All posts by John Hughes

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Feb. 8, 2019

He should always make it a pleasure to sit in dhyāna. He should live in a retired place and concentrate his mind. Mañjuśrī! [A retired place] is the first thing he should approach.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra in which he describes the peaceful practices of a Bodhisattva. For those who are awakening their nature as Bodhisattvas to benefit all beings, and setting aside their attachment to their own suffering, this can be a difficult transition. Our habits of engaging with the drama and delusion in the world can be too strong to overcome. This is why the Buddha emphasizes the importance of quietly reflecting on what happens around us, and our reactions to them. Through dhyāna meditation, we learn not to believe everything we think, and that we can change our understanding of the world. We also learn that allowing our minds to change is the only way we can benefit other beings.

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

original

Nichiren as Bodhisattva Superior Conduct

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During the Sado period, Nichiren articulated his own teaching, distinct from the Tendai of his day. In this regard, his increasing self-identification with the work of Bodhisattva Superior Conduct is significant for several reasons. According to the Lotus Sūtra, Superior Conduct and the other bodhisattvas who sprang up from the earth are the Buddha’s “original disciples” (honge); that is, they are followers not of the historical Śākyamuni who attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree, but of the original Buddha, enlightened since the inconceivably remote past. In identifying his efforts with those of Bodhisattva Superior Conduct, Nichiren was claiming a direct connection to the original Buddha. In later years, he would state this explicitly: “Hidden in the fleshly heart within his breast, Nichiren maintains the secret Dharma of the sole great matter transferred from Śākyamuni, master of teachings, at Eagle Peak.” This claim was probably related to the idea that “the assembly on Sacred [Eagle] Peak is solemnly [present] and has not yet dispersed,” which occurs repeatedly in medieval Tendai texts. (Page 259-260)

Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism


Profound

Lotus Flower Metaphor

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The lotus flower is defined by Chih-i as a metaphor to exemplify the subtle dharma that consists of the Relative and Ultimate Truths, for the Relative and Ultimate are difficult to be perceived without relying on metaphor. Another explanation made by Chih-i is that the lotus flower is the symbol of the Dharma-door; or rather, it is the subtle dharma. Chih-i explains that since the lotus in terms of the dharma is hard for sentient beings middle and lower faculties to grasp, it is necessary to depict the image of the lotus as an analogy. Chih-i says that the Buddha’s proclamation of the Lotus Sūtra for three weeks is for all sentient beings (e.g. beings with higher, middle and lower faculties). To be specific, the lotus, as a name for the dharma, is expounded for the beings with higher faculties, and the lotus, as an allegorical name, is for the beings with middle and lower faculties. (Vol. 2, Page 382)

The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of Buddhism


LS32

Day 27

Day 27 concludes Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Day 27 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month hearing the Buddha tell Star-King-Flower to propagate this chapter, we conclude Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

“Star-King-Flower! Strew blue lotus flower and a bowlful of powdered incense to the person who keep this sūtra when you see him! After strewing these things [to him], you should think, ‘Before long he will collect grass [for his seat], sit at the place of enlightenment, and defeat the army of Mara. He will blow the conch-shell horn of the Dharma, beat the drum of the great Dharma, and save all living beings from the ocean of old age, disease and death.’

“In this way, those who seek the enlightenment of the Buddha should respect the keeper of this sūtra whenever they see him.”

When the Buddha expounded this chapter of the Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva, eighty-four thousand Bodhisattvas obtained the dharanis by which they could understand the words of all living beings. Many-Treasures Tathāgata in the stupa of treasures praised Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva, saying:

“Excellent, excellent, Star-King-Flower! You obtained inconceivable merits. You asked this question to Śākyamuni Buddha, and benefited innumerable living beings.”

The Daily Dharma from April 5, 2017, offers this:

Star-King-Flower! Strew blue lotus flowers and a bowlful of powdered incense to the person who keeps this sūtra when you see him! After strewing these things [to him], you should think, ‘Before long he will collect grass [for his seat], sit at the place of enlightenment, and defeat the army of Māra. He will blow the conch-shell horn of the Dharma, beat the drum of the great Dharma, and save all living beings from the ocean of old age, disease and death.’

The Buddha gives this explanation to Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sūtra. Māra is the deity who creates confusion and delusion in the world. His army consists of those who reinforce these delusions and reward those who share them. Such rewards do not benefit those who receive them. They only serve to produce fear and attachment which creates misery in the world. With our practice of this Lotus Sūtra, we learn to recognize delusion for what it is, and reject the superficial benefits that come with it.

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

buddhaseed

A Heavenly Maiden Kalpa

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A kalpa is a time period which can be defined most clearly through metaphor. Suppose there is a huge rock extending 100 miles on every side. Every 100 years a heavenly maiden comes down to the earth, rubs the rock once with the soft sleeve of her dress, then flies back to heaven. Another hundred years later, she does the same and repeats this journey every one hundred years until the rock disappears. The length of time necessary to cause the rock to disappear is a kalpa. It is extremely long period of time. In pre-Lotus Sutra teachings, one could attain Buddhahood by means of “Ryakkō-shugyō,” practice for many kalpas.

Buddha Seed: Understanding the Odaimoku

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – Feb. 7, 2019

He will be able to recognize
All the sounds and voices
Inside and outside the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds,
[Each being composed of the six regions]
Down to the Avīci Hell and up to the Highest Heaven.
And yet his organ of hearing will not be destroyed.
He will be able to recognize everything by hearing
Because his ears are sharp.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra about those who practice the Buddha Dharma. We may believe that a spiritual practice leads us to “otherworldly” experiences that allow us to escape the problems we find in the world around us. These verses remind us that the teachers of the Dharma become more engaged with the world around us rather than becoming separate from it. It is through our right practice of the Lotus Sūtra that we become aware of the world as it is, and our place in making it better.

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

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Victory Over Doubts

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Nichiren’s most eloquent statement of his victory over doubts appears in the Kaimoku shō (Opening of the eyes), completed during the first winter on Sado as a last testament to his followers in the event of his death. Together with the Kanjin honzon shō (The contemplation of the mind and the object of worship), it is considered one of his two most important writings: In it he explores various reasons why he, as the gyōja or votary of the Lotus Sūtra, meets with evils: because of his own past slanders; because such obstacles must be met in order to prove the truth of the sūtra’s words; because the protective kami have abandoned a country given over to slander of the True Dharma; and so forth. But the final point at which he arrives is a conviction that seeks no explanation for adversity and no guarantee of protection, a simple resolve to carry on with his mission, whatever may happen: “Let Heaven forsake me. Let ordeals confront me. I will not begrudge bodily life. … No matter what trials we may encounter, so long as we do not have a mind of doubt, I and my disciples will naturally achieve the Buddha realm.” (Page 259)

Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism


Profound

Contemplating the mind

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In this last part of elaborating the subtlety of the Origin, Chih-i discusses it from the perspective of contemplating mind. Mind contemplation is his endeavor to show a practical way of attaining the Ultimate Truth (e.g. subtlety of the Origin). This is based on the idea that the Buddha and living beings are not different. Both the Buddha and living beings possess the Buddha-nature as suchness, and therefore, all living beings are able to emulate the Buddha, from which their Buddha-nature can be revealed and Buddhahood can be attained. Chih-i argues that since contemplating mind is the means that enables the Buddha to attain Buddhahood, all living beings are also able to attain Buddhahood by the same means. Despite the Origin being long and far, by means of contemplating mind, the subtlety of the Origin can be penetrated, as it is not apart from one’s mind. Likewise, although the function of the Traces is vast and great, and cannot be expressed and explained, given the fact that every being’s Buddha-nature is the same as that of the Buddha, great benefit can be generated by means of contemplating mind. (Vol. 2, Page 331)

The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of Buddhism


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 today’s portion of Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva, we return to today’s portion of Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas and the Buddha’s instruction to the great Bodhisattvas headed by Superior-Practice.

Thereupon the Buddha said to the great Bodhisattvas headed by Superior-Practice:

“The supernatural powers of the Buddhas are as immeasurable, limitless, and inconceivable as previously stated. But I shall not be able to tell all the merits of this sūtra to those to whom this sūtra is to be transmitted even if I continue telling them by my supernatural powers for many hundreds of thousands of billions of asaṃkhyas of kalpas. To sum up, all the teachings of the Tathāgata, all the unhindered, supernatural powers of the Tathāgata, all the treasury of the hidden core of the Tathāgata, and all the profound achievements of the Tathāgata are revealed and expounded explicitly in this sūtra. Therefore, keep, read, recite, expound and copy this sūtra, and act according to the teachings of it with all your hearts after my extinction! In any world where anyone keeps, reads, recites, expounds or copies this sūtra, or acts according to its teachings, or in any place where a copy of this sūtra is put, be it in a garden, in a forest, under a tree, in a monastery, in the house of a person in white robes, in a hall, in a mountain, in a valley, or in the wilderness, there should a stupa be erected and offerings be made to it because, know this, the place [where the stupa is erected] is the place of enlightenment. Here the Buddhas attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Here the Buddhas turned the wheel of the Dharma. Here the Buddhas entered into Parinirvana.”

The Daily Dharma from June 7, 2018, offers this:

To sum up, all the teachings of the Tathāgata, all the unhindered, supernatural powers of the Tathāgata, all the treasury of the hidden core of the Tathāgata, and all the profound achievements of the Tathāgata are revealed and expounded explicitly in this sūtra. Therefore, keep, read, recite, expound and copy this sūtra, and act according to the teachings of it with all your hearts after my extinction!

The Buddha makes this declaration to Superior-Practice Bodhisattva (Jōgyo, Viśiṣṭacārītra) in Chapter Twenty-One of the Lotus Sūtra. In Chapter Two, the Buddha told those gathered to hear him teach that his highest teaching could not be attained by reasoning alone. These two passages show us faith to look beyond the words in this book to find the Buddha Dharma in every aspect of our lives, and the ever-present Buddha leading us all to enlightenment.

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

Lotus Path

Striving to Do Good

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“My country is the world, and my religion is to do good.” – Thomas Paine

It is not enough to do no harm; we should seek to do good. Sometimes it can be discouraging to carry this out, especially if we look around and see examples of those who seek only to serve themselves. It is almost as if everyone is out to better only themselves and could care less about others and how they fare. In Buddhism though, we learn that we should always strive to do good, not only for ourselves but for others as well. Considering not only if we will benefit personally from some act, we try to look into how it will benefit others.

Lotus Path: Practicing the Lotus Sutra Volume 1