All posts by John Hughes

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – May 22, 2020

When you see anyone who does not receive [this sūtra] by faith, you should show him some other profound teachings of mine, teach him, benefit him, and cause him to rejoice. When you do all this, you will be able to repay the favors given to you by the Buddhas.

The Buddha gives these instructions in Chapter Twenty-Two of the Lotus Sūtra. They remind us to be patient with those whom we work to benefit. Even though they may not be ready to hear the Wonderful Dharma, we can use the Expedient Teachings to prepare them for the Buddha’s highest teaching. When we are assured that countless beings are helping us all to become enlightened, we are less likely to be disappointed in the progress that we see.

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

LS32, WONS

Day 30

Day 30 covers all of Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs

Day 30 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month received Vaiśravaṇa Heavenly-King’s dhārāni spells, we receive World-Holding Heavenly-King’s dhārāni spells.

Thereupon World-Holding Heavenly-King, accompanied by thousands of billions of nayutas of gandharvas who were surrounding him respectfully, came to the Buddha, joined his hands together, and said to him, “World-Honored One! I also will protect the keeper of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma with dhārānis, with divine spells.”

Then he uttered spells,” Akyanei (1), kyanei (2), kuri (3), kendari (4), sendari (5), matōgi (6), jōguri (7), furoshani (8), atchi (9).”

[He said to the Buddha:]

“World-Honored One! These dhārānis, these divine spells, have already been uttered by four thousand and two hundred million Buddhas. Those who attack and abuse this teacher of the Dharma should be considered to have attacked and abused those Buddhas.”

Nichiren offers this on the Dhārāṇi chapter:

The Dhārāṇi chapter states that two bodhisattvas, two heavenly kings and ten female rākṣasa demons will protect the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra. The two bodhisattvas are the Bodhisattva Medicine King and the Bodhisattva Brave Donor. The two heavenly kings are Vaiśravaṇa and Dhṛtarāṣṭra. The ten female rākṣasa demons are ten great demons, mothers of all demons in the four quarters of the world. Their mother is Hāriti.

They eat men after the custom of demons. A man’s body is composed of thirty-six substances such as excrement, urine, spittle, flesh, blood, skin, bone, five viscera and six entrails, hair, breath, and spirit. Inferior demons feed on excrement and the like. Mediocre demons feed on bones and the like. Superior demons feed on spiritual essence. The ten female rākṣasa demons have supreme qualities and thus feed on man’s spiritual essence. They are the great demons of epidemic.

Nichinyo Gozen Gohenji, A Response to My Lady Nichinyo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 4, Faith and Practice,
Page 134

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Perfection of Meditation

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The perfection of meditation (S. dhyāna) is a development of right concentration (S. samādhi) of the eightfold path. Meditation in a state of bliss without discriminating thought refers to the second through fourth of the four dhyānas (states of increasingly refined meditative absorption) wherein discursive thought has been transcended. One way of entering into the dhyānas would be through contemplating the four infinite virtues of lovingkindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity and extending those feelings in one’s regard to all beings in all directions. From the fourth dhyāna one might also cultivate the four attainments that are increasingly subtle formless objects of contemplation: space, consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception nor non-perception. It is taught in Buddhism that entering any of these states creates the karma to be reborn into a corresponding heaven. The bodhisattva, however, does not practice meditation for the purpose of attaining a heavenly rebirth or to selfishly abide in such pleasant states. Instead, meditation is used to overcome the hindrances of sensual desire, ill-will, drowsiness, agitation, and debilitating doubt. Meditation is also the optimum way of developing the aforementioned four infinite virtues and other wholesome qualities with which to help sentient beings. Finally, meditation provides the calmness and clarity of mind that allows for the insight into the true nature of reality. All of this is cultivated for the sake of all beings, but again without holding onto any of these states as an object of attachment or aversion.

Open Your Eyes, p200
d14b, d19b, d20b, WONS

Bodhisattvas With Close Relationships with Sahā World

During the first 500 years in the millennium of the Age of the True Dharma, men of śrāvaka all passed away, while in the last 500 years nearly all those bodhisattvas who had come from other worlds went back to their own lands. In the 1,000 years of the Age of the Semblance Dharma, Avalokiteśvara was reincarnated as Nan-yüeh; Medicine King Bodhisattva as T’ien-t’ai or Dengyō; Mañjuśrī as Gyōki, and Maitreya as Great Teacher Fu Hsi to help all the people.

Now in the Latter Age of Degeneration, these bodhisattvas, too, have all retired to their original dwellings. Other heavenly gods and terrestrial deities who are supposed to protect this world have either left it for other places or refused to protect the evil country while remaining in this world. They are also powerless in this world because they have not been fed with the taste of the True Dharma. For instance, nobody except great bodhisattvas with the Dharma Body can enter the three evil realms to save suffering beings because nobody except them are able to bear the great suffering there.

On the other hand, those great bodhisattvas emerged from the great earth in the first place have been in the Sahā World for incalculable aeons; in the second place they have been disciples of Śākyamuni Buddha ever since He was awakened by aspiration for enlightenment in the eternal past; and thirdly they were the first to receive the seed of Buddhahood in this Sahā World. More than any other great bodhisattvas, they have thus had close relationships with this Sahā World from their past lives.

Soya Nyūdō-dono-gari Gosho, A Letter to Lay Priest Lord Soya, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 160-161.

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – May 21, 2020

Thereupon Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha said to Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva: “Do not despise that world! Do not consider it to be inferior [to our world]! Good Man! The Sahā-World is not even. It is full of mud, stones, mountains and impurities. The Buddha [of that world] is short in stature. So are the Bodhisattvas [of that world]. You are forty-two thousand yojanas tall. I am six million and eight hundred thousand yojanas tall. You are the most handsome. You have thousands of millions of marks of merits, and your light is wonderful. Do not despise that world when you go there! Do not consider that the Buddha and Bodhisattvas of that world are inferior [to us]! Do not consider that that world is inferior [to ours]!”

In Chapter Twenty-Four of the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha sends a light from his forehead to the world in which Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva lives. When that Bodhisattva saw this light from Śākyamuni Buddha, he asked permission from the Buddha he was attending to visit our world of conflict. The instruction he receives from his Buddha reminds us that no matter what advantages we have gained from our practice of the Buddha Dharma, these do not make us any better or worse than those we are determined to benefit.

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

LS32

Day 29

Day 29 covers all of Chapter 25, The Universal Gate of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva.

Day 29 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month heard Endless-Intent Bodhisattva’s question, we learn of the powers of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva.

“If anyone calls the name of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva when he is about to be killed, the sword or stick raised against him will suddenly break asunder, and he will be saved. If as many yakṣas and rākṣasas as to fill one thousand million Sumeru worlds hear a person call the name of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva when they come to him with the intention of killing him, those devils will not be able even to see him with their malicious eyes, and needless to say, kill him. If anyone, guilty or not, calls the name of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva when he is bound up in manacles, fetters, pillories or chains, those things [in which he is bound up] will break asunder, and he will be saved. Suppose the chief of a party of merchants is leading his party carrying invaluable treasures along a dangerous road haunted by as many bandits as to fill one thousand million Sumeru-worlds, and suppose one of the members of the party says [to others], ‘Good men! Do not be afraid! Call the name of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva with all your hearts! This Bodhisattva gives fearlessness to all living beings. If you call his name, you will be saved from [the attacks of] these bandits.’ If the other members of the party hear this and say simultaneously, ‘Namas to World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva,’ all of them will be saved because of their calling of his name. Endless-Intent! The supernatural powers of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva-mahāsattva are as great as previously stated.

See The Status of Bodhisattvas

b4today, LS32, d29b

The Status of Bodhisattvas

[T]here is a great misunderstanding of the status of bodhisattvas. True salvation is realized only through the Buddha. … Salvation comes from our realization of the existence of the truth, and there is only one truth. A bodhisattva is one who has a great will to save others, and he can certainly save all living beings suffering from illusion and suffering on specific occasions. Fundamental salvation, however, is not brought about except by our realization of the existence of the Buddha. How does a bodhisattva manifest his salvation to living beings? This is, of course, a salvation revealed by him to save them from their illusions and suffering on specific occasions. A much more important working of his salvation, however, is to transmit the Buddha’s teachings as his messenger and to provide us with a good example of religious life. The true salvation of the bodhisattva lies in leading us to salvation through his good example.

The great bodhisattvas have perfected their virtues, and each is possessed of special virtues peculiar to him. For example, the Bodhisattva Never Despise is characterized by his practice of paying respect to others and disclosing their buddha-nature. The Bodhisattva Medicine King displays his distinctive character in his practice of repaying the Buddha’s grace through his personal practice of the teachings. The Bodhisattva Wonder Sound is characterized by his practice of having a great regard for the realization of an ideal. We can model ourselves after the special virtues of one or another of the various bodhisattvas.

The Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World is not a buddha but a bodhisattva. He is one whom we regard as a model, but he should not be the object of our prayers for salvation. In this chapter, the Buddha declares the supernatural power of the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World as a model in order to cause us to wish to be as splendid as this bodhisattva and to try all the harder to practice the teachings of the
Lotus Sutra.

Buddhism for Today, p378-379
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Perfection of Energy

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The perfection of energy is the bodhisattva’s tireless efforts to work for the liberation of all beings. It is like armor, because with it the bodhisattva is protected from any obstacles and will not fall prey to the lesser goals of the two vehicles. Like right effort of the eightfold path, the perfection of energy is about preventing the arising of unwholesome states, abandoning those that have arisen, generating positive states, and maintaining positive states that have arisen. Unlike right effort, the perfection of generosity is specifically dedicated to the benefit and liberation of all beings and again the bodhisattva does not hold the idea that either the unwholesome or the wholesome qualities have any essential nature to accept or reject. In this way the bodhisattva is without any undue anxiety over negative states or conceit over positive ones, they simply work unselfconsciously to assist all beings on the path to awakening.

Open Your Eyes, p199
d19b, d20b, WONS

Four Great Bodhisattvas for the Latter Age of Degeneration

These four great bodhisattvas neither presented themselves at the seat of enlightenment under the bodhi tree where Śākyamuni Buddha attained Buddhahood for the first time, nor rushed to the vicinity of the Hiraṇyavati River when the Buddha passed away. During the eight years when the Buddha preached the Lotus Sūtra on Mt. Sacred Eagle, moreover, they were neither among those holy people such as Bodhisattvas Mañjuśrī and Maitreya who assisted Him in preaching the preface and main discourse of the theoretical section, nor among such great bodhisattvas as Avalokiteśvara and Wonderful Voice who vowed to spread the sūtra after the death of the Buddha at the assembly in the epilogue of the essential section. Upholding solely this one great secret dharma, they retired to their true abode underground, not once reappearing in the world even after the death of the Buddha, for 2,000 years in the Ages of the True Dharma and Semblance Dharma. This was, after all, because the Buddha entrusted to them the propagation of this one great secret dharma solely in the Latter Age of Degeneration.

Soya Nyūdō-dono-gari Gosho, A Letter to Lay Priest Lord Soya, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 160.

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – May 20, 2020

Those Buddhas came under the jeweled trees.
The trees are adorned with those Buddhas
Just as a pond of pure water is adorned
With lotus flowers.

In these verses from Chapter Eleven of the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha describes the scene after he calls the Buddhas of his replicas from innumerable worlds to join him and open the treasure tower of Many-Treasures Buddha. By comparing how a pond is made beautiful by flowers growing in it to how the world is made beautiful with Buddhas in it, the Buddha shows us that wherever we see beauty, we see the Buddha.

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