All posts by John Hughes

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 22, 2019

He will be able to know by smell
What a man or a woman is thinking of,
Or whether he or she is greedy, ignorant or angry,
Or whether he or she is doing good.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. As Bodhisattvas we chose to come into this world, as frightening and dangerous as it is, to make things better for all beings. We do not lose any of the six senses we have, but learn to use them in ways that may seem impossible to others. Any of our senses can be deluded. When we remove our attachments and delusions, we see with the Buddha’s eye the world as it is.

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

LS32

Day 14

Day 14 covers all of Chapter 9, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Śrāvakas Who Have Something More to Learn and the Śrāvakas Who Have Nothing More to Learn, and opens Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma.

Day 14 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month heard the Buddha’s prediction for Rāhula, we repeat the prediction for Rāhula in gāthās.

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

When I was a crown prince,
Rāhula was my eldest son.
When I attained the enlightenment of the Buddha,
He received the Dharma, and became the son of the Dharma.

In his future life he will see
Many hundreds of millions of Buddhas,
Become the eldest son of those Buddhas, and seek
The enlightenment of the Buddha with all his heart.

Only I know his secret practices.
He shows himself
To all living beings
In the form of my eldest son.

He has many thousands of billions of merits.
His merits are countless.
He dwells peacefully in the Dharma of the Buddha,
And seeks unsurpassed enlightenment.

See Universal Buddhahood

2buddhas, LS32, d3b

Universal Buddhahood

Because the notion of universal buddhahood now seems so obvious to those familiar with the Mahāyāna, it is difficult to imagine how radical this declaration of a single vehicle would have been in its own time. Up until this point, in the mainstream tradition, the goal of the Buddhist path was to become an arhat. The achievement of buddhahood was far more difficult, and the path to buddhahood was far longer; only the rarest of individuals in a given cosmic age was capable of undertaking that task. The arhat’s path to nirvāṇa was shorter and easier. Furthermore, there was no need for many buddhas as long as the teaching of a single buddha remained known in the world; hence the idea that there is only one buddha in the world at a time. Here, the Buddha is therefore saying something new. While his disciples had thought that they were following the path of the two vehicles culminating in nirvāṇa, in reality, that was the Buddha’s “skillful means,” taught in order to guide them to the bodhisattva path. This revelation could not be ignored; Śākyamuni declares that those who claim to be arhats and yet do not accept that the buddhas “lead and inspire only bodhisattvas” are not true arhats, nor are they true disciples of the Buddha.

He further declares that those who claim to be arhats and do not aspire to buddhahood are arrogant. It is impossible that a true arhat should not accept this dharma. He makes an exception for those who might become arhats after his death; such individuals might not believe in the single buddha vehicle because, after the Buddha has passed into nirvāṇa, it will be difficult to find people who preserve, recite, and understand the Lotus Sūtra. We have here again a barb directed at the opponents of the Lotus Sūtra. At the time of the text’s composition, centuries after the Buddha’s death, there would have been those who denied its authenticity. The sūtra, setting itself in the final years of the Buddha’s life, explains that such people are merely ignorant of his true intent.

Two Buddhas, p58-60
Kaleidoscope

The Ultimate Truth of Phenomenal Entities

Quote

Chih-i expresses his conception of the ultimate truth of phenomenal entities as the simultaneous affirmation of “three truths”: That which originates dependent on causes and conditions is (1) empty (k’ung), (2) provisionally (i.e., dependently) existent (chia), and (3) the middle way (chung). The simultaneous affirmation of emptiness and dependent existence is obviously in accord with Mādhyamika philosophy. The assertion of the third, middle truth, however, has reinforced the view that Chih-i introduces to his conception of the ultimate truth notions from the tathāgata-garbha tradition. While some interpreters believe that the third, middle, truth is nothing more than the explicit affirmation of the identity of the truth of emptiness and the truth of provisional existence, others hold that the middle truth is a reference to the real, absolute pure mind of the tathāgata-garbha tradition.

Indeed, Chih-i’s characterizations of the ultimate truth are ambiguous and often appear to affirm monistic conceptions like that found in the Tathāgata-garbha sutras. In addition to defining ultimate truth as the simultaneous affirmation of emptiness and dependent existence, he defines it on some occasions as the negation of both emptiness and dependent existence and on others as the simultaneous affirmation and negation of emptiness and dependent existence. The impression created by these descriptions of an absolute reality transcending the realm of empty, dependently originating phenomena is further reinforced by Chih-i’s consistent use of the term tathāgata-garbha to refer to the ultimate truth.

Nonetheless, the central importance in Chih-i’s thought of the identity of all phenomena with ultimate truth militates against the idea that Chih-i understands the ultimate truth as a pure mind. When ultimate truth is conceived as a pure consciousness, in itself devoid of conceptuality and its objects, there is a fundamental dichotomy between the ultimate truth and the phenomenal realm. Even when, as in the Hua-yen tradition, the pure consciousness is understood as the ground for the appearance of the phenomenal realm, a true oneness of the phenomena and ultimate truth is not obtained; the phenomena are one with ultimate truth only insofar as phenomenal particularity is transcended and one discovers the unitary pure consciousness within all.
A Buddhist Kaleidoscope; Susan Mattis, Chih-i and the Subtle Dharma of the Lotus Sutra: Emptiness or Buddha-nature?, Page 253

d19b, d25b, d30b, d32b, d9b, WONS

Practicers of the Lotus Sūtra Are Not Found Anywhere

Some raise the question:

Although there seem to be the three kinds of enemies of the Lotus in this world today, practicers of the Lotus Sūtra are not found anywhere. It is difficult for us to call you a practicer of the Lotus because there is a great deal of discrepancy. Affirming divine intervention in favor of a practicer, the Lotus Sūtra in the chapter on the “Peaceful Practices” says: “Heavenly servants will come to serve the man who upholds the Lotus Sūtra so that swords and sticks will not injure him, and poisons will not harm him;” in the fifth chapter on “The Simile of Herbs,” “His life in this world will be peaceful and he will be reborn in a better place in the future;” in the 26th chapter on “Mystic Phrases,” “Should anyone hate and speak ill of the man who upholds the Lotus Sūtra, his mouth will be sealed—anyone who does harm to him will have his head split into seven pieces like a twig of an arjaka tree;” and in the 28th chapter on the “Encouragement of the Universal Sage Bodhisattva,” “He will be rewarded with happiness in this present life;” and “If anyone, upon seeing a man upholding this sūtra, exposes his faults, justifiably or not, such a man will be afflicted with white leprosy.”

They have a good reason to doubt me. So I will answer their question to dispel their doubt. It is said in the “Never-Despising Bodhisattva” (20th) chapter of the Lotus Sūtra that the practicer of the Lotus will be spoken ill of, despised, or struck with sticks, tiles, and stones; while it is said in the Nirvana Sūtra that such a man will be killed or hurt. The Lotus Sūtra also states in the “Teacher of the Dharma” (10th) chapter that those who spread it will be the target of much hatred and jealousy even during the lifetime of the Buddha.

Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 103

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Dec. 21, 2019

When they expound the Dharma to the great multitude with their tongues, they will be able to raise deep and wonderful voices, to cause their voices to reach the hearts of the great multitude so that the great multitude may be joyful and cheerful. Hearing their speeches given in good order by their deep and wonderful voices, Śakra, Brahman, and the other gods and goddesses will come and listen to them.

The Buddha declares these lines to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. When we share the Buddha Dharma with others, it is as if the Buddha’s mind is finding voice in our words. It should then come as no surprise to us that beings of all dispositions will want to hear more of what the Buddha has taught us. When we “practice the sūtra with our bodies,” as Nichiren described, when we make this teaching a part of our lives, then we find the words we need to reach all beings and lead them to the Buddha’s enlightenment.

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, we repeat in gāthās and conclude Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples.

Thereupon Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya and the others, wishing to repeat what they had said, sang in gāthās:

Your assurance of our future Buddhahood
Gives us unsurpassed peace.
Hearing your voice, we have the greatest joy that we have ever had.
We bow to you, to the Buddha of Immeasurable Wisdom.

Now in your presence,
We reproach ourselves for our faults.
The Nirvāṇa we attained was
Only part of the immeasurable treasures of yours.
We were like a foolish man with no wisdom.
We satisfied ourselves with what little we had attained.

Suppose a poor man visited
His good friend, who was very rich.
The friend feasted him
With delicacies.

He fastened a priceless gem
Inside the garment of the man as a gift to him,
And went out without leaving a word.
The sleeping man did not notice [the gift].

The man woke up, and went to another country.
He worked to get food and clothing.
He had much difficulty
In earning his livelihood.

He satisfied himself with what little he earned.
He did not wish to get anything more.
He did not notice the priceless gem
Fastened inside his garment.

The good friend who gave the gem to the poor man
Happened to see him later.
He blamed him severely,
And showed him the gem fastened [inside the garment].

Seeing the gem,
The poor man had great joy.
Now he satisfied his five desires
With many treasures.

We are like the poor man.
In the long night you taught us
Out of your compassion towards us,
And caused us to aspire for unsurpassed [enlightenment].

Because we had no wisdom, we did not notice that.
The Nirvāṇa we attained was only part [of your wisdom].
Satisfying ourselves with it,
We did not wish to attain anything more.

Now you have awakened us, saying:
“What you attained was not true extinction.
When you have the unsurpassed wisdom of the Buddha,
You will attain true extinction.”

Hearing from you that we are assured
Of becoming Buddhas one after another,
And that our worlds will be adorned,
We are joyful in body and mind.

See Buddha Nature As Three Causes

2buddhas, d13b, LS32 Text, WONS

Buddha Nature As Three Causes

Commentators have often interpreted the jewel in the garment as the “buddha nature.” The Lotus Sūtra does not contain the precise term “buddha nature” (Ch. foxing; J. busshō), perhaps because it had not yet come into use in Indian Buddhism. However, the Lotus clearly recognizes the buddha potential in all beings, and Chinese exegetes argued that the concept is there, if not the term itself. The expression “buddha nature” was well known in medieval Japan, and Nichiren uses it occasionally, but he appears to have preferred “buddha realm” (among the ten realms) or “seed of buddhahood” (J. busshu). His use of the latter term is quite different from the Hossō idea of untainted seeds in the storehouse consciousness. … “Buddha nature” and “seed of buddhahood” are similar in that both indicate the potential for buddhahood, supreme enlightenment, but where “nature” is constant and unchanging, “seeds” can lie dormant, even rot, or germinate and grow in response to conditions; as the Lotus Sūtra says, “The buddha-seeds germinate through dependent origination.” Thus, Nichiren may have used the term “seed of buddhahood” because he wished to portray buddhahood, not as an abstract potential, but as manifested through specific causes and conditions, that is, by embracing a specific form of practice. In that regard, he sometimes borrows Zhiyi’s concept of the “buddha nature as three causes”: (1) the innate potential for buddhahood; (2) the wisdom that illuminates it; and (3) the practice that manifests that wisdom. For Nichiren, that practice was chanting Namu Myōhō-renge-kyō, the act that manifests the jewel of the buddha realm hidden within the nine realms of ordinary people. Sometimes he refers to the daimoku itself as the “seed of buddhahood.”

Two Buddhas, p126-127
Kaleidoscope

Chih-i and Nāgārjuna

Quote

[W]hat Chih-i and Nāgārjuna share in common should not be underestimated. Both unqualifiedly affirm that there is no distinction between the realm of ultimate truth and the realm of dependent origination. As Nāgārjuna states in the Mūlamadhyamakakārikās, “There is nothing whatever which differentiates the existence-in-flux (samsara) from nirvāṇa; / And there is nothing whatever which differentiates nirvāṇa from existence-in-flux.” Chih-i also maintains that the “Middle Path” or ultimate truth is not a transcendent reality but simply the realm of dependent origination, realized as empty and dependently existent. In The Great Calming and Contemplation he states this unequivocally: “The dharma-nature and totality of dharmas are not two, not separate. … The dharmas of the ordinary are themselves the dharma of ultimate reality.”

For Chih-i as for Nāgārjuna there is no reality or truth to be realized beyond the play of the ephemeral, conditioned elements of the realm of dependent origination; the ultimate, middle truth is nothing other than the realization of the true aspect of the phenomenal realm, that is, its empty, conditioned existence. This identity of ultimate truth and phenomena is for Chih-i the central and unequivocal teaching of the Lotus Sutra, the message embodied in the image of the Buddha pervading all realms of existence.
A Buddhist Kaleidoscope; Susan Mattis, Chih-i and the Subtle Dharma of the Lotus Sutra: Emptiness or Buddha-nature?, Page 252-253

WONS

Upholders of Lotus Sūtra Are Envied by the King of Devils

Deer are killed by men because the meat is tasty, and tortoises lose their lives because of their good fat. Attractive women are envied by many others. Those who govern a country must worry about defending it against foreign forces, while property owners are susceptible to the dangers of life. Likewise, upholders of the Lotus Sūtra with the assurance of achieving Buddhahood are envied by the king of devils in the Sixth Heaven, who is the lord of the triple world of the unenlightened. It is preached in scriptures that this king of devils will haunt kings, parents, wives and children and envy the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra in the same way as how people fall victims to epidemics without seeing the disease or how old sake can make people dead drunk without them realizing it. This is exactly what is happening in the world today. I have done nothing wrong, but simply because I chant Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, I have been hated by people as well as the rulers of Japan for more than twenty years, and chased out of residences and exiled twice until, finally, I retreated to this mountain.

Shuju Onfurumai Gosho, Reminiscences: from Tatsunokuchi to Minobu, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Biography and Disciples, Volume 5, Pages 45