Category Archives: Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary

Blog, Hsuan Hua, Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary

The Law of Cause and Effect’s Strict Retribution

After Master Hsuan Hua’s description of why the Richman in Chapter 4, Faith and Understanding, took on the appearance of someone who was “frightened,” Hsuan Hua offered a lesson about the strict retribution everyone receives, even a Buddha. As explained in a footnote at this point:

After the Buddha had realized Buddhahood, he went through three karmic retributions as a result of his past karma from previous lifetimes:

  1. The Buddha’s foot was pierced through by a golden spear, which was actually a piece of wood chip;
  2. the Buddha ate horse feed for three months; and
  3. the Buddha suffered from a headache for three days.

The narratives that follow describe the last two of these retributions.
Re. T04 No. 197 Foshuo xinqihengjing 佛說興起行經 and To4 No. 196 Zhong benqi jing 中本起經.

Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v5, p79-80

A long, long time ago, when the Buddha was still in the formative stage of his practice, there was a famine in the country where he lived. Since there was nothing else to eat, people started eating fish from the sea. A very large fish was caught and brought up on shore. Śākyamuni Buddha, then just a child, hit it with a stick over the head three times. Therefore, although he had become a Buddha, he still suffered headaches as retribution.

Another time, while cultivating in a former life, he saw a bhikṣu going on alms rounds and said, “That bhikṣu is only fit to eat horse feed! Why do those people give him such delicious things to eat?” Because he made that one comment, when he became a Buddha, the following event took place: The Buddha went to another country for the summer meditation retreat. The king had said that he would make offerings to him, but when the Buddha got there, the king reneged. “Just give these bhikṣus horse feed!” he said. So for three months, the Sangha ate only horse feed.

Even though the Buddha has awe-inspiring virtue, he still manifested undergoing retributions such as these.

This story involves the principle of cause and effect as described in the following couplet:

Plant a good cause, reap a good result.
Plant a bad cause, reap a bad result.

The causes you planted in your former lives determine the results you now undergo.

Another story is about King Virūḍhaka’s extermination of the Śākyan clan.

In the past, Sakyamuni Buddha hit a large fish three times, and over five hundred people ate its flesh. Thus, after he became a Buddha, he had headaches as retribution, and King Virūḍhaka exterminated the Śākyan clan.

King Virūḍhaka was a king in India at that time, who wanted to kill everyone in the Śākyan clan. The Śākyans clan was composed of those very people who had, in the past, eaten the fish that Sakyamuni Buddha had hit on the head; and King Virūḍhaka was formerly that fish. Since they had eaten his flesh, he wanted to drink their blood and was determined to kill them all. Although the Buddha possessed all spiritual transformations with endless, wondrous applications, he could not save his kinsfolk.

Mahāmaudgalyāyana, however, could not bear this, and he tried to use his spiritual powers to save them. Why didn’t the Buddha save them? The Buddha knew that this occurrence was a destined retribution determined by the law of cause and effect. Maudgalyāyana did not know the involved cause and effect because, as an Arhat, he could only see the past causes and effects as far back as 80,000 great eons. Everything that happened prior to 80,000 great eons was beyond his knowledge.

Since he didn’t know the circumstances, he thought, “My teacher’s kinsfolk are going to be killed by the king. I must employ my spiritual powers and save them.”

Mahāmaudgalyāyana was foremost in spiritual powers among the Buddha’s disciples, so he recited a mantra that put five hundred members of the Śākyan clan into his alms bowl. Then he sent the bowl up into empty space. “There is no way King Virūḍhaka can kill them now,” he thought. When King Virūḍhaka had finished exterminating the Śākyan clan, Maudgalyāyana brought the bowl down again. Much to his dismay, he found only blood in place of the five hundred Śākyans. None of them survived.

Maudgalyāyana asked the Buddha, “Even with my spiritual powers, why couldn’t I rescue the Śākyan clan?” The Buddha replied, “There was no way to avoid the retribution of this particular case of cause and effect. If it could have been avoided, I would have saved my kinsfolk myself instead of waiting for you to save them.”

This example demonstrates that the law of cause and effect is difficult to escape. Bad karma you created in former lives will come back to you as retribution in this present life; retribution is inevitable.

Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v5, p79-82
Blog, Hsuan Hua, Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, LS32, LS45

Master Hsuan Hua’s interpretation of the Parable of the Rich Man and His Poor Son

Back in March, I reviewed the Buddhist Text Translation Society’s translation of the Lotus Sutra, which I had used as part of my daily practice of reading aloud a portion of the sutra during morning and evening services.

In my review I cited a number of typos I’d noticed, but I paid particular attention to one word I felt was used in error.

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.

It is important to keep in mind that the sutra text is volume 15 of Master Hsuan Hua’s 14-volume commentary on the Lotus Sutra. At the time I wrote my review I had not read Hsuan Hua’s commentary. Needless to say, I was surprised by what I found when I finally read Hsuan Hua’s explanation of this portion of the Parable of the Rich Man and his Poor Son.

SUTRA

“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.”

COMMENTARY

The elder removed his jeweled necklace. “Jeweled necklace” refers to the Buddha’s various Dharmas, including precepts, samādhi, wisdom, and dhārāṇi. “Removed his jeweled necklace” means to hide the awe-inspiring, virtuous, and majestic appearance of the Tathagata’s ten-thousand-foot-tall Nişyanda Buddha body.

His soft, fine upper garments is a metaphor for the Buddha’s great, adorned body and his oceanic subsidiary characteristics. The Buddha’s physical attributes are as limitless as the sea. The Buddha also has countless bodies, and each of his bodies is replete with the thirty-two hallmarks and the eighty subsidiary characteristics and with awe-inspiring virtue and adornments. Now he has hidden these bodies. Why? Those of the Two Vehicles do not recognize these honored, exquisite bodies; in other words, those of the Two Vehicles do not recognize their father, the Buddha. The Buddha is actually their father, but they do not dare to believe it because the Buddha is so wealthy and they are so terribly poor. If the Buddha tried to take them across with his reward and transformation bodies, they would become frightened. Why? Those of the Lesser Vehicle have never seen such honorable and noble bodies with oceanic hallmarks.

That is why the Buddha removed his jeweled necklace, his soft, fine upper garments, and his ornaments, and put on a coarse, torn, and grease-stained robe. What is meant by “coarse”? The Buddha hid his ten-thousand-foot-tall Nişyanda Buddha body and manifested the six-foot-tall body of an old bhikṣu, which looked more or less the same as that of an ordinary person. “Torn” refers to the Lesser Vehicle’s patience toward living beings and patience toward all phenomena. “Grease-stained robe” represents conditional phenomena and outflows that are filthy and impure.

Having afflictions is analogous to smearing himself with dirt. The afflictions are like dirt that smears the body. And holding a dung shovel in his right hand. Why did he hold the dung shovel in his right hand? “Right hand” represents the use of expedient Dharma-doors to teach those of the Two Vehicles. What does “dung shovel” represent? “Dung shovel” refers to the Dharma-door that dispels delusions arising from incorrect views and delusions arising from incorrect thoughts. The Buddha used this Dharma to cut off delusions arising from incorrect views, delusions arising from incorrect thoughts, and delusions of ignorance, thereby becoming a Buddha. He uses this kind of Dharma to teach those of the Two Vehicles, enabling them to follow this method to cut off their own delusions and realize Buddhahood. Because he realized Buddhahood by means of this method, he also teaches this method to living beings. This is called “holding a dung shovel.”

He looked frightened. He appears in the guise of a practitioner of the Two Vehicles, seeming to fear birth and death. The Bodhisattvas are in the cycle of birth and death yet are not subject to birth and death. They are afraid neither of suffering nor of birth and death. Those of the Two Vehicles are afraid of birth and death as well as impermanence and suffering. Thus, the Buddha manifests as if he were afraid of birth and death, impermanence, and suffering. Therefore, the sūtra line says “he looked frightened.”

Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v5, p79-82

Next: The Law of Cause and Effect’s Strict Retribution

Blog, Hsuan Hua, Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary

Lotus Sutra Audiobook on YouTube

While reading Master Hsuan Hua’s 15-volume commentary on the Lotus Sutra, I have been periodically corresponding with the publisher, the Buddhist Text Translation Society, to clarify whether what I perceive are errors are in fact errors or simply different interpretations of Buddhism. Having mostly read texts based on Japanese perspective, I’ve found Hsuan Hua’s Chinese focus noticeable different at times. During one of these email exchanges, I was alerted to the fact that the Dharma Realm Buddhist University’s YouTube channel includes an audiobook of the 28 chapters of the Lotus Sutra. With the exception of chapters 8, 9 and 13, each chapter is introduced with a synopsis. This synopsis is combined for chapters 15 and 16 and chapters 17 to 19. The text is based on the Buddhist Text Translation Society’s translation of Kumarajiva’s Chinese version of the Lotus Sutra.


Chapter 1, Introduction


Chapter 2, Skillful Means


Chapter 3, A Parable


Chapter 4, Faith and Understanding


Chapter 5, Medicinal Herbs


Chapter 6, Conferring Predictions


Chapter 7, The Parable of the Conjured City


Chapter 8, Five Hundred Disciples Receive Predictions


Chapter 9, Predictions for Those in Need of Study and Those Beyond Study


Chapter 10, Dharma Teachers


Chapter 11, The Jeweled Stupa Appears


Chapter 12, Devadatta


Chapter 13, Encouragement to uphold


Chapter 14, Practices of Peace and Joy


Chapter 15, Emerging from the Earth


Chapter 16, The Tathāgata’s Life Span


Chapter 17, The Discourse on Merit and Virtue


Chapter 18, The Merit of a Joyful Response


Chapter 19, The Merit and Virtue of a Dharma Teacher


Chapter 20, Bodhisattva Never Slighting


Chapter 21, The Spiritual Powers of a Tathāgata


Chapter 22, Entrustment


Chapter 23, The Account of Bodhisattva Medicine King’s Past Lives


Chapter 24, Bodhisattva Wondrous Voice


Chapter 25, The Universal Door of Guan Yin Bodhisattva


Chapter 26, Dhārāṇi


Chapter 27, The Account of King Wonderful Adornment’s Past Lives


Chapter 28, Bodhisattva Samantabhadra’s Encouragement

Blog, Hsuan Hua, Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, Vajra Sutra

The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra

In reading Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s 14-volume commentary on the Lotus Sutra – I’m currently on the fourth volume, which covers Chapter 3, A Parable – I have come across several references to the Vajra Sutra.

For example, in discussing the term Tathāgata, Hsuan Hua says:

What is meant by Tathāgata? The Vajra Sūtra says:

The Tathāgata does not come from anywhere,
nor does he go anywhere.
That is why he is called the Tathāgata.

Or in discussing Chapter 2 he says:

Since nothing can be grasped, why does the text say “to attain the Buddha’s Path”? The so-called “Buddha’s Path” is not attained from the outside. As it says in the Vajra Sūtra, when the Tathagata received the Dharma of anuttara samyaksaṃbodhi from the Buddha Dīpaṃkara, Burning Lamp, he in fact received nothing.

vajra-sutra-bookcoverBeing unfamiliar with the sutra, I went back to the Buddhist Text Translation Society’s website and picked up a copy of “The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, A General Explanation.”

I took a break from Hsuan Hua’s commentary on the Lotus Sutra to read his commentary on the Vajra Sutra.

This is very esoteric stuff, the sort of stuff one would expect a Chinese Chan master to explore. Consider this discussion of “true prajña” – true direct insight or true wisdom:

Once Subhūti was sitting in a cave cultivating and a god came scattering flowers.

“Who has come to scatter flowers?” asked Subhūti.

“The god Sakra,” came the reply. “Sakra has come to scatter flowers.”

“Why have you come here to scatter flowers?” asked Subhūti.

Sakra said, “Because the Venerable One speaks prajña well, I have come to make offerings.”

Subhūti said, “I have not said one word. How can you say I speak prajña?”

Sakra replied, “The Venerable One has not spoken and I have not heard a thing. Nothing spoken and nothing heard: that is true prajña.”

You think it over. Nothing spoken and nothing heard is true prajña. Have you heard prajña? If not, that is true prajña.

The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, p156

In considering what to make of this, I was reminded of similar statements made in the Threefold Lotus Sutra.

In the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings Bodhisattva Fully Composed addresses the Buddha:

“World-honored One! For more than forty years, ever since achieving enlightenment, the Tathāgata, for the benefit of living beings, has continuously discoursed on the principle of the four modes of all phenomena, the meaning of suffering, and the meaning of emptiness; on ever changingness, nonexistence of self, non-greatness, non-smallness, non-origination, and non-cessation; on the formlessness of all things; and on the natures and aspects of phenomena being intrinsically empty and tranquil—neither coming nor going, neither appearing nor disappearing.

Or in Chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra, when the Buddha explains:

All that I say is true, not false, because I see the triple world as it is. I see that the triple world is the world in which the living beings have neither birth nor death, that is to say, do not appear or disappear, that it is the world in which I do not appear or from which l do not disappear, that it is not real or unreal, and that it is not as it seems or as it does not seem. I do not see the triple world in the same way as [the living beings of] the triple world do. I see all this clearly and infallibly.

The Vajra Sutra is concerned with “marks” or characteristics and how to avoid clinging to them. There are four marks: the mark of self, the mark of others, the mark of living beings and the mark of life.

Hsuan Hua explains in his commentary:

Because Subhūti had cultivated good roots for limitless kalpas, it was not difficult for him to believe. He realized, however, that anyone in the Dharma Ending Age, at the time when people are Strong in Fighting, who could believe, understand, receive, and hold the sūtra, would be a foremost individual and very rare. And why? Such people will have no mark of self, meaning they have no greed. No mark of others, meaning they have no anger. No mark of living beings, meaning they are not stupid. No mark of a life, meaning they have no desire. They have no greed, anger, stupidity, or desire, these four kinds of attachments. The four marks are without a mark. No mark is real mark. Real mark is no mark. And why? Because real mark is also distinct from all which has no marks. If you can obtain real mark, that is obtaining the principle substance of the self-nature of all Buddhas. Those who have relinquished all marks are called Buddhas. Therefore you too can certainly become a Buddha.

The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra, p111

Over the next several days I’m going to post excerpts from Hsuan Hua’s commentary on the Vajra Sutra.

Text of The Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra

Book Quotes

 
Book List

Higan, Hsuan Hua, Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, LS32, LS45

Higan: Beating of the Great Dharma Drum

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 Wisdom.  For this Spring Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses Maitreya’s questions about what he sees in Chapter 1 after the Buddha illuminates 18,000 worlds in the east. (See this explanation.)

Maitreya Bodhisattva said to Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, “Moreover, I see Bodhisattvas / Of profound wisdom and solid resolve, / Capable of questioning the Buddhas, / Then upholding all they hear.” These Bodhisattvas were exceptionally wise and steadfast in their resolve. When they had doubts, they sought clarification from the Buddhas. They asked about the Dharma, and having received their answers, they put what they had heard into practice, upholding and cultivating in accord with the Dharma.

Maitreya went on, saying, “I also see Buddhas’ disciples, / Accomplished in wisdom and samādhi, / Teaching Dharma to the multitudes / Through countless analogies.” These sons of the Dharma King, who were replete with the power of samādhi and wisdom, used an uncountable number of parables and principles to expound the Buddhadharma for the sake of living beings. They delight in explaining the Dharma / As they teach Bodhisattvas. / Vanquishing all the hordes of Māra, / They beat the Dharma drum. The more they taught, the more enthusiastic they became about teaching; this is known as unobstructed eloquence. The Dharma they taught was extremely profound, subtle, and wonderful. Not only did it transform Bodhisattvas, it overcame the demon king’s troops. Their teaching of the Dharma was like the beating of the great Dharma drum. These three stanzas concern the pāramitā of prajña.

Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v2, p275
Higan, Hsuan Hua, Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, LS32, LS45

Higan: Absorbed in Profound Samadhi

Today is the sixth 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 Meditation.  For this Spring Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses Maitreya’s questions about what he sees in Chapter 1 after the Buddha illuminates 18,000 worlds in the east. (See this explanation.)

The Pāramitā of Samādhi

I see those renouncing desire
Dwelling in solitude,
Immersing themselves in profound samādhi,
And attaining the five spiritual powers.
I also see Bodhisattvas
Settled in dhyāna, with palms joined,
Praising the Dharma Kings
In thousands upon thousands of verses.

Maitreya Bodhisattva saw them absorbed in profound samadhi and developing the five spiritual powers. The five spiritual powers are the heavenly eye, the heavenly ear, the knowledge of others’ thoughts, the knowledge of past lives, and the ability to travel anywhere at will. They had not attained the spiritual power of freedom from all outflows because only [fourth-stage] Arhats and Bodhisattvas of equivalent awakening and wondrous awakening can attain freedom from all outflows. Because these were Bodhisattvas of new resolve, they had attained only five of the six spiritual powers.

Where do these five spiritual powers come from? They come from the cultivation of samādhi, from the recitation of sūtras, and from upholding mantras. If you can meditate single-mindedly every day, you can attain them. You can also attain them by reciting sūtras. For example, Great Master Zhiyi continuously recited the Dharma Flower Sūtra until he awakened. When he reached the line “This is true vigor. This is called a true Dharma offering” in the chapter “The Account of Bodhisattva Medicine King’s Past Lives,” he entered the Dharma Flower samādhi and experienced a supreme state. He saw that the Dharma assembly at Vulture Peak had not yet dispersed and that Śākyamuni Buddha was still there teaching the Dharma. So you can also become awakened by reciting sūtras. However, you must recite with a sincere mind. Don’t recite on the one hand but have deluded thoughts on the other hand, thinking, “So-and-so has a lot of money. I’ve got to think of a way to get some money out of him for my own use.” You will not become awakened by reciting sūtras this way, because you are not being mindful of the sūtras if you are thinking about money. In addition, you can also single-mindedly recite mantras to become awakened.

Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v2, p272-274
Higan, Hsuan Hua, Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, LS32, LS45

Higan: These Heroic Cultivators

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 Energy. For this Spring Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses Maitreya’s questions about what he sees in Chapter 1 after the Buddha illuminates 18,000 worlds in the east. (See this explanation.)

The Pāramitā of Vigor

These four lines praise the pāramitā of vigor. Maitreya said, “I also see Bodhisattvas / Advancing with heroic vigor, / Going far into the mountains / To contemplate the Buddha’s Path.” How vigorous are they? They study the Buddhadharma, foregoing meals and sleep. They are not like some people who go without eating but make up for it by sleeping more, thinking, “I haven’t eaten, so I can’t cultivate. I’ll sleep a little more instead.” When others are not sleeping, they are asleep. That is not heroic vigor. Those with heroic vigor will go without eating because they forget about food altogether. They do not deliberately refrain from eating to show others that they are cultivating. They simply forget about eating and sleeping; they forget about everything. What do they think of? They focus only on their cultivation and study of the Buddhadharma. These heroic cultivators often cultivate in remote mountains and valleys, investigating the principles of the Dharma there.

Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v2, p171-172
Higan, Hsuan Hua, Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, LS32, LS45

Higan: The Practice of Bodhisattvas

Today is the Spring Equinox, the middle 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.

For this Spring Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses Maitreya’s questions about what he sees in Chapter 1 after the Buddha illuminates 18,000 worlds in the east. (See this explanation.)

Maitreya Bodhisattva said, “I see in other lands / Bodhisattvas as many as Ganges’ sands, / Through various causes and conditions, / Seeking and cultivating the Buddha’s Path.” In our quest for the Buddha’s Path, we must do deeds that generate merit and virtue, and we must seek wisdom. Do not think you can attain Buddhahood easily. Look! These Bodhisattvas, numbering as many as the grains of sand in the Ganges, cultivated through various causes and conditions. What is meant by “various causes and conditions”? It means that these Bodhisattvas did many good deeds through which they accrued merit and virtue, cultivated many kinds of blessings and wisdom, and studied all the various Buddhadharmas. They did not seek the Buddha’s Path through just one kind of cause and condition.

Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v2, p260-261
Higan, Hsuan Hua, Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, LS32, LS45

Higan: The Patience of Bodhisattvas

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 Spring Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses Maitreya’s questions about what he sees in Chapter 1 after the Buddha illuminates 18,000 worlds in the east. (See this explanation.)

The following four lines of verse talk about the practice of patience. Sometimes I see Bodhisattvas / Becoming bhikṣus, / Living alone in quietude / And delighting in reciting sūtras. These monastics live alone in forests, valleys, or caves, where they may encounter malicious people or ferocious beasts. What does this have to do with patience? If spiteful people insult them or physically abuse them, the Bodhisattvas must endure it; if ferocious beasts bite them, they must also endure it and not be scared. They delight in reciting sūtras. According to the Vajra Sūtra, the merit gained from reciting the Vajra Sūtra is inconceivable.

Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v2, p270
Higan, Hsuan Hua, Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, LS32, LS45

Higan: The Acts of Kings

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.

Today we consider the Perfection of Discipline. For this Spring Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses Maitreya’s questions about what he sees in Chapter 1 after the Buddha illuminates 18,000 worlds in the east. (See this explanation.)

Maitreya continued, “Mañjuśrī, Bodhisattva Wonderful Virtue, I also see kings, not just one but many of them, traveling to Buddhalands.” Why did they go there? They wanted to visit the Buddhas for the sake of asking about the unsurpassed Path. Upon their request, the Buddhas taught them that everything in this world is unsatisfactory, empty, impermanent, and without intrinsic essence.

The poem “Moon over West River” says,

Wealth and honor are like a dream before dawn;
Success and fame are like a floating cloud;
Blood relations too are unreal,
For affection can turn into hatred.

Wealth and honor are as insubstantial as a dream at daybreak. Success and fame are like clouds drifting across the sky; they do not last. The current family relationships—the ties that bind father and son, elder and younger brothers, husband and wife—are also transitory. You may love someone and be very close to them, but as time goes by, love can turn into animosity.

Maitreya Bodhisattva continued, “They forsake their lands of pleasure, / Their palaces, ministers, and concubines, / Then shave their beards and hair / And clothe themselves in Dharma robes.” Having heard this teaching from the Buddhas, the kings, without further thought, gave away their lands and belongings, including their palaces made of treasures, their towers and pavilions made of agarwood and sandalwood, and their ministers and concubines. Why did they give them away? They gave them away so that they could become novices. As novices, they put on monastic robes. Their five-piece robes were called Dharma robes. …

Earlier verses talked about giving. The previous section describing kings entering monastic life represents the quest for the precepts. The kings arriving at the Buddhalands and requesting the precepts has to do with the pāramitā of precepts.

Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v2, p268-270