Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p196-197O you of the true gaze, of the pure gaze,
Of the gaze of broad and great wisdom,
Of the compassionate gaze and the gaze of goodwill!This verse describes the five kinds of gazes of Avalokiteśvara. First is the contemplation of the true nature of things, satya. When you are calm, when you are lucid, you have the capacity to recognize the ultimate dimension. It’s followed by the contemplation on purification, visuddhi vimala. We need the practice of self-purification, just as the cloud in the sky has to become pure rain for the sake of the world. Third is the contemplation on great wisdom, mahaprajn͂ā. This is not mere knowledge but the realization of true wisdom, mahaprajn͂āpāramitā – the great wisdom that has the power to bring you to the other shore, the shore of safety, the shore of non-fear, the shore of liberation. Fourth is the contemplation on compassion, karuna. Fifth is the contemplation on loving kindness, maitri. Like Avalokiteśvara, we should practice mindfulness of and reverence for these five qualities.
Category Archives: 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.
Having last month considered the merits to be given to a good man or woman who rejoices at hearing this Sūtra, we consider the merit of the fiftieth person who rejoices at hearing even a gāthā of this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
“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.
Bringing About Transformation and Healing
Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p195-196The verses in Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra describe how Avalokiteśvara’s understanding and compassion bring about transformation and healing:
The beings suffer embarrassment and discomfort;
Incalculable woes press in upon them.
The Sound-Observer, by virtue of his unblemished knowledge,
Can rescue the world from its woes.There is so much suffering in the world. Through the understanding and knowledge gained by closely observing the sounds of the world, Avalokiteśvara helps not just in one way but many ways to alleviate suffering and bring living beings to the shore of liberation.
He is fully endowed with the power of supernatural Penetration
And broadly cultivates wisdom and expedient devices.
In the lands of all ten quarters
There is no ksetra where he does not display his body.Avalokiteśvara’s wisdom and his capacity to use skillful means are immense. Through his great wisdom, he invents various skillful means in order to help in as many ways and as many forms as needed. He manifests himself in innumerable emanation bodies in many places, many lands, everywhere. We too can also be present in many places at one time, through our transformation bodies. You can be practicing in a Sangha and at the same time be somewhere else, performing some action, in the form of a friend or a student, or in something you have written, created, or offered. Your hands can reach very far.
Day 22
Day 22 covers all of Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits.
Having last month considered Maitreya Bodhisattva’s summary of the merits in gāthās, we consider the heavenly response to the description of the merits.You expounded the teachings
Immeasurable and inconceivable,
And benefited living beings
As limitless as the sky.[The gods] rained down mandārava-flower ,
And mahā-mandārava-flowers of heaven.
Sakras and Brahmans came from the [other] Buddha-worlds
As many as there are sands in the River Ganges.[The gods] rained down candana and aloes [powder],
And offered it to the Buddhas.
The powder came down fluttering
Just as birds fly down from the sky.Heavenly drums automatically sounded
Wonderful in the sky.
Thousands of billions of heavenly garments
Whirled down.[The gods] burned priceless incense which was put
In wonderful incense-burners of many treasures.
The incense-burners automatically went around,
And the odor was offered to the World-Honored Ones.The great Bodhisattvas lined up vertically one upon another
To the Heaven of Brahman, holding
Billions of lofty and wonderful canopies and streamers
Made of the seven treasures.[The great Bodhisattvas] hoisted before the Buddha
Jeweled banner adorned with excellent streamers.
They also praised the Tathāgatas
With tens of millions of gāthās.I have never seen these things before.
All living beings
Rejoice at hearing
That the duration of your life is immeasurable.Your fame is extended over the worlds of the ten quarters.
You benefit all living beings.
The root of good which they have planted
Will help them aspire for unsurpassed [enlightenment].
Transforming a Pit of Fire into a Cool Lotus Pond
Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p194-195I know a nun and a monk in Vietnam, former students of mine, who were arrested because of their work on behalf of human rights. … The nun … spent a long time in prison, and she continued her practice of walking and sitting meditation in her small cell. Thanks to the practice she remained relaxed, calm, and cheerful. Anger and despair were not able to take root in her, and she was able to help the other prisoners, many of whom were very hostile toward the prison guards. The guards treated her kindly—not because she is a nun but because she embodies mindfulness of compassion. She did not let herself become a victim of anger and craving, and so she was able to make very good use of her time in prison. It became a kind of retreat – she didn’t have to do anything, just enjoy the practice. Instead of experiencing prison as a pit of fire, she transformed it into a cool lotus pond through the practice of mindfulness, compassion, and understanding.
If we find ourselves in a situation like this, and if we know how to practice the universal gate, mindfulness of compassion, we won’t suffer and we can even help others who are in the same situation – not just fellow prisoners but those on the “other side,” the prison administrators, the guards, and so on.
The Vow of the Female Dragon
Speaking of attainment of Buddhahood by this female dragon, therefore, Grand Master Miao-lê writes, “The great blessing despite little practice shows the power of the Lotus Sūtra.” As this female dragon is indebted to the Lotus Sūtra for attaining Buddhahood, how could she abandon practicers of the sūtra even without the Buddha’s command? So, she says in verse praising the Buddha,”I will widely disseminate Mahāyāna Buddhism to save the suffering people.” This vow of the female dragon is at the same time the vow of all the dragons who follow her, which is so deep that the mouth cannot express it and the mind cannot fathom it. The Sāgara Dragon King, father of the female dragon, was a beast in body but had a deep compassion for his children that he gave the greatest treasure in the ocean, a wish-fulfilling gem, to his daughter as a donation upon her attainment of Buddhahood with the present body. This gem was worth as much as all things in the whole world.
Kitō Shō, Treatise on Prayers, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 63-64
Day 21
Day 21 covers all of Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata.
Having last month considered whether the Buddha can be accused of lying when he says he’ll enter into nirvana, we repeat in gāthās the incredible length of the Buddha’s lifespan.Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
It is many hundreds of thousands
Of billions of trillions
Of asaṃkhyas of kalpas
Since I became the Buddha.For the past innumerable kalpas
I have always been expounding the Dharma
To many hundreds of millions of living beings
In order to lead them into the Way to Buddhahood.In order to save the [perverted] people,
I expediently show my Nirvāṇa to them.
In reality I shall never pass away.
I always live here and expound the Dharma.Although I always live here
With the perverted people
I disappear from their eyes
By my supernatural powers.When they see me seemingly pass away,
And make offerings to my śarīras,
And adore me, admire me,
And become devout, upright and gentle,
And wish to see me
With all their hearts
At the cost of their lives,
I reappear on Mt. Sacred Eagle
With my Saṃgha,
And say to them:
“I always live here.
I shall never be extinct.
I show my extinction to you expediently
Although I never pass away.
I also expound the unsurpassed Dharma
To the living beings of the other worlds
If they respect me, believe me,
And wish to see me.
You have never heard this
Therefore, you thought that I pass away.”
Faculties of Faith
Buddhism for Today, p223-224[The Buddha] preaches his teachings according to the mental capacity of his listeners. This the tactful way of the Buddha’s compassion, coinciding with his words: “Whenever living beings come to me, I behold with a Buddha’s eyes all the faculties, keen or dull, of their faith.”
The words “faculties of their faith” refer to the five organs (pañcendriāni, go-kon) that lead man to good conduct — the sense of belief (śraddhendriya, shin-kon), sense of endeavor (vīryendriya, shōjin-kon), sense of memory (smrtīndriya, nen-kon), sense of meditation (samādhīndriya, jōkon), and sense of wisdom (prajñendriya, e-kon). All five are fundamental to our religious lives.
“Sense of belief” means the mind of faith. … [A] religion, unlike intellectual learning, does not enable a believer to have the power to save others as well as himself if he understands it only in theory. When he believes from the depths of his heart, his belief produces power. His faith cannot be said to be true until he attains such a mental state.
“Sense of endeavor” means the spirit of endeavoring purely and incessantly. Faith alone is not enough. Our religious lives cannot be true unless we maintain our faith purely and constantly endeavor so that our religious spirit does not weaken or lose its power.
“Sense of memory” indicates the mind that always focuses upon the Buddha. Practically speaking, of course, it is impossible for us to completely forget the Buddha for even a moment. When a student devotes himself to his studies or when an adult is entirely absorbed in his work, he must concentrate on one object. Doing so accords with the way to buddhahood. While devoting ourselves to a particular object, we reflect, “I am caused to live by the Buddha.” When we complete a difficult task and feel relieved, we thank the Buddha, saying, “How lucky I am! I am protected by the Buddha.” When an evil thought flashes across our mind or we suddenly feel angry, we instantly examine ourselves, thinking, “Is this the way to buddhahood?” The mind that thus keeps the Buddha in mind at all times is “sense of memory.”
“Sense of meditation” implies a determined mind. Once we have faith in a religion, we are never agitated by anything, whatever may happen. We bear patiently all persecution and temptation, and we continue to believe only in one religion. We must constantly maintain such firm determination, never becoming discouraged. We cannot be said to be real people of religion unless we have such a mental attitude.
“Sense of wisdom” means the wisdom that people of religion must maintain. As frequently mentioned in this book, this is not a self-centered wisdom but the true wisdom that we obtain when we perfectly free ourselves from ego and illusion. So long as we have this wisdom, we will not take the wrong way. We can say the same thing of our belief in religion itself, not to mention our daily lives. If we are attached to a selfish, small desire, we are apt to stray toward a mistaken religion. However earnestly we may believe in it, endeavoring to practice its teaching, keeping it in mind, and devoting ourselves to it, we cannot be saved because of its basically wrong teaching, and we sink farther and farther into the world of illusion. There are many instances around us of people following such a course. Although “sense of wisdom” is mentioned as the last of the five organs leading man to good conduct, it should be first in the order in which we enter a religious life.
The Four Skillful Means of a Bodhisattva
Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p178-179Buddhism speaks of the four skillful means of a bodhisattva. The first skillful means is making the three kinds of offerings: material gifts, the gift of the Dharma, and the gift of non-fear. When you offer good things to people, they have sympathy with you, they regard you favorably, and their hearts are open. Giving someone a book on the Dharma, or a CD of some beautiful music that can help them relax – this is the practice of giving, dana. But the offerings of a bodhisattva should not be only material things or Dharma teachings. The best, most precious gift we can give someone is the gift of non-fear, abhaya.
People live in fear of death; they are afraid of losing their selfhood, their identity, of disappearing and becoming nonexistent. So when you offer the kind of teaching, practice, and insight that helps someone touch their ultimate dimension and get free of the fear of being and nonbeing, that is the greatest gift you can offer them.
The second skillful means of the bodhisattva is to practice loving speech. You can be very firm and uncompromising, but you can still use loving speech. You don’t have to shout or become hostile to get your idea across. Loving speech can convey your feeling and idea to the other person in a way they are able to hear it and take it in more fully. The third skillful means is to always act to benefit others. You do whatever you can to help the other person in any situation. That is the action of the bodhisattva. The fourth skillful means is the practice of “doing the same thing.” This has to do with the bodhisattva’s ability to take on the appropriate form in order to be able to approach others and help them. You look like them, dress like them, do exactly what they do, you become one of them so that they will trust and accept you and have the opportunity to learn the path of understanding and love. These are the four skillful means by which the bodhisattva embraces and serves living beings.
Awakening Aspiration for Buddhahood
Grand Master Chang-an states in his Annotations on the Nirvana Sūtra, “The one body of the Buddha is equipped with the three virtues of the lord, master and parent.”
The Lotus Sūtra, chapter 3 on “A Parable” preaches:
“This triple world (realms of desires, form and non-form) entirely belongs to Me (the World Honored One, the most venerable in the triple world, whose domain consists of 25 regions in the triple world or the six lower realms of the dharma world—four continents, lower four realms, six heavens in the realm of desire, Great Brahma Heaven, four meditation heavens in the realm of form, four heavens in the realm of non-form, the non-thought heaven, and heaven of not returning). The people in them are all My children (children of Dharma-nature who established the bond with Śākyamuni Buddha in the eternal past; the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 5, explains this, “All people are equally equipped with the same Buddha nature, so they are equal children of the Buddha”). Nevertheless, this world is full of troubles and difficulties. I alone can save all living beings.” The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 6, explains this, “Properly speaking, all living beings will awaken aspiration for Buddhahood by following this Buddha, and proceed to Buddhahood following the Buddha without falling back to a lower spiritual stage.
Thus it is Śākyamuni Buddha alone who is equipped with the three virtues of the lord, master and parent.
Ichidai Goji Keizu, Genealogical Chart of the Buddha’s Lifetime Teachings in Five Periods, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 245-246