Category Archives: LS32

LS32

Day 20

Day 20 completes Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground, and concludes the Fifth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 20 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month repeated in gāthās the Buddha’s explanation of this great multitude of Bodhisattvas who appeared from underground, we consider Maitreya Bodhisattva’s objection to this explanation.

Thereupon Maitreya Bodhisattva-mahāsattva and the innumerable Bodhisattvas in the congregation doubted the Buddha’s words which they had never heard before. They thought:

‘How did the World-Honored One teach these great, innumerable, asaṃkhya Bodhisattvas, and qualify them to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi in such a short time?’

[Maitreya Bodhisattva] said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! When you, the Tathāgata, were a crown prince, you left the palace of the Śākyas, sat at the place of enlightenment not far from the City of Gaya, and attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. It is only forty and odd years since then.

“World-Honored One! How did you do these great deeds of the Buddha in such a short time? Did you teach these great, innumerable Bodhisattvas, and qualify them to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi by your powers or by your merits?

“World-Honored One! No one can count the number of these great Bodhisattvas even if he goes on counting them for thousands of billions of kalpas. They have already planted roots of good, practiced the way, and performed brahma practices under innumerable Buddhas from the remotest past.

“World-Honored One! It is difficult for anyone in the world to believe this. It is as difficult as to believe a handsome, black-haired man twenty-five years old who points to men a hundred years old and says, ‘They are my sons,’ or as to believe men a hundred years old who point to a young man and say, ‘This is our father. He brought us up.’ You are like the young man. It is not long since you attained enlightenment. But it is many thousands of billions of kalpas since the great multitude of these Bodhisattvas began to practice the Way strenuously in order to attain the enlightenment of the Buddha. During that time they entered into, stayed in, and came out of many hundreds of thousands of billions of samadhis, and obtained great supernatural powers. They performed brahma practices for a long time. They learned good teachings one by one, and obtained the ability to answer questions skillfully. They are regarded as the treasures of the world of men by all the people of the world because they are rare. Today you say that, after you attained the enlightenment of the Buddha, you caused them to aspire for enlightenment, taught them, and led them into the Way to Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

“World-Honored One! You did these deeds of great merit although it is not long since you attained Buddhahood. We believe that your words given according to the capacities of all living beings are infallible, and that we understand all that you know. But the beginners in Bodhisattvahood after your extinction, if they hear these words of yours, will not receive them by faith but commit the sin of violating the Dharma. Therefore, World-Honored One! Explain all this so that we may be able to remove our doubts and that the good men in the future may have no doubts when they hear these words of yours!”

See The Answer to the Most Important Question

d29b, Peaceful Action

Avalokiteśvara and the Lessons of 9/11

Now the Lotus Sutra describes Avalokiteśvara’s marvelous power to redeem:

Even if someone whose thoughts are malicious
Should push one into a great pit of fire,
By virtue of the constant mindfulness of Sound-Observer
The pit of fire would turn into a pool.

How can we understand this verse? Even if we are pushed into a pit of fire, when we know how to be mindful, how to practice the recollection of the powerful energy of Avalokiteśvara, the fire will be transformed into a cool lotus pond.

The word “fire” in this verse represents anger. Not only individuals are subject to the afflictions of anger and fear – they also occur on the levels of communities, societies, and nations. Sometimes an entire country can be plunged into a pit of fire. The September 11 attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., triggered a huge sea of anger, despair, and fear, and the whole United States was in danger of plunging into that pit of fire. Many Americans were looking at their televisions, listening to the inflammatory rhetoric of the politicians, and desiring revenge and retaliation. They were not able to stop and cultivate the mindfulness to look deeply into the situation in the weeks and months after the devastating event.

Yet not all Americans participated in this upwelling of anger, fear, and despair. I was in New York at the time, with friends, and we shared the insight that we cannot respond effectively to anger with anger. Violence should not be used to counter violence; we must practice looking deeply to see the situation clearly and act with wisdom and compassion. Many people contacted me in the days immediately after the attacks, people who were practicing in order to help the nation remain calm. An angry, violent reaction could trigger a war. I began a fast, and invited friends in Europe, America, and elsewhere to join me in the fast in order to practice calming and looking deeply. I contacted congresspeople, politicians, and others, including Ambassador Andrew Young (who sat with me during interviews), who shared the view that we should not attack out of anger. Over 2,000 people attended the talk I gave at the Riverside Church soon after the attacks, and over a thousand were turned away for lack of space.

Some politicians publicly expressed the desire to support this view, but in the political climate of retaliation, they felt unable to do so. And there were many others who shared this view but did not have enough courage to speak out. The wisdom was there, the compassion was there, but the environment was not favorable for the expression of that wisdom and compassion. Yet not all Americans shared the viewpoint of the president or supported the government’s retaliatory action. We must always remember, especially in times of great turmoil or suppression, that we have more friends with us than we may think.

The message of Buddhism is very clear – all violence is injustice. Escalation of anger and violence leads only to more anger and violence, and in the end to total destruction. Violence and hatred can only be neutralized by compassion and loving kindness. When you find yourself in a difficult situation, when you are about to fall into a pit of fire, if you know how to practice mindfulness of compassion and invoke the embodiment of compassion, Avalokiteśvara, then you will be able to stop, calm yourself, and look more deeply and clearly into your situation. Anger and the desire for retaliation and revenge will subside and you will be able to find the better way to respond. Understanding that we inter-are, and that any violence done to another is ultimately violence done to ourselves, we practice mindfulness of compassion so as not to cause more suffering to ourselves, our own people, or those on the so-called other side.

The ocean of fire, the pit of suffering, fear, and anger is a reality. The suffering and despair of the world is enormous, and the desire to punish those who harm us, to retaliate out of our fear and anger, is very strong in us. All of this causes the pit of fire to grow larger and it threatens to consume us all. We can turn the ocean of fire into a cool lake by practicing mindfulness of love and invoking the messenger of love, Avalokiteśvara. As the Lotus Sutra tells us, the bodhisattva of compassion has many aspects and can manifest in many forms and with many names. This bodhisattva is the universal gateway to the path of compassion and reconciliation, and through mindfulness of love, understanding, and compassion the ocean of fire is transformed into a cool, refreshing lotus pond.

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p175-176
LS32

Day 19

Day 19 concludes Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices, and begins Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground.

Day 19 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month witnessed the arrival of the Bodhisattvas who emerge from the earth, we meet the leaders of the bodhisattvas and conclude today’s portion of Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground.

Those Bodhisattvas had four leaders: 1. Superior-Practice, 2. Limitless-Practice, 3. Pure-Practice, and 4. Steadily-Established-Practice. These four [great] Bodhisattvas were the highest leaders [of those Bodhisattvas]. In the presence of the great multitude, they joined their hands together towards Śākyamuni Buddha, looked up at him, and inquired after him saying:

“World-Honored One! Are you in good health? Are you peaceful or not? Are the living beings, whom you are to save, ready to receive your teachings or not? Do they not fatigue you?’

Thereupon the four great Bodhisattvas sang in gāthās:

World-Honored One, are you peaceful?
Are you in good health?
Are you not tired
With teaching the living beings?
Are they ready
To receive your teaching,
Or are they not?
Do they not fatigue you?

See Humanistic Buddhism

LS32, d19b, d20b, stories

Humanistic Buddhism

In this story [of the bodhisattvas from the earth] there is also an affirmation of human life, reflecting a humanistic, positive regard for human life in this world. In greeting the Buddha, the bodhisattvas from below ask the Buddha whether he is in good health and peaceful, whether the living beings here are ready to receive the Dharma, and whether they are exhausting him. His reply is that he is in good health, that the living beings of this world are ready to receive the Dharma, and that they do not wear him out because they have already learned some important things in previous lives, where they have planted roots of goodness. Thus, a positive regard for human beings is affirmed: just as in the story of the gem in the hair, the treasure, the Dharma Flower Sutra, is given because there are many of great merit; here too there is a positive regard for human beings in general.

Nikkyo Niwano, founder of Rissho Kosei-kai, connects this story and its message of world-affirmation with the idea that Shakyamuni Buddha became awakened not as someone sent to earth by a god or as one who received a divine revelation from a transcendent realm, but through his own efforts as a human being. In this respect, Buddhism, he said, is quite different from most, perhaps all, other religions.

It is appropriate, therefore, that Master Hsing Yun, founder of Fo Guang Shan – a great monastery in Taiwan, with branches all over the world, which is strongly oriented to serving people in this world and in this time – calls his teaching “Humanistic Buddhism.”

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p193
d26b, d27b, Peaceful Action

The Practice of Devotion, Dedication and Love

Just as the practice of Never Disparaging Bodhisattva had a specific function, to remind people of their inherent Buddha nature and potential Buddhahood, Medicine King represents another aspect of practice – the practice of devotion, dedication, and love. Without devotion and constancy you cannot go very far or deep. Without this kind of affection and dedication it is quite difficult to gain insight. This is why it is very important to establish good relationships with our Sangha brothers and sisters and our teachers. We should not underestimate the practice of devotion, but devotion alone is not enough – it must go together with the practice of meditation, of looking deeply, and the practice of compassion in action. The great bodhisattvas presented in the action dimension of the Lotus Sutra offer us examples of the many ways and forms of practice through which we can become the hands and arms of the Buddha in the world.

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p164
LS32

Day 18

Day 18 concludes Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra, and begins Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.

Day 18 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month heard Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva ask the Buddha how an ordinary Bodhisattva should go about preaching the Lotus Sutra, we consider the proper practices the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should perform.

“Mañjuśrī! What are the proper practices the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should perform? He should be patient, mild and meek. He should not be rash, timorous, or attached to anything. He should see things as they are. He should not be attached to his nonattachment to anything. Nor should he be attached to his seeing thing as they are. These are the proper practices the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should perform.

“What are the proper things the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should approach? He should not approach kings, princes, ministers or other government directors. He should not approach heretics, aspirants for the teaching of Brahman, Nirgraṇṭhas, writer of worldly literature, writers of non-Buddhist songs of praise, Lokāyatas or Anti-Lokāyatas. He should not approach players of dangerous sports such as boxers or wrestlers. He should not approach naṭas or other various amusement-makers. He should not approach caṇḍālas, boar-keepers, shepherds, poulterers, dog-keepers, hunters, fishermen, or other people who do evils for their livelihood. When they come to him, he should expound the Dharma to them, but should not wish [to receive anything from them]. He should not approach those who seek Śrāvakahood, be they bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās or upāsikās. He should not exchange greeting with them. He should not stay with them in the same monastery, promenade or lecture-hall. When they come to him, he should expound the Dharma to them according to their capacities, but should not wish [to receive anything from them]. Mañjuśrī! The Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas should not expound the Dharma to a woman with a desire for her. He should not wish to look at her. When he enters the house of others, he should not talk with a little girl, an unmarried woman or a widow. He should not approach or make friend with anyone of the five kinds of eunuchs. He should not enter the house of others alone. lf he must enter it alone for some rea on, he should think of the Buddha with all his heart. When he expounds the Dharma to a woman, he should not laugh with his teeth visible to her. He should not expose his breast to her. He should not be friendly with her even for the purpose of expounding the Dharma to her. Needless to say, he should not be so for other purposes. He should not wish to keep young disciples, śramaṇeras or children. He should not wish to have the same teacher with them.

“He should always make it a pleasure to sit in dhyāna. He should live in a retired place and concentrate his mind. Mañjuśrī! [A retired place] is the first thing he should approach.

“The Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas also should know the following truth. All things are insubstantial. They are as they are. Things are not perverted. They do not move. They do not go. They do not turn. They have nothing substantial just as the sky has not. They are inexplicable. They are not born. They do not appear. They do not rise. They are nameless. They are formless. They have no property. They are immeasurable and limitless. They have no obstacle or hindrance. He should see all this. Things can exist only by dependent origination. Only perverted people say, ‘Things are permanent and pleasant.’ This truth is the second thing he should approach.”

See Maintaining a Peaceful and Calm Mind

d26b, Peaceful Action

An Act of Love, Not Despair

I knew Thich Quang Duc [, the first monk to immolate himself in the 1960s to protest Vietnam’s anti-Buddhist laws,] personally. As a young monk I practiced with him in a Sangha in central Vietnam, and for a time I stayed at his temple near Saigon. In 1963, I was in New York teaching at Columbia University, and I learned of his death from an article and picture in the New York Times. Many people asked me, “Isn’t such an act a violation of the Buddhist precept of not killing?” So I wrote Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. a letter explaining that the monk’s act was not suicide. A suicidal person is someone who is so overwhelmed by despair that they don’t want to live anymore. I knew that Thich Quang Duc loved life and wished only for his friends and all living beings to be able to live in peace.

When Jesus died on the cross he did so for the sake of human beings. His sacrifice was not made out of despair but out of the wish to help, out of his great love for humankind. That is exactly what motivated Thich Quang Duc. He acted not out of despair but from hope and love. He was free enough to offer his body in order to transmit the message to the world that the Vietnamese people were suffering, that we needed help. Because of his great compassion, he was able to sit very still as the flames engulfed him, in perfect samadhi, perfect concentration.

Such an act is a very profound offering. is being offered? The manifestation in action of our bodhicitta, our aspiration to practice wholeheartedly and realize enlightenment in order to help bring all living beings to the shore of liberation. The Sutra tells us that after Bodhisattva Seen with Joy by All Living Beings had attained the “samadhi that displays all manner of physical bodies,” he felt overjoyed and made many kinds of offerings to the Buddha to show his great gratitude and devotion for having received the teachings. But, the Sutra says, “After he had made this offering, he arose from samadhi and thought to himself, ‘Though by resort to supernatural power I made an offering to the Buddha, it is not as if I had made an offering of my own body.’ ”

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p159-160

See the end of Stretching the Truth to Pull Meaning Out of the Lotus Sutra

LS32

Day 17

Day 17 covers all of Chapter 12, Devadatta, and opens Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra.

Day 17 Text with annotationsPlay MP3
Having last month considered Accumulated-Wisdom Bodhisattva’s question about Mañjuśrī’s efforts to teach the dharma, we consider Accumulated-Wisdom Bodhisattva’s objection that a dragon girl can become a Buddha quickly and meet the dragon girl.

Accumulated-Wisdom Bodhisattva said:

“As far as I know, [when he was a Bodhisattva,] Śākyamuni Buddha sought Bodhi, that is, enlightenment incessantly for innumerable kalpas. He accumulated merits by practicing austerities. Even the smallest part, even the part as large as a poppy-seed of this world-this world being composed of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds-is not outside the places where the Bodhisattva made efforts to save all living beings at the cost of his life. It was after doing all this that he attained Bodhi, that is, enlightenment. I do not believe that this girl will be able to attain perfect enlightenment[, that is, to become a Buddha] in a moment.”

No sooner had he said this than the daughter of the dragon king came to [Śākyamuni] Buddha. She worshipped [his feet] with her head, retired, stood to one side, and praised him with gāthās:

You know the sins and merits
Of all living beings.
You illumine the worlds of the ten quarters.
Your wonderful, pure and sacred body
Is adorned with the thirty-two major marks
And with the eighty minor marks.

Gods and men are looking up at you.
Dragons also respect you.
None of the living beings
Sees you without adoration.

Only you know that I [am qualified to] attain Bodhi
Because I heard [the Dharma].
I will expound the teachings of the Great Vehicle
And save all living beings from suffering.

See Challenging Our Assumptions About Gender and Gender Roles

LS32, d17b, stories

Challenging Our Assumptions About Gender and Gender Roles

Today much, if not all, of the world is gradually undergoing something of a transformation with respect to what people think about gender. Women insist on equality with men, resulting in some quite remarkable changes in social structures and cultural habits in much of the world. The story of the dragon princess can be used to support the ideal of equality between men and women, as that was its obvious purpose, at least with respect to the ability to become fully awakened.

That the story retains what we see as an incorrect assumption that buddhas are always male can be used as an occasion for us to challenge our own assumptions about gender and gender roles. It is easy for us to recognize that the assumption in the Sutra that buddhas must be male is both unnecessary and undesirable, but it is not as easy to see our own unchallenged assumptions about the nature and appropriate roles of men and women. We might even think that the assumption found in this Lotus Sutra story comes to us a gif from the Buddha – is an opportunity for us to become more awakened, especially with respect to gender issues.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p161-162
d26b, Peaceful Action

Out of Great Love and Gratitude

When the bodhisattva realized his capacity to appear in all different kinds of emanation bodies, his feeling of love for and gratitude to his teacher grew even stronger. So out of his great love and gratitude, and with the profound insight into his ultimate nature, he was able to relinquish his body very easily. The Sutra tells us that as an offering to the Buddha and to display his insight that the body is not a permanent, unchanging self, he poured fragrant oil on himself and allowed himself to be burned by fire. This is a quite radical demonstration of his freedom and insight, one that was made out of a very deep love.

Peaceful Action, Open Heart, p158

See the end of Stretching the Truth to Pull Meaning Out of the Lotus Sutra