Category Archives: LS32

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 heard the Buddha answer how the good men or women will be able to obtain this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, we consider Universal-Sage Bodhisattva’s vow to protect those who practice the Lotus Sūtra.

“World-Honored One! The bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās or upāsikās who seek, keep, read, recite and copy this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in the defiled world in the later five hundred years after [your extinction], if they wish to study and practice this sūtra, should concentrate their minds [on study and practice] strenuously for three weeks. When they complete [the study and practice of] three weeks, I will mount a white elephant with six tusks, and appear before them with my body which all living beings wish to see, together with innumerable Bodhisattvas surrounding me. I will expound the Dharma to them, show them the Way, teach them, benefit them, and cause them to rejoice. I also will give them dhārāṇi spells. If they obtain these dhārāṇis, they will not be killed by nonhuman beings or captivated by women. Also I myself will always protect them. World-Honored One! Allow me to utter these dhārāṇis spells!”

Thereupon he uttered spells before the Buddha:

“Atandai (1), tandahatai (2), tandahatei (3), tandakusharei (4), tandashudarei (5), shudarei (6), shudarahachi (7), botsudahasennei (8), sarubadarani-abatani (9), sarubabasha-abataru (10), hu­abatani (11), sōgyahabishani (12), sōgyaneku-kyadani (13), asogi (14), sōgyahagyadai. (15), teirei-ada-sōgyatorya-aratei-haratei (16), sarubasogya-sammaji-kyarandai (17), sarubadaruma­shuharisettei (18), saru-basatta-rodakyōsharya-atogyadai (19), shin-abikiridaitei (20).”

See Wisdom and Practice

b4today, LS32, d32b

Wisdom and Practice

The Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī represents the Buddha’s wisdom, while the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue typifies the Buddha’s practice. These two bodhisattvas are regarded as a pair: the wisdom represented by Mañjuśrī symbolizes one’s realization of the truth and the practice typified by Universal Virtue one’s practice of the truth.

We have already studied the realization of the truth in the Law of Appearance. In the assembly of the Buddha’s preaching of this Law, the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī was the representative of the Buddha’s disciples. We learned the entity of the truth in the “one chapter and two halves” — the latter half of chapter 15, all of chapter 16, and the first half of chapter 17. In this assembly, the Bodhisattva Maitreya represented the disciples. We were taught the practice of the truth through the example of the practices of various bodhisattvas in the latter half of chapter 17 and the following chapters, which are defined as the concluding part of the Law of Origin. Finally, the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue appears in the last chapter of the Lotus Sutra. There is a deep significance to his appearance at this particular point.

Buddhism for Today, p405
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 concluded Chapter 27, King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva, we begin again and meet Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha and King Wonderful-Adornment and his wife and two sons.

Thereupon the Buddha said to the great multitude:

“Innumerable, inconceivable, asaṃkhya kalpas ago, there lived a Buddha called Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom, the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the Samyak-sambuddha. His world was called Light-Adornment; the kalpa in which he lived, Gladly-Seen. Under that Buddha lived a king called Wonderful-Adornment. His wife was called Pure-Virtue. They had two sons, Pure-Store and Pure-Eyes by name. The two sons had great supernatural powers, merits, virtues and wisdom. A long time ago, they had already practiced the Way which Bodhisattva should practice. They had already practiced the dana-pāramitā, the sita-pāramitā, the kṣānti-pāramitā, the vīrya-pāramitā, the dhyāna-pāramitā, the prajña-pāramitā, and the pāramitā of expediency. They also had already obtained the four states of mind towards all living beings:] compassion, loving-kindness, joy and impartiality. They also had already practiced the thirty-seven ways to enlightenment. They had done all this perfectly and clearly. They also had already obtained the samādhis of Bodhisattvas: that is, the samādhi for purity, the samādhi for the sun and the stars, the samādhi for pure light, the samādhi for pure form, the samādhi for pure brightness, the samādhi for permanent adornment, and the samādhi for the great treasury of powers and virtues. They had already practiced all these samādhis.

See Family Lessons

b4today, LS32, d31b

Family Lessons

[Chapter 27, King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva,] touches upon many important problems of actual life. We should take the various characters in the story as models, appreciating their attitudes according to their positions. The attitude of King Resplendent is an example of that which a person engaged in politics or national leadership should take toward the truth; the deeds of the two royal sons, Pure Treasury and Pure-Eyed, show how children may open their parents’ eyes to faith (this also applies to a wife’s opening her husband’s eyes to it); Queen Pure Virtue is a model of the attitude a mother ought to take in mediating between progressive sons and a conservative father in order to promote the truth. 403-404

LS32

Day 30

Day 30 covers all of Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs

Day 30 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered Medicine-King Bodhisattva’s question, we receive his dhārāni spells.

Thereupon Medicine-King Bodhisattva said to the Buddha,

“World-Honored One! Now I will give dhārāni spells to the expounder of the Dharma’ in order to protect him.”

Then he uttered spells:

“Ani (1), mani (2), manei (3), mamanei (4), shirei (5), sharitei (6), shamya (7), shabi-tai (8), sentei (9), mokutei (10), mokutabi (11), shabi (12), aishabi (13), sōbi (14), shabi (15), shaei (16), ashaei (17), agini (18), sentei (19), shabi (20), darani (21 ), arokya-basai-ha habi-shani (22), neibitei (23), abentarancibitei (24), atantahareishudai(25), ukurei (26), mukurei (27), ararei (28), hararei (29), shukyashi (30), asammasambi (31), botsudabikirijittei (32), darumaharishitei (33), sōgyanekkushanei (34), bashabashashudai(35), mantara (36), manta ashayata (37), urntaurota (38), kyōsharya(39), ashara (40), ashay taya (41), abaro (42), amanyanataya (43).”

[He said to the Buddha:]

“World-Honored One! These dhārānis, these divine spells, have already been uttered by six thousand and two hundred million Buddhas, that is, as many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges. Those who attack and abuse this teacher of the Dharma should be considered to have attacked and abused those Buddhas.”

Thereupon Śākyamuni Buddha praised Medicine-King Bodhisattva, saying:

“Excellent, excellent, Medicine-King! You uttered these dhārānis in order to protect this teacher of the Dharma out of your compassion towards him. You will be able to give many benefits to all living beings.”

See Five Kinds of Untranslatable Words

b4today, LS32, d30b

Five Kinds of Untranslatable Words

Many mystic Sanskrit words appear in this chapter. Why were these words not translated? The reason is due to the prudence of Kumārajīva, who translated the Lotus Sutra from Sanskrit into Chinese. When the Mahāyāna sutras were rendered into Chinese from Sanskrit, the translators, including Kumārajīva, left “untranslatable words” untouched. These translators defined as untranslatable the following five kinds of words:

  1. Words with meanings alien to Chinese, that is, the names of animals, plants, and demons peculiar to India but foreign to China. For example: the fragrance of tamālapattra and of tagara, mentioned in chapter 19, and such beings as garuḍas and kiṃnaras.
  2. Words with many meanings, that is, words that cannot be fully translated by a single word. For example: dhārāṇi, sometimes meaning the mystic power that enables a reciter to maintain the teaching he has heard, sometimes meaning the power of checking all evil and of encouraging all good, sometimes meaning the mystic syllables by which the reciter can escape disaster. The mystic syllables in chapter 26 belong to the last category.
  3. Mystic words. For example: the dhārāṇi spells appearing in chapter 26. These words were left as they were because their profound meaning would be impaired if they were translated.
  4. Transliterations well established by precedent. For example: Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, which can be translated as “Perfect Enlightenment” or “the unsurpassed wisdom of the Buddha.”
  5. Words with profound meanings, which would lose their true meaning if translated. For example: buddha and bodhi.

These five kinds of untranslatable words (goshu-fuhon) were invariably left untouched by any translator.

Buddhism for Today, p390
2buddhas, d7b, WONS

Dharma Slanderers

What particularly drew Nichiren’s attention in the “Parable” chapter was the long segment of the final verse section detailing the horrific karmic retribution incurred by those who disparage the Lotus Sūtra. The act of “disparaging the dharma” (S. saddharmapratiksepa, J. hōbō, also translated as “slandering” or “maligning” the dharma) was considered so grave a sin that in East Asia it was sometimes appended to the list of the five heinous deeds. The term occurs frequently in the Mahāyāna sūtras, where it often means maligning the Great Vehicle scriptures; in its Indic context, it was probably intended to counter the mainstream Buddhist criticism that the Mahāyāna was not the Buddha’s teaching.

Japanese Buddhists, however, understood theirs to be a “Mahāyāna country.” Unlike the situation faced by the Lotus Sūtra’s compilers, no one questioned the Mahāyāna’s legitimacy. Nichiren therefore took the term “dharma slander” in a different sense, to mean rejecting the Lotus Sūtra in favor of provisional teachings.

Two Buddhas, p83
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 witnessed Endless-Intent Bodhisattva’s gift to World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva, we consider in gāthās World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva supernatural powers.

[The Buddha said to Endless-Intent Bodhisattva,] “Endless-Intent! World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva goes about the Sahā-World, employing these supernatural powers without hindrance.”

Thereupon Endless-lntent Bodhisattva asked the Buddha in gāthās:

World-Honored One with the wonderful marks
I ask you about this again.
Why is the son of the Buddha
Called World-Voice-Perceiver?

The Honorable One with the wonderful marks answered Endless-Intent in gāthās:

Listen! World-Voice-Perceiver practiced
According to the conditions of the places [of salvation].
His vow to save [people] is as deep as the sea.
You cannot fathom it even for kalpas.

On many hundreds of thousands of millions of Buddhas
He attended and made a great and pure vow.
I will tell you about his vow in brief.
If you hear his name, and see him,
And think of him constantly,
You will be able to eliminate all sufferings.

Suppose you are thrown into a large pit of fire
By someone who has an intention of killing you.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver
The pit of fire will change into a pond of water.

Suppose you are in a ship drifting on a great ocean
Where dragons, fish and devils are rampant.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
The ship will not b sunk by the waves.

Suppose you are pushed
Off the top of Mt. Sumeru by someone.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
You will be able to stay in the air like the sun.

Suppose you are chased by an evil man,
And pushed off [the top of] a mountain made of diamond.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
You will not lose even a hair.

Suppose bandits are surrounding you,
And attempting to kill you with swords.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
The bandits will become compassionate t wards you.

Suppose you are sentenced to death,
And the sword is drawn to behead you.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
The sword will suddenly break asunder.

Suppose you are bound up
In pillories, chains, manacles or fetters.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
You will be released from them.

Suppose someone curses you to death,
Or attempts to kill you by various poisons.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
Death will be brought to that person, instead.

Suppose you meet rākṣasas
Or poisonous dragons or other devils.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
They will not kill you.

Suppose you are surrounded by wild animals
Which have sharp, fearful tusks and claws.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver
They will flee away to distant places.

Suppose you meet lizards, snakes, vipers or scorpions
Emitting poisonous vapor like flames.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
They will go away as you call his name.

Suppose clouds arise, lightning flashes, thunder peals,
Hail falls, and a heavy rains comes down.
If you think of the power of World-Voice-Perceiver,
The thunderstorm will stop at once.

See The Supernatural Powers of This Bodhisattva equal the Power of the Law

b4today, LS32, d29b

The Supernatural Powers of This Bodhisattva equal the Power of the Law

[W]e are very wrong in our judgment if we interpret the form of salvation superficially. For example, it is stated in chapter 25, “The All-Sidedness of the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World,” that anyone who keeps in mind the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World will be delivered from various sufferings. If we interpret this statement literally, it seems to mean that we do not have to work hard at practicing the Buddha’s teachings; but with such an attitude, none of the teachings of the Lotus Sutra will bear fruit. Anyone can easily understand that in the last six chapters the Buddha cannot have been so illogical and contradictory as to deny fundamentally all of the teachings preached up through chapter 22. It is surprising to find that for centuries many people have put a shallow interpretation on something that should be so easily understood and have turned to an easy, lazy faith that they thought would allow them to become free of suffering merely by keeping in mind the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World.

When we read chapter 25 carefully and in depth, we understand that the supernatural powers of this bodhisattva are essentially identical with the power of the Law preached by the Tathāgata Sakyamuni. We also realize that we must depend spiritually upon the Law to the last, but that in cultivating and practicing it we should take the model of the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World as our immediate goal. It is most regrettable that misunderstanding and simplistic interpretations of Buddhist sutras have sunk deeply into the minds of the general public over a period of many centuries, vitiating the true spirit of Buddhism. It is earnestly hoped that readers of this book will not make the same mistake.

Buddhism for Today, p351
2buddhas, d4b

Gaining Entry to the Path

Other passages in the Lotus Sūtra describe the hardships of the bodhisattva path. But [in the last half of Chapter 2] we learn that gaining entry to the path is remarkably easy. The Buddha begins by making the standard claim that those who perform the six perfections (pāramitās) of giving, ethics, patience, effort, concentration, and wisdom — the so-called bodhisattva deeds — will attain the path of the buddhas. This is familiar doctrine in both the mainstream and Mahāyāna traditions. But then, in one of the most moving passages in the sūtra, he promises the same attainment for those who perform the far easier act of merely paying homage to stūpas. Even little children “who have drawn a buddha image with a blade of grass or a twig, brush or fingernail, such people, having gradually accumulated merit and perfected great compassion, have certainly attained the path of the buddhas.” The same is true for those who pay homage by making music or even make a low-pitched sound with their voice. “Those who, even with distracted minds have offered a single flower to a painted image will in due time see innumerable buddhas. Or those who have done obeisance to images, or merely pressed their palms together, or raised a single hand, or nodded their heads, will in due time see immeasurable buddhas.” For a tradition that by this time had already developed an architectonics of enlightenment notable for both its precision and its complexity, such declarations are revolutionary.

Two Buddhas, p61