preached in the essential section transcends them all and is difficult to believe in and comprehend because it adheres to the true intent of Śākyamuni Buddha.

Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Verable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 152

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – July 23, 2020

Now I will tell you.
Listen to me
With one mind!

The Buddha speaks these verses in Chapter Six of the Lotus Sūtra. When we understand what someone tells us, it is as if we share a mind with that person. When we listen and understand what the Buddha teaches us, we are of one mind with him. We then have the Buddha mind.

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

LS32

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.

Day 24 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered the eight hundred merits of the nose, we repeat in gāthās the merits of the nose.

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

Their nose will be purified.
They will be able to know
The smells of all things,
Be they good or bad.

They will be able to recognize by smell
The sumanas-flowers and jātika-flowers;
Tamala[pattra] and candana;
Aloes and sappanwood;
Various flowers and fruits;
And all Jiving beings including men and women.

Anyone who expounds the Dharma will be able to locate
All living beings from afar by smell.
He will be able to locate by smell
The wheel-turning-kings of great [countries],
The wheel-turning-kings of small [countries],
And their sons, ministers and attendants.

He will be able to locate by smell
The wonderful treasures of personal ornaments,
The underground stores of treasures,
And the ladies of the wheel-turning-kings.

He will be able to recognize persons
By smelling their ornaments or garments
Or by smelling their necklaces
Or by smelling the incense applied to their skin.

Anyone who keeps
This Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Will be able to know by smell
Whether the gods are walking, sitting, playing or performing wonders.

Anyone who keeps this sūtra
Will be able to locate by smell, without moving about,
The flowers and fruits of trees,
And the oil taken from sumanas-flowers.

He will be able to recognize by smell
The flowers of the candana-trees
Blooming in steep mountains,
And the living beings in those mountains.

Anyone who keeps this sūtra
Will be able to locate by smell
The living beings in the Surrounding Iron Mountains,
In the oceans, and underground.

He will be able to know by smell
Whether asuras and their daughters
And their attendants are fighting
Or playing with each other.

He will be able to locate by smell
Lions, elephants, tigers,
Wolves, wild oxen and buffalos
In the wilderness and in steep places.

He will be able to know by smell
Whether an unborn child is a boy or a girl,
Or a child of ambiguous sex,
Or the embryo of a nonhuman being.

He will be able to know by smell
Whether a woman is an expectant mother,
Or whether she will give an easy birth
To a happy child or not.

These eight hundred merits of the nose are problematic for those who want a literal meaning in everything. I confess to suffering here a little. But what if one could “know by smell whether a woman is an expectant mother, or whether she will give an easy birth to a happy child or not”? Better yet, given today’s modern sensitive to gender-typing, how about knowing “by smell whether an unborn child is a boy or a girl, or a child of ambiguous sex”?

Eyes

The Precepts and Development of Morality

Quote

The precepts and the development of morality is a very fundamental part of the Buddhist path. The precepts lay the groundwork for the further mental and emotional development that will eventually lead to liberation. In taking up the precepts, the follower of the Buddha consciously affirms the most basic values that all people seem to know instinctively. Through the development of basic morality, we are protected from all manner of evil; whether the inner torment of a guilty conscience, the social and legal consequences of wrongdoing, or a future rebirth in unfortunate circumstances. Taking the precepts is also a sign of determination and sincerity. It shows that we are no longer willing to compromise our integrity or harm others for worldly gain, because we have aspired to the highest goal. The precepts also cause us to be more mindful of our daily activities; they provide a yardstick by which we can improve our character in every facet of life through exploring their implications in everyday situations.

The precepts are not just negative injunctions either; each of the precepts has a positive value as well. Those who truly follow the precepts against killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and taking intoxicants will naturally develop the qualities of humility, love, compassion, generosity and honesty. Such people will not harm themselves or others; and instead, will seek to protect all beings. In being guided by the precepts, we can cultivate a character that is not only blameless, but also pure and worthy of respect.

Morality is an indispensable element of the Buddhist path, but moral discipline is not an end unto itself. Morality that is not supported by the practice of concentration and insight can easily wither away or degenerate into puritanical self-righteousness. It is only truly fulfilled when it acts as the basis for the cultivation of the mind that leads to perfect and complete awakening for the sake of oneself and all other beings. For the bodhisattva, morality functions as one of the perfections when it is guided by wisdom and thus accompanied by generosity, patience, energy, and meditation, all of which are practiced for the sake of all beings.

Open Your Eyes, p460
WONS

Great Events and Great Omens

Because it is lamentable to see the possibility of our land and ourselves destroyed, I have determined to point this out even at the cost of my life. If the ruler of the land wishes to maintain peace, he should have begun to wonder and investigate what I have said. Believing in only the words of slanderers, on the contrary, he is persecuting me, Nichiren. The King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, the sun, the moon, the Four Heavenly Kings, and the terrestrial gods, whose duty it is to protect the Lotus Sūtra, regarded slanderers of the True Dharma as outrageous in the past. However, when nobody pointed out such slanderers, these deities sometimes ignored them just as parents overlook the mischief of their sole child, although at other times they punished him with as little as a warning. Today, however, the ruler not only appoints slanderers of the True Dharma to official positions but also persecutes the man who happened to remonstrate him, not just for one or two days, one or two months, and one or two years, but for many years. Nichiren has been persecuted more severely than Never-Despising Bodhisattva, who was beaten with sticks and pieces of wood, and Monk Virtue Consciousness, who was about to be murdered, upholding the True Dharma in the past. Therefore, the King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, the sun, the moon, the Four Heavenly Kings, the stars, and the terrestrial gods all are angry with the ruler and warn him often by sending strange phenomena in the sky and natural calamities on earth. Since he does not perceive their warnings and only intensifies the persecution of the man who remonstrates, they order the sagacious ruler of a neighboring land to chastise the ruler of Japan and send demons into his land to deceive the people and cause internal disruption.

Great events, regardless if they are good or bad, are foreshadowed by great omens. We saw the largest comet we have ever seen in 2,230 years or so since the death of the Buddha and experienced the severest earthquake we have ever had in history. They foretell the destruction of Japan, at the same time they are omens of the appearance of the true practicer of the Lotus Sūtra in Japan. There have been many sages endowed with wisdom and talent in China and Japan, but none has ever believed in the Lotus Sūtra as firmly as I, Nichiren, nor has anyone had as many strong enemies in the land as I do. From these facts, you should recognize Nichiren to be the prime practicer of the Lotus Sūtra in the world.

Senji-shō, Selecting the Right time: A Tract by Nichiren, the Buddha’s Disciple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 236-237

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – July 22, 2020

Flower-Virtue! This Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva protects all living beings in this Sahā-World. He transforms himself into one or another of these various living beings in this Sahā-World and expounds this sūtra to all living beings without reducing his supernatural powers, [his power of] transformation, and his wisdom.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Flower-Virtue Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Four of the Lotus Sūtra. Like many of the Bodhisattvas, Wonderful-Voice takes on the form of countless beings to reach those whom he has vowed to lead to enlightenment. For those who can be reached by a teacher, he becomes a teacher. For those who can be reached by a child, he becomes a child. For those who can be reached by a stranger, he becomes a stranger. Understanding the innumerable forms the Bodhisattvas take on to help us, we can ask: Who in this world of conflict and suffering is not a Bodhisattva? From whom can we not learn how to see things for what they are?

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 repeated in gāthās the merits of the fiftieth person who rejoices at hearing the Lotus sūtra, we consider the benefits of anyone who persuades even a single person to hear the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower and conclude Chapter 18, The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra.

Anyone who persuades even a single person
To hear the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower
Of the Wonderful Dharma, saying:
“This sūtra is profound and wonderful.
It is difficult to meet it
Even during ten million kalpas,”
And causes him to go and hear it even for a moment,
Will be able to obtain the following merits:

In his future lives, he will have no disease of the mouth.
His teeth will not be few, yellow or black.
His lips will not be thick, shrunk or broken.
There will be nothing loathsome [on his lips].
His tongue will not be dry, black or short.
His nose will be high, long and straight.
His forehead will be broad and even.
His face will be handsome.
All people will wish to see him.
His breath will not be foul.
The fragrance of the utpala-flowers
Will always be emitted from his mouth.

Anyone who visits a monastery to hear
The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
And rejoices at hearing it even for a moment,
Will be able to obtain the following merits:

He will be reborn among gods and men.
He will be able to go up to the palace of heaven,
Riding in a wonderful elephant-cart or horse-cart,
Or in a palanquin of wonderful treasures.

Anyone who persuades others to sit and hear this sūtra
In the place where the Dharma is expounded,
Will be able to obtain the seat of Sakra or of Brahman
Or of a wheel-turning-holy-king by his merits.
Needless to say, boundless will be the merits
Of the person who hears this sūtra with all his heart,
And expounds its meanings,
And acts according to its teachings.

See Invitation to Creative Wisdom

LS32, d21b, d6b, d7b, d8b, stories

Invitation to Creative Wisdom

What is the purpose of all this enchantment and magic? Entertainment? In one sense, yes! It is to bring joy to the world. Stories are for enjoyment. But not only for enjoyment. Not in all of them, but in a great many of the stories in the Lotus Sutra, especially in those that are used to demonstrate practice of skillful means, it is important to recognize that what is being demanded of the reader is not obedience to any formula or code or book, not even to the Lotus Sutra, but imaginative and creative approaches to concrete problems. A father gets his children out of a burning house, another helps his long-lost adult son gain self-respect and confidence through skillful use of psychology, still another father pretends to be dead as a way of shocking his children into taking a good medicine he had prepared for them, and a rich man tries to relieve his friend’s poverty. These stories all involve finding creative solutions to quite ordinary problems.

Creativity requires imagination, the ability to see possibilities where others see only what is. It is, in a sense, an ability to see beyond the facts, to see beyond the way things are, to envision something new. Of course, it is not only imagination that is required to overcome problems. Wisdom, or intelligence, and compassion are also needed. But it is very interesting that the problems encountered by the buddha figures in the parables of the Lotus Sutra are never solved by the book. They do not pull out a sutra to find a solution to the problem confronting them. In every case, something new, something creative, is attempted; something from the creative imagination.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p23
Eyes

The Precept Platform for the Latter Age

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Nichiren Buddhism teaches that the Hinayāna precept platform and the Mahāyāna precept platform are now obsolete: the time has arrived for the precept platform of the Diamond Chalice Precept that subsumes all other precepts. From this point of view, the practice of Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō ensures that morality and ethics are not unthinking, rigid adherence to any specific code of conduct. Rather, the moral and ethical life is based directly upon the wisdom and compassion of buddhahood. There is no need to go to a specially sanctioned place in order to receive the Diamond Chalice Precept. Wherever Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō is recited becomes the precept platform where all can dedicate their lives to the Wonderful Dharma and attain enlightenment. It is the place where all people of the world, lay or ordained, can receive the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Flower Teaching directly from the Eternal Śākyamuni Buddha, just as the bodhisattvas from beneath the earth received it during the Assembly in Space.

Open Your Eyes, p472
WONS

The Five Periods of Śākyamuni Buddha’s Preaching

Śākyamuni Buddha’s lifetime preaching can be divided into five periods. The first is called the Flower Garland period, when the Buddha expounded the Flower Garland Sūtra for two or three weeks on the Diamond-seat under the Bodhi Tree for bodhisattvas in the Dharma Body during the eight meetings at seven places. The Flower Garland Sūtra is a provisional Mahāyāna teaching compared to the Lotus Sūtra, however, it is the distinct teaching (teaching for bodhisattvas) as well as the perfect teaching. The conclusion of this sūtra is in the Brahma-net Sūtra, which expounds the Mahāyāna precepts for bodhisattvas. …

The second of the five periods is the Āgama (or Deer Park) period, when for 12 years Śākyamuni Buddha preached the Hinayāna Āgama sūtras in the Deer Park in Bārāpasī and various other places in 16 great states. The Āgama sūtras roughly consists of four groups: Long Āgama Sūtras; Middle Length Āgama Sūtras; Increasing-by-One Āgama Sūtras; and Miscellaneous Āgama Sūtras. These sūtras preach such doctrines as the “four noble truths” (the truth of suffering, the truth regarding the cause of sufferings, the truth regarding the extinction of suffering, and the truth regarding the path to Nirvana) and the “eightfold holy path” (right views, thoughts, speech, acts, living, effort, mindfulness, and meditation), which preach for men of the Two Vehicles (śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha) that all things and phenomena are transient and void. The concluding sūtra is the Sūtra of Legacy Teachings preached just before Śākyamuni Buddha’s death as His final instruction to His disciples. This is known as the Hinayāna precepts. …

The third of the five periods is the Hōdō period, when Śākyamuni Buddha preached a variety of Mahāyāna sutras. This period of preaching is said to have lasted eight years, sixteen years, or an indeterminate amount of years. The sūtras preached in this period include the Revealing the Profound and Secret Sūtra, the Necklace Sūtra, the Entering Laṅkā Sūtra, the Great Sun Buddha Sūtra, the Diamond Peak Sūtra, the Sūtra on the Act of Perfection, the Sūtra of the Buddha of Infinite Life, the Sūtra of Meditation on the Buddha of Infinite Life, and the Amitābha Sūtra. …

The fourth of the five periods is the Hannya (Wisdom) period, when Śākyamuni Buddha preached the doctrine of void for 14 or 22 years. The Hannya sūtras include such as the Kōsan hannya, Kongō hannya, Tennōmon hannya, Maka hannya, Daibon hannya, Ninnō hannya, etc. The last mentioned is considered the conclusion of the Hannya sūtras. …

The last of the five periods is the Lotus-Nirvana period, when the two sūtras of Lotus and Nirvana were preached. Of the two, the Lotus Sūtra is the principal text while the Nirvana Sūtra is like a gleaning after the harvest in autumn. Established on the basis of the Lotus Sūtra is the Tendai (T’ien-t’ai) School, which is also known by various designations such as the Lotus School, School Established by the Buddha, School Depended-on by Various Other Schools, Secret School, and Exoteric School of Illumination.

The Sūtra of Meditation on the Buddha of Universal Sage Bodhisattva, the conclusion of the Lotus Sūtra, provided the spiritual foundation for the establishment of the Mahāyāna Perfect and Sudden Precept Dais on Mt. Hiei.

Ichidai Goji Keizu, Genealogical Chart of the Buddha’s Lifetime Teachings in Five Periods, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 238-243