The great multitude present here
Shall remove their doubts.
The Buddhas do not speak differently.
There is only one vehicle, Myōhō Renge Kyō.
All posts by John Hughes
Unwanted Fireworks
On July 1 500yojanas.org had 40 unique visitors. On July 2, it had 55 unique visitors. On July 3, it had another 55 unique visitors. On Friday, July 4, 3,310 unique visitors tried to hack 500yojanas.org. They looked for a page called signup 614 times. They looked for a login page 597 times. They tried to find a password reset page 536 times. And, best of call, tried to load a page named “forgot” 524 times. These are the “Page not found” efforts. My retelling of The Spider’s Thread had 647 impressions and a biography of Kumarajiva had 658 impressions.
Since nothing seems to have been damaged, I assume – make an ass of u and me – the hackers were unable to gain access to the administration functions of my content management software. If you start seeing ads for Cialis, then I wasn’t so lucky.
Tao-sheng: The Taste of Sweet Dew
Tao-sheng Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p312-313Anything 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
Innate endowment benefits and enriches us, enabling us to obtain the taste of the “sweet dew” present in us. Yet the rewards we receive are originally not “bitter and astringent.” How then can there be changes? But [the Buddha] says that there are, in order to draw them into a feeling of intimacy. The same is true when it comes to the rewards in connection with “sounds” and “scents.” How can they be spoken of as “ugly”? Yet, worldly sounds and scents [can be distinguished as] good or bad. When the bodhisattvas hear it, what harm is there then?
Eight Consciousnesses
Below is an entry from the Glossary which is repeated in each of Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s 14-volume commentary on the Lotus Sutra. Again, another example of the value of these books.
Eight consciousnesses, Ch. 八識, ba shi.
The eightfold division of the mind taught by the Consciousness-Only School (Ch.唯識 weishi; Skt. Yogācāra).
This school describes the mind as a system of seven active consciousnesses (Skt. Vijñāna) that develop out of the eighth consciousness (Skt. Ālayavijñāna; Ch. Translit. 阿赖耶識 alaiye shi). The first five are the physical sense consciousnesses; the sixth is cognitive consciousness; and the seventh mediates between the first six and the eighth.
This eighth consciousness accounts for karmic continuity from life to life and during states of concentration in which the first seven cease. The eighth takes as its primary object the karmic impressions brought about by activity in the first six; because of this, it is often called the “storehouse consciousness” – that is, the metaphorical storehouse of karma. The seventh (Skt. Manas-vijñāna; Ch. Translit. 末那識 mona shi) takes the eighth as its primary object and mistakes it for a persistent self. The seventh is thus the origin of self-identity in the mind.
The seventh also transmits karmic impressions from the first six to the eighth; in doing so, it imbues them with a sense of self that is said to “defile” the eighth consciousness. When conditions arise for the ripening of karma “stored” in the eighth, karmic impressions pass once again through the seventh on their way to the six, where they give rise to various objects and circumstances of experience. On their way through the seventh, the karmic impressions again receive the imprint of self. This circular process – from sense impression to karmic impression and back, always mediated by the sense of self – is described as the “consciousness-only” nature of deluded experience. While the first seven consciousnesses are acquired at conception, relinquished at death, and may be inactive during states of deep concentration, the eighth continues indefinitely and without interruption until its transformation (along with the other seven) into wisdom by means of spiritual cultivation. The transformation of deluded consciousness into the omniscient wisdom of a Buddha is the project of Bodhisattva practice according to the Consciousness-Only School.
Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for July 6, 2025
Anyone who wishes to expound Myōhō Renge Kyō
Should give up jealousy, anger, arrogance,
Flattery, deception and dishonesty.
He should always be upright.He should not despise others,
Or have fruitless disputes about the teachings.
He should not perplex others by saying to them:
“You will not be able to attain Buddhahood.”
Tao-sheng: Counting Merits
Tao-sheng Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p312twelve hundred merits
“One thousand two hundred” meritorious virtues are based on the ten kinds of goodness. They are as follows: Self-practice, converting [others] through teaching, praise, and appropriate joy. Each has ten kinds of goodness, making a total of forty. One goodness in turn can be combined with the ten goodnesses. Forty goodnesses, all combined with the same, make the total of four hundred goodnesses. Four hundred goodnesses have [three grades] each: superior, mediocre, and inferior, making twelve hundred. The three faculties, unlike [the other three], consist of two grades, mediocre and inferior, to produce eight hundred goodnesses. The rest of the faculties have a superior [grade], and so they consist of twelve hundred [virtues].
The Cause of All Suffering
Following yesterday’s discussion of the Four Siddhānta, I’m offering a short discussion of greed and suffering from Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s commentary on Chapter 3, A Parable.
Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v4, p455-456The cause of all suffering / Can be traced to desire. Of all the factors that aggregate into suffering, greed is foremost. What is greed? It is insatiability. No matter how much one gets, one always wants more. Let’s say you start off with nothing, and you somehow acquire 100 dollars. Before you had 100 dollars, you were satisfied with the idea of acquiring that much money. But once you get that 100 dollars, you feel it is not enough.
“I need 1,000,” you think. But when you get 1,000, you still aren’t satisfied.
“I want to buy some clothes, a house, and some property. A thousand is simply not enough. If I had 10,000 dollars, I’d really be satisfied. In fact, I’d retire. I’d never work again or want anything else. That would be enough for me!”
But once you’ve gotten 10,000 dollars, the price of goods and supplies has inflated. For example, when I first arrived in San Francisco, the price of a box of tofu was two cents. But over time, there has been inflation, and a box of tofu is now much more expensive. Then you think, “I would like to retire, but I need 100,000 to pay all my expenses after retirement, so I can’t retire yet.” As a result, you greedily go after 100,000, but it’s still not enough. When you attain 100,000, your greed is entirely out of hand, and you dream of becoming a millionaire.
But before you get 1,000,000 dollars, impermanence befalls you and it is your time to die. As you die, you think, “I wanted 1,000,000, but I never did reach my goal. I’ll try again next life, for sure.” In your next life, you again work like a horse so you can leave money for your children. What benefits does greed bring? The text says, “The cause of all suffering / Can be traced to desire.” Greed always brings misery, for greed is the root of suffering.
Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for July 5, 2025
The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy Myōhō Renge Kyō, will be able to obtain eight hundred merits of the body. Their bodies will become as pure as lapis lazuli. All living beings will wish to see them.
Tao-sheng: The Effect of the Three is that of the One
Tao-sheng Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p311-312The earlier chapter (10) concerning “preachers of Dharma” was aimed at preaching that the cause of three is that of the One. This chapter is aimed at making it widely known that the effect of the three is that of the One, and also at distinguishing the merit and reward of the Dharma as well.
The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
This refers to the Dharma preacher. It is said in the (previous?) chapter and in the great multitude [he] explains them others.” Here this statement is now substantiated.
will be able to obtain eight hundred merits of the eye, twelve hundred merits of the ear, eight hundred merits of the nose, twelve hundred merits of the tongue, eight hundred merits of the body, and twelve hundred merits of the mind.
As for the reward for those who practice the Dharma Blossom as they preach it, it is the great enlightenment wisdom. This wisdom is capable of clairvoyance and omniscience. If beings are to be given ultimate wisdom, it will be imparted to them imperceptibly. This is why it becomes present in men gradually, as if the joy could [only] be attained step by step. The rewards are explained in terms of the six senses, in order to attract learners. Hearing it, learners will be willing to practice the sūtra and accumulate the acts [as exhorted by the sūtra], working to achieve that by which they abide. As regards the statement that [the Buddha] resorts to the six senses [as teaching aids], [the faculty of] seeing the forms (rūpa) naturally is present in the eyes, and [the faculty of] perceiving the Dharma naturally is present in the mind. As already suggested, attainment through learning cannot make [one acquire] omniscience. Hence, the ever-penetrating eyes stop at seeing “the three thousand” [chiliocosms or great worlds]. On (this?) basis it is possible to speak of the physical body.
The physical body exists close to [reality] in a coarse form and so we can say that it is still short of the Dharma-body. In the final analysis, [however,] the three thousand [chiliocosms] being such, how can they be different from the ten quarters [in their largeness]? They represent [the range of] the ultimate illumination by the substance (t’i) of the Dharma body. The three faculties are illustrated [with respect to] the [eight hundred] virtues in reading and preaching [the sūtra]. Thus, the numbers shown are not identical [with that of the other three]. What they represent in totality is the One; separately, they represent the immeasurable. They are all merely approximate numbers. He who searches independently for the meaning of the chapter must grasp it beyond the words.
Four Accomplishments
This is still another example of how Chinese Master Hsuan Hua weaves basic Buddhist teachings within his commentary on the Lotus Sutra. This comes from Chapter 7, The Parable of the Conjured City.
Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v6, p146-147Looking at things from the perspective of the individuals being taught, we can consider the four siddhāntas. What is a siddhānta? Siddhānta is a Sanskrit word that means “accomplishment.” The four siddhāntas are:
- The worldly siddhānta. This refers to benefiting the world. Originally there was nothing, but something was created out of nothing, which brought delight to the beings who beheld it. The worldly siddhānta brings benefit to the world.
- The siddhānta for individuals. This benefits every individual by helping them attain repose and comprehension.
- The corrective siddhānta. This has the function of preventing misdeeds and guarding against enemies. It refers to corrective methods that benefit living beings by disciplining them.
- The siddhānta of the supreme truth. Eventually, living beings arrive at the state of ultimate nirvāṇa. In other words, they realize the supreme truth and obtain its benefits.
This explanation of the four siddhāntas is given according to the potentials of the individuals being taught. From the perspective of the Buddha’s response body, there are four more ways to explain the conjured city.
- The transformation of the world. The Buddha uses provisional and expedient Dharma so that living beings in the world will benefit from it. The conjured city is an example of this.
- The transformation of individuals. The Buddha teaches all living beings to undertake small acts of kindness.
- Transformation through correction. The Buddha teaches all living beings to get rid of the delusions arising from incorrect views and incorrect thoughts.
- Transformation according to the supreme truth. The Buddha teaches all living beings to attain the great fruition of the Great Vehicle – that is, to finally attain Buddhahood.