Category Archives: LS32

800years, Blog, d21b

800 Years: The Eternal Śākyamuni is always available

Sometimes easy is better. That’s certainly true when attempting to judge the faith necessary to practice the Buddhism of the Lotus Sutra. Here’s a very useful translation of a portion of Chapter 16 from Rev. Jodo Kiyose’s Easy Readings of the Lotus Sutra:

“The reason why you are suffering as you are right now is because you have totally failed to reflect upon your half-hearted ways of life filled with worldly desires, without paying any attention to the right religion and the right faith, and not being mindful of making any efforts.

“Those who continue to conduct good deeds for the world, for its people – with the right faith at heart – are released from the binding of self-attachments and neither fool themselves nor others. People of these kinds will understand that I am expounding my teachings here all the time.

“To those who seek the Way of the Buddha in such states of mind, I teach them that the Buddha’s life is eternal. To those who do not seek the faith, I teach them to have faith in him.

“Thus my wisdom works at my own will. Since I have limitless wisdom and have gained an eternal life, I am capable of saving all people. And these incomparable powers can be obtained thanks to my own endeavor practiced day by day without rest.”

The Eternal Śākyamuni is always available to us. As Gene Reeves explains in his Stories of the Lotus Sutra:

“When the Dharma Flower Sutra says that the Buddha is somehow embodied or represented in all directions throughout time and space, it is not claiming that the Buddha is somehow beyond time and history – in fact, it is saying something that is nearly the opposite: namely, that no matter where we go, whether on foot or by spaceship, and no matter when in our lives, whether celebrating our eighteenth birthday or lying on our deathbed, there is no place and no time in which the Buddha is not available to us.

“The father returns home after the children have been shocked into taking the medicine and have recovered. The children are able to see him once again. By taking good medicine, the Dharma, people are able to see the Buddha, even though he died some twenty-five hundred years ago. To incorporate the Dharma into one’s life is to be able to see the Buddha. The Buddha can be found in anybody and anything at all. This is what it means for the Buddha to be universal: he is to be found whenever and wherever we look for him.”

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p206-207

And when our faith needs bolstering, we need only reflect on the Eternal Śākyamuni Buddha of Chapter 16, who knows “who is practicing the Way and who is not.” We are the beneficiaries of his great compassion and commitment as the father of the world:

“I am always thinking:
‘How shall I cause all living beings
To enter into the unsurpassed Way
And quickly become Buddhas?’ ”

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Daily Dharma, d15b

Daily Dharma – Aug. 20, 2022

Medicine-King! This sūtra is the store of the hidden core of all the Buddhas. Do not give it to others carelessly! It is protected by the Buddhas, by the World-Honored Ones. It has not been expounded explicitly. Many people hate it with jealousy even in my lifetime. Needless to say, more people will do so after my extinction.

The Buddha makes this declaration to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. For us who recognize how the Buddha’s teaching transforms our lives and the world, it can be hard to imagine that anyone would reject it. However, there are beings who are so filled with fear and delusion that they mistake the Buddha’s good medicine for poison. While we are committed to leading all beings to enlightenment, we realize that we are not alone in our efforts. The protective deities and the Buddha himself are always working to benefit all beings. In our current capacities, we may not be able to reach everybody immediately. We should not let this discourage us. The least we can do is hope in our hearts for the happiness of all beings, even if they are not accessible to us.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Innumerable, LS32

Another Innumerable Day Before Day 1

Having last month considered the Dharma approach of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings and how a Bodhisattva practices it, we consider the Dharma approach of Infinite Meanings.

“Seeing that conditioned desires are innumerable, the bodhisattva expounds the teachings in infinite ways. Because there are infinite ways of exposition, there are infinite meanings as well. The infinite meanings stem from a single dharma. That one dharma, namely, is formlessness. Itself not a form and having no forms, itself not an aspect and having no aspects, this formlessness, as such, is called the reality of all things. When the great-being bodhisattva has become serenely composed in this true reality of all things, loving-kindness that is clearly real and unfeigned will arise; in any circumstance in which living beings may be found, he or she will be truly capable of taking their suffering away. After removing their suffering, the bodhisattva again expounds the teachings for them, causing all living beings to know happiness and joy. O you of good intent! If a bodhisattva is able to practice this particular Dharma approach of Infinite Meanings in this way, he or she will surely realize—and quickly achieve—the full dynamic of ultimate enlightenment.

“O you of good intent! This is the deeply profound, incomparable, all-ferrying Infinite Meanings Sutra! Its content and principles are true and correct, and its value is supreme and unsurpassed! It is embraced by the buddhas of the past, present, and future together! It is impervious to the influence of disruptive forces and the influence of differing views, and is neither corrupted nor destroyed by any deluded perception or the cycle of births and deaths! Therefore, you of good intent, if a great-being bodhisattva wishes to achieve ultimate enlightenment quickly, he or she must achieve mastery in the practice of this deeply profound, supreme, all-ferrying Infinite Meanings Sutra!”

Underscore The infinite meanings stem from a single dharma.

LS32, Universal Sage

Between Day 32 and Day 1: Keeping the Buddhas in Mind

Having last month considered the first stage of contemplating the bodhisattva Universal Sage, we consider keeping the buddhas of the ten directions in mind.

Universal Sage Bodhisattva will teach the practitioner to keep the buddhas of the ten directions in mind. Having proper disposition in mind and heart following Universal Sage Bodhisattva’s instruction, with his or her mind’s eye the practitioner will gradually perceive in the eastern direction a buddha whose body is golden-colored and majestic beyond expression. After discerning one buddha, the practitioner will then discern another. In this manner he or she will gradually perceive all of the buddhas everywhere in the eastern direction; and because of the clarity of this state of mind, he or she will perceive all of the buddhas everywhere in all of the ten directions. After perceiving the buddhas, joy will arise in the practitioner’s heart and mind, and he or she should say:

“By means of the Great Vehicle, I have been able to see a great being; and through that great being’s power, I have been able to perceive buddhas. Although I have perceived the buddhas, my perception of them is still incomplete – I discern them when my eyes are closed, but when I open my eyes I lose sight of them.”

Having said this, the practitioner should cast his or her whole body upon the ground and universally pay homage to the buddhas everywhere. After paying homage to the buddhas, the practitioner must kneel formally on one knee, place palms together, and say:

“The buddhas, the World-honored Ones, possess the ten capabilities, dauntlessness, the eighteen unique merits, great mercy, great compassion, and three kinds of constancy of mind. They are always present in the world, and among forms and embodiments theirs is supreme. What impurities do I have that prevent me from seeing them?”

After saying these words, the practitioner should undertake further self-amendment.

See Polishing Our Buddha Nature

b4today, LS32, Universal Sage

Polishing Our Buddha Nature

The words “east” and “eastward” have often appeared in preceding chapters of this book. East is the direction where the sun rises, thus implies the beginning of everything. On the other hand, west is the direction where the sun sets, and so implies the end of everything. The latter idea is associated with the belief within Buddhism that anyone who invokes the name of Amita Buddha with a sincere heart can achieve rebirth in the Pure Land in the west. In this chapter, the phrase “see the eastward buddhas” suggests the time when a person has just begun to practice a true faith.

The expression, “Having seen one buddha, he will again see another buddha,” means that though the truth is one, the believer will be able to see many manifestations of the truth in succession if he realizes one truth. If a person can see all the buddhas everywhere in the eastern quarter, he will become able to reflect on himself much more profitably and will thus become able to see all the buddhas in all directions. Attaining this state of mind, his spiritual joy will deepen. The Buddha teaches us in the next sentence, however, that even though the believer can reach such a mental stage, he should not be satisfied with it but should further repent his sins. Through this we understand that the practice of true repentance must not be limited only to the confession of our sins. Repentance is not limited to washing our buddha-nature but includes polishing it.

Buddhism for Today, p433
LS32

Day 32

Day 32 covers Chapter 28, The Encouragement of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, closing the Eighth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 32 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered Universal-Sage’s vow and the Buddha’s response, we consider the prediction for those who keep, read and recite the Sūtra.

“Universal-Sage! If you see anyone who keeps, reads and recites the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in the later five hundred years after my extinction, you should think, ‘Before long be will go to the place of enlightenment, defeat Mara and his followers, attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, turn the wheel of the Dharma, beat the drum of the Dharma, blow the conch-shell horn of the Dharma, send the rain of the Dharma, and sit on the lion-like seat of the Dharma in the midst of the great multitude of gods and men.’

“Universal-Sage! Anyone who keeps, reads and recites this sūtra [in the later five hundred years] after [my extinction], will not be attached to clothing, bedding, food or drink, or any other thing for living. What he wishes will not remain unfulfilled. He will be able to obtain the rewards of his merits in his present life. Those who abuse him, saying, ‘You are perverted. You are doing this for nothing,’ will be reborn blind in their successive lives in retribution for their sin. Those who make offerings to rum and praise him, will be able to obtain rewards in their present life. Those who, upon seeing the keeper of this sūtra, blame him justly or unjustly, will suffer from white leprosy in their present life. Those who laugh at him will have few teeth, ugly lips, flat noses, contorted limbs, squint eyes, and foul and filthy bodies, and suffer from bloody pus of scabs, abdominal dropsy, tuberculosis, and other serious diseases in their successive lives.

The Daily Dharma from Oct. 30, 2021, offers this:

Universal-Sage! If you see anyone who keeps, reads and recites the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in the later five hundred years after my extinction, you should think, ‘Before long he will go to the place of enlightenment, defeat Māra and his followers, attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, turn the wheel of the Dharma, beat the drum of the Dharma, blow the conch-shell horn of the Dharma, send the rain of the Dharma, and sit on the lion-like seat of the Dharma in the midst of the great multitude of gods and men.’

The Buddha gives this instruction to Universal-Sage Bodhisattva (Fugen, Samantabhadra) in Chapter Twenty-Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. Nichiren explained that the later five hundred years mentioned in this passage is the time in which we are living today. The Buddha is therefore talking about all of us who practice the Wonderful Dharma. When we can grow our capacity to respect each other as we respect the Buddha, it inspires the respect at the core of all beings, and transforms this world.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

LS32

Day 31

Day 31 covers Chapter 27, King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva.

Day 31 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the mother’s instruction to her two sons, we consider the wonders displayed by the two sons and the effect those wonders had on their father.

“Thereupon the two sons went up to the sky seven times as high as the tala-tree, and displayed various wonders because they were thinking of their father. They walked, stood, sat, and reclined in the sky. Then they issued water from the upper parts of their bodies, and fire from the lower parts. Then they issued water from the lower parts of their bodies, and fire from the upper parts. Then they became giants large enough to fill the sky, became dwarfs, and became giant again. Then they disappeared from the sky and suddenly appeared on the earth. Then they dived into the earth just as into water, and stepped on the surface of water just as on the earth. [Then they went up to the sky and stayed there.] By displaying these various wonders, they purified the mind of their father, that is, of the king, and caused him to understand the Dharma by faith.

“Seeing [these wonders displayed by] the supernatural powers of his sons, the father had the greatest joy that he had ever had. He joined his hands together towards his sons [staying in the sky], and said, ‘Who is your teacher? Whose disciples are you?’

“The two sons said, ‘Great King! Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha, who is now sitting on the seat of the Dharma under the Bodhi-tree of the seven treasures, is expounding the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to all the gods and men of the world. He is our teacher. We are his disciples.

“The father said to them, ‘I also wish to see your teacher. I will go with you.’

The Daily Dharma for March 23, 2021, offers this:

Seeing [these wonders displayed by] the supernatural powers of his sons, the father had the greatest joy that he had ever had. He joined his hands together towards his sons [staying in the sky], and said, ‘Who is your teacher? Whose disciples are you?’

King Wonderful-Adornment makes this declaration to his sons in Chapter Twenty-Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. His sons had been asked by their mother to display their supernatural powers to their father and awaken the desire in him to hear the Buddha Dharma. We all have abilities of which we are not aware, and can cultivate those abilities so that they may seem miraculous to those who do not understand them. But it is important for us not to fall in the trap of using these abilities to strengthen our ego delusion. Instead we should dedicate our talents towards awakening the joy of the Wonderful Dharma in all beings.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

LS32

Day 30

Day 30 covers all of Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs

Day 30 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the dhāraṇīs by World-Holding Heavenly-King, we meet the 10 rākṣasas daughters and the Mother-Of-Devils.

There are rākṣasas called 1. Lambā, 2. Vilambā, 3. Crooked-Teeth, 4. Flower-Teeth, 5. Black-Teeth, 6. Many-Hairs, 7. Insatiable, 8. Necklace-Holding, 9. Kuntī, and 10. Plunderer-Of-Energy-Of-All-Beings. These ten rākṣasas [and their attendants] came to the Buddha, together with Mother-Of-Devils and her children and attendants. They said to the Buddha simultaneously:

“World-Honored One! We also will protect the person who reads, recites and keeps the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma so that he may have no trouble. No one shall take advantage of the weak points of this teacher of the Dharma.”

Then they uttered spells before the Buddha:

“Ideibi (1), ideibin (2), ideibi (3), adeibi ( 4), ideibi (5), deibi (6), deibi (7), deibi (8), deibi (9), deibi (10), rokei (11), rokei (12), rokei (13), rokei (14), takei (15), takei (16), takei (17), tokei (18), tokei (19).”

The Daily Dharma from Jan. 9, 2022, offers this:

These ten rākṣasīs [and their attendants] came to the Buddha, together with Mother-Of-Devils and her children and attendants. They said to the Buddha simultaneously: “World-Honored One! We also will protect the person who reads, recites and keeps the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma so that he may have no trouble. No one shall take advantage of the weak points of this teacher of the Dharma.”

These fierce demons make this promise to the Buddha in Chapter Twenty-Six of the Lotus Sūtra. Mother-of-Devils, also known as Kishimojin, was once a demon who stole and ate human children, until the Buddha reminded her that humans loved their children in the same way she loved her own. The Buddha does not judge or condemn any being. Instead he uses his insight to transform our understanding to see the harm we create in the world through satisfying our selfish desires. When we work for the benefit of all beings, we find all beings working for our benefit also.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Blog, Kern, d1b

Where is Upali?

This is another in a series of weekly blog posts comparing and contrasting the Sanskrit and Chinese Lotus Sutra translations.

Continuing last week’s discussion of the arhats present at the opening of the Lotus Sutra, I want to explore a puzzle that was mentioned to me by Rev. Ryuei Michael McCormick some time ago.

Where is Upali?

Śākyamuni had ten major disciples, each with specific strengths. Rev. Ryuei McCormick lists these in his “Lotus World“:

  • Shariputra, foremost in wisdom
  • Mahakashyapa, foremost in ascetic practices
  • Ananda, foremost in hearing the sutras
  • Subhuti, foremost in understanding emptiness
  • Purna, foremost in expounding the Dharma
  • Maudgalyayana, foremost in supernatural powers
  • Katyayana, foremost in explaining the Dharma
  • Aniruddha, foremost in clairvoyance (the divine eye)
  • Upali, foremost in observing the precepts
  • Rahula, foremost in inconspicuous practice

The exact arrangement varies by source. Revata Khadiravaniya replaces Subhuti in the Etadaggavagga (Aṅguttara-Nikāya), according to Source Elements of the Lotus Sutra. But Upali, who was foremost in observing the precepts, is always listed among the 10 major disciples.

Upali is not present among the arhats at the beginning of the Lotus Sutra in either H. Kern’s 11th century Nepalese Sanskrit Lotus Sutra or Kumārajīva’s 5th century Chinese translation. As a consequence, Upali is the only one of ten major disciples who does not receive a specific prediction of future buddhahood from Śākyamuni.

Rev. Ryuei Michael McCormick wondered aloud about this once to me and I offered that perhaps it had to do with Upali’s focus on the precepts. My theory: The writers of the Lotus Sutra didn’t have a high regard for precept mongers, and Upali was foremost among them.

In Kern’s translation my theory gets a boost with the addition of Upananda to the list of arhats present at the opening of the Lotus Sutra.

From the Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism:

Upananda: Sanskrit and Pāli proper name of a monk disciple of the Buddha, who was regularly chastised for his greed. There are numerous stories in the vinaya of his attempts to procure the best and most of all offerings made to monks, and especially of robes and food. The Buddha typically rebukes Upananda for his misconduct, and then goes on to promulgate a new rule of conduct in order to deter monks from committing such transgressions in the future.

So, not only is Upali missing from the Lotus Sutra, but the monk whose bad behavior caused the Buddha to craft many of the precepts is included.

In the Lotus Sutra, 22 individuals are given personal predictions of their future Buddhahood:

  1. Shariputra, Chapter 3
  2. Mahakashyapa, Chapter 6
  3. Ananda, Chapter 9
  4. Subhuti, Chapter 6
  5. Purna, Chapter 8
  6. Maudgalyayana, Chapter 6
  7. Katyayana, Chapter 6
  8. Aniruddha, Chapter 8
  9. Rahula, Chapter 9
  10. Uruvilvā-Kāśyapa, Chapter 8
  11. Gaya­Kāśyapa, Chapter 8
  12. Nadī-Kāśyapa, Chapter 8
  13. Kālodāyin, Chapter 8
  14. Udāyin, Chapter 8
  15. Aniruddha, Chapter 8
  16. Revata, Chapter 8
  17. Kapphina, Chapter 8
  18. Bakkula, Chapter 8
  19. Cunda, Chapter 8
  20. Svāgata, Chapter 8
  21. Maha-Prajapati, Chapter 13
  22. Yaśodharā, Chapter 13

One can assume Upali is included when the Buddha says in Chapter 8:

“All the other Śrāvakas also will [become Buddhas].
Tell this to the Śrāvakas
Who are not present here!”

But he is clearly excluded from the Lotus Sutra. This absence is underscored by the fact that Upali and Upananda are both listed as present to hear the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings, which is considered to have been the preface to the Lotus Sutra.

Next: Ānanda’s status.

Daily Dharma, d2b

Daily Dharma – Aug. 15, 2022

Good men! I think that the Buddha, the World-Honored One, wishes to expound a great teaching, to send the rain of a great teaching, to blow the conch-shell horn of a great teaching, to beat the drum of a great teaching, and to explain the meaning of a great teaching.

Mañjuśrī declares this to Maitreya and all others gathered to hear the Buddha teach in Chapter One of the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddha had just produced the light from between his eyebrows illuminating the worlds of the ten directions, a sight none but Mañjuśrī had experienced. The great teaching the Buddha was about to expound is the Lotus Sutra. This statement awakens our interest and shows us how to listen to this teaching, as if it were a great cooling rain or the loud call of a conch-shell or drum.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com