The Sūtra of Transmission of the Buddhist Teaching, fascicle 1, speaks of the previous life of Venerable Kāśyapa:
Once upon a time there lived a Brahman named Nyagrodha in the Kingdom of Magadha. Because of the great merit of his good acts for a long time in a previous life… , he was immensely rich and piled up vast wealth in this life. … which was worth a thousand times more than that of the king of Magadha. (…) Although he was very wealthy, he was childless, so the Brahman said to himself, “My days are numbered, but I have nobody to inherit my treasures filled in the warehouse. I wish to have a child.” Thus, the Brahman prayed to the forest god in the neighborhood for good luck of having a child. Having prayed for years without any luck, he became furious and said to the forest god: “I have prayed to you for the last several years to no avail. I am going to pray to you from the bottom of my heart for seven more days. If it does not do any good, I am going to burn down your shrine.” Hearing this, the forest god in agony relayed his problem to the Four Heavenly Kings, who in turn reported the matter to Indra.
Indra looked around all over the world but could not find anyone worthy of being Nyagrodha’s child, so he went to the King of the Brahma Heaven for help. With his divine eye, the King of the Brahma Heaven then closely observed the whole world, finding a heavenly being in the Brahma Heaven who was about to die. The King told him that if he was to be reborn in the human world, he should be born as a child of Nyagrodha Brahman in Jambudvīpa. The dying being answered that he did not want to be reborn in a family of a Brahman because Brahman dharma includes many evil and false views. The King of the Brahma Heaven told him again: “Nyagrodha Brahman is a powerful man of virtue that there is no one in the world worthy to be born as his child. If you are reborn to his family, I will protect you lest you should fall into evil view.” Thereupon the heavenly being in the Brahma Heaven answered, “I will respectfully follow your words.”
The King of the Brahma Heaven then reported the turn of events to Indra, who in turn informed the forest god. Elated by the good news, the forest god called upon the Brahman at home saying, “You should no longer have a grudge against me. Your wish will be fulfilled in seven days. As expected, the wife of the Brahman became pregnant in seven days and gave birth to a baby boy ten months later. (…) This is Venerable Kāśyapa today.
Kangyō Hachiman-shō, Remonstration with Bodhisattva Hachiman, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 244-245
The voice-hearer (śrāvaka) refers to disciples of the Buddha such as Śāriputra and Kāśyapa. They observed the 250 precepts and practiced the supra-worldly meditation. Moreover, they contemplated the truths of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and self-effacement; completely eliminated the delusions arising from false views and thoughts; and mastered the supernatural power of being in water and fire. Therefore, they were able to make even the King of the Mahābrahman Heaven and Indra their followers.
Hōren-shō, Letter to Hōren, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 48
Consider this:
When I recently pondered why the dragon girl was different, I had an Eureka Moment.
Śāriputra and the other disciples whose future Buddhahood are predicted far in the future had been students of the Buddha’s expedient teachings.
As Śākyamuni explains to Śāriputra, “Under two billion Buddhas in the past, I always taught you in order to cause you to attain unsurpassed enlightenment. You studied under me in the long night. I led you with expedients. Therefore, you have your present life under me.”
The eight-year-old daughter of the Dragon King Sagara was taught by Mañjuśrī.
“Mañjuśrī said, ‘In the sea I expounded only the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.’ ”
That is the power of the Lotus Sutra.
Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō
I was going through my quotes from Nichiren’s writings and discovered this:
Women, who were thus despised in various sūtras, were able to attain Buddhahood as soon as Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī expounded the character “myō.” This was so mysterious that Bodhisattva Accumulated Wisdom, the first disciple of the Buddha of Many Treasures in the Treasure Purity World, and Venerable Śāriputra, the wisest disciple of Śākyamuni Buddha, argued against the daughter of a Dragon King to be made a Buddha in the spirit of the various Hinayāna and Mahāyāna sūtras expounded by the Buddha during the 40 years or so of His preaching. Their efforts were in vain, and the daughter of a Dragon King ultimately became a Buddha.
Hokke Daimoku Shō, Treatise on the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 45-46
Now you have awakened us, saying:
“What you attained was not true extinction.
When you have the unsurpassed wisdom of the Buddha,
You will attain true extinction.”
Five hundred of the Buddha’s monks give this explanation in Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. These monks believed that by extinguishing their desires and ending their suffering, they would reach the wisdom of the Buddha. They had not yet heard the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra in which the Buddha reveals his wisdom and the path to attain it. This is the path of the Bodhisattva: beings who resolve to work for the enlightenment of all beings and not just end their own suffering. We may start on the path towards enlightenment by wanting to be happy. Then as we progress, we find our happiness entwined with that of all beings.
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The merits of the Buddha are beyond the expression of our words. Only the Buddha, only the World-Honored One, knows the wishes we have deep in our minds.
In Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sutra, Pūrṇa has these words in mind while looking at the face of the Buddha. The thoughts we have are mostly words, and the words are about the things we want. Words can help us make sense of the world around us, especially the words the Buddha uses to teach us. But words can also confuse us when we mistake our expectations for the reality of the world. When the Buddha calls us to become Bodhisattvas, to realize that our happiness is linked to that of all beings, his words open a part of our mind with which we are not familiar. He asks us to set aside the habits we have learned from this world of conflict and see his world in a new way.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
My disciples are performing
The Bodhisattva practices secretly
Though they show themselves in the form of Śrāvakas.
They are purifying my world.
The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. The Śrāvakas are those who hear the teachings of the Buddha and put it into practice only for themselves. They are concerned with ending their own suffering and do not believe they have the capacity to reach the Buddha’s enlightenment. But because they can serve as an example to those who are also unsure about receiving this great wisdom, they can be an inspiration to make progress on the path. With the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha declares that all beings have the capacity for enlightenment, and reveals that all of our pursuits are for the sake of benefiting others. It is when we realize this directly and openly that we perform the Bodhisattva practice, the selfless effort of awakening the world.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
World-Honored One! Now we see that we are Bodhisattvas in reality, and that we are assured of our future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Therefore, we have the greatest joy that we have ever had.
Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya and the others gathered to hear the Buddha teach make this declaration in Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. He and the others thought that their existence was merely to hear and preserve what the Buddha taught them, and to transmit it to others. They believed they were incapable of becoming as enlightened as the Buddha, because the Buddha’s earlier teachings had only led them so far. With the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha reminds all of us of our decision to come to this world of conflict to benefit all beings. He awakens us to our capacity to see the world with his eyes and experience the joy of reality.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
He satisfied himself with what little he earned.
He did not wish to get anything more.
He did not notice the priceless gem
Fastened inside his garment.
These verses are part of a story told by Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya and other disciples in Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. It is about a man whose friend gives him a jewel while he is asleep. Not realizing he has this treasure, the man returns to his ordinary life, desperate to make a living and satisfy his ordinary desires. The story shows how we live when we forget about the jewel of Buddha nature we carry with us.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
Knowing that people wish to hear
The teachings of the Lesser Vehicle,
And that they are afraid of having the great wisdom,
[My sons, that is,] the Bodhisattvas transform themselves
Into Śrāvakas or cause-knowers,
And teach the people with innumerable expedients.
The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Eight of the Lotus S̄ūtra. Our fear of the Buddha’s wisdom comes from the attachment we have to our delusions. At some level we know that we are suffering, but we believe that anything different from how we live now will be worse. There are times when someone who seems to share our delusions can help us move away from them. But then as an actor becomes so absorbed in a role that he forgets his real life, those who choose a life in this world of conflict can forget their existence as Bodhisattvas who have vowed to benefit all beings. This Wonderful Dharma reminds us of this vow and helps us appreciate those who are still bound by delusion and what we can learn from them.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com
You, the World-Honored One, saw that the aspiration for the knowledge of all things was still latent in our minds; therefore, you awakened us, saying, ‘Bhikṣus! What you had attained was not perfect extinction. I caused you to plant the good root of Buddhahood a long time ago.’
Five hundred of the Buddha’s monks give this explanation in Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, the Buddha has just assured them of reaching the same enlightenment he found. These monks had worked diligently for many years to rid themselves of suffering, and taught many other beings to become Bodhisattvas and reach the Buddha’s enlightenment, thinking they were not capable of reaching this wisdom. Not believing we are capable of something obscures the capability we have. When the Buddha proclaims that he leads all beings, he reminds us of this capacity and inspires us make efforts to bring all beings, including ourselves, to his joy.
The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com