Two Buddhas, p164-165In Nichiren’s time, those who devoted themselves to reciting or copying the Lotus Sūtra as their primary practice were known as jikyōsha, “one who holds the sūtra.” Nichiren instead used the term gyōja (literally, “one who practices”; translated in this volume as “practitioner” or “votary”). Gyōja was often used to mean an adept or ascetic, denoting those who performed harsh austerities, such as going without sleep, fasting, and practicing in isolation in the mountains, with the aim of acquiring spiritual powers. Though Nichiren did not endorse ascetic practice for its own sake, his use of the word gyōja, like that of “bodily reading,” suggests both that he was “living” the Lotus Sūtra, personally encountering the hardships it predicts, and also that he had committed his life to its propagation. The term reflects his self-understanding as one entrusted with the task of spreading the Lotus in the Final Dharma age. He wrote, “None of the jikyōsha of Japan have encountered the trials predicted in these passages. I alone have read them. This is what is meant by the statement [in the “Perseverance” chapter], ‘We will not be attached to our bodies or lives. We only desire the highest path.’ This being the case, I am the foremost votary of the Lotus Sūtra in Japan.”
Category Archives: d18b
Peaceful vs. Hostile Practices
By doing the peaceful practices we will create the kind of peaceful lives that further reflects and enhances our practice. It is sort of like an endless feedback loop that keeps replenishing and enhancing.
I imagine that some will say, yes, but Nichiren was pretty harsh with some of the people of his time, and shouldn’t we too carry out that same strict rhetoric as we engage with people who don’t believe in the Lotus Sutra? To this I say these are two different situations. For one thing, there are few of us today whose lives are threatened and for whom death is a constant possibility because of our practice. We live in a time when there are few actual obstacles to practicing our faith either privately or in society. It isn’t that this can’t happen, it is that it isn’t currently happening. In such a situation, even Nichiren stated that we should only use a much more strident approach when absolutely necessary.
When there is no obstacle to practice it is entirely possible to create a false obstacle by our behavior of obstinacy and belligerence. The kinds of obstacles created in those situations are false. I can be a jerk and have people around me treat me poorly, but I can’t claim it is because of my practice when I am not actually following the peaceful practices in a peaceful environment. In an environment that is not hostile we should practice in a non-hostile way. If the reverse becomes true then other measure might be called for.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraWhen We Have the Lotus Sutra Truly at the Core of our Lives
When we can be at ease with many others regardless of their belief and practice, when we can respect others even if they do not choose to follow the Lotus Sutra, we create the kind of life that others want to be around. By their association with us they will in turn be praising the Buddha within us that is a result of our practice of the sutra. Because of this praise they offer the Lotus Sutra, even if indirectly, they create a great cause of eventually practicing the Lotus Sutra themselves in some future lifetime. When we have the Lotus Sutra truly at the core of our lives we live the kind of life that others wish to know about and be around. Our positive influence on those lives causes other great benefit.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraCompassion Without Criticism
For the third peaceful practice the Buddha cautions us to not harbor ill thoughts nor point out the faults of others just because they practice some other way; we should embrace them with compassion. In this practice the key is what is in our minds really is reflected in our environment, and our speech reflects and mirrors this as well. While it may be possible to use flattery, to do so is not necessarily Buddhist practice. To enter into the realm of comparisons and finding fault is a quick entry into the realm of animals, if our heart is not pure and doesn’t remain so. It is easy to criticize but it is difficult to do so and be a noble guide to the truth. You only need to think of the boss or parent who is never satisfied as if they are the only ones capable of doing some thing correctly.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraThings We Say
The second peaceful practice concerns the things we say. The list is a reminder of how we should speak, avoiding such things as being overly critical of others and other sutras. It is a fine line between pointing out differences in belief and practice and drifting to arrogance and disdain. We might be tempted to adopt the harsh language of Nichiren without fully manifesting the heart of Nichiren. The words are cheap and easy to use, the compassion and caring is difficult to manifest. There is also a time and place for things and this age we live in calls for great wisdom in discerning which approach is the most beneficial to the listener first and foremost and not to our own egotistical needs at proving superiority. As the Buddha says, the teacher should not have hostile feelings, nor dislike them but should have peace of mind. We should always have the wish to attain enlightenment for ourselves and cause others to do the same.
Lecture on the Lotus SutraRejoicing At Being Struck
On Sept. 12, 1271, the military government at Kamakura arrested Nichiren arbitrarily and took him to the place of execution, called Tatsu-no-kuchi (“the dragon’s mouth”). When one of his assailants found scrolls of the Lotus Sutra in Nichiren’s pocket, he hit Nichiren on the face with one of them. Nichiren realized that this scroll was the one containing [Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra.] At first he felt humiliated at being struck in the face, but when he realized which scroll it was, he rejoiced instead. By coincidence, he was being beaten by the same scroll which predicted such a fate for one who propagates the Sutra.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraThe Future After the Buddha’s Extinction
The Lotus Sutra has teachings that prophesy the future after the Buddha’s extinction. These teachings are unique to this Sutra, and are not found in other sutras to such an extent. The prophecy [in Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra,] tells us that the world after the extinction of the Buddha will be an evil place–an Age of Degeneration–in which expounders of the Lotus Sutra can expect to suffer troubles and even persecution. That they must overcome these troubles and expound the Lotus Sutra to make this Saha-world into the Pure Land of the Buddha, is not just a prophecy. It is a major teaching. The … verses recited by the never-faltering bodhisattvas represent this teaching. It is called the “Twenty Verses of Chapter Thirteen.”
These twenty verses had much influence on Nichiren. He mentions them in his treatise, Kaimokusho (“Opening the Eyes”). “If I had not been born in this country,” he says, “the twenty verses in Chapter Thirteen would not have been proven, the World-Honored One would have seemed to be a great liar, and the eighty billion nayuta of bodhisattvas would have fallen into the sin of lying, too. Just as the Lotus Sutra foretold, I was often driven out (into exile). The word ‘often’ in the Sutra came true. This word was not experienced by either Tendai (Great Master Chih-i of China) or Dengyo (Great Master Saicho of Japan), not to speak of lesser people. I, Nichiren, alone read them from experience. For I perfectly fit the Buddha’s description of the person spreading the Lotus Sutra ‘in the dreadful and evil world’ at the beginning of the Latter Age.”
That is to say, Nichiren was the only person who read, experienced, and dedicated his life to the real meanings of the verses of Chapter Thirteen.
Introduction to the Lotus SutraPeaceful Practices of the Mind
[Peaceful Practices] means maintaining the right mental attitude while expounding the Dharma. There are four points.
- A Bodhisattva must not be jealous of others, or flatter them, or deceive them.
- He or she should not despise anyone who studies the Way to Buddhahood by any other method, speak ill of them, or point out their faults.
- He or she should not disturb or perplex those who seek any of the Three Vehicles (“hearers,” self-enlightened Buddhas, or practicers of the Way Of the Bodhisattvas), and never tell them, “You are far from enlightenment. You cannot attain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things because you are licentious and lazy in seeking enlightenment. “
- A Bodhisattva should not get involved in meaningless quarrels with the followers of other schools of thought (p. 218). Instead of getting bogged down in stupid arguments, a Bodhisattva should have great compassion toward all living beings. He should look upon all the Buddhas as his loving parents, and upon all the Bodhisattvas as his great teachers. He or she should expound the Dharma to all living beings without showing any partiality (p. 218-219).
Peaceful Practices of the Mouth
Bodhisattvas are to choose words carefully and make no mistakes in expounding the Dharma. There are four points:
- A Bodhisattva should not point out the faults of other sutras or their adherents.
- He or she should not despise other preachers of the Dharma.
- He or she should not speak of either the merits or the demerits of other preachers, and should not mention “hearers” by name when criticizing their teachings or even when prais ing them.
- He or she should not feel hostile toward anybody, and should freely answer any questions put to him. When asked difficult questions, the Bodhisattva should not answer by the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle, but always refer to the Great Vehicle, and so lead people to the “knowledge of the equality and differences of all things” (p. 216).
Kamon
The studies conducted over so many centuries made possible a deeper understanding of the Lotus Sutra, and methodological standards for its interpretation were established. One example is called Kamon. It is a classification of the twenty-eight chapters into several sets for a systematic explanation of their meaning.
The major Kamon is the “Three Parts of Each of the Two Divisions of the Lotus Sutra” which was established by Great Master Chih-i. Most commentators since his time have accepted his guidelines. …
[T]he “Three Parts of Each of the Two Divisions of the Lotus Sutra” refers to the division of the Sutra into two main sections: the first half, consisting of Chapters One through Fourteen, and the second half, consisting of Chapters Fifteen through Twenty-eight. Kamon gives a detailed explanation of the reason for this division. The first half is named Shakumon, literally “imprinted gate.” Its main purpose is to teach how “hearers” and Pratyekabuddhas can attain Buddhahood in the One Vehicle. The second half is called Hommon, which means “Primal Gate” or “Primal Mystery.” This part reveals Sakyamuni to be the infinite, absolute Buddha, the Buddha who attained enlightenment in the remotest past but still leads living beings in the present. These two points are considered the fundamental ideas of the Lotus Sutra.
Introduction to the Lotus Sutra