All posts by John Hughes

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – June 2, 2019

My teaching is wonderful and inconceivable.
If arrogant people hear me,
They will not respect or believe me.

The Buddha sings these verses to Śāriputra in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra. We sometimes think of arrogance as acting as if we know something that we really do not. These verses contrast arrogance with respect and faith. Faith does not mean blind belief. It is still important to ask questions when we don’t understand. Respect does not mean blind obedience, but it does mean that we have confidence in what the Buddha teaches, no matter how difficult it may seem. Arrogance blocks our ability to hear the Buddha. Respect and Faith open our hearts to his 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 Buddha’s explanation that Pūrṇa only appears to be a Śrāvaka, we hear the prediction for his future.

“Bhikṣus! Pūrṇa was the most excellent expounder of the Dharma under the seven Buddhas. He is the same under me. He will be the same under the future Buddhas of this Kalpa of Sages. He will protect the teachings of those Buddhas and help them propagate their teachings. After the end of this kalpa also he will protect the teachings of innumerable Buddhas, help them propagate their teachings, teach and benefit innumerable living beings, and cause them to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. He will always make efforts to teach all living beings strenuously so that the worlds of those Buddhas may be purified. He will perform the Way of Bodhisattvas step by step for innumerable, asaṃkhya kalpas, and then attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi in this world. He will be called Dharma-Brightness, 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. The world of that Buddha will be composed of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds, that is, as many Sumeru-worlds as there are sands in the River Ganges. The ground [of that world] will be made of the seven treasures. It will be as even as the palm of a hand. There will be no mountains nor ravines nor ditches. Tall buildings adorned with the seven treasures will be seen everywhere in that world, and the palaces of gods of that world will hang so low in the sky that gods and men will be able to see each other. There will be no evil regions nor women. The living beings of that world will be born without any medium. They will have no sexual desire. They will have great supernatural powers, emit light from their bodies, and fly about at will. They will be resolute in mind, strenuous, and wise. They will be golden in color, and adorned with the thirty-two marks. They will feed on two things: the delight in the Dharma, and the delight in dhyāna. There will be innumerable, asaṃkhya Bodhisattvas, that is, thousands of billions of nayutas of Bodhisattvas. They will have great supernatural powers and the four kinds of unhindered eloquence. They will teach the living beings of that world. There will also be uncountable Śrāvakas there. They will have the six supernatural powers including the three major supernatural powers, and the eight emancipations. The world of that Buddha will be adorned with those innumerable merits. The kalpa [in which Pūrṇa will become that Buddha] will be called Treasure­Brightness; and his world, Good-Purity. The duration of the life of that Buddha will be innumerable, asaṃkhya kalpas, and his teachings will be preserved for a long time. After his extinction, stupas of the seven treasures will be erected [in his honor] throughout that world.”

Continuing with the content from Miraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Ancient Japan, we learn of Priest Kanze.

Miracles

Priest Kanze

Priest Kanze was a sculptor of Buddhist images in the capital and a devoted reciter of the Hokekyō. He daily recited one chapter thirty-three times and tried to memorize the Chapter of Fumon [Universal Gateway]. He observed the precepts and paid homage to Kannon on the eighteenth of each month.

At the request of a patron, Kanze went to the Kuwata District of Tanba Province to make a Buddhist image. The patron who wished to have a Buddhist image was not a good man but practised evil. As Kanze finished the image, the patron rewarded him with various gifts and sent him off to the capital. Yet the patron wanted to recover the gifts from Kanze.

He ambushed and killed Kanze in Mount Ōe and took back the gifts to his home.

Now the patron wanted to see the Kannon image which was made by Kanze. He opened the doors of the temple hall where the image was kept. Behold! The golden image of Kannon had a slashed shoulder. The blood streamed from the wound and coagulated in a pool on the floor. The frightened and grieved patron thought, “I have killed the priest by slashing his shoulder. Now I see that the Kannon statue has a cut shoulder. This is most extraordinary.”

The patron immediately sent a messenger to the capital to investigate the sculptor, Kanze. The messenger went to the capital and found that Kanze was safely at home. When the messenger returned to the patron in Tanba and reported the news, the patron was awestruck and repented. He realized that the Kannon image had received the injuries instead of Kanze to save its sculptor.

The remorseful patron went to Kanze, offered him gifts, and asked various questions. Kanze said, “A thief robbed me as I returned to the capital, but I was not injured at all and arrived here safely, thanks to the protection of Kannon.”

All who heard this, including the patron, became pious, acquired faith in Kannon, and recited the Hokekyō. This happened in the second year of Ōwa. (Page 108)

Miraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Ancient Japan


Lecture on Lotus Sutra, d18b

Things We Say

The second peaceful practice concerns the things we say. The list is a reminder of how we should speak, avoiding such things as being overly critical of others and other sutras. It is a fine line between pointing out differences in belief and practice and drifting to arrogance and disdain. We might be tempted to adopt the harsh language of Nichiren without fully manifesting the heart of Nichiren. The words are cheap and easy to use, the compassion and caring is difficult to manifest. There is also a time and place for things and this age we live in calls for great wisdom in discerning which approach is the most beneficial to the listener first and foremost and not to our own egotistical needs at proving superiority. As the Buddha says, the teacher should not have hostile feelings, nor dislike them but should have peace of mind. We should always have the wish to attain enlightenment for ourselves and cause others to do the same.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – June 1, 2019

They also will be able to locate the Śrāvakas, Pratyekabuddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas by smelling their bodies from afar. Even when they recognize all this by smell, their organ of smell will not be destroyed or put out of order. If they wish, they will be able to tell others of the differences [of those scents] because they remember them without fallacy.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. Our sense of smell is often unconscious. We associate smells with places, experiences or even people that we like or dislike. These smells can even cause an emotional reaction by causing us to relive a situation associated with that smell. In the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha teaches that our everyday experiences are no different from enlightenment, that his great wisdom is not about how to escape from this world. It is about how to use the senses and abilities with which we are blessed in ways we cannot imagine.

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 considered the fruits of the teaching by Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata, we hear the Buddha expound the Great Vehicle called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’

“Seeing the sixteen princes having renounced the world, eight billion followers of the wheel-turning-holy-king begged the king to allow them to do the same. He conceded to them immediately.

“The Buddha assented to the appeal of the śramaṇeras, but it was twenty thousand kalpas afterwards that he expounded to the four kinds of devotees the sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’

“When the Buddha completed the expounding of this sūtra, the sixteen śramaṇeras kept, recited and understood this sūtra in order to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. The sixteen śramaṇeras, [ who were] Bodhisattvas, received this sūtra by faith. Some Śrāvakas understood it by faith, but the other Śrāvakas and other living beings, thousands of billions in number, doubted it.

Continuing with the content from Miraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Ancient Japan, we learn of Holy Man Eikan of the Anrakuin Temple of Nount Hiei

Miracles

Holy Man Eikan of the Anrakuin Temple of Mount Hiei

Priest Eikai recited the Hokekyō from the time of his first vow until his last moments. He studied the Three Contemplations of the Tendai Teachings, and wished to avoid secular affairs.

Eikan thought, “Even if one’s first vow is to follow the Way, unless this vow is correct, one’s practices will all be fruitless. So one should develop great piety in the Tendai Hokke Teachings and engage in significant practices to end one’s karmic cycle of rebirth and death. The sentient beings who repeat the cycle of rebirth and death in the Six Worlds come out of the darkness and go into the darkness, while those of the Three Vehicles go into the light from the light. Yet, they have not attained Supreme Enlightenment.

Now I will see the truth of the One Vehicle, the Mahāyāna Teachings. Recent ascetics tend to pay more attention to the external hardships in their practices rather than to the inner experiences in their contemplation and meditation. Some rely on merits gained by offering secular properties and treasures rather than by depending on faith cultivated by following correct precepts.

They ignorantly accept the transient consequences of the karmic cycle within the Six Worlds and never sense the merits of good deeds which will bring them to Buddhahood. After observing all these, I have decided to abandon the Ten Hindrances which interfere with the causes of piety, and to develop faith in the Six Steps to lead to Buddhahood.”

Thus, with firm determination, Eikan devotedly observed the Ten Commandments to attain the Way. He practiced all these in silence as recommended in the precepts. He clearly viewed the transiency of this world, discussed the Law with appropriate phrases, and abstained from sake and other liquor for the rest of his life.

The mode of his practices was like that described in the Bonmōkyō. When he recited the Hokekyō distractedly, he did not record the number of recited copies. He made textual studies by collecting interpretations of the commentaries and sentences from the sūtras. He also made contrastive studies by comparing the meanings of the sentences in the sūtras with analytic explanations. He recited more than ten thousand copies of the Hokekyō with firm concentration.

Birds and animals came to make friends and accepted food from his hand. Demon deities always attended him, and wished to serve him. He once saw and paid homage to the light released by Śākyamuni Buddha, on another occasion, he was greeted by Fugen. Such extraordinary incidents happened to him frequently, but he kept them all in his mind and never repeated them to others.

As he practised and recited the sūtra, Eikan finally became old, and came to know his last moments. He took a censer in his hand, faced the image of Fugen, sat in the correct posture as he recited the Hokekyō, concentrated on the truth in his mind, and finally crossed the boundary of life and death. (Page 72-73)

Miraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Ancient Japan


NOTES:

  • The Six Stages in attaining enlightenment in the Tendai Sect include the stages of being ignorant that the Buddha nature exists in all beings, the stage of knowing the above truth, the stage of engaging oneself in practices, the stage of leaving delusion, the stage of attaining partial enlightenment, and the stage of attaining complete enlightenment.
  • The ten principal commandments in the Mahāyāna discipline prohibit killing, stealing, committing adultery, telling lies, drinking intoxicating beverages, coveting, losing one’s temper, and speaking falsely of the Three Treasures.
Lotus Seeds

Accepting the Ultimate Truth

Quote

Namu Myoho Renge Kyo represents our acceptance of the ultimate truth of the Lotus Sutra, which reveals that all things, even defilements and suffering, can help us realize the true nature of all reality. Instead of being overwhelmed by desires or suffering, the practice of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo lets us view all things in the light of the ultimate truth.

Lotus Seeds

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – May 31, 2019

When you see any teacher of the Dharma
Who has obtained these merits,
You should strew heavenly flowers to him,
Dress him in a heavenly garment,
Worship his feet with your head,
And think that he will become a Buddha.

The Buddha makes this declaration to Maitreya Bodhisattva in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. This chapter tells the variety of merits enjoyed by anyone who understands, however briefly, the ever-present nature of the Buddha. This reminder is not just for the great Bodhisattvas such as Maitreya. It is also for all of us who are awakening our Bodhisattva nature through this teaching. It is important for us to treat all people, especially those who share this practice of the Buddha Dharma with us, with the same respect we would give to the Buddha himself.

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

LS32

Day 11

Day 11 continues Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City

Day 11 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the reaction of the great Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the south, we consider the reaction of the great Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the zenith, concluding today’s portion of Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City.

“The great Brahman-[heavenly-]kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the southwest, west, northwest, north, northeast, and nadir also did the same. 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!

Continuing with the content from Miraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Ancient Japan, we learn of Priest Saien.