Category Archives: LS32

LS32, Universal Sage

Between Day 32 and Day 1: Perils of the Sense Faculty of Hearing

Going through each of the senses and their karmic consequences – the sense faculty of sight, the sense faculty of hearing, the sense faculty of smell, the sense faculty of speech and the sense faculty of the body and mind – we continue with sense faculty of hearing.

The practitioner, having seen the stupa of Many-Treasures Buddha, must then turn again to Universal Sage Bodhisattva, place his or her palms together, pay homage, and say:

“Great Teacher, teach me the way of self-amendment for my faults!”

Universal Sage will respond, saying:

“Throughout many kalpas, the function of your sense faculty of hearing has caused you to chase after and follow external sounds. When you hear wonderful sounds, your mind develops infatuation and attachment. When you hear unwholesome sounds, one hundred and eight kinds of delusive worldly passions arise to do you harm. Adverse conditions are the consequences reaped from such a dysfunctional ear, and your constant hearing of unwholesome sounds gives rise to numerous complications. Because you hear things contrary to reality, you fall into bitter conditions, or into faraway realms where there are wrong views and where the Dharma is not heard.

“You now internalize and keep faith with the Great Vehicle – the treasury of an ocean of beneficial effects. You see the buddhas in the ten directions by reason of this cause! The stupa of Many-Treasures Buddha appears to you as proof! Accordingly, you must express your errors and faults yourself, and amend yourself of impurities!”

Then, having heard these words, the practitioner must again place palms together, cast his or her body upon the ground, and speak thus:

“Fully Enlightened World-honored One! Manifest and bear witness for me that the comprehensive sutras are the core of mercy and compassion! May you commune with me and hear my words!

“Throughout many kalpas – up to my existence at this point – my sense faculty of hearing has caused me to become deluded and to become attached to the sounds I hear, just as glue adheres to straw. The poisons of delusive worldly passions are stirred up whenever I hear unwholesome sounds, and I become deluded and attached to them unceasingly everywhere. Being around these hollow sounds exhausts my mental functions, and I fall into the three unwholesome realms. My awareness of this is now awakened for the first time. I face the World-honored One to make acknowledgement and amend myself!”

See The Everyday Actions of Teachers of the Dharma

LS32, stories

The Everyday Actions of Teachers of the Dharma

We should … recognize that each preacher or teacher of the Dharma must be so in his or her own smaller world, be it a university, a business, a playground, a home, or whatever. There are buddhas in temples to inspire us, but what the Dharma demands of us is that it be shared, taught, and embodied everywhere, that is, wherever we are.

In other words, from the perspective of the Dharma Flower Sutra what is most important is not finally the miraculous actions of the gods and heavenly bodhisattvas and buddhas, but the everyday actions of the people of this world.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p35
Blog, LS32, d5b, d6b

Abiding in the One and Employing the Three

This was written in advance of the Jan. 17, 2021, meeting of the Nichiren Buddhist Sangha of the San Francisco Bay Area, which is discussing Chapter 3 of the Lotus Sutra this week. This post extends last month’s discussion of Does the Buddha Only Teach Bodhisattvas?

In Chapter 3, the Buddha explicitly states that Śāriputra will become a Buddha in a distant future.

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.

This has always bothered me. Back in March 2019 in my 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra post, I wrote:

This prediction of Śāriputra’s future world is one of the great mysteries to me. After more than 40 times reading the Lotus Sūtra, I simply cannot fathom why Śāriputra, as the Buddha Flower-Light, will teach the Three Vehicles. None of the other predictions of future Buddhahood of the Śrāvakas includes this detail.

Today, nearing completion of my 59th trip through the Lotus Sutra, I have a new appreciation of what I believe is being taught here.

In Chapter 3, Śāriputra explains that he considered himself a śrāvaka and the teaching he had received before as something different from what Bodhisattvas were given. After hearing in Chapter 2 that the Buddha teaches only Bodhisattvas and that the division of the Buddha’s teachings into different vehicles is actually an expedient teaching device, Śāriputra now understood his error.

I always saw you praising the Bodhisattvas.
Therefore, I thought this over day and night.
Now hearing from you,
I understand that you expound the Dharma
According to the capacities of all living beings.
You lead all living beings
To the place of enlightenment
By the Dharma-without-āsravas, difficult to understand.

The 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.”

So too will Shariputra.

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, Page 446)

The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of Buddhism

Later in the same book we learn:

In terms of the functions that can be summarized by the Worldly Siddhānta, “abiding in the three and revealing the one,” and “abiding in the one and employing the three” are said by Chih-i to correspond with the Worldly Siddhānta. This is because by abiding at the Three Vehicles and by employing the Three Vehicles, the Buddha caters to the intellectual capabilities of living beings. Complying with the needs of beings in teaching various vehicles belongs the Worldly Siddhānta. (Vol. 2, Page 449)

The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of Buddhism

Śāriputra, like all Buddhas, will abide in the one and employ the three.

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 greeted the arrival of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, we consider the protection promised by Universal-Sage Bodhisattva.

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 rum, 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.

See The Work Ahead

LS32, d21b, stories

The Work Ahead

[F]or the Dharma Flower Sutra one of the worst failings of human beings is an arrogance that leads to supposing that one has arrived at the truth and has no more to do. Anyone who truly wants to fulfill the Lotus Sutra and become a bodhisattva or buddha for others always has more to do. Followers of the Sutra refer to Shakyamuni Buddha as “Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni.” Some might misunderstand this appellation as meaning that the Buddha has arrived at his goal, is finished or perfect, and has no more to do. But in Chapter 16, which is entitled “Lifetime of the Tathagata” and is about the extremely long life of the Buddha, the Buddha says that he has been practicing the bodhisattva way, that is, helping others, for a fantastically long time – and that he is not yet finished. In other words, the long life of the Buddha, rather than being an indication that he has arrived at some static nirvana, indicates nearly the opposite – that he still has a lot of work to do. It follows, of course, that if the Buddha still has a lot of work to do, so do we. And, for that, we have to remain determined to be awakened.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p302
d32b, Peaceful Action

Bowing as Meditation

When I bow and touch the Earth, I feel deep respect and deep love. I feel very grateful for all those bodhisattvas surrounding me who follow the example of Mañjuśrī, Avalokiteśvara, Samantabhadra, and all the other great bodhisattvas. Looking at the practice of bowing from the outside, we might get the impression that it is a simple devotional ritual or that it is like praying to a god. This is not true. While it is an expression of our respect and admiration for the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, bowing is not merely a practice of devotion. Breathing mindfully and bowing down to touch the Earth, we are in deep connection with the bodhisattvas and with the qualities they represent. Done in this spirit, bowing is actually a practice of meditation. We get in touch with understanding, compassion, and great action, and see all living beings as the object of our awareness and love. So in showing respect to these great bodhisattvas, we are also demonstrating our commitment to practice the bodhisattva path and cultivate the energy of understanding, love, and compassion within ourselves.

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p229-230
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 what happened when the two sons asks their mother to go hear Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha, we consider what the two sons did to inspire their father to understand the Dharma by faith.

“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.’

See The King and His Two Sons

LS32, d31b, stories

The King and His Two Sons

So the King’s beliefs are different, perhaps even more “orthodox” than those of the sons, who have decided to follow the Buddha of that time. What should the sons do in such a case? Here they are urged by their mother to continue to respect and honor their father.

Buddhism does not reject family life as such. And yet, by setting up an alternative, celibate, monastic institution, traditional Buddhism did have and continues to have a problematic relation to families. But the Lotus Sutra says little about monastic rules and life as such, emphasizing the importance of life in the world being dedicated to the work, especially to the teaching work, of the Buddha. Thus, we can understand this story as saying that it is good if a whole family can devote itself to the Buddha Way.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p286-287
d32b, Peaceful Action

Paying Respect to the Buddha

We often show our respect to the Buddha and bodhisattvas by bowing, but it is important to understand that this action is not a kind of propitiation, in which a devotee pays respect to a powerful divine being in order to gain favor. The Buddha does not need us to pay respect to him; it is we who benefit from this practice. When you pay respect to the Buddha, you begin to see the path. You start to walk in the direction of goodness. You know that you are a Buddha-to-be – you have the capacity to become enlightened, awakened. You recognize that you have the capacity to love, to accept, to feel joy and to bring joy to others.

When you bow to the Buddha you are really acknowledging your own capacity for Buddhahood. In acknowledging the Buddha, you acknowledge the Buddha nature inherent within you. This practice can help release you from a negative self-image that keeps you from realizing your true nature. If you don’t have this kind of confidence, you will not be able to progress very far on the path. When understood and practiced in this way, paying respect to the Buddha is not merely a devotional ritual but is also a wisdom practice.

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p227-228
d17b, WONS

Devadatta

Devadatta was a grandson of King Siṃhahanu, a son of King Dropodana who was an uncle of Śākyamuni Buddha, and an elder brother of Venerable Ānanda. His mother was a daughter of Suprabuddha. As a member of the Wheel-turning Noble King’s clan, Devadatta was a man of distinguished background in the continent of Jambudvīpa. Prior to entering the Buddhist Order, he lost to Prince Siddhārtha for the hand of Princess Yaśodharā and was possessed with the idea that Siddhārtha was his sworn enemy. After entering the priesthood, moreover, he was rebuked by the Buddha before a crowd of human and heavenly beings, “You are a fool who eats the saliva of other people.” Moreover, he greatly valued fame and satisfying desires and felt envious of the Buddha being regarded with such respect by people. Thus Devadatta practiced the five ways, pretending to be more venerable than the Buddha; branded the wheel of 1,000 spokes (one of the Buddha’s 32 physical characteristics) on the sole of his foot; collected fireflies to pretend that he, like the Buddha, had a white curl between the eyebrows; preached all the Buddhist teachings, said to be 60,000 or 80,000 in number, as if they all are his own; established a precept dais on Mt. Gayāśīrṣa to induce many disciples of the Buddha; and attempted to inject poison into the Buddha’s foot through his own toenail. Moreover, he beat Nun Utpalavarṇā to death, and threw a large stone causing the Buddha’s foot to bleed.

Thus, he committed the three rebellious sins (causing the Buddha’s body to bleed, causing disunity in the Buddhist order, and killing an arhat), and in the end gathered all the evils in all of India and caused harm to the Buddha and His disciples and donors. King Bimbisāra, the primary supporter of the Buddha, sent 500 vehicles filled with donations daily to the Buddha. Envious of this, Devadatta seduced Crown Prince Ajātaśatru to imprison the father king and finally crucified him with seven-foot-long nails. Because of such grave sins as these, Devadatta finally fell into the Hell of Incessant Suffering through the hole in the ground of the northern gate of the town of Rājagṛha. All the people in the whole world without exception witnessed this event, believing that Devadatta would never be able to come out of this hell even after having spent incalculable number of aeons (kalpa as many as the number of dust-particles of the great earth) there. Nevertheless, he was made to become the Heavenly King Buddha in the Lotus Sūtra. This is indeed inexplicable yet precious. If Devadatta does not become a Buddha, the numerous evil people who were induced by him to enter into the evil comradeship would never be able to escape the torment of the Hell of Incessant Suffering. It is solely due to the great favor of the Lotus Sūtra that all of Devadatta’s evil comrades too, are allowed to be Buddhas. Devadatta and his numerous followers, accordingly, will stay in the residences of those who practice the Lotus Sūtra. Thus, I feel we can count on them.

Kitō Shō, Treatise on Prayers, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 64-65