All posts by John Hughes

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 31, 2019

But the merits to be given to the person who fills the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds with the seven treasures and offers that amount of the seven treasures to the Buddhas, to the Great Bodhisattvas, to the Pratyekabuddhas, and to the Arhats, are less than the merits to be given to the person who keeps even a single gāthā of four lines of this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sūtra. Generosity is the first of the perfections of a Bodhisattva, a being who vows to delay their own enlightenment so that they can benefit others. The offering of material goods helps remove the suffering caused by our sense of self-importance, and prepares us for the Buddha’s highest teaching. By offering the Buddha’s wisdom, embodied in this Lotus Sūtra, we benefit all beings.

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

LS32

Day 3

Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients.

Day 3 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the puzzlement of the Śrāvakas and Pratyekabuddhas, we consider Śāriputra’s request for an explanation.

Thereupon Śāriputra, seeing the doubts of the four kinds of devotees, and also because he, himself, did not understand [why the Buddha had said this], said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! Why do you extol so enthusiastically [what you call] the highest [Truth, and the power of the Buddhas to employ) expedients? [Why do you extol) the Dharma which [you say] is profound, wonderful, and difficult to understand? I have never heard you say all this before. The four kinds of devotees also have the same doubts. World-Honored One! Explain all this! Why do you extol so enthusiastically the Dharma which [you say] is profound, wonderful, and difficult to understand?”

Thereupon Śāriputra, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:

Sun of Wisdom, Great Honorable Saint!
You expound the Dharma for the first time after a long time.
You say that you obtained
The powers, fearlessness, samādhis,
Dhyana-concentrations, emancipations,
And other inconceivable properties [of a Buddha].

No one asks you about the Dharma you attained
At the place of enlightenment.
[The Dharma] is too difficult for me to measure.
[So it is for others; therefore,] no one asks you.

Although you are not asked, you extol the teachings
[Of the past Buddhas] which you practiced.
Your wisdom is wonderful.
It is the same wisdom that the other Buddhas obtained.

The Arhats-without-āsravas
And those who are seeking Nirvāṇa
Are now in the mesh of doubts, wondering:
“Why does the Buddha say all this?”

Those who are seeking the vehicle of cause-knowers,
And the bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, gods, dragons,
Gandharvas, and other supernatural beings,
Are exchanging glances of perplexity.

They are looking up at you, at the Honorable Biped
Thinking:
“What is this for?
Buddha! Explain all this!”

You once said to me:
“You are the most excellent Śrāvaka.”
With all my wisdom, however, I now doubt.
I do not understand
Whether the Truth I attained is final or not,
Whether the teachings I practiced are true or not.

Your sons born from your mouth are looking up at you
With their hands joined together, entreating:
“With your wonderful voice,
Explain all this as it really is!”

As many gods and dragons
As there are sands in the River Ganges,
And the eighty thousand Bodhisattvas
Who are seeking Buddhahood,
And the wheel-turning-holy-kings
Of billions of worlds
Are joining their hands together respectfully,
Wishing to hear the Perfect Way.

The Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1, offers this on expedient teachings:

Previous to teaching the Lotus Sutra the Buddha taught expedients to lead people to the ultimate teaching of the Lotus Sutra. In many ways it was as if he were leading the blind to the train station so they could then find the way to the true complete teachings contained in the Lotus Sutra. But we need to remember that the train station is not the destination, the expedients are not the sum of the Buddha’s teachings.

Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1

Blog

Why We Chant Ten Suchnesses Three Times

By Rev. Ryuei McCormick
Nichiren Shu News, Aug. 1, 2019

A common practice of Nichiren Buddhism is a triple repetition of a portion of the opening prose section of Chapter 2 of the Lotus Sutra, but not many know why we do this. In English, this passage reads “…that is all phenomena in regard to their appearances as such, their natures as such, their entities as such, their powers as such, their activities as such, their causes as such, their conditions as such, their effects as such, their recompenses as such, and their equality as such despite these differences.” This is the list of the “ten suchnesses” or aspects of phenomena (dharmas in Sanskrit) that comprise reality.

The three repetitions are actually a recognition of three ways of reading the ten suchnesses in accordance with the threefold truth taught by Tiantai Zhiyi (538-597). The threefold truth consists of: (1) the truth of emptiness, meaning that all phenomena are empty of a permanent unchanging or independent self-nature; (2) the truth of provisionality, meaning that nevertheless they do have a provisional existence on the basis of the interdependent flow of causes and conditions; and (3) the truth of the middle way, meaning that things are simultaneously empty and provisionally existent. All three truths of the threefold truth imply one another. Because things have no self-nature, they have a provisional existence, and vice versa. Both emptiness and provisionality express the middle way of empty yet provisionally existent. This is a very subtle and complex teaching which is at the heart of Tiantai Buddhism and was also held in great esteem by Nichiren Shonin.

In the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra, the Great Master Tiantai points out that by rearranging the Chinese characters of each of the ten phrases, one can read them so that one part or another of the threefold truth is emphasized. The first way is to emphasize the suchness of each of the ten. Because suchness is a synonym for emptiness this is a recognition of the truth of emptiness. For instance, to read “such their appearance is” (ze-so-nyo); The second way is to emphasize the distinct character of each of the ten as a recognition of the truth of provisionality. For instance, to read, “their appearances as such” (nyo-ze-so); The third way is to emphasize the copula “as,” representing the truth of the middle way. For instance, to read “as such their appearance” (so-nyo-ze;).

This doesn’t work as well in English as in classical Chinese, and we don’t actually rearrange the characters in our own practice. Nevertheless, the triple repetition is a way of recognizing that each of the ten suchnesses should be understood in terms of the threefold truth of emptiness, provisionality, and the middle way.

Source

Lecture on Lotus Sutra

Shock and Awe Buddhism

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I think the authors of the Lotus Sutra wanted to shock the shit out of their readers, to slap them in the face or pour buckets of cold water on them, a sort of a shock and awe of Buddhism. First, the ultimate truth of Buddhism is that we are all capable of becoming Buddhas. Second, there isn’t a whole bunch of petty differing ways of going about attaining Buddhahood. Third, we should quit expecting others to do for us what we are fully capable of doing for ourselves.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 30, 2019

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.

The Heavenly-King Brahmas from the zenith sing these verses to Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. They describe how beings live in a world in which they can find no Buddha, their joy that Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha has appeared, and their hope that this Buddha will lead all beings from the regions of difficulties. When these Brahmas speak of pleasure, it is not what comes from getting what we want. It is the pleasure of the Dharma, the pleasure enjoyed by all Buddhas when they become enlightened, and the pleasure available to us when we resolve to benefit all beings and practice the Buddha Dharma as Bodhisattvas.

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

LS32

Day 2

Chapter 1, Introductory (Conclusion).

Day 2 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month witnessed what happened when Sun-Moon-Light Buddha emerged from his samādhi, we consider the final nirvana of Sun-Moon-Light Buddha.

Having expounded the Sūtra
Of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma,
And caused the multitude to rejoice,
The Buddha told the gods and men
At that moment on that day,
“I have already expounded to you
The truth of the reality of all things.
I shall enter into Nirvāṇa at midnight tonight.
Make efforts with all your hearts!
Leave the life of license!
It is difficult to see a Buddha, who can be seen
Only once in hundreds of millions of kalpas.”

Having heard that the Buddha would enter into Nirvāṇa,
Those sons of the World-Honored One
Were filled with sorrow.
They said, “How quickly the Buddha is gone!”

The Saintly Master, the King of the Dharma,
Consoled the countless living beings, saying:
“Although I shall pass away,
You must not worry.
This Virtue-Store Bodhisattva has already understood
The truth of the reality [of all things]
[To be attained by the wisdom] without asravas.
He will become a Buddha immediately after me.
He will be called Pure-Body.
He will save innumerable living beings.”

The Buddha passed away that night
Just as fire dies out when wood is gone.
His śarīras were distributed.
Countless stupas were erected to enshrine them.

As many bhikṣus and bhikṣunīs
As there are sands in the River Ganges
Redoubled their endeavors
In order to attain unsurpassed enlightenment.

The Introduction to the Lotus Sutra offers this on the importance of Sun-Moon-Light Buddha’s example:

Manjusri’s narrative on Sun-Moon-Light Buddha illustrates that the Lotus Sutra was expounded in the past just as it is in the present. It is the universal teaching transcending even the concept of time. It is not some recent invention. The subsequent appearance of twenty thousand Buddhas with the same name suggests that the personalities of all Buddhas originate in the spirit of the very first One. Here we get the first glimpse of the “infinite absolute Buddha,” or Original Buddha, who will fully reveal himself in Chapter Sixteen, “The Duration of the Life of the Tathagata.”

Introduction to the Lotus Sutra

Lotus Seeds

The Ten Worlds; The Ten States of Life

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In the Buddha’s vision, our actions and attitudes govern which of the Ten Worlds we are born into from lifetime to lifetime. However, the Ten Worlds also describe the various states of life that all people experience constantly throughout everyday life. Each state flows smoothly and swiftly into the others many times over during the course of a day. These states of life encompass our thoughts, feelings, actions, relationships, and even our general environment.

Lotus Seeds

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Aug. 29, 2019

I led all living beings at first with the teaching of the Three Vehicles. Now I will save them by the Great Vehicle only. Why is that? It is because, if I had given them the teaching of the Great Vehicle at first directly from my store of the Dharma in which my immeasurable wisdom, powers and fearlessness are housed, they would not have received all of the Dharma.

The Buddha speaks these words to Śāriputra in Chapter Three of the Lotus Sūtra. This is part of his explanation of why he needed to use expedient teachings of the Three Vehicles prior to giving the Great Vehicle teaching of the Lotus Sūtra, and why expedient teachings need to be set aside. Since the earlier teachings were tailored to the limited capacity of the hearers, they could not hold all of the Buddha’s wisdom. In the Great Vehicle, the Buddha teaches us with his wisdom, and increases our capacity.

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

LS32

Day 1

Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory

Day 1 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month witnessed the Buddha emit a ray of light from the white curls between his eyebrows illumining all the corners of eighteen thousand worlds in the east, we consider Maitreya Bodhisattva’s puzzlement.

Thereupon Maitreya Bodhisattva thought:

“The World-Honored One is now displaying a wonder [, that is, a good omen]. Why is he displaying this good omen? The Buddha, the World-Honored One, has entered into a samadhi. Whom shall I ask why he is displaying this inconceivable, rare thing? Who can answer my question?”

He thought again:

“This Mañjuśrī, the son of the King of the Dharma, has already met innumerable Buddhas and made offerings to them in his previous existence. He must have seen this rare thing before. Now I will ask him.”

At that time the bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās, upāsikās, gods, dragons, and other supernatural beings thought, “Whom shall we ask why the Buddha is emitting this ray of light, that is, why he is displaying this wonder?”

At that time the congregation included the four kinds of devotees: bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās and upāsikās. They also included gods, dragons, and other supernatural beings. Maitreya Bodhisattva, wishing to have his doubts removed, and also understanding the minds of the congregation, asked Mañjuśrī:

“Why is the World-Honored One displaying this good omen, this wonder? Why is he emitting a great ray of light, illumining eighteen thousand worlds to the east, and causing us to see those beautifully-adorned worlds of the Buddhas?”

Here and again in many places in the Lotus Sutra we are taught: When in doubt, ask for clarification. There are no stupid questions.

WONS

Endeavor to Strengthen Your Faith

In a word, you cannot find hell anywhere aside from your own mind. It exists in your bosom. I will preach to you this very important teaching the best I can, so please listen carefully. It is just as Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī preached the secret teaching of attainment of Buddhahood immediately with the present body for a daughter of the Dragon King in chapter 12 of the Lotus Sutra.

Endeavor to strengthen your faith after listening to this important teaching. He who endeavors to strengthen his faith after listening to the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra is a true seeker of Buddhahood. Grand Master T’ien-t’ai says: “Indigo becomes deep blue even though it is created from indigo leaves.” This means that if dyed blue over and over, indigo blue will become deeper than its original color. Practicing the Lotus Sūtra is the same. By practicing the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra over and over, you will be a true follower. Practice is the best master.

Ueno-dono Goke-ama Go-henji, A Response to the Nun, Widow of Lord Ueno, Nyonin Gosho, Letters Addressed to Female Followers, Page 48-50