Never-Despising [Bodhisattva] at that time
Was myself.
The four kinds of devotees,
Who were attached to views at that time,
Were able to meet innumerable Buddhas
After they heard
The words of Never-Despising [Bodhisattva]:
“You will become Buddhas.”
They are now present here
In this congregation.They are the five hundred Bodhisattvas
And the four kinds of devotees
Including men and women of pure faith,
Who are now hearing the Dharma from me.In my previous existence
I encouraged them
To hear Myōhō Renge Kyō,
That is, the most excellent Dharma.
In all my previous existences
I taught them the Way to Nirvana.
But really this is the sūtra
I taught them to keep.
All posts by John Hughes
Tao-sheng: The Region of the One
You spoke of my true merits very well. {Truly it is as he has said}
The Thus Come One’s wisdom and meritorious virtues enabled him to preach the path of the three first and the One later, and Kāśyapa himself has spoken of it by taking up a parable. What he has said shows that he has attained to the Sage’s meaning. Hence, in sanctioning it, [the Buddha says], “Truly it is as he has said.”
In reality, however, I have more merits. They are innumerable, asaṃkhya.
What has been said (by Mahākāśyapa and others) is “true” and real because it relates to the region of the One. Now this passage deals with the boundlessness of the region of the One. The boundlessness of the region of the One, unexhausted for many kalpas, broadly verifies [the theme] that the transformative teaching of the three is [identical with] that of the One; how, then, can there be any mistake?
I expound all teachings with expedients by my wisdom in order to lead all living beings to the stage of knowing all things. I know what region a living being will be taken to by what teaching, and what a living being has deep in his mind. I am not hindered by anything in knowing all this. I know all things clearly, and show my knowledge of all things to all living beings.
What is explicated here is how [the Buddha] has reached the state of All-Knowledge (sarvajñā): first, by investigating thoroughly the profound intent of the dharmas; and second, by knowing where living beings’ thoughts tend to go. Because he knew that medicines help regulate diseases, he took them, which led him to bring depravities and calamities to an end without fail, finally attaining to the All-Knowledge.
Tao-sheng Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p242
Vajra Sutra: Three Recollections and Five Contemplations
The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, p94-96People who are at home should make these offerings. People who have left the home life receive them. Since Sangha members receive offerings in that way, they cultivate the Three Recollections and Five Contemplations as they take their daily meal. Actually, members of the lay community as well as members of the Sangha should practice the Three Recollections as they eat.
With the first bite of food one thinks, “I vow to cut off all evil.” The vow precludes giving rise to any evil thought, not to mention doing evil deeds. With the second bite of food one thinks, “I vow to cultivate all good.” You should not just mechanically recite the vows and consider that sufficient. You need to truly cut off all evil and actually cultivate all good. With the third bite of food one thinks, “I vow to take all living beings across.” The vow means to take all living beings across the sea of suffering to Buddhahood.
You should not glance around as you eat, finding out what everyone else is eating, until you discover, “My bowl doesn’t have any of the delicacies you had to eat. … How come he gets to eat better food than I do?” You should not give rise to such greed. Instead, you should be mindful of Five Contemplations:
1. Reckon the amount of work it took to bring the food to where you eat it.
Figure out how much work the farmer did to plant the fields, and the amount of manual labor needed to cultivate, weed, nourish, and water the crops as they ripened. When ripe the rice had to be harvested and the chaff had to be separated from the grain. Through this contemplation you come to realize it was not easy to bring the food to your bowl.
2. Consider whether your virtuous conduct is sufficient for you to accept the offering.
Ask yourself, “Do I have any cultivation? Do I have any Way virtue? If I am receiving people’s offerings and I have no cultivation, I should be ashamed and penitent.” Then encourage yourself, “Ah, I must immediately cultivate. I must use effort and do the work to end birth and death.” If your virtue is abundant, you should say, “Although I am a greatly virtuous High Master probably the foremost of all High Masters in the world in Way virtue nonetheless I shall work even harder. I accept this offering, and afterwards I shall use even more effort. I still need to progress. If I have certified to the first fruit of Arhatship, then I shall seek the second fruit; if I have certified to the second fruit, I shall seek the third; and if I am a third stage Arhat, then I shall seek to reach the fourth stage. I need to go forward with ever increasing vigor.”
3. Guard your mind against excesses of which greed and so forth are the source.
When you eat, don’t stuff. Eat just enough, then stop. Do not be greedy for more. Sickness enters through the mouth. If you are too greedy, you get diarrhea. No matter how good the food is, if you eat too much and there is no room for it In your stomach, it will have to move out fast, and you will suffer the illness which results from passing undigested food.
4. This is a dose of medicine to keep my body from wasting away. The food is like medicine which keeps my body healthy.
5. It is to accomplish my karma of the Way that I should accept this food.
Ask yourself, “Why do I eat these things?” Then answer yourself, “because I want to cultivate and realize my Way karma so that ultimately I become a Buddha.”
When members of the Sangha are given offerings, they should not be arrogant. And when no one makes offerings to them, they should not harbor greed. Even if you are starving to death, you should cultivate the Way. To starve to death in the course of cultivation is the very greatest glory, the worthiest kind of sacrifice. Don’t fear starvation.
Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for May 6, 2025
Just as the Sun God dispels all darkness, Myōhō Renge Kyō drives away all the darkness of evils.
Tao-sheng: Well-Done
Tao-sheng Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p241-242Thereupon the World-Honored One said to Mahā-Kāśyapa and other great disciples: “Excellent, excellent! {well-done}
As four great voice hearers had achieved enlightenment by the first parable, subsequently they spoke of their faith and understanding, in order to express their enlightenment. Understanding had to be verified, [and it turned out that] they had comprehended in depth the Sage’s idea of first the three and later the One. Because they comprehended the purport of what the Sage was driving at, in this chapter the Buddha confirms the propriety of what they have said in order to perfect the meaning [of the doctrine]. Hence, he praised [them] saying, “well-done!” commending their rare achievement. [The Buddha] secretly guided them, undetected, making them equal with Kāśyapa [in understanding].
The title “Medicinal Herbs” conveys, the fact that in the past they had received and maintained the Sage’s teaching, and as the Sage’s teaching soaked their spirit, the disease of depravities (kleśa) was cured. Thus [the transmitter of the sūtra] used the [the words] medicinal herbs in titling the chapter.
The Recompense of Nondecay
Note: This is another in the monthly excerpts from “Tales of the Lotus Sutra.”
Buddhism in Practice, p440-441During the era of [Emperor] Wu-cheng of the [Northern] Qi (562-565), a person digging on the slope of Mount Kandong near Bingzhou came upon a patch of soil—yellowish white in color—that stood out in marked contrast from the ground around it. Probing further, he turned up an object that had the appearance of a pair of human lips, with a tongue, fresh red in color, sticking out between them. He reported the matter in a memorial [to the throne]. [The emperor] made inquiries among various learned scholars but could find no one who knew [the meaning of it]. When he heard of this, the mendicant Fashang (495-580), controller-in-chief [of the sangha], memorialized the throne saying, “This is the recompense of nondecay of the sense faculties that is achieved by devotees who [ritually] keep the Lotus Sūtra. It is proof that [this individual] recited [the scripture] more than a thousand times over.”
Subsequently, the emperor summoned the secretariat drafter, Gao Chen. “You are one inclined to faith,” he ordered, “go personally to look into this matter. Surely [this object] will have some sort of numinous power. Place it in a duly purified place, convene a maigre feast, and make offerings to it.”
Chen received the order and went to the site, where he assembled various Buddhist monks renowned for their devotion to the Lotus. Holding incense censers in hand and maintaining strict ceremonial purity, they circumambulated [the tongue] and offered prayers saying: “O Bodhisattva! Countless years have passed since you entered into nirvana. As one who has reverently received [the Lotus and kept it] flawlessly during this current age of the counterfeit dharma, we beseech you to manifest for us your [marvelous] stimulus and response (ganying).”
The instant they raised their voices the tongue and lips began to beat about on the altar top. Although no sound came forth, it looked as though it were chanting. Of those who witnessed it, there was not one whose hair didn’t stand on end. Chen reported the phenomenon. The [throne] ordered that it be stored away in a stone casket and moved to a stūpa chamber.
Vajra Sutra: Forerunners of Buddhism in China
The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, p78-79Lao Zi was a transformation body of the Venerable Mahākāśyapa. When the Buddha entered the world, he saw that living beings in China committed many offenses and did not conduct themselves in accord with propriety, so he sent Lao Zi, Confucius, and Yan Hui to China to teach and transform living beings. All three were transformation bodies of Bodhisattvas.
Lao Zi introduced the concept of the unconditioned to the Chinese people. If one can understand unconditioned dharma, one can then come to understand that which is not unconditioned. The Buddhadharma speaks of that which is unconditioned and yet not unconditioned.
Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for May 5, 2025
Anyone who keeps
Myōhō Renge Kyō,
Know this, has compassion towards all living beings
Because he is my messenger.
Tao-sheng: Short of Reaching the Ultimate
Tao-sheng Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, p236At that time you caused us to think over all things and to clear away the dirt of fruitless discussions about them.
This is connected with the second [part of the] parable, intended for preaching the doctrine of the three vehicles. [The words] one day’s wages disparage the self-satisfied mind of the Lesser Vehicle. The merits they had accumulated when they were blind are equal to no more than those the bodhisattvas would accumulate in one day. They are so little and are short of [reaching] the ultimate.
Vajra Sutra: 88 Categories of View Delusions and 16 States of Mind
The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, p72-73A Srotaāpanna is a first stage Arhat. Certification to the first fruit of Arhatship, which is within the Small Vehicle, comes when the eighty-eight categories of view delusions are smashed. It is called the Position of the Way of Seeing. By means of sixteen minds one can cut off the eighty-eight categories of view delusions and certify to the truth.
View delusions are the result of the greed and love that arise when viewing situations. Before one sees something, one has no greed or love concerning it, but once the thing is seen, greed and love for it arise. The production of greed and love regarding states is termed view delusion. The eighty-eight categories of view delusions are cut off by means of the sixteen states of mind, which are aspects of the Four Noble Truths of suffering, accumulation, extinction, and the Way.
Within the desire realm are eight of these hearts:
- Patience Regarding the Phenomena Involved in Suffering.
- Wisdom Regarding the Phenomena Involved in Suffering.
- Patience Regarding the Phenomena Involved in Accumulation,
- Wisdom Regarding the Phenomena Involved in Accumulation,
- Patience Regarding the Phenomena Involved in Extinction,
- Wisdom Regarding the Phenomena Involved in Extinction,
- Patience Regarding the Phenomena Involved in the Way,
- Wisdom Regarding the Phenomena Involved in the Way.
The form realm and formless realm have eight:
- Subsequent Patience Regarding Suffering.
- Subsequent Wisdom Regarding Suffering.
- Subsequent Patience Regarding Accumulation,
- Subsequent Wisdom Regarding Accumulation,
- Subsequent Patience Regarding Extinction,
- Subsequent Wisdom Regarding Extinction,
- Subsequent Patience Regarding the Way,
- Subsequent Wisdom Regarding the Way.
The sixteen minds are all located in realms where there is attachment to marks. At the fifteenth of the sixteen minds, Subsequent Patience Regarding the Way, view delusions are cut off. That point is classified as Inclination Towards the First Fruit, and is called a Way of Non-Interruption. When one completely attains the sixteenth mind, Subsequent Wisdom Regarding the Way, that is certification to the first fruit of Arhatship. It is called a Way of Liberation, for at that point delusion is completely severed and liberation is obtained.