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Blog, Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, LS32, LS45

Daily Practice With the BTTS Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sutra

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Area of duplicate text on pages 24 and 25 of the Buddhist Text Translation Society’s The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sutra
BTTS Lotus Sutra
Available from Buddhist Text Translation Society

I’ve completed reading aloud the Buddhist Text Translation Society’s translation of the Lotus Sutra as part of my daily practice. While reading the sutra I was comparing it with Senchu Murano’s translation and the other English translations I’ve used in my daily practice.

Overall, this is an excellent translation and the quality of the printing – it was printed in Taiwan – puts my other translations to shame.

That’s not to say it is without its faults.

In Chapter 1, Introduction, pages 24 and 25, where Mañjuśrī is describing how Dharma Master Wondrous Light taught the eight sons of the Buddha Lamp Shining with the Brightness of the Sun and the Moon (Sun-Moon-Light Buddha in Murano’s translation) a block of 18 lines are duplicated. This is by far the most significant error in this translation.

I found simple typos on page 376:

“To those who can be saved by a mighty heavenly general, she appears as a might heavenly general and teaches them the Dharma.”

And on page 379:

If you are cast adrift upon an immense ocean
And subject to the perils of dragons, fish, and ghosts,
Invoke the powers of Guan Yin:
Amidt the waves and breakers, you will not drown.

These are trivial, but as a retired newspaper copy editor I feel compelled to point them out. (Feel free to criticize me for the many, many typos I allow in my own writing!)

A more significant error appears in Chapter 4, Faith and Understanding, when the rich man wants to get close to his son, who has been convinced to come work for him. On page 107 it reads:

“Later, on another day, the elder looked through a window and saw his son at a distance. His son was feeble, emaciated, haggard, and soiled with dung, dirt, and filth. The elder removed his jeweled necklace, his soft, fine upper garments, and his ornaments, and put on a coarse, torn, and grease-stained robe. Smearing himself with dirt and holding a dung shovel in his right hand, he looked frightened.”

The word should be frightful or frightening, not frightened. In Senchu Murano’s translation we’re told:

He looked fearful. He [came to the workers and] said, ‘Work hard! Do not be lazy!’

The BTK English Tripiṭaka translation (PDF), the Rissho Kosei-kai modern translation and Leon Hurvitz’s translation (PDF) all agree that the rich man, dressed in work clothes, looked frightful or commanding.

In other cases, what I questioned as errors turned out to be discrepancies in Murano’s translation. I’ve read the Lotus Sutra more than 100 times in my daily practice and Murano’s translation is the one with which I’m most familiar.

For example, at the start of Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva, Murano has:

“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.” Note that Medicine-King would have to practice austerities.

I stumbled when I read the Buddhist Text Translation Society’s version in The Account of Bodhisattva Medicine King’s Past Lives on page 351:

“At that time Bodhisattva Constellation King Flowers said to the Buddha, “World Honored One, how is it that Bodhisattva Medicine King travels throughout the Sahā world? World Honored One, Bodhisattva Medicine King has undertaken several billions of koṭis of nayutas of ascetic practices that are difficult to practice.”

In this case, Murano is the outlier. The BTK English Tripiṭaka translation, the Rissho Kosei-kai translation and Leon Hurvitz’s translation all agree that Medicine-King has already accomplished these ascetic practices.

There was another place where Murano’s translation was problematic. In Chapter 26, Dhārānis, after Vaiśravaṇa offers his dhārānis, he says:

I also will protect the person who keeps this sūtra so that he may have no trouble within a hundred yojanas’ distance [from here].”

The parenthetical “from here” suggests that Vaiśravaṇa is promising people protection around a particular location “here.”

The Buddhist Text Translation Society has Vaiśravaṇa promise on page 387:

I shall also personally support and protect those who uphold this sūtra so that the area surrounding them for a hundred yojanas will be free of misfortunes and peril.

The other translations all agree that the area of protection encircles the keeper of the Lotus Sutra, not a particular place.

In several locations, the differences between the Buddhist Text Translation Society’s translation and the other English translations appear to be the result of coping with ambiguities in Kumarajiva’s Chinese translation.

Consider Chapter 15, Emerging from the Earth. In describing the behavior of the bodhisattvas who have emerged from underground, we are told that they went up to Many Treasure’s stupa in the sky, paid their respects to the two Buddhas seated side by side, and then went to the ground and paid homage to the countless replicas of Śākyamuni Buddha seated on lion thrones beneath jeweled trees.

The Buddhist Text Translation Society offers this on pages 266-267:

“They went on to where all the Buddhas were seated on lion thrones beneath jeweled trees, bowed to them, circumambulated them three times to the right with their palms joined together reverently, and praised them in various ways used by Bodhisattvas. Afterward, they withdrew to one side, gazing joyfully and respectfully at the two World Honored Ones.

“From the time the Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas first emerged from the earth, a period of fifty small eons elapsed while they praised the Buddhas in various ways used by Bodhisattvas. During that period, Śākyamuni Buddha remained seated in silence, as did the fourfold assembly. By virtue of the Buddha’s spiritual power, the great assembly thought that the period of fifty small eons was only half a day long. At that time the fourfold assembly, also through the Buddha’s spiritual power, saw all the Bodhisattvas filling up the space of countless billions of koṭis of lands.”

Did these bodhisattvas stay on the ground or did they rejoin the congregation suspended in the air? The answer is found on page 272, where we’re told:

“At that time all the transformation bodies of Śākyamuni Buddha, having come from countless tens of millions of koṭis of lands in various directions, were sitting in lotus posture on lion thrones beneath jeweled trees in each of the eight directions. The attendants of these Buddhas, seeing this great multitude of Bodhisattvas emerging from the earth and hovering in space in the four directions of the trichiliocosm, each said to his Buddha, “World Honored One, where has this multitude of countless, limitless asaṃkhyeyas of Bodhisattvas come from?”

Murano’s translation takes care of this confusion with a parenthetical insertion. After praising the replicas of Śākyamuni Buddha:

“Then they [returned to the sky,] stood to one side, and looked up at the two World-Honored ones with joy.”

Murano then says later:

“Also by the supernatural powers of the Buddha, the four kinds of devotees were able to see that the skies of many hundreds of thousands of billions of worlds were filled with those Bodhisattvas.”

The BTK translation, the Rissho Kosei-kai translation and Leon Hurvitz’s translation each have the Bodhisattvas taking their places to one side and gazing up at the two world-honored ones. None takes Murano’s parenthetical route of specifically putting the bodhisattvas in sky with Many Treasures’ stupa. However, there’s disagreement with whether the bodhisattvas were “filling up the space of countless billions of koṭis of lands” or in the air.

The BDK translation:

Then, through the transcendent powers of the Buddha, the fourfold assemblies also saw the bodhisattvas filling the air throughout immeasurable hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of lands.

Leon Hurvitz’s translation:

At that time, the fourfold assembly, thanks to the Buddha’s supernatural power, also saw bodhisattvas fill the open air of incalculable hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of lands.

Only the Rissho Kosei-kai translation agrees with the Buddhist Text Translation Society:

At that time, the four groups, thanks to the transcendent powers of the Buddha, could see these bodhisattvas entirely filling the space of immeasurable hundreds of thousands of millions of domains.

There were a couple of places where I questioned the accuracy of what I read only to discover that my recollection was faulty. A good example of this occurred in Chapter 3, A Parable, where the Buddha lists the three vehicles as the vehicles of the Śrāvakas, the Pratyekabuddhas, and the Buddha. I was certain that the Boddhisattva Vehicle was the third vehicle. I was wrong. All of the translations of Chapter 3, even Murano, list the three vehicles as the Śrāvaka-Vehicle, Pratyekabuddha-Vehicle, and Buddha-Vehicle.

The Buddhist Text Translation Society was originally established by Chinese Master Hsuan Hua. This Chinese origin appears to have influenced the choice of words in several places.

In the Parable of the Burning House in Chapter 3, Murano has:

Mountain spirits, water spirits,
Yakṣas and other demons
Lived here and there.
They fed on people and poisonous vermin.

Hurvitz has “ghosts and demons,” the BDK translation has “Ogres of the mountains and valleys” and the modern Rissho Kosei-kai offers “goblins and ogres.”

On page 80 the Buddhist Text Translation Society has:

Chi, mei, and wangliang
Were everywhere.
Yakṣas and evil ghosts
Were eating human flesh.

After a little Googling we find “Chi, mei, and wangliang” are demons of the mountains and forests (chimei) and demons of the rivers and marshes (wangliang).

The Buddhist Text Translation Society also assumes more of its English readers than other translators.

In describing in Chapter 17, The Discourse on Merit and Virtue,  the merits received from understanding the Buddha’s life span, the Buddhist Text Translation Society has on pages 291-292:

“Furthermore, Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas as many as the dust motes in a single chiliocosm attained billions of koṭis of dhārāṇis of countless revolutions. Furthermore, Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas as many as the dust motes in a trichiliocosm became capable of turning the irreversible Dharma wheel.

“Furthermore, Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas as many as the dust motes in a medium chiliocosm became capable of turning the pure Dharma wheel. Furthermore, Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas as many as the dust motes in a small chiliocosm were destined to attain Anuttara-samyaksaṃbodhi after eight lifetimes.

“Furthermore, Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas as many as the dust motes in four world systems were destined to attain Anuttara-samyaksaṃbodhi after four lifetimes. Furthermore, Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas as many as the dust motes in three world systems were destined to attain Anuttara-samyaksaṃbodhi after three lifetimes.

Chiliocosm, trichiliocosm?

Consider Murano’s translation:

Another group of Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of earth of a Sumeru world obtained the dhārāṇis by which they could memorize many hundreds of thousands of billions of repetitions of teachings. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of earth of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds obtained the faculty of turning the irrevocable wheel of the Dharma. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of earth of one million Sumeru-worlds obtained the faculty of turning the wheel of the pure Dharma. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as many as the particles of earth of one thousand Sumeru-worlds obtained the faculty of attaining Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi after eight rebirths. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas four times the number of the particles of earth of the four continents obtained the faculty of attaining Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi after four rebirths.

None of the other translations use chiliocosm or trichiliocosm. In place of trichiliocosm, Hurvitz uses “thousand millionfold world” and Rissho Kosai-kai offers “three-thousand-great-thousandfold world.” The closest to trichiliocosm is the BDK translation, which offers “the great manifold cosmos.”

There’s another example of this in Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma. In detailing the twelve hundred merits of the tongue, Murano has:

In order to hear the Dharma, dragons, dragons’ daughters, gandharvas, gandharvas’ daughters, asuras, asuras’ daughters, garuḍas, garuḍas’ daughters, kiṃnaras, kiṃnaras’ daughters, mahoragas, and mahoragas’ daughters also will come to them, respect them, and make offerings to them.

The Buddhist Text Translation Society offers on page 326:

“All the dragons, female dragons, yakṣas, yakṣniṇīs, gandharvas, female gandharvas, asuras, female asuras, garuḍas, female garuḍas, kiṃnaras, female kiṃnaras, mahoragas, and female mahoragas will all draw near to these Dharma teachers in order to hear the Dharma, and will reverently make offerings to them.

“Yakṣniṇīs” is a typo so rare that Google has no record of anyone using the word. Yakṣiṇī  are female Yakṣa.

Hurvitz and the BDK translation agree with Murano and use daughters. Standing alone is Rissho Kosei-kai, which offers “Male and female dragons, male and female yakshas…” (See this discussion  of Rissho Kosei-kai’s effort to edit out  “potentially discriminatory language and ideas” in order to create its Modern translation.)

Even more odd was the decision to use the name Sugatacetana in place of Thinking of Buddha in Chapter 20, Bodhisattva Never Slighting.

In listing who in the present congregation formerly abused the Bodhisattva Never Slighting, the Buddhist Text Translation Society has on page 337:

“Great Strength, what do you think? Could the fourfold assembly who at that time constantly despised this Bodhisattva have been anyone else? They were Bodhisattva Bhadrapāla and the five hundred Bodhisattvas now in this assembly; Bhikṣu Lion Moon and the five hundred other bhikṣus; and Sugatacetana and the five hundred upāsakās.”

Murano and Rissho Kosei-kai both use the name Thinking of Buddha instead of Sugatacetana. Hurvitz uses “Thoughtful of the Buddha” and then in brackets ‘[Sugatachetanā, “she who is conscious of the Well Gone One”].’ Only the BTK translation uses Sugatachetanā and they have Siṃhacandrā in place of Lion Moon. (One of the problems with using the BTK translation in my daily practice of reading aloud is its failure to translate into English any of the Sanskrit names.)

The Buddhist Text Translation Society’s The Wonderful Dharma  Lotus Sutra is actually volume 15 of Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s commentary of the Lotus Sutra. I’m currently making my way through the 14 volumes of commentary and finding it fascinating.

Postscript:

Rissho Kosei-kai’s “The Threefold Lotus sutra: A Modern Translation for Contemporary Readers” was translated by Michio Shinozaki, Brook A. Ziporyn and David C. Earhart. The BTK English Tripiṭaka edition was translated by Tsugunari Kubo and Akira Yuyama.

The Buddhist Text Translation Society’s “The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sutra: Volume XV” was translated by The International Institute for The Translation of Buddhist Texts. There’s not a lot of information about the institute online. It doesn’t appear to have a website of its own. The institute was founded in 1973 by Chinese Master Hsuan Hua. The institute is currently associated with or perhaps a part of the Dharma Realm Buddhist University. Bhikshuni Heng Yi, an assistant professor at DRBU, has been the director of the International Institute for the Translation of Buddhist Texts (IITBT) since 2015.

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The Third Generation


Each time two-year-old Edwin arrives at his grandparents’ house, he is directed to the altar, where he rings the bell once, carefully replaces the bell stick, and then enthusiastically chants namu-myoho-renge-kyo three times along with his father and grandfather.

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We’ve discovered that Edwin is willing to set quietly during the traditional Sunday services at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church. He only gets a little antsy after the chanting is over and the priest is giving his talk.
Kaji Kito and Edwin
For Kaji Kito services, Edwin and his father and mother attend. He’s been receiving Rev. Kenjo Igarashi’s purfication blessing since he was one month old.
Blog, LS32, LS45

A Month of Shindoku Recitation

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On the inside cover of Myoho Renge Kyo Romanized I have kept track of each time I’ve completed recitaton of the 28 chapters of the Lotus Sutra since I began in March 2015. This month makes 111 cycles.

This morning I completed my shindoku recitation of the Lotus Sutra. Each day in February I chanted an entire chapter of the sutra. In the evening I continued my reading aloud of the English translation, doing both morning and evening portions at one time.

This was something of an experiment. I wasn’t sure how it would work, and whether the occasional hour-long morning practice would present a problem. The doubling up of the reading aloud in the evening was a question when I began.

Having now successfully completed the month’s effort I’m confident I’ll be able to make this an annual practice. Reciting one chapter a day in shindoku in the morning and doubling my reading aloud in the evening is certainly made “easier” by the fact that I’m retired, with few scheduled events in my day. It also helps that until December of last year, my daily practice ran 40 to 45 minutes morning and evening. When I had to chant for more 44:50 minutes on February 3 or 45:22 minutes of February 7 and my time before my altar extended past an hour, it was not particularly difficult.

Tomorrow I return to my 45 Day pace of reading aloud the Threefold Lotus Sutra. It’s going to seem like a vacation.

Blog, Hsuan Hua, OneThought10Realms

Do You Believe in Ghosts?

In Nichiren Buddhism, the 10 realms include:

Hell-dwellers
Hungry ghosts
Animals
Fighting demons (asuras)
Humanity
Heavenly beings
Śrāvakas
Pratyekabuddhas
Bodhisattvas
Buddhas

Master Hsuan Hua’s One Thought–Ten Dharma Realms offers a very Chinese interpretation of the realm of ghosts, hungry or not.

Almost everyone has heard of ghosts, but not everyone believes in them. Even some Buddhists do not believe that there are ghosts.

You ask:
What are ghosts?
Ghosts are masses of yin energy.
Sometimes they appear
As a shadow with no form or
As a form with no shadow.

Perhaps you have seen a dark shadow, but when you looked closer it disappeared. Perhaps you have seen what looked like a person, but then that form vanished in the blink of an eye. These phenomena are not easy to understand.

Ghosts are another realm in the ten Dharma Realms. There are as many different kinds of ghosts as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River. Some ghosts are affluent and powerful and reign as kings over the ghost realms. However, some are poverty-stricken and devoid of authority–it is often the poor ghosts who bother people and go about causing trouble. If you want to know how many kinds of ghosts there are, work hard on your cultivation, open the five eyes, and develop the six spiritual powers, and then you’ll know.

As for people who say there are no ghosts, I tell them that if there are no ghosts, then there are also no Buddhas, people, or animals, because animals are transformed from ghosts, and so are people, asuras, and so forth. The same applies to devas, Arhats, Solitary Sages, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas.

Why is this?

The ten Dharma Realms are not beyond a single thought. A single thought creates the ten Dharma Realms.

One Thought–Ten Dharma Realms, p70

As a bonus, I offer a Chart of the Heavens. This chart comes from a Chart of Samsara published in Buddhism: A Brief Introduction. Appendix 1 Page 127-131

Blog, Hsuan Hua, OneThought10Realms

Footnotes To Understanding

Yesterday’s post about Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s One Thought–Ten Dharma Realm concluded with a mention of the Age of the Dharma’s Ending. One of the joys of reading this book for me was the footnotes. On the bottom of page 56 we learn:

There are Three Ages of Dharma in Buddhism: Right Dharma, Semblance Dharma, and Dharma’s Ending

  1. The Age of the Right Dharma was the first 1,000 years after the Buddha’s passing when his disciples were diligent in their practice and awakened to the Dharma.
  2. The Age of the Semblance Dharma was the second period of time lasting 1,000 years. People are devoted to the external signs of the Dharma but not many have direct knowledge of the Dharma.
  3. The Age of the Dharma’s Ending is the third period of 10,000 years, when the Dharma is about to disappear and people like to fight and compete rather than cultivate. We are currently in this age.

Although the Three Ages are described in time periods, another way of understanding them is in the present moment. A thought of fighting is the Age of the Dharma’s Ending, a thought of true practice is the Age of the Right Dharma. Similar to the ten Dharma Realms, the Three Ages are also not beyond a single thought in the mind.

Another example is the footnotes on page 49 for the five precepts, the ten good deeds and outflows.

The five precepts consist of 1) not killing. 2) not stealing, 3) not committing sexual misconduct, 4) not lying, and 5) not taking intoxicants. Buddhist practitioners can request to receive these precepts formally as a vow that they then uphold. These precepts are the foundation for spiritual practice.

The ten good deeds are 1) no killing, 2) no stealing, 3) no sexual misconduct, 4) no lying, 5) no divisive speech, 6) no harsh speech, 7) no frivolous speech, 8) no greed, 9) no hatred, and 10) no delusion.

Outflow (Skt. asrava, Ch. you lou 有漏) literally means a “leak” or “flowing out” that an awakened being puts an end to. There are usually three outflows: 1) outflow of sensuality, 2) outflow of existence, and 3) outflow of ignorance. Doing good deeds with outflows is like trying to put water in a leaky bucket. No matter how much water we put into it, the bucket never gets full. For example, if we practice giving with an expectation to be rewarded in the future, then our practice of giving has outflows. The ideal is to give without any attachments or expectations, which ultimately allows us to become free of the conditioned realm.

The discussion of Asuras on page 57 says:

Asuras may be born in the heavens, in the human realm, or in the realms of animals and hungry ghosts.

Dragged by the force of their karma,
they become deluded and confused,
create more karma, undergo the results of their actions,
and then are born again due to the force of their karma.

As cultivators, we must not be contentious, aggressive, or have a violent temper. Then we will be free of the asura realm.

In the footnote we get this explanation of Karma:

Karma is defined as intentional action of body, speech, and mind. Therefore, the force of karma is simply the habitual patterns that push us along into our next moment of existence. If the scope of time is expanded, then the power of karma is in our deep-seated habits that push us on from life to life. However, despite our conditioning, at every moment we have the opportunity to choose what karmic action to take. The Buddha’s teachings give us the tools to take that opportunity rather than just be slaves to our habits.

It is also important to note that karma is not only negative, but can be classified as good, bad, mixed, and neither good nor bad. Good karma leads to a good rebirth, while bad karma leads to a bad rebirth. Mixed karma, a combination of good and bad actions leads to good and bad results. Finally, karma that is neither good nor bad comes from cultivating precepts, meditative stillness, and wisdom. This final type of karma has no outflows and leads to awakening.

Next: Do You Believe in Ghosts?

Blog, Books, Hsuan Hua, OneThought10Realms

It’s All Your Fault

Available from the Buddhist Text Translation Society

In 1972, Chinese Master Hsuan Hua composed a poem about the 10 Dharma realms in one thought and then lectured on the meaning of the verses at the Gold Mountain Dhyana Monastery in San Francisco. The Buddhist Text Translation Society translated the lecture and published One Thought – Ten Dharma Realms. The first printing was in 1972 and the second English edition, the one I read, was published in 2019.

My attraction to Hua’s writing comes from the wealth of details and explanations of basic Buddhism, the teachings that exist beneath sectarian differences.

Take the question of Hell.

In Nichiren’s letter, Omonsu Dono Nyobo Gohenji, he says:

Suppose we ask where the Buddha is, and where hell is. Some sutras state that hell is below the earth, while others state that the Pure Land of Buddhas is in the west. But the explicit truth is that both hell and Buddha exist within five feet of our bodies. It probably can be said that hell exists in one’s mind when he despises his father and neglects his mother. As the seed of the lotus brings forth its root and flower, we have the Buddha in our minds.

A similar sentiment appears in Hua’s discussion of the Hell Realm on page 76. Two verses from his poem say:

The hells are filled with misery and pain;
There are no doors, yet we drill on in;

In discussing the first line, Hua says:

This is a miserable place. But if there is anyone who would like to take a trip to the hells, I can guarantee that you’ll get there in no time.

How?

By being worried and depressed, you then go for a vacation in the hells. It is said:

Worry more and more-to the hells for a tour.
Full of happiness and joy-even when old, still a boy.
Cry and yell-make your gloomy room in hell.

If you get worried, you plant a seed in the hells. If you smile, you plant a seed in the heavens. There is another ancient saying:

Daoist immortals over the course of history.
Came only from being happy and free of worry.

If you are depressed and worried all the time, you are actually traveling to the hells. But if you are happy and smile, you’ll look young even if you are old. Crying and weeping is also quite a lot of trouble.

All in all, there is no happiness in the hells. They are full of suffering and distress.

In discussing the second line, he says:

There are no doors to hell, yet you make a door for yourself into the hells. You just keep boring in. These hells are not like the jails that are built by people for holding criminals. If someone commits a crime, they are put into jail. However, the hells are not like this; you yourself force your way in.

Earlier, in describing the Human Realm on page 61, Hua’s poem says:

There is no one else to blame at all.

As Hua explains:

Other people cannot force you to fall into the hells, make you a hungry ghost, or cause you to become an animal. It is entirely up to what you do. You reap what you sow. You yourself must endure the consequences of your own actions.

The need for personal action is again discussed in the description of the Asura Realm, the fighting spirits, on page 56.

Asuras are so belligerent that they can keep on fighting for one hundred, two hundred, three hundred, five hundred, or even a thousand years without getting tired.

With so much fighting and contention in the world now, we are in the Age of the Dharma’s Ending.

Even so, we must make vows:

We do not want the Dharma to end!
We want the Right Dharma to flourish!
Wherever we go, we want to transform our surroundings so that it becomes the Age of the Right Dharma!

If we make these vows, wherever we go will be a place of the Right Dharma. If everybody makes and fulfills these vows, then this Age of the Dharma’s Ending will become the Age of the Right Dharma.

We can turn the situation around.

Next: Footnotes To Understanding

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Marking Buddha’s Parinirvāṇa and Nichiren’s Birth

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Traveled from Sacramento to the Berkeley Soto Zen Center on Russell Street to attend Rev. Ryuei McCormick’s service marking the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa and Nichiren’s birth. The service was broadcast over Zoom, with more than two dozen people from around the world participating. Two members of the Zen center joined me for the in-person service.
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Karma And Vow

Rev. Ryuei Michael McCormick of the Shingan-ji [True Vow Temple] in the San Francisco Bay Area has an excellent lecture on Transmigration and Karma. Very imformative and a great introduction.

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The Composition of Buddhalands

Vimalakirti-bookcover
Available from Buddhist Text Translation Society

Recently I read a copy of the Buddhist Text Translation Society’s Vimalakīrti Sūtra. This is at least my third reading of this sūtra and what struck me this time through was the discussion of Buddhalands.

In Chapter 16 of the Lotus Sūtra we’re told:

[This] pure world of mine is indestructible.
But the [perverted] people think:
“It is full of sorrow, fear, and other sufferings.
It will soon burn away.”

Morning and evening each day in the service prayer we vow, “May we realize this world is the Eternal Buddha’s Pure Land!”

That’s always been hard to understand. The Vimalakīrti Sūtra sheds some light on this.

In the sūtra, Vimalakīrti shows his audience a distant Buddhaland called Myriad Fragrances in which the Buddha Collection of Supreme Fragrances reigns. Everything in this world is composed of fragrance, even the Dharma.

Later in the sūtra Ananda discusses with the Buddha what happened at Vimalakīrti ‘s house:

Ananda said to the Buddha, “This is unprecedented, World Honored One! This fragrant food is able to accomplish the Buddhas’ work!”

The Buddha said, “Indeed, Ananda! Indeed! There are some Buddhalands where the brilliance of the Buddha’s light accomplishes the Buddhas’ work; where the myriad Bodhisattvas accomplish the Buddhas’ work; where people conjured by the Buddha accomplish the Buddhas’ work; where bodhi trees accomplish the Buddhas’ work; where the Buddha’s robes and bedding accomplish the Buddhas’ work; where food accomplishes the Buddhas’ work; where gardens, groves, and pavilions accomplish the Buddhas’ work; where the thirty-two hallmarks and eighty subsidiary characteristics accomplish the Buddhas’ work; where the Buddha’s body accomplishes the Buddhas’ work; or where empty space accomplishes the Buddhas’ work. In response to these conditions, living beings are led to undertake the practice of the precepts.

“There are places where dreams, illusions, shadows, echoes, reflections in a mirror, the moon’s reflection in water, mirages in the heat, and other such analogies accomplish the buddhas’ work; or where sounds, language, and words accomplish the Buddhas’ work. There are pure Buddhalands where tranquil silence, the absence of words, explanations, comments, and opinions, nonaction, and the unconditioned accomplish the Buddhas’ work. In this way, Ananda, there is nothing about the Buddhas’ deportment, nothing in what they do, that does not accomplish the Buddhas’ work.

“Ananda! Living beings are troubled by the four demons and the eighty-four thousand afflictions; through these troubles, the Buddhas carry out their work. This is to enter the Dharma-door of all Buddhas. Bodhisattvas who enter this door do not give rise to joy, craving, or conceit when they see pure and well-adorned Buddhalands, nor do they give rise to worry, aversion, or contempt when they see impure Buddhalands. They have only pure thoughts toward all Buddhas and feel unprecedented joy and reverence.

“The merit of all Buddhas is equal. In order to teach living beings, the Buddhas manifest different Buddhalands.”

I’m reminded of the verse in the Sūtra of Innumerable Meanings in which we learn that the Buddha “emerges according to the good karmic actions of living beings.”

I also want to note that I enjoyed the translation. Compared to the BDK America 2004 translation, this is more readable, but not quite as good as Burton Watson’s 1997 Columbia University Press translation.

An example of the difference can be seen on page 106, where Vimalakīrti has just shown everyone the Buddha Collection of Supreme Fragrances and his Bodhisattvas sitting down for a meal.

Then Vimalakīrti asked the assembled Bodhisattvas, “Humane Ones, who among you can go to that Buddha for food?” But all of them were silenced by Mañjuśrī’s awe-inspiring spiritual power. Vimalakīrti said, “Humane Ones, is none of you ashamed?”

Mañjuśrī said, “Didn’t the Buddha say not to look down on those not yet learned?”

In reading this I stumbled. Mañjuśrī isn’t doing anything. What’s going on? Watson’s translation offers this on page 113:

Then Vimalakirti addressed the bodhisattvas, saying, “Sirs, who among you can bring us some of that Buddha’s food?”

Out of deference to Manjushri’s authority and supernatural powers, however, all of them remained silent.

[Addressing Manjushri,] Vimalakirti said, “Sir, a great assembly such as this this is shameful, is it not?”

Manjushri replied, “As the Buddha has told us, never despise those who have yet to learn.”

I suppose one could argue that Watson has inserted his opinion rather than simply translating the Chinese text, but I find his version to more readable as a result and therefore better for it.

Blog, Hsuan Hua

Five Schools of One Buddhism

This year I’m going to be immersed in Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s fourteen volume commentary on the Lotus Sutra. In addition, I’m currently using the Buddhist Text Translation Society’s translation of the Lotus Sutra in my daily practice. The sutra itself is volume 15 of the commentary. In addition, I’m reading a number of other books published by the Buddhist Text Translation Society.

Why? I want to read everything about the Lotus Sutra. In the past I’ve discussed Dogen’s view of the Lotus Sutra and Thich Nhat Hanh’s interpretation of the Lotus Sutra. Hsuan Hau makes a third Chan master with something to say about the Lotus Sutra. So there’s nothing unusual in all of this.

As for my reading outside the Lotus Sutra – I recently re-read the Vimalakīrti Sūtra – that too comes from the Lotus Sutra, specifically Chapter 2.

“Śāriputra! I also expound various teachings to all living beings only for the purpose of revealing the One Buddha-Vehicle. There is no other vehicle, not a second or a third. Śāriputra! All the present Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters also do the same.

As Nichiren explains, all of the streams of the Buddha’s teaching flow into the ocean of the Lotus Sutra:

All the sūtras entering the ocean of the Lotus Sūtra take up the one flavor of Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō because of the wonderful merit of the ocean of the Lotus Sūtra. There is no reason why they have to be referred to by other names such as Nembutsu, Ritsu, Shingon, or Zen.”

Shoshū Mondō-shō, Questions and Answers Regarding Other Schools, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 165 (2022)

Yes, Nichiren was adamant about rejecting the practices of  Nembutsu, Ritsu, Shingon and Zen, but I’d argue that that doesn’t preclude Nichiren followers from studying all of these streams.

Since I’m  reading Hsuan Hua’s commentary, I want to acknowledge where he is coming from in his view of the Lotus Sutra.

Buddhism: A Brief Introduction includes a useful interview between Hsuan Hua and Karl Ray, which originally appeared in the Shambala Review under the title “Back to the Source.”

Karl Ray: (KR)

The first question I would like to ask is based on an article in which you suggest that Buddhists forget sectarian lines. Can you suggest practical steps that Buddhist organizations can take to bring this about?

Master: (M)

Before the Buddha came into the world there was no Buddhism. After the Buddha appeared, Buddhism came into being, but there was not as yet any division into sects or schools. Sectarianism is a limited view, a view of small scope, and cannot represent Buddhism in its entirety. The complete substance of Buddhism, the totality, admits no such divisions. When you divide the totality of Buddhism into sects and schools, you merely split it into fragments. In order to understand Buddhism in its totality, one must eliminate views of sects and schools and return to original Buddhism. One must return to the root and go back to the source.

KR: That brings me to a question about the different teachings taught here at Gold Mountain Monastery. I understand that you teach five different schools, including the Ch’an School, the Teaching School, the Vinaya School, the Secret School, and the Pure Land School. Can they all be taught like this together? Do they all belong to the original corpus of Buddhist teachings?

M: The Five Schools were created by Buddhist disciples who had nothing to do and wanted to find something with which to occupy their time. The Five Schools all issued from Buddhism. Since they came forth from Buddhism, they can return to Buddhism as well. Although the Five Schools serve different purposes, their ultimate destination is the same. It is said,

There is only one road back to the source, But there are many expedient ways to reach it.

Although there are five different schools, they are still included within one “Buddhism”. If you want to understand the totality of Buddhism, you need not divide it up into schools or sects. Originally there were no such divisions. Why make trouble when there is none? Why be divisive and cause people to have even more false thoughts than they already have?

People think that the Five Schools are something really special and wonderful. In fact, they have never departed from Buddhism itself. It is just like the government of a country. The government is made up of different departments. There is a Department of Health, a Department of Economics, a State Department, a Department of the Interior, and so forth. People may not realize that all these different departments are under a single government. All they recognize is the department, and they don’t recognize the government as a whole. Their outlook is narrow. Now, we wish to move from the branches back to the roots. In the analogy, the roots are the government and the branches are the various departments. People should not abandon the roots and cling to the branches. If you only see the individual departments and fail to recognize the government, you will never be able to understand the problems faced by the country as a whole. You will have no idea what they are all about.

KR: Then one should feel free to pursue any or all of the teachings?

M: Of course. Religion cannot be allowed to tie one up.

KR: And if one chooses to follow only one certain school, can one reach the goal that all of them aim for?

M: All roads lead to Rome. All roads come to San Francisco. All roads will take you to New York. You may ask, ‘Can I get to New York by this road?’ but you would do better to ask yourself, ‘Will I walk that road or not?’

Buddhism: A Brief Introduction, p83-84

Another interesting glimpse into the thinking of Hsuan Hua comes from the Forward to the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association‘s translation of the Vimalakīrti Sūtra.

The Venerable Hsuan Hua’s Vision

Buddhism in the modern Western world isn’t even at the kindergarten level. But what Master Hua could see at the grand scale was that three things were necessary for Buddhism to come into the West. Not just Buddhism in the West, either. To ensure the future of humanity, there were three essential things: translation, education, and maintaining the monastic tradition. Basically, Master Hua could see that humanity would have to start all over again, from a seed; it might preserve some of what we have now, but it would more or less have to start over.

The first essential element in starting over is to maintain the monastic tradition as a choice. It has to be available as a choice. People only really have two modes of living: at-home and left-home. If you live at home, you have to engage with the conditional at some level; you have to participate in some kind of strategic construct-working for a living or whatever-that will take up some amount of time. As a monastic, that’s taken care of. In exchange, you take on the responsibility of maintaining the Dharma in one way or another. As a layperson, you can stay away from spouses and pets as much as you like, but you still have to pay for your apartment and so on; you have to get involved with the conditional, and you can throw in a little meditation here and there. As a monastic, you avoid that, but you have to be a Bodhisattva. That’s the trade-off. Master Hua was very clear: when it comes down to it, it’s one or the other. Maintaining the monastic tradition is vital, as a practical issue, not a just a metaphysical one. On the one hand, people need to have this choice available to them; on the other, someone needs to maintain the Dharma.

The other two elements–education and translation–are intertwined. Whatever framework of reality is operating within a culture at a given time, it comes primarily through the educational construct. So having a thriving system, from elementary up through post-graduate studies, is indispensable to a healthy future. Translation acts a kind of liaison in that process; it can influence the educational construct and help to create an alternative to the one we have now. We’ve barely even scratched the surface of translating the Dharma into English. As more texts become available, people will be faced with a lot of different things. The Buddha was very flexible. He taught to all kinds of conditions. As more of the Dharma is brought into English, plenty of opportunities will open up for people to look at things in a new way.

Master Hua wanted to see hundreds of people working together on translation. He wanted to bring people together from all over the world. Like a Borobudur of translation. The problem is our imagination. We think so small. We don’t really consider just how big a project this could be, and how many people could work on it together. Master Hua wanted to bring everyone together. If our translation work could be like this, it could really be what he envisioned as an essential part of ensuring a better future for all of us.

Doug Powers
Vice President for Finance and Administration,
Professor, Dharma Realm Buddhist University

September 27, 2020