Category Archives: LS32

LS32

Day 30

Day 30 covers all of Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs

Day 30 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered the dhārāni spells offered by Vaiśravaṇa Heavenly-King, we consider the dhārāni spells offered by World-Holding Heavenly-King.

Thereupon World-Holding Heavenly-King, accompanied by thousands of billions of nayutas of gandharvas who were surrounding him respectfully, came to the Buddha, joined his hands together, and said to him, “World-Honored One! I also will protect the keeper of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma with dhārānis, with divine spells.”

Then he uttered spells,” Akyanei (1), kyanei (2), kuri (3), kendari (4), sendari (5), matōgi (6), jōguri (7), furoshani (8), atchi (9).”

[He said to the Buddha:]

“World-Honored One! These dhārānis, these divine spells, have already been uttered by four thousand and two hundred million Buddhas. Those who attack and abuse this teacher of the Dharma should be considered to have attacked and abused those Buddhas.”

World-Holding Heavenly-King is represented on the Gohonzon in the upper right corner. He is also known as Dai Jikoku Tenno, or Dhrtarastra, or The Heavenly King of the East according to Senchu Murano’s The Gohonzon.

The Lotus World by Rev. Ryuei McCormick says:

The Flammarion Iconographic Guide: Buddhism describes Dhritarashtra as follows: “This guardian king governs in the east and presides over the spring. He is ‘He who maintains the kingdom (of the Law)’, ‘the maintainer of the state’ … He commands an army of celestial musicians (Gandharvas) and vampire demons (Pishacha).” The gandharvas are one of the eight kinds of supernatural beings who are said to revere and protect the Dharma; the pishachas are a type of hungry ghost.

According to the Kumarajiva translation of the Lotus Sutra, it is Dhritarashtra who offers dharanis in Chapter 26 for the benefit of those who keep the Lotus Sutra.

d31b, Peaceful Action

Practicing Filial Piety

In order to better understand [Chapter 27, King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva], we have to understand how Mahayana Buddhism became established as a viable religion in China. Chinese society was strongly influenced by the teachings of Confucianism, which especially upheld the importance of filial duty – the duty and reverence of children toward their parents and ancestors. This ideal has been one of the underpinnings of Chinese society and culture from the time of Confucius in the fifth century B.C.E. to the present day Given this cultural context, we can see that the Buddhist ideal of renunciation – leaving one’s home and family to become a monk or nun, a seeker of truth – would have been difficult to accept.

Someone who is practicing always has the capacity to return home in order to liberate their family from suffering. No one practices just for himself or herself alone. When followers of Confucianism condemned Buddhism as failing to practice filial piety, the practitioners had to prove the opposite, that in following the path of the Buddha they were also following the path of humanity and filial piety. In the story of bodhisattva Quan Am of the Southern Seas (written in Vietnamese Nom script), we have the following verse:

The suchness of the Buddha’s path is very wonderful, our heart is loyal with filial piety and the first thought we have is to look after humanity.

Filial piety is our aim to be able to liberate from suffering those who are close to us. Our humanity is our aim, to be able to rescue all living beings from drifting and sinking in the ocean of suffering.

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p225
LS32

Day 29

Day 29 covers all of Chapter 25, The Universal Gate of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva.

Day 29 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered in gāthās the many misfortunes for which World-Voice-Perceiver responds, we conclude Chapter 25, The Universal Gate of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva.

World-Voice-Perceiver will save
All living beings from misfortunes
And from innumerable sufferings of the world
By the wonderful power of his wisdom.

He has these supernatural powers.
He employs various expedients with his wisdom.
In the ten quarters there is no ksetra
In which he does not appear at all.

Hell, the region of hungry spirits, and the region of animals,
That is the [three) evil regions will be eliminated.
The sufferings of birth, old age, disease and death
Will gradually be eliminated.

He sees the truth of all things and their purity.
He sees all things with his great wisdom.
He sees all things with loving-kindness and compassion.
Think of him constantly! Look up at him constantly!

All darkness is dispelled by the light of his wisdom
As spotless and as pure as the light of the sun.
The light destroys the dangers of wind and fire,
And illumines the whole world brightly.

His precepts out of his loving-kindness brace us up as thunderbolts.
His wishes out of his compassion are as wonderful as large clouds.
He pours the rain of the Dharma as sweet as nectar,
And extinguishes the fire of illusions.

Suppose you are in a law-court for a suit,
Or on a battlefield, and are seized with fear.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
All your enemies will flee away.

His wonderful voice [comes from] his perceiving the voice of the world.
It is like the voice of Brahman, like the sound of a tidal wave.
It excels all the other voices of the world.
Therefore, think of him constantly!

Do not doubt him even at a moment’s thought!
The Pure Saint World-Voice-Perceiver is reliable
When you suffer, and when you are confronted
With the calamity of death.

By all these merits, he sees
All living beings with his compassionate eyes.
The ocean of his accumulated merits is boundless.
Therefore, bow before him!

Thereupon Earth-Holding Bodhisattva rose from his seat, proceeded to the Buddha, and said to him:

“World-Honored One! Those who hear of his supernatural powers by which he opened the universal gate without hindrance, and which are expounded in this chapter of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva, know this, will be able to obtain not a few merits.”

When the Buddha expounded this chapter of the Universal Gate, the eighty-four thousand living beings in the congregation began to aspire for the unparalleled Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

See ‘Lowland Buddhism’

LS32, d29b, stories

‘Lowland Buddhism’

Another Chinese development in which Kwan-yin plays a unifying role is the common portrayal of her as being accompanied by, or served by, Sudhana and the dragon princess, a boy and a girl – one from the Avatamsaka Sutra, the other from the Lotus Sutra, two sutras which are closely associated with two different and rival schools of Buddhism.

All human beings, I believe, have both male and female qualities, but strict adherence to the ideas that all buddhas are male, and that nuns should always be subservient to monks, restricts access in both women and men to their female selves. By being a buddha who is both male and female, Kwan-yin provides a kind of balance to the overwhelmingly male-oriented weight of Buddhist tradition, enabling women to appreciate their value and men to appreciate the woman often hidden in themselves.

Kwan-yin, I have said on many occasions, represents a kind of “lowland Buddhism.” By this I mean that in contrast to those who would see religions as a matter of climbing to a mountaintop to enjoy some kind of “peak experience,” the Dharma Flower Sutra, especially as it is embodied in Kwan-yin, is a way that emphasizes the importance of being earthly, of being this-worldly, of being involved in relieving suffering. …

I believe that we should also be lowland Buddhists like Kwan-yin, seeking the low places, the valleys, even the earthy and dirty places, where people are suffering and in need. That is how we will meet the bodhisattva Kwan-shih-yin, at least if we are lucky or perceptive. That is where we will find those who hear and respond with compassion to the cries and sorrows of this world. They too are bodhisattvas of compassion, Kwan-shih-yin embodied.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p281-282
d31b, Peaceful Action

The Lesson of Chapter 27

Chapter 27 of the Lotus Sutra, “The Former Affairs of the King Fine Adornment,” was one of the chapters added later to the Sutra. It tells of a king named Shubhavyuha (Fine Adornment), who was the previous life of Flower Virtue, one of the bodhisattvas in the Lotus Sutra assembly. Two other bodhisattvas in the assembly, Medicine King and Superior Medicine, were the sons of King Fine Adornment in their previous lives. Through their practice and understanding of the Lotus Sutra, which they heard taught by the Buddha of that place and time, they were able to lead their father to the path of the Buddhadharma. Also present is the bodhisattva Marks of Adornment, who in a former life was called Pure Virtue, and was the wife of King Fine Adornment and the mother of his two sons.

The Buddha introduces these bodhisattvas and speaks of their past lives to convey to the Sangha that the practice of the Lotus Sutra can lead to effects beyond compare, and this has the effect of increasing and ensuring the assembly’s confidence and faith in the practice. This chapter shows us that we have the capacity to take our practice into our families and communities in order to help them become liberated from suffering. We do not practice for ourselves alone but also in order to help others – this is the way of the bodhisattva that is extolled in the Lotus Sutra.

When we enter the bodhisattva path, it is natural that parents and immediate family members are the first objects of our practice. We can see this in the example of Shakyamuni Buddha himself, who soon after his enlightenment taught the Dharma to his aunt Mahāprajāpatī, his former wife, Yasodhara, his son, Rāhula, and his father, Śuddhodana. …

The presence of bodhisattvas like Medicine King, Superior Medicine, and Flower Virtue in the Lotus Sutra show us that the practice of the path of liberation has the capacity not only to liberate us but also to bring others out of suffering – beginning with our parents and siblings, our immediate family, and ultimately extending to all beings.

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p223-225
LS32

Day 28

Day 28 covers all of Chapter 24, Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva, and concludes the Seventh Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 28 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month witnessed the good omen created by Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva near Gṛdhrakūṭa, we hear Mañjuśrī’s question and witness Many-Treasures Tathāgata invite Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva to come to the Saha world.

Mañjuśrī said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! What root of good did he plant and what kind of meritorious deed did he do in order to obtain this great supernatural power? What samadhi did he practice? Tell us the name of the samadhi! We also wish to practice it strenuously so that we may be able to see how tall he is and how he behaves himself. World-Honored One! Cause me to see him by your supernatural powers when he comes!”

Thereupon Śākyamuni Buddha said to Mañjuśrī, “This Many-Treasures Tathāgata, who passed away a long time ago, will cause him to appear before you all.”

Thereupon Many-Treasures Buddha called [loudly] to [Wonderful-Voice] Bodhisattva [from afar], “Good man! Come! Mañjuśrī, the Son of the King of the Dharma, wishes to see you.”

Thereupon Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva, accompanied by eighty-four thousand Bodhisattvas, left his world [for the Sahā World]. As they passed through the [one hundred and eight billion nayuta] worlds, the ground of those worlds quaked in the six ways; lotus flowers of the seven treasures rained [on those worlds], and hundreds of thousands of heavenly drums sounded [over those worlds] although no one beat them. The eyes of [Wonderful-Voice] Bodhisattva were as large as the leaves of the blue lotus. His face was more handsome than the combination of thousands of millions of moons. His body was golden-colored, and adorned with many hundreds of thousands of mark of merits. His power and virtue were great. His light was brilliant. His body had all the characteristics of the muscular body of Narayana.

See A World of Interdependent Relationships

LS32, d28b, stories

A World of Interdependent Relationships

Though life here may be very difficult, with suffering of many kinds all around, with many difficulties to face, we should consider ourselves fortunate to have so many opportunities to be of service, to practice the bodhisattva way of helping others, and, which is part of the same thing, being helped by others. This is a world in which interdependence, the mutual dependence of living beings upon one another, is abundantly realized. We depend upon our ancestors and our descendants depend upon us; we depend upon our neighbors and our neighbors depend upon us; we depend upon the Buddha and the Buddha depends upon us. This world is through and through a world of interdependent relationships.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p261-262
d30b, Peaceful Action

The Dhārāṇis Bridge

The chapter on dharanis in the Lotus Sutra serves to remind us that the Buddhas and bodhisattvas are always present with us whenever we wholeheartedly hear and practice the teachings. They are always producing energy to support us in our practice. The dharanis act as a kind of bridge, a conduit of communication, a way of holding fast to the Buddhas and bodhisattvas and receiving the support of their great spiritual energy.

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p217
LS32

Day 27

Day 27 concludes Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Day 27 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered how this sutra saves all living beings, we consider the merits of anyone who hears this chapter of the Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

“Star-King-Flower! Anyone who hears [especially] this chapter of the Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva also will be able to obtain innumerable merits. The woman who hears and keeps this chapter of the Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva will not be a woman in her next life. The woman who hears this sūtra and acts according to the teachings of it in the later’ five hundred years after my extinction, will be able to be reborn, after her life in this world, [as a man sitting] on the jeweled seat in the lotus flower blooming in the World of Happiness where Amitayus Buddha lives surrounded by great Bodhisattvas. He [no more she] will not be troubled by greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, jealousy, or any other impurity. He will be able to obtain the supernatural powers of a Bodhisattva and the truth of birthlessness. When he obtains this truth, his eyes will be purified. With his purified eyes, he will be able to see seven billion and two hundred thousand million nayuta Buddhas or Tathāgatas, that is, as many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges. At that time those Buddhas will praise him, saying simultaneously from afar, ‘Excellent, excellent, good man! You kept, read and recited this sūtra, thought it over, and expounded it to others under Śākyamuni Buddha. Now you have obtained innumerable merits and virtues, which cannot be burned by fire or washed away by water. Your merits cannot be described even by the combined efforts of one thousand Buddhas. Now you have defeated the army of Mara, beaten the forces of birth and death, and annihilated all your enemies. Good man! Hundreds of thousands of Buddhas are now protecting you by their supernatural powers. None of the gods or men in the world surpasses you. None but the Tathāgatas, none of the Śrāvakas or Pratyekabuddhas or Bodhisattvas surpasses you in wisdom and dhyāna-concentration.’ Star-King-Flower! [He is a Bodhisattva.] This Bodhisattva will obtain these merits and the power of wisdom.

See Promoting Buddha Dharma Where It Is Most Needed

LS32, d27b, stories

Promoting Buddha Dharma Where It Is Most Needed

Toward the end of [Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva,] we read that if there is a woman who hears this Sutra and acts in accord with its teachings, she will become a bodhisattva, one who is becoming a fully awakened buddha, in the pure land of Amitabha Buddha. Because she has been able to “embrace, read and recite, and ponder over this sutra and teach it for others,” she will obtain boundless merit, be praised by countless buddhas throughout the universe, be protected by hundreds of thousands of buddhas, and become equal to the Buddha; in other words, she will become a buddha. Here, in a sense, we have an alternative vision to that of a paradise in which there are no women – one in which a woman becomes a buddha through embracing the Sutra, by living the Sutra in this world.

A great Taiwanese monk, Master Yin Shun, passed away at the age of 100 in June of 2005. Normally, in Taiwan, the name of Amitabha, the buddha who presides over the Western Paradise, the land of happiness and bliss, is chanted for the benefit of someone who has died. But shortly before he died, Master Yin Shun requested that the name of Shakyamuni Buddha be chanted after his death because Shakyamuni Buddha is the Buddha of the world in which we live now. Master Yin Shun wanted to be reborn into this world of suffering and hardship rather than in a world of eternal happiness and bliss, so that he could continue promoting Buddha Dharma where it is most needed.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p251-252