Category Archives: LS32

LS32, Universal Sage

Between Day 32 and Day 1: Purification of the Senses

Having completed my 47th cycle through the Lotus Sutra, I mark the The Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva with the verses for purification of the six senses:

If you have evil in your eyes,
Impure with hindrances from actions in the past,
You should recite the Great Vehicle
And reflect on its first principle.

This is called eye repentance.
It exhausts past bad actions.

When the ears hear noise,
The principle of harmony is upset.
This produces craziness,
Like that of a foolish monkey.

You should recite the Great Vehicle
And meditate on the emptiness and formlessness of things,
To exhaust all evils for a long time,
And hear sounds from all directions with heavenly ears.

The nose is attached to scents.
In accord with its contamination, contacts occur.
In this way the deluded nose, in accord with its contamination,
Gives birth to all kinds of entanglements.
If you recite the Great Vehicle sutras
And meditate on the reality of things,
You will long be free from evil actions done in the past
And not do them in future lives.

The tongue causes five kinds of bad consequences
From harsh words spoken in the past.

If you want to control it yourself,
You should make an effort to practice compassion,
Think of the meaning of the true quiescence of things,
And not conceive by making distinctions.

The mind is like a monkey,
Never resting for a moment.

If you want to subdue it,
You should make an effort to recite the
Great Vehicle,
Keeping in mind the Buddha’s great awakened body,
His power, and his freedom from fear.

The body, master of its organs,
Dances freely among these six harmful faculties
Without obstacle,
Like dust swirling in the wind.

If you want to be rid of these evils,
Long separated from dirt and trouble,
Ever in the comfort of nirvana,
And at ease with a calm heart,
You should recite the Great Vehicle sutras
And keep in mind the mother of bodhisattvas.

Innumerable excellent skillful means will be obtained
By reflecting on the true nature of things.
These so-called six methods
Purify the six sense organs.

The whole ocean of hindrances from past actions
Arises from illusion.
If you want to repent, you should sit upright
And reflect on the true nature of things.

All sins are like frost and dew.
The sun of wisdom can dissipate them.
For this reason, with all your heart
You should repent of the six senses.

(Reeves, p417-419)

See The Heart of the Entire Lotus Sutra

2buddhas, LS32

The Heart of the Entire Lotus Sutra

Nichiren’s interpretation of the entire Lotus Sūtra is grounded in his understanding that the “heart” of the entire sūtra is the wonderful dharma, instantiated in its title, which encapsulates the awakened state that buddhas attain and which opens that buddhahood to all who chant it, however meager their moral virtue or understanding. “To practice only the seven characters Namu Myōhō-renge-kyō might seem narrow,” he said, “but because those characters are the teacher of all buddhas of the past, present, and future; the leader of all the bodhisattvas in the ten directions; and the compass for all sentient beings on the path of attaining buddhahood, that practice is actually profound.”

Two Buddhas, p50
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 concluded the Chapter 28 with the benefits received by those who heard The Encouragement of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, be begin again with the arrival of Universal Sage.

Thereupon Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, who was famous for his virtues and supernatural powers without hindrance, came from a world [in the distance of many worlds] to the east [of this Sahā-World]. He was accompanied by innumerable, uncountable great Bodhisattvas. All the worlds quaked as he passed through. [The gods] rained down jeweled lotus-flowers, and made many hundreds of thousands of billions of kinds of music. He was also surrounded by a great multitude of innumerable gods, dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men and nonhuman beings. They reached Mt. Gṛdhrakūṭa of the Sahā-World by their virtues and supernatural powers. [Universal-Sage Bodhisattva] worshiped [the feet of] Śākyamuni Buddha with his head, walked around the Buddha [from left] to right seven times and said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! I heard the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, which you expounded in this Sahā World, from a remote world in which lives Treasure-Power­Virtue-Superior-King Buddha. I came here with many hundreds of thousands of billions of Bodhisattvas in order to hear and receive [this Sūtra]. World-Honored One! Tell me how the good men or women who live after your extinction will be able to obtain this Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma!”

See The Protection of Universal Sage

2buddhas, LS32, d32b

The Protection of Universal Sage

In Nichiren’s teaching, it is the bodhisattvas of the earth who play the lead roles in spreading the Lotus Sūtra in the Final Dharma age. But he recognized Samantabhadra [Universal Sage] as a protector and, in one letter written from exile to Sado Island, referred to him as manifesting through two of his most supportive lay followers, the samurai Shinjō Kingo and his wife, Nichigen-nyo: “You were both born of ordinary status, and you live in Kamakura [the seat of Bakufu authority], yet you trust in the Lotus Sūtra without fearing others’ gaze and without begrudging your lives. This is no ordinary matter… . Surely this is what the Lotus Sūtra means where it says that those living in Jambudvipa who believe in this sūtra do so by the power of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra.”

As suggested in the long passage from Nichiren cited above, Samantabadhra is often depicted iconographically as Śākyamuni Buddha’s attendant on the right, with Mañjuśrī attending him on the left. Where Mañjuśrī represents wisdom and realization, Samantabhadra represents teaching and practice. The Lotus Sūtra begins with Mañjuśrī playing a role in preparing the assembly to receive Śākyamuni’s preaching of the sūtra just before his final nirvāṇa; it concludes with Samantabadhra vowing to protect those who uphold the sūtra after he has departed. On Nichiren’s mandala, the names of Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra appear as representatives of bodhisattvas from other worlds and of the trace teaching.

Two Buddhas, p261
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 heard Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha’s prediction for King Wonderful-Adornment, we consider the king’s reaction and the role of the two sons.

“Thereupon the king abdicated from the throne in favor of his younger brother, renounced the world, and with his wife, two sons, and attendants, practiced the Way under that Buddha. After he renounced the world, the king acted according to the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma constantly and strenuously for eighty-four thousand years. Then he practiced the samādhi for the adornment of all pure merits. Then he went up to the sky seven times as high as the tala-tree, and said to that Buddha, ‘World-Honored One! These two sons of mine did the work of the Buddha. They converted me from wrong views by displaying wonders. They caused me to dwell peacefully in your teachings. They caused me to see you. These two sons of mine are my teachers. They appeared in my family in order to benefit me. They inspired the roots of good which I had planted in my previous existence.’

“Thereupon Cloud-Thunderpeal-Star-King-Flower-Wisdom Buddha said to King Wonderful-Adornment, ‘So it is, so it is. It is just as you say. The good men or women who plant the roots of good will obtain teachers in their successive lives. The teachers will do the work of the Buddha, show the Way [to them], teach them, benefit them, cause them to rejoice, and cause them to enter into the Way to Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Great King, know this! A teacher is a great cause [of your enlightenment] because he leads you, and causes you to see a Buddha and aspire for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Great King! Do you see these two sons of yours, or not? They made offerings to six trillion and five hundred thousand billion Buddhas, that is, as many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges, in their previous existence. They attended on those Buddhas respectfully. They kept the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma under those Buddhas, and caused the people of wrong views to have right views out of their compassion towards them.

See The Importance of Family Relations in Promoting Faith

2buddhas, LS32, d31b

The Importance of Family Relations in Promoting Faith

Nichiren regarded King Śubhavyūha [King Wonderful-Adornment] as an example of an “evil man” attaining buddhahood through the power of the Lotus Sūtra. He often referenced this chapter in letters to his followers to stress the importance of family relations in promoting faith and to assuage the anxieties they sometimes felt about the postmortem fate of their deceased parents or children. One example occurs in a letter to his follower Jōren-bō, whose father had been a follower of Hōnen’s Pure Land teaching. Jōren-bō was presumably anxious about what karmic retribution his father would incur in his next life. Indeed, Nichiren says, those who support teachers who slander the dharma, such as Hōnen and other Pure Land teachers, must fall into the Avici hell. In this case, however, the father will surely be saved by the son’s devotion. He writes: “A ruler’s mind is broadened by his minister, and parents’ pain is eased by their children. Maudgalyāyana saved his mother from the sufferings of the realm of hungry ghosts, and the sons Vimalagarbha and Vimalanetra persuaded their father to rectify his false views. … The merit that you have acquired by embracing the Lotus Sūtra will become your father’s strength.”

Two Buddhas, p251
LS32

Day 30

Day 30 covers all of Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs

Day 30 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month met the ten rākṣasas and the Mother-Of-Devils and her children and attendants, we conclude Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs.

The Buddha said to the rākṣasas:

“Excellent, excellent! Your merits will be immeasurable even when you protect the person who keeps only the name of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. Needless to say, so will be your merits when you protect the person who keeps the sūtra itself, and makes to a copy of this sūtra hundreds of thousands of offerings such as flowers, incense, necklaces, powdered incense, incense applicable to the skin, incense to burn, streamers, canopies, music, and various lamps like lamps of butter oil, oil lamps, lamps of perfumed oil, lamps of sumanas-flower oil, lamps of campaka flower oil, lamps of vārṣika-flower oil, and lamps of utpala-flower oil. Kunti! You [rākṣasas] and your attendants should protect this teacher of the Dharma.”

When the Buddha expounded this chapter of Dhārānis, sixty-eight thousand people obtained the truth of birthlessness.

See The Protection of the Ten Rāksasis

2buddhas, LS32, d30b, WONS

The Protection of the Ten Rāksasis

Nichiren’s own writings … give less attention to Kishimojin than to the ten rāksasis, whom he mentions more than fifty times. Unlike such bodhisattvas as Bhaiṣajyarāja, Gadgadasvara, and Avalokiteśvara of the immediately preceding chapters, whom he understood to have been active chiefly in the True Dharma and Semblance Dharma ages, the ten demon women were, in Nichiren’s understanding, presently active on behalf of Lotus devotees and devising plans to facilitate the sūtra’s spread. Toward the end of the present chapter, the Buddha praises them, saying, “Splendid, splendid! You protect those who preserve the name of the Lotus Sūtra! Your merit is immeasurable.” In the sūtra, the Buddha goes on to say that the merit of protecting those who serve the sūtra in various other ways is greater still. For Nichiren, however, the passage just quoted underscored the overriding importance of the daimoku:

QUESTION: What proof is there that one should embrace the name of the Lotus Sūtra, in particular, in the same way that people embrace the name of a buddha?

ANSWER: The sūtra states, “The Buddha said to the rāksasis, ‘Splendid, splendid! You protect those who preserve the name of the Lotus Sūtra! Your merit is immeasurable’ (322). This passage means that, when the ten rāksasis vowed to protect those who embrace the title of the Lotus Sūtra, the world-honored one of great enlightenment praised them, saying, “Splendid! Splendid! The merit you will receive for protecting those who accept and uphold Namu Myōhō-renge-kyō will be incalculable and marvelous!” This passage implies that, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, we living beings should chant Namu Myōhō-renge-kyō.

Elsewhere, Nichiren interprets the same sūtra passage to stress the unfathomable benefits of the chanting the daimoku: “This merit [deriving from the vow of the ten rāksasis] to protect those who embrace the daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra is beyond even the reach of the buddha wisdom, which perfectly comprehends the past, present, and future. One might think that nothing could exceed the grasp of the buddha wisdom, but the Buddha here declares that the merit accruing from accepting and upholding the daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra is the one thing alone that it cannot fathom.”

Two Buddhas, p245-246
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 considered the merits earned by anyone who keeps the name of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva and bows and makes offerings to him even for a moment, we consider how World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva goes about this Sahā-World.

Endless-Intent Bodhisattva said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! How does World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva go about this Sahā-World? How does he expound the Dharma to the living beings? What expedients does he employ?”

The Buddha said to Endless-Intent Bodhisattva:

“Good man! In a certain world, World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva takes the shape of a Buddha and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by a Buddha. He takes the shape of a Pratyekabuddha and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by a Pratyekabuddha. He takes the shape of a Śrāvaka and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by a Śrāvaka. He takes the shape of King Brahman and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by King Brahman. He takes the shape of King Śakra and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by King Śakra. He takes the shape of Freedom God and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by Freedom God. He takes the shape of Great-Freedom God and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by Great-Freedom God. He takes the shape of a great general in heaven and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by a great general in heaven. He takes the shape of Vaiśravaṇa and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by Vaiśravaṇa. He takes the shape of the king of a small country and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by the king of a small country. He takes the shape of a rich man and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by a rich man. He takes the shape of a householder and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by a householder. He takes the shape of a prime minister and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by a prime minister. He takes the shape of a brahmana and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by a brāhmana. He takes the shape of a bhikṣu, a bhikṣunī, an upāsakā or an upāsikā and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by a bhikṣu, a bhikṣunī, an upāsakā or an upāsikā. He takes the shape of a wife and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by the wife of a rich man, of a householder, of a prime minister, or of a brāhmana. He takes the shape of a boy or a girl and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by a boy or a girl. He takes the shape of a god, a dragon, a yakṣa, a gandharva, an asura, a garuda, a kiṃnara, a mahoraga, a human being or a nonhuman being and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by one or another of these living beings. He takes the shape of Vajra-Holding God and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by Vajra-Holding God.

“Endless-Intent! This World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva does these meritorious deeds. He takes various shapes, walks about many worlds, and saves the living beings [of those worlds]. Make offerings to World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva with all your hearts! This World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva-mahāsattva gives fearlessness [to those who are] in fearful emergencies. Therefore, he is called the ‘Giver of Fearlessness’ in this Sahā-World.”

See Bodhisattvas of the Pre-Lotus Sūtra and Trace Teachings

2buddhas, LS32, d29b

Bodhisattvas of the Pre-Lotus Sūtra and Trace Teachings

Nichiren acknowledged the tradition that held Zhiyi’s teacher Huisi to have been an embodiment of Avalokiteśvara in this world. However, Huisi had lived during the Semblance Dharma age, and Nichiren represents him as spreading only the trace teaching of the Lotus Sūtra. He saw Avalokiteśvara, like Mañjuśrī, Bhaiṣajyarāja, and Samantabhadra, as bodhisattvas of the pre-Lotus Sūtra and trace teachings. “Since they were not bearers Myōhō-renge-kyō], they were perhaps unequal to propagating it in the Final Dharma age,” he suggested.

Two Buddhas, p241