Two Buddhas, p229-230The “Bhaiṣajyarāja” [Medicine King] chapter … offers ten analogies illustrating the supreme status of the Lotus Sūtra among all the Buddha’s teachings. It surpasses them just as the ocean is greater than all streams, rivers, and other bodies of water; as Mount Sumeru towers over all other mountains; and so forth. Then follow ten vivid similes illustrating the powers and blessings of the sūtra. Nichiren was deeply struck by these passages and often cited or elaborated on them to stress the merits of upholding the Lotus. Here, for example, in a personal letter to a follower called Shiiji Shirō, he expands on the statement that the Lotus Sūtra is “like a boat for a traveler.” This boat, he says, might be described as follows. Note how he weaves together Buddhist technical terms and phrases from different portions of the Lotus Sūtra:
The Lord Buddha, a shipbuilder of infinitely profound wisdom, gathered the lumber of the four flavors and eight teachings, planed it by “openly setting aside skillful means,” cut and assembled the planks, using both right and wrong in their nonduality, and completed the craft by driving home the spikes of the single truth that is like the supreme flavor of ghee. Then he launched it upon the sea of birth and death. Unfurling its sails of the three thousand realms on the mast of the single truth of the middle way, driven by the fair wind that is the “real aspect of the dharmas,” the vessel surges ahead, carrying aboard all sentient beings, who can “understand through faith.” The tathāgatha Śākyamuni takes the helm, the tathāgatha Prabhūtaratna mans the sails, and the four bodhisattvas led by Viśiṣṭacāritra strain in unison at the creaking oars. This is the vessel in “a boat for the traveler.” Those who can board it are the disciples and lay followers of Nichiren.
All posts by John Hughes
Foremost Among All Sentient Beings
The “Medicine King Bodhisattva” chapter also preaches, “Likewise, those who uphold the Lotus Sūtra are the foremost among all sentient beings.” This means: “One who believes in the Lotus Sūtra, if one is a male regardless of his social status, he is superior to the King of the Mahābrahman Heaven, the lord of the triple world (whole world), Indra, Four Heavenly Kings, the Wheel-turning Noble King, and the rulers of China and Japan, not to speak of the ministers, court nobles, warriors of the Minamoto and Taira clans, as well as all the people of Japan. If one is a female, she is superior to all women such as Lady Kauśika (wife of Indra), Kisshōtennyo, Lady Li of Han China, and Yang Kuei-fei (of T’ang China).”
Matsuno-dono Goshōsoku, Letter to Lord Matsuno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 66
Daily Dharma – March 30, 2020
Good men! Ānanda and I resolved to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi under the Void-King Buddha at the same time [in our previous existence]. At that time Ānanda always wished to hear much while I always practiced strenuously. Therefore, I have already attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi[, but he has not yet]. Now he protects my teachings.
The Buddha gives this description to those gathered to hear him teach in Chapter Nine of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, he has just assured his cousin Ānanda that he will become a Buddha. He then explains the difference between hearing what the Buddha teaches and making it a part of our lives. It is when we practice the Buddha Dharma that we truly understand it. But even if we believe we do not have the capacity to practice, it is still important for us to hear and protect what the Buddha left for us. By giving others the opportunity to learn and do what perhaps we cannot, we help to improve their lives, and give them a chance to improve ours.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 11
Day 11 continues Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City
Having last month considered the reaction of the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the south, we consider the reaction of the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the zenith.
The great Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the zenith, who saw their palaces illumined more brightly than ever, also danced with joy. They wondered why [their palaces were so illumined]. They visited each other and discussed the reason, saying, ‘Why are our palaces illumined so brightly?’ There was a great Brahmanheavenly-king called Sikhin among them. He said to the other Brahmans in gāthās:
Our palaces are adorned
More brightly than ever.
Why are they illumined
By this powerful light?We have never seen nor heard
Of such a wonderful thing as this before.
Did a god of great virtue or a Buddha appear
Somewhere in the universe?“Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion [worlds] went down, carrying flower-plates filled with heavenly flowers, in order to find [the place from where the light had come]. Their palaces also moved as they went. They [reached the Well-Composed World and] saw that Great-UniversalWisdom-Excellence Tathāgata was sitting on the lion-like seat under the Bodhi-tree of the place of enlightenment, surrounded respectfully by gods, dragon-kings, gandharvas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men and non-human beings. They also saw that the sixteen princes were begging the Buddha to turn the wheel of the Dharma. They worshipped the Buddha with their heads, walked around him a hundred thousand times, and strewed heavenly flowers to him. The strewn flowers were heaped up to the height of Mt. Sumeru. The Brahman-heavenly-kings offered flowers also to the Bodhi-tree of the Buddha. Having offered flowers, they offered their palaces to the Buddha, saying, ‘We offer these palaces to you. Receive them and benefit us out of your compassion towards us!’ In the presence of the Buddha, they simultaneously praised him in gāthās with all their hearts:
How good it is to see a Buddha,
To see the Honorable Saint who saves the world!
He saves all living beings
From the prison of the triple world.The All-Knower, the Most Honorable One of Gods and Men,
Opens the gate of the teachings as sweet as nectar,
And saves all living beings
Out of his compassion towards them.There has been no Buddha
For the past innumerable kalpas.
Before you appeared,
The worlds of the ten quarters were dark.The living beings in the three evil regions
And asuras are increasing.
The living beings in heaven are decreasing.
Many fall into the evil regions after their death.They do not hear the Dharma from a Buddha
Because they did evils,
Their appearances are getting worse;
And their power and wisdom, decreasing.
Because they did sinful karmas,
They lose pleasures and the memory of pleasures.
They are attached to wrong views.
They do not know how to do good.
They are not taught by a Buddha;
Therefore, they fall into the evil regions.Now you have appeared for the first time after a long time,
And become the eyes of the world.
You have appeared in this world
Out of your compassion towards all living beings,
And finally attained perfect enlightenment.
We are very glad.
All the others also rejoice at seeing you,
Whom they have never seen before.Our palaces are beautifully adorned
With your light.
We offer them to you.
Receive them out of your compassion towards us!May the merits we have accumulated by this offering
Be distributed among all living beings,
And may we and all other living beings
Attain the enlightenment of the Buddha!
The Closing Verse of Vows
Buddhism for Today, p100At the end of the fourteenth verse portion of this chapter occur the following lines:
“May this deed of merit
Extend to all creatures
That we with all the living
May together accomplish the Buddha-way!”This is called “the closing verse of vows” because not only the practicers of the Lotus Sutra but all believers in Buddhism recite it as a closing verse in their sutra-chanting service. It is said that the spirit of the great vow and practice of Buddhists can be summed up in these few short lines. The words “this deed of merit” mean “this deed of merit of serving the buddhas.” This does not mean that the Brahma heavenly kings desire to receive some merit in compensation for their having presented their palaces to the buddhas. It goes without saying that the buddhas are not anxious to have material things. To serve the Buddha by presenting flowers and offerings is an expression of our worship of and gratitude to him. But the most important thing is to serve the Buddha through our practice, namely, to practice the Buddha-way after abandoning our ego, or “small self.” The sutra reciting service that we perform before Buddhist altars is one of our practices in which we forget the small self, abandoning it and devoting ourselves solely to the pursuit of the Buddha-way. Therefore, our sutra reciting service is also a great way of serving the Buddha.
Serving the Buddha should not be done merely for the sake of mental peace and a comfortable life. It should be our heartfelt desire that the merit of our practice of serving the Buddha extend to all living beings. It should be also our prayer to accomplish the Buddha-way together with all the living. Because the closing verse of vows has this deep significance, we should not merely learn it by heart but recite it earnestly as our great vow as Buddhists.
The Inner Transmission
Two Buddhas, p221-222[T]he daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra is the source of all buddhas. One who chants it directly receives its transmission from the primordial buddha on Vulture Peak, and the place where one chants it is that buddha’s pure land. This claim is in keeping with the logic that “the assembly on Vulture Peak is awesomely present and has not yet dispersed” or of the primordial buddha’s realm of “original time” depicted on Nichiren’s mandala that can be entered through faith. Another of Nichiren’s personal letters explains the inner transmission in this way: “To chant Myōhō-renge-kyō with the understanding that these three — Śākyamuni Buddha who realized enlightenment in the remotest past, the Lotus Sūtra that enables all to attain the buddha way, and we ourselves, living beings — are altogether inseparable and without distinction is to receive the transmission of the one great purpose of birth and death.” “Transmission” in this sense does not pass through a single historical lineage of teachers but is immediately accessible to any practitioner who chants the daimoku.
The Buddha Does Not Bear a Grudge
Devadatta had 30 marks of physical excellence, two less than the Buddha’s 32 marks. Namely, Devadatta did not have a curl of white hair in the middle of his forehead, nor did he have dharma-cakra on his soles. Afraid that his disciples might slight him due to the lack of these two marks, Devadatta pretended to have the white curl by putting a collection of fireflies on his forehead. He also had a hot iron in the shape of a chrysanthemum crest made by a blacksmith and branded his soles. Having burned his feet severely, Devadatta was near death when he sought help from the Buddha. When the Buddha passed His hand over the burns, Devadatta’s pain disappeared instantly. Without repenting for his sins, Devadatta instead slandered the Buddha saying that the art of medicine practiced by the Buddha is trickery; it must be magic. The Buddha does not bear a grudge against such an enemy as this. How could He abandon a person who puts faith in the Buddha even once? So venerable is the Buddha that we revere His wooden statues and portraits. It is said that the wooden statue of the Buddha made by King Udayana walked and that the portrait of the Buddha painted by Mātaṅga preached all the Buddhist scriptures.
Hōren-shō, Letter to Hōren, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 48
Daily Dharma – March 29, 2020
Great-Power-Obtainer! What do you think of this? The Never-Despising Bodhisattva at that time was no one but myself. If I had not kept, read or recited this sūtra or expounded it to others in my previous existence, I should not have been able to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi so quickly. Because I kept, read and recited this sūtra, and expounded it to others under those past Buddhas, I attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi quickly.
The Buddha gives this explanation to Great-Power-Obtainer Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty of the Lotus Sūtra. The practice of Never-Despising Bodhisattva was to approach all beings and tell them, “I respect you deeply. I do not despise you. Why? Because you will be able to practice as a Bodhisattva and become a Buddha.” When the Buddha explains that Never-Despising Bodhisattva was one of his previous lives, he equates this respect for all beings with the practice of the Wonderful Dharma.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Day 10
Day 10 concludes Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood, and opens Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City.
Having last month considered the introduction of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha, who lived countless kalpas ago, we consider the process needed for Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence to become that buddha.
The Buddha said to the bhikṣus:
“The duration of the life of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha was five hundred and forty billion nayuta kalpas. [Before he attained Buddhahood,] he sat at the place of enlightenment and defeated the army of Mara. He wished to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, but could not because the Dharma of the Buddhas had not yet come into his mind. He sat cross-legged without moving his mind and body for one to ten small kalpas. During all that time the Dharma of the Buddhas did not come into his mind.
“[Before he sat at the place of enlightenment,] the Trāyastriṃs̒a Gods prepared him a lion-like seat a yojana high under the Bodhi tree so that he might be able to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi on that seat. When he sat on that seat, the Brahman-heavenly-kings rained heavenly flowers on the area extending a hundred yojanas in all directions from that seat. From time to time withered flowers were blown away by fragrant winds and new flowers were rained down. [The Brahman-heavenly-kings] continued this offering to him for fully ten small kalpas. [After he attained Buddhahood also,] they continued raining flowers until he passed away.
“[When he sat on that seat,] the four heavenly-kings beat heavenly drums, and the other gods made heavenly music and offered it to him. They continued these offerings also for fully ten small kalpas. [After he attained Buddhahood also,] they continued these offerings until he passed away.
The Daily Dharma from Nov. 18, 2019, offers this:
When he sat on that seat, the Brahman-heavenly-kings rained heavenly flowers on the area extending a hundred yojanas in all directions from that seat. From time to time withered flowers were blown away by fragrant winds and new flowers were rained down. [The Brahman-heavenly-kings] continued this offering to him for fully ten small kalpas. [After he attained Buddhahood also,] they continued raining flowers until he passed away.
The Buddha describes the life of an ancient Buddha named Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, when that Buddha took the seat from which he would become enlightened, the gods who created his world recognized the immense benefit all beings were about to receive and showed their joy by filling the skies with these beautiful flowers. After that Buddha became enlightened, gods from innumerable other worlds came to his world to make offerings, giving up the pleasures of their own worlds. The enlightenment of any being extends beyond the personal contact we have with any that being. It changes the entire universe.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
The Wondrous Votary of the Lotus Sūtra Dwelling on a Mountain
Two Buddhas, p221Nichiren alludes to [the] direct transmission [of the Lotus Sūtra] in a personal letter connecting his retreat in the depths of Mount Minobu in Kai province, where he spent the last years of his life, to the “Transcendent Powers” chapter, where it says that wherever the Lotus Sūtra is practiced — “in a garden, a forest, under a tree, in a monk’s chamber, in a layman’s house, in a palace, on a mountain, in a valley, or in the wilderness” — is a sacred place of the Buddha’s activity. Nichiren elaborates: “This place is deep in the mountains, far from human habitation. East, west, north, or south, not a single village is to be found. Although I dwell in this forlorn retreat, hidden in the fleshly heart within my breast I hold the secret dharma of the ‘one great purpose’ transmitted from Śākyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, at Vulture Peak. Within my breast the buddhas enter nirvāṇa; on my tongue, they turn the wheel of the dharma; from my throat, they are born; and in my mouth, they attain supreme awakening. Because this the wondrous votary of the Lotus Sūtra dwells in this mountain, how could it be inferior to the pure land of Vulture Peak?”