Two Buddhas, p202-203Nichiren does not comment extensively on the six forms of sensory purification. But in one letter, he addresses at some length a passage from the “Benefits Obtained” chapter in the section discussing the purification of the mental faculty: “If they [expounders of the Lotus] teach the works on worldly affairs, treatises on political science or enterprise, all these will be in harmony with the true dharma” (271). This means, Nichiren says, that the Lotus takes worldly dharmas, or phenomena, as “immediately comprising the whole of the buddha-dharma,” a feature that he saw as distinguishing it from other sūtras: “The sūtras preached before the Lotus Sūtra hold in essence that all dharmas are produced from the mind. To illustrate, they say that the mind is like the great earth, while the grasses and trees [that grow from it] are like the dharmas. Not so with the Lotus Sūtra. [It teaches that] the mind is itself the great earth, and the great earth is precisely the grasses and trees. The sūtras preached before it say that clarity of mind is like the moon and that purity of mind is like a flower. Not so with the Lotus Sūtra. It teaches that the moon is the mind, the flower is the mind.”
Category Archives: LS32
Day 23
Day 23 covers all of Chapter 18, The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra, and opens Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma.
Having last month considered the merits of the 50th person in gāthās, we complete Chapter 18, The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra.
Anyone who persuades even a single person
To hear the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower
Of the Wonderful Dharma, saying:
“This sūtra is profound and wonderful.
It is difficult to meet it
Even during ten million kalpas,”
And causes him to go and hear it even for a moment,
Will be able to obtain the following merits:In his future lives, he will have no disease of the mouth.
His teeth will not be few, yellow or black.
His lips will not be thick, shrunk or broken.
There will be nothing loathsome [on his lips].
His tongue will not be dry, black or short.
His nose will be high, long and straight.
His forehead will be broad and even.
His face will be handsome.
All people will wish to see him.
His breath will not be foul.
The fragrance of the utpala-flowers
Will always be emitted from his mouth.Anyone who visits a monastery to hear
The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
And rejoices at hearing it even for a moment,
Will be able to obtain the following merits:He will be reborn among gods and men.
He will be able to go up to the palace of heaven,
Riding in a wonderful elephant-cart or horse-cart,
Or in a palanquin of wonderful treasures.Anyone who persuades others to sit and hear this sūtra
In the place where the Dharma is expounded,
Will be able to obtain the seat of Sakra or of Brahman
Or of a wheel-turning-holy-king by his merits.
Needless to say, boundless will be the merits
Of the person who hears this sūtra with all his heart,
And expounds its meanings,
And acts according to its teachings.
The Lotus Sūtra’s Inconceivable Liberative Powers
Two Buddhas, p199-200[I]n another extravagant illustration of the Lotus Sūtra’s inconceivable liberative powers, the Buddha asks his hearers to imagine that one person, hearing the Lotus Sūtra, rejoices and teaches it to another, who similarly rejoices and teaches it to another, and so on. The merit gained by the fiftieth person in succession on merely hearing the sūtra and rejoicing in its message, Śākyamuni says, is incalculably, inconceivably greater than that of someone who over an eighty-year period first gives immeasurable gifts to beings in billions of worlds and then leads them to the liberation of an arhat.
Today we are inclined to read these statements with attention to their rhetorical function in “constructing” the Lotus Sūtra as inconceivably wonderful. Nichiren and his contemporaries, however, would not have seen this as a rhetorical device. For them, the sūtras faithfully recorded the words of the Buddha, who is by definition both omniscient and free from falsehood. In short, they were statements of literal truth. “What other sūtra,” Nichiren asks, “teaches that incalculable merit accrues to one who arouses even a single thought of willing acceptance, or to the fiftieth person who rejoices upon hearing it? Other sūtras do not claim such merit for even the first, second, third, or tenth hearer, let alone the fiftieth!”
As he had with the notions of the first stage of faith and the first stage of practice that are based on the “Description of Merits” chapter, Nichiren employed the analogy of “transmission to the fiftieth person” from the “Merits of Joyful Acceptance” chapter to counter claims from Pure Land devotees that the Lotus Sūtra, being extremely profound, was too difficult to practice for deluded persons of the Final Dharma age. If ease of practice were to be a criterion, he said, no practice could be easier than spontaneously rejoicing on hearing the Lotus Sūtra. Nichiren argued that, far from excluding the ignorant, it is precisely because the Lotus Sūtra is so profound that it can save beings of any capacity whatsoever. In this connection, he often cited Zhanran’s remark: “The more true the teaching, the lower the capacity [of the persons it can bring to liberation.]” However limited one’s capacity might be, that person is ennobled by their Lotus Sūtra practice. Therefore, Nichiren wrote, his followers were not to be despised: “If one looks into their past, they are great bodhisattvas who have made offerings for eight billion eons to buddhas numerous as the sands of the Hiraṇyavatī and Ganges rivers. And in terms of the future, they will be endowed with the merit of the fiftieth person [to hear the sūtra], which surpasses that of one who gives gifts to incalculable sentient beings for a period of eighty years. They are like a crown prince wrapped in swaddling clothes or a newborn dragon. Do not look down on them. Do not hold them in contempt!”
Day 22
Day 22 covers all of Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits.
Having last month heard the merits received by those who heard of the duration of the Buddha’s life, consider the reaction of the gods to this announcement.
When the Buddha said that these Bodhisattva-mahāsattva had obtained the great benefits of the Dharma, [the gods) in heaven rained mandārava-flowers and mahā-mandārava-flowers on the many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas sitting on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees. They also rained those flowers on [the two Buddhas:] Many-Treasures Tathāgata, who had passed away a long time ago, and Śākyamuni Buddha, both of whom were sitting on the lion-like seat in the stupa of the seven treasures. They also rained those flowers on the great Bodhisattvas’ and the four kinds of devotees. They also rained the fine powder of the incense of candana and aloes [on them). Heavenly drums automatically sounded wonderful and deep in the sky. [The gods] also rained thousands of heavenly garments and hung many necklaces made of pearls, mani gems or free-at-will gems over the nine quarters. They also burned priceless incense which was put in incense-burners of many treasures. The incense-burners automatically went around the great congregation, and the odor of the incense was offered to all the members of the congregation. Above each of the Buddhas [sitting under the trees), Bodhisattvas lined up vertically one upon another to the Heaven of Brahman, holding canopies and streamers. They praised the Buddhas, singing innumerable verses with their wonderful voices.
The Practice Appropriate to the Final Dharma Age
Two Buddhas, p194The first part of Chapter Seventeen is counted as part of the “one chapter and two halves” that constitute the “main exposition” section of the origin teaching. The remainder of the chapter (from “At that time the Buddha addressed bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya … ,” (245) speaks of the merits to be gained after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa and thus begins the “dissemination” section of the origin teaching. Nichiren drew on this chapter and the next to support his fundamental assertion that chanting Namu Myōhō-renge-kyō is the practice appropriate to the Final Dharma age and contains all possible merit — indeed, the whole of the Buddhist path — within itself.
Day 21
Day 21 covers all of Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata.
Having last month heard Śākyamuni that he became the Buddha in the remotest past, we hear his expedient efforts in this Saha world and elsewhere.
“Good men! During this time I gave various names to myself, for instance, the Burning-Light Buddha. I also said, ‘That Buddha entered into Nirvāṇa.’ I did all these things only as expedients.
“Good men! When some people came to me, I saw the strength of the power of their faith and of the other faculties of theirs with the eyes of the Buddha. Then I named myself differently, and told them of the duration of my life differently, according to their capacities. l also said to them, ‘I shall enter into Nirvāṇa.’ I expounded the Wonderful Dharma with these various expedients, and caused the living beings to rejoice.
“Good men! When I saw that some people of little virtue and of much defilement were seeking the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle, I told them, ‘I renounced my family when I was young, and attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi [forty and odd years ago].’ In reality I became the Buddha in the remotest past as I previously stated. I told them this as an expedient to teach them, to lead them into the Way to Buddhahood.
For Living Beings’ Sake
Two Buddhas, p184What is the significance of the revelation of the Buddha’s immeasurable “lifespan,” that is, the time that has elapsed since his original attainment of supreme enlightenment? English language scholarship on Lotus Sūtra often speaks of the primordial Śākyamuni of the “Lifespan” chapter as the “eternal buddha.” This term is easy to understand but carries Western philosophical overtones of abstract metaphysical truth; the sūtra’s emphasis lies rather in the Buddha’s “constant residing” here in the world. For the sūtra’s compilers, this claim refigured the Buddha in accordance with the Mahāyāna bodhisattva ideal: No longer was he a teacher of the past, forever departed into final nirvāṇa, but an awakened being perpetually active in this and other worlds for living beings’ sake.
Day 20
Day 20 completes Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground, and concludes the Fifth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month considered further Maitreya’s puzzlement about the great Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who sprang up from underground, we hear from the attendants to the Buddhas who had come from many thousands of billions of worlds outside this world.
At that time the Buddhas, who had come from many thousands of billions of worlds outside [this world], were sitting cross-legged on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees in [this world and] the neighboring worlds of the eight quarters. Those Buddhas were the replicas of Śākyamuni Buddha. The attendant of each of those Buddhas saw that many Bodhisattvas had sprung up from under the four quarters of the [Sahā-World which was composed of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds and stayed in the sky. He said to the Buddha whom he was accompanying, “World-Honored One! Where did these innumerable, asaṃkhya Bodhisattvas come from?”
That Buddha said to his attendant:
“Good Man! Wait for a while! There is a Bodhisattva
mahāsattva called Maitreya [in this congregation]. Śākyamuni
Buddha assured him of his future attainment of Buddhahood,
saying, ‘You will become a Buddha immediately after me.’
Maitreya has already asked [Śākyamuni Buddha] about this
matter. [Śākyamuni] Buddha will answer him. You will be able
to hear his answer.”
Rejecting the Bodhisattvas from Other Worlds
Two Buddhas, p174Zhiyi proposed several reasons why the Buddha ultimately rejected the offer of the bodhisattvas from other worlds to propagate the Lotus Sūtra in the present, Sahā world and instead summoned the bodhisattvas from beneath the earth. The bodhisattvas from other worlds, he said, had responsibilities to benefit the beings of their own lands that they could not neglect. Furthermore, their ties to this world were only superficial, and so their efforts at spreading the dharma would have been ineffective. Had the Buddha accepted their offer, he would have had no reason to summon the bodhisattvas from beneath the earth. These bodhisattvas were Śākyamuni’s original disciples, taught by him since the inconceivably distant past. Their ties to the Sahā world were profound, and they could also travel to other realms and benefit the beings there. And, without their presence, Śākyamuni could not have revealed his true identity as the Buddha awakened since the inconceivably distant past.
Day 19
Day 19 concludes Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices, and begins Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground.
Having last month considered why Śākyamuni teaches this sūtra lastly, we repeat in gāthās the Parable of the Priceless Gem in the Top-Knot.
Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
Be patient, and compassionate
Towards all living beings,
And then expound this sūtra
Praised by the Buddhas!Anyone who keeps this sūtra
In the latter days after my extinction
Should have compassion towards laymen and monks
And towards those who are not Bodhisattvas.
He should think:
‘They do not hear this sūtra.
They do not believe it.
This is their great fault.
When I attain the enlightenment of the Buddha,
I will expound the Dharma to them
With expedients
And cause them to dwell in it.’I will tell you a parable.
A wheel-turning-holy-king was powerful.
Some of his soldiers
Distinguished themselves in war.
He was glad to honor them.
He gave them elephants or horses,
Vehicles or ornaments,
Paddy fields or houses,
Villages or cities,
Garments or various treasures,
Menservants or maidservants,
Or other valuables.He took a brilliant gem
Out of his top-knot
And gave it to the bravest man
Who had done the most difficult feats.I am like the king.
I am the King of the Dharma.
I have the great power of patience
And the treasury of wisdom.
I save all living beings in the world by the Dharma
Out of my great compassion towards them.The people were under the pressure
Of various sufferings.
They were fighting with the Maras
In order to emancipate themselves
From suffering.
Because I saw all this,
I expounded various teachings to them.
I expounded many sūtras with skillful expedients.Now I know that they can understand the Sutra
Of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Therefore, I expound it to them lastly
Just as the king took the brilliant gem
Out of his top-knot
And gave it [to the bravest man lastly].