All posts by John Hughes

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Jan. 24, 2020

A singing bird in a cage attracts uncaged birds, and the sight of these uncaged birds will make the caged bird want to be free. LIkewise the chanting of Odaimoku will bring out the Buddha-nature within ourselves. The Buddha-nature of the gods Bonten and Taishaku will be called by the chanting and protect the chanter. The Buddha-nature of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will be pleased to be called. For attaining Buddhahood quickly, one must lay down the banner of arrogance, cast away the club of prejudice and chant, “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.”

Nichiren write this in his Treatise on Attaining Enlightenment through Faith in the Lotus Sūtra (Hokke Shoshin Jōbutsu Shō). While we whose faith is in the Lotus Sūtra are assured that we and all other beings will become Buddhas, we often wonder when that will happen. The Lotus Sūtra describes time in terms of uncountable kalpas, and each kalpa itself is an unimaginable amount of time. There is no shortage of time, or of lives into which we can be born to benefit other beings. But by practicing Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, we continue on our path to enlightenment, rather than being diverted into delusion.

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

LS32

Day 13

Day 13 covers all of Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples.

Day 13 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the reaction of the five hundred Arhats and heard the Parable of the Priceless Gem, concluded Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples, we begin again with Pūrṇa’s reaction to the Buddha’s expedient teaching.

Thereupon Pūrṇa, the son of Maitrāyanī having heard from the Buddha the Dharma expounded with expedients by the wisdom [o£ the Buddha] according to the capacities of all living beings, and having heard that [the Buddha] had assured the great disciples of their future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, and also having heard of the previous life of the Buddha, and also having heard of the great, unhindered, supernatural powers of the Buddhas, had the greatest joy that he had ever had, became pure in heart, and felt like dancing [with joy]. He rose from his seat, came to the Buddha, and worshipped him at his feet with his head. Then he retired to one side of the place, looked up at the honorable face with unblenching eyes, and thought:
‘The World-Honored One is extraordinary. What he does is exceptional. He expounds the Dharma with expedients by his insight according to the various natures of all living beings of the world, and saves them from various attachments. The merits of the Buddha are beyond the expression of our words. Only the Buddha, only the World-Honored One, knows the wishes we have deep in our minds.’

See Pūrṇa’s True Mental Courage

b4today, LS32, d13b

Pūrṇa’s True Mental Courage

Pūrṇa was so eloquent that he has been described as “the personification of eloquence.” “To speak as eloquently as Pūrṇa” became a common figure of speech in later times. However, he never showed off his superiority but led the same kind of life as ordinary men. He was such a great man that though he seemed mild, he had true mental courage. The following story about Pūrṇa has been handed down from old times.

When Sakyamuni Buddha permitted certain of his disciples to preach his teachings, Pūrṇa, desiring to preach in Śroṇāparanta, a region he knew well, asked the Buddha’s permission to do so. The Buddha said, “It will be very difficult for you to do missionary work in Śroṇāparanta, where the people are very stubborn. What would you do if they didn’t listen to your preaching however hard you tried?” Pūrṇa answered, “Even if they didn’t listen to my preaching, I would not be disappointed. I would consider myself fortunate not to be made fun of.” Then the Buddha asked, “What if you were derided?” Pūrṇa replied, “If I were, I would consider myself fortunate not to be slandered.” When asked, “What if you should be slandered?” he answered, “Even if I were, I would consider myself fortunate not to be beaten with sticks or stoned.” Asked, “What if you were beaten or stoned?” he replied, “I would consider myself fortunate not to be wounded by a sword.” Then asked, “What if you were wounded by a sword?” he answered, “Even if I were, I would consider myself fortunate not to be killed.” Next asked, “What if you were mortally wounded?” he replied, “I would consider myself fortunate to give up my life in spreading your teachings.” Thereupon the Buddha permitted Pūrṇa to go to Śroṇāparanta, saying, “You may go there if you have such a firm determination in doing your missionary work.” From this story, we can well understand that Pūrṇa was no common preacher.

Buddhism for Today, p123-124
2buddhas, d4b

Hōnen vs. Nichiren

Hōnen’s followers maintained one should set aside the Lotus in this lifetime and chant the nenbutsu instead, achieve birth in Amitābha’s pure land, and attain the awakening of the Lotus Sūtra there.

Nichiren fiercely opposed this argument. For him, Hōnen’s focus on human limitations ignored the Buddha’s own distinction between true and provisional teachings. The Lotus was the sūtra of which Śākyamuni himself had said, “For more than forty years I have expounded the dharma in all manner of ways through adeptness in skillful means, but the core truth has still not been revealed,” and, “Having openly set aside skillful means, I will teach only the highest path.”

Precisely because the Lotus Sūtra is profound, Nichiren argued, it can save even the most depraved individuals. He also maintained that the nenbutsu belonged to the lesser category of provisional Mahāyāna and did not represent the Buddha’s final intent. He likened it to the scaffolding erected in building a large stūpa: once the stūpa (the Lotus Sūtra) has been completed, the scaffolding (the nenbutsu) should be dismantled.

Like Hōnen, Nichiren taught a universally accessible mode of practice, grounded in faith and centered on the chanting of a single phrase. But despite these outward similarities, the doctrine and attitude underlying the two practices differ radically. Rather than promising enlightenment after death and in a distant realm, the daimoku as taught by Nichiren offers direct access to a dimension in which the self opens to pervade the universe, and buddhahood is realized “in this body.” In his teaching, mappō is accordingly revalorized as the moment when the “perfectly encompassing path” of immediate enlightenment becomes accessible to all.

Two Buddhas, p28-29
WONS

Knowing Whether Scriptures Are Correctly Translated.

It is predicted in the Nirvana Sūtra, in such fascicles as the third and ninth, that in the process of transmission from India to foreign lands, Buddhism would beget many misinterpretations, and as a result few people would be able to attain Buddhahood. Therefore, Grand Master Miao-lê says, “Whether or not there are mistakes in Buddhist scriptures, it all depends on translators. It has nothing to do with the Buddha Himself.” He means that no matter how hard people today try to attain Buddhahood according to sūtras, they would be unable to do so if the sūtras are false, and that they can’t blame the Buddha for it. In studying Buddhism, besides knowing the differences between Mahāyāna, Hinayāna, provisional, real, exoteric, and esoteric teachings, one must first of all know whether or not scriptures are correctly translated.

Senji-shō, Selecting the Right time: A Tract by Nichiren, the Buddha’s Disciple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 212

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Jan. 23, 2020

When he expounds or reads this sūtra, he should not point out the faults of other persons or sūtras. He should not despise other teachers of the Dharma. He should not speak of the good points or bad points or the merits or demerits of others. He should not mention Śrāvakas by name when he blames them. Nor should he do so when he praises them. He should not have hostile feelings against them or dislike them. He should have this peace of mind so that he may not act against the wishes of the hearers. When he is asked questions, he should not answer by the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle, but expound the Dharma only by the teachings of the Great Vehicle so that the questioners may be able to obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra in which he describes the peaceful practices of a Bodhisattva. For us who aspire to be Bodhisattvas in this world of conflict, this passage reminds us not to create more conflict in our efforts to benefit others. Rather we should work to remind them of their good qualities and demonstrate the respect we want to receive.

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

LS32

Day 12

Day 12 concludes Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City, and completes the Third Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 12 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month repeated in gāthās the story of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha, we consider the sixteen princes.

The sixteen princes renounced the world,
And became śramaṇeras.
They begged the Buddha to expound the teaching
Of the Great Vehicle, saying:
“We and our attendants wish to attain
The enlightenment of the Buddha.
May we have the purest eyes of wisdom
Just as yours!”

Knowing the wishes of the [princes who were] young boys
And the practices they performed in their previous existence,
The Buddha taught them the six paramitas
And many supernatural things
With innumerable stories of previous lives
And with various parables and similes.

The gāthās of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Were sung [by the Buddha] to expound the true teaching,
That is, [to expound] the Way which Bodhisattvas should practice.
The gāthās were as many as there are sands in the River Ganges.

Having expounded this sūtra, the Buddha entered a quiet room,
And practiced dhyāna-concentration.
Concentrating his mind, he sat at the same place
For eighty-four thousand kalpas.

Seeing him still in dhyāna,
The śramaṇeras wished to expound
The unsurpassed wisdom of the Buddha
To many hundreds of millions of living beings.

They each sat on a seat of the Dharma
And expounded this sūtra of the Great Vehicle.
Also after the peaceful extinction of that Buddha,
They proclaimed this sūtra, and helped propagate it.

They each saved
Six hundred billions of living beings,
That is, as many living beings
As there are sands in the River Ganges.

After the extinction of that Buddha,
Some heard the Dharma [from one of the śramaṇeras].
They were reborn in the world of a Buddha,
Accompanied by [the śramaṇera, that is,] their teacher.

Those sixteen śramaṇeras practiced the Way to Buddhahood.
They are now in the worlds of the ten quarters.
They have already attained
Perfect enlightenment [and become Buddhas].

Those who heard the Dharma from those śramaṇeras
Are now living under those Buddhas.
To those who are still in Śrāvakahood
[The Buddhas] teach the Way to Buddhahood.

See The Order of Preaching the Law

b4today, LS32, d12b

The Order of Preaching the Law

“The buddha preached this sutra incessantly for eight thousand kalpas. When he had finished preaching it, he entered a quiet room and remained in meditation for eighty-four thousand kalpas. Thereupon the sixteen bodhisattva-śramaṇeras, knowing that the buddha was absorbed in meditation, were concerned about what would happen if they did not preach the Law on behalf of the buddha. Each of them ascended a Law throne and according to the capacity of his listeners extensively preached and expounded to them the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law. Each of them showed, taught, benefited, and gladdened them, leading them to develop the mind leading to Perfect Enlightenment.”

A brief explanation should be given here of the words “Each of them showed, taught, benefited, and gladdened them.”

These words indicate the order of preaching the Law. First, one must show the general meaning of the teaching to people. Then, when one knows that they have generated the desire to enter the teaching, one must teach its profound meaning. Next, seeing that they appear to understand it, one must lead them to practice it and to obtain the benefit of the teaching. Lastly, one must so act toward them as to gladden them in keeping the teaching.

Buddhism for Today, p116-117
2buddhas

Shōbō, Zōbō and Mappō

Quote

Buddhist sūtras suggest that as the world moved farther and farther away from the time of the historical Buddha, his teachings would be refracted through an increasingly flawed mode of understanding; people would grow ever more deluded and liberation would become harder to achieve. In East Asia, this decline was said to span three successive periods: the age of the True Dharma (shōbō), the age of the Semblance Dharma (zōbō), and the age of the Final Dharma (mappō). Although chronologies differed, a rough consensus in Japan held that the first two ages had lasted a thousand years each and that the Final Dharma age had begun in 1052.

From a scholarly perspective, mappō represents a discourse, not a historical reality. Buddhism in early medieval Japan was thriving: Buddhist institutions, learning, arts, and culture all flourished, and a wealth of new interpretations arose. Nonetheless, the idea that the age was in decline provided a ready explanation for political troubles and natural disasters; Buddhist teachers appropriated the idea of mappō in different ways to advance competing agendas. Some urged that because the times were degenerate, practitioners should be all the more conscientious in carrying out traditional Buddhist disciplines such as maintaining precepts, practicing meditation, and studying scriptures. Others, of whom Nichiren is one, drew on notions of mappō to legitimize innovations in Buddhist thought and practice.

Two Buddhas, p26-27
WONS

Doctrine of Obtaining Buddhahood by the Two Vehicles

The doctrine of obtaining Buddhahood by the Two Vehicles is not expounded in sūtras of the first four of the Five Flavors, such pre-Lotus sūtras as the Flower Garland Sūtra, Āgama sūtras, Hōdō sūtras (various Mahāyāna sūtras), and the Wisdom Sūtra. Since various pre-Lotus sūtras do not preach the attainment of Buddhahood by the Two Vehicles, the attainment of Buddhahood by bodhisattvas is impossible through the Four Teachings expounded in those sūtras. Bodhisattvas say in the Flower Garland Sūtra that their vow will never be completed until all people attain Buddhahood. All bodhisattvas invariably take four great vows. When the first vow “to save all the people” is not fulfilled, the last vow “to attain the supreme teaching of the Buddha” will not be completed. In this respect, the bodhisattvas’ vow is not completed by the pre-Lotus sūtras preached during the first forty years or so which do not expound the attainment of Buddhahood by the Vehicles.

Nizen Nijō Bosatsu Fu-sabutsu Ji, Never-Attaining Buddhahood by the Two Vehicles and Bodhisattvas in the Pre-Lotus Sūtras, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 219-220