Category Archives: LS32

LS32

Day 7

Day 7 concludes Chapter 3, A Parable, and begins Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith.

Day 7 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month heard the Buddha’s explanation that “This triple world is my property. All living beings therein are my children,” we consider the greatness of the One Buddha Vehicle.

Śāriputra!
With this parable I expounded
The teaching of the One Buddha-Vehicle
To all living beings.
All of you will be able to attain
The enlightenment of the Buddha
If you believe and receive
These words of mine.

This vehicle is
The purest and most wonderful.
This is unsurpassed by any other vehicle
In all the worlds.
This vehicle is approved with joy by the Buddhas.
All living beings should extol it.
They should make offerings to it,
And bow to it.

The powers, emancipations,
dhyāna-concentrations, wisdom,
And all the other merits [of the Buddhas],
Many hundreds of thousands of millions in number,
Are loaded in this vehicle.

I will cause all my children
To ride in this vehicle
And to enjoy themselves
Day and night for kalpas.

The Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas
Will be able to go immediately
To the place of enlightenment
If they ride in this jeweled vehicle.

Therefore, even if you try to find another vehicle
Throughout the worlds of the ten quarters,
You will not be able to find any other one
Except those given by the Buddhas expediently.

See A Compassionate Act of Bodhisattva Practice

2buddhas, LS32, d18b, d7b

A Compassionate Act of Bodhisattva Practice

For Nichiren, convinced as he was that only the Lotus Sūtra leads to liberation in the mappō era, preaching exclusive devotion to the Lotus was not dogmatic self-assertion, but a compassionate act of bodhisattva practice. Whether others accepted the Lotus Sūtra or rejected it, telling them of its teaching would implant the seed of enlightenment in their minds and thereby enable them to establish a karmic connection to the sūtra that would someday allow them to realize buddhahood, whether in this lifetime or a future one.

Two Buddhas, p88
LS32

Day 6

Day 6 continues Chapter 3, A Parable

Day 6 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered Śākyamuni’s decision to use expedients, we learn the differences in the three carts.

“Śāriputra! Those who have intelligence, who receive the Dharma by faith after hearing it from the Buddha, from the World Honored One, and who seek Nirvāṇa with strenuous efforts in order to get out of the triple world, are called Śrāvakas. They may be likened to the children who left the burning house in order to get the sheep-carts. Those who receive the Dharma by faith after hearing it from the Buddha, from the World-Honored One, who seek the self-originating wisdom with strenuous efforts, who wish to have good tranquility in seclusion, and who perfectly understand the causes of all things, are called Pratyekabuddhas. They may be likened to the children who left the burning house in order to get the deer-carts. Those who receive the Dharma by faith after hearing it from the Buddha, from the World-Honored One, who strenuously seek the knowledge of all things, the wisdom of the Buddha, the self-originating wisdom, the wisdom to be obtained without teachers, and the insight and powers and fearlessness of the Tathāgata, who give peace to innumerable living beings out of their compassion towards them, and who benefit gods and men, that is to say, who save all living beings, are called men of the Great Vehicle. Bodhisattvas are called Mahasattvas because they seek this vehicle. They may be likened to the children who left the burning house in order to get the bullock-carts.

See Chapter by Chapter Road Map

LS32

Day 5

Day 5 begins Chapter 3, A Parable

Day 5 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month heard the Buddha’s reply to Śāriputra and begin the Parable of the Burning House, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 3, A Parable, with the father giving his children the largest of carts.

“Thereupon the rich man thought, ‘This house will be burned down soon by this great fire. If they and I do not get out at once, we shall be burned. I will save them from this danger with an expedient.

“An idea came to his mind that his children would be attracted by the various toys which they wished to have. He said to them, ‘The toys you wish to have are rare and difficult to obtain. You will be sorry if you do not get them now. There are sheep-carts, deer carts, and bullock-carts outside the gate. You can play with them. Come out of this burning house quickly! I will give you any of them according to your wishes.’

“Hearing of the toys from their father, the children rushed quickly out of the burning house, pushing one another, and striving to be first, because they thought that they could get what they each wished to have. The rich man, who saw them having come out safely and sitting in the open on the crossroad with no more hindrance, felt relieved and danced with joy. They said to their father, ‘Father! Give us the toys! Give us the sheep-carts, deer-cart and bullock-carts you promised us!’

“Śāriputra! Then the rich man gave each of them a large cart of the same size. The cart was tall, wide and deep, adorned with many treasures, surrounded by railings, and having bells hanging on the four sides. A canopy adorned with rare treasures was fixed on the top of it. Garlands of flowers, tied with jeweled ropes, were hanging from the canopy. In the cart were quilts spread one on another, and a red pillow. The cart was yoked with white bullocks. The color of the skin of the white bullocks was bright; their build, beautiful and stout; and their pace, regular. They could run as swift as the wind. The cart was guarded by many attendants. [This great rich man gave one of these carts to each of his children] because his wealth was so immeasurable that his various storehouses were full [of treasures]. He thought, ‘My treasures are limitless. I should not give inferior, smaller carts to them. They are all my children. Therefore, I love them without partiality. I have a countless number of these large carts of the seven treasures. I gave one of these to each of my children equally. There should be no discrimination. The large carts are numerous enough to be given to all the people of this country. Needless to say, I can give them to my sons. [Therefore, I did.]’

See Śākyamuni Buddha’s Three Virtues of Sovereign, Teacher and Parent

2buddhas, LS32, d5b, d6b, d7b, WONS

Śākyamuni Buddha’s Three Virtues of Sovereign, Teacher and Parent

[I]n interpreting the parable of the burning house, the Buddha says to Śāriputra: “Now this triple world is my property and the sentient beings in it are my children. There are now many dangers here and I am the only one who can protect them.” Nichiren interpreted this passage as expressing Śākyamuni Buddha’s three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent, which are mentioned briefly in a commentary on the Nirvāṇa Sūtra by Zhiyi’s disciple Guanding (561-632). Nichiren asserted repeatedly that only Śākyamuni Buddha of the Lotus Sūtra possesses these virtues with respect to all beings of the present, Sahā world: He protects them, like a powerful ruler; he guides them, like an enlightened teacher; and he extends compassionate affection to them, like a benevolent parent. In contrast, other buddhas, such as Mahāvairocana (J. Dainichi), Bhaiṣajyaguru (Yakushi), or Amitābha (Amida), have no such connection to this world-sphere: “The buddha Amitābha is not our sovereign, not our parent, and not our teacher.” This reading enabled Nichiren to depict the devotion to the buddha Amitābha, so popular in his day, as the unfilial act of honoring a stranger above one’s own parent, or as even a form of treason, such as venerating the ruler of China or Korea over the ruler of Japan.

Two Buddhas, p82-83
Lecture on Lotus Sutra, d19b, d20b

Arising Out of the Dirt of Our Lives

The Bodhisattvas arise out of the dirt of the ground. We live our lives not apart from the messiness of everyday life. We live our lives as ordinary people. We have jobs. We struggle with income, and jobs. We sometimes have what seems like less-than-perfect lives. But this is all there for us to emerge from. There is no going around the messiness of the Saha World. As Bodhisattvas, we are right in the middle of all of it and that is where we can blossom. The struggle and strife of the Saha World is the fertile ground on which we can demonstrate the truth the Lotus Sutra. Who would believe it is possible to attain enlightenment if our lives were already perfect?

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

LS32

Day 4

Day 4 concludes Chapter 2, Expedients, and completes the first volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 4 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month heard Śākyamuni explain the benefits of hearing the sūtra of the Great Vehicle, we hear Śākyamuni explain that there is only One Vehicle.

There is only one teaching, that is, the One Vehicle
In the Buddha-worlds of the ten quarters.
There is not a second or a third vehicle
Except when the Buddhas teach expediently.

The Buddhas lead all Living beings
By tentative names [of vehicles]
In order to expound their wisdom.
They appear in the worlds
Only for the One Vehicle.

Only this is true; the other two are not.
The Buddhas do not save living beings by the Lesser Vehicle.
They dwell in the Great Vehicle.
The Dharma they attained is adorned
With the power of concentration of mind
And with the power of wisdom.
They save all living beings by the Dharma.

I attained unsurpassed enlightenment,
The Great Vehicle, the Truth of Equality.
If I lead even a single man
By the Lesser Vehicle,
I shall be accused of stinginess.
It is not good at all to do this.

I do not deceive
Those who believe me and rely on me.
I am not greedy or jealous
Because I have eliminated all evils.
Therefore, in the worlds of the ten quarters,
I am fearless.

I am adorned with the physical marks of a Buddha.
I am illumining the world with my light.
To the countless living beings who honor me, I will expound
The seal of the truth, that is, the reality of all things.

See Opening the Three Vehicles to Reveal the One Vehicle

2buddhas, LS32, d3b, d4b

Opening the Three Vehicles to Reveal the One Vehicle

Here in Chapter Two, [the Buddha] provides a commentary on his own earlier teachings, looking back on the teaching of what he had taught long ago, accounting for it, and almost renouncing it. Central to this retelling is the claim that had befuddled Śāriputra and the other arhats: that the apparent division of the Buddha’s teaching into three vehicles was the Buddha’s “skillful means” that lead ultimately to the one buddha vehicle. In the words of the great Chinese exegete Zhiyi, the Lotus “opens the three vehicles to reveal the one vehicle.” The sūtra’s initial declaration of this teaching appears here in the second chapter and is further elaborated in Chapters Three through Nine by means of parables and other explanations. In Zhiyi’s analysis, these eight chapters together constitute the “main exposition” section of the sutra’s first half or trace teaching (shakumon in Japanese). They may also represent the earliest stratum of the sūtra’s compilation.

Two Buddhas, p64-65
LS32

Day 3

Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients.

Day 3 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month heard Śāriputra’s plea three times, we consider what happens when the Buddha begins to teach.

Thereupon the World-Honored One said to him:

“You asked me three times with enthusiasm. How can I leave the Dharma unexpounded? Listen to me attentively, and think over my words! Now I will expound [the Dharma] to you.”

When he had said this, five thousand people among the bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās, and upāsikās of this congregation rose from their seats, bowed to the Buddha, and retired because they were so sinful and arrogant that they thought that they had already obtained what they had not yet, and that they had already understood what they had not yet. Because of these faults, they did not stay. The World-Honored One kept silence and did not check them.

Thereupon the World-Honored One said to Śāriputra:

“Now this congregation has been cleared of twigs and leaves, only sincere people being left. Śāriputra! Those arrogant people may go. Now listen to me attentively! I will expound [the Dharma] to you.”

Śāriputra said, “Certainly, World-Honored One! I wish to hear you.”

See Opening Buddhahood as a Reality for All Beings

2buddhas, LS32, d3b, d4b

Opening Buddhahood as a Reality for All Beings

In its original context, the message of the “one buddha vehicle” first articulated in Chapter Two was directed from the marginal Mahāyāna movement toward the Buddhist mainstream, that is, the majority of monks and nuns who counted themselves as śrāvakas and aspired to the arhat’s nirvāṇa. But a thousand years later, in medieval Japan, the Mahāyāna was the mainstream; that is, Japanese Buddhism was entirely Mahāyāna, and there were no śrāvakas, except those mentioned in texts. Largely through the influence of the Lotus-based Tendai Buddhist tradition, the idea that buddhahood is at least in theory open to all had gained wide currency. In Nichiren’s reading, the thrust of the Lotus Sūtra’s one-vehicle argument therefore shifts in significant ways. No longer is it about opening buddhahood to specific categories of persons previously excluded, that is, to people of the two lesser vehicles. Rather, it is about opening buddhahood as a reality for all beings, in contrast to what Nichiren deemed purely abstract or notional assurances of buddhahood in other, provisional Mahāyāna teachings. Recall that, in the Tendai tradition in which Nichiren had been trained, the Lotus Sūtra is “true” and all others are “provisional,” meaning that the Lotus Sūtra is complete and all-encompassing, while other teachings are accommodated to their listeners’ understanding and therefore partial and incomplete. For Nichiren, now in the age of the Final Dharma, only the Lotus Sūtra embodied the principles by which Buddhist practitioners could truly realize enlightenment.

Two Buddhas, p65-66