Today is the final day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:

For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.

The today we consider the Perfection of Prajña. For this Fall Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses the 10 advantages of each pāramitā.

There are ten advantages of practicing prajña. If you practice prajña, you’ll attain these ten advantages; otherwise, you won’t attain a single one.

Wisdom is basically not being attached. Not being attached is just wisdom. If you have attachment, you won’t have wisdom. The saying “Prajña-light constantly shines” means that the light of wisdom always shines.

1. One will not grasp at the notion of giving. In the twelve links of dependent arising, one link is “grasping, which is the condition for becoming.” If you have wisdom, you won’t grasp at the notion of giving. Grasping is being at-tached; not grasping is not being attached. One should give in such a manner that the nonsubstantiality of the three aspects of giving is empty. The three aspects are the giver, the receiver, and the gift. If you are caught up in your ability to give or in the person you are giving to, then you’re attached. Without the notions of there being one who gives, one to whom the gift is given, and the gift itself, there aren’t any attachments. It’s not that the notions don’t exist but that you’re not attached to them. This is what is meant by “one will not grasp at the notion of giving.”Why should you consider the nonsubstantiality of the three aspects of giving when you give? Because then you’ll be free of attachments. If you give thinking, “I’ve given several million dollars. How much merit do you think I have?” then you’re just like the Emperor Wu of Liang, who said to the Patriarch Bodhidharma, “I’ve built so many temples, renovated so many bridges, and influenced so many people to enter the monastic life. Would you say I have merit or not?”

   If the Patriarch Bodhidharma had said, “Yes, you do have merit,” he would’ve been following worldly thinking. Instead, the Patriarch taught the genuine Buddhadharma, which doesn’t accord with worldly sentiments. He said, “You have no merit!” He was trying to tell the emperor not to grasp at the notion of giving. With the notion of giving, you have attachments. Without it, there are no attachments. Without attachments, one’s merit is like empty space. Your merit fills empty space, but you mustn’t be attached.

2. One will not become bound up by the precepts. Someone may say, “Then let’s not take precepts. Let’s not cultivate according to the precepts.” Not being bound up is the same idea as not grasping, which is not to become attached to the precepts. Don’t think, “I uphold the precepts, so I have cultivation and understand the Buddhadharma.” You should refrain from having that kind of attachment. You should abide by the precepts without consciously upholding them. While upholding the precepts, you have no attachment to upholding them. This is what is meant by not being bound up by the precepts. Even if you uphold the precepts, you shouldn’t think, “I’m genuinely upholding precepts. I’m a Vinaya Master!” That’s just one more attachment; the notion of self has come into being. The purpose of the precepts is to transcend the conception of self. With a notion of self, you think, “I cultivate according to the precepts.” When the notion of self is absent, why would there be precepts? …
3. One will not become attached to the power of patience. This advantage also refers to being unattached. One is not attached to the notion of being patient. If one is attached to being patient, then one isn’t truly patient. True patience goes even beyond the concept of being patient. … Why do you have to think of it in terms of a self – “I” am patient? True cultivators of the Path must understand that all phenomena are empty of characteristics. If you can’t understand this concept, then you won’t be able to walk the Path.
4. One will be vigorous in body and mind. One will be vigorous not only in body but also in mind. One won’t be more vigorous in body than in mind or vice versa. One will be equally vigorous in both, but won’t be attached to the notion of vigor. One shouldn’t think, “I really work hard! I’m really vigorous!” If one who cultivates holds the idea of vigor, that’s not prajña vigor. With prajña vigor, one must be vigorous yet not consciously vigorous; not vigorous yet vigorous. That’s emptying all phenomena, detaching from all characteristics. Although you apply effort in cultivation, you need to transcend the notion of cultivation. You must subdue your mind yet remain separate from the notion of having subdued your mind. You must regulate your mind until it’s at peace and free of false thinking.
5. In dhyāna, one will abide nowhere. You probably expected the advantage of dhyāna, since the first is giving, the second upholding precepts, the third patience, and the fourth vigor; so certainly the fifth is dhyāna. So you don’t need the knowledge of others’ thoughts to know what I’m going to say; you just don’t know how I’m going to say it. When you investigate dhyāna, you should arrive at the state of abiding nowhere, which means you’ve broken all attachments. You don’t have any attachment to phenomena or to self; self and phenomena have both been emptied. Then you attain liberation. If you haven’t attained liberation, it’s because you still have attachments. Not abiding anywhere is prajña dhyāna.
6. Demons will not disturb one. If you have prajña, demons can’t get to you; if not, everything will fall apart when demons come. It’s analogous to the formation of an army. While you’re lining up your soldiers in formation, the enemy suddenly attacks. Since your army isn’t ready for battle, you don’t know what to do – whether to fight or retreat, whether to pull the trigger on the gun or hold your fire – and your army quickly falls into disarray and chaos. Likewise, if you become afraid and frantic when demons come, that’s a sign of lacking wisdom. If you have wisdom, no matter how great their spiritual powers are, demons won’t be able to disturb you.
7. Others’ opinions will not move one. If you don’t have genuine wisdom, then if someone says “east,” you’ll go east. If someone says “west,” you’ll go west. Someone may say, “Cultivating the Esoteric School is the best form of cultivation. Recite the name of Akṣobhya Buddha.” So you think, “It is, is it? Okay, I’ll do that. I’ll recite the name of Akṣobhya Buddha and subdue the demons.” Then someone else comes along and says, “The Pure Land School is the best. Reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha is the best form of cultivation in the Dharma-Ending Age.” So you think, “Really? Okay, I’ll do it.” And you’re swayed. Someone else may say, “Don’t bother learning how to lecture on the sūtras or teach the Dharma. Go off and live in a cave in the mountains. That’s real cultivation.” After you’ve spent two and a half days in the mountains, someone comes by and says, “Hey, the Vinaya School is the best,” and off you go to the Vinaya School. In general, you can’t focus on one school. You adopt others’ opinions of what’s good. You have no samādhi power. If the opinions of others cannot move you, that means you have samadhi power. …
8. One will reach the end of birth and death. The end is the termination of something, just like the bottom of the sea and the base of every container. What’s the end of birth and death? Nirvāṇ If you have wisdom, you can end the cycle of birth and death and arrive at the other shore – nirvāṇa. Arriving at the other shore is reaching the end of birth and death.
9. One will practice ever-increasing compassion. Previously, we talked about the five thousand people who left the Dharma Flower assembly because of their overbearing pride. Overbearing pride is quite the opposite of ever-increasing compassion. Ever-increasing compassion means that, although you may not have been very compassionate before, little by little, you gradually develop more and more compassion.
10. One will take no delight in the stage of the Two Vehicles. Instead, one will choose to firmly walk on the Great Vehicle Path. Why so? Because one has wisdom. Therefore, one turns from the Lesser to the Great, giving up the Lesser Vehicle and cultivating the Great Vehicle Dharma.

Today is the fifth day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:

For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.

The today we consider the Perfection of Vigor. For this Fall Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses the 10 advantages of each pāramitā.

There are ten advantages of practicing vigor.

1. One will not be defeated by others. You’ll be able to defeat others, but others won’t be able to defeat you. If you have the true skill of vigor, you’ll win every debate. No one will be able to defeat you in debate. You’ll never lose; you’re sure to win. Why is that? Because you have vigor. Just like two troops in a battle: if one is very high-spirited and energetic while the other is low-spirited and lazy, the former, the vigorous troop, will prevail.
2. One will be gathered in and protected by the Buddhas. This is even more inconceivable. The Buddhas will look upon you and think, “This living being is pretty good. He cultivates seriously and doesn’t get lazy. What a good disciple!” The Buddhas will protect you and gather you in because you’re a good disciple. Would you not call that an advantage?
3. One will be protected by nonhumans. Not only will the Buddhas protect you, but gods, dragons, other spiritual beings of the eightfold division, humans, and nonhumans will all protect you as well.
4. One will not forget the Dharma one hears. This advantage is most beneficial. Why? Only if you haven’t heard the Dharma will this advantage not apply. Once you hear it, you’ll never forget it. As the saying goes,
    
   When the Dharma enters one’s ears,
   It plants the seed of the Path.
    
   Wouldn’t you like to receive this benefit? I believe everyone in the audience would like to have this benefit. If so, you must be vigorous. If you’re not vigorous, you won’t get this benefit. The benefit you receive will be proportional to the effort you apply: one part vigor produces one part benefit, and ten parts vigor produce ten parts benefit.
5. One will hear what one has not heard before. This benefit is even more difficult to conceive. It’s wonderful! You’ll hear Dharma that you’ve never heard before. Isn’t that wonderful? Isn’t this a great advantage to you? Consider the three laypeople here today, a mother and her two sons. Previously, they didn’t have the opportunity to visit San Francisco and hear the Buddhadharma, but here they are today. The mother hadn’t intended to listen to the sūtra lecture either. However, after she heard my talk, she changed her mind. Then she asked her sons, “How about we stay and listen to the sūtra lecture?” Her sons agreed: “All right!” So they now have the opportunity to hear what they’ve never heard before. This mother hadn’t previously had the opportunity to hear the Buddhadharma, as she lives very far away, but because of her vigor in the distant past, now she has this chance. If she hadn’t cultivated vigorously before, how could she have become a vegetarian? Becoming a vegetarian, reciting the Buddha’s name, and having faith in the Buddha aren’t easy things to do. She couldn’t have made this resolve without causes and conditions from previous lives.
6. One’s eloquence will increase. You may have found it difficult to explain the Buddhadharma before, but suddenly you obtain unobstructed eloquence. This sudden eloquence is a result of your vigor. What’s eloquence? Let me tell you. It’s the ability to speak well. What does that mean? Those with eloquence can persuade people who want to cry to laugh instead, those who are angry to feel compassionate, and those who want to run away from the hardships of this summer session to stay. Eloquent people know how to talk and make others feel good. Even if they scold others, their scolding sounds sweet and pleasant to the ears of those being scolded, who don’t find it at all hard to take.
7. One will attain the essence of samadhi. You’ll attain the essence of concentration.
8. One will have little trouble or sickness. All your illnesses and afflictions will vanish. You’ll be free from illness and affliction. These things will disappear without a trace.
9. One will be able to digest whatever one eats. If you cultivate with vigor, you’ll be able to digest whatever you eat. No matter how full you are, you’ll feel hungry again shortly afterward. Why? Because you’re vigorous! You work very hard; you work energetically. You don’t slack off or take it easy. You don’t sit around thinking, “The teacher isn’t here, so I think I’ll take a break. Let’s close our eyes and take a nap!” Vigor means not slacking off or taking it easy. That’s the reason you’re able to digest all the food you eat. You also have a strong digestive system and a good appetite. Being vigorous gives you this benefit.
10. One will grow like the udumbara flower. You’ll grow day by day, just like the udumbara flower.

Very well! Whether the lecture was good or bad, we have to call it a day. There are still fifteen minutes left for me to take a rest. It’s fine for the teacher to be lazy, but it’s absolutely not okay for the students to be lazy. Why? “Only the student can become a valedictorian, not the teacher!” So you mustn’t be lazy. While I urge you not to be lazy, I don’t care whether I’m lazy or not. Don’t be lazy. Just now, I told you to slay your “lazy bugs” and become vigorous tigers. But upon reflection, I think tigers are too fierce. Turn your “lazy bugs” into vigorous dragons instead that would be better. You can transform bugs into dragons. I hope your “lazy bugs” will all become vigorous dragons.

Today is the third day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:

For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.

The today we consider the Perfection of Patience. For this Fall Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses the 10 advantages of each pāramitā.

Today let’s discuss the ten advantages of practicing the paramita of patience. In this world, the harder something is to do, the more it’s worth doing. If the task isn’t difficult, it doesn’t have too much value. Therefore, even though it’s hard to practice patience, it brings great benefit and is of tremendous value. What are the ten advantages?

If, in the formative stage of practice, one cultivates patience, in the future one will receive in general the following ten benefits:

1. 1. Fire will not burn one. Why? Those who practice patience have no internal fire. If there’s no fire within, then fire from the outside has no way to harm one. If one has fire inside, one will get burned. It’s also said:With no deficiency internally,
      One does not attract trouble from outside.If you have problems inside, you’ll attract sickness from the outside. For example, if you catch a cold, it’s often because you’ve been doing a lot of false thinking internally, which leads to “inner” weakness. You then catch an “external” cold as a result. If you cultivate patience and internally extinguish your fiery temper, so that your nature is like dead ashes, then no external fire will be able to burn you.
   2. Knives will not hurt one. If one cultivates patience, one will not be injured by knives because there are no “knives or guns” within. Without “knives or guns” inside – that is, having no thoughts of harming others – external knives and guns can’t harm one. It’s said:If inside the house there is a superior person,
      Superior people will come to visit.
      If inside the house there are petty people,
      Petty people will stop by.If there are no knives or guns in your inherent nature, you won’t be hurt by knives or guns from the outside. This is genuine philosophy!
   3. Poison will not harm one. Not only can knives not harm one, neither can poison. If one has practiced patience to perfection, then,At knife point, I remain completely calm;
      Even poisoned, I am totally at ease.One will remain unscathed when encountering the danger of knives and poison. Patriarch Bodhidharma was poisoned six times by jealous rivals but didn’t die. Why? He’d practiced patience for countless eons and with its perfection had attained this pāramitā. Which pāramitā? The antidote to poison.
   4. Water will not drown one. One who cultivates patience to perfection won’t drown in water.
   5. Nonhumans will protect one. Nonhumans refers to gods, dragons, and other spiritual beings of the eightfold division. They will all look out for you and watch over your bodhimaṇḍ
   6. One will obtain a splendid and majestic appearance. Didn’t I tell you that if you cultivate patience, you’ll have a sublime appearance? You’ll delight all who see you and will make no one afraid. People will respect and cherish you and won’t be able to leave you even if they want to. They’ll always want to be around you. A splendid and majestic appearance is the physical manifestation of the purity of one’s thoughts when they’re free of defilement. It’s not the kind of beauty associated with glamour and sex appeal. The splendor and majesty of one’s appearance will inspire reverence. It won’t cause people to become emotionally infatuated or have impure thoughts.
   7. The lower destinies will be closed to one. What are the lower destinies? They refer to the three lower realms: the hells, the realm of animals, and the realm of hungry ghosts. The doors to these destinies will be closed to you. You won’t fall into the destinies of hungry ghosts and hell beings or be reborn as an animal.
   8. One will be born in the Brahma heavens. If you practice patience, in the future you can be born in the great Brahma heavens.
   9. One will be peaceful and joyful day and night. Throughout the three periods of the day and the three periods of the night, you’ll be peaceful and joyful. You won’t be worried about your business during the day and then in the evening wonder whether or not you’re going to lose your job the next day or if you’ll have anything to eat. Most people have a lot of worries and afflictions. If you practice patience, you won’t have these kinds of afflictions. Throughout the day and night, you’ll always be very peaceful and joyful, worry-free.
   10. One will never be separated from joy and happiness. You’ll always be in good spirits and will always be very happy. This kind of happiness isn’t based on external events and stimuli. Rather, it comes from within your inherent nature and is not a contrived display of happiness.

   These are the ten advantages of practicing patience.

Today is the second day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:

For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.

The today we consider the Perfection of Precepts. For this Fall Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses the 10 advantages of each pāramitā.

The ten advantages of practicing the pāramitā of upholding precepts are:

1. One will perfect omniscient wisdom. If one upholds the precepts well, one can attain omniscient wisdom.
2. One will study what the Buddhas study. One will learn from the same source as the Buddhas do. The Buddha took the precepts as his teacher. So it’s said that the vajra-bright jeweled precepts are the source of all Buddhas. All Buddhas come forth from precepts.
3. One will not be despised by the wise. If you uphold the precepts, only ignorant people will speak ill of you. Wise people won’t criticize you. Ignorant people will naturally criticize you, because they’re confused about right and wrong. Why? They have no wisdom. They mistake right for wrong, black for white. These are the acts of ignorant people. If you uphold precepts, wise people won’t speak ill of you; they’ll praise you instead. …
4. One will not retreat from one’s resolve. This is the most important advantage. One vows, “I will seek the Buddha-dharma no matter how hard it is. I don’t care if I starve to death or freeze to death. I’m not going to retreat. If no one makes offerings to me, that’s the very best thing.” You shouldn’t be greedy for offerings. You shouldn’t drop hints to people in the hope that they’ll buy you things and then think, “I must have virtue and be quite the cultiva-tor. People are making offerings to me!” That would be wrong! You should vow, “I will seek Buddhahood even if it means giving up my head, eyes, brains, marrow, flesh, hands, and feet-even my very life!” …
5. One will dwell peacefully in proper conduct. Peacefully dwelling in proper conduct means performing proper, not improper, conduct. Proper conduct benefits others rather than yourself. If you’re scheming, your conduct is improper; if you aren’t scheming, your conduct is proper.
6. One will cast aside birth and death. One shouldn’t cling to birth and death, thinking, “My life is most precious. I have to make nice offerings to my body-give it good and nutritious food as well as vitamins to make it strong.” It may get stronger, but the stronger your body becomes, the weaker your wisdom gets. When your wisdom becomes weak, even if your body is strong, it isn’t genu-inely strong. Because your wisdom life can’t grow, you must cast aside birth and death altogether. You shouldn’t hold on to your physical life at the expense of the life of your wisdom. Look upon birth and death as unimport-ant, thinking, “If I live, I live; if I die, I die,” while at the same time making sure to cultivate. If you fail to cultivate, thinking that birth and death are no problem, then you’ll never be able to break away from the cycle of birth and death. You must see birth and death as unimportant yet still cultivate to end birth and death.
7. One will long for and delight in nirvāṇa. One thinks, “What I delight in most is nirvana-the Dharma of transcending birth and death.” Nir means “not coming into being”; vāṇa means “not ceasing to be.” The goal of upholding the precepts is to attain nirvāṇ
8. One will attain an unfettered mind. What’s meant by an unfettered mind? One may have much wisdom and make a great resolve for bodhi, but then one becomes tied up by the ten fetters of greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance, doubt, the view of self, extreme views, the view of clinging to precepts and austerities, the view of attachment to views, and wrong views. These ten fetters bind up your mind so that wisdom cannot come forth. To attain an unfettered mind is to become liberated.
9. One will attain supreme samādhi. This is no ordinary samādhi. This samādhi power is formidable! Nothing can disturb it – nothing! It’s an inconceivable level of supreme concentration.
10. One will not lack the wealth of faith. To have faith is to have wealth. People without faith are poor. If you don’t believe the Dharma Master when he lectures on the Dharma, then you won’t be able to make a resolve for bodhi. If you can’t make a resolve for bodhi, you’re poor. Not lacking the wealth of faith means you have great faith. When you’re full of faith, you’re wealthy.

This is a brief explanation of the ten advantages of upholding the precepts. If one were to go into detail, a great deal more could be said.

Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v8, p139-142

Today is the first day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:

For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.

The today we consider the Perfection of Generosity. For this Fall Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses the 10 advantages of each pāramitā.

Let’s talk about the ten advantages resulting from the pāramitā of giving. What are they?

1. One will be able to conquer the afflictions associated with stinginess. Stinginess is a form of affliction that’s hard to overcome. With the practice of giving, one can overcome this affliction.
2. One will be able to maintain a continuous attitude of generosity. Sometimes people’s first thought is to give, but in their next thought they retreat and get stingy. One must resolve to give in thought after thought. The second advantage of practicing true giving is that one develops and maintains an attitude of generosity.
3. One will be able to share one’s wealth with living beings without discrimination. Because you can give money away to others, your wealth will flow to others and be shared with them.
4. One will be born in a wealthy, honorable family.
5. In every life, one will always be generous and ready to give.
6. One will be loved and cherished by the fourfold assembly. The bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās, and upāsikās will all like you because you’re generous.
7. One will remain undaunted in the presence of the multitudes. If you have no virtue, you’ll be easily intimidated by others. If you meet someone with virtue, you’ll be intimidated by them. If you meet someone who is mean and wicked, you’ll be intimidated as well. You’ll be terrified of both the good and the bad. If you practice giving, no matter how much tough opposition you encounter from other people – be it good or bad opposition – you won’t be afraid. You’ll remain undaunted in the presence of the multitudes.
8. One’s good reputation will be heard everywhere. If you practice giving, everyone will know that you’re a great and wealthy elder. Your good reputation will be known by all.
9. One’s hands and feet will be soft and supple. Your hands will be as supple and smooth as cotton. They won’t be coarse like sandpaper. The Buddhas’ hands are said to be as soft as tūla cotton, which is a result of them practicing giving in every life.
10. This advantage is even better. What is it? One will encounter a genuine good spiritual teacher in whichever monastery one is. If you fail to meet a genuine good spiritual teacher, it’s because you didn’t practice giving in your past lives. If you come across good spiritual teachers, they’ll employ “relentless compassion” to remonstrate with you and give you advice that you don’t want to hear. Although their words might sound critical, their constructive criticism comes from a compassionate heart.

These ten advantages will be conferred upon those who practice giving. Each of the remaining five pāramitās also has ten advantages.

For this Fall Higan week I’m using Chinese Master Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra.  Before starting Higan week tomorrow, I offer Hsuan Hua’s explaination of the Counteraction, Interaction and Rewards associated with the Six Pāramitās.

The six pāramitās can also be explained in three other ways.

1. Counteraction. The first pāramitā, giving, counteracts stinginess. Being stingy, you are reluctant to give. Giving is an act of letting go. The second pāramitā, upholding precepts, counteracts breaking the precepts. The third pāramitā, patience, counteracts hatred. The fourth pāramitā, vigor, counteracts indolence, so that you won’t be lax. The fifth pāramitā, dhyāna, counteracts scatteredness. The sixth pāramitā, prajña, counteracts ignorance.
2. Interaction. If one [becomes a monastic when one] renounces one’s household life and wife – that is, if one practices giving – one is upholding precepts. When one is able to endure humiliation without complaining, one is patient. Having been patient, one can be vigorous. Having been vigorous, one can regulate the five sense faculties – eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body – so they no longer play tricks and will listen to you. When the five sense faculties have been regulated, you’ll understand the nature of the Dharma realm. To understand the Dharma realm is prajā. This is an explanation of the six pāramitās according to their Interaction.
3. Rewards. Giving brings the reward of being rich. Upholding the precepts brings the reward of the perfection and refinement of the six sense faculties. You won’t be blind or crippled, or lack a hand or leg, or otherwise lack the complete six sense faculties – eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Patience brings the reward of physical beauty. You’ll be born with good looks. Why are people ugly? Because in past lives they were impatient and couldn’t cope with their difficulties. Vigor brings the reward of having great power and authority. Dhyāna brings the reward of a long and healthy life. You can live as long as you like. Prajña brings the reward of unobstructed eloquence.