All posts by John Hughes

21days, Innumerable

Day 17 of 21

Concluding this review of the stages of the Ten Blessings in the Sutra of Innumerable Blessings, we consider the final three.

At the eighth stage, having found someone who has received this sutra:

[T]hey will make them revere and believe it exactly as if they saw the body of the Buddha, cherish and enjoy it, receive and embrace, read and recite, copy, and honor this sutra, follow and practice it according to the Dharma, firmly observing morality and endurance. At the same time, they will practice generosity and be deeply compassionate. And they will everywhere teach this unexcelled Great Vehicle Sutra of Innumerable Meanings for the sake of people.

If anyone for a long time does not at all recognize sin or blessedness, they will be shown this sutra, and with all sorts of skillful means be firmly led to have faith in it. Through the power of this sutra, their faith will be aroused, and they will convert suddenly. After having their faith aroused, they will bravely persevere, acquiring the virtues and powers of this sutra, and attaining the Way and its fruit. In this way, through the blessing of having undergone transformation, these good sons or good daughters, in their male and female bodies, will attain acceptance of the non-arising of all things, reach the upper stage, and, with bodhisattvas as their attendants, lead living beings quickly to fulfillment, purify buddha-lands, and soon attain unexcelled awakening. Good sons, this is called the eighth amazing power of blessing of this sutra./blockquote>

At the ninth stage those who dance with joy and everywhere explain this sutra’s meaning:

[T]hey will instantly destroy the heavy hindrance of sins resulting from actions in the past and become purified. They will acquire great eloquence, gradually take on the marks of transcendental practices, attain various concentrations, including very courageous concentrations, enter the great gateway of incantations, and rise to the upper stage quickly through the power of diligent perseverance. They will be embodied everywhere in all the lands of the ten directions and will save and free all the living beings who suffer greatly in the twenty-five states of existence. Such power can be seen in this sutra. Good sons, this is called the ninth amazing power of blessing of this sutra.

Finally the ultimate blessing for practicing for others:

[B]ecause of their powers of leading others to the practice of this sutra and to attaining the Way and its fruits, done through the power of working good-heartedly to transform others, all these good sons or good daughters in their bodies will be able to pursue innumerable teachings about incantation. As common people, from the beginning they will naturally make innumerable countless great vows and oaths, and deeply aspire to fulfill them in order to save all living beings. They will realize great compassion, thoroughly relieve the suffering of living beings, gather many good roots, and abundantly benefit all. They will extend the abundance of the Dharma and give water to the withered and dehydrated. They will generously give living beings the medicine of the Dharma, setting them all at ease, gradually elevating their views to live at the stage of the Dharma cloud. They will spread benevolence widely, always being kind and leading the living who suffer into the track of the Way. These people will be able to attain supreme awakening before long. Good sons, this is called the tenth amazing power of blessing of this sutra.

All done through the power of working good-heartedly.

Day 16 of 21Day 18 of 21

buddhaseed

Shakumon

Quote

The pre-Lotus Sūtra teachings and the theoretical section (Shakumon), chapters 1-14 of the Lotus Sūtra are shown as Diagram I-A. In these teachings, Śākyamuni appeared as an historical person bound by the limitations of space and time. Cause and effect were also presented as separate and distinct. In addition to the common meaning of cause and effect, cause also derived from the nine realms – from the realm of hell, hunger (greed), anger, animality, human, heaven, Śrāvaka (learning), Pratyakabuddha (realization) to the realm of bodhisattva. Effect also derived from the Buddha, the realm of Buddha, enlightenment of Buddha or circumstance of Buddha.

Buddha Seed: Understanding the Odaimoku


comparison chart

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – July 17, 2019

Thereupon Śākyamuni Buddha praised Medicine-King Bodhisattva, saying: “Excellent, excellent, Medicine-King! You uttered these dhāraṇīs in order to protect this teacher of the Dharma out of your compassion towards him. You will be able to give many benefits to all living beings.”

The Buddha makes this declaration to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Six of the Lotus Sūtra. The dhāraṇīs are promises made in a language that only Medicine-King and other protective beings understand. When we recite these promises from the Lotus Sūtra, we remind those beings of their vows. We also awaken our natures to protect all beings, and create benefits both for those beings and ourselves.

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

LS32

Day 26

Day 26 concludes Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, includes Chapter 22, Transmission, and introduces Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Day 26 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month concluded Chapter 22, Transmission, we begin Chapter 23: The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva with a description of the realm of a Buddha called Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue.

Thereupon Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! Why does Medicine-King Bodhisattva walk about this Sahā-World? World-Honored One! This Medicine-King Bodhisattva will have to practice hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas of austerities in this world. World-Honored One! Tell me why! Not only the gods, dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men and nonhuman beings but also the Bodhisattvas who have come from the other worlds’ and the Śrāvakas present here will be glad to hear the reason.”

Thereupon the Buddha said to Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva:

“Innumerable kalpas ago, that is, as many kalpas as there are sands in the River Ganges ago, there lived a Buddha called Sun-Moon-Pure-Bright-Virtue, the Tathāgata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. He was accompanied by eight thousand million great Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas and also by great Śrāvakas numbering seventy-two times as many as there are sands in the River Ganges. The duration of his life was forty-two thousand kalpas. So were the durations of the lives of the Bodhisattvas. His world was devoid of women, hellish denizens, hungry spirits, animals and asuras. There was no calamity in his world. The ground of his world was as even as the palm of the hand. It was made of lapis lazuli, adorned with jeweled trees, and covered with a jeweled awning from which the streamers of jeweled flowers were hanging down. Jeweled vases and incense-burners were seen everywhere in that world. There was a platform of the seven treasures at the distance of a bowshot from each of the jeweled trees under which the Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas were sitting. On each of the platforms of treasures, myriads of millions of gods were making heavenly music, singing songs of praise of the Buddha, and offering the music and songs to the Buddha.

On my 21-day retreat encouraged by Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, we consider Day 16 of 21.

21days, Innumerable

Day 16 of 21

Continuing with the fifth and sixth stages of the Ten Blessings in the Sutra of Innumerable Blessings, we move from all “living beings” to the “good sons or daughters” who have progressed this far.

First the dragon’s newborn child:

[E]ven though they still have attachments and afflictions and have not distanced themselves from affairs of ordinary men, they will reveal the way of great bodhisattvas. Extending a day to a hundred eons or shortening a hundred eons to a day, bringing joy to other living beings, they will convince them. Good sons, these good sons or good daughters are just like the son of a dragon who can make clouds appear and cause rain to fall seven days after he is born. Good sons, this is called the fifth amazing power of blessing of this sutra.

Then the king’s heir:

[E]ven though they still have afflictions, they will teach the Dharma to living beings, separating them from afflictions of life and death and enabling them to cut off all suffering. After hearing it, living beings will put it into practice, and become no different from the Buddha-Tathagata with respect to the blessings of the Dharma, the blessings of the fruit, and the blessings of the Way.

Suppose a king, due to travel or being ill, leaves the management of the affairs of the country to a prince, though the prince is only a child. Then the prince, by order of the great king, will lead all the government officials according to the Dharma and propagate good policies, so that every citizen of the country follows his orders exactly, as if the king himself were governing.

It is the same with good sons or good daughters embracing this sutra. During the Buddha’s lifetime or after his extinction, even though they themselves cannot yet live in the first stage of immobility, these good sons will teach and promulgate the Dharma as the Buddha did, and if living beings, hearing them, practice it wholeheartedly, they will cut off afflictions and attain the blessings of the Dharma, the blessings of the fruit, and the blessings of the Way. Good sons, this is called the sixth amazing power of blessing of this sutra.

Day 15 of 21Day 17 of 21

Lotus Path

Quality vs. Quantity

Quote

Looking into our lives to find those things that prevent us from accomplishing what we wish is fundamental to Buddhist practice. … Another hindrance is to worry more about time spent practicing than the quality of the practice. In a single moment exists the potential to praise and rejoice, thereby assuring enlightenment. The sole factor is mind at that moment. Let go of attachment to quantity of Odaimoku and embrace quality. Learn by listening to your life. Open yourself up and become aware of the joy of chanting Odaimoku without concern for length of time. This isn’t a job with a time clock where you only get paid for time spent.

Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – July 16, 2019

Why was this bhikṣu called Never-Despising? It was because, every time he saw bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇis, upāsakas or upāsikās, he bowed to them and praised them, saying, ‘I respect you deeply. I do not despise you. Why is that? It is because you will be able to practice the Way of Bodhisattvas and become Buddhas.’

The Buddha gives this description of Never-Despising Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty of the Lotus Sūtra. The only practice of this Bodhisattva was to show his respect to all people, whether or not they respected him. This practice was so important, the Buddha used it as an example of what he practiced in a previous life to enable him to become enlightened.

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

LS32

Day 25

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Day 25 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month witnessed the World-Honored One’s great supernatural powers, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, with the gods in the skies of the worlds of the ten quarters.

At that time the gods in the skies [of the worlds of the ten quarters] said loudly:

“There is a world called Sahā beyond a distance of many hundreds of thousands of billions of asaṃkhyas of worlds. In that world lives a Buddha called Śākyamuni. He is now expounding to Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas a sūtra of the Great Vehicle, called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’ Rejoice from the bottom of your hearts! Bow and make offerings to Śākyamuni Buddha!”

Having heard their voice from the skies, the living beings of those worlds joined their hands together towards the Sahā World, and said, “Namah Sakyamunaye Buddhaya, namah Sakyamunaye Buddhaya.” Then they strewed various flowers, various kinds of incense, various necklaces, streamers, canopies, personal ornaments, treasures, and other wonderful things to the Sahā-World from afar.

The strewn things came from the worlds of the ten quarters like gathering clouds and changed into a jeweled awning over the Sahā-World. The awning extended over the Buddhas staying in this world. At that time the worlds of the ten quarters became passable through each other without hindrance as if they had been a single Buddha-world.

On my 21-day retreat encouraged by Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, we consider Day 15 of 21.

21days, Innumerable

Day 15 of 21

Continuing with the fourth stage of the Ten Blessings in the Sutra of Innumerable Blessings, we find ourselves in a transition between “living beings” who help Bodhisattvas and beginner Bodhisattvas.

Living beings:

[T]hey will become brave, and, even though they cannot yet save themselves, they will save others. Together with bodhisattvas they will become part of the entourage of the buddha-tathagatas, who will always preach the Dharma to them. Hearing it, they will receive and embrace the Dharma in accord with their capacities and never oppose it. Moreover, they will teach it for people everywhere as occasion demands.

A beginner Bodhisattva who hears this sutra:

[T]hough not yet able to realize ultimate truth, or shake the three-thousand-great-thousand-fold world, or turn the great Dharma wheel with a thunderous buddha-voice, this bodhisattva will be admired by all the four groups and the eight guardians of Buddhism, and great bodhisattvas will be in his entourage. Entering deeply into the secret Dharma of the buddhas, he will explain it without errors or mistakes. He will always be protected by the buddhas and especially showered with affection, because he is a beginner in learning. Good sons, this is called the fourth amazing power of blessing of this sutra.

Between these two perspectives on the fourth blessing, we learn where Bodhisattvas come from:

The Buddha is the king; this sutra is his wife; their coming together results in the birth of their child, a bodhisattva.

Day 14 of 21Day 16 of 21

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – July 15, 2019

Even if I praise for innumerable kalpas
The keeper of this sūtra,
To whom it is to be transmitted,
I cannot praise him highly enough.

The Buddha sings these verses to Superior-Practice Bodhisattva (Jōgyo, Viśiṣṭacārītra) in Chapter Twenty-One of the Lotus Sūtra. When the Buddha praises us for keeping the Lotus Sūtra, he is praising our Buddha-Nature and encouraging us to develop it. When we praise the Buddha and show our gratitude for the practice he has given us, we are praising the Lotus Sūtra. When we praise and value the Lotus Sūtra, we are encouraging the Buddha-Nature in all beings, just as the Buddha has promised to do. Therefore when we keep and practice the Lotus Sūtra, we are fulfilling the Buddha’s promise of our enlightenment.

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