Category Archives: LS32

LS32

Day 26

Day 26 concludes Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, includes Chapter 22, Transmission, and introduces Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Day 26 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the first half of Chapter 22, Transmission, we conclude Chapter 22, Transmission.

Having heard these words of the Buddha, the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas were filled with great joy. With more respect than ever, they bent forward, bowed, joined their hands together towards him, and said simultaneously. “We will do as you command. Certainly, World-Honored One! Do not worry!”

The Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas said simultaneously twice more, “We will do as you command. Certainly, World-Honored One! Do not worry!”

Thereupon Śākyamuni Buddha, wishing to send back to their home worlds [Many-Treasures Buddha and] the Buddhas of his replicas, who had come from the worlds of the ten quarters, said, “May the Buddhas be where they wish to be! May the stupa of Many-Treasures Buddha be where it was!”

Having heard these words of the Buddha, not only the innumerable Buddhas of his replicas, who had come from the worlds of the ten quarters and were sitting on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees, Many-Treasures Buddha, and the great multitude of the innumerable, asaṃkhya Bodhisattvas, including Superior-Practice, but also the four kinds of devotees including Śāriputra and other Śrāvakas, and the gods, men and asuras of the world, had great joy.

See The Specific Transmission and the General Transmission

Daily Dharma, d20b

Daily Dharma – Aug. 11, 2022

Truly, truly good men! I am peaceful. I am in good health. The living beings are ready to be saved. They do not fatigue me because I already taught them in their consecutive previous existences, and also because they have already honored the past Buddhas respectfully and planted the roots of good.

The Buddha makes this proclamation to the leaders of the Bodhisattvas from Underground in Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sūtra. These Bodhisattvas appeared when the Buddha asked who would teach the Lotus Sūtra after the Buddha’s death, and asked about the Buddha’s health and whether those he was teaching could keep what he provided for them. The Buddha assures us not only of the certainty of our future enlightenment, but that for us to receive his teaching, there was an earlier time, which we may have forgotten, when we met him. This awareness of our future and our past helps us to see our place in the world and maintain our determination to benefit all beings.

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

LS32

Day 25

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Day 25 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the supernatural powers displayed by the Buddha and his replicas, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

At that time the gods in the skies [of the worlds of the ten quarters] said loudly:

“There is a world called Sahā beyond a distance of many hundreds of thousands of billions of asaṃkhyas of worlds. In that world lives a Buddha called Śākyamuni. He is now expounding to Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas a sūtra of the Great Vehicle, called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’ Rejoice from the bottom of your hearts! Bow and make offerings to Śākyamuni Buddha!”

Having heard their voice from the skies, the living beings of those worlds joined their hands together towards the Sahā World, and said, “Namah Sakyamunaye Buddhaya, namah Sakyamunaye Buddhaya.” Then they strewed various flowers, various kinds of incense, various necklaces, streamers, canopies, personal ornaments, treasures, and other wonderful things to the Sahā-World from afar.

The strewn things came from the worlds of the ten quarters like gathering clouds and changed into a jeweled awning over the Sahā-World. The awning extended over the Buddhas staying in this world. At that time the worlds of the ten quarters became passable through each other without hindrance as if they had been a single Buddha-world.

See Sharing in the Tathagata’s Limitless Lifespan and Great Spiritual Power

LS32

Day 24

Day 24 concludes Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma, and closes the Sixth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 24 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the twelve hundred merit of the tongue, we consider in gāthās the twelve hundred merit of the tongue.

Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:

Their tongues will be purified.
Their tongues will not receive anything bad.
Anything they at will become
As delicious as nectar.

When they expound the Dharma to the great multitude
And lead them
By telling them the stories of previous lives, parables, and similes
With their deep, pure and wonderful voices,
The hearers will rejoice
And make excellent offerings to them.

All gods, dragons,
Yakṣas and asuras
Will come together
And hear the Dharma respectfully.

Anyone who expounds the Dharma, if he wishes,
Will be able to cause the living beings
Of the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds
To hear his wonderful voice.

The wheel-turning-kings of great and small [countries],
Who have each one thousand children,
Will come with their children and attendants,
And join their hands together respectfully to hear the Dharma.

Gods, dragons, yakṣas,
Raksasas and pisacakas
Also will come joyfully,
And make offerings to him.

The Brahman-Heavenly-King,
King Mara, Freedom [God],
Great-Freedom [God],
And the other gods also will come to him.

The Buddhas and their disciples who hear
The voice of the expounder of the Dharma,
Will think of him, protect him,
And sometimes appear before him.

The Daily Dharma from July 4, 2022, offers this:

Their tongues will be purified.
Their tongues will not receive anything bad.
Anything they eat will become
As delicious as nectar.

The Buddha sings these verses to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. With food and drink it is easy to see how different people will find the same food either delicious or disgusting. Our experience and beliefs shape what we are comfortable putting into our bodies, and whether we do so for the sake of our health or the pleasure that comes from experiencing their flavor. But when we find that something with good flavor is bad for our health, or vice versa, we can change our tastes. This is another example of how the Lotus Sūtra teaches us how to live in the world. We learn to embrace situations we once found frightening or intolerable. We increase our capacity with our focus on benefiting others. As a wise teacher once said, we learn to enjoy problems the way we enjoy ice cream.

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

LS32

Day 23

Day 23 covers all of Chapter 18, The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra, and opens Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma.

Day 23 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the merits of the 50th person who rejoices at hearing this sutra, we compare the merits of the great almsgiver with the 50th person who rejoices.

“Suppose the Jambudvipa was filled with wonderful treasures such as gold, silver, lapis lazuli, shell, agate, coral and amber; elephant-carts and horse-carts; and palaces and stately buildings made of the even treasures. Suppose a man who was seeking merits gave all those pleasing things [filling the Jambudvipa] to the living beings of four hundred billion asaṃkhya worlds according to their wishes. A world consists of the six regions. The living beings [of the six regions] are of one or another of the four kinds of births: oviparous, viviparous, from moisture, or without any medium. Some of them have form while others do not. Some have desire while others do not. Some have no feet while other have two feet or four or more. Having continued giving those alms to them for eighty years, this great almsgiver thought, ‘I gave those pleasing things to them according to their wishes. Now they are old and decrepit. They are more than eighty years old. Their hair is grey; and their face , wrinkled. They will die before long. I will lead them by the Dharma of the Buddha.’

“Then he collected them. He propagated the Dharma to them, led them by the Dharma, showed them the Dharma, taught them, benefited them, and caused them to rejoice. He caused them to attain in a moment the enlightenment of the Srota-āpanna, of the Sakrdāgāmin, of the Anāgāmin or of the Arhat, eliminate all āsravas, practice deep dhyāna-concentration without hindrance, and obtain the eight emancipations. What do you think of this? Do you think that the merits obtained by this great alms giver were many or not?”

Maitreya said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! I think that his merits were many, immeasurable and limitless. His merits were already immeasurable when he gave all those pleasing things to them. Needless to say, so were his merits when he caused them to attain Arhatship.”

The Buddha said to Maitreya:

“Now I will tell you clearly. The merits of the person who gave all those pleasing things to the living beings of the six regions of four hundred billion asaṃkhya worlds, and caused them to attain Arhatship are less than the merit of the fiftieth person who rejoices at hearing even a gāthā of this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. The merits of the former person are less than a hundredth or a thousandth of the merits of the latter person, or less than the merits of the latter person divided by a hundred thousand billion. [The superiority of the merits of the latter person to those of the former person] cannot be explained by any calculation, parable or simile.

“Ajita! The merits of the fiftieth person who rejoices at hearing this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma are immeasurable, limitless, asaṃkhya. Needless to say, so are the merits of the first person who rejoices at hearing [this sūtra] in the congregation. His merits are immeasurable, limitless, asaṃkhya and incomparable.

The Daily Dharma from April 12, 2022, offers this:

Now I will tell you clearly. The merits of the person who gave all those pleasing things to the living beings of the six regions of four hundred billion asaṃkhya worlds, and caused them to attain Arhatship are less than the merits of the fiftieth person who rejoices at hearing even a gāthā of this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Maitreya (whom he calls Ajita – Invincible) in Chapter Eighteen of the Lotus Sūtra. He compares the benefit created by someone who teaches innumerable beings and makes exorbitant offerings through following the pre-Lotus sūtras to the benefits of finding joy in the Buddha’s Highest teaching. This joy is not the same as just getting what we want, or being relieved from what we do not want. It is the joy of seeing the world for what it is, and our place in it as Bodhisattvas who exist for the benefit of all beings.

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

Blog, Kern, d1b

The Arhats Present at the Beginning

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

H. Kern and Senchu Murano – and by extension the 11th century Nepalese Sanskrit Lotus Sutra and Kumārajīva’s fifth century Chinese Lotus Sutra – agree on the first arhat in the list of those present at the start of the Lotus Sutra – Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya. (See this table.) Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya was one of the five ascetics who heard the first sermon by the newly enlightened Śākyamuni. Unlike Murano, Kern’s list of arhats has all five ascetics at the top.

From the Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism:

Pañcavargika: In Sanskrit, the “group of five”; the five ascetics who practiced austerities with the bodhisattva prior to his enlightenment and to whom the Buddha preached his first sermon after his enlightenment, thus becoming the Buddha’s first disciples. They are Ājñātakauṇḍinya (or Kauṇḍinya), Aśvajit, Vāṣpa, Mahānāman, and Bhadrika. According to the Pāli account … , [Ājñātakauṇḍinya] had been present as one of the eight brāhmaṇas who attended the infant’s naming ceremony, during which the prophesy was made that the prince would one day become either a wheel-turning monarch … or a buddha. The other four ascetics were sons of four of the other brāhmaṇas in attendance at the naming ceremony. When the prince gave up his practice of austerities and accepted a meal, the five ascetics abandoned him in disgust. After his enlightenment, the Buddha surveyed the world with his divine eye … and surmised that, of all people then alive, these five ascetics were most likely to understand the profundity of his message. When he first approached them, they refused to recognize him, but the power of his charisma was such that they felt compelled to show him the honor due a teacher. He preached to them two important discourses, the Dhammacakkappavaitanasutta [The Setting in Motion of the Wheel of the Dharma Sutta], in which he explained the Four Noble Truths … , and the Anattalakkhaṇasutta … , in which he explained the doctrine of nonself… . Upon hearing and comprehending the first sermon, the five ascetics attained the dhammacakku … or the “dhamma eye,” an attainment equated in the Pali canon with that of the stream-enterer … . The five then requested to be accepted as the Buddha’s disciples and were ordained as the first Buddhist monks. … Upon hearing the second sermon, the five were completely freed of the contaminants … , becoming thereby arahants (arhat) freed from the prospect of any further rebirth. With this experience, there were then six arahants in the world, including the Buddha.

Another addition by Kern that’s not present in Murano or other English translations based on Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation is the venerable Bharadvaja. The name means “One Who Carries a Banner” or “Son of the One Who Carries a Banner.” He is counted among the “sixteen arhats,” or ṣoḍaśasthavira.

From the Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism:

In Sanskrit, “the sixteen elders” (most commonly known in the East Asian tradition as the “sixteen arhats”); a group of sixteen venerated arhat … disciples of the Buddha whom the Buddha orders to forgo nirvāṇa and to continue to dwell in this world in order to preserve the Buddhist teachings until the coming of the future buddha, Maitreya. Each of these arhats is assigned an (often mythical) residence and a retinue of disciples. With Maitreya’s advent, they will gather the relics of the current buddha Śākyamuni and erect one last stūpa to hold them, after which they will finally pass into parinirvāṇa. …

The standard roster of arhats now recognized in the East Asian tradition, in their typical order, are

  1. Piṇḍola Bhāradvāja;
  2. Kanakavatsa;
  3. Kanaka Bhāradvāja;
  4. Subinda [Alt. Suvinda];
  5. Bakkula [Alt. Bākula, Nakulal];
  6. Bhadra;
  7. Kālika [Alt. Karīkal;
  8. Vajraputra;
  9. Jīvaka;
  10. Panthaka;
  11. Rāhula,
  12. Nāgasena;
  13. Aṅgaja;
  14. Vanavāsin;
  15. Ajita;
  16. Cūḍapanthaka.

Next: Where is Upali?

LS32

Day 22

Day 22 covers all of Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits.

Day 22 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month repeated in gāthās the merits of those who copy, read, recite, keep or expounds the sutra, we conclude Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits.

Anyone who respects the stupa-mausoleum,
Who is modest before bhikṣus,
Who gives up self-conceit,
Who always thinks of wisdom,
Who does not get angry when asked questions,
And who expounds the Dharma
According to the capacities of the questioners,
Will be able to obtain innumerable merits.

When you see any teacher of the Dharma
Who has obtained these merits,
You should strew heavenly flowers to him,
Dress him in a heavenly garment,
Worship his feet with your head,
And think that he will become a Buddha.

You should think
“He will go to the place of enlightenment before long.
He will be free from āsravas and free from causality.
He will benefit all gods and men.”

Erect a stupa in the place
Where he expounded even a gāthā of this sūtra
While he was standing,
Walking, sitting or reclining!
Adorn the stupa beautifully,
And make various offerings to it!

He is my son.
I will accept his place as mine.
I will be there.
I will walk, sit or recline there.

The Daily Dharma from Nov. 1, 2021, offers this:

Anyone who respects the stūpa-mausoleum,
Who is modest before bhikṣus,
Who gives up self-conceit,
Who always thinks of wisdom,
Who does not get angry when asked questions,
And who expounds the Dharma
According to the capacities of the questioners,
Will be able to obtain innumerable merits.

The Buddha sings these verses to Maitreya Bodhisattva in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. The merits of which he speaks are not an indication that we are better than other beings, that we deserve more respect than others, or that we are closer to enlightenment. Merits are a measure of clarity. When we lose attachment and delusion, we gain merit. When we see things for what they are, we gain the wisdom to truly benefit others.

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

800years, Blog, d21b

800 Years: Believing the Buddha’s true words

In Senchu Murano’s translation of the Lotus Sutra, Chapter 16 begins:

“Thereupon the Buddha said to the great multitude including Bodhisattvas and others, ‘Good men! Understand my sincere and infallible words by faith!’ ”

In considering the meaning of “Understand my sincere and infallible words by faith,” it is useful to see how other translators have rendered the Buddha’s words.

Hendrik Kern, working from an 11th century Sanskrit original in 1884, rendered the Buddha’s words opening the chapter of The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata:

“Trust me, young men of good family, believe in the Tathāgata speaking a veracious word.”

In Risshō Kōsei Kai’s 1975 translation, working from the same Chinese translation as Murano used, we get:

“Believe and discern, all you good sons, the veracious word of the Tathāgata.”

Risshō Kōsei Kai’s 2019 undated translation offers:

“Good children, you should believe and understand the sincere and true words of the Tathagata.”

And so “Understand … by faith” can be seen to mean “Trust” and “believe” or “Believe and discern.” “Trust” and “believe” require faith. “Discern” is the process with which we come to understand. What we are not being told is to have unquestioning faith.

As explained in the Introduction to the Lotus Sutra:

“There is a Japanese saying that ‘even the head of a sardine seems blessed if you have faith in it.’ This is not what we mean by faith. We can maintain a belief that is inspired by the experience of something beyond our ordinary capacities. We can evaluate it by means of our intellect and reason and form our own mental attitudes.”

As Nikkyō Niwano observes in Buddhism for Today:

“The Buddha’s saying ‘Believe and discern it’ instead of commanding ‘Believe it’ has an important meaning. Śākyamuni Buddha never forced his ideas upon his disciples or other people. He preached the truth as it was and exhorted his listeners, saying, ‘You, too, behold it.’ He led them on the way of the truth and coaxed them, saying, ‘You, too, come to me.’ His exhortation to ‘behold the truth’ instead of saying only ‘Believe it’ is a very important point. This short phrase of the Buddha speaks for the character of his teachings. His words ‘Behold it’ are equivalent to the ‘scientific spirit’ in today’s parlance. The Buddha shows in these few words that if anyone thoroughly views the truth, studies it, and discerns it, he will surely be able to accept it to his satisfaction.

“His words ‘You, too, come to me’ include the same important idea. They mean: ‘Come to me and practice the Law as much as I do. Then you are sure to understand the value of the Law.’ The Buddha could never have uttered these words unless he had absolute confidence in the Law and the Way.

“Because Śākyamuni Buddha was a reasonable person, he did not say even to his leading disciples, ‘Believe the truth,’ but said, ‘Believe and discern it,’ that is, ‘Believe it after understanding it.’ ”

Buddhism for Today, p211-212
Table of Contents Next Essay
Daily Dharma, d29b

Daily Dharma – Aug. 7, 2022

Make offerings to World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva with all your hearts! This World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva-mahāsattva gives fearlessness [to those who are] in fearful emergencies. Therefore, he is called the ‘Giver of Fearlessness’ in this Sahā-World.

The Buddha gives this description of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva (Kannon, Kanzeon, Avalokitesvara) to Endless-Intent Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Five of the Lotus Sūtra. World-Voice-Perceiver is the embodiment of compassion. When we make offerings to compassion, we show how much we value it. In this world of conflict, we are taught to value aggression and violence rather than compassion. Those who do not dominate others are judged as targets for domination. If we clear away the delusion of our self-importance, and see other beings as worthy of happiness just as we are, we find ways for everyone to benefit together.

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

LS32

Day 21

Day 21 covers all of Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata.

Day 21 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered why the Buddha pretends to enter into Nirvāṇa, we consider the Parable of the Skillful Physician and His Sick Children.

“I will tell you a parable. There was once an excellent and wise physician. He was good at dispensing medicines and curing diseases. He had many sons, numbering ten, twenty, or a hundred. [One day] he went to a remote country on business. After he left home, the sons took poison. The poison passed into their bodies, and the sons writhed in agony, rolling on the ground. At that time the father returned home. Some sons had already lost their right minds while the others still had not. All the sons saw their father in the distance and had great joy. They begged him on their knees, saying, ‘You came back safely. We were ignorant. We took poison by mistake. Cure us, and give us back our lives!’

“Seeing his sons suffering so much, the father consulted books of prescriptions, and collected good herbs. having a good color, smell and taste. He compounded a medicine by pounding and sieving the herbs, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is a very good medicine. It has good color, smell and taste. Take it! It will remove the pain at once and you will not suffer any more.’

“The sons who had not lost their right minds saw that this good medicine had a good color and smell, took it at once, and were cured completely. But the sons who had already lost their right minds did not consent to take the medicine given to them, although they rejoiced at seeing their father come home and asked him to cure them, because they were so perverted that they did not believe that this medicine having a good color and smell had a good taste.

“The father thought, ‘These sons are pitiful. They are so poisoned that they are perverted. Although they rejoice at seeing me and ask me to cure them, they do not consent to take this good medicine. Now I will have them take it with an expedient.’

“He said to them, ‘Know this! Now I am old and decrepit. I shall die soon. lam leaving this good medicine here. Take it! Do not be afraid that you will not be cured!’ Having thus advised them, he went to a [remote] country again. Then he sent home a messenger to tell them, ‘Your father has just died.’

“Having heard that their father had passed away from this world, leaving them behind, they felt extremely sorry. They thought, ‘If our father were alive, he would love and protect us. Now he has
deserted us and died in a remote country.’

“They felt lonely and helpless because they thought that they were parentless and shelterless. Their constant sadness finally caused them to recover their right minds. They realized that the medicine had a good color, smell and taste. They took it and were completely cured of the poison. On hearing that they had recovered their health, the father returned home, and showed himself to them.

The Daily Dharma from July 10, 2022, offers this:

They felt lonely and helpless because they thought that they were parentless and shelterless. Their constant sadness finally caused them to recover their right minds. They realized that the medicine had a good color, smell and taste. They took it and were completely cured of the poison.

The Buddha explains his parable of the wise physician in Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, the physician’s children take poison by mistake. Some refuse the antidote provided by their father until he leaves home and sends word back that he has died. The children realized that they had to accept what their father had left for them, rather than continuing to refuse his cure. In the Lotus Sūtra the Buddha stops adapting to our minds and brings us into his mind. It is only when we use our suffering to increase our determination to reach enlightenment, rather than as an indicator of our shortcomings, can we recover our right minds and realize what the Buddha teaches.

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