Two Buddhas, p158Women’s capacity for buddhahood was not the only message that East Asian exegetes drew from the nāga princess episode. Her story was also taken as evidence that some practitioners might “realize buddhahood with this very body” (sokushin jōbutsu). Within the Tiantai tradition, Zhanran may have been first to use this term for the nāga princess’s enlightenment. One might question how her enlightenment could be termed realizing buddhahood “with this very body” when she transforms into a man. However, commentators did not necessarily see this sex change as a complete bodily transformation, such as one undergoes between successive lifetimes. The doctrine of sokushin jōbutsu, which developed especially in Japan, had two major implications: a drastic shortening of the length of time deemed necessary to achieve enlightenment, and the possibility of doing so without first eradicating the defilements of an ordinary person.
Saichō identified this doctrine as one of the ways in which the Lotus Sūtra surpasses all others. In contrast to conventional Mahāyāna notions of the bodhisattva path as requiring three incalculable eons to fulfill — a position maintained by his chief rivals, the Hossō school — Saichō saw the Lotus Sūtra as the “direct path” or “great direct path” of rapid realization, requiring only one, two, or at the most three lifetimes. The nāga girl’s story underscored this possibility. She had, Saichō noted, a threefold hindrance: as a nāga, she belonged to the animal realm; she was female and of poor faculties; and being only eight years old, she had not been able to devote much time to religious discipline. Nonetheless, through the wondrous power of the Lotus Sūtra, she had attained buddhahood.
Category Archives: LS32
Day 10
Day 10 concludes Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood, and opens Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City.
Having last month completed today’s portion of Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood, we begin Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City, an the introduction of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha who lived countless kalpas ago.
“A countless, limitless, inconceivable, asaṃkhya number of kalpas ago, there lived a Buddha called Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence, the Tathāgata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. His world was called Well-Composed; and the kalpa in which he became that Buddha, Great-Form.
“Bhikṣus! It is a very long time since that Buddha passed away. Suppose someone smashed all the earth-particles of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds into ink-powder. Then he went to the east[, carrying the ink-powder with him]. He inked a dot as large as a particle of dust [with that ink-powder] on the world at a distance of one thousand worlds from his world. Then he went again and repeated the inking of a dot on the world at every distance of one thousand worlds until the ink-powder was exhausted. What do you think of this? Do you think that any mathematician or any disciple of a mathematician could count the number of the worlds [he went through]?”
“No, we do not, World-Honored One!”
“Bhikṣus! Now all the worlds he went through, whether they were inked or not, were smashed into dust. The number of the kalpas which have elapsed since that Buddha passed away is many hundreds of thousands of billions of asaṃkhyas larger than the number of the particles of the dust thus produced. Yet I remember [the extinction of] that Buddha by my power of insight as vividly as if he had passed away today.”
Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
According to my remembrance,
There lived a Buddha, an Honorable Biped,
Called Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence,
Countless kalpas ago.Suppose someone smashed
All the earth-particles
Of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds
Into ink-powder.He went, [carrying the ink-powder with him,]
And inked a dot as large as a particle of dust
On the world at a distance of one thousand worlds.
He repeated the inking until the ink-powder was exhausted.Suppose the worlds
Through which he went,
Whether they were inked or not,
Were smashed into dust.It is innumerable• kalpas,
More than the number
Of the particles of dust thus produced,
Since that Buddha passed away.I remember the extinction of that Buddha
As vividly as if he had passed away just now,
By my unhindered wisdom; I also remember
The Śrāvakas and Bodhisattvas who lived [with him].Bhikṣus, know this!
My wisdom is pure, wonderful,
Free from āsravas and from hindrance.
I know those who lived innumerable kalpas ago.
The Meaning of ‘Today’
Buddhism for Today, p94-95The Buddha’s words “I observe that length of time as if it were only today” suggest to us that human life is unlimited. The Buddha gives us hints to realize that our lives continue from the unlimited past to the endless future; “today” does not exist in isolation but is like a deep pool or a shoal of the endless river of life. If we defile our body and mind of today, we exert a bad influence upon the lower reaches of the stream of unlimited life. If we purify our body and mind of today, we cause a favorable change farther down the same stream.
‘Frenemies’
Two Buddhas, p156According to the “Devadatta” chapter, the relationship between Śākyamuni Buddha and his treacherous cousin was not purely a matter of this lifetime. The very fact that he has become the Buddha, Śākyamuni says, is due to Devadatta’s past “good and virtuous friendship.” “Good and virtuous friendship” here translates kalyāvamitra (J. zenchishiki, literally, “good friend”), one who teaches or encourages another on the Buddhist path. In view of the traditional accounts of his repeated betrayals, Devadatta would seem to have been no “friend” at all. Nichiren, however, took this passage as teaching not only the inevitability of meeting enemies in one’s efforts to spread the dharma — “the Buddha and Devadatta are like a form and its shadow; in lifetime after lifetime, they are never separated” — but also the importance of appreciating the opportunity for spiritual development that their hostility makes possible. “In this age as well, it is not one’s allies but one’s bitterest enemies who help one improve,” he wrote. In this context, Nichiren expressed gratitude for the clerics and government officials who had persecuted him, adding that, without them, he could not have proven himself as a votary of the Lotus Sutra.
Day 9
Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.
Having last month concluded Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood, we return to Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and the Buddha’s declaration of his unhindered knowledge like a world-covering rain cloud.
Thereupon the World-Honored One said to Mahā-Kāśyapa and other great disciples:
“Excellent, excellent! You spoke of my true merits very well. My true merits are just as you said. In reality, however, I have more merits. They are innumerable, asaṃkhya. You will not be able to describe all of them even if you try to do so for many hundreds of millions of kalpas.“Kāśyapa, know this! I, the Tathāgata, am the King of the Dharma. Nothing I say is false. I expound all teachings with expedients by my wisdom in order to lead all living beings to the stage of knowing all things. I know what region a living being will be taken to by what teaching, and what a living being has deep in his mind. I am not hindered by anything in knowing all this. I know all things clearly, and show my knowledge of all things to all living beings.
“Kāśyapa! Suppose the various trees and grasses of the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds including herbs growing in the thickets, forests, mountains, ravines and valleys, on the ground, and by the rivers, all these plants being different in names and forms, were covered with a dark cloud, and then watered by a rainfall at the same time. The small, middle and large roots, stems, branches and leaves of the trees and grasses including herbs growing in the thickets and forests were watered. So were the tall and short trees, whether they were superior or middle or inferior. Those plants were given more or less water by the same rain from the same cloud, and grew differently according to their species. They obtained different flowers and fruits although they grew on the same ground and received water from the same rain.
Roots, Stalks, Twigs, and Leaves
Buddhism for Today, p74Roots, stalks, twigs, and leaves indicate faith, precepts, meditation, and wisdom. Roots are the most important part of plants. Without roots, they cannot grow stalks, twigs, or leaves. Therefore “roots” means faith. One cannot keep the precepts without faith. Because of keeping the precepts, one can enter into the mental state of meditation and can also obtain wisdom.
Conversely, however strong the roots may be, they will eventually die if the twigs and leaves wither or if the stalks are cut. In the same way, if man does not have wisdom, his faith will become corrupt. In short, in believing in a religion, man begins with faith and attains wisdom through the precepts and meditation. However, these four steps of his religious practice are always interrelated and exist together. When any one of the four steps is lacking, his religious practice cannot be perfect, and it will not progress to the next stage. Just as a tree may be big or little, superior, middle, or low, so different people are large- or smallminded, wise or ignorant.
The Unique Power of the Lotus Sūtra
Two Buddhas, p155[T]he “Devadatta” chapter underscores the Lotus Sūtra’s inclusivity by extending the possibility of buddhahood to categories of persons thought to labor under particularly heavy karmic burdens: evil men and all women. Nichiren took the Devadatta story as illustrating the unique power of the Lotus Sūtra to save even the most wicked and depraved.
Day 8
Day 8 concludes Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith, and closes the second volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month witnessed the father reveal the son’s true place, we learn how the Buddha is like the father.
You are like the father.
Knowing that we wished
To hear the Lesser Vehicle,
You did not say to us, “You will become Buddhas.”
You said of us to others:
“Though they are my disciples, they are Śrāvakas.
They eliminated āsravas,
But attained only the Lesser Vehicle.”You said to us:
“Expound the most excellent Way [to Bodhisattvas]!
Those who practice the Way
Will be able to become Buddhas.”By this order of yours
We expounded the unsurpassed Way
To the great Bodhisattvas
With various stories of previous lives,
With various parables and similes
And with various discourses.•Hearing the [Way, that is, the] Dharma from us,
Those sons of yours
Thought it over day and night,
And practiced it strenuously.Thereupon the Buddha assured them
Of their future Buddhahood, saying to them:
“You will become Buddhas
In your future lives.”You expounded the real thing,
That is, the store
Of the hidden core of the Buddhas
Only to the Bodhisattvas.
You did not expound
This truth to us.The poor son came to his father,
And took custody
Of the things of his father,
But wished to take none of them.The same can be said of us.
We did not wish to have the treasure-store
Of the teachings of the Buddhas
Although we expounded it [to the Bodhisattvas].We were satisfied with the elimination
Of illusions within ourselves.
What we accomplished was that elimination.
We did nothing more.You told us
To purify the world of the Buddha
And teach all living beings.
We heard this, but did not wish to do so
Because we had already attained the truth:
“All things are void and tranquil.
Nothing appears or disappears.
Nothing is larger or smaller.
Nothing has āsravas.
Nothing is subject to cause and effect.”
Having thought this, we did not wish
To do [the Bodhisattva practices].In the long night
We did not care
For the wisdom of the Buddha.
We did not wish to have it.
We thought:
“The Dharma we attained is perfect.”Having studied the truth of the Void in the long night,
We emancipated ourselves
From the sufferings of the triple world,
Attained the Nirvāṇa-with-remainder,
And reached the final stage
Of our physical existence.You said [to us]:
“When you attain enlightenment infallibly,
You will have already repaid
The favors I gave you.”
The Meaning of Faith and Discernment
Buddhism for Today, p63Faith (shin) is the working of one’s emotions, and discernment (ge) that of one’s reason. Though people often say that a religion or faith ought to be believed in instead of argued about, it is very dangerous to believe blindly in a religion without having any knowledge of it. If this religion is a worthless or wrong teaching, blind belief will result in not only ruining ourselves but also exerting an extremely harmful influence on our families and on society in general.
Even if a religion is a good teaching, as long as we believe in it blindly our faith is liable to be easily shaken by circumstances. Let us suppose that one believes that he will recover from a disease or that his circumstances will improve if only he has faith in a particular religion, without understanding its teachings. He does recover from his illness, believing that his cure is due to his religion, but he suffers a relapse and then begins to doubt. Suppose that then his son fails his university-entrance examination; the father forsakes the faith to which he has so firmly adhered regardless of others’ opinions. This kind of thing is a common occurrence.
This kind of faith is not a firm faith in the true sense of the term but merely a narrow faith. A true religion can always be understood through reason; this kind of understanding is called discernment.
The All Encompassing Wonderful Precept
Two Buddhas, p148Toward the end of the [Hotoge] verse passage, the Buddha declares that those who can uphold the Lotus Sūtra in a troubled age following his parinirvāṇa will be praised by all buddhas: they are courageous, persevering, and “are known as those who follow the rules of good conduct.” “The rules of good conduct” here refers to the precepts, the rules of moral discipline to be upheld by Buddhists. In Nichiren’s time, the significance of the precepts was hotly disputed. Hōnen had taught that birth in the Pure Land depends solely upon entrusting oneself to the power of Amitābha Buddha’s vow; whether one keeps or breaks the precepts has no bearing on one’s salvation. Others, such as the monk Eison (1201-1290), held that, precisely because the times were degenerate and adverse, strict observance of the precepts was more essential than ever. Nichiren, following this sūtra passage, maintained that upholding the Lotus Sūtra is itself keeping the precepts. The five characters of the daimoku, the heart of the Lotus Sūtra, he said, form the “all-encompassing wonderful precept” by which all buddhas realize their enlightenment. Nichiren generally endorsed the traditional Buddhist ethic of compassion and generosity, along with its moral principles that discourage such evils as killing, lying, theft, and sexual misconduct. However, he did not see following rules of conduct as a prerequisite to liberation in the age of the Final Dharma. Because the daimoku contains within itself all the countless practices and good acts of all past, present, and future buddhas, he taught, simply to chant it is to uphold the precepts. Nichiren also seems to have believed that this practice would foster upright conduct, for he claimed that “one who chants [the daimoku] as the Lotus Sūtra teaches will not have a crooked mind.