Category Archives: LS32

LS32

Day 14

Day 14 covers all of Chapter 9, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Śrāvakas Who Have Something More to Learn and the Śrāvakas Who Have Nothing More to Learn, and opens Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma.

Day 14 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month repeated the prediction for Rāhula in gāthās, we hear the prediction for the two thousand Śrāvakas and conclude Chapter 9, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Śrāvakas Who Have Something More to Learn and the Śrāvakas Who Have Nothing More to Learn.

Thereupon the World-Honored One saw the two thousand Śrāvakas, of whom some had something more to learn while others had nothing more to learn. They were gentle, quiet and pure. They looked up at the Buddha with all their hearts.

The Buddha said to Ānanda, “Do you see these two thousand Śrāvakas, of whom some have something more to learn while others have nothing more to learn?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Ānanda! These people will make offerings to as many Buddhas, as many Tathāgatas, as the particles of dust of fifty worlds. They will respect those Buddhas, honor them, and protect the store of their teachings. They will finally go to the worlds of the ten quarters and become Buddhas at the same time. They will be equally called Treasure-Form, 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. They will live for a kalpa. They will be the same in regard to the adornments of their worlds, the number of the Śrāvakas and Bodhisattvas of their worlds, the duration of the preservation of their right teachings, and the duration of the preservation of the counterfeit of their right teachings.”

Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:

I assure the future Buddhahood
Of these two thousand Śrāvakas
Who are now present before me.
They will become Buddhas in their future lives.

They will make offerings to as many Buddhas
As the particles of dust as previously stated.
They will protect the store of the teachings of those Buddhas,
And attain perfect enlightenment.

They will go to the worlds of the ten quarters.
Their [Buddha-]names will be the same.
They will sit at the place of enlightenment
And obtain unsurpassed wisdom at the same time.

Their [Buddha-]names will be Treasure-Form.
[The adornment of] their worlds, [the number of] their disciples,
[The duration of the period of] their right teachings,
[And that of] the counterfeit of them will be the same.

By their supernatural powers, they will save
The living beings of the worlds of the ten quarters.
Their fame will extend far and wide.
They will enter into Nirvana in the course of time.

Thereupon the two thousand Śrāvakas, of whom some had something more to learn while others had nothing more to learn, having heard the Buddha assure them of their future Buddhahood, danced with joy, and sang in a gāthā:

You, the World-Honored One, are the light of wisdom.
Hearing from you
That we are assured of our future Buddhahood,
We are as joyful as if we were sprinkled with nectar.

See General Vows and Special Vows

b4today, LS32, d14b

General Vows and Special Vows

In Buddhism, there are two kinds of vow: “general vow” (sōgan) and “special vow” (betsugan). “General vow” means the vow common to all people. The common desire of all Buddhists is to study the teachings of the Buddha and to extinguish illusions. Their desire is also to benefit many others through attaining enlightenment. This desire is called the general vow. It is divided again into four parts, which are known as the four great vows of the bodhisattva (shi gu-sei-gan).

Buddhism for Today, p133
2buddhas, d18b, WONS

Preaching the Exclusive Truth of the Lotus Sūtra

For Nichiren, preaching the exclusive truth of the Lotus Sūtra was not only about leading individuals to enlightenment, but also about saving the country and establishing an ideal buddha land in this world, a task he came to see as his personal mission and responsibility. In declaring the supremacy of the Lotus Sūtra, he found it necessary to rebuke attachment to other, provisional teachings; in consequence, he encountered repeated antagonism. Nichiren was often beset by danger and privation. Out of this experience, he developed what might be called a soteriology of undergoing persecution. The Lotus Sūtra itself speaks of the hostility that will confront its devotees in a latter evil age. Nichiren and his followers therefore understood the persecutions they faced as both fulfilling the sūtra’s prophecies and confirming the veracity of their mission to propagate it. Nichiren also taught that to endure hardships and opposition in spreading faith in the Lotus Sūtra is to repay one’s debt to the Buddha, eradicate one’s past evil karma, fulfill the bodhisattva’s mandate to sacrifice even one’s life, if need be, to save others, and guarantee one’s future buddhahood. Indeed, one could say that Nichiren’s teaching on buddhahood has two temporal modes: immediately manifesting the all-encompassing buddha realm in the act of chanting the daimoku, and realizing buddhahood as an unfolding process in devoting oneself to the daimoku’s propagation.

Two Buddhas, p31-32
LS32

Day 13

Day 13 covers all of Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples.

Day 13 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the reaction of the five hundred Arhats and heard the Parable of the Priceless Gem, concluded Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples, we begin again with Pūrṇa’s reaction to the Buddha’s expedient teaching.

Thereupon Pūrṇa, the son of Maitrāyanī having heard from the Buddha the Dharma expounded with expedients by the wisdom [o£ the Buddha] according to the capacities of all living beings, and having heard that [the Buddha] had assured the great disciples of their future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, and also having heard of the previous life of the Buddha, and also having heard of the great, unhindered, supernatural powers of the Buddhas, had the greatest joy that he had ever had, became pure in heart, and felt like dancing [with joy]. He rose from his seat, came to the Buddha, and worshipped him at his feet with his head. Then he retired to one side of the place, looked up at the honorable face with unblenching eyes, and thought:
‘The World-Honored One is extraordinary. What he does is exceptional. He expounds the Dharma with expedients by his insight according to the various natures of all living beings of the world, and saves them from various attachments. The merits of the Buddha are beyond the expression of our words. Only the Buddha, only the World-Honored One, knows the wishes we have deep in our minds.’

See Pūrṇa’s True Mental Courage

b4today, LS32, d13b

Pūrṇa’s True Mental Courage

Pūrṇa was so eloquent that he has been described as “the personification of eloquence.” “To speak as eloquently as Pūrṇa” became a common figure of speech in later times. However, he never showed off his superiority but led the same kind of life as ordinary men. He was such a great man that though he seemed mild, he had true mental courage. The following story about Pūrṇa has been handed down from old times.

When Sakyamuni Buddha permitted certain of his disciples to preach his teachings, Pūrṇa, desiring to preach in Śroṇāparanta, a region he knew well, asked the Buddha’s permission to do so. The Buddha said, “It will be very difficult for you to do missionary work in Śroṇāparanta, where the people are very stubborn. What would you do if they didn’t listen to your preaching however hard you tried?” Pūrṇa answered, “Even if they didn’t listen to my preaching, I would not be disappointed. I would consider myself fortunate not to be made fun of.” Then the Buddha asked, “What if you were derided?” Pūrṇa replied, “If I were, I would consider myself fortunate not to be slandered.” When asked, “What if you should be slandered?” he answered, “Even if I were, I would consider myself fortunate not to be beaten with sticks or stoned.” Asked, “What if you were beaten or stoned?” he replied, “I would consider myself fortunate not to be wounded by a sword.” Then asked, “What if you were wounded by a sword?” he answered, “Even if I were, I would consider myself fortunate not to be killed.” Next asked, “What if you were mortally wounded?” he replied, “I would consider myself fortunate to give up my life in spreading your teachings.” Thereupon the Buddha permitted Pūrṇa to go to Śroṇāparanta, saying, “You may go there if you have such a firm determination in doing your missionary work.” From this story, we can well understand that Pūrṇa was no common preacher.

Buddhism for Today, p123-124
2buddhas, d4b

Hōnen vs. Nichiren

Hōnen’s followers maintained one should set aside the Lotus in this lifetime and chant the nenbutsu instead, achieve birth in Amitābha’s pure land, and attain the awakening of the Lotus Sūtra there.

Nichiren fiercely opposed this argument. For him, Hōnen’s focus on human limitations ignored the Buddha’s own distinction between true and provisional teachings. The Lotus was the sūtra of which Śākyamuni himself had said, “For more than forty years I have expounded the dharma in all manner of ways through adeptness in skillful means, but the core truth has still not been revealed,” and, “Having openly set aside skillful means, I will teach only the highest path.”

Precisely because the Lotus Sūtra is profound, Nichiren argued, it can save even the most depraved individuals. He also maintained that the nenbutsu belonged to the lesser category of provisional Mahāyāna and did not represent the Buddha’s final intent. He likened it to the scaffolding erected in building a large stūpa: once the stūpa (the Lotus Sūtra) has been completed, the scaffolding (the nenbutsu) should be dismantled.

Like Hōnen, Nichiren taught a universally accessible mode of practice, grounded in faith and centered on the chanting of a single phrase. But despite these outward similarities, the doctrine and attitude underlying the two practices differ radically. Rather than promising enlightenment after death and in a distant realm, the daimoku as taught by Nichiren offers direct access to a dimension in which the self opens to pervade the universe, and buddhahood is realized “in this body.” In his teaching, mappō is accordingly revalorized as the moment when the “perfectly encompassing path” of immediate enlightenment becomes accessible to all.

Two Buddhas, p28-29
LS32

Day 12

Day 12 concludes Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City, and completes the Third Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 12 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month repeated in gāthās the story of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha, we consider the sixteen princes.

The sixteen princes renounced the world,
And became śramaṇeras.
They begged the Buddha to expound the teaching
Of the Great Vehicle, saying:
“We and our attendants wish to attain
The enlightenment of the Buddha.
May we have the purest eyes of wisdom
Just as yours!”

Knowing the wishes of the [princes who were] young boys
And the practices they performed in their previous existence,
The Buddha taught them the six paramitas
And many supernatural things
With innumerable stories of previous lives
And with various parables and similes.

The gāthās of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Were sung [by the Buddha] to expound the true teaching,
That is, [to expound] the Way which Bodhisattvas should practice.
The gāthās were as many as there are sands in the River Ganges.

Having expounded this sūtra, the Buddha entered a quiet room,
And practiced dhyāna-concentration.
Concentrating his mind, he sat at the same place
For eighty-four thousand kalpas.

Seeing him still in dhyāna,
The śramaṇeras wished to expound
The unsurpassed wisdom of the Buddha
To many hundreds of millions of living beings.

They each sat on a seat of the Dharma
And expounded this sūtra of the Great Vehicle.
Also after the peaceful extinction of that Buddha,
They proclaimed this sūtra, and helped propagate it.

They each saved
Six hundred billions of living beings,
That is, as many living beings
As there are sands in the River Ganges.

After the extinction of that Buddha,
Some heard the Dharma [from one of the śramaṇeras].
They were reborn in the world of a Buddha,
Accompanied by [the śramaṇera, that is,] their teacher.

Those sixteen śramaṇeras practiced the Way to Buddhahood.
They are now in the worlds of the ten quarters.
They have already attained
Perfect enlightenment [and become Buddhas].

Those who heard the Dharma from those śramaṇeras
Are now living under those Buddhas.
To those who are still in Śrāvakahood
[The Buddhas] teach the Way to Buddhahood.

See The Order of Preaching the Law

b4today, LS32, d12b

The Order of Preaching the Law

“The buddha preached this sutra incessantly for eight thousand kalpas. When he had finished preaching it, he entered a quiet room and remained in meditation for eighty-four thousand kalpas. Thereupon the sixteen bodhisattva-śramaṇeras, knowing that the buddha was absorbed in meditation, were concerned about what would happen if they did not preach the Law on behalf of the buddha. Each of them ascended a Law throne and according to the capacity of his listeners extensively preached and expounded to them the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law. Each of them showed, taught, benefited, and gladdened them, leading them to develop the mind leading to Perfect Enlightenment.”

A brief explanation should be given here of the words “Each of them showed, taught, benefited, and gladdened them.”

These words indicate the order of preaching the Law. First, one must show the general meaning of the teaching to people. Then, when one knows that they have generated the desire to enter the teaching, one must teach its profound meaning. Next, seeing that they appear to understand it, one must lead them to practice it and to obtain the benefit of the teaching. Lastly, one must so act toward them as to gladden them in keeping the teaching.

Buddhism for Today, p116-117
LS32

Day 11

Day 11 continues Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City

Day 11 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month witnessed what happened when Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, we consider the reaction of the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the southeast.

“Bhikṣus! The great Brahman-[heavenly-]kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the southeast, who saw their palaces illumined more brightly than ever, danced with joy. They also wondered why [their palaces were so illumined]. They visited each other and discussed the reason. There was a great Brahman-heavenly-king called Great-Compassion among them. He said to the other Brahmans in gāthās:

Why is it
That we see this light?
Our palaces are illumined
More brightly than ever.

Did a god of great virtue or a Buddha
Appear somewhere in the universe?
We have never seen this [light] before.
Let us do our best to find [the reason].

Let us go even to the end of one thousand billion worlds,
And find the place from where this light has come.
A Buddha may have appeared somewhere in the universe
In order to save the suffering beings.

“Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion [ worlds] went to the northwest, carrying flower-plates filled with heavenly flowers, in order to find [the place from where the light had come]. Their palaces also moved as they went. They [reached the Well-Composed World and] saw that Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata was sitting on the lion-like seat under the Bodhi tree of the place of enlightenment, surrounded respectfully by gods, dragon-kings, gandharvas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men, and nonhuman beings. They also saw that the sixteen princes were begging the Buddha to turn the wheel of the Dharma. Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings worshipped the Buddha with their heads, walked around him a hundred thousand times, and strewed heavenly flowers to him. The strewn flowers were heaped up to the height of Mt. Sumeru. The Brahman-heavenly-kings offered flowers also to the Bodhi-tree of the Buddha. Having offered flowers, they offered their palaces to the Buddha, saying, ‘We offer these palaces to you. Receive them and benefit us out of your compassion towards us!’ In the presence of the Buddha, they simultaneously praised him in gāthās with all their hearts:

Saintly Master, God of Gods!
Your voice is as sweet as a kalavinka’s.
You have compassion towards all living beings.
We now bow before you.
You, the World-Honored One, are exceptional.
You appear only once in a very long time.

No Buddha has appeared
For the past one hundred and eighty kalpas.
The three evil regions are crowded;
And the living beings in heaven, decreasing.

Now you have appeared in this world
And become the eye of all living beings.
As their refuge, you are saving them.
As their father, you are benefiting them
Out of your compassion towards them.
We are now able to see you
Because we accumulated merits
In our previous existence.

“Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings, having praised the Buddha with these gāthās, said, ‘World-Honored One! Turn the wheel of the Dharma and save all living beings out of your compassion towards them!’ Then they simultaneously said in gāthās with all their hearts:

Great Saint, turn the wheel of the Dharma
And reveal the reality of all things!
Save the suffering beings
And cause them to have great joy!

If they hear the Dharma, some will attain enlightenment;
Others will be reborn in heaven.
The living beings in the evil regions will decrease;
And those who do good patiently will increase.

“Thereupon Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata gave his tacit consent to their appeal.

See Creation Is Joy in Human Life

b4today, LS32, d11b

Creation Is Joy in Human Life

[The Brahma heavenly kings said,] “We have come from many heavens and have left deep meditative joys for the sake of serving the buddha. Our palaces are magnificently adorned as rewards for our former lives. Now we Offer them to the world-honored one and beg him in mercy to accept them.”

The point here is that the heavenly kings have left their deep meditative joys and have descended from heaven to the human world for the sake of hearing the buddhas’ teachings. This important point is at the core of the teaching of the Lotus Sutra. A worthwhile life does not consist in merely spending one’s life in peace and quiet but in creating something good. When one tries to become a better person through his practice, this endeavor is the creation of good. When he does something for the benefit of other people, this is the creation of a still higher standard of good. The various arts are the creation of beauty, and all honest professions are the creation of various kinds of energy that are beneficial to society.

Creation is bound to bring with it pain and hardship. However, one finds life worth living when one makes a strenuous effort for the sake of something good. He endeavors to become a little better a person and to do just a little more for the good of other people. Through such positive endeavor we are enabled to feel deep joy in our human lives.

If we lived for a week in a world where we did not have hardships and the joy of creating something, we would tire of it. If we did not become bored with such a world, it would show that we were basically lazy in nature. Such people are sunk in illusion, and even if they rise to a heavenly world, at any moment they may fall immediately to the world of demons (shura) or to hell (jigoku).

Buddhism for Today, p98-99