Category Archives: LS32

LS32

Day 5

Day 5 begins Chapter 3, A Parable

Day 5 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month repeated the Buddha’s prediction for Śāriputra in gāthās, we consider the reaction of the great multitude to Śāriputra future Buddhahood.

At that time the great multitude included bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās and upāsikās, that is, the four kinds of devotees; and gods, dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras and mahoragas. When they saw that Śāriputra was assured of his future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi by the Buddha, they danced with great joy. They took off their garments and offered them to the Buddha. Śakra-Devanam-Indra, the Brahman Heavenly-King, and innumerable other gods also offered their wonderful heavenly garments and the heavenly flowers of mandāravas and mahā-mandāravas to the Buddha. The heavenly garments, which had been released from the hands of the gods, whirled in the sky. The gods simultaneously made many thousands of millions of kinds of music in the sky, and caused many heavenly flowers to rain down.

They said, “The Buddha turned the first wheel of the Dharma at Varanasi a long time ago. Now he turns the wheel of the unsurpassed and greatest Dharma.”

Thereupon the gods, wishing to repeat what they had said, sang in gāthās:

The Buddha turned the wheel of the teaching of the Four Truths
At Varanasi a long time ago.
He taught that all things are composed of the five aggregates
And that they are subject to rise and extinction.

Now he turns the wheel of the Dharma,
The most wonderful, unsurpassed, and greatest.
The Dharma is profound.
Few believe it.
So far we have heard
Many teachings of the World-Honored One.
But we have never heard
Such a profound, wonderful, and excellent teaching as this.
We are very glad to hear this
From the World-Honored One.

Śāriputra, a man of great wisdom,
Was assured of his future Buddhahood.
We also shall be able
To become Buddhas,
And to receive
The highest and unsurpassed honor in the world.

The Buddha expounds his enlightenment, difficult to understand,
With expedients according to the capacities of all living beings.
We obtained merits by the good karmas which we did
In this life of ours and in our previous existence.
We also obtained merits by seeing the Buddha.
May we attain the enlightenment of the Buddha by these merit

See Offering of Robes

800years, Blog, d6b, d7b

800 Years: Your House Is On Fire

Your house is on fire. Even with smoke billowing out of the windows most people don’t pay attention to the warnings. Thich Nhat Hanh explains it this way in Peaceful Action, Open Heart:

“When we hear this story [of the burning house], we may think it’s just a children’s story and that it doesn’t really have anything to do with our lives. But if we look more deeply into our minds and the state of mind of those around us, we see that this parable expresses the truth about our situation. We’re full of craving, always running after things. We want to become the director or president of a company, we want to buy a beautiful car or a nice house, or go on an exotic vacation. We don’t see that the world we’re living in, driven by craving and delusion, is like a burning house.”

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p49

And this brings suffering, which is the first Truth taught by the Buddha. As the Introduction to the Lotus Sutra explains:

“From the Buddhist viewpoint, suffering is an inescapable fact of life, as illustrated in the dictum, ‘All existence is suffering.’ Many people think this view is too pessimistic, but that is not the case. The dictum is presented as a bare fact, neither good or bad. Biological suffering is a part of life. The question is, What can we do about it?”

Re-read that last question: What can we do about it? The old man in the Parable of the Burning House knows he’s strong enough to carry his children to safety, but he wouldn’t be able to save them all. As Nikkyō Niwano explains in Buddhism for Today, the Buddha purposely doesn’t use his divine powers but instead inspires us to act by luring us with the things we desire.

“To imagine attractive playthings to oneself means that one has already entered into the mental state of śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, or bodhisattva. To run out of the burning house means that one is already seeking after the Buddha’s teachings. When living beings remove illusions from their minds, they can immediately escape from the burning house of suffering in this world.

“However, they do not yet think of being saved from the burning house. Their minds are filled with the desire to obtain one of the attractive carts … . Then they ask the Buddha for these carts. This means that each asks for his own enlightenment. Then quite unexpectedly, beyond the enlightenment of the three vehicles, they see the supreme teaching, that is, the enlightenment of the One Buddha Vehicle (the great white-bullock cart), shining brilliantly.

“The Buddha really wishes to give this great cart to all living beings. So he gives the same thing unsparingly and equally to anyone who has advanced to the mental state of seeking supreme enlightenment.”

Buddhism for Today, p58-59

That mental state of seeking supreme enlightenment is called faith. It takes only a single moment of faith to start us on our way through the gate and to safety.

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LS32

Day 4

Day 4 concludes Chapter 2, Expedients, and completes the first volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 4 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the small acts that lead to enlightenment, we consider the one purpose why the Buddhas employ expedient teachings.

Those who bowed to the image of the Buddha,
Or just joined their hands together towards it,
Or raised only one hand towards it,
Or bent their head a little towards it
And offered the bending to it,
Became able to see innumerable Buddhas one after another.
They attained unsurpassed enlightenment,
Saved countless living beings,
And entered into the Nirvana-without-remainder
Just as fire dies out when wood is gone.

Those who entered a stupa-mausoleum
And said only once “Namo Buddhaya,”
Without even concentrating their minds,
Have already attained the enlightenment of the Buddha.

Those who heard the Dharma
In the lifetime of a past Buddha
Or after his extinction
Have already attained the enlightenment of the Buddha.

The World-Honored Ones in the future
Will be countless in number.
Those Tathāgatas also
Will expound the Dharma with expedients.

The Tathāgatas save all living beings
With innumerable expedients.
They cause all living beings to enter the Way
To the wisdom-without-āsravas of the Buddha.
Anyone who hears the Dharma
Will not fail to become a Buddha.

Every Buddha vows at the outset:
“I will cause all living beings
To attain the same enlightenment
That I attained.”

The future Buddhas will expound many thousands
Of myriads of millions of teachings
For just one purpose,
That is, for the purpose of revealing the One Vehicle.

The Daily Dharma from Oct. 10, 2021, offers this:

Every Buddha vows at the outset:
“I will cause all living beings
To attain the same enlightenment
That I attained.”

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Two of the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddha holds nothing back from us. There is nothing hidden or secret in his teachings. He is not threatened by anyone who reaches his wisdom, since he knows this is the potential we all have in us. By his example we can discern between the knowledge that separates from others, and that which unites us with our fellow beings.

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

800years, Blog, d3b, d4b, d5b

800 Years: How Many Vehicles Do We Need?

Faith does not require understanding, but that doesn’t mean understanding shouldn’t be sought. That is the role of study in the Buddhist triad of faith, practice and study. As we study, we learn. As we learn, we deepen our understanding. All of this nourishes our faith and allows that faith to grow and flower and bear fruit. For me, this is illustrated in the prediction of future Buddhahood offered to Śāriputra in Chapter 3, A Parable:

“Śāriputra! Although the world in which he appears will not be an evil one, that Buddha will expound the teaching of the Three Vehicles according to his original vow.”

Why would Śāriputra need to teach the Three Vehicles when we learned in Chapter 2 that there is no vehicle other than the One Buddha-Vehicle? Many times when I cycled through my 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra I stumbled here. None of the other predictions of future Buddhahood of the śrāvakas includes this detail.

A year ago, after reading this chapter more than 60 times, I came to a realization. (The remainder of this essay summarizes what I wrote here.)

In Chapter 3, Śāriputra explains that he considered himself a śrāvaka and the teaching he had received before as somehow different from what Bodhisattvas were given. This misunderstanding – the thought that he was taught a lesser teaching – is Śāriputra’s. Thinking there are three separate vehicles mistakes what Śākyamuni did, what other Buddhas are doing and what Śāriputra will do when he becomes a Buddha.

Śākyamuni’s original vow is discussed toward the end of Chapter 2, Expedients.

“I thought:
‘If I extol only the Buddha-Vehicle,
The living beings [of the six regions] will not believe it
Because they are too much enmeshed in sufferings to think of it.
If they do not believe but violate the Dharma,
They will fall into the three evil regions.
I would rather enter into Nirvana quickly
Than expound the Dharma to them.’

“But, thinking of the past Buddhas who employed expedients,
I changed my mind and thought:
‘I will expound the Dharma which I attained
By dividing it into the Three Vehicles.’ ”

Chih-i offers this explanation in his Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra:

“Chu-i Yung-san (Abiding in the one and employing the three) is the function related to the Subtlety of Benefits. This is spoken of by Chih-i in terms of the Buddha’s original vow. The Buddha vowed to expound the Three Vehicles in the mundane world. This original vow of the Buddha denotes ‘abiding in the one,’ and expounding the Three Vehicles denotes ‘employing the three.’ ” (Vol. 2, p446)

Śāriputra, like all Buddhas, will abide in the one while he employs the three.

As we are told in Chapter 2:

“I showed to them
The teaching of the Three Vehicles as an expedient
In order to save them from various attachments.”

My misunderstanding, like Śāriputra’s, was in not appreciating the nature of the One Buddha Vehicle. There is no second or third vehicle outside the One Buddha Vehicle.

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LS32

Day 3

Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients.

Day 3 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the departure of the 5,000 people in the congregation, we consider the Buddha’s great purpose.

“Śāriputra! The purpose of the various teachings that the Buddhas expound according to the capacities of all living beings is difficult to understand. I also expound various teachings with innumerable expedients, that is to say, with stories of previous lives, parables, similes and discourses. [The purpose of the various teachings of the Buddhas is difficult to understand] because the Dharma cannot be understood by reasoning. Only the Buddhas know the Dharma because the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the worlds only for one great purpose.

“Śāriputra! What is the one great purpose for which the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the worlds? The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to open [the gate to] the insight of the Buddha, and to cause them to purify themselves. They appear in the worlds in order to show the insight of the Buddha to all living beings. They appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to obtain the insight of the Buddha. They appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to enter the Way to the insight of the Buddha. Śāriputra! This is the one great purpose for which the Buddhas appear in the worlds.”

See The Four Meanings of ‘One Great Purpose’ of the Buddhas

LS32

Day 2

Chapter 1, Introductory (Conclusion).

Day 2 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month met Wonderful-Light Bodhisattva and heard the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma,’ we consider what happened after Sun-­Moon-Light Buddha entered the Nirvāṇa-without-remainder.

After his extinction, Wonderful-Light Bodhisattva kept the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, and expounded it to men for eighty small kalpas. The eight sons of Sun-Moon-Light Buddha became his disciples. He taught them and caused them to resolve to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. They made offerings to many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas, and then attained the enlightenment of the Buddha [one after another]. The son who became a Buddha last was called Burning-Light. One of the eight hundred disciples [of Wonderful-Light] was called Fame­Seeking. He was attached to gain. He read and recited many sūtras, but did not understand them. He forgot many parts of those sūtras. Therefore, he was called Fame-Seeking. But he [later] planted the roots of good, and became able to see many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas. He made offerings to them, respected them, honored them, and praised them.

“Maitreya, know this! Wonderful-Light Bodhisattva at that time was no one but myself; and Fame-Seeking Bodhisattva, no one but you. This good omen we see now is not different from what I saw at that time. Therefore, l think that the Tathagata of today also will expound the sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’

See Glimpsing the ‘Infinite Absolute Buddha’

LS32

Day 1

Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory

Day 1 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the practices of those seeking the enlightenment of the Buddha, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 1, Introductory.

Mañjuśrī!
Some Bodhisattvas make offerings
To the śarīras of a Buddha
After his extinction.

I also see some sons of the Buddha
Adorning the world of the Buddha
With as many stupa-mausoleums
As there are sands in the River Ganges.

Those stupas of treasures are
Lofty and wonderful.
They are five thousand yojanas high,
And two thousand yojanas wide and deep.

Each of the stupa-mausoleums has
One thousand pairs of banners and streamers.
It also has curtains adorned with gems.
It also has jeweled bells ringing.

Gods, dragons, men, and nonhuman beings
Constantly offer incense, flowers, and music
[To the stupa-mausoleums].

Mañjuśrī!
Those sons of the Buddha
Adorn the stupa-mausoleums
And offer the adornments
To the śarīras [of the Buddha].

The worlds [of the Buddha] naturally become
As wonderful and as beautiful
As the [flowers] of the kingly tree
In full bloom on the top of Mt. Sumeru.
The multitude of this congregation and I
Can see the various wonderful things
Of those worlds
By the ray of light of the Buddha [of this world].

The supernatural powers of the Buddha
And his wisdom are rare.
He is illumining innumerable worlds
By emitting a pure ray of light.
We were astonished
At seeing [those worlds].

Mañjuśrī, Son of the Buddha!
Remove our doubts!
The four kinds of devotees
Are looking up with joy at you and me,
Wishing to know why this ray of light is emitted
By the World-Honored One.

Son of the Buddha, answer me!
Remove our doubts and cause us to rejoice!
For what purpose is the Buddha
Emitting this ray of light?

Does he wish to expound the Wonderful Dharma
Which he attained when he was sitting
At the place of enlightenment?
Does he wish to assure us of our future Buddhahood?

He shows us the worlds of the Buddhas
Adorned with many treasures.
We can see the Buddhas of those worlds.
This cannot be for some insignificant reason.

Mañjuśrī, know this!
The four kinds of devotees and the dragons
Are looking at you, thinking:
“What is he going to say?”

See In The Buddha’s Light

Innumerable, LS32

Another Innumerable Day Before Day 1

Having last month considered the attributes of the Buddha, we consider the Buddha’s manifestation in this saha world.

Your manifestation is nearly sixteen feet tall, aglow in purple-gold, Well proportioned, greatly radiant, and lustrous.
The tuft between your eyebrows curves like the crescent moon; the nape of your neck glows like the sun.
Your hair is dark blue and curly; there is a wen on the top of your head.
Pure eyes shine brightly as they blink up and down.
Eyebrows and eyelashes are deep blue and long; mouth and cheeks have fine definition:
Your lips and tongue are beautifully red, like vermilion fruits; White teeth, forty in number, are like snowy agates.
Your forehead is wide, your nose is full, and you have a welcoming face.
Your chest is like that of a lion, and it is marked with a svastika, the sign of virtue.
Hands and feet are flexible and have the mark of one thousand spokes.
Your armpits and palms are rounded; nothing escapes your grasp.
Your arms are long from shoulder to elbow to wrist; fingers are slender and straight.
Your skin is soft and delicate, and the hair on it curls to the right. Ankles and knees are not prominent; genitals, in equine manner,
are concealed.
You have slender muscles and ligaments, and your calves are
curved like a deer’s.10
Unblemished purity reflects on the outside and pervades within: You are pure water, never muddied or stained.
There are thirty-two aspects like these,
And eighty special features can similarly be seen.
But, in truth, you are without a form that has or does not have aspects.
All aspects of all things are beyond the scope of the eye.
The characteristic of your aspect-embodiment is that of having
no aspects;
The characteristic of the aspect-bodies of all living beings is the same.
You are able to inspire living beings to joyfully pay homage,
To deeply, sincerely, and devotedly show respect,
And, by such cause, to cast off arrogance and pride of self
And achieve a consummate embodiment such as this.
We, the assembled eighty thousand,
Collectively bow in homage to, and together take refuge in,
The Great Sage who is without attachment, the tamer of elephants and horses
Who has superseded emotion, conception, mind, volition, and discrimination;
We bow to and confide in the Dharma embodied—The synthesis of perfection in behavioral principles, concentration, discernment, emancipation, and perspective that pertains to emancipation;
And we bow to and take refuge in the wonderfully symbolic robe.
We bow to, and take refuge in, that which is hard to give form to in thought or in word!

This being the week of Hanamatsuri, see this post about the svastika, the sign of virtue, on the chest the Buddha.

LS32, Universal Sage

Between Day 1 and Day 32: Learning the Practice of Universal Sage

Having last month concluded The Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva, we begin again with Ānanda’s question of the Buddha.

Thus have I heard:

On one occasion the Buddha was at the double-storied assembly hall of the Great Forest Monastery in the land of Vaiśālī. He announced to all the monks: “My state shall be that of parinirvāṇa after the passage of three months’ time.”

Thereupon the esteemed Ānanda rose from where he sat, straightened his clothing, and folded his hands. Then, in homage, he placed his hands together palm-to-palm and walked around the Buddha three times. He then knelt formally on one knee, placed his palms together, and fixed his eyes intently and steadfastly upon the Tathāgata. The venerable Mahākāśyapa and the great-being (mahāsattva) bodhisattva Maitreya also rose from where they sat, brought the palms of their hands together in homage, and gazed up at the honored face. These three men of great distinction then addressed the Buddha in one voice, saying:

“World-honored One! After you have passed away, O Tathāgata, how do living beings produce the bodhisattva mind, practice in accordance with the comprehensive sutras of the Great Vehicle (Mahayana), and, with right mindfulness, bring their thoughts into the realm of one reality? How do they avoid losing sight of the aspiration for ultimate enlightenment (bodhicitta)? Moreover, without cutting off worldly passions and without abandoning the five desires, how do they achieve purity of the sense faculties and eliminate accumulated impurities? Without giving up the five desires, how can they still become capable of seeing events and things free from encumbrance with the pure natural eyes received from their parents at birth?”

The Buddha addressed Ānanda:

“Hear me clearly! Hear me clearly, and consider this well! In the past, on Mount Vulture Peak and at other places, the Tathāgata has already expounded the one genuine path from many perspectives. And now, at this place, for the benefit of all living beings in the future who wish to follow the Supreme Way that is the Great Vehicle—and who wish to learn and follow the practice of Universal Sage, I will now expound the method for that, which I have kept in mind. Impurities, in any number, should be eliminated whether one perceives Universal Sage or not. This I will now explain to you, accordingly, in great detail.”

See Teaching How To Apply the Lotus Sutra in Our Daily Lives

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 the arrival of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, we Universal-Sage’s vow to protect those who keep the Lotus Sutra.

Thereupon Universal-Sage Bodhisattva said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! If anyone keeps this sūtra in the defiled world in the later five hundred years after [your extinction], I will protect him so that he may be free from any trouble, that he may be peaceful, and that no one may take advantage [of his weak points]. Mara, his sons, his daughters, his subjects, his attendants, yakṣas, rākṣasas, kumbhāṇḍas, piśācakas, kṛtyas, pūtanas, vetādas or other living beings who trouble men shall not take advantage [of his weak points]. If anyone keeps, reads and recites this sūtra while he walks or stands, I will mount a kingly white elephant with six tusks, go to him together with great Bodhisattvas, show myself to him, make offerings to him, protect him, and comfort him, because I wish to make offerings to the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. If he sits and thinks over this sūtra, I also will mount a kingly white elephant and appear before him. If he forgets a phrase or a gāthā of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, I will remind him of it, and read and recite it with him so that he may be able to understand it. Anyone who keeps, reads and recites the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma [after your extinction], will be able to see me with such joy that he will make more efforts. Because he sees me, he will be able to obtain samadhis and a set of dhārāṇis. The set of dhārāṇis will be the dhārāṇis by which he can memorize repetitions of teachings, the dhārāṇis by which he can memorize hundreds of thousands of billions of repetitions of teachings, and the dhārāṇis by which he can understand the expediency of the voice of the Dharma.

The Daily Dharma from Jan. 29, 2022, offers this:

If anyone keeps, reads and recites this sūtra while he walks or stands, I will mount a kingly white elephant with six tusks, go to him together with great Bodhisattvas, show myself to him, make offerings to him, protect him, and comfort him, because I wish to make offerings to the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Universal-Sage Bodhisattva (Fugen, Samantabhadra) makes this vow to the Buddha in Chapter Twenty-Eight of the Lotus Sutra. Out of his gratitude for the teaching of the Wonderful Dharma, Universal Sage promises to encourage anyone who may be struggling in their practice of the Buddha Dharma. This is a reminder of how no matter what obstacles or difficulties we may encounter, great beings are helping us and we are in harmony with things as they truly are.

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