Buddhism for Today, p144Some people may think it strange that this sacred teaching should incur enmity and envy, but it is not really strange, because whenever a better teaching is preached or believed in, those who believe in a lower teaching tend to envy it and are irritated and upset by it. Others scorn the teaching when they know nothing of its content. Still others denounce a good teaching as heresy and persecute it. When Sakyamuni Buddha, Jesus Christ, and Nichiren began to preach their teachings, all were attacked by enemies and underwent religious persecution.
As mentioned before, the Buddha promises us: “Even if the Lotus Sutra arouses much enmity and envy, endure this and receive, keep, and practice the sutra. Such a person will be protected and invested by the Tathāgata with his robe.”
Category Archives: d15b
Emphasis on the Teaching, Not the Teacher
In Chapter 10 there is another transition that takes place in the Lotus Sutra and that is the transition from an emphasis on the body of the Buddha to the teaching of the Buddha. In this chapter the Buddha tells his disciples that instead of enshrining his relics, the teaching of the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Flower Sutra should be what is contained within the stupa we revere. Here too in this great drama we should remember that because the teaching is true, the teacher is great. We devote ourselves to the Lotus Sutra and to the teacher of that sutra and through our devotion we bring it to life.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraThe Living Dharma
Now let me talk about the truth and the living Dharma. The appearance of the great stupa serves as a device or reason for bringing together a great assembly of Buddhas and lands but it also serves as a validation of the truth of the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Flower Sutra. Many Treasures Buddha demonstrates to us the truth of the underlying Dharma or the truth of the Lotus Sutra does not change. While the actual words or makeup of the Sutra may take on different appearances or different words the truth that underlies it all is unchanging. The two Buddhas sitting beside each other show us that not only the teacher is to be respected but also the truth of the teaching is equally respectable. We are not really devoting ourselves to the teacher but to the truth of the teaching and that is the real basis of our devotion to the Buddha.
Lecture on the Lotus Sutra11th Day of the 11th Month
On the 11th day of the 11th month this year, on the thoroughfare of Matsubara in Tōjō, Awa Province, about four to six o’clock in the afternoon, hundreds of nembutsu followers ambushed me. I was accompanied by about ten people, of whom only three or four were strong enough to fight. Arrows shot by nembutsu followers were falling like rain, and their swords were attacking us like lightning. One of my disciples was killed at the spot and two others were seriously wounded. I also was hit and wounded, and faced mortal danger, but somehow I escaped death and am still alive today. My faith in the Lotus Sūtra has been strengthened as I experienced persecutions such as this.
It is said in the 10th chapter of “The Teacher of the Dharma” in the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 4, “Many people hate it (the Lotus Sūtra) with a passion, even in My lifetime. Needless to say, more people will do so after My death.” And in the 14th chapter of “Peaceful Practices,” fascicle 5, it states, “Many people in the world would have hated it (the Lotus Sūtra) and few would have believed it.” There are many people in Japan who read and study the Lotus Sūtra. Many people are punished because they steal or commit adultery, but no one has been punished due to his faith in the Lotus Sūtra. Therefore, none of the followers of the Lotus Sūtra in Japan have practiced the Sūtra as is preached. Only I, Nichiren, have truly read it. This is what the chapter of “Encouragement for Upholding This Sūtra” states: “We will not spare even our lives. We treasure only unsurpassed enlightenment.” Therefore, I, Nichiren, am the foremost practicer of the Lotus Sūtra in Japan.
Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō-dono Gosho, A Letter to Lord Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 145-146.
The True Time Lords
In the arrival of the Stupa of Treasures, we are introduced to a Buddha, Many Treasures, who is old. But he is not just old, he is ancient. He is even older than ancient. You could say that this Buddha is beyond time altogether. He is not just a Buddha from the past, but he represents the primordial Buddha, the Buddha from the metaphysical beginning of things. And here we have our Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha taking a seat along side of this Buddha. In that moment the past, present, and, as we shall see in chapter 16, the future are all contained right there.
In fact in that moment all dimensions of eternity coalesce, this is the synthesis of time and eternity. We are beyond time; we are in every moment of every possible time. We are the true Time Lords made famous in the Dr. Who story. When we sit before such a great object as we do in our daily practice we are fusing our lives with the past, the present, and the future and our lives expand beyond the moment we currently perceive ourselves to be in. When we take this kind of view, then how can the troubles and tribulations of this moment not seem insignificant while at the same time our own lives achieve the greatest possible significance.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraSupreme Among Past, Present, and Future Sūtras
It is said in the tenth chapter on the “Teacher of the Dharma” of the Lotus Sūtra that among the sūtras that had already been preached, are now being preached, and will be preached, the Lotus Sūtra is supreme. Commenting on this, Grand Master Miao-lê states in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra: “Besides the Lotus Sūtra, some sūtras claim to be the king of sūtras, but they are not really the first among sūtras as they do not claim to be one among those which have already been preached, are being preached, and will be preached.” He also asserts in his Commentary on the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra: “Although the Lotus Sūtra is an incomparable dharma above all the scriptures preached in the past, present, and future, many are confused about this, and they will suffer forever from slandering the True Dharma.”
Surprised by this statement in the Lotus Sūtra and his commentaries on it, I have read all the Buddhist scriptures and commentaries by later teachers. As a result all my doubts have melted away.
Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 85
Opening of the Buddha Realm in the Act of Chanting the Daimoku
Two Buddhas, p145Nichiren understood the emergence of the jeweled stūpa as the opening of the buddha realm in the act of chanting the daimoku. One of his followers, a lay monk known as Abutsu-bō, once asked him what the jeweled stūpa signified. Nichiren explained that, in essence, the stūpa’s emergence meant that the śrāvaka disciples, on hearing the Lotus Sūtra, “beheld the jeweled stūpa of their own mind.” The same was true, he said, of his own followers: “In the Final Dharma age, there is no jeweled stūpa apart from the figures of those men and women who uphold the Lotus Sūtra. … The daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra is the jeweled stūpa, and the jeweled stūpa is Namu Myōhō-renge-kyō. … You, Abutsu-bō, are yourself the jeweled stūpa, and the jeweled stūpa is none other than you, Abutsu-bō. … So believing, chant Namu Myōhō-renge-kyō, and wherever you chant will be the place where the jeweled stūpa dwells.”
The Appearance of the Jeweled Stupa
Two Buddhas, p 144Throughout East Asia, the imagery of [The Appearance of the Jeweled Stupa] chapter has inspired painting, sculpture, and exegesis. In Tiantai Buddhism, that imagery became part of a narrative of mythic origins: Zhiyi and his teacher Huisi, it was said, had together heard Śākyamuni Buddha’s original preaching of the Lotus Sūtra in the Vulture Peak assembly and were later born together in China, where they became master and disciple. The Japanese Tendai founder Saichō incorporated this tradition into his account of his Tendai dharma lineage. Shortly after Saichō’s death, when a new state-sponsored ordination platform was erected at the monastery that he had established on Mount Hiei, a representation of the jeweled stūpa of Prabhūtaratna, together with an image of Śākyamuni, was enshrined there. In medieval Japan, the Tendai esoteric “Lotus rite” or Hokke hō, conducted to realize buddhahood, eradicate sin, prolong life, quell disasters, and achieve other aims, employed a mandala depicting the two buddhas Śākyamuni and Prabhūtaratna, seated side by side on a lotus, in its central court.
Making the Stories of the Lotus Sutra Real
One question I get frequently in regard to the Stupa of Treasures and the great bodhisattvas rising out of the ground is, did this really occur or is this some imaginary story? For me as I understand the Lotus Sutra, this is an imaginary or made-up story that we are encouraged to make real. By our own faith and practice we can make this grand drama a reality in our own lives. It isn’t something that someone else can do for any of us. Did this really happen? Not if by that you mean did it happen like we sent a man to the moon, or the Trade Center Towers in New York were demolished by planes flying into them. And yet, for the individual or group of individuals who created these chapters of the Lotus Sutra, I do not think their intent was to communicate actual factual events that could be witnessed with our simple physical eyes and ears and so forth.
I believe the events recounted in this grand drama were real in describing the wonder, the awe, the experiences of enlightenment through realizing the truth contained in the Lotus Sutra – the truth that we are all Buddhas, that we contain infinity, time without measure, that our lives are small examples of the immense cosmos, and that life is beyond measure.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraA Hokekyō Reciter of Mount Yoshino
Priest Giei practised the Way as he travelled through the mountains. When he was once travelling from Kumano to Ōmine heading towards Mount Mitake, he lost his directions. He vainly tried to find the right way to the summit by blowing his conch shell.
Surrounded by the mountains, he found himself in a deep valley. For days, Giei struggled to find his route. He prayed to his Buddha and the Three Treasures to help him reach an inhabited place.
Finally, Giei arrived at a flat forested area. There he saw a new and clean Buddhist house with ornate gables, well-designed lattices, wooden sliding and hanging doors, ceilings, and mats of bamboo. The front yard of white sand presented a most tasteful view with various flowers and fruits in a profusion of green foliage.
Seeing this, Giei rejoiced and slowed his pace. As he approached, he saw a priest about twenty years old sitting correctly in the house and reciting the Hokekyō in a very deep and noble voice which resembled the sounds of a lute.
As Giei watched, a strange thing happened. As soon as the priest finished reciting a copy of a chapter of the sūtra and put it down on his desk, the roll of the copy jumped into the air, rolled back to its front cover, bound itself with a cord and landed on the desk as if had been originally placed. Every copy rolled back thus as soon as the young priest finished until the entire sūtra was recited. The priest prayed for the benefit of others, stood up, and came out of his house.
Seeing Giei, the surprised priest spoke, “No one has ever come here since ancient times. Even the birds of the valleys are rarely heard in this deep mountain. How could I expect anyone to come here? Tell me what happened?”
“While passing through the mountains during my ascetic practices, I lost my way and arrived here,” replied Giei.
After he heard Giei’s explanation, the young priest invited Giei inside the house, had him take a seat, and asked someone in the house if the food had been prepared. Soon a few good-looking boys brought beautifully arranged food trays. Giei saw various extraordinary things there. Finally, Giei asked the priest, “How long have you lived here and how can you manage everything here so easily?”
The priest replied, “I have been living here more than eighty years. Originally, I was a disciple of Priest Kikei of Tōto of Mount Hiei. On account of a small dispute, I was cut off from my master. I foolishly left my temple and wandered about as I liked. When young, I travelled about during my ascetic practices without any place to settle. But, becoming old, I have remained in this mountain and have been waiting here for my last moments.”
Giei felt more puzzled and continued questioning. “You say nobody has come here. But I just saw a few handsome young boys here. Are you telling me a lie?”
“A passage of the sūtra says, ‘Various Heavenly Boys will come and serve.’ Why should there be anything strange about these boys?”
Giei asked further, “Although you say that you are old, you look very young. Is this also a lie?”
“That is not false either. As another passage of the sūtra says, ‘The one who listens to the recitation of the sūtra will be free from illness, aging, and death,’ ” answered the priest.
After a while, the priest urged Giei to leave the house sooner. Giei lamented saying, “For days and nights, I was wandering in the mountain without knowing my directions. I am mentally and physically exhausted and cannot walk a step further. Besides, the sun is setting, and the dark night is approaching. Why are you urging me to leave here?”
The priest explained, “It is not that I dislike you. But this place has not had a human atmosphere for a long time. If you wish to stay for the night, remain silent.”
When it became late at night, a sudden breeze rose, and the atmosphere changed. Many demon deities in various shapes and forms, including those of deer, and those with the heads of cows, horses, and birds, gathered in the front yard. They all brought incense, flowers, fruit, and other foods on trays as their offerings, and stood in line in front of the yard. After they placed their offerings on the high shelf constructed in the yard, they bowed respectfully with their palms together in prayer and retired to their proper positions.
One of them said, “Something is unusual tonight. There is a human atmosphere hereabouts.” Another said, “Who has come here?”
The priest made a vow and recited the Hokekyō continuously through the night. As the dawn was about to break, the priest prayed for the benefit of others. The members of the crowd which had gathered also prayed for each other and dispersed.
The wondering Giei asked the priest, “Where did those strange creatures come from?” The priest replied, “They came here just as a passage of the sūtra says, ‘If one preaches the Law in a quiet place with no human souls, Deva Kings, Dragon Kings, Yaksa, and demon deities will be sent to listen.’ ”
Finally, Giei wished to leave but did not know his directions.
“I will send you to a human habitation with a guide,” said the priest as he took a water jar and placed it on the straw mat. The jar jumped up and slowly advanced in a certain direction. Giei followed the jar and reached the summit in about two hours. As he looked down from the summit, he saw a village at the foot of the mountain. Suddenly, the water jar ascended into the air and flew back to its place.
After reaching the village, Giei tearfully told the villagers about the Hokekyō reciter in the deep mountain. Those who heard his story all rejoiced with tears, and many made vows with firm faith. (Page 40-42)
Miraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Ancient Japan